History Books

Linda Robinson's "Tell Me How This Ends: General Petraeus and the Search for a Way Out of Iraq" is a superb addition to the next wave of Iraq War literature: the Surge Assessments. Hitting the ground before new books by Gordon, Ricks, Woodward, et al., Robinson of the "US News and World Report" tells more than the tale of how a General and his wizards turned around a failed military effort. "Tell Me How This Ends" is a holistic picture of the Surge. It takes the reader from fractious discussions in the White House --- where a beleaguered President pushed aside all of his senior military advisors to go the extra mile for success --- down to the burning fighting vehicles of the troops who bought battlefield progress with their blood. Robinson's battle stories of the 5th Cavalry, 26th Infantry, 23d Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, and the Marines in Anbar will quiet those who think we can't take a punch or fight this kind of war.

At the same time, Robinson knows her counterinsurgency theory. She portrays the struggle for Iraq as essentially a political contest and spends many pages discussing how Ambassador Ryan Crocker and his team prodded the Maliki government to act in the whole nation's interest. Among the more interesting pages are those on the Awakening, the process whereby Sunni tribesmen were turned against the vicious, foreign influences of Al Qaeda. Equally interesting were the chapters on how the central (Shiite-dominated) Iraqi government is dealing with those armed Sunnis, who are, at least for now, nominally on their side. Another highlight --- at least for this old soldier-bureaucrat --- was the inner workings of Team Petraeus and how this remarkable General adapted a standard military bureaucracy to the task of politico-military innovation. The cooperation documented here between the Embassy and the Command was also exemplary.

All of these issues are covered with great insight, fueled by experienced, on-the-ground reporting. There is a minimum of anonymous, third-hand sources in this book. Most of the participants speak clearly here in their own words, or through first hand observations, or by their subsequent actions. If good journalism is the first draft of history, we can be well satisfied with Robinson's contribution. The title passage --- tell me how this ends --- was actually a rhetorical question from then-Major General Petraeus at the start of the Iraq war. In a twist of historical irony, the questioner became responsible for crafting the political-military answer to his own question. Much progress has been made, but as Petraeus himself has recently noted, we are not yet ready for dancing in the end zone. This is the critical set of issues covered holistically by Linda Robinson in this well-reported and highly readable book. She has set the bar high for those who come after her.

This review represents my personal views and does not represent the policy or opinion of any U.S. government entity.

Joseph J. Collins, National War College, August 25, 2008.

In his acclaimed study of counterinsurgency, LEARNING TO EAT SOUP WITH A KNIFE, John Nagl includes this note from Vicount Montgomery of El Alamein, to the Colonial Secretary,
" Dear Lyttelton, Malaya
We must have a plan.
Secondly we must have a man.
When we have a plan and a man, we shall succeed: not otherwise.
Yours Sincerely,
Montgomery (F.M.)"

Linda Robinson, in her brilliantly conceived and executed, TELL ME HOW THIS ENDS: GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS AND THE SEARCH FOR A WAY OUT OF IRAQ. addresses the Iraq war in terms of both the plan - how it was developed, adapted, and executed - and the man: Petraeus. In so doing, she has written a classic analysis that ranges from U.S. national policy through the levels of strategy and operations down to the tactical and back again. In telling the story of General Petraeus and his plan she also tells the tales of the other actors, American and Iraqi, Ambassadors and Generals, Lt. Colonels, Captains, Sergeants, soldiers and Marines. And she shows how the smoke and sounds of battle (and the silences) flow from policies, plans, and military doctrine.

Robinson's story focuses on David Petraeus and takes the reader through a series of key mentorships and experiences. The most important mentor was General John R. Galvin who encouraged Petraeus to seek his doctorate and brought him into contact with counteinsurgency in 1986 when Galvin was the commander of the U.S. Southern Command in Panama. Robinson notes, in this context, that Petraeus co-authored Galvin's important article, "Uncomfortable Wars" dealing with counterinsurgency in Latin America published in the Army War College journal, PARAMETERS, and later in Max Manwaring's edited volume by the same title. From this background and later experiences in Iraq, Petraeus led the effort to redefine Army and Marine Corps counteinsurgency doctrine while commanding the Army's Combined Arms Center.

For this, Petraeus assembled a team under the leadership of his West Point classmate, Con Crane, and including LTC John Nagl. Robinson points out the debt the authors acknowledge to Manwaring's work on small wars issues. From the doctrine that his efforts produced, the newly promoted four star General Petraeus developed the strategy that came to be known as "the surge" (of which the troop surge was only a small, if important, part).

Robinson uses this story to show how an effective military commander works to achieve unity of effort up to the political level, laterally with the American ambassador in Iraq, and down to the troops under his command. In the process, she demosntrates the difficulties inherent in coalition counterinsurgent warfare.

The weakest section of the book is her last chapter (which is not very weak at all) where she suggests approaches for the future in Iraq. The only problem is that much of the future is now and some of her suggestions have been overtaken by events.

That said, the only appropriate words for the book are superlatives!

I received Congressman (retired) Mark D. Siljander's book, A Deadly Misunderstanding in the mail two days ago. I couldn't put it down! From first to last I was riveted, hooked, shocked, elated, and challenged. I was also filled with hope - for the expanding heart and gut-wrenching conflict between Muslims, Christians, and Jews in today's chaotic world. Mark Siljander may not have all the answers but he certainly has some essential pieces to the puzzle.

I first met Mark Siljander four years ago at the National Prayer Breakfast held in Washington, DC. I was impressed then by his obvious passion for Christ, his deep love for Muslims, and his commitment to peaceful solutions in a world in turmoil. All these traits are strikingly evident in his book.

Over the past thirty-five years Mark's life chronicles congressional and ambassadorial visits with at least a hundred leading world personages including religious leaders and heads of state in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries and many world trouble-spots. His message has always been the same, love, forgiveness, and mutual understanding based on the person and teachings of Jesus Christ.

In the book he chronicles his journey, what he terms as his "paradigm crash." This path took him from violent hatred for his "enemies" like Yasir Arafat to the place where he could genuinely hug the same man while hosting a dinner for him in his home. That does not mean ex-Congressman Siljander agrees with or validates all the ideologies, especially Islamic ones, he comes in contact with. It does mean that he applies the words of Jesus to reach out and "love our neighbors (both friends and enemies) as ourselves."

His numerous personal stories are gripping and hope-ful. They are easily worth the price of the book itself. GET THIS BOOK AND PASS IT ON TO OTHERS. I am proud to call Mark my friend.

Edward J. Hoskins, MD, PhD
Author - A Muslim's Heart

The historical exegeses are largely superfluous and distract from the points of argumentation.

There are many elaborate dilations of the main propositions which do little more than meander towards the next one(s), as opposed to elucidating their logical-historical connection.

Foucault gives political manifesto content-length propositions that are reasonably insightful, in a basically historical-novelistic theory fiction format. "We are less Greek than we think." --Foucault is more anti-Enlightenment than he realizes and less "Nietzschean" so much as a paraphrastic derivative thinker than he would like to be.

The description of power relations does not necessarily reveal the ideology governing it. In fact, it does much to mythologize an omnipresent non-entity of whom we see and experience only its effects. One suspects there are only effects of power, of ideology; consequences which cannotn be telekeniticized by any localizable 'gaze' but follow materially from human actions.

15. He who does not know how to put his will into things at least puts a MEANING into them; that is, he believes there is a will in them already (principle of 'belief').
(Twilight of the Idols, "Maxims and Arrows" epigram 15)

As Foucault ought to have known, there is no meaning to power except in the feeling of its increase. The only gaze that is belongs to "the Other". In this sense, Foucault has articulated the narcissistic element of power. On the whole however, he identifies with it since he cannot dissociate power from its celebration: the carnival event of discipline and punish, the panoptical voyeurism of the carceral gaze. Naval gazing social theory par excellence (Knowledge is Power and Power is Ideology, therefore Ideology is Knowledge.) The gaze is a fiction unless the alleged 'observed' sees that he is being watched, there is no subject without the choice presented by the Other; the neurosis of the subject hypersensitive to the Other withstands the hermeneutical uncertainty with horror, inevitably directed at himself, --that there is nothing to see. Foucault's text makes ideology power's Echo, when it is really ideology that echoes Power. Ideology is the ignorance and absence of Power that would be the knowledge required to suspend ideology for authentic choices.

The Birth of the Prison is the death of the social, the death of the Other, the fettering of the individual himself to ideology. One must ask, "Where is ideology?" Foucault offers merely the dazed "everywhere and nowhere," as the gaze without eye, the predicate without subject, Donald Rumsfeld's "known unknowns" which are nothing at all. Discipline and Punish does not address the lexical of 'known knowns' because the language of oppression, of ideology requires a counter affirmation of Power. One assumes power or renounces it, and one must be doubly strong for the latter. Given the current state of events, its disavowal is a gesture into a void: one has no power to renounce if one is not the State itself. "Je suis le etat." Since it has been more difficult to define the "Je", the sovereign, one speaks of exploitation as a structural and institutional function. This impotent anthropomorphism of theory merely compounds the problem of ideology. Exploitation is an action committed man against man, and these actions must be identified with what systems enable these impingements on the sovereignty of other men.

"l'ecrasez l'infamie!"

Foucault does not crush the infamy. He does reveal its ankles slightly however this will not titillate, unless one does not already see the pudeurs of the clearly unclothed emperors of the various reigning ideologies. Ideology abhors clarity. Read Foucault, then forget Foucault.

By examining the rise of prison systems in Western culture, Foucault demonstrates the ways modern nation-states exert their power to dominate their citizens. This is a great book for anyone interested in power formations as well as continental theory.

What is whispered in secret may be shouted from the rooftops, but what is done in secret will be watched.

In Discipline and Punish Michel Foucault develops the idea of the transition of God's omniscience into the state's omniscience, and points to interesting nodes along the way: the invention of the table and the Panopticon being the most compelling and far-reaching.

Foucault's thesis of The Panopticon being a physical result of the Protestant conception of the community replacing the All-Seeing-Eye of God is itself the child of the thinking of Max Weber, Jeremy Bentham, Cardinal Richelieu and Jean Calvin. The results of the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism, searching for signs of grace in this life as signs of salvation in the next, brought focus to human efforts as primarily economic. The result of such an ethos was that everyone was watching everybody all the time, and this creates anxiety, and the ultimate result of anxiety is release and rebellion. Enter the Panopticon to isolate the rebellious and a method thought to encourage good behaviour: constant watching.

Combine this with Terry Guillam's film "Brazil" and you'll be permanently fearful. Smile like you mean it.

Other reviews have done a nice job of explaining the textual benefits of the book, so let me explain its practical benefit. I'll keep this short and sweet. This is an excellent text to trot out during a sociology or other social science class when you want to egomanically dominate the conversation for a bit. It provides such food for thought that you can really wax poetic on the power of punishment over the body and soul of the individual. I say this with all seriousness. So few people read philosophical texts that, if you enjoy doing so, it almost feels like an obligation to introduce these discussions in the classroom. This is not a light summer read by any stretch of the imagination, but if you enjoy the challenge of unpacking complex concepts, you'll enjoy this read.

This is one of Michel Foucault's most accessible books (though still pretty heavy going). If in Madness and Civilization, Foucault analyzed the birth of insane asylums and in The Birth of the Clinic the birth of the hospital, in Discipline and Punish, it's the turn of the prisons. The book starts with a gruesome description of the public drawing and quartering of failed regicide Damiens in 1757. Then he goes on to quote a benign prison system of the 1830s. What changed between the two dates? While other authors would consider the birth of modern imprisonment as a triumph of progressive ideals (in comparison with what went on before), Foucault saw this instead as one aspect of increasing social and political control. While greatly researched, one immediately asks itself what Foucault wanted? Did he care about any improvement in the social conditions of prisoners? Or did he believed we should do with prisons altogether? And in which case, what about dangerous criminals? I think Foucault never wanted to answer these questions. I think it's telling that towards the end of his life (after this book was written) Foucault was a fan of the repressive and theocratic regime of Khomeini in Iran. In this, he was similar to those communist intellectuals in the West who criticized failings in their own countries but overlook much worse abuses (and crimes) in the Soviet Union. Another quibble is that the book is so French-centric (with some analysis of developments in England): he takes the evolution of imprisonment in France as an indication of the whole world.

I AM HALF WAY THROUGH THIS BOOK AND i FIND IT EXCELLENT READING AND VERY INFORMATIVE REGARDING THE MOON LANDINGS. THIS BOOK NEEDS TO BE READ BY PEOPLE WHO WANT TO LEARN THE TRUTH AND BE WOKEN UP TO REALITY.
CONGRATULATIONS TO RICHARD AND HIS CO AUTHOR.

Highly technical, but ultimately well worth the purchase price... however, it raises a host of new questions regarding NASA's TRUE purposes behind missions to both the moon and Mars.

Obviously thoroughly researched, this book is quite frankly critical of NASA, and will surely create doubts in the minds of readers concerning the nearly-sacred status of that agency. NOT light reading!!

The authors bite off a bit more more than they can chew in this book, but they deserve praise for making the effort to uncover the black hole known as NASA. People who think the face and the pyramids at Cydonia are natural rock formations are the same people who think the Giza pyramids were built by the elbow grease of a bunch of Egyptian primitives who just got lucky with their measurements. Evidence to the contrary is characterized as "conspiracy theory". Those of us who are skeptical of conventional wisdom regularly encounter this mindset.

Masonic connections at NASA are beyond dispute, but what do they really mean? Difficult to know without first understanding what the origins of Freemasonry are. Hoagland and Bara dance around this issue, but hint, and correctly in my view, that Masonry is based upon the concept that our earth-based humanity is indebted to a set of extraterrestrial, though humanoid, predescessors. Masonry's allegiance, as demonstrated in its rituals and its obssession with secrets, is not to any earthly religion or philosophy. Accordingly, NASA knew in advance about the ancient settlements on Mars....and on the Moon.

Makes sense, and might explain why NASA strangely let the Russians probes check out the Martian moon, Phobos. The authors imply that NASA knows Phobos still has settlers, who would shoot down probes sent to photograph what they are doing. So what are they doing? Mining for gold because the atmosphere on the 12th planet requires it - as Sitchin claimed all those years ago? Is that was this is all about?

Hoagland and Bara don't know or don't speculate. All they claim to know is that NASA is not what it seems to be. That NASA has covered up the truth about life on Mars, that it has an ulterior and highly deceptive agenda. That it can never be trusted to act on our best interests. That it has a ruthless and manipulative streak masked by its glossy PR, a compliant media, and by muzzling people with frequent oaths to National Security. The book claims that NASA's scientific, philosophical, and cultic roots lie in Nazi Germany. Unfortunately, as the docile masses (and the mainstream media) never see the wood for all the trees( a la recent banking collapse)...few would ever believe it.

Brilliant! Hoagland is on to it. His presentation is engaging, thought provoking, and easy for the layman to follow. I particularly enjoyed his explanations about hyper-dimensional space. It has enhanced my understanding about where I am placed in the drama of the ages, as we/I approach 2012.

I'M SURE THE AUTHORS HAD SOMETHING TO SAY. I COULD NOT SEE IN THE PICTURES WHAT THEY WERE CLAIMING WAS THERE. THEY ALSO LEFT OUT THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF PUBLISHING-AN EDITOR! YOU WADE THRU A TON OF VERBAGE FOR ONE NUGGET OF INFORMATION OF TRUTH, YOU GET SO TIRED YOU DON'T CARE.

Certainly, will be more enjoyable for Crue fans. However, I can't imagine anyone reading this book and not being entertained.

I didn't know much about the crue before i read this book. But it's a riviting book with entertaining tales of crazy far-out rock n' roll lifestyles. A good read.

I just finished reading the The Dirt and it was, honest to God, one of the most compelling books I have ever read. I am a huge Motley Crue fan but the great thing about this book is that you don't have to be a fan, heck you don't even have to like music to enjoy this book. This book is about music, but just barely. There is a little bit about Nikki Sixx and how he came up with lyrics and such but other than that there's not much about the music itself. This book is very different from Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" and Slash's autobiography. Those books have a good deal of information on the actual music. "The Dirt" stays away from it. Instead, it tells the amusing, shocking, and sometimes utterly revolting stories of the band members while they were in their teen years, when they were just a young upstart band in West Hollywood, and when they became international stars and went on tour. A worthwhile read.

The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band Motley Crue, the name say's it all, but the "Rock God's" also showed how human they are through their MANY loves, loses, & to still, be on top & together after all these Year's!!!!!!!!! KEEP ROCKIN' MOTLEY CRUE!

This book is incredible!! I read it cover to cover. What I love about this book most is that it is written the way these guys would speak. For example, after every sentence Tommy writes, it finished with bro, or dude.
The stories written give you such a great insight as to how these men became some of the most notorious rockstars of all time. From their earliest memories growing up, til a few years ago. At times, it can be confusing as to what really happened as the stories are told from a few different points of view, but that further allows you to see who these guys are.
The advenutures and the (many, many, many) nights of debauchery, the numerous near death experiences and overdoses, the personal tragedies of each man. This book has it all. And in perfect, descriptive detail.
I wouldn't, however, recommend this book to people with a weak stomach, but to anyone else who has any interest in rock music and the lifestyle, I personally guarentee you won't be able to put this one down. I seriously can't describe enough how good this book is.

While only just beginning to read this novel I have found some very intriguing remarks just in the first section where the author refers to a teacher teaching a class by reading a passage from another book where a home owner is selling the house and another man is attempting to pay the man and his family to leave the community. The description of the man trying to pay the man who owns the house off to move is stated by the teacher as "The Devil" because of the nature of his proposal. The nature of the proposal was that of integrity, dignity, and self-respect. All were in violation with the proposal and the man was in a bind because after the house was sold, the money ended up missing. Eventually the man came to terms with himself and declined the proposal while maintaining his integrity, dignity, and self-respect. The manner in which the author uses the teacher to describe this understanding is brilliant, insightful, and full of twists that keep you in suspense for further analysis of human behaviors, and abilities to read into a character by their actions and motives and use these to track down their choices. In essence, this is what makes up a part of a person's identity with themselves and the world around them. I am anxiously awaiting the next reading session and hope to add further details as they unfold.

This is indeed a fantastic aid when analyzing literature. In AP literature, one must definitely know how to analyze different works. This work gives simple ways to explain difficult concepts or difficult to find ideas. Sometimes the book does over-state key ideas, this reiteration could be quite bothersome when reading the entire book at once. i would advise that you only look up things as you need them, but the writing is fascinating and can be quite colorful and even enjoyable. This was a great purchase for me!

How to Read Literature Like a Professor explains some of the devices used by authors to express themselves. The author covers many aspects of the novel such as the quest and the frequent appearance of references to previous authors such as Shakespeare. The author's approach is flexible, he explains that, for example the weather, can have many uses as a device rather than just one. Rather than tell you precisely what to think about a use of a literary device in a novel, the author encourages you to think about them for yourself. After reading this book you will pay more attention to what is going on in a novel so I recommend this book for those people looking for a comparatively easy way to deepen one's appreciation of literature.

Dr. Thomas C. Foster is a Michigan Professor of English who has written this bestseller and its sequel "How To Read Novels Like a Professor". This is the initial volume published in paperback by Quill in 2003.
Foster is well versed in all aspects of the literary field from ancient works to fiction by living writers. In his lively little book he introduces us to such terms as the following:
Seasons; Food; the Bible, Greek and Latin classical allusions and the world of fairy tales. He discusses irony, plote, motif and theme. All of this can be found elsewhere and in greater depth but Foster does an adequate job by using cogent illustrations from outstanding works such as "The Alexandrine Quartet" of Lawrence Durrell;
"A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess; "Grendel" by John Gardner as well as classics penned by such notables as Dickens, Henry James, James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence and the ancient Greek dramatists. He also uses examples from African-American, Latin American and Native American works which is commendable. I especially enjoyed his contention that the chief character in Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" is a Christ figure.
The best part of the book was the chapter in which we are asked to peruse Katherine Mansfield's "The Garden Party" short story and then analyze it using the tools of the literary critic which we have acquired1 This was great fun! Valid interpretations of a literary work are myriad making it fun to become engrossed in literature!
Foster alludes to the sonnet and Shakespeare but otherwise has little to say about legitimate drama. The book is a beginner's guide not for the advanced literary scholar. It will keep your interest for several hours; you will learn new ways of looking at old books and you will become a better reader. Recommended!

Most people I encounter, after reading this book, complain that it is pushing a single opinion about the meaning of a story. That's not the case. While it does convey the language that people use to communicate, since that is what literature is supposed to do, it still does recognize that everyone will hear a story differently, due to the intertextuality it even mentions. This is an excellent book to have people "join the conversation" instead of being trapped in their own interpretation which may not be shared with anyone.

One of the fastest weeks of my life! I noticed as I approached the end of the book, I started to slow down, trying to savor every moment. I only wish, and this is NO CRITICISM, that some day. Mr Shaara would turn his wonderful talents to the war in the Pacific.

This was a good read. It had all the elements of good historical fiction...well researched and it put you into the minds and the conversations of the era. Mr. Shaara is a good writer, and should be encouraged. This is the 3rd book of his I have read and am now looking forward to the last book in his WWII European Theater trilogy. I am hoping he does the same for the Pacific Theater at some point.

When you read books by Jeff Shaara you feel you are there in the moment and action. This trilogy of WWII efforts in Europe should replace the history text books and be required reading for all students. I learn more about America's history from reading Jeff Shaara's books than from reading any non-fiction accounts. In this book he does an especially great job of bringing the reader into the minds of both Eisenhower and Rommell.

The book contains numerous mistakes in the introduction where it should be historically accurate. The characters' interpretations and their reflections are sometimes doubtful and exaggerated. The description of the actual combat seems to be very realistic and impressive

Mr. Shaara has done it once again. He has written an historical novel that is well worth reading. Although much of what he wrote has been written and re-written it still holds an hypnotic spell over those who read of the exploits that took place on D-day. Not being a reviewer as such, I can only say that I marveled over the conditions and circumstances which men of D-day faced and have to thank them once again for their heroism and selflessness. Mr. Shaara has certainly reminded us once again of what we owe those men. I axiously await his continuance.

What a roller coaster ride! The book left me breathless and smiling. It was one adventure after another with a few calm points in between. From what I gather from the other reviews, Voyager was supposed to be the final book in a trilogy. I'm SO glad it isn't. I can't seem to get enough of Claire and Jamie and want to know: "What happens next?" We meet old friends, new friends and old enemys.

As well as being a romance and adventure, it is a mystery novel. Bones were found in a cave in the Caribbean in the 20th Century and I THOUGHT I'd figured out who they belonged to but I was WAY off course. And a person I THOUGHT was dead, escaped it and was very much alive.

The books remind me of a couple of my favorite novels I read as a child: Treasure Island and Kidnapped. Gabaldon is a superb story teller and makes you feel as if your are living in the 18th century right along with Claire. There are memorable scenes in the book, ones that I found particularly amusing: was where Claire arrives in Edinburgh and discards the wrapping of her sandwich and where Jamie sees her for the first time after 20 years. His reaction to her sudden appearance after so long is simply pricless! And as to the wrapping that covered her sandwich...I wonder if any one ever found it?

At over a 1000 pages the book is long but well worth it. As always I love the historical detail that DG puts into the book. The daily life that people lived and experienced, while it might be boring to some, it helps put you in the time period. Most authors simply skim over what life was like, whereas Gabaldon delves into it and gives you a sense of how people might have lived back then. As I said in a previous review, I admire the research and time that must have went into the book to bring it to life AND make you stay glued to the pages.

I can't wait to start the next one!

This is the third book of the Diana Gabaldon Outlander and of all the years I have been reading, they are my favorite series. Ms. Gabaldone will keep you in laughter and you will shed plenty of ters and she takes you on a journey with Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser. You will experience alot of history and become a part of what you read. Excellent books and Voyager is one of my favorites

Third in the series and just as riviting. I read this one cover to cover, almost non-stop, save for eating and some sleep! I just love this series.

This book is part of a series, and although I haven't actually gotten to it I can be absolutely sure it is going to be exciting. One thing to remember however, is that every one of these books begins slowly, and until you get into the first 2-3 chapters it's slow going. But do keep reading!

The history of Scotland, France, etc., that Ms. Gabaldon attaches to these stories is historically accurate, too.

Awesome books by a great writer.

Okay, I'm going to keep this review brief.
This is after all the third book in this series and chances are if you've read the other two you'll probably read this one as well...

I am so happy to have found this series, I love it. I think it's great fun...well that is if you like to be kept hanging on the edge of your seat. I love the characters and the history and the storytelling is great!

Last night I was getting to the end of the book and feeling disappointed that it would be over until I remembered that there are three more books in the series! and more on the way!

I'm a 2nd grade teacher. I went to Barnes and Noble tonight and one of my missions was to look at the picture books regarding the presidential candidates (I knew that there had to be a few by now) to read to my students during our daily read aloud times. I want to be able to present each of the candidates in a fair manner. While at the store I found this book.

The books is SO heavy-handed (I looked to see if it hadn't been written by, endorsed by, or if the profits weren't going directly to the DNC). Barack comes across as a Moses for our times. He is spoken to by "Hope", and later on it seems that Hope turns into the voice of God. God doesn't just stir his soul but recites sentences/a paragraph, and seems to anoint him a modern-day prophet. The child in the book even compares him to Joseph of the new testament. This is going WAY too far (unless of course we are to expect The Book of Barack to be added to the Bible any day now). Actually, the heavy-handed writing made me laugh as I rejected even the possibility of bringing it into the classroom.

I do, though, allow adult guest readers to bring in books of their choosing when they join us for read alouds. I started to wonder how I would handle the situation if someone brought in this book. My solution will be to apologize immensely and then mention, "Oooops, we were suppose to go to the art room for a special presentation. We'll have to reschedule this read aloud."

There is no way I could present this book to my students. I might as well read the Bible and replace major names with Barack.

PLEASE publishers! Give us DECENT books about the candidates.

(*A note to Barack (though I doubt he will be taking time to read my little review):
Do you endorse these books or comments that compare you to Biblical figures???? I think you would do your campaign well to tell people to start considering you to be a mere man. You aren't a rock star. You aren't a prophet. I think these comparisons might wear on people and lose you an election.)

I think Nikki Grimes' middle name must be Lyric. There is poetry on every single page of this book. Poetry, and as the title says, Promise and Hope. Grimes, ever the artist in words, weaves her images with historical facts in presenting this biography of the man who may very well change the world, through the words of a mother explaining to her son just who this guy with the "mouthful" of a name and the people shouting.

From a strictly educational standpoint, this is a wonderful book for teaching metaphor, simile, and descriptive language. It's absolutely lush with images. The teachers in the school where I work as a librarian are already drooling over this one. Here are a couple of quotes to illustrate my point:

"His family stretched from Kansas to Kenya, his mama, white as whipped cream, his daddy, black as ink...Love is the bridge that held them all together."

"Honolulu looked like heaven. But even though the blue of the sea was sharp enough to slice the sun, and the sun warmed the sand between his toes, and the sand sparkled like diamonds, nothing could fill the hole in Barry's heart once his daddy went away."

Tough issues are handled here with grace and compassion, and so is the exotic childhood landscape in which Barack Obama was privileged to grow up, beauty and harshness together. Grimes presents these for young readers in such a way as to let them know that this boy went through both good times and hard times, and as he grew into a man, he learned from his life experiences and listened and watched and soaked in the voice of Hope, and later, prayerfully, the voice of God.

As I read, I was moved by the beauty of Grimes' language, but also by the beauty of the message here. The mother and son's dialog seemed tacked on at first, and distracted me from it, but as I read, I understood that Grimes had imbued the boy with the voice of the young reader, that he was asking the questions they would ask, and making the connections that many of them would make. Brilliant.

Some may call this over-the-top on the glorification of Obama, but I call it rich writing. It is engaging and I am looking forward to sharing this with our students. Besides, if ever there was a time we needed an over-the-top message of Hope, perseverence, and the breaking down of barriers, it's now, and most especially for this generation.

The art, well, much of it is just breathtaking. I wish I could share more of it here. It's a mix of textures and colors, torn images, paint, and lines, and it all blends together - a great reflection of the lyricism in Grimes' words.

I highly recommend this book. Love is indeed the bridge that holds us all together, after all. "Can we make America better? Can we work together as one?" Yes, we can.

Roxyanne Young
Editorial Director
SmartWriters.com

This is a beautifully written book about our next President! It's very moving and explains just how much he has touched the lives of many millions of people. YES WE CAN!

YES, WE CAN. We can dream. YES, WE CAN. We can achieve those dreams. YES, WE CAN. We can change America. YES, WE CAN.

This story chronicles Obama's life as he leads up to running for President. The historical nature of the story is intriguing. They used to call him Barry until he embraced his father and his name Barack. As his mother taught him proper English, Godly virtues, and love of family his sense of adventure took hold. Education was his foothold and studying was his pastime. Barack felt the urgent need to help the community overcome the adversity and now he is making history...

The illustrations are absolutely breathtaking. The storyline seems to be historical correct and the important dates chronology provide validation. The story touches on several topics - divorce, family, values, education, and community involvement. The family tree, additional sources and bibliography prove the intense research used to write this book.

Deltareviewer
Reviewing for Real Page Turners

This is a moving beautifully written piece about Barack Obama. It is very well written and very moving. I am not a Barack Obama fan but I can't deny that this is a good book. It does map out the searching, religious story he has tried to communicate to the public. Whether or not it is truly an accurate portrait remains to be seen but I that doesn't detract from the book and its message. It's scary to try to live up to this kind of idealism.

This book was wonderful to read, especially the ending. It tells the story of a woman, Anna Firth, who moves back and forth in society between the villagers and the decision makers during the plague year. Her observations are the heart of the book. The ending is particularly moving because all her prior beliefs about right and wrong are completely turned upside down. She must create a new sense of morality for herself in a new place and with a different religion (or lack of religion). The ending is difficult to accept, we want something else for her, we want her faith restored and in tact. The author was very brave to end the novel the way she did. I highly recommend it.

I have visited the town of Eyam several times and well familiar with the "plague village," so I eagerly looked forward to reading this book. The story of the villagers plight is gripping and readable, but overall, the characters are lack depth and became tiresome. They wer either near-perfect, virtuous people, stoics or downright evil, nothing in between. The last 80 or so pages are outright ridiculous, even laughable with gratuitous sex and a rather unbelievable ending. Like another reviewer said, maybe the author grew bored and just wanted to finish the story. In the end, the reader really knows little about how villagers planned to begin anew once the plague had passed. Yes, this is a good story that has "entertainment" value, but don't have high expectations that this is a truly great novel .

I loved the book, the story was riveting until the very abrupt ending. What happened? After so much detail in the first 80% of the book, did Geraldine Brooks get bored somehow and just decide she needed to finish the story immediately? If only she had taken a little time to flesh out the details of what happened between the "year" and the aftermath, she would have had a truly epic novel. Phooey!

Brooks' Year of Wonders is almost a social commentary in the way it depicts the actions of people under the stress of a catastrophe such as the plague. Her prose is engagingg and haunting. Her detailed descriptions of daily life gave way to a beautiful line like this one: "The sun glinted off the serried instruments and then I could see the notes of music, molten, dripping like golden rain." The entire novel is filled to the brim with such imagery, that one can practically taste the scent the apples bring in the vividly described orchards. Everything about this book is so well-imagined. But it falters. There is a chapter-long detour about mining that seemed misplaced, and the bizarre Epilogue is sudden and grossly unbelievable. That shift in tone was uncalled for, and makes one think that it is from another book entirely. Luckily, it is short, and one can forget about it when confronted with the previous narrative. Because until that point, the characters had roundness and well-developed backstories that explained present motivations. Brooks tells of a time that, though seemingly past us, yields emotions and actions that could mirror any disaster in the modern age. Wondrous and rich, Year of Wonders is a treasure that, like a living person, stumbles, yet delivers.

"Year of Wonders" is a fantastic book by Geraldine Brooks that chronicles a severe outbreak of the Bubonic plague in an isolated English village during the year 1666. The story revolves around Anna Frith, a housemaid who loses her two young children to the plague and emerges as a heroine during this terrible time. Anna assists the town rector and his wife, Michael and Elinor Mompellion, and together they tend to the sick and dying while also trying to keep the peace in their crippled village. As numerous people succumb to the terrible illness or face other challenges, Anna manages to find the strength within herself to carry on.

I was blown away by this book. The story is based on the real town of Eyam, which experienced a massive plague outbreak in the 1600s. Amazingly, "Year of Wonders" is the author's very first novel, and it's filled with memorable characters, challenging moral dilemmas, and incredible stories of loss, love, and determination.

The final 40 pages of the book were rather disappointing, as I was horrified to see what eventually became of Michael's character, and I though Anna's story came to a very rushed and somewhat unfathomable conclusion. However, those shortcomings weren't enough to spoil this novel for me. "Year of Wonders" is one of the best, most engaging books I've read in a long time. I highly recommend it.