Amazon.com
Noam Chomsky is considered the father of modern linguistics. In this richly detailed criticism of American foreign policy, he seeks to redefine many of the terms commonly used in the ongoing American war on terrorism. Surveying U.S. actions in Cuba, Nicaragua, Turkey, the Far East and elsewhere over the past half a century along with the modern American war in Iraq, Chomsky indicates that America is just as much a terrorist state as any other government or rogue organization. George W. Bush's 2003 invasion of Iraq drew worldwide criticism, in part because it seemed to present a new philosophy of pre-emptive war and an appearance of global empire building. But according to Chomsky, such has been the operating philosophy of American foreign policy for decades. Opponents of the Bush administration's tactics consistently point out how the American government supported Saddam Hussein for many years prior to the 1990 invasion of Kuwait (pictures of Donald Rumsfeld shaking Saddam's hand are easy to come by) as a means of pointing out how the United States is happy to fund despots when it's in American interests. But Chomsky, armed with extensive historical notation, takes this notion further, arguing how the repression of other nations' citizenry is, in fact, the very reason Americans support certain foreign leaders. The charges made throughout the book are severe, as are the dire consequences he posits if current trends are not reversed, and Chomsky is no more likely to make friends or gain supporters from the mainstream now than he's ever been. But Hegemony or Survival is relatively dispassionate. Instead of relying on camp or shock value or personal attacks as some of his contemporaries have done, Chomsky drives his well-supported points steadily forward in an earnest and highly readable style. --John Moe
Book Description
"Reading Chomsky today is sobering and instructive . . . He is a global phenomenon . . . perhaps the most widely read voice on foreign policy on the planet." The New York Times Book ReviewAn immediate national bestseller, Hegemony or Survival demonstrates how, for more than half a century the United States has been pursuing a grand imperial strategy with the aim of staking out the globe. Our leaders have shown themselves willing-as in the Cuban missile crisis-to follow the dream of dominance no matter how high the risks. World-renowned intellectual Noam Chomsky investigates how we came to this perilous moment and why our rulers are willing to jeopardize the future of our species.With the striking logic that is his trademark, Chomsky tracks the U.S. government's aggressive pursuit of "full spectrum dominance" and vividly lays out how the most recent manifestations of the politics of global control-from unilateralism to the dismantling of international agreements to state terrorism-cohere in a drive for hegemony that ultimately threatens our existence. Lucidly written, thoroughly documented, and featuring a new afterword by the author, Hegemony or Survival is a definitive statement from one of today's most influential thinkers.
Download Description
The United States is in the process of staking out not just the globe but the last unarmed spot in our neighborhood-the heavens-as a militarized sphere of influence. Our earth and its skies are, for the Bush administration, the final frontiers of imperial control. In Hegemony or Survival, Noam Chomsky investigates how we came to this moment, what kind of peril we find ourselves in, and why our rulers are willing to jeopardize the future of our species.
Customer Reviews:
Connect the dots?.......2007-09-13
This material is not easy to digest in two ways. First, there are so many facts and figures that after a while your head begins to spin. I listened to it twice in succession just for that reason. Secondly, it's difficult to believe that your country's political leaders could possibly be saying one thing and doing another. Aren't we, the US, always the "good guys"? Don't we always do things the right way, "the American way"? Maybe that is a problem. Perhaps other nations want to do things their own way.
If you wonder why so much of the world dislikes or even hates the US, then this book will offer bountiful explanations, dating back to probably the Monroe Doctrine in the first part of the nineteenth century. Whether or not you agree with Mr. Chomsky's conclusions is up to you, but to refute him you will have a lot of offered facts to overcome.
Previous reviewers have labeled him a communist, or at the least, a communist sympathizer. I didn't get that impression. He just doesn't like American interventionist foreign policy which supposedly is leading to a New World Order, with the US the undisputed leader. And a lot of other people in the world think the same way and don't like it either.
If even a small portion of what he writes is true, it's a sad situation in my eyes. But if you consider the facts and connect the dots...where does it lead? Make up your own mind.
Dr. Chomsky.......2007-09-10
The most insightful look at the past 60 some odd years of american foreign policy, it's consequences and possible motives. A thouroughly researched and meticulously catalogued breakdown of the views and voices that have been there every step of the way, the voices that are usualy silenced and swallowed up by the historical accounts of the victors.
Chomsky poses the compelling question of our time.......2007-08-28
Other reviews have covered, at length, the perceived pros and cons of Chomsky's critique of American foreign policy in general and of the war in Iraq in particular, and I will reveal from the outset that my conclusions on these topics are simliar to Chomsky's in many respects. The incredible value of this book, however, is that seeks to address the question of human survival within the context of American foreign policy.
Although Chomsky does not delve deeply into the topic of the pending petroleum crisis, it, as well as other questions regarding the future of industrial civilization, is never too far beneath the surface. According to geologists of the Hubbard school, the world has reached or will soon reach a point of peak oil production after which the ability of global production to meet demand will inevitably decline, leading to a global crisis of unprecedented proportions. To the extent that U.S. policy continues along the lines of exerting hegemonic control over what is left as opposed to engaging in principled and collective effort towards creating a more equitable post-petroleum global economy, it certainly does lead us towards destruction or at the very least, a nightmarish Hobbesian existence in which human lives will indeed be "nasty, brutish and short".
One may choose to agree or disagree with many of Chomsky's arguments. However, for any thinking person who is conversant with history and who has an interest in social justice for all and not just for some, Chomsky drives home a number of points that are practically unassailable:
1. U.S. foreign policy, like the policies of great powers before it, have rarely been predicated on the publicly espoused principles of democracy, equality and freedom, but in the pursuit of its elite's interests, often to the detriment of the environment, democracy itself, and of the well-being of working and oppressed people around the world as well as within the United States. The unprecedented ability of modern man to destroy not only each other, but the very environment that makes sustainable existence on Earth possible however, dictates that unlike any empire or imperial age before it, the consequences of American policy are truly global in scope, and they may prove to be beyond any conceivable ability of repair.
2. The phenomenon of "globalizaton", in practice, has benefited, for the most part, only the financial elites and the military and technocratic elements whose services are necessary to maintain the system. For the rest of humanity, globalization has come to mean a nightmare of economic and cultural disruption and dislocation on a global scale. It is interesting to note that with the advent of globalization, the gap between the rich and poor has increased significantly, not only on a global scale but within the individual economies of the wealthiest nations as well. Lenin's "aristocracy of labor" is shrinking as we speak!
3. Despite the fact that the U.S. can justifiably be seen as the world's only military superpower, its attempts to exert unilateral control over the dwindling energy resources of the Middle East (and by extension of the rest of the world) will increasingly lead it into escalating conflict with other nations and peoples, resulting not only in its own moral, political and economic bankruptcy, but potentially in the destruction of civilization as we know it.
4. Only by understanding the nature of the current situation and organizing to change course can Americans and other people around the world prevent this continuing descent into madness.
Regardless of one's ideological inclination, "Hegemony or Survival" should provoke readers to serious thought on these matters, and for that Professor Chomsky should be thanked and applauded.
Another mandatory reading for those who wish to understand the world. .......2007-07-27
The writing has Chomsky's typical laser-like clarity. The facts are abundant and irrefutable. The arguments are powerful and inescapable. A refreshing break from all the propaganda and indoctrination that cover the landscape.
disturbing revelations.......2007-07-05
I hated how the book made me feel but it gets 5 stars for its brutal edification - as I'm sure was his intent.
Whatever your politics are, and regardless of whether you dislike or disbelieve Chomsky's conclusions, the facts laid out in this book speak disturbingly for themselves. Our government consistently pays lip service to supporting and promoting democracy but apparently has a nasty track record to the contrary. I would sincerely rather that not be true but there it is in the historical record. As stated by another reviewer, his facts are correct.
I could only read this book a little at a time. I would get too angry and have to set it aside for a few days until I could handle some more ugly truth.
I always thought Bush's statement that the terrorists "hate us because of our freedoms" did not quite ring true. In light of our government's actions reported in this book, the statement becomes absurdly transparent misinformation.
At least now we know the REAL reasons why they hate us.
SG
Amazon.com
Daniel Yergin's first prize-winning book, Shattered Peace, was a history of the Cold War. Afterwards the young academic star joined the energy project of the Harvard Business School and wrote the best-seller Energy Future. Following on from there,
The Prize, winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction, is a comprehensive history of one of the commodities that powers the world--oil. Founded in the 19th century, the oil industry began producing kerosene for lamps and progressed to gasoline. Huge personal fortunes arose from it, and whole nations sprung out of the power politics of the oil wells. Yergin's fascinating account sweeps from early robber barons like John D. Rockefeller, to the oil crisis of the 1970s, through to the Gulf War.
Book Description
Pulitzer Prize Winner -- and Now an Epic PBS Series
The Prize recounts the panoramic history of oil -- and the struggle for wealth power that has always surrounded oil. This struggle has shaken the world economy, dictated the outcome of wars, and transformed the destiny of men and nations. The Prize is as much a history of the twentieth century as of the oil industry itself. The canvas of this history is enormous -- from the drilling of the first well in Pennsylvania through two great world wars to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and Operation Desert Storm.
The cast extends from wildcatters and rogues to oil tycoons, and from Winston Churchill and Ibn Saud to George Bush and Saddam Hussein. The definitive work on the subject of oil and a major contribution to understanding our century, The Prize is a book of extraordinary breadth, riveting excitement -- and great importance.
Customer Reviews:
First to cover the topic, but still a facile book.......2007-09-17
Yergen gets kudos for being the first to cover this topic, but his account (perhaps because it's now outdated) is facile and pro-oil company. Every time the oil companies are thwarted he seems to blame straw men for it: tree huggers, the people that hounded poor misunderstood Tricky Dick Nixon, the Saudi sheiks (best friends of Bush, Cheney, et al). He never turns his gaze on the corruption of the oil companies themselves. We hit peak oil in the U.S. in the 1960s. The oil companies suppressed any attempts since then to find alternative fuels. Now we are up the creek, so to speak, with the Oil Men running the Show. Some "Prize". I'd say it's the booby prize. The best overview of our current fix is Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower.
The Age of Oil.......2007-07-04
We are living in the Age of oil.
World and human civilization have experienced different "ages" such as the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Gilded Age, and so on. The 20th and 21st Centuries are indeed, the "Oil Age." We are living in it. This book is one of the most informative and relevant books published in recent years, In my opinion. This work by Daniel Yergin was and still is prescient today, in 2007. "The Prize" tells the story of where we are today, and how we got here. It also latently foresees where we're going in the future. The book doesn't tell us - we just know. We're human. This book is so comprehensive and has so much information only a small portion of it can be noted. Below relates to WWII, and former Iranian leader Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh.
"The Prize" proceeds chronologically. And within the chapters there are numerous mini-subtitles for sub-chapters that connect the big picture. The bibliography and index are excellent and can be used to tie in different figures and historical occurrences. The 'history of oil' is actually the history of the world: humankind, business, innovations, globalization, war, and geo-political power-plays. The very survival of a nation-state is based upon oil.
"The Prize" begins with tiny puddles of black, sticky, goo, in Pennsylvania in the mid 1800s. Locals collected this goo and realized its many uses. In 1859 oil was struck. Almost immediately, the wealth and power amassed from possession and control of oil was realized. The initial trust acts in the U.S. are related to the oil industry, in which Barons quickly gained gargantuan amounts of wealth and political power.
Enter WWII:
The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor because of oil. Japanese conquests throughout South-East Asia and the Pacific were motivated not only by the quest for dominance but for securing oil and keeping their oil (fuel) supply lines open. Without supply lines of oil, the war machine would completely break down, as it later did (Chapter 8).
The Americans sacrificed a lot, but Japan in large part lost WWII because of its lack of fuel for planes, ships, and ground forces. Domestically, the Japanese economy collapsed because of its inability to import oil. The Kamikazes were brought into existence after the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Philippines, in 1944. Lack of oil meant lack of fighter plane fuel. Fuel supplies became so low they actually stopped training Japanese pilots at all. Pilots were ordered to "follow the leader" to the attack site because they didn't even have navigation training.
There was even an "Oil Czar" In the U.S. during World War II in PAW, the Petroleum Administration for War. The Oil Czar was Harold Ickes.
In the European Theater's Eastern Front Germany invaded Russia with Operation Barbarossa mostly to get the oil in the Caucuses (In addition to "lebensraum" and "untermensch" beliefs). In addition, a needed land-route to Iron Ore in Scandinavia via the Baltic SSR Republics was a factor. Hitler also began making synthetic oil because without enough of it Germany's war machine, domestic economy, and arms production were doomed. These synthetic oil factories were top targets in Allied bombing missions.
Oil and the Cold War World:
The Soviets dominated Eastern Europe and exerted its influence after WWII for 45 years because the Allies ran out of gasoline. When the British 3rd Army and U.S. 1st Army were advancing eastward toward Berlin chasing demoralized, retreating, and broken German troops in disarray. But because of the lack of gasoline for the Allied Armies, a million people ended up losing their lives and war was prolonged because the Germans were able to retreat and re-organize (page 388).
If someone says "it's not about the oil" today in 2007, tell them to read this book. Oil encompasses almost all things in our daily lives, whether we are are conscious of it, or not.
Oil, Military, and Economic Interests:
Democratically elected governments are overthrown by foreign governments because of oil. In 1953 Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh was democratically elected in Iran. He was an anti-communist. He didn't like the 93% to 7% profit sharing split with a British Oil company operating inside Iran. He changed it to 50-50. The CIA sponsored a coup to overthrow him. Americans were repeatedly told by the U.S. media that Mossadegh was a communist and communist sympathizer, although factually untrue. The American public believed this propaganda, according to poll results. Gullible? Mossadegh was ousted and the Shah was placed in power. Democracy has never been supported in the Middle East and it isn't now by the U.S. government. Also see the Carter Doctrine of 1980.
Most of us as individual consumers literally need oil to function. Dependence upon oil is for the continuation of the nation-state, its military machines, and domestic economy. More critical today, is that nation-states need a *sufficient* supply of it.
This is a positive book. It's a history book.
We're in the heart of the "Oil Age."
Amaze.......2007-06-19
This book is the better form to say what means the oil in the world. The history is well clear end real. There are many important information and who is curious or needs to know the subject this is a perfect one.
It's interesting to know the past to forecast the future..........2007-06-14
I really appreciated Daniel YERGIN's book.
The history of oil is crucial to try to solve the huge demand for future oil. History tells us that oil is limitless in virgin deserts...
The Prize : The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power.......2007-06-12
Excellent, well chronicled book showing the inside of the oil world history. Amazon shipment was a slick execution which makes the book more valuable..This book is a must-have for oil and gas pros.
Amazon.com
Vagabond, the second entry in Bernard Cornwell's Grail Quest series, has been eagerly anticipated by those who read the first book, and it doesn't disappoint. Thomas has managed to survive the battle of Crécy. Still nursing his wounds, he is dispatched by the king on a mission to look into the matter of his father's inheritance, which is obscurely connected to the Holy Grail. This most precious relic of the Christian faith is a much sought-after object, offering the power of total victory in war to its owner. But Thomas finds himself in the middle of a battle against an army invading the North of England, and other shadowy forces pursuing the grail are prepared to slaughter anyone who stands in their way. In the ruins of his birthplace, Thomas discovers more about his father, and a dangerous voyage to France brings him up against his cousin and arch-enemy, Count of Astarc Guy Vexville. The stage is set for a merciless showdown.
Thomas is a protagonist drawn quite as pithily as his much-loved predecessor, and the sheer verve of Cornwell's storytelling here is irresistible. We are plunged into a distant age: bloody, colourful and dangerous. Roll on, volume three! --Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
In 1347, a year of conflict and unrest, Thomas of Hookton returns to England to pursue the Holy Grail. Among the flames of the Hundred Years War, a sinister enemy awaits the fabled archer and mercenary soldier: a bloodthirsty Dominican Inquisitor who also seeks Christendom's most holy relic. But neither the horrors of the battlefield nor sadistic torture at the Inquisitor's hands can turn Thomas from his sworn mission. And his thirst for vengeance will never be quenched while the villainous black rider who destroyed everything he loved still lives.
From internationally acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell comes the spellbinding second chapter in his Grail Quest—the majestic epic adventure of duty, war, and destiny that began with The Archer's Tale.
Customer Reviews:
Vagabond.......2007-10-01
Second Book in an outstanding series about an English Archer tasked with trying to find the Holy Grail. Great descriptions of English battles against the French in the 1300 or 1400's. Super character development, great story line, I'm anxious to get the 3rd book in the series delivered any day now.
Good Writing is Gone.......2007-08-13
Whether you fancy 14th Century England/France and its historical interest or not, you cannot escape the excitment which Cornwell brings out in the characaters who existed in that time. Such good writing with attention to detail is lost and Cornwell brings it back. I thought I would never find a writer like Glenn Cook or Michael Moorcock, but I have and I will continue to enjoy his good writing for years to come....
T. Williams, Michigan
As engrossing as the first in the Grail trilogy.......2007-06-24
VAGABOND is the second book in the Grail trilogy, following THE ARCHER'S TALE. It continues Thomas of Hookton's duel mission - to lead archers in the English king's army and to find the holy grail, if it exists. Thomas is skeptical about its existence because he has never seen it, and because his father was thought to be a bit crazy.
As with the first book, VAGABOND accurately reflects the history of the Hundred Years War. Because the characters develop throughout the trilogy, it's best to begin with THE ARCHER'S TALE.
Don't miss the third book, HERETIC.
Historical Fiction: Well done again!.......2007-02-10
Bernard Cornwell has continued "The Grail Quest" trilogy with book 2 of the series, "Vagabond". This book continues the story of Thomas of Hookton, master archer in the English army, son of a "crazy" priest, and apparently, heir to the family burden, grail-keeper.
Book 1, "The Archer's Tale" in the U.S. (Harlequin in the U.K.), begins the story and the first battles of the hundred-years-war, but if you don't read the first book, you can still read "Vagabond" and be kept up to speed. This is both a positive and a negative. The positive is that, due to the fact that there is so much happening in the first book, Cornwell must recap alot of the information as backstory in the second book; the negative is that, having just finished the first book, I was a little bored with the redundancy of the backstory because I wanted to move on with the current storyline. The book was good nonetheless and I was never too put off by the inclusion of the backstory. I STILL DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THAT THE FIRST BOOK BE READ BEFORE THIS ONE. The "Archer's Tale" ("Harlequin") was wonderful and, obviously, all of the first book cannot be included in the second.
This is well written historical fiction, accurate concerning the battles, the cities and the major players (i.e. kings, lords, dukes, etc.), that were all part of the beginnings of the hundred-years-war. Cornwell is meticulous in his descriptions of the battles and the reasons for why each commander did what he did during the battle, providing interesting insight in to the nature of man and the causes of the war.
Cornwell also delivers the information with surprising candor and does not present the story from the side of the French, the English, the Scottish, or the many other countries who had men fighting in the war.
Most surprising and liberating about this book, as with the first, is Cornwell's blunt portrayal of Catholicism, The Inquisition, priests, and the greed of the church during this time. Cornwell again leaves nothing to the imagination and removes any shroud of solemnity or respect that is often offered the medieval church, but truly not deserved.
This book continues the story of Thomas of Hookton, his travels from France to England, back to France, his capture and torture by The Inquisition, his return to his love from the first novel and, ultimately, the acceptance of the burden that was presented to him in the first book; he is responsible for recovering the grail, the cup of Christ, and restoring his family, which was wiped out by the French aristocracy and the Catholic church as heretical, to their proper place in the world. His family, the Vexilles, were lords and members of the Cathar religion that was wiped out by the early Inquisition due to their growing numbers and their defiance to the Catholic church. They were, according to Thomas of Hookton's father, the chosen ones of God, responsible for protecting the grail and using it's power to bring peace to the world. Thomas was given the burden of recovering the grail after his father was murdered in the first book.
Historically accurate, vividly descriptive, with well-developed characters both from the first book and some newly added, and intriguing from beginning to end, I am again desperate to get to the next book and discover the fate of Thomas of Hookton.
Tepid Drama.......2007-02-06
Repetitious wordiness and a slow-moving story line detract from the interesting detail of the tumultuous events covered by this novel.
Book Description
Revered or reviled, Gertrude Bell was a commanding figure: scholar, linguist, archaeologist, traveler and "Orientalist". Belonging to the tradition of the great British Middle East enthusiasts of the early twentieth century, she explored the Ottoman Empire during and after World War I and was (alongside T.E. Lawrence) hugely instrumental in the post-war reconfiguration of the Arab states in the Middle East. Using previously unseen sources, including Gertrude Bell's own diaries and letters, Liora Lukitz provides a deeper political and personal biography of this influential character and the tragedy, vulnerability and frustration that were key to her quest both for a British-dominated Middle East and relief from her troubled romantic life.
Customer Reviews:
"Our Eastern Affairs are Complex Beyond All Words".......2006-07-18
History is useful not only for revealing the past, but also in foreshadowing the future. In the case of Iraq, this is no small matter. This book by Liora Likutz, a scholar who is currently at the Truman Institute in Jerusalem, describes the making of modern Iraq through the life of one the two key protagonists who drew its boundaries on the map following World War I. Those two individuals were T.E. Lawrence and Gertrude Bell. While the broad outline of Lawrence's life and exploits in the Middle East are well known to many, Gertrude Bell remains more of a mystery. This book attempts to pull back that veil. Anyone who seeks to understand the currents and tides swirling underneath modern Iraq needs to understand how this country came to be, and the complex life of Gertrude Bell is a good place to start.
Gertrude Bell was born on 14 July (ironically, the Baath Party National Holiday) in 1868 to a wealthy Victorian family. She attended Queen's College in London and later studied history at Oxford. Exceptionally bright, she not only excelled at academics but also proved herself to be a durable athlete who could compete with the boys. Following school, Gertrude met a young man named Henry Cadogan when she was 24 and desired to marry him. But her parents disapproved of this union because Cadogan was a "poor diplomat" not from a well-to-do family. Although the two shared common interests and might have made a happy couple, Gertrude - ever the dutiful daughter -shunned this relationship. She instead went to Bombay, India in 1902 and saw firsthand how Lord Curzon's rigid policies of not appointing Indians to his governing committees created opposition to British rule there. She carried this lesson with her. Britain's interest in India eventually brought Gertrude to Mespotamia, where she had an unconsummated affair with a British officer named Dick Doughty-Wylie. Gertrude did not understand Doughty-Wylie's devotion to his wife however, and perhaps persisted in this stillborn relationship because it did not impinge on her intellectual interests or her freedom. Doughty-Wylie, promoted to LtCol by 1916, was killed at Gallipoli in an attack on the Sidd-al-Barh castle for which he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Gertrude probably never completely recovered.
The British interest in Basra and concern over it falling into Turkish hands led the British to mount an expedition to Baghdad in 1916. In the climax to this disastrous campaign, 17,600 colonial troops ended up surrendering at Al Kut and were marched into enemy captivity. Later revelations of the Sykes-Picot Agreement (the secret agreement between the British and French to carve up the post-war Middle East) and the important question of what would happen to Mosul after the war convinced British administrators to stay involved in Iraq for years to come. And Gertrude intended to play a key role in what would happen in this Cradle of Civilization.
Gertrude quickly discovered that the population of Mesopotamia wanted to manage their own affairs, even if less competently than the British. This caused her to clash with other administrators. She also disagreed with them over the shape of the future Iraq: while some thought it would be impossible to unite the disparate populations of Basra, Baghdad, and Mosul, Bell envisioned an independent and unified Iraq that encompassed these key population centers. She thought Wilson's "rigidity" (like Curzon's earlier) had caused the July 1920 rebellion to spread from the south of the country to the west, ultimately costing hundreds of British lives and thousands of Arab lives.
Many tribes still resisted a Sunni-led government in Baghdad and instead preferred an Islamic government based out of Najaf and Karbala. Churchill, now Secretary of State for the colonies, sought to mobilize public opinion to convince the British it was worth their treasure to maintain presence in Iraq for a prolonged period. Britain would maintain control over the country primarily with its air force (similar to the no-fly zones between Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom) rather than committing large numbers of ground troops.
King Faysal I was finally coronated as King of Iraq on 23 August 1921. Gertrude developed a good relationship with him and was enamored of her role in "making Kings and inventing kingdoms." The Kurds still longed for self-rule however, and Faysal's weak governmental institutions depended upon British arms to give his rule sanction. By 1923, after much diplomatic wrangling, modern Iraq had taken shape. Mosul would stay within Iraq despite the Kurds' insistence on independence because: 1) it could not survive economically without the rest of Iraq, 2) it was not a Turkish province - nor it could it be allowed to become one, and 3) no oil concessions could be given to foreign oil companies. Oil was the driving strategic interest for Britain keeping its foot firmly planted in Iraq.
Gertrude saw the Sunni tribal leaders as the natural elites and thus the future rulers. As Iraq hardened into the form it would maintain for the remainder of the 20th Century and into the 21st, Gertrude's role in politics diminished and she became totally absorbed in her work at the Baghdad Museum. Alone and depressed yet unable to break away from the work she had anchored herself to for so much of her life, Gertrude took her own life with an overdose of sleeping pills in July 1926. She was buried on 12 July in Baghdad.
Likutz has produced a fine book that will be of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about Gertrude Bell and the making of modern Iraq. It is a brisk read, yet very impressively researched, relying primarily on Gertrude Bell's own letters. My only criticism of this book is that it does not contain any maps. These would have been very helpful in explaining the military campaign into Mesopotamia and surrender at Al Kut, the importance of Iraq vis-à-vis Britain's India policy, and the drawing of the post-war boundaries that Gertrude Bell played such a large role in. Still, the books' strengths outweigh this one weakness, and if you are interested in Iraq, you will not be disappointed.
Understanding Irak.......2006-02-10
Facinating and exciting point of view of Irak through Gertrude Bell's life.
Must be read if you want to understand what is happening now in this country.
Book Description
J. I. Packer has had a long-standing passion for the Puritans. Their understanding of God and His ways with man has largely formed his own spirituality and theological outlook. In
A Quest for Godliness, the esteemed author of
Knowing God and a dozen other books shares with his readers the rich world of Puritanism that has been so influential in his own life.
Dr. Packer masterfully uncovers the hidden treasures of Puritan life and thought. With crystalline clarity he reveals the depth and breadth of Puritan spiritual life, contrasting it with the superficiality and deadness of modern Western Christianity.
Drawing on a lifetime of study, Dr. Packer takes the reader on a survey of the lives and teachings of great Puritan leaders such as John Owen, Richard Baxter, and Jonathan Edwards. He offers a close look at such subjects as the Puritan view of the Bible, spiritual gifts, the Sabbath, worship, social action, and the family. He concludes that a main difference between the Puritans and ourselves is spiritual maturity--the Puritans had it; we don't.
In a time of failing vision and decaying values, this powerful portrait of Puritans is a beacon of hope that calls us to radical commitment and action when both are desperately needed.
A Quest for Godliness is a profoundly moving and challenging exploration of Puritan life and thought in a beautifully written book. Here is J. I. Packer at his very best.
"In A Quest for Godliness, J. I. Packer paints a vivid portrait of Puritans--their piety, church life, and social impulse--providing a model of passionate, holy living for today's often-complacent church. Packer's characteristically lucid style and penetrating insights into Christians of old send a vibrant challenge to those of us who follow Christ in this last decade of the twentieth century. I heartily recommend this book." --Chuck Colson
"Dr. Packer has blended theology, biography, history, and practical exhortation in a book that is a delight to read. But even more, the book speaks to our contemporary church situation and causes us to search our hearts and examine our ministries. Whether you are just getting acquainted with the Puritans or are a long-time friend,
A Quest for Godliness will instruct and inspire you. Here is solid spiritual food that contributes to maturity." --Warren W. Wiersbe
Customer Reviews:
A Giant Redwood Stands Tall.......2007-09-22
JI Packer is a master. Not because he has any unusual knowledge or superior intellect (altho he does possess these in abundance!) - but because he has chosen to make the past accessible to us.
This past is not an everyday event. The age of the Puritans was uniquely God-seeking and Lord-exalting. These Puritans knew whom to fear, knew whom to turn to, knew whom to extol, knew whom to obey.
In a century of persecution and The Great Assizes, during turbulent and antagonistic reigns, they made it known that they served only under One's rule. These men and women of the past, were fearless and absolutely committed to the Reformation. They were not satisfied with half-measures or the petty pay-offs their lords so regularly gave into.
Even in their everyday life, they suffered trials of incredible variety.
It is only an attestation to God's providence, His gracious benevolence, that they withstood the test of time.
And so this is the premier work on those Giant Redwoods. It is inescapable in its scope and God-revering in its content.
The Puritans are being heard from the pulpits again, thanks to men like Packer and Lloyd-Jones. Their legitimate voice has many a word of advice to a complacent, under-achieving Western world, where once they ruled in submissive allegiance to a glorious God. They are the intellectual giants of our Christian culture.
Puritanism: Authentic Christianity.......2007-06-10
The author of the epistle to the Hebrews exhorts the readers in the last chapter to "remember" their leaders, "consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith." There is a value, great value in learning biography of great servants of God in the past, the giants of Christianity; some of whom are the Puritans, whose theology and lifestyle are still relevant to this day, in our days when it is getting real difficult to define and find what and where true Christianity is. Professor Packer has done a superb work in expounding Puritan themes on doctrines, practical theology, which Perkins defines as "the science of living blessedly forever. Blessed life ariseth from the knowledge of God", ministry and evangelism. In regard to doctrines, a particular emphasis was placed on John Owen whom I regard as one of, if not the best dead Christian apologists where his treatises on the doctrine of limited atonement, spiritual gifts, communion with God, the beauty of piety and holiness are treated exquisitely. Pastor Richard Baxter, though somewhat erroneous in doctrines, seems to be a role model of a compassionate, God-serving, people-loving, talk-the-walk, walk-the-talk-type of minister and evangelist where pastors have much to learn from in our days of quick decision, quick conversion, prosperity gospel, emphasis on fun, numbers, and programs in running the church, exhorting people to go to Afghanistan to preach the gospel while the pastor himself enjoys the glamour of rich congregation in Aspen.
The beauty of Puritan principles in regard to family, keeping the Sabbath, marriage, and revival are covered impressively as well. The views on family and marriage are sober yet happy ones, for me personally, but I think are good for singles and married couples alike. If Puritan lifestyle were to be summarized in one statement, in my view, it is as follows: "a joyful compassionate, careful, thoughtful, serious, God-dependent commitment to live a life as pilgrims on earth journeying toward the blessed eternal residence of God in heaven, that expresses delight, reverence, worship of God, and display of the glory of God expressed in the gospel, particularly in the work of redemption carried out by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross." I'm grateful to God to have the privilege to read some of their texts and biographies; some of which I thoroughly enjoy are those by Jonathan Edwards (Christian Pilgrims, Charity and its Fruits, The Excellency of Christ), John Owen (Overcoming Sin and Temptation, edited by Prof. Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor), Thomas Watson (The Art of Divine Contentment, All Things for Good, A Treatise on the Beatitudes), Jeremiah Burrough (The Jewel of Christian Contentment); and look forward to read more. O how I long to fellowship with brothers and sisters in and be cared under a Puritan-like ministry, and if the Lord ever calls me to be a minister, or work in ministry, I desire to be like Owen when it comes to solidity and depth of understanding of biblical doctrines, and Baxter when it comes to counseling, ministering, loving and caring for people.
On the Quest.......2006-12-27
This volume consists of a collection of papers, many of which were delivered during at the annual Puritan and Reformed Studies Conference in Westminster Chapel, London during the 1950's and 1960's. Following a three chapter introduction, Packer groups these papers under five headings as we see the Puritans in relation to the Bible, the gospel, spirituality, practical Christian living, and the ministry. Puritanism is seen as a renewal movement designed to honor the God of the Scriptures. Packer views the Puritans through the eyes of its leaders, especially Richard Baxter, John Owens, and Jonathan Edwards, the latter being included even though he lived and ministered after the era of the Puritans. Packer refers to Edwards as a Puritan "born out of due time."
We are presented with both the strengths as well as the failings of the Puritans as Richard Baxter is described as the father of modern liberalism in the Church of England and Jonathan Edwards' revival is seen to be a short-lived flash which quickly cooled following his generation. It is John Owen who comes across as the hero of the book and the Calvin of the Puritan movement (Pg 191). Packer defends Owen's cumbersome and tortuous style of writing as being "a Latinized spoken style" after the tradition of Cicero. We are continually urged to ignore the burden of his writing style because it is worth the extra effort.
The practical emphasis of this book is a call for revivalism in the church today. Puritanism was exactly such a call and Packer suggests that the church is in need of this call again in this day and age. I found especially noteworthy the section dealing with assurance. The Puritan view of assurance is not merely a matter of believing the gospel and its promise of eternal life. Rather, they viewed assurance as being only for the one who has been walking faithfully with the Lord for a very long time and even then, it was pictured as a "crown that few wear."
Challenging as always........2006-12-04
The book is a collection of essays on the Puritan's quest for godliness. He covers various aspect of Puritan life and ministry. Some of the essays appear in different collections. The book is challenging and informative as is typical of Packer's books. He quotes the Puritan writers extensively (e. g. Baxter), but he throws in other theologians such as Spurgeon and Augustine as well. The last chapters that focus on the last of the puritans, Jonathan Edwards, is extremely interesting. Packer brings in theology, history and exhortation into his writings. If you don't understand the strength of "Reformed Theology," this book will definitely help.
The book is very good, but for me it started out slow because I read some of the essays before. But the more I read, the more I realize what he is trying to do and I am deeply impressed. Packer is giving us a peek into the puritan world view so that we may purify our worship today.
an excellent tribute to the puritans.......2006-07-07
J.I. Packer's insight into the life of the Puritans and his passion for God-centred theology of the Puritans has produced this excellent book... This book will inspire anybody who chooses to live a God-centred life and the life of a single-minded passion for God's truth.
Book Description
Today Iran is once again in the headlines. Reputed to be developing nuclear weapons, the future of Iraq's next-door neighbor is a matter of grave concern both for the stability of the region and for the safety of the global community. President George W. Bush labeled it part of the "Axis of Evil," and rails against the country's authoritarian leadership. Yet as Bush trumpets the spread of democracy throughout the Middle East, few note that Iran has one of the longest-running experiences with democracy in the region. In this book, Ali Gheissari and Vali Nasr look at the political history of Iran in the modern era, and offer an in-depth analysis of the prospects for democracy to flourish there. After having produced the only successful Islamist challenge to the state, a revolution, and an Islamic Republic, Iran is now poised to produce a genuine and indigenous democratic movement in the Muslim world. Democracy in Iran is neither a sudden development nor a western import, Gheissari and Nasr argue. The concept of democracy in Iran today may appear to be a reaction to authoritarianism, but it is an old idea with a complex history, one that is tightly interwoven with the main forces that have shaped Iranian society and politics, institutions, identities, and interests. Indeed, the demand for democracy first surfaced in Iran a century ago at the end of the Qajar period, and helped produce Iran's surprisingly liberal first constitution in 1906. Gheissari and Nasr seek to understand why democracy failed to grow roots and lost ground to an autocratic Iranian state. Why was democracy absent from the ideological debates of the 1960s and 1970s? Most important, why has it now become a powerful social, political, and intellectual force? How have modernization, social change, economic growth, and the experience of the revolution converged to make this possible? Gheissari and Nasr trace the fortunes of the democratic ideal from the inchoate demands for rule of law and constitutionalism of a century ago to today's calls for individual rights and civil liberties. In the process they provide not just a fresh look at Iran's politics but also a new understanding of the way in which democracy can develop in a Muslim country.
Customer Reviews:
A Good Primer on Iran.......2007-08-11
Will Iran be a democracy? Gheissari and Nasr gives a good overview of history of Irania history with one point in mind: why has there been so much debate over democracy but no real democracy. This is a serious book with a good deal of history. A must read for all those who discuss future of democracy in the Muslim world and Iran.
Recommended.......2007-08-05
This a serious and smart book about the history of democracy in a Muslim country. It shows that democracy is not a new idea for Iranians. They have debated and experimented with it, and why they have failed to become democratic has more to do with political developments in that country than any other issue. The authors do a good job of explaining the weight of historical developments in how democracy develops and why its succeeds or fails. A good news in this book is that despite its harsh government there is more debate and interest in democracy than at any other time in recent Iranian history, and more Iranians now see it as a practical idea than before.
A worthwhile read.......2007-05-26
This a sweeping history of Iran. It shows how democracy has been debated over the years. What comes form this text is that Iranians have a rich history of debating democracy, and its is not just religion that accounts for absence of democracy in that country. It is a worthwhile read for everyone as these days talk of Iran and its government dominate the media.
Very Useful; 4.5 stars.......2007-02-25
The heart of this short book is a precis of modern Iranian history with an accompanying analysis of the social and political phenomena responsible for important events. While the authors go back to the early 20th century, most of the discussion focuses on the birth of the Iranian revolution and its aftermath, leading right up to recent events. This is very well done with insightful analysis of the major trends in recent Iranian history. The authors, however, try to present their interpretation with the major theme of efforts to build a democratic Iran. This interpretation is belied by their own narrative which seems to present the recurrent theme of trying to build a modern state under considerable external pressure. Nonetheless, this book deserves wide readership because it displays an objective view of Iranian history uncontaminated by popular cliches and with a lot of interesting detail. Gheissari and Nasr argue that the residuum of historic efforts to democratize Iran and unexpected consequences of the Iranian revolution has resulted in a state with a strong democratic movement and a number of democratic practices. Unfortunately, this book probably won't reach a broad audience because in the interests of concision, the authors have had to leave out a fair amount of relevant historical background. For example, it will be hard to understand the authors' discussion of 1930s Iran unless you know what "Kemalist" means. The quality of writing is generally good but the authors sometimes fall back to academic cliches. It has an excellent bibliography.
While Geissari and Nasr make a very good case for the potential strength of democractic practice in Iran and opportunities for conversion to real democracy, they don't discuss a real danger of this situation. Authoritarian regimes under domestic challenge from strong domestic democratic pressures have a tendency to resort to reckless foreign policies to distract domestic attention and to build domestic legitimacy.
A quicksand of sentences and words ..........2007-01-07
... A book filled with facts, names, figures, and great perspectives on the before and after of the Iranian revolution.
This book was read in a household where the readers have between them five advanced college degrees. The book was not for us and certainly not for the general public, but written for colleagues of the authors - very pompous (i.e., snobbish) and arrogant (i.e., superior) in its style.
The authors spend the majority of their energy trying to impress the reader with their vocabulary and onerous (i.e., tiring), sentences, one piled on top of the next. It made each paragraph a torture to read and the whole book laborious (i.e., difficult) to follow.
The book would have been much more powerful if it had been written with the broader audience in mind, focusing on clearly communicating ideas and thoughts, as opposed to patting themselves on their backs showing off their command of the English language and its least commonly used words (e.g., millenarianism, insouciant, polity, etc.)
Customer Reviews:
Rating The Real Jesus by Johnson.......2007-09-02
These books are being used by a study group. I haave not read the whole book yet. your service was very efficient
RANK PAGANISM RUN AMOK - another consumptive catholic lunger spewed into the face of God !!! .......2007-07-08
Timmy openly admits to rewriting milennia of Christian truth in order to accomodate a sinful disaster within his own life - marriage to a divorced woman!
Mark 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. Leviticus 20:10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. OF COURSE TIMMY WANTS TO REWRITE THE BIBLE !!!
To justify himself he pries open clear Bible teaching to make room for homosexuality. Of course he only reveals his own wacky apostate ideas!
The LORD spake unto Moses saying,Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. (Lev 18:1, 22)
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. (Lev 20:13)
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them Rom 1:24-32)
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind (homosexuals), Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1Co 6:9-10)
And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Gen 2:23-24)
Any sexual activity, outside of marriage between one man and one women, is an abomination before God worthy of the second death, eternal damnation!
NOTE: Look at Timmy's book cover which is another example of rebellion against God! Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above !!!
Must reading for all who contend for the faith.......2007-07-03
Having recently read Luke Timothy Johnson's book Living Jesus: Learning the Heart of the Gospel, I was drawn to this earlier work out of curiosity to see how someone with such spiritual insight would enter into scholarly debate. I was not disappointed. Johnson does not "preach to the choir." While there are certain points I think I might disagree with Johnson on, his intellectual honesty causes the reader to stop and consider what he is saying. For example, being from a Protestant tradition, I was taken aback at Johnson's suggestion that Martin Luther played a role in the current confused state of biblical criticism (Chapter 3) by his opposition to Catholicism's emphasis on tradition. My initial reaction was that this was just another Catholic argument against anything Protestant, but such was not the case. Johnson later praises Luther in the Epilogue when he recognizes Luther's original intention in the principle of "sola scripture." He states, "Luther recognized that without a dialectical relationship to the texts, in which they were given their own authority in the church, tradition could swallow them up and manipulate them, to its own ends."
As I read Luke Timothy Johnson's writings, it becomes obvious to me that this is not a man who is out to make a name for himself. He is not catering to any group (be they Catholic, Protestant, fundamentalist, or liberal) that will give him his fifteen minutes of fame. This is an honest scholar with a firm belief in the living Savior described in the pages of canonical Scripture rather than in the dead politically correct one purportedly discovered by those in search of the historical Jesus.
Lord Jesus Christ, Have Mercy On us, Blessed Virgin Mary, Pray for Us.......2007-02-16
Jesus is:
Here Now. Present. He IS Faith, the only faithful one, God-with-us. He serves all and yet rules above all. He has a right to rule all. Jesus is a mighty warrior protecting us from evil so abominable we ought to be happy that cannot imagine it.
Your Word is your sword. You came to make war on the world, this enemy occupied territory of Satan's. We're in prison, captivity, Babylon. We are strangers and pilgrims.
You are the Bible. The Bible has NO error. You are the Truth. You are sinless. You speak to me, Lord. You are present in the Word. You are present in the consecrated Host.
ABSOLUTE FACT: Jesus physically rose from the dead. HE LIVES! He is more real than you or me.
He loves you. Mary loves you. Mary you are my Mother.
Jesus is the Lord. Jesus is man. Jesus, Son of God, Son of Man, WILL COME BACK. We will see Him face to face.
Your creator, my creator, THE ONLY HOLY ONE, had the equivalent of eternal damnation due to sin heaped on his sinless soul - HE PHYSICALLY SWEAT BLOOD AT GETHSEMANE.
You Lord - The maker of the great celestial clockwork, majestic and terrifying power, marvelously merciful to the most defenseless creatures - became cursed, humiliated, slaughtered. FOR ME! I, who hated YOU!
I gave up on you, but you NEVER gave up on me. You and Our Lady who cared for you selflessly on earth.
LORD, MAKE WAR ON THIS FOUL WASTELAND! Destroy in me what gets in the way of your mission. Supply to me what I lack NOW!
The wages of sin is death. Lord, I offer myself up, my human nature, back to you. I will rise from the dead some day.
My sins crucified you Lord. Your mission is not complete without me. I bailed out on you just like all the apostles did. I hated you the way Paul did when Paul was Saul. I am as putrid, fetid, and wrotten as the vipers surrounding you at Calvary.
Lord, you cannot be a liar, you cannot be crazy. You are who you say you are. YOU ARE WHO YOU SAY YOU ARE! I DID NOT CHOOSE THAT. YOU REVEALED YOURSELF!
DIE TO SELF! GO TO ASHES! SOUL: RETURN TO THE SUNNY UPLANDS OF THE LORD!
Let me remember the last things: death, judgement, Hell, Heaven. Have mercy on us.
In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
Good scholarship for a challenging topic.......2006-11-08
"The Real Jesus" attempts to guide the reader through recent controverseries related to the search for a more "historic" rather than Biblical Jesus. The author's argument shows the limits of trying to "explain" Jesus and/or Christianity using strictly logical and material strategies. It is a challenging read, but ultimately rewarding.
Customer Reviews:
Singing Praises.......2007-03-12
What a rare and wonderful talent. A story so moving, told with love and an incredible witt. I eagerly await the next Angermeyer story. Do yourself a favor and get lost in a tale of determination and mastery at it's finest in reading My Father's Island: A Galapagos Quest. You will not be disappointed.
A wonderfully well-written story........1999-09-27
"My Father's Island" captures the sense of adventure, wonder, and fear of pioneer life on the Galapagos. The story is both humorous and tragic, and the book is compelling enough to read in one sitting.
A delightful biography and travelogue........1998-05-26
"My Father's Island" is absolutely delightful. The book includes a very amusing view of cultural differences as seen by young Johanna; first between America and Quito, Ecuador and then between civilized Quito and the rugged pioneer lifestyle required just a few decades ago in the Galapagos.
The flora and fauna of the islands are more accurately named and described here than in the book "Floreanna." I recommend "My Father's Island" over "Floreanna" for providing more information on the islands, the lifestyle and for a more compelling story.
I now feel that I have a better idea of the hardships and challenges faced by the early settlers to the Galapagos. And, to top it off real life love stories are included, too!
I am looking forward to Johanna Angermeyer's next book.
Book Description
In his widely acclaimed To End All Wars, Thomas Knock provides an intriguing, often provocative narrative of Woodrow Wilson's epic quest for a new world order. The account follows Wilson's thought and diplomacy from his policy toward revolutionary Mexico, through his dramatic call for "Peace without Victory" in World War I, to the Senate's rejection of the League of Nations. Throughout Knock explores the place of internationalism in American politics, sweeping away the old view that isolationism was the cause of Wilson's failure and revealing the role of competing visions of internationalism--conservative and progressive.
Customer Reviews:
Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations.......2005-03-30
This book is about Woodrow Wilson's quest for a new world order during and after WW I, especially his strong desire for the creation of a League of Nations which would mediate all future disputes between nations. The U.S. Senate, of course, voted it down. I found it interesting how the country (and Wilson) had strong socialist leanings, especially in international affairs, until War was declared in 1916, when a huge reaction took effect. Knock does a good job relating events and portraying Wilson as one whose ideas for truly ending warfare was convincing to world leaders but not his own country. The effort of trying to persuade his countrymen of the importance of a League probably broke his health and led to his death. Recommended.
Meticulous study on the League of Nations.......2002-01-01
When I was very young, I read somewhere that Wilson was the greatest swindler in human history. And Wilson has always been a mistery to me. Reading this book, I expected to learn the reason why Woodrow Wilson decided to lead America into World War I. But it was not a main theme of this book. And the explanation about it was not satisfactory to me. My misunderstanding about Wilson, however, is removed now thanks to this book.
Thomas J. Knox decidedly focused on the League issue. He meticulously studied the process of the formation of League of Nations. And his analysis of American political spectrum of that era - especially progressive internationalism & conservative internationalism - was excellent. It was very helpful in studying American history.
A Good Analysis of President Wilson's Views.......2001-09-21
To End All Wars attempts to show where President Wilson's ideas on the League of Nations came from and why he ultimatly failed. A fascinating protryal of early 20th century poltics, Knock successfully intergrates both the domestic policies of Wilson with his international policies. The links between the progressive, pacifist leagues and Wilson's views are clearly marked and appear credible. What is not examined is the moral conflict between Wilson's anti-war views and the fact he lead the country into World War I. Further research into this inconsitency could have led insight into why Wilson treated his former progrssive allies with such contempt as the war progressed. The ultimate result was his political inability to convince the American people to join the League of Nations after he alientated his greatest supporters.
Turning Your Head Around on Woodrow Wilson.......2000-05-31
Professor Knock turned my head around on the foreign policies of Woodrow Wilson. This book takes the reader back into the 1890s, when Wilson was a professor of politics and history, in its quest to understand the evolution of his foreign policy thru American entry into the First World War. Nothing is sacred in this author's hands either. He devises a large-scale drama encompassing a spectrum of players--Jane Addams, William Howard Taft, Elihu Root, Eugene Debs, and more--as he dissects how and why Wilson failed to gain Senate ratification for the Treaty of Versailles. If it is a familiar story, Professor Knock's retelling of it is both original and compelling. I think this is the single most important book currently available on Wilsonian foreign policy.
Book Description
The astounding story of runaway slaves during the American Revolution and the lives they forged on four continents
Customer Reviews:
A Most Amazing Book.......2006-08-29
The first three "official" reviews of this book fail to convey the sheer original, revealing, even emotional nature of this book. Many Americans now accept that their patriotic Revolutionary ancestors--including the Founding Fathers--owned slaves. Some Americans are aware that many of these slaves fled to the British controlled areas and cities under the promise of gaining freedom. A few Americans may then know of what happened to these former slaves--how many were take off to Nova Scotia with thousands of white Loyalists. What Cassandra Pybus reveals in this book opens all this up into dimensions undreamed of by all but perhaps a literal handful of historians. And in fact, what she presents is more like a nightmare than a dream. In an impeccably researched and footnoted narrative, she first investigates those three relatively "knowns" that I referred to above, providing details that will astound most of us. And when she goes onto present the story of what happenened to most of these former slaves as they movd on not only to Nova Scotia and London but then on to Sierra Leone and Australia--well, it is history as revelation. Although Pybus stays rooted in the strictest procedures of the historian, the end effect is to feel you are reading a novel. But a novel describing events of such unnmitigated misery, of human suffering, of human cruelty, that no novelist would dare invent these happenings. I defy any reader to put the book down saying (a) "Oh, I had suspected all this might have happened" and (b) "In any case I can't see getting especially worked up over it." The end result is a book that both charges far more human beings than we have imagined with being cruel to African-Americans and at the same time informs us of how many of these same African-Americans endured these cruelties and utimately prevailed. In a word, I found it spellbinding!
A side of the American Revolution little known until now.......2006-04-05
While most American schoolchildren in the U.S. are taught of the American Revolution as a glorious struggle of backwoods colonials fighting for their freedom and independence against the world's most powerful empire, few, if any, are taught of the great tragedy experienced by African-Americans, many of them former slaves, who fought with or sided with the British in the hopes that they would secure their individual freedoms. I was one of those many schoolchildren inculcated in the myth of the Revolution, but I have since expanded my knowledge of the Revolution beyond the history texts. Despite this, I was not aware of the globe-circling stories of former slaves of the American Revolution as carefully documented and researched by Cassandra Pybus in "Epic Journeys of Freedom". But now that I am, I hope these stories become more widely known as examples of not only the failure of the American Revolution to live up to its ideals, but more important, as examples of the unquenchable human desire for freedom and the extent to which brave men and women will go to find it.
I cannot do justice to any of the individual stories in "Epic Journeys of Freedom" in this or any review, and much of the immediacy and drama of the stories come from the first-hand sources of the era that Pybus has collected and orchestrated into compelling narratives. By retelling the history of individual lives set within the context of the American Revolution and its aftermath, Pybus reduces a mythic, seminal event in America's founding to a personal level. The eyes through which we see the Revolution, however, belong not to the victors, but to the disenfranchised and dehumanized; America's victory meant their enslavement, so they fled the land of liberty to seek their own freedom across distant borders and oceans.
Some may ask why bring up more stories of America's past injustices when we have come so far in addressing them. We read these stories and remember their lives because they remind us why men and women have risked all and died for their freedom. They remind us of both our worse and better natures, and offer hope for a more just and free world.
Books:
- History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther
- Twelve Keys to an Effective Church
- Tears of Pride
- Sleep, Pale Sister
- The Connecticut River Boating Guide, 3rd: Source to Sea
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- The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Written by Himself
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- On Becoming Lost: A Naturalist's Search for Meaning
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General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy
Media Control, Second Edition: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda (Open Media Series)
People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.)
9-11
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
