history

I have no idea why blacks constantly support the democratic party. A republican freed the slaves. The democrats fought this, and after the war started clubs such as the KKK. It seems the democrats get all the credit because Kennedy proposed the Civil Rights Act which was signed into law by Johnson. Not to forget the fact that a lot of blacks are religious, yet democrats are the party of abortion. Yet they let these Clintons and Sharptons come and speak in their churches. A disgrace.

This is a well-written, excellently researched book on the relationship between the Democratic Party and black people in this country. It is still somewhat surprising to realize that as short time ago as 1960, Richard Nixon outpoled JFK in support of black voters. Perhaps the biggest complaint heard is that political parties take their core voters for granted. Both parties do this and it is not at all clear which is more crass in their arrogance.

Every four years we hear stern warnings from black "leaders" that the Democratic Party cannot take their vote for granted. And every four years, the party nominates two white guys who make the patronizing church circuit - having ignored those same churches for four years - to deliver verbal abuse on the mean old GOP who is somehow against them. Predictably on Election Day, a 90% vote is given the party that snubbed them for four years.

Likewise, the GOP takes a message of fiscal responsibility to their core supporters. After four years of running up enormous debts, they promise change and warn about the spending habits of Democrats. Naturally, once they are in power, spending takes off with a vengeance - even the rate of spending increases - and they then have the gall to run four years later on a platform of "lowering government spending."

The first situation, though, is more tragic with all the dashed hopes, lost dreams, lack of effectual power and the requisite demagoguery that has effectively enslaved one race to one party regardless of consequences. The whole idea of community leaders telling people of their race to vote a certain way BECAUSE of their race is depressingly familiar and would be in court if not for the similar political leanings of the ACLU. Change does not appear emminent due to the status quo we have all accepted. While enlightening, this book is also depressing.

I must be quite honest; I have not yet read this book. I linked to Wayne Perryman through the conservative web site "Free Republic"and then came to Amazon to read reviews of this book.
I would warn those who read this review to discount those reviews posted after February 17, 2004. Mention at FR of media accounts that defy liberal orthodoxy bring "trolls" from sites like "Democratic Underground."

Refreshing story of a trip back to Vietnaum for one, and the first trip for an anti war guy. Two men tied together with nothing more in common than brothers-in-laws, through marrage.
Funny Self analysis by the author, keeps the story up beat and moves the reader along, while at the same time, gives the reader a very different insight into the Vietnam War. Easy read, couldn't put it down.
Recommended for all readers, the preface is the best I've ever read, it alone is worth the price of the book.

It is amazing to think that with the abundance of movies that have been written about the Vietnam War, not one has ever even come close to telling the story told in this book. Virga Tears gave me new insight into the Vietnam War, and an understanding of what so many soldiers must have gone through, emotionally, during the war, and during the thirty years since the war ended. This is a compelling book that you won't be able to put down. I highly recommend it to all.

A delightful chronicle of an odyssey back to VietNam, by two unlikely travel-mates. An engaging, funny, at times disturbing account of war, memories of war, and the personal costs of relationships in wartime. Hard to put down, I loved the writing style that seemed to blend Jack Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson.

This truly is a marvelous book and provides a wonderful introduction to warfare in the classical world. The only issue I had with the book was the scant details on warfare during the Roman Empire itself. The Greece section -- from Homeric times to Alexander the Great and his successors -- comprises half the book's pages, and then the Roman Republic section -- from Pyrrhus to the beginning of Octavian/Augustus rule -- comprises about 80 pages. This leaves only 15 pages for the Empire itself, about 400 years of history, and the section scarcely went into any detail whatsoever. I'm not sure why the author chose largely to ignore this critical part of Roman history; perhaps he thought there was enough information out there already.

This one problem aside, the book is simply marvelous, and as long as you don't mind the author breezing over Imperial Rome, it's a must-buy. The Alexander the Great section in particular is spectacular.

An absolute must have for anyone who is remotely interested in warfare in the classical world. Not just dry descriptions, but beautiful, realistic, full color illustrations of the soldiers from each important evoloution. (Such as the Homeric and Spartan hoplites, the Macedonian Phalangite, the Companion Cavalryman, the Thracian Peltast, the varied Persian troops, and the various evoloutions of the Roman Legionary and their foes (including Hannibal's Iberians, the Celts, and the Huns), along with detailed descriptions of each one's panopoly and tactics. Also describes all major battles, seagoing and siege tactics and the historical timeline surrounding each. The one thing it lacks is analysis of the great generals, which is appropriate as a good study of any great leader can easily fill a book this size. However, is a must-have companion to any T. A. Dodge or similar work on the period. Really puts a face on the fighting soldier.

I was introduced to the ancient world by films like 'Ben Hur' and Richard Burton's 'Alexander the Great' as a child. Time passed and the subject of those films was almost forgotten. Had it not been for that memorable sea-battle from Ben Hur, this book would have never caught my eye. A frequent book buyer, I noticed the cover of this book and decided to look at it. It took a few more visits and a few more glances, but something made me buy this book. Before I knew it, I had amassed a collection of 30 volumes about this subject and countless library hours in personal research in an effort to learn more. I I recommend this book for anyone with even the slightest curiosity on the subject.

I came to this strange and wonderful book without the slightest inkling of what it was about -- simply because it was in the recommended reading for many guidebooks about Italy. First and foremost, it is an autobiography of a great physician and animal lover who just happened to spend some years of his life on Capri.

Autobiographies can make for strange reading, especially when there are obvious omissions. Although Axel Munthe frequently accuses himself of being a ladies' man, there is no mention of any love interest by name or even generic description. (That reminds me of film director Josef von Sternberg's FUN IN A CHINESE LAUNDRY, where we learn in passing that the author was married because of a cryptic mention in a subordinate clause 300 pages into the book.) Also missing is any mention of Munthe's childhood, although I understand there is at least one other autobiography written by him (MEMORIES AND VAGARIES), which I have not read.

There is, however, one section that does not appear in any autobiography that I have ever seen: An anticipation of Munthe's Last Judgment in Heaven following his death, with St. Peter, Moses, Athanasius, and St. Francis joining in the discussion.

STORY OF SAN MICHELE ranges from Paris to Lapland, Rome, Naples, Calabria, and Capri. We see duels, medical cases of wealthy women with imaginary diseases, demonic housekeepers, quacks, midwives, prostitutes, victims of cholera and earthquakes, brigands, shamans, and even an alcoholic ape. Munthe is a magnificent raconteur, and his book is a joy to read and reread.

Eighty or ninety years ago, Axel Munthe was a famous doctor.

He left behind a few modest and charming reminiscences, of which "The story of the San Michele" is, in my opinion, the most interesting.

The writer deliberately leaves outsides large zones of his existence; he only highlights those pertaining to his work.

The unity of this book in which memories mingle according to his fancy, is achieved through the presence of two underlying motifs: his love for the nature of the south and the battle against death.

A cholera epedemic in Naples, an earthquake in Messina, anywhere a doctor is needed, Munthe is present.

Even in his passion for archeology, gathering ancient statues and coins, building in Capri a new home from the fragments of an illustrious past - with the architecture inspired by dreams rather than mathematics - his spirit finds a new way of celebrating the beauty of life.

The book is filled with vivid and unforgettable portraits (don Antonio the priest; Maria Porta-Lettere the messenger; Rozalia, the caretaker; Mamsell Agata, the housekeeper with the putrid smile of Lazarus; Norstrom, his friend; Madame Requin, the delinquent midwife; Arcangelo Fusco, the sweeper; the Countess and the Viscount Maurice; John, the child who never laughed - and a lot many others.

But the most interesting character is the doctor himself - because of the special quality of his humanity.

My father had mentioned this book to me as a teenager. I read portions of it then, but have always wanted to read it in full. Finally, I found a paperback edition and found an absorbing and thought stimulating book. Dr. Munthe's care of the sick, his love of animals and the characters he describes, all will stay in my memory. This is not a book that you read once. I plan to read it again and again. Hopefully I will be able to visit Villa St. Michele some day and see the beauty of the place that he saw. I hope to find a bound edition with the photographs.

This book is a vivid account of a young man's coming of age in Africa, a very different Africa than his forebears had inhabited for the previous 150 years. His story is woven with a narrative about his father and a close friend of the family who are admirable and fascinating in ways that brought 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom' and 'Out of Africa' to mind.

In contradistinction is the life of Mr. Hartley, who begins his career as a Reuters stringer quite well educated but professionally clueless. He gradually hones his craft during long, hot, unhygenic, drug-fueled months through close friendships with more seasoned and cynical professionals. Eventually he himself becomes a seasoned and cynical professional and acts as mentor to newcomers.

Together, he and his friends bear witness to several famines, the civil war in Rwanda, as well as the battle of Mogidishu. It is the butchering in Rwanda that finally overfills his capacity for horror. He eventually retires to write this memoir.

Though he possesses the neutral eye of a journalist, Mr. Hartley does occasionally talk about the way the the events affect him and criticizes western goverments' attempts to help.

The structure of this book was the most interesting part of the book to me. I enjoyed the contrast between his progress through the 1990s horror show with his pursuit of long dead characters of another generation.

I bought this book because I enjoyed the author's interview on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Because of that interview, I was already familiar with the story and some of the most terrifying events, particulary in Rwanda.

I was, therefore, most shocked by his incredulous reaction to the inhumanity he witnessed in a brief assignment in Bosnia. In a way that is puzzling to me, Mr. Hartley ambles through the bloody lanes of his homeland, but can't seem to reach his mind around the violence in a European country.

All told, I enjoyed his 'voice' on the radio more than in the book, but as an artifact from the ground of some of the most Biblical destruction in the past century, this book is indispensible.

Many (non-African) people who have traveled or lived in Africa have written a book about their experiences, a large portion of these books are written by journalists who covered Africa for major news organizations. Some of those books are quite good. "The Zanzibar Chest: A Story of Life, Love, and Death in Foreign Lands" by Aidan Hartley, at first glance, seems to be another journalist-memoir of this sort. It is that, but it is much more. Mr. Hartley weaves many threads into a tapestry of his life in Africa: There are the memoirs of a journalist who covered Africa's big stories of the 1990s (Somalia, Rwanda, AIDS, etc.). There is also the behind-the-scenes story of being a journalist, the psychic toll it takes, office politics, the dangers and disappointments of journalism, and plenty of boozing and whoring. There are the stories of Mr. Hartley's parents and ancestors (ex-pats and colonial officials) and the story of the life and death of one of his father's friends. Finally, the story of how all of this affects Mr. Hartley's private life, his career, his home, his love affairs. All of it is told with a clarity and clear purpose that makes this much more than a book. It is a window into a world. Great. Very highly recommended. Books not 1/10 as good have sold more copies. Too bad.

An extraordinarily powerful account a turbulent Africa in the nineties.I salute you for having lived every bit of your life in the extreme, exploring the boundaries, whatever pain or discomfort it brought.

I think of my own similar time period in Africa, which has included Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia, and though I felt I knew it, I realize from reading about your life that I never even scratched the surface - cocooned in my comfort bubble of flying and hotels.

Simplified historical description of art from the perspective of an authoritarian male, white, European, German emigre in Britain who decided exclude quite a lot. One of the results is the canonization of what's shown.

The text is circular, uninteligent, totally ignores the socio-cultural space in which art work is produced, spends some time dealing with 'creation'. Compare Winckelmann's explantion of the character of ancient Greek Art with Gombrich's own words in the section about Greek Art. It's the same argument!

I appreciate enourmously Gombrich's work on the Renaissance but this one is a money making book! No wonder they've sold more 6 million copies! It raises no questions and 'naturalizaes' everything. That's what people like ...

Not my cup of tea!

Gombrich's book has a very specific purpose: he wants to tell the history of art as a continuous story, focusing on Western art and its gradual approach to the visual world. In strong contrast to most other art history texts, Gombrich's book has a thesis, and therefore an argument. In choosing among the various alternates (Janson, Gardner, Stokstad, etc.) it is important to bear this in mind. The size and compression of his book is not its salient feature from a philosophic standpoint: it is the presence of an authorial voice, and a continuous narrative. Most other survey texts give up the ideal of coherent exposition in favor of a neutral descriptive voice and a fragmented "story" that continuously interrupts itself in order not to lose any essential historical detail.

E.H. Gombrich's The Story of Art is one of the best introductory books on the history of art available today. The combination of Gombrich's insight into various art movements (particularly his discussion of Impressionism and Cubism) and the inclusion of many quality reproductions make this book exceptional. If after reading this book you find yourself hungering for a more in depth examination of art history, i also recommend Marilyn Stokstad's Art History; it includes many of the same issues raised and explored in Gombrich's book, but takes them a bit further. If you are interested in learning about art and its history, (and if you want to have an enjoyable time doing it) then consider reading Gombrich's The Story of Art; you will not be disappointed!

It's the old men who make wars happen, and cause us younger ones to go to far-off shores to give our lives in the name of ....whatever buzzword they've dreamed up to get the American Public beating the war drums. It wouldn't do the politicos any good to read it,....but, BY GOD, the American Public should...especially those interested in raising a right hand and enlisting. During the war in VietNam, I was a medical service specialist attached to a CONUS 350-bed medical center's Intensive Care Unit and Neuro/Neuro-Surgical Unit taking care of the soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen who'd fallen. From that perspective, Doc Glassen tells it like it is. All that's missing are the smells and sounds...Maybe someday technology will be able to put THAT into a book form. Until then...an intense read. It gives a good perspective on why YOU DON'T want to go to war... Charley Mike

I have read scores of books about the Vietnam war and witnessed countless movies. I have found no one who can capture, with such poignant clarity, the horror of the war and the nobility of those who fought it quite like Dr. Ronald Glasser. Through a series of deeply affecting vignettes, Dr. Glasser reveals the experiences of men who struggle with the personal and private moral conflict that only those who have taken a life can understand. These men did not, as later accused, lose a war; rather, their loss was their own youth and innocence.

The book is a haunting tribute that evokes images that are raw and bleeding...and yet bestows a sense of peace and understanding. I reread this book every year. It is a book about courage...the courage of the warriors who populate its pages...and the courage of the man who wrote their stories at a time when a Nation was not prepared to know a truth their sons could not convey. Thank you, Dr. Glasser, wherever you are....

Dr. Glasser has written a great story on the Vietnam War and the Hospital and personnel envolved. Having read it almost right through it brought back lots of memories stored in the deep of my mind. I had lived a time in a Naval Hospital and was put back together in a wonderful way by many good Doctors and Nurses in the Boston area. I will always remember them and hope that many that have never associated the hospitals with the war will now understand how many men went through those portals in those years. Many to never be the same, God bless them all, and God bless our wonderful country.

Nothing in this book got me excited about going to Mexico. The natural attractions of the U.S. seem to be far more numerous and spectacular. The author was stretching to fill a book on Mexico's natural attractions - he covers ruins, city parks, and agricultural enterprises. The photographs in the book do not convey any beauty of Mexico.

Ron Mader's "Mexico: Adventures in Nature" provides a provocative look at Mexico's natural attractions and helps travelers, sensitive to protecting them, seek environment-friendly ways to enjoy and protect fragile ecosystems while at the same time promote local economic well-being. Travelers interested in nature will find a rich treasure in Mexico and with the help of this comprehensive guide find their adventure there greatly enhanced.

I am the author of the "Adventure Guide to the Yucatan," a guidebook to Mexico's fascinating peninsula . I used Ron Mader's book for reference as we discovered the best of sustainable tourism and nature preservation efforts in Mexico. Mader is right on in his evaluation and helpful comments. Very well organized. More and more people are trying to travel in an environmentally sound manner and we support that in our book as well. Kudos to Mader!

Most books I've read on the Space Shuttle are political in nature. Many also focus on the problems with the shuttle system: the tragedies of Challenger and Columbia and the mishaps of Mir and Hubble. This book, however, considers the firsthand accounts of the men and women who flew, lived, and worked in space since the first shuttle launch in 1981. Scores of astronauts and payload and mission specialists participated in this project (no Russian cosmonauts, however, were contacted for this book) and provided reminiscences on everything from training, what it is like during launch, experiences in zero gravity, space sickness, watching earth from 165 miles up, space walking, experiments conducted, horseplay on the shuttle, coming home, etc. Each personal story is about a page in length (some even shorter) and are surrounded by tons of full color photographs. This book was published before the Columbia tragedy and two astronauts who perished on that mission (Rick Husband and Kalpana Chawla) provide stories.

Some of my favorite stories: Jack Lousma's frank account on how he never knew when to safely use ejector seats (pg. 24); Sultan Bin Salman Al-Saud on returning to Saudi Arabia "I could not believe that our people had that kind of excitement in them" (pg. 45); Rhea Seddon on the Pepsi/Coke experiments (Pepsi's space can was just a shaving cream container with a label slapped on while Coke spent loads on their special can); Bob Cenker on how NASA never kept the life threatening danger from "teacher in Space" Christa McAuliffe before the doomed Challenger flight (pg. 57); Congressman Bill Nelson on his close call; Hoot Gibson on a top secret mission from which he received a medal "he could only wear in a safe" (pg. 66); John Blaha and Jerry Linenger on life aboard Mir (pp. 90-1); and a photo caption on how the shuttle circles the earth every 90 minutes so it experiences "sunrise" in that amount of time (pg. 244). Of course, there a lot more interesting stories.

I'm not sure if it would have been possible, but I'd enjoy the book more if it included photos of the storytellers next to their reminiscences. Most of the time, the photos (albeit related to the topic described) are of other people. When I read the stories I sometimes got a mental picture of the person(s) in the photos only to realize they were not the same person. That's just a minor criticism. Anyone interested in astronaut life will enjoy this book. The stories are not very technical and are usually about fun or awe inspiring moments. Although, it is definitely a pro-space program book, there is nothing political or controversial here. It also includes a list of each mission with the passengers and experiments conducted, and simplified looks at the shuttle and its launch pattern, Mir, and the International Space Station.

What a great book. It's emotional, awe inspiring, and an absolute pleasure to read. We so often hear our Astronauts talking about the technical side of their work, but rarely do we get a look at the human side. If you ever wanted to know what it feels like to be on a shuttle, or just get a sense of the exhilaration of space flight, buy this book.

It features short musings from many of the shuttle program's astronauts, and includes some of the most beautiful photos from the program's 20+ years.

It's a shining example of how great our nation's space program is, through the eyes of our brave astronauts. Any fan of the space program should definitely add this book to his or her coffee table!

i wont have a bad word said about it. some of the photos in this book are really inspiring.
if it wasn't for the love i have for it i would say that it should be thrown with considerable force at anybody who is, after two decades of such ground breaking work, still in doubt about the worth of the shuttle.
just a word or two on the title - '...the first 20 years'. theres a review just up a bit which suggests that it should be the '..most recent 20 yrs' as the book is all about the two decades between 1981 and 2001. i would like to offer that the shuttle programme is only 23yrs old so the 'first' 20yrs IS the 'most recent' 20yrs.
also, i am delighted to read that someone else gets confused when a story told turns out NOT to be related to the picture beside. don't get me wrong, i think it was a good decision to match up the stories with photos which are in some way relevant but i think that its actually done so seamlessly that i tend to think that they are two of the same and end up disappointed and slightly confused when i realise that they aren't.
before i read this book (and reading the expressions on the faces of the astronauts is definately included), an astronaut was no more than the holder of the most fantastic profession in existance. now they're all people, who have fought so hard and so long to earn a place at the forefront of humanity. i'm so glad that someone finally decided to tell their story.
really very impressed and somewhat bewitched.

Yes, this guy knows his stuff & he can write, but a prospective purchaser needs to know that this book is really a tactical analysis of the battle for Tarawa, & what a battle it was! It is a text book for military historians & whilst dealing with an enormously violent military episode, it comes over curiously passionless. Tactics & battlefield problems are disected & judged with knowledge & objectivity, although I thought the tiny explanatory maps were just dreadful. Main problem for me though, was that I enjoy reading about battles from the blood 'n guts, "grunt," or platoon, point of veiw. In this book, although some pen pictures of the principle participants & some rousing accounts of personal bravery were related, these were very much a side issue. If you are a serious student in this genre, this is probably for you. If, like me, you just like a rousing battleground story, this isn't!

The Marine Corps as we all know takes great pride in our amphibious doctrine. We call our selves warriors from the sea, amphibious monsters and a host of other hostile and well meaning nick names. We also hold great pride in the deeds that were accomplished by those Marines that came before us and the legacy that they have provided and our steadfast determination to carry it with honor into the future. This book is not just an account of the battle for a small island in the Pacific 60 years ago. It is an account of the birth of the pride of the modern day Marine Corps. Out ability to locate, close with from ship to shore, and destroy the enemy. To Amphibiously Assault.

Col. Alexander has produced a comprehensive and thorough account, and a brilliant analysis, of one of the toughest battles of the Pacific War. In this inaugural amphibious assault against a strongly fortified beach, the Marines wrote one of the most heroic and traumatic chapters in the history of their corps. They paid a tragic price for the valuable lessons learned there, which were effectively applied in subsequent assaults. As one who went ashore on D+5, and spent the next two weeks cleaning up the battlefield and burying the dead, I stand in awe and wonder at the valor, courage, and sheer grit of the officers and men of the 2nd Marine Division, who had to go up and over the fortified wall fronting the landing beaches. A plaque at the main cemetery on Betio read: "So there let them rest, on their sunswept atoll, The wind for their watcher the waves for their shroud, Where palm and pandanus shall whisper forever A requiem fitting for heroes so proud." Alexander captures the essence of their awful struggle, heroic deeds, and costly victory.