Reviews (5)

Mandatory Reading for Army Staff Majors
As the title indicates, the Army's Command & General Staff College requires students to read Makers of Modern Strategy in the core history class. Professors can make best use of this book as a supplement. As other reviewers have noted, the chapters are disjointed with each other. Taken separately, however, many of the chapters help the history student or enthusiast to develop a depth of understanding on a particular subject. Authors such as John Shy, Douglas Porch, Michael Howard, and Condoleeza Rice, just to name a few, explore many of the strategic issues involved with the evolution of military thought.

From Machiavelli and Clausewitz to strategies of world wars and colonial wars, Makers of Modern Strategy adds value to any serious study of warfare. The high quality academic research and thought that underlies many of the articles is worth the price of the book. Highly recommended.

Good general military history overview.
One of the essentials, a good starting point for the study of military history and strategy.

Still, this is a good book.....
Although I agree with the reviewer preceeding me that this might not be as strong of a book as was the masterpiece which preceeded it (by Earle), it is still a strong book and does (generally) what it sets out to do: to provide an accounting of major developments in military thought (i.e. western military thought) from the Renassance to the modern age.

As a text or as a reference, this is still a powerful and useful book. Each of the chapters discusses a major figure's thought in a fashion that can be dealt with easily in a sitting: for those people who don't want to sit and sort through Jomini (though everyone reading this should sit down with Clausewitz! ) or Douhet, to see their rights and wrongs....

I like this book. I bought my copy for $8.00 in NYC and have had it with me through a number of moves since....

Newer is Not Necessarily Better
This second version of the book is disappointing. I would have thought that it being edited by an historian as good as Peter Paret would have improved on the original, which was edited by Robert Earle. However, it is weaker both in scholarship and accuracy, especially John Shy's essay on Jomini. Old myths are resurrected about the Swiss renegade whose own works are generally historically inaccurate.

Many of the older, more professional, historians, who are unfortunately no longer with us were much more careful in their research and writing, hunting down sources that newer historians either refuse to look for or refuse to use. they also were more blunt, calling a spade a spade, and weren't worried about offending people or in 'revisionist' (read inaccurate) history. Political correctness was unknown to these stalwarts.

Books of this type are highly useful. If you are looking for this particular volume, get the first version edited by Earle, even if you have to go looking in second hand book stores or on the internet in used book services. I did, and it is well worth the effort.

Good book for general military history
This book gives the reader a good general overview of the development of modern military history. There are many good essays on (in my opinion too many) the 17th and 18th century. The modern reader concerned with more recent developments might find the last part of the book more beneficial ... Read more

Book Description

The greatest sports moments of the 20th Century-by one of the greatest sportswriters of the 20th Century

Shirley Povich was the Dean of American Sportswriters. As a columnist for The Washington Post for more than seventy-five years, he was an eyewitness to the most thrilling moments in American sports, including: the legendary 1927 Dempsy-Tunney "long count"; the celebrated 1938 race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral; the 1946 signing of Jackie Robinson by the Brooklyn Dodgers; Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series; the Ali-Frazier fight of 1971; and the murder of eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.But Povich's columns were about more than sports; they reflected the dramatic changes in American society over the course of the 20th Century. Driven by a strong sense of social justice, Povich called for the integration of major league baseball in 1939, and twenty years later he was still at it, attacking Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall for having an all-white team.For the 100th anniversary of his birth, Povich's children-David, Maury, and Lynn-and his colleague at the Post, former sports editor George Solomon, have pulled together this panoramic collection of Povich's most beloved columns. The result is a front-row seat to the most awe-inspiring sports moments of our American Century. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The Soul of Sports Journalism
Rarely does a book take me very long to read, especially when its composed of a series of short pieces such as newspaper columns.Journalism isn't supposed to be literature, and sports writing particularly is mainly to give the doggone scores.

Then again, calling Mr. Povich a sportswriter is about as accurate as calling the Pope a good man.

Mr. Povich was the genuine soul of the almighty Washington Post, perhaps the most principled writer ever to grace the pages of any newspaper's sports section.He belongs in the very rare and esteemed company of great journalists such as Cronkite, Mencken, Twain and pehaps a few others.

Yeah, these pieces give you the story.What's more, you get the story behind the story.And it's done in language a 13-year-old can read and understand.

Knowing perfectly well how special this collection is, I read it as slowly as possible.Why rush a good thing?I'm sure Mr. Povich had to fight the daily deadline pressures to produce the work.The least we can do is savor his command of language and keen insight into human character.

Like a visit with an old friend
For almost 75 years Shirley Povich was a fixture on the sports desk of the Washington Post. He didn't exactly invent sports reporting, but he certainly help define it in a unique way. His style of reporting, his style of writing created a respect that went beyond sports. He used the sports world as a window on the broader world of America. Sports reflected the dramatic changes in American society over the course of the twentieth century from the depression, to war, to race, to everything else.

The problem with newspaper columns is that they get recycled with the rest of the paper. Only once in a while are a lifetime of columns lovingly collected by people who care (his children and a sports editor) and are published as a book.

If you are familar with the original columns, here is a visit with old friends. If you have not read the originals, here is the way that sports (and maybe everything else) should be reported.

This book is an absolute delight.

A Washington Institution for 75 years
An interesting conversation took place the other day. I mentioned to my grandfather, now in his early 80s, that I had just bought the new book entitled "All those Mornings...at the Post." And he responded with, "I grew up reading Shirley Povich."

My response: "So did I, and I am 25." And so did my father. That's the amazing thing about Povich - he linked generations. He wrote about stars from Walter Johnson to Michael Jordan and everyone in between.

As a freelance sports writer, and former sports editor of my college newspaper, the Towerlight in Towson, Md., Povich was my biggest inspiration growing up and I would be willing to bet that most other sportswriters or aspiring sportswriters feel the same way.

I tried to put in perspective to my wife how influential he was. I said he is the Humphrey Bogart of sports writing. He is the epitome of what newspapermen should be and he was just as good in 1994 as he was in 1924.

The amazing thing is he never retired and wrote his final column the day before he died in 1998. This book brings his most important columns to life and for people of my generation we get to live events such as the Senators' only World Series title in 1924 for the first time.

This book is a treasure and is highly recommended to anyone who has ever read a sports column. Chances are the person who wrote the column did so because Shirley L. Povich inspired him.

Povich is America
Long live the legacy of Shirley Povich.This book brings to the current generation the work of the best, Shorley Povich. It is mandatory reading for every sports fan!!! ... Read more

Book Description

This authoritative book presents an engaging and accessible narrative account of the central developments in Western history to 1740. Seamlessly integrating coverage of social, cultural and political history, this book is presented in a flexible chronological organization, helping readers grasp the most significant developments that occurred during a single historical period, laying a useful foundation for the chapters to follow. This volume attempts to reflect the unprecedented impact of globalization on this century by featuring extensive coverage of popular culture, the relationship between Islam and the West, and the contribution of women in the history of Western Civilization.Volume One contains Chs. 1-15 of the Combined Volume: The Birth of Civilization; The Rise of Greek Civilization; Classical and Hellenistic Greece; Rome: From Republic to Empire; The Roman Empire; The Early Middle Ages: Creating a New European Society and Culture; The High Middle Ages; Medieval Society: Hierarchies, Towns, Universities, and Families; The Late Middle Ages: Social and Political Breakdown; Renaissance and Discovery; The Age of Reformation; The Age of Religious Wars; Paths to Constitutionalism and Absolutism: England and France in the 17th Century; New Directions in Thought and Culture in the 16th and 17th Centuries; Successful and Unsuccessful Paths to Power.For use by history career professionals. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

too poor
This is an ambitious book trying to cover 'World History'.

Although it touches upon all important historical matters
(with special chapters for china, India etc) I found it
inadequate. In particular the reasoning standards in the book
are peculiar. I was surprised to see that the author used
works of *literature* (even worser religious literature
in many cases) as sources for his history.
In other cases he irons out important details in order to advance
quite unsupported ideas about his conceptions of interactions
between cultures.

In many instances I thought I was reading a novel.

Roberts Final Trumph
This is the last edition of the book there will be. Roberts died soon after he finished this book. The original one volume "History of the World" was the best one volume world history book in existence. The update is well worth the price for it as well. I own several editions of the book.

I would compare the excellence in quality of the book to the 11 volume "Story of Civilization" series by Wil Durant. Of course, Durant's works are in many cases outdated today. Roberts updated his work in order to "fix" things where evidence has leaned one-way or-another over the last several years, as well as to bring it up-to-date with the fall of the Soviet Union and the new global supremacy of the United States.

Of course, Roberts only hits the highlights. But he doesn't ignore anything; even so-called minor issues are discussed. In many ways, he is outlining how the modern world came to be the way it is. All too much of what passes for history now a days is really little more than gossip about minor events in the relatively recent past. The grand sweep of historical events is often lost. Looking at well sells as history books today can make one cringe that somebody would read something, let alone write it.

Because people lack and true appreciation and understanding of history, they seem to be electing leaders who also lack the willingness to learn from past events. Democracy is on - at the very lest - a tenitive rise. Leaders need to know how Rome or Britain affected things in the modern political landscape. Churchill made decisions that are still being played out in the Middle East and Iraq today. Roman and even ancient Greek leaders had to deal with the issues of in the Balkans in southeast Europe over two-millennia ago. You can't fully understand the former Yugoslavia without understanding Roman province carving and its long term affects on world history.

How can leaders hope to make the best decisions if they don't understand the causes of the original problems? And since democratically elected leaders are, at least in the West, the norm now, people need to understand history in order to recognize people who understand it.

Roberts tries to restore the grand scope to the matter of human history. Something people and our political leaders seem to have very much lost sight of now. True History, the whys and wherefores need more attention.

The Master's Final Word
Anyone fascinated by world history will be delighted with the appearance of a new edition of John Robert's History of the World. His ill health mentioned in the preface made it hard work, and his recent death confirms his prophesy that this will be the final edition of this successful book. Overall Roberts provides a great summation of world history, supplying a sweeping overview with perceptive insights, and avoiding the temptation to become enmeshed in encyclopedic detail. The themes he follows, those of change and continuity, the impetus of history and the relationship between tradition and innovation in human history are well chosen and help to find a context for this daunting subject. Additionally he makes relevant the weight of the past to present events (including a very good job of bringing the book right up to date with post-9/11 events). His overall perspective on history has changed surprisingly little over the years, perhaps because one of his basic philosophies is durable; "the two phenomena of inertia and innovation continue to operate in all historical developments ... we shall always find what happens both more, and less, surprising than we expect". Sounds like a bet both ways, however thinking about recent events it is quite plausable.
The book, it is freely acknowledged by Roberts, comes from a white, middle class western perspecive, however every edition finds him attempting to balance his global coverage further, as well as expanding the text to include more on gender issues and the environment. The thinness of material on non-Western cultures, such as Africa and Latin America is more related to knowledge than bias. He certainly has always argued strongly for the "European Age" since the age of exploration and I think he tends to overemphasise its influence on the world's population as a whole (important as it was). A little more material on imperialism from the subjects perspective might have helped, although don't get the impression that the book is a whitewash.
His prose is enjoyable, although his sentance structure could be improved at times, and the book provides a servicable set of maps.
Anyone who reads this book will certainly gain a comprehensive and valuable overview of the forces of the past that manifestly continue to shape the world today, and a fine insight into the way human societies and cultures work. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The famously taciturn South African president reveals much of himself inLong Walk to Freedom. A good deal of this autobiography was written secretlywhile Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years on Robben Island by South Africa's apartheid regime. Among the book's interestingrevelations is Mandela's ambivalence toward his lifetime of devotion to public works. It cost him twomarriages and kept him distant from a family life he might otherwise have cherished.Long Walk to Freedom also discloses a strong and generous spirit that refused to be broken under the most trying circumstances--a spirit inwhich just about everybody can find something to admire. ... Read more

Reviews (89)

This Man Is My Hero.
I read "Long Walk to Freedom" right after I graduated from college in 1996. This is the written life of one of the absolute greatest world leaders who ever lived. I had the pleasure to visiting Robben Island, where most of its tour guides were, like Mandela, political prisoners under apartheid. Words cannot describe what it felt like to actually stand inside of the jail cell that Mandela occuppied. What is even more incredible is that, looking back, the man was not the least bit bitter or angry about what he went through (and who could blame him if he were?); in fact, he invited his former jailers to his 1994 inauguration as South Africa's first black president.

If after reading this book you do not come away with a greater sense of admiration and respect for this outstanding human being, then you are not human.

A good autobiography
Long Walk to Freedom is the autobiography of Nelson Mandela, one of the greatest leaders of South Africa. It gives a detailed account of his childhood, youth, and adulthood. It takes you through his years in college and his work as a lawyer as well as all of his political struggles with apartheid including his years in jail.
The book is extremely well written and gives the detail that only someone who witnessed the events could posses. Mandela's hindsight as he reviews the events of his life shows a more personal side to him. I liked the book but anyone who is considering reading it should be reminded that it is an autobiography so it does have a bias. He wrote the book as someone who had been wronged. Long Walk To Freedom provides an interesting and detailed account of the South Africans struggle with apartheid. It details Nelson's joining of the ANC (African National Congress) his rise in the ANC, and his creation of the MK. It also gives facts about his personal life and the life of his family. It is recommended to anyone who enjoys autobiographies or to anyone who is looking to learn more about the history of apartheid and South Africa.

This book is well worth of my shelf space.
You should read, at least, a book or two about biographies of such noble people as Nelson Mandela, whose lives have been a blessing to the world. This was a great inspirational book and helped me to realize how simple and small things in life could bring so much joy into one's life. Far too often, I personally take simple pleasures of life for granted. The freedom is not free and the book cites how the freedom is brought at the expense of sacrifices of our fathers. The book is very well written and what impresses me is Nelson Mandela's mastery of English language.

LOOOOONG Book
This book kept me in prison for a long time. It really bogs down in the middle and then hurries to wrap up. It's a much more "satifying" read in the first 1/3 of the book.

THE DETERMINATION OF ONE MAN- A MUST READ!
After reading LONG WALK TO FREEDOM, I came away with a sense of awe for a man who spent 27 years in prison but never gave up the hope for his freedom and the freedom of his country.

Communicating was key to keeping the "freedom fighters" on the outside informed and encouraged. One way this was done was to write in tiny, coded script on toilet paper. The paper was so small and easily hidden that this became a popular way of smuggling out messages. When the authorities discovered a number of these communications, they took the extraordinary measure of rationing toilet paper. After awhile, only eight squares of toilet paper were given to each prisoner each day.

To live under such conditions where you can be so isolated from the world (For 27 years), that you contemplate conversing with a cockroach, is a test of the human spirit. To sacrifice the obligations of family so that a nation of people can breath in freedom is nothing short of courageous with a fiercely determined spirit. Here is what Nelson Mandela writes about in his struggle for family and nation:

I did not in the beginning choose to place my people above my family, but in attempting to serve my people, I found I was prevented from fulfilling my obligations as a son, a brother, a father, and a husband.

In that way, my commitment to my people, to the millions of South Africans I would never know or meet, was at the expense of the people I knew best and loved most. It was as simple and yet as incomprehensible as the moment a small child asks her father, "Why can you not be with us?" And the father must utter the terrible words: "There are other children like you, a great many of them....." and then one's voice trails off.

Nelson Mandela is a man that has a spirit and determination that is above and beyond most people or leaders today. READ THE BOOK!! It will open your eyes and in the end, it'll make you feel good about the human spirit. ... Read more

Book Description

In No Place to Hide, award-winning Washington Post reporter Robert O'Harrow, Jr., lays out in unnerving detail the post-9/11 marriage of private data and technology companies and government anti-terror initiatives to create something entirely new: a security-industrial complex. Drawing on his years of investigation, O'Harrow shows how the government now depends on burgeoning private reservoirs of information about almost every aspect of our lives to promote homeland security and fight the war on terror.

Consider the following: When you use your cell phone, the phone company knows where you are and when. If you use a discount card, your grocery and prescription purchases are recorded, profiled, and analyzed. Many new cars have built-in devices that enable companies to track from afar details about your movements. Software and information companies can even generate graphical link-analysis charts illustrating exactly how each person in a room is related to every other -- through jobs, roommates, family, and the like. Almost anyone can buy a dossier on you, including almost everything it takes to commit identity theft, for less than fifty dollars.

It may sound like science fiction, but it's the routine activity of the nation's fast-growing information industry and, more and more, its new partner the U.S. government.

With unrivaled access, O'Harrow tells the inside stories of key players in this new world, from software inventors to counterintelligence officials. He reveals how the government is creating a national intelligence infrastructure with the help of private companies. And he examines the impact of this new security system on our traditional notions of civil liberties, autonomy, and privacy, and the ways it threatens to undermine some of our society's most cherished values, even while offering us a sense of security. This eye-opening examination takes readers behind the walls of secrecy and shows how we are rushing toward a surveillance society with few rules to guide and protect us. In this new world of high-tech domestic intelligence, there is literally no place to hide. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A beloved classic since its initial publication in 1947, this vivid, insightful journal is a fitting memorial to the gifted Jewish teenager who died at Bergen-Belsen, Germany, in 1945. Born in 1929, Anne Frank received a blank diary on her 13th birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. Her marvelously detailed, engagingly personal entries chronicle 25 trying months of claustrophobic, quarrelsome intimacy with her parents, sister, a second family, and a middle-aged dentist who has little tolerance for Anne's vivacity. The diary's universal appeal stems from its riveting blend of the grubby particulars of life during wartime (scant, bad food; shabby, outgrown clothes that can't be replaced; constant fear of discovery) and candid discussion of emotions familiar to every adolescent (everyone criticizes me, no one sees my real nature, when will I be loved?). Yet Frank was no ordinary teen: the later entries reveal a sense of compassion and a spiritual depth remarkable in a girl barely 15. Her death epitomizes the madness of the Holocaust, but for the millions who meet Anne through her diary, it is also a very individual loss. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Reviews (436)

The Diary of Anne Frank was a wonderful book.
I read the book, "The Diary of Anne Frank." I thought that it was not only a wonderful book, but it was very real. It is the captivating story of a young girl, told to her diary about her life, growing up under sone of the strangest, and saddest conditions. It was written in Holland in the early 1940's, during the anti-semetic movements of the Nazi party. Is is told from the innocent eyes of a child, forced to go into hiding to escape Nazi persecution. She lives under close quarters, with seven other people. I felt, because the book was so real, that I actually knew the characters in the book. I found myself relating to ideas that Anne had and things that she said. I think that everyone should read this book because is is an insight into life, love, and hate. I believe that this is a great book and could be enjoyed by anyone.

Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl
The book that I just finished reading is called Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl written by Anne Frank herself. It is one of the best book that I have ever read. It tells you about the life of a teenage girl who is trying to survive the awful times of the Holocaust while in hiding. Along with her, there are seven other people living in this hiding place. She learns how to cooporate with other people and how to live while all cooped up. The story takes place in Amsterdam and the hiding place is called the "Secret Annexe". There are two people who get them their food and take care of them. The end of this book is so heart-wrenching that it is unbelieveable. I would definately give this book nine stars out of ten. This book is so informative that is really makes you realize how fortunate we really are these days. It explains everything so well that you can't even believe that something this horrible could ever even happen. This book has definately made me think completely different in a good way and I hope that it will do the same for you.

Franco's Fabulous Book Review
Anne Frank, a 13 year-old, strong-willed, and courageous girl, is living in the Secret Annex during WWII to escape the Nazi regime. Anne, along with her family and close friends, are hiding from the Nazis because they are of the Jewish faith. Anne falls in love with Peter, a 15 year-old boy who is living with her in the Secret Annex. They become very close as they spend time in the attic trying to escape Peter's annoying mother. The group living in the Secret Annex has to be extremely careful. If they make too much noise, they have a chance of being caught. If they are caught, they will most likely be sent to a concentration camp. Any loud noise or movement could cost the eight tenants of the Secret Annex to die.
"Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" is an amazing book. It lets you realize how lucky we are to live in the world we live in today. The struggles that Anne and the group go through to live a "normal" life are nothing like anyone in today's world would be forced to go through. It allows people interested in WWII to gain information as to what is was like to live during the war.
"Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" is a must read. It is ver informative, yet allows the reader to learn about WWII in an interesting way. So, if you like WWII and are interested in learning what it was like to live back then, this book is for you. It is also a good piece of historical fiction. Pick it up today!

Julie Francolino

A diary that truly depicted War...
I earnestly almost cried after reading this book.I was 13,the same age as Anne's when she started writing her diary,whom she called "kitty".

For those who have no idea who Anne Frank is,she is a Jewish girl and the youngest of two girls.Her father was successful businessman...and the family led a happy and wonderful life after settling down in the bustling city of Amsterdam,that was until Adolf Hitler started the Nazis.The Nazis was an anti-Jew operation,where they would capture Jewish men and tortured them.The women and young and old were not let off either,many were sent to concentration camps,where living conditions there were so bad,many died of diseases rather than the slow torturings.

It was at this time that Mr Frank decided to go into hiding with his family.With some of his kind-hearted co-workers,they managed to perfect a secret hideout.Anne,her mother and sister Margot began moving into the hideout,which was located just behind the office.Joining them were the Van Dans (not sure if spelling is right)who had a son named Peter and a doctor.Life was very tough,for living behind the office with barely a bookshelf as a wall means not making loud noises.No one must know of their existense,so all everybody could do is to crept round their area softly,tip-toeing and even speaking in hush-whistle.

For almost 2 years,that's the life of Anne.A growing teenager,she could not go out to the streets to watch a movie,play with her friends or even talk to boys,for that means getting caught by the Nazis.It was also round this time that Anne had one true friend where she can confide everything to:kitty,her diary.

In her diary,she wrote of how talkative she was in class(she went to school before the hiding),how she hates her mother when the latter compared her to her sister Margot,how she detested Mrs Van Dam...and her deepest thoughts on growing up in a secret hideout.She also shared about her crush on Peter,who also liked her.

Anne,as we could see,was a normal girl,someone who detested writing,someone who likes a boy and someone who wants to grow up being an author.Well,you could say she is one now,with her diary published after the war, which was later translated to more than 50 languages and sold millions worldwide...but the young girl,unlike her diary,did not survived through the war,for she was captured from her hideout one fine day.Mrs Frank,Margot,the doctor,the Van Dams and Anne herself,all died.All except for Mr Frank himself,who survived...

By the way, a little unknown fact about her Anne:her real name is Annelies Marie Frank.

Anne Frank:The Diary of a Young Girl
The epic Adventure of Anne Frank, born in Germany Anne Frank spent two years of her life in Astonishing Circumstances. Anne faces adventure when the Nazis where murdering Jews. Anne, Mummy, Daddy, Mrs. Van Daan, Mr. Van Daan, and Peter. All hid in a secret passage in an old warehouse in Amsterdam. Anne and her diary explains of the fear of being discovered by the Nazis. Yet within it, a tender love story slowly unfolds-from her shy avoidances with peter to incessant glances and first kiss! Thus her diary is not a lament but a song to life, no matter the circumstances, no matter what the threats.
Great book for all ages, and you can't beat the low price. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (5)

Re-Founded Father
John Jay is one those historical figures that most Americans with some knowledge of this country's political birth can recall, but not quite place. Walter Stahr performs a great service in bringing Jay's life story forward to this generation of readers. I think the author's balanced legal analysis of Jay's service on the Supreme Court is especially fine.

Jay as negotiator
The "Economist" got it right.Read this surprisingly passionate book and see what happens when an experienced financial negotiator writes diplomatic history.

Splendid Story of A Little Known Founding Father
Except for the occassional crossword puzzle or question on Jeopardy, John Jay has been largely forgotten. His resume would fit right in with Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton and the others, but he was not president, he was not a signer of the Declaration of Independence. In fact, he did not initially favor independence from Britain. Yet, once the revolution was started, he was an ardent supporter of the new nation.

In 1782 he, along with Adams and Franklin negeotiated the peace treaty with England. When he returned he found that he had been appointed Secretary of State. In 1789 Washington sent Congress a list of appointments to the new Supreme Court, with Jay as the first chief justice.

As chief justice the Jay court established the court as a reasoned and honorable institution that carries forth many of the traditions that he established. After six years he retired from the court, and Washington immediately sent him to England to negeotiate a new treaty clarifying certain points of the 1782 treaty. While he was in England he was elected to be Governor of New York, where he served for two terms.

Considering the quality of leadership he exhibited in New York, perhaps we should consider sending all politicians overseas somewhere while we hold elections.

This is a splended book and well deserves a place alongside the recent spat of books we've had on our founding fathers.

The enjoyable story of a serious guy
Walter Stahr has produced a very impressive book.He has written an eloquent and sympathetic biography about a man who lacked the eloquence of a Jefferson, or the charm of a Hamilton, or the common touch of a Lincoln.

We are greatly in Stahr's debt.John Jay was a super-competent and super-dependable guy who gave stability to so many of our early institutions, from the Continental Congress to the Constitution (Federalist Papers) to the Supreme Court (first Chief Justice).

Stahr's work suggests an untapped treasure for good writers.Give us more sympathetic biographies of the bland trail-blazers who gave our nation its strength and character.Just remember -- write about someone you truly like and admire!

GREAT BIO OF A GREAT AMERICAN
This is a wonderfully-written biography of one of the Founding Fathers who has been more or less forgotten. Read this book to understand why John Jay deserves a place in the pantheon of America's origins. Walter Stahr writes with passion and understanding and this book compares very well to Chernow's Alexander Hamilton bio and McCullough's John Adams. It's hard to imagine how someone of Jay's immense talent and impact has not been written about before now. This is highly recommended. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln, and Richard Leigh, authors of The Messianic Legacy, spent over 10 years on their own kind of quest for the Holy Grail, into the secretive history of early France. What they found, researched with the tenacity and attention to detail that befits any great quest, is a tangled and intricate story of politics and faith that reads like a mystery novel. It is the story of the Knights Templar, and a behind-the-scenes society called the Prieure de Sion, and its involvement in reinstating descendants of the Merovingian bloodline into political power. Why? The authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail assert that their explorations into early history ultimately reveal that Jesus may not have died on the cross, but lived to marry and father children whose bloodline continues today. The authors' point here is not to compromise or to demean Jesus, but to offer another, more complete perspective of Jesus as God's incarnation in man. The power of this secret, which has been carefully guarded for hundreds of years, has sparked much controversy. For all the sensationalism and hoopla surrounding Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the alternate history that it outlines, the authors are careful to keep their perspective and sense of skepticism alive in its pages, explaining carefully and clearly how they came to draw such combustible conclusions. --Jodie Buller ... Read more

Reviews (305)

An interesting read although difficult to prove
If you're into alternative Christianity, supposed Catholic-Church suppression conspiracies, and secret and/or semi-secret societies of both the past and present then this book is right up your alley.

If in particular Jesus perhaps surviving the crucifixion and secret and/or suppressed books regarding early sects of alternate Christianty also fascinates you, then I highly recommend "Mystical Life of Jesus" and the "Secret Doctrines of Jesus" both by H. Spencer Lewis, former Imperator of the AMORC Rosicrucian Order.

Regardless of the accuracy, truth or falsehood of the canonical vs apocrypha as well as the relatively recently disovered "lost books of the Bible, Dead Sea Scrolls, etc., always keep the following in mind:

Once the ecumenical councils decided what Catholicism would be centuries after the death of Jesus, the apostles, disciples and up to this very day, they had zero tolerance for anything that deviated from it. Just because some theological overlearned egghead nowadays can parrot such dogma chapter and verse doesn't necessarily mean that it's all true. You can be the most learned person in the world, but if your books are skewed to favor a revisionist history to whatever degree then you're still ignorant to that very same degree.

Indeed the Cathar sect of Christianity (rumored to have possessed the Holy Grail) taught "horrible" things like women are equal to men and that women may preach the gospels. For that "heresy" the Pope's army put them to the sword, burned many of them alive and razed the Cathar fortress to the ground in their greed and zeal to acquire the Grail.

The Gnostic sect of early Christianity taught that we were to emulate Jesus rather than merely worship him as the son of God--not that dissimilar to the mystical branch of Judaism, Kabbalah; and the mystical branch of Islam, Sufism and naturally similar to many Eastern philosophies and Western mystical organizations like the AMORC Rosicrucians.

Reincarnation was well-known in the region and lifetime of Jesus, and indeed the Hassidic Jewish sect as sell as the mystical Sufis (mystical branch of Judaism) still believe it to this day.

It's funny how the "inner circle" mystical branches of the world religions all seem to get along swimmingly. Yet the "outer circle" relgious/churchianity establishment and members are often the most heinous examples of intolerance and self-righteousness.

The Templars had some interesting alternative views on Christianity, and if some are right they may be alive and well but now known as the AMORC Rosicrucians.

So what's the point? The point is that someone once said that "might makes right." All that can be said with absolute certainty is that the present version of Christianity that ultimately prevailed had more might to annihilate all other alternate sects of Christianity and all other systems of spirituality it encountered in the Holy Land and abroad.

Accordingly might made "right," and then those same individuals burned those books which offended them and then wrote history in in accordance with their dogmatic sensibilities. It doesn't necessarily make what they decreed historically accurate. It only means that they had more swords to swing and more fire pits for a heretic barbecue and the blood lust to use them.

Indeed, if the Cathars, for example, had prevailed, just imagine how much better things would have been for women all of these centuries. If the Gnostics had prevailed, perhaps we wouldn't have this, subtle, yet undeniable philosophy of "learned helplessness" whenever it comes to matters of organized religion vs personal spirituality and indeed even things like allopathic health care vs. alternative medicine and personal empowerment vs big governement. Would Galileo have been accused of heresy for merely using a telescope to describe the moon? The Catholic church finally "forgave" Galileo back in the 1980's. Mighty "magnanimous" of them, don't you think?

You control a society either through hope or through fear. And Constantine et al. did marvelous job of establishing a monopoly on both. There's no profit in a mystical Christian sect like Gnosicism, for example, that places the power squarely in the lap of each aspirant. No, you have to convince the populace first that they're helpless. Second you have to convince them that only your religion has the keys to hope and fear and when you can do that you can sell hope and the avoidance of fear at whatever price the market will bear.

He who believes blindly sees not the truth.
The plot weaves like an intricate detective novel, with a lot of twists and counterplots. But the book is not detective fiction, it is a meticulously researched theory chronicling medieval orders, secret societies, grail hunts and lost dynasties and tying it all to Jesus and his supposed bloodline.

An all too plausible theory that 'explains' a lot of historical quirks and errors, biblical and medieval - Who got married at the feast of Cana? Who really is 'Jesus' Barabbas? Why was King Clovis' pact with the Catholic Church rescinded? What really happened at Renne le Chateau? Who was the 'beloved disciple' in the Gospels?

If you are open minded and looking for those books begging for its pages to be turned...look no further. I just read a copy of Edgar Fouche's 'Alien Rapture,' which also blew me away. Fouche was a Top Secret Black Program 'insider', whose credibility has been verified over and over. Another fun book is Brad Steiger's 'Werewolf.' I also really liked Dan Brown's 'Angels and Demons.' Want to be shocked, check out Dr. Paul Hill's 'Unconventional Flying Objects' which NASA tried to ban.

The KJV Bible is the True Word of God! Or is it? Inspired? Or not? I believe all of the one star ratings and rantings are from uneducated Protestants. For example:

In 'Acts 5:30; 10:39.' the KJV, in speaking of Jesus' death, reads, "Whom ye slew 'and' hanged on a tree." The word "and" is 'not' in the Greek text, and by adding it to the text at this point in the verse it leads to some confusion on the part of the readers. The conjunction "and" indicates grammatically that one action followed another (i.e.: two separate actions independent of one another). Some unbelievers have tried to use this verse to demonstrate that Christ was killed first, 'and then' His dead body was hung on a 'tree'. By inserting the word "and," numerous complications have arisen which could have been prevented by a correct translation of the original text.

The tip of the iceberg: Numerous authorities who had noted the errors in the K.J.V. such as William Kilburne (1650's) 20,000 errors, John Wesley (in 1755) 12,000 changes in the New Testament alone, the Revised Version of 1881 consisted of 36,000 errors and on and on. The NIV, RSV and The Living Bible are also replete with thousands of errors. Do some research!

The KJV translators also did not know what the "Asherah" was (a wooden idol representing a Canaanite goddess), so they translated the word repeatedly as meaning a "grove" of trees. In 'I Kings 16:33' they state, "And Ahab made 'a grove," which provoked the Lord God to anger. In point of fact, Ahab made an 'idol' here (the Asherah); his sin was 'idolatry', not planting a grove of trees!!

In Deuteronomy 33:17 the KJV speaks of "the horns of unicorns." There are two mistakes in this passage: (1) The animal mentioned here in the original text is the "wild ox" and not the mythical "unicorn," and (2) in the original text the passage speaks of one animal (singular) with horns (plural).

In Luke 18:12 the KJV reads, "I give tithes of all that I possess." The Law did NOT require one to tithe a tenth of all that he "possessed" (all his capital holdings), but rather a tenth of his increase (that which he acquired in addition to his possessions). This is clearly stated in the Greek word used in this passage.

Although many ideas are speculative, the authors nevertheless give background data just enough to shake the foundations of our 'traditional knowledge'. A must read for skeptics and devout Christians alike. "He who believes blindly sees not the truth."

Fact or Fiction??
This book is an interesting peice of work. It appears to be very well researched and presents some very interesting arguements against established historical beleifs. It challenges the premise that the scriptures are exacts accounts of events that took place over 2000 years ago and that they have a literal application in modern language and society. If nothing after reading this book you will be encouraged to question the validity of prescribed religous doctrine and hopefully make your own educated assumptions and decisions.

Holy Garbage
1. Absolutely devoid of footnotes, citations, and other basic requirements of a peer-reviewed academic work, because it isn't.

2. The authors are not historians, archeologists, or any other type of scientest.

3. Better, more entertaining works of fiction include all of the Spider Man series and most of the Sponge Bob Squarepants collection.

This book was a great excuse to con mucho suckers out of their hard earned dollars, and the authors succeeded admirably.

Interesting but slow
HBHG is a slow read, but an interesting one for those intrigued by this topic. While the pedigree of the authors had come into question by other reviewers, I think this book is a good starting point for anyone looking to find out more on a very exciting and controversial topic. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (140)

Modern Atrocities
Gourevitch's book is a gut-wrenching account of the 1994 genocide on the part of the Hutu government to kill 800,000 Tutsi neighbors, not because of the graphic nature but because of the complacency and ignorance of the rest of the world while this was happening. Gourevitch seems personally affected by the genocide, particularly when western nations 1) not only could have stopped the genocide but also 2) aided the Hutus in refugee camps.

Gourevitch's blame falls on the Clinton Administration, the UN and General Kofi Annan and France. The fact that massacres were going to take place, he claims, was within the knowledge of all these different powers even before the massacre occurred.

The bulk of Gourevitch's book is interviews with a cross-section of the Rwandan public who displayed courage, as well as those who didn't.

The theme of genocide progresses throughout the book but then becomes subsumed in a narrative of various relief efforts with names that are difficult to keep track of (RPF, FAR, UNAMIR, etc.)

Gourevitch writes as a journalist, and it differs in many ways from scholarly articles such as "Beyond Nuremberg" by David Cohen, which I read previous to We Wish To Inform You. In trying to draw parallel themes, I found that Gourevitch was seeking to expose how the murder of the Tutsis in Rwanda was carried out even more methodically than the Nazis' Final Solution. His point is particularly disconcerting after having read about the complex legalities of the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals, only to have another genocide occur 50 years later, largely ignored by the public. Gourevitch's book effectively changes this, and brings the atrocities in Rwanda to the public, where they can no longer be ignored.

A life changing experience
The genocide in Rwanda was a tragedy beyond belief, especially considering that after the Jewish Holocaust of WW2, the international community had sworn never to allow such a mass murder to happen again. Yet as thousands of people screamed out in pain and anguish for their lives to be saved, for the violence to stop, for justice to prevail, no one heeded their cries. Reading this book, and others on this genocide, opened my eyes to the painful truth of what happened in Rwanda. It broke my heart, realizing there was no rescuer, no savior for the hundreds of thousands of murdered persons who perished in 100 days. No happy ending. No white knight (or whatever color) galloping in to save the day. Philip Gourevitch eloquently writes about what happened, uncovering the bitter truth of Western inaction and describing the horrific scenes of evil in the course of the genocide. The victims, whether they be Hutu or Tutsi, appear real to the reader, never seeming too unrealistic as to turn someone away from the book. Gourevitch makes them on paper what they were in real life: human beings, and this affects the reader even more. Reading this book is a life changing experience, as the reader is forced to ask painful questions during and afterwards about what happened, why it happened, and why it was allowed to happen. Why do human beings do this to each other? Why didn't anyone stop it? Why didn't enough people care enough to bring it to the spotlight of public attention? Gourevitch, in a significant part of the book, writes of how the murderers, the Hutu Power militia, were saved, fed and protected by international aid agencies and governments who arrived too late to save the genocide's victims. The irony is painful, and even more such for Americans such as myself is the realization that America is to blame for the prolonging of the genocide, and for a majority of the lack of action on the part of other nations. Gourevitch exposes the American government's heinous actions: denying a genocide was even occuring at first, and once the bodies were piling up, trying to label it something other than a genocide so that America wouldn't be forced to act to halt the holocaust. When African nations sought to put an end to the genocide, America dragged its heels and did its best to slow the effort. As a young man raised in a family full of military veterans and fierce patriots, it is shameful for all of us to believe our government, our nation, would do such a heinous thing, but it did, and from the truth perhaps some good can occur. More genocides are going to occur in the very near future, whether they be in Sudan, Indonesia, Burundi, one of the former Soviet Republics, or anywhere else, and the call to arms will be made to prevent/stop the genocide occuring. Will anyone answer?

An eye opener - The US press did not provide this view!
Gourevitch does a nice job of changing from past to present throughout the book to weave a story that is much different from what the US press provided. At points he seems to take sides in this social divide, but overall he provides what appears to be a clear and even handed accounting of what is in essence the worst of mankind. The writer's style lends itself to quick reading.

Heartwrenching Documentary
This book will rip your heart out if you have the compassion for this poor, strife-ridden country (and many others like it). I am still trying to understand the Dark Continent and why all these tragedies happen in such brutal ways (I am an avid reader of the pan-African countries and visited Botswana and Zimbabwe last year). Philip Gourevitch paints a pretty bleak picture, but I believe what he relays is very accurate for everything else I have learned about this genocide through international reports. I would love to see Steven Spielberg (or someone as talented) do for this book what he did for Schindler's List. This story needs to be told. These brutalities are still going on there, and, in other countries of Africa. Only now, in 2004, are the perpetrators of these horrendous acts now being brought to trial (with only a glimpse in your local newspaper, if at all). I definitely recommend this book, but only if you have a strong stomach. If you are interested in other countries, I strongly recommend "In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz", Michela Wrong (Congo) and "Our Votes, Our Guns", Martin Meredith (Zimbabawe). Primitive man arose from Africa. The industrial nations left the African nations in obscurity while beating them down and teasing them with our so called progressive ways (and exploiting their natural resources at their expense). Has this led to the corruption of the new African leaders? Power? Greed? The atrocities that follow? Why can't the African countries overcome the stigma befallen them? We can only better understand these conundrums if we educate ourselves.

Read Now! It is a must as an American, as a human
I just finished this book today 3 days shy of my 22nd birthday. I had to read it for Comparative Politics at the university I attend. I am glad I read it.
I barely remembered the genocide. I was 11 and 12 years old when it occurred and only remember hearing blurbs on the news back then. Now, ten years later, I am abosolutely amazed and frightened that something like this can happen (and is happening. Look at the Sudan.) This book was sad and depressing, but it opened my eyes about how heartless mankind can be. I am appalled at the LACK of help, interevention, ANYTHING that the international community did. I am still trying to grasp why this happened and why the world was tricked into helping the Hutu Power hiding in the refugee camps.
I recomend this book to anyone who can read. Please read it. We, as humans, always say we will never forget. Many of us have. It shouldn't happen again, but it will if people do not understand what can and has happened... over three times in the last 60 years. Read it now. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Amid his efforts to expose the Russian mob, Robert I. Friedman learned from the FBI that "the most brilliant and savage Russian mob organization in the world" had put a $100,000 price on his head. Reading Red Mafiya, it's not hard to see why: this is a brave book about a troubling subject. Friedman, a freelance journalist, describes the research behind it: "I ventured into the Russians' gaudy strip clubs in Miami Beach; paid surprise visits to their well-kept suburban homes in Denver; interviewed hit men and godfathers in an array of federal lockups; and traveled halfway around the world trying to make sense of their tangled criminal webs, which have ensnared everyone from titans of finance and the heads of government to entire state security services." Their racket involves heroin smuggling, weapons trafficking, mass extortion, and casino operation, among other activities. "Blending financial sophistication with bone-crunching violence, the Russian mob has become the FBI's most formidable criminal adversary, creating an international criminal colossus that has surpassed the Colombian cartels, the Japanese Yakuzas, the Chinese triads, and the Italian Mafia in wealth and weaponry," writes Friedman. They've even penetrated professional hockey, as Friedman shows in an eye-opening chapter ("Federal authorities have come to fear that the NHL is now so compromised by Russian gangsters that the integrity of the game itself may be in jeopardy").

Red Mafiya benefits from a breezy narrative in detailing a master criminal operation whose influence on the United States is growing rapidly. Russian mobsters already have siphoned off millions of dollars in foreign aid meant to prop up their country's economy--and they may have a more direct impact on American national security concerns in the years ahead: "The Russian mob virtually controls their nuclear-tipped former superpower," writes Friedman. Now, there's a scary thought. Lifting the Iron Curtain seems to have been a mixed blessing: it let freedom in, and organized crime out. --John J. Miller ... Read more

Reviews (39)

Brain to Pinky: "Take over the world!"
RED MAFIYA by Robert Friedman is a report on some of the figures and actions of the Russian mob in the United States today. Although, there are some claims that this book is "anti-Semitic," the author is himself Jewish. Friedman was a brave author to write and publish this because of the nature of the criminals he is trying to expose.

The Russian mob has been making tremendous headway in its criminal undertakings since it first took root in the 1970's. It is made up of many Soviet emigres who were brought over to the US because of some of their "refugee" status. Many are Jews brought over through the auspices of Jewish aid and refugee organizations. The two largest centers of Russian mob activity are Brighton Beach (in Brooklyn) and Miami. Many of its members are brilliant and highly educated, some holding PhDs in engineering, mathematics and economics. They have been involved in pretty much everything in which illegal money is to be made: the drug trade, prostitution, sex-clubs, gasoline bootlegging to avoid excise taxes, money laundering, arms deals, extortion, possibly rigging NHL games, jewelry theft and smuggling, the list goes on and on...

One of the reasons for the Mafiya's success is that is has two entire countries to base themselves in: Russia and Israel. Russia is completely corrupt with a crumbling economy and infrastructure. Israel offers a safe haven because it does not extradite its citizens and any Jew fleeing peresecution can seek refuge there. Israel also has very lax banking laws, to encourage the income of capital, so billions of dollars have been illegally laundered there over the years. Most of the top players in the Russian mob are Jewish, including Elson, Agron, Nayfeld, Balagula, noted author Yuri Brokhin, politically connected orthodox Rabbi Ronald Greenwald, Ludwig "Tarzan" Fainburg and the most powerful, Semion Mogilevich. Some, like Ivankov, are not Jewish but hold Israeli citizenship. The fact that many of the mobsters are Jewish is mentioned by Friedman as a cause of law-enforcement's lack of motivation in tackling the issue because it would inflame extremly sensitive political interests. Prominient names appear in this book who have had cameos with mobsters--all the way up to Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

Oh, for a return to the Bad Old Days of the Cold War
RED MAFIYA by Robert Friedman is a disquieting book. In it, he chronicles the waves of arrival and expansion of the Russian mob in the US. The first wave came during the period of the Cold War, when the criminals arrived in the guise of Jewish dissident refugees, settling in Brighton Beach, New York. The second wave came after the dissolution of the USSR, when the new freedoms allowed by perestroika opened the floodgates to the Russian "wiseguys", some with previous connections to the KGB and military, now swarming into Miami, Denver and Los Angeles. Since then, the Red Mafiya has relentlessly extended its tentacles into, and sometimes completely around, such diverse activities and entities as the Russian government, Wall Street, the Russian and Swiss banking systems, the State of Israel, and the US National Hockey League. One of the Mafiya's most startling characteristics is the viciousness of its members. A viciousness forged into a steely hardness under Soviet totalitarianism, and which makes the dons of the Italian Mafia look like a bunch of kindly grandfathers. It causes one to look fondly back on the bad old days of the Cold War, when at least the Soviet security apparatus had its indigenous criminals under some measure of control, i.e. in some Arctic gulag where they could tear at each other's throats instead of ours.

I have mixed feelings about this book. First of all, it's not one I would've bought on my own - it was a gift. I mean, living in Southern California I 'm well aware that there are loathsome elements "out there": mafias of whatever national origin, Latino gangs, Armenian gangs, Chinese gangs, Vietnamese gangs, South American drug cartels. Hell, maybe even brotherhoods of Eskimo assassins for all I know. The best I can do is stay out of their way, much as I avoid dog excrement on the sidewalk. There's not much I can personally do about them except support law enforcement agencies with my tax dollars, which, by the way, are legally extorted from me at 33% or more of my income. (I might well wonder which group is hurting me the most.) On the other hand, as the author points out, the damage that the Red Mafiya is doing to the Motherland may eventually cause a disgusted populace to elevate to leadership a Hitler-like figure - and he's going to have nukes to play with. This is a scary thought. On that basis, I have to applaud Friedman on the courage it took to write such a fine and informative piece of investigative journalism in the face of extreme personal danger. Honor is due.

Antisemitic and Russophobic Thrash by a self-hating Jew
Robert I. Friedman (who recently died) was a terrorist loving, antisemitic and russophobic thrash peddler. His books are full of obscene innuendo and downright libel. He never backs up his sources and engages in Jew-bating (his previous books) and Russophobic rants (Red Mafiya). As a Jew from the Soviet Union and a proud Zionist, I consider Friedman to be as antisemitic and dangerous to the Jewish community as David Duke and Louis Farrakhan.

Poorly written, disorganized, and antisemitic
No, it did not escape me that Friedman is jewish. This book is nonetheless little more than a poorly structured, and poorly referenced screed.

Friedman makes a habit of giving information that is supposedly culled from confidential government reports and other official and important sounding sources without ever backing them up with a reference list, footnotes, or end notes that would lend them any real credibility. He could simply be making this stuff up and one would have no way to confirm or deny any of it.

Further, nearly every time he mentions a new mobster or badguy of some sort, he trips all over himself in his haste to inform us that this person is jewish. If this book was all you had to go on, you would come away thinking that every Russian Jew that comes to the US is some sort of gangster.

Finally, the writing is so poorly structured it's hard to tell why he bothered having chapters with different titles. He may as well have written the whole thing as a single gigantic paragraph.

I recommend you read anything else.

This book is ULTIMATELY RACIST and RUSSOPHOBIC
I have read passages from this book and can say only this--a pure Racism. I do not deny that there are Russian Mobsters in America. They are vicious thugs and they must be dealt with swiftly and justly. I certainly not deny that current Russian Regime is corrupt and authocratic and it is the cause of concern.

However, in this book, Mr. Friedman does not separate mobsters from hundreds of thousands of ordinary decent Russian/Russian-Speaking Immigrants who made the America their home since early 70's and made a great contribution to the American society. For him, all Russian Emigres are either mobsters or somehow connected to mobsters. If you think this book is not Racist consider just a few passages:

"In Russia, Tarzan [nickname for one of the mobsters] told me
dishonesty is a trait that is bred from the womb. Deprivation teaches Russians to be cunning predators--it's only way to survive, he said." (Page 122)

" "The Russians didn't come here to enjoy the American Dream," New York State Tax agent Roger Berger says glumly. "They came here to steal it." "(Intro, Page xx)

"Like many young Russian emigres in East Berlin, Tarzan joined a mob crew" (Page 124)

If this is not a Racism and Russophobia--than what ? If anyone takes all these passages seriously, the next logical step would be for him or her to demand that Russians in America should be confined to concentration camps, thrown out of the country or be discriminated against in any ways possible. Whatever Mr. Friedman tells about his Russian Jewish roots does not excuse him for filling the book with such vicious passages. Any book that teaches people to hate other people because of their national or ethnic origin is a CRIME AGAINST GOD. ... Read more

Reviews (24)

I Love this Cookbook!
This is one of the best books around. My best friend was born and Mexico, and loves the authentic recipes in this book. I have enjoyed many wonderful meals with her family, and couldn't wait to show her this book. She soon bought copies of the book for her family after reading mine. I love all of the "Beautiful Cookbooks". The photography and history of the region(s) are superb, and the recipes are delicious!

The most authentic Mexican Cookbook I've ever used.
I lived in central Mexico for several years. I fell in love with the cuisines of the country, and Mexico the Beautiful is one of the most authentic and varied cookbooks I've found, and my bookshelf includes the works of Diana Kennedy, considered by most to be the authority on Mexican cooking.. My Mexican relatives and friends were wowed by the recipes I made from this book.Several actually asking me jokingly if I were sure that I didn't have any Mexican blood, because my food was so authentic. They all agreed that they were not only delicious, but good representations of the cuisines. I also found it helpful to know what region the recipe originated from, and each recipe has a corresponding photo. This is absolutely the best Mexican cookbook I've ever seen. I'm sure you won't use this as is, but feel free to change it around. This will be my second copy, as the original was destroyed in a flood. I just can't live without this book.

Authentic yet simple
This book is a classic of Mexican Cuisine. It's not as anal-retentive as Diana Kennedy and more appealing than Rick Bayless. The recipes are truly authentic and I have lived in Mexico for many years, researching the cuisines of Mexico. This book contains the majority of the most common dishes cooked in homes in Mexico and a great deal of the "alta cocina" works as well. I have made 75% of the dishes in this book and have served them to Mexican friends to rave reviews. This is the real thing. Marilyn Tausend collaborated in this book and it shows. She is an unsung hero of Mexican Cooking. There are others better known, but few that can take a recipe and make it easy to follow, yet as authentic as is possible with ingredients available in the US. If you want to cook like a real Mexican chef, get this book!

Review from Mexican resident: Very authentic and excellent..
I am an avid collector of cookbooks, and as far as authentic quality material, this book is the best. But it is less a book, and more a work of art. The photographs are breathtaking, the cusine authentic region by region, and even offers the new "alta cocina Mexicana"--or, Mexican haute cuisine from Mexico City...SUPERB!

Cocina Autentica!
This is the perfect gift for anyone who loves to cook, who loves REAL Mexican food or is married to a Mexican! My husband is from Central Mexico and his mother's food is one of the things he misses the most! I never tried to cook "Mexican" food before I bought this cookbook, because I knew I'd never come close. (Most "Mexican" recipes call for cans of this/that thrown together with lots of cheese on top! No one in Mexico eats like that!) The recipes are from scratch, authentic, healthy, & there's a great variety! This cookbook inspired me and it has revoltionized my marriage. It's true what they say "A way to a (Mexican) man's heart is through his stomach!" I have been able to find variations of my "suegra"'s recipes and have made them my own. Try to find a Mexican market nearby to get all the authentic ingredients - they are much cheaper that way! ... Read more

Book Description

Command refused to commit the forces required to achieve total victory in Afghanistan. Instead, they delegated responsibility for fighting the war's biggest battle-one that could have broken Al Qaeda and captured Osama bin Laden-to a hodge-podge of units thrown together at the last moment.

At dawn on March 2, 2002, America's first major battle of the 21st century began. Over 200 soldiers of the 101st Airborne and 10th Mountain Divisions flew into Afghanistan's Shahikot valley-and into the mouth of a buzz saw. They were about to pay a bloody price for strategic, higher-level miscalculations that underestimated the enemy's strength and willingness to fight.

Now, award-winning journalist Sean Naylor, an eyewitness to the battle, details the failures of military intelligence and planning, and vividly portrays the astonishing heroism of these young, untested U.S. soldiers. Denied the extra infantry, artillery, and attack helicopters with which they trained to go to war, these troops nevertheless proved their worth in brutal combat and-along with the exceptional daring of a small team of U.S. commandos-prevented an American military disaster. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

all army
if you want to read a great story about combat and how the army goes about it today read this book ..as a nyc firefighter and former screaming eagle..i could not put it down .

Ambivalence
Sean Naylor does an excellent job in describing the combat during Operation ANACONDA but this excellence is severely mitigated by the shortcomings.

Terminology: to Naylor every unit is a "troop". Apparently, Naylor assumes the basic organizational structure of Operational Detachment Delta applies to the rest of the Army. It doesn't. Sergeants major, in the US Army, don't reside in troops.

Novakianism: It has been said of the syndicated columnist Robert Novak that there are only two classes of people: sources and targets. Naylor demonstrates this in spades. If you talked to Naylor on the record, you are a good guy. If you blew him off (GEN Franks and SEAL Team 6, call your office) you are out of touch or incompetent.

Maps: It is the story of a battle, for Heaven's sake. It needs maps. Especially, the maps need to be useful and have context. The narrative doesn't follow the maps and the maps add little to one's understanding of the battle.

I will buy this book because it provides some indispensable reporting on the war in Afghanistan. I will, however, buy it at a second-hand book store.

A close-up look at Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan
This superbly researched book traces the planning and the execution of Operation Anaconda, the last major military operation by US forces in Afghanistan.The author tells a tale of great heroism, armchair generals managing the conflict from somewhere on a Pacific island, undersupplied and undermanned troops, poor decision making and a confused chain of command.All these ingredients conspired to make Operation Anaconda more dangerous and less effective than it could (should?) have been. (Many al Quaeda troops escaped over the border into Pakistan.)Most disturbing, however, were lives that were lost unnecessarily.
The first 100 pages or so make difficult reading as Mr. Naylor throws one military operative after another at the reader in an effort to account for all the ingredients that went into Operation Anaconda and the planning behind it.The payoff, however, is the riveting tale of the actual military operation that took place over several days involving airdropped special forces who climbed for miles up into the snow-capped mountains inhabited by the enemy to set up advanced scouting positions, ground troops having to retreat while taking friendly fire and a suicidal helicopter landing on a mountain top controlled by the enemy, which led to subsequent rescue missions that jeopardized many more American lives.Despite all the mishaps, however, this was a successful military operation.
This book illustrates, in microcosm, so many of the criticisms subsequently leveled at the Pentagon for fighting the Iraq war "on the cheap" and the way in which the fighting forces in Afghanistan were short-changed while the US was preparing for the next war in Iraq.It also illustrates American heroism and combat skill at its best.
Not A Good Day to Die is not an "easy read" like Blackhawk Down, but it is an in-depth look at a US military operation in a very foreign land in which US military intelligence was of minimal value.I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Great Read
This is an awesome account of our soldiers at their best. What these warriors went through shows America just how brave our soldiers are. A real good primer for this book is "The Hunt for Bin Laden" by Robin Moore. It gives a lot of background on the events of the Spec Ops by Army Special Forces leading up to this showdown.

Valor and controversy in the Afghan war zone
"Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda," by Sean Naylor, is a nonfiction book about a major operation in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.Info about the author on the book's dust cover states that Naylor is a senior writer for the "Army Times" and an experienced war correspondent.Operation Anaconda was a campaign to destroy forces of the terrorist group Al Qaeda in the Shahikot Valley in Afghanistan.

Naylor tells a gripping story.The book is full of fascinating technical details about the hardware used by U.S. and allied forces, including friendly Afghan forces: weapons systems, aircraft, ground vehicles, and communication systems.We also gain insights into the military hardware used by Al Qaeda forces.Naylor illuminates coalition tactics and command-and-control relationships.He looks at the harsh Afghan weather and terrain, and their impact upon the operation.But amidst all this information Naylor doesn't lose sight of war's critical human element; he creates striking portraits of military personnel and of units steeped in tradition.

At the end of the book Naylor includes a list of the people he interviewed while researching the book.The impressive list includes dozens of people, ranging from general officers and command sergeants major to lieutenants and privates.I believe the wide range of people whose insights he sought are reflected in the quality of the book.Interestingly, Naylor notes a number of times when his sources contradict each other.It's a dense text that may overwhelm some readers with an avalanche of facts and names; fortunately, the author includes a helpful glossary and a "Cast of Characters."

At times the book is highly critical of the military leadership and planning process behind Anaconda.But Naylor also celebrates the remarkable heroism and resilience shown by the troops on the battlefield.There are some really stunning accounts of combat and perilous reconnaissance work.Particularly fascinating is the book's exploration of helicopter warfare.Naylor shows the complexity of integrating U.S. conventional and special forces, together with Afghan and coalition forces, into the overall operation.This is a truly compelling addition to the growing canon of American war literature.Recommended companion text: Evan Wright's "Generation Kill." ... Read more

Book Description

Winner of the 1996 American Book Award and the Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for Distinguished Anti-Racist Scholarship

Americans have lost touch with their history, and in this thought-provoking book, Professor James Loewen shows why. After surveying twelve leading high school American history texts, he has concluded that not one does a decent job of making history interesting or memorable. Marred by an embarrassing combination of blind patriotism, mindless optimism, sheer misinformation, and outright lies, these books omit almost all the ambiguity, passion, conflict, and drama from our past. In ten powerful chapters, Loewen reveals that:

• The United States dropped three times as many tons of explosives in Vietman as it dropped in all theaters of World War II, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Ponce de Leon went to Florida mainly to capture Native Americans as slaves for Hispaniola, not to find the mythical fountain of youth
• Woodrow Wilson, known as a progressive leader, was in fact a white supremacist who personally vetoed a clause on racial equality in the Covenant of the League of Nations
• The first colony to legalize slavery was not Virginia but Massachusetts

From the truth about Columbus's historic voyages to an honest evaluation of our national leaders, Loewen revives our history, restoring to it the vitality and relevance it truly possesses. ... Read more

Reviews (258)

Lies that some of these readers have told you...
...

I'm not a leftist or a marxist or even a socialist - I think, in general, they're a bunch of idealistic freaks. I'm an educated person in search of the truth. This book angered me more than any book that I've read in the past 20 years. All of the things that I suspected and have researched about history were illustrated here. Columbus' true behavior as a man of his time, Wilson and the difference between his theories and his actions, the way Indians were treated, the way slavery was a serious factor in the Civil War, the lingering racism all over the country (even in my own family, I've seen it, and I'm from New York), even the way Vietnam was glossed over. It's maddening to think that for the sake of patriotism, we can't handle the truth of our own nation. If we can't love it even with its flaws, how can we truly love it at all?

Anyway, I've really enjoyed the book, even as it has made me mad. Loewen, despite his apparent leftist leanings, manages to impart a sense of logic and truth throughout the text - something that other history authors should emulate. It's pretty sad when a sociologist can write a more interesting history book than most history writers.

Prompting the Intellect
So you thought you know your history?

Loewen offers a provocative perspective of American history by questioning European
heroification oriented history through the retelling American history from the perspective(s) the
Native and African Americans. Challenging the European dominated American myth, Loewen
questions the basis for much of America's storied history providing ample support for his
position.
One historical reckoning does not provide complete accuracy. Yet, societies' educational
systems attempt to instill their own societal ideas and methods to preserve the societies' identity
and integrity. As Loewen accurately states, American social studies textbooks omit or downplay
our nation's shortcomings. Our society promotes a positive self-image to motivate patriotic and
loyalty. It's not surprising that historical figures are made mythological for this purpose. Ancient
Egypt created gods from tale tails of early kings; the Old Testament draws from Babylonian myths
to explain creation; America glorifies the stories of Columbus and the Pilgrims to explain our
presence in the country.
In an informational age the American story needs to suit its cultural kaleidoscope
however. Loewen whets the appetite for historic cultural reconciliation. America is not solely the
Eurocentric melding pot. It never was. Such an image presents a shallow attempt to understand a
multi-dimensional past.
To properly understand a concept, one must understand both its positive and negative
elements. Loewen teaches us the America story is not an exception. Be teaching negative
perspectives of American history, Loewen challenges us to critically consider what we teach. By
understanding our society as viewed by all its parts, we can fully comprehend our stories and
consciously strive for ongoing betterment.
The book does have some weak elements. While Loewen appears at times overzealous in
his efforts, oversupporting his viewpoints with a plethora of support documentation. His support
and conclusions about some historical figures create some concern. Yet, the nature of Loewen's
subject matter requires this degree of support to overcome the storied past. More examples are
needed to overcome deep-rooted perceptions than are required to create initial impressions. His
discussion of John Brown raises some concern about advocacy of vigilante murder methods.
For all his criticism, Loewen appears vague and short on solutions. This shortcoming
results from the nature of the subject matter. In discovering historical half-truths have systemic
causes, Loewen appears to lack a definate method to address the need for systemic change. He
reasons this method must occur through the classroom, however. The chapter on governmentally
tainted information questions the accuracy of accounts of nonconforming social movements.
Thus a direct challenge to the system does not appear feasible. Just as a steamship can't pivot
suddenly, so much systemic change evolve.
Loewen stimulates an interest in knowing our historic truths. He provides a springboard for more
investigation into our past. The classroom is an excellent place to start this process
systematically.

Read the whole thing.
If when reading this book, you find that the author is completely one sided and biased, it's because you didn't read the next paragraph. The author shows the liberal view first, and gives the reader credit to keep reading to see the conservative side. Although I believe the topics and conclusions are largely liberal, they are fair and well balanced. I don't believe there is much to argue here.

If you don't think the history referenced in this book is accurate, you are free to research it yourself. The author does not claim to use any secret sources.

For instance, the author mentions that early european settlers dug up and ate dead native americans. I don't know where his source is for this, but I wouldn't be surprised if that source turned out to be primary source material. Whether or not the primary source is accurate, or corroborated, would also require more research.

It would be embarrassing if the author just made it up, and judging by the topic of the book, counter-productive.

Do yourself a favor and read the whole thing. Don't stop short like your teacher did with your history book.

An amazing book
This is am amazing look at not only the lies fed to american's youth as unquestiable truth, it also offers an interesting look at how history books are approved by state boards.

Unlike "A People's History of the United States". This book can not be used as a "History Book" Or even as supplementary material. It does do the job of despelling certain lies well! For an adult interested in discover the long hidden lies this book is for you.

A pretty interesting read.
The book definately has a slant to it, but that is to be expected of all books. I don't believe Loewen claims to be objective. He is just another perspective to take into account. I think he would be mystified if you read his book and took it as the gospel truth. He advocates questioning history, and that includes his viewpoint of history too. ... Read more

Book Description

Supported by strong ratings and a rich history, The Real Deadwood provides background and historical accuracy for the figures depicted on the hit HBO series, and takes a broader look at the times that spawned them. Covering law and order, politics, journalism, and early medicine, and examining some "historical guest stars" who may play a factor in future Deadwood episodes (Teddy Roosevelt was an acquaintance of series protagonist Seth Bullock and made several visits to the lawless town; Bullock turned away Wyatt Earp when he offered his services as a lawman)-The Real Deadwood will allow readers to traverse the unpaved streets of an outlaw town without ever getting their boots dirty. ... Read more

Book Description

For the first time in the United States comes the tragic and profoundly important story of the legendary Canadian general who "watched as the devil took control of paradise on earth and fed on the blood of the people we were supposed to protect." When Roméo Dallaire was called on to serve as force commander of the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda, he believed that his assignment was to help two warring parties achieve the peace they both wanted. Instead, he was exposed to the most barbarous and chaotic display of civil war and genocide in the past decade, observing in just one hundred days the killings of more than eight hundred thousand Rwandans. With only a few troops, his own ingenuity and courage to direct his efforts, Dallaire rescued thousands, but his call for more support from the world body fell on deaf ears. In Shake Hands with the Devil, General Dallaire recreates the awful history the world community chose to ignore. He also chronicles his own progression from confident Cold Warrior to devastated UN commander, and finally to retired general struggling painfully, and publicly, to overcome posttraumatic stress disorder-the highest-ranking officer ever to share such experiences with readers. ... Read more

Reviews (35)

Mind buggling
Shake Hands with the Devil In this account of the Rwandan genocide, General Romeo Dallaire vividly reveals to the reader the total failure of the international community to stop the genocide. He gives a succinct outline of the failures of the international community, including the United Nations, the UN Security Council, and many NGOs, and bravely holds nations like France responsible for doing nothing despite the strong influence they had on the Hutu extremist Rwandan government which ended up killing over 800,000 minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Dallaire distinguished himself as someone with a great deal of courage who went through hell without breaking and goes further to relive the hell in this book so that we might learn from it.

This book like Disciples of Fortune, When victims become killers, A problem from Hell is a must read if you have an interest in improving the lot of the United Nations and if you have faith in better and more United Nations influences in the future to solve international issues.

When The Devil Ruled The World For One Hundred Days
The terrible truth about General Dellaire's book, "Shake Hands With The Devil" is that it is so well written it takes its place among the literary classics devoted to history such as Julius Caesar's Memoirs and Gibbon's Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire.The General shows a profound awareness of literary tradition and wields it ruthelessly to expose the ruin at the heart of global humanity and how it lead to thebrutal rapes, mutilations and murders of almost a million human beings in the country of Rwanda. Corpses are piled everywhere and they fill the rivers and lakes of the country. The odor of death - perhaps the most diabolic odor in the world - is so strong and intense that the General feels it is impossible to physically move. The body of a boy trembles and the General trys to assist the lad but the body crumbles to pieces filled with worms and insects that had caused the flesh to quiver.
But there is something truly disquieting beneathe all of the evils and dark strategems described by the General. His book is essentially a work of atonement - but it goes furthur.He contaminates us all with his atonement because almost all of us (myself especially) are guilty of the genocide. We did absolutely nothing while the political and economic alliances that seek to dominate our world handed the people of Rwanda over to unnatural horrors.
Those of us of rational age are guilty.We must all follow in General Dellaires on-going work of expiation.

SHAMEFUL
When will we ever get if right.Hardly a day goes by in America that you don't hear about past atrocities, and yet, these holocausts continue to happen. Why?Maybe if Five Million died it would have gotten recognition.Or maybe, if there were valuable resources in the land, they may have gotten some help.Or maybe, if their location was strategic in the world, or if America was sending endless billions to their country - they may have gotten help. But they were nothing more than God's children - not worthy of help from the all-knowing powerful people of the world. We hear everyday about other peoples atrocities, but theirs hardly gets a footnote.Money will always come first, morality second...always

Thank You General, You are a true hero.
Special thanks to General Dallaire, as well as to his family for this amazing account of hell on earth. Once you have read this your world will be changed forever.

A Preventable Atrocity
We live in a political age where the currency of the politician is words, not actiion. Politicians "paint pictures" with words and the voters do not often hold them accountable. However, what was needed in Rwanda was, of course, action. There were no words that could stop the genocide.

The Rwanda genocide is the an example of what happens when the world governments do not take the neccessary action. The author was there and he tells the entire story.

... Read more

Amazon.com

The Battle of Iwo Jima, fought in the winter of 1945 on a rocky island south of Japan, brought a ferocious slice of hell to earth: in a month's time, more than 22,000 Japanese soldiers would die defending a patch of ground a third the size of Manhattan, while nearly 26,000 Americans fell taking it from them. The battle was a turning point in the war in the Pacific, and it produced one of World War II's enduring images: a photograph of six soldiers raising an American flag on the flank of Mount Suribachi, the island's commanding high point.

One of those young Americans was John Bradley, a Navy corpsman who a few days before had braved enemy mortar and machine-gun fire to administer first aid to a wounded Marine and then drag him to safety. For this act of heroism Bradley would receive the Navy Cross, an award second only to the Medal of Honor.

Bradley, who died in 1994, never mentioned his feat to his family. Only after his death did Bradley's son James begin to piece together the facts of his father's heroism, which was but one of countless acts of sacrifice made by the young men who fought at Iwo Jima. Flags of Our Fathers recounts the sometimes tragic life stories of the six men who raised the flag that February day--one an Arizona Indian who would die following an alcohol-soaked brawl, another a Kentucky hillbilly, still another a Pennsylvania steel-mill worker--and who became reluctant heroes in the bargain. A strongly felt and well-written entry in a spate of recent books on World War II, Flags gives a you-are-there depiction of that conflict's horrible arenas--and a moving homage to the men whom fate brought there. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (396)

Ordinary people doing their duty in extraordinary times
This book is easily one of the best books I ever read. I especially recommend it to anyone who is interested in wars and the men who fight them. Bradley's personal and passionate account of arguably the toughest, bloodiest, and most highly decorated battle our nation ever fought is simply remarkable.

By the end of the book you will long remember and appreciate the sacrifice and significance of the U.S. Marines' WWII Battle of Iwo Jima and the lives and deaths of the six flag raisers (Harlon Block, John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, and Mike Strank) forever immortalized in Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal's prize-winning photo atop Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, and in the world's largest bronze statue, the United States Marine Corps War Memorial.

Shortly after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, an e-mail I will never forget arrived at my work computer. Attached to the e-mail was an image, actually two images side-by-side. No words were needed. On one side was the Rosenthal Iwo Jima flag-raising picture, and next to it was the New York City firemen flag-raising at "Ground Zero" picture. Reading this book helped me to fully understand the old adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

Beyond The Photograph and Memorial...
Having only the cursory knowledge of Iwo Jima from the immortalized "photograph" and monument near Arlington National Cemetary, reading "Flags of Our Fathers" was an eye-opening experience. Born in the late 60's, I grew up in with war and its after-effects having little impact on my own personal life (somehow my immediate family escaped any time in the military). In this deeply personal account of the events surrounding Iwo Jima, James Bradley gives the reader a detailed account of the famous battle that no high school history class lesson could do justice to. From the "underground city" of Iwo to the facts surrounding the quite accidental photographic capture of the incidental second flagraising, the book is both educational and fairly quick read.

I was a little put-off early in the early stages of the book. In leading up to the actual battle, Bradley seemed to have already elevated the six flagraisers to godlike status. But having finished "Flags," one can easily forgive the author for the high reverence he holds for these individuals now knowing how each of their stories ended. Having recently visited Washington, I stopped at the US Marine Corps Memorial near the end of my trip. I did not know the names or stories of the men behind the impressive statues. Reading "Flags" made me initially regret what, at the time, had been a fairly unemotional visit to yet another DC monument. While that changed as I read "Flags" (I pulled out the photos I had taken several times while reading), I ultimately believe that the surviving flag raisers (particularly the author's father, John Bradley) would be quite happy that I did not associate them with the celluloid or bronze images that dogged them for the remainder of their lives.

It is heartening to see the success of this book. While not a scholarly historical work, Bradley has done a great service in recording these men's stories and the brave efforts of all who have ever fought for their country.

A book that is written as if you were there in the war
This book is the best world war 2 book i have ever read to date. This book takes you at an in depth look and the whole history behind the actual picture that was taken that will always be a piece of american history. The details of the battle scenes in the book can make you sick to your stomach at certain point, and even make your eyes water from reading it. This book has everything, emotion, action, and a overall great read.

A sons tribute to his father
This book is one of the best accounts of Iwo Jima that I have ever read. It tells the story as if you were there, and you feel almost sick to your stomach learning of how these poor marines were dying and yet they kept fighting on. It is about Iwo Jima but i believe it to be a tribute to John Bradley, the father of James Bradley the author. It tells the story of him and the other 5 flag raisers and what happened to them througout there lives. But to me this was the story of John and I felt that i connected with him from his earlier years as a boy through his corpsmen training throught the 7th bond collection tour. I understood John and why he never talked about his ordeal at Iwo Jima, the flag raising, and the navy cross he was awarded. If you have to read a book, read FLags of Our Fathers, its simply a great read.

An Uncommon Generation
This book is not about a battle, or the tactics used; this book is about six Marines who will forever be immortalized in the picture of the flag being raised on Iwo Jima. It tells their story of having grown up during the Great Depression were then called upon to fight facism in Europe and the Pacific. The story begins with the author's account of his own father Jack Bradley, a Corpsman serving with the Marines. Awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest honor for bravery, he never mentioned it to his family. Nor did he speak about his part in the Iwo Jima campaign. With quiet dignity he tried to live his life out in peace; this is what is truely amazing!

The book also describes the lives of the other two survivors - the other three never made it off Iwo Jima - and how they tried to deal with their new found fame.

This book speaks to the heart and every generation will be touch by this story. ... Read more

Book Description

Augustine, sinner and saint, the celebrated theologian who served as bishop of ... Hippo from 396 C.E. until his death in ... 430 C.E., is widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in the western world. Augustine: A New Biography tells the story of Augustine from the vantage point of Hippo, where he spent almost forty years as priest and bishop. During Augustine's post-Confessions years he became prominent as a churchman, politician, and writer, and James J. O'Donnell looks back at the events in the Confessions from this period in Augustine's life.

Much of Augustine's writing consists of sermons and letters rich in vivid primary material about the events of his time. Prosperous men converting to Christianity to get ahead, priests covering up their sexual and financial peccadilloes, generals playing coldly calculated games of Roman barbarian geopolitics -- these are the figures who stand out in Augustine's world and who populate O'Donnell's intriguing portrait set against a background of the battle over the future of Christianity. This book reveals much of what Augustine didn't confess.

Amazon.com

Richard Stolley knows a bit about what we want from the pictures of our century. He's the LIFE magazine guy who acquired the Zapruder film of JFK being shot (the fatal instant is depicted in this book), and he basically created modern celebrity culture as the founding father of People, where he articulated his famous rules for cover photos: young is better than old, pretty better than ugly, rich better than poor--"and nothing is better than the celebrity dead." All of the above are found abundantly in Stolley and Tony Chiu's lively, cannily selected, and sumptuously produced photo album LIFE: Our Century in Pictures.

It's not just a grab bag of 770 arresting, touching, scary, funny, alternately famous and unfamiliar images. It tells a semi-coherent story by breaking up the century into nine "epochs," each introduced with a brief essay by a leading intellectual light (David M. Kennedy, Paul Fussell, and Garry Wills do especially well). There are fun facts aplenty: did you know Columbia Pictures' Lady Liberty-like logo was inspired by a debutante in an anti-Hun propaganda poster? Or that Ike almost chose Margaret Chase Smith instead of Nixon? Each epoch gets assigned a "Turning Point," sometimes a defining moment or a flashy burst of upbeat cultural documentary to offset the sometimes stark violent-event photos. The World War I section breaks up the black-and-white trench-fighting scenes with a quickie history of the American musical, pages as radiant as a rainbow. Each chapter ends with "Requiem" photos of people whose passing is still news.

The layouts are often superb: you have to open the book to see how perfect a Mondrian looks next to a photo of college girls doing patriotic calisthenics that transform them into a similarly energetic grid. There are heftier historic-photo collections, like Bruce Bernard's true test of coffee-table construction, the 1,120-page Century: One Hundred Years of Human Progress, Regression, Suffering, and Hope. But you're not going to find a more popular book of its kind than Stolley and Chiu's. --Tim Appelo ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Unmatched Photo History
A great book for kids to learn about the past and adults to be reminded of it. It's a bookmark of the time we left behind. A great opportunity to teach and entertain at the same time, although some photos might require a bit of explanation for the younger readers. But if a picture is worth a thousand words, then this is War and Peace times 10! It brings history to life (no pun intended). You'll go through it over and over. It's a great coffee table or bedside book. You'll laugh and cry again, because the emotion and griping tales just leap off the pages at you. A must for anyone interested in our recent history.

Captivating images of our times
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. They were right! This fine pictorial collection of historic photos brings history to life as well if not better than the best historical novels of the year. 'War of the Rats', 'Charlotte Gray', and 'the Triumph and the Glory' triggered a fascination in recent history in our family and LIFE has sustained it by offering this superb book. We are always looking through it again and again.

A scrapbook of the century...
Life has done a superb job of pulling the whole century together into one book.I wont't tell you what picture was the first picture the started the book off with.But I'll tell you this;they got it right! This in not only the most important and best picture of the 20th century, but also; the most significient picture to portray what man has done;ever.

A great book.
How do you shoe the history of the past century in pictures. Life has come as close as anyone can to do this. This is a great book and should be viewed by everyone. Photographers would be especially taken with the presentation. One must take time in looking through the book as there is so much to cover. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Life
This book contained a very biased segment of American life, mainly that of immoral Hollywood and Washington. What of the families and individuals of America that put this nation together, the farmers, school teachers, workers, the miners, soldiers, etc. whose contributions are not protrayed adequately in this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Sarah Vowell travels through the American past and, in doing so, investigates the dusty, bumpy roads of her own life. In this insightful and funny collection of personal stories Vowell -- widely hailed for her inimitable stories on public radio's This American Life -- ponders a number of curious questions: Why is she happiest when visiting the sites of bloody struggles like Salem or Gettysburg? Why do people always inappropriately compare themselves to Rosa Parks? Why is a bad life in sunny California so much worse than a bad life anywhere else? What is it about the Zen of foul shots? And, in the title piece, why must doubt and internal arguments haunt the sleepless nights of the true patriot?

Her essays confront a wide range of subjects, themes, icons, and historical moments: Ike, Teddy Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton; Canadian Mounties and German filmmakers; Tom Cruise and Buffy the Vampire Slayer; twins and nerds; the Gettysburg Address, the State of the Union, and George W. Bush's inauguration.

The result is a teeming and engrossing book, capturing Vowell's memorable wit and her keen social commentary. ... Read more

Reviews (38)

Vowell's Consonants
You may know Sarah Vowell from NPR's This American Life. Her quirky commentaries are the highlight of the show for me. This book is a wonderful distillation of those qualities into text. She writes in a conversational style that draws the reader into her world. Her essays cover various topics from Gettysburg to Tom Cruise to Tom Landry. Through all this, her particular brand of self-deprecating humor shines in all of them.

A self-proclaimed "civics nerd," this knowledge of politics feeds her world view. The centerpiece of this collection, "The Nerd Voice," is a twenty-plus-page look at the 2000 election, why Gore didn't win, and how she and her friends--all members of a web forum--felt about it. Upon noticing that Bob Dole is attending, seeing him comforts her in a way, and she feels he "symbolizes a simpler, more innocent time in America when you could lose the presidential election and, like, not actually become president."

She likens the presidential race to the proverbial Jock vs. Nerd battle from school. Gore was seen as too smart, so he must be taken down. She then notes that the reason Bush was not shot during the attack on the Oval Office was because he was not working, but was in the White House gym instead, exercising.

The title piece, "The Partly Cloudy Patriot," starts out as a review of the Mel Gibson film but metamorphoses into a commentary on the use of the word "patriot" following the events of September 11th and concludes with her views on the prevalence of flags, their symbolism, and why she doesn't want one stuck uninvited into her yard.

The collection is slightly uneven but that has to be expected from a collection whose only discernible theme is "America." What is here is a wonderful new view of the world around us; one that is insightful, pointedly funny, and should open your mind to see things in a different way--the Sarah Vowell way. After all, who else would list the numerous people who almost daily compare themselves to civil rights icon Rosa Parks and point out the insanity of it all?

Embrace your inner (and outer) nerd!
Sarah Vowell is a nerd with passion, an intellectual who has every right to be cynical but can't help being a romantic. "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" is a nifty collection of opinionated essays that cover a startling range of subjects - politics, cinema, music, Salem, her own family.

It helps to imagine Sarah Vowell reading these essays to you - in fact, I'd recommend the audio book, because she brings the perfect dry timing to her prose. But even in print, this is fun stuff. I'm a big fan of her Al Gore essays (in which she likens the 2000 election to a classic "Nerds vs. Jocks" battle) and her travelogues. In fact, I like it all, even if her odd attempt at Larry Kingisms falls a little flat.

Best of all, Sarah manages to keep an open mind on all subjects. She doesn't apologize for her liberal views, but like a true liberal, she's able to see all sides of an issue and isn't above finding flaws in her own logic. She's also comfortable with herself and her own intelligence, which makes her essays all the more compelling. It's impossible to dislike Sarah, and "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" is a great installment from a talented and intriguing woman.

wonderful/insightful/hysterical...
...need i say more? hmmmm...let's see...what else CAN i say...?

i love this book. sarah vowell is a brilliant young writer, with a biting sense of humor. this collection echoes (i suspect) the sentiments of many disillusioned americans (make that *millions*) who still wonder how in the wild, wild world of sports dubbya became president. beyond that, however, is a sweet and funny look into the heart of this talented woman as she takes us though some darn interesting moments in her coventional-yet-not-really-coventional upbringing.

she's funny.

she's smart.

she's ... funny and smart. hers is a voice that stands out in a sea of mediocre essayists. trust me, agree or disagree with her politics, you'll still enjoy her sense of history as it relates to our world today! : )

Excellent Writing
Sarah Vowell's collection of essays entitled Partly Cloudy Patriot is a refreshing commentary from a liberal who actually thinks and can express herself rationally without sounding argumentative. Her opinions are well laid-out and she refrains from any of the typical mud-slinging that one would come to expect from a book with a political bent, which actually makes it easier to think about the things she is saying rather than trying to defend or justify one's own opinions. Wonderfully written and thought provoking, I would recommend this to anyone who has an interest in recent political history but wants to avoid all of the childish bickering.

A Partly Cloudy Patriot who writes like a clear day!
Sarah Vowell is a veteran of NPR and appears with regularity on "This American Life" hosted by Ira Glass. My wife and I spotted her on Book TV being enchanted by this iconoclastic liberal commentator on all things American.
In the tradition of Will Rogers, Mark Twain and all other true patriorts she humorously and wittily comments on such diverse subjects as National Parks, Canadian Life, a trip to
Gettysburg and relationships within her family.
Vowell is a gifted author whose pungent commentaires make this short book of essays a joy to read, savor and think about in the days ahead.
We live in a media age of talking heads but Vowell's "nerdy
noggin" as she may phrase it stands head and shoulders over many so called pundits of the politcal and cultural scene.
One would like to see Vowell become more visible on the cable talk show circuit.
This young lady thinks and causes us all to rethink our love of this land called America.
I recommend this book especially to young people who are bored with textbook histroy but still love America and want to know more about it. Vowell's book is an easy read which is not to be missed. Enjoy it! ... Read more