Book Description

Includes dozens of photos from German collections, covers literally every aspect of Hitler's life from his success after he came to power in 1933 to his self-destruction. Davidson describes in detail Hitler's stratagems in reviving morale and undoing the inequitable treaties imposed on Germany after World War I and his shrewd moves to take advantage of the fatal miscalculations of the coalition that had been aligned against the Reich. Once Hitler had brutally improved Germany's desperate state, there followed mortal errors and fateful mistakes of judgment arising form his own inadequacies. Compelling, well-researched, and eminently readable, The Unmaking of Adolf Hitler strives to explain how and why Hitler's empire collapsed from his own actions. ... Read more

Book Description

Truly unique in both concept and approach, here is a fictionalized account of what made one of the finest golfers who has ever lived: the great Ben Hogan. A legend in his own time as well as today, Hogan is a four-time PGA Player of the Year, and one of only four persons to win all four Grand Slam titles. Much has been written about the mechanics of his game, but Hogans reclusive lifestyle has left millions of fans to merely speculate about his mental game and what made it one of the best in the sport. Now that secret is revealed.

By interweaving historical fact with careful deduction, author Bob Thomas offers a more complete picture of the whole man and shows just what it was that drove this indisputable master to achieve his spectacular records.

In the tradition of Golf in the Kingdom, Ben Hogans Secret is sure to be a hit with any golfing enthusiast. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Ben Hogan's Secret truly depicts "The man behind the mask"
Author Bob Thomas has written the first book about Ben Hogan that truly depicts "the man behind the mask". Stories abound about Hogan's coldness but nothing could be further from the truth. Naysayers should talk to the people who had direct contact with Hogan thru the various stages of his life as golfer, businessman, private citizen and devoted husband. They should read the numerous articles that were written following his death on July 28, 1997, especially "The Hogan I Knew" by Dan Jenkins, and other articles in the October 1997 issue of Golf Digest. Talk to members of Shady Oaks Country Club and citizens in the surrounding business community. Talk to Palmer, Nicklaus, Venturi, Kite, Harvey Ward and Byron Nelson. If you were able to do so, a picture of the real Ben Hogan would emerge and that man is the one depicted by Bob Thomas in Ben Hogan's secret.

The greatest golf story ever written!
Ben Hogan's Secret is the first book ever written that captures the heart and spirit of the real Ben Hogan. A must read for anyone in search of inspiration for any endeavor!

Ben Hogan's Secret - A Real Winner
Author Bob Thomas has a real winner in Ben Hogan's Secret. This great fictionalized biography of Ben Hogan is more truth than fiction and portrays Hogan as the man he really was, a shy, caring individual who tried to avoid the limelight. Once I started reading this book I found it very difficult to put it down.

A Good Read
I read and enjoyed "Ben Hogan's Secret." I too read the first chapter on the website and decided to purchase the book. I enjoyed reading about the camaraderie between Hogan and Bobby Jones. It was interesting how Jones helped Hogan believe in himself as a golfer. I recommend adding this book to any golfer's library.

Laughable!
I can't believe the good reviews this book has gotten here on Amazon. In my opinion, this book is so far fetched it's laughable. It vaguely hits upon factual events in Hogan's life and it is written as if by (and for) an elementary school child. I know it is a fictionalized story, but it's based on a real person and therefore must remain somewhat grounded in reality. Unfortunately, it does not. This book is incredibly trite and simplistic and makes Ben Hogan appear as an insecure, confused little boy... ... Read more

Book Description

In this book Holmes, (himself a noted poet and a professor of physiology at Dartmouth and dean of Harvard's medical school) traces the life of the great 19th century American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson from beginning to end, with much discussion of his work. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A realistic biography
Oliver Wendell Holmes describes Emerson as an intellectual mystic, as opposed to an emotional one.This probably places Emerson very much in line with Holmes' own temperament -- this Holmes is the father of the famous and intellectually accomplished Supreme Court justice; Holmes, Sr. was himself a medical doctor and man of letters in New England.What Holmes describes as intellectual mysticism as opposed to emotional mysticism shows that Emerson never lost a realistic grounding of his beliefs, and always kept a firm grasp on things such as common sense and self reliance.

Joel Porte introduces the text, written in 1885, talking about the odd choice the rationalist Holmes must have seemed to the Transcendentalist canonisers who would have wanted a more sympathetic character.However, Holmes' overall personality made him an ideal biographer, with much more credibility in the end than a true-believing disciple of Emerson would have had in a similar biographical effort.Both Holmes and Emerson were seekers after truth, and in such had a similar spirit; both also had a good sense for the ridiculous, and managed to remain level-headed among otherwise unstable environments.

Holmes identifies Emerson as belonging to the New England 'Academic' race -- Emerson is a name that is common among academics and ministers generation after generation.This kind of inheritance is more than just cultural in Emerson's view, and in Holmes' view, who before addressing his subject, looks at the several generations back of Emerson's forebears.

Emerson finds inspiration in the things about him -- in nature, in society, and in himself.Emerson has a deep and abiding concern for the transcendent unity of all things, and that there is a spirit in the world that keeps the world together.Emerson was born into a society at a unique period, a coalescing of the first truly American generation of thinkers.While Emerson was not a particularly outstanding student in college, he nonetheless developed ways of writing, thinking and speaking that made him a prominent intellectual figure in his own time, and a mystical/religious figure as well.

Holmes had the advantage of having known Emerson enough to be able to render some personal and candid observations.After giving a general historical narrative of his life, complete with extracts from writings and correpondence, Holmes reflects on various aspects of Emerson's life, including his general personality and habits.Emerson's voice had charm both in personal conversation as well as in lecture and pulpit settings.Emerson often spoke with hesitation, according to Holmes, prefering the momentary silence to find the right word over using the wrong or less-appropriate word.These kinds of observations make Holmes' volume one of real value.

In discussing Emerson's mystical side, Holmes rarely has sympathy, but does not denigrate Emerson's own belief system. 'The knowledge, if knowledge it be, of the mystic is not transmissible,' Holmes states.It cannot be compiled and built upon by others, but is created anew in each seeker.Emerson's view of science is probably similar to Holmes' view of mysticism.

Overall, this is an excellent biography of Emerson, great at giving insight into the author, Holmes, as well. ... Read more

Book Description

The story of Hitler's rise to power as leader of Germany, the destruction of democracy and civilized values in a great nation, together with World War II, for which he bears the principal responsibility, provide a painful historical lesson. The Hitler regime warns us of the destruction that ensues when a perverted ideology and a cult of leadership are combined with a polity where power is divorced from morality. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good for beginners
If you're looking for a book which focuses on Hitler's private life, forget it, you'll have to look elsewhere. The book is decidedly weak in explaining Hitler as a human being. However, there is strength in the military aspects of the book. Hitler's rational for attacking the Soviet Union and his inexplicable (and stupid! decision to declare on the USA on Dec. 11, 1941, are explored in some detail. Remember, this is a very basic work, intended for beginners or people who have a limited grasp og WWII. If you're a serious scholar of the era, this will not be your cup of tea. But if you're just starting to read about World War II and Hitler, this is not a bad start. ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document, covering the life and work of Howard C. Hughes, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thomson Gale. The length of the entry is 820 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Reviews (1)

Superior of its kind
Quite a few books have been written about Hitler and Nazi Germany since World War 2, including many for young people. This is by far the best bio of Hitler written for students that I am aware of (and I have read everything I can get my hands on about the subject). In a relatively small amount of space the author crams a huge amount of detailed information, all of it both appropriate and fascinating. Frequent references to the dictator's physical attributes, voice, bearing, personal fears, strange fetishes, tantrums, etc., all documented by eyewitness accounts, make this slice of history come alive for the reader. I am looking forward to reading other books by this fine historian. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Vice President of the Confederacy
There is an in-print verison of this book though Amazon lists it as not-yet published.

This is the journal of Alexander Stephens, the Vice President of the Confederate States of America written immediately after the war. It is wonderful. Stephens is a very peculiar little fellow not at all in the mold of any other Civil War character. He's a very good writer and, in this book, holds back nothing, not even strange little details of his daily hygiene (and I do mean _strange_).

Stephens was lonely, kept totally isolated from all human contact, and so turned to this journal to both entertain himself and to try to explain to himself and others what he thought of the war, the nation, the other participants of the rebellion, and any other thing that came to mind. There's a tension to the writing, too, as he did not at that time know what his fate would be. He fully expected to be executed for his part in the Confederacy, a thought he didn't find as disturbing as being kept in isolated imprisonment the rest of his life. Stephens is in no way a strong, stoic character. He reveals all his fears without sort of self-agrandizement.

Civil war historian or casual history reader will enjoy this look at a somewhat unknown, but important, participant in the American Civil War. ... Read more

Book Description

Born in Munich, the author grew up across the street from Hitler’s private residence. She had some terrifying face to face encounters with Hitler and finally was summoned to appear before the Gestapo. After her release, her panicked parents sent her to safety in Switzerland where, at the age of only sixteen, Piaget invited her to become a student at the University of Geneva. Her studies there inspired her to ultimately become a Stanford University Professor, studying newborn babies. Although she resolved never to return to Munich, German colleagues persuaded her to present her research findings there. While in Munich, she was in a fog, reliving childhood and the Nazi era. On a later visit, she had a pivotalexperience that gave her surprising new insights about Germany and the Holocaust. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Across the Street from Hitler: Fascinating and Unique Story
Author Anneliese Korner-Kalman, Stanford University Professor and developmental psychologist, wrote a memoir that deals with the universal task of coming to terms with childhood, in her case an extremely difficult one, complicated by growing up in a conflictridden family and in closeproximity to Hitler¹s private residence in Munich.

Soon after Hitler's release from prison where he had written the Nazi bible Mein Kampf,he became a regular visitor in Korner-Kalman's apartment house to call on an upstairs neighbor who was Hitler's informer about the German High Command. Apprehensively watching the steady growth of the Nazi movement,Hitler's visits to her apartment house were very frightening for her and her family. In 1929, it was reported that Hitler had moved to the author¹s immediate neighborhood, but her family did not know exactly where. But in January 1933, when Hitler came to power, it became clear from S.S. officers standing guards in front of his apartment house, that he lived across the street from hers.

Frightening years ensued, friends and neighbors disappearing, and nearby Dachau concentration camp filling to capacity. In 1934, bicycling through a narrow roundabout, she came face to face with Hitler, when he was driven in his convertible right next to her. A second car pulled up to her with S.S officers screaming at her to greet the Führer, which she refused to do. She later found out that people had been killed for defying to greet Hitler. Ultimately, she was summoned to appear before the Gestapo. After her release, her panicked parents sent her to safety in Switzerland.

Paradoxically, thismost harrowing experience, also became her luckiest one. She was able to leave Germany when this was still possible. It freed her from a family whose values she could not share. And it opened up the world of scholarship for her under the mentorship of Professor Piaget at the University of Geneva. As a result, she eventually became a research scientist, studying newborn babies.

At the insistence of German colleagues, she reluctantly returned to Munich to present her research findings there. Returning to her roots was poignant and painful, but it also allowed herto finally come to terms with her childhood- -with her parents and with young Germans who had nothing to do with the Nazis.

I highly recommend this extraordinary and important book which is full of profound and unique insights, both personal and historical. This memoir should appeal to any thoughtful reader.

Don't expect much of Hitler
The only reason people will buy this book is because they hope for some personal insight into the mind of Hitler. Forget it, this is a numbingly boring book, an exercise in ego gratification for the author. She lived across the street from Hitler's Munich apartment, at 16 Prinzregentenplatz. She saw him at a distance a few times and then pads these pseudo-encounters to a ridiculous degree. I seriously wonder whether she actually saw Hitler at all, since her stories seem spurious in the extreme.

The vast majority of the book has absolutely nothing to do with Hitler. She is packed off to Switzerland, immigrates to the USA, etc. ad nauseum. Who really cares? The book found a publisher because she claims to have met Hitler. At least, then, include some interesting stories about the man. There are none in this book. Extremely disappointing.

Across the Street from Adolf Hitler,a gripping memoir8/11/03
I found reading thisbook riveting and totally absorbing. I could not putit down. Author Anneliese Korner-Kalman, born into a German Jewish family in Munich, vividly describes her frequent and terrifying encounters with her neighbor, Adolf Hitler. After being summoned to appear before the Gestapo,herpanicked parents sent her off to safety in Switzerland where, alone and at the age of only sixteen, she was invited to become Professor Piaget's student at the University of Geneva. While there,she not only received an inspiring education that became the foundation of her later career, she also did some underground work, guiding Austrian refugees to safety in prewar France.

After graduating, she joined her family in New York which was still in the depth of the Great Depression. Her fiance could not join her and wound up in a French camp that ultimately had to hand over all Jewish prisoners to the Nazis for transport to Auschwitz. I found her story of how she was able to get him out of the camp and to come to America just before this event, very
moving.

The author managed to get scholarships to attend graduate school at Columbia University, where she earned her Ph.D.Eventually, she became Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine where, in a thirty-five year research career, she studied the innate differences among newborn babies, long before the current stress on genetic differences.

It was her career that reluctantly brought her back to Munich at the insistence of German colleagues who wanted her to present her research findings there. While in Munich, she painfully relived the Nazi era,but she also gained a lot of historical insights, which grew over many subsequent years. The books ends with a chapter that presents a brilliant and razor-sharp analysis of Hitler's goals, motives and strategies, the Holocaust and its deniers.

This is a book that tells the fascinating story of a resilient and wise woman who , during all her life, successfully fought the odds. I highly recommend this captivating and well writtenbook.

Misleading title
I would not recommend this book to the general public.There is very, very little in it about direct experiences in Nazi Germany.So much of the book has almost nothing to do with Nazi Germany and is about her family and personal relationships and about her professional development instead.These were interesting and well written but not particularly enlightening or thought-provoking. The last 80 pages I found mostly pretty boring as they went into details of her research and her analyses of WWII and Nazi Germany and prejudice against the Jews.I cannot comment on her research, but what she said about the war, etc. I found unenlightening.I think that this is a nice book for her children and her children's children to have, but for me, I felt let down when I came to the end.As a side note, I found it amusing that she wrote down so much about the delicious meals she enjoyed here and there.This was true in Heck's book "Child of Hitler" also.The bombs may be dropping around, but boy, the pickled herring was yummy! (to exaggerate my point).If you are just interested in the musings of and a slice of the life of an intelligent prominent psychologist, then by all means, read this book.

Across the Street from Adolf Hitler, unique and riveting
Author Anneliese Korner-Kalman who happened to grow up across the street from Hitler's private residence describes her terrifying face to face encounters with Hitler and her ultimate summons to appear before the Gestapo.

The book describes an extraordinarily courageous woman. For example, when she rode her bike through a narrow roundabout, Hitler's convertible pulled up next to her, and SS officers in a second car, screamed at her to greet the Führer, an order she stubbornly defied. After her panicked parents sent her to Switzerland, she risked her life, guiding Austrian refugees to safety in France.

Once in Switzerland, Professor Piaget invited her to become a student at the University of Geneva. Her studies there laid the foundation for her ultimately becoming a professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine where, in a 35-year research career, she studied newborn babies. She was one of the first to discover innate newborn behavioral differences,
long before the more recent interest in genetics.

Her pioneering research brought her back to Munich because German colleagues persuaded her to present her findings there. During her stay, she relived her painful childhood and the Nazi era.

While her book is captivating from beginning to end, I was especially impressed by her insightful historical reflections. For instance, she deduced that long before WW II began, Hitler's first and foremost goal was to conquer Russia. She also described how the Nazi Holocaust differed from other genocides in motives, methods and circumstances.

This is an important book, well written and wise. It is very timely, considering the current wave of anti-Semitism all over the world. I highly recommend this book, particularly for discussion groups and book clubs. ... Read more

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In opposition to this view, there are many languid thinkers who lapse into a forlorn belief that if this or that man had never lived, or if this or that other man had not ceased to live, the country might have gone on in peace and prosperity, until its felicity merged in the glories of the millennium. If Mr. Calhoun had never proclaimed his heresies; if Mr. Garrison had never published his paper. ... Read more