Governments

Open to any page; after reading a paragraph you're hooked on the fantastic experience another has had in the out-of-the-ordinary.

Dan Millman and Doug Childers have included 50 stories in 50 short chapters about real experiences that inspire the reader to realize there is more to understand than science currently knows.

These life-changing events happened to people of all ages, including those as young as 8 year old Lucia dos Santos, one of the 3 children of Fatima, Portugal, in 1915.

This 5-star book reinforced my value on virtues, while giving me a boost of energy!

This collection of people and their life transforming experiences is simply excellent! Each chapter, which summarizes the experience of a different individual, is just the right length (not too long, not too short, and very well written).

My favorites here are the very interesting stories of Byron Katie, Valerie Vener, and Peace Pilgrim.

Of course I was honored that Dan and Doug asked me if they could tell about my near-death awakening in Copper Canyon (which is told in detail in my book, PRIMAL AWARENESS). But the honor relates, not to having my story included, but in being a part of Dan Millman's wonderful sharing of the joy that surrounds us all. Dan walks his talk and the stories he has selected reflect his deep passion for all that is magical.

I just read this today, and I can tell you this book restores my
faith in what religion can do, i.e. re=again, and ligio=connect.
To reconnect us with one another. Tutu asks us to extend love,
regardless of belief, while standing up for the greater good. This
is not moral relativism. It is humor and understanding and
compassion and a belief in a source that connects us all.

I am absolutely pleased to be the first to review and recommend
this book. This is beauty and strength and peace written in the
language of the human spirit. Tutu strongly suggests that it is
a universal language to which every one of us can respond.

So may it be.

Archbishop Tutu writes with such power and persuasion that I am convinced his words will be around for many years to come, inspiring people as much in future generations as they do now. In this short book (which took just a couple sittings to read over the weekend) he lays out what I suppose is best described as his philosophy/spirituality of life. In this way it is timeless, but it is also quite timely in that I came away feeling compelled to take my own sense of spirituality and turn it into action in today's world. I often thought of my spiritual seeking as a solitary, inward-looking process, but through Archbishop Tutu I can now see that it must also, by necessity, look outward as well.

The subtitle of Desmond Tutu's new book is "A Vision of Hope for Our Time," and it surpasses all my hopes and expectations. Forged in the long struggle to end apartheid, this book is a stirring call to hope and action. Whatever your religious affiliation or if you don't have one, "God Has a Dream" is a treasure of insight and inspiration delivered with wisdom and humor. God's dream? That human beings--you and I--learn to recognize each other as brothers and sisters and learn to live with each other in lovingkindness and peace. "As we learn to share Giod's love with our brothers and sisters, God's other children, there is no tyrant who can resist us, no oppression that cannot be ended, no hunger that cannot be fed, no wound that cannot be healed, no hatred that cannot be turned to love, no dream that cannot be fulfilled."

And whose task is it? Yours and mine.

I would heartily recommend this to anyone with an interest in 20th century history. Superb history, the way it should be written.

The author sought books on the German Revolution of 1918-1919; finding none, he wrote this one. The failure of the German military to win the war by 1918 produced mutinies, revolution, and the end of their Second Empire by October 1918. A new republic was proclaimed, and the Armistice led to the treaty of Versailles. While the Kaiser fled to Holland, his military remained as a wanted burden to the new republic: it alone could suppress the revolutions breaking out all over Germany. This left them as the striking force fro a republic that they despised; eventually they came to support the Nazis (p.527) and a new European War. This seems like the inevitable result from the Allied failure to overthrow and purge the German ruling class, or divide the German Reich into separate nations, as was correctly done after World War II. Denazification and partition, plus grouping the small nations into large blocks, kept the peace for 50 years. But nothing lasts forever.

Woodrow Wilson gave many speeches on "Democracy", but he was appointed President of Princeton, Governor of NJ, then President of the US through his personal ambition. Pages 15-20 tell of the contradictions and complexities in his personality. His dictatorial rule at Princeton led to his firing. A personal friendship allowed him to be nominated as the Democratic candidate for Governor of NJ. He promised to work with the "organization", then reneged on his promises! He drafted a torrent of liberal legislation (as did Bismarck in the 1880s). He met Edward House, and insider and power broker in the national party. House's technique" get a clean candidate and let the party organization do its job; it still works today! Jim Marr's "Rule By Secrecy" tells how and why the 1912 election was fixed to create the private banking cartel that controls our economy. Running a third party candidate helped in 1980 and 1992.

Wilson's dictatorial personality abraded many in Congress; he lectured them, he didn't talk to them. His cabinet had few men of first caliber; it was as if he could only work with subordinates. But Edward House knew how to manipulate him (p.22).

Wilson declared war as a fight to make the world safe for democracy, an idealistic crusade that overlooks the fact that wars are waged for loot: markets, provinces, colonies, etc.

Perhaps Wilson's greatest fault was that everything was handed to him; he didn't have to claw his way to the top by competitive elections (p.27). Page 36 tallies the triumphs of Woodrow Wilson. Perhaps the "errors in judgment" were due to his pride and his refusal to take expert advice (p.37), complicated by his arteriosclerosis or some other disease ("megalomania"?). Wilson gained fame and recognition through his speeches; a rhetorician, not a manager.

Thirty years ago, whilst I was a student, I first read this wonderful book. Since then I have not been able to get it out of my mind, except.... I had forgotten the author's name and the title! After many years of searching I finally discovered the reviews on these pages and recognised that the reviewers were describing the book which had so intrigued me so many years ago. The excitement of the narrative brought the events to life most wonderfully, especially as this is a little-known chapter of world history. An excellent read! Warmly recommended.

The book does a very nice job of describing one of the more important, but forgotten, figures in US political history. Smith's role as governor of New York and the various groundbreaking reforms he introduced, his mentorship of various figures from FDR to Robert Moses, and of course being the first Catholic to run for President would be enough to rank him right up there with some of the more widely written about icons of America. When you consider two of his top four advisers were women (this is the 1920's, mind you), his role in building the nation's tallest building at the time, his emergence as a spokesperson for the immigrant masses who became a political force during his era (and the subsequent, seismic shift this caused in the nation's political landscape - he was the first Democrat to lose the Solid South since the Civil War), his being one of the first politicians to speak out against Hitler, and that he did all this without even attending high school, Al not only deserves a high quality biography but perhaps a major motion picture as well. John Cusack in the lead!

The book is occasionally "cheerleady" - superlatives come landing out of left field in the midst of other, more traditional descriptions of events. It is, however, critical and frank in other areas of Smiths career, so it reads in a balanced fashion overall. It is a great read and one that should be read by anyone interested in the US political landscape and how it got to what it is today.

there is a largely-forgotten statue of al smith on the lower east side at the corner of monroe & catherine streets, but i like to think of the empire state building as the true monument to al smith. at the time perhaps the building was a financial failure, but it was simultaneously a symbol of hope even during the depression when it was being built. only a man like al smith had the vision to help create a monument of such optimism during such bleak times - but more importantly, he did so with the intention of providing a symbol of hope to his fellow nyers. (a symbol, i might add, that has renewed importance in post-9/11 ny.)

i appreciate & love the fact that reading lists in nyc have been expanded to include the writings & histories of all the races & creeds & cultures that have come to nyc. but as a white, working-class, catholic nyer, i have noticed a real lack of identity awareness or cultural heritage. this biography of al smith fills that void: by presenting al smith and his beliefs, it not only describes the immigrant experience of catholics at the turn of the century, but shows too how great men like al smith were key in helping the various catholic immigrant groups (irish, italian, polish, etc) to become mainstream, integrated americans in this formerly predominantly-protestant country. the anti-catholic impulse in america is largely forgotten, & in fact it is also forgotten that there was a time when white catholic americans were certainly not considered part of the white ruling class.

in addition, i love the fact that al smith's life & legacy point to another subculture: the progressive catholics. this term is not an oxymoron; at one point in american history, catholics were on the frontlines of many progessive agendas. this book provides an insight into a church that might have been.

i strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in american history or politics, but moreso to anyone who wants to examine the relationship of ny to the rest of america or how the aspects of class and religion (& not just race) influenced the poltical and cultural climate of america in the 20th century.

al smith was a hero of the working class, a hero of immigrant groups, a hero for catholics, for liberals, for new deal democrats, and ultimately for all americans. it is a shame that most people - even nyers - don't even know his name. this book is a huge step toward remedying that tragedy.

very highly recommended!

A great story, about an individual who personifies everything great about America. Alfred E. Smith was the son of immigrants, whose parents ended up in Manhattan's Lower East Side. His Father died early in his life, leaving Smith to take care of his family.

Take care of them he did, leaving school as a child to get a job in the Fulton Fish Market, and thereafter becoming a self-educated man, who never forgot his origins. He associated with
Tammany Hall, and found his way to Albany as a state representative. From there, he ran for and became Governor of The Empire State. He rose to greatness from the humblest of origins.

As noted, no less than Franklin Delano Roosevelt paid the highest compliment to Smith, saying that the foundation of his own New Deal came from what Smith had done first as Governor of
New York. He said: "Practically all the things we've done in the federal government are the things Al Smith did as governor of New York." Smith was the champion of the working man
and woman, first distinguishing himself after one of the country's worst industrial tragedies, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire.

Sadly, most Americans outside of New York who know of Smith learned of him through what biographer Slayton accurately called the nastiest and most vicious political campaign in the history
of the Republic, when Smith was the first Catholic American to run for President in 1928 against Herbert Hoover (ironically, the candidate called best for business at the time). According to the author, by any measure of analysis, the reason Smith lost was due to those narrow minded individuals who would not accept him as their President because of his choice of religion,
otherwise guaranteed him under the Constitution.

But for Smith, we'd have a different feeling about what makes America great. He blazed a trail which shamed America into revealing a level of greatness it had never acknowledged before his time; culminating in the election of John F. Kennedy more than thirty years later. The commitment he had for the least of Americans became the saving grace of the country after the
depths of the Depression. Before the buzzword of the day was diversity, Smith was unabashed about celebrating it in his City, State and Nation.

He remains to my mind one of the greatest statesmen the Country ever produced. Biographer Slayton has done a phenomenal job in bringing his story to life.

The title of this book, The Lexicon of Terror, really only covers one chapter and an occassional reference here and there to how the junta manipulated language to influence the minds of the people. The book mostly covered the context of the Dirty War, the main bad guys, and many stories of victims.

After interviewing the victims, Feitlowitz has no mercy for the military perpatrators of the war. Even when she interviews Balza, the army cheif of staff in 1996 who seemed like one of the more repantant of the military guys, she isn't afraid to ask him tough questions.

She covers the book in both dichronic and synchronic time. She goes through chronology from the coup that put Videla in charge to the recovery of the country that was still going on when she finished her book in 1997. But in addition to that, she covers the stories of the individuals involved in the atrocities. One of the details that struck me the most was when she talked about former desaparecidos running into their former captors on the street. One captor even asked a victim how her family was doing.

Feitlowitz also tells about Scilingo, a former navy officer tortured by his memories of throwing living but drugged "subversives" from a plane on the infamous night flights. His life was ruined by his participation. She even makes an effort to explain that complicity in the army was guaranteed because if a member of the army did not follow orders or expressed concern with what was happening, they would soon disappear themselves. The excuse rings a little hollow, though, because of the brutalness of the torture.

History is frightening. I enjoyed how she talked about the way words were used as propaganda because it is an aspect of all governments. While I don't think our current administration is on par with Videla by any means, they certainly twist words to influence the way we thing about things, that play on our patriotism (the Patriot Act for instance) and our fear of terrorism. I don't think there is a government that doesn't try to influence the vocabulary of its people for their own purposes. Being able to recognize what they are doing allows us to maintain our freedom.

This is a shocking and painful book to read. There are other books which document the torture and atrocities of the Argentinian Dirty War in more detail, but none that reveals the horror of it all by providing examples and analysis of the words, phrases and verbal concepts of the perpetrators and their victims. The title, "Lexicon of Terror," could not have been chosen better for seemingly neutural words like "process" and "change" and dozend of others are shown to have been corrupted intellectually so that the physical corruption which followed was almost inevitable.

The book combines three disciplines that are rarely treated in the same volume, much less understood by the same person. But history, lexicography, and journalism are intertwined to such a degree that the blend is complete.

The author, in her low key style, deals with occurances and happenings that for most of us would cry out for justice. But by limiting her treatment to understanding the problem, she is even more effective on motivating the reader to search for soloution.

Most of us are familiar with the phrase that knowledge is power, but this relatively short book is a great example of the power (in this case for evil) of language. The reader will never look at partisan political dialogue in the same way again.

One annoying feature is terribly small type, so those who need reading glasses, do not forget them. The rest of the work is brilliant and terrible in the literal meaning of the word, which is what makes it so wonderful, thoudh disconcerting and depressing as well.

Reading this volume is a must for anyone who loves and respects language, freedom, and human rights for you will learn how intertwined they can be.

What really struck me about this book was how well Maruerite Feitlowitz captured the subtleties of the effects terror and repression had on the Argentine population. For example, she discusses how a popular women's magazine, Para Ti, incorporated pro-Proceso rhetoric and even military-inspired fashion into its message during the war. The book is based extensively on first-person testimonials, many of which come from interviews conducted by Feitlowitz herself. Two chapters I found especially revealing dealt with the failure of Jewish leadership to defend its people during the crisis, and with the crippling effect of repression on one rural agrarian league. Two minor complaints: There was little discussion of the systematic repression of union leaders, which intended to (and succeeded in) severely weakening labor's role in Argentina. Also, at least in the paperback version, the print was tiny! If your eyes are getting weak, reading glasses are a must!

This book is about the relationship between the United States and the Sioux Nation from the signing of the 1851 Ft. Laramie treaty up to the present. The book centers around the efforts of the Wounded Knee Survivors Assoc. and their attorney Mario Gonzalez to obtain a formal apology from the U.S. government for the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre and the establishment of a National Tribal park at the massacre site. This book includes:

*Gonzalez' diary entries from 1989-1992--an excellent window to see firsthand how contemporary tribal governments work and how Native Americans on reservations interact with each other on a daily basis.

*Commentary (called chronicles)by Elizabeth Cooke-Lynn explaining events described in the diary entries including Gonzalez' efforts in stopping the payment of $100 million claims commission for the Black Hills in 1980, and his efforst in Europe from 1981 to 1984 to get the World Court to issue an advisory opinion on the illegal confiscation of the Black Hills.

*Appendices that include a complete chronology of Sioux land claims from the signing of the 1851 treaty up to the present--a must for anyone interested in Indian land claims.

*Excellent footnotes with valuable information found no where else including information about Chief Crazy Horse's family members contained in the probate records of Chief Crazy Horse's father.

This book is FASCINATING and should appeal to everyone! IT SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING IN EVERY NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES CLASS!

what elizabeth and mario have done is to create a work that will stand for the test of time! my favorite part of the whole book was when Elizabeth proudly states THAT NATIVE AMERICAN, ABORGIONAL, AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ARE NOT CITIZENS OF THE WHITE MAN'S NATION ! FOR EXAMPLE A PERSON WHO LIVES IN THE DINE NATION IS NOT A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE THEY NEVER ASKED FOR NOR DID WANT TO BE CITZENS OF THIS PATHETIC NATION! THEY ARE CITIZENS IN THEIR TRIBE AND NATION NOT OF THE PATHETIC UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR THE WORLD FOR THAT MATTER! READ THIS BOOK TO LEARN THE REAL HISTORY OF WOUNDED KNEE AND ABOUT A PEOPLE WHO ARE CHANGING HISTORY EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Wonderful workings of writing the whole truth. A must have, must read, must distribute widely!

Wow! This is an amazing little book that presents the story of John the Baptist from a perspective I doubt that most people have ever considered! You will feel as if you are right there in the story with John and you will connect with him, not merely as a "hero of the faith," but as a real person. The story is a fictional account but it is based on the true story of John the Baptist from Scripture. In fact, it is more than just "based" on it because every element from the story here is consistent with Scripture and history. Gene is a wonderful story teller and has created dialoge and included historical elements to piece the story of John's life together in a way that introduces you to the real character. The story does not depart from Scriptural truth at all but actually will help the reader to see it in a clearer, more personal and meaningful light and apply it personally.

The message of this book will grip your heart and pull you closer to Jesus Christ. If you are struggling as a Christian, whatever your circumstance (be it sickness, emotional pain, depression, discouragement, or just feeling and wondering if God has forgotten about you or that He has not lived up to your expectations of Him... If you've ever cried out to God and asked Him, "why? Where are you? Why are You silent?") this is a remarkable book you need to read. It may change your entire perspective on suffering and give you strength and hope when all seems to be crumbling around you. I wish I could have shared this book with my father before he passed away. This book is not what you expect and it is not typical. Some people who have read through it have commented that it ends a little "dark." After reading it myself, I understand to some degree what they mean (though I wouldn't use the term "dark" at all myself), but sometimes life doesn't always have such a simple, happy resolve (at least to our human way of thinking). Sometimes we just have to bear our crosses and trust in a God we don't always understand completely.

Prisoner in the Third Cell is about a mind-renewal process concerning how we approach suffering. Sometimes this story gets a little deep and you have to think about it. When you're "going through it" it makes a lot more sense! Probably one of the most difficult lessons to learn through struggle and pain is that God's grace is really sufficient. In a world where so many televangelists tell you that all you have to do is give money and have faith and everything will be perfect, this book is a refreshing insight into the reality about suffering and true faith and how God's grace really is enough. In truth I have seen more people who have tried so hard to reach some high "position" of health, wealth and success by quoting this Scripture verse and that one and practicing positive confession until they're blue in the face and only wind up more discouraged, depressed, confused, angry and weary in the battle. This little book will open the reader's eyes in a new dimension of God's grace, love and purpose through enduring hardship and those seasons when we just can't understand why, and the heavens seem to be silent.

Gene himself is no stranger to suffering and brokenness and God has revealed much to this brother. Gene has such a tender heart for the Lord and this element of his life is so beautifully sensed in his writing. Highly recommended reading. In fact, all of the books by this author are quite good. Other good titles I found to be really a blessing were "A Tale of Three Kings" (get the video version of this book - much better seeing Gene himself tell the story) and The Highest Life.

4 Stars is my high grade for this title. I think I did not regard it as five only because it did kind of leave me hanging a bit at the end, but I suppose this was the point. Rather than just seek a simple answer, I need to learn the suficiency of God's rich grace. It's a contemplative resolve that's not so easy to swallow. I confess I wanted a brighter, simpler answer myself. I was left wondering, could there be more to it than this? But if you're going through some struggle or have a friend who is, this is a book that will be identified with and point you in the direction of grace. It's a great title, worth reading. It's relatively short and can be read in an evening or two.

Have you ever felt like a failure as a Christian when God disappointed you? When God let you down?

What do you do when God doesn't live up to your expectations?

John the Baptist knew who Jesus was. They were cousins, acquainted with each other, maybe friends. Certainly God revealed Jesus in His glory when John baptised Him! Father, Son and Holy Spirit converge in a moment of spiritual manifestation.

But sitting in the third cell of Herod's damp, dark prison, day after day certainly didn't feel like deliverance. Where was this king? The powerful one? Where was the fire? Where was this Jesus?

If the "greatest [man] born of woman" had his questions, disappointments, frustrations, how much more might we have the same today? He knew Jesus face to face, as a man knows a friend.
Yet, his understanding was rocked by the God who answers many questions but rarely answers "Why?".

Edwards answers these issues, sort of, in an insightful, profound way. The book will lead you back to where you began but with a deeper faith and clearer insight toward this powerful, invisible God who will do what He will do.

"His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts." Thank you, Lord.

Gene nails the issue of God's silent nature dead on. What more could be said on this matter after reading this book? Absolutely NONE. Gene wonderfully shows that there must be a "why" aspect in our lives. He writes that w/out the "why's", there would be no real inward transformation in our lives. I learned that the power of an unanswered question can truly change and transform something as evil and decietful as our hearts. Gene takes you from John the Baptist's "why" in prison to Jesus's "why have you forsaken me" on the cross. Very deep stuff here people. I particularly enjoy the way Gene transports the readers into the mind of the Lord as He walks through the corridors of time. After reading this book, you will never again ask God "why" w/out a slight understanding that sometimes silence is the highest way.

Love him or hate him, Noam Chomsky serves a vital role to any thoughtful and/or politically minded individual in the United States today. By focusing on what you're NOT hearing from the major media sources and political powers, Chomsky engages his audiences by exhaustively cataloging his sources and letting them make their own decisions on what they need to do with the information.

This book represents some of the most accessible Chomsky that you can buy. Comprised of a series of interviews with Alternative Radio founder, David Barsamian, "Propaganda and the Public Mind" does exactly what you would expect it to do; exposing propaganda as a weapon used by the powerful, how it can be recognized, and showing the extraordinary impact normal people can have when they work towards the right sort of changes. Even while discussing grave issues, Noam manages to convey his faith that positive action is alive and well. As a lovely bonus to the interviews themselves, the resources section of the book will help you get as deeply into any of the subject matter as you dare.

I was thrilled by this book. If I were a doctor, I would prescribe an essay a day (which, unfortunately would only last a week for this book) as an antidote for the daily news.

enlightening and entertaining thoughts from an extraordinary individualist who never seems to go out of style.

He is a walking, talking anti-commercial who delivers to the public what the public REALLY needs: access to their own intelligence.

As with Ralph Nader, it does become a bit odd when the cult of personality applies to such an iconoclast, but in my mind that does not detract from the vitality and usefulness of their ongoing electrically charged ideas.

Power to the people.

Being somewhat foreign the Noams writings, I bought this, and I wasn't disappointed by it. I found this book quite enjoyable, and very Insightful. If every book that Noam is part of is a good, and through as this one was I will be reading plenty of Noam to come. I reccomend this to anyone who is is curious about how the U.S.A. is looked on outside of the country!

Reinventing Democrats chronicles the efforts of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) to shift the Democratic Party from its liberal orientation to a more centrist position. It details the DLC's strategies, its successes and its failures up to the 2000 primaries, before the Democratic Party had selected a candidate. It makes a compelling case that the Democratic Party needs to (1) select public policies that are fiscally responsible, business friendly, and, in short, consonant with middle-class values and (2) eschew or de-emphasize policies that are attractive primarily to the party's issue-activists -- this being necessary to occupy the mainstream of American political thought and avoid becoming politically marginalized. This message is particularly relevant now (2003) that some Democrats are panicking over the 2002 mid-term election results and calling for a shift back to the left, effectively seeking to reverse the successful course set by Clinton after the disaster of the 1994 mid-term elections.

Clinton was elected on a New Democrat (i.e. DLC) platform, but he commenced to govern, or was perceived to govern, with a liberal agenda. This led to his plummeting popularity and the mid-term disaster of 1994, and at the time it appeared he would be retired after one term. Since a good scare is always more valuable than good advice, he embraced a New Democratic agenda in his second two years and, with a little help from the Republicans, he won a handy victory in 1996, vindicating the DLC in the process. In all likelihood the New Democratic philosophy (embodied in Al Gore) would have achieved further electoral vindication in 2000 but for unfortunate lapses in the Oval Office and mis-steps thereafter -- the 2000 election was close; Clinton-exhaustion seems to have been a factor.

This book narrates events in a Democratic evolution that is still taking place, and the success of which is not guaranteed. If you care about public policy and the future of the Democratic Party, or just like to look inside the political process, this book is worth a read.

A must read for anyone interested in our political system! At the dawn of the 21st century, the face of politics and parties is changing at an alarming rate. Reinventing Democrats takes an insightful look at the underlying truthes of government today. Baer is a thoughtful and intelligent writer who sheds light on what fuels the actions and decisions that affect the lives of all Americans. This book definetly can't be missed!

Whether you have a passing interest or are a true political junky, this book is a must read to understand America's contemporary political landscape. Highly recommended.

This is probably the bravest Grant book ever written. Even those biographers favorable to him have a tendency, like so many sheep, to parrot the same old lines about him as the bumbling, inept politician who presided over one of the most corrupt administrations is American history. It does not seem to bother these historians that they are, for the most part, simply repeating partisan attacks that had been made against him by his political enemies for their own questionable (to say the least) reasons.

Frank Scaturro is the first writer I have ever seen to use a fresh approach to the Grant presidency, pointing out not only that the much touted scandals of his term in office were frequently based on weak or exaggerated evidence, but that Grant himself was a strong, enlightened leader who accomplished more than most want to admit. It seems that the victor of Vicksburg and Appomattox was not all that different from the man who occupied the White House, after all.

This book is highly recommended for anyone who wants to hear "the other side of the story" of Grant's oft-belittled political career.

During the 50 years following the Civil War, the presidency of U. S. Grant was completely distored in an attempt to diminish the accomplishments of the Grant era (Civil Rights) and to take away some of the luster from the man who saved the Union.

The Democratic party- particullary of the South- stiffled the great civil rights efforts of the Republicans during reconstruction. As time passed, and voting rights and other legislative initatives of the Granta administration were dismembered by the Southern Demacrats, they constantly sought to sully the memory of Grant. One of the keys to that effort was portraying the Grant administration in a bad light in terms of corruption. This was done by distortion history, and the outright falsification of the facts involved in the Grant administration. To a large extent these distortions have not been challanged.

Grant Reconsidered presents the historical record in a straight fowrward manner: The Grant presidency offered tremendous acomplishments- and really offered a bridge from a slave nation to a nation where all men have the same rights. An outstanding book!!

Readers looking for a history of Grant's presidency will be sorely disappointed. The author assumes that the reader has at least a passing familiarity with previous biographies of Grant and of such events as Reconstruction, the Crédit Mobilier scandal, the Whiskey Ring and the Treaty of Washington. Nevertheless, "President Grant Reconsidered" is an important book that should help reshape debate about these events and rehabilitate the reputation of perhaps the most underrated President in American history.