Expansion Books

This book covers the whole period of European overseas empires, i.e., from the beginning of the XV century up to the end of the XX century.

Perhaps its flaw, if any, is the lack of an explanation of why or how the Europeans were able to conquer said empires. This issue is linked to one of the most controversial issues nowadays on long-term and comparative history: why Western countries have dominated the world during the last few centuries. To put it in a nutshell (quoting from J.M. Blaut, "Eight eurocentric historians"): "Europe acquired incalculable riches from the Americas after 1492. This led to the rise to political power of the merchant-capitalist class and its allies, and in many others ways led, directly and indirectly, to the awakening of Europeans to the rest of the world and the transformation of Europe's society and economy". Also on this line, "The Great Divergence", by Kennetz Pomeranz, and [according to one review I have read], Clive Ponting's world history [but I warm that I have not read this last book yet].

Apart from that, the book is excellent. By means of comparative analysis, it tries (and, as far as I am concerned, he achieves his goal) to provide a global explanations of the phases of imperial expansion and contraction, the factors accounting for imperial expansion, and then contraction, and also sets up rational criteria that may lead on the future to the moral evaluation of colonialism [he gives his own and nuanced opinion on this matter].

Perhaps, as a Spaniard myself, I would have appreciated some more analysis on the Spanish empire. It would have been very useful if Mr. Abernethy had examined and passed judgment on the Spanish Empire in America and its "Black Legend". I bet it would have been worth reading that.

I have rated it four starts. Considering its content, I think it should be five; considering its readability, three. In any event, I do recommend it to read it.

Professor Abernethy's massive summary of European imperialism spans over 500 years and encompasses every major Empire. Its genius is its specific approach: it boils an almost unmanagably large topic down to concise and clear patterns. In all its detail and variation and intricacy, imperialism did have broad and distinct phases. The discipline of history deals with the former, bottom-up approach- individual stories, specific locations, small incidents- and sruggles to create an overall framework of imperialism. But as a political scientist- somebody who deals with models and theories- Abernethy has the adacity to organize colonialism into a coherent phenomenon. The reader is greatly rewarded by this approach: he or she gains a broad overview of how modernity came to be.

The third expansion to the Game of Thrones Board Game empire brings two things to the base game but still leaves something out. The most important element it leaves out is pieces to play the game with. You are required to have the main Game of Thrones set to play this expansion. For what its worth, the base set is worth having if you are a fan of strategy and military games like Risk and Diplomacy. That said, the things it does bring are fantastic!

Most importantly, this set brings a stand alone board that can be played with the pieces from the main set. The rules for the new board are the same as that of the main set with a few new additions. The board is focused on the riverlands of Westeros (the world the stories and game takes place) during the rainstorms that flooded the region in the novel of the same name. The storm marker changes the travel paths and adds a new dimension to the overall play as players are forced to adapt to routes that may be there one turn and gone the next.

The set introduces one new game mechanic in strategy cards that are selected and played during the opening phase of your turn. Strategy cards have a number of effects that range from one time claims to give you points towards your victory condition, forge alliances, rescue hostages, and more. The addition of strategy cards adds a dimension to the game that forces players to fight. The victory conditions set forth by the cards are often only resolved by some form of conflict (rescue mission, victory point cards, assault, etc).

This set also brings allies (played using the Tyrell pieces since the player set caps at four [Stark, Greyjoy, Lannister, and Barratheon]) to the fold. Alliances can be forged between the mercenaries, Frey, and Arryn by playing certain strategy cards during the opening phase of your turn. The prior set (A Clash of Kings) supplied generals that could take to the field. This set allows the generals to be captured and even executed. Once a general has been sentenced to die, their card is removed from the generals deck, reducing yout opponents combat effectiveness. Players also have the option of negotiating for their release or even staging a rescue mission via specific strategy card.

As with Clash of Kings, this set's components can be added to the base set (execution cards, new generals, alternate wildling deck, etc) in any combination, completely, or not at all. If this review were just on what it brings to the base game, the score would be half of what it is but since it comes with a completely new board game the score is what you see here. I strongly reccommend this set for fans of the game but, for those that have never played the original, you must still start there before playing this one.

This game has rated highly by all who have played it. It's very fun and adds much to previous expansions. It is very user friendly and can be played with as little as 3 people. It's been a big hit for those in our home who love strategy games.

Outstanding. Excellent and very informative. Great read. The downside is that you may not have the same view of this country after reading it. Pay particular attention to the Polk/George W. comparison. Our country has not been kind to non-whites and Catholics over the past 300+ years. What really surprised me was that a very high birthrate allowed us to conquer new territories.

In some ways this is a surprisingly iconoclastic but not an entirely polemic free rendition of American history: a virtual potpourri of vignettes and excursions down interesting side trails not usually covered in such great detail in similar sources. Many events are of first hand narrations of how familiar themes of purposeful U.S. trickery and diplomatic duplicity, out right lies, many un-kept promises, broken treaties, and genocide were used to "win the West."

However to the author's credit, with only a few exceptions (including the book's overall tone), his version of the U.S. story is told with the dispassion of a disinterested historian, not by "playing to" the patriotic heart strings of a "legend seeking public" (as say Lynne Chaney did in her "A Time for Freedom"). But nevertheless this rather skilful and detailed elaboration of American history comes at a distinct cost: other more interesting (and arguably more important) historical vignettes had to be excluded. In short, Nugent's side road excursions sucked up a lot of historical time and space. Either the book should have been longer, or the topics should have been more carefully prioritized. The most contentious (and in this reader's view also the least interesting), was the author's resurrection of a rather obscure Canadian historian's theory that U.S. military bases near the Canadian border are in fact a kind of pre-positioning for a future invasion of that nation. And speaking of delving into the obscure, I would have been pleased if he had explored more about the connection between slavery and U.S. expansionist designs.

Little is new about how American history can be divided into three continuous waves of imperialist expansion that began with the Treaty of Paris, continuing through the Louisiana Purchase, Manifest Destiny, the ejection of Mexicans from the Southwest, all the way up the time-scale until the continent was completely secured from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. That theme has been "milked" repeatedly. However, what is new here is Nugent's view that the process of U.S. imperialist expansion continues in straight line into the present and obviously by logical extension would also include GW Bush Jr. administration's folly into Iraq.

While on its face, this is not an entirely implausible line of argument, especially if one is allowed to give undue weight to U.S. acquisitions such as Guam, the Philippines, and Samoa, as Nugent does. [What kind of "dumbed-down" imperialism does such acquisitions represent, any way?]

This, even more so than the expected future invasion of Canada, is altogether a tantalizing but implausible stretch, even to a clear eyed anti-Bush ex-Republican like myself. The author simply does not connect the dots between the last "wave of Western expansionism" to the present era in a convincing way. And here he had lots of material from which to draw: Dominican Republic, Grenada, Panama, Vietnam, etc. Yet, since none of these leaves much of a hegemonic footprint, let along rich acquisitions of land, his analysis does not ring true and leaves even me cold and asking questions about the sweeping character of the author's overarching but disconnected thesis?

Even so, it would not be unfair to say that Nugent's version of American history, which is so well documented especially in the first two phases, is definitely not Robert's Whul's version of "when the facts become legend, then go with the legend." In fact, it is more on the order of a suitable fix for that famous edict: "When the facts become legend, still go with the facts."

For sticking to the facts at least through the first two waves of expansionism, and not enlarging or embellishing on popular themes and legends (like groveling over the "last stand at the Alamo"), the book deserves serious consideration and five stars. But for failing to acknowledge that contemporary U.S. imperialism does not fit the same mode as say Manifest Destiny, or even the "global real politic" mode of contemporary international relations, minus one star.

Four Stars

Although George A. Forsyth participated in 88 engagements as a soldier in the Civil War and later was in many fights with the Indians on the Plains, it was for one encounter with the Cheyenne and Sioux that he is remembered: the Battle of Beecher Island, where he and a small force held off 750 besieging Indians on a small island in the Arickaree Fork of the Republican River in present-day Colorado for six days before help arrived. David Dixon relates this famous battle in full detail, but he also tells us the rest of Forsyth's life, which is pretty full and interesting.

Forsyth was born in 1837 in Pennsylvania and entered the army in the spring of 1861. He rose in rank from private to brigadier general in various cavalry units in the Civil War before being made chief of staff for Gen. Philip Sheridan.

After the war Forsyth was put in charge of an operation against the Cheyenne. It was in September 1868 that he had his famous fight on Beecher Island (named after Lt. Frederick Beecher who was killed there by the Indians). Forsyth was wounded three times. One strategic outcome of the action on Beecher Island was that Sheridan from this time on would utilize only large-scale campaigns against the Indians (Forsyth had been in charge of a small ranger-like force).

Once again on Sheridan's staff, Forsyth was on the 1874 Custer expedition to the Black Hills, during which he kept a diary that was later published. In 1875-76 he was sent by Washington on an inspection tour of various armies in Europe and Asia. In the 1880s he was in the southwest campaigning against the Apaches and commanded Ft. Huachuca, AZ. It was here that Forsyth was court-martialed on money mismanagement charges, found guilty, and formally reprimanded. In 1890 he retired from the army. He authored two books which were published in 1900 and died in Rockport, MA, in 1915.

Dixon is an excellent writer, scholarly but not dry and overly academic. He is obviously impressed with Forsyth's accomplishments, but not to the point of hero-worship. He relates his subject's story in detail, but keeps it interesting. The chapter on the Beecher Island fight unfolds dramatically in Dixon's hands. Those who are interested in army life in the Old West will find much to like about his biography of the "hero of Beecher Island."

The "hero" in the title of David Dixon's Hero of Beecher Island is George A. Forsyth, an Army officer and Renaissance man who, Zelig-like, seemed to be involved with every matter of import in turn of the century America. Friend of Custer and Bill Cody, enabler of railroad expansion, renowned Indian fighter, shaper of US Army Policy, explorer of Yellowstone, world traveler, enforcer of Reconstruction, and popular author, Dixon paints a picture of a Da Vinci with a Sharps rifle.
There is much information contained within the book about the changing face of the US Army in which Forsyth served and later commanded. Dixon carefully details Forsyth's military experience. We begin to get a sense of what changes were going on in the Army during Forsyth's life. The evolution of the calvary under Forsyth's mentor Phil Sheridan is documented in chapter three "You Have Got A Bully Fight on Hand" (52). Dixon continues delving into this military biographia in chapter four, "I'll Shoot Down Any Man" (61). Although this chapter is mostly about the tense struggle of Beecher Island, the centerpiece of the book, it's what leads Forsyth to Beecher Island that stands as most interesting. Dixon brings out the idea that the railroad and the military were hand in glove in the old West, providing a late twentieth century reader to reflect on similarities between this paradigm of the Old West and the military-industrial complex of the Cold War era. Dixon infers a similar parallel at the beginning of chapter six, "The Armies of Asia and Europe" with the quote that the U.S. Army was, ". . . comparatively unknown, least appreciated, persistently misunderstood, and, for political effect, frequently misrepresented and occasionally even recklessly maligned in our national legislative hall" (122). The parallels to today's military are unmistakable.
In "I'll Shoot Down Any Man," Dixon relates the battle of Beecher Island well, describing Forstyth as an incredibly brave, capable, and stoic commander; the glue that kept his Army irregulars together under withering Indian attack. It's a story as old as the Greeks, but Dixon handles its retelling with a light touch, drawing the reader into the tension filled atmosphere.
Related in chapter eight,"To the Scandal of the Service" (168), Forsyth's fall from grace, brought about by shady business deals, is jarring. Forsyth's character needed to be more fully rounded out before the introduction of his court martial. Up to this chapter, there had been no mention of possible improperties. Indeed, Forsyth had seemed squeaky clean, a devoted father, husband and officer. Worse, there's no discussion of how prevalent economic speculation was in the time period. Questions arise. Was it primarily a military crime? Was it a civilian problem as well? How was it seen in the "elite social classes"(169) that Army officers traveled in as second-class citizens? Dixon attempts to make the claim that Forsyth's head wound, sustained in the Beecher Island battle, had caused an insanity that made him mismanage his money. It seems odd, however, that the only way that this "madness" manifested itself was through bad business sense. Although Dixon writes, ". . . there is little doubt that Forsyth was. . . seriously afflicted with some mental disorder. . ." (186), from the evidence presented, the only mental disorder applicable seems to be greed and poor business sense.
Readers of Beecher Island are expected to have a good knowledge of turn of the century world history before picking up the book. Educated readers will be rewarded. Dixon tells a lucid story that is gripping at points and presented in a traditionally tragic style. Forsyth is portrayed as a great hero whose hubris eventually brings him low. However, a non-historian audience is bound to have problems. The book lacks contextualization of what was going on elsewhere in the world while Forsyth was shaping American culture. There's no sense of connectedness outside the biography, no asides that explain how Forsyth's opinion of the calvary compare to that of the calvary's place in the First World War. There's no sense of contradiction that a man helping to work for racial equality for Blacks in Reconstruction-era Louisiana could also help devise the Army's genocidal Indian policy. Dixon tosses around phrases like "The Burnt-Over District" (99) without defining them for the casual reader. He also has a tendency to not completely explain issues. In the chapter entitled, "The Armies of Asia and Europe," he mentions that Forsyth said that the Japanese army was 20 years ahead of anything in America but fails to explain why Forsyth thought so. (128) And finally, there's not enough convincing evidence to allow madness to explain the shoddy business speculation that brings Forsyth to end his life in shame. True, the book is a biography not a sociological study, but a man who was such a turn stone in such a far-reaching, influential part of American culture like the Old West, needs to be explored further for the non-professional historian.
Dixon accomplishes what he sets out to do in the title: explicating the life and military career of an important man. Perhaps with a different title, signifying a different focus, the book would have appealed to a wider audience. All of Forsyth's exploits are summed up in the words of an unidentified member of Forsyth's Yellowstone expedition. After Forsyth foolhardily attempted to ford a raging river and had to be pulled from it, someone said, "The colonel must have had a charmed life" (140). It is this charmed life, mated with Dixon's attention to detail and capable writing that could produce a Forsyth book that would appeal to both historian and casual reader alike.

Planning is invaluable; no one has ever maximized their business success by just winging it. "How to Prepare a Business Plan" is a scholarly handbook, taking a look at how to create the best business plan possible for one's company. Focusing on managing income and expenses, expanding, taking out loans, and meticulously watching for early warning signs of failure, "How to Prepare a Business Plan" is an excellent choice for entrepreneurs and a top pick for community library business collections.

Given the obvious conflict of interest, I would rather not have given a rating, though I think the book is very clear and useful. Others have thought so too: it has been published in many languages and on many continents, and continues to sell year after year, as the publishers keep asking my father to work on new editions.

The book is organized as a series of case studies (the names have been changed to protect the 'innocent') of people who started businesses, the problems they faced, their attempts (successful or otherwise) to cope with them, and their excitement as they realize they are actually succeeding.

The focus of the book is on how to write a business plan in such a way as to persuade a bank to lend you money. This is often one of the first problems a budding entrepreneur faces, which is fortunate because writing the plan forces him/her to think about the problems likely to face him, and to plan for success.

I love the desert of s. Nevada and know the towns and locations in the book as well as being familiar with many of the people mentioned therein, so I could over look alot, but the book honestly has less to do with Jack Longstreet as much as it is about the region and the era he lived in.

The author will tell a tale on Jack and every time another person is mentioned go off on that persons life history on a tangent for most of a chapter, almost forgetting that Jack is the purpose of the book and Jack's story is the one we wanted to hear about.

That may sound like criticism but it is not meant that way, merely an observation.
That said, it is written by someone who truly loves the region and the era and the author's passion combined with my own for the same subjects made it a good enough read for me.

But I have loaned the book to several friends here and none could get through it, complaining it was badly organized and too jumbled to bother fighting through. Which to me in this case is saying Christmas wrappings are too much bother to go through to open a present.

The author's research is exhaustive and in my opinion she really has enough here to make Longstreet a chapter or two in a much larger volume on this region and era.
I would encourage the author to write a volume or SET of volumes on "The History of the Desert Frontier in the Great Basin", make Jack Longstreet a chapter or central figure, as there is so much here that Jack gets lost in the information and stories.

I would recommend it to only those who either have an interest in the region of southern Nevada or are fans of pioneer era stories, since I am a fan of both, I enjoyed the book.

If you like the Old West this book delivers. If there was a real life John Wayne, Jack Longstreet would be the one. Only perhaps a little darker. Nothing much was known about him before he moved to Nevada in the 1870's, but he racked up many wild stories during his time in the central Nevada desert. Claim jumping, cattle rustling, horse racing, bar keeping are all samples of what he was involved in. He spoke paiute and was a defender of the local native americans. He outlived all his enemies and died in 1928 at the age of 94.

Great read. If you care about the Frontier Battalion of the Texas Rangers, you need this book

This book tells the story of the post-Civil War and Reconstruction era Texas Rangers. Among the chapters are: McNelly's Boys, Sam Bass and Other Bad Men, The Vanishing Frontier, Fence Cutters and Troubleshooters and Ranger Camp Life. This is a well-researched book which offers a lot of new information on, and insight into, the Texas Rangers. Wilkins is the author of the critically acclaimed "The Legend Begins: The Texas Rangers, 1823-1845".

The central idea illustrated in this book is that 'Cumulative self-sustaining changes in the form of the endless search for accumulation has been the leitmotiv of the capitalist world-economy ever since its genesis in the 16th century.'
This theorem leads to the following conclusion: ' NONE (I underline) of the great revolutions of the late 18th century - the SO-CALLED (I underline) industrial revolution, the French Revolution, the settler independences of the Americas - represented fundamental challenges to the world capitalist system.'
Why? Because the transition from feudalism to capitalism had long since occurred.

I will only discuss the author's view on the Industrial Revolution.

Another marxist, Eric Hobshawm starts his book 'Industry and Empire' with the following sentence: 'The Industrial Revolution marks the most fundamental transformation of human life in the history of the world.'

How is it possible that two marxist scholars have such a different appreciation of the same phenomenon?
I believe because there is an all important 'hidden' element, which is unconsciously taken into account by Hobshawm and not by Wallerstein: power.
'The endless search for accumulation' is not an end, but a means to acquire power (R. Kuttner: 'Wealth is power.')
Power means a bigger chance to survive in the struggle for life. Those, then and now, who profit from the Industrial Revolution have a better chance to survive (states, corporations, classes, individuals).
Power is not only a question of social and economic systems, but also a matter of political and military strenght in order to implement certain policies.

Why did Britain rule the waves? Politically, the Parliament controlled the king and the capitalist landowners could implement their economic policies. Militarilly, the Navy's strenght assured victory in wars, permitted access to foreign markets, incorporation of vast new zones into the system, blocking entry of raw material into enemy states ... Economically, all important technical innovations.
The Industrial Revolution was a crucial element in the acquisition of world power by the British.

Wallerstein admits these cardinal factors: 'It was these politico-military victories that critically increased the economic gaps - in industry, in trade and in finance.' And, 'the wars allowed the spectacular change in Britain's exports.'
But, because they did not change the system (capitalism), those factors were not very important. Also in the struggle for survival?

Another aspect of both analyses is the Schumpeterian factor. For Wallerstein, the actors are ideas, classes, Estates. Individuals are mere vehicles for those ideas.
In Hobshawm's book, individuals are important, e. g. the aim of the British rulers was to implement first of all policies of economic expansion. This was not the aim of the Ottoman empire.

This book contains a wealth of information and is thought-provoking, but one-sided.
Ultimately, only democracy can determine the future of our world-system.

Immanuel Wallerstein has given us an important book. This book explains how and why Great Britain emerged from the 18th century with economic hegemony. The best thing which the book does is to place free-market capitalism as a historical process, rather than as an extra-historical inevitability, which is usually taught in most public schools, and assumed in most public debates and private understandings of economics in the U.S.

Do not be scared away by the book's academic-sounding title. The book is accessible. Wallerstein writes in a lucid manner, but is treating a complex topic, and he seems to be writing mostly for academics. Basically, reading this book should be a challange for the average reader (like me), but a rewarding and seriously educating challange in the end. The reading is slow, but worthwhile.

I would lastly add that education of this sort, especially after one is through with school, is the duty of every citizen of a democracy. Knowledge is the foundation for power.

The Draper Interviews provide insight into the life of Boone, free of the myth and larger than life stereotype that has always surrounded this remarkable frontiersman. Nathan Boone's recollections of his father also gives us a glimpse of how Daniel himself viewed the world in which he lived and allows us to more clearly understand the man from which the legend sprung. Though many books written from similiar interviews are dull and rather boring, the Draper Interviews are arranged so that they make for rather stimulating reading and keep the reader eagerly in longing for the next chapter. Truly a "must read" for anyone interested in Daniel Boone or early Kentucky history.

Nathan Boone and his wife, Olive van Bibber Boone, had the kind of memories most people wish for. They remembered virtually all of the early history of Commonwealth of Kentucky. When Lyman Draper came to visit them for two months in 1851 he found them full of the most interesting and detailed memories of Daniel Boone. Not only had the elder Boone lived with them and shared his own memories, they had also lived through many of the incidents themselves, and knew many of the old pioneers -- old van Bibber was one of the earliest settlers in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Enjoyable, highly readable. I highly recommend this book.

This book lets the reader into the mind of one of America's most fascinating military men, George A. Custer. He shows his talent for writing and vividly paints a picture of what life was like on the Western Plains. This book is a MUST for any student of the Old West or military historian.

Called by Frederick Benteen, "My Lie on the Plains" this is Custer's personal description of his adventures on the Plains. Of necessity it minimizes his Court Martial and other acts of ommission and commission because of Custer's self-view. Notwithstanding this the book gives insights into the psychology of a man who wished to become a legend and did. Any student of Plains History and Custer's part in it, must certainly read the man's own words.