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Subjects:  1. 1823-1896    2. Coffin, Charles Carleton,    3. Education    4. General    5. Gettysburg (Pa.), Battle of, 1    6. Gettysburg (Pa.), Battle of, 1863    7. Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysb    8. Gettysburg, Battle of, Gettysburg, Pa., 1863    9. History    10. History - General History    11. Large print books    12. Personal narratives    13. United States - Civil War    14. Coffin, Charles Carleton   

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Reviews (86)

very disappointing...
I have been reading a series of autobiographical accounts of modern day warriors and had high hopes for this title.As others have pointed out, Coughlin's ego can be suffocating at times.This could be forgiven if it were the books only flaw.Alas it is not.The writing is amateurish at best and the author's overuse of adjective and hyperbole is very distracting.The language is disjointed and unnatural as if it were written with the heavy use of a thesaurus.Again this could be forgiven as we're reading this book for a soldier's account, not that of an English grad student.
Outstanding!
This is an Outstanding book!I am a former Marine and bought the book after seeing a friend who was reading it.After reading a few pages, I couldn't put it down.It's an easy read, filled with stories of the Marine Corps and Jack's assignments.
Right on Target
This is an excellent account of the early days of the Iraq war and the fascinating role a professional sniper played in it.Reading it not only made me proud of the dedicated men who go to war on our behalf, but also showed me that the noble warrior ethic is alive and well today.These Marines are heirs to the proud warrior traditions of the Round Table, the Japanese Samurai and the Spartans -- men who liveby the Spartan dictum:"Come home with your shield or on it.""Shooter" has given me new insights into the war in Iraq, the dedication of our people fighting it, and the sheer professionalism of someone who, for 20 years, had one of the most unusual jobs on earth. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. Military    3. Military - United States   

Editorial Review

You couldn't find a blunter or more accurate title for Larry McMurtry's third work of nonfiction. Read more

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Reviews (43)

Best of Its Genre
I came to this book with perhaps an unusual background in that I'd not read much, if any, of McMurtry's fiction (although like most filmgoers I'd seen a lot of his overall product).On the other hand, I have read much of the American "on the road" travel literature from Steinbeck to Theroux to Least Heat Moon to Bryson, but I didn't enjoy any of them as much as Larry McMurtry's present book and it's difficult for me to explain why.
How boring
'Nuff said.Dense, uninteresting, and a work of complete vanity.I wish I could get away with writing a few hundred pages of blither at the end of a road trip probably on someone else's dime.
Interesting insights and observations
Briefly, I thought the book provided the reader an interesting and fresh perspective on American locales and culture. I found it a valuable alternative to Blue Highways styled narratives - not deriding them - just commenting on the welcome change. Additionally, I found some of his literary references helpful. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Automobile travel    2. Description and travel    3. Essays & Travelogues    4. History    5. History: American    6. Large type books    7. McMurtry, Larry    8. Roads    9. Travel    10. Travel - General    11. United States    12. United States - General    13. Journeys   

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Reviews (47)

Interesting details
Interesting details for purposes of camparison for those who have done other reading about the presidents and their families and a sort of quick informational format for those who have not.There is not a whole lot of deep-thinking required, and the book does provide entertainment and information.

Incredible Research !
This is an incredibly researched book and one can live in the source notes just going from one to the next, finding the rich materials the author taps.Not sure how anyone can find it biased.He rates the Clintons and Bushes as good parents, Lincoln's come off indulgent, the Republican Reagans and Rosoevelts come off poorly.Lots to learn here about history long neglected.

biased history
I looked forward with great excitement to receiving this book.I find American History very interesting, and was curious about the lives of Presidential children.I was very disappointed, however, by the subtle (and not so subtle) bias in the writing.Wead uses this platform to bash children of Democrats and praise children of Republicans. Statements along these lines are cheap shots, and totally unnecessary.To my view, this book actually does a disservice to Wead's bosses--the Bushes.The partisanship ruins what could have been a great book, and a wonderful addition to the real history of our nation. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Children of presidents    6. Family relationships    7. Historical - U.S.    8. History    9. Political    10. Presidents    11. U.S. Government (Specific Aspects)    12. United States    13. United States - General    14. United States History (Specific Aspects)   

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Subjects:  1. Census And General Statistics    2. Government - U.S. Government    3. History    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Reference    6. Statistics    7. United States - General   

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Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - Historical    2. Constitution (Frigate)    3. Historical - United States - Colonial    4. History    5. History, Naval    6. History: American    7. Large print books    8. Large type books    9. To 1900    10. Transportation - Boats/Underwater    11. United States    12. United States - General   

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Reviews (16)

Delightful little read
This was a short and easy read about the atmosphere on Air Force One.I found it very fascinating to look into what went on behind the scenes of Air Force One.The book was filled with several such little stories of presidential practical jokes, awkward moments, scary situations, etc.
Air Force One brings the Message Of Hope

Easy Ride
If you are expecting a hard-hitting expose about anything presidential then this is not the book for you.The author does a very good job of detailing out the Presidents from FDR that have taken flight via Air Force One or its predecessors.The book is very interesting and does a good job at what it covers. The book does not cover in any detail much about the plane except for overall basic facts. The real focus of the book is the men who road in the planes, not the planes. I find that the only issue I had with the book is that there was not enough detail of the actual plane, what the crew goes through to get it ready, the special planning for a trip and so on.Don't get me wrong, I rather enjoyed the book as it was a light easy to read book that provided some very nice stories about the Presidents who traveled in the plane. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Air Force One (Presidential ai    2. Air Force One (Presidential aircraft)    3. Aviation - Commercial    4. History    5. History: World    6. Presidents    7. Transportation    8. United States    9. United States - 20th Century   

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"Navajo Code Talkers" Disappointment Beyond Belief
Author Nathan Aaseng published Navaho Code Talkers. I thought he crafted the book horrifically from the start since he did nothing to pull the reader in. He just started off with too many facts. This was not a book that makes you want to stay up on school nights and read even when your parents tell you to go to bed. This book is the kind of book you may want to stop and not continue. The kind books you will be glad to finish reading. He did a great job of giving the facts but they where not organized in a way which interested you.
"Navajo Code Talkers" Disappointment Beyond Belief
Author Nathan Aaseng wrote Navaho Code Talkers. I thought he crafted the book horrifically from the start since he did nothing to pull the reader in. He just started off with too many facts. This was not a book that makes you want to stay up on school nights and read even when your parents tell you to go to bed. This book is the kind of book you may want to stop and not continue. The kind books you will be glad to finish reading. He did a great job of giving the facts but they where not organized in a way which interested you.
the best auction book ever
Summary: Navajo code talkers, is about marines using Navajo language to get messages to the frontline to where ever. The commanders where so impressed with the Navajo's speed of translation and accuracy they went to reservations to get any Navajo volunteer who wanted to join. It is also about the Navajo trusting the United States after the long walk. This is related to World War 2 because it is in the same time as Pearl Harbor was bombed. I liked the book because of the movie I watched about code talkers. The edgy title got me interested to. I also like to study World War 2. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cryptography    2. History    3. History - General History    4. Military    5. Military - World War II    6. Navajo Indians    7. Participation, Indian    8. World War, 1939-1945   

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Hard to put down!
I have read all of Winifred Fortescue's books and this one, like the others, is hard to put down. Lady Fortescue has a way with words that makes you feel as though you are an old friend. I only wish she had lived long enough to write more - she obviously loved writing but was also very ill throughout her latter years. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. England    2. Fiction - Romance    3. History    4. History: World    5. Large type books    6. Military - World War II    7. Personal narratives, English    8. Romance - General    9. Sussex    10. World War, 1939-1945   

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Subjects:  1. 1943-    2. 20th century    3. History    4. Labor & Industrial Relations - Unions    5. Large Print    6. Large type books    7. Poland    8. Politics - Current Events    9. Wa±ñesa, Lech,   

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Reviews (20)

Sophmoric
Your sixth grader might find it revealing, but nobody with any knowledge of history will learn much from this disconnected, purposeless collection of factoids.Shenkman acts like an annoying twelve-year old who's memorized 50 state capitals and wants you to listen as he recites them -- and thereby proves how smart he is.
Legend & Lies
Legend, Lies & Cherished Myths of American history is a misleading title.Do not assume this book to among likes of James Lowen's publications.Some aspects of the book seem factual.However, many arguements he makes such as the American revolution was not revolutionary at all, are completly rediculous.
Legends, Lies, and cherished Myths
Excellent source for my undergraduate students who are studying to become secondary social studies teachers.
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Subjects:  1. Errors, inventions, etc    2. History    3. History - U.S.    4. Large Print    5. Large type books    6. Legends    7. United States    8. United States - General   

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Reviews (4)

maxene andrews-an andrews sister-great lady and friend!
I am a professional director in the American theatre, and for the last 20 years of her life, it was my joy to direct and collaborate with Maxene Andrews on many shows, radio interviews, personal appearances, and stage appearances!She was a great lady with a heart of gold, and such pride in America!
Stars that helped out by entertaining the troops...
Great book about the Andrews Sisters, their work during the WWII years with the USO, and many of the other stars that participated in these shows to entertain the troops.

Back in MY day ...
This book provides fabulous insight on WWII and the spirit of America that helped win the war for the Allies.So many times, my parents said, "Why, back in my day we didn't get meat at every dinner.But wedidn't complain:we LIKED it!"If you want to know more aboutAmerica's patriotic spiritand how it "gets the job done",you'll love this book.The Andrews Sisters were a class act and Maxine andthe other USO "soldiers in greasepaint" did their best toencourage and cheer our fighting forces on home soil and abroad.This bookhas a lot of history and tells about emotions of the folks during that timein a very poignant way.If you ever wondered why certain songs with wackytitles were popular ("Six Jerks In A Jeep"), you'll come awaywith greater understanding. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. Large Print    6. Large type books    7. Performing Arts (Specific Aspects)    8. Recreation    9. Soldiers    10. U.S. History - World War II (Domestic Aspects)    11. United States    12. World War, 1939-1945   

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dickens on england
This book is a delightful history of England.It is a book for all ages.As an adult I have enjoyed reading the book for pure pleasure.My two teenage daughters have used this book numerous times for school projects, especially for their history and compostion classes. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Great Britain - General    2. History    3. History: World   

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Subjects:  1. Faith    2. History    3. Religion - Theology    4. Theology    5. Religion / Theology    6. Religion-Faith    7. Religion-History   

Editorial Review

Working in his garden one day, Michael Pollan hit pay dirt in the form of an idea: do plants, he wondered, use humans as much as we use them? While the question is not entirely original, the way Pollan examines this complex coevolution by looking at the natural world from the perspective of plants is unique. The result is a fascinating and engaging look at the true nature of domestication.Read more

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Readable copy and interesting hypothesis.
A long book on botany if you are up to it. For a more compact and lively study try The Story of the Apple.

An engaging piece of practical history

A Three Hundred Page Sleeping Pill
I was given three months to read this book, and each time I picked it up I threw it down in disgust.Between the none-stop Johnny Appleseed referances to the Collegian's Guide to Growing Pot, it is amazing I got through it.I am convinced he was once a Columbian drug lord. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ecology    2. Gardening / Horticulture    3. History    4. Human-plant relationships    5. Large type books    6. Life Sciences - Botany    7. Plants - General    8. Science    9. Science/Mathematics   

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Reviews (5)

A masterpiece
Raban's four books written to date on America-Old Glory, Hunting Mr Heartbreak, Badlandsand Passage to Juneau-are all elegant and entertaining meditations on America and what it is to be American. Although each book is very different, they all feature the same blend of candid autobiography, careful historical exegesis, vivid description, and wry humour. Each one is a rewarding work, but Hunting Mr Heartbreak is in my view his masterpiece. Each chapter of the book is a self-contained episode in a personal odyssey, which takes as its starting point the voyage made by the immigrants who flocked to the New World from Europe. The book was written over ten years ago and a few parts of it have inevitably lost a little of their resonance, but his exploration of the historical currents underlying American life and of the concept(s) of Americanness itself remains as relevant and perceptive as ever. Raban's skillful interweaving of allegory and analysis, cleverness and comedy, wonder and unease has resulted in a rich and endlessly fascinating book.

A Fine Effort..........
Raban's written better books - Old Glory and Badland, to name two - nonetheless, Mr. Heartbreak is an engaging book that is a delight to read.Seeking the singular experience of becomingAmerican, Raban sets up shop in New York City, Guntersville (Alabama), Seattle, and Key West to investigate the newly emigrated and those whose families emigrated generations ago.His observations of people and places are insightful, intriguing and occasionally quite funny. A Discovery of America
This is an extremely excellent book both full of character and details as it is of a real understanding of the perspectives of the early immigrants.This is a must read book that not only opens up the US as a haven forothers but also as a place of great opportunities. It will leave youwanting to read more. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1971-    2. 20th century    3. British    4. Description and travel    5. History    6. History - General History    7. Large Print    8. Large print books    9. Large type books    10. Raban, Jonathan    11. Social life and customs    12. United States    13. United States - General    14. Homes and haunts   

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Mother's War
Fey Hassall and her son-in-law, David Forbes Watt have brought to light an extraordinary tale of WWII. The Italian-German Diplomatic linkages, the SS, concentration camps, the mother's frantic efforts to find her two sons after escaping from the SS marches between concentration camps is ariveting--and true--saga of great courage and determination. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Germany    3. History    4. Military    5. Military - World War II    6. Personal narratives, German    7. Political prisoners    8. Prisoners and prisons, German    9. World War, 1939-1945   

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Reviews (34)

The Town That Lost It's Sons
Few dates in history have seen more tragedy than June 6, 1944. Thousands of American families and even entire towns grieved their losses after D-Day, but none more so than the tiny town and 3,000 inhabitants of Bedford, Virginia, who lost 19 of its' sons that fateful day and 3 more before the war would conclude. BEDFORD BOYS: ONE AMERICAN TOWNS ULTIMATE D-DAY SACRIFICE, by Alex Kershaw, tells their story.This book, unlike most others on the account of D-Day, tells the story of the Normandy invasion from the viewpoint of the families left behind.
Not Your Ordinary WWII Book
This is not your ordinary WWII book. I've read many books on WWII and on the subject of D-Day. This book stands out as unique as it shows the human side of war from not only the soldier's perspective but also from the point of view of families that were left behind as well as the aftermath of war in the years that followed.
Freedom's Price in Microcosm
This book deeply affected me as I read it.I wept continously as I read some parts of it.By writing from the perspectives of the surviving soldiers, as well as the fallen and all of their loved ones, Kershaw takes you back in time and sets the stage for the Normandy invasion:preparations, going ashore, fighting in France, the homefront, and the war's aftermath.As I sat in my home which was built in 1940, I tried to imagine what occurred there on June 6, 1944 with the radio reports and the neighbors talking amongst themselves about those historic events.Only great writing can produce those kinds of thoughts!
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Army    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. Infantry Regiment, 116th    6. Large type books    7. Military    8. Military - United States    9. Military - Veterans    10. Military - World War II    11. Operation Neptune    12. Regimental histories    13. United States    14. World War, 1939-1945   

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Reviews (1)

Good Book.
This is, at worst, an interesting, slightly racist (ethnicist?), and out dated book.Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. General    3. History - General History    4. Social Science    5. Sociology    6. History    7. History-General    8. Social & cultural anthropology    9. Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural   

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Reviews (30)

Thomas Jefferson v. John Marshall
James Simon, Dean Emeritus of the New York Law School, has written a seminal work on the history of the early republic, comparing titans Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall--Virginians, cousins, lawyers, and political enemies. What Kind of Nation recounts the struggle between America's first political parties, Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans and Marshall's Federalists, over the future of the federal judiciary and the future of the democratic experiment called the Unitied States.
Intriguing!
This is a most relevant book. It is the story of two cousins who consistently and relentlessly clashed over just what kind of nation the United States would become.
An illuminating discussion of a crucial episode of the early republic
John Marshall isn't often mentioned in the same breath as figures such as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, or Thomas Jefferson, but Simon makes a very good case for doing so.Just as these other figures played crucial roles in determining the shape of the nation, Marshall is perhaps the key figure in establishing the practical role that the Supreme Court was to play in U.S. history, and the key figure in making the judiciary truly independent.The latter cannot be emphasized too strongly, for as Simon demonstrates, Jefferson had a vision of the judiciary that would have made if subservient to the executive and legislative branches.Jefferson wanted to be able to replace judges with relative ease--a move that would have created a permanent timidity on the part of the courts and would have made them the easy toy of party politics--and he wanted the notion of popular democracy to extend to the courts.No matter how one feels about Jefferson on other issues, and no matter how one feels about such issues as judicial activism, I would imagine that most Americans are relieved and grateful that Marshall's vision and not Jefferson's prevailed.The system of checks and balances works because each branch of government has the genuine capacity to precisely that, whereas if Jefferson had succeeded, the courts would have of little or no consequence.
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Subjects:  1. Constitutional    2. Constitutional history    3. Executive power    4. General    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: American    8. Political questions and judici    9. Political questions and judicial power    10. United States    11. United States - Revolutionary War