Reviews (3)

Inspiring Must Read!!!!
What I Know for Sure is that Tavis Smiley's testimony and transparency through this book was a refreshing read.He is a prolific speaker and a voice for this generation. I applaud him for allowing us to share intimately into his life. I was deeply moved by his honesty in retelling the experiences that shaped the man we now see today. The candidness expressed in each chapter allowed us to witness the forces that birth his purpose and propelled his drive, ambition, and advocacy. His love for people was greatly evident. This book is a must read not just for African-Americans but for anyone who has faced adversity, challenges and trying circumstances in life.Greatly inspiring!

A Must Read!
Who is Tavis Smiley?Initially Tavis' prominence in the media led me to think this guy was just a 'talking-head' - a person simply trying to find a means to move up in this world.However, years have shown me I was wrong.
Brother Tavis Smiley is the Truth
I've always dug&Respected Tavis Smiley big time. I've always respected his Vast Knowledge&Ability to communicate&be direct&just do his thing. this Book takes you back to his upbringing. this Book pulls no punches about what he dealt with as a Young Black Man growing up in a Household of a Large family,also dealing with getting whippings(this was the Pre-Pre Time-Out Era which back in the day only applied to Sports Games)and dealing with his own self in the Process. everybody sees&Hears the Success,but not many people are aware of the struggle this Man had to endure&the many lasting images&things he had to deal with Mentally.I applad Brother Tavis Smiley for not being afraid to settting the Record Straight.this Book will hit you in so many ways&depending on your own upbringing it might be close to your own story. I can relate to it big time.Tavis doesn't back down to BET or NPR Either.Tavis without a doubt is one of the most Important Voices out here.he keeps it real&this Book is very direct&real. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Discrimination & Racism    4. People of Color    5. Personal Memoirs    6. Radio personalities    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. Television personalities    10. United States    11. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Case studies    3. England    4. Europe - Great Britain - General    5. Great Britain    6. Great Britain - History    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: World    10. Investigation    11. London    12. Murder    13. Murder - General    14. Murderers    15. United States - 20th Century    16. History / Modern / 20th Century   

Reviews (1)

Harry Truman's Secretary of State
Mr. Beiser is the author of several books on diplomacy ("American Foreign Relations Since 1600" -- 2003). This definitive and long (800 pages) biography of Dean Acheson, a Democratic player (through the Roosevelt and Truman administrations) and foreign affairs genius. As Truman's Secretary of State, he was present at the start of the post-war era and created the framework for the Marshall Plan, the Truman Doctrine, the occupation of the Axis countries and NATO. As a result, Mr. Acheson titled his memoirs, "Present at the Creation." The writing is engaging and interesting as is Mr. Acheson himself (he managed to alienate President Roosevelt). Though this book obviously can not be read at one setting, it is a good history tale. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Historical - U.S.    5. Political    6. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    7. Biography & Autobiography / Political    8. Biography: historical    9. History, American | Since 1945    10. Political leaders & leadership    11. The Americas   

Editorial Review

Consistently lauded for its lively, readable prose, this revised andupdated edition of Read more

Reviews (531)

An Important History, Well Written
This isn't the last and only history of America you'll ever read or need.This is an addition to other texts, an important missing element in our collective education.History used to be told from the point of view of the winners, of the uplifted, and of the heroes.That is no longer the case and we can thank Howard Zinn and this seminal work for that.
Definitely worth reading, a bit cumbersome at times
I am definitely not a socialist.
Different Worth for Different Folks
After quite a while I finally put the time into reading this book and I am totally ambivalent whether I should have or not...I do not think that one should pay too much attention to those readers who do not take their history seriously, to those that want to propound a certain ideological agenda -- something I am realising has been,and is, a depressing fact of American socialisation. Those people of the ideological left will love this book and the those of the ideological right will hate it.... that is a given.
Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - General History    3. History - U.S.    4. History: American    5. Political Ideologies - Democracy    6. Social History    7. United States    8. United States - General    9. United States History (General)    10. History / General   

Editorial Review

Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that Read more

Reviews (537)

Enthralling!
I never thought I'd consider a book primarily about architecture enthralling, but this book is amazingly so.
A fascinating story
I received this book as a birthday gift, and although I typically read works of fiction, I found The Devil in the White City to be fascinating.The central happenings of the story (the World's Fair and the serial killings) are presented in wonderfully researched detail.Other gems of information can be found scattered throughout the book, such as references to Walt Disney's father, a carpenter who worked construction at the fair.I found it difficult to put the book down at all, and now that I've finished it I find myself still thinking about the story, the characters, and the mind-set of America in the 1890's.To me, a great book is one that stays with you long after you've read it, and I know this one qualifies.I am looking forward to reading more of Erik Larson's work.

Well researched,well written
What strikes me most about this book is the detailed research that went into the parallel story about the Chicago World's Fair and how it's woven around the story of the murders. Larson's book is a pure enjoyment--a historical journey into the history of Chicago, warts and all. The reader not only learns about Daniel Burnham's amazing feat pulling together the Columbia Exposition of 1893 and the ways it changed the nation, but he contrasts this event with America's first serial killer, ironically steps away from the fair. The reader is tugged from good to evil, from risk to murder, from heaven to hell. Enjoy the ride and thanks Mr. Larson for allowing us to take that ride! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Case studies    3. Chicago    4. Chicago (Ill.)    5. History - U.S.    6. Homicide    7. Illinois    8. Murder - General    9. Murder - Serial Killers    10. Serial murderers    11. Serial murders    12. True Crime    13. United States - 19th Century    14. United States - 19th Century/Turn of the Century    15. United States - State & Local - General    16. United States - State & Local - Midwest    17. History / United States / 20th Century    18. Reading Group Guide   

Editorial Review

In this fanciful volume, Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, founder of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (O.M.A.), both analyzes and celebrates New York City. By suggesting the city as the site for an infinite variety of human activities and events--both real and imagined--the essence of the metropolitan lifestyle, its "culture of congestion" and its architecture are revealed in a brilliant new light. "Manhattan," Koolhaas writes, "is the 20th century's Rosetta stone . . . occupied by architectural mutations (Central Park, the Skyscraper), utopian fragments (Rockefeller Center, the U.N. Building), and irrational phenomena (Radio City Music Hall)." Filled with fascinating facts, as well as photographs, postcards, maps, watercolors, and drawings, the vibrancy of Koolhaas's poignant exploration of Gotham equals the heady, frenetic energy of the city itself. Anyone who loves New York will want to own this book. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Eating oysters with boxing gloves, naked, on the nth floor.
The quote written above is excerpted from Delirious New York. It is a perfect example of the lyrical quality of the writing prevalent throughout this amazing book. Delirious New York is not an objective chronological listing of New York's development, but a collection of manifestos and stories with opinionated perspectives about a city founded on the idea that maximum congestion is a desirable factor. It is informative, funny (the midget firefighters of Coney Island had me laughing aloud for a solid minute or two), twisted, and inspiring.
best koolhaas ever, man
koolhaas is a bit over-the-top for me, but this I think is is best work. it's worth checking out if only for the story of coney island. once you get past blisteringly pretentious phrases like "coney island is a fetal manhattan", you'll find it gloriously entertaining as both a narrative and theoretical work.

the culture of congestion
This is by far Koolhaas's most accessible work, as it is rooted so clearly in detail from the city's past. Further, the book is simply brilliant. His take on urban history is to Jane Jacobs what Socrates is to common sense. New York is a special case of modernism that sprang from a special constellation of poltiical and technological forces that collectively create a cultural "big-bang" at the turn of the century. Read it. Blow your mind. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American architecture    2. Architecture    3. Buildings    4. Criticism    5. New York    6. New York (N.Y.)    7. New York (State)    8. New York - Local History    9. Planning    10. Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings    11. Social History    12. U.S. Architecture - General    13. Art / Subjects & Themes / General    14. Local history    15. USA   

Reviews (5)

A Fabulous Historical Page Turner!
I am having a hard time putting down Ian Toll's "Six Frigates" to write a female's point of view...this is truly a page turner, an enlightening and very refreshing review of our early naval history which reads like a novel, pulling one into the action and times on each page - even if you are not a naval/history buff.I await with great impatience Mr. Toll's next venture.

A Much-Needed History
Ever since reading Patrick O'Brian's depiction of the battle between the USS Constitution and the HMS Java in "The Fortune of War," I've wanted to learn more about the United States's own naval history from that period.Surprisingly, though, I was unable to find many published works on the subject.Finally, Toll's "Six Frigates" has arrived, and it's exactly the sort of book I was looking for.
Don't read this book at sea!
I read "Six Frigates" sailing south down the coast of Australia from Hamilton Island in the Whitsunday group.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. 19th century    3. Frigates    4. History    5. History - General History    6. Military    7. Military - Naval    8. Military - United States    9. Naval operations    10. Tripolitan War, 1801-1805    11. United States    12. United States - General    13. History / Military / United States    14. Maritime history    15. Naval forces & warfare    16. USA   

Reviews (32)

We Want More!
In his adroitly served "Enough", Juan Williams meticulously defends the honor and polishes the tarnished star of Sir William Cosby.While retorting to the haters of individual responsibility, Mr. Williams offers real solutions (not just talk), to the plague that has infected multitudes of African Americans, who live on both sides of the tracks!His intricate weaving of history, politics, and culture qualifies his work as required reading for all with any trace of African ancestry. As a matter of fact, it would be good reading for anyone with any dealings with African Americans, which leaves out no one.

I really really wanted to write a good review...
I first heard of this book on a radio show and was very impressed with Williams' take on black leadership in America.I was shocked to hear these words coming from Juan Williams, who is the token liberal (whoever thought that "token" and "liberal" would ever go together?) on FOX News.I began reading the book thinking that I would be as impressed with the ideas expressed by Williams as much as I was will Bill Cosby's 2004 speech.I was disappointed for two major reasons:
Only Half the Job is Done
Juan Williams gets an "A" for effort, but this book does not go far enough. It is part of the dishonest black circular firing squad started by Cosby, where blame is readily meted out when the cause is black men, but the punches are carefully pulled when the cause seems attributable elsewhere, perhaps, god forbid, even to irresponsible black women.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 1975-    2. African American leadership    3. African Americans    4. Black American Sociology    5. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    6. Government - U.S. Government    7. Leadership    8. Minority Studies - Race Relations    9. Political Process - Leadership    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Politics and government    12. Social Science    13. Social conditions    14. Sociology    15. United States - 20th Century    16. Current Events / General   

Reviews (1)

whathappenedtomaps?
This American History book is a very good, but not excellentcoverage of the History of the United States. The book istypical entry level college material. Historical information is either very interesting with good detail to boring and vague.Photographs, portraits, paintings, charts, and illustrations are abundant and beautiful helping to keep interest level moving.However, the book rapidly sheds its allure and interest. That is because it fails to deliver on providing enough, interesting and neccessary political and war detail maps associated with important major historical events.
Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - General History    3. History - U.S.    4. History: American    5. Textbooks    6. United States    7. United States - General    8. American history    9. History / General    10. USA   

Reviews (7)

BUY THIS BOOK!! It might save your life.
This is a slightly edited copy of mail I sent to Andy Borowitz. I seriously needed and loved this book. Please take a chance and buy it. As I said, above, it might save your life. Or at least your mental health!
It's not really a play ...
but it is a tragicomedy. The manipulation and betrayal of American voters may not seem hilarious, but Borowitz shows us humor galore there.
Sharp Satire Shocker!
Andy Borowitz is a genius of political satire! I ordered "The Republican Playbook" and Frank Rich's "The Greatest Story Ever Sold" at the same time. One is fiction, one is non-fiction. One makes me laugh, one makes me cry.
Read more

Subjects:  1. American Satire And Humor    2. American wit and humor    3. Form - Parodies    4. Humor    5. Political Process - Political Parties    6. Political satire, American    7. Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- )    8. Topic - Political    9. United States - 21st Century    10. Humor / Parodies   

Editorial Review

After September 11th, 2001, the Ground Zero site in New York City was classified as a crime scene and only those directly involved in the recovery efforts were allowed inside. The press was also prohibited from the site, but with the help of the Museum of the City of New York and sympathetic city officials, award-winning photographer Joel Meyerowitz managed to obtain unlimited access. By ingenuity and sheer determination, he was the only photographer granted unimpeded right of entry into Ground Zero. Read more

Reviews (7)

Shocking with a presentation that brings a fresh unseen angle
The images of September 11th are ones that are familiar to anybody in the western world and beyond. The death tolls as well as the political and sociological ramifications of these events on the following years and years to come have also been the subject of much discussion. However the glory of Joel Meyerowitz's photographic collection is that it ignores all the larger political manoeuvering and focuses on the minutia.
A Fitting Memorial on the Fifth Anniversary of September 11:
We still struggle with knowing how to think about the events of 9/11/2001 - and with how to depict them in the popular media. The reactions to the films "World Trade Center" and "Flight 93" have been all over the map. For some, it seems too soon to reopen the raw wounds that the tragedies of that day inflicted on our national psyche. For others, remembering the events and trying to make sense of them is part of the healing from those wounds.
Astonishing
I recently purchased this book from Amazon.It was worth the $$$ to add this book to my 9/11 book collection.The photos are stunning.Joel did an excellent job with his project.This book is a must-have book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architectural & Industrial    2. History    3. Individual Photographer    4. Photo Techniques    5. Photoessays & Documentaries    6. Photography    7. Subjects & Themes - Travel - U.S./Mid-Atlantic    8. 21st century    9. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    10. Local history    11. New York    12. Photographic reportage    13. Photography / History   

Editorial Review

Read more

Reviews (120)

Too much dialogue for an enjoyable history
This book is the story of the escape and capture of John Wilkes Booth.But, at its heart it is really the story of John Wilkes Booth and the man who accompanied him on his escape, David Herold.I really wanted to like this history, and I understand they are going to make a movie based on the author's work.I found it a bit too chatty, so much so, that by the end of it I wanted hang John Wilkes Booth.And that is the problem with this book.While it does a good job of telling how the Federal bureaucracy and the military fumbled Booth's capture, it focuses too little on that aspect.We get a lot of dialogue between Booth and those who help him make his escape, but this reader would have liked to know more about those who help Booth.Things like how the relatives of Dr. Samuel Mudd, obviously a racist and Confederate, got his life historically rehabilitated in the 20th century.After a while it just drags on.This is my first reading of anything about John Wilkes Booth and I hope there are better works out there.

Good read and hard to put down

Great read
This book is really a great read. The action flows petty much nonstop, from page one. Swanson manages to put a lot of facts in front of you, yet never bores you. I learned a lot from this book- buy it, you won't be displeased! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Assassination    2. Case studies    3. Criminal Investigation    4. Criminology    5. Fugitives from justice    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History - U.S.    9. History: American    10. Investigation    11. United States    12. United States - 19th Century    13. United States - Civil War    14. History / General   

Reviews (14)

When's the next book?
This is material I normally would only be half interested in, but I was completely engaged and couldn't put the book down.

Old rememberances
I always liked those comics that took place around the turn of the century or even earlier, and inevitably always ended up showing machines like the one in this book. Wacky guns, ungodly huge everything; completely unresonable in the real world, especially thirty years before their supposed invention, but fantastic on the page. Now I have a book full of these and a stack of comics that I'm suddenly interested in again. Zack might be a regular 'ol crazy fiction writer, but he sure supplied some great material to the artist types out there.

Zack Book Good!
Zack Parsons has done a great job with this book.As a mechanical engineer, I've always been fascinated with WWII era "wonder weapons" and have read a number of books on the subject.Of all of those books, this on is perhaps the only one I would recommend to someone who had only a passing interest in the subject.Zack keeps it light and entertaining throughout - this isn't just good WWII geekery, it's good reading, too.
Read more

Subjects:  1. History    2. History - Military / War    3. Military    4. Military - World War II    5. Military Science (Specific Aspects)    6. World War II - Europe    7. Europe    8. Humor / General    9. Inventions & inventors    10. Second World War, 1939-1945    11. Warfare & Defence   

Reviews (12)

"Flags of Our Fathers" - A Timely Look at a Bloody Battle in Our History
Quite a while ago, Nick Olmsted, a graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy, recommended that I read "Flags of Our Fathers." I am glad that I finally got around to taking his advice. This story struck me on many levels at once, and this seems to be an opportune time to share some of my thoughts about this remarkable book, written by James Bradley, the son of one of the six Marines whose iconic picture of the raising of the flag over Iwo Jima riveted a war-weary nation.