History Books

In his latest book "Prophecy", Robert T. Kiyosaki predicts a major stock market crash in the near future. This, he says, is a result of the baby boomers (mostly) saving for their retirement via stock investments and given that a large number of them will retire from 2016 onwards their investments will have to be cashed in as it will be needed and as a result the market will fall if not crash. Apart from that, RK says, that most baby boomers may not actually see their money ever again as more often than not most of it is invested in their own companies, i.e., the ones they work for, and if their employer goes down the drain so will their funds saved for retirement. Kiyosaki uses the demise of Enron as an example to demonstrate this.
Granted, there is nothing really new about all this. If you have spent any time working in the financial field you would know about this - although over the years I felt that people tend to stick their heads in the sand and hope that this will not happen or somehow go away

Apart from complaining about the existing system and the financial illiteracy of the vast majority of the market participants (and that would appear to be the main problem), Kiyosaki in Part II of the book sets out a game plan on how to build your own financial ark.

What I like about Kiyosaki's book is that he is pointing his finger straight at what could potentially happen and he does it in rather convincing style. There is indeed a good deal of information here that Kiyosaki has mentioned in his previous books, but I am not terribly upset about this as it serves to reinforce the message. Besides, if you haven't read any of the previous Kioysaki books, you would be stuck in the middle of nowhere if Kiyosaki left out the previously published information.

The premise of the phrophecy is that the baby boomers will pretty much take their money out of the stock market suddenly and cause it to crash. I suspect the market is far more vast than considered and the baby boomers' 401ks combined represents only a few drops in the bucket. If the market crashes, it won't be because of this prophecy's premise.

Robert Kiyosaki is a motivational speaker that also happens to sell books. If you are looking for a "How To", then you're in the wrong place. The Rich Dad, Poor Dad author seems to always strive to make you think about your financial future, and Rich Dad's Prophecy is no different.

Using scare tactics to elicit a response from you, this book strives to tell you that the stock market is a bad place to invest your money, and presents reasons for this opinion. However, looking historically, this has not been the case. One of Kiyosaki's main points is that the market will crash because all of the baby boomers will be drawing out their money at a rate that the stock market won't be able to handle.

Kiyosaki's point could be a valid one, but there is too much wealth in the world (that is not controlled by the United States' small group of retiring workers) for this speculation to be factual. Read Kiyosaki's book for the motivation it will provide if you need it. Don't read Kiyosaki's book if you're looking for ideas on how to invest your money (unless you're thinking of building a motivational book series with your "Pay Yourself First" funds).
http://rhapsodiesofross.blogspot.com/2008/06/rich-dad-richer-dad.html

Kiyosaki does a great job explaining the decline to come. Par for the course, the author is less than clear with his advice. If you have not read "The Second Great Depression" or other books like it I do highly recommend this volume. However, your money may be better spent on a more technical manual on how to profit during a declining market.

There is nothing to see (read) here. You know now what you will get from this book. Spend your money elsewhere on Amazon.

I don't believe in destroying books. When I'm finished with a book I normally give it away unless it was so good that I want to hang on to it. Alas, "Dies the Fire" is sitting in my garbage can, 200 pages in. I've never done that before, but I can't think of a more fitting place for this piece of trash.

Other people have spoken about the sheer implausibility of the entire premise. Deus Ex Machina doesn't even begin to describe the chain of unlikely circumstance and happenstance which all conspire to bring Stirling's characters into a position where they're suddenly useful.

See, I've met a lot of people in my life who are eerily similar to the characters presented in this book. I've known people who, in 2008, still continue to bang away at making 'battle-ready' swords, people who practice Wicca and claim to be witches, people who try to show off their mastery of Gaelic at every chance they can get, I've been to Rennaisance Faires and marveled at the people who seem to take it all just a little bit -too- seriously...

The major thing that this book manages to completely ignore is that the rest of the American population, the 99.9% of us who don't cry out for people to pay attention to us by acting like an anachronism, would not simply roll over and die and allow the psuedo-feudalism to return to the countryside after two short weeks.

There's a memorable scene a quarter of the way through the book where a history professor - yes, a history professor -, dressed in scale armor and toting a shield demonstrates his fitness to rule over all of the gang bangers, mafioso and other unsorted criminal element of Portland, OR by taking on four fully grown men - two policemen and two U.S. soldiers - in hand to hand combat. This scene is a turning point for the whole novel, but not in any literary sense. It's the scene where the reader realizes that Sirling is not trying to carry on the legacy of extrapolative end-of-the-world scenarios in the tradition of Larry Niven's "Lucifer's Hammer" and David Brin's "The Postman" (sidenote: if you're looking for great post-apocalyptic tales, pick those up before you bother with this one), but rather desperately trying to convince himself and anyone that will listen that beating your friends up with plastic foam swords on alternate weekends is going to prepare you to kill trained, professional combatants and rule the world when the lights go out.

Your odds are even better if you speak some Gaelic and make sure everyone you speak with knows you're a Wiccan pagan witch. It's always a teeth-grating experience for me when characters in books speak foreign languages and then immediately offer the translations in the same breath. Main character Juniper Mackinzie does this with alarming frequency in "Dies the Light", to the point where the average redneck denizen of upper Oregon (you know, the rough, outdoorsy people conditioned by a life of labor who are used to doing things like -hunting with bows- that the author conveniently forgets or has us assume have died in a dramatic turn of stupidity as soon the power went out) would slap her and remind her that it's more effective to communicate with people if you just say what you mean and get it done with. Anyone as desperate for attention as Juniper presents herself to be doesn't last long in a leadership role, yet Stirling sets her up as not only High Priestess of her Wiccan coven, but the leader of a prosperous and powerful commune whom everyone loves, reveres and practically worships because, get this, she knows how to sing. Brittney Spears knows how to sing too, and she's not allowed to be in charge of her own family much less anyone else's.

Things just line up in ways that are harder to swallow than broken glass in this novel. From the sheer happy happenstance of finding an Englishman adventurer stuck in a tree who just so happens to know how to make longbows, to the three missing members of Juniper's coven just so happening to be the captives of a band of cannibals they encounter (hooray, a joyous reunion and foreshadowing avenged!), everyone who makes an appearance seems to be gifted with some incredibly rare and, it's worth nothing, prior to the Change totally useless and self-indulgent skill which makes them invaluable to the new medieval society and technology base that springs up overnight. The trouble stems from the fact that Stirling edges dangerously close to attributing it all to magic but never fully commits. If it were magic, if it were presented from the start and explained and accepted as magic, the whole book would have been easier to read. It wouldn't have made the characters any less irritating or any less annoying as their real-life analogues, it wouldn't have made the dialogue any less stilted or queerly expositional (at one point, a 14 year old girl gushes, at great length, about the composition and manufacture of her bow in a conspicuously un-teenage-girl-like way, made all the more conspicuous by the fact that her bow was made by the same bowyers that the author thanks in his acknowledgements - kindly leave the advertisments out of your narrative, Mr. Stirling), but it at least would have made the setting bearable. I've read Tolkien, I've read George R.R. Martin, I've read Moorcock - I have no problem with flying castles, invisibility rings and enchanted, soul-sucking swords. I do have an issue with mindless, ego-stroking tripe however, and this book firmly rates as such.

Never have I been more appalled by an author's blatant efforts and making himself and his friends appear cool through dogged artifice and a precarious house-of-cards scenario carefully constructed to put them in the only position where they'd, at long last, be as superior to everyone else as they richly believe they should be.


If you're thinking about reading this book, try these instead:

"The Postman" - David Brin
"Lucifer's Hammer" - Larry Niven
"World War Z" - Max Brooks

Sorry... I simply could not get past the first 100 pages of this shoddy book.

Could there be a more interesting premise than the sudden loss of the technologies that keep the modern world running? I think not. So interesting in fact one is inclined to give the author some leeway and forgive the near total failure to explain the nature of the event in order to dive right into the possible consequences.

Unfortunately this willing suspension of disbelief is only punished rather than rewarded as the thinly developed characters and plot quickly devolve into what appears to be a former D&D Dungeon Masters fantasy of how things would play out.

Within the first 10 pages we are subjected to wholly implausible characters (anywhere outside Eugene OR at least) who within 24 hours after the lights go out begin plans and construction of their Medieval "Lilith Fair" style communes. Meanwhile, those characters who exist outside this hearty band of Burning Man artists, neo-witches and quasi-hippies gets depicted as either clueless dolts who, we are left to believe will simply starve to death while they wait for outside help that will never come, or sociopathic power mongers.

Within 14 days of the unexplained "change" which took out technology we are treated to a scene in which the Mayor of Portland is dead on a pike outside the town library - where inside someone called "Lord Protector" is gathering his army all clad in medieval style garb and weapons. That's it.....just 14 short days to go from modern society to the authors fantasy land of Lords, Ladies and Courtesans.

It all would have been more palatable had the author simply set his ridiculous characters in a fantasy world from the beginning and had the art designers put a dragon on the cover.

If you are looking for an alternate history exploration into the end of the modern world I highly recommend you pass on this one. If on the other hand you like to spend your weekends dressed in hooded robes and tunics drinking mead from a chalice you might enjoy this moronic fantasy novel.

Neologian

The title states it all.

I skipped the second novel based on lackluster reviews. The third novel is filling in the gaps. It is pretty good so far.

I read the many reviews for this novel and finally decided to order it. However it sat on my "to be read" pile for a while. Finally I picked it up and was immediately drawn in. I have not read any "end of the world" novels before this one. The premise of the story was very clever, I especially enjoyed the fact that the characters did not spend much time discussion the "change" and worried about their own survival. There was just enough of a mix of world building and bloody combat to keep my interested. After a while I found myself really caring about the well being of these characters and eagerly turning the pages impatient to learn their fate. Now having said all that I would like to echo a comment made by several other reviewers, I found it highly improbable that all the people that banded together each turned out to have very archaic and specialized skills and knowledge regarding medieval combat, agriculture, engineering, etc. That in no way subtracted from the sheer fun of reading this novel. My only regret was that I did not read it sooner.

I had just finished reading Sterling's book "Island on the Sea of Eternity" when I picked up this book.

I expected it (based on his previous series) to be a pulpy mediocre speculative look at the "end of the world."

Unfortunately the book was so poorly written and unbelievable that I couldn't get past the first 100 or so pages. At least with the Island series the reader is only expected to believe that the island of Nantucket is mysteriously thrown back 3,000 years in time.

In Dies the Fire, however, the reader is expected to believe that not only have all electronics been permanently destroyed, but the physical laws of the universe have selectively changed to keep gunpowder from burning, the internal combustion engine from working, and steam from creating pressure.

And this is all applied inconsistently as at different points in the story things that should be effected by this "magical" change in the laws of nature actually work.

Needless to say, I found it almost impossible to suspend disbelief while trying to read this book.

I also found it highly unlikely that within an hour of this "change" happening, people would be at each other with knives and weapons in the streets going at each other--as if people's immediate reaction to blackouts is looting and murder.

I could go on and on about how poorly I think the book was written, but I'll leave it there.

Karen Maitland's "A Company of Liars" is the story of 9 travelers--and their individual tales/secrets--as they try to outrun the Black Plague in 1348 England. The story is told in first person narrative with a camelot (hawker of goods) serving the role as narrator.

This is not a novel comprised of nine individual first-person narratives although there are several times in the book where different travelers relay their stories to the group. This is not a novel of great suspense or mystery or poetic writing. Instead, it's a barely engaging mystery (the mystery is in wondering just what the heck is going on) with occasional foray into what it would be like to live in the mid-14th century with the fear of plague taking over the countryside.

The books moves at a middling pace for most of the book and seems a bit too long to me. Once the book veered into the supernatural (30-40% in), I rapidly lost interest. For my taste, I'd prefer historical fiction to avoid the ridiculous. Nevertheless, I slogged on and finished the book although I can't say it was time well spent. I don't believe any comparison to Chaucer is apt--this is a middling mystery with some bright spots (some of the scenes within English villages as the travelers move north were well portrayed and give a sense of time/place). Not recommended overall.

Good story & fun read, but not necessarily an enduring classic. I'm not sure I followed the leap that this is Chaucer-esque (I suppose this was a publisher's ploy to appeal to academia). Ok, nine unlikely travelers banded together by unusual circumstances, yes, but it lacks the depth and breadth of The Canterbury Tales. I enjoyed learning more about this motley crew of pilgrims to be sure. I was compelled to read on, though I became a bit bogged down in the middle of the story.

Seemed to me the language was not classic enough to think "ah-ha, Middle English" - perhaps an attempt at making this book enjoyed by a broader audience. The author is a skilled writer, creating an interesting world of character & plot twists.

In 1348 England, many believe the devil is everywhere as the plague has killed numerous people and torrential storms seem endless. Hope is gone whether one is aristocratic or peasant as are crops adding to the vicious cycle of death.

Nine desperate travelers with no connection except fear band together on a journey to the south where it is reported the devil has not landed. As they make their way across a pestilent land, none reveal who they are especially their most precious deadly secret yet each has a tale to tell. Increasingly it appears none will make their destination and if they do are they bringing the devil's Black Plague with them.

With obvious homage to the Canterbury Tales, Karen Maitland paints a dark grim historical as the nine travelers expect death to greet them every step of the way. The story line offers no hope except for the Grim Reaper and undertakers as England is hammered by the pandemic plague and horrific weather making life for the survivors miserable as no one is safe from pestilence, famine, and exposure. Not an easy read as every page oozes with despondency and death, the COMPANY OF LIARS is a powerful look through he travelers at the year England almost died.

Harriet Klausner

First of all, anyone referring even remotely to Chaucer and this novel should be shot on sight, or at least mocked for their complete and utter ignorance. But that's their ignorance and I won't hold that against Maitland.

This book took a while to warm up--people just drifted around with no real purpose. I could extend benefit of the doubt and say that aimlessness was part of the gestalt Maitland was going for, but when you're in the early pages of a novel, you can gestalt a reader right into another book!

The lies everyone tells, the secrets they conceal, however, are neither particularly scandalous nor shocking. Meaning that most of what the characters have to hide really wouldn't have been that uncommon back then, much less to our Jerry Springer hardened selves. As well, any reader with a moderately functioning brain has already figured out the secrets well before revelation, so when the Big Moment comes, I found myself saying, `What? That's *all*?!!'

She does create a credible and nerve-stressing vision of what it might have felt like to be alive in the first days of the Black Death, and there are some quite lyrical passages.

On the other hand, she blows all of her historical credibility when she refers to an `Anglo-Saxon text' the Havamal. Havamal is in Old Norse. Even the title, 'Havamal' is Old Norse. Which is an entirely different fish. She makes a long apologia for any slips she might have made, arguing that historical fiction should be able to bridge a gap between period and reader, which explains many of her anachronisms, but her lack of awareness of this simple language fact really made me reconsider the trust I'd placed in her research--you can learn about Havamal by hitting up Wikipedia, for heaven's sake! (To be honest, I read this book searching for something to have my college students read in the spring, and this sloppiness has made me reconsider that impulse.)

The end was also a bit of a disappointment. Without giving too much away, I will say, think bad `70s horror flick. Very cheezy. As a reader, I want a better 'payoff' for having dragged myself through this misery.

It was a good read, once I got into it, and much better than a lot of stuff on the market. It's probably about 80% authentic to medieval scholarship's current views of that era, and does cover some deep themes like the nature of home, hope and truth, which elevates it beyond your usual offering. Still, if you're looking for a gripping thriller, or anything vaguely Chaucer, or if you're a historical fiction buff who *hates* bad research, you might hold off on this one.

The key thing to consider is that the back cover says "reinterpretation" of The Canterbury Tales; there is almost no, if little, connection between the two tales. Set during the outbreak of the Black Plague in England, Company of Liars builds its story on the journey of nine strangers attempting to make their way away from the terrible pestilence. Many of them hold a secret or have a story to tell about some type of dark secret, and as they travel onward, much of their past histories are revealed. The main character Camelot and an assembly of other interesting characters go along on this journey, including a man who is half-swan, a pair of musicians, a couple expecting a child, an overzealous magician, and a rather odd girl with a knack for predicting the future.

Although the story is interesting in some respects, and the author has an ability to tell a story, it seemed as though it took awhile for the story to get going, and it seemed unbalanced. The first two thirds of the book were pretty fair, but the latter part of the book, especially the final fifty pages or so relied too much on "hocus pocus" to create suspense and arrive at its outcome. While up to the final scene there was a little supernatural thrown in to the story, the ending relies solely on this. This gave the story an unbalanced feel, and made some of the details, particularly of the character's pasts, irrelevant and pointless to the story's ending. Character's motives seemed to be explained away briefly, and before we know it, we arrive at an unexpected conclusion, yet unsatisfying ending.

There was also a bit too much time spend on the character's squabbles with one another. Zophiel is constantly arguing about this and that with many of the characters; you wonder why they even have him along.

While Company of Liars does have some engrossing moments that will hold your interest, in the end it is mainly a light read, only scratching the surface of what it could have been.

This book is a wonderful insight into the character of one our most esteemed "founding fathers." But Ellis presents him in a light that we seldom see him in. History is a strange thing, especially popular history. Unlike other areas of scholarship, every American has his/her own interpretation of who the so-called founders were. Ellis seeks to crack the halos and clip the wings to portray Jefferson for who he really was- or at least what all the available evidence best suggests.

This book is quite pleasing, it is well argued and well written. If you like "juicy" biographies full of details and trivia you will be disappointed, nonetheless, it still has a wealth of biographical data that makes the book interesting and instructive. The main focus of the book is on Jefferson's achievements and legacy. The man (Jefferson) was an intellectual colossus and was never short on peculiar and original ideas; he remains an icon for all Americans that are wary of big government and all Americans that defend the sovereignty of the individual. I am glad I picked up this book as my starter on Jefferson.

A common theme amongst many reader reviews that appeared to be neophytes to American history was that this book is painfully slow and lacking a compelling narrative. While I disagree with the former claim, I agree with the latter. I believe this is a book that best serves more ardent students of history who've already studied Jefferson and are more than willing to wade through a lot of uneventful anecdotes to get to know the man better, which Ellis does a great job on the subjects he covers except Jefferson's position on religion - so for those that want to go deep into history, this is a very interesting, worthy book. Ellis purposefully strips out much of the narrative by design, it is a character analysis (see subtitle of book for goodness sakes!), and therefore a narrative would threaten the very purpose of the book.

Ellis' Jefferson comes off as perfectly brilliant, utopian, progressive, somewhat dogmatic, impractical, subversive, and most importantly - all too human. Ellis does a wonderful job of describing the events where Jefferson was obviously on the wrong side of history as we look back in time - e.g., Jefferson's belief that the states would better defend individual liberty rather than the federal government, especially the Supreme Court which has ultimately become our greatest defender, along with eloquently analyzing his greatest accomplishments and contributions to mankind. Ellis brings Madison and Adams into this study in just the right amounts to provide an understanding of how Jefferson interacted with the other framers along with how Jefferson viewed the Revolution and ratification of the Constitution vs. their very different perspectives.

Ellis's treatment of Jefferson's contributions to promoting the limits of government and its obligation to defend its citizens' liberty rights was well covered from a philosophical perspective but completely lacking from a constitutional perspective. While Ellis covered Jefferson's firm position on the importance of secular government if men were to fully enjoy liberty was noted, this analysis was all too brief given the current times where the religious right continuously mischaracterize Jefferson's position on religious freedom, e.g., President Bush's 2008 Independence Day speech is a good example of a modern day character distorting Jefferson's writings to achieve a political objective perfectly contrary to Jefferson's clearly stated position. Given that Jefferson believed that individual freedom is only possible with a secular government with zero evidence to date he was incorrect; Ellis shortchanges his readers by not spending more time on this critical contribution, especially given Jefferson's radical position, and in hindsight his genius on this subject. In fact, Jefferson's position is still so radical there is no way a modern-day politician could espouse views like Jefferson's and get elected in America.

Ellis also leaves out some out critical time periods in Jefferson's life, like Jefferson's second term as President. Given the paperback's main body comes in at 367 pages, I felt one hundred fifty more pages to include more on Jefferson's religious viewpoints and his second presidential term was well deserved given the importance of Jefferson relative to America's founding ideals passed down by him and the other framers.

I am a well educated person with a particular interest in Jefferson. I was amazed at the assertion by Ellis that Jefferson formed the republican party. The republican party was not established until 1854. The party the Jefferson formed evolved into the democratic party. Are we living in the soviet union now? if you don't like real history you just change it. How do I get my money back on his piece of crap book? I knew this guy has a history of stretching the truth but I didn't know it went this far!

Absolute claptrap from a morally bankrupt excuse of a human being who cannot find his niche in his pathetic underachieving life. He resorts to "tabloid" history, finding it makes up for his inability to do real research or be able to critically evaluate it. His personal ability to read into the heart and motivations of the founding fathers is ridiculous.
Save your money and buy a real book by a real historian. The more read you are on one of his "targets", the more you will find his writing vacant. He must have worked for the enquirer.

This is a book I would recommend for anyone to read. By reading the book you get a personal perspective on the ones affected by the bombing. This edition has an additional chapter, written years later, where the author gives an update on the people in the book. Very good read!

I was very satisfied with the level of customer service that I received from Amazon.com. It is definetly a site that I will be coming back to from here on. As a student I am always on the lookout for a better and cheaper deal, so this is definetly one of the first places that I will go when I have to get more books for the next semester.

I thought this book was great because it teaches you how people live in other parts of the world after you change their lives forever and it is very entertaining. At no point in the book did i think of putting it down because it was so good. It really captures the reader.

There are works of fiction and nonfiction that transcend their genres. This is one of those works, one that should be required reading for high school students, or, at the very least, for college students, if it isn't already. The horror that was the A-bomb unleashed unbridled power over the city of Hiroshima. Arguments could be made for both the necessity for the bomb to end the war, as well as the unnecessary and catastrophic violence unleashed.

Either way you argue, Hersey's Hiroshima shows the true nature of the bomb from when it was dropped, the after effects, and the resulting long term medical problems the Hibukusha had to live with for the rest of their lives. I was awestruck at the description of what had happened, at times shaking my head at the power of such a bomb. Soldiers who had their eyes melted out of their sockets, people whose skin was slophing off, skinned burned off leaving raw and puss covered skin.

These are of course present throughout Hersey's account, for how could we see what the survivors of Hiroshima went through if the descriptions are not there as well? We see unselfish and caring individuals putting their own health and safety at risk to help others worse off. We see the strength of human nature to struggle on despite the hopeless feeling that imbedded into all who were present.

Hersey does a great job showing what happened, with people whose lives are all interrelated and connected in sundry ways, as well as to show how their lives carried on in the years after the A-bomb had been dropped. This is most certainly a recommend for young and old alike, and I would recommend it to all, regardless of the genre's they prefer to read.

5 stars.

My daughter is reading it for a 9th grade class. I skimmed through looking for the telltale signs of Modern Liberal indoctrination. Unlike her Human Geography book, which is loaded with Socialist thinking, this book is genuine in following several characters as they dealt with their lives after the destruction.

As some other readers pointed out (I didn't read every review), Hersey doesn't dwell on the moral issues. It's a genuine look at the characters. It's written in a rather dry style that lets the characters stories speak for themselves and allows the reader to form his or her own conclusions.

(Now, if this book was written today or maybe by someone else, I wouldn't be surprised if the book was more of anti-war/anti-human tome that is typical of today's Modern Liberals. I'm talking about the now-normal attacks on Western Civilization, American exceptionalism, Conservatism, Bush, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if they found a way to say Halliburton was involved in the building of the bomb or that one of Cheney's uncles was key. If you want to learn about Modern Liberals, watch the video at YouTube called "How Modern Liberals Think" by Evan Sayet. As Amazon pulls urls off these reviews, just go to YouTube and search on "Evan Sayet" and pick the "How Modern Liberals Think" video.)

Anyways, if you want a book on the human aspects of some of the people bombed, then you may enjoy this book. Just remember, the alternative to bombing was many more deaths.

This book is an excellent reference book for the true fan of the early days of Walt Disney's Imagineering and the people who most influenced the way the Disney Theme Parks are so different from any other. Lots of early pictures and stories. Highly recommended for the true Disney Theme Park fan.

Well, we've all been waiting nearly four years for this latest Jeff Kurtti Disney piece (it was originally listed on amazon with a 2005 release date), and on the whole, it's been worth it. The text is extremely thorough without being overly encyclopedic; at times it's casual, light and anecdotal. I bought my first copy here and a second for friend during a recent visit to Disneyland (the book is available at the parks)--it's that good.

I agree with some of the other posters that several key women are missing from this volume--I was looking forward to reading more about Mary Blair in particular. Perhaps the recent controversy with the Blair family over additions to it's a small world is the reason she was left out?

I've been a reader of Disney history for years (and I'm even doing my design masters on theming), and there were several tidbits, even for the well-versed fan, that are new. In other words, you can pick this one up thinking you know everything about the history of the parks and still learn a thing or two. Many of the photographs have never been published before, either.

The only reason I can't give this book 5 stars is the design. Bruce Gordon (a wonderful former imagineer, he passed away far too young in the fall of 2007) is the culprit. Although he was the mastermind, along with Tony Baxter, behind Disney creations like Splash Mountain, he's a self-taught graphic designer, and it shows. Granted, the typography and layout are a considerable improvement over the positively awful design of Disneyland: Then, Now, and Forever. No more tacky drop shadows and garish font choices--and thank God there's at least some white space this time. Still, the look and feel of the book is considerably amateurish when compared to Kurtti's stellar, well-researched text. I just wish Disney hadn't fired Bruce Gordon from WDI in 2005, causing him to poorly lay out books like this full time.

But don't take that as disrespect...Bruce, you will be missed.

Do yourself a favor, Disney park fans. Pick this one up, pronto.

In my work I'm at Walt Disney World every week, and the more I research it the more impressed I am. It is a place of boundless imagination. After Walt Disney's original vision, the bulk of the creative work has been in the capable hands of the Disney Imagineers. This book profiles 30 of these Disney artists and engineers.

Although you could argue about the list (I'd love to see Mary Blair, but I guess her role wasn't really as an Imagineer) you can't argue with the depth of the research. Within each profile, Kurtti has gathered not only anecdotes, reminiscences and quotes, but also photos and sketches. The best photographs show the Imagineers at work, painting and sculpting and model-making. The conceptual art is the most fun; you can see Bill Martin's conceptual layout for the Peter Pan attraction in Disneyland, and Rolly Crump's concept sketch for the Enchanted Tiki Room.

I do wish more current Imagineers were included, especially the visionary Joe Rohde, the chief architect of Disney's Animal Kingdom. But then again he's not a Legend. Maybe in a sequel, Jeff?

The design of the book is a little loose for my taste, with some clunky typeface choices and layout. Several of the photos are not rectangles, but rather circles or other shapes, and many are reproduced too dark, at least in my copy. But overall the book is an excellent resource -- and makes for fascinating reading -- for any Disney fan.

Jeff Kurtti is also the author of SINCE THE WORLD BEGAN: WALT DISNEY WORLD: THE FIRST 25 YEARS.

Here's the chapter list:
Foreword: Growing Up With Imagineering, by Martin A. Sklar
What is Walt Disney Imagineering?
The First Imagineer: Walt Disney
1. The Prototype Imagineers
* Harper Goff
* Ken Anderson
* Herbert Ryman
* Sam McKim
2. The Executive Suite
* Richard F. Irvine
* Bill Cottrell
3. The Place Makers
* Marvin Davis
* Bill Martin
4. The Story Department
* Marc Davis
* Claude Coats
5. Masters of Mixed Media
* Morgan "Bill" Evans
* Roland "Rolly" Crump
* Yale Gracey
* Blaine Gibson
6. The Model Shop
* Fred Joerger
* Harriet Burns
* Wathel Rogers
7. The Machine Shop
* Roger Broggie
* Bob Gurr
8. The Music Makers
* Richard M. & Robert B. Sherman
* Buddy Baker
* George Bruns
* X Atencio
9. The Unofficial Imagineers
* Ub Iwerks
* Bill Walsh
* James Algar
* Ward Kimball
10. The Renaissance Imagineer
* John Hench

Another excellent book from Jeff Kurtti and the late but very awesome Bruce Gordon. Lots of great information on little known Disney Imagineers, beautiful page layouts and wonderful rare photographs. I highly recommend this book.

My only issue, which would have resulted it 5 stars instead of 4. Where are Alice Davis, Mary Blair and Leota Toombs? While it's great to read about the legendary Harriet Burns, I was disappointed that she was the only woman represented. Certainly Alice and Mary contributed so much to the classic Disney attractions, and why a picture with Leota Toombs but no information on her? Maybe a follow-up book is in order?

In any case, thanks for finally releasing the Imagineering Legends book. I have to say it is definitely worth the 2 & 1/2 year wait!

I have always been a huge Disneyland fan, but only begun delving into the history for the past 2 years, so I would consider myself somewhat of a newbie amongst the die-hards. This book's strength is its encyclopedic all-in-one format (although as Lannie's excellent review points out, there are a few glaring omissions such as Alice Davis), the wonderful photos/illustrations (many are new to me, with a few familiar ones), and the excellent design that is featured throughout. Each chapter features a different skill/talent for the Imagineers, such as:

*The Prototype Imagineers (Harper Goff, Ken Anderson, Herbert Ryman, and Sam McKim)

*The Executive Suite (Richard F. Irvine & Bill Cottrell)

*The Model Shop (Fred Joerger, Harriet Burns, and Wathel Rogers), and many more.

The common thread throughout the book is obviously Walt himself; his talent for putting all of these geniuses together and challenging them to do things they'd never attempted before created the magic that is now Disneyland and WDW. Walt fostered the creative and "can-do" environment that allowed The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, it's a small world, and the Jungle Cruise to become the beloved attractions that every guest rushes to experience over and over again. To quote Tony Baxter from the book: "I found it interesting to see that when Walt was alive he was able to pull everyone together, and I think that was his great talent: to be able to get everyone to work together in harmony." This quote is in the section of Claude Coats, and refers to the fact that Marc Davis (characters) and Claude Coats (the environment/background) created magic together on Pirates of the Caribbean, even they didn't necessarily get along with each other. Walt put them together and 40 years later, it is still one of the favorite attractions at the parks.

Another issue addressed in the book is how Disney is often bashed for idealizing and whitewashing history, leading to the negative term "Disneyfied." In the section on John Hench, he is quoted as saying "There's order about it, and there're some other kinds of things about it that speak to [the visitors] and where they live. It is reassurance. And it's beyond something that they have to rationalize or think about intellectually. They can just feel this." In the footnote section, another source is quoted as saying "In Manhattan, where the clarion against Disneyfication has recently been sounded, one wonders at the precise cause for alarm. Fears of lost authenticity sound hollow in a city where themed restaurants...have existed since the turn of the century and a favorite museum is a reconstruction of a twelfth-century Spanish cloister."

Each Imagineer is given approximately 2-3 pages; I enjoyed reading not only about what they did for Disney, but learning their background and early information. Blaine Gibson initially refused the invitation to join WED and leave animation, as he felt more than satisfied having sculpting just be a hobby. Once Gibson learned that the job offer was a personal invite from Walt, he changed his mind. It was also nice to note the lack of egos and mutual admiration that the Imagineers have for each other (most attractions were the work of multiple Imagineers, not just one, so it was refreshing that there was no "jockeying for credit." It is somewhat sad to note that many of these legends have passed away (Harriet Burns just recently), but great to know that their work lives on through quality publications such as this one.

I would highly recommend this book as a great addition to your Disney Library. However, the cover currently shown on Amazon does not match the art on the finished book.

Very good read. Still reading it but the first section alone is worth the price. I wish they would have released it in 3 sections so I can easily travel with this book.

The hacker ethos is beautifully captured in this anthology. I've often skimmed 2600 at bookstores but it was only when I went through this hefty tome that I realized how deep and rich are the culture and accomplishments of the hacking community.

More than just the cartoonish representation in popular media, the hacking movement is a testament to creativity and innovation. Rightly so, this book is a celebration of cleverness and ingenious engineering instead of the more malevolent applications.

Emmanuel Goldstien and his companions have written alot about hacking over the years, but now most of their writings have come together in tome form.

If there was anything you ever wanted to know concerting what hacking was like before the explosion of the Internet, or how hackers have been portrayed with biased by the media and in some cases the government, this is a must read book.

If you subscribe to 2600: The Hacker Quarterly or if you patiently wait at the book store or mail box for a new issue every three months, you will definitely want to pick up this book.

It will be interesting to see in the future, online hacker zines to try their hand at publishing their writings such as TOTSE and Phrack.

I am attending Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE) in NYC this week-end, and have just spent time with this volume. Unlike the individual issues, all of which I have had in my possession over the years, this volume is HUGE, readable, indexed, and priceless. I mean that--PRICELESS.

The publisher is to be saluted for not only putting a great deal of effort along with the editor, the founder of 2600 Magazine and also of the HOPE conference, for making this volume a true reference work. I was immediately impressed by the selection of "best of the best," the organization of the material, the index, and the fact that the publisher moved away from the micro-print that was used to keep costs down on the volume of knowledge being transmitted in the individual journal issues, and instead went for a high-end glossy, "just right" white space presentation that should be in every Information Technology library across the country, and is also a collectible for anyone who pretends to know anything at all about information INsecurity.

If you got this far, this lovely volume, easily worth $60, is a real value at the much lower price being offered, and I hope enough people buy it to occasion a reprint or a second volume.

It merits comment that this is not just a volume of hand-picked items from a single journal. The editor and his closest colleagues created a community of over 30,000 hackers (whom I have always said are like astronauts on the edge with the "right stuff") and this volume LITERALLY represents the 30,000 who were decades ahead of the US Government, which is still--as are corporations and public utilities--largely stupid about information system security, to include our Supervisory Control and Direction (SCADA) systems, all of them on the Internet.

For a really good time on what the Chinese know and can do that we cannot, see my Memorandum, easily found online, . They brought Dick Cheney's plane down over Singapore in Feburary 2007, and when he got off to stretch his legs, told him exactly what they could do, and what the US would not be allowed to do. Thus did the power of the information age move East.

Other great Hacker books (the last one is the ultimate public hack, taking back the power):
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit, Twentieth Anniversary Edition
The Hacker Crackdown: Law And Disorder On The Electronic Frontier
The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders & Deceivers
The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
Cybershock: Surviving Hackers, Phreakers, Identity Thieves, Internet Terrorists and Weapons of Mass Disruption
Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace

Three DVDs, the first based on the real-life of the editor of this book:
Hackers
The Net
Live Free or Die Hard (Unrated Edition)

There are two sets of hackers: these, and the ones who came out of the Homebrew Garage Club (Lee Felsenstein, Eric Hughes, etc) and tended to created businesses rather than live free. Bill Gates is certainly in that number, as are Stewart Brand and others. The most famous Free/Open Hacker in the first group is Richard Stahlman, whose book on the origins of Free/Open Source Software (F/OSS) is most recently complemented by Yochai Benkler's book on Wealth of Networks. With a tip of the hat to Nat at O'Reilly, open source software is Darwinism, while malware and proprietary software are Intelligent Design that is not so intelligence. VISTA by Microsoft is the biggest scam in history, for the first time forcing documents to be uniquely tied to the Microsoft operating system and not processable anywhere else. It is time for Microsoft to die, or come to its senses and put its money into F/OSS while monetizing the transactions. Bill Gates has called F/OSS communist. In my view, that makes Bill Gates a fascist. My money is on F/OSS.

I would like to first point out that information in this book and others does not mean that someone should go into someones system or other types of areas. Informing people on potentials that may hurt them in the future does not mean or imply someone will steal or hurt another. It's mealy for security. For example if you told someone their sneakers were untied that doesn't invoke a reaction that you wanted to steal them!
The problem with any form of security is it assumes that people breaking generally cannot think. It's been said that locks keep honest criminals out. Of course the other problem with this is if there's no forced point of energy that could nullify insurance claims!

I listen to 2600's Off the Hook and Off the Wall radio shows (streaming, wbcq, wbai, wusb). I encourage people to do so because they are brining up things that frankly most of the media won't. For example practically all locksets on the market are compromised via "bump keys" not a peep came out of the major media on this. Top rated mainstream locks are about 15 minutes for someone to open! Like it or not the more we obtain new technology the more we better get used to using it.

Getting into this book it has quite a large amount of articles going back decades. Much of this stems from the concept that somehow someone has created something that cannot be opened. Never assume something cannot be done with a piece of electronics!

I've experienced a number of interesting related things. I worked for a company that hosted all internal finance documents on a server that granted access not only to everyone in the building but everyone in the company! No password required! At the very least put a password, restrict access to certain terminals etc. I also worked for a major retailer that had back doors into their own systems from a hr portal people could view at home. Huge amounts of data could be found on policies and procedures that the management did not want people to know. All of this was access one could get at work without passwords so it wasn't even violating a law.I should say that I myself was hacked a number of years ago. Someone ended up saying I was selling a motorcycle on ebay using my account! Not cool but it was a learning experience.

Also 2600 makes good points as that it seems that we are no longer simply buying products but buying licenses. But since a license is an agreement it technically is NOT an agreement when there's only one party engaging.The innovations that have been achieved with technology should not be used by the government to data mine people and/or for companies to dictate their usage.

Most people believe that the products and services they buy and use will work properly and have (hopefully) integrity. When that trust is taken away it means everything is compromised. If a building collpases you can physically determine as to why but with a network it is not always apparent.

I highly recommend this book because it reinforces the mindset that technology is supposed to be free and open to use.

Anyone interested in the civil war and the south will truely love this book. It is a unique look at reinactors and to the details they achieve for the simple passion they had for the war and soldiers that fought in battle. The author is a great story teller with wit and heart.

In the beginning of his work, Tony lays down the question that the reader expects will guide the course of the book: why does the War remain so important and prominent in the consciousness of Americans, even, and especially, amongst persons who have no family connection? In consideration of the fact that the War primarily was fought south of the Mason-Dixon (Gettysburg and a few major exceptions aside), Tony plans an impressive survey of the Southern States. His journeys take him from North Carolina, which he amusingly relates as trapped between two prideful neighbors, to the Deep South states of Mississippi and Alabama, where Martin Luther King and the racial struggles are of recent memory. He does not visit all the Confederate states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida and Texas are excluded) but he does manage forays into the border states of Kentucky and Maryland. A list of sites visited is impressive: Fort Sumter, Sharpsburg, Appomattox Court House, Chacellorsville, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Five Forks, Andersonville, Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, Shiloh, Manassas, the towns of the Shenadoah Valley. These are just a few that come to mind; there are many others.

Tony's approach for each state is consistent. He first goes to those cities or battlefields that are of known historical importance. Once there, he seeks historical societies or persons to whom he is referred. Two societies that continually appear in the work are the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and their female counterpart, the United Daughters of the Confederacy. He conducts informal interviews, and uses the information provided as a spring for further unplanned encounters in the environs. Inter-weaved with his solo treks are Tony's adventures with Rob Hodge, a "hardcore" re-enactor who crusades for the complete realization of Civil War realism, and who deplores modern intrusions.

I commend Tony Horwitz for attempting to dig beneath the surface, to make analogies and historical connections. He patiently listens to whom he calls neo-Confederates as they expatiate upon their views of the War, the meaning of flying the Confederate (Battle) Flag and how the official history of the war (written by the Northern invaders) distorts the truth behind the South's motives. He also shows that not all Southerners think alike on the War and on the flag issue. Some have little care for the heritage of the War, but have inherited and appropriated symbols of the Cause for their own cause: e.g. using the Confederate (Battle) Flag as a sign of rebellion against the status quo, or as a standard of white supremacy. Some Southerners go so far as to agree: The War is over. Let's get over it. The Southern blacks with whom Tony converses are preponderately opposed to the show of Confederate pride. Interestingly, at the end of the book, Tony relates of black schoolchildren who are just as cynical of Northern motives as they are those Southern. North or South, no difference, the leaders of both were white, i.e. racist against blacks. Even Abraham Lincoln does not escape criticism; the schoolchildren regard him as a "benevolent racist." (367)

Where Tony excels in his reporting, witticisms and the lucid, engaging tone that prevails throughout the work, there are several areas that significantly detract from the quality of an otherwise excellent piece of non-fiction. As the title of my review suggests, Tony understands the War as seen through the prism of the Civil Rights Movement. The two chapters that conclude the work, "I Had a Dream" and "Strike the Tent," in their contents serve as the interpretive crux of all the preceding chapters. In early chapters, Tony is cautious with his personal views, but finally he cannot hold them in any longer and lets loose (paralleling his explosive argument with Rose Sanders, a school teacher). He begins with a manifesto that, while in childhood the Civil War fancied his mind, it was the occurrences of the 1960's, in particular the Civil Rights Movement and the struggles that accompanied them, which developed his "political consciousness" (370). This is fine, except he conflates the racial issues of the 1960's with the issues of the War in the 1860's. Subsequent to this loose conflation, all manner of wild reflections are drawn. Race, segregation and discrimination, huge factors from the racial wars of the 1960's until today, become key issues in the War Between the States. Overcoming these issues would mean a unified country, where people believe and live alike, regardless of class, race or any other distinguishing characteristic. Great idealism, but were the historical motives of the War really of that ideal or to the extent that Tony imposes on it? Because what Tony sees in the South does not fully live up to his own ideal, he concludes wholesale rejection, rather than critical acceptance of what is good and rejection of that which is bad, as the best course of action. He facilely equates the traditional Southern view of the War as "propaganda," and he entertains the notion that the South would be better if it forgot its [War] history, since its history intrinsically relates to the racial strife and inequality of the 20th century. (376) "You Wear Your X, I'll Wear Mine" (in reference to Malcolm X and the design of the Confederate Flag respectively) is Tony's oft-repeated phrase of disgust, which also functions as his experience of the South as an entity: each side, Southern White and Southern Black, having its own history, but each of whose history is fueled by racial prejudices. Both must go.

In consequence on Tony's fixation on the issue of race, he cannot see the "States' Rights" argument as anything more than a concocted veneer to legitimatize darker motives: slavery and the assertion of racial superiority. Unfortunately, Tony does not even address the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which long before the Confederacy advocated states ' rights in the face of an oppressive federal government. Neither does he address the different views of the Founding Fathers regarding the union and whether it was an unbreakable union or one which the states made and from which they could secede under certain conditions.

In the end, Tony Horwitz's presentation of the South is amusing, if wanting at times, especially in the evaluative concluding chapters. After writing so well and humorously on re-enacting, it is disheartening and a sneer, even when taken as jest, for him to conclude of re-enactment activities as "childish things." (388) He makes mention of the "Irreconcibles," a group of Confederates and their descendants that remains to this day in Brazil; but Tony laments he could not visit them. This is a true tragedy. Had Tony visited, he may have gained some illumination as to the Confederacy and the motives behind the Confederacy, and its self-professed advocates of today. The Civil Rights Movement did not impact Brazil as it did the U.S., and the perspectives there would provide a unique complement.

As will be the case with all my reviews, I'm going to record my reaction to the book, not summarize it. If you want to know what the book is all about, read a few of the longer reviews (which, at the time of this writing, numbered about 250.) Or better yet, buy it; it'll only cost you $10.17. Plus shipping, of course - and sales tax, if you live in Washington State.
I approached this book with a full head of righteous indignation. I was ready to be pissed off. I expected a hatchet job. How could anything written about the South by a self-proclaimed liberal, ex-union organizer named Tony be anything other than another perfunctory slap - if maybe a comical slap - at all those redneck, racist , reactionary, drawling good ole boys down there at the bottom of the country - who, moreover, have the temerity to vote Republican? (Full disclosure: I am white, retired, live in Washington State, and voted for Reagan. Twice.) Boy was I wrong! (About the book - not about Reagan.) Maybe I'm too old or dumb to deal with subtle innuendo, but on a quick first reading this book was fun, informative in a non-threatening way - and fair. Sure, the author talked to some people I'm happy I've never met, but heck, there are plenty of those right here in the Pacific Northwest, and I run into them all the time. This book introduced me to some interesting, even fascinating, people - Rob Hodges (on the cover) was worth the price of admission all by himself. Some advice to the potential reader: if you're looking for sober, closely reasoned political or psychological enlightenment, buy some other book - this one, while serious in places, is mainly just good, honest fun. And some advice to the author: Tony - stay out of biker bars. We want you around to write more books.

Well, ever since my seven year sojourn in Frederiksburg, Va., I've been trying to understand the jaundiced eye with which so many people in the south view that war, and the north. I guess the best thing that Horwitz gave us was Shelby Foote's explanation: the war was fought in their front yards. (except for Gettysburg...and here and there in Indiana and Ohio and D.C.) Also, I think they love the glorious romantic sense of loss of it all.
I loved reading this book. Horwitz is a smart fun guy.

A superb book. I'd have given it four and a half stars if possible. It doesn't merit five stars because of some repetitive sections. Laugh out loud funny in parts, ponderous (in a good way), well-researched, and eye-opening. This was a really fun book to read.

I found this book a very easy read for anyone wanting more knowledge on the foundation of tcm. I would recommend this book for any lay person, or people interested in studying chinese medicine.great!

As a student of Asian energy healing, I found this book to be the best single source of information about the Chinese 5 Elements and their value in understanding physical and emotional health.

The book treats the subject of Chinese medicine in enough detail and depth for the practitioner, yet is written in clear, non-technical language accessible to the general reader. Much of the writing is excellent and I found the treatment of the five personality types -- Earth, Fire, Metal, Wood and Water -- especially helpful.

The book includes detailed questionnaires that allow the reader to discover his or her own type, and to use that information to help manage stress and maintain better physical and emotional health.

Good beginning and ending. Kind of lost me in the middle. A bit touchy, feelie.

As a former massage therapist with a keen interest in holistic health and wellness, I found "Between Heaven and Earth" to be a fantastic overview of Chinese medicine theory. I don't believe the authors expected any of the readers to come away ready to practice acupuncture, but their treatment of the subject was both relatively easy to follow and quite thorough for such a broad subject. It was plenty to swallow for anyone who is seeking to know more about this area of healing that is rapidly making its way in to the mainstream of accepted channels of health and healing.

I particularly enjoyed the description of the 5 elements and discovering my own dominant element. It sure fit like a glove. It reminds me of the kind of analysis used by ayruvedic practitioners pertaining to dominant dosha types, yet it is a completely different paradigm.

The latter part of the book has descriptions of the organ meridian channels, complete with diagrams and acupuncture points for self-care. There is a section devoted to Chinese herbs, with descriptions of their uses and some recipes. The recipes, however, looked to me to be only for those avid devotees who have the time and patience to implement them.

This is an interesting book. I don't suggest the average reader will be able to "do it themselves" after reading it, but it makes the big picture clearer to anyone already working with a practitioner of Chinese medicine. Most people should be able to find a few points that are immediately usable, and walk away with a better understanding overall.

Moonstone Star White is the author of the spiritual growth title High Way from Hell: Using Emotion to Fan the Fire of Enlightment.

I have known the author, Efrem Korngold, from the 60's. Efrem has always been involved in 'cutting edge' research and pragmatic applications regarding a wide spectrum of interests. Efrem's interest and commitment to health care comes out in his book, "Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine." As a result of reading his book, he and his wife have put the subject into terms that anyone can understand. Most important contribution however, is that the book gives the reader a "new" perspective on health care. By explaining the difference in models between Western medicine and Eastern medicine, Efrem and his wife are giving the reader invaluable information that they can now use in determining how they want to approach their own health care in the 21st century. Kudos to Efrem and his wife, Harriet Beinfield for a clear exposition of a topic that some might interpret as esoteric i.e. an alternative to western medicine.
Bart Ellis

I came across this book thanks to two things. One being that it was recommended by another Iraq war author (David Bellavia). The second being that it was on my Kindle recommended reading list. I must admit that at something like 400 pages I expected it to drag on and become convaluted at times. This is not the case at all here. Mr. West does an amazing job of pacing out the book and describing the hellish combat that the Marines faced. He also analyses the political climate and assigns the blame for the unnecessary violence where it appropriately belongs. Kudos Mr. West on a tour de force, we need more authors of your caliber in this genre.

People might be sick and tired of Iraq, but this is an excellent recounting of the battle of Fallujah in 2004 and a detailed analysis of the decisions that led to so many problems in that region.

West zooms in on the street-by-street fighting between the Marines and the insurgents, and these scenes have visceral intensity. You are there with the soldiers as bullets ricochet, RPG rounds careen through alleyways and bodies crumple with mortal wounds. Then West zooms back out to recount the meetings between the politicians, generals and religious leaders whose decisions determine the course of the Fallujuh fighting even more than the actions of the soliders on the ground.

In many ways, Fallujah is a microcosm of the war in Iraq. Misunderstood by the press and public alike, this book studies how countless acts of Marine bravery and heroism were offset by political infighting and dithering within the Bush administration and in the upper echelons of military command. It is at once tragic, exciting, frustrating and mind-boggling.

"After the mutilation of the four contractors in Fallujah in April 2004, the White House and high officials reacted emotionally by ordering a full attack on the city." The same could be said about our government's decision to go to war after 9/11 and Osama bin Laden's escape. One major questionable decision put everyone involved in an impossible situation thereafter. Especially with too many cooks in the kitchen.

Whether you are for, against or just plain frustrated by the war in Iraq, this is a compelling read. I was up until 2:00am each night until I finished it. You will not be disappointed. You will also gain further appreciation for the pressure the principal decisions makers faced, for the soldiers who fought in those streets and for Bing West's reportage.

This is a must read for anyone that wants to really know what it is like and what happened in Fallujah. The next time you see a Marine after reading this, you will thank them for signing up.