history

The flight inspired my father, 14 years old and living on a farm in Wisconsin in 1927, to become a graduate aerospace engineer, and later to work on the design of the P-38, X-15, and the Apollo capsule, among others, many of which he could not even tell me about. It had similar effects and results for thousands of others.

This book is well written and documents not only the flight, but the life of Lindbergh, and the logistics of pulling off this incredible event. After reading this book, I came to the opinion that the planning and logistics (including fundraising and sponsorship) may have been more difficult than the actual flight. We owe much for this leap forward to a group of individuals from St. Louis, who told Lindbergh, "you worry about the design, building, and flying of the aircraft, we will take care of the money". Reading about this portion of the effort alone, provides much food for thought about current corporate management and government projects. A case study in delegation! I found this book interesting, fascinating, well written, and inspiring. The event and the book are timeless. Reading it makes you realize the difference one person can make when perseverance is applied in a large dose.

I lived in Madrid thirty five years after the time the Countess recounts. Her account and vivid description unveiled for me a city gone for ever, one however, clearly discernible when I was there. Thank you Countess de Romanones for this wonderful treat!

Savage Garden by Susan Paul****
Historical: Lady Raine LeFleur is the daughter of a French Major. Dr. Miguel Chavez is fighting on the opposite side of the war seeking revenge for the slaughter of his family. Miguel intercepts bandit's heist of the carriage bound to take Raine home to get married. Thankful for being rescued by her lover, Raine finds herself kidnapped instead.

Roarke's Prisoner by Angela Knight****
Sci-Fi: Elise Morrell captains Coalition Stellar Service Intelligence ship the "Star Raker" which has been ducking and dodging Captain Michael Roarke of Rebellion Starforce much larger ship the "Liberator" for a year. Chased down and defeated, she puts her crews safety above her owns and reluctantly agrees to his demand for HER total surrender.

Surrogate Lover by Doreen DeSalvo***
Contemporary: Sarah goes to see Dr. Adrian Ross for sex therapy. While coaching Sarah to enjoy sex and become "comfortable" with her sexuality, he falls in love with her. How UNprofessional....

Nadler is surely taking everything out of the closet to tell us the real story of this great man, that passed away from us after only to have been here 45 years, ot with other words way to short. However are there only a few more persons that were more controversial and radical than he was.

Given the scarcity of biographical information, Nadler does an excellent job in placing Spinoza's life in historical context. He discusses in detail how the Jewish community in Amsterdam became established, precariously, by immigrants from the Inquistion in Spain and Portugal. He describes the efforts the Jewish community made to win acceptance in Amsterday, the place of Spinoza's family in the Jewish community, and the rabbis and leaders of the community. Some of this material is well-known, others of it is less so. It is all valuable to getting to understand Spinoza.

There is a great deal of discussion of the history of the Dutch republic in Spinoza's time. Nadler's discussion includes both internal affairs (the tension between those who wanted a powerful monarch and those who wanted republican institutions) and the complex foreign wars and shifting alliances of the Netherlands during Spinoza's time. I never could make sense of this material before, but Nadler has discussed it well and in sufficient detail to provide a good backround in understanding Spinoza's political ideas.

Nadler's book is not itself a philosophical study. But he treats carefully and instructively the origin of Spinoza's works and he summarizes their complex ideas well. He does not limit his discussion to the Ethics. Instead, Nadler spends a great deal of time on the Theological-Political Treatise which he rightly views as a neglected masterpiece complementary to the Ethics. There are also good discussions of Spinoza's unfinished "Hebrew Grammar" and, particularly, of the Epistles, as well as of his other works.

Nadler has a good sense of Spinoza's naturalism encompassed be the famous phrase "deus, siva natura". He gives the reader a good feel for the revolutionary nature of Spinoza's thought and shows how and why Spinoza departed from the traditional religious belief of his day.

Nadler is a careful in his use of sources. He tells the reader what evidence from a record both complex and sparse he accepts, what he doubts, and why. When Nadler draws a conclusion that goes beyond the available evidence, he tells the reader that he has done so and why he has done so. This is measured, careful writing about a figure Nadler obviously admires.

There is much creative detail in this book as Nadler draws on recent scholarship to cast light on Spinoza and his times. For example, he relies substantially on the report made to the Inquisition of a person who knew Spinoza in Amsterdam. He discusses the Sabatti Zvi incident (a false Jewish Messiah who appealed to many people during Spinoza's lifetime) and Spinoza's possible knowledge of it. The book rebukes the myth of Spinoza as a recluse. One of the strongest features of the book is its picture of Spinoza's intellectual circle and of his relationship to many friends.

The book doesn't include a critical analysis of Spinoza's thought. Such studies are legion and there still is much to say and learn. Also, the book doesn't discuss the reception and influence of Spinoza through the years. Again, this is beyond the scope of the book. The book is an excellent biography of a seminal figure in Western philosophy. I came away from the book with a increased understanding of and appreciation for Spinoza's life and thought.

Spinoza was the descendent of one of the multitude of Jews driven from the Iberian Peninsula in the reign of the Catholic Monarchs credited with reconquering Spain from the Moors. Harassed by the Inquisition, many found refuge in the Calvinist Netherlands. Nadler shows how tolerance and dogma fought continuously in the Dutch Republic, reaching every facet of society. Politics and religion were deeply intertwined. Even a reclusive like Spinoza wasn't immune to the swaying fortunes of party politics. While the Dutch struggled for an independent existence surrounded by enemy states, Spinoza formulated his ideas on Nature and the role of the divine. He began these studies at an early age. Expressing them led to the most vehement statement of excommunication issued by the Amsterdam rabbinical leadership.
He spent the remainder of his life in near-seclusion, with occasional visits with friends and other thinkers. The time was spent in preparing what became his most significant work - The Ethics.

Spinoza, a deep scholar of Scripture and Nature, refused to countenance a human aspect for the deity. Instead, as Nadler explains, Spinoza merged the deity and Nature into one. Humans, he insisted, were merely part of the scheme, not something apart. To be good was part of the divine plan. Evil, while deplorable, was derived from natural causes. Evil should be controlled, it should not be condemned. The State must have a role, but it must be under the direction of an enlightened populace. He scorned Utopian ideas, but found much to admire in the Dutch Republic's scheme. To Spinoza, the worst aspect of Netherland politics was the intrusion of the Reformed Church in government affairs. Spinoza condemned all dogma and superstition - both being symbolic of the various churches, Christian or Jewish. He published but one major work in his lifetime. The Theological and Political Treatise was roundly condemned by most European theologians, who goaded the states to follow suit. There is a special irony in Spinoza escaping the martyrdom some suffered for lesser views. Instead, he appears to have perished from a combination of inherited susceptibility to respiratory ailments and inhaled dust from his lens grinding.

Nadler's account is sound scholarship presented confidently. There are no frills nor wild speculations. Where he tries to resolve an issue in question, he does it firmly and with good sources. Where evidence is lacking, and there is very little on Spinoza that can be considered reliable, he indicates this without apology. A good bibliography and a few illustrations grace the book. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

The treatment he gave to the major battles was good. He presented an easy to follow account of the battle, what lead up to it and the outcome. He also touched on some of what was happening back home with the politics, but only briefly. I think the most interesting parts of the book for me was the details of the air war, more specifically how the bombing kept escalating and then the final bombing push by Nixon. My only complaint with the book is that it was an overview that was a bit too light on the facts for me. The book was only 270 pages long, and book size do not necessary determine quality, this book could have been a little bit more in-depth. It seemed to me that to get a better understanding a few more pages could have been added without the overview turning into a in depth study.

His works helped give birth to the greatest nation to bless the Earth.

When I saw this item, I just had to get it. And I wasn't disappointed at all.

It's a very detailed, hand painted model, and simple to assemble. The mechanism is ingenious. The two halves fasten together well, and the boat will float.

To activate the sinking, you slide a lever, which opens a simulated gash in the hull, right at the proper spot. This allows the water in, which floats a plastic float attached in a see-saw manner to a latch. When the water reaches a certain level, it trips the latch and the two halves fall apart, complete with jagged breaks!
It's really cool!

If you have a child who is into the Titanic, or even if you're a Titanic buff yourself, you'll love this!

The book is helpful and very well done to boot!

The scale model is 16 inches long, pre-painted, and has 19 accessories. It floats in the tub, you slide a switch on the bottom, and a jagged gash opens where it got "hit" by the iceburg. The hull then begins to sink, and the ship splits in two and both pieces "plunge" to the bottom. You can do this over and over again. My kids still haven't tired of it, and I'll probably be ordering another one for his younger brother.

Needless to say, this was a BIG hit with my son's class. He was proud of his demonstration, and I think it motivated him to work a little harder on his report. I recommend this product without reservation.

Kelleher then notes that "Southwest Airlines had 162 companies at our last corporate day [open house], which we have twice a year. We started them off that day with the Macarena and they were all wondering, 'Hmmmm....I was looking for E=mc2 and I'm getting the Macarena.' But a fellow from Swiss Air was interviewed when he left and was asked, 'What's the most important message you're taking back to Swiss Air?' And he said 'For everybody to learn to do the Macarena.' Everybody's looking for a single Big Answer, an easy answer such as 'We'll communicate for six months, then get on with something else that's more important.' I keep telling them that the intangibles are far more important than the tangibles in the competitive world because, obviously, you can replicate the tangibles.  You can get the same airplane. You can get the same ticket counters.  You can get the same computers. But the hardest thing for a competitor to match is your culture and the spirit of your people and their focus on customer service because that isn't something you can do overnight and it isn't something you can do without a great deal of attention every day in a thousand different ways. That is why I say that our employees are our competitive protection."

I cannot think of a better introduction to Gittell's book, nor to my comments on her book. Although she identifies "Ten Southwest Practices" and devotes a chapter to explaining each in Part 2, her key point (and Kelleher's) is that high performance relations are the key to Southwest's success. Gittell includes these comments by a Southwest ramp manager:

"One thing we cannot teach is attitude toward peers or other groups. There's a code, a way to respond to every individual who works for Southwest. The easiest way to get in trouble is to offend another employee. We need people to respond favorably. It promotes good working relationships....You find an individual with an upbeat and positive attitude -- and you'll find that everything that needs to be done, will get done. It's very contagious." I have been a Southwest frequent flier since 1976. Not once, even once, have I ever had a less-than-pleasant experience with anyone within the Southwest organization. Kelleher is appropriately praised for his vision, charm, business acumen, inspiration, passion, determination, wit, etc. He should also be praised for the leadership he has encouraged and supported at all levels of Southwest. In my opinion, that is his single greatest contribution. As Jim Collins describes it in Good to Great, "getting the right people on the bus."

In Part 3, Gittell explains how the "Ten Southwest Practices" reinforce (or undermine) each other; she then suggests what can be learned from Southwest, briefly discussing efforts by competitor airlines; next, she examines how Southwest responds to pressure and manages crises (e.g. September 11); finally, Gittell offers a number of suggestions as to how other organizations can implement high performance relationships. There is nothing wrong with any of those suggestions. However, obviously, listing the "Ten Southwest Practices" is far, far easier than convincing or inspiring most (if not all) people in another organization to follow them all day, every day, year after year. And it is even more difficult to create such buy-in when an organization is undergoing extensive growth and sustains it profitably as Southwest has. Especially in the ferociously competitive airline industry, the Yoda's admonition is correct: "Do or do not. There is no try."

All of Alexander Kent's (a pen name) Richard Bolitho series are well-written. This one, they say was written first, but I suggest you read them in the chronological order of the protagonist's (Richard Bolitho) career. beginning with the one titled, Midshipman Bolitho. In that order this is number four, in which he is given command of a frigate, the Phalarope, his second command. Bolitho's naval career starts at the tender age of 12, but the first book in the series picks him up at the age of 16--already a veteran midshipman.

Kent is a first rate story-teller. His main concern is the story, rather than a mass of technical detail about ship's rigs, sails, etc., which are of interest to some of us, but of less interest, perhaps, to those who simply want to get on with the story. None of his stories drag. There is action a-plenty, including lurid descriptions of men getting their heads blown off and their limbs amputated. Hand-to-hand combat is common in boarding parties and on dry land expeditions.

I have some personal experience with sailing vessels, having built and sailed my own ketch-rigged sailboat on the Pacific with my family, and so far as I can tell Kent's sail handling descriptions, although necessarily abbreviated for the sake of the story, are technically accurate. I am more familiar with fore and aft rigs than square riggers, though.

This book concerns the end period of the American Revolution. Bolitho's Phalarope is operating in the West Indies. It is refreshing to see that war through the eyes of a British naval officer, and it rings with truth. The final battle, pitting the French Admiral De Grasse against the British George Rodney and Hood, at the sea battle known as the battle of the Saintes, in the Caribbean, ends in glory for Bolitho.

Bolitho is called upon to command the Phalarope after the death of a harsh captain who drove his crew to the edge of mutiny, and to make matters worse, his complement was filled out with rogues who were not wanted by other ships of the fleet, by an admiral who disliked him.

This is a very good book, which, if you are like me, you will enjoy and find it hard to put down.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

Kent is great on fighting action, each novel having three or four battles at sea, and often one overland. Bolitho is "lucky" in this as well as his success, because I'm sure real captains, even Lord Cochrane, could hardly have had so many in a full career, With these two powerful novels, Sloop and Glory, Kent becomes a real contender in naval fiction. Interestingly, they are among the first written in the series. After tour de force novels like these, it's difficult to imagine how Kent will keep it up for the rest of the way in this very long series (now pushing $400 to buy, if you become hooked).