Events Books

A great insight into the world of the 'forgotten superheros', the people who deliver the news of the tragedies that occur. This is very interesting, giving lots of different points of view from across the affected area. It could have done with more pictures and photos, but the stories of the pressure-filled newsrooms paint a good enough picture to keep you interested throughout this book.

The authors do an amazing job of letting the stories stand on their own in providing readers with a rare and engaging look at how the press responded to a national tragedy. Even just one year later, Running towards Danger, is already an important piece of American history.

The photographs and the reporters' accounts of their September 11th experiences are a piercing and necessary reminder to all Americans of why the war on terrorism must be won.

From Library Journal Reviews ; October 1, 2002 Tuesday By Audrey Snowden
The Newseum, an interactive museum of news located in Arlington, VA, was operating as usual on September 11, 2001. After seeing smoke billowing from the ravaged Pentagon, its staff members immediately closed the museum and worked through the night assembling an exhibit of wire service photos from around the world. This book is the outgrowth of that initial exhibit. What sets it apart from the plethora of books on 9/11 is its focus. Told chronologically through 100 first-person vignettes and 75 powerful color and black-and-white photographs, the book covers the varied experiences of members of the press. Big-name anchors weigh in, but the stage belongs to the reporters and photographers who usually work behind the scenes. Authors Trost, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, and Shepard, award-winning media critic, provide a firsthand - and very human - look at the process behind the coverage, revealing how the immediacy of ongoing television and Internet coverage helped journalists, photojournalists, and anchors shape a nation's perception of a tragically unique day. A valuable addition, especially to school libraries. - Audrey Snowden, formerly with Clark Univ., Worcester, MA
Newseum with Cathy Trost & Alicia C. Shepard. Rowman & Littlefield. 2002. c.256p. photog. ISBN 0-7425-2316-0.

This is a round of fraternal applause for American journalists, who earned everyone's sincere respect on September 11th. Journalists from all levels of the profession who were on the story are interviewed. Their tales are then spliced up and laid out in chronological order, from onset to post-traumatic jitters. The professionalism on display here is absolutely superb. Most people have some idea of how hectic the job of getting the news produced each day is. Here we have the spectacle of these brave professionals getting the job done minus most of their familiar tools and surroundings, and plus a soul-sucking fear that they or their colleagues are about to die. No smirks, no condescension, no "women and minorities hardest hit" credentializing.

So is this book an adequate tribute to them? Yes. Can't go wrong. The text is punchy and hot-off-the-presses, and the photos really crackle. There is a problem, though.

The book seems to discriminate against Foxnews. Apart from a screenshot of Shepard Smith and a photo of a correspondent at the Pentagon, Foxnews is excluded from this collection. This is very strange, since Foxnews is based in New York and is the number four American news network, behind the networks and ahead of CNN. Could it be that the Newseum staff who edited this book don't consider those eeeevillll conservatives to be *real* journalists? That's a nasty thought, but what other explanation could there be? Even a reporter from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, in town for a fashion show and caught up in events, is quoted multiple times. To be sure, staff from the Wall Street Journal are quoted extensively, as their offices were hardest hit.

Apart from that, the book is gripping. The journos' professional instincts snapped into action. Taking to bicycling when traffic congeals, giving the cordon police the slip, phoning Mom to relay a report second hand, the ingenuity and dedication is impressive. There's also a seldom-reported sensitivity. Some reporters pitch in with relief efforts. Some cry along with the sobbing victims they are interviewing. There's only one case of a reporter getting the bum's rush, from some firemen who were trying to catch their breath.

We get all meat in this book. The actual TV broadcasts that day were teeming with hastily miked-up guests experts, helping the gabbling anchors fill air time until actual news got into their earpieces. But ever the pro, Peter Jennings signaled for silence on the set when the towers came down. No comment was necessary.

It might have been nice to include a story or two from a West Coast news outlet. When the attacks happened, I couldn't get into any of the national news websites. I finally connected to the Sacramento Bee's site. The webmaster was frantically posting up wire photos and rolling copy through, with what must have been a small, sleepy crew.

And then in a few weeks things were back to normal. NPR's Loren Jenkins blurted in an interview that he would "smoke out" and disclose the location of any U. S. troops on a secret mission, if it meant getting the story. The TV news people harrumphed at Fox for wearing lapel flags, fearing that the sight of the national flag on the set would signify support for the Bush administration and not the country as a whole. Reuters insisted on calling Arab terrorists "militants", and putting "terrorism" in skepticism-implying quotation marks. The liberal pundits covered the Afghan war like children in the back seat whining "Are we there yet?" New York Times editorial page editor Howell Raines concluded that the war on terror was Vietnam II, and used his page of that august newspaper to try to block further retaliation. But even with all its faults, the American press is mano-a-mano the greatest in the world. It's inspiring to see this record of how great it was on a day when it laid its faults aside.

Second Touch (A. D. Chronicles, Book 2)
I thought this book was very touching and very informative of the way lepers were treated and handled in those days. It was a really good book and I highly recommend it.

First of all the book was delivered before the delivery date and I was pleasantly surprised. Secondly it was a very good book.

This book is excellently done. I plan on buying more of their books.

This book is exceptional, as was the one before it. For those individuals who have an abiding faith in Jesus, this series is exceptional.
I, personally, enjoy the way the authors have written the story, taking several people, who could have lived in the time of Christ, and told "their" stories, and how Christ helped them.
It is truly an enjoyable series.

I am not one who makes a habit of writing reviews but felt compelled to after reading this book. This is a first Thoene book for me and I will most certainly read more of them. The book so vividly portrays the attitudes toward Christ during his ministry from many different vantage points, from Pharisee to Sadducee to leper to Gentile. It is told through the lives of main characters whose lives have been influenced then changed by the ministry of Christ. It is so very easy to see oneself in each and every one of these characters and draw parallels to your own relationship with Christ today. Very thought provoking and not one to just whip through. A great book for a Christian. Non Christian may or may not like it.

I loved this book. It covers the history of Open Source and explain WHY people do open source and HOW they make it happen!

The Success of Open Source in a not a just wistful paean to Linux as the title would suggest. Rather, it is two books in one.

The first book is one of the very best recapitulations of the open source movement and all of its predecessors. The second book is about how something that just seemingly shouldn't work, works so well, and how those principles behind its working extend to more than just the open source movement.

The author, a university professor, draws liberally from the traditions of historians, economists, sociologists, and psychologists to paint a compelling picture of why the forces behind open source are not going to go away any time soon. Read in best companion with The Cathedral and the Bazaar, which IS a bit of a wistful paean to Linux, it illuminates its subject wonderfully.

Steven's book brings a rich articulation of the social practices innovations unleashed by the Open Source collective: a new understanding of private property that better fit the tech forces and the challenges of the present. His book it is not a model; it is not the list of the 10 reasons why...; it is not the defense of an emerging theory; but an historical account in which anecdotes, facts, historical moment, tentative hypothesis, set the background to allows the reader to reshape her/his own questions. The book gave me a perspective I have been testing with IT architects, programmers, software designers...I feel myself much more prepare to engage in conversations about the future in a meaningful and effective way. Thanks to the author!

For the serious reader (and who indeed thinks open source is hilarious?), Weber provides a detailed history of how this idea developed. He traces it from the advent of unix in the 1970s, and the generous (ie. low fees) licensing terms by ATT. Which led to the BSD Unix that flourished in the 80s. Also during this time, GNU took off.

But the bulk of the book deals with the 90s onwards. Especially as linux grew from Torvalds' seminal contribution. Its intellectual roots in unix and GNU are studied. We also see the rise of the Free Software Foundation and Apache, as articulate enablers and promoters of open source. All of which was aided by the invention and meteoric growth of the Web. This played a vital role in enabling a global audience of programmers to hear of and contribute their efforts.

I'm a commercial software developer, and found the author's history of the UNIX culture and the story of its evolution into what we now call Open Source to be fascinating. That alone made it a good read for me. Add in the thought provoking analysis of the "whys" (the real point of this book), and it's a killer combo.

Warning: the book is *full* of sentences like "Pluralism at many different levels is being enabled by communications technologies and by experimentation with property; together, these are reducing the marginal cost of adding voices toward an asymptote of zero." Despite that, I've been able to read it at the pace of a thriller, not a textbook.

I WISH I COULD HAVE GIVEN IT 500 STARS! READ IT! THAT'S MY ORDER! Man I love this book!

I can't speak for others, but in my case I was always of the impression that campaign finance was the best solution for the country. I bought into the idea that there was massive corruption in government, and that a way to curb this would be through restricting contributions from large donors. This is what I was always led to believe, so naturally I would be for campaign finance reform.

After reading Bradley Smith's book, however, my view on the issue has completely changed. He documents in great detail the harm of campaign finance, how it can restrict the political speech of challengers and grassroots movements, and ultimately how the reform process will never end if it continues, and will only bring on more restrictions to help close "loopholes" in the current set of reforms.

Though I believe there is still a great deal of discrimination and corruption in politics (just look at the voter caging that took place in the 2000 and 2004 elections), I no longer am of the viewpoint that money is THE key factor in this problem, and limiting its use in the campaign process will only hurt the average US citizen's means of obtaining information and supporting a candidate in a monetary sense, rather than promote an even playing field for all those involved in an election.

I greatly appreciate Professor Smith's analysis. If nothing else, the rarely heard opposition to campaing finance reform is set forth clearly in this book. There is, however, some shortcomings in his analysis.

First, take this passage (there are other analogous ones in the book that prove a similar point) from page 71:

"(Steve) Forbes indicated that he would not have sought the nomination had former congressman and secretary of housing and urban development Jack Kemp decided to run. Kemp chose not to run in large part because he did not want to engage in fund-raising. Had Forbes been able to donate to Kemp the $25 million he planned to spend on his own campaign, Kemp might have run and would quite likely have been a frontrunner for the Republican nomination."

It is easy to see that from this bit (and others) that Professor Smith does not wish to gloss over that fact that money in fact DOES affect politics. Later on that same page he entertains a thought experiment in which all campaign contributions were banned to see who would run in such a scenario. He admits that those with the most name recognition (athletes, celebrities, incumbents, succesful business persons active in their community, etc.) would be able to win. And importantly, he says that those who would win in the experiment wouldnt be much different than those who win now. It would seem then, that name recognition or fame also affects politics.

Thus, the following two things Professor Smith does not challenge: money affects politics, and name recognition affects politics. Now, it is also apparent that money affects name recognition (think TV ads). Given that Professor Smith does not argue with these things, an proponent of reform is unlikely to be swayed. For proponents the unconstested fact that money affects politics (and can buy at least some degree of name recognition) is enough to justify contribution limits. So, it would have been better to see Professor Smith adress more directly the proponents onjections.

I also find lacking that Professor Smith does not mention much about spending for state or local elections and how money affects politics in those instances. For example, in the Austin, TX city council elections recently, 4 Democratic candidates with near identical views ran. The election came to a runoff between the two top contenders, both of whom had TV ads while the other two did not. Does this disprove Professor Smith's arguments? No, but it would be better if he discussed local elections as well.

This book changing my way of thinking 180 degrees. I was a huge John McCain and Campaign Finance Reform fan, but I read this book just to see what the other side had to say. I am sure glad I did! Smith points out many problems with alleged reform on mulitple levels. If you are interested in campaign finance reform, however you may feel about the subject, I suggest you read this book.

As the best known critic of campaign finance reform, Bradley Smith makes strong arguments not just against the legislation itself but against the philosophy underlying the entire movement. This is important, because many supporters of reform refuse to acknowledge that any case against their rationale exists. Many critiques of campaign finance legislation focus on proving that not nearly as much money is spent on campaigning as the public has been led to believe, or that the proposed legislation would give certain types of grassroots groups an unfair advantage over others. Smith's attack goes much further than that. He demonstrates why, in the long run, strict regulation of campaigns will harm everyone by crippling their ability to channel their talents into meaningful participation in the political process.

The first half of the book serves as a comprehensive survey of arguments brought against reform. He begins by analyzing why the proposed legislation would give incumbents enormous advantages over challengers. From there, he discusses how the term corruption has been expanded to mean anything that a legislator does to respond to the wishes of constituents who helped contribute to her campaign-whether or not a causal link can be established between particular contributions and particular legislation. He concludes it with a section on how limits placed on monetary expenditures made to pay for speech are, in fact, limits placed on speech itself because the expenditure of money to pay for speech is inextricably linked to speech itself.

In the second half, he deconstructs philosophical arguments used to justify reforms and turns them on their heads. He starts by pointing out that supporters of reform typically ignore the fact that most non-monetary means of influencing politicians are not distributed on an egalitarian basis. Thus, simply removing private contributions from our political system will not make everyone equal overnight. He develops this point by discussing the traditional notion of political equality-that "...Citizens are free to use their differing abilities, financial wherewithal, and personal disposition to become more or less active in political life, and to attempt to persuade their fellow citizens to vote in a particular manner." He points out that campaign finance reform is nothing more than an attempt to narrow the pool of individuals afforded this freedom.

He concludes by hammering this point home: "...Because the First Amendment...makes no distinction between the different types of political influence, it allows a maximum number of voters to participate and helps to prevent any one faction or interest from gaining the upper hand in political debate." This Madisonian indictment of the campaign finance movement goes above and beyond merely attacking various legislative proposals as incumbent protection schemes. It cuts through all the political rhetoric and reveals what campaign finance reform really is: an attempt by a coalition of elite groups to cast the rules of political debate on their own terms.

If you're concerned about free speech, read this book. You won't be disappointed.

The book has interesting points. A bit clumsy and jumpy. Would have been nice to have more solid referencing, instead of a few quotes here and there used multiple times.

Have you ever been at a party and REALLY wanted to impress your friends during their conspiracy conversations with a dissertation on weather warfare? Yeah me neither, usually my interest in the subjects of the conspiracy kind relegate me to the dark corners while other speak of football and politics (although politics are fun too..). But if you did you need to read this book!

After reading Weather Warfare you'll be like a rockstar on the subject of weather warfare. Jerry Smith does all the heavy lifting for you, and what resulted is a very well written, easy reading book which walks you through not only the current state of 21st century weather modification but also a step by step history of the subject. From the barn stormers of the 20's to HAARP to beyond, its all here.

And that brings me to another subject..

One of my biggest personal pet peeves in conspiracy/ufo/alternative information books is that you pickup a book out of interest in hopes of learning something interesting and new. But the author of the book assumes you have some level of knowledge about the subject and this makes the book harder to interpret and understand.

Jerry Smith on the other hand starts at ground zero, and takes your hand. Then together you walk through the whole subject step by step, and when you are done, you know where we've come from and where we are going. He also provides plenty of additional resources to keep learning as well as a wonderful website which will further your education. If you travel in these circles that continuing education and the resources he provides are priceless as this kind of subject is constantly evolving.

Well footnoted, and illustrated Weather Warfare is a wonderful book I'd recommend to everyone interested in HAARP, DARPA, and black projects.

My final word on this book - When you finish Weather Warfare you will not only feel like an expert on Weather Modification you will be one. It's that good. Really!

Whether it is to weaken hurricanes or to create better snow fall for ski resorts environmental modifications certainly go against the grain of ecological ethic. The question that must be asked by everyone now is how much modifications and manipulation can our earth endure before she starts to rebel. Weather Warfare takes the reader into the dark world of chemtrail conspiracies, UFOs and earth quakes on demand! The book also revisits Tesla and HAARP. The book ends with the conspiracy that the chemtrails are due to some type of additive "they" are putting into the jet fuel. Could this be the new world order or an attempt to dehumanize the world? Issues like HAARP, Chemtrails, and Environmental Modifications must be brought to the attention of the public ASAP for the well being of this planet. All people must do is read and Jerry E Smith is my recommended read for everyone. It's up to everyone to do their small part to make this world a better place. You can start with educating your self with literature. I also must state the any book published by the Adventures Unlimited Press is of top quality information. I am patiently awaiting Mr. Smith's next book.

This book is amazing. The information in is very thought provoking. The opening quote by a top government official on how the US needs to participate in biological and environmental warfare is shocking, except for those of us who know what the US Gov't has done in the past (i.e. 9/11 was an inside job). It explains in detail ways that the US has attempted to manipulate weather and earthquakes in the past and desires to do so with even greater effort in the future. HAARP is a sci-fi style weapon that will likely be secretly used against the American people by their own government.
Excellent information.

Reviewed by Regan Windsor for Reader Views (2/07)

The world of terrorism and warfare are becoming more and more sophisticated. Hijacking planes, suicide bombers, tsunamis and hurricanes....is weather warfare actually a reality? Are the seemingly unpredictable and unstable weather patterns more systematic than we are led to believe? These are just a few of the mounting questions Jerry Smith covers in "Weather Warfare."

"Weather Warfare" contains a wealth of research, including pictures, diagrams, patent numbers, and website references. Smith states, "I am not a scientist, nor a technician - I am a writer, a researcher, and occasionally an activist. I don't know how to build weapons, only how to put sentences and paragraphs together. While HAARP is an incredibly technical subject, mine are not technical books. I write about the potential impact of this technology on our lives - on you - but not so much about how this stuff actually works, because frankly, I don't have a clue." What Smith lacks in scientific knowledge he certainly makes up in the depth of research material and wide ranging network of interested and interconnected contacts.

Covering the history of weather modification from the rainmakers through the technology of the twentieth century, Smith provides the reader with the realization that this once profitable enterprise has moved to the secretive, more complex realms of government. With the Enmod Legislation beginning in 1976, the world of weather modification moved deeper into the underground world...or did it stop altogether?

The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) located in Anchorage, Alaska is covered extensively in the book. The mystery and secrecy, not to mention the pages of intriguing patents, surrounding the use and purpose of the site has resulted in a variety of theories...are they just conspiracy theories or do enough facts exist to support them?

"Weather Warfare" also raises various questions and provides various, and often opposing, insights from a variety of players in the weather modification world. Theories on the use and impact of chemtrails and geoengineering leave the reader wondering if the intent is on saving or destroying our planet.

While this well-researched book. "Weather Warfare," raises far more questions than it answers, it serves well to shock the reader into paying attention to the world beyond the papers, the television, and the government speeches. Is there enough consistency in the evidence to draw conclusions? Do we need to pay closer attention and look beyond what we think we see?

Mr. Dunning gives his readers insight to real people living in the South through his story of a fictional Mack Oliver, a man who finds himself in a real-life situation where he is unable to help himself. This book is more than a crime novel, as it explores and explains how people are perceived and treated differently because of their standing in society. His portrayal of the legal system's inadequate treatment of the mentally ill is very accurate.

Who's Mack OliverThis book is brilliantly written !!!
I believe "Who's Mack Oliver?" could and should be used as a teaching guide to help individuals take notice how they interact with different cultures in our society today. The way Mr. Dunning depicts the characters within this story is superb !!!

Individuals that read this novel will be pleasantly surprised the way you can follow each character; their role in the story; and, the interaction of each character to the completion of the story.

You may find yourself in one of the characters personality; how they reacted in their situation; and/or how your experiences identify with Mack Oliver.

I recommend this book to everyone with the greatest of pleasure !!!
The way Mr. Dunning designed the cover to the very last page is magnificent and will leave you hoping for a sequel !!! FANTASTIC !!!

This is a book that makes you think differently about the invisible people that we see in our everyday comings and goings. Mr. Dunning brings Birmingham to us with meticulate descriptions and his characters are poignant and real. The issues he tackles are well thought out and intriguing.

Great book, even if you are not an avid reader you will not want to put this book down. It made me feel like I was in Birmingham, AL on the southside of town at the Fountian hearing the music.
It also makes you stop and think about all the homeless people out there.
Could this really happen?

This novel is so real that it seams that you are walking on the Birmingham streets. Dunning plays with his knowledge of the English language using very rich vocabulary; some descriptions are Poet's work. He also has a profound knowledge of the Human behavior and a strong historical background with a clear understanding of what is really happening in this Country; all the silent but brutal racial and religious conflicts. Overall, this is an excellent masterpiece that deserves to be in any best-seller's collection.

Jones does a great job of teaching people how to "win" with the media as opposed to "surviving" or "defeating" the media. That mindset change is key for most people. I learned many new tricks of the trade from reading his book.

If I had to pick only one book of the hundreds written on how to deal with the media, this would be the one I'd recommend. In fact, when I reviewed an earlier edition of this book several years ago for my newsletter, The Publicity Hound, I said that this was the book I wish I had written. As a former newspaper editor who worked in the business 22 years, I thought I knew it all, and more. I didn't, particularly when it came to TV. I couldn't put the book down.

Clarence Jones, a former award-winning investigative reporter in both newspapers and TV, knows his stuff, including all the tricks reporters use to loosen your lips. The book is pithy, with easy-to-read chapters broken down into numerous sub-heads--making it easy to find exactly what you're looking for in a hurry.

Jones takes you inside the heads and brains of working journalists. He explains how they think, how they react, and what they have the power to do to you if you don't play by their rules.

I read an earlier edition from cover to cover and referred to it so often in my consulting practice that the book literally fell apart from use. When I scanned this 8th edition, I got lost in it AGAIN, long past my bedtime. Reading it will make you much smarter, much savvier and much better prepared to meet the media when bad news strikes. Even if all the stories about you are good (yeah, right), please don't do another interivew unless you read this book first.

Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound
http://www.PublicityHound.com

If you deal with the media then you should have read this book already. I read Michael Levine's Guerrilla PR Wired, a brilliant book on PR, and then read Winning With The News Media. Both were influential in my career.

I work as a Public Infomation Officer and Paramedic for EVAC Ambulance in Volusia County, FL (Daytona Beach / Metro Area). This book is is quite simply the BEST how to guide to any one who works with the media. Clarence Jones continues his tradition of excellence with the new and revised 2001 edition. Don't hesitate just buy it, you'll love it.

I must admit, as a Public Information professional I at first found Jones' writing style and key points for working with the media rather simplistic. But as I continued reading, I found myself marking and underlining passage after passage. As a spokeman and media relations officer within NATO, and having just returned as a spokesman for NATO operations in Macedonia during a major deployment of troops, I wished I had read this book before I went there. I was doing as many as 20 interviews per day ranging from live stand-ups with CNN and BBC, to radio call-ins and newspaper interviews representing media world-wide. This book reinforced everything I learned leading up to and during that experience, stating clearly what's important and why, as well as many tips and techiques that seem rather minor but are really quite important when push comes to shove and you find yourself face-to-face with a reporter. I will use many points from this book to further refine my own training program for senior leaders within NATO and to prepare them for interviews. A great resource that has found a prominent place among my professional books.

Run don't walk..... before the impending marathon of onslaught writing before the election this is the power bar.

I just finished this book and felt the need to review it (something I almost never do) because I not only did I find it profoundly illuminating but also really, really, really enjoyed reading it!

As both a personal and public narrative it is an extremely fun and entertaining read despite the fact that often deals with complex, multifaceted issues. Admittedly, I'm far from an expert on many of the themes and subjects within, however my sense is even if you are, even if you are a political historian or life long liberal this book will tell you things you didn't know and/or provide a prospective totally absent in the mainstream and alternative medias.

Wolves does not seek to provide answers to our political woes, but it does ask all the right questions (of all the right people), a fact which I think proves Marshall's desire to find genuine solutions to the socio-economic mess America finds itself in.

I highly recommend picking it up!

Wolves in Sheep's Clothing is an essential read for anyone who cares about the future of America. Through conversations with U.S. and international leading liberal thinkers, Marshall reconnects us to the premises of our Founding Fathers and shows how far we've strayed. Far from despairing, he points to a path of hope and transformation. As we prepare for the upcoming presidential elections, the ideas expressed in his book are vital to the debate.

Very interesting, well written, and disturbing.

Read it, then talk about the elections.

I feared that by exposing the Democrats as faux liberals, Stephen Marshall would bring me into even a deeper state of despair. As I read, I found myself in just the opposite state -- happily taking in every page with new hope that there exists here in America this level of awareness and acuity and most importantly, passion. If this man understands society on this level, there is the possibility of nurturing and spreading this wisdom. I find I have someone to follow. If you need something to believe in, read this book.

As a person with a conservative background, let me start off by telling you what this book is not. It is not liberal, despite what reviewer Kennedy of CA may believe. Yes, James Blanchard is a Democrat, but aside from mentioning select election results, there is no liberal or conservative ideology contained within this book. Further, James Blanchard does much to bolster his credibility through listing his own shortcomings and relaying some less than flattering views of the Clinton administration where warranted. I was surprised and impressed by his candor.

Lastly, reviewer Kennedy is just plain silly when implying that former congressman, governor, ambassador Blanchard (with a masters in business and a law degree) "...discovers Canada actually exists..." With the majority of Canadian/American trade flowing between Ontario and Michigan, and the fact that every handful of Michigan pocket change contains at least one Canadian coin, it is preposterous to assume any Michigan resident would be ignorant of the planet's second largest country.

The heart and soul of this book is a very human and relatable James Blanchard giving readers an inside look at what is like to be an American ambassador to Canada and how he may have played a humble, yet key role in the shaping of the two nation`s policies. The former ambassador's most lasting contributions may well lie within the Canadian/American Open Skies agreement and the results of the Quebec referendum.

No doubt, Canadians and Americans of all slants will enjoy learning more about the partner with whom they share the world's longest open border.

If only James Blanchard were still the US Ambassador to Canada! Relations between the two countries would not be in the sorry state they are now. But then the current Republican administration would never send someone like Blanchard to Ottawa. Blanchard made every attempt to get to understand Canada and Canadian issue before he even moved to the capital. He travelled to all ten provinces in the months prior to setting up shop across from the parliament buildings.
This book provides a powerful and insightful backdrop against which to view the current administration's constant harping about the war on drugs. Canada is trying to take a more European approach, treating the problem as a medical issue as opposed to a criminal matter - but that only enrages George Bush's gang. One would think that the US war on drugs was a series of resounding triumphs!
Blanchard also noted that Canada does not 'do inbvasions' but rather does peacekeeping, so advised Clinton not to even ask Canada to take part in an invasion of Haiti. He also noted that we like to do things as part of the United Nations, so that was the best way to approach us. Imagine!
This book should be read by all US ambassadors, in fact all US state department officials for that matter.

As the previous reviewers have said, Blanchard has written a key book for understanding US-Canadian relations. But this is also the most insightful book I have found about Clinton and the Clinton Administration in the areas in which Clinton was most successful, personal relations and trade policy.

...read this book. It is a decent primer for US residents who want to learn more about our oft-neglected neighbor. Warning: Mr. Blanchard is quite liberal, and liberal policies (US & Canadian) are treated matter-of-factly. His conservative successor as governor of Michigan (John Engler) has, in most people's opinions, done a better job. Interested conservatives will still enjoy the book--just keep a few grains of salt handy.

Canadians might get a kick out of a quintessential "American discovers Canada actually exists and is also pretty neato" story.

If you're Canadian, you really need to read this book. If you're American, you really need to read this book. James J. Blanchard has seen our Canadianisms and helped us to do the unthinkable, define ourselves. From coast to coast and beyond, the essence of what we are leaks out on these pages. It is fitting that an American should expose our mysteries and histories. Not that we are hidding them, we just seem to have a hard time accepting them. We remain the True North, Strong and Free. Thankyou James Blanchard.

There are people who will swear by this book, there are people who will hate the book. There is no middle ground, i have checked and tried it out. Either you love it or you hate it. Poetic Nonsense in finesse and the finest form.

This will cure your longing of the cluetrain manifisto stuffs. Beautifully written and meaningless at some point, but you goona love it i guess, you gonna crave for more, and then subscribe the newsletter.

GO buy the book, and immerse yourself. I have read some part of the book more than 3 times. Amen.

I just finished Bombastic Transcripts, so if you have bothered to read this at all you're probably wondering so what did this monkeyboy think? Good question, honestly I am still pondering it mulling it over in my head and probably will for a bit. It is a quick read, it's an interesting read, but fundamentally it's not a light read. It takes a little time for digestion and pondering... I suspect I will read it again in the next month or two and reconsider, hell maybe throw this whole review out.

So here's my advice go buy the book, RageBoy needs the cash. If you like Tom Robbins, Hunter S Thompson, and the Gonzo style read away, you'll enjoy it. Perhaps you will find some stuff to digest, even without ingesting any substances on the Schedule I drug list.

If you didn't like Cluetrain Manifesto, Gonzo Marketing, or any Gonzo writing buy the book anyways, for the reasons stated above. Then hide the book in your bookshelf and wait until a really dark night, one in which your soul is screaming for mercy while the night rages in a Category 5 Hurricane and your only fresh reading material is a copy of Reader's Digest you have flipped through already 15 times. Your mind goes hungry, for something unanswered and unknown, and you will recall this book hiding in some dark corner of the bookshelf covered in dust and a three month old edition of Fast Company magazine. You will pull it off the shelf and find yourself drawn to the words expressed inside and the walls of illusion come crashing down inside your mind. Either that or you'll take a gun and pull a Hemmingway. Doesn't much matter to me, if you survive reading it you might even find yourself signing up for Entropy Gradient Reversals, but let me warn you the shotgun is alot quicker and painless, but it's not nearly as much fun.

I only have one thing to say about this: "The Solution is Poetry". Excellent reading. Warning, you may not get it if you consider yourself too smart and significant.

This is the crash course in understanding the fundamentals of the necessity of change as seen through the eyes of the author, Christopher Locke. Everything you previously thought was lore is turned on its head in riotous fashion in The Bombast Transcripts. Each chapter takes apart some standard you thought was a given, an immutable and constant attribute of practically every aspect of life in the western world.

The best part is that Chris does it in so many different ways in one book. There's flat out ranting and there's cutting ridicule including interviews with himself, Rupert Murdoch and the famous one with Mr Ed. (Yes, the horse.)

Using those cliched critic's terms of rollercoaster ride or rollicking good yarn don't do this volume any justice whatsoever. In fact, this book defies any label you might care to ascribe.

In fact, I defy anyone to come up with a label for this book.

That was my introduction just over a year ago to Entropy Gradient Reversals and the evil genius mind(s) behind it, Christopher Locke/RageBoy. From that first mind-blowing, breathless reading of his newsletter, I was alternately charmed, alarmed and disarmed by the decidedly unpretentious Chris Locke. His new book, the Bombast Transcripts, a collection of essays previously published to the Entropy Gradient Reversals mailing list, contains that first newsletter that caught my imagination, and so many more.

As I've read through this book, I have found myself again reacting to it in the visceral way that I had to become accustomed to as one of his faithful Valued Readers at EGR. While some may call him pompous and crass, I find him to be merely open and honest. Then again, I've always had a soft spot for intelligent, over-indulgent, semi-vulgar Don Quixotes. His chosen windmills are big business that don't have a clue (IBM et all, no small potatoes here) and, while a book about business practices would normally make my eyes glaze over while putting me in a semi-catatonic state, I find this book to be human and engaging at every turn. Each essay stands on it's own as either a rant or a screed, yet each could also be expanded into its own little book. Irreverent, engaging, transforming, contemplative, hilarious....and each page is more of the same.

While I read Locke's words, I get the feeling that I am a part of something much bigger and more important than anyone can guess, especially those that think the internet is nothing more than a collection of chatrooms and porn sites. No, I get the feeling I'm getting a glimpse of a creation, a rapturous inferno of truth and emotion, two key elements that, when exposed to each other under the heat of RageBoy's passion, cause a brilliant flash of evolution that could change the world as we know it. What a wonderful world that would be.

Idealistic? Maybe. Bombastic? Hardly. Evil Genius?? Indeed.