Expansion Books

The book was in excellent condition, I have no complaints at all, it was everything I expected.

Kingdom Principles: Preparing for Kingdom Experience and Expansion (Understanding the Kingdom) (Hardcover)
There are alot of books written on the Bible by many authors, but I believe this is the best source of truth about the Kingdom of God that I have ever read.

Dr. Myles Munroe is especially Gifted and Called to serve our "today". The Study Guide he authored was led by our Lord and is one of learning the route to a deeper life, experiencing spiritual guidelines for many life changing issues and all is backed with the Word of God. The Study Guide is quite easy to use and any and all should expect spiritual growth when their 40 days are complete.

The "Kingdom Principles Study Guide" is designed as a supplement to Myles Munroe's book "Kingdom Principles" and is made up of 40 lessons to be used over a 40 day period.

Each daily lesson includes: A scripture verse for the day, a daily devotion based on an excerpt taken from the book "Kingdom Principles," several related thought provoking, application questions, and a meditation. These include principles for contemplation, concepts for consideration, and distinctiveness of the Kingdom of God to experience.

I found the devotional thoughts motivational and inspirational, the application questions stimulating and compelling, and the meditations to be rich with a moving, and meaningful focus.

This is an important, comprehensive study guide that will help the reader expand their kingdom living experience as they reflect anew on "Kingdom Principles."

Great study guide about the Kingdom and how God wants us to set up His Kingdom here on earth. God is our King and we are to rule under Him. This 40 day devotional will encourage and enlighten your life.

This book sets out what Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies does, but in a less original way. It basicaly sets up a straw man by claiming that most people think Europeans conquered the New World and Oceania through weapons but in fact they were 'biologically' programmed to win. This thesis begins in the 10th century A.D. But here the author misses something. The Vikings that landed in Labrador and in Greenland were unsuccessful. They dwindled and died out. SO if they were biologically programmed to suceed then why didn't they. Inferior weaponry?

Then we jump ahead to the 16th century. Now the book misses another important point. Only in North America and Australia were the natives completely decimated by disease. In Mexico and New Zealand many of the native Aztecs and Maoris and Mayas survived. In Mexico today most people are descended from them. It was the sparsely populated natives that succombed to disease and this 'biological' issue. The conquest of Mexico and the mixing of peoples has a parellel in the Arab conquest of North Africa or the Turkish conquest of Anatolia. It is not simply a matter of disease and biology.

Thus this book falls short on several points. It is not an original thesis. It also suffers from severe problems of history, in trying to curve the data to fit the idea.

Seth J. Frantzman

"Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion Of Europe, 900-1900"
by Alfred W. Crosby. Cambridge University Press, 1986.
The implication of this book's theory is that the Europeans succeeded in the "New" World due to the imperialistic strength of European flora and fauna. European cattle and European horses conquered the plains of both North America and Argentina, making them "neo-Europes". When Columbus introduced the pig, (either inadvertently or consciously), he knew that that the porcine animal species would "conquer" their local environment. The author's excellent writing follows this theme throughout his book, but, in my opinion, he spends too much time on New Zealand ... pages 217 to 268.

Yet, if the author's thesis is correct, the book becomes a disparaging comment on human efforts. For example, compare the Pilgrims' landing in 1620 with the landing of Hernando De Cortez (1485-1547) at Vera Cruz in 1519. The Pilgrims snuck ashore, onto that Rock in Plymouth, on a cold winter's day. There was no one to meet them, as the locals (or "indigenes" as Crosby likes to call them) had all been killed off by strange and new diseases. The diseases were probably brought over by Englishmen; otherwise where did Squanto, the Indian chief, learn his rudimentary English? (Just as my aside, if the Scots, who first settled in Ulster, Ireland and then came to North America, are known as Scots-Irish, why weren't the Pilgrims known as "Anglo-Dutch"?)

In February 1519, more than a century before the Pilgrims, Hernando De Cortez landed at the Rich Villa of the Holy Cross, Vera Cruz, with some 500-600 men, to face not thousands, but hundreds of thousands. To instill courage in his men, Cortez burnt his boats. The Spanish had to go forward and they conquered an empire. On the other hand the Pilgrims occupied a dead village. In both cases, European diseases were the deciding factor, but the achievement of either group was entirely different. Crosby's book treats them as if they were equal.

I believe that Alfred W. Crosby has hit on something that bears further investigation. In the late summer of 2004, I attended a wedding in Slovenia. As we drove through Germany, I noticed goldenrod by the sides of the corn fields. I asked and I was told that goldenrod was introduced as a flowering plant but was not doing so well in Europe. I wonder if Crosby's thesis was borne out by the lack of success of goldenrod ...and other American plants? Don't get me wrong: since I am allergic to goldenrod, I am happy it was NOT successful in German farm fields, but why?

The most impressive and pleasant aspect of this new approach to world history is the non-anthropocentric perspective Crosby adopts. He tells the story of the expansion of a tightly connected group of European organisms, which includes humans alongside with other domesticated animals, crops, weeds, viruses and bacteria.

The book shows that humans were the leading elements in this great expansion beyond Europe and across the oceans - but they would not have managed to successfully invade, occupy and dominate vast areas of the planet such as America, Australia and New Zealand if they had not been supported by a powerful combination of fauna, flora and germs. In fact, often enough these supporting organisms even took the lead in making the "new-found" territories hospitable for Europeans. Once they had arrived to faraway lands with similar climatic conditions as Europe - but with much less people, germs, domesticated animals and plants - the horses, pigs, cows, sheep, bees, rats, weeds and endemic diseases carried by European vessels began spreading quickly in these totally unexposed areas, and thrived mainly by destroying the native organisms.

Another important point developed by Crosby is that this apparently aggressive invasion and occupation of other continents was actually the consequence of a long process started many thousands of generations before, and of which Europeans were totally unaware. They were simply the ones most prepared and willing to cross unknown oceans (in fact, for centuries they had to painfully learn all about winds and currents - for which many a vessel with all its human and non-human crew had to be sacrificed) and settle down many 1000 of kilometres away from their original home, because the "old continent" had become overpopulated, deforested and overgrazed. Their "ecological imperialism" was in the end part of their struggle to survive and reproduce (to the disadvantage of other human and non-human organisms).

Thus, Crosby urges his readers to think of this propagation of certain humans and their accompanying flora, fauna and germs in detriment of others as a natural phenomenon. In fact, he often compares the European ecological expansion with an "avalanche" or a "bursting dam", i.e., something that had to inevitably happen given the circumstances. In this scenario, it becomes clear that these organisms were vehicles for a great "biological revolution" (in the words of the author), where humans were the spearhead of the movement - but hardly the all-knowing, dominant, free agents they mostly imagine(d) themselves to be.

Book Review: "Ecological Imperialism"
In his book, Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900, Alfred W. Crosby investigates the roots of European domination over the western world. He calls the places where early Europeans settled "Neo-Europes" with special emphasis on North and South America , Australia , and New Zealand . In his prologue he ponders whether Europeans dominated their environment and other cultures because of their technology, or whether the consistent "success of European imperialism has a biological, [and] an ecological, component.". Crosby 's thesis is that Europeans were successful imperialists because wherever they went their agriculture and animals thrived; and the indigenous populations and local ecosystems collapsed under their biological advance.
Crosby begins at the beginning, discussing the one big continent, Pangaea, supposed to have existed in pre-history and the slow development of life forms other than reptilian, in particular Homo sapiens. The break up of Pangaea (this hypothetical super-continent) caused the "the decentralization of the process of evolution," that is, when the land cracked apart flora and fauna were spilt between the newly created continents. That continental split is the reason similar species are found in Europe and North America.
Eventually Crosby brings the reader up to the end of the Ice Age. Ten thousand years ago humans were exploring the islands of the Eastern Atlantic including Australia . Once on these islands humans domesticated plants, piled up mounds of garbage, spread disease, and hunted animals into extinction. Normally the despoilment of indigenous flora and fauna occurs over tens of thousands of years. In locations where humans arrived with mature hunting skills a sudden extinction of local plant and animal life occurred. These sudden prehistoric, or Pleistocene, overkills were the first concentrated impact humans had on virgin ecosystems.
The virgin ecosystem of Porto Santo Island was the destination of Portuguese settlers during the 1400s. Porto Santo Island was completely uninhabited and filled with untouched flora and fauna. One Portuguese ship captain brought a mother rabbit and her babies to the island. The rabbits loved Porto Santo and thrived in the island environment. So much so that soon the settlers were blasting away at the rabbits in an attempt to exterminate the entire local rabbit population. It seems the rabbits could not determine the difference between the crops meant for human consumption and the crops meant for bunny consumption. The rabbits won in this instance and for a time the settlers moved elsewhere, "defeated by their own ecological ignorance."
The experience of Spanish invaders in the Canaries showed them that no matter where they went, even if they could not out-fight their opponents, Europeans could dominate their enemies anyway. "In all these [new] places, the newcomers would conquer the human populations and Europeanize entire ecosystems." The Spanish learned from their experiences in the Canaries that their livestock and crops would succeed in these new environments; they also learned they could easily defeat the local natives without traditional warfare. The various "plagues" and "sleeping sicknesses," which the Spanish called peste and modorra, killed off and weakened natives who had no natural immunity to ailments common to the Spanish. In essence, sore throats and colds were the winning weapons of the conquerors; it was the flu that subjugated the Canaries.
The unfortunate natives of the Canary Islands , the Guanches, did not survive their meeting with the Spanish sailors. These previously isolated people died rapidly from dysentery, pneumonia, and venereal disease. According to Crosby "few experiences are as dangerous to a people's survival as the passage from isolation to membership in the worldwide community that included European sailors, soldiers, and settlers." When the Spanish conquered the Canaries the Guanches lost their land and therefore their livelihood. Some Guanches joined the Spanish army and went to fight in the Americas ; the Spanish sold others into slavery. The majority of Guanches however died of disease and the entire population became extinct.
Unlike the Guanches of the Canaries, the Maoris of New Zealand did survive despite great odds. When invaded by Europeans the Maoris assumed they would become extinct. European rats annihilated the Maori rat, an animal that was a food staple for the natives. The Maori fly might have help ward off the incursion of sheep that quickly destroyed the local flora, but invading European houseflies wiped out the local flies. Clover took over where ferns had been, and the Maori waited for their own extinction. The Maori population hit bottom in 1890 but then began a mysterious recovery and 280,000 people claim to be Maori by 1981.
In the 1500s Europeans arrived in the Americas with horses, technology (weapons), domesticated plants (crops), farm animals, germs, insects, diseases, weeds, and varmints. The garbage piled up by farmers encouraged varmint populations (mainly mice and rats) which spread disease and attacked human food supplies. Crosby devoted an entire chapter to the spread of weeds around the world. Weeds are not specific plants. "Weed" is a general term applied to a plant that spreads rapidly and encroaches on other plants. The study of where specific weeds appeared and when, aids in tracking population movements. The weeds brought by Europeans were actually another unintentional imperial victory. Weeds repaired damaged top soils and provided feed for livestock. " Rye and oats were once weeds." "Weeds are the Red Cross of the plant world; they deal with ecological emergencies." "Weeds thrive on radical change, not stability. That, in the abstract, is the reason for the triumph of European weeds in the Neo-Europes..." Weeds were resilient and thrived in soils laid bare by European plows, and damaged by drastically altered ecosystems.
European populations exploded in the Americas and Australia . What distinguished these Neo-Europes were the large food surpluses they generated. Neo-Europes led the world in food production "relative to the amount locally consumed." Other cultures actually produced more food per capita and per hectare, but the Neo-Europes exported more food than any other society. Especially successful exports from Neo-Europes were wheat, soybeans, pig products, and beef. Europeans consistently chose to settle in temperate climates where their animals and crops thrived. This was prudent and logical, it would have made no sense for Europeans to settle in torrid climates where their livestock would have suffered, and their favorite crops could not be grown.
The wind also aided European imperialists. When faced with strong winds the Portuguese marinheiros, true sailors, did not turn around and go home or sit sail-less in the water until the winds changed. Marinheiros would "sail around the wind." Sailors would tack close enough to the contrary wind to keep moving and then find a wind that they could use to continue their course. The Portuguese who perfected this "crabwise slide" called it the volta do mar, literally "going back to the sea." This understanding of winds allowed marinheiros to sail out on trade winds and back home on the westerlies.
Smallpox was the big killer of the Aztecs and the Incas in Peru ; the Huron and Iroquois in Mexico ; and the Amerindians of the United States . Crosby claims the victories of the Conquistadors over the Amerindians were "in large part the triumphs of the virus of smallpox." Besides smallpox Europeans brought dysentery and influenza; those epidemics killed almost the whole indigenous population of North America . In effect, the domination over ecology and culture by European invaders was more of a biological accident, than a well-executed military takeover.
Virgin soil epidemics spread through populations who had no prior contact with European diseases. These populations had no immunity to protect them. Virgin soil epidemics had many dramatic consequences. First, the epidemics effectively committed genocide, killing entire populations of native people around the world. Second, certain diseases (measles, influenza, tuberculosis) effected people fifteen to forty years of age more than others. These young adults were responsible for most of the labor involved in supplying food, procreation, raising children, and defending the society. The third and fourth effects of virgin soil epidemics were cultural optimism on the part of the conquerors, and cultural fatalism on the part of the conquered. When Europeans arrived and slew their rivals without raising a sword they believed that God must be on their side and this belief affirmed the rightness of their imperialistic actions. When the indigenous people died by the hoard from mysterious ailments they developed a fatalistic view of their own destiny and supposed the white man's Gods were the more powerful.
Ecological Imperialism is interesting, occasionally humorous, and easy to read. Crosby accomplishes his goal of writing a big book. This author presents a convincing and encompassing explanation for the incredible success of European imperialists. The book leaves the reader with more questions. How aggressively imperialistic were the original conquerors if all they had to do was show up and their opponents fell to the wayside? Crosby argues convincingly that Europeans were triumphant because the places they chose to conquer had ecosystems and indigenous populations that surrendered to the biology of the invaders.

Alfred Crosby is widely credited for popularising the ecological dimension of the history of imperial expansion. For this reason, and perhaps this reason alone, his book is worth a read.

The book, first published in 1986, revolutionised the way we think about European imperial expansion into the New World. How a few hundred disoriented Europeans armed with spears and misfiring guns managed to overwhelm entire Inca and Aztec civilisations in the early sixteenth century, for example. Crosby convincingly casts aside traditional political or military explanations by attributing the astonishing Portuguese and Spanish victories to bacteriology: how diseases such as smallpox and measles that the Europeans unwittingly carried with them wiped out thousands of New World inhabitants, severely crippling their defences.

The larger point that Crosby drives across is a profound one. Historical events - in this case, European expansion and imperialism - can be explained predominantly by ecological factors. In the clash of `biotas' between the Old and the New World, the Old World won. Convincingly. Hence the presence not just of Europeans in the Americas, but also of pigs and dandelions. According to this thesis, ecology shaped European expansion; creating `Neo-Europes' in the New World that facilitated European migration, precipitating the `Caucasian wave' from the 1820s to the 1930s. Unlike in most other histories, in Crosby's ecological history, humans form the backdrop and inexorable ecological forces take centre-stage.

Refreshing as this perspective is, the way that Crosby has rendered it is problematic in on a number of accounts. By excluding humans from the picture; or at best relegating human developments to the sidelines, Crosby emerges with a dangerously reductive picture of historical development. Deterministic ecological explanations cannot alone account for European expansion - after all, we must not forget that the first European transoceanic voyages were motivated by curiosity rather than necessity. More problematic is the book's implicit assumption that ecological influence was unidirectional. In concentrating on explicating the Old World's ecological victory over the New, Crosby neglects to examine the influence that New World ecology had on the Old.

Nonetheless, Crosby's work remains a landmark study that deserves a read. Moreover, it packs a punch as a piece of writing - its lucid narratives and provocative assertions laid out with the bold and elegant strokes of a master-artist. Yet Crosby's work is also increasingly a dated study that has been qualified over and over by new works in the field, or in the related field of environmental history. Those interested in the subject should by no means stop at Crosby's book.

I have to say this book is just wonderful! It is great as a casual read as well as excellent for the researcher and/or family historian! It helped me to fill some gaps in my families history (Daniel's sister, Sarah Boone) and gave other avenues in which to reasearch.

Wanted to read this book as a celebration of Daniels life Yet I found it to be long statements made directly following his death It is told that none ventured into writing of this man during his life I guess that makes it appealing The man had big family and was known to beat the Indians at there own gam that I found Admirable the book on a whole was simply a bore due to the accounts of how Boone tryed to purchase this or that But to those who want to build homesteads in the 1800s It will be to your liking

This is the one to get. This one, and John Mack Faragher's BOONE biography (Henry Holt, 1992). Anything by Belue is worth getting; he is precise to the point of obsession, and his works--four thus far--will stand the test of time.

Occasionally a book that has been available for a while deserves another look just because of its intrinsic value. In 1998 a book was published that combined the names of two legendary individuals who will be associated forever with the history of the American backwoods-Daniel Boone, the famous adventurer, and Lyman C. Draper, the renowned nineteenth-century interviewer and collector. It was only through the painstaking efforts of editor Ted Franklin Belue that Draper's highly significant tome on Boone finally came into being a century and a half after it was started. Before the ink was dry on the printed page, this book had become a backcountry classic. It instantly went to the front rank of Boone biographies. For the previous hundred years few but the serious historian had been drawing from Draper's handwritten manuscript on Boone; now even the casual reader would have the material readily available in print. Despite the fact that Draper never finished writing the biography and didn't take Boone's exploits beyond 1778, The Life of Daniel Boone (596 pages hardcover, $39.95, Stackpole Books) has proven to be well worth the long wait.
The book is a treasure trove of information about Boone, including such highlights as: his early years in Pennsylvania and North Carolina; activities during the French and Indian War; hunting in the Appalachian region; long hunting in Kentucky; adventures in Dunmore's War; the establishment of Boonesborough; and the first half of the Revolutionary War in Kentucky. While perusing these pages, the reader will be reminded constantly of Draper's monumental research that involved extensive travel to obtain interviews with people who had known Boone personally or with relatives and friends of such individuals. He also endeavored to collect important documents before they disappeared. His efforts were literally a race against time. Belue sets a standard for excellence with his very interesting preface as well as his editor's note (following the preface) that explains how the book finally came into being. The outstanding notes at the end of each chapter by both Draper and Belue are a further wealth of information. Draper's 44-page appendix provides a Boone genealogy and biographical sketches of many other frontier figures.
From Smoke & Fire News, November 2004, by Bob Holden

Lyman Draper wrote the single best account of the life of Daniel Boone. This source, while not well known, has been mined by virtually every biographer of Boone since 1850. This book and the biography of John Bakeless are the best two volumes ever to appear about the life of Daniel Boone. Also the Memoirs of Nathan Boone and his wife are of extreme value. These books provide the basis for the study of early Kentucky history.

This is a magisterial history of the exploration of the west by an icon of western histiography. DeVoto takes in the whole sweep of New World history, from the conquistadors up to Lewis and Clark. Lewis and Clark are the clear apogee of the narrative, and the hundred or so pages on their expedition function as a hundred page mini book within a book.

I learned alot about the exploration of the west in this book, especially in the sections devoted to spanish (inept) and french (daring but lacking ambition) exploration. All forces eventually will yield to the english and later the americans.

Jefferson emerges as a far sighted hero of manifest destiny. This book gives great little known detail on the interaction between westerners and native americans without being biased or unduly sentimental to the existing native cultures.

I thought on the whole he was even handed about alot of controversial issues and his awesome prose and thorough research make this an enduring classic of american history and the "course of empire"

To my mind, Course of Empire is the best book written by Bernard Devoto (1897-1955). With it, he won a National Book Award to add to his Pulitzer and Bancroft prizes. DeVoto's integration of American exploration with the political quarrels of Europe is exceptionally good, and his understanding of western geography is overwhelming even to the well-traveled.

Most important, this is the work of a novelist manqué who should have been a historian all along. The book is everywhere readable and sometimes sings. A couple of examples:

"The best hope of peace lay in the fact that for half a century Spain had been falling like Lucifer son of the morning and was now prostrate. Its possessions spread across Europe without logic of geography or nationality. If they could be satisfactorily distributed among the powers peace might follow like the well-being of a man who has dined well." (164)

"In 1744 [Arthur Dobbs] published An Account of the Countries Adjoining to Hudson's Bay, a vigorous, absorbing book which assembled everything that was known, rumored, guessed, logically deduced, and imagined about the Northwest. It is a visionary's argument and perhaps the most shining eighteenth-century example of what the imagination can do when it has a blank map to work on and is handicapped by no empirical knowledge whatever." (244)

Finally, in Course of Empire, Native Americans are treated knowledgeably and thoroughly yet without the stifling political correctness of our own day. DeVoto writes of "savages" who do savage things; and he is right. Of course, DeVoto had the advantage of writing at a time when Europeans could no longer get a pass for being white but before Native Americans got one for not being so. DeVoto could not have chosen his era, but he certainly made the best use of it.

Although the various European powers moved sometimes disorganizedly, in fits and starts, DeVoto shows how the course of empire's path is laid out.

As the first volume of a trilogy, DeVoto foreshadows America's later claims of Manifest Destiny and "democratic-imperial" dreams in "Course of Empire," based on the expansionist energy he details in "Across the Broad Missouri."

All three volumes are worth a read.

This is a book about the exploration, not the settlement, of North America. As such, it traces the 278 year history of European and American efforts to penetrate and understand the North American continent.

The Course of Empire then is a compendium of various and sometimes quite different national interests. Utilizing a chronological, fill in the blank approach, DeVoto literally fills in the map of North America as viewed, rightly or wrongly, by each succeeding explorer. Chapter by chapter this story unfolds across the entire history of North American exploration. Thus, the reader meets everyone in chronological sequence, starting with Balboa and ending with Lewis and Clark.

Since subsequent explorers often had access to the records of those that preceded them, DeVoto is not only able to fill in the North American map with the contribution of each exploration, he is also able to link each exploration to its fundamental drivers: national intent and economic interest. As a result, he is able to underscore the ebb and flow of New World power as each country's global interests and economic situation changed over time.

For example, Spain's 16th century interest was mostly focused on conquest and plunder. As a result, Spain's more northern explorations, led by De Soto and Coronado, were limited by the lack exploitable civilizations. In contrast, after the defeat of the Spanish Armada and Spain's decline as a world power, England's subsequent 17th and 18th century efforts were more driven by land acquisition, sugar and the fur trade. It is easy to see why then that the French and Indian War was fought and why Britain's explorations are so much more consistent and focused on such dramatically different sections of North America.

Of critical interest is how the author weaves the unbelievable scope of this effort into a consistent whole, telling the story of how the geography of North America limited and encouraged continental expansion and ultimately defined the national borders of the United States. This is an excellent work and well worth your time.

Like many readers I was led to DeVoto by Stephen Ambrose, and I was not disappointed. This book combines meticulous historical scholarship with a real skill in storytelling, and it gave me a new understanding of how Europeans perceived and penetrated the continent. I began with the intention of reading the three volumes in historical order, and I'm eagerly continuing to "Across the Wide Missouri," which is all the review you should need.

My only complaint -- and the only reason to deny it a fifth star -- has nothing to do with DeVoto's work itself. The edition I read (purchased here, and as far as I can tell identical to the one for sale above) had black-on-white, pen-and-ink maps that appear to date from the original printing. They can be hard to read, which is a significant drawback in a narrative that relies so heavily on geographical references.

I would be very happy to see either a companion volume filled with modern maps (as has been done so admirably with the Aubrey-Maturin novels), or a new edition of the book that incorporates them directly.

I have no illusions about the sales volume of this title, or its power to induce such a new printing. Nor do I ignore the charm in presenting these maps with the same "period" style that DeVoto's first readers saw. But I found this book so instructive that I hope for others to derive the same benefit -- and that means using modern techniques to make it the most effective educational instrument it can be.

It's important to disclaim that I'm only talking about the illustrative maps. The ones used as chapter headers, that show the continent gradually "filling in" over the centuries, are priceless and should be left as-is in any future printing.

What's highly instructive, on reading this sharp and impartial critique of foreign policy, is not that America's foreign policy decisions are consistently excellent, but rather that it's a mixed bag. Perhaps I'm being cynical, but the title "How America Got It Right" suggests America is a savvy world player. So I was surprised to read healthy doses of criticism of past presidential decisions. So the book's cover appeals to flag-waving patriots, but the book's content offers a tough history lesson. A more accurate title might have been: "How America Is Sometimes Right And Sometimes Wrong" but this might have discouraged sales?

Bevin Alexander is an authoritative military historian. His book covers a lot of ground. He's frank, non-partisan, terse. He grades past presidents on specific decisions. Here's his assessment of recent presidential decisions:

Successes: Nixon reining in Israel after the six-day war by threatening to cut off supplies; Reagan's military build-up; Reagan's diplomacy with the Soviets; Reagan's policy leading to dismantling of the Soviet Union; Bush I's organizing multilateral effort to oust Saddam from Kuwait; Bush I's first Gulf War; Bush I's decision was to oust Saddam from Kuwait was "completely justified" according to Alexander.

Failures: Carter's granting permission to Shah of Iran to enter US for medical treatment which triggered the takeover of the US embassy in Teheran; Carter's failed Iran hostage rescue; Reagan's allowing 241 marines to be killed in Lebanon by suicide truck bomber; Reagan's allowing Arafat to escape to Tunisia despite Israeli northwards military push into Lebanon; Bush I's inaction when Balkans began disintegrating; Bush I's not pursuing Saddam after liberating Kuwait and ending first Gulf War prematurely; Clinton's "Blackhawk Down" fiasco in Somalia caused by failing to send in heavily armored troops and angering warlord Aydid; Clinton's failure to prevent genocide in Rwanda; Bush II's second Gulf war was a mistake.

Alexander shows why nations want nuclear weapons. There's a huge cost savings -- having a nuclear bomb provides freedom from attack because no non-nuclear state will attack one with atomic weaponry. So nations can reduce their conventional forces significantly and save money. He also shows how public perceptions can have a powerful effect on leaders. For example, the shelling of a marketplace in Sarajevo, in which television audiences worldwide saw innocent people being killed, prompted president Clinton to finally do something "because he saw that inaction would lower his numbers in the next poll" writes Alexander.

For me, the lesson of Alexander's excellent book is that America's foreign policy is mediocre. America's foreign policy is largely a function of presidential skill. None of America's recent presidents have had a spotless record. Most have had a mediocre record. I see this as highly troubling in a world with dangerous stateless actors struggling to get weapons of mass destruction.

My personal sense is that America's rise to global power was not based on diplomatic smarts or foreign policy skill; rather, America had a strong legal system built on individual rights and a government based on popular sovereignty. The legal system encouraged investment, protected property, rewarded invention. The result is a perfect climate for business growth. Since there were few natural enemies in a resource-rich land protected by vast oceans, America grew into an industrial powerhouse. When wars came, America could overwhelm adversaries by outproducing them with more tanks, guns, uniforms, bullets.

But in the future America's relative economic advantage will deteriorate, in my view. Rising nations are copying America's blueprint for democratic capitalism and will challenge its economic hegemony. And America in the 21st century can no longer get by with mediocre foreign policy making, with occasional goofs, with incompetent presidents, with distracted short-term decision making. I argue that America needs a smarter, tougher, shrewder foreign policy architecture, and I don't think this can happen unless there is substantial political reform which requires, in my view, a Second Constitutional Convention. My book "Common Sense II: How to Prevent the Three Types of Terrorism" (Amazon & Kindle, 184 pages) offers a terrorism prevention strategy for America. It will prevent all types of terrorism, including smuggled nuclear bombs. It is brief, rational, non-religious, written by a citizen for citizens, non-technical. It's plain logic from one citizen to another. It is serious reform. I urge people who care about America to read my book.

Alexander's book is sharp, incisive, critical, well-written and instructive, with a somewhat misleading title, and makes the case, in my view, that America's foreign policy needs serious repair. I challenge Mr. Alexander to debate the merits of my strategy to prevent terrorism.

While some of the media reviews of this book paint it to be "one-sided" or "biased" we have to remember that Bevin Alexander is simply bringing to light the facts that are so often miscontrued or outright ignored in other history books about America...first of them the now predominant "textbook" for history, Howard Zinn's People's History. I suppose you could put Zinn and Alexander together and find a common ground...but of course in Zinn's book, there is not a single source. So it is somewhat ironic that while Zinn's book is praised and adopted for the classroom use by professors, it is little more than a book of opinions and speculation whereas Alexander atleast backs up his opinions with sources and facts.

Alexander does believe in America and it is this belief which is sorely lacking in academia these days. We are hyper-critical of our nation almost to a self-destructive level and what Alexander does is to show that America is not some imperial power like Zinn or Chomsky would have you believe. We've made our share of mistakes but also have attempted to correct those mistakes and to prevent them from happening again.

The book itself is easy to read and it is neatly divided up into chapters, each dealing with a specific point in American history. It is not intended to paint America as perfect. Indeed, Bevin Alexander is harsh on our decisions, specifically regarding Vietnam and slavery. But the intent of the book is not to be a textbook but is instead intended to show that America has gotten it right more often than not.

If you are a student or a parent of a student who has been forced to read the works of Zinn or Chomsky as your textbooks, get this book to act as a much needed counterbalance.

For people who have never read a book from Brevin Alexander this would be a good place to start and from there one should explore the author's other excellecent books. This books enters us onto the American experience into world politics and domination. How it got their and why it will remain their for a long time to come. Let's not make illusions because with great power comes great responsibility and this books shows us what is the US's responsibility and what may happen if this country does not step up to this role.

If you seek peace, prepare for war. Some people may be offended by that but it is what this book tells us must be the path taken by this nation in order to survive. The author tells us the risks, why we can't count on the Europeans, why if a party gets weak on defense in this country than the worst can happen. It is understandful that those are his opinions and he could be wrong in them, once one reads the entire book though one will come out with a better idea as to why America is the only world leader left.

The book is much more than the last paragraph though, it is a consice History of the United States. From the revolution, Mexican-American War, Vietnam War, every aspect is covered in a good flowing manner. The author also lets us know of some mistakes taken by the U.S and why they must not be repeated again. Overall and excellent examination into U.S politics and world Politics concerting U.S interest.

The political left has often charged that the United States is a world bully and in its attempts to spread American style democracy to thuggish regimes is no more or less imperialist in its designs than Rome ever was. Bevin Alexander in his HOW AMERICA GOT IT RIGHT replies to this canard by pointing out that those who subscribe to this creed simply have misunderstood the essential character of the historical American mindset. Alexander points out that from the very beginning of the American republic, a unique phenomenon occurred. For the first time in recorded history, a country was born in which the inhabitants sized up their current strengths and found that they could not compete militarily against what was then the world's strongest power, Great Britain. But these early Americans recognized that from their starting base in the thirteen colonies, they could see that if they could maintain their inner core values of hard-won freedom, they could expand westward and gradually become a world power. Alexander traces this decades long drive westward, from the War of 1812 to the Mexican War and then the Civil War. He notes that with the closure of the Civil War, the United States achieved its primary goal of sea to sea expansion, yet paradoxically encountered a problem that would appear in one form or another that would bedevil us right up to the current turmoil in Iraq. He sees this problem as nothing less that making foolish decisions that would threaten to derail our republic. In the case of the Civil War, it was the bitterness of the legacy of slavery. In the case of World War I, it was the equally foolish actions of President Wilson that resulted in requiring Germany to pay such a heavy load of reparations that the appearance of Hitler became inevitable. In short, Alexander pictures the United States as a country that set out to take advantage of a unique and fortuitous set of economic and technological circumstances to become a Great Power, but once having achieved that goal determined not to travel down the same road of imperialism that doomed Rome in the third century and England in the nineteenth. America, as Alexander sees it, has always acted in ways that must protect its own sovereignty (the Monroe Doctrine for example) and yet must realize that with great power comes great responsibility. Rome's responsibility lay only in maintaining its imperial hegemony over Europe. Ditto for a later England. In America's case, every president, even those that were afflicted with a misguided vision of how to use that power, at least recognized that they had to pick and choose when and where to use that power that would not only ensure the continuity of this country but that of the rest of the world as well. American then became a sort of international Clancy, a beat cop who decides which drunks to roust and which itinerants to merely boot down the avenue. It is no surprise then that every time that America makes this decision, that there will be opponents who complain that America is doing either too much or not enough to correct all the world's ills. Alexander notes that this ability to jump in and out of foreign intrigues is a dicey affair. but to remain perpetually isolationist as we were at the end of the First World War or to attempt to micromanage every country's internal affairs as we did in Vietnam are simply opposite extremes of the same paradox, and thus unacceptable. He closes by noting that America will continue to walk this fine line between under and over involvement, and as his book title suggests, the result will probably be getting it right far more often than not. HOW AMERICA GOT IT RIGHT is an insightful overview of and response to the leftist charge that America solely because of its pre-eminent position as the world's only superpower must be Rome reborn in the twentieth century. Bevin Alexander suggests that the difference between the eagle of Rome and the eagle of America is the difference between intelligently addressing the world's problems and foolishly trying to bludgeon them away.

Bevin Alexander delivers a summary of America's short yet rich history that would make any patriot proud. He details our history, but also describes the motivation for the things that occured in that history thereby explaining how the American character developed over the years. He isn't afraid to point out mistakes along the way, but the overall theme is that America is good and so are our intentions.

The 'blame America first' crowd will have a field day with this, but they will find it difficult to argue with history. Alexander points out that those who feel we are imperialists simply don't have the historical record to support that contention. Yes, there are some who may feel wronged by our actions but no one can argue that America has consistently been on the side of good whenever good came under attack. Even today, it seems as though the world is incapable of confronting bad people and bad governments without America taking the lead. This is just one of many truths that Alexander points out with flavor.

All in all, this book is well worth the reader's time. It's inspiring and educational and it's a welcome rendition of American history free from one-sided criticism and hatred of our past actions.

Anyone who thinks life was better in times past should read this book. It is about the Donner party, a group of midwesterners who hoped on the frontier trail to California, only to face misery, hardship and death in numerous forms. In one case, a young boy breaks his leg, and dies in agony following a makeshift operation. In another a sick man is left to die on the trail, unable to keep up. And the party had to deal with hostile Indians and unsavory characters as well. It was a time when travel to the West coast from New York could be done faster by sea than overland.

I am a bit new to the Donner story so I can't compare Limburg's telling to other books on the adventure. But it certainly kept me reading. One could almost feel the optimism present in April when the group set out, and then the agravation and, ultimately, fear and despair. The reader will ask himself what he would have done in the situation, glad all the while for the comforts of modern life.

I, like everyone else, thinks of one thing when thinking about the Donner Party--canabalism. There were many wagon trains headed west in the years just before the Civil War that never made it, or suffered terrible hardship, but it is the Donner group that we all remember. Author Peter Limburg has done a marvelous job separating the sensationalism from the facts, and writes a poignant tale of people, just like us, looking for a better life in a new place. I always appreciate a book that solidly puts me in a different time and place--this book didn't disappoint.

I think people are a bit confused here. The story of the Donner Party is gripping, intense, chilling, gruesome etc etc. It is an incredible story that has survived for a reason. We can applaud Limburg for not ruining that for us - the book is a page turner that I finished in a sitting, however, Limburg's writing was not the reason. Frankly, "Deceived" is a poorly written account that merely spews the research of others into an easy to read format. The book contains far more flat, unnamed characters than can be digested and lets many plot lines drop away without a thought.

You'll note that most books about the Donner party are given rave reviews (probably for the reason I just suggested). I recommend that you look for another book on the subject as there must be better.

From Marisa D'Vari, author of "Script Magic" Sure, travel is difficult ... but count your lucky stars you're not traveling over a hundred years ago, when the travelers were not at the mercy of surly airline attendants but nature's elements. I became fascinated with the Donner party in a fourth grade history class in California, and am not surprised that Limburg's story continues to grip me. An excellent read!

I was fascinated by the detailed unfolding story of the famous Donner Party and how they got to the state that has made their name legend in the field of horror and disaster. With more than 45 photos and illustrations this book was I'm sure the most thourough treatment of this story.

Hard Road West is beautifully written and a "must" read for fans of American Western history. In my opinion, the most informative and comphrensive telling of the saga of the Oregon/California trail and the overland journey during the Gold Rush. The trail and geology maps alone are worth the cost of the book. This is a book I will keep in my library and will enjoy for many years.

As we make our way west Mr. Meldahl enlightens us not only to the features we pass but how we ourselves came to inhabit our planet. As we absorb the latest gripping geology we imagine with regret how much this knowledge would have pleased the pioneers. I know and love many of these places and now my excitement is magnified by this narrative. The inclusion of the photo of his dog Scout is one of the author's brilliant human touches. The merging of interjected historical records, romantic and unromantic impressions of travelers then and now with broad but incisive academic detailing into an even flow of narrative is astonishing. Superb drawings, maps and photos supplement and enlighten the text. I cherish this book. John Weiler

If you like geology, you will love this. Not a quick read and all the better for it. This discussion of how the West was formed makes the travails of the travelers West in the mid-nineteenth century seem superhuman. Every other chapter enlivens the material with excerpts from emigrant diaries. These are memorable! The book is well sourced,has helpful photographs and drawings and has a glossary of geologic terms. I found it hard to put down and even inspiring.

This is a very good geology book. The American west is hideously complicated, and Mr Meldahl does a great job explaining it. He develops his concepts and uses aerial and satellite photos along with diagrams to illustrate. Being young and hence having completed his education recently, he brings to the text all the latest ideas and vocabulary.

And it does look as if we are getting a solid handle on it. His discussion of the horizontal subduction of the Farallon plate, and of its extra thickness suppressing vulcanism, was particularly timely. Just yesterday I read a story on Science Daily (dot com) about an area of Alaska lacking volcanoes. The authors of the paper gathered data indicating that the plate being subducted there posessed an extra thickness and was sliding along horizontally without actually sinking. I knew exactly what they were talking about, thanks to Hard Road West!

Many such prizes exist in the text. Read this book to get up-to-date on this complicated topic.

In 1985 the PC game "Oregon Trail" became available. My daughter and I played it when she was in grade school around 1988. I learned that about 135,000 people took the Oregon Trail. Mr Meldahl tells us that a total of 400,000 people took the California Train and Oregon Train together from 1841 to 1869 when the railroads went through. That leaves around 265,000 gold rushers. Was it really the greatest mass migration in American history? (preface pp xv) An average of 300,000 vehicles passed over the George Washington bridge every day in 2002. (NYSDOT 2002) You be the judge.

But why quibble? It is the journey that interests the author, and he uses his sources well. The many first-person quotes really were good, as were the contemporary illustrations.

So let's join Keith in raising a toast. I'll open a Heineken in their honor, and his, tonight. "Hey, I liked your book, man!"

This is a really good book, a great read. The author is a gifted writer and he beautifully weaves the tales of the emigrant travels to California with the landscape geology that they had to cross. I am a big reader of geology books and this is one of the best that I have read. With all due respect to Mr. Mcfee who pioneered this genre (and I have also read and enjoyed over the years), I think this book is at least as good and maybe even better. First of all, Hard Road West uses numerous pictures and diagrams to explain complicated geological principals which are invaluable for understanding the geology. And Hard Road West lets the emigrants themselves tell the story though their travel journals. Its a wonderful approach and makes the geology jump out of the page as you follow the emigrants almost step-by-step through their many travel hardships crossing the west to reach California. He is a really fun writer and I look forward to many other books by him in the future. Highly recommended.

Pioneer Women: The lives of Women on the Frontier details the lives of women and the trials they faced in moving to and living on the American frontier. The book goes into detail about women and what they were giving up to follow their husbands, etc, to start a new life outside of the civilization they were used to.

Primary resources, such as diaries from women who lived through this period in history, are rare. The authors of this book did a great job finding these rare resources and presenting the information in a very organized way, from what women went through traveling to their new home and cooking and caring for family on the trail,to giving birth away from all conveniences.

This is a great book for those interested in the history of women and the movement westward, and what an individual would face in this situation.

Loved it - especially the photo's and of course the 'story' - makes it easier to understand what the people went thru just to have a home.
have always been interested in this period. Hubby and I are members of a western club - main period is 1875-1890, but knowing more about the whole period 1800 onwards helps to get the clothing and the attitude right.
looking for more books ...
bye for now
Jacqueline (alias Ruby)

Pioneer Women-The Lives of Women on the Frontier is a must for collectors of western lore-whether as used for reference or just for reading pleasure this book delves into little covered issues and answers the questions previously unmentioned regarding women on the frontier. From traveling west to every day life, from cooking to birth control, women domestic pioneers to women entrepreneurs; if you have a question about the lives of women in the 1800's this book probably has the answer in its pages.

This book is nicely divided into different phases of western life, like traveling the trail, family, homelife, etc. The pictures are fantastic. It's a fast read and perfect for anyone interested in this time period. Higly recommended.

This book is very informative on the pioneer womens' behalf. It shows their hardships and their strengths. The fortitude and endurance these women had is amazing. The photos are excellent too.

This book was most enjoyable--An historical and literary voyage through history until it capsizes--here, at our feet and on our shores on the California-Mendocino Coast.

WOW what fun, work and incredible research the author had to dive through. THIS IS GREAT READING!

The Voyage of the Frolic is a readers dream. Bostonian History, Maritime life, Chinese trade, the Coast of California and our indigenous Indians all rolled into one well written and enjoyable read. Thank you Professor Layton for unraveling the past and placing it in a wonderful china bowl for all of us to peruse and get to know.

Layton is a master at pulling you in and teaching you a thing or two. I'd love to learn more about the Chinese connection.

A model of the Frolic is on display at the Cabrillo Lighthouse, Mendocino, CA. Before you visit the area, read this book. The book covers the entire history of the Frolic, those who built it, the course it took for its short 6 year life -- before sinking off Pt. Cabrillo. Its history includes its involvement with the Opium War, American incursions in China and exciting trade run with opium, Chinese ceramics and silks. A must read if you're interested in international history and the ships that created commerce and connection with the rest of the world.

Oddly enough, our book group chose Voyage of the Frolic and what great fun and an education it has been. I've always dreamed of going on an archeological expedition and here, without the dirt, pan, screens and brushes, I've discovered another layer of the past. What an eclectic history California has.

Michael Punke threads his love of the wilds of the West throughout his informative, thought-provoking and insightful story of the buffalo and their interrleationship with the Native American population. He effectively evolved and linked this period to the issues with which we are dealing today. The author's research served to illustrate and elaborate on the context of the time. I gained a great appreciation from the story for the challenges and significant accomplishments of George Bird Grinnell. The book should is a must read for all Americans to infuse a much needed political consciousness of what we have done and are doing to our western wildnerness and the native people and animals who inhabit it.

Dr. Judith L. Lyon

Considering George Bird Grinnell's impact on conservation, fair treatment of the American Indian, and the national park movement - and those are but three of his many accomplishments - the lack of a full biography of his life seems downright peculiar. Since I first ran into his name more than a decade ago when I moved into an apartment building named Grinnell and wondered who or what "Grinnell" was, I have often pondered why I didn't learn about George Bird Grinnell in school. Surely, his life is as interesting and his contribution to America is as significant as that of Buffalo Bill (whose path he crossed). Consider, this man founded the first Audubon Society, explored Glacier National Park, and would have accompanied Custer at his last stand, except his professor needed his services for the summer at Yale!

Until now, the most complete exploration of Grinnell's life - excluding the unpublished, autobiographical "Memories" which resides in original at Yale and in copy or microfilm in several other libraries - was John F. Reiger's "The Passing of the Great West." Reiger allowed Grinnell to speak for himself, filling out the picture with supplementary writings by and about him. Gerald Diettert's "Grinnell's Glacier: George Bird Grinnell and Glacier National Park" focuses on one period in Grinnell's life and William T. Hagan's "Theodore Roosevelt and Six Friends of the Indian" (Grinell was one of the six "friends"), focuses on one facet of it. Grinnell's own writings reveal much about him. He was a prolific writer with a keen eye for detail, but his writings with an autobiographical slant are either difficult to obtain, like "Memories," or scattered in various places, such as magazine articles about his home in Audubon Park or the semi-autobiographical series of "Jack" adventure books, which he presumably wrote for his nieces and nephews to acquaint them with the "olden days."

While Michael Punke's "Last Stand: George Bird Grinell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West" is not a complete biography of Grinnell, it is a thorough examination of Grinnell's development from a wealthy and somewhat aimless young man to a mature thinker who grasped the concept of animal extinction and found in himself both the perseverance and tools to combat it.

As Punke succinctly states, "If there were two moral poles in the world of George Bird Grinnell, Cornelius Vanderbilt stood at one of them" and Lucy Audubon, the widow of naturalist and painter, John James Audubon, stood at the other. Punke develops this theme confidently and convincingly throughout his book. Lucy Audubon, who was Grinnell's first teacher and near neighbor in what was then known as Audubon Park, taught him the value of self-denial, which is at the heart of conservation: deny today and preserve so that future generations may enjoy. True, Grinnell probably learned similar lessons from his father, whose reputation remained untarnished and unchallenged (except in the "Brooklyn Eagle") despite two bankruptcies and extended, close business dealings with Cornelius Vanderbilt, the granddaddy of robber barons, but in his later writings, Grinnell gives ample credit to "Grandma" Audubon for her early moral lessons.

Punke is admirable in his ability to keep the various threads of his story moving along simultaneously. Grinnell's maturation, the United States government's subjugation of the American Indian, the near extinction of the buffalo, and the establishment of Yellowstone Park all develop simultaneously, no strand slighted in favor of another. Punke's writing is clear and energetic and his knowledge of the subject matter is extensive.

Occasionally, he misstates a fact; for example, substituting the firm of George B. Grinnell & Co for George Bird Grinnell & Co (George Blake Grinnell did his son a disservice when he named him George Bird - one George B Grinnell too many) and, occasionally he misses an interesting point. September 18, 1873, the day George Bird Grinnell & Co crashed, essentially freeing Grinnell from business and allowing him to return to Yale and embark upon the course that led him west, was the same day that Lucy Audubon, Grinnell's mentor, departed New York City for the last time, returning to Louisville, Kentucky, where she died several months later.

Those bits are tangential, however. This is a splendid book, a welcome addition to the literature about the founding father of American conservation and a very interesting read.
Matthew Spady [...].

This is a fascinating look at an overlooked and underappreciated historical figure: George Bird Grinnell, who led the effort to save the buffalo (and later, Glacier National Park). A man far ahead of his time, Grinnell was trying to save the buffalo when most Americans didn't care that they were disappearing, or were eager to kill them off, either as a way to get rid of the Indians, or as a way to make money. Punke takes you on a thrilling journey, describing exactly how the buffalo were killed off and why, with side ventures into the creation of Yellowstone National Park (and the battles to preserve it that follow), the big baron culture of the 19th centure, the emergence and importance of the magazine industry at the time, and the lives of John James Audubon, Custer, Theodore Roosevelt, Buffalo Bill and many others. The big will leave you with a tinge of sadness -- we will never again see the wilderness west of the early 19th century -- tempered with hope, that one person can, indeed, make a difference.

Michael Punke has written a very timely account of George Bird Grinnell, the assault on the American buffalo and efforts to keep it from extinction, the creation of Yellowstone National Park, and Grinnell's efforts as a conservationist. Grinnell was able to see into the future to save the buffalo from extinction, and the importance of preserving our environment for future generations. The book deals with poachers who killed buffalo for a living, commercial hunters of birds and fish, and how people felt the supply was inexhau