Articles and Interviews Books

In this critically acclaimed essay, Christopher Hitchens, in his usual contrarian's irreverent style explores the life and myth of a great political writer and moral philosopher, George Orwell, (1903-1950). Hitchens is both admiring and critical of his hero answering both Orwell's detractors and political claimants on the left and right of the political spectrum. Orwell lives to see the rise of Imperialism, Fascism and Stalinism and critically rebukes all three political systems in his writings. Orwell had first hand experience in seeing the wonton depravity of Imperialism while serving as a policeman in Burma. He witnessed the absurdity of Fascism and Stalinism while serving as a volunteer soldier in the Spanish Civil War fighting for the "Workers Party, (POUM). Besides writing classics like "Animal Farm and "1984" he was the first person to coin the phrase "Cold War" in an essay he wrote about nuclear weapons. In 1946 he wrote an essay in which he foretold that Russia would either democratize or perish.


I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history.

Letter to the Editor
U.S. Catholic
In the July 2004 issue of U.S. Catholic, Sister Dianna Ortiz, OSU, ends her essay entitled, "Please Mr. President, Stop Torturing" by asking the question: "Is it not our Christian moral responsibility to demand this of our world leaders? Her question reminded me, and, maybe other readers of U.S. Catholic, of the tragic responsibilities for torture of our own Catholic history. And we are not alone.
As recently as July 15th, 2004, Pope John Paul II again asked forgiveness for the scandal of the Inquisition that is part of our Catholic history. He repeated the words from a 2000 document in which he asked pardon, "for errors committed through use of methods that had nothing to do with the Gospel" - shorthand for torture, summary trials, forced conversions and burnings at the stake. He also went on to ask forgiveness for the "wounds to the collective memory that followed."
As Catholics have always been taught, naming and denouncing the evil we have committed is an important part of the process of reconciliation. Another integral step in this process is doing reparation for the harm that these acts have caused. In this light I would suggest that the Catholic Church in America, led by our Bishops, in cooperation with Priests, and Laity, take steps to heal the "collective memory" of centuries of Church sanctioned torture. One step could be creation of a strong outreach program in terms of moral, spiritual, and financial support to the estimated 400,000 torture survivors in the United States. The example of U.S. Catholic Christians could lead to a worldwide effort to create a "torture-free-world", for which Sister Dianna, an Ursuline Nun and torture survivor, is dedicating her life.

Paul Ferris
76 Mayflower Hill Dr
Waterville, Maine 04901

An excellent book that will be very helpful to women entrepeneurs and small business owners. It illustrates the courage, perserverance and hard work needed by women all over the world to succeed in the business world. It is a timely publication!

Dr.Jalbert's unique experiences, knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject, as well as her dedication to accuracy makes this a very valuable book.

I have read this book on one breath.It is written in colours and contains a mass of useful information.Besides,I think Susanne is interesting person.Her beleif and affairs give stimulus to move forward.The language of the book is very simple what is important for not native english-speakers.

This is not a book that should used as a adjunct text in any context. My colleague gave it to me to read, and I was shocked - it is rife with misspellings, poorly written passages, and questionable linkages between the women in the book and the author's activities.

This book reads like the senior theses turned in by my undergraduate students, except my students know to edit their writing, and utilize spell check, before turning their papers into me.

More should be written about women in the former Soviet Union. I hope they will find a more coherent voice than this one.

Women in transitioning and developing countries encounter many obstacles, cultural, political, or economic, in creating successful business enterprises. This book's essays are an excellent illustration of these issues and how such women have succeeded. The book would be a helpful adjunct text for business courses.

You Are Our Voice is one of the best introductions to the courage, perseverence, intelligence and ingenuity of women succeeding in spite of great odds. It serves to introduce us to worlds which we can hardly imagine. And yet I feel that we all share significant common vision and heart, at every level.
I have bought 12 copies of the book, so far. Everyone should know of Suzanne's work and of the spirit of these women.

A GREAT read! It has specific movies and historical realizations I had never thought of!

This is a very interesting and useful book but I don't exactly like the overall point of view that it takes on motion pictures. It takes many historically based films and critiques them by comparing what is on the screen to actual historical events. Each chapter is devoted to one film (in most instances) and is critiqued by a different authority. The one constant that I see running throughout this book is that history does not make for good motion pictures if you are gazing through the eyes of the historian. That disturbs me. Motion pictures are a business as well a legitimate art form. If a historically based movie gets your interest as well as entertains you then perhaps that movie has fulfilled its purpose. The movie is the catalyst. It is up to you to dig up the history book and see what was recorded. And if you dig up a second history book it is very possible that those same events may be recorded slightly different. I liked the critique by Sean Wilentz on "THE BUCCANEER: Two Films" where he states that they stand somewhere in between fact and fiction. Akira Iriye is too critical of TORA! TORA! TORA! When you recall that particular motion picture, that's the one that stands out as a film that tried to get all the facts correct. Americans and Japanese respective of their home countries directed it. Iriye's criticism is almost ludicrous trying to state that inflections in the voices of some of the actors actually distorted the true meaning of their words. In light of PEARL HARBOR (2001) Akira Iriye is way off mark. Marshall De Bruhl's words about THE ALAMO are redundant and superficial. THE ALAMO was John Wayne's screen fulfillment of the legend. THE ALAMO is a great American film and it perpetuates that legend till this day. I liked what Stephen E. Ambrose had to say about THE LONGEST DAY. Ambrose recognizes that half the duality of filmmaking is a business. His approach and comments are very insightful and well written. As seen by James H. McPerson GLORY comes off best. It deserves it. "PAST IMPERFECT" is a good book but I just wish there were more input from the filmmakers.

When you're both a student of history and a movie buff, as I am, it can be difficult to sit and watch a film that presumes to have an accurate historical context without fighting the urge to evaluate it and pick holes in it. And I'm not the only one. This is a collection of analytical essays, most of high quality, by experts (not all of them historians) analyzing and critiquing individual films: Stephen Jay Gould on _Jurassic Park,_ Antonia Fraser on _Anne of the Thousand Days,_ Thomas Fleming on _1776,_ Dee Brown on _Fort Apache,_ William Manchester on _Young Winston,_ and numerous others. Sticking to those films about which I have some knowledge of the historical events they claim to portray, most are right on the money. James McPherson, commenting on _Glory,_ points out that while the context and general atmosphere are very well done, and the costuming and so on are exact, there are still deliberate historical errors for the sake of drama; none of the soldiers in Col. Shaw's 54th Massachusetts were ex-slaves, for instance, all of them having been recruited from among the state's free black population. And Catherine Clinton does an excellent job taking the wind out of _Gone with the Wind_'s mythical sails. There's a great deal of good information and criticism here and it's a compliment to say that nearly any of these essays will start an argument.

This book is just too damn interesting not to go into a revised edition that would, welcomingly, include a few more recent examples of the movies portending to convey history. It is cleverly organized, with an actual historical "timeline" that is matched with a selected movie that attempted to portray events for that period or year. It starts all the way back in the Jurrasic period, with "Jurrasic Park," of course. Each movie critique is written by a different film expert or historian, so you get a lot of diversity of perspective as well as writing style. There is a very intelligent interview of director John Sayles ("Eight Men Out" "Metowan") in the preface, which may be reason enough for film buffs to purchase this book.

One can either browse through the book and focus on "favorite" or "hated" films of the past, or read it straight through. Each essay offers at least one very good insight on the nature of history and how elusive the "accurate" accounting of an era or event can be.

The overall impression this book leaves is that movies, for all their ostensible efforts to "recreate" historical realities, will NEVER get it quite right. That's because they are products of their own times, and cannot ever fully escape the sensibilities of their own historical eras. Given this approach, the reader cannot help but gain a deeper appreciation for the exacting work of historians -- even if he or she is first attracted to the book out of interest in film. Films (and histories) explored here include "Spartacus," "Aguirre, Wrath of God," "Houdini" "Anne of a Thousand Days," "Henry V" (both Oliver and Branagh)"They Died With their Boots On", as well as many more. Since this book's publication, there have been more films that have either come close to, or completely mangled historical reality, so a revised edition would be most welomed. So to Mark Carnes, et al. -- PLEASE???

This book is commendable for its conception but is flawed in its premise and execution. The problem is there are too many fingers in the pie. I would have liked to read about one historian's perspective on all the films reviewed. Instead, each film was addressed and compared to historical recollections by a different author. There is no uniformity of thought or perspective. For instance, I am sure that if Stephen Ambrose had reviewed TORA! TORA! TORA! he may have seen that film in a much more favorable light than did Akira Iriye. One can speculate to infinitum. It is possible to find and read countless books on a given historical topic. The point I am making is that each author has the ability to bring different perspectives or interpretations of historical record that may result in different conclusions of events or more importantly ideas. If you were to ask an auditorium full of historians what was the most important factor contributing to the start of the Civil War I am sure you may get at least five good answers. Perhaps the idea that a film conveys is more important than the accuracy of each step that led to that idea. I think that SPARTACUS is an important film not as a representation of a historical record but for the idea that the inherent rights of human beings to live free is a notion worth dying for. Kirk Douglas as SPARTACUS stated something to the effect that he would never stand by and see two men battle and die just for the amusement of other men. There is something very noble about that statement and to the visuals on the screen that precipitated that assertion. To touch a chord of emotion from the audience is really the magic of the cinema. I never once ever thought that the purpose of the cinema was to teach history. For the audience the main purpose of the cinema is to be entertained and if you take it a few more steps perhaps come away with an idea or spark of imagination. That's the beauty of the cinema.

Being a Madonnaologists in my own write, I enjoyed this history. I also found the Madonna stuff in POSTMODERNISM FOR BEGINNERS, intriguing.

Madonna is the ultimate emperor in new clothes (all pomp, no circumstance), but these Rolling Stone Files collections are well organized, easy to follow, and fascinating in their ability to let us follow a career via some of the best writing in the business. Madonna is a fascinating anomaly because of her almost freakish ambition combined with an appalling lack of real talent. That makes this a very readable collection, even if I never listen to the music or see the godawful movies.

Great if you love Madonna, as I do. Also, good if you are just interested in reading about her. She is fascinating....always has been, always will be. Madonna is a living legend! Also recommend, Encyclopedia Madonnica.....Madonna is absolutely fabulous!

Rolling Stone and Madonna?Why not.Her being in the cover on all reincartions deserves a compilation.Essential to all Madonnaics,here we could trace her humble begginings,rise to fame,the endless critical scrutiny...it's all here and more.Missing though are the tongue in cheek covers,picture,and one liners.(Perhaps,one need to buy RS coffee table book Covers,to totally enjoy the moment).Concise,right on track and enjoyable!!!

1. This one (Rolling Stone Files) 2. Encyclopedia Madonnica (Matthew Rettenmund) 3. Madonna Unauthorized (Christopher Anderson)

With these 3 books you will learn more about Madonna then she even knows about herself.

Mandatory for any fanatic who wants to know more about this show-biz lady, other then what they see and hear on radio, TV, onstage, and onscreen.

Viva Ciccone!

There's something that I really love about collections like this. It's a time capsule! I think it's just great to have the opportunity to read things that are not reflections of years of consideration and debate, but are actually the attitudes of the day. It can be eye-opening.

At the same time, there are ways in which it can be disappointing. One of the things you get from this book is that Rolling Stone had more or less the same 10-12 things to say about REM over 14 years and a dozen albums. (eg. Stipe's lyrics are ambiguous and often hard to understand, the band is known for its political and social conscience, etc etc).

Nevertheless, when just given the opportunity to talk, REM never fails to say interesting things. (It's priceless to read Stipe's reference to two oranges being nailed together, resurfacing, years later). You may put up with some repetition, and some real rock critic posturing, but it will be worth it.

This book should be on the bookshelf of every R.E.M. fan. It is jam packed with all kinds of information about the band. I only wish that the book included glossy photo's of the band. I think that you should be forewarned that the book covers the band from the time period of 1982's "Chronic Town" to 1994's "Monster". Overall, if you are an R.E.M. fan buy the book you will not be disappointed!

A nice collection of articles, factoids, interviews with bandmembers, interesting quotes and opinions on R.E.M. from music biz insiders. It was a pleasure to read and very informative. Nice pictures. This book is a great start for those just learning about R.E.M., the folks who have fallen in love with their music and want to learn how these 4 guys from Athens could possibly be saying exactly what is in your head. This is also a good companion piece for the longterm R.E.M. fan, those who cannot live without their music, there are lots of interesting tidbits to savor. You WILL enjoy this book!

The husband/father in this household is a baseball-lover of the first water, well-read and well-versed, who received this book as a peace-offering. Large and handsome, the book brought him discoveries: photographs not in general circulation and tales that made legends real.

I like to think of this book as a companion to the printed version of the Ken Burns Baseball documentary. While the Burns book may cite a reference, this book will contain the complete text. As a result the level of detail here is greater but less ground is covered. Likewise, there are less photographs here but they are rarier and more striking than most of the Burns photographs. For example I had never seen an "action" photograph of the great Christy Mathewson prior to reading this book (see p. 114). It is one thing to imagine that wicked curve being fired at you via prose, quite another to actually see the fire in his mid stride eyes bearing down on you via photograph.

If I had to choose one, I prefer the Burns book but I think that every baseball fan will want to have both in their collection. What one lacks, the other fills in.

Hear his music and you are fascinated!! Read his songs and you are fascinated from the very "deep" from his songs. And this book gives you much informationen about "THE BOSS". He was THE BOSS, he IS THE BOSS and he will EVER BE THE BOSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got this book for Christmas and I was very hopeful that it would tell me 'The Bruce Story" since I didn't really know it. Well, it did and it didn't. Not knowing much about Springsteen's life or career and knowing only the music, reading this book, which consists of chronological news items, interviews and articles that appeared in ROLLING STONE, I got an interesting overview of his career and the way the public's perception of him has changed. The book is almost as interesting for the things it doesn't say, for instance, it says virtually nothing about the biggest event of Springsteen's career: his bitter two year battle to end his contract with Producer Mike Appel. (that is actually covered better in an out of print book you can try and order here called DOWN THUNDER ROAD) Also, his much publicized extra-marital affair with his band-member and current wife rates about 4 lines. Also, one article starts off telling us in a painfully beautiful reminisence about his early years and drops off just when things were getting interesting, way before he got signed. Overall, this book actually shows what a poor job ROLLING STONE has done over the years on all matters BRUCE. It's a good read - a must-have for completists but NOT where to begin if you have just gotten bit.

This article by Robert G. Knowles from the October 10, 1994 edition of "National Underwriter Property and Casualty-Risk and Benefits Management" provides an interesting perspective on commercial nuclear insurance. The general theme of the article deals with the improvement in the nuclear industry from a standpoint of risk management and loss control. The industry has focused on safety to a much greater extent than prior to the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident in March, 1979.

With the improvements that have occurred in the industry, claims now amount to only 30 cents per insurance premium dollar, an excellent metric in heavy industry. Additionally there is now an excess insurance pool of $2.13 billion shared among the nuclear plant owners, up dramatically from the time of the TMI accident. Total nuclear liability capacity is at $9 billion as of the date of publication.

I rated this article at four stars. It is well written and details insurance concerns specific to the commercial nuclear power industry clearly and concisely. The reason I deducted a star from my rating is simple: the article in now twelve years old, and the information has changed since it was written in a substantial way. Nonetheless, this gives an excellent overview of nuclear plant insurance issues, rate-setting trends, and the interrelationships between insurance rates and safety programs.

Excellent source that helped me tremendously with my thesis. A little bit pricey for a download, but very useful.