Reviews (81)

Solid, mostly objective reporting
I have read several of Woodward's previous works, and found this to be a solid piece of reporting, wrapped and shaped to provide believeable characterizations of the players.I was not particularly surprised by much in the book, since a lot of it was clearly in the public domain press and television.But, Woodward has managed to fill in additional details to provide a soild context for the 10-second sound bites we get from the White House, and others.
I'm a Republican and I liked it
I have read all of Bob Woodward's books going back to the early-80's, The Brethren - which was not very good. I have consistently found him to be fact-based and fair in his reporting and analysis. I read this one twice.
What are we going to do about it?
While reading this book, which is about the fifth one I have read that basically says the same things about Bush and this war, and which I agree with and appreciate having authors tell me about, but when is someone going to write a book with advice about what we can do about it? All this talk just frustrates me. The points made in this book cannot fail to upset any reasonable taxpaying US citizen. I love the way they are presented but to be honest, I couldn't finish the book.It was just making me feel sick and helpless to do anything. What can we do besides read books about it? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 2001-    2. Government - Executive Branch    3. Government - U.S. Government    4. Iraq War, 2003    5. National security    6. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    7. Political Science    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics and government    10. Politics/International Relations    11. United States    12. History / Modern / 21st Century   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (822)

Friedman's history is great, but "Flat" has its drawbacks
Friedman's substantial, "The World Is Flat" is a summary of the dramatic changes in the economy of the world in the first few years of the 21st century.The book is full of great stories from all over the world that shows how, while the geography of our planet hasn't changed, that geography is becoming less and less an obstacle for business.The author shows, in a fairly amusing way, how certain dates in history (e.g. 11/9/89 - When the Walls Came Down and the Windows Went Up) represent major milestones in the progress to a flat world.These events, called flatteners, helped usher in the new globalization (version 3.0), which is exploding and resulting in a new world economy where India and China are on the same production and creative level as the United States.
The future is here, and it is starting to be evenly distributed
I have to admit I only read this book based on the fact it was topping all the best seller lists. I found it to be a worth while read. Even though I follow technology closely, I wasn't really aware of some of the points that the author made, so hopefully many will pick up something from this book. Many parts of the book I had difficulties relating to, but the new insights it provided were defently worth it.

How to destroy the United States 101 - What the book should be titled
It's a shame that US leaders have based a lot of its US policies on this book.It's like they want to make the US North Mexico or some Third World country. Really it's traitorous.
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Subjects:  1. Contemporary Politics    2. Diffusion of innovations    3. Economic aspects    4. Globalization    5. Information society    6. Political Science    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations   

Reviews (71)

UTTER RUBBISH !!! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY
THIS IS WRITTEN BY A LEFT WING TRAITOR ..DO NOT BOTHER ..."THE CAT IN THE HAT BY DR SEUSS HAS MORE CREDIBILITY .

Catchy Title
Do we really need another liberal manifesto about Bush? We all know he's made a mess in Iraq. And he refuses to protect U.S. borders, which may be the only thing liberals actually like about him. But I was surprised to learn the true cause of the Katrina disaster. Bush took a deep breath, exhaled, and actually blew up the winds that caused the N.O. flooding! Several weeks prior he ordered a battalion of jackhammers into the area to compromise the levees. The "chocolate" mayor of N.O. and the hapless governor of Louisiana - both democrats - were forced to remain incommunicado to facilitate Bush's diabolical schemes. Enough already. What do you liberals have to offer? Homosexual marriage and our school kids putting condoms on cucumbers.

Think and Grow Rich, Frank?
Interestingly, it appears truth is a left handed truth (like the abundance of left handed proteins in nature {truth-fact} and communist revolutionaries proletariat rule {fiction-the big lie}.
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Subjects:  1. Deception    2. Government - General    3. International Relations - General    4. Political Science    5. Political aspects    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Propaganda    9. Public Relations    10. Public relations and politics    11. Spin doctors    12. U.S. - Contemporary Politics    13. United States    14. Political Science / Government / General   

Reviews (53)

A Bombshell full of information!
Everyone needs to read this! Very informative and clears up a lot of questions, and Jerome Corsi and Mike Evans are the right ones to answer them. I'm glad I purchased this one!

Make Israel 51 st state!!!
10 STARS!!!
courageous
Not exactly what our itching ears want to hear... but well researched and courageous. Do we dare NOT read and consider the implications of this information? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. International Relations (General)    2. International Relations - General    3. International cooperation    4. Iran    5. Iran - History    6. Middle East - Iran    7. Nuclear arms control    8. Nuclear nonproliferation    9. Nuclear weapons    10. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    11. Political Science    12. Politics / Current Events    13. Politics/International Relations    14. Political Science / General   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (133)

Fiasco Is Very Misleading
As a Vietnam veteran, this book is worth reading. That is if one takes it with a grain of salt. I always have problems with a book when the author's historical data is inaccurate. For instance, the number of Israeli casualties he lists during the Yom Kippur War and the final outcome of the conflict was not at all consistent with the known data. Secondly, the number of reporters killed during the Vietnam War were much larger than he stated. Also, Rick's failed to connect the suspicious and untimely death of Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minn. in 2002 and the mailing of anthrax, which was later traced to a US Army facility, to the top media and Democratic figures as a way of coercing them to support Bush's invasion of Iraq. Ricks also failed to mention the fact that the overwhelming majority of the military establishment supports our occupation of Iraq, even though the reasons for being there are bogus to the extreme. Moreover, his odd conclusion to all this is that we should stay there to the bloody end, no matter the outcome, which is nuts to say the least. And finally, Ricks just doesn't understand the real purpose behind our involvement in wars like Vietnam and in Iraq. The Pentagon nor our government could care less about winning the war. Our involvement was never about winning, that's why the military never seriously learned the hard lessons in Vietnam. The whole purpose behind these wars is to prolong the conflicts for as long as possible using the most trumped up reasons, in order that corporations such as Haliburton and Brown and Root, just to name a few, can make billions of profits from the American taxpayer. Win or lose, the real benefactors of Iraq is corporate America. In a very real sense, these corporations not only run the Pentagon but our government as well. Sadly, all the generals and colonels can retire in protest, there will always be others ready to eagerly replace them. War is good business, it always has been and it will always be. Have a nice day.

Missing the bigger picture
As a critical analysis of military operations in the Iraq war and the ongoing troubles that the military faces there, this book is wonderfully deep and rich. Ricks writes in a very straightforward manner and uses rough language in parts, but the book is a easy to read and digest.
The title says it all...
This book is a thoroughly sourced examination of how we went to war in Iraq, how the war is being conducted, and the consequences that the war may have for the US.As a bonus, it is also a gripping, fast-paced narrative,
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Subjects:  1. 21st century    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. History, Military    5. Iraq War, 2003    6. Military    7. Military - Iraq War    8. Military - United States    9. Military History - 1990-    10. Military Policy    11. Military history    12. United States    13. United States - 21st Century    14. History / Military / United States   

Reviews (10)

Beyond the Game of Football
As both an avid sports fan and reader of sports literature I found this to be by far the most outstanding sports related book I've ever read. (I've read lots of them)
Notfootball's Moneyball, but a great read nonetheless..
If you are looking for the football version of Moneyball you might be a bit disppointed by Blind Side. It's not really that kind of book. (Indeed, there are few books that completely alter one's view of a subject the way Moneyball did)There are some interesting chapters about Bill Walsh and the innovations he brought to the offensive side of football, but Blind Side is much more of a human interest story. It's a highly readable and engaging story and it will surely make you pay more attention next time an Ole Miss game is on TV. I highly recommend it.

You Will Enjoy It Even If You Don't Love Football
Of course, I do love football, and my young son plays on offensive and defensive lines, so the description of the book and its high ranking on the Top 100 list motivated me to purchase and read.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. College sports    5. Football - General    6. Football - Professional    7. Football players    8. Oher, Michael    9. Sports & Recreation    10. Sports - General    11. United States    12. Soccer (Association football)    13. Social history    14. Sports & Recreation / Football   

Reviews (8)

A Real Cultural Warrior
Lou Dobbs doesn't pontificate, "bloviate," or make wild accusations and disparaging remarks about people who disagree with him like some inherent spin-meisters on FOX tend to do. Dobbs, of CNN, doesn't have to. In his book, "War on the Middle Class," he simply lays lays out the facts in a fair and honest way - facts that to anyone but the most ardent hermit are self evident as we all watch the strength and independence of the country get exported or "out-sourced" around the world.
America's Precarious Future
Author Lou Dobbs brings up a number of pressing issues in our country that are, for the most part, being ignored by our politicans in Washington.Border security, corporate business outsourcing jobs to other countries, failure in our public schools, and the shrinking middle class while the rich get richer are a few of the subjects that Dobbs tackles.What I find especially frightening is the fact the future of our country is at stake while politicans and corporate America engage in self-interest.Leadership is desperately needed and Dobbs suggests people designate themselves as Independents rather than Republicans or Democrats.Neither party should assume they have our vote.It is something to be earned.Education is woefully neglected while it once was a chance for equalization among students.No one can guarantee success for anyone, but all at least deserve a chance at success.College tuition costs have soared beyond the means of many students.Talented teachers are needed, but teachers are often hired into other higher paying jobs.Discipline in schools has deteriorated due to the breakup of the family.Illegal immigrants are taxing our schools, hospitals, jails, and social services in addition to bringing diseases into our country while the powers that be in Washington fiddle.My bottom line?This is not the time to be a kid in America.

A real wake-up call ...
Corporations no longer influence our laws --now, they write them! As Dobbs chronicles, they are writing the economic laws of the world, unfettered by any one nation. Just consider the iPod, made north of Shanghai, China where young workers are kept in 100-person dorms at night, given a bucket to do their laundry, and paid $50 a month. Think this, and a multitude of stories just like it don't affect wages in America?
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Subjects:  1. Economic Policy    2. Economic conditions    3. Government - General    4. Government policy    5. Middle class    6. Pressure groups    7. Social Classes    8. Social Science    9. Social Stratification    10. Sociology    11. United States    12. Social Science / Social Classes   

Reviews (7)

The results of manifest destiny. . .
This is a beautifully written book that takes epic form in retelling the settling of the American southwest from 1820 through the 1860s.From the Mexican war to the removal of the Navajo from Canyon de Chelly, Hampton Sides writes an engaging account of the results of manifest destiny, showing both sides, warts and all.The white man, while seeming noble in purpose, is shown to have been lacking in honor, and while the Indians were certainly shafted time and again they had many of their own faults.Central to this story is the famous mountain man Kit Carson, a man of many contradictions: though extremely intelligent he was also illiterate; he could speak many of the native languages, understood the Indian ways, and even had Indian wives but he also participated in the slaughter and removal from their lands of these same Indians.The book also includes engaging portraits of many of the important figures of this time period:Stephen Watts Kearny, John Fremont, the Navajo warrior Narbona, and Senator Thomas Benton.Sides is even handed and honest in how he portrays all those involved.At times I felt I was reading fiction but this story is real!For a story about the modern west I have to recommend "Across the High Lonesome." I picked it up after seeing a recommendation from Larry McMurty and he was right!

A full faced history of Arizona and New Mexico
In this sweeping account the lives of Kit Karson and the Navajo nation are intertwined amid scenes of western conquest, manifest destiny, war and survival.This is an epic encounter during a great period in history when the new west, Mexicans and the American Indian as well as traders and mormons and cowboys confronted one another in what has come down to us as the Wild West.Central to the this protrait is the destruction of the Navajo Nation and thier redoubt at Canyon De Chelly, but this book includes an excellent history of the Mexican-American war and the role of Fremont and Keanry and others in opening the west.However imbedded within this is the story of Kit Karson the illiterate mountain man turned welathy notable of the american west, who married Native women and spoke a half dozen languages and was pressed into service destroying the people he truly understood.
Southwest Conquest at its Best
Hampton Sides shines in this well researched, exciting and very readable narrative of our great American Southwest.Each page is brimming with adventure, insight and judicious analysis.
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Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. Frontier and pioneer life    3. History    4. History - U.S.    5. History: American    6. Indians of North America    7. Military - United States    8. Native Americans - Southwest    9. U.S. History - Westward Expansion    10. United States - 19th Century    11. United States - 19th Century/Old West    12. United States - General    13. Wars    14. West (U.S.)    15. History / United States / General   

Reviews (45)

Scolarly Coverage of a Touchy Subject
THere is a lot of apolagetic
the only 3 star review
i appreciate what spencer has done in his series.i am glad he finally mentions a way out for muslims:exegesis. muslims need to discuss and admit that the koran is a manmade document and contextualize it, just as christianity has done. if it is taken literally, as it is by all mainstream muslims,then mohammed will continue to be a violent role model. i wish spencer would help the average muslim by writing a non-insulting book explaining how the koran was cobbled together and help them reform. by labeling islam "the world's most intolerant religion he is playing into CAIR's hands.

Don't be confused by selective interpretations
I am a Muslim. I have read some parts of the book and could not go on. The simple reason is that the author is out to get Islam.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Controversial literature    4. General    5. History    6. Islam    7. Islam - Mohammad    8. Religion - World Religions    9. Religious    10. Political Science / General   

Reviews (64)

A Beautiful and Heartbreaking Read
Lawrence Wright, whose 2003 New Yorker profile of Ayman al-Zawahiri is still the best source for biographical info on the al-Qaeda number two, has written an exceptional book on the development of al-Qaeda over the years leading up to 9/11.
YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY TO READ THIS BOOK!
I tyically read novels rather than non-fiction, so I put off reading this book for a while when a friend of mine gave me a copy. Finally, I got to the bottom of my stack and I just finished it. I am so glad I took the time and strayed from my normal fare. Informative, yet gripping, I learned volumes about the situation in the world from Mr. Wright's thoughful and timely book. Regardless of your political persuasion, I highly recommend reading this book!

detailed, yet entertaining....very well written!
Mr. Wright has made sense of the senseless by effectively tracing the roots of the Islamic terrorism which led to 9/11. His research paid off and the reader will find this book both easy to read and hard to put down. The best book I have read on the subject thus far. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Government policy    2. History - U.S.    3. Intelligence service    4. Islamic Philosophy    5. Political Freedom & Security - Intelligence    6. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    7. Political Science    8. Political Terrorism    9. Politics/International Relations    10. September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001    11. Terrorism    12. United States    13. United States - 21st Century    14. Current Events / General   

Reviews (1)

A View Inside A Shrine to Self
The Windsors, while they were living, epitomized style, glamour, and wit. Ultimately theirs was a wasted life, empty of meaning in the end. From the heady days of their scandalous romance, life was all downhill, a private struggle to conserve their dignity in the aftermath of the abdication. To fill this emptiness and lack of purpose in life, the Duchess obsessed on perfection; of herself, of the things she collected and of the table she set. The Windsor's sous chef spent hours sorting salad leaves into leaves of exactly the same size to be set before their guests. Their relationship was a hollow recreation of the childhood the Duke never could leave behind. Moulin de la Tuilerie, their country home outside of Paris, was the York Cottage of Edward's youth reborn. Wallis herself was Queen Mary, obsessively arranging the display of small objets and cosseting the little boy who was King. A long time servant said, "They had nothing and no-one. They were just two lonely old people." Suzy Menkes takes the reader on an interesting tour through not only of the tangible objects of this relationship, but of the relationship itself. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1896-    2. 20th century    3. Biography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Duchess of,    6. Duke of,    7. Fashion    8. General    9. Great Britain    10. Great Britain - History - 20th Century    11. History    12. Kings and rulers    13. Nobility    14. Photography    15. Windsor, Edward,    16. Windsor, Wallis Warfield,    17. Marriage    18. Windsor, Edward    19. Windsor, Wallis Warfield   

Reviews (93)

Kavita Nair
I am Indian, I read this book out of sheer curiosity.It made for interesting reading overall.Really, I'm not in a position to comment on what is true or what is not, given that I am a generation removed and was not even born several decades after the partition.It was indeed a very unfortunate event.I have some very good friends that happen to be Pakistani and I cannot see them even remotely as "enemies" at any angle, unlike Musharraff, who categorically refers to India and Indians as "the enemy".My Pakistani friends are just as nice and humane as any of my Indian friends.I thought he is candid at times when referring to memories of his childhood and his family, but often comes across in most of his writing and dealings, as unsophisticated and lacking polish.
Pervez Musharraf vs. George Orwell
In the Line of Fire: A Memoir by Pervez Musharraf
Very Interesting and Absorbing
First, let me say that most of the negative reviews posted here are by the Indians who don't have the courage to face the truth and couldn't accept that their government told them nothing but lies during the Kargill war.
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Subjects:  1. 1988-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Government - General    7. Musharraf, Pervez    8. Pakistan    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Political    11. Politics and government    12. Presidents    13. South Asia - History    14. Political Science / General   

Reviews (6)

A Century of Unprecedented Bloodshed
In both relative and absolute terms, the bodycount of the last century was the highest in recorded history. There were 16 conflicts that left more than a million dead, another 6 that claimed from a half million to a million lives, and 14 more that claimed from a quarter to a half million lives; all told, about 167 to 188 million people lost their lives as a result of armed conflict. Harvard historian Niall Fergusson has written a monumental tour-de-force attempting to answer the question: why?
An ambitious work comes up a bit short
Niall Ferguson's The War of the World has received a fair amount of "buzz."And, indeed, as one reads it, the scholarship, the knowledge of historical nuances, and the command of the sweep of the 20th century are all readily apparent.However, in the end, the book is somewhat unsatisfying.
"The horror, the horror"
Niall Ferguson is a godsend. Having read his biography of the Rothchilds, and being a Jewish reader, I delved into The War of the World expecting a good treatment, but not necessarily that much new about these twentieth century conflicts. As the reader from Jerusalem points out, I feel that Niall gives a sentsitive and harrowing portrayal of the Jewish aspect of the Second World War even while covering the whole scope of both World Wars and beyond with abundant detail. Towards the end of this book I felt myself covering my face and even weeping at the sheer horror of the totalitarian regimes - Niall exposes the sheer brutality of both Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia, all the while illustrating all of the other myriad perpetrators of the bloody centuries war as he depicts it, the ordinary citizens across Erurope and Asia, as well as Ally brutality (though he, I think, points out adequately that Alllied brutality mostly had at least a modicum of salubrious intent - that is to simply win the war). Again, I must repeat that Niall really makes the point at the sheer horror of the Nazi genocide against the Jews - the animal barbarity to it - was the culmination of all this violent pull into the modern world. I cannot help but think we, as humanity, have not and will not get past this incident for a long time. I think the years since the Nazi Holocaust, because of the distraction of the Cold War, and current technological post-modernism capitalistic nihilism have masked what still remains an unanswered, unended, scar on all accomplishment and evolution of human culture and civilization. I can also thank Niall for this book, I deeply appreciate its insight, and for pointing out how we still need more answers, more questions, and more education of this period of history. I think this is, perhaps, only the end of the beginning of this search. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Causes    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Military - General    7. Military History - Modern    8. Military Sociology    9. Modern - 20th Century    10. War    11. World - General    12. World politics    13. History / Modern / 20th Century   

Reviews (21)

He doesn't deserve that Nobel.... It was a political decision!
He doesn't deserve that Nobel.... It was a political decision!

Roller Coaster Ride

A river through time
Pamuk spans the distances of time and memory in this novel as he searches for the meaning of the melancholy, or huzun as he calls it, of the city of Instanbul.Born into a wealthy Turkish family, Pamuk slowly watches his family's fortune dissolve in the hands of his father.He recounts his memories as his family moves from one quarter to another, interspersing personal accounts with various literary observations.Through it all we experience the uneasy balance between Islamic and Western forces that have shaped the city over the centuries.He explores through the writings of Europeans, how foreigners perceive the city, and how Turkish writers have attempted to respond to these views.Pamuk has such an elegant way of writing, with many undercurrents, like the Bosphorus which he so much loves.I particularly liked his literary chapters, like that of the four melancholy writers of Istanbul, and their attempts to forge an identity for the city.These attempts may have fallen short of their grand expectations, but the books became treasures, and helped to define modern Turkish writing.There are also his amusing observations on Flaubert, Nerval and other French writers and painters, who became absorbed in the city and to whom he felt modern Turkish writing owes a substantial debt.While Pamuk tries to escape this melancholy in his painting, ultimately finding a muse on which to hang all his hopes, he can never fully escape it, as he too becomes absorbed in this great city, which proves to be his literary release. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Description And Travel    4. Essays & Travelogues    5. Europe - Baltic States    6. Literary    7. Middle East - Turkey    8. Travel - General    9. Turkish (Language) Contemporary Fiction    10. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Editorial Review

Esteemed historian David McCullough covers the military side of the momentous year of 1776 with characteristic insight and a gripping narrative, adding new scholarship and a fresh perspective to the beginning of the American Revolution. It was a turbulent and confusing time. As British and American politicians struggled to reach a compromise, events on the ground escalated until war was inevitable. McCullough writes vividly about the dismal conditions that troops on both sides had to endure, including an unusually harsh winter, and the role that luck and the whims of the weather played in helping the colonial forces hold off the world's greatest army. He also effectively explores the importance of motivation and troop morale--a tie was as good as a win to the Americans, while anything short of overwhelming victory was disheartening to the British, who expected a swift end to the war. The redcoat retreat from Boston, for example, was particularly humiliating for the British, while the minor American victory at Trenton was magnified despite its limited strategic importance. Read more

Reviews (493)

Great Book!!
This book is great! He does a wonderful job of explaining what the early days of the war was like and the state of the colonial army was like. I never really understood how huge the odds against us where until now. The book does a great job at introducing you to Washington, his struggles and the struggles of the nation during this year.

The greastest country ever, how it became.
David McCullough's book, though not thorough in introducing the reader to all the twists and turns of our nation's early history, does an excellent job in introducing George Washington, King George of England and the daunting task that Washington had in trying to hold a truly "rag tag" army together while the British tried to vanquish the Revolutionaries in the Colonies.
I Wonder How It Ends?
Books on history can often be a hard sell to both publishers and readers. The rehashing of old material gets, well, old. You either have to come up with an obscure piece of history that few know about but is engaging, or you have to recreate a larger section that is known by many and give some new tidbits.
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Subjects:  1. 1775-1783, Revolution    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History - U.S.    5. History: American    6. History: World    7. Revolution, 1775-1783    8. U.S. History - Revolution And Confederation (1775-1789)    9. United States    10. United States - Revolutionary War    11. History / General   

Reviews (6)

I was literally sent downstairs for laughing too loud.
Seriously.I was up past bedtime, and I was reading Bryson's description of lame 1950's toys.I won't give it away, but imagine what he can do with the topic of "electric football".After a particularly vigorous episode of chortling, my wife trudged out of bed to decree that, if I insisted on continuing to read, I'd have to take it downstairs.
The FUNNIEST book I have read in years!!!
This is a wonderful, funny, and ultimately very human book, which reminds us all, no matter who we are or where we live (I'm Australian) of the total joys of a happy childhood.
A pure joy.
So far as I can tell, there are only 2 problems with Bill Bryson.First, he writes about his life, which means he has to go live it for a while before he can write another book.So he can't write constantly, which is about the only pace likely to keep up with my appetite for his work.Second, he doesn't live near me, so I can't visit him to catch up between books.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Bryson, Bill    6. Childhood Memoir    7. General    8. Humor    9. Iowa - Local History    10. Literary    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Regional Subjects - Midwest    13. Travel writers    14. United States    15. Voyages And Travels    16. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Reviews (138)

Not buying this xenophobia
Name one civilization that lasted forever. Does anyone sincerely believe that we would be better off today if the mighty Roman empire had not perished? Change is inevitable.
Good Research, Poor Recommendations
I enjoy reading Pat's books for their historical and factual research.But I have found that he fails to make his point when it comes to the conclusions and recommendations to fix the problems he outlines.This book is no exception.Great research, interesting, but it need a hard punch line conclusion at the end with specific, easy to follow recommendations.A specific chapter at the end with numbered recommendations listing exactly what can/should be done to stem the flow of immigration would make this a more powerful book.

What the media & elites don't want you to know
No one argues the immigration problem better than Mr. Buchanan. Through
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Subjects:  1. Discrimination & Racism    2. Emigration & Immigration    3. Emigration And Immigration    4. Government - U.S. Government    5. Government policy    6. Illegal aliens    7. International Relations - General    8. Political Ideologies - General    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Public Policy - Cultural Policy    11. Race And Ethnic Relations    12. Social Science    13. Sociology    14. United States    15. Immigration & emigration    16. Political Science / Political Ideologies / General    17. USA   

Reviews (105)

Filling In The Blanks
Mayflower is simply a master work of history and Philbrick has demonstrated a definite mastery not only of the era of which he writes, but in particular the personalities who dominated the times.Philbrick pulls no punches and is not an advocate of any politically correct position.Both the English settlers and the Native Americans come into their own fair share of praise and criticism.This is not a rewrite of American history; he sets new standards as he explores much more than just the landing of the ship but follows with the establishment of Plymouth Plantation and eventually touches the point when the Native American dominance of the area vanished.
Give it back to the Indians!
Philbrick has done another superb job in researching an little-known time and event. I read a review that said he spent too little time on the actual crossing of the Mayflower and hence I almost did not get this book.I am very glad I did purchase and read it.How little we all really know or can even imagine of the hardships faced by the brave Pilgrims.And how little we knew of the fate that befell the Native Americans.Both a heartbreaking and heartwarming book and I recommend it to any and all Americans.

An excellent read for this Thanksgiving.
From an early age, I have been fascinated with American history.It has been exceedingly difficult for me, therefore, to understand why history seems to be the worst taught subject in primary-secondary schools.Social studies tend to have the poorest passing rates of the core subjects in standardized exams.Some scientific and lesser surveys find college students and many teachers unable to identify the most significant events in this nation's life.Little wonder, then that manipulative politicians so easily mislead the public into viewing current events using artificial facts and fallacious cause-effects.
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Subjects:  1. 1600-1750    2. 1639-1718    3. Church, Benjamin,    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History - U.S.    7. History: American    8. Indians of North America    9. Pilgrims (New Plymouth Colony)    10. United States - Colonial Period    11. United States - General    12. Wars    13. History / United States / General   

Editorial Review

Daniel Mendelsohn's Read more

Reviews (8)

A Letter To My Children
I am about to be 60 and am reading a book that fills me with regret, THE LOST, by Daniel Mendelsohn, the story of how he tracked down the final days of his grandfather's brother and that man's four beautiful daughters. I have finished the first fifth of the book and am convinced that it is the greatest literary work that I have read since my youthful exposure to Proust and the early novels of Saul Bellow. Mendelsohn combines a personal memoir of growing up in a "modern" Jewish family in America with historical detective work based on old photographs, recovered letters, interviews, trips, internet sites devoted to the little towns of Eastern Europe and Jewish genealogy, and couches it in the most beautiful and evocative and thoughtful sentences, often based on the style of Proust (to whom he has given the opening epigraph of the book), organizing his discussion around an analysis of the first book of the Torah (even mentioning my Haftorah passage, Lech lecha) and Homer's Iliad. He brings to life long lost people, places, philosophical issues, with drama and mystery. He has assembled a complete genealogy of his family and has testified to the power of memory, language (Yiddish, Hebrew, German), family love, pride and humor. He is unfailingly generous in his descriptions and conclusions. The book is illustrated with photographs taken by his younger brother. The parallels with our own family history, our life in New York and in Florida, the impact of parents on the intellectual growth of their children, the impact of religious stories and scholarship, the diaspora to America and Israel, are incredibly resonant and moving, and all this in the first 70 pages. I am writing to urge each of you to read this great book and learn how you came to be, how your own grandfather and I came to be, the people that we are. I am sorry that I never accomplished a similar work on the history of our own family. I can only hope that one or all of you will take on this important task and assemble a similarly amazing chronicle before the people who can help you are gone, the Magdas and Pop Pops, the grandma Lillys and "Uncles" from all the remaining branches of our living candelabra. On page 41 he lists the major sources by which he accomplished the feat and by which you, like Proust, can recapture the past and recapture Time.I will never have the time to do it, my life wrapped up in other kinds of scholarly pursuits and my nature so bent to the seductions of poetry. But you have a chance to do it, to accomplish something of great value for yourselves and for others. In the meantime you will have the consolation of reading sentences sculpted by a master and it will fill your hearts with unimaginable pleasure.
Wide-Ranging Journey, Brilliant Synthesis
Mendelsohn has brought together the disparate elements of his five year worldwide search for the fate of six family members in the Holocaust in a masterful act of synthesis and distillation. This book combines a detective's doggedness, a Biblical scholar's critical exegesis and a Yiddishist's love of an Eastern European shtetl whose remaining Jewish inhabitants are scattered over the globe, a "remainder of those who fled". That Mendelsohn pulls this off, combines his disparate goals into a moment of Biblical clarity and discovery, leaves me frankly, amazed. Because close to the end of the book, I had doubted he would be able to learn anything that could be counted on, and he would be forced to resort to a book about his search rather than real conclusions. But at that penultimate moment, Daniel found an ancient survivor who brought him to the very spot, the terrible moment, he had been searching for. The author obviously has a wonderful rapport with elderly people which made his many interviews possible. He is meticulous and brings order to a mass of material. An insistent humanity pervades his writing. While not a Biblical scholar himself, he has perception, essential insight into human nature, so his Biblical research finds fertile ground. While his realization that many people will present many different versions of the same story is not exactly news, the manner of his telling of the story beguiles and ultimately, inspires.

I couldn't put it down
An amazing journey into the past of Daniel Mendelsohn's perished family members - the family of Shmiel Jager, Mr. Mendelsohn's great-uncle.Mr. Jager's siblings (one of whom is Daniel's grandfather), fled Poland before the Holocaust and had no clear idea of how Shmiel's family died, only that they did die. All that they have are tiny, often conflicting, pieces of the story about what happend to the Shmiel Jagers. Daniel begins a 5+ year journey to talk to the few Jewish survivors who lived in the same small Polish town in which the Jagers lived and died. The survivors were now living all over the world, and Daniel travels extensively to meet and interview them, to try to find out, not only how the Jagers died, but how they *lived* and who they were. As the years continue in the search, you feel Daniel's angst at having so little time to track down and speak to the few survivors from that town. They are all in their 80s and 90s and some of them would prefer to not think about that time at all. And yet, an amazing story emerges, a story of strength and sorrow. A story of wanting to know "what happened?". ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Biography    3. Bolekhiv    4. General    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Holocaust    9. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    10. Jewish Holocaust Personal Narratives    11. Jews    12. Personal Memoirs    13. Ukraine    14. United States    15. History / General   

Reviews (10)

Incredible Incompetence!
Chandrasekaran's considerable time in Baghdad allowed him to provide this detailed of incredible incompetence.Early in the book we learn that the cafeteria in the Republican Palace was always serving American fare, and the hundreds of Iraqi secretaries and translators, mostly Muslim, were offended by the presence of pork.Nothing came from Iraq - everything, including the water in which hot dogs were boiled, was shipped in from approved suppliers in other nations.No Iraqis were hired to cook, serve, or clean - they could poison the food.Whatever could be outsourced was - private guards made more than $1,000/day.Iraqis post-Saddam had less electricity, water, trash collection, sewer service, gas availability, traffic mobility, health care, and employment - despite administration claims.
Outstanding
The Iraq war was preached as the liberating creation of an exemplary Arab democracy. Did US post invasion efforts match the rhetoric? The most charitable answer, based on this work, is quite contrary.
a heartache
I have recently read the excellent book "Fiasco," about the war in Iraq.
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Subjects:  1. Government - International    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. History: World    5. Iraq    6. Iraq War, 2003    7. Middle East - General    8. Military - Iraq War    9. Military - United States    10. Military History - 1990-    11. Military-Political Relationships    12. Political corruption    13. Postwar reconstruction    14. United States    15. Current Events / Military