1990 Books

That's the only way to describe my copy of this book. It's been thumbed through and pored over so much over the past ten years that I fully expect it to give up the ghost and start dropping pages any day now. When I first found this book at Joseph Beth Booksellers, I sat down and paged through it in the store. I found it interesting, but I wasn't particularly convinced of the need for it in my collection, mostly due to its size. As the weeks passed, I began to think of things I'd wished I'd looked at with more and more regularity until I found myself at a near fever pitch to get back and buy it. When I finally did, it wasn't there. I eventually managed to get a copy, but now when I see books of this kind, I know to get them on the spot. Another great piece of music reference that I highly recommend if you have an interest in the subject or might develop one later in the day.

I bought this book almost (wow) 5 years ago when it went to press, and plus it was my second Record Research book to own. I own a lot of Record Research books now, and this is the definite guide to album tracks that never made the Hot 100, or in any other format. You can find the complete (yet outdated) listings for U2, AC/DC, REM, Psychedelic Furs, you name it.

Just to let you know, we needed this book for a special assignment, and the seller sent it asap! AND it was exactly as described. That's a winning combination!

Happy in Minnesota

Any event that is as chaotic as the 1989 Romanian Revolution is difficult to cover simply because there were so many different things going on in so many different places. Unlike the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, which had a single planned goal, the one in Romania seemed to have multiple goals that sprang up somewhat spontaneously.

The book does an excellent job of trying to discuss the many various parts of the turmoil, devoting most of its attention to the events in Bucharest before, during, and immediately after December 1989. It did this effectively within the constraints of the book's 315 pages. The book's concluding chapters deal with the founding of the NSF (National Salvation Front) in the midst of the hectic days just before Christmas 1989.

In my personal opinion, the NSF was simply a rehash of the old communism that the people who participated in the revolution were attempting to overthrow. Communism didn't die with the revolution nor with the execution of its dictator (Ceausescu). It simply grew a new head. But the book shows the sometimes amazing strength of the Romanian spirit to overcome the injustices visited upon them by their leaders.

Any person interested in Rookwood Pottery will find this book entrancing, both as a price guide and as an opportunity to admire great examples of Art Pottery. Of course price guides are obsolete the moment they start rolling off the presses, but the auction prices in this book will give you ballpark estimates for any similar piece you may have. Each piece of artist-produced art pottery is unique, so assigning values is difficult simply by using price guides and auction results. I bought the book because, after owning a few pieces of Rookwood throughout the years, you can't get enough. This book is great for admiring pieces of art you may never come upon in person.

Excellent depictions of Cincinnati Rookwood vases, plus listings of sale prices and estimated values.

This book does not exaggerate Y2K but rather gives a reasonable analysis and a set of preparation steps to consider. The author did a good of job of investigating the facts and separating them from the scare tactics that are prevalent elsewhere.

This book does not exagerate Y2K but rather gives a reasonable analysis and a set of preparation steps to consider. The author did a good of job of investigating the facts and separating them from the scare tactics that are prevalent elsewhere.

"Sandstorm," by Ted Simmons, is a page-turning adventure that should be taught in schools across the country. Besides being a classic coming-of-age story, "Sandstorm" gives insight into the different cultures and classes of society in Kuwait.

The novel is set against the backdrop of Saddaam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The protagonist is Jeff Connors, an American teen whose father works for an oil company in Kuwait. Through a series of errors, the boy is left behind during evacuation. Intelligent, resourceful, and fortunate enough to have some loyal Kuwaiti friends, Jeff makes his own way out of the country. On his journey, he witnesses the violence and brutality of the invaders, dodges gunfire and border patrols, faces certain death in the desert if he can't find water, and must come to terms with the death of a friend who tried to help him.

The boy's uneasy relationship with his father is explored in the novel as well. Jeff rebels against and yet struggles to win the respect of his father, an age-old dilemma that teens will relate to.

Highly recommended reading. We all need to better understand the Middle East today.

How many of us can say that we know much of anything about what it was like in Kuwait during the time period after Iraq invaded and before the Gulf War? Sandstorm is a look at this moment in history through the eyes of a typical American teenager, refreshingly naive, who ends up separated from his family when the troops reach Kuwait City.
This book is much more than an exciting adventure story, though it is certainly that. It is also a look at the event that started the American involvement in the Middle East after 1990. I think every young person, and frankly adults as well, should read this tale of survival and personal growth set in a vitally important backdrop.

Ironically, Major David Sterling, who organized the SAS in WWII
argued against the use of the SAS in the North of Ireland. Fr. Murray defrocks in great detail the terrorist mentality of the SAS on both sides of the border in Ireland. The American media
only expresses Ireland through an Anglophilic prism. Fr. Murray reveals the SAS from the Irish viewpoint. Highly enlightening and better than The Stocker Affair.

"The SAS in Ireland" is a detailed examination of the activities of the SAS in Northern Ireland from the perspective of the author, who is Irish, a priest, and a long-time human rights activist. Specifically, Fr. Murray asserts that wide-spread human rights violations have occurred in Northern Ireland because of policies empowering the SAS to employ interrogation by torture and to shoot-to-kill-on-sight suspected members of the IRA. The book is not a diatribe; rather Fr. Murray strives to prove his assertion through an extensive examination of SAS involvement in specific incidents. As the activities of the SAS in Northern Ireland have been and are cloaked in secrecy, the author has had to infer the involvement and actions of SAS personnel from court testimony and from the statements of eyewitnesses and victims. While such an analysis applied to a few incidents might leave one unconvinced of the author's basic premise, the cumulative effect of the many incidents the author examines - the book's page count is actually 500, not 240 - is compelling. And the author cites his sources: there are over 100 footnotes and an extensive bibliography and index. Some of you at this point may be possessed of something less than sympathy for Fr. Murray's claims, and you may say: Let's not lose sight of the fact that for decades the IRA have conducted a war of terrorism against the government and the people of Great Britain. Surely, the British government has a right, an obligation, to protect itself, and to use whatever instruments, such as SAS, it has at its disposal. Here you will have touched upon the larger question that hovers over this book: how should a democratic government, a civilized people, respond to terrorism? Fr. Murray believes, as do many others, that we must, even when dealing with terrorists, hew to codes of behavior that are absolute. Others, including many among the military, believe that it is foolish and dangerous to play by the rules when one's adversary does not. I placed myself firmly in the latter camp before reading this book, but now I am not so sure. This book is sobering and thought-provoking, and destined, I suspect, to reach all too small an audience.

I disagree with the former re-viewer in that this analysis theory HAS always applied to the here and now. Bolger clearly shows this through case study repeatedly, even without being insubordinate nor being tact-less towards anyone, regardless of rank. The old "He who forgets history is condemned to repeat it!" applies. I can re-call enough history that Bolger revealed through fore-shadowing that kept me interested. If he is retired, then it is our loss. Bolger should be General rank and no less; I would be proud to serve under him and I hope he still can serve our country well.Bolger would serve greatly in Iraq, for he surely shows his knowledge in this book.

Having read Violent Peace, Savage Peace thankfully delved into the post-Cold War world and how we use or should use US troops as peacekeepers. I particularly enjoyed Bolger's treatment of the Sinai and he quite correctly emphasizes that this is a mission that has worked and justifiably so. Bolger deftly mixes narration with bold truths, especially about Amb. Hunt. In is itself I hope Americans can see after reading Savage Peace how deeply ingrained shortsighted selfish isolationism is in the American psyche. The only shortfall of this book is the lack of history of NEOs (non-combatant evacuation) and their applicability in our world. Even at the time the book was written there was much he could have used on this still vital subject. We've seen NEOs and embassy evacuations in Sierra Leone, Uganda, Siagon, Liberia, Somalia and others it has always (see China 1920's-30's) and will be a joint military mission as well as something that must be coordinated at the highest civilian/political level. I don't think I can overstate the vital role the US military plays here. As "State" magazine (publication of the US State Dept.) once wrote (I paraphrase) The true power of the United States does not rest on the number of guns afloat or in the air, or the soldier's behind it, but in her ability to protect her citizens abroad when they are in need.

I suspect she can rattle off blank verse in iambic pentameter without thinking about it. She can be as earthy as Sharon Olds ("Mother II"), self-deprecating as Philip Larkin ("Riposte") or amusingly Byronic ("Ballade of Ladies Lost & Found.") I appreciate her older poetry, but my admiration increases as I read the newer work, particularly the poems from the most recent collection in this book, Going Back to the River; I would mention "April Interval," "Nights of 1964-1966: the Old Reliable," "Elevens" and `Against Silence" as being particularly striking. She is a diva at my favorite forms: the sonnet and the sestina, and now, thanks to her I have found a new one, the canzone.

Hacker is a master of the sonnet, sestina, and villanelle. I'm always amazed when I arrive at the end of one of her poems and discover that elegant and natural words are arranged in one of these structured ways. Her words and images pull you into the poems and into Hacker's mind. Elegant. Beautiful.

This book is a brilliant look at the way distributors and studios exploited film fans during the video nasty era, by not only evoking images for the video covers that were horrific, but in some cases actually had nothing to do with the film in question.

Which can lead you to discuss if, in fact, the studio and distributor were more responsible for the rise of the reputation of the "video nasty" than the actual films themselves.

An interesting look at a thankfully long gone era in film censorship.

Beyond mandatory, if you don't own this book and keep it next to your bed then you're not a true horror fan. Hardcover with over 300 artworks from some of the wildest horror/exploitation movies ever released. You name it and it's here...BLOOD VENGEANCE, DEATH SHOCK, SS EXPERIMENT CAMP, THE BEAST IN HEAT, CANNIBAL TERROR, THE BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL, INVASION OF THE BLOOD FARMERS, SATAN WAR, KILLER NUN, WOMEN BEHIND BARS, SCHOOLGIRLS IN CHAINS, LOVE CAMP 7, MARDI GRAS MASSACRE the list goes on and on.

Quit reading this review and just buy it. Maybe they'll come out with a part 2! Slasher fans also check out "Legacy of Blood", great book.

This book sums up Siron Franco's best pictures from his most productive and inspired period.

Professor Ades has written a rather comprehensive and honest survey about one of the most important painters of the 20th Century. The trajectory shown in this book is impressive. Siron Franco, a Brazilian artist, certainly deserved a monograph of this level