Books

A Political Life
The World According to Gore
Uncommon Sense: The Achievement of Griffin Bell
Augusto T. Vandor: Sindicatos Y Peronismo (Nombres del Poder)
Roosevelt's Warrior: Harold L. Ickes and the New Deal
Earl Browder: The Failure of American Communism
Min Yong-Hwan: A Political Biography (Hawaii Studies on Korea)
Ché Guevara (Grandes biografías series)
Thomas Jefferson: Westward the Course of Empire (Biographies in American Foreign Policy)
Radical Diplomat : The Life of Sir Archibald Clark Kerr, Lord Inverchapel, 1882-1951 (British Academic Press)
So Obstinately Loyal: James Moody, 1744™1809
John Tyler : A President of Many Firsts
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (AudioBook on MP3-CD) [UNABRIDGED]
Emmeline Pankhurst
The Prime Minister of Taste: A Portrait of Horace Walpole
Thomas Jefferson (Great Americans (Nashville, Tenn.).)
The Unknown Stalin
William Woodville Rockhill: Scholar Diplomat of the Tibetan Highlands
Alexander Hamilton
Callus on My Soul: A Memoir
Thomas Jefferson: A Biographical Companion
Mandela a Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
The ACCIDENTAL ACTIVIST
Defending Constitutional Rights (Studies in the Legal History of the South)
The Father's Son: George W. Bush, Jr

The Clinton Crack-Up: The Boy President's Life After the White House

Average customer rating:

Irresponsible Writing
There's no news like "old news"!
The Joke's On Us.
Entertaining and Disturbing
Hard to put down

The Clinton Crack-Up: The Boy President's Life After the White House
R. Emmett Tyrrell
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy's Dossier on Hillary Clinton
Crazies to the Left of Me, Wimps to the Right: How One Side Lost Its Mind and the Other Lost Its Nerve
Schmucks!: Our Favorite Fakes, Frauds, Lowlifes, Liars, the Armed and Dangerous, and Good Guys Gone Bad
Her Way: The Hopes and Ambitions of Hillary Rodham Clinton
A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton

ASIN: 1595550941

Book Description

With his characteristic investigative eye and Menckenesque prose, R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. sheds new light on Bill Clinton's post-presidential emotional depression, globe trotting and international deal-making, financial ties to China and the United Arab Emirates, ongoing womanizing, vital support role in Hillary Clinton's anticipated run for the White House, and possible role as America's first "First Man."

Customer Reviews:

Irresponsible Writing .......2007-06-23

I read the book because I thought it might provide insight to the dark side of Bill Clinton. Consider the content:
- Clinton is a womanizer - dah (if this is what you get off on its your kind of book)
- The various candidates Clinton supported and/or stumped for, post his presidency, did poorly in 2002-2005 elections. (never once was Iraq mentioned).
- The author states Hillary is physically unattractive and repeatedly creates petty nick names for her.
- The author feels that Clinton's reelection was inexplicable- his only explanation is referring to the American voters as a "mob".
- The author suggests that BIll supported Kerry in the name of a Clinton strategic plot to assure that Hillary could run in the next election because Kerry was un-electable. Yet Bill went out and stumped for him within months of his heart surgery.??
- The author criticizes Clinton for earning market rate for speaking engagements (after 40 years of public service and lots of debt)- saying it was non-presidential of him (yet Thatcher, Bush Sr, Reagan, Powell all collect $100m plus per speech)
It amazes me how this trash gets published. If your looking for Rush or Fox with no facts, this book is for you. Otherwise spend your valuable reading time elsewhere.

There's no news like "old news"!.......2007-06-20

Inasmuch as it seems that the Clintons, like the poor, shall always be with us, it's some consolation to know that R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., is still with us too. He has had the Clintons' number from the beginning, and remains unsurpassed in his ability to shine the spotlight on their lies, failings, pomposity, and turpitude. "The Clinton Crack-Up," the latest addition to his five-foot shelf of books, is perhaps his best, if not his most important ("Madame Hillary" gets that honor) yet.

Three things stand out about Bob Tyrrell's writing, and "The Clinton Crack-Up" is evidence of all three. First is the thorough research he does. The distinctiveness of his prose hangs on a solid structure of documentation and cataloging. The second is precisely that prose. It's idiosyncratic ... flamboyant, even ... and can take some getting used to. But personally, I think it's wonderful to read something that was written for educated adults. The obvious, even clichéd, comparison is to Mencken, but it's clichéd because it's appropriate. If Mencken were alive today, I don't think he would mind.

And the third thing that stands out about Tyrrell's writing is that he is funny. He recognizes that fundamentally, the Clintons "have always been amusing" (p. 19). While so many "Clinton-haters" seethe in anger or call down the curses of the Lord upon Pudge and Ruffles, "insensate to the full comic dimensions of the Clintons' burlesque" (p. 43), Tyrrell laughs. It's one thing to be hated or feared. It's something very different to be thought ridiculous -- which is why Tyrrell seems to occupy a place of unique vilification among the Clintonistas.

One of the important things Tyrrell did in "Madame Hillary" was reveal the Clinton's standard four-point plan for responding to criticism: (1) Vigorously deny it; (2) Launch ad hominem attacks on the critic; (3) Act personally victimized by the criticism ("Why do they hate me?"); and (4) Say the critic is obsessing over "old news."

Reaction to "The Clinton Crack-Up" proves yet again the accuracy of his assessment -- particularly the inevitable "old news" charge. But not only is the news Tyrrell is reporting particularly current, much of it has also been largely unreported. With the other half of this tag-team match now making her own bid for power, the information in this book is not only an important reminder of the facts about Mr. President Clinton, they are also an important harbinger of what we'll get should we burden ourselves with a Mrs. President Clinton.

We won't be able to say we haven't been warned.

The Joke's On Us. .......2007-06-09

I was going to put off reading this one until the used book price dropped but found that I simply could not wait any longer. I had to hear all about Bill's antics over the last eight years, particularly with his wife in the news everyday. The big creep's personal life has largely been flying under the radar since he left office so there's no question that there's a lot of material to go over, but salacious details are not to be found in The Clinton Crack-up. It's unfortunate that the 42nd President's tenure turned us all into voyeurs, but the fact is that there are not too many juicy stories in these pages. Oh, he's still getting it whenever possible but it appears that he's sleeping with seasoned and hardened Democratic Party fundraiser types who are not the sort to be narcissistically sharing tidbits with the general public. Alas, I guess there'll never be another Monica. I do give Tyrrell a lot of credit for the stunt he pulled off in Toronto which you can read about in the Prologue. As we know from his excellent columns at The American Spectator, Bob is not lacking in spirit or courage. Yet, the central question is, what's become of the Boy President? He continues to be a perfect case study of extroversion as he is completely energized by crowds and other people, but now, for the first time since his being Governor of Arkansas, when he is alone he is truly alone. He got habituated to massive does of publicity and attention and appears to miss the fanfare badly. This book is particularly strong in regards to its discussion of the Clinton political legacy--or lack-there-of that is. The majority of the politicians he campaigns for do not succeed, and the man is clearly not the political genius that the press has made him out to be. Clintonism seems to be synonymous with politicism and there really isn't much more to his career or reputation than that. What he will do should Hillary become President is unknown as it does not appear that they spend much time together at present. These are interesting times indeed.

Entertaining and Disturbing.......2007-06-07

R. Emmett Tyrrell provides us with another witty look into Bill Clinton's sordid life. It's utterly astounding that there are still supporters of the Clintons out there.

The book is extremely well researched. Tyrrell's chronicles of extramarital affairs, illicit dealings with the Chinese and 11th hour pardoning of drug dealers, tax evaders, and general thugs is the most complete compilation of the Clintons' many crimes I have come across.

This is an important text that I hope gets the visibility it deserves. Tyrrell's work is particularly relevant as the possibility grows that these mafiosi could be moving back into the White House with the next elections.

The book is both entertaining and disturbing. You can't help but laugh out loud at Clinton's absurdities. Tyrrell does a great job of creating a vivid picture of the man. All the while you can't help but worry about the hazards that Bill and "his lovely wife Bruno" have potentially subjected Americans to. It is highly disturbing that someone with such a lack of character could achieve the highest office in the nation, and in doing so tie up our most vital resources and ultimately put our national security at risk.

Hard to put down.......2007-06-03

One of the best books on Clinton I have read. A lot of new information. It is so good that it almost reads like a novel. If you are intrigued by Clinton at all you will love this book.

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone

Average customer rating:

A perfect pairing
Where we went wrong in Iraq
Intriguing and Informative
necessary for understanding the US in Iraq
Beware: May Cause Torrets

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone
Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina

ASIN: 1400044871
Release Date: 2006-09-19

Book Description

An unprecedented account of life in Baghdad’s Green Zone, a walled-off enclave of towering plants, posh villas, and sparkling swimming pools that was the headquarters for the American occupation of Iraq.

The Washington Post’s former Baghdad bureau chief Rajiv Chandrasekaran takes us with him into the Zone: into a bubble, cut off from wartime realities, where the task of reconstructing a devastated nation competed with the distractions of a Little America—a half-dozen bars stocked with cold beer, a disco where women showed up in hot pants, a movie theater that screened shoot-’em-up films, an all-you-could-eat buffet piled high with pork, a shopping mall that sold pornographic movies, a parking lot filled with shiny new SUVs, and a snappy dry-cleaning service—much of it run by Halliburton. Most Iraqis were barred from entering the Emerald City for fear they would blow it up.

Drawing on hundreds of interviews and internal documents, Chandrasekaran tells the story of the people and ideas that inhabited the Green Zone during the occupation, from the imperial viceroy L. Paul Bremer III to the fleet of twentysomethings hired to implement the idea that Americans could build a Jeffersonian democracy in an embattled Middle Eastern country.

In the vacuum of postwar planning, Bremer ignores what Iraqis tell him they want or need and instead pursues irrelevant neoconservative solutions—a flat tax, a sell-off of Iraqi government assets, and an end to food rationing. His underlings spend their days drawing up pie-in-the-sky policies, among them a new traffic code and a law protecting microchip designs, instead of rebuilding looted buildings and restoring electricity production. His almost comic initiatives anger the locals and help fuel the insurgency.

Chandrasekaran details Bernard Kerik’s ludicrous attempt to train the Iraqi police and brings to light lesser known but typical travesties: the case of the twenty-four-year-old who had never worked in finance put in charge of reestablishing Baghdad’s stock exchange; a contractor with no previous experience paid millions to guard a closed airport; a State Department employee forced to bribe Americans to enlist their help in preventing Iraqi weapons scientists from defecting to Iran; Americans willing to serve in Iraq screened by White House officials for their views on Roe v. Wade; people with prior expertise in the Middle East excluded in favor of lesser-qualified Republican Party loyalists. Finally, he describes Bremer’s ignominious departure in 2004, fleeing secretly in a helicopter two days ahead of schedule.

This is a startling portrait of an Oz-like place where a vital aspect of our government’s folly in Iraq played out. It is a book certain to be talked about for years to come.

Customer Reviews:

A perfect pairing.......2007-06-28

I notice that Amazon is selling this with "Fiasco" as a cut-price pair. This is an inspired pairing, as both tell the US catastrophe in Iraq from entirely different angles. Like Mr. Ricks's book, this is no polemic. Mr. Chandrasekaran is scrupulously fair - he appreciates that many of the players acted from the best of motives, but that they were heavily blinkered by their ignorance of the country and its culture (sometimes deliberately so, the way modern business consultants regard it as a disadvantage to know anything about the business on which they're advising, so that their thinking may be "free and unencumbered"), and by political considerations, with young kids being given ministries to run purely because they were, as Alberto Gonzales would say, "loyal Bushies". The questions they answered to qualify? - What did they think of Roe v. Wade? Who was their favourite President? The most astonishing case to me was that of Fred Burkle, recognised universally as the "single most talented and experienced post-conflict health specialist working for the United States government", who was replaced by an inexperienced "loyal Bushie". It seems that all voices of wise counsel were simply ignored in the typical Bush fashion of seeing only what they wanted to see - the "faith-based" approach par excellence.

The modern concept of democracy evolved over a long time in the Western World - to expect to plant it in a country that had never known it and expect it to flourish overnight, even without this level of incompetence, was idiotic. As a result, the US and Iraq have paid a terrible price, and one I sadly believe that they'll continue to pay for years to come.

Where we went wrong in Iraq.......2007-06-08

This is a great book and an easy read. It shows what
happens when political ideology is more important than
compentence. The "Bushies" won the war then lost the peace
with arrogance and incompetence. The book shows why Iraq
became a quagmire and who was responsible.

Intriguing and Informative.......2007-06-05

This book was recommended by Amazon when I bought "Hubris" (which I have yet to read) and I thought, well, why not. My dad had already read this and urged me to read it since we've been talking about Iraq and the war. I picked it up last week and was unable to put it down. It wasn't like anything I thought it would be ~~ it wasn't dry and badly reported. It was very informative and I got the feeling that it was a rather unbiased viewpoint ~~ more like a reporting from a reporter who tried to report what he saw and heard, not what he feels or thinks. (No matter how hard a reporter tries, sometimes, you can still get a sense of what he's thinking as he's writing.)

Chandrasekaran is a good story-teller ~~ not as a fictional writer, but as a writer who observed the going-ons in the Green Zone and who interviewed hundreds of people who lived in the Green Zone. He showed the ambitions and hopes of those who came to Iraq to rebuild it. He showed the disappointments, the downfalls of those who worked there. Even more dangerously, he showed the incompetence of the Americans who worked in the Green Zone as they lived in a bubble removed from the realities of what the Iraq people were facing every single day. He provided the history of the Iraq people under the Sadam regime. Chandrasekaran is an excellent reporter who interviewed just about everyone from Bremer himself to the taxi cab driver. His book is chock full of information written in such a way that everything flows from one page to another that I just couldn't put the book down.

The spotlight reviewer Robert D. Steele sums up the book so well that really, I cannot write a review like his. All I know is that when I picked up this book, I was still clueless about what went on in Iraq. Now I am intrigued and saddened by the mess that is still on-going there. I am also even more disillusioned with the current administration than I was before. And I am following up this book with reading Gwynn Dyer's book "Future Tense" which explains even more the dire situation in Iraq.

If you are looking to be informed on the situation in Iraq, I highly recommend reading Chandrasekaran's book as he is a writer to read. I never knew half of what was going on and now, it's too dangerous to be ignorant of what is going on in the world.

6-5-07

necessary for understanding the US in Iraq.......2007-06-05

This book is a corrective response to those who see the US troubles in Iraq as due to a lack of American resolve or to the so-called "liberal media's" portrayal of the real story in Iraq. Those tempted to see the US occupation of Iraq as analogous to the past occupations of Germany and Japan would do well to read this and see how bad the premises underlying the US occupation in Iraq are.

Many are tempted to think of US troubles as being due to bad execution. As Chandrasekaran points out from first-hand stories, the decisions made during the occupation to favor zealousness and political ideology over pragmatism and cooperation, and to eschew a sophisticated view of Iraqi society and the Arab world, are part and parcel of US policy in Iraq. Long after the merits and demerits of more political books like State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III and Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War have become outdated and superseded by later works, Imperial Life will stand as a terrific first-hand account and valuable addition to libraries.

Chandrasekaran writes with a spare sense of irony that is utterly gripping. The stories speak for themselves in superb journalistic style.

Beware: May Cause Torrets.......2007-06-03

I found that my swearing on the commuter rail as I read this frightened the other passengers, so try to keep your rage on the inside. This is a great book and well worth reading. The view is fair and the writing flows nicely, it'd be a pleasure to read if it were only fiction.

Bush and company haven't built a shinning city on a hill and this book explains some of the reasons behind this fact. The level of incompetence and number of squandered opportunities are unimaginable and this book does an excellent job of stepping the reader through this nightmare.

I recommend reading this with a cell phone by your side and your representatives numbers on speed dial.

The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

Average customer rating:

Great Book
the irresistable revolution
I bought 4 copies after borrowing it from a friend
No Easy Steps, Just A Stirring...
The Life Lived.

The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical
Shane Claiborne
Manufacturer: Zondervan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Political | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0310266300

Book Description

Using unconventional examples from his own life, Shane Claiborne stirs up questions about the church and the world, and challenges readers to truly live out theirÂ Christian faith.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book.......2007-06-26

This is a great book. Shane lives and presents a life that is not for everyone but causes people to ask hard questions. You don't have to agree, you don't have to sell all you have and give it all to the poor, but you do have to ask yourself the questions that get raised from the book and you do have to act on the answers that you find. Read. Struggle. Enjoy.

the irresistable revolution.......2007-06-26

do not delay, buy this book. read it, learn it & then live it. life changing etc.

I bought 4 copies after borrowing it from a friend.......2007-06-02

It wasn't hard to get into this book...then it was hard to put it down...and stop talking about it to anyone and everyone. Shane tells of his own journey in discovering the way of the wooden cross, before it became the golden cross...and challenges comfortable Christians, in the US especially, to consider what Jesus is inviting us into when he says "Follow Me." The book moved me to tears many times and wanting to visit The Simple Way in Philidelphia and look up all the references in the back of the book. Shane does well by not becoming arrogant or divisive while pointing out the ways in which the church in America is missing the mark. He keeps a great sense of humor and humility in his own humanity throughout the book--always stressing loving people as 'The Way.'

No Easy Steps, Just A Stirring..........2007-05-30

In my opinion, too many books today try and break our journeys with God into 5 generic steps.

In addition to the power of Shane's story and experiences, what I like about this book is that it challenges me, but doesn't tell me exactly what to go do with that.

In my mind, that leaves a lot of room for God to show up and direct me.

An especially good read if you feel materialism or complacency tightening around your heart.

The Life Lived........2007-05-26

Here is a passionate book for the case that Christianity is not a theology believed but a life lived. Chronologically it follows Claiborne from disillusionment with conservative Christianity as a teenager through a college awakening and into community living in the underbelly of the American dream.

For a philosophical take on this fatal modern disjuncture (between life and belief) I would suggest Søren Kierkegaard, but in terms of an experiential journey Claiborne's book is an excellent primer.

It is a question I have mulled over for many years. When Jesus tells the rich young ruler that only one thing he lacks, to sell all his possessions and come follow him, was he giving him a direct command that both could, and should, be obeyed, or was he speaking truth to the young man so that he could see a reflection of his own character, and thus perhaps come to repentance.

I don't think I will ever be fully resolved on this one, but I do know that the command itself was valid; that is, it was certainly an option, maybe the only one, to sell all his possessions.

Now, to not put to fine a point on it, this would ruin his life. Everything would change; his work, his community, his commitments, his family life and his friends. It was not a suggestion to re-prioritize, go to seminary, use his wealth to help the poor or just be more considerate and generous. It was the most total, radical uprooting imaginable.

This is Claiborne's experience, to take this command, and the many of similar nature in the gospel, at face value and through experience to see if it is possible to live the gospel. And of course what he finds is the gospel.

There are many things that he does that are peculiar to his understanding of the gospel and the circumstances that he finds himself in. So it is not what he does that excites, but why he does them.

And this participating in the life of the gospel changes the way he reads the gospel. Once again, his particular reading is not important, but grasping the nature of the transformation in the way the gospel is to be understood is relevant to us all.

We so often forget that truth is not an objective reality that can be dispassionately discerned at arms length, or realised through study and systematic theology, or awakened through introspection. Truth can only come through participation; as Jesus said, `If you do this gospel I preach you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'

What I find is that his reading of the gospel resonates. Here he comes to an understanding of God, creation, humanity, revelation and redemption that speaks in a way that I understand. And for me this is the true gospel, a gospel that speaks hope and peace and good news to all people on earth, and brings life to all who are touched by it.

This gospel produces a life filled with adventure; perseverance, battles, wins and losses, setbacks and celebrations. Claiborne's book is no sombre reflection on the cost of discipleship, but a joyous and very human assertion that life is found in living the gospel, and the reality of `homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields--and with them, persecutions', not as possessions but as great gifts, is very real.

This is the gospel I seek to live and for this reason I recommend the book.

Average customer rating:

On the Move- Great Book
A great cause
Wonderful Book
challenged by this book
Awesome

On the Move
Bono
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0849901928

Book Description

"The one thing, on which we can all agree, is that God is with the vulnerable and poor. God is in the slums and in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them. 6,500 Africans are still dying every day of a preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at any drug store. This is not about charity, this is about Justice and Equality." --Bono

This small book, based upon the speech given by Bono at the 2006 NPB, delivers an inspiring and powerful message. Here, in Bono's own words, is a reflection on his own faith and a challenge to people of all faiths to reach across boundaries and come together on behalf of what the Scriptures call "the least of these."

Customer Reviews:

On the Move- Great Book.......2007-06-27

This is a fabulous book. I only wish I'd heard the speech. It was so moving, and it really made me think. An excellent read.

A great cause.......2007-06-27

Bono is making a difference. This book is a good way to support his efforts.

Wonderful Book.......2007-06-27

Bono is so inspiring. He's not afraid to speak out, and he manages to reach everyday people like me as well as our national authorities. The book sent goosebumps up and down my arms as the pictures were paired with the words of Bono's National Prayer Breakfast prayer. This is a definite must-read.

challenged by this book.......2007-06-27

Wow! This book was incredbily moving and inspiring. It made me ask questions about my life and what I am doing to help solve this problem. Funny how in the end Bono's greatest legacy will be not for the incredible rock and roll he entertained us with but the millions of Africans he saved. I ordered five more books to give to my friends to challenge them to help solve the problem and as Bono would say provide justice.

Awesome.......2007-06-27

Granted, I am a big fan of Bono but I still find this book inspiring and heartbreaking. I downloaded the speech from the National Prayer Breakfast the day after he spoke and have used it numerous times in my activities for the ONE Campaign. That speech combined with Bono's photos can change someone's heart and mind.

I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala

Average customer rating:

Redundant Rambling Fiction
I,Roberta Menchú
Amazing book of survival
Memorable
Just 2 or so hours South of Miami!

I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala
Rigoberta Menchu
Manufacturer: Verso
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú y así me nació la conciencia

ASIN: 0860917886

Customer Reviews:

Redundant Rambling Fiction.......2007-06-02

It is common knowledge that this book is really a pile of lies. It isn't much of an autobiography and leaves the reader wondering which, if any, parts of it to really consider seriously.

It is truly painful to read due to the unending redundant rambling nature of Menchu's storytelling.

I cannot believe that this garbage is still being assigned as required reading. Worthless.

I,Roberta Menchú.......2007-01-24

We give I, Rigoberta Menchú four stars because it was a good book but at the same time it was complicated to understand. For instead, it was a good book because she explains her life very well with details. Rigoberta also never gave up she kept going no matter as hard situation she'll face in her life. This book is complicated because Rigoberta just keeps repeating her self, is like we want to know more, something different. What we learn from this book, if we really truly want something we should never give up and when you feel like falling down for a moment, pick your self up and accomplish your dream.

Amazing book of survival.......2006-12-30

I read this book years ago and re-read it again recently. It is still one of my favorite books. Rigoberta Menchu suffered unbelievable atrocities and incredible losses and still lived to tell her courageous story through an interpreter. I think the book is phenomenal and I recommend it to anyone with a heart. It helps explain a lot about the Guatamalen people and their strife. It also is a timely book since the illegal immigration debate rages on in this country on a daily basis. It paints a vivid picture of the suffering of indigenous peoples and helps us to relate to their need to escape their countries in search of a better life. I dont know what David Stoll had to gain by writing a book that contradicted Menchu's powerful account. She states at the beginning of her book that her perspective is hers alone and that her memories may have been clouded by the trauma. It makes me crazy when people pick apart one tiny aspect of a book and then, throw the entire thing out as a sham. The same thing happened with the James Frey book, A million little pieces. People tended to ignore the overall strengths of the book and his basic message of surviving drug addiction over a few little insignificant details. This book is the same situation. The overall message and story of rigoberta menchu is so powerful and moving, it must be read, even if there is a fact or two that someone wants to contradict.

Memorable.......2006-06-16

I read this book shortly before visiting Guatemala, and I have to say it made my travel experience alot richer. I felt more sensitized to the currents of racism and political struggle still present in the country, as well as to the pain of a people recovering from a horror in the not so distant past. Nearly every Guatemalan that I met had some powerful story of the genocide, and this book gave me a good background on the facts and politics behind the peasant struggle.

Though it has been criticized as being imbellished and realistically inaccurate, I think that it can still be used as a tool to learn about the native Quiche culture in past and present times. Their spiritual and political beliefs and their connections to the natural world are interwoven throughout the memoir. And most importantly, the horror of a major Latin American genocide that still scars the memories of peasants in the region today. Rigoberta was very matter of fact in sharing information about the torture and killing of her people in gruesome detail... so detailed that it was difficult to read at times, but nevertheless, essential in understanding the extent of the what happened to her people.

Whether you read this book as fact or historical fiction, I think it is a good read for anyone interested in Latin American history, politcal science, peasant cultures, or human rights. It is a story that will stick in your mind... and your heart.

Just 2 or so hours South of Miami! .......2006-01-11

It is incredible that such human suffering went on, and in many ways is still going on, just a couple of hours (by pane) away from where I live. Rigoberta Menchu's book, written as dictated by her, is sad and tells of horrible situations.

Guatemala is a beautiful country, the indigenous sill dress in their local garb, each unique to a particular village. Guatemala has been referred to as the most exotic country in the Western hemisphere.

A good friend of mine, a Guatemala Indian, told me about the efforts of the Indians to get help from the United States. They sought out various Native American tribes in the U.S., that to them was seeking help from America. From what he told, it never occured to the elders of the Guatemalan groups to approach anyone other than Native Americans. And they did not receive help, because help was not available. But had they approached the U.S. government, they most likely wouldn't have been helped either.

I have been in Guatemala so many times, I started to call it my second home. There is still a lot of oppression, and the indigenous still feel fearful of the police and the military. I have not been there in a couple of years and am yearning to return.

The last time, the police/military made great efforts to change their image. Instead of stopping trucks and harrassing the passengers, they handed out white carnations!

Menchu does not deal with the greatest problem that is keeping the indigenous in danger, that of language barrier. The Guatemala Indians speak over 20 local languages. The languages are so totally different, that communication is impossible. Though some books are written in the local languages, they cannot be read by the indigenous because they are illiterate. Division is a "great" tool to keep populations from binding together to fight a common evil. Spanish is the country's political language, but over 80% of the indigenous do not speak Spanish.

I have traveled into the villages, into the hills and mountains where customs as ancient as the peoples themselves still reign. All of them have experienced evil. Their story did not end with Menchu's book. It continues, and who knows how much longer it will continue.

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A Bygone Era
Listen, Think Independently, Practice Civic Awareness
The Best "Little Book" Ever Written for Parents of Young Children
It All Starts at Home. (Character, Success, Respect, Responsibility, etc)
A MUST READ FOR EVERY CITIZEN OF THE WORLD

The Seventeen Traditions
Ralph Nader
Manufacturer: HC
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Binding: Hardcover

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The Ralph Nader Reader

ASIN: 0061238279
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Book Description

My boyhood in a small town in Connecticut was shaped by my family, my friends, our neighbors, my chores and hobbies, the town's culture and environment, its schools, libraries, factories, and businesses, their workers, and by storms that came from nowhere to disrupt everything. . . . Yet childhood in any family is a mysterious experience. . . . What shapes the mind, the personality, the character?

So begins this unexpected and extraordinary book by Ralph Nader. Known for his lifetime of selfless activism, Nader now looks back to the earliest days of his own life, to his serene and enriching childhood in bucolic Winsted, Connecticut. From listening to learning, from patriotism to argument, from work to simple enjoyment, Nader revisits seventeen key traditions he absorbed from his parents, his siblings, and the people in his community, and draws from them inspiring lessons for today's society. Warmly human, rich with sensory memories and lasting wisdom, it offers a kind of modern-day parable of how we grow from children into responsible adults—a reminder of a time when nature and community were central to the way we all learned and lived.

Customer Reviews:

A Bygone Era.......2007-05-28

This is a great insight to what made Ralph Nadir, living in the small fifties-era town he grew up in, and seventeen traditional values of a Stepford Family. Nostalgic as a Rockwell cover for a Saturday Evening Post, it is an enjoyable read. Many of the traditions are timeless lessons still valuable today. While reading it, however, I couldn't help sharing the author's lament about the challenge of raising a family today. Unfortunately, the days without TV and computers, knowing your neighbors, and walking two blocks to the library are sadly gone. But, I am optimistic that the majority of the lament is with each passing generation. Today's young people are developing new variations of the Seventeen Traditions and someday they will undoubtedly also wax nostalgic as their best days pass.

Listen, Think Independently, Practice Civic Awareness.......2007-05-24

This is a wonderful book. The words are wise, the drawings throughout the book are warm and richly detailed. It is a quick read yet it is one of those books you find yourself mentioning and quoting to other people.

It would make a great graduation gift as guidelines on living a good life or a gift for those in the Greatest Generation as they remember back when family life and community were the anchors to build on.

"Who is more foolish, I wondered-the core group of committed voters and taxpayers who engage in the process, or the much larger number who habitually abstain from town affairs, leaving their interests to be decided by others?"

The Best "Little Book" Ever Written for Parents of Young Children.......2007-05-16

Elegant, timeless, profound, this is the best "little book" ever written for parents who seek to instill in their children traditional values that ennoble life, enrich community, and make democracy work.

I was particularly taken with its tone and pitch: serious yet never pedantic, thoughtful and eloquent and endearing without a hint of self-absorption, a tribute to a pair of uniquely responsible and caring parents, Nathra and Rose Nader, whose lives and whose four children (Ralph, Shafeek, Claire and Laura) epitomize the civic personality.

Buy this little jewel, an enchantingly disarming journey through Nader's boyhood in Winsted, Connecticut, to understand how values imparted by our mothers and fathers shape our destinies and, more specifically, which values enabled this small-town child of unconventional immigrant parents to grow up and become "one of the 100 most influential figures in American history." (For Nader's later history-changing life, you should also consider buying the critically acclaimed documentary film An Unreasonable Man on DVD).

It All Starts at Home. (Character, Success, Respect, Responsibility, etc).......2007-05-10

Five stars/cheers for Mr. Nader. I am a pediatrician and author of recent book entitled "It All Starts at Home, 15 Ways to Put Family First."(2004) Truly, our families are the foundation of our great society. Many of the family values that made our nation great are under attack. Mr Nader's book encourages us to go to battle to recapture and secure our "tour of duty" of being effective parents--families. He relays his message in a way that any young adult/parent can understand. This book should be required reading for all high school seniors. What a lovely mother's or father's day gift?

A MUST READ FOR EVERY CITIZEN OF THE WORLD.......2007-05-07

WHAT A MARVELOUS LITTLE BOOK AND HOW WELL EXPRESSED. WE ALL NEED TO READ THIS ONE.

Failing America's Faithful: How Today's Churches Are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way

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More than a condemnation
Great Book!
A True Leader and Lady of Principle
A Masterful book on faith
A triumph of love over literalism in living the Gospel

Failing America's Faithful: How Today's Churches Are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0446577154

Book Description

For too long, religion has been a political plaything of the right-wing in this country. American churches seem more concerned with what people do with their bodies than with their souls. Now, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend issues a spiritual call to arms to those who feel like her that today's churches--Catholic and Protestant alike--are failing to promote the welfare of those who depend upon them. After recounting her personal story in one of the most prominent Catholic families in America, she shows how America's neediest are now forgotten while their churches fight political battles against abortion rights and homosexual marriages. She provides hope through powerful examples of individuals effecting change, from obscure social workers to The Purpose-DrivenÂ® Life's Rick Warren, and maintains that our individual actions can return our churches to their traditional role as shepherds to their flock.

Customer Reviews:

More than a condemnation.......2007-06-17

FAILING AMERICA'S FAITHFUL: HOW TODAY'S CHURCHES ARE MIXING GOD WITH POLITICS AND LOSING THEIR WAY addresses a key topic which should be of interest to any American church community, blending the author's account of her Catholic family's involvement in the church with an overview of how churches became allied with the political right and began to create new social agendas as a result. The distortion and translation of typical Christian values is surveyed in the course of her examination of individuals within and outside the Church who have been exploring political values while neglecting traditional concerns such as care for the poor and needy. More than a condemnation, FAILING AMERICA'S FAITHFUL offers new avenues for social change and new hope for revitalization, and should be a part of any serious spiritual collection.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Great Book!.......2007-05-13

I loved this book so much, I gave copies to as many people as I could, especially the young adults in my family. Kathleen Townsend is clearly a committed believer, whose values have been formed by her Catholic faith, yet she has wonderful, clear insight into the failings, timidity, and missed opportunities of all the Churches and Church leaders in recent years. I wish I could give copies to every Catholic Bishop and Protestant Church leader in the country. Buy it, read it, and then give it to your Pastor!

A True Leader and Lady of Principle.......2007-05-07

Bravo for Kathleen Kennedy Townsend! It takes courage to confront the leaders of her own Catholic faith, both political parties and Protestant leaders as well, but she is right! The poorest of the poor are being forgotten by both the church and our political leaders and someone has to do something! Kathleen suggests everyone who agrees with her premise, that part of being Christian is to "love your neighbor", should start doing something. Churches are losing sight of this in favor of telling their congregations what they should and should not do. Churches today have lost sight of the need to help the neediest of society, and are just catering to their own particular enclave. She really made me want to participate and she urges everyone to take action individually, and that one by one, we can change this country for the better.

Her book is very insightful and contains some fascinating research into the history of Protestantism in the founding of this country and how we need to return to our roots. It took courage to write this book, and I think the country needs a leader now like Kathleen Kennedy Townsend! We need someone with her integrity, faith and intelligence. Her book is part memoir and part a "call to arms" for everyone to start helping to change this country for the better.

A Masterful book on faith.......2007-05-01

Kathlenn Kennedy Townsend's book is an illuminating and inspiring meditation on how churches are insulating themselves from the true spirit of compassion and generosity. Her writing is thoughtful and intellegent. I strongly reccomend this book, it is the best book on faith to come out in a decade.

A triumph of love over literalism in living the Gospel.......2007-04-26

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend's book serves to emphasize how much the networks and major media missed the big religion story in the 2004 Presidential Election, portraying as they did a battle between a pious Religious Right and an unbelieving Secular Left. Ms Townsend makes the case for a Religious Left that is alive and well, and faithful to the Gospel principle of serving one another. This "decade of faith" is one in which Christians, including Catholics, will either steer themselves toward greater emphasis on Benjamin Franklin's aphorism, "God helps those who help themselves," or reinvest in Jesus' call to "love one another." She urges caution in this era of the country club Christian, where church membership becomes a badge of personal superiority to be lorded over others.

It's easy to see why Republicans would be offended by what she's written, and why conservative reviewers of her book here on Amazon pepper their critique with personal insults toward her. She argues effectively that contemporary conservatives have created a form of Christianity that bears little relationship to traditional Gospel teachings: justifying unilateral war, deconstructing decades of environmental protections in the name of "personal freedom," and restructuring the tax code to favor the most well-to-do. The real courage of the book lies in her suggestion that the Catholic Church leadership is being seduced by the conservative movement to steer Catholics toward beliefs like these and away from the imperatives of Vatican II to work for a more just world.

Coupled with her unique perspective as the oldest daughter of Robert Kennedy and her own accomplishments in American politics, Ms Townsend offers a mixture of anecdotes and scholarship that will leave the reader with a much better understanding of the recent history of American Christianity--and with a sense of concern about its future.

Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History

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Sins of Omission
Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History
Rediscovering God in America
Great Book!
Rediscovering God in America: Reflections of the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History

Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History
Newt Gingrich
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1591454824

Book Description

A simple walk through Washington, D.C. began a profound journey of personal discovery and renewal for Newt Gingrich, one of America's most influential politicians and commentators. At the

Customer Reviews:

Sins of Omission.......2007-06-19

Mr. Gingrich has carefully selected his quotes and photos to present a distorted view of the monuments. For instance, the book shows a statue of Moses and and an image of a Gutenberg Bible from the Library of Congress. He does not mention that the Gutenberg Bible is displayed under the feet of the false goddess of wisdom and war, Minerva, nor that it is steps away from a gold inlaid representation of the zodiac in the floor of the Great Hall. Interestingly, the Library of Congress Christmas Tree is set up each year right in the middle of this zodiac.

That's just one example. He sounds almost rapturous about the references to "the creator" from the base of the Washington Monument right up to the aluminum cap, but seems not to notice that the obelisk is an ancient pagan phallic symbol.

It is intellectually dishonest to present such a slanted view of the spiritual influences in our national monuments. It weakens the case for pointing out the legitimate Christian influences when authors insist on pretending the pagan idolatrous images aren't even there. As any parent knows, telling a little slice of the truth and omitting the parts of the story that incriminate do not qualify as telling the truth.

Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History.......2007-05-14

Speaker Gingrich has written a wonderful book that shows the role that the faith of the Founding Fathers played in the founding of our nation. Thank you for writing this book to refocus our attention on the principles which this nation was founded.

Rediscovering God in America.......2007-05-13

We bought a bundle of these books. We have given them to the fourth graders at a school. They went over so well, they were amazed of the stories of how God is at the foundation of our Country. This book should be given to all the elementry schools in the country as well as at the high school students level to read before they graduate.

Great Book!.......2007-05-13

Newt has taken some very interesting history, that all of us should really already know, and pointed out some obvious points that our lefty schools and media don't want us to remember. This book is an easy read packed with some great facts! Thanks Newt!

Rediscovering God in America: Reflections of the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History.......2007-05-13

This is one fantastic book. Everyone who lives in America and loves this country should read this book. Thank you Newt Gingrich for bring this information to light and GOD BLESS THE USA!!!!

Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor

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Astonishing!
A Readable, and Semi-Thorough Biography
Augustus
Augustus
Interesting but slow

Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor
Anthony Everitt
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1400061288
Release Date: 2006-10-17

Book Description

He found Rome made of clay and left it made of marble. As Rome’s first emperor, Augustus transformed the unruly Republic into the greatest empire the world had ever seen. His consolidation and expansion of Roman power two thousand years ago laid the foundations, for all of Western history to follow. Yet, despite Augustus’s accomplishments, very few biographers have concentrated on the man himself, instead choosing to chronicle the age in which he lived. Here, Anthony Everitt, the bestselling author of Cicero, gives a spellbinding and intimate account of his illustrious subject.

Augustus began his career as an inexperienced teenager plucked from his studies to take center stage in the drama of Roman politics, assisted by two school friends, Agrippa and Maecenas. Augustus’s rise to power began with the assassination of his great-uncle and adoptive father, Julius Caesar, and culminated in the titanic duel with Mark Antony and Cleopatra.
The world that made Augustus–and that he himself later remade–was driven by intrigue, sex, ceremony, violence, scandal, and naked ambition. Everitt has taken some of the household names of history–Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, Antony, Cleopatra–whom few know the full truth about, and turned them into flesh-and-blood human beings.

At a time when many consider America an empire, this stunning portrait of the greatest emperor who ever lived makes for enlightening and engrossing reading. Everitt brings to life the world of a giant, rendered faithfully and sympathetically in human scale. A study of power and political genius, Augustus is a vivid, compelling biography of one of the most important rulers in history.

Customer Reviews:

Astonishing!.......2007-06-28

Simply perfect. The facts about Marcus Antonius` attitude towards Octavian and his role in the events leading to Ceasar`s assasination are depicted with great accuracy. Highly recommended for classical era fanatics.

A Readable, and Semi-Thorough Biography.......2007-06-18

This is certainly a good book for anyone who has less than a good knowledge of the Roman Empire, and this time period. It was written to be readable and exciting to the general public. To actual students of history, it could only be used as a basic intro. Even the language used in the book is not necessarily scholarly. This makes the reading much less dry, but also less scholarly-sounding.

Overall, it is a good introductory book over Augustus. Unfortunately, the book is less than exciting once Mark Antony has been vanquished and Augustus has basically full power in Rome. Thankfully, this doesn't happen until probably three-fourths of the way into it.

I recommend this book, as it is interesting, though truly serious students of history will find that it lacks a bit.

Augustus.......2007-05-28

Very well written, readable history that easily references to the present political situation in the U.S.

Augustus.......2007-05-21

Not just a boring history book. Mr Everitt, paints a story with historical facts that is entertaining and fun. Kudos, to Mr Everitt.

Interesting but slow.......2007-05-20

The book has a great amount of detail about Augustus' life. You will clearly understand this era of Roman history. The first part of the book with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony move quickly with interest. After Antony is killed, things slow down. In general I got out of the book what I wanted, but would have liked it to be more fast moving.

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de Tocqueville from A to Z
A Complete Understanding of Tocqueville
The roots of American history
One of my favorite all-time biographies!!
A Life of the Mind

Alexis de Tocqueville: A Life
Hugh Brogan
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300108036

Book Description

Alexis de Tocqueville was one of the greatest political thinkers of all time. Born a French aristocrat, he lost nearly his entire family in the Reign of Terror, and he spent most of his adult life struggling for liberty under the unsuccessful regimes of nineteenth-century France.

At age twenty-five he travelled to America and encountered democracy for the first time. This firsthand experience contributed to his incisive writing on liberty and democracy. The ancien régime launched the scholarly study of the French Revolution, and Democracy in America remains the best book ever written by a European about the United States. This is a brilliant account of his life.

Customer Reviews:

de Tocqueville from A to Z.......2007-05-31

He seems the unlikeliest person to write an incisive study of American democracy: a rather spoiled son of a French aristocrat of the ancien regime, and one who suffered from a sense of futility in his own life. But the amazing truth is the Alexis de Tocqueville was exactly the best qualified man to do exactly that. Scholarly, intelligent, a precise writer, de Tocqueville was the one to write an immortal study of American life that would become in time a classic. Best of all, he wrote his work not in his study, but after an intense journey through America itself in the early 1830s.
Hugh Brogan's biography is an excellent study of this young author, and probably the very best modern biography. He uses de Tocquevilles' letters and other contemporary writings to illuminate the life and thought of the young aristocrat. And aristocrat he was, his father having stoutly stood by the French crown through its many vicissitudes (and nearly executed by the Jacobins for this). Young Alexis himself clung to the aristocracy until the turbulent days of the July Monarchy, when the Bourbons were unseated by the Orleanists. After this, the young writer lost much of his loyalty to the crown.
Brogan's book is well written, and covers the political scene in France during de Tocqueville's time quite thoroughly. It is simply a book not to be missed about the world of this very talented young man, who proved to be so influential in studies about America and democracy in general.

A Complete Understanding of Tocqueville.......2007-04-11

I have been using Tocqueville's teachings in my college classes for years. However, it has been difficult to piece together exactly how his thought process came together. Brogan has brought this process together so beautifully in this book. Thank you.

The roots of American history.......2007-04-10

Hugh Brogan brings to light on of the most careful and subtle minds ever to ponder the origin and meanings of democracy in American history, the fall of the Ancien Regime, and the the basis for much of what passes for modern political thought.

One of my favorite all-time biographies!!.......2007-03-31

Every line is almost poetic in this beautifully written biography of de Tocqueville. Gorgeous imagery and flowing language--Alexis comes to life as though he lived only 10 years ago rather than many decades ago! Wonderful book!!

A Life of the Mind.......2007-03-26

A detailed overview of the life of a remarkable observer of the human/political condition in both France and America. The British professor, Hugh Brogran, has spent a good deal of his long academic career studying Tocqueville. His close attention and careful work in the archives bears abundant fruit in this biography.

Not for most casual readers, but very rewarding for those with an interest in democracy in the early United States, French politics after Napoleon, and of the social/literary life of a liberal noble in the decades after the fall of the Ancient Regime. But above all, a book for Brian Lamb of C-SPAN.

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