Events Books

Rainbow Remedies offers insight into personal loss. Grief is handled differently by everyone. I have read and reread this book
and I pick up something new everytime I read it. Survival is our main goal in life, but we all endure many things along the way.
This author has found a very straightforward approach to common
people and their personal losses. Can't wait for a 2nd book by Joanne Hill.

Joanne Hill used her years of emotional devastation and, subsequently, searching for rainbows (literally and figuratively) to produce a narrative of healing, encouragement, and inspiration. We meet the fascinating people who populated her life, some who remain, and many who were snatched away by death. She describes "stories of strange and mysterious happenings, miraculous coincidences and wondrous people who came to us out of chaos, troubles and sorrow." Woven throughout the chapters are the seven remedies Hill developed for surviving crises of death, illness, loss of relationships, and loss of personal possessions, and for finding joy in living. Hill's book offers food for reflection and - perhaps - a glimmer of the rainbow that reminds us that life does, indeed, move on, and we are often the stronger and happier for it.

Have you ever wondered where an author found their ideas? Well, many, many times I have. In Rainbow Remedies for Life's Stormy Times, the author provides an extensive reading list of writers that have guided her on her path. Her painstaking work provides an opportunity for the reader to do further exploration on their own. Though the author writes extensively about how she dealt with the many deaths in her family, the book is much, much more than that. Grief occurs with the loss of anything. I consider this a must read book for anyone who wants to help themselves to a happier, more successful life.

In Rainbow Remedies For Life's Stormy Times, author Joanne Hill shares self-help remedies for surviving and thriving after emotional shocks and hard times. She gained this invaluable insights when twelve members of her family died within a four year span. Readers will find her seven remedies to survive crisis and go on to live a "rainbow" life; a potent formula to heal loss and painful relationships; seven ways to help others without exhausting yourself; a powerful treatment to ease fear and anxiety; and eighteen questions to empower the choices you make. Articulate, inspiring, practical, and totally accessible, Rainbow Remedies For Life's Stormy Times is strongly recommended reading for anyone struggling with the shocks, loss, and disappointments that any of us are at risk for.

"Rainbow Remedies for Life's Stormy Times" contains the wisdom that Joanne Hill has acquired as she worked through some of the stormy times of her life. And what stormy times she has had! Among other things she lost twelve members of her family over a four year time period.

Throughout the book she shows the reader how to see the rainbows in the face of stormy times. She presents seven "remedies" (coping processes) that are useful in dealing with difficult times. These seven remedies are 1) Stop, Look, Listen and Learn, 2) Praise and Thanksgiving, 3) Accentuate the Positive, 4) Power of Choice, 5) Forgiveness, 6) Helping others Help Themselves, and 7) Support. Each of these has it's own chapter in which she distills the basic facets of the remedy and follows up with the ingredients or steps needed to use the remedy. Deeply moving at times, it is a highly recommended book for anyone hurting or trying to move on past a hurt.

What a conversation piece!!! Politicians beware!!!! Everything you say will come back to haunt you!!! Great book for all of us who enjoy watching our politicians eat crow!!

what a collection by a true master of the pen...Shakespeare? Dickens? Frost? Morons!

This book (as well as the Bush one) is packed with rare and just plain hilarious quotes by the former USA President. Most of these I've never heard before and the author leaves quite funny and relevant comments to further the humour. Highly recommended.

The best, funniest and most enjoyable way to remember all about Clinton! His greatest speeches, his greatest mistakes, his greatest virtues, his greatest flaws! This is a very original quote book, visually attractive, easy to read, and compilated with very intelligent and creative sense of humor. Youýll enjoy it from beginning to endýand back!!!

This book had me laughing from the moment I opened it. It is not only an insightful look at the former President's words, it's chock full of silly comments that keeps the pages turning and turning.

Totally cherished this book. the link said that the book was used, when i got it, it looked very new. couldnt believe it was used !

I know this author, Jean Sasson, from her PRINCESS Trilogy, and from her last book, ESTER'S CHILD. I had a difficult time finding this book, but was not disappointed with a second-hand copy. Although the book is obviously written in a hurry due to the situation at the time, and certainly not up to the quality writing of her last 4 books, you can tell that Jean Sasson cares passionately about these human beings and wants their stories to be told. I was surprised at her ability to interview so many high-ranking government officials but after reading her bio and seeing that she lived for 12 years in Arabia, I realized that she probably knows the "ins and outs" of the area. For certain, she is one brave lady and does not seem to concern herself with her own safety. Admittedly, she does seem to try and please everyone just a tad much, but I wonder if that is her Southern background--friendly and warm.
At any rate, I do admire this author and I think it was a story that needing telling by someone who obviously liked the Arabs being interviewed. The author seems to have a knack to not judge, and to try and get to the heart of the matter.
I recommend this book in light of the ongoing situation with Iraq. Who knows when Saddam will decide to go back to Kuwait? This author tells the truth of that invasion straight from the mouths of the people who survived a very brutal day. Let's just hope a second book about a second invasion is not in our future!

This harrowing book recounts the stories of individual Kuwaitis who suffered horribly in the days just after the Iraqi invasion in 1990. The focus on individuals makes the book all the more moving; the author's knowledge of and sympathy for the subject country comes through clearly. One can't knock the stories of the Kuwaitis; I was a little disappointed in the author (mention is made of the Kuwaiti government's lack of democracy, which she rationalizes by resorting to the old "a nation's internal policies are no one else's business" excuse, also used by none other than Saddam Hussein). For this, I was forced to deduct a star from the rating.

After reading all of Jean Sasson's other books (including her most famous "Princess") I was very glad to pick up, "The Rape of Kuwait." This is Jean's first book. The author describes how Desert Storm effected the Kuwaiti people. It's atrocious, and very sad and shocking in some parts, but also a riveting tale that should be told. I could not put this book down. I look forward to reading Jean Sasson's next book as she is one of my favorite authors!!!

This was clearly a quickly written book, but gave good details. The suffering endured by the Kuwaitis reminds me to be relieved that Saddam Hussein is no longer in power! But, what caught my interest the most was the author's knack for traveling alone throughout the Middle East. It's not unusual for tough male reporters to do that, but for a southern female, someone who is not even a reporter, to travel with such abandon is simply amazing. I was struck more than once by her bravery. Not only that, Jean Sasson seemed to be able to interview whomever she pleased, from the highest ranking Kuwaiti official to the ordinary citizens. I'd like to read this author's personal story myself. Is there such a book? If so, I would buy it.

This was a Christmas gift for my college age son. Book was in excellent shape and delivered in a timely manner.

Plato's philosophies regarding how to organize society is very real in today's modern world. The ideas regarding the honor class are clearly seen if one looks closely. I think this book should be required reading at some point in high school--perhaps people would be better able to see the reasoning behind many social structures thereby allowing them to make more informed decisions about what they believe and to whom they consider to be good leaders.

Plato's 'Republic' is one of the most important works of ancient Greek philosophy, and one of the foundation pieces of political science and political philosophy of that and subsequent ages. It was one of the first pieces I read when undertaking a political science degree.

Plato was not only a great philosopher, but also a great writer. While few master the classical Greek language sufficient to undertake its study in the original language, the text appears in countless translated forms of varying degrees of integrity. This particular translation is one that is often used in schools, and is fairly careful to the original text.

The text is traditionally divided into ten sections, although some scholars see this as being a function of the papyrus and scrolls of original composition more than being integral to the structure of the text itself. One of the interesting features of the Republic is that it was not originally intended for scholars and philosophers primarily, but for the common (albeit educated) reader, and remains one of the more accessible texts of ancient Greek philosophy.

In typical fashion, this is done in a dialogue fashion, with the lead character Socrates (fashioned after Plato's teacher, the great philosopher Socrates, although the words Socrates utters in this and many other Platonic dialogues are undoubtedly Plato's own). There is a discussion on method (the Sophist Thrasymachus shows up early to make disparaging comments about the Socratic method) whilst trying to determine an adequate definition of justice, as well as a discussion on the virtues and/or utility of wealth and old age early in the text. Socrates moves the discussion of justice away from the individual toward the communal, and this is where the political philosophy gets played out in full.

Book II shows the setting out of an ideal city (city-states being the most common form of political organisation in Greece at the time of Plato, with Athens and other cities competing for dominant role). Division of labour becomes an immediate necessity if a city grows beyond a small village setting, according to the theory here. These essentially become classes of people, with different rights and responsibilities, and different expectations of education and material well-being. The guardians or army class is the first one introduced, including an extensive discussion of the type of education and indoctrination such a class should have - this involves political and religious aspects.

It follows from this discussion that censorship is not only tolerated, but selectively preferred. The guardian class is elaborated upon - they are to be divided into rulers and helpers (officer and enlisted class, perhaps?), and they should live separately from the city they guard, owning no private property so as to not be corrupted or corruptible.

After establishing the just foundation of the city, the discussion returns to justice for the individual (interesting to note that what is not discussed is if justice is attainable in a non-ideal city). Justice, after all, is that state when everyone is doing what he or she should be doing, not meddling in other affairs, and exhibiting the virtues of moderation, wisdom, and courage. Justice becomes one of the virtues, and is part of an inner state of the soul of one living in such a society.

Interesting parts of the Republic include the very early idea for equal rights and responsibilities for women, particularly in the guardian class. It is unclear whether Plato was aware of how self-serving his dialogue would seem, since his argument leads to the `natural' conclusion that the only ones who could really be in charge in such an ideal city would be the philosophers. Plato is not an advocate for democracy, and pokes fun quite a bit at democratic structures; he similarly disapproves of most of other types of government (oligarchy, plutocracy, timocracy, etc.) - one can discern the frustrated politician here.

However, the real power of the Republic lies in Plato's remarkable images and metaphoric stories in the second half of the dialogue. These include his expositions on theories of the Forms, and trying to explain what the Good is, and how humankind interprets such things. The images of the ship, the Sun, and the men in the cave are powerful images that have lasted in popular literature since the time of Plato.

This is a classic of Western literature and of world literature.

The Republic is a grandiose work, without doubt the most important of Plato and one of the most impressive mankind' s intellectual monuments. Although it has regarded the Republic as the first politic utopia, one must not interpret this book solely as a work that it purposed itself as the description of an ideal State, but, above all as a text disposed to offer norms that, applied to the existent regimes at its historical moment, would rectify its deficiencies, specially in what concerned to Athenian democracy.

According Plato, the foru historical regimes are: the timocracy, the oligarchy, the democracy and the tyranny. So the democracy remained in a transient state between oligarchy and tyranny.

But this extraordinary essay does not exhaust itself in the theory of the State. Also contains the essence of the metaphysics and the theory of the knowledge. Specially famous the cavern's allegory, that exposes through a myth ( what so weird didn't you?) the platonic theory of the knowledge.

It has been said - with knack - that Peloponnesian War was the first ideological war in the history, dispute in which Esparto and Athens confronted themselves I mean the authoritarianism of the first one against the Athenian democracy, a true maritime Empire in those ages. and I think to myself that for Athens, the dispute was still more dramatic whereas some of their main families were traditionally enemies of its democratic system and obviously were congenial with Esparto, being perhaps the fundamental device that impulsed Plato to write this supreme bequeath for the posterity.

I just had one brief comment to make, more on the concept of justice as a whole as expounded on in The Republic, rather than on the many other facet's of Plato's classic.

Early on in the book there is the famous exchange between Socrates and the Sophist, Thrasymachus. Socrates asks him for his definition of Justice, and Thasymachus responds that "Justice is the interest of the stronger."

Socrates then uses his famous eponymous method to seemingly demolish the Sophist's position, and then presents his own view instead.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with Thrasymachus here, if only on practical and historical grounds. Justice usually is the interest of the stronger. Perhaps this is not what Justice should be in human and social terms, but that's the reality.

Socrates' definition is a nice ideal to strive for, but it rarely works out that way in practice. If one thinks of Thrasymachus' definition as simply pragmatic and realistic, and Socrates' definition as being the ideal that a true republic (or whatever society) should strive for, then I think this is a more accurate view of the situation. Socrates makes Thrasymachus' idea appear invalid, but in fact, his idea is more accurate in terms of how things actually work out in most parts of the world (and even in the US) than is Socrates' idea.

Furthermore, one only has to think of the U.S. and how much influence the special and monied interests have on the political process to see that Thrasymachus is basically right. Money is power, and power is what politics is all about. And whoever has money controls the political process.

Not that this is right or even desirable, it's just the way things are. Finally, it seems to be human nature to falsely profess to high ideals that one has no real intention of following oneself, but that if one can get others to ascribe to them, you will have an advantage. Perhaps this is another factor at the root of politics, in addition to the obvious ones, which are the money, power, and sex that ultimately drive it.

Cleveland and Noyes make a great case in their book for (as they say) shifting back to "bottom up government" as our founding fathers envisioned.

They both definitely know their subject and have well thought-out all issues they discuss in the book including taxes, prisons and the drug war, energy policy, farming, etc. There is a lot of ground covered here.

After reading each topic, I found my self in agreement with nearly every core belief of the libertarian party - it just makes SENSE as opposed to how we've been doing things here in the U.S. the last hundred years - we've sure strayed from the founding father's principals, including "limited government" - in today's society, you can't do ANYTHING without government involvement and taxation - so much for a "free market" economy. The book reads very well and the is a wealth of information in the Appendixes.

To sum it up: Clyde and Ed have written one of them most inspiring books about the POTENTIAL of government I have ever read - I'm so glad they have shared this vision as I'm sure this book will inspire many other people!

This book is amazing. It is written in a clear, simple, succinct manner. Clyde and Ed have really opened my eyes to the way our country is run. I knew that our government was out of the hands of the people, but I had no hope that anything could be done about it. Now I have not only learned the details of the corruptness of our power- and money-driven government, but I know that things can be changed. By adopting the principles of the Libertarian party, we can return our political structure to one that truly is of, by and for the people. We can return our earth and all its people, and our economy, to a state of health and vitality. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand why things are the way they are in this country, to anyone who wishes things could be better, to anyone interested in living a better life. After reading this book, I was delighted to go to the polls on election day and vote for all the Libertarian candidates. I only hope that our citizenry is deserving of what those candidates have to offer.

If you are like me, you are completely bored and frustrated with politics in our country. Our candidates flood the TV, airways & press, with personal attacks and negative campaigns. I am continually amazed at how hard they work to say nothing and make it last 30 minutes. Finally, there is a breath of fresh air. Finally, we have candidates that have alot to say. So much, that it took this book to make the information available to the public. This book explains their plans for restructuring the property tax system, eliminating state income tax, generating green energy for the entire state, restoring the power of the individual and much, much more.

Both authors of this book are running for office in Iowa. Clyde Cleveland is running for Governor and Ed Noyes is running for Attorney General. Regardless of the campaign tactics of the other candidates, Mr. Cleveland & Mr. Noyes continue to run their campaign's using the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Their campaigns demonstrate the respect that they have for the individual and that is something that is in short supply in our government today.

Read a single chapter and you will be hooked. You won't want to put it down until you've finished it! Enjoy!

Clyde Cleveland and Ed Noyes have written a detailed plan for restoring Iowa, what they call America's "heartland." I was so moved by the PRINCIPLES by which these men live that I moved from Cleveland, OH to support Mr. Cleveland. I left my family and friends; I left two bands, found a new home for my dog, and left my full-time job working with the disabled to labor for the restoration of our true law. In my opinion, I have lost nothing in comparison to what the human race has to gain.

These two men have a plan for Iowa, but the principles--those of our founding fathers--can change the world.

I remember reading Orwell's "1984" and "The Tomorrow Files" by Lawrence Sanders and thinking this is great fiction, but what if they're right? It seems as if we have and continue to create the types of societies that authors with foresight have been warning us about.

Not being very political, I see it happening and have always thought that I can't do anything about the way we have been duped into thinking our two party system gives us choices.

"Restoring the Heart of America" not only discusses the problems our government has created, but offers real solutions for returning to a country of true freedom as outlined by our great forefathers. It is time to undo the damage that has been done, such as our dependency on foreign oil (or any oil, for that matter) and the way we have allowed large corporations to mold our future. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to stand behind leaders that will look out for the people, and not foreign entities and corporations with deep pockets.

At first, I thought that every Iowan should read this book so we can help lead our country in changing the world. I now urge all Americans to read this book and tell their friends to read it as well. It's a book that is clear and easy to read and can do a great deal in restoring our faith that we have the ability to make changes for the good of all. My hat is off to Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Noyes for the courage to take a stand on making changes that are essential to our continued freedom and way of life.

An excellent book for officers and supervisors alike. Chapters were well organized and material referenced appropriately. Following the book, any officer or supervisor will make better, more sound decisions on discipline.

If you are a supervisor, you MUST read this book. It provides a wealth of information, enough for a two week training course.

I'm a recently appointed supervisor of the Internal Affairs Division and this book contains information that protects both my department as well as the guys and gals employed here. Anyone looking for information relating to regulations pertaining to the Police Officer's Bill of Rights should look into this book.

As an Internal Affairs commander and, later, Chief of Police, the various editions of this book have been my first reference for the administrative processes. Now, as a consultant in the area of policy review and internal investigations, I recommend this book to my clients and students. Every police supervisor should have ready access to this book, and it should be on every IA investigator's desk.

This is a must have for every law enforcement officer no matter what his position or title. I wish I could provide everyone in my Department with a copy.

This was an excellent read. I must say as a public servent that all police officers should have an up to date copy of this book in his/her bag.

If you wanted to know really what is going on in the EC, this is the book to read. It will give you insights into the political systems, which influences the monetary system, trading and the agenda they are following. Not to mention their bullying of countries to get their way.

When was the last time in a civilized, DEMOCRATIC society have we seen free speech outlawed? How about now. Now in the EU it is against the lau to express you opinion, your criticism, of what the political beast is doing. That means you cannot speak out against wrong doings of institutions and political figures.

That ruling alone did away with British common Law and over 50 years of european civil liberties. Where will it end? A totalitarian regime?

Some say THAT is just around the corner.

The author of this book got into HOT water for writing it. I hope this is not something that will foreshadow this type of activity happening here.

This book is a wake up call. If it is happening in the EU, what kind of ramifications will fall on us?

I have bought this as a present for friends interested in monetary policy and international affairs. I shudder to think of the impact the EU will have with a weakened US international policy. I can only envision them as growing threat to us economically and shudder to think of how a potentially fascist EU.

Buy this book.

Bernard Connelly has written the consummate "expose" on the Maastricht treaty and the process of European monetary integration. Connelly, a former member of the European Commission, blows the lid off the Maastricht treaty and the intransigence of Jaques Delors and the Kohl-Mitterand relationship, which led to the European Monetary Union (EMU) provisions in Maastricht. This is at heart story of the politics of monetary policy, especially the failed Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), with three primary themes: the primacy of politics in determining monteray policy, the role of "vision" and "ideology" in determining policy, and the comedy of errors which was the ERM. One should not let the economics of this book prevent them from reading it. At heart, this is a great story and has the intrigue of the best historical novel. Connelly has written a factual tale containing a heroine (Baroness Thatcher), villians (Delors, Kohl, Trichet, Mitterand, Tietmeyer), and Alphandery, the innocent whistle-blower who brings the ERM crashing down. Connelly provides any reader interested in knowing about the lunacy of European monetary integration just why this idea is flawed, and provides economic evidence to defend his primary arguments. Among the more important and convincing conclusions reached in this work are: the necessity of flexible exchange rates, the inherent negatives of Europhilism (and especially Franco-philism, since "Europe" is seen as way to prevent the rise of "Anglo-Saxon" institutions), and the belief in free, competitive markets. A final comment one feels obligated to make about this book is its timeliness, and his villification of France, which is supported by following the recent row over the control of the European Central Bank. If one wants to read one book on why the EMU was really founded, and why it won't work-this is the book.

Bernard Connolly was fired by the European bureaucrats after this book came out. If you read this book you will understand why. This book has all the detail you could ask for. It is an incredible expose of the events leding up to European Monetary Union.

If you support the European Community, reading this book will change your mind -- if you dare read it.

Excellent work. The reality at the core of all the pomp-and-circumstance surrounding EMU. Read it and be wiser.

Review of The Rotten Heart of Europe: the dirty war for Europe's money, by Bernard Connolly, Faber & Faber, 1995, £17.50.

THIS BRILLIANT book is a devastating exposure of the pretensions of those who want to rule Europe. It shows that the attempts to achieve monetary and economic union, and consequently political union, are bad for us. They will not bring monetary stability, economic growth or political harmony. Instead they will destabilise currencies, reduce growth and promote hatred between the nations of Europe.

Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) is supposed to build on the experience of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM). Britain's membership of the ERM forced us into a disastrous and quite unnecessary recession. After two years of suffering, Major said in July 1992 that Britain would soon be the leader of the ERM. Two months later, we were well out of it, and ERM had bermbed, as Jacques Clouseau, Major's mentor, would say.

ERM constrained British Government policy on non-monetary matters too. The Government appeased Spain over the fishing dispute to keep Spain happy about the sterling/peseta rate. So the Common Fisheries Policy, so damaging to Britain's fishing industry, is not an isolated EU aberration: it stems from the whole logic of economic and monetary union.

The ERM was described as the Eternal Recession Mechanism; EMU is likely to be Even More Useless. The ERM kept the poor countries poor; it did not help them to converge; it certainly did not help them to meet the Maastricht criteria. Spain's experience of ERM was catastrophic: 22% unemployed. The ERM forced Denmark into recession: unemployment doubled to 12%, the budget was slashed, and investment, output and wages all fell. In the ERM, Ireland's unemployment soared from 11% to 23%. ERM subordinated nations' economic interests to minorities' foreign policy goals: ruling class interests dominated working class interests. Some still claim that ERM and EMU could control capital, but actually they were and are attacks on the working class.

A 1992 report by the Monetary Committee, which advises the EU's Council of Ministers, admitted that ERM did not stabilise prices or money and did not reduce inflation. Perhaps it was after all just a tool for moving countries towards political union.

The book also depicts the present dangerous struggle between the French and German ruling classes for control over the proposed institutions of a single European state. Germany is determined to keep the Deutschmark and the Bundesbank: it wants EMU so that it can assimilate other countries into an expanded Deutschmark zone. France wants a new currency and wants to get its hands on the Bundesbank; it pushed for the Maastricht Treaty, which would destroy the Deutschmark. Who would control Europe's currency? Who would control the proposed new European Central Bank? Germany or France?

As Wilhelm Nolling, a Bundesbank Council member, said: "We should be under no illusion - the present controversy over the new European monetary order is about power, influence and the pursuit of national interests."

They are already fighting about the 1996 InterGovernmental Conference. Germany wants the economic criteria for EMU met as soon as possible: it insists that economic convergence must precede monetary union. France wants the earliest possible date for monetary union, believing that monetary union would produce economic convergence. Both are wrong of course: convergence cannot and will not be achieved, either way.

EMU's implications are universally unpopular. The workers of France, Italy and Belgium are striking against the EU's schemes. The Austrian Government fell in October, unable to pass the EU-required budget.

We can see both from ERM's effects, and from the effects of the attempted imposition of the Maastricht criteria, how damaging membership of EMU would be. It would cause, as intended, a permanent lowering of wages, a permanently higher level of unemployment, and massive cuts in public spending.

Connolly sums up: "My central thesis is that the ERM and EMU are not only inefficient but also undemocratic: a danger not only to our wealth but to our freedoms and ultimately, our peace. The villains of the story - some more culpable than others - are bureaucrats and self-aggrandizing politicians. The ERM is a mechanism for subordinating the economic welfare, democratic rights and national freedom of citizens of the European countries to the will of political and bureaucratic elites whose power-lust, cynicism and delusions underlie the actions of the vast majority of those who now strive to create a European superstate. The ERM has been their chosen instrument, and they have used it cleverly."

This is an extremely insightful examination of the election that first put Grover Cleveland in the White House. The ways in which Summers analyzes the political process remind me of Holt's masterpiece, "The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party". (That is a much more massive book, as it covers a broader topic over a longer period). The use of political cartoons of the period to support the narrative is probably the best I've seen. The style is engaging, although occasionally I think Summers gets slightly carried away. For example, at least one discussion of the standard myths about the period goes on long enough to be somewhat disruptive. Also, while I don't detect any factual bias, there is a tendency to look at things more a Republican perspective. That is, issues (e.g., the role of the minor parties) are more often discussed in terms of problems facing the GOP and how well they did or did not deal with them. The outcome of the election is reported in language that seems rather wistful that Blaine lost. Again, this is only a matter of relative emphasis - there is excellent material on the complex relations between the Democrats at the national and state levels and the rival Democratic machines in New York City. Despite my minor quibbles, I highly recommend this book to anyone with a general interest in American political history, and it certainly must be read by anyone with a particular interest in this period.

The last half of the 19th century is a period that the historians generally give short shrift to. They dutifully plow through it in the obligatory chapter in their rush to get from the Civil War to Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson, and the Progressive Era. The campaign of Grover Cleveland against James Blaine for the presidency in 1884 is just about forgotten. This is too bad because what with the emphasis on character and values (accompanied by some really gross mudslinging), the extensive changes in technology and business, the factionalism and divided government, it was a period much like ours. Summers does an excellent job of dispelling the prevailing view of this period as a doldrum bookended by Lincoln and TR. In a comprehensive yet not overly long book, he shows that substantive issues like the tariff, the relationship of the national government to the states, morality in politics, substance abuse (ie prohibition), and other pressing matters really were at stake, he explores those issues and the men and women who had to face them. This book is one of the best treatments of the 1884 presidential campaign (or any other campaign for that matter) out there. Find a copy of this book and read about a time that is so much like ours.

As an undergraduate at the University of Kentucky some years ago, Professor Mark Summers changed my life and I eventually devoted my life to the study of history. His lectures made the past come alive and seem so fresh and real and vital. Anyone who has read any of his books can relate to the sense of excitement that I am describing, and his latest book is no exception. In fact, it is perhaps his best book yet. Lively, fast-paced, yet scholarly and thought-provoking, Summers' book is everything that his readers have come to expect. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in nineteenth-century politics or U.S. history in general, or for those who consider history dry and boring and would like read a book where the past truly does come to life.

Anyone interested in politics or American history should love this book. The writing style is crisp and entertaining and the author strikes the right balance between explaining long ago and long forgotten events without drowning the reader in unnecesary details. The 1884 election itself was one of the most interesting of our history with sex scandals, charges of political corruption, party splits, and campaign blunders. The author brings the excitement to life and lets the reader understand not only what happened but why it occured and, even more interesting, what the participants had hoped to accomplish with their political strategies. The book succeeds in describing how late 19th century elections looked and felt to the participants. The human dynamic skillfully set out in this book (the cynical maneuverings, the overheated rhetoric, and the intense partisanship)are very familiar with what we experience in campaigns today-this very familiarity helps make Blaine and Cleveland seem real and not just sterile historical figures. Read this book!

Mark Summers is one of the great historians of mid-nineteenth century America. He is fully capable of taking subjects which have seemingly been worked to death and making them fresh with new material and original analysis. Rum Romanism and Rebellion does just that, making Blaine and Cleveland seem more vital and alive than the current occupants of the White House. The issues engage us, the political battle grips us. This is one of the author's best (to my mind, Mr. Summers best work is his two volume work on political corruption [neatly divided between ante-bellum crooks and post-war thieves]; let's hope that Mr. Summers has a trilogy in mind and next turns his attention to wartime corruption: from the transcontinental railroad to the supply of Union soldiers and the appointment of generals, that era was rife with corruption, yet very little has ever been written about it). Well done, Mr. Summers!

A Russian Diary: A Journalists' Final Account of Life, Corruption and Death in Putin's Russia - By Anna Politkovskaya

It's fashionable these days to describe a book as "important.' While most aren't, Anna Politkovskaya's "A Russian Diary" is. As one of Russia's most influential journalists until her assassination, presumably by the KGB, Politovskaya chronicled dissident protests, suspicious fires and "accidents" and other examples of Putin's heavy-handed regime
.
Some of her most impassioned writing came from Chechnya, which she characterized as "a small corner of hell." She wrote of the tragedy at Beslan, where dozens of school children were murdered. To this day, some of the victims have not been identified, because the tragedy was not a priority of the regime.

And she documents Putin's systematic retrenchment and repeal of many of the reforms enacted by his predecessors, Gorbachev and Yeltsin. Clearly, in the words of chess champion-turned-politician Kasparov, "Russia is a police state."

She writes: "What speed! The President has already signed the law abolishing the election of governors. It has been our fastest ever passage of a law, and all so that from January 1 Putin should not have to discuss matters with the governors or worry that they might be uncooperative. A Tsar should have serfs, not partners."

Like the KGB defector Alexander Litvenko, who was poisoned in London with radioactive polonium (again presumably by the KGB) , Politikovskaya paid a terrible price for her honesty.
She was murdered in Moscow on October 7, 2006-- Vladimir Putin's birthday.

This is a riveting account of a life constantly in peril. The translation is equally outstanding, conveying both the "conversationalism" of a "diary" and the formality of the more essential elements.

Anna Politkovskaya's "Russian Diary" is a gold mine of information and provides unparalleled insights into Putin's Neo-Soviet Russia.

Many believe that Politkovskaya was murdered for her indepth investigative reporting into all aspects of Putin's regime. In this book she makes it clear that Russia is rapidly sliding into a dark and deep abyss.

Politkovskaya reveals the rampant corruption prevalent in the Russian government and its total disregard for the Russian population, human rights, and basic democratic principles.

"Russian Diary" is a first-hand account of the growing power of Russia's criminal community and its alliance with Vladimir Putin, the rampant greed and lawlessness of the new Russian business elite, the unbridled brutality of the Russian security services, and the gross incompetence of the Russian military.

Politkovskaya believed that Russia was headed for another major war in the Caucasus against the mountain peoples it has been terrorizing and murdering for the last decade.

This is a sad and depressing story that is all too familiar to those with firsthand knowledge of the Soviet Union and Russia.

For those who care about Russia, it is hard to put this book down. It is a compelling read. However, one cannot help read "A Russian Diary" without an overwhelming sense of sadness. We know how the story ends. The last entry in the diary was made in August 2006, and soon thereafter Anna Politkovskaya life ends, murdered by unknown assailants in Moscow.

The profound nature of this loss comes across on every page of this book, as Ms. Politkovskaya carefully and without flinching describes contemporary Russian society, warts and all, as perhaps no other journalist left living can. This book brings the reader a first-hand look into the tragedies of Dubrovka Theater and the school siege at Beslan. And also chronicles the seemingly endless war in Chechnya. She asks hard questions of the Russian government and its apparent failure to manage these matters.

As great of a loss as the death of Anna Politkovskaya is, her dairy is a reminder of perhaps the greatest tragedy and missed opportunity in the last quarter of a century. With the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia had the opportunity once and forever to move into the family of democratic states. This book documents that although there are elections, this has not really happened, not even close. What we have now is a tightly controlled state governed by an intelligence oligarchy with a fondness for the Soviet past, which has restricted rather than expanded civil liberties and workers' rights. These restrictions have been justified in the name of protecting national security and the promotion of state controlled capitalism. "A Russian Diary" documents how the Russian people are languishing with a government seemingly disinclined to tackle the serious social welfare problems that are besetting the country.

This book is commentary on the Russian government, but it also asks tough questions of Americans and Western Europeans. What could they have done differently to nudge Russia toward a democratic direction? Is it too late? Are we destined to regress into a more perverse version of the Cold War, with a Russian government mistrusting the West once again, but now empowered by oil and gas revenues?

I hope that is not the case both for Russia and the West. However, without Anna Politkoyskaya alive to point out the deficiencies in the Russian government and the shortcomings of the West, the unthinkable becomes possible.

As a person who has worked in Russia since 1988 till now I have seen many changes and many era's. I have also a Masters Degree in Russian History. The truth is always frightening, what Politskaya writes is the truth and she paid for it with his life, I have witnessed some of what she writes but as my Business is still in Russia it's better to stay quiet. A frightening expose in 2007!! May she live on in memory.

A Russian Diary: A Journalists' Final Account of Life, Corruption and Death in Putin's Russia - By Anna Politkovskaya

It's fashionable these days to describe a book as "important.' While most aren't, Anna Politkovskaya's "A Russian Diary" is. As one of Russia's most influential journalists until her assassination, presumably by the KGB, Politovskaya chronicled dissident protests, suspicious fires and "accidents" and other examples of Putin's heavy-handed regime
.
Some of her most impassioned writing came from Chechnya, which she characterized as "a small corner of hell." She wrote of the tragedy at Beslan, where dozens of school children were murdered. To this day, some of the victims have not been identified, because the tragedy was not a priority of the regime.

And she documents Putin's systematic retrenchment and repeal of many of the reforms enacted by his predecessors, Gorbachev and Yeltsin. Clearly, in the words of chess champion-turned-politician Kasparov, "Russia is a police state."

She writes: "What speed! The President has already signed the law abolishing the election of governors. It has been our fastest ever passage of a law, and all so that from January 1 Putin should not have to discuss matters with the governors or worry that they might be uncooperative. A Tsar should have serfs, not partners."

Like the KGB defector Alexander Litvenko, who was poisoned in London with radioactive polonium (again presumably by the KGB) , Politikovskaya paid a terrible price for her honesty.
She was murdered in Moscow on October 7, 2006-- Vladimir Putin's birthday.

This is a riveting account of a life constantly in peril. The translation is equally outstanding, conveying both the "conversationalism" of a "diary" and the formality of the more essential elements.

Anna Politkovskaya's "Russian Diary" is a gold mine of information and provides unparalleled insights into Putin's Neo-Soviet Russia.

Many believe that Politkovskaya was murdered for her indepth investigative reporting into all aspects of Putin's regime. In this book she makes it clear that Russia is rapidly sliding into a dark and deep abyss.

Politkovskaya reveals the rampant corruption prevalent in the Russian government and its total disregard for the Russian population, human rights, and basic democratic principles.

"Russian Diary" is a first-hand account of the growing power of Russia's criminal community and its alliance with Vladimir Putin, the rampant greed and lawlessness of the new Russian business elite, the unbridled brutality of the Russian security services, and the gross incompetence of the Russian military.

Politkovskaya believed that Russia was headed for another major war in the Caucasus against the mountain peoples it has been terrorizing and murdering for the last decade.

This is a sad and depressing story that is all too familiar to those with firsthand knowledge of the Soviet Union and Russia.

For those who care about Russia, it is hard to put this book down. It is a compelling read. However, one cannot help read "A Russian Diary" without an overwhelming sense of sadness. We know how the story ends. The last entry in the diary was made in August 2006, and soon thereafter Anna Politkovskaya life ends, murdered by unknown assailants in Moscow.

The profound nature of this loss comes across on every page of this book, as Ms. Politkovskaya carefully and without flinching describes contemporary Russian society, warts and all, as perhaps no other journalist left living can. This book brings the reader a first-hand look into the tragedies of Dubrovka Theater and the school siege at Beslan. And also chronicles the seemingly endless war in Chechnya. She asks hard questions of the Russian government and its apparent failure to manage these matters.

As great of a loss as the death of Anna Politkovskaya is, her dairy is a reminder of perhaps the greatest tragedy and missed opportunity in the last quarter of a century. With the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia had the opportunity once and forever to move into the family of democratic states. This book documents that although there are elections, this has not really happened, not even close. What we have now is a tightly controlled state governed by an intelligence oligarchy with a fondness for the Soviet past, which has restricted rather than expanded civil liberties and workers' rights. These restrictions have been justified in the name of protecting national security and the promotion of state controlled capitalism. "A Russian Diary" documents how the Russian people are languishing with a government seemingly disinclined to tackle the serious social welfare problems that are besetting the country.

This book is commentary on the Russian government, but it also asks tough questions of Americans and Western Europeans. What could they have done differently to nudge Russia toward a democratic direction? Is it too late? Are we destined to regress into a more perverse version of the Cold War, with a Russian government mistrusting the West once again, but now empowered by oil and gas revenues?

I hope that is not the case both for Russia and the West. However, without Anna Politkoyskaya alive to point out the deficiencies in the Russian government and the shortcomings of the West, the unthinkable becomes possible.

As a person who has worked in Russia since 1988 till now I have seen many changes and many era's. I have also a Masters Degree in Russian History. The truth is always frightening, what Politskaya writes is the truth and she paid for it with his life, I have witnessed some of what she writes but as my Business is still in Russia it's better to stay quiet. A frightening expose in 2007!! May she live on in memory.