Reviews (28)

Sets the record straight
Everyone knows this event was controversial.It is the tasting that allowed premium U.S. wineries to begin the meteoric rise in quality (and price) that we see today.Arguably, it is what launched the globe's infatuation with the "New World Style".
Great story of an event that changed the world of wine
This is the story of the wine tasting event that put California and Napa Valley on the elite winemaking map.For those who don't know, in 1976 a British wine merchant stage a blind tasting of elite French wines against California wines.The judges were all French and expected to judge in favor of the French wines.But, the California wines scored much better and suddenly French dominance of winemaking was being questioned everywhere.George Taber was the only journalist at the event and wrote a small article for Time magazine.This is his story of what happened that day and the impact it had on the world wine industry.
Excellent read for winos
Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Beverages - Wine & Spirits    3. Business/Economics    4. California    5. Cooking    6. Cooking / Wine    7. France    8. History    9. Industries - Hospitality, Travel & Tourism    10. Paris    11. Wine And Wine-Making    12. Wine industry    13. Wine tasting    14. Cooking / General   

Reviews (26)

Every White American Should Read This Book!
I absolutely loved the insight of this author. Even if you don't agree with every single point, you will definitely think and question your previous perspective on how you view race. That is what good writing does. From a white person's perspective and experiences, the author exposes the myth of "color-blindness" in America. To be clear, this book has absolutely nothing to do with promoting white "guilt" (as a previous reviewer falsely claimed), but has its focus squarely on white "responsibility" that is wed to the bride that is "white privilege". In fact, white "guilt" is clearly shunned upon.
Memoirs for his family on some mediocre lived life
The style of the author is like listening to a person that likes to talk about himself all the time. Kinda reminds me of the 1980 movie "Airplane" when the ex-fighter pilot tells the story of his life to the passengers; they end their lives in different ways after having to hear him...
Silent Discrimination
Racial discrimination has always been a problem in our society.Decades ago people of color were seen as incompetent people and became slaves to the white people.But over the years as a society we have come to denounce discrimination based upon color and tried to make everyone equal.However, as much as we may like to believe that our society has come to see everyone as equal, it has not.In Tim Wise book "White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son" he shows us how color the of someones skin leads to privilege or discrimination.
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Subjects:  1. Discrimination & Racism    2. Ethnic Studies - General    3. Minority Studies - Race Relations    4. Race And Ethnic Relations    5. Race relations    6. Racism    7. Social Science    8. Social conditions    9. Sociology    10. United States    11. Whites    12. Wise, Tim J    13. Ethnography    14. Social Science / Discrimination & Race Relations   

Reviews (9)

Understand The Amish As They Really Are
Many readers probably bought this book after visiting an Amish community or seeing a Hollywood movie that triggered their curiosity for a culture and a way of life that seem to defy the passing of time. For most people, it will be the first and also perhaps the last ethnographic study that they read. They couldn't have fallen on a better piece of work. Not only will they learn a wealth of facts about the Amish, their history, their beliefs, and their social organization, but they will also come across a fine scholarly work that makes use of the distinctive methods of the social sciences in a thoroughly accessible way.
In-depth, scholarly and effective
Growing up near some scattered Amish church districts in Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York, I have always been interested in learning more about the Amish going way back to my childhood.Hostetler's book is my first attempt at this and I managed to pick a very good starting point.
Interesting but sometimes slow
This book is so informative, but at some points it is slow moving. The good thing about the book is that the chapters are divided so you can skip chapters you don't think you would be interested in.It is a great book to buy if you are interested or wanting to learn more about the amish community.It covers everything from funerals to marriage.A great read! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Amish    2. Anthropology - General    3. Archaeology / Anthropology    4. Christianity - Amish    5. Social life and customs    6. Sociology    7. United States    8. United States - General    9. Anthropology    10. Cultural studies    11. Medical / Public Health    12. Other Protestant & Nonconformist Churches    13. Social history    14. USA   

Editorial Review

Bill Clinton pledged to run "the most ethical administration in the history of the republic." In Read more

Reviews (148)

You will be glad you read it, even if you disagree.
I will begin with criticisms of High Crimes & Misdemeanors.These are nagging little criticisms I make because the points I'll allude to are the sorts of things that would make me roll my eyes a little, or excuse myself for a couple of minutes for a breather if this were a conversation rather than a book.Ms. Coulter has suffered the fate of all those who seek to insert comic relief or sarcasm into serious material.Witticisms, sarcasm, barbed ironies, sage observations, facts, foregone conclusions, and research don't always blend perfectly to suit all the people all the time.Some of the (perhaps a little mean-spirited) humor at the expense of liberals, I found sophomoric and/or repetitive and/or a little snide.There, I've gone on record with that, and let me say that for me, these irritations accounted for about 12 sentences in the book.Usually they were the kickers to a "call & response", or a wrap-up rhetorical statement or question.I tried to bear in mind that I really didn't buy this book for the comedy.
Throwing up has liquified her neo-con brain
Atheists have a lower divorce rate than born again christians but I guess thats just a fluke hu, Ann. They must be bad people somehow. People like Ann can't be christians because they shame one person for having an affair and then forgive another that is an alcoholic because he's a republican. She speaks to people who want to believe so bad they don't care that she doesn't have a christian bone in her body. True christians don't defame, judge or claime superiority. She doesn't have any idea of what being Jesus-like is. Oh and intelligent design is not science. Science is how Religion is why- They are too different questions.

LUNACY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOW COULD ANYONE EVER SUCUMB TO WRITING SUCH AN INSURMOUNTABLE LOAD OF NONSENSE?!?!
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Subjects:  1. Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations    2. Government - U.S. Government    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Public Affairs & Administration    7. United States - 20th Century (1945 to 2000)    8. Political Science / Government / National   

Subjects:  1. Discrimination & Racism    2. Education    3. Minority Studies - Race Relations    4. Multicultural Education    5. Philosophy & Social Aspects    6. Race discrimination    7. Race identity    8. Sociology    9. United States    10. Whites    11. Education / Multicultural Education    12. Ethnography   

Subjects:  1. Beer    2. Beverages - Beer    3. Brewing    4. Brewing industry    5. Cooking / Wine    6. Corporate & Business History - General    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: American    10. Industries - General    11. United States    12. United States - General    13. United States History (Specific Aspects)    14. History / United States / General   

Reviews (6)

Do not trust this book
Do not trust this book. - I am quoting from the book itself. The author insists that you take no book written by anyone including his at face value. Do your own research. That being said....
WAKE UP AMERICA
Do yourself and your neighbor a favor and pick up a copy of this book.Buy one for a friend or neighbor as well.We have a problem huston that need's to be adressed NOW before it is to late.Wake up America.

A MUST READ.DETAILED RESEARCH, ONGOING INTELLIGENCE
This book should be REQUIRED READING.Many people I have talked to think that I am some Democrat trying to unman the Republicans when I mention a conspiracy for 9/11.If they have even an average intelligence, they should be turned around by page 150 as they read Jim Marrs account of 9/11, before and after the fact. I think they are afraid to go against the party line, especially in Texas, to submit to the evidence of such a cover up.Jim Marrs' book should straighten them out--that is if they are not afraid to read it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations    2. General    3. Government - U.S. Government    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: American    7. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    8. Politics / Current Events    9. United States - 20th Century    10. 21st century    11. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    12. History / United States / 20th Century    13. Terrorism, freedom fighters, armed struggle    14. USA   

Reviews (33)

Not completely convincing
Steele gives an excellent analysis of the current muddle about affirmative action (especially with regard to the University of Michigan ruling by the Supreme Court), and how it's arisen from the white guilt which is the title of his book.Where he fails to convince (in my view, at least) is in his attempt to extend this analysis to cover society as a whole. If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
The Globalization of Guilt
1. The persective of most writers is shaped by their own experience. Dr.Steele is an American Black, a baby boomer, a member of the academic elite, a liberal arts major, and a political "conservative".This certainly affects his perpective when he discusses social issues.
The Competitive Model
I actually paid money to attend a lecture on this book rather than just reading the book.I find that Dr. Steele has some very valid points that have helped me to further process my own views on the race issue in America.Dr. Steele states, in his own way, that America has yet to really honestly deal with her racial past through his position on 'dissociation'.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. African Americans    3. Ethnic Issues    4. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    5. People of Color    6. Political Freedom & Security - Civil Rights    7. Political Science    8. Politics and government    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Psychological aspects    11. Racism    12. United States    13. Social Science / African-American Studies   

Reviews (9)

How Photography Made the Day
The 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center was not only the biggest news event in decades, it was also the most photographed one.Some people by chance got pictures of Flight 11 crashing into the north tower, and after that the cameras never stopped."Men and women by the hundreds, then thousands - bystanders with point-and-shoots, TV news teams, photojournalists by the score - felt compelled to snap history, fiery and cruel against the blue."So writes David Friend, who used to be the director of photography for _Life_ magazine, in _Watching the World Change: The Stories Behind the Images of 9/11_ (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux).You have heard plenty of 9/11 stories, but chances are you remember mostly the images.Friend makes the point that Americans who are old enough remember where they were when they _heard_ about JFK's shooting, but they remember where they were when they _saw_ the 9/11 terror attacks.The book is a lucid and fascinating recounting of how some of the most famous of the photographs came to be.It is not a coffee-table book full of photos; there are only forty or so reproduced here, but the recounting of the shots and the reflections on photography in the modern news era will make intense reading even for those who have seen the images over and over.And all of us have seen the images over and over; we cannot look away, which makes Friend's observations particularly pertinent.
Stunning, touching, excellent book
This book is a riveting read about the stories behind the photos of 9-11. It presents information within a context that explores both the personal point of view of the photographer, as well as different points of view when relevant.
The Craft of a day's shooting pictures
This is a prefect craft of the power of photographs and everything that comes into play around shooting a cataclysmic disaster such as 9/11. The author has navigated the wherabouts of several people and what drove them to shoot that day and the affects of certain photos on our lives. The NOTES section at the end, the bibliography, is the best and most detailed that I've ever seen. Photos in the middle of the book are well used and described throughout the book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History: American    3. New York    4. New York (State)    5. Photoessays & Documentaries    6. Photography    7. Pictorial works    8. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    9. Political Terrorism    10. September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001    11. Terrorism    12. United States - 21st Century    13. United States - State & Local - Middle Atlantic    14. 21st century    15. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    16. Photographic reportage    17. Photography / General    18. World history: postwar, from c 1945 -   

Reviews (129)

Far too loosey-goosey
Gilmore does a very good job of painting a picture of Ms. Short's life leading up to her tragic murder. That picture is of a listless dreamer, that while gifted with some personal magnetism and looks (although greatly exaggerated in that department in my male opinion), is actually little more than a gadfly, crashing at one place after another, sponging money from everyone that is never repaid, essentially living in survival mode off the largesse of men and women that felt sorry for her. Her dreams were never supported by a tangible plan with any likely chance of success, she just drifted from one night out to the next it seems.
Gilmore's solution to the Black Dahlia Murder
When 22 year old Elizabeth Short's body was found mutilated in 1947 Los Angeles the case quickly grew a reputation as unsolvable with too many suspects and not enough solid leads. Author John Gilmore extensively researched the case (beginning in the early 60's for a film that was never made) and began sorting fact from fiction including the largely unflattering portrait painted of Short herself.
A Warning!!!
My Da got this book from the library,and found it very thorough, deeply studied, well-written. I might have read it myself, as true crime and historical events are of interest to me,but I had the misfortune to open the book to a photograph of poor Miss Short's corpse.
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Subjects:  1. California - Local History    2. Crime And Criminals    3. Murder - Serial Killers    4. True Crime    5. True Crime / Espionage    6. United States - 20th Century   

Reviews (7)

A Classic Contribution
In this revised and expanded edition, scholar John Blassingame explains not only what facts researched uncovered but also how he uncovered those facts. In particular, Blassingame's research emphasizes slave narratives and slave letters.
Great Book for Reseach on Slavery
This book has helped me in my independent study of slavery and family research. It gives a very good insight from the slaves perspective. Other books I have read, the insight comes from the owners prospective. A companion book to this one is "Tewlve Years a Slave" by Solomon Northup.

A realistic portrayal of plantation life
Blassingame succeeds in sheding light on the real-life culture of the black slave in the Antebellum South: his African heritage, culture, family, acculturation, behavior, religion, and personality.Rather than concentrating solely on the planter - the traditional way of approaching the subject - Blassingame attempts to clarify and distill the essence of slave life through the filter of three eyewitness accounts.Two of them, the planter and the slave, give an insider's view of the plantation while the third witness, the traveler, views the relation between slave and master from the perspective of an outsider.Blassingame then utilizes the raw material of these personal observations to construct a detailed account of the day-to-day life of a slave - providing the reader with an insightful glimpse into the Negro's African heritage, the development of an Americanized culture, the formation of families, acculturation and behavior patterns when not under white supervision, religious preferences and beliefs, and personality traits.
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Subjects:  1. History - General History    2. History - U.S.    3. History: American    4. Plantation life    5. Slavery    6. Slavery in the U.S    7. Southern States    8. United States - Antebellum Era    9. United States - State & Local - General    10. American history: c 1800 to c 1900    11. Black studies    12. History, American | African American    13. Social Science / African-American Studies    14. Southeastern & South Atlantic states    15. USA    16. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (226)

Gripping real-life adventure seeking, amateur history, and personal drama
Shadow Divers is a gripping tale that combines the best of real-life thrill-seeking adventure, undocumented war-time history, and friendships and interpersonal drama.Author Kurson brings the reader 223 feet underwater to the sunken remains of a German U-boat located just off the New Jersey coast.Officially, no U-boat ever got that close to the eastern seaboard, and there are no unaccounted-for U-boats which were hit in the area.Post-war record keepers cleaned everything up nicely, filling in the blanks in which data was unclear.
Hoax and Fabrication
This book is ambiguous at best. It should probably be listed as fiction rather than non-fiction since it is so misleading in the way it sensationalizes the two divers with no real truth to back up the claims.
Fantastic story
There is no fantasy in this story, so maybe I should have used another word in the title of this review.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. Excavations (Archaeology)    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. Military    6. Military - Naval    7. Military - World War II    8. Naval operations    9. Naval operations, German    10. New Jersey    11. Shipwrecks    12. Submarine    13. Submarines    14. World War, 1939-1945    15. History / Military / World War II   

Reviews (8)

The Civil War: one battle at a time
Ed Bearss is a crown jewel of civil war history: As a historian, author and field guide. Fields of Honor views the Civil War through the lens of battlefield tours that Ed has conducted over the years. His unique perspectives are enjoyable just for reading or for one visiting a battlefield he so aptly describes. I have read the book twice sine purchasing earlier this year and it is a keeper.

The Dividers
Regrettably, I have not yet read this book as I have been too busy taking pictures. My photographs illustrate the cover and year dividers so I feel like I was as much a part of the production of this volume as was Ed Bearss.It took a long time to get this volume out, but in the final analysis I like the way the book looks. My pictures in this book show only a few of the battlefields I have shot but these images are among my favorites.

A 'must' for any avid Civil War student
FIELDS OF HONOR: PIVOTAL BATTLES OF THE CIVIL WAR is the first book gathered from Edwin Bearss' recordings of his battlefield tours, gathering the Civil War's history and offering details on fourteen pivotal battles throughout the war. Bearss has presents over six decades of battlefield study, and surveys strategies used by both sides: his is a fine survey which pairs over seventy black and white photos and nearly twenty maps with detailed descriptions of leaders, maneuvers, and conflicts. A 'must' for any avid Civil War student.
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Subjects:  1. 1861-1865, Civil War    2. Campaigns    3. Civil War, 1861-1865    4. History    5. History - Military / War    6. History: American    7. Military    8. Military - United States    9. Military History - U.S. Civil War    10. United States    11. United States - Civil War    12. Civil war    13. History / Polar Regions    14. History / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877)    15. USA   

Subjects:  1. 1918-    2. Africa - History    3. Africa - South - South Africa    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Discrimination & Racism    7. General    8. Historical - General    9. History    10. History: World    11. Leadership    12. Mandela, Nelson,    13. Pictorial works    14. Political    15. Presidents    16. South Africa    17. Biography & Autobiography / Historical   

Reviews (14)

Wow
This is a powerful book. As I was reading it, it would occasionally hit me that this isn't just some fiction book or a history book about people who would be long dead anyway, this is happening right now. To people I know.
Oustanding book
This book pulls one in from the very first chapter.Fascinating first hand accounts of events as they are happening.I couldn't put it down.

An Outstanding, well-organized compilation
An easy and vitally important read, very suitable for air travel time.No one should form an opinion on a subject matter such as the war in Iraq without getting first-hand accounts of what is going on there.Matt has done a magnificent job rendering this material as non-political as it gets; it's just personal experiences that are an emotional rollar coaster that leaves you in absolute awe of the quality of the people we have serving this country.Well done, Matt! And thanks to all the authors for your phenomenal service to this nation. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Afghan War, 2001-    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. History: American    5. Iraq War, 2003-    6. Military - Iraq War    7. Military - United States    8. Military History - 1990-    9. Military Personal Narratives    10. Personal narratives, American    11. Soldiers    12. United States    13. United States - 21st Century    14. Weblogs    15. History / United States / 21st Century   

Reviews (18)

Many Wars, Many Rackets
Smedley got it right.I'd also add that there are many wars that serve as rackets, including the War on Drugs and the War on Immigrants, both of which provide all sorts of business for our growing prison industrial complex.