History Books

A well written, captivating history of the recent war and current recovery in Rwanda. The concept of people giving forgiveness following mass killing is an integral part of healing of this country.

Paul Kagame, along with Morgan Tsvangirai and Yoweri Museveni, represents one of Arica's most brilliant contemporary leaders. Kagame was born in 1957 to a Tutsi family and at the age of three was forced to flee his country after a Hutu uprising forced more than a hundred thousand Tutsis to flee in an early form of ethnic-cleansing. In 1979 Kagame joined Yoweri Museveni's guerilla movement in Uganda, where he was residing as a refugee. Museveni was fighting the dictator Milton Obote and when Obote fell from power Kagame was able to study first hand the outcome of the overthrow of a viscious dictator. When the Rwandan genocide broke out in 1994 Paul Kagame was in charge of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, a mostly Tutsi armed guerilla group. His well disciplined army overthrew the genocidal regime and he has been in power ever since. This book examines his role in nation building and in reconciliation and it a wonderful account of the history of Rwanda before 1994 and after. In this it helps fill this important gap in the history of the country.

Seth J. Frantzman

President Paul Kagame is a man who inspires a wide range of emotions in those who meet him. Some like me admire him...Others hate him. Certainly many in French diplomatic circles see him as the devil clothed in Anglophone robes. In the Africanist analytical world, he is either Rwanda's greatest hope or its mortal danger. Certainly his enemies have reason to fear him even as his friends love him. Both enemy and friend know that the wise respect him.

I first met then Vice President and Defense Minister Major General Paul Kagame in the fall of 1994 when he was struggling to put the shattered country of Rwanda back together. Some were want to describe him as a "war lord" even as one could buy T-shirts with his picture on them with the phrase "Free at Last!" at Kigali's international airport. General Kagame was serious, determined, and it was clear that he was a strong man. What remained to be seen was whether he would become another "Big Man" in African politics or rise above that label to be a truly great African leader.

Like no other author so far, Stephen Kinzer offered us a peak inside the complexity named Paul Kagame. Kinzer enjoyed unprecedented access to the President of Rwanda and provided a colorful and insightful biography of the man. Like any good interlocutor, Kinzer understands that listening is best technique for the interviewer. He offers Kagame's own words to the reader allowing the subject of this biography to speak on his own behalf. That is not only fair, it is probably critical to understand this man who spent much of his life fighting the status quo--and ultimately winning.

According to Kinzer, Kagame's early life as a refugee in Uganda hardened him into the typical angry young man found in a life surrounded by poverty. Early on in his youth he became friends with Fred Rwigyema. Together they later would become co-founders of the Rwandan Patriotic Front. But first they would join Museveni's 40-man National Resistance Army in Uganda and overthrow Obote. When Rwigyema fell in the first few days of the RPF's 1990 invasion of Rwanda, Kagame resigned from the US Army Command and General Staff College to take command and reorganize the RPF. He and the RPF went on to win a military victory they did not really desire, sparking a genocide for which they could not be blamed.

Despite Kagame's military prowess, I found Kinzer's chapters on the post-war period from 2000 on to be the most illuminating because they concentrate on Kagame's role as President of Rwanda. At the same time, they provide great hope for the country's future and portents of possible disaster. President Kagame is indeed Rwanda's greatest hope. At the same time, he is his own greatest nemesis...

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Africa, small wars, reconciliation, and development. Kinzer's prose is easy to read and entertaining. His narrative is insightful. The Paul Kagame I knew came to life when I read this book.

The full review is posted on Small Wars Journal Blog at http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2008/07/book-review-a-thousand-hills-r/

Thomas (Tom) P. Odom
LTC US Army (ret)
Author, Journey into Darkness: Genocide in Rwanda
Journey Into Darkness: Genocide In Rwanda (Texas a & M University Military History Series)

I read this book in preparation for trip to Rwanda later this year. Mr. Kinzer has done exhaustive research into the history or Rwanda from the early 20th century through the present. From the time of Belguin colonialism, the rise of the RPF in Uganda and the genocide to an a fair presentation of Paul Kagame's mission to bring peace, reconciliation and prosperity to Rwanda post genocide. Although Rwanda has a long way to go, according the author, they are on the right track - largely thanks to Paul Kagame. The author is highly critical (rightfully so in my opinion) of the Clinton Administration, the UN and France in particular in the role either ignoring or aiding the genocide. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of Rwanda and the current state of affairs in the country.

The Right Stuff is essential reading for any student of post-war western popular history whether or not you are interested in aviation and the space-race. Even if you dont hold with the concept of 'top three' books and the like, once you have read this, it will always come to mind when you are put on the spot and have to name your favourites.

In the years following WWII and Korea as the military graduated to fighter jets a certain hierarchy of talent developed. At the top of the pyramid were those in "flight test," where pilots with a certain indefinable something went to push the limits of the newest and most advanced jets. Landing several tons of metal atop a heaving and pitching aircraft carrier in the dark of night or "hanging your hide on the outside of the envelope" in experimental jets is a dangerous profession requiring what Mr. Wolfe calls "the Right Stuff." From Chuck Yeager, the first to exceed the speed of sound (Mach 1), to John Glenn and the other Mercury astronauts, few possess this right or "righteous stuff," and many are "left behind" on the climb up that pyramid. Mr. Wolfe introduces us to those who had it and some who died lacking it, as well as the competition of the "Space Race" of the 60s, and does so with a very distinct style that conveys the attitude of those who possessed it. The missions of the Mercury astronauts are covered in particular detail and sort of form the pinnacle of this story, from the enormous egos of some to the petty jealousies and politics that played out behind the perfect facade Life Magazine presented to the nation.

In fact, the most singular aspect of this book for me would be the style with which it is written, dripping with the huge egos and arrogance of the pilots. Theirs is a dangerous job with few monetary rewards, requiring them to sacrifice family life and comfort, but carrying a thrill few people will ever experience. This, Mr. Wolfe explains, results in a feeling of superiority which he portrays excellently with his writing. And he conveys this attitude with certain phrases he uses repeatedly throughout, such as the "right stuff" or "flying & drinking, and drinking & driving," or the "Friend of Widows and Orphans," etc. It becomes a kind of shorthand for the concepts within the fraternity of pilots and their families. It's very interesting to learn of the lives and successes and defeats, particularly Chuck Yeager and John Glenn. But it is also this style which began to wear on me after a while - on the one hand the story is incredibly interesting, but on the other I got really tired of reading it and couldn't wait to just be done with the book. Also, the language of the book is pretty coarse, and hardly a page goes by that doesn't have several profanities or vulgarities, so be forewarned if you're bothered by that. But a fascinating story nonetheless and I can't wait to watch the movie now.

Bang! Zoom! Pow!

If you like prose that crackles like sparklers in your eyes, and tells a good story besides, then Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff", about the Mercury 7 spaceflight program of the early 1960s, is for you.

Published in 1979, back when the U.S. was the world's laughing stock and "malaise" was the operative word from the White House, "The Right Stuff" calls to mind with equal degrees of snark and awe a time when real heroes walked the earth and flew beyond and around it. Men, yes, but heroes, too. Wolfe never lets go of the human element, in fact, the best thing "The Right Stuff" has going for it.

As a non-fiction novel, it has its limitations, too. Wolfe doesn't make up quotes, he hardly quotes the seven Mercury astronauts at the center of the story, except for flight transcripts and press conferences where their words are public record. But he doesn't seem to channel theirs or anyone else's voices, except Wolfe's own.

Beginning with the book's title, he uses a lot of terms to capture what the early U.S. space program, and the test flights on experimental jets leading up to it, were really about. Terms like "the great ziggurat" "flying & drinking and drinking & driving", "true brother", "the mighty integral", often in caps, get a lot of use even though there's no sign anyone ever used them or even thought them up before Wolfe did.

There's an overall tone of omnipotence that feels smug and gets in the way: Never mind what was going through John Glenn's mind when he was wondering if Friendship 7's heat shield had burned up on atmospheric reentry - here's what he REALLY MUST have thought!

But the book is so entertaining, it really compensates for Wolfe's excesses. The astronauts were not breaking new ground; everything they did the Soviets did too, except sooner and for longer durations. But they were putting their lives on the line as investments toward a larger purpose, an achievement no other country has matched in close to 40 years, landing on the moon. And they were also disproving the notion that Americans after World War II were doomed to failure, that "our boys always botch it" mentality which hung over the country at the time (and which by 1979 was back with a vengeance).

Sharp, funny, and full of graspable insights (the riders of the first Mercury capsules had as much control over their craft as does a Ferris-wheel rider), "The Right Stuff" may settle for entertainment over enlightenment, but it is very entertaining.

As a 'random' book to pick up and read, I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of information provided in this book. I also enjoyed the writing style. Excellent excellent, must-read book!

This book is one of the best accounts of, indeed any scene, I have ever read. Wolfe, with his half academic half layman writing style, explores the men and indeed the whole phenomenon, that was the American space program in the 50ies and 60ies. In a delightful manner he gets to the heart of what makes the people involved "tick", and does a great job in bringing their feelings and through to the reader. The reader can truly emerge him/herself in this exciting world of fast planes, fast cars, hope, fear and glory.

The only thing "wrong" with this book is that it is too short. I would've loved to see 50-75 more pages telling more about the "aftermath", as it were, but that is merely because the book was such a jolly good read to begin with. And, I must add, I'm not even interested in planes, speed or space programs or indeed American history.

Highest possible recommendation.

read this book when it was first published. After all these years it is even more meaningful and incisive.

For those who think preventive war is always bad, you should read this book. If there was any argument for preventive war against Hitler, especially before Munich, this is it. Appeasement was useless with Hitler. It only made him stronger and bolder.

At well over a thousand pages, one might wonder how "readable" such a history could be, but Shirer's work is excellent. I won't repeat much of the acclaim already found here.

One stumbling block is that in a very few places the terminology is outdated, and most certainly not politically correct. For example, the homosexual leadership of the SA are described as "perverted" and "deviant", and its hard to say from the book whether they truly were or if this is just a 1950s label for gay. Similarly, the Japanese turned down negotiations with "Ah, so sorry, please". I doubt that's a direct quote.

Those two snags aside, the rest of the book holds up exceedingly well, and there are actually very few references that are lost on the modern reader, especially compared to the writings of, for example, Churchill, which are full of references to then-current names and events that have lost their relevance over time.

The thesis that the readiness to accept National Socialism was built into German culture and mythology of the day may not be a popular one, nor commonly accepted today, but Shirer provides enough supporting material that one can at least see his point.

Be prepared for a lot of detail: D-Day doesn't occur until well past page 1000, for example. One thing I loved however was that the book was not full of throwaway names that appear only once. That's usually an issue for me (names and dates that will be forgotten soon after reading) and this book is largely absent of them.

It's also relatively even, in that there are very few places where it drags. With few exceptions, the narrative progresses smoothly and its as much of a "page turner" as non-fiction can be.

When you come to think of it, William L. Shirer was a CBS correspondent who was at the right place at the right time. He kept a diary of the happenings in Germany during the time of the formation of the Nazi government. He saw the political maneuvers of the Nazi Party in gaining power in German Politics. The audacity of the Party gaining control of a Democratic Government without a majority. The effect of a weak centralized government under President von Hindenburg leads to Nazism.
Shirer witnessed the formation of a totalitarian government. He saw the tightening of all cultural activities and the progressive pogroms against the Jews.
Shirer details all the scheming of the taking over of the Rhineland, Sudetenland and Austria. His plan to enter into war with Poland under false pretenses finally has England and France entering into the great conflict. Shirer was there recording all that had happened.
This book was first published 14 years after the end of the Second World War. This exhaustive study was based on Shirer's observations, which in itself are classic. He was there. He saw it first hand!! Richard Evans study seems to be a definitive study in the English language of this German time period. But remember, Evans has over 50 years of added data to analyze and report on.
This is a long read, but read it if you want to know about the great tragedy of the 20th Century.

I read this important book, here in Brazil.This book was published about 50 years ago.And even so, this book remains important.There are failures in this book.One is that about the war itself, it is just regular.Many things revealed, after the publication of this book, such as the breaking of Enigma code machine, has no space in this book.The author saw the fall of France in 1940; he realized that France fell because of lack of will to fight, not weapons.Even so, he is weak about France's fall, because only more a decade later, the people could to know that France had more and better tanks, than Germany in 1940. About the massive amount of money from then Soviet Union and from famous germans, such as Paul Warburg to the nazi party also has no place on this book.The book itself is a little more than regular, but there's a good thing about the author:he lived the Third Reich and the war.He was there.William L. Shirer saw the facts.There's better options about the Third Reich, than this book?Yes, but this book remains important, after 50 years.

This book has two problems.

One. It was originally written in 1989-1990. Sometimes the author mentions something like, "We might attack Iraq because of its aggression towards Kuwait." Then you realize that you are taking your strategy cues from something almost 20 years old.

Two. The theory of this book could be summarized very quickly in a few pages, and the rest of the book is not very interesting. The idea here is that change happens, and though you might not be able to predict exactly what is going to happen, you can think about all the things that might happen, and develop contingencies and ideas for dealing with those possible future events. Meanwhile your competitors, who have not done such planning, are shocked and unable to react in any meaningful way, because they do not even have an outline of a contingency plan.

Now you know what you need to know about it, and I just saved you the time of reading this book. You're welcome.

This book is excellent!! This book makes understanding the future almost as easy as a carnival card reader. This book isn't a book of prophesy. It is a book that teaches you how to formulate your own prophesy for your unique situation.

The author has a unique way to do this. He urges readers to seek keys. These keys are things in the environment which indicate other things will occur. The average reader after finishing the book will change their way of looking at the world. Through his explanation of how to make a scenario you learn how to gather information from unknown sources and focus on what is important. It is like an unveiling of magic keys to the world. These keys aren't of course magic but something new. The newness opens minds.

The book is dry in places but I think everyone will enjoy this book.

Heard THE ART OF THE LONG VIEW, written and read
by Peter Schwartz.

The book's subtitle caught my attention: PLANNING FOR THE
FUTURE IN AN UNCERTTAIN WORLD . . . I thought to myself,
"Wouldn't that be a great thing to do?"

Schwartz, one of the nation's leading futurists, actually
answers my question--showing how it can be done through
the use of scenario-building . . . this enables managers to:

* "invent and then consider, in depth, several stories of equally
plausible futures" so that they can make "strategic decisions
that will be sound for all plausible futures."

I liked the examples that were given, including many from his
work at Royal Dutch/Shell . . . the one describing the thought
behind a new natural gas field offshore from Norway helped
make the whole scenario concept much clearer to me . . those
involved at the time had to consider whether the U.S.S.R. would
continue to be an enemy of Western Europe and not ship
its own low-cost natural gas to that market.

This informative book was first published in 1991 and revised
in 1996 when it came out in paperwork . . . I'd be curious
to see a 2008 edition.

This book, written by Peter Schwartz, probes readers to take the time to map out their future, whether personal or business, by way of "scenario building." Too many of us go on expecting (or hoping) for things to just fall in to place- optimists! Schwartz, who worked for Shell during the energy crisis in the 70s, uses his experiences of using scenario building to teach the reader how to plan major decisions in their organizational and/or personal future. This craft isn't about predicting the future, but rather a way to formulate the probability of events and construct plausible futures that allow people to consider different futures so the can be prepared.
One thing that I did like was his idea of "reperceive." People are reluctant to see how the world really is and concoct this fantasy of how the world works, and in most cases it is just that, a fantasy-world. Before individuals plan for the future, they have to first "reperceive" it or "question their assumptions about the way the world works, so that they can see the world more clearly."
The negative points about this book had to do with how out of date it is. Written in the late 80s, I couldn't get past the many references to old technologies and political and economical events to be able to enjoy the book. In attempts to forecast the year 2005, scenarios are built on events and political situations of the 80s which makes for very boring reading because it entails a lot of detailed events that happened before I was born. While this future is not totally wrong, it is pretty generalized- anyone who is that vague about the future would be on point.
In all, this book was okay. It didn't knock my socks off- but it did bring back fond memories of the Sony Walkman.

This is one of the books on the Navy's recommended reading list, which is why I picked it up. The author is touted as one of the world's leading futurists. I'm not sure how one gets the title of leading futurist, but I'm guessing it's not because of his accuracy or success in predicting the future. It's actually funny, because in his book he puts forward three possible scenarios for the world in 2005, none of which hit the mark. Of course, there are portions of all three which ring true, which is probably the biggest thing I learned from this book. If you want to be a leading futurist, the first rule is the same as that of any other fortune teller. Be vague! The second rule is: hedge your bets. Give lots of different possibilities.
This book is strikingly out of date, coming before the internet, wireless communications, the global war on terrorism, etc. One would think that a leading futurist might have predicted some of these in 1991, but he did not. He also displays a lot of the pessimism that was rampant in America in the 1980s, when Japan seemed to be the way of the future and America destined for decline. Mr. Schwartz missed the Japanese economic stagnation as well, in spite of being a leading futurist. He tends to let his political views seep through a little too much, his bitterness and hatred of Ronald Reagan and everything he did is palpable and Reagan is continuously cited as the cause of many of the nation's and world's ills.
I would say that the most valuable part of the book would have been the sources he used to glean upcoming trends and changes before they were generally known to the public. Unfortunately, they like the rest of the book, are sadly out of date. Many of the periodicals are no longer being printed, wiped out by the power of the internet. Without that, the book is really reduced to a process for creating some stories of the future, but without a glimpse of the major changes that are coming these stories, like Mr. Schwartz's views of the 21st century, will fall very short of the mark and will not be of much use to planners.

The Gulag Archipelago is a must read for everyone. It is an amazing and jaw-dropping description of madness and destruction of truly epic proportions. Until one has read such an account, one cannot fully comprehend what Russia's dissidents had to live through - the utter madness of it all, the utter destruction of the State and the utter helplessness of the man or woman caught up in its web !

I have the full three volume set of the Gulag that I read years ago. It is the greatest book ever written. In portraying Communism, as he described as man's inhumanity to man, Solzhenitsyn has an exceptional ability while depicting the excessively cruel treatment of human beings in the Gulag to demonstrate his dignity and the dignity of those who suffered at the hands of their oppressors. The entire book is full of stories of the courage of human beings in the face of such evil. In that way, while depicting the horrible conditions of the Gulag, the book ultimately provides an uplifting message that peace and kindness are enduring human traits that can and do shine through despite overwhelming attempts to erase them. Never has there been a more courageous and humane writer.

This is vintage Solzhenitsyn; his brilliant mind shines forth splendidly. A book that is difficult to put down, places one inside his mind to see what he describes, so much from having spent hours memorizing while in the camps so he could later give us a glimpse of the horror that millions upon millions of human beings endured.

For any who have any nostalgia for the Soviet Union, this book should put it to rest. This book is hard to categorize; it is more than one man's opinion, but less than an objective history. It is, as Solzhenitsyn puts it, "an experiment in literary investigation": a combination memoir and dissertation on the evils of Communism and its inevitable product, the forced labor camp. Some have criticized Solzhenitsyn as an anti-Communist/pro-Western polemicist, but that is not an accurate description. He is a realist, showing not only the faults of Communists, but also those of the West and Western leaders. This should be required reading for European and world history classes. Volume 1 (of 3) describes the arrest and interrogation procedures, as well as life in the Gulag.

I am 100% satisfied with my purchase. It's a remarkable 1st person character study of a man who crept in the back door to become the Emperor of Rome.

If you like your history lite then I, Claudius is your book. Written as an autobiography of the life of Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, who became Emperor of Rome in 41 A.D., I, Claudius is actually historical fiction. As such, there seems to be no way to measure the accuracy of the accounts given in this first part of Graves's two-part series.

Nevertheless, I, Claudius is interesting - it reads like a novel - and reveals the sordid details of the lives and times of the Royal family from Augustus until the time when Claudius ascended to the throne.

I hate to be the one bad apple in the bunch, but to be honest, I was expecting great things from this book given all of the fabulous reviews. Perhaps because I've been pampered with books like Philippa Greggory's THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL or THE RED TENT, I expected a read that would be quick, with snappy dialogue and luscious settings. What I got instead was something that felt very much dated, and very boring. Of course, this is just my opinion, and I see that many others here have different ones. But for fans of Greggory-style writing, I would give this a pass.

There's not much I can say here or desire to say here that hasn't been covered by the other reviewers. Just to reiterate though: The character of Livia, as presented here in Graves's novel, is NOT based on any sound scholarship, new or otherwise. It's true that she COULD have poisoned her way to power as depicted here. But bear in mind that Claudius himself COULD have just as well done so himself, with this first person narration serving as a cover up. - Be it remembered that Claudius (the actual emperor) did write an actual first person Autobiography, now lost to us. - Who knows what ulterior motives he might have harboured in doing so? In any event, altogether too many untimely deaths of all sorts pile up to attribute to any one person. It also seems clear to me that Graves, in describing the Germans, was certainly drawing a parallel to the Germans he fought against in WWI.

But, laying historical accuracy to one side, this is a clever and interesting read. It is not, to my mind, the masterpiece some reviewers here make it out to be. But I enjoyed it. The impression one has on closing the book and reflecting on the murders, mayhem and madness that occur on almost every page leaves one feeling about the book as Claudius felt about the last, ebrious conversation he had with Livia:

"The conversation was like the sort one has in dreams - mad but interesting."

"I Claudius" was the first book that convinced me that history could be engrossing. Ridiculously fun to read - it delivers a thrill on a level with the first time you saw "The Mikado", heard the Saint-Saens cello concerto, Callas singing 'Casta Diva'. You get the picture.

It is a stroke of genius for Graves to choose Claudius, the drooling 'halfwit' among the Caesars, overlooked and ridiculed by his more ambitious relatives, as his mouthpiece. In a voice that is irresistibly gossipy and remarkably shrewd, he draws us in and makes the history completely and spellbindingly real. It's a stunning accomplishment.

This book, its sequel, and the extraordinary BBC adaptation for television, are high on the list of life's great pleasures.

The many reviews alrady posted about this book already to a good job summing-up its content and subject matter. Therefore, I'll simply say this is absolutely the single best memoir yet written about the Iraq War, specifically from the perspective of an Infantry NCO. I eagerly devoured this book within a 24 hour period and was enthralled by Bellavia's story on every page. Highly recommended and should be required reading for soldiers, politicians, journalists (especially journalists), and, hell, the general public.

Mr. Bellavia, words cannot possibly thank you and your fellow veterans enough for what you have done for this country.

Bellavia is a highly decorated vet of the Battle of Fallujah in 2004. This is his account of the time leading up to the battle and of the battle itself. People need to be constantly reminded of two things; first, how totally brutal real war is, and second, how important it is to honor the people who go to war on our behalf. This book does both in spades. The gritty description of the action as the US Military faced the early stages of the Iraqi insurgency is gripping. There were many times when I found myself on the edge of my seat, or I had to take a break from the reading and unwind. It also describes the bonds developed by combat vets quite well. This bond comes from facing mortal danger and unimaginable hardship together. It is something we should all strive to understand. Without any spoilers I will say that the dramatic climax is personal and gripping, combat writing at its best.

I have never had the urge to write a review before, but this book has overwhelmingly compelled me to do so.

What made this book an astonishing standout to me was not only the constant gripping action, but the brutal honesty with which the author writes. Brutal honesty not only about the events, but the real and hardcore emotions he goes through in dealing with the events as they unfold. It is hard enough to imagine doing the things he has done for his country, but even harder still to imagine coming to terms with those things and sharing those horrors with others - completely uncensored. Now that really takes some guts in my opinion.

When I first ordered this book, I was really hoping it wasn't going to be just another journal of long patrols, and daily discomforts, with the occasional bit of action thrown in to spice things up. I was not disappointed. From the minute you open this book, David Bellavia smacks you in the face with the gut-wrenching, filthy, inhumane realities of the boots-on-the-ground perspective of the U.S. Army shooters in Iraq. The action starts almost instantly, and takes you for a ride throughout the book that is as intriguing to read as it is exhausting. What you are left with at the end is a new perspective that the headlines and news stories could never give, and a profound new respect for what our soldiers go through to protect and defend our most basic rights of freedom.

Some of the reviews have commented on the use of language (to which this book is chock full of obscenities), but I think anyone who has served the military as an enlisted person already knows, that kind of language is just par for the course. If anything, I think there were probably more swear words left OUT of the book, than were actually spoken in real life on the battlefield. That's reality. And that's why the language is in the book. Its not meant to offend, or exaggerate, its meant to epitomize what it is truly like when your right there next to your buddies and the bullets start flying. I personally am glad Sgt. Bell' didn't clean up the book - war is not clean, or nice, or polite, and it should not be presented that way.

Ultimately I think this book is a perfect illustration of an old quote that I have always held in high esteem...

"Freedom has a taste to those who have fought for it, that the protected will never know." (author unknown)

i brought this book to try and understand what my man faces, when "doing his job",it was spell binding, gripping, should be compulsory reading for everyone,these guys are heros and real men, if you only read one book a year , make it this one, good book by a good man, job well done

This story is not about feminized boys in earrings and eyeliner, piercing or polish, bling bling or sagging clothes.
It's not about gangsta rivalries or wigga wannabes - Xbox, cars or whoes.

It's about young adults in a death struggle to manhood, carrying firearms, bombs and bandoliers.

It's a story of the transition from the privileged silk cords of American culture to the stainless steel cable of American courage:
A cable that will air lift, under withering fire, the next great generation of American loyalty, relentless bravery and reluctant, though resolute heroism.

It's a story of sacrifice, blood and treasure
The hand-to-hand blood of both brother and belligerent, spilled on body armor and in foreign sands.

The sacrifice of wives, and mothers, and children.
The treasure in America's soul.
Some of which only the progeny of warriors will grow to truly know.

No wonder liberals hate the military: it turns young boys into men.

Got ADD? Grab a gun. You'll either focus or you'll die.

subtitled: The Story of PHI, the World's Most Astonishing Number

that's alot of hype for the irrational number 1.6180339887... . the author barrages the reader with hyperbole. 'mysterious', 'astonishing', 'amazing', 'wonderful', 'beautiful', 'fascinating', 'curious', 'crucial', 'unimagined', 'divine', etc. etc. not just astonishing, but "the World's Most Astonishing Number".

horse feathers. the people who are 'fascinated' by this are the same who freak out when they see 11:11 on a digital clock; the same who have 'lucky' numbers; the same who fear Friday the 13th.

in fact there are more 'crucial' AND more 'astonishing' numbers. how about 0 or 1 or 2 or 10 or infinity? i guarantee you that if we changed our everyday number base from 10 to , say, 13 that the wheels would fall off of this old bus. now THAT is 'crucial'. and 'divine'? please! what could be more 'divine' than 1? maybe 2 :-) . 'astonishing'? 1 is 'astonishing'. it factors into EVERYTHING! it's everywhere and in everything. 0 doesn't factor into anything. these are more 'astonishing' than phi.

Dali knew how to capitalize off of frenzied hype, so he threw together the "Sacrament of The Last Supper" and when phi's superstitious cultists found out that it featured the 'divine' proportion they took care of turning that ugly, mediocre effort into a 'divine' icon.

the author is supposedly a PhD? whatever.

I bought this book with a thirst to know about this number phi. I did learn about the number phi. However a large part of the book was devoted to instances where various people thought the number phi was present but the author spent considerable time developing the opinion or fact that phi was not influencing this or that particular instance. I got REALLY tired of that.

For me, the first chapter and a half or so and the last two chapters were the meat of the matter for my interest. The book was worth it for the last chapter.

I think that the author would have been better to write a book titled "Why Is Mathematics So Effective?" That seemed to be the central question that really drove the author.

I don't regret reading it. I just feel it wasn't really the book I signed up for.

One of the best books I've read. It is an in depth study of the Golden Ratio...the history, purpose, relationship to other concepts. I am intrigued by math, art, and science and found this book very, amusing. You will need a basic understanding of high school math to fully appreciate some of it. Oh, by the way, the author shoots down most other author's claims that the golden ratio has been used in classic architecture and art. Superb job Mario Livio!

I happened to notice that he says Babylonians found the general solution for the quadratic. General solution of the quadratic was given by Bhaskara. The author has not read Fibbonaci's book. Fibonacci himself said in the preface that he learnt new math from India. Fibonacci numbers were found by Hemachandra. there were many other errors...I would not recommend to my students

Several years ago I prepared a review for amazon on this book. Since that time there have been many others to contribute. There are those like me who found it fascinating and gave it five stars, others that gave it a 4 or a 3 because they quibbled with the author over some mathematical issues and finally agroup that really hated it and found it boring and gave it only 1 or 2 stars. Some of those in the third group claim to be mathematicians but thought the book had too detailed. I don't see how a true mathematician could not love this book. Here is what I wrote that I still believe.

The book is 253 pages and 10 appendices about a number called the golden ratio. I give it 5 stars. It is a book for mathematicians and non-mathematicians alike. The first question I asked was how can an entire book be devoted to one number. Well Beckman wrote a book about the number pi and certainly that was interesting. There is a lot to say about the geometry of pi and many mathematical and statistical properties it has. Some including the Buffon needle problem are related by Livio in this book. He contrasts pi to the golden ratio (phi) which also has geometric and mystical properties. The quantity pi is a transcendental number meaning it is not the solution of any algebraic equation. On the other hand phi is algebraic as it is the solution to a quadratic equation.
Other strange properties of phi are:
1. If you subtract 1 from it you get its reciprocal
2. Add 1 to it and you get its square

To see the marvelous algebraic and geometric properties of phi you need only scan through the 10 appendices. Scan through the book and the pictures show you the many artistic properties related to phi.

Although algebraic phi is an irrational number. By applying the quadratic formula to its solution (see Appendix 5 in the book) you will see that its solution involves the square root of 5. Pythagoras and his followers in ancient Greece were said to have discovered irrational numbers (a natural consequence when you study right triangles) and hid this knowledge from the populous.

Phi is defined by Euclid as the "extreme and mean ratio". As Livio quotes Euclid " A straight line is said to have been cut in extreme and mean ratio when, as the whole line is to the greater segment, so is the greater to the lesser". This leads to an equality of proportions that yields phi=1.6180339887 rounded to ten decimal places.

Livio also discusses the relationship between the ratio and our concept of beauty (i.e. the quality of the perfect face). It is also interesting that in his new book on the impossibility of solving the 5th degree polynomial by radicals Livio relates the Galois theory of groups to concepts of symmetry. There he also attributes our perception of besuty to symmetry.

If you have the time read the book thoroughly. Write a review that adds to what has been said if you like. Or skim through the pages and appreciate the artist properties of phi along with its algebraic and geometric properties. Read about fractals and myths. Enjoy this wonderful book!

This book came highly recommended in a publication I read on a regular basis. I was really disappointed, because it sounded so interesting. There was too much concentration on the minutiae of linguistics, especially for the average reader. It was so tedious that I gave up reading it.

In this massively researched book, Anthony brings together hundreds of findings from archaeology and linguistic studies to support his thesis about the origins of Indo-European language and culture. The book is not easy reading for the non-expert; many chapters are dense with information, particularly about archaeological finds associated with particular cultures or horizons. Yet the interdisciplinary approach makes the argument more persuasive.

Anthony occasionally comes up with an intriguing generalization. For example, he notes that Tripolye settlements of 3700 to 3400 B.C. were the biggest human settlements in the world; instead of evolving into cities, they were abruptly abandoned. His commentary on the psychological essence of language expansion is fascinating. As others have observed, the book is well illustrated with frequent maps and images of artifacts.

Anthony makes a compelling case for the location of the Indo-European homeland, tracks the probable course of Proto-Indo European (PIE) and its daughter languages' expansion, and convincingly argues that PIE speakers domesticated the horse and invented the spoke-wheeled chariot. Anthony asserts he powerful cultural complex that they developed around their herding lifestyle helped expand the range of PIE and its daughter languages -- at one point likening the lifestyle changes engendered by herding combined with wagon and chariot-driving to the similar lifestyle revolution in twentieth-century America brought on by the proliferation of automobiles and the Interstate highway system.

Anthony uses evidence from archaeolinguistics, from oft-overlooked Russian steppe archaology, and his (and his wife's) own pioneering work on bit-wear markings in ancient horse teeth to make his case. He cites Native American linguistics and archaeology to help bolster his case when appropriate, along with the well-studied history of British colonization of North America -- and does so quite convincingly.

Anthony writes in a learned, but accessible style with an occasional witticism to keep the text from being overly-dry. Perhaps my only criticism would be his neglecting to compare the spread of Indo-European with that of the Turkic languages across Eurasia -- which was also accomplished wih stunning celerity (in historical terms), and also caused enormous cultural shifts which are still visible today. Perhaps he could do so in the second edition!

This book is sort of rare for me, who generally reads items cover to cover. Some chapters of it were a complete treat, such as the summary of the methods of comparative linguistics. Other chapters gave you a wonderful feel for the methods scientists use to explore our past, but were far too detailed to be read in full unless you are actually a graduate student in the field.

Loved it - but didn't read it all.

Well, I do have a doctorate in linguistics and do have a background in reconstructing Proto-In do-European, the mother language to most European languages as well as Farsi, spoken in Iran, and several languages in India and Pakistan. The author of this book is an archaeologist who is competent as well in historical linguistics. I found the book fascinating, thoughtful, terrifically well researched and well-written, although it rather went on and on about burial sites, and the names for the motley prehistoric cultures got confusing. I suspect that non-scholars would find this daunting. Even scholars who aren't in the thick of archaelogical disputes might find it too technical and nit-picking. I solved the problem once I realized you could skip over the myriad descriptions of kurgans and pottery, and just go to his conclusions at the end of the chapter, occasionally skipping backwards to check on an assertion or two. Since I've just retired from teaching, I'm truly sorry I won't have a class to share some of Anthony's insights with, such as his convincing explanation of why Proto-Indo-Europrean developed gender marking on nouns -- and why it introduced patriarchal gods to replace older goddess religions. In sum, for the intellectually curious and the brave, a very enlightening and (dare I use the cliche) thought-provoking tome.

Thirteen illustrated chapters exhibit Mlinaric's "new and refreshing eclectic approach" he brings to any interior decoration job. He rose to prominence in the 1960's and 1970's English decorating scene for his association with the group of leading decorators; and also for work he did for Mick Jagger and other prominent cultural figures of the time. The standards and flair of Mlinaric's eclecticism, however, are such that he was not confined to this period. In the 1980s and '90s, he worked on the much-publicized and much-praised restoration of Spencer House in London for Lord Rothschild. Besides being linked with major cultural figures, Mlinaric also received commissions for work for major public institutions. Among these were the National Portrait Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the National Gallery in London.

Mlinaric's reputation and his eclectic style led to work outside of England as well. He did interior decorating on projects in Italy, Corfu, France, Ireland, and also Texas and New York. The sites of his work range from city to country to water side to rural; the projects, from apartments and individual rooms to sections and private and public areas of manors. This variety of work is displayed in the thirteen chapters on individual projects and in a few cases similar type of project throughout Europe and a couple of spots in the U.S. Several photographs of different sizes from wide angle for entire rooms to close-ups for details of particular objects or groupings capture the accomplishment of the interior design. Mlinaric decorates a room as its architect might imagine it to be decorated ideally. Spacing, colors, shapes, central utilitarian objects such as sofas or beds, and furnishings such as lamps, ceramics, or bronzes make each room unique, inviting, and habitable. Mlinaric seamlessly and singularly bridges the usual, conventional divide between private and public. The objects of his designs--whether chosen by him or givens as with museum pieces--attract, and satisfy, one intellectually and sensually; while their placement (in spots in rooms of homes) or presentation (in museums) gives off an aura of intimacy and ease. This bridging of private and public is accomplished by one's conscious or unconscious involvement with the objects. In museums, this can be paintings, sculptures, or objects d'art; in private homes, often these combined with finely-bound books, ornately-framed mirrors, simply-shaped lamp shades, and combinations of formal-looking and generously-padded furniture.

Curiosity about how Mlinaric acquired his knowledge and vision is answered in the first chapter. Born in 1939, Mlinaric attended London's Bartlett School of Architecture; which at the time followed a historical approach to the study of architecture. This traditional approach included subjects such as "sciagraphy," the science of how shadows are cast and in so doing affect architecture. Travel to his father's birthplace of Yugoslavia and to Italy and France complemented his sound, traditional learning. In Paris, by chance he came upon the shop of the legendary decorator Madeleine Castaing. Its collection of mixed objects and materials made a lasting impression on him. Such are some origins of Mlinaric's outstanding design sense which is both uncompromising over decades and adaptable to the nature of each particular project. His characteristic eclecticism has no relationship to collage, pastiche, or kitsch. It is a reflection of classical education, wide-ranging experience and interests, and intuitions of space. He absorbed Madeleine Castaing's remark about designing rooms as poets write poems.