On-balance

James Huston's 'Balance of Power' is a decent read that require that you place your brain on hold. Mr Huston is no Tom Clancy but this lightweight political/military thriller is an enjoyable waste of time that will give the reader both an enjoyable diversion and insight into the mind of the reactionary right wing world view. This book has the endorsement of Rush Limbaugh which in itself should be warning enough. So if you can get past the obvious right wing (and I don't mean conservative) ideology, poor character development, plot inconsistencies, and a misreading of the U.S. Constitution, you will enjoy this thriller, which like a good fantasy novel, requires a willful suspension of disbelief.
A group of Indonesian terrorists hijack an American auto cargo vessel, kill the crew, kidnap the captain, and sink the ship warning the US never to darken the Sea of Java again. Although we are giving hints now and then, the reader is never sure who the terrorists are - terrorists, pirates or part of some other vast conspiracy. Neither are we sure if they are Indonesian, Thai, or Chinese. It doesn't really matter. Nor do the other loose plot details that appear and disappear. This book is a novel of military action which is done very well and is truly exciting. It is also a novel of politics which is sure to stir debate and discussion with thoughtful readers
The weak President of the U.S., Edward Manchester, somewhat modeled on a combination of the character traits of Democrats Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton decides to let the Indonesians handle the terrorist incident. The strong Republican Speaker of the House, John Stanbridge, modeled on a fantasized Newt Gringrich, dislikes Manchester and wants an immediate strike at the terrorists. Thanks to an aide, Jim Dillon, Stanbridge decides to invoke Article 1, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution which states that among the powers granted to Congress is "to declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and to make rules concerning captures on land and water" [Note: Actually, the term used in the original draft of the Constitution was "to make war" which was changed so as not to tie the hands of the President in times of emergency. This in turn was changed, over President Nixon's veto in 1973, by the War Powers Act]. The Speaker gets Congress to override the President and send a letter of marque to the commander of a carrier battle group in the Java Sea authorizing an attack on the terrorists. President Manchester follows with an order to disregard the letter of marque and to obey his order as Commander-in-Chief. The plot is further complicated with kidnapped missionaries, impeachment threats of the President, and a love interest so obtuse that the reader would probably miss it if you blink hard.
The author has some interesting dialogues between the two opposing sides of the Letter of Marque issue but the reader should be aware that although the issue is a thoughtful one and worthy of debate, it is used the author to proselytize his right wing point of view. The opposing points of view of the President and his counsel are mere paper tigers, viewpoints and character behaviors that are established only for the purpose of tearing them down.
The issue of the 'letter of marque' is a popular one in the right wing press. Right wing groups such as the Liberty Committee have been advocating the granting of authority to hire private armies to fight perceived enemies such as socialists for a long time. Think militia. Recently, Congressman Ron Paul introduced H.R. 3074 and H.R. 3076 to grant President Bush the authority to issue letters of marque to fight terrorists. Historically, letters of marque were official licenses issued on behalf of the head of government in time of war to private citizens which gave them limited legal protection to act as privateers. That is, to use their own ships, at their own expense, to make war on the merchant shipping of countries with which their own county was at war, and to profit from the sale of any ships and cargoes they could capture. Without this protection they would simply be treated as pirates if captured. Here is the dictionary definition: "1. A document issued by a nation allowing a private citizen to seize citizens or goods of another nation. 2. A document issued by a nation allowing a private citizen to equip a ship with arms in order to attack enemy ships."
The meaning of the letter of marque in the Constitution is a good one for heated debate and its real history is fascinating. For example, the marque and reprisal clause in the constitution was written as part of a framework to consolidated national sovereignty into a then newly centralized government, and make sure that the nations war making power was divided fairly among the three branches of government. The executive branch was given the power to wage war; the legislative branch was given to power to control the purse strings. The theory behind the letter of marque is what lies behind the executive's ability to assign organizations such as the CIA war-like capability with the authority and money granted by Congress. The section quoted by Mr Huston (Article 1, Section 8) also needs to be understood in the context of other clauses in the Constitution which Mr Huston omits such as Article 1, Section 10 which forbids states and private individuals from going to war. The issue of the letter of marque is not one of 'Balance of Power as implied by Mr Huston, but of 'Separation of Power'.
Mr Huston has written a right wing political novel masquerading as a thriller. You can enjoy the novel as a good thriller as I did. It is well written but be aware that 'Balance of Power' is a right wingers political fantasy. The reader must think about what the writer implies about the powers of the executive and the powers of a congressman. And then read the sequel, "The Price of Power'. It is better written and just as exciting as this effort.

James W. Huston has garnered a bunch of fans with his debut novel. Along with Rush Limbaugh and the thousands of others who have read this interesting story of a constitutional crisis between a dovish President as Commander in Chief and a hawkish Speaker of the House, I found myself liking this book.

Huston does some interesting things with his characters. His fictional President, like the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has no military experience. His Speaker of the House, unlike his real life model, Newt Gingrich, is a former naval officer who saw combat in Vietnam as a brown water sailor in the navy's riverine forces. As a veteran, I found both the President and the Speaker unlikable. The President was an un- realistic idealist and the Speaker a jingoistic opportunist. Mr. Huston did a good job of developing both of these figures well enough to make me dislike them and in that, I felt he did a creditable job.

Perhaps the most valuable lessons learned from this book, especially to the unitiated, were the descriptions of the workings of the various branches of the federal government. Despite the fact that the book is a novel, I think it could be used as a primer on federalism for high school students. If used at the college level, I would recommend that it be used in political science courses covering both the Presidency and the Congress.

Mr. Huston's credentials as an F-14 NFO and Intelligence Officer shines through. His training as a lawyer shines through as well when he discusses the various constitutional issues that develop as a result of his plot. I would like to correct some of the other critics who wrote here on a point of fact. Mr. Huston was not an F-14 pilot. The dust jacket points out that he was an F-14 NFO (Naval Flight Officer). That's the Guy In Back. Remember Goose in TOP GUN? Needless to say, while he may not have actually flown them, he was trained to fight in them and that background lends him a credibility not available with other authors.

Mr. Huston, like a lot of lawyers has taken to writing and I think his debut novel was a fine first effort. I look forward to his next effort because this one reminds me of the early Tom Clancy. I just hope that he doesn't run out of steam (or plausible story lines) like Tom Clancy seems to have done of late. While Mr. Clancy seems to have invented the techno-thriller as a genre, there have been many who followed his example and provided the reading public with hours of reading entertainment.

I wish Mr. Huston good fortune in his writing career. He may well be Tom Clancy's heir in the political-military thriller arena.

Truly fantastic political and military thriller, one of my favorite works of fiction I have read the last few years. Author James W. Huston, drawing skillfully both upon his military background as an F-14 fighter pilot in the US Navy and his legal background as a lawyer, has crafted a tightly woven yarn about terrorism in the South Pacific - Indonesia to be exact - and what the President and the US Congress do about it.

When terrorists capture the US flagged merchant ship Pacific Flyer, kill most of the crew, kidnap the captain, and then booby-trap the ship to kill potential rescuers, the world is stunned. Though the world expects President Manchester (a fictional president who serves after the President Clinton of this novel's timeline), to react, he does not order a military strike, instead announcing he is against continuing the "cycle of violence" and that while he will order a carrier battle fleet to help find the terrorist's island hideout, will not act militarily, instead seeing it as an internal Indonesian police matter.

Many are outraged as his reaction, none more so than Speaker of the House John Stanbridge. Furous over what he sees as a failure to act and accusing the President of pacifism, he tries to get around the President's orders regarding the terrorists, hidden on a foritified island which the battle group centered around the carrier USS Constitution under Admrial Billings locates.

Brash and brilliant aide to Standbridge, Jim Dillon, comes up with a little known provision in the US Constituion in Article I, Secton 8, relating to the power of the Congress to issues Letters of Marque and Reprisal. Researching it, he finds that the power was formerly used to grant legal authority to armed merchantmen in times of war, authorizing private ships to act as war ships. Instead, with Standbrige's support, it is proposed, voted on, and passed, the Letter instead issued to the Constitution battle group!

I won't comment much more on the course of the novel, other than to say it is great political thriller to see the constitutional crisis that comes to embroil all three branches of the federal government, and the struggle of Congress and the President to get the battle group to act how they see fit. It is also a great military thriller, to see a US carrier battle group, with fighters, attack craft, helicopters, and Marines operating against terrorists, a true joy to read particularly in the wake of the tragic and horrid attacks of September 11, 2001.

Highly recommend this work to all fans of military fiction, technothrillers, political thrillers, and fans of Tom Clancy. Pay close attention to the events in the novel, as there is truly excellent follow up in the riveting sequel, The Price of Power.

Lizards invade earth during WW II - installment 3. A good storyline and backdrop, but the author repeats himself an awful lot. For example, in the first book the Lizards are suprised at how technologically advanced the humans are. In the 3rd book, there are still pages and pages of various lizards lamenting the same thing in almost the same words. Character development stopped somewhere in the 2nd book also. 1,200 pages into this series, the baseball player characters still relate everything back to playing minor league ball, almost verbatim in some spots. Could have edited the first three books into one or two faster, better books.

I have read the entire series (all four books) and recommend them highly. (Worldwar: In The Balance, Worldwar: Tilting the Balance, Worldwar: Upsetting the Balance, and Worldwar: Striking the Balance) The background research that Turtledove has done is amazing. I have found all kinds of snippets of information he has woven into his plot. After reading the tetralogy, I have found myself reflecting on Germany's role in WWII, the position of the Jews before, during and after WWII, and the struggle in China. The subplot about nuclear bomb development is my favorite. If you like military history and like alternate history read this book!

Excellent stuff, I love the alternate reality of this series. Excellent writing, keeps your attention. A real page-turner. If you like sci fi and alternate history, read this and his other books.

....to the principles of ecology. This book, if you can find it, is logically organized and very easy to understand. It moves gradually from the foundational dynamics (energy flows, eat-or-be-eaten) to entire ecosystems.

Some readers will be distracted by the dated references to outer space and the cute chapter headings--"Methods for Mission Impossible," etc. Most of the first chapter, Wonder and Anxiety, was a teaching device that seemed to me to take forever to get to the point; other readers less familiar with ecology might find it useful, however.

Bottom line: I'd buy another book from this author. It's always nice to find clear voices in the sciences.

Here we have a collection of several articles about balancing wor an life. I liked the book because of that. You don't have to begin reading on page 1. Just see the index for an article of choige an begin reading there. The ideas tha authors propose are written in an easy reading manner an are always backed on serious researches. I licked it a lot.

It's a very interessant study of st. Thomas and the Salamanca's School about their position vis-à-vis of a theology of right and the problem of a justification of the slavery in the situation of the XII century or of the XVI. Sometimes, it's a little literary study of the text without a distant of reflexion but a work necesary for this theme of slavery

What a disapointment. I love the William Monk series. I read Sins of the Wolf in three days and and quickly decided it was my favorite. Cain His Brother was just as compelling of a read and the details of Limehouse, the typhoid hospital and especially the chase seen were amazing. Couldn't wait to read this book, but quickly found that I couldn't wait for it to end. Ms. Perry's research on Victorian England is second to none, but I found this story in particular very forgetable. I agree with one reviewer that Hester's contribution to solving the cases is sometimes better than Monk's or Rathbone. Thank goodness Monk is finally starting to figure out that Hester's courage, friendship and brains is more attractive than beauty. Don't waste much time on this book, except to find out who did it and the next step in Monk's and Hester's relationship.

I haven't read any Anne Perry in a long time-- largely because I wasn't enthralled by what I'd read of the Pitt novels. But I have to say that I really liked this book.

I found all the character interesting because they had not only the trappings of the period, but also the appropriate flaws. I liked that Monk did not really appreciate Hester, and I liked his indecision about who to support in the slander trial.

I even liked the slander trial and the forgotten European history as the centerpiece.

Well done. I'll look for more in the same series.

In the mid 19th century, there is a small european country about to be swallowed by the vast Prussian Empire. Friedrich, the crown-prince of this country, renounced to the throne to marry Gisela, the woman he loves (sounds familiar?). Some years later, his country invites him to come back - without Gisela, of course. During a rollicking week-end with other royals (the prince of Wales is present) and ex-royals, Friedrich falls from his horse. He is nursed by his devoted wife, seems to recover - and dies suddenly. The russian countess Zorah Rostova causes a scandal by declaring that it was Gisela who poisoned her husband. Gisela sues Zorah for libel, but this obstinate and self-assured countess brings star-attorney Oliver Rathbone to defend her...No surprise ending this time: I was able to guess the outcome after five minutes - everybody who knows which flowers are toxic will - but read it nonetheless because the motive is very revealing and there are some hilarious moments. Perry is always at her best when she has the opportunity to unmask the evil, evil establishment and the scene where Zorah describes in detail the daily routine of the idle aristocracy is a classic. How shocked the public is to learn that the prince of Wales played blind-man's buff - how easily shocked the public was then...

In this book, Pastor John Hagee explores the Jewish roots of the Christian faith and proves conclusively, Christianity was born in the Synagogue, not in a Church or Mosque. He then reviews Jerusalem's pivotal role in international events, and ends with prophesies for the future supported by scripture. The result is a scathing indictment and warning against anti-Semitism.

Hagee begins with a review of well-documented crimes against Jews perpetrated, through the ages, by people claiming to be Christians. The perverted gospel they preached and practiced was, persecute a Jew and God will reward you for avenging the murder of his son. His next chapter is entitled, "Who Really Killed Christ." Readers will gain many scriptural and historical insights from these short passages.

Next, he narrates Jerusalem's crucial role in international events, past, present and future. He describes the elation of battle hardened, Israeli soldiers who became the first Jews to pray at the Wailing Wall in 2000 years after recapturing their ancient capital in 1948. He then mentions the four wars that have followed it. In each case, Israel triumphed over militarily superior Arab forces, proving God has never and will never abandon his chosen people.

Hagee closes with predictions for the future. He states plainly no "roadmap" or any other "peace settlement" that takes land away from ancient Israel will stand. God himself established the boundaries of Israel and personally bequeathed it to the Jews. No manmade treaty can change this.

The only thing missing is a plea for the Jews to finally recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Certainly, they are the chosen people of God and are directly responsible for the spread of Christianity worldwide. Had this been done, I would have given it five stars instead of four. Still, Hagee does a masterful job of explaining historical events in light of biblical prophecy. Well done!!

Dr. Hagee's biblical research and perception of GOD's Covenant people, the Jews are definitely the speaking Mind of our GOD Almighty and the Holy One of Israel. Those who think likewise are those who have a faithful heart to our Jewish Saviour, our One and Only Lord Jesus Christ.
Though anti-Semitism started with the early church fathers but it is Hitler who is the one that bring anti-Semitism to the utmost brink. Hitler is a catholic and that's undeniable and the
roman catholic did help him to accomplish the Holocaust project. So it is very right and very appropriate that Dr. Hagee bring these up to the readers and I don't think he's being anti-catholic but just revealing true facts to the world and especially to the catholic world. Catholics may find it
disturbing but face the facts and if it bother you, don't read but don't belittle Dr. Hagee's divine works.
Lord Jesus definitely don't like a Christian who don't face up to his/her mistakes when committed and keep telling Him I have not sin. I highly recommend this book to all Christians and non-Christians who have a heart for our gracious Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Land Israel and Jerusalem as well as His beloved Covenant people, the Jews.

Pastor Hagee has done it again! This book doesn't include his opinions; his words are from the Word of God. The book clearly reveals that Israel is the absolute center time piece to Bible prophecy. It uncovers many of the myths about Jews that Christians have believed for so long. The book distinguishes between Israel and the Church. Neither replaces the other as many are falsely teaching. I may receive criticism for this but I'm not here to be applauded by people. This book clearly reveals that the Church does not go through the tribulation. I agree with the Pre-Trib position because the tribulation is a time when God deals with Israel again, not the church. God picks up with Israel again where He left off before the Church was born when Christ was cut off (crucified) but not for Himself. Once the church is raptured, God will deal with Israel again so the Jewish people will finally recognize their Messiah. This book is a must read if you're wanting to know the truth. Don't pass this one up!

I listen to a lot of tapes about living a healthy life style. I think this one is the most disapointing. She rambles on & on providing only a few usable insights. It wouldn't be so bad if the path she took was inspirational to the average person. Most people can't aford personal trainers, health spas, & expensive fittness centers for the affluent. Those things aren't bad, & they are what helped her. I do a lot of counceling on fittness & nutrition, & the average person that I work with wouldn't relate to making those type of expenditures to live healthy lifestyle. The few things that are applicable to the average person are few & far inbetween.

I have always been a fan of Joan Lunden, but this tape is nothing more than narcissistic musing of her path to growth supported by The Golden Gate Spa and a high dollar fitness club in New York

The tape contributed no new or practical knowledge which one could make use of on their own path to growth.

I have always admired Joan Lunden and followed her on GMA since the birth of her first child. She seemed to be pregnant everytime I was. First my daughter than son than another daughter were born around the same time as her children. I was going through a very low point in my life when I picked up her book in the library. I finished it in a day. I felt so uplifted and have been trying for a long time to make changes in my life also. I am just 50 and it's so hard to find the courage to do things different. My life has been in turmoil for about 5 years now and I have just started to get into inspirational readings and tapes. This book hit such a nerve and I am going to as a result of this read her other books. One of my things was getting back in shape and loosing 20 lbs that has been bothering me for years. I have confirmed my feelings of her being now my hero. I will not climb the titans but I sure will reach my goal of just feeling better about my self. Thank you Joan I have given birth with you, cried with you, laughed with you and this book makes me feel so good about my self again. Barbara

I listened to the audio version of this book. The reader
came close to making an interesting book painfully boring.
Surely there was someone available who could have read with
more expression and given the male characters more definition

As with all of Richard North Patterson's work, page-turning, political infighting makes BALANCE OF POWER a must-read for political junkies on both sides of the political aisle. That said, if you have a closed mind and any kind of opinion at all, for or against gun legislation to go along with it, you'll either love or hate this book. I'll give you three examples.

"Richard North Patterson has a keen eye for how Washington really works. His portrait of the gun lobby is right on-both in terms of its power and its political tactics. A must read for anyone interested in the gun debate." -Former President Bill Clinton

"BALANCE OF POWER is a rip-roaring novel about guns, lawyers, and politics. Richard North Patterson has extraordinary insight into how Washington works, and a complex and heartfelt understanding of the effects of gun violence on our society. This is a great read by a masterful writer." -Senator Edward M. Kennedy

"I hate this book." -Any living member of the National Rifle Association

Okay, maybe that last one was a little exaggerated, but you can see what I mean about readers either loving or hating this novel. And from the examples cited above, you can pretty much figure out where Patterson comes down on the debate.

The third book in the Kerry Kilcannon trilogy finds President Kilcannon about to wed. After the wedding, tragedy strikes his new wife's family. Kilcannon ran on a promise to do something about guns in America, now gun violence has attacked close to home. But it's not the first time, Kilcannon's brother was killed by an assassin's bullet when he ran for the presidency. So, President Kilcannon has valid reasons for his fight for better gun legislation and we can sympathize with him in his struggle to get it.

However, perhaps Patterson goes a little over the top in his portrayal of the gun lobbyists and those that believe in the right to bear arms. There must be a least one guy out there in America who sincerely believes in his right to own a handgun for protection and for no other reason. Still, this is a fabulous book and if you can around the fact that it's not fair and balanced and doesn't pretend to be, then you'll be treated to a wonderful five star story and you'll learn about how your senators and congressmen work when they pass legislation that affects your life, and I think that I can guarantee, Republican, Democrat or Independent, you won't like how they do it.

Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

Richard North Patterson's "Ballance of Power" is a wonderful read regardless of one's political party.

I simply couldn't put it down and I'm exhausted!

Thank you, Mr. Patterson for so many hours of pleasure.

I am the author of this book published 33 years ago. Frankly I was quite astonished when a friend alerted me to the fact that it was being sold on Amazon. Of course I cannot review my own book so I'm including a review by Robert A. Scott who at the time was Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University. The review was published in The Journal of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, Spring 1971, Vol. 46, No. 3.

As the author, I'm not in the position to rate the book so I've filled in the rating as neutral (3).

The book was written shortly after I'd left graduate school. I wanted to reflect on my experiences as a high school, undergraduate, and graduate student while they were fresh. While much has changed (especially tuition) since the late '60s, I don't believe the core content has dated. I set out to discover the purpose of education, apart from providing access to higher paying jobs. I concluded that the marvelously balanced conditions in which life evolved on earth - the balancing of polar opposites - served as a cue to the proportioned evolution of education as a carrying on of the tradition. So here's the review:

"This book is intended to be an incentive for others to search out the meanings of, and the relationship between, education and life. Author Robbins describes it as 'an examination of the complex of forces operating both within the individual and within the collective social systems, which mold and sustain patterns of society, education, and the experience of single individuals.' The forces that lead to excess and over-emphasis receive particular attention.

This book is a personal statement. an unrestrained letter to a friend, without references and without an index, with few explanatory notes, and with only a general guide to the author's intent. His scientific background is evident in his examples and his frequent use of such terms as entropy, excess-deficiency, and The Second Law of Thermodynmaics. His thesis, that there is growth where there is a dynamic balancing (i.e., no excesses) of complementary forces, is stated boldly in a rhetorical, staccato style. Unfortunately, Robbins criticism of excess sometimes becomes excessive.

Although Goodman, Holt, Kozol, and others have been more literate in their evaluations of the misuse and potentially bad effects of school grades, competition, tests, credentials, placement and socializing functions, and similar issues, this work is valuable for the questions it raises and inspires about education, the individual, life, and society. It is a compilation of assertions that demand response, sometimes for their arrogance, at other times for their sensitivity.

The essays, which range in length from a few paragraphs to more than a dozen pages, discuss: knowledge; Life, Death, and Spirit; schools; the tendency to disorder; and the balance between content and process in the curriculum. Robbins ideas are challenging and he often unshrouds the truth.

My criticism of the book are few, but serious: the auhtor's frequent intemperance (it appears that he would throw out the whole system instead of reforming it); his too simple solutions to problems and his occasional vagueness; his failure to recognize that social systems, including those which are repressive, are organic and active rather than mechanical and unchanging (he seems to think that unjust measures are thrust onto society when, in fact, they often develop from misused or obsolete practices); and his failure to acknowledge any debts to his philosophical forebears - Aristotle, Dewey, Hobbes, Kant, Plato - except by listing a few of their works in his long catalog of 'Ingredients,' which the reader must assume are books that were important to Robbins' education.

Jeff Robbins purpose is to suggest. On balance, he succeeds with this provocative, easy-reading little book."

P.S. The absence of acknowledgement of debt to my philosophical forebears was intentional. At the time I felt there was far too much attention being paid to absorbing what others had said and thought and far to little to nurturing the ability to find those words with one's own voice. I believed that even the greatest of insights could be discovered within each student and that one of the purposes of education was to develop the skills of self-discovery.