Editorial Review

General Powell may have undertaken this book as a form of paid political test marketing, but it turns out to be a success of an altogether different kind. We don't learn from this book if Powell is presidential material, but his recounting of the various steps of his career give us an unrivaled view of the ins and outs of military bureaucracy and shows how the modern American military, with its consistent emphasis on can-do attitudes and actual results, is a much more congenial place for realizing one's talents than our still-alarmingly pigeonholing general society. ... Read more

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Reviews (76)

thought for the day
I read this sometime after Powell had already become Secretary of State, but before 9/11. At the time I read the book, I thought differently about politics than I do now, and this book had a subtle, but important effect on that change in perspective. It was among the factors that served a deepening in me. I have become less reactive and superficial when it comes to politics. That deepening was served not so much by virtue of what Powell says in this book -- although he does make a number of concrete points which were enlightening to me. It was more as a result of the fact that although he must have written it because he was toying with a bid for the presidency, I sense that he represents himself here pretty faithfully. I could therefore incorporate that feeling about him into my understanding of subsequent events.
There must be something about Colin Powell...
There must be something about Colin Powell. All through his career his superiors continually sought him out; and wherever he worked they always wanted him back.
Inspirational book
I enjoyed reading "My American Journey" and was thrilled that Colin Powell wrote an excellent, candid and honest autobiography and resisted the temptation to be self-serving. General Colin Powell achieved his remarkable success through merit and despite the various obstacles (which he saw as challenges) such as racism that could have thwarted lessor people.
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    2. Afro-American generals    3. Audio - Autobiography / Biography    4. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    5. Audiobooks    6. Biography    7. Biography & Autobiography    8. General    9. Generals    10. Military    11. Military - General    12. People of Color    13. United States    14. Biography & Autobiography / Military   

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Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Criticism    4. History - General    5. U.S. Architecture - General    6. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction   

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Reviews (4)

History from newspapers
Buyers beware!!! This book is huge... Amazon should give its dimensions, but I am guessing more than a foot long and 3/4 foot wide.Great reading about history -- if you have strong arms and a sturdy table.

a great motivator for any IT person out there
After buying the book I was a little scaptic about this book keeping me intrested but rather than being too technical and 'professional' the book is more like a drama with alot of winners and losers.It was a greatinspiring experience-reading stories like the ones about bill gates,stevejobs and his body 'woz'.The book floats along the evolution of the computerindustry,the IBM empire,the Microsoft phenomenen throght the stories of thepeople who made it and those who couldn't stay in the top.A must read forevery person who has some computer background who wants to know how it allstarted and also for the not-yet computer fan who just wants a good read.

Tales Well-Told
These really are "stories" rather than commentaries. A born storyteller, Young presents what he calls "inspiring tales of the entrepreneurs and inventors who revolutionized modern business." They include the "pioneersand pirates" who developed the prototype for the first commercial computersas well as Thomas J. Watson, Jr., William Shockley, Jack Kilby, JayForrester, Edwin De Castro, Douglas Engelbart, Bob Noyce, Andy Grove, &Gordon Moore, Edward Roberts, Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak, Don Estridge,Lew Eggbrecht, Bill Gates & Paul Allen, Tom Carter, Bill McGowan, CraigMcCaw, Bob Taylor, Steve Case, and Marc Andreesen.Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Business/Professional    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Entrepreneurship    4. General    5. High technology    6. History    7. Inventions    8. Inventors    9. Technology    10. United States    11. Business & Management   

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A MUST for All Americans--not just history buffs
This is the very best audio tape I've ever listened to.While some interviews are better (Stephen Ambrose) than others (Richard White), each one offers important insight and perspective on the most important events of our time. Through the eyes of thesemen, our nation's history is told so clearly and succinctly, and with such passion, that you can't help but be changed and moved by the experience.I guarantee you'll come away with a better grasp of who we are and where we're headed as a nation.

Easy U.S. History on the Ears
This audiobook is an excellent addition to the U.S. history-buff's glove compartment.There are basically four tapes of interviews by Roger Mudd done for the History Channel.Mudd asks questions to the featuredhistorians and they respond with stories and factoids to keep you thinking. I can listen to them many times and still learn things that I didn't catchthe last time around.This is also a great way to brush up on your U.S.history while enriching what you already know. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - History    2. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Audiobooks    5. General    6. History    7. Reference    8. United States    9. United States - General    10. History / General   

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Reviews (32)

A latter day film noir protagonist on Wall Street
Reading this great book reminded me of the movie Night and the City. The central character Lou Pasciuto is very much in the mold of the famous noir protagonist in Night, "Harry Fabian." Always hustling, always scheming, but with a 21st century twist, and all true.

Goodfellas meets Boiler Room
If you can imagine a book written that blended these two movies together, bada-bing, there's your book. There's your review.

very disturbing
It nevers ceases to amaze me that people could be so gullible as to send a check for a large sum of money because some guy with a great line of BS says he can make you rich and he represents an official sounding brokerage house.Wow.
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    2. Audio Adult: Business    3. Biography    4. Business    5. Business & Economics    6. Corporate & Business History - General    7. Criminals & Outlaws    8. New York    9. New York (State)    10. Personal Finance - General    11. Securities fraud    12. Stockbrokers    13. Wall Street    14. Business & Economics / Personal Finance / General   

Editorial Review

Perhaps the greatest book by one of our greatest historians, Read more

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One of the most important and fascinating books i have ever read & read again
I first read this book many years ago and have re-read it more than once since then. This book is one of the most engaging I ever read and is also a volume that includes a wealth and variety of knowledge that makes me want to read it again now. Few books have left me feeling such conflict at finishing it. Part of me is exultant at the pure pleasure of the learning experience, part sad because the glorious experience is ended. No person who considers themselves educated - truly educated - can fail to read this powerful volume.

Informative Read
The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin gave a great background to the technological and geographical improvements over the past 4000 years.
Discover the Discoverers
Discoverers is a stand-out for both its scope and detail (more on detail in a moment), but what makes it truly remarkable is its subject matter, its illumination of ideas and bits of knowledge so basic to our everyday thinking that we scarcely, if ever, pause to think about them: our concepts of time, location (geography), physiology, culture, among others.The book is eye-opening, as it shows through historical exploration that for most of human existence most people have lived without using our concept of a year, our idea of a week, and much less our calibrations of twenty-four hours to a day, 60 minutes to the hour and 60 seconds to the minute.Similarly, the notions people have had about where they were on the planet, what the planet was, where it was in the universe, etcetera, were all equally vague (although everyone, everywhere, seems to have been fairly comfortable in the "knowledge" that their particular city was the center of the world and the world the center of the universe).Once Boorstin has laid bare the arduous path the human mind has had to trail-blaze to arrive at our modern ideas of time and space, he turns to the human body, showing that our modern knowledge of its constitution and function, too, is the result of hard-won, centuries-long, intellectual battles.
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. General    4. History    5. Unabridged Audio - History    6. World - General   

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - History    2. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    3. Audio Adult: Other    4. General    5. United States - Revolutionary War   

Reviews (308)

boring, plotles, dull
I, Like many other unfortunate youth, had to read this book for school and do journal responses for each chapter. I did the assingnment with little difficulty without finishing the book. It was that predictable! I only read the first two chapters before I could do the responses with little trouble.
My brother sam is dead
Over the summer I read My brother sa is dead by James luneden Collier and Christopher Coliier. As one of my favorite books, there was many things i liked about I found interesting. When reading this book, you forget about reality and you start to feel as if you were in the story yourself.
Great Book to Spark an Early Interest in History
James Lincoln and Christopher Collier's story "my brother Sam is dead" begins at the dawn of the Revolution, a time when Loyalists felt much the same as Mr. Beach's remark to Sam in Chapter 1: "I think men of common sense will prevail. Nobody wants a rebellion except fools and hotheads." Doubtful or unaware of just how focused and set on independence from the Crown of England the Rebel militia actually were, the loyalists or tories of Colonial America were caught off guard when they realized "Live Free or Die" was more than a motto is was a commitment.
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Subjects:  1. Audio: Juvenile    2. Audiobooks    3. Children's Audio - Young Adult    4. Children's audiobooks    5. Historical - Military & Wars    6. Historical - United States - Colonial    7. History - Military & Wars    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Social Issues - Death & Dying    10. American English    11. Warfare & defence   

Editorial Review

In the first significant engagement between American troops and the Viet Cong, 450 U.S. soldiers found themselves surrounded and outnumbered by their enemy. This book tells the story of how they battled between October 23 and November 26, 1965. Its prose is gritty, not artful, delivering a powerful punch of here-and-now descriptions that could only have been written by people actually on the scene. In fact, they were: Harold Moore commanded the men of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, who did most of the fighting, and Joseph Galloway was the only reporter present throughout the battle's 34 harrowing days. Read more

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Meeting these men has been an honor!
Knowing some of the people involved with this true story and having met General Harold Moore and Joe Galloway a few years ago I felt a necessity to read the general's book "We Were Soldiers Once and Young." They wanted the truth told so Americans could learn about one particular unit and the major battle they fought in 1965.
Essential Reading For All
As a non-American living in the US for a year, I bought this book to learn more about the Vietnam war.It didn't really serve its purpose in this respect - and that was my fault - but it more than made up for it by being one of the best war books I've ever read.This stands easily alongside anything Stephen Ambrose ever wrote.The authenticity is one hundred per cent because these authors were there - their passion, emotion and commitment to their mean comes screaming through the pages.As does their frustration with military top brass and politicians.I'll never forget finishing the book on a Sunday morning, sitting up in bed, tears streaming down my face as I read of the impact of the deaths of those brave men who perished.The consequences hit generation after generation.This book is essential reading now because it highlights the futility of war and the no-win situation that America repeatedly puts itself into.

The Birth of Air Cav
This book tells the true account of the battle of Ia Drang. NO book could have captured the intense battles a well as this has. After reading some war books about vietnam and World War II, I have only one thing to say, This is possibly the greatest recration in words of the actual battles I have ever read! Read this book and understand the true horrors of battle. With the release of 'We Were Soldiers' there is no doubt that this book will become more popular than it already is. God Bless America. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - History    2. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    3. Audio Adult: Other    4. General    5. History    6. Ia Drang Valley (Vietnam), Battle of, 1965    7. Military - Vietnam War    8. Specimens    9. Talking books    10. History / General   

Editorial Review

Explaining what William McNeill called Read more

Reviews (917)

too long
This book REALLY needs an editor. It is just too long. Mr. Diamond goes over the same points over and over in excruciating detail. My solution was just to skip paragraphs detailing exactly how to carbon-date pinecones for the 20th time.
questionable from the beginning
I haven't yet finished the book, but have found reason to doubt the Mr. Diamond in the preface and prologue alone.In the preface, Diamond states that the readers are not about to read a "racist treatise" and that the book doesn't "involve human racial differences at all."Skip a few pages to the prologue and Diamond postulates "Why did New Guineans wind up technologically primitive, despite what I believe to be their superior intelligence?"Is New Guinean a race?Maybe, maybe not... but reverse the statement and then see how the critics chime in.
Not as compelling as "Collapse" but a good read nontheless.
Diamond presents a look at the evolution of various Cultures throughout the World and how geography has played an important part in their developement.The reason that Eurasia and North Africa evolved more highly developed (technologically anyway) cultures was that there was a wider variety of wild plant and animal species that could be tamed by the humans living in those areas following the Ice Age than there was available to humans in other parts of the world.This enabled people in these areas to develope farming societies (which required more specializations than hunter gatherer societies) more quickly than in other parts of the globe.
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    2. Anthropology - General    3. Audio Adult: Other    4. Civilization    5. Human Geography    6. Life Sciences - Evolution    7. Social Science    8. General encyclopaedias    9. Social & cultural anthropology    10. Social history   

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If Words Could Move Mountains ...
You can hear the compassion and conviction in Bobby's voices.I have listened to these two tapes many times over... I've read the speeches in text ... but nothing is like listening to Bobby's voice, slightly shaken, slightly rushed, but always genuine and sincere.Bobby Kennedy is an American leader.Though his short life span did not allow him to accomplish enough, his vision and integrity examplified what spiritual growth could be.Even with all the mistakes he might have made, you could never doubt his conviction and his good will towards all mankind.Listen to his voice, not just his words ... and let his voice give you a desire to give more than what you are required ... to live for something greater than ourselves.Even in death, Bobby left the youths of every generation the challenge, a torch to carry on. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1953-1961    2. 1961-1963    3. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    4. Audio - Autobiography / Biography    5. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    6. General    7. Politics and government    8. Specimens    9. Talking books    10. United States    11. United States - 20th Century    12. History / General   

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Reviews (40)

Not one of Keegan's better works
This is a disappointing work by the esteemed historian John Keegan.His thesis is that, despite many platitudes to the contrary, intelligence is rarely if ever the decisive factor on the battlefield; battles and campaigns are won by the application of maneuver and firepower.Unfortunately, the campaigns that Keegan uses to illustrate this fail to do so.
Some good examples of intelligence
From the title, we would think that we would get as much about Al-Qaeda as about Napoleon; however, that is not the case.The former is merely a bit of an afterthought on the rest of the book, which goes into specific instances where intelligence went awry through misunderstanding or misuse.
Not Keegan's best, but still an important book
It would seem that many of this book's reviewers have completely missed Keegan's point in writing `Intelligence in War'. This book was never intended as a comprehensive account of any particular campaign or battle (much less an entire theatre of WW2!) and nor was it intended as a general history of the role intelligence has played in wars throughout history (though the publisher does seem guilty of marketing it as such a general history, which may explain why many people who purchased the bok were disappointed with it).
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - History    2. Audio - Nonfiction    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Audiobooks    5. General    6. History    7. Intelligence Operations    8. Military - General    9. Military - Intelligence/Espionage    10. Military Science    11. Military intelligence    12. History / Military / General   

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Reviews (17)

Great background for reading medieval historical books
Great information on the life and times of medieval culture.Informative when reading other historical books of the time period (including Alison Weir books: Eleanor of Aquitaine, The Life of Elizabeth I, Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, The Children of Henry VIII)
Time travel for the masses
Take a trip back to 1215. Read this book. Although not academic history, this popular book makes the people and times of 1215 seem as real as today. 1215 was a different world than our own, but it's the similarities and continuities that are intriguing. Take the trip.

A fun and informative history
Danny Danziger, author of the popular 'In the Year 1000', looks at the way of life of the English during another pivotal year - 1215, the year of the Magna Carta.In many respects, this is a much more important year than 1000 - in the first place, many people didn't realise it was the year 1000 when it was happening.A similar lack of awareness of the importance of the contemporary events takes place in 1215.
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Subjects:  1. History: World    2. British & Irish history: c 1000 to c 1500    3. England    4. Social history    5. United Kingdom, Great Britain    6. c 1000 CE to c 1500   

Editorial Review

Benjamin Franklin, writes journalist and biographer Walter Isaacson, was that rare Founding Father who would sooner wink at a passer-by than sit still for a formal portrait. What's more, Isaacson relates in this fluent and entertaining biography, the revolutionary leader represents a political tradition that has been all but forgotten today, one that prizes pragmatism over moralism, religious tolerance over fundamentalist rigidity, and social mobility over class privilege. That broadly democratic sensibility allowed Franklin his contradictions, as Isaacson shows. Though a man of lofty principles, Franklin wasn't shy of using sex to sell the newspapers he edited and published; though far from frivolous, he liked his toys and his mortal pleasures; and though he sometimes gave off a simpleton image, he was a shrewd and even crafty politician. Isaacson doesn't shy from enumerating Franklin’s occasional peccadilloes and shortcomings, in keeping with the iconoclastic nature of our time--none of which, however, stops him from considering Benjamin Franklin "the most accomplished American of his age," and one of the most admirable of any era. And here’s one bit of proof: as a young man, Ben Franklin regularly went without food in order to buy books. His example, as always, is a good one--and this is just the book to buy with the proceeds from the grocery budget. Read more

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Reviews (158)

Exactly what I was looking for in a Franklin bio
After reading Walter Isaacson's biography of Benjamin Franklin, I have concluded Benjamin Franklin lived a very long time. This one took some time to get through. That being said, I never found Benjamin Franklin: An American Life tedious or boring. Franklin's personality was (and is) unappreciated in its complexity, and his eventful life is examined comprehensively by Isaacson. Each chapter is broken down into manageable sections, making it a great book to pick up and read a little bit at a time. In the end, all these fragments come together to form a fascinating portrait of someone who personified what it meant (and means) to be American. Only appropriate considering he was the only founding father present at the drafting of all four documents critical to the establishment of the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the treaty of alliance with France, the peace treaty with Great Britain, and the Constitution.
The Real Ben

Benjamin Franklin; An American Life
Thomas Barnes
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Historical - General    6. Historical - U.S.    7. Inventors    8. Political    9. Scientists    10. Scientists - Inventors    11. Statesmen    12. United States    13. United States - General    14. History / United States / Revolutionary Period (1775-1800)   

Editorial Review

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Should be from bad to worse
Despite trying very hard to deny that this is just another fad management book - there is nothing new in this title.Clueless managers will recite the core principals of this book and treat them as gospel as they try to improve their bottom line.It is also worth noting that at least one of the "great" organizations in the book, Fannie May, has imploded in an accounting scandal.Not the worst fad management book ever written, but that isn't saying much.

How Companies Succeed by Collins and Porras
The book separates core values from the operating practices of
A huge business hit of the early 90s that has aged pretty well
This is one of the business classics in the past twenty years.It has sold a huge number of copies and I am sure many of those purchased copies were actually read!As impressive as its sales numbers have been, the way it has affected the approach to the way business was discussed and talked about for the past dozen years has been even more impressive.
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Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Business    2. Corporate & Business History - Strategies    3. Leadership    4. Management - General    5. Unabridged Audio - Business/Professional    6. Business & Economics / Management   

Editorial Review

This account of men and women's place in a universe of sex and gender, self and society, spirit and soul is written in question-and-answer format, making it both readable and accessible.Wilber offers a series oforiginal views on many topics of current controversy, including the gender wars, multiculturalism, modern liberation movements, and the conflictbetween various approa