Reviews (27)

A Good Rescue Story, BUT....
I couldn't help but come to two entirely and separate conclusions in reading this book:
Don't let the cover fool you, this is a Clancy-esque non-fiction story that's not just about Special OPS!
Don't be dissuaded by reviewers who haven't read this book!
this is propaganda and lies
If this man took a the time to know the history of U.S. involvment in Panama he would know that it was the U.S. that put Noriega in power in the first place.it was also the U.S. that killed the previouse leader of Panama,Omar TorriJos.Who apposed U.S. control of his county.
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Subjects:  1. 1981-    2. Americans    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Central America - History    6. History    7. Latin America - Central America    8. Military Science    9. Muse, Kurt    10. Panama    11. Political    12. Science/Mathematics    13. Social conditions    14. Special Forces    15. Technology    16. History / General    17. Revolutions & coups   

Reviews (7)

Biased?!!!
Yes, it is a shock therapy book. It is filled with some of the most cruel and bloody imagery. But this shock therapy is needed, both in Russia and in the West. Because that imagery is not a figment of somebody's imagination nor is it some particularly violent page of the world history book long turned over and forgotten. It's reality. It's happening right now, right at this moment. Even now, 3 years since the book's last interview with Akhmed Zakaev took place. And virtually nobody outside of Chechnya has a good idea what is going on there.
Flawed But Few Alternatives
In looking for substantive reporting on the Chechnya conlict, one quickly finds that there is simply not much out there of note.Titles tend to range from academic histories of the region to cursory reporting (though in the last year or so, this seems to be changing a bit).It was with this in mind that I picked up this book.While the author clearly has invested her time and labor in the region, the book does not have any coherent narrative flow and doesn't provide much background or context for the events being covered.Also, one gets the sense that the translation may be much too literal, losing the author's passion and intended meanings in the process.It is a disciplined read, but given the paucity of alternatives, probably worth the effort if you are interested in the conflict and the region.

Propoganda
Expecting to learn the truth about the Chechen War from Anna Politkovskaya is like expecting to learn the truth about the Iraq War from Michael Moore. Very biased and propogandic account by a Liberal reporter who has claimed to want to be the "Russian Michael Moore." Anna tries to make excuses for the terrorist acts committed by Chechen Jihadists. Too much has happened since she wrote this book, and there is no sympathy for Wahabbi terrorists who strap suicide belts on brainwashed women and send them into restaurants, subways, concerts, airplanes, and kindergardens. If you want to know the real facts about Chechnya, read a book by an American counter-terrorist expert, Wolves of Islam. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chechnia (Russia)    2. Chechnëiìa (Russia)    3. Civil War, 1994-    4. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    5. General    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Journalists    10. Personal narratives, Russian    11. Press coverage    12. Revolutionary    13. Chechnya    14. European history: from c 1900 -    15. History / Russia (pre- & post-Soviet Union)    16. Interdisciplinary Studies    17. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    18. Warfare & Defence   

Subjects:  1. 1990-    2. History    3. Islam    4. Islam - History    5. Lebanon    6. National liberation movements    7. Political    8. Political Doctrines    9. Political parties    10. Politics and government    11. Religion    12. Religion - World Religions    13. Asian / Middle Eastern history: postwar, from c 1945 -    14. Political Science / General    15. Political Science / Political Freedom & Security / Terrorism    16. Revolutions & coups   

Reviews (100)

great insight
Imagine the U.S. was occupied by another country. Then, a third country, one that purports to value democracy and freedom, comes along to liberate us. We back them up and tolerate the installation of political cronies and corporate hacks in exchange for some kind of freedom. Then, this country, instead of installing a true democracy, installs a ruthless dictator and, if it is a democracy, is only a shadow one.And then the country continues this policy for 50 years, all the while claiming it supports freedom and democracy.
Insights to Iran
This is a fine read; well written and quite enlightening.It should be required reading for high school history/economics students.Also, the subject leads to dynamic discussions for book clubs.
Messing with other countries businesses
More than a interesting report of specifics of the doings of the English and American governments and corporations, this book shows that there are lessons in 1953 to be learned today about messing with other countries businesses.
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Subjects:  1. History    2. History - General History    3. History: World    4. International Relations - General    5. Iran - History    6. Middle East - General    7. Middle East - Iran    8. Political History    9. U.S. Foreign Relations    10. United States - 20th Century    11. History / Israel    12. Iran    13. Revolutions & coups    14. Terrorism, freedom fighters, armed struggle    15. USA   

Reviews (2)

Cliches and action
This book is rife with cliches and stereotypes.It is a cast of characters of bad guys cut from perhaps to much of a need to see the 'other' as intrinsically negative.There is the 'bad' white "neo-colonialist" who wants to topple a poor native government just as his ancestors did in the 17th century.There is the 'bad' Afrikaner 'thugs' who are vilified just as they have been since 1950, no one bothering to ask if perhaps there is more diversity among the Afrikaners than meets the eye, no one bothering to point out that just because they are South African whites doesnt mean they are Afrikaners(descendants of the Dutch), but rather members of the English speaking community.
Lessons from a Failed Coup
Equatorial Guinea isn't much of a nation, even for Africa."In most atlases, the country lies hidden under the staple," writes Adam Roberts.But it has oil, and that makes quite the difference. In _The Wonga Coup: Guns, Thugs and a Ruthless Determination to Create Mayhem in an Oil-Rich Corner of Africa_, Roberts has told the story of an attempted coup by international businessmen and mercenaries in March 2004.The aim was not to gain political power, or to help the blighted nation's poor start claiming some of their country's riches.The aim was simply to get "a large splodge of wonga" as one of the plotters called a big infusion of cash.(Surprisingly, the _OED_ says that "wonga" is British, not African, slang.)The plot, for many reasons explained here, did not work, and plenty of the plotters and their henchmen suffered, but it has had some effects on Equatorial Guinea, and also reflects the current larger problems in the economic development of Africa.The book is well researched, and at times reads like an adventure novel, sort of a failed _The Dogs of War_.
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Subjects:  1. 21st century    2. Africa - General    3. Africa - West    4. Central Africa - History    5. Coups d'âetat    6. Equatorial Guinea    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: World    10. Mercenary troops    11. Political corruption    12. Revolutions & coups   

Reviews (3)

A remarkable and exceptional book
When I read Charles Gati's prize winning "Hungary and the Soviet Bloc," I then thought that he had written the last and best word on our understanding of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 during the Cold War. Then, unexpectedly, several years later the Berlin Wall came down, Hungary and the USSR's East European satellites regained independence, and heretofore closed Cold War archives began to open. From archives in Budapest and Moscow as well as from dozens of interviews with participants of '56 both East and West, Professor Gati has written a classic of Cold War history and analysis which arguably will become the definitive account of the multi-sided, tragic events of 1956 in Hungary. No stone has been left unturned -- the author has read the minutes of the Politburo meetings in the Soviet Union and Hungary, as well as the interrogation and trial transcripts from the last days before his execution of Imre Nagy, former Prime Minister of Hungary. This fluently written, masterfully organized, and exeptionally well integrated small volume deserves to sit on the Cold War history shelf along with Allison's "Essence of Decision," the study of another major event of the era, the Cuban Missile Crisis.
A HumanJourney
Take the experts' word that this study is a reliable, extensive, and insightful account of the 1956 Hungarian Revolt. What strikes me is the personal element. We go from the recollections of a young, unsophisticated journalist of 22, caught in the tide of momentous events he does not understand, to the retrospection of a highly sophisticated scholar revisiting those events and doing his very best to look behind history's curtain to resolve their meaning. It is a gripping, honest, and personal account, rendered with the binocularity of five decades of study. A century from now, this will still be the book to read, not just for the facts but also for the feel of one of the 20th century's signal struggles.

First rate history
Gati's definitive account of the Hungarian revolution and the American role in it reads like a LeCarre novel with documentation. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Eastern Europe - General    2. Europe - Austria & Hungary    3. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    4. Foreign relations    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Hungary    9. Revolution, 1956    10. Revolutionary    11. Soviet Union    12. United States    13. European history: postwar, from c 1945 -    14. Revolutions & coups    15. c 1945 to c 1960   

Reviews (5)

A Warning to Those in Love with Unbridled Power and Vulnerable to Anything New
Edmund Burke (1729-1797)wrote REFLECTIONS ON THE REVOLUTION IN FRANCE in 1789 which was four years before the rise of the fanatical Jacobins and the execution (murder)of Louis XVI.This book was not only well written but very prophetic on the tragic events that were part of the French Revolution.Burke showed historical insight and warned both the British and the French what was going to happen.
A Classic of Conservative Thought
In 1789, the year of the French Revolution, Burke received a request from a good friend living in France to provide his thoughts on the Revoution. The result- one of the finest pieces of political discourse ever written. For those encountering Burke for the first time, his adament defense of the crown, and of hereditary succcesion, seem to make a hypocrite of this self-proclaimed liberal. Burke, however, was not defending an absolute monarch who ruled under the charter of divine right, but rather, pointing out the danger of a perfect democracy, whose sovereign (the national assembly) was compelled not to a moral authority such as a Church, nor to a fixed consitution. In short, liberty was safer restricted in civil socity, than left unchecked.
The finest writing ever in English prose!
This small title is actually a letter that the author wrote to a friend in France.When Edmund Burke wrote this letter about the French Revolution (where the king was overthrown and beheaded by the masses aka Jacobins), English scholars agree that the result was the finest piece of prose in the English language; only a few poets have succeeded in writing something finer.Whether you agree with Burke's interpretation or not is not the point; he penned the finest piece of literature ever in the English language.
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Subjects:  1. 1729-1797    2. 18th century    3. Burke, Edmund,    4. Correspondence    5. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    6. Europe - France    7. Foreign public opinion, British    8. France    9. Great Britain    10. History    11. History - General History    12. History: World    13. Public opinion    14. Revolution, 1789-1799    15. World - General    16. Burke, Edmund    17. Europe    18. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    19. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    20. Literature/English | British Literature | 18th C    21. Other prose: 16th to 18th centuries    22. Reflections on the Revolution in France    23. Revolutions & coups   

Editorial Review

The leaders of the American Revolution, writes the distinguished historian Bernard Bailyn, were radicals. But their concern was not to correct inequalities of class or income, not to remake the social order, but to "purify a corrupt constitution and fight off the apparent growth of prerogative power." They wished, in other words, to mend a broken system and improve upon it. In doing so they drew on many traditions of political and social thought, ranging from English conservative philosophers to exponents of the continental Enlightenment, from backward-looking interpretations of ancient Roman civilization to forward-looking views of a new American people. Bailyn carefully examines these sources of sometimes conflicting ideas and considers how the framers of the Constitution resolved them in their inventive doctrine of federalism. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

A spark in the study of the Revolution
This is a book that all students of the American Revolution should be forced to read. Without understanding Bailyn's argument, that the "conspiracy against liberty" was the main reason why America decided to break away from the British Empire, a student will be forever lost in trying to understand the roots of the American Revolution. Almost all of the books on the outbreak of the American Revolution have had to take Bailyn's argument into consideration; so, if you're interested in the study of the American Revolution, then this book is an imperative read. Read T.H. Breen's "The Marketplace of Revolution" after this book, and you'll have a decent grasp of the roots of the American Revolution.
The Radical Whig Fountain of Libertarian Rhetoric
While the 17th century witnessed the failure of the libertarian Levellor revolution, the 18th century can be said to embody its partial victory in the form of the American Revolution.The radical libertarian nature of the Yankee revolutionaires has only recently been acknowledged by historians.Bailyn's volume broke new ground when it was published in 1967 by showing the Radical Whig foundations of the American Revolution.He says "attitudes and ideas that would constitute the Revolutionary ideology was present a half-century before there was an actual Revolution".
Groundbreaking Book
As of today, the work Bailyn did in this book is not new.But if considered in the context of the time period when he wrote it and what it did for the study of the American Revolution, this book was the beginning of the current dominate thought on the Revolution.Bailyn changed the way historians and Americans look at the Revolution by challenging the work of several scholars.Written extremely well, this book deserves every award it revceiced and is still entitled to be a mainstay in history departments around the country. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - General History    3. History - U.S.    4. History: American    5. Military    6. Military - General    7. Political Ideologies - General    8. Political science    9. Revolution, 1775-1783    10. Revolutions    11. U.S. Political History    12. United States    13. United States - General    14. United States - Revolutionary War    15. American history: c 1500 to c 1800    16. History / Military / General    17. History of ideas, intellectual history    18. Revolutions & coups    19. USA    20. c 1700 to c 1800   

Reviews (23)

Good author, bad editor
This is an excellent book, which has received much well deserved praise. Rather than repeating the praise, I would like to take up a few points which I feel a good editor would have corrected:
The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
A very good book for the period leading up to WWII....an interesting read for all those interested in WWII and the events that defined what really happened. Provides in-depth facts and represents well thought-out research....a very good read.

Mad Delusion Of Propaganda
The Battle For Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 is a book that focuses on not just the causes of the conflict and military actions taken during it, but also on the ideals, goals and politics that shaped the two sides.
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Subjects:  1. Civil War, 1936-1939    2. Europe - Spain & Portugal    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. History: World    6. Military - Other    7. Revolutionary    8. Spain    9. History / Military / General   

Reviews (8)

What a dilemma......!

An absolute must read on terrorism
This is the best terrorism book on the market.It covers the basics from beginning to end.I would recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.Simply outstanding!

Author lacks credibility.
This authorlacks credibility as he cites the Gun Owners of America ... as a terrorist group - right next to Hamas (page 285, in the appendix)...such an allegation, without more to back it up borderlines on defamation. This test is used by Blue Ridge Community College (Weyers Cave, Virginia) in a counter-terrorism course. The instructor advised me that he's giving up the text in future classes because of this one erroneous allegation in the book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    2. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Law / Criminal Procedure    7. Revolutions & coups   

Reviews (4)

Make Rapport a Priority
Though I read this book in 1995, after reading Colin Powell's "My American Journey," and Storming Norman's memoir, it was nice to pick it up again, eleven years later.
Open memoir
Baker's memoir is open and honest.He has put together an excellent narrative analysis of the foreign policy of the Bush administration.In years to come the usefulness of this book will probably decline as more scholarly work appears, but Baker's story continues to be charming and detailed.

Politics of Diplomacy:Revolution, War and Peace, 1989-1992
Soon after becoming secretary of state, George P. Shultz noted that � unless you do something about it, in the job of secretary of state you will spend 100 percent of your time on the Middle East. � �Every Secretary of State becomes a Middle East expert very rapidly, whether he wants to or not,� he also stated.. These observations remain valid today, when Warren Christopher has virtually become Secretary of State for the Middle East.Baker had a similar experience.Page one of his memoirs tells of Saddam Husayn�s invasion of Kuwait, the single most dangerous moment of Baker�s three-years-plus as secretary of state.Of the book�s thirty-four chapters, fully fifteen concentrate on the Middle East, primarily the Kuwait war and the Arab-Israeli peace process.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1989-1993    2. Biography    3. Foreign relations    4. History: World    5. International Relations    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Statesmen    8. U.S. - Contemporary Politics    9. U.S. Foreign Relations    10. U.S. Government    11. United States    12. Baker, James Addison    13. Diplomacy    14. Revolutions & coups    15. USA    16. c 1980 to c 1990    17. c 1990 to c 2000   

Reviews (23)

Couldn't put it down
Amazing story, beautifully written.It has all the elements of an exciting novel, and it is true, which makes it even more awesome.

loss...
A Persian friend gave me this book. I couldn't put it down, so poetic and real. As we live in times of war and devastation, this book reminds us of the power of ideologies and politics.
A real eyeopener
Reading Roya's accounting of her ordeal gives one a profound feeling of the reality of the time.It is amazing that Roya's experience had such an effect on her that the details still remain intact for her reproduce such an amazing book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Ethnic Cultures - General    5. General    6. History Of Women (General)    7. Iran - History    8. Judaism - General    9. Middle East - Iran    10. Women    11. Women's Studies - General    12. Asian / Middle Eastern history: postwar, from c 1945 -    13. Biography & Autobiography / General    14. Biography: general    15. Iran    16. Revolutions & coups    17. c 1980 to c 1990   

Subjects:  1. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    2. Encyclopedias    3. History - Military & Wars    4. History - Military / War    5. Juvenile Nonfiction    6. Military    7. Military - General    8. Military Science    9. Military history    10. Reference - Encyclopedias    11. Technology & Industrial Arts    12. World - General    13. BCE to c 500 CE    14. Modern period, c 1500 onwards    15. Reference works    16. Revolutions & coups    17. War & defence operations    18. World history    19. c 1000 CE to c 1500    20. c 500 CE to c 1000 CE   

Reviews (10)

Good Despite Some Oddly Jarring Inaccuracies
I found this book both informative and in many ways refreshing.There are too many narrative accounts that tend to slide past what it meant to be a member of the Continental Army on a day-to-day basis--and what fighting the war meant to the individual soldiers who did it.
Ordinary people make history, too
I really enjoyed this book.It brought to life in vivid detail the deprivations and tribulations faced by the ordinary soldier in the Revolutionary Army.There have been so many books written about the leaders of the Revolution (some good, some pretty boring), but so few volumes about the ordinary men who made up the colonial troops.These people were the foundation of the new country and they deserve to be documented.The author chooses to give us their stories in an interesting way and paints word pictures that let the reader see exactly what conditions were like for the common soldiers.I was fascinated and could hardly put the book down.If all history was presented in this easy to understand and interesting way, more students would love it as much as I do.

Enjoyable to read, but not really much new information...
This is a generally well-written and enjoyable to read book, but it doesn't quit live up to its sub-title: The Untold Story of George Washington and the Men Behind America's First Fight for Freedom.The book is foremost a retelling of the Battles of the Revolution.It does present viewpoints from the soldiers and others who fought, but I didn't really find a great deal that hasn't been written before, although the portion devoted to Blacks in the Revolution was interesting.Interesting also is how many soldiers died from poor conditions and disease.But I didn't come away feeling that I really got to know the "Men Behind America's First Fight for Freedom."As I said before, the book is mainly a retelling of the story of the battles of the War and secondly, a telling of the battles from the perspective of the common soldier.
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Subjects:  1. 1732-1799    2. 18th century    3. Continental Army    4. History    5. History - U.S.    6. History: American    7. History: World    8. Military - United States    9. Military History (General)    10. Military life    11. Revolutionary    12. Social conditions    13. Soldiers    14. U.S. History - Revolution And Confederation (1775-1789)    15. United States    16. United States - Revolutionary War    17. United States.    18. Washington, George,    19. History / United States / Revolutionary Period (1775-1800)   

Reviews (44)

A solid historic book
This is one of the rare historic books reflecting the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict from both sides. It is reach in historic and political facts, and also reflects the author's own eyewitness of the war.
A must read on Azerbaijan
Thomas Goltz's book on Azerbaijan is unique, for many reasons. First, he was among the few western journalists to be and actually live in the Caucasus when hellbroke loose in the conflicts of the region. Secondly, He speaks the language, bringing him across cultural barriers that even Russian-speakers encounter though they seldom know they do in the non-Russian partso the former USSR. Third, Goltz has a smell for the events of the country and understands the backdoor politics.
Great book on caucasus region
This a a great source of informaiton for those who are interested to learn more about Azzerbaijan and it's relations with the neighbouring countries. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Former Soviet Republics    2. Europe - Russia & the Former Soviet Union    3. History    4. History - General History