History Books

Diana Eck is a wonderful scholar who has written several great books on Hinduism. Darsan (or "darshan," if you're transliterating it simply for an English-speaking audience) is a wonderfully simple introduction to Hindu iconography and the related ritual experience, a subject that is overwhelmingly broad and often unwieldy.

If you are an undergraduate studying Eastern religions, a graduate student new to Hinduism, a Western devotee wanting better cross-cultural knowledge of how to respectfully relate to your chosen god or goddess as Hindus do, or a curious layperson wanting to know more about the Hindu religious experience and what all the images and rituals are about, this is a great book for you to begin with. This slim volume doesn't go into elaborate depth, but covers a lot of ground and introduces many key terms in a very readable way, and is a useful introductory work.

Not only does this book explain the way Hindus view the iconic (formed) and aniconic (abstract) images of the gods, but also the corollary view and conception of temples and holy personages. The title and key idea in all this is "darsan," which means not only viewing the sacred, but simultaneously being viewed by the gods. The way in which the statues (murtis) are treated with continuous attendance in the form one would typically associate with a human guest--bathing, feeding, clothing, putting to rest, etc.--is made comprehensible via this small book's explanation. The statue, image, or the temple itself is the body of the divine, in which the sacred consents to be present to humans...thus, treating the sacred body with reverence and devotion is deemed appropriate and important.

This book is useful not only to Hindus and those interested in better understanding the Hindu religion, but also any thoughtful person who wishes to consider the relationship of sacred to symbol, and the way in which the divine might be present to us.

This is a required text for just about every introductory course on Hinduism. Essential reading for anyone wishing to understand how Hindus worship and see the divine.

Diana Eck has done an excellent job of sifting through the vast amount of material on Hindu imagery in India and presenting an intelligently distilled interpretation. An excellent read on a very difficult subject.

This book was my introduction to Hinduism, given to me by a friend following my first personal experience with darsan and Hindu devotion. It is a stunningly clear and subtle book, offering a careful, complex discussion of the unique nature of the Hindu conception of the divine. I read it then in 3 days and am rereading it now as a student of Hinduism, looking forward to seeing this great book from a new perspective.

Great book if you are interested in the subject of science and nuclear physics. The book does a good job of explaining a lot of technical jargon in layman terms and tells a compelling story of the scientists involved. I read this book back in school and fell in love with the side stories and the footnotes in the making of the bomb. The later parts of the book are a bit of a drag and it is easy to get bored. A couple of friends who i recommended this book to did not like it as they felt it was too heavy and they were not really interested in science as much :).

A dazzling epic. A complete chronicle blending history, physics, chemistry and engineering in a manner accessible to anybody.

AT THIS POINT , I AM ABOUT ONE THIRD THRU THIS TOME . I AM A RATHER SLOW READER , BUT HAVE EXCELLENT RETENTION . MY BACKGROUND IS ENGINEERING , SO INTENSE READING HAS BEEN MY WAY FOR YEARS . MY WIFE AND I WERE BORN IN 1933/34 RESPECTIVELY , SO MANY OF THE OCCURENCES ARE VERY RELATIVE TO US . I FOUND IT INTERESTING THAT THE MUTUAL RESPECT BETWEEN THE MANY SCIENTISTS IS BASED ON THE WORK AND DISCOVERY OF EACH ONE , WITHOUT ANY INTEREST OR AVERSION TO THEIR RESPECTIVE COUNTRYS OF THEIR ORIGIN . THE WRITING IS READABLE AND UNDERSTANDABLE , ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WITH A BIT OF ENGINEERING , CHEMICAL , OR SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND , WITHOUT BEING OVERWHELMING . I HAVE LEARNED MUCH .

J.L.MURRAY

Myself not being a scientist there were parts of this book that were hard to understand theoretically speaking, but the historical story the book brings forth is hard not to understand. Between the people making blind discoveries to educated guesses to scientific brilliance it's all here. Leading up to the climatic climax. This book is long and could be hard to read at times but the important historical facts leave nothing to wonder. A fantastic account of the making of the atomic bomb from around the world to then center on two cities in Japan was a page turner through and through. A giant collection a names, dates and ego's that ethics aside did stop a war cold in it's tracts. A weapon with hopefully will never see the light of day again.

this is a fascinating read for people that enjoy science, technology, and the quirky, industrious, oftentimes brilliant people that can change history with their creations. the writing is superb. it is crafted in such a way that you feel like you've been with these people in los alamos and know what they went through. you understand the tension between the military and the irreverent scientists and you can't help but wonder at the clairvoyance of some of the important decisions that could have gone either way. a truly fun read if you like reading about extremely smart people. "american prometheus" about the life of j. robert oppenheimer would be a good sequel or prequel. it, too, is very well written and enjoyable if you like science biographies about brilliant, interesting people that have had a big impact on the world.

The seller was excellent with communicating with me. Not only did he send the product the same evening - I ordered after 3p, he gave me helpful hints and immediate communication via email. The book was in very good condition and arrived in a timely manner, although next time I'd order 2-day since it was sent from the East Coast.

I used this for a fine arts class. It is a very nice book and has lot's of pictures too look at while the prof drones on and on.

book was needed for friend's class at college.
she is quite pleased with it.

It's a good book, with a lot of collections of articles from history. But it'll be nicer if it has more of the author's own opinion

Anyone interested in history, academically or otherwise, should read Zinn's work since history is written by the winners, the best fighters, the most arrogant, sonmetimes, the most patient. It would be wise
for history teachers to present "the other side". I highly recommend his work.

This account of the history of the US is taken from the "little people's" point of view. Very eye opening.

History is sometimes written with the goal of documenting the attitudes or opinions of a particular class of people, such as the intellectuals, the politicians, the scientists, or the warriors. Each of these groups has made important contributions to human accomplishment, which should not be forgotten or discarded under the guise of some egalitarian or multicultural reading of history. But when the stories of these groups are documented in history, too often other voices are deafened, and these voices represent the vast majority of historical participants. It is not enough to view history through the eyes of intellectuals, politicians, or warriors. For an historical account to be meaningful, it must offer insight into the collaborations, opinions, belief structures, and longings of those who chose not to become famous, but instead chose to indulge themselves in the unique fascinations that each historical epoch possesses.

But because most humans throughout history did not record their experiences, the historian is left wanting for accurate appraisals of these experiences. Diaries, journals, and other personal writings can assist the historian in this regard, and there have been many uses of these throughout the historical literature. It is important to remember though that because of the paucity of these personal documents, one should not be too hasty in imputing the opinions of their authors to the entire population at the time. One cannot view them as representing the "voices of the people" without establishing this with (difficult) statistical analysis.

Sometimes however these documents were written more as a catharsis, as a way of expressing, in a strong and determined way, an idea, grievance, or opposition to the status quo. The opening quotation in the book by Frederick Douglass reinforces this view, for in that quotation Douglass essentially states that power must be challenged before it can be defeated (Douglass does not want to stop with mere words though, for in the same quotation he asserts the need for physical confrontation if necessary).

It is in this light that this book should be read. It is a collection of essays and letters that reveal attitudes that are not the typical ones that one would be exposed to in United States secondary schools. Those readers familiar with the author's earlier book on United States history will appreciate this book even more, but both can be read independently of each other. This is not a book that will please the elitist historian who discounts any view of history that does not magnify the contributions of intellectuals or military leaders over and above the "common" person. It is a book for those who are genuinely interested in the moods and aspirations of the people of a given time, if only from a limited vantage point. It will certainly upset the intellectual equilibrium of anyone who holds to a view of American history that has been sanitized by the educational establishment.

I am a high school history teacher and I use this in class. It has been extremely helpful especially combined with the free teacher's guide which you can find online. Each primary source is introduced with a brief background which provides some context.

I first read this book when I was eleven years old, and have loved it ever since. I cannot even count the number of times I have re-read it. It is excellently written with a deep plot, well-made characters, and an amazingly believable feel of the world of Ancient Egypt. Even if you are not a fan of ancient Egyptian books, you will soon become interested in the characters and before you know it, caught up in a whirl-wind of spies, secret plots, Pharaohs, and above all, the love story of two young Egyptians.

I have loved this book since i first read it so many years ago. Mara, its lead character, is a joy to get to know

This is a wonderful little book. It is mainly geared to female readers, boys will not enjoy the romance (IMHO). Mara is resourceful, spunky and at times self serving. Above all she is a survivor. Nice romance with a girl power theme.Interesting Egyptian setting which is different from the usual Celtic/British background for so many of these novels.If you enjoyed this, older teens and adults will enjoy Judith Tarr's Lord of the Two Lands.

This novel is excellent for a number of reasons. I recieved it as a gift, and I read it in one day.
Pros:

Mara (the heroine) is a character with a distinct personality. She jumps out at you on the page rather than just sitting there as a bunch of words jumbled together.

The descriptions are vivid and exact, and the writing style flows effortlessly.

The story is gripping and intriguing and takes a few unexpected twists.

It seems very historical, though I am no expert on ancient Egypt.

The cover is very beautiful for those who like "pretty" books.

Cons:

None that I can think of.

I highly reccommend this book to avid readers, young or old!

This was one book that I remember reading when I was in fourth grade. I bought this copy for my daughter, who is a total bookworm. If you are interested in Ancient Egypt, this book is wonderful.

The title was all that attracted me to this book. It seemed poorly written and nobody in our book club enjoyed this book. The characters came and went and then reappeared (the book was in chronological order versus taking one character at a time) which made it confusing. It was a hard read. I actually got through another book club pick "Andersonville" by Kantor- almost 1000 pages with less trouble.

Although this book was listed by the vendor, it was out of stock so I never got it. My account was credited, but why list the book when it isn't available.?

I recieved the book promptly. The book is in good condition. I am currently enjoying the book and it is alway nice to see history thru a woman's eyes. Thank You Cokie Roberts

One of the most sophomoric books to hit the market in a while, the prose is bad, the content is mere filler of cute stories of women doing very little, and the author can't stay on the subject at all.

Ms. Roberts did a fine job on sharing the little known history of our founding mothers. It opens one's eyes to the role women really did play in the war for independence.

The book was fine. It was for Wayne State University's DNC 1000 course. I found the book to be easy reading and informative. It gives you insight on different dance forms from around the world and gives you a fuller appreciation of dance as an art. :-)
Thanks Amazon!

Product was purchased known to be used, and was in excellent shape except for one tiny minute crease on the cover's bottom corner, which I accepted ahead of time by knowing the product was not new. You would never have known it was used otherwise. Had I expected perfection, I would have purchased a new copy. The product was well worth the price.

this book has great information of women history in the United States. Easy to read and understand. Good pictures all over the book.

I wasn't aware of this book until I took an American women's history class - I can honestly say that I would have wanted this book even if it wasn't assigned reading.

Nearly every aspect of American women's history is (unfortunately only) touched upon from many nationalities. It opened my eyes to some aspects of women's history that I hadn't been interested in before and reeducated me in other areas. The book is littered with illustrations, photographs, maps, stories, letters, documents, collections of photographs to show what is written about, etc - all of which keep the text interesting and free of dryness.

To make up for some lack of information, the end of each chapter has an extensive bibliography that steers you in any direction you feel the need to go.

I must say that I was eager to begin reading this widely appreciated biography. Unfortunately, I was turned off by Mao's self indulgent character. Perhaps one day I will pick it up again, but I didn't want to waste a day of my summer vacation by reading about someone I wouldn't care to meet.

You want to know the truth about Mao? This is your book! Mao was a sociopath and a monster.

Hitler, Stalin, Mao--of the three towering totalitarian dictators of the 20th century, Mao Tse Tung has always been considered the most benign. Darling of western leftists, Warholian pop icon, the "people's" chairman, Mao has long been a symbol for many who had absolutely no idea of the reality he represented.

In *Mao: the Unknown Story,* authors Chang and Halliday seek to correct the misperception. They portray Mao as a cold, cruel, asocial nihilist who believed in nothing--nothing, that is, except for Mao. Communism was merely a vehicle to achieving the power and privilege that Mao sought in what he considered a strictly material existence--the point of which was to personally appropriate as much material as possible. "When a man is dead," Mao reasoned, "what does he care about his reputation?"

So he'd hardly care about the conclusions Chang and Halliday advance in this scathing biography. The authors seem determined to re-establish the balance thrown off by decades of ignorance, silence, and oppression--all of which have contributed to a pseudo-heroic view of Mao. Chang and Halliday's evident "agenda" unfortunately give their book a less than objective feel--as if they felt it necessary to pile upon Mao as much dirt as possible. Mao, in these authors view, does absolutely nothing right, or for any good reason, and is virtually void of any decent motivation whatsoever. Their account is a bit like watching a prosecuting attorney giving an entirely one-sided and negative interpretation to the evidence with the sole intention of convicting the accused. There's hardly any doubt that Mao is guilty--but one can't help but feel that he's got at least a few arguments to make in his defense.

Mao's improbable rise to power makes for fascinating reading. He basically became a communist because as a young schoolteacher the Party would pay him a stipend to recruit members. Mao seems to have gone about this task a lot like an un-enterprising girl scout might sell cookies--by signing up members of his family to be communists but almost no one else! From there Mao rose through the ranks primarily by doing the opposite of whatever he was ordered or agreed previously to do. His favorite modus operandi seemed to be one of a number of variations of "I didn't get that memo." Time and time again Mao claimed that messages were lost, orders were misunderstood, phone calls disconnected. He simply "disappeared" whenever it was convenient, and then popped up again after whatever self-serving antic had become a fait accompli.

The famous Long March? -it was all a tragic sham, according to the authors, in which Mao led his followers on a wild goose chase like a crafty Moses who knew very well where he was supposed to be going but purposely took the longest most disastrous route possible to eliminate his competition and consolidate his own power. He was going to make sure that when he entered the Promised Land it would be as king. For Mao, 90% of the population was unnecessary, expendable, a point he made time and again when discussing the perfectly--in his view--option of all-out nuclear war.

From Mao's birth to his wretched death of Lou Gehrig's disease, it's all here--the purges and great leaps, the civil wars and cultural wars, the super-secret nuclear weapons programs and politically-induced famines, the Nixon/Kissinger visits on-stage and behind-the-scenes--and all of it recounted in a briskly paced, mesmerizing, almost novelistic narrative.

While it often seems one-sided and as if the authors, especially Ms. Chang, have a personal ax to grind with the chairman, *Mao* must nonetheless be considered essential reading at this point in understanding the rise and regime of Mao Tse Tung. Other more balanced books will probably pop up in its wake, but for now this one establishes an important and much-needed corrective to the popular view of a dictator all too often regarded as one of the champions of humanity's underdogs.

This is my third biography off Mao this summer, following Lucian Pye's Mao: The Man in the Leader, and Li Zhisui's portrait of Mao based on his time as the Great Helmsman's personal physician. And I'vee recently read Walter Laquer's Staklain: The Glasnost Revelations, and Dmitri Volkogonov's biography of Lenin using formerly secret Soviet archival materials. This book is in their tradition of making available invaluable new findings that give new insights into their subject.

This book, based on interviews and research into state archives in China, Russia, and elsewhere, is very similar to the latter two. Previously unavailable material is presented which places a new light on the subject. Isn't this the kind of thing we look for in history? The style may not be for everyone, but no one reads history for style, so such criticisms entirely miss the mark, and border on ad hominem arguments.

The funny thing is, some people feel compelled to advocate for Mao. Who can imagine why? Does Stalin still have his apologists, as he did in America in the 30s and later? Does Kim Il Sung still have votaries? Claiming that Mao unified China (and why is this good for the rest of the world?) as though this somehow justified the world's greatest starvation (the laughable Great Leap Forward) is fallacious. So what romantic dreams continues to impel Mao's defenders?

This book gives great insight into Mao's background, his beginnings, his early manipulations of others, and his consistent (and quite imaginative!) scheming to get control of the party. His ingenuity at destroying and controlling others is remarkable! His provocations of Chiang kai-shek, trying to provoke civil war to compel Soviet assistance are quite creative as well. Most interesting to me has been the deconstruction of the culture of Yenan, where Mao et al invented Chinese totalitarianism. Tragically, he turned against everyone who was close to him, and inevitably, this led to his disgusting episodes of self-pity later in life.

Those who fault this book should go the historian's route, and look at the same evidence and draw their own conclusions from it. Mao's been dead for 30+ years. Get over it, and get informed. It would be good to see more biographies of Mao. After all, there is a cottage industry on Hitler biographies, and Mao Tse-tung is a subject to (at a minimum) rival him in complexity and influence.

I must admit, that this is my first biography of Mao, actually my first book on Chinese history; while I have been to China at least 25 times.

Not being a professor of history, I cannot judge the truth of the book, but it certainly seems EXTREMELY well researched. There is no doubt, that the authors despise Mao, they make no apologies about it.

After a bit of a slow start (reading the "first few dozen pages" is not enough!), the book does get very interesting and very scary.
I read biographies of Stalin and of course (being a German) of Hitler. If only 20% of this book is true, both Hitler and Stalin were "harmless" compared to Mao.
One difference between Mao and Hitler / Stalin seems Mao's total lack of purpose, other than his personal power.

The authors do not mention even one good thing about Mao. It is inconceivable to me, that Mao was ONLY bad.....even Hitler built the famous German autobahns. This is the main point against this book.

After having read biographies of Hitler, Stalin and Mao, it is scary, how easy ruthless people can deceive their fellow country men.
( While I am certainly NOT putting Mr. George W. Bush ANYWHREE close to these villains, it is telling, how easily he could get things like Guantanamo Bay and the Patriot's Act passed.......)

I'm pretty sure that after you've read this book, you'll feel the way I do: that this in the one book that everyone in the world should read. If there is a more eye-opening book on the same topic than this one out there, I have yet to read it, but it doesn't matter. That's because this book will do a sufficiently good job at shedding our ignorance about the most important, most dangerous issues of our time. It shows the very roots of the problems surrounding our treatment of the environment, not only from a scientific perspective, but from the perspective of what is fundamentally, intrinsically wrong with how our whole society is arranged, on a multitude of levels (not only commerce as the title implies). It shows exactly why inaction has been the status quo until now. It also shows the real nightmare-inducing dangers of continuing business as usual regarding how we treat the environment, on a scientific level. This doesn't mean that it's a book purposely architected to incite fear, uncertainty and doubt. It is simply one of the most profound, honest, right-to-the-point accounts of the problem facing us.

How do I know this? I don't. Therefore I'll now set off on a mission to read all of the other books by Amory Lovins and Paul Hawken, and possibly other books of the same caliber and on the same topic, and then decide if I want to revise this review, but I'm rather confident I won't have to :-)

I don't really want to allude to the content of the book in further detail, since anything not akin to stellar praise would not do it justice. What I can merely tell you is that you won't be disappointed by reading it. In fact, you will be enthralled by coming across a such an excellent verbalization of what has been bothering you all along.

Paul Hawken's book "The Ecology of Commerce" is one of those books one never forgets because it changes the way you think. I first read this book back when it came out in 1994 and just re-read it.

The author doesn't squawk about how bad humans are, but rather offers a sensible, deliberate perspective on how we can change our economic systems to accommodate our relationship with the rest of Nature.

To avoid being an ignorant, knee-jerk reacting activist ( or at least deciding to go down that route) read this book!

Looking for a book to explain how capitalism and environmentalism can coincide? This is it.
For years we've been led to believe that if we want progress and technology advances we should learn to accept there's a price---> pollution. Mega-Corporates keep polluting our world, poisoning the water we drink and the air we breathe, destroying habitats so thoroughly that our children will probably only see wild animals at Zoos. And it's all done in the name of progress.
Paul Hawken proves the concept of progress=pollution to be very wrong. He demands that companies cut their energy consumption by 80 percent and then use the money they save for research to help find better clean sources of energy. He demands companies reduce their waste and not simply dump it. He demands companies think of what they're doing to our world and not just the bottom line. He even thinks they can make money this way. He suggests a new, more moral way of doing business.
A very thought provoking book raising many very tough questions about the way companies today run their businesses. A must read for anyone interested in environmental issues and the business world.

I don't even know how to begin describing how great this book is. It should be required reading for EVERYBODY on the planet. I learned about this book while watching the documentary, "The Corporation," and I'll have to admit, I wasn't expecting anything revolutionary in this book. I thought I'd be getting some interesting pictures and statistics relating to consumption, recycling, landfills, global warming...pretty much your standard environmental rhetoric (of which I'm a subscriber) to complement what I already know. What I got, however, was so much more. This book is not only about the environment, but about how the environment integrates with global business and economics. For some reason, the 'developed' world has created a disconnect between the environment and business. Hawken shows how the two are inextricably connected, and in order to guarantee a successful future for us, our children and all life on earth, business and the environment must work harmoniously and each stop being the bane of the other.

His metaphor for business IS the environment: everything in nature is cyclical, which brings maximum efficiency. Nothing is more efficient than the natural world: one organism's waste is another organism's life source. If business would approach operations and resources from this perspective, waste would not be 'waste' and the benefits of increased efficiency would permeate throughout all life and systems. His metaphor is very simple but exceedingly beautiful, and only becomes more so as Hawken goes in-depth with concrete examples and further exploration of all issues from both sides. Throughout reading this book, I was continuously floored by his analysis, his insight and his prescription for the future.

And a note about his prose: every sentence reflects structurally the economies and efficiencies it conveys ideologically. This man is concise and his style is powerful - every word packs a punch. He says so much with so little, maximizing the time spent in our reading investment. Clearly, I have nothing but the highest praise for Hawken and this book - it is truly visionary.

This isn't an easy read. Lot of technical info but read it and re-read it. It may just be what America needs.