C Books

Excellent book about Recon operations in Vietnam. I served with Mike in OCS before Vietnam. I highly recommend the book.

Semper Fi is about all that can be said. This was the life of the grunt. No amplification or heroism that was not there. This is the best book I have ever read discribing the life. Also the excerpt on page 299 and 300 "These Good Men" by Micheal Norman is the first and only explanation of all of us that have ever served and our feelings forever to our comrades. I wish Micheal could write another book, I don't think he will. It was all in this one.

Michael Hodgins captures the real spirit of the place and time. As a former Marine who served with the 1st Recon Bn, I can testify Mr. Hodgins presents a true and vivid picture of life in the bush, on an OP, and in Camp Reasoner. With all the distortions about Vietnam presented in the movies and on TV, as well as the anti-war prejudice of public school history teachers, this book should be required reading in the high school cirriculum. I hope someday someone will write a book that will tell us more about Lt. Skibbe, Lt. Rathmell, and Captain McVey who gave lost their lives protecting their troops.

This book is an outstanding account of recon battalion actions in Vietnam. It is well worth reading. I served with Mike before the war. He was a straight shooter then, and a straight shooter in Vietnam

Reading Reluctant Warrior was like stepping through a door into the jungle. For just a little while I was on patrol again with 1st Recon, 3rd Plt, "C" Company. I saw and smelled OP 425, ran through the jungle and listened to the 46s coming to extract our team when we got in the "S__t Sandwich". My friends lived again---Thanks Mike! Chuck Fenwick HM3 1st Mar Div, 1st Recon, 3rd Plt, "C" Company, RVN 69-70.

Excellent! Great images.

(Although much of the text is very technical and concerned with small and trivial details.)

This book explain a little about Rembrandt technique and some details in his paints. You can understand how could he painted so beutiful arts. But you won't be Rembrandt reading this book. Only the technique is not sufficient to be a master!
But, if you are a Rembrandt fan, you have to read this book!

This book is generous with loads of quality pictures of the masters work and an equal amount of text for the reader of history and the technical , a good buy certainly worth the money , I really enjoyed this and I suggest it to any one with even just a passing interest in Rembrandt and an insight into how he produced his work , they actually found some of his dna in his paintings (i bet that makes you curious). This and the other book " Rembrandt's Eyes by Simon Schama" is another beauty possibly a bit better than this one Schama's book spend the first half talking a about Peter Paul Rubens and the dreams Rembrandt had of being his equal , both are great companions to each other I recommend them together.

There isn't much more I can say, which hasn't already been said to reveal the great merits of this book. However I think the sheer quantity of 5 star ratings speaks volumes. This book is essential for any academic or personal study of Rembrandt, especially so for a painter as I am. On top of all the incredible detailed scientific analysis, the text is written very clearly and is even a pleasure to read. Above all, the detail shots of his paint surface, are breath taking and most instructive for any painter. They utilized different levels of magnification to reveal his work from the entirety of the picture down to the microscopic level. This book has revolutionized my studio practice!

Richard T Scott
Joelle-Scott Gallery

This book is not easy to evaluate, at a first sight is a very irregular book, amazing in many passages but extremely boring in many others, a whole chapter dedicated to the canvas support !?, with a great mass of technical information about thread density and weave, I think it is too much, a very important Rembrandt's trick like "glazing and sweeping" (that it is supossed he created this technique) is just overviewed when it is perhaps one of the constituents for the most amazing passages in many of his paintings.
My conclusion is that despite of Rembrandt's Project and a lot of scholars studying his masterpieces is very, but very little what we know. How he commited his works is an enigma like in Vermeer's case, so there are a lot of books about them but very little valuable information

I absolutely loved this book. It grabbed you from the start and never lets you go. I truly wished that I could have read the whole book in one sitting I hated putting it down. The story flows just perfectly and you really get very involved with the characters. I want my boys to read this book...

This novel was excellent! Better than most New York Time's Bestsellers. I can't wait for her next book!

This is one of the best books I have read!!!! It held my attention all the way through. I was so anxious to find out what was going to happen next that I kept jumping ahead then I would come back to where I was. I have 3 boys and I want all 3 of them to be just like Cain Farrell.What an amazing character. The story was absolutely amazing.It was sad, happy, and madning. I was so wrapped up in the story I was getting mad at the author. I was sad that the book had to end.

What a story! Foley's characters were developed so well, I felt as if I had known them all my life. As the book's main character (Cain Farrell) goes through the harrowing events of being unjustly accused of a crime he did not commit, I was right there with him. I got so emotionally wrapped up in Cain's life, I wanted to strangle him, and then a page later I wanted to embrace him. Start early, you'll be up all night reading this one!

This book is a must read!! The author does an absolutely fantastic job of conveying the emotions that all the characters are feeling. You feel as if you are right there with Cain, the main character, through all of his misfortunes as well as his triumphs. I laughed and cried and literally could not put the book down.

I can't count how many times I have read this book. I have three versions and the e-book. I have one copy in the washroom I read a little of it everyday. A must have Epic.

I think that all Westerners should be exposed to this classic of the East. Without a doubt, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is one of the very best works of literary art that the human mind had ever produced.
A short synopsis is in order. The novel centers around a rather short, turbulent time in ancient China, following the collapse of the Han Dynasty and predating the rise of the Jin dynasty, the period known as the "Three Kingdoms". In order to rise up against the now-corrupt Han dynasty, the mystic Zhang Jiao began what is known as the "Yellow Turban rebellion". In response to this menace, heroes of China gathered in order to put down this threat. Among these heroes are the virtuous Liu Bei, the loyal and familial Sun Jian, and the cruel and wily (but talented) Cao Cao. After the Yellow Turban rebellion is put down, it is realized that the Han dynasty has grown horribly weak and corrupt, and the heroes leave for home with their own ambitions of ruling China. Liu Bei wishes for the old days (he is a distant relative of the Han line), Cao Cao wishes for personal glory and honor, and Sun Jian wishes to rule China in order to leave it to his sons. Many other players enter the drama (hundreds in fact!), but the story really revolves around these three and their spheres of influence.
The author, Luo Guan Zhong, wrote a book that is at once of strategy, history, psychology, warfare. Although battles are always present, even those readers not interested in warfare can find a great deal in this book. Inevitably, the reader will find himself siding with one of the great Kingdoms of Wei, Wu or Shu, and yet will still feel compelled to feel compassion, elation and sorrow for the others, as their fortunes rise and fall with the changing fates. Each time I read the book (six and counting!), I pull for Liu Bei, who brings himself from commoner status to the highest positions in the land despite his tragic flaw of being TOO virtuous! And yet, I cannot deny enjoying reading about Cao Cao, as he gains support and popularity until the battle of Chi Bi, at which point he falls and must rise again. Also, the ending is fabulous, and unexpected.
However, I must warn the first time reader of the complete deluge of names with which he will be accosted. To further complicate matters, different publishers of the book spell the names in different ways (e.g. Cao Cao=T'sao T'sao, Chuko Lee-ong=Zhuge Liang). I was aided in this struggle by the fact that I had played a game with these characters, so that I was familiar with some of them. The author revels in his knowledge of history, and expects the same of his readers, but the reader may feel completely overwhelmed. Just keep in mind the three main characters, and try to remember who follows whom, and you should do fine (however, it is frustrating when the character Xun Yu introduces the character Xun You, etc.).
"Empires wax and wane, states cleave asunder and coalesce". The first statement in the book is as true today as it was 2000 years ago. If you are a reader who prides himself on his knowledge of the classics, I can honestly say that your mental library is incomplete until you read this book. So, what are you waiting for?

humanity is everything in this book and only thing we have.

I can't finish all my compliment for this book in this short review. You are not gonna believe it is such a splendid book until you read it yourself. This book is a saga with so much wisdom and humanity. It is as good as ancient Greek epic (with all repect to Greek) if not better. The wisdom in it is uncommonly plentiful. Trojan horse looks children's game after you finished the book. Romance of three kingdoms is a part of Chinese lives and now becoming popular in the world. Many Japanese companies make this book as a must-read for management staff. Read this book and I garantee that your time will be delightfully spent.

Romance of Three Kingdoms is not just the novelized version of the history record "Three Kingdoms". It overtook the heart of both Chinese and Japanese. In Japan even younger generation who rarely read literature enjoy the story in the form of either comic books or in popular PC games. In China many of the Chinese Opera comes from the part of this story.

The story is based on the history of ancient China around late 2nd century to late 3rd century when the Chinese continent was divided by three strong kingdoms,Shu(Gui in Japanese),Wu(GO in Japanese) and Wei(SHOKU in Japanese).

I am familiar with the version of Eiji Yoshikawa, the author of Musashi, focusing more on the story of Liu Pei(Wei emperor),Kuan Yu, Chang Fei, and Chuko Kunming. Liu Pei, an heir of Han Dynasty ruling clan, is a humane leader supported by Kuan Yu, deft both in brain and might maybe eastern version of Knight, Chang Fei,short tempered but really strong warrior, and Chuko Kunming the master of strategy.

Rivaling Lie Pei is another giant Tsao Tsao outstanding ruler who nearly took hold of the whole Chinese continent but blocked by the allied forces of Wu and Wei in 208. Tsao Tsao is a bit demonized in this story but he is in fact one of the greatest rulers China ever had comparable to Napoleon. While Lie Pei who has little power gradually gains by charming a lot of talented people by his couteousness yet with propaganda tactics to demonize Tsao Tsao, Tsao Tsao took advantage of courting the Emperor and with the finest staff collected from the whole continent. Tsao Tsao's Shu finally unites the whole China after his death in 265, with the surrender of Wei but Lie Pei, Kuan Yu and Kunming are still loved and idealized by Chinese public. Wu survives by taking either rivaling sides and with excellent domestic and foreign affairs strategy.

On first reading you will be enjoying the way the characters outsmart the other camps. On second reading you will be struck by the humanity upon which the story is based. It is much more than a legend. It will surely get you closer to the mind of either Chinese and Japanese. But be careful. The way character name is pronounced differ between Chinese and Japanese. Such as Tsao Tsao is pronounced in Japanese as SOSO.

Book was very easy reading and well organized. One of the best history books I have read.

if you want to no about the early to last romanov's and russia history this book is for you.this writer leave nothing out.

Mr. Lincolm, unlike Robert Massie who wrote "Peter the Great," left me with the clear impression that he understood the source material he had at hand, and was able to verify through corroboration every thing he said. Some of the more incredible stories, or speculative rumors are left out. This does not make his work any less enjoyable, but it does lend Mr. Lincoln's work a feeling of solid thoroughness in its research--something that is lacking in Massie's book. If a story was left out, I felt quite confident that Mr. Lincoln knew of the story, but could not corroborate it to his satisfaction.

This book is very thorough and incredible in its vast sweep. But it is broken apart into major periods. Each period is further broken down into topics, such as political history, economic history, social history, and so on. This format makes the book quite useful as a reference as well as enjoyable to read. This is the best book on the story of the Romanov family in the English language to date. And I can see this book firmly establishing itself as a timeless classic, alongside Shelby Foote's "Civil War," or Gibbons, "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire."

W. Bruce Lincoln's history of the 300 years of Romanov rule in Russia (1613-1917) is easily his most readable account of Russian history. While Professor Lincoln's research is meticulous as ever, in this volume he has to cover far more ground than in his other more focused histories and thus he avoids some of the digressions that he normally might allow himself. The result is a superb one-volume history of the Tsars and Tsarinas who determined Russia's development from a minor principality into the largest empire on earth.

The Romanovs consists of four parts: Muscovite beginnings (1613-1689), the Rise of an Empire (1689-1796), Empire Triumphant (1796-1894) and the Last Emperor (1894-1917). The first three parts each consist of several chapters, with the first covering biographical details of the Tsars and Tsarinas in that period, followed by chapters on political and cultural changes in that period. There are only two significant problems with what is otherwise a superb presentation: a non-chronological methodology and a lack of a single supporting map of Romanov domains (there are two maps of St Petersburg's layout). In the first case, Lincoln tends to keep coming back to Tsars in subsequent chapters on culture, politics, etc which is very confusing. Indeed, he seems in a rush to plow through the biographies of the Tsars, then revisit their cultural accomplishments, then come back again and discuss their political accomplishments, and then maybe discuss a few scandals or wars. As for the lack of maps, it makes it extremely difficult for the reader to evaluate the territorial expansions of the various Romanov rulers or Russia's growth over three centuries.

Despite these two flaws, the Romanovs is a delightful read for anyone with a scholarly interest in Russian imperial history. Perhaps the three most significant rulers that Lincoln assesses are Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and Nicholas II. Most histories tend to elevate Peter to hero status, but Lincoln's evaluation is more mixed. While Peter gets great credit for pushing Russia to modernize, the costs he incurred may have been too great. In particular, Lincoln questions Peter's obsession with building his capital on totally unsuitable terrain; the fact that the Russians were able to eventually succeed in constructing Peter's dream capital often disguises the fact that the human and financial losses were exorbitantly wasteful. The reader will be left to ponder the question that if Peter had built his capital elsewhere, Russia's development might have been much less painful. As for Catherine, Lincoln prefers to minimize the scandal and corruption associated with her court and view this as the golden age of Russian cultural development. Finally, Nicholas II appears as even more of a fatalistic dolt bent on self-destruction than he did in Lincoln's previous books. In sum, The Romanovs provides a solid and very readable account of Russia's development under the Tsars and Tsarinas.

A genuinely great book. Lincoln certainly could write, and make
all those old Russians seem really interesting. As Lincoln's
former students (including me) know, his lectures were tediously
boring, so that makes the books all the more remarkable.

Along with Moo, get this commentary! Schreiner is so solid and scholarly. I also have his work on 1,2Peter and Jude in the NAC. This NT scholar is so good.

His approach to scholarship reminds me of Dr. Moo. Both are really good. Schreiner does his own translation, and for me that is what makes this commentary so outstanding. If you appreciate adeptness in NT Greek, you'll appreciate this volume. But at the same time, Schreiner makes this simple enough for the person who doesn't understand NT Greek to get by.

This should be in every pastor's and anyone who's looking for the best work on Romans collection. Get this one!

This is a very good commentary on Romans. It is very well written and is clear and easy to understand. Great Reference material that can be used for years to come.

As someone who has done extensive work in Romans and is NOT a Calvinist, I have found Schreiner's volume to be the best all around commentary on Romans (not the best commentary on any book, however, as that would go to Schnackenberg's 3 volumes on John). He covers what you need to teach and to preach through the book.

While knowing Greek will certainly help one follow the author's arguments, he makes it easy enough to move past difficult material and get to the heart of the matter. Moo has a tendency to list multiple options and then pick one when it is unnecessary to list all the options due to a choice being obvious or else he does not list options at all when the choice is difficult. Schreiner avoids that problem by correctly majoring on the majors and minoring on the minors (with the exception of some issues at the end of Romans 8).

For Schreiner, this is certainly a step above his previous work and is much more readable than his book on Paul. The only Romans commentary I would rank ahead of this one is the incredible two volumes in the ICC by Cranfield, which is certainly not a series for those who do not know their languages.

Schreiner's Commentary is an excellent work when studying the book of Romans. Amazingly, he manages to retain a contemporary edge on such a difficult book of the Bible. His technical prowess comes forward as he examines significant words in the Greek and helps the reader to explore for the correct understanding. This work coupled with Douglas Moo's commentary on Romans are powerful technical resources for any pastor or theology student.

Schreiner's work is one of the most celebrated commentaries on Romans today. Schreiner's interaction with the Greek text and scholars alike is quite impressive. The author shows familiarity with Second temple literature as well. The work reflects the author's best achievement (See his theology of of paul, Paul, Apostle of God's glory in Christ). This is a commentary that seeks to be faithful to Scripture and ultimately celebrates the glory, majesty and excellency of Christ in the book of Romans.

What can I say besides this is a great book. It really helps understand Ringeck's work. Get this book if you are interested in German Longsword fighting. Though if you are starting off I would recommend the excellent book Fighting with the German Longsword, also written by Tobler.

This book also works well with Sigmund Ringeck's Knightly Art of The Longsword by Lindholm and Svard. Same material but some different interpretations.

If you are interested in this book go to the publisher's website. It's in stock there at the regular price, not this inflated used market price at Amazon.

This book is essential for anyone interested in doing medieval swordsmanship. Tobler has done all the hard work for you, he has interpreted the moves perfectly. There is very little guesswork left up to you, each move has many pictures showing every subtle change in position. Easy to follow and the pictures are very clear. A great book, none better.

`Western martial arts are every bit as sophisticated as their Asian counterparts. The German martial systems incorporate both armed and unarmed combat, with and without armor, on foot and on horseback, using daggers, long and short swords, bucklers, shields, falchions, and spears and poleaxes.'

In Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship, Christian Henry Tobler has done an outstanding job of introducing the reader to the skills and methods of the Germanic man-at-arms.

The book is broken down into five major sections:
>> Longsword Techniques
>> Sword & Buckler
>> Wrestling Techniques
>> Armored Combat
>> Mounted Combat

Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship is an interpretation of the teachings of Master Johannes Liechtenauer and of the later work in the 15th Century of Sigmund Ringeck, a descendant of the Liechtenauer school and master-at-arms to Albrecht, Count Palatine of the Rhine and Duke of Bavaria.

While there were, of course, no photographs in the 15th Century ~ Christian Henry Tobler has filled Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship with hundreds of photographs demonstrating the techniques of the masters. He has made an accurate interpretation of the techniques described in the writings of the masters and displays that described in photographs.

Each photograph is clear and in sequence allows the reader to learn the techniques of the masters. These techniques are highly effective and the more one practices, the greater insight one gains into the secrets of the masters of arms of the 15th Century.

The book concludes with a glossary of terms well-worth learning to improve understanding of this text and others related to it.

I found Secrets of German Medieval Swordsmanship to be an absolutely indispensable reference for the student of Medieval Swordsmanship and Western Martial Arts.

This book is very clear, well written, and wonderfully photographed.

It provides an excellent view of 15th century european martial arts as being every bit as advanced as those of the orient.

The instructions are clear, and the methods practical.
If you fence, practice kendo, or any other sword art, and are interested in learning how fights were really fought (as opposed to how Hollywood wants us to think they were) I fully recommend this book.

I first bought Mark Rector's _Medieval Combat_, but I didn't feel I truly grok'd many of the illustrations in that book until after I read this book.

For the most part I think that Mr. Tobler's interpretations of Ringeck's verse are dead on target. But in many cases, it seemed pretty nebulous what Ringeck meant - not that surprising considering we are trying to take a very abstract description of a full-sensory 4d event - verbal, and put back all those lost details.

In those cases were I couldn't figure out for myself what Ringeck meant, Mr. Tobler's work seemed at least internally consistant, and well thought out.

Again, excellant.

See a Grown Man Cry: The prose is jagged, visceral, potent, vigorous and muscular. Every syllable aches and screams. This is adrenal overload. This is the assassination of mendacity, of mediocrity. The gelatinous underbelly of culture is exposed, cleaved and forcefully displayed. Then Henry eviscerates from the inside. The raw energy of this work is as naked, observant and perceptive as anything Bukowski ever committed to print.

i have never read anything by henry rollins before i purchased this book. and i fell in love w/ his writing. i have now bought almost every book by him and in the process of reading them. his books touch me in a way, and help too. its hard for me to find a book, let alone an author that i like as much as henry rollins and his books

this is the most honest, heartbreaking work I've read. It puts your personal misery into perspective, reminding you what it means to live life. Even after you lose those that make you whole.

7 years ago, a friend of mine read me a poem from "Now Watch Him Die" (They were seperate books back then). It's the one on page 164 of this volume, the one that starts with "I love you and you'll never know." Since then, I have not gone anywhere without a copy of these books close at hand. They are an all-encompassing chronicle of one man's solipsism, isolation, desperation and depression. This may not sound fascinating, but that man happens to be Henry Rollins, who has a talent for intensity and a command of words rivaled by no one of this era. Not since Bukowski has someone used so little to say so much. If you are ready for a descent into a maelstrom of anger, violence and pure, blinding pain, then this is the book for you. If you're looking for something sappy, sweet and redemptive, then try Oprah's Book Club instead.

There is so much farcity in the world today that it's so good to come across a writer like Henry who's willing to show everyone what he thinks, how he feels, what his life is like and how he perceives the world around him.

This book is very brutal and honest, which I think always makes for good writing. He has a very clear perception of the people around him and how they think, which lets him view the world from all sides including his own. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to open their eyes to someone else's reality.

I was looking for ideas on simple structures for the homestead. The book is a bit dated, but you have to go back to find simple, uncomplicated ideas. We have grown so accustomed to specialized fasteners, tools and other hardware. Building a simple shed can be expensive when you have to buy materials. We have an abundance of raw materials and this book provided some ideas towards cost effective structures.

This book is great! I would recommend this to anyone 12+, because the shelters are quite hard to build. It is excellent for boy scouts. I got this for Christmas and in my troop were starting on plans already! Great for any wilderness lover and I recommend all the related books!
1/16/08

I know that most people will find this book to be anything but "green" however, I found this concept to be perfect in a world that sometimes forgets what it is like to be young at heart. Some of the shelters are not safe and one should always supervise young children who if left alone will build forts and such, yet there is a certain allure about thinking you are back in time and surviving on your own wits. Great ideas for survival campouts or if you like getting out "there" and just might once or twice get too far out "there" and find yourself in the need of an overnight shelter. Loved the book and will use or adapt many of the detailed plans.

This book is great! I would recommend this to anyone 12+, because the shelters are quite hard to build. It is excellent for boy scouts. I got this for Christmas and in my troop were starting on plans already! Great for any wilderness lover and I recommend all the related books!
1/16/08

This book is geared towards building structures that were used by outdoorsmen from years past. It covers how to make a bed from natural materials, a log cabin, Native American log house, and how to work an axe just to name a few topics covered in this book. The drawings of the dwellings in the book are simple (but not in depth plans or charts). The author does a great job of explaining how to construct these devices, but as I said a drawn picture is all your going to get if your a visual learner. Over all the book does what it says it will do, gives the reader good information, and I personally wouldn't be caught dead without it if I was trapped in the middle of nowhere by myself.

I was living in Cambodia when I came across this book, following the recommendation of one of my English friends. I bought the book, opened it... and could no longer put it down! This book came as a complete eye-opener to me, on both how America had conducted its war across Indochina, but also on how Cambodia's history had/has been so intimately intermixed with Sihanouk's.

If you are into learning the backside of what we could all dub "official history", then this book's for you. You will no longer look at Kissinger, Nixon or Westmoreland with the same candid, obedient and servile eyes after reading it. Packed with previously unheard-of accounts, reports, testimonies, following a clean, highly intelligent argumentation methodology, Sideshow acts as a real bulldozer on the reader, repeatedly confronting him/her with loads of devastating illustrations of unsound decisions, hidden political actions, secret wars of influences etc. It is certainly one of the punchiest, journalism-based historical account I have ever read, whatever the subject.

It shed a completely new and intense light onto the poor -though touching- little country I was living in then, and forever changed the way I looked at politics, diplomacy and intelligence.

Shawcross gets into the minds of Kissinger and Nixon so well. His is a book to be read over and over again to see the working of the U.S. Government and how it can destroy a country. He talks about the 25 pound shark at the bottom of a swimming pool full of children -- and we understand how the USA's leaders destroyed a country. It is a lesson to be learned over and over again as we go about destroying other countries. This is one great read - worthy of the time it takes to understand it. A victory for the author over Mr. Kissinger.

This book has managed to live on, which is perhaps unfortunate - historically speaking, it's far more relevant to contemporary geopolitics than it should be.

In any case, SIDESHOW has managed to stand as one of the better books on Cambodia, and America's involvement in Cambodia (Elizabeth Becker's WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER is a must-read as well). One could debate Shawcross' perspectives, but his research is meticulous and has withstood many attacks, and his depiction of the machiavellian darkness that can creep into foreign policy is chilling and ruthless, and - for better of worse - makes for hypnotic reading, all the more frightening as it's drawn straight from history, research, the Freedom of Information act.

Now more than ever, this is essential reading.

-David Alston

On Junior Day, 2006, I would recommend SIDESHOW by William Shawcross. It contains information about the twentieth century that could be applied to situations that America faces in the world in 2006. The global superpower naturally thinks that everything will be resolved by the application of hyperpower, as Japan suffered a humiliating defeat at the end of World War II when it discovered that the United States was not just fighting a war against Japan, it would nuke their cities to bring about whatever result it wanted. When American troops openly invaded parts of Cambodia, Congress responded by imposing limits which were still in place on April 30, 1973:

"The justification for bombing Cambodia had been to protect Americans in Vietnam. Since October 1970 the Congress had included in every military appropriation bill a proviso expressly forbidding bombing in Cambodia except for that purpose. By the end of March 1973 there were no American troops left in Indochina. Still the bombing of Cambodia increased. The administration now based its case on Article 20 of the Paris Agreement. Rogers now claimed that American withdrawal from Vietnam did not affect the situation in Cambodia, and that Article 20 legalized the bombing `until such time as a ceasefire could be brought into effect.' " (p. 277).

One of the strange things about the invasion of Cambodia was that Nixon made an announcement on April 30, 1970 which attempted to keep all previous secret activities secret:

Ignoring Menu, Nixon began with the lie that the United States had "scrupulously respected" Cambodia's neutrality for the last five years and had not "moved against" the sanctuaries. This falsehood was repeated by Kissinger in his background briefings to the press. That same evening he told reporters that the Communists had been using Cambodia for five years but, "As long as Sihanouk was in power in Cambodia we had to weigh the benefits in long-range historical terms of Cambodian neutrality as against any temporary military advantages and we made no efforts during the first fifteen months of this administration to move against the sanctuary." The next day he said of Sihanouk's rule, "We had no incentive to change it. We made no effort to change it. We were surprised by the development. One reason why we showed such great restraint against the base areas was in order not to change this situation." (p. 146).
In his announcement of the invasion, Nixon stated that his action was taken "not for the purpose of expanding the war into Cambodia, but for the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam"; he would give aid to Cambodia, but only to enable it "to defend its neutrality and not for the purpose of making it an active belligerent on one side or the other." (p. 146).

Currently Iran has a militia of five million, and if Iran were to officially enter a war in Iraq as a result of bombings by Israel, as urged by Vice President Cheney, to remove Iran's nuclear capabilities, even if a bomb based on plans provided by the CIA wouldn't work, Iran has other ways it could strike back. Being subatomic is very much like Cambodia was in 1970, but we shall soon see what issues are about to be submitted to the UN security council, and if it helps or hurts. A blockade created by Iran so American supplies might have more trouble reaching Kuwait and Iraq; oil exports from the region could end; American dollars could fall; the interest on bonds could rise so high that the U.S. government couldn't balance a budget; and some of the world's banks might then be alarmed.

SIDESHOW by William Shawcross is the only book I have in which I can look up Lon Nil in the index. Lon Nil might well be Cambodia's forgotten man. His brother, Lon Nol, declared himself Chief of State as well as Prime Minister and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces when he dissolved the Assembly in October 1971 and assumed emergency rule. (p. 229). In December 1971, an American psychiatrist in the U.S. Army found "his close associates indicate his mental faculties have deteriorated markedly as a result of his February 1971 stroke" (p. 208). On April 1, 1975, at the urging of his brother Lon Non, Lon Nol took half a million dollars and moved to Hawaii. (pp. 357-358). But for me, the best picture of events in Cambodia is the final page of Chapter 8, The Coup, in March 1970, when Lon Nol overthrew Sihanouk, using the hostility of the urban elite and military officers to Sihanouk to justify a power grab by a former Minister of Defense who "had been the principal scourge of the Vietnamese Communists while privately profiting from the thriving covert business that they brought through Sihanoukville." (p. 113). Sihanouk responded by forming a government recognized by Peking on May 5, 1970, shortly after the American invasion announced by Nixon. Sihanouk had flown from Moscow to China on March 18, 1970, but Lon Nil was still in Cambodia:

Rioting broke out in several provinces; opposition was strongest in the market town of Kompong Cham, Cambodia's second city, fifty miles northeast of Phnom Penh. After Sihanouk's radio broadcast, the town filled with peasants, fishermen and rice farmers from the neighborhood. The townspeople refused the government's orders to remove the Prince's portrait, and they burned down the house of the new governor whom Lon Nol had appointed. Demonstrators gathered in buses and trucks to march on Phnom Penh. They were halted by an army roadblock, and after that . . . About ninety people were killed or wounded. (pp. 126-127).

The most vivid display of anger against Lon Nol occurred, again in Kompong Cham, when peasants seized his brother Lon Nil, killed him and tore his liver from his stomach. The trophy was taken into a Chinese restaurant, where the owner was ordered to cook and slice it. Morsels were handed to everyone in the streets around. (p. 127).

Really bad decisions made by the Nixon administration toward Indochina and the Vietnam War are now fairly obvious. However, we must remember how difficult this type of investigation would have been back when Shawcross did his intensive research back in the late 70s. Here Shawcross builds a very hard-to-dismiss case against Nixon and Henry Kissinger, in terms of how their problematic military and diplomatic strategies at least indirectly led to the hideous destruction of Cambodia (in fact, one of Nixon's documented strategies was to make the Communists think he was a madman, assuming they'd get scared and give up).

During the earlier years of the war, Cambodia was a relatively tranquil nation that was trying to remain neutral. But the country was being used as a hideout by North Vietnamese soldiers, leading to bombing by the Americans. Here Shawcross shows how Nixon and Kissinger made use of political trickery and overhyped threats to keep the bombing going to an extent that was far more destructive than necessary. As a bonus, this book also documents the wire-tapping paranoia and unconstitutional shenanigans in the Nixon White House. Shawcross is especially tough on Kissinger, finding that he disregarded the integrity and safety of Cambodia (which he had only ever visited for four hours), in favor of short-term political advantages and unyielding ideology. The relentless bombing destabilized Cambodian society, leading indirectly to the hideous genocide and societal destruction enacted by the Khmer Rouge a few years later. It is difficult to argue with Shawcross' heavily researched conclusions, and the hellish wholesale collapse of Cambodia (of a type never before seen in modern history) becomes all the more poignant as a result.

Be sure to get an edition of this book from 1986 or after, in which Shawcross adds materials from the political firefight that the book ignited. Kissinger was obviously upset and went to great lengths, through articles written by his lackey Peter Rodman, to try and disprove Shawcross' assertions. If your copy of this book contains these articles, you'll be quite bemused by Rodman's evasive, dissembling, and downright condescending rebuttal attempts, which are easily shot down by Shawcross. This war of words in itself proves that Kissinger had, and always will have, a lot to answer for. [~doomsdayer520~]