1990 Books

I love this book as it contains what it means to be a true conservative and not a false one. As the great Conservative economist F.A. Hayek once stated "    . . . the whole conception of social or distributive justice is empty and meaningless; and there will therefore never exist agreement on what is just in this sense... I am certain, however, that nothing has done so much to destroy the juridical safeguards of individual freedom as the striving after this mirage of social justice."
That is in a Capitalistic Socieity there will be more losers than winners and that is just the way it is. If you can not make ends meet it is not "societys fault" but your own. Don't expect your mommy "the state" to make it right!
From here the author goes own to explain how all the scandals of the Reagan presidentcy where not the leaders fault but those of his underlings for they were to blaime not him. The buck stops there my friend!

This is an excellent "insider" perspective on Reagan's management style and the Iran-Contra scandal. Wallison debunks thoroughly the prevailing view of the liberal media that Reagan was intellectually limited, disengaged and manipulated by his advisors. Reagan's remarkable accomplishments are attributed to the clarity of and his unfailing focus on a few "big ideas" (e.g. a smaller and less intrusive government, freer trade, a strong defense, faith in the traditional American values of individualism and sense of personal responsibility) and his ability to inspire those within the administration to actively pursue his policy objectives. As legal counsel to the President, Wallison was the White House staffer most involved with Iran-Contra. He persuasively argues that the scandal was basically a foreign policy blunder made worse by a renegade NSC staff (particularly Oliver North) and a press corps more interested in scandal mongering than issues.

This book is based on Peter Wallison's year in the White House when he served as a legal counsel.

This book shares some of Ronald Reagan's wit,humor,and humility.

Mr.Wallison offers an assessment of the media coverage regarding the Reagan administration. The media had a tendency to over-cover the sensational while ignoring subjects of substance,like policy(foreign or domestic).They trolled for scandals.

This book shows what management style was used by the President.
It also debuncts the myth that President Reagan was not intelligent.

Another interesting topic in this book is the behind the scenes view of situations in the cabinet. Leaks to the media and how rampant they were from the White House and especially the Hill.

There was a comparison of the Chiefs of Staff. Mr. Wallison wrote mostly about Donald Regan because he worked with him.

The chapters dedicated to the Iran-Contra scandal were very good! I came away with a better understanding of exactly what happened and who was involved.

This is the first book that I have read about President Reagan. I recommend it as a balanced book from an author who worked in the White House. I wish that he had been there longer!

You'd have to expect that mothers of children who were willing to be activists during an opressive military dictatorship would be strong women themselves and they were. These courageous women were willing to risk their lives to bring the world's attention to the junta's human rights abuses and to find their lost grandchildren. They even stood up to the Catholic church which sat by while these abuses occured. I particularly enjoyed how Arditti brought out the importance of identity and connecting with your roots. This explained the urgency in reuniting these stolen children with their rightful families.

The history in this book is amazing. I can't believe that this was only 22 years ago. Very well written....you feel the grandmothers pain. Throughout, you have actual quotations from both the grandmothers and the survivors of this terrible time in Argentinas history.

Very well researched, this book is a must for anyone concerned about human rights. It raised my level of social consciousness 5 notches. It was heart wrenching to hear how much the victims who disappeared suffered and the mental anguish of the defient grandmothers who still hold their viligent marches to pressure the Argentine government for answers to the disappearences. Ms. Arditti has really opened my eyes and the facts she presents about how the Catholic Church reacted to the grandmother's is absolutely astounding! Her style in telling this horrible tragedy by hearing from the grandmother's in their own words is very effective.

Krickus, who was on the ground in Lithuania for much of the period, offers a well written and insightful account of the Lithuanian independence movement during the later Gorbachev years. Unlike many foreign observers, he is sensitive to the differences in personality and tactics that emerged in the Sajudis movement. The description of the Soviet attempt to take the TV tower is particularly moving (I know some people who were there that night). I suspect Krickus is slightly overestimating the effect of Lithuanian resistance on the outcome of the August coup attempt, but this is a minor quibble.

Perhaps there may be too many names for a reader unfamiliar with the setting and the plot, but the main character, the Lithuanian people, could not have asked for a better story teller.
I was in Vilnius in August, September, October and part of Novembember of 1990, and met many of the individuals mentioned in the book, as well as others, yet unnamed. Perhaps I should have kept a diary and recorded some of the events that should be known. I would be glad to share them with Mr. Krickus, if he chose to contact me.

Krickus' work in this area is told in the format of a novel, not dry history. The people involved in critical moments are real. It is a compelling story and one that puts into perspective why the expansion of NATO should include the Baltic states.

Yesterday, 26 April, I wrote a review for you of this book under the above title, & I'm wondering if it is possible to add 2 words to the final sentence of that review. The final sentence said, "It breathes with life." What I'd like for it to say is, "It breathes with life and love." I hope it's possible to make this addition. Thanks!

First & most basically, this is a geography & history text, complete with dates, stats, maps, data, 329 footnotes & a 253-item biblio. But it is unlike any such book I've read. As the title says, it describes life on the land of central Siberia by focussing on the tiny village Djarkhan, representative of 250 such hamlets in the huge Republic of Sakha. Djarkhan is in "polar land," less than 300 miles south of the Arctic Circle (1200 miles north of Chicago!), with 8 or 9 months of what I can only call winter. How the people have managed to survive there since 1600, from pre-Czarist to post-Communist eras, is an enthralling, almost unbelievable, story. But the sub-text of the book tells another tale, of 3 Djarkhan natives -- a grandfather who was honored in distant Moscow as the Sakhala record-holder for hay cutting, a mother who was "the most famous plastic oral surgeon in Sakha," & a daughter who is the co-author of this book with her husband, a distinguished American geographer. Thus its 112 pages of text are enriched with 62 personal photographs, reminiscences by villagers & on-the-spot observations. It breathes with life.

I was lucky enough to have a chance to assist the authors in the manuscript typing for this book, getting to read it as I typed. Without any education in geography, this book was easy to understand, but educational at the same time. I have never enjoyed an academic book more than I enjoyed this one. The people and places in the book come to life as stories are told as only a native villager could tell them. A must read for anyone interested in cultural studies.

More than a history of arranging Soviet defectors to escape, this gives an intense perspective from time and age. It would make a wonderful screenplay for a Spielberg adoptation. As an American Jew I am proud to know that James Milano performed like Oskar Schindler when he learned firsthand of the German policy of extermination. The gripping chapter on the Mauthausen concentration camp describes Milano's feelings: "Now, after the war, the nightmare stories were proved true- and short of the truth." Milano's moto of making the damn decision after an intelligent manipulation of risk descibes why his operations were so successful. Because we know that Milano himself is the primary source, it fortifies the accuracy of the amazingly clandestine rat line. I highly commend this exciting book.

There are many books to be found on clandestine intelligence operations. Most of these focus on the organs of the US State Department, and corresponding agencies in other countries. This book is a rare gem in that it deals with military intelligence operations and techniques, and provides an extremely useful insight into operational procedures used by US military intelligence during and immediately after the Second World War. For this alone it is worth the purchase, but the authors also manage to amaze and intrigue along the way with tales of operations gone wrong as well as the flotsam and jetsom of post war Europe.

This is a first hand account of CIC operations in the cockpit of the Cold War-Austria. It is now little remembered that Austria was the only European country occupied by the Soviets to be evacuated during the Cold War. (Although in Asia, they did leave Iran and North Korea.)Both sides' focus was on the North German plain, the traditional invasion route between East and West, and vice versa. Not the southern route from the Adriatic through the Ukraine. Thus the major Allied intelligence effort was was in Germany. Most of the activities described herein are the usual tradecraft--doubling agents, honey traps, sneak and peek, etc. This would be just another tale and not of great importance, except for the Rat Line. This was a clandestine evacuation operation run for persons escaping from the Soviet-controlled areas. Because the occupation of Austria ended in 1955, and Austria was then neutralized, it was easier to run penetration and escape operations from there than through the hard border further north. Actually, there were more than one Rat Line. It is said that Martin Bormann, Adolf Eichman, and other top Nazis escaped via Italy. Be that at it may, Klaus Barbee did get out in a U.S. sponsored operation. But the U.S. Rat Line was more important for getting out persons of intelligence value, who once debriefed, had to be put under deep cover in a safe place. (Imagine a witness protection program, but with the whole USSR intellops looking for you, instead of a few mobsters.)This is probably the last first-hand account of CI field ops we will get of those days. After all, all of the vets are well over 70 and most were middle aged then. I also recommend Ib Melchior's book on his service as a CI agent. (cf)

we just came back from our south africa tour using the footprint handbook to zig zag more than 10 000 kilometres through the country. this book is a five star travel companion: very much up to date in sections like accommodation addresses, price categories, timetables - and the footprint kept us entertained as well. With little personality stories and well researched history background. the best thing for us: footprint calls it a handbook and not a guide book and that is what you need if you are self sufficient travellers like us in our vw kombi. look up the little sleepy karoo towns you are passing through on your way to major tourist destinations and even there you will find interesting details about the country. also well researched are the route descriptions if you are tending to go off the beaten track and for instance go off exploring some of the winding roads, that thomas baines designed more than 100 years ago along the garden route. if you use this book as a reference book while having your own ideas what to see and where to go, you won't get lost. instead you will get an idea what living in the rainbow nation is all about. one regret: a pity that the cool story about johnnie, the cave man, who explored big parts of the oudshoorn cango caves, got shortened in the new edition.

It is rare to find such a well written, comprehensive and detailed guide. The maps are excellent and cover more than just the essential. Information is as up to date as you can get it - this guide gets reprinted yearly. I also understand that from the time editing is finished it appears on the shelves within 3 months. The print is smallish and the paper is thin. However, the information is absolutely incredible - about 8 times more comprehensive than its nearest rival! From hiking trails to detail on less frequented places. This is deservedly the no. 1 selling book for South Africa - probably as timetables of trains, busses and Baz Bus is published and it makes trip planning really easy. It is also not written only for budget travellers - it is a book for everyone. Highly recommended.

This is by far the best guide to South Africa. The information is very comprehensive, accurate and informative. The format is a sturdy hardback that's small enough to be easy to pop into your bag but won't get battered easily.

As you may well guess it is an Osprey publication. Only the finest information is to be had by this firm. Excellent information on subject matter as well as photos and color plates. A must for historians and modelers of this subject.

Not much has been written about the South African Defense Forces. Like Isreal, South Africa of the late cold war was surrounded and under siege. It cannot invade and occupy forgien land. So instead the SADF raised commando units, from Recce Commandos and the Parabats to 32nd Battalion, to strike at their enemies to great effect. I wish that a deffinative book about South African special forces could be written and published in America.

A comprehensive and fascinating book, a good primer on the elite of the SADF and SA Police Services. Besides the Recce Commandos, covers such units as the SA Marines, the Police "Hunter" units of the 60s and 70s, and the 44 Para Brigade and Pathfinders. Highly recommended.

An intriguing book. Rather too detailed (but don't give up -- it's full of good stuff). A good reference for managers on how to run a business by maintaining excellent rapport with one's employees (Marcus Woolf style) and an excellent example of professional ethics (again, Marcus Woolf style towards his moles). Some amazing ideas by the East German intelligence, e.g.Romeo agents, are described.

Having travelled to East Berlin during the 50's and 60's, I thought this book would be of some interest. I was not prepared to be as thoroughly enthralled by this account of the East German secret police and its deputy minister, Markus Wolf, as I was. It was an unexpected find! Colitt obviously knows his subject and has created a spellbinding historical account.

Having travelled to East Berlin during the 50's and 60's, I thought this book would be of some interest. I was not prepared to be as thoroughly enthralled by this account of the East German secret police and its deputy minister, Markus Wolf, as I was. It was an unexpected find! Colitt obviously knows his subject and has created a spellbinding historical account.

This book takes you away into a whole new world. But on close examination, you realise that it is your world.

Great fun to read in the sun.

What a brave author, tackling two controversial subjects in one single masterfully-written novel. Did I read it, dream it or live it?

I'm thrilled to see the 'emerging voices' series on Amazon. Wonderful!.

This book is one of the powerful, poignant books I have ever read about wars (and I've read a great deal). It tackles the deeper issues of violence -- how does the soul feel when confronted with violence, mindless violence, on a daily basis? how do people react? what happens to one's sensitivity? one's ability for honest laughter? one's interactions with others?

Hoda Barakat delves into those issues - and does so courageously and poetically. She also presents them through the eyes of a homosexual man. Quite powerful!.

Highly recommended - to Lebanese, to Arabs, and to all people interested in examining the effects of war and violence on every-day people.

- Rania (a Lebanese-American)

I would like to thank amazon.com for this apporunity of expressing our opinion. I think that what Kuwaiti people have benn through is a unique experience I was in Kuwait at that time and I was 16 years old. I think this book provides an excellent descriptive novel that covers what happened in Kuwait from a different angel this book is great and I recommend you to read it.

Its a great book for young adults, telling the world what we (kuwaitis) went through during the gulf war. The author has a great way or describing the incidents. I truelly recommend this book!

I'm a teenage girl who loves to read Everything!! Summer 1990 was unique and totally up-to-date. The author is from Kuwait, which is also a first. Besides telling the story of the Gulf War, it also has an exciting plot and events. Once you start reading it, you can't put it down. It's a real page turner.