History Books

This TERRIBLE DOCUMENTARY is just a collection of generic interviews and clips of the ENDINGS OF EVERY MOVIE IT FEATURES!! It completely spoils all the movies if you haven't seen them!!! Who was the terrible lazy editor of this documentary? I can't believe Warner's approved this documentary. RIDICULOUS.

No doubt about it-this is a gorgeous book and a must for classic film fans. However, I'm getting increasingly annoyed at how major errors are slipping through the cracks.. For example, it's listed that Bette Davis WON the Oscar for "All About Eve." Maybe in her own mind she did but not in reality. Also, did you know that "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" only won two Oscars? Not true.Im sure there are more errors of this nature. I'm not certain which author to blame, but I have a feeling it's not Schickel.

every person in marketing should read this book (several times).
actually, EVERYBODY should read this book--whether they are in marketing or not--because, essentially we're ALL in marketing.
buy the book now, maybe buy two, so you can give one to a friend.

I'm an Acount Executive in the online advertising industry and I must say, the knowledge I gathered from this book is priceless. I recommend it to e verybody who is in adverting or has anything to do with marketing.

I use this as an outline when helping to establish direction for my clients. Very easy to read and follow. ZAG is a must read as well.

This book would be great for someone new to marketing, or someone entrenched in the 'old ways' of doing business marketing. It is about opening your eyes to what can be done, and why some brands seem to speak louder than others. The book has some fairly interesting attempts at explaining ideas visually but if you're a visual thinker, they are pretty primitive.. I believe they are more for the non-visual person to have some 'eye candy' in the book.

A good book to source some mantras to tell your clients when you are trying to focus their brand strategy.

This book may have been more comprehensive if it included a bit more pro-active ways of coming to brand decisions. It probes and asks you to consider the main elements of a successful brand, but doesn't really show you how.

A better book that is really similar but includes the 'how' to go about creating a brand strategy is 'Eating the Big Fish' by Adam Morgan.

Eating the Big Fish: How Challenger Brands Can Compete Against Brand Leaders (Adweek Book S.)

If you want to be inspired about how to differentiate and focus, this book has more substance.

Do you need something to help persuade or educate your executive team on the value of branding? This is it. Simple and to the point.

In this book, Carter succeeded in transparently describing the middle-east crisis through his personal experience, while avoiding hypocrisy and bias. Thus, the text presents an objective and highly ordered presentation of a very misinterpreted reality...

Islamization: How it Works

Islam is not a religion, nor is it a cult. In it's Greatest form, it is a complete, total, 100% system of life. The goal is Dar es Salaam.

Islam has religious, legal, political, economic, social, and military
components. The religious component is a beard for all of the other
components.

Islamization begins when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to
agitate for their religious rights.

When politically correct, tolerant, and culturally diverse societies agreeto Muslim demands for their religious rights, some of the other components tend to creep in as well. Here's how it works.

As long as the Muslim population remains around or under 2% in any given
country, they will be for the most part be regarded as a peace-loving minority, and not as a threat to other citizens. This is the case in:

United States -- Muslim 0.6%
Australia -- Muslim 1.5%
Canada --
Muslim 1.9%
China -- Muslim 1.8%
Italy -- Muslim 1.5%
Norway -- Muslim 1.8%

At 2% to 5%, they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and
disaffected groups, often with major recruiting from the jails and among streetgangs. This is happening in:

Denmark -- Muslim 2%
Germany -- Muslim 3.7%
United Kingdom -- Muslim 2.7%
Spain -- Muslim 4%
Thailand -- Muslim 4.6%

From 5% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their
percentage of the population. For example, they will push for the introduction of halal(clean by Islamic standards) food.. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature halal on their shelves -- along with threats for failure to comply. This is occurring in:

France -- Muslim 8%
Philippines -- Muslim 5%
Sweden -- Muslim 5%
Switzerland -- Muslim 4.3%
The Netherlands -- Muslim 5.5%
Trinidad &Tobago -- Muslim 5.8%

At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them torule themselves (within their ghettos) under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islamists is to establish Sharia law over the entire
world.

When Muslims approach 10% of the population, they tend to increase
lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions. In Paris , we are already seeing car-burnings. Any non-Muslim action offends Islam, and results in uprisings and threats, such as in Amsterdam , with opposition to Mohammed cartoons and films about Islam. Such tensions are seen daily, particularly in Muslim sections, in:

Guyana -- Muslim 10%
India -- Muslim 13.4%
Israel -- Muslim 16%
Kenya -- Muslim 10%
Russia -- Muslim 15%

After reaching 20%, nations can expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militiaformations, sporadic killings, and the burnings of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues, such as in:

Ethiopia -- Muslim 32.8%

At 40%, nations experience widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks,
and ongoing militia warfare, such as in:

Bosnia -- Muslim 40%
Chad -- Muslim 53.1%
Lebanon -- Muslim 59.7%

From 60%, nations experience unfettered persecution of non-believers of allother religions (including non-conforming Muslims), sporadic ethnic cleansing(genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon, and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels, such as in:

Albania -- Muslim 70%
Malaysia -- Muslim 60.4%
Qatar -- Muslim 77.5%
Sudan -- Muslim 70%

After 80%, expect daily intimidation and violent jihad, some State-run
ethnic cleansing, and even some genocide, as these nations drive out the
infidels, and move toward 100% Muslim, such as has been experienced and in some ways is on-going in:

Bangladesh -- Muslim 83%
Egypt -- Muslim 90%
Gaza -- Muslim 98.7%
Indonesia -- Muslim 86.1%
Iran -- Muslim 98%
Iraq -- Muslim 97%
Jordan -- Muslim 92%
Morocco -- Muslim 98.7%
Pakistan -- Muslim 97%
Palestine -- Muslim 99%
Syria -- Muslim 90%
Tajikistan -- Muslim 90%
Turkey -- Muslim 99.8%
United Arab Emirates -- Muslim 96%

100% will usher in the peace of 'Dar-es-Salaam' -- the Islamic House of
Peace. Here there's supposed to be peace, because everybody is a Muslim, theMadrasses are the only schools, and the Koran is the only word, such as in:

Afghanistan -- Muslim 100%
Saudi Arabia -- Muslim 100%
Somalia -- Muslim 100%
Yemen -- Muslim 100%

Unfortunately, peace in never achieved, as in these 100% states the most
radical Muslims intimidate and spew hatred, and satisfy their blood lust by killing less radical Muslims, for a variety of reasons.

'Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me
against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; the tribe against the world, and all of us against the infidel. - Leon Uris, 'The Haj'

It is important to understand that in some countries, with well under 100%Muslim populations, such as France, the minority Muslim populations live inghettos, within which they are 100% Muslim, and within which they live by Sharia Law. The national police do not dare even enter these ghettos. There are no national courts nor schools nor non-Muslim religious facilities. In such situations, Muslims do not integrate into the community at large. The children attend madrasses. They learn only the Koran. To even associate with an infidel is a crime punishable with death. Therefore, in some areas of certain nations, MuslimImams and extremists exercise more power than the national average would indicate.

Today's 1.5 billion Muslims make up 22% of the world's population. But
their birth rates dwarf the birth rates of Christians, Hindus, Buddists, andJews, and all other believers. At current rates Muslims will exceed 50% of the world's population by the end of this century.

Adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam:
The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat

Jimmy Carter exemplifies altruistic behavior and equality of ALL men. Finally an unprejudiced person in authority speaks the truth.

Zionists may argue that he's lying and his book is biased. But I implore you to read this book with an open mind. He was an integral part of the mid-east peace process, and as such has merit to write a book of this nature. It is completely free of bias. He points out the flaws of both sides, as well as the good on both sides. His book is not Pro-Israel, or Pro-Palestine...it's Pro-Peace.

If you want an unbiased analysis of the Mid-East, by a man involved in the process, this is the book for you.

In addition to this remarkable book by Jimmy Carter, I strongly recommend `The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy'. It is completely bewildering how general public and the government allowed being stupefied till such degree by fabricated justification for many Israeli actions.

Nobel Prize Laurate Jimmy Carter wrote the necessary. Some might not agree with the book, but truth be told this is a must read with those who are obssessed with the holocaust, but cant see the jews commiting the same atrocities they love to complain about.

I am actually only half way through this book. I became interested in travel writings after reading all of Ryszard Kapuscinski's reportage/diaries, also a world traveler who writes with exquisite decorum. I enjoy objective, beautifully written prose which is the flavor I find in Colin Thubron's book. I like his humanity, curiosity, and tolerance of the people he meets. This book will transcend and include you in his travels. It is very educational and will expand your knowledge of peoples of another world.

Shadow of the Silk Road (P.S.)

Shadow of the Silk Road

"In the Footsteps of Marco Polo"

"For hours I tramped along a mountain road forty miles south of Zhangye, toward the cliff temples of Matisi, before the headlights of a van swung bleakly into view through the falling snow. Its driver shouted that the road ahead was closed: panic over the SARS virus was bringing everything to a standstill. All the same, he said, he would get me through. We clattered unquestioned past a police post. Then, as the snow cleared and weak sun came out, we entered an Alpine beauty of dark, unflowering trees under the Quilian mountains. In the village beneath the temples nothing moved. Someone had built a line of wooden villas, for pilgrims or mountain lovers, but they were deserted. Against one slope a solitary farmer drove a yak at a plow."

Colin Thubron has a gift for language and a sense of place. In "Shadow of the Silk Road,' he traces the ancient trade route 7,000 miles from China to the Mediterranean. Traveling by rail, local bus, horse, camel, goat cart and foot, he encounters the people who live in these lands, so distant geographically and spiritually from our own. Since he speaks both Mandarin Chinese and Russian, he is able to talk to these people and extract from their collective memory a history of the place. The Silk Road was more than goods and property: it was also a two-way street for ideas. For the most part, the political and geographic boundaries of these lands are artificial: "So the Tsarists, and the Bolsheviks after them, entered a land without nations, where a state was only the outreach of a ruler... Its frontiers were blurred opinions." (P. 201)

El Sr. Thubron es un viajero de antiguo cuño. No usa máquinas fotográficas. Si es que toma algunos apuntes, me imagino que lo hace sobre una Moleskine. Allí,tal vez, también dibuja. Educado en Eton y Oxford, su prosa es elegante y maravillosa. Hipnotiza al lector. Calla para dejar que los propios personajes hablen. Ha gastado su vida en Asia. Su conocimento llega al grado de la erudición, aunque nunca intimida con ello.
Lo veo en la línea de un Patrick Leigh Fermor o de R. Kapukzinski.
Se lo recomiendo, fervientemente.

Colin Thubron's vivid and very well written descriptions make us think about the complexity of Asia. His book is not just the report of a long journey, but also a valuable contribution for us to understand better the humankind. A perfect combination of realistic reports, history and culture. Thubron meets real people, talks about the past and also about the present, sometimes painful, of their vanishing way of life.

Thubron undertakes a spiritual and physical quest along the once commercial highway of the Silk Road from China across Central Asia and Iran to Turkey. Along this three-part journey, he plunges the reader into history, archeology, mythology, religions, and peoples whose genetic and cultural blending do not conform with political boundaries. Through artifacts like beautifully glinting faience or tile, the,often glorious, past is rediscovered through seeking out clues. In this trip of discovery, Thubron determinedly scales sheer cliffs with his fingernails, treads through villages and across rivulets to recover evidence of past civilizations in murals, tiles, minarets, chiseled-out caves, and more. He risks life and limb brushing against the SARS epidemic in China and passing through the territory ruled by thieves and unscrupulous guards in Afghanistan and in the Oxus. His good fortune is bolstered by his experience with local languages and with the region from a trip made twelve years ago during Soviet control and by his historical, political, religious, and mythological knowledge. The reader is given many facts and surprises, such as the longest epic's being the MANAS rather than the ODYSSEY. As he traverses the road, he tells the reader about the cities then and now and about conversations with their residents. An interesting story is his visit to a Moslem shrine during a crowded holiday. Such a proscribed visit by a non-Moslem requires escaping detection as the crowds press him forward; unexpectedly he is tugged gently along as a guest (pp 264-67, 270-72). Another good story is set in Tehran where he interviews an artsy youth with a film (pp. 284-93). Another is in Maragheh, where the draining of an inflamed abscess is a four-hour doubtful ordeal with dentists who do not speak his languages. Not least is the story of his surpise visit to an English language college in Tabriz where its female students ask questions of him and practice English. Not only does the author bring the Silk Road to light for the reader, a busy network bearing silk, printing, goods and ideas between the Pacific and the Mediterranean, he is also relating life along the Silk Road today, as these places might not receive many tourists. So, this travel memoir is both memorable and necessary.

I LOVED this book! The first book in this series (A Great and Terrible Beauty) was a little slow, but this one is absolutely captivating! Gemma is easy to like and easy to realte to. The story is interesting, the descriptions are beautiful, and the characters are complex and wonderfully developed. This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. I wasn't sure after finishing the first one, but I decided to give this one a shot. I am so glad I did! Definitely, read this book!!

A Great and Terrible Beauty was the first and best book in this series, but the final two books in the trilogy (including this one as #2) are great as well. They are a little sexy for young advanced readers, but only in a very few parts. These books are definitely worth reading.

I enjoyed this book. It was a bit longer than I expected (550 pages seems like a lot for a young adult read); however, the writing was simple and easy to follow, so it didn't become tedious. The plot was very nicely designed. I enjoyed the first book as well, but this one was even better. This book is a worthy addition to the Gemma Doyle saga.

Rebel Angels is the wonderful sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty. A gulped up AGATB in two gulps, and RA in the same way. I enjoy this book series emensely, yet at the same time find them annyoing. I always seem to find qualms with ther hundreds of books I read each year, and this one is no exception. But don't totally forsake this book if you read this review: Rebel Angels is beautifully written, and Libba Bray is a great writer. But no work is ever perfect....

Qualm Number 1: I am a true romantic. Although I would never read downright romance novels, I love that little bit of love and denial in each book I read; I come to expect it. But I was so mad that Kartik and Gemma didn't get together in this book. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM? Kartik is so obviously crazy about Gemma, and she chooses to ignore him, sit in her little realm world, la la la I can't her you. And what she said to him was unintentionally mean, but he should have gotten over it, since love is endless. Personally, I would already have them together in the first book...but that's just me. But Kartik sounds like such a nice guy, you know? I have the absurd tendency to fall in love with characters, and Kartik joins Percy Jackson and Edward Cullen in this department. Why can't Gemma realize that? WHY? Ok, ranting over on that subject. I am not crazt haha :)

Moving on....
Qualm Number 2: Is it just me, or does it seem like Felicity and Ann are using Gemma? I think that they are, just to get to the realms. Felicity wants the power and to see Pippa, and Ann just wants to be beautiful. They really don't have those experiences friends have. When Gemma finds out about Felicity's past abuses Felicity doesn't cry on her shoulder; she just gets all amd. And Ann...although I liked how she lied about her family, I thought that was too out of character for her. Felicity is so pushing her to be what she is not. And what about Pippa? In the last book she seemed like she had multiple-personalities, and in RA too. One minute she is nice, the next whiny, althoug that might be the realms I don't know. Felicity also treats her weird, one minute Gemma's best friend and the next Pippa's. The whole friendship aspect is a little crazy.

Qualm Number 3: SPOILER!!!! I knew Miss Moore was Circe since AGATB, so that was very predicatble. I was a little sad though. She seemed really nice. :(

Ok, so I loved this book with a passion, and it is now on the sacred bookshelf in my room. I'm getting the sequel, The Sweet Far Thing, so soon as I can. So if you need a book to read, read this one. It's scary at times, but I was enraputured 24/7. Go get it now!!!

is entertaining.....it took off right from where the first one ended.....it is well worth the money

This is the worst classic I've ever read. I had to read it for high school English and my mother had to keep waking me up because I was so excruciatingly bored that I fell asleep every few pages. I could not care about the plot or about even one single character, although I sympathize with Dickens' social observations, I usually devour anything in print and I love 19th century novels as a rule. My high school class discussions did not bring me around in the least on this book. Dickens' female characters are either crones or ingenues, and he really does write as though he's being paid by the word. He was capable of better: "Great Expectations" is actually worth the paper its printed on; he actually seemed to give that one some care rather than just churning out word after word after word. Unfortunately out of all his books I've read, only "Great Expectations" lived up to his potential. If I want an English Victorian novelist, I'll take Thomas Hardy or Wilkie Collins (even at his most outlandish) any day, but spare me Charles Dickens.

Tale Of Two Cities represents a change for Dickens. Considering the story a short exposition on the French Revolution, Dickens avoids much explanation or background on a multitude of characters that are trapped in the world pre-french Revolution and yes this is a problem.
The tale opens up with the rescue of Dr. Manette. It's hard to care for Dr. Manette as he comes across as both eccentric and quirky and nothing else. We also don't know his past or his motivations or even why he got locked up in a French prison. His daughter Lucie comes across as a one dimensional soap opera character and Mr. Lorry is a cardboard cutout completing the triangle. Such is the start of the adventure. To be honest, you may struggle since Dickens demands a proper stage to be set introducing character after character without so much as an explanation why we are meeting them and it can seem frustrating. Dickens does this for a reason which is to provide a great deal of twists and turns at the conclusion (all is not what it seems).
Once the conflict kicks in -- Charles Darney (Lucie's husband) must go to France and now the Revolution has kicked in and it becomes a gripping page turner. Dickens is a master writer and creates mood over action and it works. As already mentioned, the plot twists do kick in and there is an obvious feeling of 'forced and contrived' in some instances but the emotions are real, the situations are frightening, and no other book I have read captures the French Revolution in such a personal level as this book. I just finished it tonight and I'm still processing it. If you chose to read it, try to not focus so much on character but situations and the times they are set in and you will more appreciate how wonderful this story really is even to today's modern audiences.

Charles Dickens is not a boring, old foagie author from times gone by, droning on and on in a language that cannot resonate with modern readers. Dickens was a great writer, a good man (flawed and human in his own life), and in "A Tale of Two Cities," he spins a story of the most terrible and wonderful, of profoundness and poignancy, of the best and the worst times and how people reacted to them.

I originally read "A Tale of Two Cities" as an assignment for high school English class. What a pleasant surprise I was in for. This book has every right to be called a classic. Its themes of political disillusion, cultural progress or regression, families torn apart and reconciled, love lost and gained, honorable sacrifice and religious confusion are true and timeless.

Dickens' characters speak to us today through Lucie's eternal love of a wife and mother and daughter, of Sydney Carton's rejected lover, of Charles Darnay's moral man trying to right the wrongs of his family's past. Carton, the tragic protagonist, is a wonderful, eventual hero, and a great study for theologians and psychologists. As an adult and now Christian, I have much greater appreciation for and understanding of Dickens' Biblical references, and of Carton's spiritual journey that occurs just before the end of Book the Third.

I highly recommend "A Tale of Two Cities" to young people, for a largely historically accurate and interesting account of the French Revolution, and the exploration of important psychological and religious topics. This is also quite enjoyable reading for lovers of classics, those interested in historical fiction, or even just a good novel. Do spend your money on an unabridged printing.

And, for fans of the new Doctor Who, check out the episode featuring Mr. Dickens, with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, "The Unquiet Dead."

Perhaps it's my lack of enthusiam for classic English literature, but I found this book dull and very unamusing. I purchased this because my English teacher wanted us to read it, and while I don't regret buying it, I highly doubt I'm going to read it again.

Though, keep in mind I'm but a teenager, and not a fan of the classics. I'm sure if the classics are your thing, then you'll love this book. The included appendix and notes help out a lot.

Some honest disclosures. My strongest academic credentials relevant to literary criticism are that I minored in English. I have never been a "student" of Dickens. I enjoy Shakespeare plays in the same manner that I enjoy analyzing baseball games: I always get the point and relish in the general purpose of the production, but there are finer nuances that are beyond me and most of the people watching probably have a more sophisticated appreciation than I do. All of that stated, I dove into this classic Dickens title (actually, reading it aloud to my pre-teen kids) and was pleasantly surprised to find that I throughly enjoyed the experience.
As practically every review on this page will tell you, or as could be digested from Wikipedia or Cliff Notes, this novel is set in the circumstances of the French Revolution. What Dickens provided is a human tale from the perspective of the coming (and elapsed) revolution on the lives within one extended family based in Paris and London. Make no mistake: this book is long and plodding, and the language is sufficiently "Dickensesque" to discourage any modern American reader, but the investment of time and attention is rewarding. Dickens is wonderful, and it is a delight to read the words of someone whose universal messages can still reach across the centuries and cultures that separate us (like Twain, Shakespeare, and, what the heck, the Apostle Paul).
I am not expert enough in English literature or French history to provided more of an endorsement than this: this is a great read and is surprisingly accessable. The themes of violence, greed, rebellion, hatred, love, charity, mercy, and sacrifice are clear enough for anyone to appreciate. And my children, as young as eight-years, eagerly settled down for a chapter night after night. Another big shout goes out for Dickens.

1461
The war in England has forced Henry VI, his family and all their loyal retainers to become fugitives. They've traveled from place to place seeking shelter from anyone still loyal enough to aid them. Alix Givet is the daughter of Queen Margaret's physician and she's also the Queen's goddaughter.

With the weather getting colder it's become obvious that Alix's father is very ill and can't continue traveling. Alix is willing to do whatever must be done in order to make her father's final days comfortable but the marriage arranged by her father and the queen is more than a little worrisome.

Hayle's disdain for Alix is immediately apparent. He has a mistress whom he would like to marry but because she's of low birth and he's a future baron such a union would never be accepted. Despite Alix's misgivings and Hayle's abusive attitude, they go through with the wedding and bedding but it's definitely not the love match Alix's parents shared. Alix vows to do her best to make her marriage bearable for as long as her father lives.

When Alix's father passes away she's devastated, but even more stunning is the fact that Hayle's mistress and child died in childbirth. When Alix could have used some support instead she is faced with a surly child-man who blames her for everything that's gone wrong in his life and attempts to kill her. Hayle commits suicide to `be with his true love' and Hayle's father proposes a shocking idea. He believes that since his only son is dead, Alix should marry him and he's willing to buy the church's agreement.

Alix's only hope is to leave England for Scotland where she hopes to find Queen Margaret. Before reaching her destination or even a suitable shelter a winter storm sets in and she falls asleep between a couple of great horned shaggy cattle. The following morning she's found and quickly brought to the attention of Laird Malcolm Scott.

Malcolm's been through a disastrous marriage of his own and has no intention of marrying again. There's no denying he's attracted to Alix and his young daughter certainly becomes attached to the young woman. As time goes on, it's an attraction he's finding it harder to ignore but Alix's experience has her leery of any sort of sexual interaction.

CAPTIVE HEART is the third book in Bertrice Small's series THE BORDER CHRONICLES. Filled with memorable characters, stunning situations and historical facts entwined throughout the storyline this is a book that promises to satisfy readers' desire for a believable storyline that speaks to your heart. I found it extremely easy to empathize with the characters and was completely enchanted by Malcolm's five-year-old daughter Fiona. There are even a few twists to the plot that stunned me and even broke my heart. Bertrice Small has been one of my favorite authors for many years and her books will always have an honorary place on my bookshelves.

While this book is a part of THE BORDER CHRONICLES series, you do not have to read the other books in the series in order to fully enjoy this one.

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)

This was an outstanding book. Filled with a lot of information I had only partially known, and seldom understood. The story of thousands of dams built for no reason other then to keep two Federal agencies in business. Some success and some death causing failures. A must read for anyone west of the Mississippi with a interest in the historical infrastructure of the western states despite the massive mishandling of Federal funds to aid in ecological disaster. A true study in government math at alludes us all.

This was a return engagement to "Cadillac Desert", as I had read the original in the 1980s, amazed at the time, considering it a premier example of thorough history and analysis in a subject about which few people knew much at all. What could have been a "dry" subject was actually quite gripping and informative, and fortunate to have many participants in key moments still available.

In that sense the author was ahead of his time, documenting essential history that looks all the more important twenty years later. No doubt the book would still be fresh history to many, especially if supplemented by some other source on more current topics. I can only imagine what Mr. Reisner would think of the explosive growth of Las Vegas in the barren Nevada desert in recent years.

I finally got to the revised edition and certainly feel the loss of Marc Reisner, who would have had plenty of material for another revision or two. The additional material is a plus, although it, too, has been around long enough for either edition to be a worthwhile reference.

The growth of Los Angeles and the whole situation with the Owens Valley, San Fernando Valley, William Mulholland, the Chandlers, and so on, is exceptional, and can be read almost on its own. Perhaps there is a more definitive history, with more emphasis on some individuals or some other angle. Reisner packs a punch, laying it all out bluntly, including the fraud and corruption along with social and technical aspects.

Another favorite was the early history of the unexplored West, such as John Wesley Powell's prescience and his journey down the virgin Colorado. How much the region has changed in such a short time, and how extensive were our errors.

This is a first-rate history.

Essential reading for anyone living in the American West or living in the East and subsidizing water rates in the West.

This book was an alarming, eye-opening account of how the United States is running out of it's own water resources that provide for many of desert urban areas. Why is it that we are settling in areas that are not natural for us as human beings to live in, and depleting our water resources and damaging natural beauty in order to live in seemingly uninhabital areas, such as Las Vegas, and Phoenix? This book looks to address this and much much more. A great read for anyone interested in enviromental politics and issues in the U.S..

Cadillac Desert is a plodding book that spends more time making sideways remarks about its characters than establishing it's own narrative. Plagued by numerous typographical errors, it reads in fits and starts. While its message of government excess and because-we-can justification for modifying the natural landscape is surely worthwhile, if repetitive, the fact of the matter is that two generations of farmers, ranchers and urbanites in the American West looked to the Bureau of Reclamation as the only organization suited to develop their water resources. The dated material is noticeable at times--who but a civil engineer now knows of the Teton Dam failure? why the concern over the Central Arizona Project that has operated for nearly two decades?--and the treatment of the material is done with an eye toward stirring the reader's emotions more than informing them. Donald Worster's Rivers of Empire deals with much the same material in a more thorough and even-handed, though academic, manner.

For those without a Kindle this review will have little to offer except to say that this edition comes with a preface by Thomas Merton which for me was a welcome surprise. I usually don't bother with introductions.

Kindle users, I looked at every Kindle edition of this work and this is without question the best formatted version. The only drawback is the lack of titles for each "book" in the table of contents. Instead they are just numbered; I, II, III, IV, and so on. There are also hyperlinked "footnotes," which I did not notice in other editions.

I apologize to Kindle non-owners, but Amazon has not yet presented away to comment specifically on electronic editions, and many public domain books--classics--are not yet properly formatted for the Kindle (which despite a few hitches is a five star device).

This is not the most attractive edition of St. Augustine's monumental City of God but it is worth getting anyway for the introduction by Etienne Gilson. The translation is quite good and, though it is somewhat abridged, this doesn't pose too great a problem as Bourke has inserted into the text a brief description of the material that he cut out so you can go to an unabridged edition if you choose.

This is an apologetic text in defence of the Chritian faith. In this book, Augustine persuasively informed his audience (readers) regarding the history of creation from the fall of humanity to their redemption provided they recognized him as God of their lives. This is possible only as they abandon all forms of idolatries lest they experience a catatrosphe similar to what led to the fall of Rome. Augustine's concept of the two cities are in contrast to each other, viz, the city of God versus the city of Satan. The former is governed by God, and the later by the Devil that also governs the minds of many un-regenerated. Thus, Augustine appealed, in his 22 volumes that are now in a single volume, to join him "in rendering thanks to God" through this great work! Pastor Moses Oladele Taiwo, Ph.D. Professor of New Testament and Head of the Department of Urban Christian Ministry, New Life Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC 28203. Tel: (704) 334 6884 Ext.106.

It took me about five months of off-and-on reading to slog through City of God--it was time well-spent. Here is one of the rare 1000-page books that not only deserved its length, but could have been longer.

What astounded me about reading St. Augustine was how relevant he is, even after 1600 years. The vast majority of what he discusses throughout this monumental book still matters--only the particulars have changed. In his day, pagans blamed Christians for wars and the collapse of civilization. Rationalists and materialists denied the supernatural, insisting that all religions were the same, and mocked those that believed in it. And Christians themselves, under pressure and guilt from what seemed to be the entire known world, expressed doubts about their faith. Sound familiar? Only the particulars of all these situations have changed--in the broadstrokes, Christianity is still fighting many of the same battles in which Augustine saw combat.

This edition from Penguin Classics (I fully realize that Amazon will post this review on the Modern Library edition and other places that it doesn't belong) is very good. Henry Bettenson's translation is smooth, fast-moving, and heavily footnoted. While I found the footnotes very helpful--especially in the hundreds of places in which Augustine quotes from scripture and other authors, like Virgil and Plotinus--some of them struck me as unnecessary, particularly those criticizing Augustine's etymologies and those pointing out which gods or goddesses are or are not found outside Augustine's work. The most helpful notes were those describing puns or other untranslatable portions of the book.

Like I said, City of God is very heavy reading and a great deal of work to get through, but the reward should outweigh the time it takes to read the book.

Highly recommended.

I read this for a book group I was in, and was rather peeved at being forced to blow so much time on what is essentially useful only to the Classical historian or Scholasticism buff. Realistically, Augustine is just a particularly eloquent proponent of a religious argument we all get in Sunday School at age 10: The things of this world are transitory and passing, but the things of the next world are eternal and more valuable. You can almost hear the monotonous cadence. If what you want is to add to your already-considerable knowledge of the particulars of late Roman civilization, then this is the book for you. If you're in seminary and reading Aquinas, and you're thinking, "I'd certainly like to know more about his major intellectual influences," then this is the book for you. But if what you want is an increased familiarity with the major ideas of Western civilization, then do yourself a favor and go pick up a pair of textbooks: one on ancient history, the other on classical philosophy. Augustine of Hippo will get a few pages in each one, and that's honestly all he's worth. Plowing through the entirety of The City of God for simple philosophical or theological curiosity would be like reading the complete works of Louis Agassiz just to see what scientific racism was like. Both efforts would be fruitful, in one sense, but in another sense you'd have spent an awful lot of time learning about antiquated theories.

Loved the way the book looked. It is for a gift for a 10 year old.

Teachers will love this book! It puts facts into a child's perspective
instead of just memorizing facts.

This is a great book to learn many interesting things about America and all the pages are done in colored drawing form which is great for children. I have gone through the book several times and my 7 year old grandson has viewed and read it more. A very good format to learn many of the facts you never knew about America's states.

What a great way to teach young children about US Geography. My daughter loves the map in the front of the book to trace out routes to new and exciting adventures. When she gets to the state her adventure ends, we read that page together. At 4, she really loves to learn about the states.

I'm very sorry I purchased this book. At the time I didn't realize it was written by Lynn Cheney. The entire time I read the book all I could think about was that I'd put more of my hard earned money into Dick Cheney's pocket and supported his propaganda. It makes me sick to have made such a purchase.