1990 Books

Thomas Henriksen, the author of American Power after the Berlin Wall, surveys the projection of U.S. power abroad from the Soviet army's last parade across Red Square through the U.S. occupation of Iraq. The book covers the presidencies of George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush through the 2006 congressional elections and the beginning of the troop surge in Iraq. The author concentrates on America's international actions, especially the forceful interventions from Panama through the Iraq War. Non-interventions, such as the failure to stave off genocide in Rwanda, are touched on, too. This book is a very good historial account of U.S. foreign relationas, regime changes, and conflicts.

This compact book really covers a lot of ground, capturing the good, the bad, and the ugly of U.S. international affairs during nearly a twenty-year span. While the book is critical of George W. Bush in spreading democracy by military occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is not heavy-handed in this theme. It provides an alternative viewpoint, or at least an explanation, of why the White House came around to promoting democracy with tanks. Thus, I felt informed and not hammered by a repeated theme from the first to the last paragraph. The writing is lively, with a good turn of phrase from time to time. It is a much better book then I thought from judging by the somewhat academic title.

This book is part of the American War Library's Persian Gulf War series. This book is about the 1990-91 US-Iraq Persian Gulf War. The book begins with a history of the Middle East, includes background information on the Vietnam War (very much in the minds of the American public before the Persian Gulf War), the various leaders involved, weapons used, the tactics of the war itself, and finally a chapter on the aftermath of the war.

This book seriously impressed me with the amount of information that it could fit into such a small package. This book tries to include all relevant information on the war, and it succeeds brilliantly. Coupled with the many black and white pictures used, this is an excellent resource on the war. It is short and succinct, containing anything the student needs to know about the war. I recommend this book for children AND for adults!

Used as textbook for class on ADA. The articles were relevant and timely. Good book.

I read this book mainly for Thesiger's descriptions of Chitral and the valleys where Kafiri still live among their brethren converted in the late 19th century (by the sword, of course) to Islam. The description is disappointing because Thesiger, fluent in Arabic, spoke not a word of any Iranian language. Therefore, his communication was entirely through interpreters. Interesting are his accounts of pushing on headstrong toward and over icy passes when his native porters, excellent mountaineers themselves, had fear and urged waiting for chances of better weather. But for Thesiger, no challenge was too great, it seems. He was apparently a very fast and sure footed hiker. On the other hand, he didn't have to carry a 20 kilo backpack either. Read also Eric Newby's "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush".

Thanks to Hugh Miller for recommending this excellent book!

Dr. Engbring has created a true treasure for Marquette/MCW alums and all others with an interest in the school. What a labor of love it must have been. The book is extremely well written and well organized, and it appears to be frank and comprehensive. I thought that I was quite aware of the goings-on during the period that I was at the school, but this book sheds much new light even on things that I thought I knew well. If you have had any significant involvement with the school, you are bound to find this book of interest. And for a book of this type, it's actually a great read! Highly recommended.

I loved Carol's artwork on the covers of Mary Summer Rain's books and always wanted to locate more of her work. Her artwork is so detailed that you "find" impressions & little details hiding throughout the picture. I find her artwork almost meditative---put some music on, light incense, and let your mind wander! Very calming & peaceful. You will definitely NOT throw away the calendar at the end of the year---you will want to frame the pictures.

This 50-page book, published in London and Jerusalem, and reading from right to left in the Hebrew format, is one of the best books for children in our extensive collection of juvenile Passover titles.

Why? (An appropriate question for Passover, or Pessah.)

It opens with an order of the Seder meal, illustrated with colorful and somehow very realistic clay figures showing each part of the service.

From beginning to end, each page also includes large vibrant illustrations--photographs of clay figurines, actually--that bring the Passover story alive for children and adults alike. The book opens with Passover table set with clay candles, wine, Haggadah, matzoh and a clay Seder plate containing all the symbols to be used in the retelling of the Jewish people's escape from slavery in Egypt thousands of years ago. (These are of course a roasted lamb bone, hard boiled egg, maror or bitter vegetable, chopped fruit, and greens to dip in the salt water that symbolizes tears.)

Blessings for all the major portions of the service are included in Hebrew and English.

The Four Questions--undoubtedly the highlight of the Passover Seder for all children who must ask them--are likewise included in Hebrew and English, beginning with "How different this night is from every other night of the year. Every other night we eat bread or matzah. Why do we eat only matzah tonight?"

A clay figure of a bow-tied young boy wearing a kipah appears at the Seder table to encourage children to proceed with their questions, which for shy ones can be very daunting indeed.

The best part of the Haggadah, though, comes in the retelling of the Passover story, complete with clay illustrations of ancient Jewish people forced to build the Egyptian Pharaoh's pyramids and the ten plagues that God sent to Egypt when Pharaoh refused to grant Moses plea.

Children love the illustrations of traditional Passover songs like Had Gadya, as well as those of sages of old, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon discussing the Passover story until the wee hours of the night. Kids even like the clay figures of idols that the Jewish people were instructed not to worship.

The Haggadah service closes with the ancient prayer of Jews whose ancestors were forced to leave their beloved Jerusalem by waves of conquerors through the ages, "Next year in Jerusalem," and a two-page color spread of the spiritual capital established by King David in Biblical times.

But the story and the playfulness don't end there. The final illustration shows a child crawling out from under the Seder table, triumphantly holding the Afikomen (dessert matzah) in his hands.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

I picked up this book years ago when it came out. Outstanding photographs throughout. Since then I married and moved a lot of my books into an office. I recently rearranged my office and found the Leibovitz book and looked through it again. I still am impressed with the images even after about 5 years of not viewing them. Really a time capsule of collected photos.

This is an excellent book and I would encourage you to get a copy if you have any interest in photography, pop culture or simply beautiful images.

For the past twenty-five years, Donald A. Wolheim, the dean of science fiction editors, has been scouring the short fiction marketplaces, in search for exciting new talents in the field as well as stories of outstanding quality by the finest established authors. And for twenty-five years, he has published these masterpieces in an ANNUAL WORLD'S BEST collection which has gained international recognition as the series that has consistently pinpointed works which became award winners and the stories which marked the beginning of future science fiction trends.

And 1990 more than lives up to this tradition with a stellar collection of stories that take us to such times and places as: twenty-first century America, where Abraham Lincoln is about to discover how one decision can alter the course of the future; to Central America with two newsmen who stumble upon the scoop of their careers in an isolated backwater where war has been sparked by forbidden biological experimentation; to a modern-day lab where a scientist has discovered a means of communicating with those living in the past! - but is it our past or some other Earth's?

Since unification, Germany has experienced profound changes, including the reawakening of xenophobic hat crime, antisemitic incidents, and racist violence. This book presents the most recent research conducted by a team of American and German experts in political science, sociology, mass communication, and history. These experts analyze the degree of antisemitism, xenophobia, remembrance, and Holocaust knowledge in German public opinion; the groups and organizations that propagate prejudice and hate; and the German, American, and Jewish perceptions of, and reactions to, these phenomena. This is crucial reading for students and scholars of Germany, the Holocaust, and antisemitism, and will be fascinating for anyone interested in this timely and important issue in modern Germany.