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Imagining Space is a lovely coffee-table collection of artists' renderings, photographs, and schematics, along with a comprehensive history of the human effort to explore space and a look at what's ahead. Starting with paintings from the 1950s of what vehicles and their destinations might look like, and zooming through the decades to fantastic renderings of upcoming space technology, NASA historian Roger D. Launius and American University professor Howard E. McCurdy offer a fascinating overview of the promise of the final frontier.

With a foreword by Ray Bradbury and space art by Chesley Bonestell, Imagining Space has a solid science fiction pedigree. But some of this stuff is real, and images from achievements like moon landings, interplanetary probes, and the Mars rover seem even more amazing when juxtaposed with the wide-eyed scientific speculations of domed habitats and faster-than-light propulsion systems. After all, the rover really got built ... and it worked! No one really knows where we'll go next, or who'll pay for it, but it's exciting to think that we're likely to go somewhere by 2050, even if it's just high enough to admire our own beautiful planet from a distance. --Therese Littleton ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Achievements, Predictions, Possibilities: 1950-2050
Not a simple chronology of space exploration, this volume looks at why humans want to go and what they want to do when they get there. Life on Mars, extraterrestrial life, space warfare, and space colonization are among the ideas whose histories are explored. The stories of the people who developed the technology to go to space, their ideas, theories, and inventions are related, with many color illustrations. Launius is a historian and editor; McCurdy teaches public affairs at the American U. in Washington DC.

With stunningly beautiful illustrations
With a special foreword by famed science fiction author Ray Bradbury, Imagining Space: Achievements, Predications, Possibilities 1950-2050 is an amazing, informative, thought-provoking, and superbly illustrated armchair traveler's guide - one that takes the reader to other planets, past the solar system, and beyond the Milky Way galaxy. It looks back to the 1950 predictions of rocket scientists and science fiction authors, to the present day space program, and forward to the possibilities of 2050. Chief NASA historian Roger D. Launius and Dr. Howard E. McCurdy of American University explore the dreams and realities of our past and future as connected to space travel, including speculations of one day exploring Mars and creating space colonies. Imagining Space is written in lay terminology so that its dreams can easily be imparted to the casual reader, but by far its most vivid asset are its stunningly beautiful illustrations; over 150 artists' renderings and photographs display a breathtaking, unforgettable glimpse into the past, present, and future of space travel. Very highly recommended for non-specialist general readers with an interest in the future beyond the boundaries of the Earth. ... Read more

Book Description

This pioneering work, the first history of the art of the insane, scrutinizes changes in attitudes toward the art of the mentally ill from a time when it was either ignored or ridiculed, through the era when major figures in the art world discovered the extraordinary power of visual statements by psychotic artists such as Adolf Wlfli and Richard Dadd. John MacGregor draws on his dual training in art history and in psychiatry and psychoanalysis to describe not only this evolution in attitudes but also the significant influence of the art of the mentally ill on the development of modern art as a whole. His detailed narrative, with its strangely beautiful illustrations, introduces us to a fascinating group of people that includes the psychotic artists, both trained and untrained, and the psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, critics, and art historians who encountered their work. "The psychotics who haunt Mr. MacGregor's pages desperately fling images at us from the midst of their manias, suicidal depressions or paranoid reconstructions of the cosmos. . . . Mr. MacGregor is able to show that their work is by no means sealed off from culture. However private their visions, the ways they represent them in art are shaped to a surprising degree by the styles and taste that dominate their respective times. Mr. MacGregor has written a valuable, at times even a daring book."--Michael Vincent Miller, The New York Times Book Review ... Read more

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Reality is thin, thank god I'm on this side
This art is the key to understanding the isnsane, most people will be afraid of this art, it is disturbing. I highly recommend this book, as it is an monument to cruelty, as side we never see. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A great synthesis of many aspects of diving history!
A Pictorial History of Diving provides a lavishly illustrated, brief, but comprehensive review of diving history, from early breath-hold diving and primitive diving bells to modern developments like ROV's and the Newtsuit. Unlike many other books on the subject, it also includes information on underwater habitats and recreational gear. An excellent photo section on early dive helmets rounds out the history and provides some fuel for the imagination. A great coffee table book and serious reader in one volume! ... Read more

Book Description

Thurschwell examines the intersection of literary culture, the occult and new technology at the fin-de-siècle. She argues that as new technologies, such as the telegraph and the telephone, began suffusing the public imagination from the mid-nineteenth century on, they seemed to support the claims of spiritualist mediums. Making unexpected connections between, for instance, speaking on the telephone and speaking to the dead, she examines how psychical research is reflected in the work of Henry James, George DuMaurier and Oscar Wilde among others. ... Read more

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Reviews (7)

Here, "perseverance" is the right word :)
In "The human condition", Arendt distinguishes three kinds of activities the human being is capable of: labor, action and work. I will attempt to explain the first two, and I will leave the third to you so as to motivate you to read the book :)

Labor is, according to Arendt, those human activities whose main aim is to allow men to survive, for example eating, drinking and sleeping. These activities belong to the private sphere, and while the human being strives painstakingly to perform them, he is not free.

On the other hand, Action is the moment when the human being develops the capacity that distinguishes him, the ability of being free. This is the public sphere, where men, after having provided for themselves and their families what was needed to "continue in existence", can at last be free.

Arendt shows us the historical evolution of these concepts, and how that evolution is connected to the evolution of the concept of work. At the end of this book, you will have analyzed with her the human condition, from the point of view of the activities that the human being is capable of. What is more, you will be able to have a valid view regarding the past, and an interesting perspective on what is happening now, and on what the future may bring to us. Yes, it is true that this book was released a long time ago, but I believe that it is still as important now as it was then.

Arendt (1906-1975) was a respected professor and thinker, who wrote books that greatly influenced quite a few of her contemporaries. Even though her more significant book was "Origins of Totalitarianism" (1951), "The human condition" is also essential in order to understand her ideas. Not only that, it will probably help you to understand our society, or at least to contemplate it through the eyes of a remarkably good political scientist.

I must warn you that "The human condition" isn't overly easy to read, and that you might find yourself re-reading a paragraph a few times before understanding what it means. However, at the end of the book you will realize that the effort is worthwhile, because then all you have read makes sense and leaves you with the sensation of having understood some concepts that you will find useful.

On the whole, recommended. You aren't likely to "have fun" reading this book, but it will be useful to you, and if you manage to finish it, you will realize that you benefited from it. So, PERSEVERANCE ):

Belen Alcat

A Fine Piece of Existential Political Philosophy
This is a brilliant work by a foremost intellectual of our times, Hannah Arendt. Though labelled under "political theory", this book is actually a existential (Heideggerian) analysis of the "Human Condition", emphasizing especially its social and political elements, as befits a work written in the second half of the 20th century.

I will not attempt to summarize it; suffice to say it is one of the finest works of 20th century philosophy. Highly recommended to anyone interested in political philosophy of a different sort.

Oran Magal, graduate student of philosophy, Tel Aviv University

Absolute Trash
This is the stereotypical piece of literature that someone says they like because they think it makes them appear smart. Do not make the mistake of buying (or buying into) this piece of junk. Reading it actually makes me ill.

A gift to humanity
It's hard to give a summary of this book, which touches on so many issues. In her introduction, Margaret Canovan notes that many academic critics, at the time of the book's first publication in 1958, found Arendt's argument "beneath refutation." The book is indeed something of a long essay in form and is not immediately "falsifiable" or arguable in the sense that most narrow academic texts are. Canovan also notes that many readers were thrown by Arendt's ongoing gesture (my words) of explaining contemporary social life in the vocubulary of Ancient Greek thought. In intellectual-history terms, this move of Arendt's is no surprise. She was a student of Heidegger's; many Continental thinkers fell under his spell. (Potential readers of "The Human Condition" might want to contrast it with "The Embers and the Stars" by Erazim Kohak, who also constructs a philosophy out of the etymologies of Greek words, but not of social life, but of the environment and nature.)

In short, Arendt's book is interesting reading for anyone involved in the world of work. Her categories of "labor," "work," and "action" provide an interesting way of thinking about society. A back-cover blurb from poet W. H. Auden talks about "The Human Condition" as "one of those books that seem to have been written especially for me." I would go further and recommend Arendt to any artist or budding artist or anyone who has ever seen themselves as being of an artistic temperament. Arendt provides a philosophical view of the artist in society, as opposed to a lyrical view, which is what one might find in, say, Joyce's "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man." Arendt's vision is more realistic. A wonderful book!

bios politikos
Most of the most contentious contemporary issues, like abortion, euthanasia and healthcare, welfare, tobacco, and suchlike, concern the problem of life. The argument can be made, and Arendt makes it, that the modern state, in its care for life, has moved from the power over death (capital punishment) to the power over life. It is Arendt's purpose to show that modern politics, in its absorption the public by the private, turns politics into economics (the household), where formerly the care of "life" was located. In a world in which there is neither the immortality of the state nor the individual, bare life becomes the highest value. (Strauss makes the argument that a politics that begins in the state of nature leads directly to "humanitarianism," to a politics devoted to eliminating suffering, and the argument is the same.) A politics devoted to life leaves no "space" (a decidedly unGreek word, used again and again by Arendt and every hip business exec today) for politics, for the play of concealment and disclosure, darkness and light, bright shining words and the privacy and darkness of pain, defecation, eating, love, etc. It is Heidegger put to good use, and Arendt reminds us that the elimination of the politics, or its suppression, is inseparable from a Seinsvergessenheit, but the real life-and-death issue is better grasped by Schmitt and Strauss, who do not fall into the trap of aestheticizing politics. ... Read more

Book Description

Unique in the literature of spaceflight, this book is an encyclopedic history of the spaceship from the earliest yearnings for space travel to plans for the distant future. Covering in unprecedented detail over 2,000 years of spaceship design, the text chronologically documents thousands of events, with illustrations and photos graphically demonstrating the centuries-long evolution of an idea that has changed our world forever. Included are rare photos and illustrations from science fiction films, books, and magazines; unique drawings of Soviet spacecraft; NASA photos never before reproduced; and artwork specially commissioned for this book. The illustrations are reproduced in two colors throughout, with a sixteen-page full-color section, appendixes, bibliography, and index.Winner of the Booklist Editor's Choice 1994 Technology Award. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Outstanding Reference for Space Craft Fanatics!
I can't believe how fantastic this book is! I got it for christmas and have a hard time putting it down. Considering the weight of this encyclopdiac work that's saying something. Pound for pound worth it's weight in gold or platinum! Only a few notable omissions that I would have liked to see (ie. "The Valley Forge" from Douglas Trumbull's "Silent Running" ) Probably the most amazing relvelation is that many current designs have thier genesis back in the late 40's ! Truly a must have for anyone who dreams or dreamed of interplanetary voyages!

The Dream Machines
Exellent book for any rocket or sci-fi enthusiast. The illustrations and drawings bring home man's facination with the heavens. I have read numerous publications concerning rocketry, and by far this is the best book I have yet to see published to date. I was blown away by the sections, 'The Archaeology of the Spaceship', and 'The Experimenters'. All dealt with rocketry ante-WWII. There are also page after page of NASA concept vehicles that were never flown, including several pages of Apollo and Space Shuttle designs that did not make it to the lauch pad, but yet look like they are ready to just rocket from the page. This book would be a great source of information for those who scratch build model rockets. Color illustrations, 3 view diagrams, an appendix of U.S., Soviet, and international lauch vehicles; what more could one want? If I could only own one rocket book, this would be the book I would chose over all the rest! Buy this book, heck buy 2 and give one to a friend!

Miller, Ron, The Dream Machines, Krieger Publishing:
Comment: Sensational chronological roundup of text, photos, and sketches of virtually every spacecraft and launch vehicle design every conceived but never built. A gold mine for space-struck baby boomers.

An instant and endless resource
Miller's work is truly fantastic. Taking us on an incredible chronology of spaceflight and the fanciful ideas preceeding, we are able to see illustrations, diagrams, and meticulous narration woven together into an incredibly rich experience. If you have any interest whatsoever in space flight and flights of fancy, YOU MUST OWN THIS BOOK! ... Read more

Book Description

Miriam Haskell began selling especially beautiful costume jewelry in 1926, and her company continues to the present. Today, the jewelry that bears her name is highly sought after and the prices keep spiraling up. Claims abound that "this is a Miriam Haskell," but is it a Miriam Haskell? This important new book gives collectors the key information to make intelligent buying decisions. It provides specific details on the art, design, style, materials, construction, and signatures, all vital to the identification and dating of Haskell jewelry. It also dispels many of the myths that allow "wanna-bes" and fakes to flourish. Over 600 beautiful color photographs display the most extensive collection of Haskell jewelry ever brought together. The jewelry is categorized by designer, specifying notable eras. The text provides notations on innovations, style preferences, and in-depth descriptions pointing to key Haskell identifiers. Readers, from casual admirers to serious collectors and dealers, will find in this comprehensive book the essential information and breathtaking pictures they seek. 8 1/2" x 11" 609 color Price guide ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A MUST FOR ALL VINTAGE JEWELRY COLLECTORS
MIRIAM HASKELL JEWELRY A Schiffer Book For Collectors - With Price Guide by Cathy Gordon & Sheila Pamfiloff just released is a must for all vintage costume jewelry collectors.

This hard cover book with dust cover has over 600 photographs
by co-author Sheila Pamfiloff unless otherwise indicated - other contributions duly noted on the acknowledgement page....text starting with the history of Miriam Haskell - to identifying and dating Haskell Jewelry - advertising and a fine example of Haskell Watercolors - on to the Haskell Designers , Frank Hess, Robert Clark, Peter Raines, Larry Vrba, to Camille Petronzio who will carry the Legacy Forward - into the future of Miriam Haskell.

Each page of this 256 tome of work is aglow with text or pictures of this exquisite work of Miriam Haskell. Cathy and Sheila
in their text and photographs have paid close attention to
showing detail plus workmanship and design even finding a group
of a collection of old Haskell filigree charts.

Chapter 3- Advertising and the Haskell Watercolors - have matched the watercolor with an actual piece of the jewerly. What
finer attribution could be shown as with the ad and the piece
of jewelry.

Great care was taken in the presentation and page set up of
this publication. Jewelry collectors of all levels will find
this work of art a must for their jewelry library. ... Read more

Reviews (48)

An absolute must for any aspiring "imagineering designers"!
This is an absolutely fantastic inside look at the design process of Disney Imagineering. The book details the past, present and future projects along with great anecdotes from the Imagineers themselves. The book is also filled with rich pictures, illustrations, and sketches from projects both built and left on the "shelf". As one who wishes to pursue a thempark design career, this book acts as a great reference tool and both inspires and motivates your creative juices.

-Ken G.

An inside look at the Disney Dream Factory
As a former Disney Imagineer, I was curious to see how the old gang at Disney Imagineering would tell "our" story. Not Bad. A visual feast filled with the stories behind designing the world's grandest theme parks. They were less generous than they could have been when naming key players on several projects--especially if those Imagineers had moved on before the book was compiled. All-in-all a fun, fascinating and accurate look backstage at the Disney Dream factory. Unless you go to work there, this is the closest you'll get to seeing concept paintings, models, mock-ups and images of great ideas that never got built. As our boss, Marty Sklar, once said, "Dead projects tell no tales" Now, they do in this big, heavily illustrated book. Congrats to Bruce Gordon, Kevin Rafferty, Dave Mumford, Mel, Pam, and all the delightful "pinheads" who pulled this together. It was worth getting one more memo (inside the book) from Marty (in an in-house mail, manila envelope) with his now-famous red felt pen notes scribbled accross the page.

This is the most inspirational and motivating book I've read
This is the BEST book I have EVER read. I'm 14 years old and ever since I came back from Walt Disney World in 1999 after seeing the Millennium Celebration, I have wanted to be an architect for Walt Disney Imagineering. I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Disney or wants to be an Imagineer. It has inspired and motivated me to be the best I can be and to look at everything as an oppritunity to see and learn new things. I have never wanted to be an Imagineer more since reading this book. It gives you a beautiful and rare collection of WDI drawings and paintings and what it's like to be an Imagineer. They explain the jobs there and tell you what it was like to work for some of their biggest projects. I was sad when I finished this book! Each page motivated me to turn to the next and keep reading until my eyes fell out! There are inspiring quotes from Walt Disney and the Imagineers themselves. The the Best and Only book on Walt Disney Imagineering.

Not a Lot of Meat Here
This is just a PR piece for the Disney company, a way to build hype so more people will buy their products and see their shows. I was hoping for some nuts & bolts advice on designing theme parks and theme park rides. Everybody knows how to brainstorm; everybody knows the importance of color and lighting and music; everybody models on computers before they make physical models. What do Imagineers do that's different? Do they have special techniques for brainstorming, or for choosing colors, or stage lighting? The answers are not here. Also, what have Imagineers learned from their mistakes? If you take this book at face value, Imagineers have never made mistakes; everything they've done is perfect, and any criticism leveled at Walt Disney world was later retracted or countered.

Awesome Read
This book is an incredible read, except for one thing-the book has no information on how to become a Walt Disney Imagineer. I was really disappointed to find that the Imagineers left out such a vital part for readers like me who want to join the league of extraordinary individuals who make the Disney magic happen. All in all, this book has great pictures of original designs for the attractions, rides, and more. ... Read more

Book Description

When children begin secondary school they already have knowledge and ideas about many aspects of the natural world from their experiences both in primary classes and outside school. These ideas, right or wrong, form the basis of all they subsequently learn: research has shown that teaching is unlikely to be effective unless it takes into account the position from which the learner starts. Making Sense of Secondary Science provides a concise, accessible summary of the international research that has been done in this area. ... Read more

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A must for all high school science teachers!
This book should accompany any science text book because it is a reality check for teachers. The research is clear and comprehensive - no holds barred! After reading it from cover to cover I immediately modified my teaching practice. I reassessed my assumptions about what students know and can do then and changed course. I have a greater appreciation for my students' views and misconceptions and now my job is to steer them straight - or better still, to coach them to construct their own science knowledge and skills. ... Read more

Book Description

From the medieval farm implements brought by the first colonists to the invisible links of the Internet, the history of technology in America is a history of our society as well. Arguing that "the tools and processes we use are a part of our lives, not simply instruments of our purpose," historian Carroll Pursell analyzes technology's impact upon the lives of women and men, their work, politics, and social relationships--and in turn, their influence upon technological development.

Pursell shows how both the idea of progress and the mechanical means to harness the forces of nature developed and changed as they were brought from the Old World to the New. He describes the ways in which American industrial and agricultural technology began to take on a distinctive shape as it adapted and extended the technical base of the industrial revolution. He discusses the innovation of an American System of Manufactures and the mechanization of agriculture; new systems of mining, lumbering, and farming, which helped conquer and define the West; and the technologies that shaped the rise of cities.

And he shows how the export of technology helped to foster American hegemony both in theWestern Hemisphere and elsewhere in the world.

Pursell also argues that American technology has created asocial hegemony, not only over the way we live but also over how we evaluate that life. He shows that such developments as scientific management techniques and industrial research changed Americans' lives as much as the mass production of such durable consumer goods as radios and automobiles. In many ways, he concludes, today's military-industrial complex is the legacy of the intense cooperation between science and technology during World War II.

Reviews (1)

Pretexts, Motives and The Valid Human Life
Pursell's acknowledged primary debt to Leo (The Machine in the Garden) Marx says a lot about his perspective in this nicely paced, often fascinating work of U.S. social history.

Perhaps the best way to encapsulate the book is cite Pursell's citation of two quotes: one at the beginning of the book, the other at the end.In the beginning, Pursell cites another historian (whose name escapes me) who noted the period of European Discovery could be explained in terms of this dynamic of exploration: "the pretext was religion, the motive was gold."From this Pursell's view of technology can be extrapolated as well: the pretext is efficiency, but the motive is hegemony.At the end of the work, he cites Lewis Mumford, who in a review of Nader's "Unsafe at Any Speed," wrote that people had become too accepting of the abstractions that are used to justify the unblinking acceptance of technology, e.g., money, power, etc.Mumford suggested that until some consensus could be reached about "what constitutes a valid human life," that humanity would continue to be subject to the intended and unintended consequences of technology and the technocracy that creates it.(Incidentally, unintended consequences are often called externalities in business school, a word that neatly sets these depradations outside of the corporation in the same way they are channeled outside the corporation in the form of pollution, unemployment, and other forms of socially irresponsbile behavior.)

In between Pursell discusses the rise of the technocratic class from the imposition of Taylorism to regime of Fordism and into the postmodern age of production. It is a big subject, and Pursell, admittedly, has to carefully choose his examples to quickly advance his fairly familiar thesis; that from a nation where technology was early on fairly democratically distributed, technologies were introduced which placed technology and therefore power into the hands of fewer and fewer people. Not just material technology, of course, but the technology of the scientific approach.

Pursell does a particularly good job on the rise of the technocratic class of civil engineers around the time of the Civil War through the present, men such as Herbert Hoover, who, for their clients built mines, canals, dams, roads, bridges, railroads all over the world.In so doing, they spread the gospel of science as embodied in the instrumental uses of capital.In addition they also managed to pocket a good deal of gold.Pursell suggests that these technological imperialists were backed up and supported by the U.S. government from fairly early on, and, that they continue to be, now as then, helped most forcefully through the generous funding of the military industrial complex

Pursell also covers the reaction against the technological elite in the 60s and 70s -- the era when "Silent Spring," "Small Is Beautiful," and other influential works began to question the so-called "success" of the modern technological world.Pursell suggests that the environmental and other allied movements, while important, have done little to arrest the trajectory of the Megastate -- to use Sheldon Wolin's characterization of the snug relationship between government and the corporation.Jerry Brown's tenure as governor of California and his founding of the Office of Appropriate Technology (OAT) is used to good effect as an example of the hopeful spirit of that time when Americans were beginning to question the top-down technology solutions that prevailed, e.g., nuclear power vs. solar power.Pursell notes the backlash against such programs was quick and brutal: Ronald Reagan as governer of California immediately pulled the plug on all eco-friendly initiatives.Never one to let facts get in the way of his pro-business program, he once charged that "trees cause pollution."

An admirable performance, this work neatly and with insight gives the general sweep of technological history in the U.S.Very good illustrations are featured, many from the author's collection, and the captions for these are particularly good as they have considerably more sting than the generally neutral and sometimes muffled language of the text.For those who wish to explore the subject further, the book also features a very good bibliography and notes section. ... Read more

Book Description

GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) provides a service to more than 500 million users throughout 168 countries worldwide. It is the world market leader serving 69 0f all mobile digital users and is currently evolving into UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System).

By describing the critical decisions and the phases of the development this key text explains how the GSM initiative became a success in Europe and how it evolved to the global mobile communication system. Initially the strategy and technical specifications were agreed for Europe and the subsequent evolution to a global solution was achieved by incorporating all non-European requirements and by inviting all committed parties worldwide to participate. The process started in 1982 and the first GSM networks went into commercial service in 1992. The first UMTS networks are expected in 2002 and the fourth generation discussions have begun.

• Presents a complete technical history of the development of GSM and the early evolution to UMTS
• Clarifies the creation of the initial GSM second generation system in CEPT GSM, the evolution to a generation 2.5 system in ETSI SMG and the evolution to the Third Generation (UMTS) in ETSI SMG and 3GPP
• Covers all of the services and system features together with the working methods and organisational aspects

The accompanying CD-ROM provides nearly 500 reference documents including reports of all standardisation plenary meetings, strategy documents, key decisions, the GSM Memorandum of Understanding and the report of the UMTS Task Force.

... Read more

Book Description

I Walked on the Moon.

This is my journey.

It didn’t begin when I stepped on board Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. It began the day I was born -- Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr., whom everyone called Buzz. Becoming an astronaut took more than education, discipline, and physical strength. It took years of determination and believing that any goal is possible -- from riding a bike alone across the George Washington Bridge at age ten to making a footprint on the Moon.

I always knew the Moon was within my reach -- and that I was ready to be part of the team that would achieve the first landing. But it was still hard to believe when I took my first step onto the Moon’s surface. We all have our own dreams -- this is the story of how mine came true.

Amazon.com

Sometimes a battle, such as the one that raged along France's MarneRiver in 1918, involves hundreds of thousands of soldiers and costs many lives. Sometimes, as in the case of Tippecanoe, a battle involves only a few hundred fighters. Great or small, as historian Paul Davis notes, history has turned on clashes such as these.

In this well-researched compendium, Davis examines battles that have had far-reaching historical consequences. The first entry covers the Battle of Megiddo, which delivered unto the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III an uneasy dominion over Palestine and broadened his empire into Asia; the final entry, set not far from the first, describes the Allied victory over Iraq in Desert Storm, which "denied control of a large portion of the Middle East oil reserves to dictator Saddam Hussein and showed the ability of a multinational coalition to succeed in the post-Cold War world, perhaps setting an example of future international military action." In between Davis considers similarly fateful but often forgotten contests, such as the Battle of Chalons, when another coalition--this one of Visigoths, Romans, and Gallic and Germanic tribes--turned back the huge Mongol army of Attila in A.D. 451, and the Battle of Shanhaikuan, when, in the spring of 1644, China's Ming dynasty fell to Manchu invaders. Davis sometimes prefers sweeping themes to mundane realities (the fact, for instance, that the Battle of Adrianople turned on the recent invention of the stirrup), and his compendium tends heavily toward Europe at the expense of other parts of the world. The illustrations are also of uneven quality and usefulness.

Still, readers with an interest in military history will find this to be a handy reference and overview, and they'll enjoy second-guessing the author, nominating battles that didn't make his hundred while learning from the obscure, but nonetheless critical, ones that he does address. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Best Military History Book Ive Read
I frequently read military history books of all kinds and this is the best one ive found yet. It describes 100 battles that shaped the world and the choices are sound ones. While everyones favorites may not be in there such as the Battle of Cannae, you can understand why they could not be included. I agree with other reviewers in that the illustrations and maps arent so great but I disagree in that I think he does an excellent job of explaining the battle as it happens, given the limited information avaiable on the older battles. Each battle is set up nicely, explained thouroughly, and the effects of it are explained fully. There are also small side sections on some of the battles that further explain interesting topics such as the military career of Belisarius or the life of Joan of Arc. I don't think theres too much of a bias towards western culture because there are Chinese and Japanese battles included because of their importance. The book spans an incredible amount of history and I do think it slowly gets boring simply because ancient and medieval warfare is so much more interesting than modern. With the advancement of technology tactics are relied on less but that cant be helped. Overall this book gets 5 stars and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys history and/or warfare.

Excellent book
This book is great for students who have an interest in military history. The descriptions of the battles are only covered over a few pages but Davis is able to give you a good back story, a solid duration and the impact the battles had on the on corse of history. This book won't give you all the facts but it's an excellent book to build a foundation for research. I'm not know for reading but I ate this book up. After finishing I couldn't wait to pick it up again and read about the next battle. Seasoned history buffs may find the descriptions redundant but new comers should learn to love this book.

Good context, but little description of battles
This is book does a good job introducing significant battles in their contexts as well as depicting the effects they had on worked history. This is a great book to read to just get an overview of history and some knowledge of military history. In describing 100 battles, the author was restricted on the space for each individual account. He often makes references to places and towns whose location a casual reader would be hard pressed to find. The lack of quantity and quality of maps is also disappointing. The descriptions of the battles themselves were a little disappoint as well. Over all this is a pretty good account, I would give it 3.5 if I could. The book's strength lies in the context and consequences of the battle, and not the accounts of the battles themselves. It does get a little boring at times, but I still recommend it.

Interesting, but some limitations
Although ostensibly about battles, this book is better read as a snapshot-style history of major wars. The extensive sections on the background and results of the battles provide pretty good accounts of a lot of military campaigns. But Davis's summaries of the actual battles are generally too brief to be informative and the illustrations are poor. In addition, buyers should be aware that the book is primarily a history of Western battles, with a smaller number of battles from other areas added in. Finally, although Davis's writing style is fluid and generally engaging, the book contains a surprising number of grammatical errors that perfectionists may find distracting.

Great concise book.
This book provides a concise look at Davis's choice of 100 Decisive Battles. To many people 100 battles may seem little, but Davis's choices are by far the most important battles that shaped history. Many historians may argue with his choices but overall the most decisive ones are described in the book with justifiable reasons. One slight flaw to the book is that Davis does not balance geographically the battles. As a result, we have less-important European battles included and more-important Other battles excluded. The format is easy to follow. Davis takes each battle and writes out the chronology of the battle in the following sections: Forces Engaged, Importance, Historical Setting, The Battle and Results. Each battle doesn't take more than 5 pages. Due to its conciseness, some steps of the battle are left out, but Davis conveys his idea of why the battle is important. One small suggestion to the author would be to include more maps and troop movements for many times the location of troops has tremendous impact on the outcome of the battle. Another small suggestion would be to talk more about the strategies employed. Overall, this book is a great introduction to extensive studying of military history. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Excellent resource book
This is an excellent resource book for those working with young adults. It's worth the price.

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It's certainly a fabulous resource book for interesting, innovative reading that is well organized and informative,...

A Remarkable Book: Deanna's World Review
Radical Change is the product of insight and intuition about today's young adults and their involvement with literature. It presents a new way of looking at literature and understanding books that differ sharply from traditional expectations. Eliza T. Dresang clearly spent a lot of time and hard work to make this document as informative as possible. One of the main ideas of the book, I believe, is that it is possible to teach about (and learn about) literature without utilizing customs. Not only does Dresang approach many aspects of literature, but she also takes a look at the Internet and technology. As stated in the pre-publication comments, "This book is a comprehensive guide to the finest technology-related literature for youth- for anyone who is involved with the new digital era." ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Science and History for students
With concise summaries and pictures about the achievements of the ancient Chinese in science, medicine, and math, this is a book that is both interesting and fun. ... Read more

Book Description

The origins of technologies that shape the world around us, illustrated with hundreds of evocative photographs and specially commissioned diagrams, reconstructions, and plans.

Stone choppers, eyed needles, camel saddles, chariots, and contraceptives: the past is paved with remarkable inventions. The latest book in this popular series takes us on an eye-opening and unusual journey through early human innovations—some fundamental and others intriguing or bizarre. An international team of scientists, archaeologists, and historians reveals seventy of the most extraordinary inventions, from two-and-a-half million years ago up to the early medieval period.

The book begins with the basic technologies of stone, fire, woodworking, ceramics, metallurgy, glass, and weaving. We watch Stone Age flint-knappers at work and look over the shoulders of early metalworkers as they fabricate glittering ornaments in copper and gold. Some of the most fundamental questions of the past are addressed. How and where did agriculture evolve? How did Romans and others heat and plumb their dwellings? What roles did cooking, food preservation, and fermentation play in the development of ancient cuisine? How did the wheel and cart change human life? When did the first roads appear, and when did long-distance seafaring begin?

Later sections look at the origins of hunting, war and sport, art and science, and personal adornment. Weapons of war evolved from spears, bows, and arrows to swords, shields, catapults, and crossbows. The book examines the earliest human art traditions—body painting and tattooing—and traces the beginning of writing, the early use of codes and ciphers, and the origins of calendars and astronomy. 515 illustrations, 250 in color. ... Read more

Book Description

Think Art Deco and be transported to the Roaring '20s, a time of flappers, double-breasted, pin striped suits, speakeasies, decadence, and elegance. This era took place in the soft and romantic illumination of early electric lighting fixtures--which are showcased in this gorgeous new book. The beautiful and often fantastic Art Deco lighting in homes and public spaces alike are works of art. Over 590 luminous color photographs, show accent and figural radio lamps, boudoir lamps, table and desk lamps, overhead and wall lighting, and floor lighting produced by manufacturers such as Consolidated Glass, Lightolier, Lincoln, Moe Bridges, Williamson, Frankart, Nuart, and Chase. The book guides readers through various types of period lighting and provides a bibliography and value references in the captions for all the lighting displayed. It will be a valued addition to the libraries of interior decorators, restoration buffs, theater goers, and allwho collect period lighting fixtures and enjoy beautiful works of art. 8 1/2" x 11" 593 color photos Price Guide ... Read more