Source The Books

Since I got this for Christmas, I have probably used it several dozen times. I use it mainly to cross reference songs on my Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Americana collections but really it could serve as the bedrock of any thesis on early American music. This is a fine book, put together by Meade and many others.

What a wonderful job Gus Meade in putting this thing together. I wasn't fully sure what to expect, but the organization and thoroughness of the research makes this one of the most accessible books of discographical information ever printed. Yes, there are classification categories that I might have wanted to see used, but this is a minor cavil in the face of the all the ones that are used.

This is one of those books that was a "life's work" for its principal author (Gus Meade), but we never would have seen the fruits of his labor without the help of two colleagues who completed this volume after his death--his son Douglas and leading folk scholar Dick Spottswood. It is the most valuable listing of traditional music I have ever seen, everything from British ballads to topical songs, cowboy songs, minstrel music, sentimental songs, blues and hornpipes! There is a wide range of 19th century music here, and some from the early 1900s. Pre-1942 recordings of the songs are listed (including LP/CD reissues), but the book is also valuable for its citations of early published versions (including songbooks), composer/author credits and commentary on the often-similar songs. For anyone interested in the field of traditional American music, this volume is a must.

Although Elanor Roosevelt's life and work have ispired dozens of books, her own prolific writings are largely confined to the Roosevelt archives in Hyde Park. Courage In A Dangerous World allows her own voice again to be heard. Noted Elanor Roosevelt scholar Allida M. Black has gathered more than two hundred columns, articles, essays, speeches, and letters, tracing her development from timorous columnist to one of liberalism's most eloquent and outspoken leaders. From ''My Day'' newspaper columns about Marian Anderson and experts from Moral Basis of Democracy and This Troubled World to speeches and articles on the Holocaust and McCarthyism, this anthology provides readers with the tools to reconstruct the politics of a woman who redefined American liberalism and democratic reform.

Much has been written about Eleanor Roosevelt but this collection gives us the chance to read her own words. What an amazing and astute woman. There is almost no current issue that Eleanor Roosevelt did not foresee, analyze, and have a definate position on--race, civil liberties, international interdependence, government support of the arts, working women/mothers. Allida Black has assembled documents and out-of-print materials that would be terribly difficult for most people to access. Black's introductions to each section are clear and helpful and work to dispel the myth of Roosevelt as basically the "eyes and legs" of her husband or the woman of sorrow who only turned to political life after her husband's affair. Anyone reading this collection will come to appreciate Roosevelt for the powerful and courageous person she was--and see how compassionate to an extraordinary degree she was. Even a sampling of these writings will make you want to get involved and not sit by the wayside. For activists, it will be a validation for caring.

What an amazing collection! Eleanor Roosevelt was truly a woman ahead of her times, and this book uses her own words to illustrate just how forward-thinking she was. The depth and bredth of her opinions, her reasoning, and her skill at conveying her ideas to the general public never failed to astound me through reading and rereading the selections. Allida Black has done an incredible amount of work to bring this volume to fruition, and all the trouble she has taken is absolutely worthwhile. Every essay is full of the ideas and actions for which Roosevelt continues to be known and respected.

Who should read this book? Anyone looking for strong ideas about the world and what it should be like. Anyone looking for ways to affect lives for good. Anyone who needs a role model, something to aspire to, or something to work toward.

Robert Lowie first published this book in 1935, from his research living with the Crow Indians. This is a detailed account of a fading lifestyle, soon to be gone. It is worth reading to get an idea of how Amerindians thought and lived.

Something I like about the book is that you can tell Lowie respected the Crow. In too many recent anthropology texts you feel that the researcher could be studying just any old group, has little real concern for them as people, and is in it mainly for tenure. I got the feeling that Lowie enjoyed being with the Crow. Also I like the way he relates their beliefs and concepts at face value, rather than qualifying by saying, "The X tribe believes that this and that," or "According to Y tribe superstition, this and that." He simply tells it as the Crow would.

I learned a lot from this book. Frankly, I know little about the Crow beyond the scope of this book, so I carefully read Phenocia Bauerle's excellent Introduction before and after I read the book. She is a Crow, an insider, so she pointed out some of Lowie's mistakes. Some were obvious even to me, such as the way he was using his own religious frame to understand the Crow: an understandable error. I think that even if Lowie did make some mistakes, the book still stands as a valuable record. Maybe the Crow could issue an annotated version, with their comments and corrections!

Back in the early 1900's, Robert Lowie lived with the Crow, listening to the elders, men & women, speak of the old times. Even though forced to stay on a tiny portion of the original Crow territory and no longer having any buffalo to hunt, the people still practiced their language, religion, beliefs & customs as always.
This is an excellent, book sized "glimpse" at the Crow or Absalooka worldview; clan relationships, marriage customs, religious ceremonies, warrior societies, coyote stories and more.

First published in 1935, and written by one of the most respected American anthropologists of the twentieth century, The Crow Indians is a classic, brief, and highly accessible introduction to Crow Indian culture, challenges, everyday life, traditions, and much more during the early nineteenth-century. Memorable anecdotes of individual Crow such as Grayboll the great visionary and Yellow-brow the gifted storyteller embellish the more general information drawn from the author's thorough fieldwork and interviews from 1907 to 1931. This superbly presented edition of a classic resource is very highly recommended for inclusion on Native American Studies reading lists and acadmeic library reference shelves, now offers a thoughtful introduction by Phenocia Bauerle, a member of the Crow Nation and the editor of The Way Of The Warrior.

When it comes to Custer one can not find a more informative book

MR. HATCH HAS DONE EXTENSIVE RESEARCH INTO THE CUSTER SUBJECT. THE PHOTOS WERE GREAT TOO. THIS WAS THE BEST BOOK AVAILABLE FOR MY THESIS.

When it comes to Custer one can not read a more up to date book

Someone took a shot,in fact lots of them, at attorneys and how they can (and do) abuse the system, turning it into an injustice (except for themselves) system --Moozer's review is dead on

In Daddy I Wanna Be A Lawyer: And Makes Lots Of Money is witty satire on the usual career descriptive books about being a lawyer which is the usual fare for children. Author Larry Goldfarb offers a poem style text laced with barbed wit and enhanced with simple illustrations as the yearnings of ten-year-old Rodney wanting to become a trial lawyer like his father and abuse the judicial system for personal profit are laid bare for all to see. Pointedly funny from first page to last, Daddy I Wanna Be A Lawyer is especially recommended reading for anyone who has ever dreamed of being a lawyer -- or has a kid who does.

Daddy, I Wanna is a laugh-out-loud love letter to those who would, as the book says, abuse the legal system for their own fun and profit. It'll make you laugh, and it'll make you angry;
A perfect gift book for the informed reader.

This is one of the best non-fiction books that I have ever read. It gives a clear and thoughtful description of the details leading up to the Civil War and immediately after. I wish that I had this book when I was in school. I never liked history because it seemed like I was memorizing arbitrary dates and Amendments. If my history books had been written this well, it would have all made sense. This is a wonderful book for anyone's library.

This was a fascinating and thought provoking look at the end of American slavery. You will learn many things about the civil war, some about the Underground Railroad, and some about the conflicting politics of the north and south, Abraham Lincoln, his allies and enemies. It is filled with narratives from slaves, diary entries from prominent white politicians and abolitionists and accounts of African American contributions in many Civil War battles.

I don't normally read non-fiction for fun, but this was a worthwhile read, and we can still learn many lessons about tolerance and attitudes about racism today.

While the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation is often thought of as the end of slavery in the United States, the truth is that slaves were freed at different times over the course of several years. The day that slaves were told of their freedom was called their day of Jubilee.

Starting with information related to blacks' roles during the American Revolution and working chronologically through December of 1865, this book presents the story of the end of slavery as seen through the eyes of so many concerned parties. The narratives of slaves are abundant, but the diary entries, narratives, and letters of Union soldiers, Confederate soldiers, mothers, fathers, generals, presidents, politicians' wives and newspaper reporters are all included.

The major battles of the Civil War and explanations of war strategies are discussed in fascinating detail. (Honestly--This is the first time I've ever enjoyed learning about a war.) Generals Grant and Lee are both given a voice, and the story of the assassination of the President is told in stunning specificity. Readers will learn about the formation of the Ku Klux Klan, of blacks' insistence in fighting for the cause in which they believed, and what happened unexpectedly to slaves immediately following their release from slavery.

In elementary school, students often learn about the Civil War in terms of the loving, kind Abraham Lincoln and the open-minded Union Army that paraded into the South to save the slaves from their terrible lives. This book, mainly because of its inclusion of primary document information, provides a more honest and yet even more so captivating story of what really happened in those five years while slavery was coming to an end.

Readers will attach to many of the characters in this book, including the senator's wife Mary Chestnut who writes of her fears of losing the war and her slaves, and Elizabeth Keckley, and African American woman who became the seamstress to Mrs. Lincoln.

The black/white and sepia photos of the men, women, events, and surroundings of the 1800's greatly enhance the story.

This book is truly stunning and includes great, detailed information in a writing style that appeals to the young reader.

James Madison: Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 Volume One as reported by James Madison, who was a delegate from the State of Virginia, covers the constitutional debate from its start in May 1787 where the main body of the House of Delegates was to meet on the fourteenth, but as usual the delegates were convened on May 25, 1787, to the adjournmnt on July 6, 1787.

This volume is very interesting as it is the way things were preceived by Madison. Madison was not the only delegate to take notes of this convention, but his notes are the most complete by far. Reading these notes gives the reader a sense of being there and participating... albeit distant and by proxy, nevertheless you still get the feeling that you are there.

As Madison gives the reader, in his notes, who was at each debate and discussion, and what was being discussed and debated. Not only that, but this first volume has been divided into two parts. Part One has the Antecedents of the Federal Convention of 1787... in it are the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the List of Delegates Appointed by States Represented in the Federal Convention.

Part Two is the Federal Convention of 1787 itself conclusive till the adjournment. Madison's Preface... a sketch never finished nor applied; and the debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 which framed the Constitution of the United States of America.

Interestingly enough, in Madison's preface we see Madison's library of thought taking hold and his sense of history, as he writes of the necessity of political confederacies, Meeting of colonial deputies at Albany in 1754, Congress in 1774, of 1775, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Franklin's plan, and the difficulties in the way of a confederation. Reading this first volume, puts things in perspective as to the magnitude and gravity of the time, and most importantly why there was a need for a constitution.

For all those interested in the Constitution of the United States, reading this nuts and bolts debate will give all a better appreciation for the people who found it necessary to give posterity a workable fair government.

James Madison: Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 Volume One as reported by James Madison, who was a delegate from the State of Virginia, covers the constitutional debate from its start in May 1787 where the main body of the House of Delegates was to meet on the fourteenth, but as usual the delegates were convened on May 25, 1787, to the adjournmnt on July 6, 1787.

This volume is very interesting as it is the way things were preceived by Madison. Madison was not the only delegate to take notes of this convention, but his notes are the most complete by far. Reading these notes gives the reader a sense of being there and participating... albeit distant and by proxy, nevertheless you still get the feeling that you are there.

As Madison gives the reader, in his notes, who was at each debate and discussion, and what was being discussed and debated. Not only that, but this first volume has been divided into two parts. Part One has the Antecedents of the Federal Convention of 1787... in it are the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the List of Delegates Appointed by States Represented in the Federal Convention.

Part Two is the Federal Convention of 1787 itself conclusive till the adjournment. Madison's Preface... a sketch never finished nor applied; and the debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 which framed the Constitution of the United States of America.

Interestingly enough, in Madison's preface we see Madison's library of thought taking hold and his sense of history, as he writes of the necessity of political confederacies, Meeting of colonial deputies at Albany in 1754, Congress in 1774, of 1775, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Franklin's plan, and the difficulties in the way of a confederation. Reading this first volume, puts things in perspective as to the magnitude and gravity of the time, and most importantly why there was a need for a constitution.

For all those interested in the Constitution of the United States, reading this nuts and bolts debate will give all a better appreciation for the people who found it necessary to give posterity a workable fair government.

James Madison: Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 Volume Two is the continuation of volume one as seen, recorded and reproted by James Madison as a delegate from the State of Virginia.

This volume continues on from July 7, 1787 through the conclusion on September 17, 1787 and is most remarkable. We see the delegates really working on the nuts and bolts of the Constitution of the United States. Debate is found on all points as resolution after resolution is hotly contested, debated and voted on with later inclusion into the final document. There is even an appendix to the debates which includes letters. plans and outlines from some of the most prominated people of that time.

There is a draft from Hamilton and a proposed compromise from Randolph, along with Madison's own notes and remarks. Giving the reader a real sense of prerequisite presence and respect for the contingencies that befell our Founding Fathers in creating the constitution. Remember all that they had to go on was failed superstructures of past governments as there was nothing else in the way of govenment that could compare to what the people at this convention ultimately came up with.

On to part three contained in this volume. Contained here is the constitution, its ratification and amendments. Also, there is and index to the debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 which will help in locating specific debates. All in all, this and the first volume are most informative. Those wanting to read about the process of forming the constitution should read these volumes and they will come away with a greater appreciation and admiration for the work involved.

These volumes are most unique as they are the most complete record available as to what really happened and offers fellow citizens of every generation a narrative so unique as to render it a major treasure of the Republic.

Every American should have a copy of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. The addition of Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom completes the collection superbly and is a timely and valuable article on what our founding documents' primary author really thought about the separation of church and state. Buy this and read it. You'll be surprised how much you didn't know. It also fits in a shirt pocket, so you can have it with you whenever you want.

I found this through buzzflash.com, who was offering it as a premium. I ordered it for a book club I run at the local library. The Constitution is the set of rules for how we govern ourselves, and it is packaged with the Declaration of Independence and one of Virginia's bills on religious liberty. This is a great little book, and you can carry it around with you at all times.

Every home in the United States should have a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Contrary to what is often thought, given the giant reputation and high esteem of these documents, the texts are in fact quite short - the Declaration takes but a few pages, and the Constitution (even with all amendments) takes but a few more.

This book includes a brief preface by Cass R. Sunstein, an index an suggestions for further readings on the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the founding fathers. However, what really sets this volume apart is the inclusion of a lesser-known but vital document, the text of 'A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom' by Thomas Jefferson. This is one of the foundational documents for the separation of church and state, and a guidebook for the way Jefferson and other founding fathers were thinking in this crucial and still-relevant method of governmental action.

This is a good text, interesting, with a difference, and am important piece of history and current practice for all Americans.

Dennis Silage's DIGITAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS USING SYSTEMVUE would be a fine college text with its comprehensive survey of the Agilent SystemVue simulation environment. Advanced users of the communications simulator will find here plenty of analysis and insights on DSP processors and applications, offering pros and advanced digital communications users an introduction to the SystemVue environment using plenty of examples and results.

As an engineering student, I have been exposed to a number of different textbooks on this subject, all with varying degrees of value. This book easily rises to the top of the pack. I will explain why.

Many books attempt to discuss the topic of electrical communication schemes through blunt mathematical rigor. Such an analysis may benefit the mathematically inclined, but leaves the rest of the students wanting. This book, however, is packaged with the excellent SystemVue software, a powerful software package that is used in industry to design actual communication systems. By utilizing the simulation software, in addition to providing a large number of images (graphs, constellation plots, output waveforms, etc), readers are given a visualization of the complex topics discussed in the text.

I think that it is incredibly valuable to be able to visualize the concepts being discussed, and I also think it is important to see how a physically-realizable system can come to certain results. The differing effects of BFSK and QPSK for instance, may be difficult to understand in a purely mathematical context, but by viewing the output waveforms, and spectrums comparatively, the user is able to quickly discern the differences between the two schemes.

The only qualm I would have about this book is that the version of SystemVue that comes with the book is a heavily watered down version, and is only capable of simulating the examples from the book (the user cannot use the software to create a new simulation). However, when you consider the sheer price of the SystemVue software suite, it is amazing that the book's author was able to include any version at all. I highly recommend this book to anybody who is new to the subject of communication systems, and even people who have had classes on the subject, but want to see the material presented in a more visual way. Because of the relative inexpensiveness of this book, It makes an excellent counterpart to other textbooks that are more steeped in the mathematically rigorous derivations.

Note the words 'Using SystemVue' in the title of this book. The title might reflect the content better if it included the word 'simulation' somewhere. As it is, this book is a supplement, or addition to a standard text in digital communications.

Having said that, this is an excellent book on simulation. For one thing, it includes the SystemVue software. To be sure, it's the Textbook Edition of the software, so it is quite limited in its functionality. That is, you can simulate the systems described in the text and manipulate them to see what happens. What you cannot do is use the included software to simulate your own system.

With this book and the included demo software you'll learn how to simulate digital communication systems. When you get out into the real world you can fork over a small fortune to get a real SystemVue. At least you'll know what to do with it.

An interesting book. The first section describes the gradual tightening of legal restrictions on the Jewish people of Germany. Each decree gradually stripping another layer of civil protection by defining them as second class citizens. The final legal step was to define what a Jew was, and how they no longer qualified even as a second class citizen.

The second part of the book tells the story of the same process in Poland. Each step was carefully calculated as part of the final solution of the "Jewish problem." Interesting is Heydrichs order in 1939 where it is obvious that extermination was the final goal. Also interesting, at least for me, was how clearly Hitler considered Jews and Communists one and the same. Rather, you could be a communist without being a Jew, but all communists took orders from the international Jewish conspiracy.

The final section describes the events in the Soviet Union where the Holocaust operated without any restraints. This book is about the destruction of the Jewish population so you will not find any reference to the deaths of millions of Poles, Ukranians, etc.

An interesting book. If you have minimal knowledge of the Holocaust this would give the reader a starting point. Please remember this not going to read like a novel although in its own way it is a narrative. A narrative of the destruction of the Jewish people.

This series of legal documents, decrees, orders, instructions or live accounts describes better than any litterary form the progression in horror which our Jewish parents, brothers, sisters, nieces, and nevews had to suffer from April fools' day of 1933 when waring the David star was enforced to this community until the end of the second world war in mid 1945.

As a Christian I was surprised to discover that the trauma resulting from the horrifying murders is so deep in the Jewish community that, for most, its members if they do know about the holocaust, actually don't have a real view of it. Naturally the massive and sadistic aggresion against the Jewish people screens, in this book, the fate of the ones who shared their fate for having protected them or for having fought the Nazis.
After all Jewish people suffered between two third and three quarter of the enormous human non-military losses under surrealistically inhuman conditions.

This book should be handled with the respect normally due to religious books: it represents the steps of the martyrdom of the Jewish families under Nazi madness.

The content of the book should be remembered in details by every western culture including Israel's right wing (after all "Nazi" represents the danger of mixing nationalism and socialism...) Americans should learn from this book that being more powerful doesn't mean being better. Europeans could find in it how non elected "public servants" laugh at democratically elected representatives (elected ones disappear over the time, bureaucrats remain and never have to respond for diffused results).

For the content of this book to be fully meaningful, it should be enlightened by Milgram's explanation of how "Obedience to authority" made it possible for these horror to happen.

A major book which supplies everything Jewish and non Jewish need to know. A reedition with a lot of proper photographs of the murders by the Einsatzgruppen, of the Gettos and of the concentration camps conditions would be welcome.

This series of legal documents, decrees, orders, instructions or live accounts describes better than any litterary form the progression in horror which our Jewish parents, brothers, sisters, nieces, and nevews had to suffer from April fools' day of 1933 when waring the David star was enforced to this community until the end of the second world war in mid 1945.

As a Christian I was surprised to discover that the trauma resulting from the horrifying murders is so deep in the Jewish community that, for most, its members if they do know about the holocaust, actually don't have a real view of it. Naturally the massive and sadistic aggresion against the Jewish people screens, in this book, the fate of the ones who shared their fate for having protected them or for having fought the Nazis.
After all Jewish people suffered between two third and three quarter of the enormous human non-military losses under surrealistically inhuman conditions.

This book should be handled with the respect normally due to religious books: it represents the steps of the martyrdom of the Jewish families under Nazi madness.

The content of the book should be remembered in details by every western culture including Israel's right wing (after all "Nazi" represents the danger of mixing nationalism and socialism...) Americans should learn from this book that being more powerful doesn't mean being better. Europeans could find in it how non elected "public servants" laugh at democratically elected representatives (elected ones disappear over the time, bureaucrats remain and never have to respond for diffused results).

For the content of this book to be fully meaningful, it should be enlightened by Milgram's explanation of how "Obedience to authority" made it possible for these horror to happen.

A major book which supplies everything Jewish and non Jewish need to know. A reedition with a lot of proper photographs of the murders by the Einsatzgruppen, of the Gettos and of the concentration camps conditions would be welcome.