Editorial Review

Like any journalist worth her salt, renowned news correspondent Cokie Roberts knows how to ask the tough questions. In Read more

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Reviews (33)

Worth the time!
This book made me proud to be a woman!I learned a ton about women athletes, scientists, politicians, etc that I never knew.I also learned that even though I'm not a professional athlete, scientist or politician....we share many of the same experiences as women, wives and mothers.It's a great book and well worth the read.I recommend it for all women (and their spouses/significant others).

Women hold society together
Interesting history of women in different fields, and, importantly, shows why they don't have the same interests as men in all the same numbers.
Beautiful work by Ms. Roberts
Beautiful work by Ms. Roberts. A treasure for all women to read and enjoy. The essays are poignant and well documented. This is a book that should live on through history and handed from one woman to another.Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio - Nonfiction (Unabridged)    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Biography    4. Feminism & Feminist Theory    5. History    6. Sex discrimination against women    7. United States    8. Women    9. Women journalists    10. Women's Studies    11. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Editorial Review

The beginning of the 17th century promised that England's golden agewould long outlast its Elizabethan namesake. Within a few years, that promisewould end in civil war, political unrest, and international conflict, a periodof strife that would last for two centuries, but produce the modern Britishnation. In this swiftly moving narrative, the second installment in a three- volume companion to the BBC/History Channel television series, Simon Schamaexamines key events that would utterly change British life: the collapse ofmonarchy and republic, the establishment of the beginnings of empire, and theever-wider division between court and country. The wars that accompanied theseturns of fortune were, Schama writes, "eminently unpredictable, improbable, andavoidable." With them came the Glorious Revolution, the bloody suppression ofreligious dissent, the conquest of neighboring kingdoms, and the wide-scalemovement of large populations from one place to another--including thedeliberate introduction of nearly 100,000 Scots, Welsh, and English settlers inIreland, which, Schama writes, "utterly dwarfed the related 'planting' on theAtlantic seaboard of North America." Along the way, Schama considers actorsmajor and minor in this tumultuous play, from the unlucky king Charles I toOliver Cromwell (who "lacked the one essential characteristic for truedictatorship: a hunger to accumulate power purely for its own sake"), from thewriter Daniel Defoe to the pragmatic politician Sir Robert Walpole, from WilliamPitt to the African slaves who peopled Britain's American colonies.Read more

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Reviews (16)

Road to the wrong empire
Having Irish-Americans in your family can prejudice your take on British history especially during the epoch period of 1603 to 1776.Many an evening has been spent sitting in my in-laws living room discussing the evils of English tyranny and religious intolorance that sent the McCormick's, Tooey's, O'Brian's and O'Toole's across the Atlantic.That said, I am glad to say that volume II was an enlightening read and is a good overview of the circmustances which lead to British colonialism.As was the case in volume I, Schama does an excellent job of storytelling and bringing to life the personalities and contemporary social gestalt which ends up as history.I actually think this was a better book than volume I in that the limited scope of the time period covered enabled a deeper discussion.I especially enoyed reading Shama's description of Oliver Cromwell and the Rump Parliament; and I do agree with his subtle suggestion that it was perhaps a crude template for the government of the United States of America.

Not as good as the first volume..
After plowing through the first volume, I couldn't wait to get started on the second volume.This book was going to be incredible.After all look what was going to be covered.. Everything from 1603-1776.. This volume would climax with the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War.Given Schama writing style in volume 1, this was going to be incredible....
Fun Read
If history bores you and you enjoy reading, I think Schama intends more to educate through entertainment than to simply educate.This is not the typical history book and is well-written.There are plenty of funny, interesting, and most often brief acounts given that help one understand and provide laughs at times.Schama is not a British historian and has lived in the US for maybe the last 25 years.But on account of being British, a Columbia professor, and--based on reading his three volumes on British history--an excellent writer, he has been encouraged and has writen about British history.Read more

Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Abridged Audio - History    3. Audio Adult: Other    4. Audiobooks    5. Europe - Great Britain - General    6. General    7. Great Britain    8. History    9. Stuarts, 1603-1714    10. History / Great Britain   

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Very Good, with One Very Large Problem
I just read this book and it is a quick, easy, read.I think this book is an excellent way to develop perspective, either as a high school or college student, or for someone older who wants to more rigorously develop his or her world-view.The model of this book is a "classical education", along the lines of the recently re-released Harvard 5-foot bookshelf.Most of the people critical of this publication completely missed the point.Many times in the essays Will Durant specifically says that these are merely his opinions, and there are many other educated people out there with different opinions.These essays are intended as a STARTING place to educate yourself and he specifically suggests that you should read further and along your specific lines of interest.(The author also suggests on page 65 that as a college graduate, you might be ready to BEGIN your education with his suggested reading.)Anyone who complains that such-and-such was "rated" ahead of someone else [that they like], or that someone they revere was left off the "top 10" (because most likely they were not left out of the book completely, the author drops a lot of names of people who should be highly considered) just completely didn't understand this book.
For the lesser mind
Not very interesting and dated, like something out of Reader's Digest. I laughed a lot at the dated profundity but the list was not quite as funny as Letterman's top 10.

verbal diarrhoea
the content was fascinating and definately worth reading in hard copy form, but the audio c/d was a nightmare.The narrator must have been hiring the recording studio by the minute because he read at a breakneck pace.At first it was acceptable , but soon became difficult to follow then tedious and annoying.The speed of the reading allowed for no digestion or comprehension of points , and soon was down right frustrating. As a consequence the second and third c/d's were almost a waste of time, I doubt if i could force myself to listen to it again, unless there was a way of play back at half speed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Audiobooks    3. Civilization    4. Epistemology    5. History    6. History & Surveys - General    7. History Of Civilization And Culture (General)    8. Intellectual life    9. Unabridged Audio - History    10. World - General   

Editorial Review

If past is prologue, then Read more

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Historical, not enlightening
Philosophy is dense stuff as it is, so understandably a book about one can demand thorough reading to grasp what the author is conveying.Yet The Metaphysical Club seemed to fall short of meeting its goal: to link contemporary American thought to the writings and philosophies of Holmes, James, Peirce, and Dewey.Menand clearly states this as a goal, but his work resembles a written montage of facts and events that often digress from the intended flow of the book.In other words, tracing contemporary thought to that of the above philosophers becomes a difficult task, with the reader being forced to assimilate a gamut of historical facts and apply it to an argument that is frequently lost.
Wondering
One star is strange because the book is an enlightening one. However one sentence, p. 375, makes you wonder if the author understands what he himself narrates, a story that begins under the spell of the Civil war: "Pragmatism explains everything about ideas except why a person would be willing to die for one". A case of divided brain? Or maybe of belief that writing an history of ideas does not necessitate reading those who produced those ideas? Read "The will to believe", Mr Menand !

a great introduction to American thought after the Civil War
The Metaphysical Club portrays the gestation of pragmatism and it's variants by describing the lives of it's founders and their efforts to deal with the civil war and also with changes in science like Darwin's Theory of Evolution and the advent of statistical methods in mathematics. The explanations of the various ideas that contributed to pragmatism and the thought of the late 1800's and early 1900's are lucid and one follows them enthusiastically. I think of Pragmatism as a belief that ideas and morals arise out of a communities experience. Thus ideas and morals are like the random mutations of biology, they are created but not saved until they have proven useful to the community. This book is a joy to read as well as being informative. According to the book these methods of thinking are becoming of interest again to philosophers and intellectuals after a lull in interest during the cold war so the ideas set out within the book are not just of historical interest. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Abridged Audio - History    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Historical - General    5. History    6. Intellectuals    7. Metaphysics    8. National characteristics, American    9. Social History    10. United States    11. United States - 19th Century    12. United States - 20th Century    13. History / General   

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Subjects:  1. History    2. Military    3. Military - Aviation    4. Military - United States    5. Military - World War I    6. Unabridged Audio - History    7. United States - 20th Century    8. Chronological Period/1900-1918    9. History / Military / World War I    10. History/Military - Aviation    11. History/Military - United States    12. Unabridged Audio / History   

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Reviews (16)

Interesting but uneven
Bart Ehrman's bibliography includes some thoughtful and accessible work on the diversity present in early Christianity, particularly his duel "Lost Christianities" and "Lost Scriptures."While these books made him popular, his critical work reviewing the many absurdities of Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code" -- "Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code" -- launched him into a truly popular sensation.That is all to the good.Professor Ehrman's scholarship is generally excellent and he offers readers many helpful insights into an important topic.
I appreciate objective history
Peter, Paul, & Mary Magdalene is the fourth of Bart Ehrman's books that I've read.I have hungered a long time for a unbiased scholarly examination of Jesus and the early church.Dr. Ehrman seems to provide that in his books.Peter, Paul, & Mary Magdalene is a brilliant investigation of the lives of three of the Church's most prominent figures and the many, many rumors, and even doctrines that that have grown up around them.This book helps to clearify their lives.I highly recommend this book to all who want to know Church history written without a doctrinal agenda to support.

Historically Inaccurate, Highly Polemical Treatise
In his most recent attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the Da Vinci Code, Bart Ehrman presents Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene.Most of the Amazon reviewers of the book seem unaware that the book is a skillfully disguised anti-Christian polemic--in the Tubingen tradition--which is based upon a number of historically and philosophically flawed assumptions.I mention this at the outset because so many reviewers continue to praise Ehrman for his objective historical scholarship and lack of theological bias.This is laughable.He is about as theologically unbiased as John Gager, Elaine Pagels, and the other post-Protestant, anti-Christians of the PTS.
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Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Audiobooks    3. Bible - Study - New Testament    4. Christianity - History - General    5. History    6. Paul,    7. Peter,    8. Religion    9. Unabridged Audio - Inspirational/Philosophy    10. the Apostle, Saint    11. Church & Ministry/Church Life/Church History    12. Religion / Church History    13. Religion/Bible - Study - New Testament    14. Religious Orientation/Christian    15. Unabridged Audio / Inspirational/Philosophy   

Editorial Review

Despite the avalanche of books written about the First World War in recent years, there have been comparatively few books that deliver a comprehensive account of the war and its campaigns from start to finish. Read more

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The Military History of WWI
Being a John Keegan fanand having a long-standing interest in WWI, I was thrilled when I first heard this book was published and I ran out and got a copy immediately. I was not disappointed. All I could think to say is, Mr. Keegan brings his formidable guns to bear on an already thoroughly analyzed topic.His skills as a writer and military historian make this one of the premier books on the subject.The maps are superb and complement the text perfectly. The photos and illustrations place faces on names and give a sense of characters involved.It lacks the popularity and readability of Mrs. Tuchman's _Guns of August_ but provides more of a view from the trenches and maprooms making a great work of military history on the war.A very worthy piece of work on the topic.

The First World War
Having recently read Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August,I wanted to further my education on this period in history. John Keegan's overview of the military side of the Great War is well done, though I still felt like I needed to know more after finishing the book. Keegan's narrative, including the beginnings of and the slide into a continental, eventually a global war, is expertly woven. His book is primarily focused on the military aspects of the war, which is essential, but by focusing on just that, one doesn't get as complete a picture. This isn't the author's fault; I just prefer more inclusive studies of such wide reaching events as World War I.
Great Overview of World War I
I think this simply is a great book about the Great War. Reading this book gives you a broad understanding of the First World War, the main events and battles, and the course of the war on each of the fronts without excessive detail. Some might wish for more detail on particular aspects of the war, but there are numerous other books on virtually every battle and Keegan simply couldn't have written any more detail and maintained a managable general history of the war.
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - History    2. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Audiobooks    5. General    6. History    7. Military - World War I    8. World War, 1914-1918    9. History / General   

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Great book!
This is a great book, but I recommend reading it after you have already gotten it from the horse's mouth, so to speak.Shackleton himself writes two great books, The Heart of the Antarctic (admittedly dull in the beginning but it really picks up!) and South.South is awesome and is not at all boring.I would recommend reading Alexander's book after you have already read Shackleton's, because she offers further insight into the details of the trips, so it is a great add on. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1874-1922    2. Antarctica    3. Audio - Nonfiction    4. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    5. Audiobooks    6. Endurance (Ship)    7. Expeditions & Discoveries    8. Journeys    9. Maritime History    10. Polar Regions    11. Shackleton, Ernest Henry,    12. Sir,    13. History / General    14. Bargain   

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Reviews (24)

Quite a Lesson
"The Lessons of History" is a fascinating overview of recorded history.It condenses thousands of years into a series of concise axioms.Though I hesitate to agree to any of them without serious consideration - humanity is, after all, human - the essays are lent credence by grace of their now being nearly 40 years old.Rather than seeming out of touch or out of date, some sections of the book seem almost prophetic.Though the book is probably inaccessible without a decent background knowledge of history (the text consists mostly of historical allusions that are sometimes meaningless without prior knowledge), its reach and scope are extraordinary, and I recommend it without hesitation to anyone having a serious interest in history.

Lessons of Sophistry
Those who would seek to understand the lessons of history would be well advised to look elsewhere.For this work of the Durants is nothing but sophistry.
A smart distillation of Will and Ariel's massive work
I tried reading THE STORY OF CIVILIZATION by the Durants years ago, but I only got a few chapters into the first of eleven thick volumes before giving up. We're talking 14,000 pages here. I prefer short, concise books. That's one reason I like THE LESSONS OF HISTORY, a smart 100-page distillation of Will and Ariel's massive work. It's well written, well edited, and presents insights into our human history not matched by more recent works. The observations on such topics as race, religion, and war are made with courage and honesty. An important, worthwhile book.
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - History    2. Audiobooks    3. Civilization    4. General    5. History    6. History Of Civilization And Culture (General)    7. History: World    8. Philosophy    9. World - General    10. World History   

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It was ok
I thought I was getting the unbrigged one but it wasn't. I was a little upset about that.

Simply stated, the Best History Book Ever Written
This impecably researched, easy to read and understand writing style tells the truth about our Nation and the world.
A necessity for all to read
Howard Zinn has done what few historians have done in his book.To look at America with the eyes of those who have lived through the periods he describes.The picture is an attempt not to paint a picture that makes something look good or look bad but the desire to see what people living in the US have felt as events both good and bad.This is a couragious depiction of real people, often people who have been seen by otheres as less real than they really were.Mr. Zinn wants his readers to see the feelings of these people as real.I know of nothing more important than people be seen as real.The receint events in New Orlenes have once again shown the necessity to see all people as existing as much as oneself exists.I commend Mr. Zinn for the extensive research and selectivity he has accomplished in this magnificent work.I do not say that I agree with all he says but he says it and one can get a larger idea of what has been with the hope that we will use that knowledge to have true kindness come to be seen as the trough thing it is. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio - Nonfiction (Unabridged)    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Audiobooks    4. Civilization    5. History    6. Unabridged Audio - History    7. United States    8. United States - General    9. History / United States / General   

Editorial Review

"I am a storyteller by training and inclination," writes the late Stephen Ambrose in Read more

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After reading this book, you'll wish Ambrose had been your history teacher!
Heard the taped version of TO AMERICA: PERSONAL
A Fond Farewell to a Beloved Nation
In this last work of one of the nation's foremost historians, Stephen Ambrose has woven a complex tapestry that includes the distinct threads of practical career guidance to budding historians, an engaging memoir of a distinguished career in American letters and compelling stories from the pageant of events that constitute our shared national experience.
Great review of the last century
What went wrong with this country during the last century?Stephen Ambrose looks at what our country went through during the last 100 years from a very secular point of view.He does an excellent job highlighting all the issues from a personal perspective."The United States and the Middle East: 1914-9/11" from The Teaching Company gives a more in depth look into the global issues involved.Both miss the spiritual issues brought up by fundamentalist Christians. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - History    2. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. Audiobooks    5. Biography    6. Historians    7. Historiography    8. History    9. Modern - 20th Century    10. United States    11. United States - General    12. United States History (General)    13. History / Modern / 20th Century   

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A powerful blend of insights.
THE PUNISHMENT OF VIRTUE: INSIDE AFGHANISTAN AFTER THE TALIBAN comes from an NPR reporter who arrived in Afghanistan in 2001, leaving reporting as the Taliban left to help rebuild the nation by heading a non-profit founded by the brother of President Hamid Karzai. Her reporting background, access to top players in the post-war government, and personal participation in the rebuilding of the nation makes for a powerful blend of insights.
Sarah Cheyes is a Hopeless Romantic
Sarah address the problem of corruption in Kandahar, and her first hand account is a must read for anyone interested in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
A sip of cool water in the desert
There is a handful of books in which the paper, the words, the very physical medium dissolves in my hands, and I experience something quite other than reading.Chayes' "Punishment of Virtue" is one of them.Every evening, after work, I give myself over to a voice weaving together insight, keen intelligence, experience, courage, wit, and above all, an insatiable curiosity about the people around her and their history and culture.Whether confronting Afghan warlords to wrest stone from their grasp for the rebuilding of villagers' houses, or hunting for the treasure of obscure historical references toconnections between Kandahar and the Mongols, Chayes gives herself to the moment and to the task with joy.
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Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. History    3. History: World    4. Middle East - General    5. Modern - 21st Century    6. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    7. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    8. Chronological Period/21st Century    9. Cultural Region/Middle East    10. History / Middle East    11. History/Modern - 21st Century    12. Political Science/Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    13. Unabridged Audio / Misc.Nonfiction   

Editorial Review

Counterfactuals--what-if scenarios--fueled countless bull sessions in smoke-filled dorm rooms in the 1960s. What if Sitting Bull had had a machine gun at Little Big Horn? What if Attila the Hun had had a time machine? What if Columbus had landed in India after all?Some of those dorm-room speculators grew up to be historians, and their generation (along with a few younger and older scholars) makes a strong showing in this anthology of essays, in which the what-ifs are substantially more plausible. What if Hitler had not attacked Russia when he did? He might have moved into the Middle East and secured the oil supplies the Third Reich so badly needed, helping it retain its power in Europe. What if D-Day had been a failure? The Soviet Union might have controlled all of Europe. What if Sennacherib had pressed the siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C.? Then the nascent, monotheistic Jewish religion might never have taken hold among the people of Judah--and the daughter religions of Christianity and Islam would never have been born.Read more

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Thoroughly Entertaining, if Flawed, Speculation
What if Charles Martel lost and the Moors over-ran France? What if Robert E. Lee had won at Chancellorsville? These are a few of the outcomes considered by some of the best historians of a generation. I found these projections of unfulfilled history fascinating. It is only a few years later that I realized that the perspectives of these historians are somewhat tainted by their middle-class, Anglo-American roots. What, may I ask, did the Moors feel after their defeat in the battle of Tours? Were the peasants better off under the Franks or under the Moors? As for Chancellorsville, did a dirt-farmer from South Carolina, fooled into thinking he was fighting for states-rights, really benefit if the South won the war? These questions find no answers in this anthology. The historians present here a fascinating story in the vein that larger-than-life individuals make history and they do so by making a particular choice at a particular time. This perspective belies that fact that while Eisenhower sat in a conference room in England, privates, sergeants, and lieutenants made history on the beaches of Normandy.
Great book but AMAZON SHIPPING SUCKS!!!
I've had a number of experiences with amazon in which I ordered and paid for express (next or 2nd day delivery) shipping and, invariably, they can't get my orders to me when promised. I recently ordered a DVD set for my husband's birthday and they didn't deliver. By noon the following day, even though DHL promised first thing in the morning delivery, I am still waiting. The last time this happened, my package didn't arrive until almost 9 pm on the day AFTER delivery should have occurred. Take my advice and don't buy from Amazon unless you are under no time restrictions. As for me, since amazon won't tell me who they're shipping with before I place my order and they won't let me chose the shipper as well as the speed, I just won't be buying from them any more and neither will my friends or family. Caveat Emptor!!!
What if my Dad hadn't met my Mom?
In this interesting book, many of the best military historians of the English language take up some of the crucial moments in history and analyze the way in which apparently irrelevant changes in the development of events could have brought up radically different outcomes in the Fate of humankind. It gives you the creeps to think about how weather, the personality of protagonists, or hair-splitting decision-making could have changed history forever. If Senacherib's army hadn't suffered a plague in 701 B.C., right before taking Jerusalem, there would haveb been no Judaism and no Christianism. If Greece had lost the battle of Salamis, no Greek culture would have developed. If Hernan Cortez had been killed by the Aztecs, there would have been no Mexico (and I would had never been born). If only Napoleon had known his limits after Tilsit... If Hitler had given up on conquering the Soviet Union...
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    3. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    4. History    5. Imaginary histories    6. Imaginary wars and battles    7. Military - General    8. Military - Strategy    9. Speculative    10. Unabridged Audio - History    11. War    12. History / General   

Subjects:  1. History & Criticism - General    2. Miscellaneous - General    3. Music    4. Songbooks    5. Unabridged Audio - Religion   

Editorial Review

In a series of fascinating conversations with thirty-four American poets, and in dozens of poems, Read more

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I JUST LOVE IT!
ok...i tell u why i love this book...or let's say audio cassettes. Better Poetry Books Can be Found
Looking back on this book, I guess it's that I wanted to like it so much more than I did.What a great concept!Take a variety of modern poets, interview them and get them talking about their works alongside the poetry.Now you see the expectations in such a book to poetry lovers everywhere.But after owning the book for 7-odd (and they have been) years, I rarely find myself going back to it after the initial read.Why is that?Let me try to tell you. A strong collection with a few really good interviews
It is almost impossible to please everyone with a collection. Why was this poet included? Or you included him/her and didn't include this poem... Are you insane? The benefit of an anthology is that it can introduce the readerto poets that they may otherwise never come in contact with. To that end, Iam thankful to Moyers for introducing me to the work of James A. Autry andLucille Clifton. I also enjoyed many, but not all, of the interviews. Thiswas a good book. If you are interested in poetry but aren't sure where tostart, this collection will introduce you to a wide variety of styles. I amsure you will find something you like, and it will be worth the effort. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. American poetry    3. Anthologies (multiple authors)    4. Audio - Drama / Poetry    5. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    6. History and criticism    7. Intellectual life    8. Minorities    9. Minority authors    10. Theory, etc    11. Unabridged Audio - Drama/Poetry    12. United States    13. Poetry / General   

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