Book Description
Twilight in the Desert reveals a Saudi oil and production industry that could soon approach a serious, irreversible decline. In this exhaustively researched book, veteran oil industry analyst Matthew Simmons draws on his three-plus decades of insider experience and more than 200 independently produced reports about Saudi petroleum resources and production operations. He uncovers a story about Saudi Arabia’s troubled oil industry, not to mention its political and societal instability, which differs sharply from the globally accepted Saudi version. It’s a story that is provocative and disturbing, based on undeniable facts, but until now never told in its entirety. Twilight in the Desert answers all readers’ questions about Saudi oil and production industries with keen examination instead of unsubstantiated posturing, and takes its place as one of the most important books of this still-young century.
Customer Reviews:
MATTHEW SIMMONS.......2007-07-28
Peak oil. That's the 100B$ question?
Technical analysis shows as that oil is in a bull market...
If this book is right 200$ oil is not science fiction, but rather reality.
Is that the end of oil or just another milestone
in the neverending story of oil bull and bear markets.
The future will tell...
It may be later than twilight in the desert.......2007-06-08
I heard so much about this book that I started to not buy it, thinking I knew what it said. I'm very glad I read it. I spent 30 years in the oil patch and I have to say that I think the author knows what he's talking about. He makes a very good case for Saudi Arabia's oil production being on the verge of a steep decline. For more on getting ready for very expensive oil see The Long Emergency.The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century
An important analysis, but too long by half.......2007-05-24
Saudi Arabia's economic foundations are increasingly fragile despite the run-up in oil prices during the past three years, driven in part by the disastrous invasion of Iraq. Simmons' work points to a looming problem - that Saudi Arabia has vastly overstated the country's oil reserves and production capacity. He gives sound technical analysis drawn from opinions of independent oil experts.
While it is an important book, the author could have covered the same ground in about half the 464 pages that he used.
For a succinct, fictionalized account of the types of non-economic problems besetting the Saudi regime and the future stability of oil markets, you might take a look at SAUDI MATCH POINT, published recently and available online from Blacksmith Books.
Lots of Food for Thought.......2007-05-10
Some have called Simmons a doomsayer. Others a prophet. With so many reviews of this book already posted, this one will be a bulleted list of some of Simmons' most salient points:
-The last big oil fields were found in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and most are in the middle east. This small part of the world produces most of the planet's oil. With little prospect of new oil discoveries, this is the 'twilight' phenomenon of the book's title.
-The U.S. is too dependent on foreign oil. This is not new. But even if we wanted to be self sufficient, our energy infrastructure is terribly outdated. Our average drilling rigs are 25 years old, and human drillers need 10 years of training--and we're not doing a good job of training new ones.
-Bottom line: we've used too much oil and paid too little for it during the past 50 years, while we've let our global energy infrastructure get too old. Now we all (China, Russia, Europe, and the U.S. in particular) need to work together to undo 50 years of mistakes.
That's Simmons' book in brief. It's thought provoking, although certainly many consider its arguments debatable. Despite one's position on available global oil supply (as well as global warming), in its most lucid and impassioned moments 'Twilight in the Desert' is a stirring call to action.
Well written & excellent analysis.......2007-04-29
Simmons presents a phenomenal analysis of Saudi Arabia's oil production (both their production claims & reality). In it, he presents the history of Saudi Aramco, walking you step by step through the production analysis, injecting definitions of key terms and technology primers along the way. This book presents a skeptic's view of the Saudi claims, and presents much research to back up his skepticism. One thing to note is that he never comes out and says that the Saudis are actually lying about production, but rather, suggests (rightly so), that they are not forthcoming about the reality of their situation, almost goading them into making public their production information.
I only have two minor complaints. First is that the reader is skewed into believing that the Saudis *cannot* substantially increase their production. This may be true, but the better claim would be to show that to do so would require substantial investments. Also, he never acknowledges that if the price of oil were to skyrocket, that market forced would make it quickly fall to a more reasonable level. Simmons is a financial analyst, and anyone who believes in market theory should acknowledge this, especially in a work this comprehensive.
Overall, this book will teach you more about how oil production actually occurs than anything short of a geology textbook, and presents an insight into the whole industry that is nothing short of a tour de force.
Customer Reviews:
The Twilight Lord.......2007-08-27
For those following Bertrice Small's LARA Character this was the 3rd Book - it was very good - just as Books 1 & 2 were - makes you anxious for the 4th Installment. As far as Amazon goes - I ordered the book used - it came in 4 days in PERFECT condition and even with the shipping cost it was equal to a Book Store Price and I didn't have to use $6.00 worth of gas to go get it.
First and last foray..........2007-08-21
Despite the author's well-recognized name and long, award-filled career, I had never actually read one of Ms Small's books. I received The Twilight Lord (World of Hetar, Book 3) as a freebie and decided to give this author a try, even though I'd essentially be starting in the middle of an established series.
Given Ms Small's many, many awards for her historical fiction stories, I'll have to assume that she is truly a wonderful writer. Unfortunately, I only have The Twilight Lord to judge by, and it was not what I would have expected given the author's reputation.
No doubt someone will point out that it's hardly fair to judge Ms Small based on one book, and that one not the first book in a series. I can only point out the following issues do not rely on a book's order in a series:
- The author and editor should have cut out the numerous, numerous repetition and redundancies in the book, especially in those instances where the characters themselves were already aware of X, Y, and Z.
- There were several instances of rape, which, inconceivably, were portrayed for the most part as being pleasurable for the women involved. Not only was this offensive and cavalier, it didn't even serve the purpose of making the villains out to be more villainous.
- Several of the plot points didn't make internal story sense.
- The characterizations of the main characters were unlikable. They were by turns self-centered, cruel, and immature. It was hard to imagine what redeeming characters they had.
- Despite the big "Lara has a Destiny" plot line and the constant avowal of her powers, the only powers you really see her evince is transporting herself from place to place.
- Many of the sex scenes were repetitive and served no real purpose. Sex in a story is great, but only if it furthers the plot. The only sex that furthered the story in this book was the one that involved the prophecy of the Twilight Lord.
Sometimes, when I start a series in the middle, I'm intrigued enough to want to read the entire series and try other books by the same author. Alas, neither is the case here.
Well Done Ms Small.......2007-08-10
Twilight Lord was a great third book of the series of Hectar. The Subtle hints in book two had taken me in a completely different direction. I hope that this is not the last we see of Lara and the world of Hectar
One of the best!.......2007-08-04
I am thoroughly excited with the new way Mrs. Small has taken her writing. She can keep me up all night long with her stories, but this one makes me want a reread!!!! WOW!
The Twilight Lord.......2007-07-30
The Twilight Lord was a very disappointing example of Beatrice Small's normally excellent work. There is all together too much gratuitus sex and erotica that does not help to move the story along. Some of the scenes, even the shocking ones with the "Twilight Lord" are necessary to demonstrate his evil nature, but many of the sex scenes are redundant and only take up space that could be better used to develop the plot. Also, in a long-awaited book that was at first labeled part of a trilogy, the plot is neither tight nor resolved. After reading Beatrice Small for more than 30 years, I expect more of her writing--although I have little regard for the editors of Harliquin!!
Sarah C Jones
Book Description
Free-verse text describes the transition from day to night and from night to day, revealing the magic in these everyday moments.
Customer Reviews:
Great teaching tool.......2005-10-13
I am a middle school teacher and found this book to be a great tool for teaching my sixth graders. We have been studying personification and this book has great examples in it. The pictures are beautiful and the text is serene. This is a very wonderful book.
Twilight Comes Twice.......2002-10-23
I recommend this book for 5-10 year oids because I think people who like poetry should read this book. I liked ho a girl made dawn and night sound beautiful I thik this book is great and you might like it to.
twilght comes twice.......2002-10-22
This book puts a lot of descriptive writing in it. It doesn't really have a problem. I love the way the author says "slowly dusk pours the syrup of darkness into the forest". In the pictures, they always put the girl's dog with the girl. I think you would like thiss book if you are 9 and up to 12. I loved this book. Giuliana G.
Gentle and calming beautiful illustrations with poetic prose.......2000-10-31
A story set in a suburban neighborhood with a girl and her dog doing various activities as the sun rises or sets. The first part of the book is about dusk and the second part is about dawn. The text is poetic and beautiful. The text is on one page and the illustrations are on the other page; this is a larger sized hardcover book. The illustrations are beautiful paintings, all with the special hues of dusk or dawn. Some of the scenes are: the girl and dog playing in a sprinkler while bats fly overhead and fireflies fly at their feet, two fisherman on the shore of a lake, and the girl and dog taking a walk through the woods at dawn. The poetic nature of the text is rarely found in modern children's books and is a joy to read. "When the sky is full and singing with stars you know that twilight has given way to true night." This is a gentle and calming book to read.
Captivating and picturesque.......1999-07-22
This book was introduced to me in a Teaching Language Arts class in college and I have since fallen in love with it. Ralph Fletcher's vivid descriptions bring his words to life and puts the reader right within his story. Through his use of words, readers can easily paint the picture of twighlight and experience it first hand. This book is excellent for teaching children about descriptive writing and the use of vivid images within their writing. A must have book that is enjoyable for all ages!
Book Description
In this bold and provocative new book, the author of In the Beginning and The Reenchantment of Nature challenges the widely held assumption that the world is becoming more secular and demonstrates why atheism cannot provide the moral and intellectual guidance essential for coping with the complexities of modern life.
Atheism is one of the most important movements in modern Western culture. For the last two hundred years, it seemed to be on the verge of eliminating religion as an outmoded and dangerous superstition. Recent years, however, have witnessed the decline of disbelief and a rise in religious devotion throughout the world. In THE TWILIGHT OF ATHEISM, the distinguished historian and theologian Alister McGrath examines what went wrong with the atheist dream and explains why religion and faith are destined to play a central role in the twenty-first century.
A former atheist who is now one of Christianity’s foremost scholars, McGrath traces the history of atheism from its emergence in eighteenth-century Europe as a revolutionary worldview that offered liberation from the rigidity of traditional religion and the oppression of tyrannical monarchs, to its golden age in the first half of the twentieth century. Blending thoughtful, authoritative historical analysis with incisive portraits of such leading and influential atheists as Sigmund Freud and Richard Dawkins, McGrath exposes the flaws at the heart of atheism, and argues that the renewal of faith is a natural, inevitable, and necessary response to its failures.
THE TWILIGHT OF ATHEISM will unsettle believers and nonbelievers alike. A powerful rebuttal of the philosophy that, for better and for worse, has exerted tremendous influence on Western history, it carries major implications for the future of both religion and unbelief in our society.
Customer Reviews:
The God-denier gallery.......2007-10-06
Alister McGrath, Oxford's historical theology scholar and the opposing force against Oxford zoologist and secular humanist Richard Dawkins, enjoys with a large library of academic works well written enough for a lay audience. "The Dawkins Delusion?" and 2004's "Dawkins' God" were popular presentations of the intellectual debate between theism and Dawkins' brand of metaphysical materialism, two works commenting on the numerous misconceptions and faulty points in the recent Dawkins march of vocalized atheism. McGrath's 2005 book, "The Twilight of Atheism," isn't so much concerned with Dawkins. In fact, his name appears roughly twice throughout the entire 300+ pages. Instead, McGrath delivers us an introductory yet insightful commentary on atheism's history through the ages, portraying the sketches of famous atheists and agnostics who, prominent in the West, make up a sort of colorful gallery of God-deniers. The interest for 2007 readers lie in a 'compare-contrast' method of analysis of the past's greatest secular humanist minds with today's loud, YouTubist, arrogant minority of atheist sheep.
"Twilight" is important for conveying the sense of mind inside older, more intellectual articulators of agnosticism, figures like Voltaire (who may not have been as passionate about atheism as he appears), and for also surveying the more important and influential figures of the past, such as Freud, Marx, and Darwin. Even the great author of "The Origin of the Species" briefed to others how he should be best described as agnostic, along with various letters and writings which reveal a confused and indefinite take on matters of God and religion. Examining the psyche of Marx and Freud also illuminates how the circling events surrounding them and their families ultimately managed to shape their thoughts later on in life. Perhaps years from now we will see a thorough study of Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, etc.
This is a brief historical lesson for modern readers by a popular theologian. Dawkins likes to comment how delusional, unintelligent, and helpless minds flock to religion, but he doesn't want to acknowledge that this behavior cannot be exempt from those like him. Atheists and agnostics are just as influenced by feelings and emotions, rather than reasoned inquiry, as those who Dawkins decries, perhaps even more so. You can't state that what is true for you couldn't possibly be true of me. It is simply untenable to characterize any debate in such terms. It is anti-scientific and, indeed, anti-intellectual, an unwillingness to find the truth based on the evidence that brings you there.
Don't Waste Your Money.......2007-08-26
If you are expecting to find in this book good arguments for the existence of God you are better off just reading the Bible. This book is a waste of money.
"Fall of Disbelief?," where have McGrath been? It's all in the news: fewer and fewer people are joining the ranks of ministers and priests, and fewer and fewer people are attending masses and Sunday services.
Belief and non-belief are not clear-cut issues as believers would have us believe. While believers would gloss over this matter when tackling non-belief, among those who claim to be believers are themselves non-believers. The Jews, the Muslims, not to mention the Buddhists, the Taoists and the Hindi, are non-believers to the eyes of Christians who profess Jesus Christ to be God himself. The Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhists, the Taoists and the Hindi profess entirely different gods and are, therefore, unbelievers between and among themselves. Belonging to an organized religion does not make one a believer.
The best I could find. on this subject.......2007-08-06
This is the first book I have read on atheism by a believer and it has useful information. But there is more to be said on this subject
Twilight fails prediction.......2007-07-06
McGrath, of all the theologians today, is qualified to address this topic. His style is accessible to most readers. His thinking is clear and provocative. However, his conclusion is not proving to be true in 2007. In fact, more books on atheism have been written and are great successes than in many years. Whether it is Dawkins' God Delusion or Christopher Hitchens' god is not Great, the fact is they are more successful than was anticipated. They open a new dialogue on what it means to be an atheist. McGrath has failed his case.
Gives Needed Perspective on Atheism Today.......2007-06-14
I found this book very helpful in understanding the latest round of religion-intolerant books on atheism by such authors as Dawkins and Hitchens. After reading this book, I can now see those books, if anything, represent a high-decibel death knell of atheism as a credible unifying movement. McGrath does an excellent job of approaching the historical issues from a secular perspective and explaining the changing fortunes of atheism as they vary in place, in time or history, and in the lifetime of some of its proponents. The current wave of atheism is obviously even less attractive than its past manifestations and sadly lacking the arguably redeeming moral force that may have characterized atheists in the past as a natural reaction to cirumstances of oppression. In sum, a very enlightening book and necessary reading before any discussions on atheism between atheist and believer. No sense reinventing the wheel out of thin air when history explains much and can avoid much argumentation, there being little new of any value in the noisy current arguments for atheism that hasn't already been fully discussed and considered in the past. Atheists will continue to be a part of the diversity of life on this planet, at least on an individual basis, if not part of any mass movement. The role of religion in society and its moral underpinnings is an important subject, so understanding its critics and their misconceptions is a worthwhile endeavor.
The book is intelligently and well written, an enjoyable read. I subtract one star mainly because this book is not a definitive study or very comprehensive given the scope of the subject. If there is a better history of atheism for the general reader, however, I am unaware of it.
Book Description
From the author of A Nervous Splendor, a dazzling portrait of the epicenter of the apocalypse that was World War I.
Thunder at Twilight is a landmark of historical vision, drawing on hitherto untapped sources to illuminate two crucial years in the life of the extraordinary city of Vienna-and in the life of the twentieth century. It was during the carnival of 1913 that a young Stalin arrived on a mission that would launch him into the upper echelon of Russian revolutionaries, and it was here that he first collided with Trotsky. It was in Vienna that the failed artist Adolf Hitler kept daubing watercolors and spouting tirades at fellow drifters in a flophouse. Here Archduke Franz Ferdinand had a troubled audience with Emperor Franz Joseph-and soon the bullet that killed the Archduke would set off the Great War that would kill ten million more. With luminous prose that has twice made him a finalist for the National Book Award, Frederic Morton evokes the opulent, elegant, incomparable sunset metropolis-Vienna on the brink of cataclysm.
Customer Reviews:
More than 5 stars!.......2004-07-21
This is a favorite of mine, all the info about the Fin du siecle, Rudolph, and why we went into World War 1, and why some young people don't make it somehow!
Amazing and amazingly entertaining book, very very higly recommended. I dont have anything to add to the info of the book itself, go for the editorial reviews.
A wonderful book.......2004-05-26
A college professor recommended this to me so I read it in about a day. It is very interesting how Morton weaves history into some sort of a novel that's very easy to read. Inspired by the death of his uncle in World War I, Morton writes about the history and the climax leading up to the very moment when the Crown Prince Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated by a Serbian terrorist youth.
Morton explains the nasty relationship with the Hapsburg Empire (that includes Austria) and the lower Slavic nations and the growing animosity between them. This is a great book for history buffs. My only complaints are that there aren't any citations in the book and that the friendship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud don't seem to have anything to do with the story itself.
This book is great, glad I got it; however..........2003-09-30
Something is missing. The book was a fantastic read. I would have given it 5 stars and a "Bravo!" - but some things are not mentioned that are needed. I read, elsewhere, about the "blank check" from the Germans that encouraged the Austrians to start a war with the Serbs. This would lead to something bigger for the Germans, against the French. Also, my previous readings indicated that Tisza and the Hungarians were not interested in war and urged the Austrians to offer, at least, an ultimatum. The Austrians, then came up with the "ultimatum/non-ultimatum". The author gives the appearance that Germany was passive in the whole situation and did not want to get involved. No mention is made of the "blank check". The only mention Tisza gets is that Franz Ferdinand did not like him and that the Hungarians abused the Serbs within their land. Nothing was mentioned, in particular, of the Tri-Monarchy that Franz Ferdinand had thought-up. I feel that the author left out some important things.
Other than these points, I thought the book was a really good read to learn about some really sinister people running around Vienna before the outbreak of war. Great information was presented on Princip and, of course, the relationship between Franz Ferdinand and Franz Joesph.
I will read further for information about the above things not mentioned in this book. 4 3/4 stars.
A cosmopolitan city........2003-05-29
A wonderful book written about the cosmopolitan city of Vienna before the outbreak of WWI. Morton's style of writing makes this an enjoyable read this is not dry history. In 1913 Vienna was host to men who would make an indelible impression on the 20th century. Just to name a few, Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Hitler, Tito, Freud, and the Hapsburg Royal family all within one square mile of each other. Morton gives a good portrayal of the lives of these men during their formative time spent in Vienna. He also gives a good account of the tension between Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand who wanted to reform the Austro-Hungarian Empire to include the room for nationalist aspirations of the Slavs, and Emperor Franz Joseph who wanted to maintain the status quo. I t makes one wonder how European history might have been different if Franz Ferdinand had not been assassinated and was given the chance to reform the Empire.
As a retired Army officer and political philosopher,I recommend this book to all who are interested in history of WWI or to those who want to learn more about the "gilded age" of Europe.
Excellent.......2001-10-31
In the first pages of this book, author Frederic Morton reveals the reason he has such an interest in Austrian history. His grandfather died in World War I and his father came to the United States from Vienna. If you read books such as Rebecca West's Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, you can't help but hate the Habsburg monarchy that ruled for centuries over Austria and much of Eastern Europe. The Austrians shamelessly mistreated their subjects, using divide and conquer strategies to keep their client states in line. The Austrians also looted the distant reaches of their vast holdings for Austrian benefit. Many of the difficulties found in the Balkans today can be traced to the inept government of the Austrian Empire. That's one view. The other can be found in this exquisitely majestic book. This text is not a panegyric to Habsburg rule, however. Rather, it is a tribute to the fabulous city of Vienna during the waning days of empire, when World War I was looming on the horizon of time.
Vienna is presented as an international city that attracted numerous historical figures. According to Morton, within a period of months Vienna was home to Adolf Hitler, Josef Broz (known to history as Marshal Tito), Uncle Joe Stalin, Leon Trotsky and Sigmund Freud. These characters lived out their own private paths to destiny within blocks of each other. Morton really makes these people come alive with his narrative. We see Hitler in a homeless hostel where he has his own personal chair that no one dares to sit in and occasionally launches into oratorical tirades against Jews and foreigners. Tito works at a car factory and likes to scope out chicks on the weekends (which is much easier to do when you don't have a chest full of medals!). Trotsky indulges himself in French literature and lively debate at the cafes, where he has a brief encounter with a dour Stalin. Sigmund Freud engages in an intellectual war with Carl Jung and writes numerous papers in psychology that would come to form much of what the common man knows about that discipline. Stalin arrives to research a pamphlet before returning to Russia and a three-year stretch in Siberia. What all of these stories ultimately prove is that Vienna was truly a hub of Europe and an important city of the time. It's still pretty neat to think about all of these huge figures moving about in the same city at the same time, though. Morton shows us how almost all of these figures were influenced by their time in Vienna. Hitler talks about it in Mein Kampf and Trotsky wrote about it as well. About the only figure that doesn't seem to be changed is Stalin, who stomps and grumbles about in shabby peasant clothes. It was interesting to learn that Stalin beat Lenin at chess seven times in a row, though!
What Morton succeeds in doing with this book is humanizing history. Today we only see Hitler in old newsreel footage screaming his head off at rallies. In Vienna, Hitler often gave money to his fellow boarders who can't afford food or rent. Sigmund Freud, who always looks so stodgy in those old pictures, loved to hunt mushrooms with his children while wearing outlandish local garb. Even the Habsburgs are painted with a brushstroke of decency. Franz Ferdinand, the sullen heir to the throne who was assassinated at Sarajevo in June 1914, comes off much better here than in most history books. Morton paints him as a dove surrounded by hawks. Franz constantly tries to avert war, especially with Serbia. Of particular note is the relationship the archduke had with his wife, Sophie Chotek. Chotek, who Morton constantly refers to as "morganatic," was not of the right blood to marry a Habsburg heir. She rarely got to share in the royal activities, and when she did, courtiers of the archduke's father, Franz Joseph, belittled her endlessly.
The end of the book shows us the dramatic countdown to war, as the archduke and his wife drive to their deaths and into history. The account of the assassination is very interesting and well worth the read. I feel it rivals the Kennedy assassination in terms of sheer incompetence and idiocy. When someone tosses a bomb at the archduke's motorcade, these morons actually continue the procession! Franz Ferdinand's security detail should have been shot for this action alone. Of course, the procession wasn't stopped and the result was war. The whole mess reeks of conspiracy.
This is an excellent book that can really spark an interest in history. Morton uses lots of sources, such as newspapers, to convey the actual feel of the time. A few pictures thrown in helps to place faces with names. Often, Morton tells us what the weather was like on a certain day before he unfolds the events. This gives the text an insight often missing in scholarly accounts. We can almost see things happening. That being said, this really isn't a book I would use for research. It is more of an interpretative text to provide entertainment. If I were teaching a class on this time period, I would assign this book in conjunction with other, more serious books. Very nice, indeed!
Average customer rating:
- Prescient
- Most alarming book since Orwell's 1984
|
The Twilight of Sovereignty : How the Information Revolution Is Transforming Our World
Walter B. Wriston
Manufacturer: Scribner Book Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Theory
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Constitutions
| Government
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Social Theory
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Technology & Society
| Communication
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General & Reference
| Technology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Flat Tax Revolution: Using a Postcard to Abolish the IRS
ASIN: 0684194546 |
Customer Reviews:
Prescient.......2005-03-28
In "The Twilight Of Sovereignty", the late Walter Wriston, former Chairman of Citicorp spoke to the positive transformative effects of information technology and the subsequent rise of transparency and democracy through globalization. Although this book was written in 1992, just after the collapse of the Soviet Union, his commentary about the spread of modern communications and how better communications will enable the forces of globalism to erode the power of local tyrannies, empower individuals and promote democracy was prescient. His comments predate those of Walter Russell Mead in "Power Terror War And Peace" by several years, but are clearly in agreement. In `Twilight" Wriston's view that the so-called managerial class has outlived its usefulness as a communications hierarchy and is now superfluous or even destructive to operational efficiency is a clear example of what Mead calls the Millennial Capitalist replacement of the Fordist managerial state. Wriston also set the stage for Thomas Barnett's call for transparency and globalism as a means to fight terrorism in Barnett's recent book, "The Pentagon's New Map". In Wriston's view "the law of technology is the law of convergence" and "as information technology brings the news of how others live, the pressure for freedom will be irresistible". This is a more eloquent if a less detailed discussion than Barnett's chapter entitled `Mind the Gap', but the train of thought is essentially the same. This book is more a survey than the intensive development of the ideas that Wriston proposed, but it may be that he just assumed a degree of literacy that is no longer general. His historical references include Max Weber, whose theory of state has sovereignty emerging from the exclusive use of legitimate violence, and Frederick Hayek, whose individual choice based market solutions establish him as the intellectual heir of Adam Smith. Wriston also included modern commentators like Carver Mead and George Gilder who rejoice in the ever- accelerating pace of technological change. Wriston said that change is a constant in the global marketplace and that "change is what Americans deal with best." Although somewhat dated, I recommend this book as a concise general preview of the technological globalist argument from one of its original proponents.
Most alarming book since Orwell's 1984.......1997-10-27
Walter Wriston emvisions a world where corporations exercise totalitarian control. With control of financial markets, they are able to make or break nations who stand in the way of their eternal drive for greater and greater profits. Mr. Wriston asks us to trust that the corporations' managers are now more enlightened while he acknowledges that they have a brutal history. This book should be a wake up call to any one who is not a member of the stock-holding privileged class that our future lies in sweatshops unless we act now to stop the multi-national corporations.
Customer Reviews:
Social as opposed to battle history.......2000-08-10
An excellent picture of the Army between the World Wars. It offers an especially detailed view of the Army school system of the time. HIghly recommended for anyone interested in US Cavalry, or the military in the inter-war period.
Book Description
Few new personal accounts by Waffen-SS soldiers appear in English; even fewer originate from the multitude of non-German European volunteers who formed such an important proportion of this service's manpower. Twilight of the Gods was originally written in Swedish, and published in Buenos Aires shortly after the end of WWII. Erik Wallin, a Swedish soldier who volunteered for service with the Waffen-SS, and participated in the climactic battles on the Eastern Front during late 1944 and 1945, later telling his story to this book's editor, Thorolf Hillblad.
Wallin served with the Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion, 11th SS-Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, a unit composed mainly of non-German volunteers, including Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes. The division enjoyed a high reputation for its combat capability, and was always at the focal points of the fighting on the Eastern Front in the last year of the war. During this period it saw combat in the Baltic, in Pomerania, on the Oder, and finally in defence of Berlin, where it was destroyed.
Erik Wallin served with his unit in all of these locations, and provides the reader with a fascinating glimpse into these final battles. The book is written with a 'no holds barred' approach which will captivate, excite and maybe even shock the reader - his recollections do not evade the brutality of fighting against the advancing Red Army. Twilight of the Gods is destined to become a classic memoir of the Second World War.
Customer Reviews:
Action packed.......2007-07-01
I have read the priceless "Forgotten Soldier" and never thought anything could touch it but this book does. The story begins with much of the war already lost for the Germans on the Eastern front and fights on until the final battle for Berlin. My only regret is the story does not start with his experiences from the start. He leaves good detail of the Russians he is fighting and really opens your eyes to the amount of Mongolians and other ethnic groups serving with the reds. A great book and a must have!
A Swedish Volunteer in the War Against Communism.......2006-07-01
Both Eric Wallin, and the editor, Thorolf Hillblad served as Swedish volunteers in the 11th Waffen-SS PanzerGrenadier Division "Nordland". This was a truly elite division made up of volunteers from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, and even a few Brits. This divsion was, in 1945, the single most effective unit in the defence of Berlin against Stalin's communist hordes. Wallin's description of the communist enemy is quite descriptive. These were, after all, the same enemy that we fought in Korea and Vietnam. I would have liked this book to be longer, covering his experiences as a volunter in Finland fighting the red invasion in 1939, and his earlier experiences in the Waffen-SS. However, this book is still an excellent addition to those interested in Hitler's preemtive war against Stalin, and communism. Those interested in the non-German volunteers that served in the WAffen-SS may want to read the following: "The Last Knight of Flanders" by Brandt, "European Volunteers" by Strassner, "Campaign in Russia" by Degrelle, "The Patriotic Traitors" by Littlejohn, "Charlemagne's Legionnaires" by Landwehr, "Latvian Legion" by Silgailis, and "Galicia Division" by Logusz.
Unabashed Nazi Propaganda..... Pure and Simple.......2006-05-17
This exceedingly short memoir of a Swedish SS volunteer in the last days of the SS Nordland division in 1945 is short on real specifics yet long on multiple condemnations of the Bolshevik hordes. Wallin through Hillblad (the editor), gives little in detail on his unit or men he fought with. This contrasts with his unrepentant and relentless anti-Soviet propaganda which even reaches out to American flyers. Wallin conveniently forgets a couple of facts: (1) Nazi Germany was the aggressor nation in WWII., and (2) Wallin volunteered to fight for this criminal regime.
Apart from this, the quality of the Wallin's writing or recollection and Hillblads editing is very simplistic. Fictional works like the Forgotten Soldier capture the drama and action of the Eastern Front conflict much better and without the speeches. One star only and that is for the few pages of photos at the end of the book. "Twilight of the Gods" yeah, sure Erik.
A Superb Personal Account.......2006-03-14
This is a very good book. The combat descriptions are unbeatable, and the author provides a wealth of detail on conditions and circumstances during the last year of the war. As other reviews have noted, the author is not a particularly self aware fellow, meaning that he has some strange views about himself and his mission; but those views are an interesting historical fact in themselves. I recommend this book to any Russian Front buff.
A very unusual wartime account written by a Waffen-SDS soldier.......2006-01-09
Thorolf Hillblad's Twilight Of The Gods provides a very unusual wartime account written by a Waffen-SDS soldier: it's one of the few to appear in English, originating from one of the non-German European volunteers. Originally written in Swedish and published shortly after war's end, it tells of the experiences of Swedish soldier Wallin, who volunteered for service and participated in the battles on the Eastern Front towards war's end. Wallin served in different locations in a division which gained a reputation for its combat capability: Twilight Of The Gods documents his experiences.
Book Description
Power, pageantry, and pride
Queen Victoria ruled the most powerful empire the world has ever seen, covering one fourth of the earth's land surface, reigning over subjects on every continent, and exercising undisputed mastery of the oceans in between. She was the "Grandmother of Europe," with descendants occupying the thrones of half a dozen nations, and more to come. The very era in which she lived already bore her name. In June 1897, her proud and prosperous nation marked her sixtieth year on the throne of England with the most lavish display of pomp, circumstance, wealth, and affection in its history.
Twilight of Splendor presents a breathtaking portrait of a sovereign and her empire at the height of their global power. Focusing on the spectacle of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, it combines a thrilling account of that massive celebration with an intimate exploration of Victoria's world—her splendid palaces and possessions, the grand banquets and balls she hosted, her immense wealth, the politicians and courtiers who did her bidding, her confidence and assertiveness as a ruler, her surprising personal humility, and her perpetual state of mourning for her beloved husband, Prince Albert.
Based on hundreds of published and unpublished sources from the period, including Queen Victoria's private correspondence and personal journals, Twilight of Splendor is must reading for Anglophiles, Victorian-history buffs, and anyone interested in the golden age of monarchy.
-
The first book to portray the queen and her court in the last years of her reign
-
Contrasts the queen's private and public images in her efforts to solidify the monarchy
-
Exposes the queen's difficult relations with her children
-
Explores the queen's relationship with her extended European royal relatives
-
Draws together for the first time hundreds of disparate sources
-
Includes a number of rare photographs complementing the text
Customer Reviews:
Measured days and grand celebrations of the Widow of Windsor.......2007-09-15
One of my favorite authors on the subject of royalty continues to be Greg King. He has focused most of his work on Tsarist Russia, but now with Twilight of Splendor he has taken a look at one of the most pivotal years of Great Britain's Queen Victoria -- a monarch who set her mark on an entire century, and whose presence still lingers today.
King takes one year in the Queen's life, and explores her daily life, starting first with an outline of her childhood, and marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and then to some of the momentous events of the years 1896-1897, when she became Britain's longest reigning monarch, and the festivities surrounding her Diamond Jubilee year to celebrate sixty years on the throne. By this time Victoria was not just a queen, but also Empress of India, and the British Empire was indeed a land where the sun never set. Colonies and possessions sent emissaries and gifts, all building towards a grand festival in London to mark the occansion.
But King goes beyond a mere listing of Queen Victoria's children and grandchildren -- he explores the rather tempetuous relationships that she had with them, especially her daughters. Neither were her sons spared the maternal disapproval either -- her eldest son Bertie, the Prince of Wales, she blamed for his father's death and his social life brought further displeasure. He in turn, took out his frustrations at not having any sort of decision-making in political roles in hard living, mostly involving smoking, chasing women and sport. Nor was Bertie the only fast living Royal -- daughter Louise was notorious for her acid tongue and mischief making, and Helena developed a near crippling addiction to opium.
The most interesting section was an exploration of the various courtiers that surrounded the Queen. There was an enormous army of servants, from those who laboured in the royal kitchens, footmen who carried messages and opened doors, housemaids who swept and scrubbed and tidied, all the way up to the aristocratic men that oversaw their work. While these men would never be confidants or friends, they would form close bonds of trust with the Queen, working with her for years, until ill-health or death remove them from the office. Much more shadowy were the servants that worked more closely with the Queen, most notorious being a Scotsman by the name of John Brown, of whom it was said that the queen had actually married him, and after his death, two Indian servants who were arrogant scoundrels.
The Queen's court of servants, family and attendants moved in a predictible round of seasons and holidays. Springtime and most of summer were spent at the castle complex at Windsor, autumn in the Scottish highlands at Balmoral, and winter at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Buckingham Palace was a place that the Queen loathed to stay in, and it was only during the most formal of events that the queen would stay at the Palace for even a night. In addition, the Queen and her household would holiday on the French Riviera every two months in springtime, an activity that continued from 1890 to nearly the very end of her long life. Pilgrimages would be made to her beloved husband's tomb every year on the anniversary of his death.
And sometimes, relatives would visit from the far reaches of the world to visit. One of the more momentous occansions was when one of Victoria's favorite granddaughters visited during the autumn of 1897. Alix and her siblings had been raised mostly by the Queen after the death of their mother, Alice, and Alix had been wooed and won by Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia. Now Alix was Empress, and with her husband and child went to visit as the new couple toured Europe after their coronation. Another momentous occansion that is covered is the grand costumed affair at the height of the London season at Devonshire House. Royalty and aristocracy mingled, as much to show off their wealth, and to be seen and see. Several ladies managed to arrive as the same characters from history, accompanied by much glaring. Other little snippets included the rituals of garden parties and presentations, Christmas celebrations, and finally the Diamond Jubilee itself.
I have to say that this was a real eyeopener of a book. All too often authors skip over the people who kept the various castles and palaces running and livable. King also adds in plenty of gossipy details, little touches that help to make these stiff figures from formal portraits come alive as well. While King's narrative does get repetitous what with the same descriptive passages being used over and over, the story does move along crisply, with quite a bit of detail being given. There are several inserts of black and white photos and etchings as well. Along with the bibliography and footnotes, there is an appendix that list the various members of the Queen's hosuehold during the final years of her life.
For anyone interested in the details of how royals lived in the nineteenth century, this is a splendid read. I discovered that the royalty of the time were imprisoned as much as they ruled from a golden, rather spendid, cage. Days were carefully measured and plotted out, and oridinary people and the journalists were just as curious about them as they are now in the twenty-first century. While the reading does get a bit dull in spots, it's still enjoyable, and there's quite a bit of humor here and there to liven things up.
Recommended.
A Glimpse Of A Vanished World.......2007-07-19
This is the story of Queen Victoria and the Court of St. James during her Diamond Jubilee Year, 1897. Victoria was a unique individual. Queen since the age of 18, she held vast power and oversaw enormous change. Her emotions were always raw and her opinions of others, especially of her own children and relations, usually set in stone. She was at once free thinking and hidebound, extremely old fashioned in some ways yet very modern in others. No one else was quite like her, as people acknowledged even during her own lifetime.
Greg King has chosen an interesting year as his focus for this portrait of the Queen and her court. The Diamond Jubilee is often considered the apogee of the British Empire. Even while the Jubilee was going on, some prescient Englishmen (Rudyard Kipling for one with his poem "Recessional") were aware that troubles lay ahead. The Queen herself was past her prime in 1897, blind, arthritic, and more querulous than ever. King has traced Queen Victoria's life through the Jubilee Year, following her from Windsor to Balmoral to Osborne to Buckingham Palace to Cimiez and back again. He describes each of her palaces in great detail, and traces the daily life of the Queen in each of them. He also traces the lives of the courtiers who lived with and supported her. I enjoyed reading about these ever patient and considerate men and women, who spent their days catering to the Queen's whims. Henry and Frederick Ponsonby, Sir James Reid, Lady Jane Churchill, and the others in the court must have been in a continuous state of aggravation and exhaustion, to say nothing of the poor maids who were expected to dance attendance on the Queen at any and every hour of the day and night.
King writes well but sometimes bogs down in his descriptions, particularly when he goes into needless detail about the position of the furniture or the details of those elaborate Victorian gowns and uniforms. Sometimes it seems as if he is quoting verbatim from newspaper accounts, with little first hand information from letters or diaries of some of the participants or from the Queen herself. Nevertheless I enjoyed this book because it let me see the Court pretty much as the Queen herself saw it in her last years. I also found the last pages, which describe the last days and death of the Queen, very sad but extremely moving.
Customer Reviews:
Scraping a brilliant surface for the dark underbelly.......2004-11-25
When in Vienna, I often visit the military museum where, encased in glass, is the blood stained uniform of Franz Ferdinand; nearby is the bullet ridden car in which he and his wife were shot. I visit crypts, study the strange configurations of the Pestilence monument, and listen to the strains of Mozart arias.
Vienna: coffee houses, Gemutlichkeit, heuriger wine, women of infinite grace and charm, handsome men, newspapers, politics, classical music, waltzes and elegance. What lies beneath that merry exterior? Death, morbid, obsessive preoccupations, neurosis, decay and corruption. This city both embraced and killed Mozart, Kaiserin Elisabeth (and drove her son to murder-suicide), and welcomed the Anschluss (notwithstanding a prominent Jewish population). Very strange, even macabre. Just feel the despairing eroticism of Egon Schiele's early works, or the supernal sensuality of Gustav Klimt.
Mr. Hofmann answers the questions native born Viennese dislike asking: as Arnold Schoenberg stated, once in exile, "Our beloved and hated Vienna". Vienna is arguably one of the loveliest cities in the world, much like Paris, but there is no sense of 'joie de vivre', but rather, a pervasive sense of transience: all beauty is ephemeral. Very much a living memento mori. Suicide is rampant here; Freud pioneered psychoanalysis here; the city is an uneasy mix of nervous ethnicities. Mr. Hofmann, in this social and historical study, examines the contradictory nature of this society and how it produced, nutured and destroyed many of the greatest artists and thinkers in world history.
Perhaps the reason why Vienna produced genius is because of this dichotomy: artists/sensitives respond to the dark/light undercurrent by either attempting to analyze it or reflecting it in their output.
But even after reading this fine book I do not understand why Vienna is the way she is. Perhaps she must remain mysterious, a decaying skull behind the alluring, sensual mask. I adore this city -- simply because of her nature.
Books:
- Urban Transit Systems and Technology
- Wall Street Meat: My Narrow Escape from the Stock Market Grinder
- Warlord
- Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions
- Weight Watchers Pure Comfort (150 All-Time Feel-Good Favorites)
- Working Beneath the Surface : Attending to the Soul's "Hidden Agenda" for Wholeness, Fulfillment, and Deep Spiritual Healing
- A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
- A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines
- A Mist of Prophecies: A Novel of Ancient Rome
- A Princess of Mars (Mars (del Rey Books Numbered))
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Abraham Lincoln : Speeches and Writings 1832-1858
- The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry
- Memoirs of a Mangy Lover
- Miniature Orchids and How to Grow Them
- Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex
- Quantitative Business Modeling
- Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling, Second Edition
- Light Force: A Stirring Account of the Church Caught in the Middle East Crossfire
- Kid from Kauai: A Memoir
- P-m Analysis: An Advanced Step In Tpm Implementation
Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak
The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century
The Coming Economic Collapse: How You Can Thrive When Oil Costs $200 a Barrel
The End of Oil: On the Edge of a Perilous New World
Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage
