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A biography of computer genius Bill Gates, his childhood, family life, and how he built his software empire. ... Read more

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Gandhi's long-time friend and collaborator edited and annotated Gandhi's autobiography and many of his writings. ... Read more

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Having grown up in Gandhi’s India, Easwaran brings a unique perspective to his subject. He presents Gandhi’s life as a model: by understanding Gandhi’s spiritual development, individuals can draw on similar inner resources and strengths in their lives. ... Read more

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This major study reconsiders the creation of the Gandhian legend through the myriad texts and images that helped spread it through both India and the Western world.

In revealing how the picture of the Mahatma as saint-as-politician was founded on Indian nationalistic selectivity and limited Western representations of Gandhi, Claude Markovits shows how Gandhi's legend has obscured the facts of his public career. Gandhi's professional role in the public sphere, Markovits argues, was heavily influenced by his long and critical phase of maturation in South Africa, a period often dismissed as the precursor to his celebrated work in India. Markovits proposes that Gandhi's later Indian career, marked by his meteoric rise to prominence, was the result of his own radical self-reinvention as he negotiated the pitfalls of political life in order to create his influential political manifesto.

In reevaluating critical stages of Gandhi's career, and his sometimes ambivalent ideological positions, Markovits confronts the discrepancies between his early and late careers, closely rereading the Mahatma's varying intellectual positions as described both within his own writings and in those by commentators and biographers. Rather than seeing Gandhi as an upholder of traditional Indian values, Markovits stresses the paradoxical modernity of Gandhi's anti-modernism.

The picture of Gandhi that emerges from "The Un-Gandhian Gandhi" is of a contradictory, multifaceted figure, whose peculiar modernity, and susceptibility to varying appropriations, makes him of enduring significance for future generations. ... Read more

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For the first time, the story of "Tania the guerrilla" is told with tenderness and veracity by a key participant in the revolutionary movement in Latin America.

Tania was born Haydée Tamara Bunke to German Jewish refugees in Argentina in 1937. Her family moved to East Germany after the war, but she was soon drawn to the Cuban Revolution.

She became one of Cuba's most successful spies in Latin America, penetrating Bolivia's high society and even making contact with the country's president and other members of the ruling circle. When her cover was blown she joined Che's guerrilla group but was killed in an ambush in August 1967. She was only 30 years old.

At the time of her death, the CIA suggested Tania had been romantically involved with Che, largely in order to discredit him. Most biographers consider this unlikely.

When Patty Hearst was "kidnapped" by the Symbionese Liberation Army, she adopted the name "Tania" and appeared with a gun and a beret, mimicking the classic pose of the real Tania
Tania, played by Franka Potente (Run Lola Run), will be a major character in the Steven Soderbergh/Benicio Del Toro forthcoming movie Che, which focuses on the Bolivia period

Includes Ulises Estrada's own personal photos and correspondence as well as testimonies from other guerrilla fighters. Appendices include recently declassified Cuban files on the "Bolivia mission."

Ulises Estrada was the principal organizer of Che Guevara's guerrilla mission to Bolivia and also trained and ran Tania as the key undercover agent who was to be sent to Bolivia in advance of Guevara's arrival. Although against the rules in such espionage operations, Tania and Ulises fell in love and planned to make a life together after Tania's return from Bolivia.

Reviews (1)

Specious, facile, but interesting technique
This book is seriously flawed and a waste of time for serious historians, but yet... it has some interesting moments. The premise behind the book is that the author is able to interview Ulysses S. Grant and ask him whatever he wishes. This is problematic, because Grant certainly would never have answered most of these questions. Many are too personal and even more relate directly to his drinking, a much-exaggerated aspect of his life. Grant would certainly have given the author a pointed look and then walked off, silent as usual.

But the Grant in this book is effusive and answers every question. No wonder, without this device, the book would have a crashing bore! So we have a voluble and chatty Ulys giving fake psychological insight into his drinking, his military decisions, his cancer and ultimately, his death. It's facile, inane, but one must admit, reasonably entertaining. Don't expect any real history in here because there is none. It's a fictional treatment of the man, but not entirely without merit. For people willing to buy anything on General Grant, this would be something worth owning. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

An Absolute Joy
It is with great sadness that I see that this tour de force memoir is out of print and has limited availablity. I had purchased my copy on the street never even imagining that it was hard to find.
It is impossible to do justice to this remarkable book in such a short space, but the author, the famous William Shirer, wrote this memoir some 50 years after he had met Gandhi as a young American reporter in India. Looking back over a lifetime, this book is his attempt to understand Gandhi in a larger context as a great yet humble man whose radiance, powerful intellect, and superhuman courage not only changed the world but also redefined the power inherent in the human spirit. I found the account intensely moving especially in its tragic ending. Not just because Gandhi's life came to an end at the hand of an assasin, but because his victory itself was bittersweet. His dream of a united India ended in the creation of two seperate states - something Gandhi had bitterly opposed. And although independence had been won through nonviolent means, that same independence engendered an unbelievable bloodbath. In finishing this book, one can not help but be struck with a sense of wonder that the human soul is capable of the greatness of a Gandhi and that, despite the greatness of the players, history itself must go its own way.
In short, I found this book to be both riveting and emotionally powerful. It was an absolute joy to read and I hope some day it once again becomes widely available.

a powerful story
Not knowing much about Gandhi, I decided that this brief book would be a good place to start to learn about this great man. I was not disappointed. I was very moved by Gandhi's story. I was shocked by the brutality of the British administration (such as the infamous crawling order). Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence, his acts of disobedience (such as the Salt March), and his speeches and negotiations in defense of complete independence and Indian unity inspired and excited me.

Of course, there is a lot in the story that is sad. I must be naive because I was quite disappointed to learn about Gandhi's personal limitations (such as his sometimes disrespectful treatment of his wife, his issues with sex, and his dismissal of the Hebrew scriptures - all minor in the scheme of things.) Of course, the strife between Hindu and Muslim is tragic and continues to plague India and Pakistan.

A moving reading experience. Highly recommmended.

In-depth look at a great man with major flaws
It is one of the most amazing historical ironies that the one of the most non-violent independence movements in history became one of the greatest bloodbaths when the colonial power left. Once Britain relinquished power over the Indian subcontinent, hundreds of thousands of people were killed by their fellow citizens of the former colony. Ultimately, three different countries emerged from the British colony of India, and two of them, India and Pakistan, remain enemies and may go to war at any time. Mohandas Gandhi was the leader of the independence movement, and he lived non-violent civil disobedience with his every breath. In many ways, it seems inevitable that he too would also be a victim of the violent birth of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
William L. Shirer was a correspondent who spent a great deal of time in India in the early 1930's, and this is an account of that time. He spoke extensively with Gandhi and had a great deal of interaction with the other principals of the Indian independence movement. Clearly, Gandhi was a great man, and the circumstances happened to be right for a non-violent movement to be successful. Even though the British could be brutal, they were ultimately civilized enough to allow it to work. If Gandhi-like tactics would have been used against people like Hitler and Stalin the results would have been different.
Shirer clearly was impressed by Gandhi, his political astuteness and his understanding of the people of India. Fortunately, this does not blind Shirer to Gandhi's weaknesses. While Shirer does give an accurate, interesting and journalistic account of Gandhi's actions, he also explains some of the problems and how people in the independence movement like Jawaharlal Nehru at times grew very frustrated at Gandhi's ideas. With the advantage of historical perspective, some now argue that Gandhi was also bad for India, in that he never seemed to grasp the underlying religious and ethnic hatreds among the people. That is very clear in this book. He also did not grasp the need for a modern infrastructure, as his daily spinning of cloth really did not do anyone any good.
After reading the book, I did come away with some new perspectives on Gandhi and what kind of man he was. Humble, yet well aware of his significance in world history, he can be admired for the principles that he held so strongly. Some say that he died for them. I respectfully disagree, as I believe that he would have been assassinated no matter what philosophy he had expounded. Such was the violent nature of the birth of the nations that arose from the British colony of India.
William Shirer was one of the best journalists of the twentieth century. He was present at many of the greatest historical events and his descriptions of them are some of the best journalism the world has ever seen. This is another in his list of literary accomplishments.

Satyagraha
Despite being such a short book, Shirer does a wonderful job of zeroing in on the focus of Gandhi's life's work - Satyagraha.

"It would be best to see Gandhi first, to try to grasp the nature of his genius and its tremendous hold on the Indian masses, to get from the master himself an understanding of his unique contribution to the revolutionary politics of the twentieth century, Satyagraha, a word he had coined from his native Gujarati and which, I suspected, meant much more, at least in the Hindu consciousness, than civil disobedience, passive resistance, non-cooperation and non-violence, though it encompassed all of these." - p.15

Despite the mystical nature of the fountain of the non-violent movement, Gandhi was first and foremost a mobilizer of people - he began in South Africa and finished in India. A lawyer by training, it is evidenced by the quote below that he was not as naive about politics as we often ascribe to mystics (or perceived mystics) to be.

"Satyagraha, or soul-force, sounded very religious and spiritual to me-a fine thing for the human race to embrace, but not a very effective or even practical way to fight a revolution against an alien ruler who depended upon old-fashioned brute force. My face must have betrayed my disbelief, for Gandhi immediately added: "Believe me, Satyagraha is a very practical weapon." I realized, and I thought Gandhi saw, that I was too ignorant to pursue the subject further for the moment. "We will go into it further at another time," he said. "Is there anything else on your mind today?" "A great deal," I said. "Supposing that your negotiations with the Viceroy are successful and you reach an agreement. Do you still have faith in British promises?" "I had faith in them-until 1919," he said. "But the Amritsar Massacre and the other atrocities in the Punjab changed my heart. And nothing has happened since to make me regain my faith. Certainly nothing in the last ten months." - p. 22

and

"It was Gandhi's genius, to be sure, that had inspired the Indian masses, given them the technique of Satyagraha with which to stage a non-violent revolution, and hit upon the Salt March as a symbol to arouse them to action. But it was Patel's ability as an organizer that had molded the Indian Congress into a nationwide political machine capable of carrying on the civil disobedience campaign, even after thousands of its leaders had been incarcerated, until the Viceroy agreed to negotiate." - p. 127

History has as a force has done many great things for Gandhi. One of the greatest disservices to Gandhi is to elevate him to mystic. Seen as a saint or deity to die hards of his belief - as he has been credited as the source of inspiration for Martin Luther King and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. What this sets up for most is scenario for disappointment. How? If biographers like Shirer bring in the "real" or place Gandhi in a scenario that he really has no answer for or where Satyagraha seems doomed to fail, then does it discredit the whole effort. The key is not to escalate men of like this to god-like status as the weaknesses of the man does not detract form the greatness of his accomplishments.

"It became painfully obvious to me as I sat in Berlin, the center of the storm, and read the above pronouncement and many others Gandhi wrote in Young India, that though he was sympathetic to the Jews and the Western democracies threatened by Hitler, he did not understand the nature of the Nazi totalitarian dictatorship. He had no conception of how brutally far it would go in destroying those it believed stood in the way of its domination of the world. His "advice" to the Jews to practice Satyagraha, to the Ethiopians to "allow themselves to be slaughtered by Mussolini's legions," and especially to the English during the worst days of the Blitz, when they were fighting for survival, to let Hitler "take possession of your beautiful island" but not of "your minds and your souls" sounded inane to those actually facing the Fascist tyrants." - p. 215

In the end, the greatness of his accomplishments still shines through. Shirer does a balancing act throughout the book but in the end falls prey to the mystical Gandhi. I have never met either one nor will I ever and that is why I read biographies. I then humbly read and learn.

"The example of his life, like theirs, his search for Truth, as they sought Truth, his humility, his selflessness, which was akin to theirs, his granite integrity, and what he taught and practiced and accomplished were bound to leave an indelible imprint on this earth. Satyagraha, his supreme achievement, taught us all that there was a greater power in life than force, which seemed to have ruled the planet since men first sprouted on it. That power lay in the spirit, in Truth and love, in non-violent action." - p. 251

Miguel Llora

The best single Gandhi book that I know of
Shirer is not attempting a complete book about Gandhi, either in terms of covering his full life or in terms of covering everything he did. He tells his own story: what he saw, and what he felt. And it's a great story. He was lucky to catch Gandhi at a pivotal moment (the Salt March). I've read a lot of Gandhi books, and I think this is the most rich and profound of the lot. ... Read more

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a great read!
James Spada has certainly done his homework with this book, I could'nt put it down, and was re-reading it after I finished it, it was so absorbing.

It details the tumultous relationship between Judy Garland and her daughter Liza Minnelli, weaving in Garland's mother, her husbands David Rose, Vincente Minnelli and Sid Luft, details the children she had by Luft (Lorna and Joey Luft) and chronicles the star's frequent dips into obscurity.

Garland was most insecure with herself, and was not about to share the spotlight with her daughter Liza, and used every ploy in the book to keep her out of "the business" and Spada is very candid in his recounting of the times that Garland almost succeeded.

However, the love that the two shared was undeniable, and Spada is quick to notice that the good times overshadow the bad in the big picture.

Filled with beautiful pictures (all black and white), this is one book that every Garland / Minnelli fan should have.

A book of talent, talent, talent
A truly wonderful, fact-filled book, dealing with the relationship between a mother and daughter, who just happened to be the superstars of their generations. I've kept this book all these years, having been published originally in 1983, and occasionally pull it from the shelf, relax and peruse its pictures and chapters. I highly recommend the book. So many of the older books on Garland are now almost impossible to find. When you can, buy them! Rarely are you disappointed, if for nothing else, the pictures are so enjoyable! Judy had to be one of the most photographed women of her time. ... Read more

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"Just As I Am" in Spanish. ... Read more

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Not at all bad
This is a breezy photobiography of Grant and it's interesting because the text and the photos are well-rounded and give a good overview of Grant's life. The quality of the photos is far above average, and the actual text flows together nicely. This would be an excellent introduction to the general, or suitable for pre-teens who have an interest in history. While the book wouldn't hold interest for more advanced Grantphiles, its target audience would probably enjoy it. ... Read more

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More than research -- personal experience
Nobody is better qualified to articulate the merits of Mohandas Gandhi than E. Stanley Jones. First, Jones was a close friend of Gandhi's for many years, and second, Jones was a humble enough westernized Christian to see that the brightest shining light of his time was an eastern Hindu.

Although this book is only 160 pages, it is dynamic enough for Martin Luther King Jr. to consider it the best book on Gandhi ever written. I would only add that this book cannot be simply read and understood, it demands to be demonstrated in the life of the reader ... Read more

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American History is replete with rags-to-riches tales, but it is hard to think of one that compares with that of Ulysses S. Grant.In the spring of 1861, Grant was a modest clerk in his father's leather goods store.Within three years, he would become commander of all armies of the United States and go on to win the Civil War.Within eight, he would be elected president.His remarkable story is truly an inspiration to leaders from all walks of life.

"Fascinating, Grant's wisdom and courage are finally depicted as a model for the ages."
— Robert Novak, syndicated columnist

In Ulysses S. Grant on Leadership, John Barnes reveals the leadership secrets of the man to whom Abraham Lincoln entrusted the very survival of the Union.You will meet a man of extraordinary personal courage who overcame failures early in life that would have crushed lesser men.You will discover how this tenacious general inspired a dispirited army to achieve victory on the battlefield.Most important, you will learn how to apply to your own life the characteristics that elevated Grant from obscurity to greatness.

Ulysses S. Grant was a common man with uncommon leadership abilities.He succeeded brilliantly where others had failed.Guided by his magnificent example, so can you.

Reviews (2)

A must have for leaders and teachers
I usually approach these "on Leadership" series and most business biographies with a bit of skepticism, but I was really blown away by this book. Although I'm not a civil war buff, the author's narrative and vivid descriptions of Grant's triumphs and hardships kept me riveted and I couldn't put this book down once I started. The personal accounts of the challenges facing Grant and his tenacious ability to overcome them, are simply amazing. The author's contrasts of Grant vs. McClellan (the incompetent General which Grant replaced) lay the foundation for learning what not to do as well. Each chapter feels as if your grandfather is telling you these stories from firsthand experience, making them lessons you won't soon forget as you manage and lead in your business or organization. And in case you need a refresher, the author summarizes the leadership lessons at the end of each chapter. This is also a great book for teenagers who need a leadership training. It's easy to identify with Grant, and the way the author draws you into our history makes it even more valuable.

A few more comments
I had a few more comments on this book.

I think the author may be onto something here, something even more important than the idea of using Grant's life as a way to help business managers, perhaps.

I like history and have read my share of it, but I'd never been able to really get into the history of the Civil War, or even early American history in general, despite having had childhood friends who were into Civil War history, and even Civil war reenactments. The author's using an important figure of the time as a sympathetic character, a focus around which to build an interesting account of his contributions, also meant that he needed to present much of the historical context and discuss a lot of the actual history of the period. In the process he really wrote a mini-history of the events during this time that was much more engaging and absorbing than your typical history that I have read. As a result, I learned much more than I ever had before about this important phase of our history.

I think this approach would be equally applicable to other important figures and times. It might seem that this is just re-inventing the idea of a biography, but again, I've read my share of biographies too and this book was much more interesting the way Barnes did it. Much of that is because the author makes you feel like you are right in the center of the action with Grant during this critical time as he makes many of these difficult, life-and-death decisions. So if we are to call it biography at all, Barnes's approach is a much more interesting way to do it.

I hope the author may do other books like this as I would be very interested in reading them, too. ... Read more

Book Description

Judy Garland is a true Hollywood icon. A legend. Her remarkable 45-year career in show business began at the age of two, when she performed on stage as the diminutive member of the singing trio the Gumm Sisters. By the age of thirteen, she was under contract to MGM, and her extraordinary fifteen-year association with the studio provided moviegoers with memorable performances in classic motion pictures such as The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St. Louis, and Easter Parade. In the late 1930s, merchandise bearing her name and likeness began to fill department store shelves throughout the country. With over five hundred illustrations, this book explores all areas of the Garland merchandising phenomenon. It provides readers with a nostalgic, photographic reference guide to the vast array of collectibles, plus a biography exploring Judy's early childhood and rise to stardom, and a complete motion picture chronology, discography, home video library, and portrait gallery. This unique volume delivers a comprehensive identification and price guide for collectors of movie posters, movie memorabilia, Wizard of Oz collectibles, dolls, records, and sheet music. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Good Judy Garland Reference Book!
The Judy Garland Collector's Guide is a great book, especially for people who are just starting to collect Garland items. It has photographs of a good range of items from those that the beginner can easily obtain, to items such as original movie costumes, posters, and autographs for the more serious collector. This book, in my opinion, is better described as a reference guide rather than a price guide. If you are looking for exact prices for items, you won't find them here. Prices are set up in groups (Ex: $25 - $65). A few items do not have prices at all. Still, it is filled with both color and black & white photographs of memorabilia such as Wizard of Oz items, a wristwatch, writing tablets, sheet music, lobby cards, and includes a nice portrait gallery. I would recommend it to any Judy Garland or movie memorabilia collector! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Real U.S. Grant
The twenty-six (and counting!) volumes comprising all the known extant writings of Ulysses Grant are indeed a remarkable example of published primary source material.While every volume contains much material that is admittedly of trivial importance to even the most rabid Grant scholar, each book in this series also contains fascinating nuggets of information not found anywhere else.Anyone with even a casual interest in USG is sure to discover something worth reading in every volume.In gathering together not only all of Grant's known correspondence, but relevant peripheral documents, the editors of this series are doing a truly Herculean job and deserve great commendation.

I have only a few quibbles with the series.The first involves something over which the editors had no control.I refer to the fact that, in the first few volumes (particularly Volume One,) Grant's descendants insisted that certain passages in Grant's letters to his fiancee-turned-wife Julia Dent that had been crossed out (either by Julia or other family members) not be published.This idiotic decision is not only extremely frustrating for the reader, but, ironically, damaging to Grant himself.By all accounts, the deleted passages contain nothing that could be considered detrimental to Grant's good name, but by leaving them out, these descendants unwittingly gave the impression that there was something to hide.Hopefully, in an "Appendix" volume at the end of the series, the editors will be sporting enough to include whatever deleted passages can be transcribed, and the series will at last be considered complete.

My other complaints about this series are more minor.While each volume contains copious, and frequently illuminating, footnotes, the editors occasionally fail to provide enough context.That is to say, a brief, undetailed letter of Grant's will frequently be followed by several pages of footnotes providing other letters and documents on the same subject, without giving much information explaining what, exactly, it all meant.The reader who is not already fully informed on the subject being addressed is sometimes left feeling confused about what exactly is being discussed, and what its relevance may have been.

Another drawback is, simply, the price.While these books are certainly handsomely--and obviously expensively--printed and bound, those of us who study history as a hobby rather than as a profession could wish for editions that were more cheaply done, and thus more affordable.Unless you are fortunate enough to have access to a good academic library, these extremely expensive (even when you buy second-hand) volumes are simply out-of-reach for many people.That's a great pity, because in these books is an "insider's view" of Grant that does not fully come across in any regular biography.

A masterful achievement
"The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant" is a project begun in 1962 for the purpose of publishing all the known letters written by Ulysses S. Grant. Volume one was published in 1967 and there are now twenty-fourvolumes in the series. People who follow Grant's career are aware of theinestimable value of this project. The Papers contain all knowncorrespondence written by Grant and letters received by him. The editing ofthe series is unparalleled and the volumes represent primary sourcematerial at its apex.

Those who believe Grant was a "drunkard"or a "butcher" should read his own words, which show Grant'shumor, pathos and unique personality. Masterfully edited by John Y. Simon,these volumes are a "must have" for anyone with an interest inU.S. Grant as a general, a politician and as a man ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A masterful achievement
"The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant" is a project begun in 1962 for the purpose of publishing all the known letters written by Ulysses S. Grant. Volume one was published in 1967 and there are now twenty-four volumes in the series. People who follow Grant's career are aware of the inestimable value of this project. The Papers contain all known correspondence written by Grant and letters received by him. The editing of the series is unparalleled and the volumes represent primary source material at its apex.

Those who believe Grant was a "drunkard" or a "butcher" should read his own words, which show Grant's humor, pathos and unique personality. Masterfully edited by John Y. Simon, these volumes are a "must have" for anyone with an interest in U.S. Grant as a general, a politician and as a man ... Read more