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When designers such as Richard Neutra, John Lautner, and Albert Frey came together with members of the Hollywood elite like Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, and Lucille Ball, they produced luxury homes nestled in bouldered hills and vacation estates located along green fairways. Palm Springs Modern documents this 40-year architectural explosion in the California desert.
One of the more dramatic collaborations was between Los Angeles architect Quincy Jones and billionaire Walter Annenberg, erstwhile publisher and ambassador to Britain under Richard Nixon. Annenberg and his wife, Lee, commissioned the Rancho Mirage Estate house with the express purpose of entertaining such heavyweights as Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, and Ronald Reagan. Jones envisioned water and green grass on the outside--"I don't want to see one grain of sand except in the golf traps"--and an interior sympathetic to the Annenbergs' collection of impressionist art and oriental antiques. Near the end of the two-year project, Lee asked that the Japanese- and Mayan-inspired pyramidal roof be pink. So it was that pink became the signature hue of the Annenbergs' fabulous Rancho Mirage home.
Using many of the same general principles Jones employed--an open floor plan and the integration of the interior and exterior spaces--Donald Wexler and Ric Harrison's Steel Development Houses represent a very different perspective. Built almost entirely of steel, concrete, and glass, these 1,400-square-foot houses cost between $13,000 and $17,000 in 1962 and could be built in three days. They are minimal in design, aside from the butterfly ceilings, and are incredibly energy efficient. By using steel instead of wood, the buildings are expected to last for many, many years with little or no maintenance. Who would have guessed that the Bauhaus principles, which originated in Germany with Walter Gropius, would find their way to the California desert?
Author Adele Cygelman offers a succinct history beginning with the rise of desert modernity in the 1930s through to its fall from grace in the early 1970s. The photographs by David Glomb are spectacular. All together, Palm Springs Modern is a tantalizing feast of some of the very best mid-century domestic design. --Loren E. Baldwin
Book Description
Palm Springs is famous as a mecca for the international jet set. But the city has also attracted its share of eccentrics and mavericks who have left an architectural legacy that remains unsurpassed for its originality and international influence. Palm Springs Modern examines the impact that architects and designers have had on the desert oasis, primarily from the 1940s to the 1960s, when they created one of the most important concentrations of modernist architecture in the world.
Palm Springs came into its own architecturally after the war when it became a haven for such modernists as Richard Neutra, who was already practicing the International Style in Los Angeles. Many other distinguished architects have left distinctive marks in the desert: Albert Frey, John Lautner, E. Stewart Williams, William Cody, John Porter Clark, and Craig Ellwood. Palm Springs Modern features examples of mid-century modernism at its most glamorous, some of them the residences of prominent figures who commissioned weekend getaways in the desert including Frank Sinatra, Walter Annenberg, and Raymond Loewy. Adèle Cygelman's insightful text, a foreword by architectural historian Joseph Rosa, contemporary color photography by David Glomb, and the celebrated archival black-and-white work of Julius Shulman all capture the distinctly modern allure of America's famed desert playground.
Customer Reviews:
Great read for edgy MCM enthuisiasts.......2006-11-20
What I love about Palm Springs Modern is the variety of architects and styles featured. There are great photographs, including houses by John Lautner, Richard Neutra, Craig Ellwood, and Albert Frey among others. A particularly pleasant surprise is the section on the Maslon house by Neutra which was foolishly demolished a few years ago. Love this book!
Excellent coffee table book: not an architectural text.......2002-03-10
Palm Springs Modern provides a superb photo tour of a handful of landmark homes that defined the 'modern' style in the 1950s and '60s. Because wealthy businessmen and celebrities could afford edgier architecture, the authors focus on these homes -- with a welcome chapter on the talented William Cody in between. If you want a scholarly treatise on modernism in architecture, buy another book. If you want a tantalizing sample of some of the best work, PSM is fine. By the time modernism made its way into mass production homes, it lost much of its inventiveness and aesthetic. Those familiar with the Palm Springs area will notice that the Alexanders' ubiquitous 'butterfly' rooflines have become almost cliche, while the Loewy house and most of the PSM subjects remain exotic.
Do you need to own PSM before buying or designing a home for the California desert? Clearly the answer is NO. But if you want a virtual tour of some of the most inspired homes of the genre, PSM belongs on your coffee table. And yes, if you live in the Midwest or Northeast you would do yourself a service by putting this away in a closet somewhere during the winter.
Grab your sunscreen-Let's go!.......2001-07-05
A classic. If you've never been to Palm Springs, you'll be catching the next flight after leafing thru this fine book. Gorgeous photos of simply incredible buildings. Palm Springs has a quality and character unlike any other "resort" town. The fabulous architecture of the mid-century building boom and a renewed appreciation of the designs of that period has revitalized (again) the Palm Springs area. If you can't visit Palm Springs personally, then pour a martini, sit back and enjoy this book. It's almost like being there!
Hot Desert Modern.......2001-03-08
Palm Springs Modern illustrates (in photos) a collection of homes by designers who tested design concepts in the harsh desert environment that complimented, and indeed enhanced the outcome. Those of us who seek inspiration and documentation of the modernist period will find this volumn satisfying. It is not a scholarly book, nor is the text particularly deep in theory of architectural modernism. And it doesn't matter that some of the homeowners were celebrities. What really matters is that there are so many fine examples of modernist architecture and in such close proximity.
Jeez, it's a picture book!.......2000-12-12
I rather liked this book. Yes it's gushy and fluffy. I particularly liked the part about Walter Annenberg's interest in ecology after he turned 250 acres of desert into a personal Euro-Disney. However the pictures are nice, if somewhat disembodied from their context. The text is ridiculous, but I'm trying to get worked up to buy property there, so I was mainly interested in images. Of course, there is nothing useful in the way of floor plans, site maps, etc. However, if you live in the Midwest or New England and want to get really depressed about your current weather, this is the book to buy.
Average customer rating:
- A Renaissance of Political Philosophy
- a great book
- Psychoanalysis meets 9/11
- Reality as illusion
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Welcome to the Desert of the Real: Five Essays on September 11 and Related Dates
Slavoj Zizek
Manufacturer: Verso
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The Spirit of Terrorism, New Revised Edition
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ASIN: 1859844219 |
Book Description
In the months after September 11, titles like 'The End of the Age of Irony' abound in our media. Liberals and conservatives proclaim the end of the American holiday from history. Now the easy games are over; one should take sides. Zizek argues this is precisely the temptation to be resisted. In such moments of apparently clear choices, the real alternatives are most hidden. Welcome to the Desert of the Real steps back, complicating the choices imposed on us. It proposes that global capitalism is fundamentalist and that America was complicit in the rise of Muslim fundamentalism. It points to our dreaming about the catastrophe in numerous disaster movies before it happened, and explores the irony that the tragedy has been used to legitimize torture. Last but not least it analyses the fiasco of the predominant leftist response to the events.
About the series: Appearing on the first anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, these series of books from Verso present analyses of the United States, the media, and the events surrounding September 11 by Europe's most stimulating and provocative philosophers. Probing beneath the level of TV commentary, political and cultural orthodoxies, and 'rent-a-quote' punditry, Baudrillard, Virilio, and Zizek offer three highly original and readable accounts that serve as fascinating introductions to the direction of their respective projects, and as insightful critiques of the unfolding events. This series seeks to comprehend the philosophical meaning of September 11 and will leave untouched none of the prevailing views currently propagated.
Customer Reviews:
A Renaissance of Political Philosophy.......2006-06-12
I am overwhelmed by Zizek's judgment of the political situation he presents in this book. It concerns world politics after 9/11 and is still very actual. What makes this book so interesting, is that Zizek distances himself from a simplifying (left-wing) critique of American foreign politics and gives at the same time a compelling interpretation of the complexity of the "clash of cultures" that haunt still our Tv-News today.
Against a cynical attitude towards politics Zizek's defends what he calls a "political act" of truth. This is not the slogan of a new philosophical ideology but a defence of a truth that can't be "relativiced" by post-modern Philosophy. Zizek thus revives political philosophy by overcoming philosophical patterns that dominated the second half of the 20th century.
a great book.......2003-01-19
~~~I truly enjoyed this book, which provides great insight while analyzing the current situation of the States. Not "with us or against us," as Bush constantly stated,but we are against them, since both military leaders in the US and Bin Laden's terrorists are following the same logic. What happend in September 11 had happened in third world countries everywhere, but we Americans watched them as virtual reality until this has become real in our territory. Nothing can justify what happened in~~ September 11, just as nothing could~~ justify what happened in third world countries, which had appeared as spectatles until that point. It's stupid to exchange one terror against another, because this will entail endless circle of violence. What one must do is to be awake from this rosy dream, to realize the existence of the desert of the real, and resist "them", who have been making such terrible spectacles happen everywhere,Mid-East, Africa, Asia, but not simly in the US, which has~~ become part of the desert of reel.~
Psychoanalysis meets 9/11.......2002-12-08
In my opinion,Zizek is the most profound cultural analyst writing today, and this short collection of several contemplative essays on 9/11 succeeds in truly saying something new and important about the scope of the events that transpired. Zizek's writing style is famous for achieving a mixture between abstruse, Lacanian psycho-analysis and popular culture. This makes him perhaps one of the most difficult but most enjoyable reads out there in the cultural criticism market. Certainly, this stands out from the the sentimental fluff and proganda rubbish that flies off the shelves. Zizek challenges us to think outside the canard of 'fundamentalism' vs. American hegemony and capitalism.
Reality as illusion.......2002-10-02
To people who come to this book looking for an analysis of the attacks on the World Trade Center this book will appear to be peculiar and eccentric, and therefore in questionable taste. Slavoj Zisek is a Marxist philosopher from the formerly Yugoslav republic of Slovenia. (At the same time he is quite caustic against those who think that Milosevic's horrors could have been avoided by an appeal to the cosmopolitan virtues of Titoism. Not within the party framework, at any rate.) He has a special interest in the French psychoanalyst Lacan, which does not stop him from discussing other imposing figures such as Hegel, Adorno, Foucault and, suprisingly in this book, G.K. Chesterton. At the same time he discusses popular movies from "Unbreakable" to "Shrek." Like Terry Eagleton he has a fondness, and a weakness, for paradox and contradiction. A person examining this book will note that the five essays are not as concise and straightforward as they may appear. (They will also note that this book has six chapters.) The unsympathetic reader may wonder how we get from the events of September 11th to sado-masochism and "The Piano Teacher," to Judith Butler and Antigone. Given the bottomless malice of Al Qaidya towards any concept of freedom, surely, one might state, it is irresponsible to say that freedom of thought is the surest way of ensuring submission and control (as Zisek suggests in his introduction)?
In fact, Zisek is a stimulating and important writer and the reader should take the effort to appreciate him. To the extent that this book has a thesis it is expressed on the cover. Instead of the attacks forcing the United States to rethink its attitude towards the rest of the world, it has allowed itself to view itself solely as a victim. By contrast "That is the true lesson of the attacks: the only way to ensure that it will not happen here again is to prevent it happening anywhere else." At the same time Zisek is vehement against those who showed a certain schaudenfreude at American suffering, or those tempted to euphemize Palestianian suicide bombers. On the Islamists themselves, Zisek makes an interesting point against those who wish for a "Protestant" reformation for Islam. There already has been one. Like Protestantism, the Wahabbi sect that rules Saudi Arabia rejects the accretions and growths of Islam over the previous centuries as so much quasi-pagan superstition. Like Protestantism it emphasizes holy scripture and even offers suggestions for a more practical bible interpretation. Clearly, this is not enough. Elsewhere Zisek points out that in a way political Islam is Islamic fascism, in the sense that it seeks a capitalism without capitalism, or a capitalism with its destabilizing effects.
Elsewhere Zisek has stimulating things to say about "The Matrix" from which he extracts his title, and about the way that movie and others like "The Truman Show," reflect a nervous anxiety that "our" suburban life is something unreal. At the same time, one cannot unproblematically search for the real, a la Orwell, a certain harmony with fantasy is crucial to Lacanian good health. There are interesting comments on suicide as the expression not of certainty, but of doubt, not as sacrifice, but as evasion. His comments on "Shrek" will be of great comfort to all those who think that film over-rated: it is a movie which overturns all conventions yet at the same time only reaffirms them. Zisek cautions against the use of "proto-fascist": not all criticisms of decadence or invocations of discipline are fascist--consider the example of Schoenberg. He also notes that the private sphere is becoming a commodified space. The only way, he suggests, for true love to exist is not for the lovers to stare into each others eyes but at some sort of collectivity outside them. He is especially angry at Jonathan Alter and Alan Dershowitz for suggesting the torture of terrorists. As he quite properly points out, if torturing terrorists could save lives, then the torturing of prisoners of wars would saveeven more. Although at one point he argues that anti-Americanism is most common in countries that have lost their influence, like France and Germany, he argues that it is vitally necessary for a European response to provide an alternative to American diplomacy. On this point, I fully agree.
Book Description
This new comprehensive look at the evolution of the American flight jacket from World War I to Desert Storm addresses not only the types worn, but focuses primarily on the art and adornment applied to the jackets. The most colorful and creative period for flight jacket art was World War II, and it is this era that comprises a major portion of this book. Additionally, many of the pieces are attributed to the original owner with biographical information, contemporary photographs of the individual, and the aircraft on which he served. Personal combat accounts are also included. Also covered are other military jackets used by flyers. American Flight Jackets** was compiled over a number of years by Jon Maguire and John Conway. The authors became friends through a mutual passion for aviation history and collecting. This book provides a valuable reference for historians and collectors alike, and includes over 1,000 photographs.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent pictorial monograph.......2003-03-13
If you are interested in flight jackets, their design, styles and art work, then this book is for you. There are literally hundreds of colour and black and white photographs of aviator leather jackets. World War Two jackets are covered in detail as are Korean and Vietnam period flight jackets. The book is well set out, has large high resolution photographs and is a well constructed hardcover. The only fault I could find with the book is that in many of the photographs it fails to identify the jacket type and specification. It also does not deal with jacket construction or design. As with many of Maguire's books it has excellent reference photographs and information on who used or wore the artical in question, but fails to provide detailed information on the item other than the basics. Still, it is worthwhile addition to a library, although the book is expensive.
WWWWWWW OOOOOOOO WWWWWWW !.......2000-09-26
Perhaps I enjoyed this book so much because of the fact that it's main focus is the WWII era of flight jackets and that is my favorite area as well. If you want historical jackets (KOREA AND WWII), get this book, but if you want just modern jackets then shop elsewhere.
If I had to be picky about the book, I would have to say that there were too many blood chits on jackets pictured and not enough pin-up work, but that's only if I had to be picky. The authors did their homework for this book as they don't just give you tons of photographs (BY THE WAY, THERE ARE TONS OF PHOTOGRAPHS) but also chronicle the jacket's history and when possible, the owner's history as well.
Fantastic layouts as the information is presented in a very professional and orderly way. They break down the jackets by theater as there's a section on the CBI theater, the European Theater, Korean theater, etc. Good paper and a nice sized book.
A bit on the pricey side but I still got it and I would still recommend it to the hardcore fan of the subject. May be too much cash for the casual fan.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent book
- Michael's Death
- Enlightening
- Please read Falcon's Cry and remember that he was not alone.
- A message for millions of Americans
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Falcon's Cry: A Desert Storm Memoir
Denise Donnelly
Manufacturer: Praeger Trade
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0275964620 |
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Michael Donnelly's diary entries offer a matter-of-fact account of his 44 combat missions during the Gulf War, but his descriptions of dealing with doctors after coming home are more frightening. Diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, Donnelly is convinced what he has is "Gulf War syndrome"--brought on by exposure to low levels of nerve and poison gases during the war. "I don't know what to believe, where to turn for help," he writes. "All the while my body continues to deteriorate, heedless of the possible causes of its slow degeneration." Although he had served in the military for 15 years, Donnelly had to hire a lawyer and appeal to the Air Force Medical Evaluation Board to force the air force to pay him full disability benefits. And though the government denied any responsibility for his illness, we learn that U.S. officials both in Washington and at the front were aware of Iraq's chemical-weapons capability--and continued with their plans regardless: "Troops came upon camels lying dead and decaying in the desert ... dogs and rodents and other small animals died, suddenly, inexplicably, shortly after those tens of thousands of 'false' chemical weapons alarms rang out. The alarms were so common, some commanders even ordered their troops to disable or disregard them." Falcon's Cry is a story of courage and betrayal, a war story in which the casualty doesn't occur until after the fighting stops. --Linda Killian
Book Description
When Major Michael Donnelly was instructing his U.S. Air Force student pilots, he used to tell them three things: "Timing is everything; it's nice to be lucky; and there is no justice." Highly decorated fighter pilot, proud young patriot, loyal friend with a mischievous sense of humor, loving husband and father of two, he could not have imagined the tragic meaning those words would assume just a few years after his tour of duty in Desert Storm. In 1996 Major Donnelly was diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease, at the unusually young age of 35; the onset of this illness marked the beginning of a kind of torture beyond the scope of even the most rigorous military survival training. Betrayed by his body, eventually paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, he experienced another betrayal perhaps even more difficult to comprehend--betrayal by his country. For despite the fact that over 110,000 Desert Storm veterans are sick, many dying of mysterious cancers and neurological diseases, including more than ten times the normal incidence of ALS--and despite all evidence pointing to U.S. troops having been dosed by low levels of Iraqi nerve agents and exposed to chemical weapons' fallout--the Pentagon adamantly denies any connection between their illnesses and their service in the Gulf War. Falcon's Cry: A Desert Storm Memoir, Michael Donnelly's unforgettable story, is his courageous attempt to unearth the truth and force an acknowledgment of that truth by the government he and his fellow veterans defended with their lives. Flying 44 fighter jet combat missions in a war fought on an all-or-nothing scale was thrilling for Michael Donnelly. When the war was won, he and his country rejoiced in the knowledge that, unlike in Vietnam, America had "gotten it right" in the Persian Gulf. Less than a decade later, the world is learning what veterans and their families have known since Desert Storm--we did not get it right at all. Saddam Hussein is still terrorizing a large portion of the globe. Moreover, we did not learn the lesson of Agent Orange which the Department of Defense denied for decades was the cause of early deaths and birth defects among Vietnam veterans and their families. Yet, thanks largely to the testimony of the author before the House of Representatives in 1997, a first step has been taken toward justice for the tens of thousands of Desert Storm veterans who are suffering virtually in isolation, many without any medical or disability benefits. Major Donnelly believes the truth about Gulf War Illnesses will be uncovered by studies funded in the recently passed Omnibus Appropriations bill, as well as through stories like his own, and he fervently hopes that America can, at last, "get it right."
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book.......2005-08-30
I bought and read the book when it first came out, and I bought a second so I can loan it to others to read and not worry about my first book getting lost. Besides the Donnellys, some of the people and events in the book were apart of our life as well. Very well written!
Michael's Death.......2005-07-02
I just found out about Michael's death through the Gulflink website. My sympathy goes out to his family. His story, with the help of his sister Denise, will be with us all always. He could have chose to sit back and just kept his disease and facts to himself, but he chose to share it with all in the hopes it might make a difference to someone. What a legacy to leave. And thanks Michael, for helping my family live through our anger we had at my brother's death, and dealing with Gulf War illness. My prayers are with your family....
Kelly Seibert
Hillsborough, NC
Enlightening.......2004-06-23
I obtained a tape of this book from the library of the blind , on tape.
I was fascinated with the whole process of his student days as well as the way they worked in the present time illness.
My heart goes out to him and his family and ALL other Soldiers who became ill with no apparent cause after the war.
I would like to know what his present status is, and would like to help in any way that is possible.
In thinking that our present war situation probably is as tentative, to hold this VITAL information back from those who serve makes a mockery of the Ideals our Country was founded on.
I used to participate in Living History, and the good thing about that is that we seem to LEARN from the past.
War does NOT change minds or hearts.
I would hope and pray that this present generation does not have to pay the price of this brave Soldier, Officer, and Gentleman.
Please read Falcon's Cry and remember that he was not alone........2001-12-12
I first came across the book in the fall of '99. It was at a critical time in my air force career. Soon, the mandate to submit to the anthrax vaccine would require a decision that would obviously affect the rest of my life. Take a vaccine that has been proven to cause terrible reactions and has been whispered to be a root cause of Gulf War Illness or refuse and be subject to military justice and the end of my career.
In my squadron, the most asked question to management was "If we become ill following the vaccine, will the Air Force take care of us?" As I saw in this book, the answer to the question is NO.
As pilots, our most treasured asset is our health. Without it, we can no longer perform the mission that we love. The manner in which Michael and Denise describe the physical and mental anguish he endured was truly overwhelming. I could imagine myself in his position and the way I would react; how I would feel.
In my months of research, this book proved to be one of the many determining factors in my decsion. When I talked to former commanders who reminded me of their experiences with Agent Orange or when I spoke with members at my own base that had testified to Congress about their illnesses following the anthrax vaccine, in the back of my mind was Michael Donnelly.
I ultimately made my decision to resign in lieu of taking the vaccine which has led to the end of my aviation career. The only salvation I have is the knowledge that I will never need to worry about unexplained illness in the future.
My most heartfelt sympathy and gratitude go out to Michael and Denise's families. Michael's story is one that I will never forget. Thank you for helping me make my decision.
A message for millions of Americans.......2001-09-03
In this story there is a message for millions of Americans. In this story the reader will learn about the "wheels of justice."
Product Description
Host to the U.S. Navy for nearly six decades, Bahrain has been a steadfast American ally in the turbulent Middle East. Its unique relationship with the United States evolved through a series of friendships between Bahrain s ruling Al Khalifa royal family and top U.S. Navy flag officers assigned to the fleet in the Gulf. Over the years it has become a strategic partnership critical to global security.
As naval historian David F. Winkler examines these developing relationships, he offers a fascinating overview of Bahraini history, the entry of American humanitarian and economic interests, the establishment of an American naval presence in the Cold War, the Arab-Israeli conflicts, and the downfall of the Iranian shah, among other subjects. The author tells the story from both Bahraini and American perspectives.
Given U.S. commitment to the region and its concurrent objectives of combating the global war on terrorism and establishing democracy, this book provides an important historical context for those interested in a crucial facet of American foreign relations. While many works describe the history of U.S. diplomatic and military involvement in the Gulf, this is the first to cover in depth the history of the U.S. Navy in Bahrain.
Customer Reviews:
Notes, a bibliography, and an index round out this evenhanded and thoroughly detailed history .......2007-08-04
Written by naval historian and U.S. Naval Reserve commander David F. Winkler, Amirs, Admirals & Desert Sailors: Bahrain, the U.S. Navy, and the Arabian Gulf the fascinating story of the strategic partnership between the United States and the Middle Eastern nation of Bahrain, who has hosted the U.S. Navy for nearly six decades. Heavily researched, Amirs, Admirals & Desert Sailors gives an overview of the establishment of an American naval presence in Bahrain during the Cold War, repercussions from Arab-Israeli conflicts and the downfall of the Iranian shah, operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the attack on the USS Cole, and more. Amirs, Admirals & Desert Sailors concludes with the inception of the modern Iraq war in 2003, leaving events after 2003 to be covered by future chronicles. Notes, a bibliography, and an index round out this evenhanded and thoroughly detailed history that takes both Bahraini and American perspectives into full account.
Customer Reviews:
Desert Exile.......2005-10-21
I was very interested in finding a book that wasn't just dry history. I wasn't born in this time period of World War II, so I was really eager to find a book relating to this topic. Possibly learning about someone who lived through this time period, something a little like Ann Frank's Diary.
My initial thoughts were, this book would be interesting learning about history without any government interference with the conditions of the camps. In fifth grade I made friends with my best friend who had just moved from Japan and her family was getting aquainted with the United States. I interviewed her mom on how she was liking America and the one resp9onse that really stuck out was, I have so much Freedom.
In the Book I realized that many Japanese Families experienced Racism from many nationalities. Children were taken out of school and from colleges. For a few years the students that were attending Universities were no longer able to graduate with their friends.
Having a friend from Japan gave me an extra push to read the book. To my surprise, I couldn't believe that families were living in horse stalls and that people did not have proper barials if they did die while in the camp.
The beginning of the book started off with how this Japanses-American Family pushed their way through life in America and tells us about their family success. At the end of the book I found that some of these Japanese American Families were actually more patriotic than many American families.
Great Memoir!.......2005-10-07
I had to read a memoir for my 8th grade English class. This book was about Yoshiko Uchida's Japanese American family, who were put in camps during World War II. I chose this book because I was very interested in the war, which put over 8,000 Japanese American people into old race tracks and deserts. Yoshiko was placed in two different camps, one in Northern California and the other Utah, both the same: over stuffed with people and nowhere to cry.
Even though she suffered a lot while in the camps, Yoshiko learned that all the things in life, are worth living. She was a student, about to graduate from UC Berkeley, when they were taken off and disconnected from the "American's". They were stuck in the camps for a whole year, with no where to cry without someone seeing you.
This book gave too much background before the war, but when the war hit, the book got much more interesting and exciting.
Lori Sue
Northern California
An easy but engaging book to read..........2005-08-18
"Desert Exile" is a wonderful book that is easy to read, yet totally enjoyable. A perfect book for a family to share together and talk about.
an easy, factual read.......2003-12-19
I had to read this book for my History 2710 class. I was very reluctant to do so at first. Uchida's book is a sad story about the Japanese Internment issue during the 1940's. Uchida talks about her own family and those she knew while at each stage of internment. She talks about how her dad lost his business, how she was pulled from college, and the general poor treatment of her fellow Japanese Americans. The book is full of facts, the author's own opinion, and her family's struggles at the time. This book is good, and is honestly one of the few novels that I have enjoyed while in college. Uchida does a good job of painting a picture of what the Japanese Interment issue was like for one family.
Insightful!.......2003-11-17
Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese-American Family"by Yoshiko Uchida deals with a Japanese-American family who were sent to concentration camp during World War II as Japanese-Americans at that time were considered to be potential "spies" for the Japanese government. Uchida started off with introduction to her family, of how her parents met, and how California became their home. Even though she was raised with Japanese values and ideals, she was at the same time an American who can barely speaks Japanese. Her world was turned upside down when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Japanese-Americans were sent to concentration camp for fear that they could endanger the national security. This violates their Constitutional rights but there were no public support for their fellow citizens. It was indeed racist of the government as German-Americans were not sent to any concentration camps even though the United States was fighting Germany. The Japanese-Americans had to swallow their pride and dignity and were moved to barracks that were bare and ill-equipped. They were placed behind the fence, guarded by MPs and basically were treated as prisoners. Uchida's vivid descriptions of their living conditions were both horrifying and shocking.
"Desert Exile" was used by my professor for a History of American West class. This is truly an eye-opener as most Americans are unaware of their fellow citizens' ordeal and treatment. The Japanese-American loss was immeasurable. Not only did they lose financially (from selling their homes hastily), they lost touch with friends and relatives, lost their pride and lost confidence in their government. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about the ordeal of the Japanese-Americans during World War II. It is extremely well-written, eloquent and easy to understand.
Product Description
National Archives War Histories is a new series of official accounts of famous campaigns and units in British military history. The histories were written by official historians who had access to all the original sources and often interviewed the leading surviving participants. This is the official account of revolutionary new warfare as practised by the famous 'irregular' units in the Desert campaign and is an authoritative official source book. This history includes stirring narratives of daring raids miles behind enemy lines. It features such famous characters as Ord Wingate, David Stirling and Lt. Col. Keyes VC, recounting the establishment and role of the forces within the 8th Army and Allied campaign. It includes photographs, maps, a list of officers serving and the awards received by members of the Long Range Desert Group. The book features the following units: The SAS Long Range Desert Group 'Layforce' Special Boat Squadron Long Range Boat Patrol Middle East Commandos Special Boat Squadron Indian Long Range Squadron Free French Commandos
Customer Reviews:
Moorehead: A Forgotten Classic.......2002-05-15
If you are interested in the War in North Africa this is the read for you. It is absorbing and well written with a flow of a correspondent who is constantly moving to different parts of the front. I love and would recommend anything by Moorehead, but this is still a special book because he lived most of it. It is not however a history of the war. There are large chunks of the war that are not written about, time frames where whole battles are not directly refered to. That is because Moorehead was not there to cover the war. That does not detract from the flavour and action of the book. Moorehead is great in, among other areas,
* his description of the British Campaign against Italy in Ethiopia
* his descrption of the early days of the war and also the Australian role in the war against Vichy France in Syria and then its role to nip a coup and Nazi support for Iraq, firmly in the bud
* his description of the ebb and flow of battle that confused both sides, but ultimately was most boldly exploited by the Germans. The swirl of dust and whole lines of transport and tanks wondering either into or out of battle can almost be tasted.
* the seldom written about race to Tunis at the end of the book, the sudden rush across Algeria and then bogged down fighting in Tunisia; tough battle that tested the Americans for the first time and one where, despite the public image, was still largely British in effort.
The book is also of note in that halfway through Moorehead leaves the front for India and covers the Scripp's mission on Indian Independence at the height of the Japanese invasion. I know of really few descriptions of the positions of all the major parties in debating future of India: Gandhi with his unrealistic notion of "sating the violence of the Japanese invader with the blood of pacifist Indians who merely submit to the bayonets;" Ali Jinnah's willingness to send millions of Muslim troops to support the British if Britain would grant defacto status of the Muslim homeland of Pakistan. Somewhere between the two was the ever boxing clever Nehru. Moorhead met all these men and interviewed them in detail.
Moorehead also relates the loss of other correspondents in the fighting. The constant weariness and grind of the campaign that had Britain in the fighting for more than 3 years is apparent and there is a heartrending description of a British Tommy experiencing too much of the constant slogging and pounding of battle and not caring, in desperation, leads a forlorn attack in what was obviously a case of suicide.
This is one of the best books on WWII and war that I have ever read... and I may have read over 1000 since my early teens.
A personal history of the desert war (emphasis on personal).......2002-03-27
Alan Moorehead was a war correspondent who covered most of the 3-year desert campaign in North Africa in World War II. Therefore, he saw the war at first hand, sometimes coming under fire himself (usually from aircraft), sometimes getting lost in the vast desert, sometimes missing key events because his reporter's intuition led him astray. Although he was not usually on the front line, he did manage to get into towns within hours of their liberation. He had interviews with the general staff of the (British and U.S.) armies and a good grasp on the overall strategic vision of the campaign, from the Allies' point of view.
The writing quality is top-notch, especially descriptions of the burnt out and fought-over towns and countryside. You get a good flavour for the conditions the troops fought in and for the bravery and resilience shown by the soldiers. There are a number of very interesting sidelights to the action, highlighting the difficulties encountered in trying to report the war.
Unfortunately, there are a number of quibbles that detract from a 5-star rating. This book is not a "definitive" history of the war - it was written too soon and from a purely Allied point of view. It is undoubtedly biased - he constantly makes excuses for the Allied generals' failings to deliver a knock-out blow to the Axis, especially blaming the long supply line from England (neglecting the fact that half of the Axis' supplies were sunk in the Mediterranean). He refuses to admit the Allied forces were consistently outgeneralled by Rommell, blaming the British training and internal organisation instead, first claiming the generals could not change it (bureaucratic inertia), then applauding Montgomery for changing it quickly. There's distracting (and long) digressions from the front, especially a trip through India and a vacation to the U.S. While the politics of Indian independence are interesting in their own right, they are complex and require an historical context so they couldn't be developed properly. Finally, there is no background material - the author assumes at least a passing knowledge of the people and politics of the day, so it might be frustrating for a beginner. The maps are generally quite good, however, so geographical mastery of the area is not necessary.
Therefore, I recommend this book as a personal snapshot of the attitudes and actions of the Allied armies in the desert campaigns of WWII. As such, it is clearly biased, but the quality of the writing and the descriptions overcomes this difficulty.
Absorbing.......2001-12-03
Moorehead's first person account of the African Desert Campaign is top-flight. He captures the moment as he experiences it. I feel I am sitting right beside him as he describes events and his reactions to them. Could this man write! I carry this book in my briefcase and whip it out whenever I have a few minutes to spare. I am always rewarded.
Mooreheads a great author.......2001-08-25
Experience the Desert War (and other related campaigns) with the immediacy and freshness of a journalist writing his dispatches from the front. No dry, revisionst tome here. This beautifully written book gives you a sense of what it was like to actually be there. A must read for anyone interested in WW-2's North Africa Campaign.
The War In the Desert.......2001-05-02
In W.W.II there were many places were battles took place. There were battles in France, POland, Russia, and Africa. This book focuses on the African part of the war. The book War In the Desert was an excellent book. It was a very in depth book on th etrials an dtribulations of the war. The pictures are very good deppicting exactly whhat went on. This book was a great help for me to understand the war in the desert better.
Book Description
From one of the highest ranking officers on the ground in Iran comes a no-holds-barred look at America’s brave mission against terrorism
Colonel James H. Kyle was involved in every stage of the Iran hostage rescue operation. As Desert-1 Commander, he alone bore responsibility for the courageous mission. Now Colonel Kyle spares no one, including himself, in this riveting account that takes readers from the initial brainstorming sessions and training camps to the desert rehearsals, the forward staging areas in Egypt and Oman, and finally to the desert refueling site, where he decided to abort.
Colonel Kyle provides honest answers to tough questions: Why were the pilots caught totally off guard by the weather? How did the CIA contribute to the mission’s breakdown? And could such a failure happen again? The Guts to Try is a thrilling true-life adventure story–exploring America’s ability to react quickly, forcefully, and effectively to acts of terrorism.
Customer Reviews:
Brave operation, bland publication.......2007-07-19
The Hostage Rescue Mission was a bold undertaking and the participants should be honored with more exposure to their story. Unfortunately, it's hard to recommend this book as the way to accomplish that objective.
In his own book, Colonel Kyle appears as a somewhat capable career military man, but not as a strong and confident leader. I kept asking myself why he was chosen to take part in any aspect of the operation. He sounds like a nice guy, but all along he seems very passive... hoping someone would take care of such-and-such a point, wishing they had more of this or that, wondering if they would be able to whatever.
While interesting to a degree, the large section covering the planning and rehearsal phase seems to be more the focus than the actual mission. Yet, there is very scant detail about the mission beyond Desert I. Here's the entire description of the planned embassy incursion: "Once Delta enters the compound, Charlie [Beckwith] will call for the helos. Four choppers will fly to the Amjadieh soccer stadium... It is estimated that the hostage release will take forty-five minutes (with most freed within 30 minutes). Once liberated, the hostages will be moved across Roosevelt Avenue into the soccer stadium."
The Epilogue is a mystery. Colonel Kyle's biting criticism of various members of the operation seems disjoint from the rest of the book. It is as if the Epilogue had been written years after the main part of the book on a day when Kyle was in a bad mood. The final sentence of the Epilogue left me infuriated, but not for the reasons intended by the author.
Still, I wanted to get the story of the operation, and after reading this book, I believe that the information is accurate. I certainly know more about the failed mission now than I did before. The story is compelling even if the telling is boring. For that, I give the book three stars. Five stars for the brave men who had the guts to try.
Great Book.......2007-02-11
This is one of the best books written on Operation Eagle Claw.
It is told mainly from the Air Force perspective.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
This is a must listen to!.......2005-08-15
This is probably my favorite audio book. L J Ganser does a fantastic job of narrating. This is the most fair account of what really happened. You need to listen to this.
On the Spot!.......2005-06-01
"The Guts to Try" is a first hand, first person account of the heroic raid to rescue the 50+ Americans who were held hostage after Iran seized the U.S. embassy in Teheran in November, 1979. The author was the American air Commander of the unsuccessful mission of April, 1980. The hostages were not repatriated until the winter of 1982. This reviewer remembers the seizure as the most embarrassing episode for the U.S. in his lifetime. GT is deep in detail, full of military terminology and acronyms but is written in clear and concise prose, with a helpful glossary. A military background is not essential to following the action. A key aspect of the raid was its' sheer and utter complexity. To merely write that it was intricate does not tell the story. All 4 branches of the military were involved: The mission itself was launched from bases in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman and an Aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean. Units were marshaled from worldwide commands. Intense training was also held at widely scattered locations, always in secret so as not to divulge the nature of the rescue. It was stated above that GT is clear and concise. Indeed the actual text is all of that. Yet the reader may still become confused by the sheer scope of the mission. The most challenging point, for this reader, was the communication equipment. That was technical and hard to grasp! But since the author was a pilot, the intense air operation is relatively easy to follow. This reviewer was impressed by the professionalism of the aerial refueling crews. Those guys were good! Most Americans are well aware by now that this mission was not successful, though many may not know why. Many media reports were pointedly inaccurate or incomplete. Some blamed the failure on missing sand screens for the choppers; the author never mentions this. A key element of GT is an excellent epilogue, which examines the mission component by component. The rescue was aborted inside Iranian territory but before proceeding to Teheran. Good hard reasons for failure are given, blame is laid where appropriate and no excuses are offered. Bad luck or Murphy's Law is not offered as culprits. The author plainly believes that the rescue could have proceeded and should have succeeded. This reviewer was sad to read of a powerful U.S. military with wonderful equipment, highly trained and dedicated professionals- many of them hardened combat vets, a striking worldwide capability with fixed and mobile bases everywhere all led by strong and determined commanders. Yet the mission still failed! The unsuccessful raid is no reflection on men like the author who tried to do the right thing at the right time only to be stymied by events they could not directly control. GT is highly recommended for military history devotees as well as straight history fans that desire more knowledge of a key event of the early 1980s. This reviewer's private opinion is that as well as a tremendous black eye for the U.S.; the embassy capture and failed raid finished Jimmy Cater as President and ushered in the Reagan era. Author Kyle is a man of great courage. As an author, he has performed a fine job of relating an exciting, exacting and complex military operation to his fellow Americans.
The inside story from the Air Force's perspective.......2004-04-01
Everyone is familiar with the overall story of the Iranian hostage rescue mission. However, this narrative is told from the perspective of the senior Air Force mission commander. Col Kyle was involved with the planning from just about the beginning and was able to observe, and comment on, the creation of the plan. Kyle was actually on board the rescue aircraft and was the on-scene commander when the fateful decision(s) was made to abort and the catastrophe that followed.
For those who are interested in the foibles of complex command and control regimes, Kyle has penned quite the case study. Moreover, many of the problems that surfaced during this mission were studied, solved, and incorporated into standard operating procedures in the future.
While there is a slight bias in the book (you can determine for yourself), you cant get much closer to ground truth than one of the senior planners. A good story, with an unfortunate ending. Recommended to anyone concerned with leadership and military planning.
Book Description
Rommel had a great deal of help in France-and much more than his published papers suggest. His staff officers and company, battalion and regimental commanders were an extremely capable collection of military leaders, which included 12 future generals (two of them SS), and two colonels who briefly commanded panzer divisions but never reached general rank. They also included Colonel Erich von Unger, who would no doubt have become a general had he not been killed in action while commanding a motorized rifle brigade on the Eastern Front in 1941, as well as Kark Hanke, a Nazi gauleiter who later succeeded Heinrich Himmler as the last Reichsfuehrer-SS. No historian has ever recognized the talented cast of characters who supported the Desert Fox in 1940. No one has ever attempted to tell their stories. This book remedies this deficiency. In the weeks prior to D-Day, Rommel analyzed Allied bombing patterns and concluded that they were trying to make Normandy a strategic island in order to isolate the battlefield. Rommel also noticed that the Allies had mined the entire Channel coast, while the naval approaches to Normandy were clear. Realizing that Normandy would be the likely site of the invasion, he replaced the poorly-equipped 716th Infantry Division with the battle-hardened 352nd Infantry Division on the coastal sector. But his request for additional troops was denied by Hitler. Mitcham offers a remarkable theory of why Allied intelligence failed to learn of this critical troop movement, and why they were not prepared for the heavier resistance they met on Omaha Beach. He uses a number of little-known primary sources which contradict previously published accounts of Rommel, his officers, and the last days of the Third Reich. These sources provide amazing insight into the invasion of Normandy from the German point of view. They include German personnel records, unpublished papers, and the manuscripts of top German officers like general of Panzer Troops Baron Leo Geys von Schweppenburg, the commander of Panzer Group West. This book also contains a thorough examination of the virtually ignored battles of the Luftwaffe in France in 1944.
Customer Reviews:
A Rare Perspective on the Desert Fox.......2002-08-21
Mitcham has touched upon an issue of slight controversy here. He talks about Rommel's role from an admirer's point of view. Wasn't an editor from a popular magazine fired last year because he thought that Rommel and other Nazis had good tastes in fashion?
Anyway, Mitcham doesn't worship Rommel like a deity. He was probably right in describing Rommel as the German commander best-suited to preside over the defense of France in 1944. If not for Hitler's stranglehold over the Wehrmacht and Rommel's rivalry with senior commanders/Nazis, he likely would have conducted a better defense, if not driven the Allies back into the sea. Mitcham's description of Rommel as the potential leader of Germany wasn't so far-fetched either. Stephen Ambrose once commented briefly on this prospect.
Mitcham's tendency to make his endnotes miniature stories in themselves is his forte. The damper to this book is his preface, in which he goes off on a tangent by ranting against liberal historians and affirmative action, as if these things bore a direct relation to the subject of his book. Readers may wonder if Mitcham wanted to rant against civil rights, but stopped short of doing so lest it stir up controversy. Please stick to the subject, Dr. Mitcham! If it weren't for your preface, your book would have rated 3.5 stars.
admire Rommel? this book won't dampen your spirits.......1998-07-17
Mitcham's thoughtfully researched analysis of Rommel's final months reads a bit like hero worship, but the thorough documentation of sources (and quality thereof) makes this a definitive third-party analysis of this period of Rommel's career. Mitcham casts Rommel as strategic seer, chronicling the Field Marshal's workmanlike foretelling of so many Allied tactics that you really do wonder if the U.S. would've been pushed back into the sea at Omaha had Rommel been able to a) properly fortify the coastline and b) bring up the 15th Panzer Division, which stood idle during so much of the crucial fighting in the bocage and on the Cotentin Peninsula. In explaining Rommel's role in the Hitler assassination attempt, Mitcham distances Rommel from direct involvement, painting him as politically naive and motivated to prevent a Russian overrun of Germany by "arresting" Hitler and seeing to a political restructuring of the Reich through a negotiated, Allied truce. Whether ! ! or not this was the case is uncertain to me, but it does make me speculate about what a post-Hitler Germany would have been like had the plan worked. Rommel as its president? Mitcham thinks this could have been the case.
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