General-account

I read both "Blood Games" and "Cruel Doubt," reading "Games" first. While I enjoyed Bledsoe's proliferation of detail, I felt McGinnis certainly got more to the heart of the matter. With such a bizarre story, it is hard to determine exactly what happened, and I'm sure no one knows for sure. However, McGinnis took the logical next step at the end, interviewing all involved to see what they felt happened and who got off easy. There were so many inconsistencies in testimony that it is apparent that Henderson was lying and Upchurch didn't act alone, and Bledsoe didn't really explore these areas...

Jerry Bledsoe is one of my favorite true crime authors, and with this book, he further cements my view. Having read both the book from Joel Macguiness and this one, I have to say that I found Jerry's to be the more informative and complete. Joel obviously wrote his book from the point of view of the mother of Chris Pritchard, and so I felt that the other parties involved in the murder were not developed as much as they should have been. Jerry did this in his account. He delved into the background of all the major players in this drama, and brought out their stories, and the circumstances that led them to commit the acts that they may or may not have committed that night. Also brought out the shocking waste of human life, not only that of Lieth Von Stein, but of his murderers. Would highly recommend it to anyone who is a true crime afficionado.

After reading Cruel Doubt by McGinnis I wasn't really too excited when I picked up this book. Wow, was I ever wrong. While McGinnis spends all his time talking about Bonnie Von Stein and her son, Christopher Pritchard (He wrote the book with her help), Bledsoe spends more time getting to know the other parties alledgedly involved, Neal Henderson, and James Upchurch.

Bledose is objective about all the participants, including the victims. McGinnis tries to portray the son as a victim of drug abuse and wants you to feel sympathetic towards him. So many things do not add up, yet Mcginnis tries to pigeon hole it all away with statements like "...that's just the way she is" or "...the drugs clouded his vision he didn't know what he was saying or doing during that time frame" (paraphrased from Cruel Doubt).

While reading this book I noticed a number of things that lead me to believe that the entire truth was not brought out at trial. In some instances there were major discrepancies in the testimonies of Neal Henderson and Chris Pritchard. Things just did not add up. I wonder about the overzealousness of the police to capture someone because they happened to have a previous infraction. I wonder about the jury who convicted based solely on the two statements with major inconsistencies made by confessed killers.

This is a very interesting book, that gives you things to think about.

Jerry Bledsoe is spellbindingly brilliant once again. A must have for your true crime library.

If you effectively implement only one or two of the Shers' suggestions, you will more than cover the cost of this book. But that's not the best way to use it. Rather, first, re-examine all of your thoughts and feelings about accounts receivable (AR). (Do you even know precisely who owes you how much and for how long?) Then rigorously evaluate your current policies and procedures (if you have any) and make whatever modifications are necessary, guided and informed by what the Shers suggest. Finally, consistently follow those policies and procedures while being willing to consider a specific AR problem within its context. I wholeheartedly agree with the Shers that (a) AR may well be the single most important component of customer relationships, (b) AR problems offer unique opportunities to strengthen relationships with those customers involved, and (c) most AR problems are avoidable, more often than not the result of a misunderstanding rather than a customer's intention to avoid any payment whatsoever.

The Shers organize their excellent material within three Sections (Attitude, Speed, and Knowledge), following an Introduction which -- all by itself -- is worth much more than the cost of the book. They then share "A Few Final Words" about avoiding bad debts, consumer collections (why some don't pay) and what they call "The Kitchen Basket Syndrome," commercial collections, and finally, "Lessons in Real Life." Almost all companies have AR problems because some of their customers have cash flow problems.

What we have here is a step-by-step, cohesive and comprehensive system to minimize, expedite, and resolve problems with accounts receivable. Assume good will on the part of most customers and make every effort to "work with them." However, also know that at least a few are disreputable and be prepared to outsource some ARs to an attorney or collection agency. (The Shers explain the most effective way to do that.) For me, one of this book's greatest values is its emphasis on seeing AR within any organization's entire operations. In certain respects, this is a "How to Do It" book but it is more, much more. The Shers strike me as being psychologists rather than bill collectors, as being two decent people who believe that most other people are also decent, and who sincerely want to help their readers to obtain what is due them without compromising the integrity of those who are in their debt. The Shers' advice is eminently practical; it is also highly principled.

I enjoyed reading this book. My boss encouraged me to read this and I enjoyed it very much. I got some good ideas for the collection department that I run and I hope to have my collectors read this book also. I would recommend this to anyone involved in accounts receivables.

These guys have a wonderful knowledge of the collection world. I read this book fairly fast and gained knowledge that I had never thought about. If you want help on your companys receivables, then this is a must read.

"The computer beeped softly, indicating the arrival of a new e-mail. [He] rose from the bed, sat down behind the desk, and clicked the icon. He didn't recognize the sender's address, but scrolled down and began reading anyway.

Victor,
Update on Project Delphi ... we've got a problem. They're pumping up earnings per share with the phantom income from headquarters ... there are insider dealings with the board and the senior execs. If all this gets out, the stock tanks and people lose a ton of jingle-juice. We'd be hauled up in front of Congress ... [oh and] the Minneapolis operation is way out of hand. So far the Washington office hasn't gotten dragged into what's going on out there in corporate America ... but Delphi could be the one that screws us.
What do you want me to do?
Rusty

Before he can decide what to do about this misrouted message, Liz asks him to run out and get her some cigarettes. He has been having an affair with her, even though she claims to be engaged to another man; she wears a three-carat ring on her left hand and is able to twist him around her finger. Yet, he doesn't completely trust her ... he knows she is manipulative and wonders why she doesn't break it off with her fiancée, since she claims to love him.

When he gets back to his apartment, "the door [is] ajar ... he pushed it open, and his pulse spiked. The apartment had been destroyed. His computer was on the floor ... hard drive removed." What happened? Who could or would do this to him? Where was Liz ... he spots "something on the far side of the bed. He scrambled onto the mattress, then froze. Liz lay sprawled on her back in the corner of the room near the desk, her neck and chest a spattered mess. As his fingers touched her still warm skin, he heard something over his shoulder and spun around. A man stood in the middle of the room, staring at him" ... a gun at the ready. He "lunged for the window and tumbled onto the fire escape ... just as gunshots crackled in his ear."

"He" is Conner Ashby, a young, eager and very ambitious man. He works for Gavin Smith, an investment banker who owns Phenix Capitol. "The old man was the nearest thing to a father he's had in a long time. And Gavin was paying him $175,000 a year plus bonus." Thus, when Gavin said, "jump," Conner asked "how high?" Under Gavin's wing, Conner feels that his career is cemented and his personal wealth guaranteed.

Paul Stone also works closely with Gavin. He has a secret agenda that necessitates ruining Conner any way he can. Conner is very aware of Paul's hatred toward him, but it all comes to a head at Gavin's house one night when Conner accuses Paul of breaking into his computer, and Gavin tells him: "Right off the bat there are problems, pal ... there are lots [of] mistakes ... throughout the presentation. Paul printed out two copies and brought them [to me."] Conner knows that Paul "inputted the typos before he printed it out ... to make [him] look bad." He is furious and appalled, and can't believe that Gavin is on Paul's side.

"Lucas Avery was loyal to the president only by extension. His passion was chess, [he was] a grinder, who methodically forced his opponents into a corner. Then and only then did he attack. Lucas had followed the same kind of long-term strategy in his career." He was patient "until he saw an opening, then acting decisively when the opportunity presented itself." Now, "after two ... Congressional staff tours and an administrative management position at party headquarters, Lucas had come to the West Wing to serve as deputy assistant political director to the president." Blinded by his ambition and unrealistic goals, he is duped into a scheme that is supposed to change the course of American history but it puts his life in danger.

Stephen Frey is a consummate writer of financial thrillers. And in SHADOW ACCOUNT he reaches beyond anything he has composed yet. The reader is hooked after the first few paragraphs and may be astounded at the level of suspense that builds and is sustained throughout this timely peek into how corrupt investment bankers work; how a traitorous Vice President of the United States can turn against the powers who put him in office; and a glimpse of people who will do anything to fill their need for power and feed their greed.

Fans of Frey expect him to offer them the same kind of thrills they would find on a roller coaster. His ability to mix red herrings with real clues is a challenge to those who enjoy solving the mystery at the heart of all of his books. For those who want to just go along with him for the ride, he ties up all of the loose ends at the end of his stories regardless of how complicated the plot may be. Frey's writing style is easy to read and his ear for dialogue is pitch perfect. SHADOW ACCOUNT is a good, fast read that shines a light onto the financial and political secrets we see everyday in the national news.

--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

Populists, Cynics, and Conspiracy Theorists will love this new book by Stephen Frey. It continues his tradition of thrillers which combine some complex financial chicanery with the frequent human desires for wealth, love (and on occasion sex as well) and power. It also provides the usual dose of enlightment for his readers through (perhaps overly) detailed explanations of some arcane financial methodologies and corporate structures essential to the storyline. Thus, despite the mild criticisms detailed at the end of this review, I recommend SHADOW ACCOUNT both for readers who have enjoyed the author's previous books and also new readers who are searching for a thriller where the financial manipulations seem ripped from today's headlines, especially those individuals outraged by recent revelations of corporate greed. (All of the author's books are written as standalone stories, so no knowledge of his previous work is necessary and there are no characters who have appeared in those books.)

Conner Ashby is a twenty-seven year old investment banker at Phenix Capital, a boutique firm recently founded by Gavin Smith that is trying to land its first headline grabbing assignment. He is USC graduate with the physique and conditioning common to the surfer world in which he grew up. For the previous three months Conner has had a relationship with the gorgeous LIz Shaw; his frustration has steadily increased due to the fact that although she seems to genuinely enjoy his company she has refused to return the three carat diamond engagement ring (from an investment banker at the bulge bracket firm Morgan Sayers) which is prominently displayed on her left hand. Thus, since their their relationship has to remain very low profile and discreet, Conner and Liz are spending their usual evening together at his apartment while her fiance is away on a business trip. Little does Conner realize how completely disrupted his life will be by the end of the first chapter (i.e. the same evening that we first meet him). He receives an email intended for someone else and sent to him in errorby someone who he doesn't recognize; the message apparently outlines a massive accounting fraud codenamed Project Delphi that apparently involves a major publicly traded company. When Conner leaves his apartment briefly to go to the deli for cigarettes for Liz, he is delayed by a chance meeting with a former girlfriend; when he returns he finds that his apartment has been ransacked and his whole existence turned upside down; he is at the start of a race against time to unravel the mystery surrounding that email before he loses everything that he holds dear.

We are subsequently introduced to Lucas Avery, a thirty-four year old chess fanatic, avid student of baseball statistics, and summa cum laude graduate of Northwestern University who seems the opposite of Conner in practically every way imaginable. He is a slight, prematurely balding individual who still has a crush on his lost college sweetheart and after failing to land a job on Wall Street is on a slow track to political oblivion. After a dozen years in DC, Lucas has only managed to climb to the level of a small office in the West Wing of the White House as Deputy Assistant Political Director to the President. But as befits a chess player, Lucas is extremely patient and believes that the opportunity to become "a player" and insider in the political game will eventually come his way. Voila! Unexpectedly Lucas is approached by Franklin Bennett, the President's Chief of Staff, to head up a top secret operation for the tough reelection campaign that is about to begin. The storyline consists of the constantjuxtaposition of the two parallel heartstopping adventures involving Avery and Conner, which the reader knows will eventually intersect with potentially career destroying (and increasingly life threatening) consequences for both of them. As they try to unravel the mysteries surrounding the circumstances into which they have been thrust, no one can be trusted and nothing can be taken at face value.

The plot is quite intricate and relatively realistic; however the author apparently felt that it would raise the stakes for Lucas and Conner if some deaths actually occurred and more violence was threatened. While the sensationalism created increases the tension, it is actually the source of one of my major criticisms; namely that it is almost impossible to believe that corporate malfeasance and political intrigue of the type involved in this story would have resulted in the level of violence commited by the malefactors (the beliefs of conspiracy theorists notwithstanding). In fact, the author also uses these deaths to avoid further complications that would arise if the individuals remained alive. On occasion he also uses a similar technique of allowing the protagonists to engage in acts that are somewhere between highly improbable and impossible in order to achieve the insights which are required at that point in the story. (I cannot provide details without including a spoiler.) My last criticism is that on occasion he provides such overwhelmingly detailed explanations concerning the rationale and methodology of the financial shenanigans that it seems that his goal is to furnish his readers with a textbook on accounting malfeasance and the problems of corporate governance rather than further the narrative. And on one occasion he does it by having Conner listen to a long explanation from a friend about subjects which he should have fully understood given their importance to his profession.

While my criticisms and a few inconsistencies were sufficent to keep me from giving a five star rating to SHADOW ACCOUNT, I want to emphasize that this is a highly recommended read and real page turner. The characters are interesting and there are several times when they manage to surprise us with their insights. So just don't expect realism - accept the author's shortcuts, and be glad that your problems are less threatening than those Conner and Lucas confront.

Tucker Andersen

Conner Ashby is an up and comer things really seem to be going great and only getting better.Connor is working at Phenix capital a firm with a job of advising companys about mergers and acquisitions this company is just starting out and Conner seems to be on the groud floor he is just about Gavin Smith's right hand man (Gavin being the owner of Phenix Capital).Conner has a hot girlfriend the only problem with her is that she is engaged to be married to some wall street big shot and just seems to be using Conner for sex.

Well during one of her's and Conners get togethers,conner gets on the computer and checks his emails always work and notices an email concerning a company that maybe inflating its profits and Conner knows he was not intended to get this email but he does not know what to do.Connor's girlfriend decides she needs some cigarettes and sends him out to get some and when he returns his apartment his trashed,computer is missing and his girlfriend his dead apparently murdered.

While connor is looking around his place he notices someone in there and starts to run with this person in pursuit while the chase goes through the streets and down in the subway where conner gets shot but luckily it is just in the arm but he gets away and comes back up on the street where there just happen to be a cop. So he explains that he was chased and his apartment broken into so the cops take him back to his place and when they get there conners place is like nothing ever happened is conner losing it or what happen?

This book is fast paced with quite a cast of characters there is a fair amount of business talk but easy to understand as is with all freys books

The best tale of legal bungling I've read in a long time. Williams and his Kourtroom Keystone Kops explain in excrutiating detail how they screwed up not one, but two trials for Jamal. In the first half of the book, Williams excoriates Jamal's public defender for losing the original trial and earning Jamal the death sentence. Then he assembles his crack legal team consisting of an unlicensed Communist law student, a corporate attorney, who defrauds his own firm by working on Jamal's case on the sly, and creaking civil rights attorney Len Weinglass who, by William's own admission, is practicallly comatose throughtout the entire appeal. The unlicensed law student becomes the "brains" of the defense team and directs the entire legal strategy, which collapses as she drags in a collection of nuts and liars from the streets of Philadelphia.
Williams spends dozens of pages in abject adoration of Jamal, swooning over "his honeyed baritone voice" and his animal magnetism. Equally cloying is his defense of former handyman Vincent Leaphart, aka John Africa, the founder of the MOVE movement. Leaphart, described by the New York Times as "somewhat of a madman" and by the Philadelphia Inquirer as "borderline retarded," assumes Christ-like proportions at William's hands. Among Leaphart's more intriguing teachings; MOVE women who give birth are required to bite off the umbilical cord and lick their newborns clean. Soap is forbidden and vermin and insects are welcomed into MOVE homes like old friends.
Williams' book is loaded with suppositions, what-if's, could-have-beens and sheer speculation. But you never hear from the two people who could shed real light on what really happened that night Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner was shot down. Jamal still refuses to talk about his actions that fatal night, demanding that his personal declaration of innocence is evidence enough that he's not guilty. Jamal's brother Billy, who was a few feet away when the fatal shot was fired, is nowhere to be found. Williams' legal eagles never get around to looking for him even though the brother supposedly has all the evidence anyone needs to spring Jamal. Billy's attorney, in a newspaper interview, says Billy is not "mentally fit" to come forward. So much for brotherly love.
Buy the book and do what I did -- read portions of it aloud to your lawyer friends. They'll choke with laughter. And spare a few tears for this Harvard-trained author who is so utterly gullible and yet oh-so-earnest.

Despite Mr. Williams' constant claims that he provides an objective, un-biased account of this case, he fails to provide that. Being a lawyer siding with Mumia Abdul Jamal for eight years, his opinions are guided more towards the defense, and leave several holes in his arguement which may not be apparent to the common reader. One major problem with Mr. Williams' arguement is he claims the city of Philadelphia is an extremely racist city, which has constantly been oppressing blacks. He claims this all culminates in 1984 with the bombing of the MOVE house in West Philadelphia. He fails to point out, however, that the mayor of the city who authorized the bombing was Wilson Good, a BLACK man. How could a city be lead with racial discrimenation when its' own mayor is a black man? Mr. Williams obviously leaves this fact out because it is damaging to his argument, which is quite obviously in favor of the defense. He also quotes the prosecutor and defense attorney in this case almost word for word throughout Mumia's original trial, but how could Mr Williams know what was said in private discussions in Judge Sabo's chambers? There are no reporters or court stenographers in these rooms, and only Judge Sabo, McGill, and Jackson would know what was said. How, twenty years after the case, could Mr. Williams recount every sentence, and how the sentences are expressed, when there is no existing record of these statements. He couldn't. He was not a witness to these events, and records of what was said in the courtroom do not display emotions, only mere text. He portrays these conversations in the courtroom to make Jamal look more like a victim, completely destroying any credibility of this book being un-biased and objective. This book is a completely biased, open statement in favor of Jamal, and should not be taken as a statement of facts, but merely an argument in favor of Mumia Abdul Jamal. The majority of Williams' book has no substantial edvidence to support his "accounts" inside the courtroom, much like Jamal has no substantial evidence at all to support his innocence.

Well written; good insight into the "Scheme Team" and their ridiculous assertions.

ONE QUESTION STANDS OUT: If Mumia Abu-Jamal is innocent, why didn't he take the stand? This articulate, brilliant man could have swayed the jury if he was innocent.

To the author (David Williams; one of Abu-Jamal's attorneys for a number of years; anti-death penalty activist), it seems that Mumia Abu-Jamal's conviction is perhaps the largest "frame-up" in American history. Perhaps Abu-Jamal doesn't share this view, because he fired Williams and his "Scheme Team" after this book was published.

To Mumia Abu-Jamal, it appears his conviction was due to a massive conspiracy in which a hitman was hired by some Philly police from the "mob" to kill Faulkner. (This is patently laughable.)

To the jury and various judges who heard appeals, it appears that Abu-Jamal is a cold-blooded cop killer.

Whether one is for the death penalty of against it, this book will stimulate thought on the subject.

This has the basic knowledge need to manage your finacing ranging from simple budgeting, credit, stocks and mutual funds, Certificate of Deposit, how to read the market and the prime rate and what it all means. Also, it provides the mental mindset you need to manage and spend money properly, without resorting to short term spending splurges. There's tables for calcuating college funds, morgages, and retirements but most importantly how to avoid the many traps and scams many vendors use to make money off of you without providing any extra services. The one thing I found somewhat worrysome is the way the authors protrayed the banks and other institutions to the point of scaring the reader into being nearly paranoid of all financial instistutions. The fees these institutions charge are describe in the book with good details. A good "how to avoid pitfalls" book.

I love this book! Before reading this book, I wondered how anyone could ever save money in the world today. It has helped me to mangage my money easily. An easy to read book, which I use now as a reference whenever I have a question concerning my personal finances. I finally started a 401K, bought a house, a new car, and I am finally learning to save some money,instead of living paycheck to paycheck.

This book gave me invaluable advice regarding my finances. I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone! I have adopted many strategies in the book to save for a rainy day. Thank you, and when are you coming out with another edition?

Christopher Logue has a lot of guts. He's gotten into the ring with the likes of Fagles, Lattimore, Fitzgerald, Pope, and most courageously, Homer himself - and acquitted himself well. Mr. Logue has pulled "The Iliad," into the 21st Century with less a translation than a re-write. It appears there are numerous volumes containing sections of Mr. Logue's work, and it's a little hard to keep track, but two editions offered on Amazon.com's website, "War Music," and the wondrously titled, "All Day Permanent Red," seem to contain it all.

Mr. Logue writes in a robust verse form that retains the epic language while exploring possibilities for a cinematic look on scenes and situations, as well as opening the field to modern metaphor. Unlike Barry Unsworth's interpolations in "The Songs of the Kings," Mr. Logue's don't jar, but rather deepen. A sample line, "Ajax, grim underneath his tan as Rommel after 'Alamein..." lifts the story from some mythical past to something that is played out continually. A great device considering "The Iliad" is arguably the blue-print for every war story ever written.

When "War Music," opens outside the actual text of "The Iliad," and introduces us to Achilles - angry, petulant, bent on revenge, summoning his mother and laying grief for Agamemnon - Mr. Logue provides character depth missing from the original, and immediately lays out his plan to re-write and enrich rather than re-tell. His plan unfolds magnificently through both books.

I think "War Music" would work for readers with no pre-knowledge of the source, and I know it worked beautifully for me, and I've been through at least three previous translations.

Five Stars!

What stands out is the utter beauty of Mr. Logue's language. He creates images that resonate within the reader long after the book has been put down. Far from being an empty exercise in post-modern hipness, "War Music" is a new classic that manages to bring Homer to life again for the contemporary reader. It can proudly take its place on the bookshelf right next to the Fitzgerald or Fagles translation of Homer's "Iliad." Indeed, my only regret is that Mr. Logue has not seen fit to reinterpret the remainder of the "Iliad" for those of us who fell in love with his fierce, but lovely "War Music." Hint-hint.

I've only recently become aware of Christopher Logue's retelling of Homer's Iliad. Logue's been working on his translation for decades, though. This volume collects all of his Iliad material from 1962 to 1995, which is a measly three books. Chronologically, these books are "The Kings," which is the first book in this collection. Published in 1991, it covers the first two books of the Iliad. Next up is "The Husbands," from 1994, which covers books three and four. Finally there is "War Music" itself, originally published in 1980, and comprised of books 16 through 19. This includes "Patroclea," written in 1962, "GBH" (a British legal term meaning "Grievous Bodily Harm"), apparently written in 1980, and "Pax," written in 1967.

As you can see, Logue takes his time releasing books. This collection came out in 1997, and since then he has published only one further volume, "All Day Permanent Red," which came out in February 2003 and covers books 5 and 6; the first battle scenes in the Iliad. Being that Logue was born in 1926, I'm really hoping he'll live to re-write the remaining books of the story. But judging from his past rate of output, I'm afraid it's not very likely.

The problem with Logue's Homer is that there's no turning back. After reading this, even in its unfinished state, all other translations of the Iliad pale in comparison. I even read the Penguin book "Homer in English," which features samples from the majority of English translations of Homer, and Logue's struck me as better than any of them. The reason he excels over others is that Logue jettisons all parts of the Iliad that are not cinematic, that are not moving, and that are repetitious. We're left with a fast-moving narrative in unrhyming, free-style verse that features some of the best writing and most memorable dialog I've ever come across. This is a book that demands to be read and re-read, due to the quality of writing. And I'm a guy who usually avoids poetry.

I wouldn't recommend this to the first-time reader of the Iliad, however. Logue refers to some characters and gods in off-hand, casual ways that might confuse those new to Homer's world. For example, Apollo is several times referred to as "the Mouse God" before he is actually referred to as Apollo. Likewise, Logue flat-out makes up names for several characters, even re-naming some of the lesser characters. This is more of a book to be enjoyed by someone who's already read a standard translation of the Iliad; that way the changes and deletions Logue has made to the story become more apparent, and more appreciated.

As someone who spent a number of years in a military establishment, I bought this book hoping it would explain a few things about gays in the military and whether men who are secluded from other men, unconsciously become attracted to one another. Alas! Little did I know that I was buying a book which was bound to do everything but provide answers to my curiosity. Some of the people in this book need to visit a psychiatrist to have their mental states checked. I really mean it! For a man to pick up another man who is a total stranger (save that they are both Marines) and engage in wild sex on top of his car in the middle of the night is too much to be called 'acceptable or normal' behaviour. And for a married man, with a wife and a child to engage in same-sex relations in his own house when his wife is at home, is blatantly stupid. The author nevertheless might has done a nice job in collecting these stories but from my point of view, a book like this adds nothing to one's knowledge except providing vague and meaningless fantasy!

I'm one of the two women who contributed to this book (the now-ex "Marine Wife"), and I'm proud to have been a part of it. I love the rawness and richness of the stories of my fellow contributors. I'm also glad to have the chance to show the world that many, many women also hunger for a hard male body in uniform...especially a Marine body. I still think that Marines are the most beautiful creatures on earth...as well as the most passionate and responsive. Believe me, I would so love to really crawl panther-like through a formation of prone Marines!

Anyone whose tastes are enticed by graphic descriptions of same-sex encounters will find this collection of accounts of what apparently goes in in some barracks when Big Brother isn't poking under the bedsheets a tremendous turn-on. Not only are the accounts, particularly those of man-to-man sex, so steamy that they sizzle, but the turn-on is all the more real because this isn't fiction. For whatever reason, however, this collection is distinguished from many other compilations of its kind in that this one includes not only the preference for man-to-man sexual contact but the sublimal message that everyone has the basic need to have some physical touch from someone, even if that someone is the same gender. Probably because these are true accounts, their authors disclose their need for human touch and, in doing so, evelate their experiences above the level of carnalism. At the same time, these stories provide a form of foreplay that is as much a turn-on as the actual sex. Read some of these stories and come to your own conclusion if Big Brother has any business delving into its military's human and sexual needs. Beyond that, the stories are simply so hot as to be searing!

As individuals, what the Jake's did is unbelievably heroic. As individuals, they exercised their rights to join the Freemen and put their lives on the line. What this book does not reiterate is that the Jakes were not individuals, but pawns of an overbearing and tyrannical government. We must commend the Jakes as individuals, we must abhor them as slaves of their government. The government has no rights in our lives as individuals, and they have no right to risk individuals lives for their own selfish wants.

There is something that that transpired in 1996 that Connie & Dale Jakes and Clint Richmond know nothing of. Only a handfull of people can attest to the fact that had the FBI not delayed the arrests and the 81-day standoff not taken place, a beautiful, small life WOULD NOT be thriving today. To this we are eternally thankful. God does work in ways that we know not of. If there was a way to personally thank the Jakes', I would.

Absolutely wonderful tale of courage. I can't keep the book in my home long enough to read it (people keep borrowing it) so I bought the audio cassettes for myself. I, too, am glad the Jakes had the courage to go inside and then speak out about what was happening. They are 2 unsung heros. Unfortunately, this kind of thing DOES happen in our own backyards. What else must we do these days to keep our children and families safe? Maranatha!

nehro or ghandi were not muslims. If you want to assign a religion to them you MUST know your facts. I believe they susbcribe to the "truth" and "faith in goodness" from hinduism, islam and christianity.

A brilliant intellectual pursuit that gives a glimpse of Nehru's intellect, comprehension and culture. In the myriad of Western opinions of human progress, 'discoveries' and colonialism, Nehru's Glimpses stand out for its bold 'other view' of history as well as generous and magnanimous acknowledgement of the merits of every civilisation. To have the 'Glimpses' lost on one, as a mere rambling collection of letters would be tragic. To appreciate the 'Glimpses' one must understand the context in which it was written. It was not meant as an exercise to outline history for the world with the global audience in mind. It was merely a father's restricted dialogue with a daughter outside the prison walls with the intention of instilling pride in her culture and history. And maybe, as an inspiration to India's freedom fighters to stand up against the might of a hegemonic empire and its propaganda on history and civilisation. While the bleakness of his and the Colonial India's circumstances colour his opinions slightly, it does not blind him to historical realities.
That a book with such a narrow, domestic agenda subsequently appealed to the wider audience internationally is probably the finest testament of Nehru's brilliance.

Nehru himself calls the book as "Ramblings", given the background that book is a compilation of a whole bunch(196) of lengthy letters to his daughter, Indira Priyadarshini, during his stay in various goals across British Raj (which made him rely on memory than references). His main aim was to introduce his lovely daughter to the world but NOT to be a historian. He starts from the pre-Indus Valley civilization days and ends just before the dawn of WW II in this 971-page book. The book, apart from being journal of events in history, talks about opinions of Nehru on various events with more weightage to his favorite ones.

The book with Nehru's democratic spirit, his scietific and rational approach, his masterly narration with a poetic temper and his control over the language make the book immensely readable.

Let me preface my statement that saying that I am not some great lover
of European culture, history, conquest, or Spanish conquistadores.
Now, having said that, I will say that anyone who picks up this book
and believes the horrors contained therein is reacting in a manner
that would have made De Las Casas quite proud of his dubious
handiwork. Now, certainly, I am not saying that the Spanish explorers
were a gentle, peace-loving, pacifistic bunch; but to ascribe to them
the attrocities contained within this book is naive and careless and
speaks of an ignorance that comes from a lack of necessary research
and hard facts and a propensity for the sensational and even the
utterly ridiculous. I know that many of us, especially in today's
"politically correct" climate, are quite eager to think of
the Spaniards as cruel and heartless villains who had no regard for
the basic conventions of humanity - villians who merely butchered and
conquered and enslaved - but as tempting as it might be to resign
ourselves to such a belief, it would also be a case of intellectual
carelessness.

De Las Casas wants us to see the "Indian"
population much like the liberals of today would like us to: meek,
helpless, child-like, innocent, ignorant, animalistic. I think this
speaks as much of prejudice as the Spaniards referring to the
"natives" as dogs, but of course educated people don't see
it that way. And the good friar was a hypocrite in more ways than
one: he lived for many years attended to by his personal slaves, all
the while fighting for the "rights" of the natives, all the
while playing master and thinking he was better than the other
Spaniards because he treated his slaves well, like someone might their
beloved pets.

One glaring falsity within this book that I can
think of is De Las Casas' account of Cortes' expedition into Mexico
(which of course De Las Casas himself wasn't there to witness
firsthand). Again, the "natives" - the Aztecs, in this case
- are portrayed as nothing more than docile, peace-loving, childlike
creatures. He mentions nothing of the warlike ways of the Aztecs, of
their repeated attempts to wipe out the Spaniards, of their treachery,
of their obsession with human sacrifice, of their cannibalism.
Instead, we are lead to believe that the evil Cortes marched boldly
into Mexico and butchered all the Aztecs and took over without hardly
lifting a finger. And some events are pure fiction in themselves,
bloody massacres and so forth that I'm sure any detractor of Cortes'
would have been more than happy to fabricate.

Again, I am not saying
that men like Cortes were saints. But there are always two sides to
everything, and the world is not black and white like some of us would
like to believe. Be careful where you get your information from, and
how quick you are to believe it.

And we can only see the truth of
this book if we hold it up to the light in which it was written;
surely, De Las Casas had his own political agenda that was well served
in part by writing this book. That's what propaganda is all
about....

There are two sides to every story and the fact that De Las Casas takes the side of the indigenous people as opposed to his native Spain is especially poignant. The writing style is repititive, old world and filled with the horrors of war but De Las Casas does this to especially hammer home his point. He gives examples, over and over, of the injustices carried out by Cortez and Pizarro throughout the Americas from Mexico to Peru, under the auspices of the flag and cross, all in the name of God and country. It is a first hand report on the atrocities that greed and glory created. It was a plea for his King to understand how his represenatives abroad and the encomienda had drifted far from the ideals originally intended and persued. The woodcuts reproduced from a 17th century version are especially telling of the cruelties imposed with graphic examples. There are groups of people being strung up and burned alive with their feet barely dangling above the flames. The violence was inhumane to the point where women hung themselves with their children attached and hung to their bodies rather than be a meal to the hungry dogs that assisted the Spaniards and had to be fed. The genocidal colonization became a perverted vision of evangelization that was nothing short of hell for the Indians. It is important to see the other side of colonization, as written by the "The Defender and Apostle of the Indians" to understand both sides of the story. Our education system is full of European versions of the conquest, this is the anti-European version by someone who lived the experience. Recommended for students of history that want a different perspective from the one we are most familiar with that glitters from behind a golden cross.

The debate below, I think, could have been lifted right from the sixteenth century. You might take a look at it before reading my review, which is intended as a corrective.

Bartolomé de Las Casas, born in 1474, came to Cuba with Diego Velázquez's expedition in 1511 as a soldier. In Cuba, he became an "encomendero", receiving Indian labor parcelled out to the conquistadors. The horrors of the conquest of the Caribbean sparked a religious conversion in him and he became a Dominican friar in 1515. Soon, he made his way to the Central American mainland, where he started missionary work among the Maya in Guatemala. Dubbed later "The Apostle to the Indians" for his work on their behalf, he was eventually appointed Bishop of Chiapas. An intimate friend of the Indians, fluent in their languages, Las Casas witnessed Spanish cruelties perpetrated against them between the very year of his arrival and some years before his death in Spain in 1566.

In 1552, Las Casas published his empassioned "Short Account" (actually written 13 years earlier), in which he laid bare Spanish cruelties in America. Though generally condemned as slander in Spain, the book rapidly became popular in the rest of Europe, where it served to fuel anti-Spanish hate. Spain's enemies used it to depict Spaniards as evil tyrants and to rationalize carving out their own empires in the Americas. New editions appeared repeatedly, even as late as 1898, during the Spanish-American War.

Few credible historians take the "Account" for gospel truth. Much of what Las Casas says is certainly true. And while the rest is exaggerated, it is not "propaganda". Whatever truth the narrative has, though, what I think many people miss when they read it is its importance in understanding the Spanish Black Legend.

The Black Legend is the perception of Spain as a uniquely cruel and bigoted nation in excess of reality. Spanish culture is boiled down to the Inquisition and the bullfight. Spain's authors are ignored. The Spanish did nothing in the Americas but kill millions of Indians. This is the legacy of the 16th century. The substance of many European attitudes toward Spain up to about 1950 can be traced right to Las Casas' "Account." Appearing at the time when England and the Netherlands were emerging as major powers, grappling with Spain, the imagery from the book was woven right into their national mythologies. Because of historical circumstance, other nations that committed atrocities far worse than Spain's -- France, Britain, the United States -- never had to undergo the same humiliating scrutiny, the same alienation. Las Casas's book, certainly agaist its author's will, helped shape this.

There are more reliable accounts of the "destruction of the West Indies", including some by Las Casas. The account's real value is the key it offers to understanding Western perceptions of Spain. Like so many anti-Spanish documents of its time, the book, in the end, can tell us as much about the fascinating figure of its author and the character of Spain's enemies as about the horrors of the conquest and the nation it vilifies.