Editorial Review

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Reviews (133)

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

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

Reviews (7)

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

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

Reviews (64)

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

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

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

Features

• Abridged
• Audiobook

Reviews (81)

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

Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    2. Audiobooks    3. Foreign Policy Formulation    4. Government - Executive Branch    5. Government - U.S. Government    6. History    7. Iraq War, 2003    8. Military    9. Military - General    10. National security    11. Public Affairs & Administration    12. U.S. President    13. United States    14. United States - 21st Century    15. Current Events / General   

Editorial Review

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

Reviews (493)

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

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

Reviews (6)

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

Reviews (138)

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

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

Reviews (105)

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

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

Reviews (1)

Lots of great pictures
Nearly every photograph in this book evoked a memory, whether good or bad. Some were disturbing, as they were meant to be, but many were uplifting. And it was neat to see how the cover art had changed over the years, and how Life's priorities have shifted. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    2. General    3. Photo Techniques    4. Photography    5. Photojournalism    6. 20th century    7. American history: from c 1900 -    8. Photographic reportage    9. Photography / Photojournalism    10. USA   

Editorial Review

In 2001, the 50th-anniversary year of "The Shot Heard 'Round the World," Bobby Thomson's pennant-winning home run against the Dodgers that is almost unanimously considered the greatest moment in baseball history, Joshua Prager broke the story in Read more

Reviews (3)

This should have been a much better book
This should have been a great book.It deals with an absolutely fascinating subject, the intersection between the Bobby Thomson home run to win the National League pennant in 1951 and how that home run resonated in American culture and the effect of the home run both on the hitter and the pitcher Ralph Branca.There is much amazing research and some very powerful sections of the book.
The Giants DID steal the 1951 pennant !!!
In 1951, the New York Giants beat the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the National League pennant when Bobby Thomson hit a home run off Brooklyn pitcher Ralph Branca in the Giant's home park to end the third game of a three-game playoff series. I was a very small child growing up in Brooklyn then.To this day, I find it astonishing that I did not know of the event when it happened. Perhaps, it was because adults shielded children from the tragedy and did not discuss it in their presence.
Incredibly researched!
I couldn't put this book down. I was born in 1966 so I don't know much about the "Shot Heard Round the World." I am a baseball fanatic but even if I wasn't, this book develops the characters of two people who were drawn to each other for a lifetime because of one simple moment that was so important for so many. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1923-    2. 20th century    3. Baseball    4. Baseball - History    5. History    6. New York    7. New York (State)    8. New York Giants (Baseball team)    9. Sports    10. Sports & Recreation    11. Thomson, Bobby,    12. Sports & Recreation / Baseball / History   

Reviews (8)

Fake memoir
This story was probably constructed from a number of real memoirs, other sources like films, and Jung's and the author's imagination.Helmut Jung may have been a soldier on the Eastern Front but what he claims to have seen there owes more to imagination - perhaps the author's - than reality.Units composed of seven foot Mongols? (p. 297).Really. In the fifty or so books I have read about the German-Russian war nobody else noticed such units. In the same chapter, a description of the capture of a group of female Russian soldiers appears to have been lifted from the film version of 'Cross of Iron'.There are numerous other elements traceable to other sources throughout ths ridiculous book. Avoid wasting money on this 'memoir'.You will learn nothing about the real experience of combatants on the Eastern Front that you haven't already read elsewhere.

A Work of Fiction
I agree with some of the other reviewers that this is most likely a work of fiction.There is no real information given about the supposed author, Helmut Jung, other than his "incredible" wartime exploits. There are too many mistakes in the book about Jung's training and service to believe this is anything more than a piece of fiction put together by the American writer...it doesn't read or feel right.Save your money and buy "Black Edelweiss" for a real biography of a German soldier.

The Jekyll and Hyde of german wwii memoirs
First of all, this book is 464 pages long, apart from a small paragraph about Mr. Jung at the end there is nothing else, you get what you pay for, 464 pages of reading material. There are also no photos. Now, this memoir is a rollercoaster of emotions, paradoxes, anomalities, irregularities and some simply senseless and hard to believe asseverations by Mr. Jung and the author, who should have at least researched a little bit more, edited a bit better and should have gotten himself a good grammar dictionary, unless that is, he chose to leave the book as it is to keep the element of reality present. At times Mr. Jung sounds so real and truthful you can't help but pity him at others you could swear he is a jew posing as a german soldier. Now I don't blame Mr. Jung for his mental lapses (most people don't remember what they did 2 weeks ago) so after so many years one can understand his memory lapses. However mistaking the 6th army for the 10th at Stalingrad is preposterous to say the least. His asseveration that the SS went around shooting wounded german soldiers from penal batallions is simply hard to believe. During the actions of our Blue division in Russia we had a squad of men assigned to follow up behind the main body of troops checking the russian dead behind us and making sure they stayed very dead, for these vermin were treacherous and they would fake death in order to shoot us in the back. The Waffen SS had a similar way of dealing with russians (read Blood Red Snow). Also we were forbidden from building fires at night no matter how cold it might be (this was a sure way to have snipers pick everyone off one by one, have our positions identified by artillery spotters), yet he claims they would build this huge fires and huddle around at night! The war in the east was a metaphysical encounter of extreme ideoligies, the far right on our side and the far left on theirs. We alone had the sole opportunity of stoppping the spread of communism within our grasp and were betrayed by the very western civilization we sought to safeguard and preserve for the new generations. One look at the map of Europe after wwii will tell you who really won and for what purpose the western powers really fought and shed so much young blood. Mr. Jung was as caught up in this hell as the rest of us were and like us he did what he had to do to survive, however a man should have convictions and a sense of belonging to his nation and while he did his share, he did it for himself... we did it for our people, our nation and for western civilization. To those of you who might find this offensive I remind you of the words Julius Streicher spoke to the hangman at Nuremberg in 1946, "someday the russians will do this very same thing to all of you". Time proved him right.
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Subjects:  1. 1926-    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Campaigns    6. Eastern Front    7. Europe - Germany    8. Germany    9. Heer    10. Historical - General    11. Jung, Helmut,    12. Military    13. Military - World War II    14. Panzer-Division, 7    15. Personal narratives, German    16. World War, 1939-1945    17. Biography: general    18. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)   

Editorial Review

Barack Obama's first book,