U Books

I happened on this book in the library and thought it was the best travel book I have ever used. This is nothing missed in this handbook. Great maps and advise.

Most of the "name brand" travel guides are for fly-by tourists (though I do appreciate Frommer's guides much more than the rest of the big names). Well, if those books are for tourists, then Moon's handbooks (along with Lonely Planet's guides) are for TRAVELERS. And Moon's Wyoming Handbook is, as others here have said, one of their best. It's thick, it's juicy, it's meaty, it's expansive, it's authoritative and wry. So wherever you are in that great big "empty" terrain, it's got some practical information for and historical and cultural insight into places all around.

Wyoming has fewer people than any other state (yes, fewer than Rhode Island and Alaska). But it's places of interest are many and varied, though scattered far and wide. You need a good guide and a GOOD READ to cover the miles and the days. I admire author Don Pitcher's efforts here.

If you choose one guidebook, make it Moon's Wyoming Handbook. If you'd like to get a second general guide to the region for comparison and cross-reference (including more descriptive listings of selected accommodations), I'd add Frommer's guide to Wyoming, which includes Montana as well.

By far the best guidebook to the entire state of Wyoming, with excellent detailed sections on Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The book, which is superior to some others in the Moon series, is a labor of love by the author for the land, people, and small towns of the state. Pitcher provides great detail on what to see everywhere; colorful local and regional histories; and affectionate, slightly tongue-in-cheek descriptions of small towns. Sure to enhance a visit of any length.

In preparation for our two-week trip to Wyoming, I purchased this book and read as much as I had time for beforehand. During our trip, I found it to be a handy reference for whatever area we were in (mostly Yellowstone/Grand Tetons). The detail is great and some of our lodging choices and attraction choices were made with reference to the book and it was always accurate. I highly recommend it for those heading to Wyoming.

An outstanding guide to a wonderful state. One book, of course, cannot cover all there is about any area this big, but this book does an outstanding job for Wyoming's history, lodging, attractions, background information, etc.

As for any area, it's good to supplement with other specialized topic and / or area guides, but for a general guide to a large state, this one does a great job.

Logically arranged, well-written, and very readable, you can almost read it straight through; it's one of the better travel guides available.

As other reviewers have pointed out, this novel is addictive, as long as the occasional leaps of credibility don't interfere with the reader's ability to suspend belief.

Joseph Finder knows his stuff! I am an avid reader who reads 1-2 novels a week. After polishing off several Grishams and Pattersons, I was looking for something new. My mom gave me an old copy of The Moscow Club. I could not put it down. The details that Finder weaves through the story are amazing and the pace is breathtakingly quick. There are no places to take a breather and I am still tired from missing way too much sleep. I am about finished with his second book, Extraordinary Powers, and it is just as fine. Time to order his third....

It's a shame that such a book is out of print. When I read The Moscow Club, I was litteraly flipping the pages one after another. It keeps you alert all the time because you never know what is going to happen. An excellent way to kill time while you're on a boring trip.

Charlie Stone is a CIA analyst who is asked by his boss to find more information on a document reference called "the Lenin testament". Charlie is reluctant to pursue this, even though he is aware that both his father and another old family friend might be able to help him, because of old scandals within his family.

However, against his better judgement, he does follow up this information, which leads him deeper and deeper into a conspiracy involving people in high places in both the USA and Russia - where people's motives are not what they seem.

Finder has crafted a well written, well paced and enjoyable post cold war novel with this book. It's a what-if situation that could have happened in Russia - but if it did we would probably never know about it. His use of terrorists as scare-mongers to initiate official action is almost eerie in the light of events over the last few years, yet this book was written in 1991, when terrorists did not have the cachet they have now.

With a great story and characters you care about this book is worth picking up to read if you enjoy a good thriller.

Hey, a new story. In this category of books, it is getting a tough to find something new but this was. I think this has been one of the author's best books, if not the best. The story is very believable and tight. It had it all, a great story, good characters, wonderful action and a quick pace. This is just a good old exciting book. The author peppers the book with plot twists that keep the reader on his toes. This author writes in a way that is tight and slick that keep you interested through out. Great detail of the way the Russian government works (or doesn't). Sit back and enjoy this book.

I had read the book as part of a reading list assignment. Liked it so much, I decided to buy it as a gift for an old friend who is now enjoying it also.

Book camme immediately - and was brand new, and in beautiful condition. Thank you so much

The great libraries of history have endured such vicissitudes of fortune through the centuries - destruction by revolution, war and fire, dispersal through pilfering, confiscation, monastic decline, loss of patronage - & perhaps the unkindest cut of all, at one point the sale of its books by Oxford University to pay the librarian's wages. It is truly astonishing that so much has survived. This book is a celebration of 23 of these unique and beautiful cathedrals of knowledge in America and Europe.

At a time when most of his subjects were illiterate, the Austrian Habsburg Charles VI created the Hofbibliothek in Vienna. He decreed that its doors be open to (almost) everyone; they could enter free of charge and as often as they wished, but there were a few exceptions: the library was off limits to "ignoramuses, servants, idlers, talkers and gawkers." Alas, the Hofbibliothek is no longer free and, like many libraries included in this book, it is now accessible only to a favoured few.

Indeed, the closest most of us will ever get to the Hofbibliothek or the 22 other great libraries enshrined in its pages is through this book, and for this reason alone, it belongs in the book-lover's collection. There is a brief history of each library, but the real attraction is the spectacular colour photography, including several "gatefold" pages which open to provide wonderful panoramic views nearly 3 feet wide.

Next to the awe-inspiring magnificence of Hofbibliothek, the white and gold Baroque splendour of the Benedictine Abbey Library of Admont in Austria rivals the gold and marble Rococco opulence of the Monastic Library of Wiblingen near Ulm Germany, although after secularisation the latter lost most of its vast book collection.

Another Baroque wonder is The National Library of the Czech Republic in Prague, with its twisted wood columns and trompe-l'oeil frescoed ceiling which draws the eye upward "to confound the true already impressive scale of the hall". When I had the good fortune to visit nearly three decades ago, ironically, it was as a "gawker", on a bus tour of Eastern Bloc capitals. Whisked in and out, we were prohibited from taking photos; no postcards or souvenir booklets were available; memory faded. I am especially pleased to find this unique library included here.

The Vatican Library might be mistaken for a grand reception hall; gold leaf papal insignia, and biblical-themed frescoes framed by ornate moldings cover its panelled walls and vaulted ceilings - and not a book in sight. All of its books are hidden behind securely locked doors. The Vatican Library is, however, open to authorized researchers and its catalogue of 1.6 million printed works is fully computerized.

The somewhat austere National Palace Library in Mafra, Portugal was modeled after the Hofbibliothek in Vienna, but the money ran out before completion and the Franciscans who took it over in 1792, in keeping with their vow of poverty, declined to gild the woodwork, whitewashing it instead. This has faded to a peaceful but elegant cream, against which the coloured titles of the leather book bindings stand out.

A relative new-comer at barely a century old is the John Ryland Library in Manchester, England, commissioned by the widow of a rich industrialist to commemorate her husband's memory. It was designed to resemble the interior of a Gothic cathedral complete with soaring arches, carved oak panelling and stained glass windows but also was equipped with electricity, air conditioning and millions of dollars worth of rare books.

Less ostentatious, perhaps, but still beautiful and certainly more democratic are University Libraries at Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin and truly public libraries in New York City and Washington, D.C.

If your appetite has been whetted by "The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World" you may want to look for more in-depth treatments. For the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, just such a book exists, the lavishly illustrated "Treasures of the Library of Congress" by Charles Goodrum, Abrams, 1980, 318 pages. It contains views of the interiors and chapters on the building of the Library of Congress and its book collection, but the emphasis is on many other artefacts housed there - its vast collection of music scores, sound recordings, films, Orientalia, prints and historic photographs. "Treasures..." is long out of print, but used copies can be found.

Addendum (December 30, 2007): The World's Most Beautiful Libraries was published in 2003. In 2004 the exquisite Rococo interior of the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar, another of the libraries featured in the book, was gutted by fire and many of its 100,000 books and manuscripts destroyed. A heroic fund-raising project ensued and the library was restored and reopened in October 2007. Three books documenting these events have been published in Germany (in German text). They are:"Die Bibliothek brennt: Ein Bericht aus Weimar" (about the fire); "Es nimmt der Augenblick, was Jahre: Vom Wiederaufbau der Buchersammlung der Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek" (discusses the losses, book restoration & reacquisition) and "Die Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek: Nach dem Brand in neuem Glanz" (describing the building restoration.) This third volume may be appreciated even by the non-German reader because of its plentiful and beautiful illustrations.

This is a marvelous book to whoever loves books.

It presents many important historic libraries in the world; each library is presented in informative and sober texts and with accompanying photos. These photos try to capture the overall look of the library (even if this is rather difficult) and several interesting details, sometimes including secondary rooms. The texts focus on the history of the library in question, but also give some information about contents.

There is only a minor quibble, and it cannot be taken too seriously: the authors had to chose and that led them to ignore many marvelous libraries. If there is one I particularly lack, it would be the Real Biblioteca da Universidade de Coimbra (Royal Library of Coimbra University, one of the oldest European Universities). It has been stated to be 'the most beautiful library in the world', and I cannot but agree.

But this is probably a question of personal taste. As it is, the book is wonderful and useful.

Great pictures and text depict some of the most beautiful libraries in the world! Gives me encouragement and inspiration for my humble library at home!

There are several things that stand out upon even a preliminary acquaintance with the book. The tasteful presentation of the book, the Klimt on the cover, the quality of the paper the book is printed on all exhibit careful attention to fine detail. But there is an additional quality, which I found particularly appealing.

The author unabashedly centers her attention on eternal values, such as beauty and higher aspirations of the soul. These Òold-fashionedÓ values which the author takes as given and forever relevant, our societyÑat least that part of it which expresses itself most loudlyÑdeems irrelevant and out of fashion. The bookÕs tone, with its unhurried soft-spoken concern for beauty and lofty values, strikes me as bold and courageous. For our time is interested in flashy, quick, loud and digital (that is, small and fractured and flat and two-dimensional). The society is much less interested in the quiet, the subtle and the deep, which this book espouses. The book is set against the background of the fin de siecle, only this time it is OUR own 20th centuryÕs fin de siecle! The message, whether conscious and unconscious, that the book delivers, becomes a counterpoint and an antidote to our culture.

If you know nothing or everything about music, read this book to open up a whole new world. Draper's simple, elegant writing and natural approach to her subject will inspire readers to pay attention and listen to music with a fresh approach. This is a great gift for yourself, your children, your parents, your new amour. Listening to the cds and reading the accompanying text with friends is a wonderful reason to have a series of dinner parties.
Thanks, M. Draper, for bring music back into my life through another door I didn't even know was there.

This book is full of love of music and inspiration for musicians of all ages and levels. For the historian, there are many lesser known, interesting facts. For the music student, there are words of wisdom about keeping the inspiration and love in daily practice. For the music lover just beginning to build a listening library, there are wonderful suggestions for starting a CD collection (not limited to classical music). This is a book to be read slowly, to be savored and contemplated. This book invites the reader to experience music in a very sensual way, not with ears alone, but with one's whole body, mind and spirit. It is an exploration of the possibilities of music as a mood setter, a mood enhancer, or a mood anti-dote. It is about music as a healer of physical and emotional disharmonies. It is an exploration of what is universal in music and what is highly individual.
There is something for everyone in this book. I highly recommend it as a gift to anyone interested in music.

Maureen McCarthy Draper's book is an invitation to return to the joy of listening to music in a way to set moods, to mark days of the week or to simply relax and be transported by musical experiences. This invitation includes examples via the carefully selected selections of music on the accompanying CD's which depict each of the examples of how music can soothe the soul within, or elevate the awareness of beauty in a way that no other medium can. This book reminds those of us that love music of its importance, but invites us to consider it at another level of perception and gives us the suggested methods to add to our perception.

It also makes a lovely gift to anyone who loves, and loves to share the joy of music....

Maureen Draper`s book is a jewel! In today`s time of high technology and speed, she slowed me down, called the voice of my heart and reminded me to listen to my body and to my soul. She did it all with classical music - speaking of it with great simplicity, and although i am a professional classical musician, i felt like i was entering an unknown field and wanted to know EVERYTHING about it! On the two cd`s that she recommends buying together with the book, she has chosen less known pieces, which allowed me to discover my own feelings and sense of the music, undisturbed by the familiarity of more famous pieces. She guided me through the many different landscapes of music and patiently showed me, with great knowledge and passion and tenderness, all their beauty, encouraging me, at last, to be alone in them, to observe and to fully sink in the emotions they elicited in me.

This book is an unusual, unique look into the depths of music and it makes a wonderful gift. Thank you, Maureen!

Gillian Zoe Segal's book, New York Characters, is outstanding- the best photography book I've ever seen/read! The photographs featuring prominent New Yorkers are incredible. Each one captures the true essence of the "character" and truly comes to life on the page. The characters are all photographed in their natural environment, and as Segal points out and demonstrates in her book it is New York's characters that make "it the greatest city in the world". In addition to her photographic genius, Segal writes beautifully. The vignettes's about the characters are intersting, informative, humorous, and touching. No coffee table should be without a copy of New York Characters. It makes the perfect holiday gift for New Yorkers as well as out-of-towners because everyone loves or has an interest in New York, right? Furthermore, all of the proceeds of the book sales are going to the September 11th fund. So what could be more gratifying than supporting the city's recovery effort by buying this wonderful book for yourself, for your friends, for your family...? I feel confident in saying that anyone who picks up New York Characters will enjoy it immensely. What will Segal do next? I can't wait....

Gillian Zoe Segal's book, New York Characters, is outstanding- the best photography book I've ever seen/read! The photographs featuring prominent New Yorkers are incredible. Each one captures the true essence of the "character" and truly comes to life on the page. The characters are all photographed in their natural environment, and as Segal points out and demonstrates in her book it is New York's characters that make "it the greatest city in the world". In addition to her photographic genius, Segal writes beautifully. The vignettes's about the characters are intersting, informative, humorous, and touching. No coffee table should be without a copy of New York Characters. It makes the perfect holiday gift for New Yorkers as well as out-of-towners because everyone loves or has an interest in New York, right? Furthermore, all of the proceeds of the book sales are going to the September 11th fund. So what could be more gratifying than supporting the city's recovery effort by buying this wonderful book for yourself, for your friends, for your family...? I feel confident in saying that anyone who picks up New York Characters will enjoy it immensely. What will Segal do next? I can't wait....

I got a copy of this book and the other night three friends and I made a bet as to who had seen the most "characters" in real life. Sad to say I was not the winner but did pretty well with 24 and came in second. Anyway, it's a great book and a kick to get the real stories behind some of the interesting people we see around town. Highly recommended.

If you admire great photography and exquisite prose and feel the slightest attachment (or wish you did) to New York, then Gillian Segal's book is for you. I moved from New York a little over ten years ago and was determined to keep in touch with the city I love. However, it was only a matter of time before I lost touch with what really made New York special: the people's unique personalities. Gillian's book has allowed me to reestablish contact with the city that I still like to call home. Now, when my colleagues in Providence ask me what to do in New York, I no longer provide them with a mundane and outdated list of restaurants and sites. Instead, I refer them to Mrs. Segal's book. I inform them that in its pages is where they can find the real New York. Everything from great food, The Egg Cake Lady, to a wonderful opera on 57th street, performed by Opera Man, to a great jogging partner, the Mayor of the Reservoir (he is featured on the cover) can be found in "New York Characters".

If you are a New Yorker, a former New Yorker, or someone new to the City, you should own this book. The photography is both penetrating and compelling, and the characters featured are truly fascinating. It's like the Zagat of New York people. I hope the author comes to Los Angeles to do a book on characters here (there are plenty)!

It's the greates visual experiens in body's beaty. As a dancer I want to thanks Howard's work.

...The embodiment of perfect human physical condition captured in a way that could not be imagined. OUTSTANDING!

Amazing beauty. This book makes me want to practice all aspects of photography. Waterdance was boring, but this one is true black-and-white tangible vision in print.

Any serious artist should have this text on their shelf. The simple anantomy of the human body is not enough as found in other similar texts, but this text offers not only dancers in motion but still poised with lighting that shows the muscles we completely miss in full light. The silver gelatin prints darken the skin enough to show each nuance. A must have.

It's art for artists.

Passion and Line is one of my very favorite books and I have thousands of books. It inspires me. It motivates me. It is the zenith of what the human body can be. I get chills each time I view this thrilling book. The hard work, the incredible discipline of the dancers is exquisitly captured by Howard Schultz. Bravo to the Artist Schultz and bravo to his subject dancers.

This book was amazing! There was so much information inlcuding speech from a survivor Virgina Reed. I really enjoyed it. I couldn't put it down. The detail and everything was incredible and it made me want to learn more! A great 'reed'!

This book is a brief account of the families who moved west to claim land in California, only to be rebuffed at the last few hundred miles by topography, thirty (plus) feet of snow, and careless timing. The book reads very easily, and is amply speckled with colloquial diologue of the day, as copied from letters and notes written by those of the Reed/Donner Party who were stranded in the Sierra Nevada snows that winter. That original dialogue is compelling, and evokes a feeling of despair for what those writers must have been witnessing. The account could have included a bit more of the beginning miles of the venture, which may have been better background for the story. Missing particularly was background depth of those who joined the convoy of wagons, livestock and people on foot. Those add-on people became very important players in the final tragedy at Donner Lake, and I was left wondering about them, and why they were taken in by the Reed and Donner travelers. This book is not gruesome, nor as horrifying as some published accounts I have heard about. It is straight forward, and does not over-do nor sensationalize the terrible acts of survival that became the only choice for these pioneers.

Having lived near the Donner area and driven over Donner pass countless times this book was very interesting and enjoyable to read to find out about the lives of the people who risked it all to move west. I highly recomend this book!

I think this book is very good. I only knew that The Donner Party could not get to California. I learned soooooo much from reading this book. Now I want to find out more about the Donner Party.I would Highly recomend This book. It was very interesting,and I really enjoyed it.

I thought that the Donner Party was a very interesting book. It's one of those books that you can't put down because you keep wanting to see what is going to happen next. The author, Marian Calabro, was very descriptive and made the book which could have been very boring, was actually very interesting and exciting to read. I know that when I read it I felt like I was there with Virgina Reed and the rest of the Donner Party. I believe that even if you aren't that interested in pioneers and such you will enjoy this book. However I will have to admit it was depressing in parts and it is definetly not an uplifting book. How ever it also will make you admire the strenght the Donner Party had to get throught there hardships and struggles they had to endure. The book also has lots of extra information in the back and it has special features like Virgina Reed's diary and The chronilogical order of how the events took place.
Rebecca P.

I loved it. It's packed with explicit information on the tight relationship and revolving door between war profiteers and government officials--they're often one and the same--naming names and providing dollar amounts and sources of information. When you study this book, you will gain an understanding of what motivates the neocons to start wars. Money makes the world go around: you will learn a great deal about why the current US administration bombed Afghanistan, then Iraq, and now appears to be aimed at Iran. Why would anyone want never-ending war?

Hossein-zadeh points out that it is the industrial part of the military-industrial complex that is most problematic because it is driven by the profit motive.

I happen to disagree with Hossein-zadeh in that I think the oil transnationals also want wars in the Middle East. (He says these entities prefer stability.) This difference in views detracts nothing, however, from his analysis of the military-industrial aspect of these conflicts.

I'm a writer and use this book as a reference.

I hope it comes out in paperback so more people can afford it.

Ismael Hossein-Zadeh's The Political Economy of U.S. Militarism will greatly surprise readers who imagine that what lies between its covers is an abstruse economics argument or a rant against the war in Iraq. This accessible, lucid, and generously documented approach to the history of military engagement by the United States since World War II clearly is written with a mainstream audience in mind although its hardcover price of $80 is out of the average reader's ballpark. Hopefully libraries will pick up the title since every taxpayer deserves the chance to consider Hossein-Zadeh's thesis. In short, he demonstrates that although the economic gains of imperialism might have supported required military outlays for a period, there comes a time in every empire's life when further expansion no longer is cost-effective for the metropole and becomes a drain on the national economy. At this point, the war industry becomes "parasitic" as the dividends of empire fall more and more disproportionately into the laps of those associated with military efforts. Hossein-Zadeh considers the current period in U.S. history such a time.

Readers may have heard this claim before. But few if any will have met such a persuasive presentation of it. The book is extremely helpful in how it identifies and then dismantles what Hossein-Zadeh considers weak explanations for why the United States continues to engage in military intervention and expansion abroad. The first is the widespread theory among liberals that the neoconservative element of the U.S. political scene is attempting to take advantage of the absence of a comparable world power in order to spread American values and free market economics. The second is that George Bush is spearheading military adventurism as a result of the need to pose as a "war president" so as to mask the failings of his administration. The third is that America's Zionist lobbyists are championing the war on Iraq in order to shore up U.S. support of Israel. The fourth (and Hossein-Zadeh considers this the most widespread assumption of all) is that the United States is engaging, in the case of Iraq and other Middle Eastern adventures, in military action in order to better control the world's oil resources. Hossein-Zadeh acknowledges and discusses each of these theories, ultimately discarding them as the driving force behind continued U.S. military imperialism.

Instead, he suggests that the military imperialism we are witnessing today "can be seen largely as reflections of the metaphorical fights over allocation of the public finance at home, of a subtle or insidious strategy to redistribute national resources in favor of the wealthy, to cut public spending on socioeconomic infrastructures, and to reverse the New Deal reforms by expanding military spending." Survival of the working man and woman aside, also at stake is the question of which cabal of capitalists will come out on top--the neoliberal multilateralists who favor globalization--that is, the expansion of free markets throughout the world in order to make way for the products of multinationals largely unconnected with war, or the unilateralists, who tend to be linked to the military industry and to other industries that are not competitive in the international marketplace.

In addition to providing engaging economic explanations and political commentary such as those already mentioned, Hossein-Zadeh offers a number of other helpful analyses. He makes a distinction between the military bureaucracies of past empires--e.g., Rome--and America's present-day military industry, which reflects the imperatives of an advanced capitalist economy. Bearing in mind this distinction, he suggests, unlike many who see the United States as declining in the mode of Rome, that decline of the United States more likely would follow that of the British Empire. He points out that multilateralists have in no way been eliminated by unilateralists; rather, leading capitalist countries tend to experience alternating periods characterized by resurgence and diminution of the importance of these two poles. He also acknowledges the benefits of the military industry on an economy such as that of the United States. Finally, as an Iranian-American he offers a unique perspective in terms of political economy on the issue of religious fundamentalism and the fraught relations between the West and the Muslim world. Ismael Hossein-Zadeh's The Political Economy of U.S. Militarism is a fascinating text and one that deserves to be as accessible to the average pocketbook as it is to the average reader.

Professor Hossein-zadeh takes over where the late Seymour Melman left off, showing the absurdity & perils of military spending. Those of you familar with Melman, who was a professor of industrial engineering at Columbia University know that time & time again in his many books, he demonstrated how ludicrous defense spending had become through numerous examples. The money spent on "overkill", the cost overuns, the many uneeded military projects, expensive quality control problems coupled with system & hardware failures are just several he often reiterated.
Dr. Hossein-zadeh takes the subject a bit further & in a new direction. He is backed by irrefutable statistics, documents & history itself to prove his case against excessive & unwarrented military spending. All of it very comprehensible, even to someone with no background in economics & a minute knowledge post WW2 history. By reading this book, one can gain some insight into the modus operandi of the military-industrial complex & its the effect it has on the economy,political establishment & both domestic & foreign policy.

This book brings together lots of individual facts, statistics, and citations that those with a concern about US militarism who attentively follow current events and recent US history will have come upon in disparate locations.

The genius of the book is that it puts all of this information in one place and presents it in a coherent structure. It is also very clearly written. The citations and bibliography are useful starting points for those wishing to delve more deeply into the economic underpinnings of the military-industrial complex.

most comprehencive ,well documented,well researched book exposing the essence of our heartless government subserviant to the demands of giant corporations sacrificing the ones it is elected to protect.

The Publisher's Weekly does a dis-service to this book. Better read the review in the Jan 2005 Futurist (http://www.wfs.org/revsatinjf05.htm)
This book is an outstanding and insightful description of ways in which the left and right can think together about our society's, and the world's, enormous problems, and then begin to work to solve them. Much more useful than shooting at each other. Only by finding the common ground will it be possible to break through the morass we find ourselves in. Remember the advice to both right and left, "Put your hand on your knees--they're jerking!"

I like this book very much. It is a cry from the heart--from a very informed heart--and it captures much that needs to be understood. It is not, however, the first effort in this direction. This book was published in 2004. Paul Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson published "The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People are Changing the World" in 2000, coincident with the appearance of Marianne Williamson's extraordinary edited work, "IMAGINE: What American Could be in the 21st Century." Ted Halstead and Michael Lind published "The Radical Center: The Future of American Politics," in 2001. In 2002 Ralph Nader capped off decades of activism along these lines with "Crashing the Party: How to Tell the Truth and Run for President." In 2003 we had Matthew Miller's "The 2% Solution: Fixing America's Problem in Ways Liberals and Conservatives Can Love." See my reviews of all of those, and my list on democracy, to appreciate this book by this author, in a larger context.

The most important meme to come out to me--an aggressive iconoclast if ever there was one--dealt with the importance of turning away from rebellion for the sake of rebellion, and focusing instead of being a player, on bringing corporations to the table as Paul Hawken and others suggest in "Natural Capitalism" (which the author cites).

Early messages from this book include: Ignore the noise including Moore and Franken; Creative borrowing from all points of view to achieve public policy; Radical middle provides concrete answers instead of platitudes; Work with corporations instead of attacking them blindly; Idealism without the illusions. Four on key values: maximize choices, fair start for all, maximize human potential, help the developing world. The author then gives us four sections, with the highlights listed below.

Maximizing choices:
1) Universal health care that is also preventive and integrative
2) Law reform--affordable, meaningful
3) End oil dependency--parallel energies, seven paths (conservation, renewables, fossil fuels, hydrogen, nuclear, biobased, and values-change path

Fair start
1) great teachers (overlooks two-parent family, serious games, total change to curriculum)
2) affirmative action with teeth, not just letting in black-skinned white minds
3) Job for everyone and a financial next egg as well

Maximize human potential
1) corporations we can be proud of
2) biotech with adult supervision
3) bring back the draft--for EVERYONE (one of the best pieces)

Help the developed world
1) Globalization with savvy and feeling (address poverty, raise standards)
2) Make the WTO transparent
3) Humanitarian intervention in time--no more genocides (great piece)
4) Tough on terrorism and causes of terrorism

Be a player not a rebel
1) professional schools, not radical groups, are our incubators now (compassionate MDs, holistic MBAs, visionary JDs,
2) stay informed
3) join groups that matter and push them to the middle
4) run for office
5) open up the political process (free media, tax credits, proportional representation, instant run-offs, non-partisan redistricting,

Just this morning, a friend in Seattle sent me an email about a new meme that goes beyond the split between "for profit" and "non-profit" to speak of "new profit." That is the distillation of what Paul Hawken and Herman Daly ("Ecological Economics") are trying to capture. The old concept of corporate profit loots the commons. The new concept of profit, what I call Communal Capitalism, others call it Capitalism 3.0 or Natural Capitalism, understands that true profit must be perpetual and distributed.

This author has a following and is part of the solution. I recommend all the books I listed above, and this one.

See also:
A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
Society's Breakthrough!: Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People
The Two Percent Solution: Fixing America's Problems in Ways Liberals and Conservatives Can Love
The Radical Center: The Future of American Politics
The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World

This book is nothing more than 200 pages of smoke and mirrors.All Satin believes that is need to make the failed ideology of Socialism work is to pile on more government and programs and sock the cost to taxpayers.Of course,he doesn't use the word taxpayer,he uses the word government when he talks about who is going to foot the bill.You see,taxpayers are the problem,they've learned to look after themselves.Socialist's clients are those who buy into the concept that they can't or won't look after themselves and hand it over to the government to do it.
Satin has spent decades as a dyed- in- the- wool Leftist and now thinks he's seen the light.His ideas are far to the left of JFK
who believed that it was not the role of government to provide a person with a job but to provide the person with an opportunity to look after himself.Even he was a Liberal;then along came Johnson with his War on Poverty,and after spending 3 trillion dollars on it ;the end result was that even a larger percent of the people were living below the poverty line.What else would you expect from Socialism.
Satin's ideas about proportional representation have already been rejected by another reviewer and all I would like to add is that, it is being pushed for here in Canada;and these proposers are not even Liberals,but Socialists.
Search as you may,for some enlightenment in this book;you will not find ideas like,self-reliance,taking on responsibility,pride in accomplishment,etc.What you will find is a load of ideas like programs,entitlements,assistance,government creating jobs etc.
Figure a way to take care of yourself,and don't fall for the idea that you need these Socialists to do it.They haven't done it anywhere else and you'll be sadly mistaken if you believe they'll start in the USA.
Even the author has come to the point where he went back and learned a skill to better his lot.You don't see John Kerry ,the great caring Liberal giving away anything.And how about Teresa when talking to people gathering up clothes to send to recent hurricane victims---"Let them go naked"was her help.

One of Mark Satin's most engaging charactistics is his honesty about himself. I have followed him from his first newsletter to his first book "New Age Politics" to his current newsletter and the book by the same title ("The Radical Middle"). He clearly has morphed into something new, which comes through well to me in this book. His writing style is engaging and energetic; he has good documentation; he earnestly believes we need to create something new in our society to replace the extreme polarization we are currently experiencing. He is inclusive and optimistic, believing in each citizen to think independently. His writing is not "academic," but well-researched and well-cited. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for even one glimmer of hope for us as a society with a positive and constructive future!

Edryce Reynolds
Tacoma, Washington

"Radical Middle" is several things: The title of Mark Satin's new book being reviewed here, the title of his newsletter, the title of his web site and the name of an exciting new political concept.

I have followed Mark Satin for a long time, having been a charter subscriber to his previous newsletter, "New Options" and to his current "Radical Middle" newsletter. And I have read two of his previous books in addition to "Radical Middle."

Because of occasional disagreements with some specific content from the current newsletter, I was ready to be skeptical of Mark's new book. But instead, I must admit that I am highly impressed. I believe the book does a thorough job of explaining the Radical Middle concept to readers, regardless of their background, political leanings, or even newsletter subscriber status. In each book chapter, Mark expanded upon past "Radical Middle" newsletter articles and included more nuances and detail, which help to flesh out and explain his positions better.

While there were still a few points where I winced, there were many more knowing smiles and nods. In fact, in some cases I found that my position was not that far away from Mark's after all, once I finally understood his position more fully. And even where there remain points of disagreement, I commend Mark for creating, thoroughly explaining and maintaining his voice and his ground.

I should also state that I had my wife read the education chapter. She is a former full-time teacher, and currently does some substitute teaching. She had not read any of Mark's past books, newsletters, web site, etc., so had a fresh perspective. And she loved the chapter, agreeing with Mark's central thesis that quality teachers are what great education is all about.

The resource lists at each chapter end are also very useful, and I recommend readers to pursue some them to follow up with your own investigations of issues. I am doing so.

Overall, I deeply respect how Mark has utilized all his varied life experiences in coming to a mature, organized synthesis of ideas.

And in our polarized times, the Radical Middle political concept is exactly what we need to grow from concept to full-fledged reality.

A compelling look at a fascinating figure of the modern American civil rights movement whose story continues to be relevant. Particularly interesting is the nuanced and thoughtful treatment of the complex dialogue and tension between "nonviolence" and "self-defense" in the history of the Black freedom struggle in the US.

The period of Williams's life following his exile is only very tersely outlined (as the author himself admits), giving the book a bit of an abrupt end. More analysis of Williams's decision to renounce public life, of his scepticism about the later direction of the "Black Power" movement that had claimed him as one of its icons, and of his decision to seek an "understanding" with the US gov't enabling his return from exile, would probably make for most interesting reading.

highly recommended to anyone who enjoys U.S. history. I wish this book and Williams' life story and struggle were more well-known

Mainstream history seemingly gets real nervous about who is carrying a loaded weapon and who one associates with. Combine the two and it will take an outstanding historian like Timothy B. Tyson to bring to life the tireless work and controversies surrounding civil-rights activist Robert F. Williams.

Williams brought the element of armed self-defense in seeking equal rights, especially in his hometown of Monroe, N.C. Though Williams, a military veteran, stressed that the specter of self-defense was necessary - and proven successful in confronting the KKK and other racists - his stance drew the ire of the NAACP's national office, the FBI and other government agencies & those in the civil rights movement who stressed non-violent actions no matter what the situation.

The book is more than a biography on Williams. It shows how his demands for equal rights meant something different to various individuals and groups, though Williams would not politically "fall in line" with any movement. It was the perceived idealism that drew many to Williams, but it was such a coalition - including Malcolm X and the Socialist Workers Party - that made him particularly dangerous in the eyes of federal officials.

While in exile from the U.S. after being erroneously charged for violating several federal laws, Williams was in Cuba after the revolution, North Viet Nam during the war, China as the Cultural Revolution caught fire and travelled to Africa. His independent thinking got him in trouble in Cuba; a radio show he conducted to the U.S., Radio Free Dixie, along with public comments he made, found Williams facing the wrath of Cuban government officials and ultimately led him to China.

The book also shows how his wife, Mabel and women in Monroe & in other cities not only demanded civil rights, but were willing to defend themselves and their families from violent attacks through the barrel of a gun. Mabel Williams was also an important person in the writing, editing and publishing of a newsletter that gained national and international attention.

Williams was an important catalyst for Huey Newton and the Deacons for Defense in their quests to skillfully confront the haters on the streets. In yet again another example on why we must continue to look past the history as it is written in textbooks, Robert F. Williams showed what can be accomplished when the intimidators become the intimidated while trying to perpetuate the myth of white supremacy.

The civil rights movement was not created by, lead by, or moved forward by the dozen or so media heros whose names we all now know. The civil rights movement succeed because so many ordinary people decided that they could no longer stand to live in the midst of injustice, and decided to step out of their daily lives and do something about it.

Robert Williams did just that. An ordinary working class guy, he used his people skills to form a network of working class black people who did not have the patience of the old line leaders of the local NAACP chapter in his hometown. He got himself elected president of the chapter, and backed by dozens of local people, formed one of the most activist chapters in the country. The national NAACP never was comfortable with Williams or the work of his chapter, and at best held them at arms length.

Inevitably, Williams' hard pressure on local structures of racism lead to a backlash. When he was attacked and his family threatened with death, the local police did nothing. When he and his community defended themselves, by taking up arms to combat the armed violence of the white racists, he was charged with murder, and became the subject of a massive FBI hunt. Escaping to Cuba, he operated a radio station, beaming the "truth" along with progressive jazz and blues which would never be played on corporate radio in the south, to Dixie.

Ultimately, Williams' stance of self-defense was taken up by Stokley Carmichael in the South, and by the Black Panther Party in Oakland, and is now well known as the "Black Power" movement. But at the time, it was simply a slightly more hardline version of the NAACP. Local chapters of the NAACP, building on long traditions of mutual support in black communities throughout the south, supported by thousands of ordinary people, formed the backbone of the civil rights movement. Anyone who thinks otherwise should read the statements by Bob Moses and the other SNCC organizers, who readily admitted that they could never have accomplished anything at all if not for the decades of groundwork done by the local NAACP chapters throughout the south.

Great book, which everyone interested in the history of the Civil Rights movement, or just interested in the way social changes really happen, should read.

Ultimately, the notion of white supremacy and the so-called glory of the Lost Cause always devolved to the use of violence and intimidation against black people and any one who sided with them. Williams' is an amazing story of courage and determination as he challenged the KKK and assorted white rabble of rural North Carolina in the 1940s through the 1960s in his quest for racial justice.

Williams, a soldier during WW2, came back to Monroe, NC after the war and took on the clowns and goons of the KKK and the local and state white government. When they fired on his home, he shot back, upsetting the applecart of segregation.

Tyson's book is a powerful portrayal of a man quite willing to die for his rights, a man fed up with the violence degradation inflicted on him by southern society, and a man willing to kill to protect his property, his person and his family.

Tyson's realistic and entertaining portrayal of the stupid and inane actions of white southern racists in North Carolina is another reason to read this book. The local thuggery is almost comical, until one remembers they are well armed and prone to alcholism and violence. Tyson goes into great detail about a 1958 case where two black boys, 10 and 8 were BEATEN and IMPRISONED for kissing a white girl.

Williams and his wife are not well known heroes of the Civil Rights struggle. This book gave me a greater appreciation of the vicious hatred, violence, and stupidity they were fighting, and how disciplined and determined the Civil Rights struggle had to be in the face of overwhelming white resistance.