The Empire Books

This is one of the best books about the Northwest. Corr does a great job blending the story of an activist family with the rise of Seattle after World War II. Next to "Skid Road," my favorite on Seattle. Should be a movie. A great female lead character in Dorothy Bullitt.

Corr's book is more valuable than the narrow title suggests. More than a history of a powerful Seattle family and its TV-Radio empire, Corr's larger theme is the post-war growth of Seattle, the price of its progress and the universal tension between idealism and commerce. This story is interesting because Dorothy Bullitt did not set out to make money in the new medium of TV. Rather, she and her son, Stimson, created a new media force that shook up the sleepy newspaper-dominated local media. Well into the 70's KING-TV scooped many big stories. Corr does a masterful job of tracing the early deviations from the "King ideal"--Dorothy's dumping of her son in favor of Ancil Payne, the shift from hard news to TV celebrities, and the ultimate cash out by Payne and Dorothy's daughters. Along the way Corr paints many colorful portraits--the Machiavellian Payne, Dorothy's hopelessly dysfunctional grandchildren, the bright and attractive Jean Enersen--the lone remaining link to the glory days, the irasicble Don McGaffin--a throwback to the hard drinking, hard working, macho muckrakers of the turn of the century, and the glib, shallow Jim Foreman--the self-described "ratings machine" and low water mark for KING's television journalism. There is much to savor in this well written and colorful book. One hopes that Corr will soon devote his considerable talent to a subject with broader appeal.

Corr has done lovers of radio, and television, specifically those of us in the Pacific Northwest a tremendous favor, capturing the drama of the Bullitt family. His writing is lively and the story is compelling in its narritive detail. You'll learn of the struggles, gambles and tremendous paybacks the Bulletts made as they began and grew their broadcasting kingdom. If I had any criticism, it would be that the book is a little short of details concerning KING-AM and KGW-AM's heydays as Top 40 Rock N Roll outlets. The author completely fails to include, KINK-FM, one of the most interesting and hybrid FM radio stations in the country. If you are at all interested in radio, television or Northwest business history, this is definately a book worthy of purchasing.

Being written near the time of the events this book portrays the lives of the first 12 Caesars in the writing style of the period.This is not how history is written today;and it allows a bright light to be shone on both public & private lies of the Caesars.It feels as if Suetonious is speaking to the reader privately.It is a superb account of the time.

I have read many biographies of famous historical figures, written by modern scholars, but none had the immediacy, the thrilling emphasis to minor details and the power of words that Suetonius' work features. The Roman historian proves that he was a true child of the classical world, having the gift of telling his stories in a few but full of meaning sentences. I think that after reading Suetonius one has a powerful image of every emperor as a human being first and as a ruler second. Hats off to the ancient writers who are the top specialists to explain the inner secrets of their society and epoch!

When you need a break from memorizing the dates of the Punic Wars, are bored speculating over what kind of salt the Romans used to sow Carthaginian fields, have given up on finding Philippi on any modern map, and can't quite recall the names of the dramatis personae during the year of the three emperors, this book will re-stimulate your interest in history by gratifying the natural human desire to learn more about crime in high places.

Imagine, all the gravitas reeking Romans were up to treason, homicide, intrigue, incest, bestiality, gifting poison mushrooms and assorted produce, adultery, simple theft, complex theft, tax cheating, forgery, perjury, matricide, patricide, fratricide, suicide, sistercide, and murdering or marrying thier neices, and all sorts of stuff not normal entertainment at church family picnics nor encouraged at the office.

A question does arise - was Suetonius accurate or fair? I think not; he is a delightful scandalmonger who makes no pretense at being fair and his sources undoubtedly included talk show hosts from the Forum's late night hour. Tiberius is for example portrayed as a monster; but he seemed to be a talented administrator himself or had the sense to hire those who were. Claudius while making very poor choices in wives and prone to some silly enthusiasms was very prudent in his foreign policy, by-and-large avoiding killling foreign folks who didn't enlist for suicide.

Overall a great book; just take it with a pinch of Roman salt.

This book may be helpful for every person interested in the French Revolution. It shows a "reactionary" vision of the Revolution, and describes all the human right violations done by the revolutionaries. In de Maistre's view, the French Revolution is a divine punishment for France. France had not follow its special vocation: to be a stronghold of the christian faith, and therefore came the Revolution. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that all De Maistre's predictions became true, specially the Restauration of Monarchy. Most books about the French Revolution are pure apologies. If you want to read something very different, read this book.

Joseph de Maistre is one of the harshest counter-revolutionary critics of the French Revolution. He calls for a return to traditional Catholicism and the Restoration of the monarchy. The book _Considerations on France_ takes a look at his arguments for that tradition and his understanding of the dark side of human existence through his unique Christian perspective. De Maistre was both a Freemason and a Roman Catholic, an arch-conservative traditionalist, and a strong believer in the primacy of papal authority in the secular and spiritual realms. In this book, he criticizes those eighteenth century philosophers and their belief in progress and the "social contract" ideal. He explains why the traditional development of society is more appropriate, given the rootedness of man in sin. This is an important work to understand the thought of De Maistre, a Catholic reactionary.

The Frenchman Joseph de Maistre published this counter-revolutionary political manifesto, _Considerations on France_, as a protest against the chaos unleashed on Europe following the French Revolution. De Maistre is credited for setting the tone for the conservative, pro-monarchist political right in Catholic and Continental Europe for the subsequent ninetieth century, as a sort of French contemporary of the esteemed British conservative, Edmund Burke. De Maistre glorifies war and violence as rooted in mankind's primordial fall from divine grace. De Maistre even goes so far as to view the executioner and the soldier as human agents of divine wrath against those who transgress the higher realm. Attempts to improve the human condition through revolutionary politics and high-blown rhetoric regarding "democracy" and "equality" are cursed to fail. These revolutionary movements will only collapse because of their disconnection with reality and their inability to comprehend the dark side of human nature. Instead, political change must be brought about through a gradual process. Traditions that go beyond human memory into the obscure mists of history have a quality of the a-rational, or the divine, about them. The sacred altar and the crown may be defended by force if necessary. It is curious that de Maistre, writing in the 1790s and early 1800s, predicted the restoration of the Bourbon family to the French monarchy after the military defeat of Napoleon.

I checked this book out from the library and loved it so much that I'm going to purchase a copy to own. Other reviewers have covered the fiction/fact aspect of the book, so I'll limit my comments to the beauty of the story and the illustrations. Adult readers familiar with Joseph Campbell will recognize elements of the hero-tale framework in the narrative. The story itself is compelling and captivating to children and adults alike. My 5 1/2 year old son eagerly chose it as his bed-time story every night until we finished it. (It's a long read-aloud for one sitting -- too long for a 5 year old at bedtime.) My 7 year old daughter and I were equally enthralled.

The illustrations are incredibly rich and detailed, with African-influenced stylization. They are fully up to the task of supporting the beautiful narrative. The paintings, along with some illustrative detail inserted into the text areas of the story give the book a regal, special feel, almost as if it should be handled reverently.

This book would be a wonderful addition to anyone's book collection and would make a beautiful gift. I also recommend the book "Sundiata: Lion King of Mali" by David Wisniewski as a prequel. Sundiata is portrayed as Mansa Musa's grandfather in the Burns book -- a detail which may or may not be factual. Regardless, it's another well told and nicely illustrated Mali legend.

If you are looking for a strictly historical book, go elsewhere. The main story is entirely fictional. However, it is beautifully told and gorgeously illustrated, and it is well researched historical fiction. No, we know nothing of the childhood of the famous Mansa Musa--however, the portrayal of the cultures and ways of life of the people is vivid and accurate, and this legend-like tale will surely gain a deserving place in the canon of children's literature.

For educational use, this is of fairly limited *factual* use because of the dearth of written accounts about Mansa Musa and his reign and, as a result, the fictional nature of the main narrative. However, the epilogue is factual (if not completely impervious to debate), and the entire book would be great as a fictional supplement to the study of the Middle Ages, especially as it takes the point of view of a non-Western culture and focuses upon an important historical figure who is often glossed over (because of lack of information and his lack of impact upon the West) in typical courses of study.

This book would be excellent for people of any background who enjoy history, good story-telling, and breathtaking illustrations.

For other great, beautifully illustrated, African-oriented picture books, try these:

Why do Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears? - an animal myth

The Marriage of the Rain-Goddess - based on a South African myth, it contains many elements common to African folklore and fairytales (such as the substitute bride)

African Princess - nonfiction about 6 royal women of Africa, from ancient Egypt to the 20th (and 21st) century. Painted illustrations are limited to one portrait per woman, but the book is fascinating and unusual, and photographs are skillfully chosen to complement the text.

African Princes - Complement to African Princesses.

There is a great deal of historical evidence in support of the mighty empire of Mali and the trek of the great king Mansa Musa across the Sahara Desert to Mecca. Some European historical accounts have him listed as the king of all of Africa. There is solid historical evidence that he lived in the early 1300's and further evidence that a mighty fleet of ships departed from the kingdom and made landfall in the Western Hemisphere during his reign. This would mean that their arrival predated the voyage of Christopher Columbus by almost two centuries.
This story is an account of the life of Mansa Musa before he became king, and while the background is historically accurate, most of the account of his life before he became king is fictional. Some of it is based on cultural myths that are still part of the Mali culture, but it is clear that there were once mighty empires in Africa. I found this book very interesting because it tells of an aspect of African history that we in the west rarely if ever hear about. The empires of Egypt and Nubia are part of the historical education of every western child, but the mighty nations that once existed in other parts of Africa are largely ignored. Most of the Africans captured and sold into slavery were from the northwest section of Africa and it is a western cultural myth that they were savages. From the historical events on which this book is based, a strong and civilized nation existed in that area several centuries before the slave trade began.
The authors do a good job in writing about the early life of Mansa Musa. It is an appropriate blend of a story for children with just enough adult features to make it appeal to all ages. Once I completed the book, my interest was so aroused that I did an online search for books on Mansa Musa and the empire of Mali.

The history of sport is littered with nostalgic club histories which read like a laundry list of things which happened and with the worst kind of academic tripe which either belabours the obvious or dresses up the absurd with continental "Theory". This book does neither.

It is insightful and devastating in the way in which the author dismantles the conceits of imperialism through the prism of sport in a way reminiscent of C.L.R James' Beyond a Boundary.

Forget Niall Ferguson's apologia for empire, read this and see the way in which colonizers and colonized worked together and conflicted simultaneously. That's the interesting part of the story. Not paens to the good old days when people knew their place.

I was assigned this book in an upper level course on the history of imperialism. We read a LOT of things that were competely opaque and seemed more intent and showing how clever they were than actually saying anything concrete about the ways imperialism work.

This book however was not like that at all. It talks about how imperialism actually played out on the ground, if you'll excuse the pun.

I know discourse is important (and so does McDevitt) but so is the material world and that is what is convincing about May the Best Man Win. It was a also a really good read with interesting characters which allowed the stories told here to make the points rather than the usual academic jargon we were forced to read.

It did make me think the English really were b***ards, though maybe that was the point.

This wonderful book does an excellent job of both providing in-depth and thought-provoking historical analysis while maintaining the fast pace of a sports book. It also is very illuminating of the everyday workings of imperialism.

This is a great little volume. Two thumbs up from Rose & Rand Flem-Ath.

This is a must have for all you history and atlantean fans out there.It features a complete guide to the famous archeological place on earth that evryones talking about,plus its confesion is similar tothe animated movie . All I can say is into the bookstore and grab it!!!!!!

This is a really delightful and thought provoking book that goes along nicely with the Disney movie. It builds on the lure of Atlantis and offers theories based on historical, geographical and archeological myth, legend and facts that support its existence and location. Beautifully published. Itýs the kind of book I would like if I were still a kid. I enjoy these types of books.

Napoleon for Dummies a real winner!

J. David Markham's latest book, Napoleon for Dummies, is the perfect book for someone who wants to get the lowdown on Napoleon. It combines outstanding scholarship (Markham is a top international Napoleonic scholar and award-winning author) with the easy reading style associated with the Dummies series, and takes the reader beyond the stereotypes and to the real Napoleon. If the rest of the biographies in this new series are anywhere as good as Markham's biography of Napoleon, then Wiley Publishers will have created a real winner.

The first thing you discover when you read Napoleon for Dummies is that it really isn't for dummies at all. It is for people who enjoy a good read and would like to find out more about Napoleon. As one would expect, Markham writes in an easy, accessible style that should appeal to all readers. The book is well-organized and easy to follow. In his introduction, Markham explains why we should even care about Napoleon, giving examples of why that great man was important both to people of his time and to those of us living in the 21st century.

In successive chapters, Markham traces Napoleon's life from his early days on Corsica to his career-ending defeats and exile. Throughout this discussion, Markham points out both good and bad decisions, and does not hesitate to call some of Napoleon's actions into questions. It is also clear, however, that Markham sees Napoleon as a positive force in history. But this feeling is based on careful analysis of Napoleon and his legacy, an analysis which is easy to read and important to understand.

Markham next turns to a discussion of some of the innovations associated with Napoleon. Now the book becomes a bit more like a traditional Dummies book, providing the reader with a ready reference to various aspects of Napoleon's contributions. Markham discusses such issues as Napoleon's military innovations, his approach to politics and governing, his economic and legal contributions, his promotion of religious freedom, his diplomacy and his contributions - intended and unintended - towards a united Europe.

For many people, the story of Napoleon is one of romance, and Markham does a wonderful job telling the story of Napoleon's loves. We learn of his two wives, Josephine and Marie Louise, and we also learn of Napoleon's earliest loves, his mistress in Egypt and, perhaps most romantic of all, of his Polish mistress.

In the tradition of Dummies books, Markham closes his discussion with several chapters in a "Part of Tens" section. These include interesting discussions of Napoleonic battlefields, additional references, a time line and maps. The chapter in this section that I found most interesting was the one where Markham discusses a number of pieces of advice that he would have given to Napoleon (with, of course, the great advantage of hindsight).

In short, if you want to read a really good book on Napoleon, or if you just want to read a really good book, I highly recommend that you try Napoleon for Dummies.

The For Dummies series made a brilliant choice in choosing J. David Markham to write this Napoleon for Dummies. Although this book is by its nature a popular history, its author is nonetheless one of the world's most internationally recognized Napoleonic scholars. Markham's writing style is easy to read and he covers his subject in a way that is both informative and fascinating. He gives excellent coverage to the normal topics covered in a biography of Napoleon, and adds significant "in depth" discussion of other topics as well. Throughout it all, Markham gives the reader the best over-all portrait of Napoleon that I have seen in any biography of one of history's most interesting and complex leaders. Markham includes some 70 Napoleonic images from his personal collection of historical artifacts, which makes the book all the more interesting and useful.
In his book, Markham provides a concise overview of Napoleonic religious freedoms and liberties that focuses on the Concordat with the papacy and the promotion of Jewish freedom. He also discusses how Napoleon "tried to negotiate a peace with Great Britain [in 1811], anticipating that her difficulties with the United States might make her, finally, willing to come to terms with France," but again these negotiations also failed. Had Britain and France made peace, war with Russia might not have been necessary, as Russia would no longer find itself raising concerns over the Continental System. And so, Napoleon found himself in the unfortunate position of having to militarily enforce the 1807 peace agreement. We can see from the above series of events and diplomacy that while Napoleon long regarded Europe as a singular entity, his plan to unify Europe had an amorphous and constantly developing nature that could not have achieved a more definitive or concrete direction until after all of Europe, including England, would have been pacified in the years following the crucial year of 1812.
In that year, the notion of Napoleon as a sort of reincarnation of a certain Macedonian conqueror reemerged. David Markham explains that in 1812, "some thought Napoleon would not stop with Russia. These people believed that after Napoleon defeated Russia and once again secured Alexander's friendship, he would follow in the footsteps of Alexander the Great and march all the way to India." But as we know, in spite of Napoleon's battle victories and occupation of Moscow, peace overtures to Tsar Alexander and Field Marshal Mikhail Kutusov were met with silence, and 1812 proved to be a disastrous year for Napoleon.
Considering the title of my master's thesis (Napoleon's European Union: The Grand Empire of the United States of Europe), I especially appreciated Markham's succinct overview of Napoleon's vision of a United States of Europe in his chapter titled "Creating a New United Europe." The visual evidence includes a medallion showing "Napoleon (wearing the laurel wreath crown of the Caesars) and Charlemagne together" that is particularly revealing of Napoleon's effort to identify with past emperors in European history and synthesize elements of their imperial iconography.
I am especially pleased to see that Markham included sections on Napoleon's religious policies and vision of European unity (Napoleon for Dummies), as well as comparisons of Napoleon to earlier leaders like Alexander the Great (Road to Glory). I do hope that Markham gets to do a Julius Caesar for Dummies book as well, and it would be great if eventually they come out with for Dummies books on Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, and even Napoleon III! I think that when I am a professor I will indeed use this as a reference book for my students. It's easy and enjoyable to read and I think that it would work quite well, particularly for undergraduates. It must have been fun to write! I hope that it sells well!

I'm not a historian, I'm a musician who studied French in high school and college. I bought this book because I was curious about the relationship between France and Denmark during the Napoleonic years. I honestly could not put the book down and couldn't talk about anything other than Napoleon for several weeks after I read this book. Markham's conversational and humorous approach is very engaging and I found it so refreshing to hear something other than the British or American point of view.

This large and attractive book was created by the Discovery Channel, to tell the story of the Battle of the Nile. Brimming with details, the book tells the story of the French Revolution and the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, followed by the life of Horatio Nelson, and the exciting finale: a minute-by-minute retelling of the Battle of the Nile in 1798. Along the way, the reader is treated to many excellent pictures, charts and graphs, not to mention a plethora of highly informative sidebars.

This is a wonderful book, one that will please readers that know nothing about the subject, and those that know a lot. I am very glad that I was able to get ahold of it, and highly recommend it to you!

Accompanying a Discovery episode, the book tells the story of Napoleon's conquest of Egypt, and his Battle of the Nile with Lord Nelson. Beautifully illustrated, the authors dramatically relate the surrounding events in a detailed and clear style. A final chapter about excavations by Frank Goddio and his underwater team has provided marvelous photographs and much information about recent discoveries. Definitely a must-read for all interested in historical events, Napoleon, marine archaeology and Egypt.

As a history buff and Discovery Channel fan, I really loved this book

The Asian steppes from Turkey to China from about 800 BC to the mid 1700's produced a series of peoples that developed a culture that was dramatically different from that in the rest of the world. While the rest of the world was settling down into farming and building cities, these nomadic tribes flowed over the steppes living a life of slaughter and plunder before moving on.

This book traces the history of these peoples and the empires that they built. In a surprisingly small volume Mr. Chaliand is able to bring a greatly increased understanding of how these nomads accomplished these feats. He discusses their culture, their strategic and tactical military techniques and even manages to make sense out of the merging and splitting of the tribes as leaders died, new leaders took thair place, or they were themselves conquered by others.

A very well done history of a little known time in our conventional history.

It is incredibly refreshing when a Western historian acknowledges that not all history revolves around Western Europe or North America; it is doubly so when a French historian does this and then adds anecdotally that the Byzantine defeat of the Arab Fleets in the Mediterranean was much more important than Charles Martel's victory in Poitiers over "a detachment of Arabs."
Monsieur Chaliand in "Nomadic Empires" acknowledges the central and pivotal role that Central Asian nomadic groups played in the development of world history. The central idea in this short but great introduction to the great nomadic movements is the ripple effect they caused.
For two thousand years empires and khanates hinged their foreign policies, military strategies and survival on how they would deal with the frequently marauding nomadic invaders. For the Westerners of today, to whom World War Two may already be ancient history, it may take a little bit of imagination to understand that for centuries--centuries, meaning decade after decade after decade--China's main foreign policy element was how best to secure its northern frontiers against one invading nomadic people after another. One can loosely draw that this is where China learned to think strategically, as its rulers sought out ways and political or military means with which to keep these marauders at bay.
The Mongols' invasion of Russia changed it forever. With the subjugation of Kievan Rus, Novgorod, Riazan and other city-states, the Genghiskhanid nomads forever ruined any ability of the proto-Russians or Russians engage in even the semi-democratic politics they'd experienced before. It was the Mongols who installed Russia's ruling families, bequeathing its vanquished peoples native overlords who, after they pushed the Mongols out, remained in power with an even-tighter authoritarian grip. The occupation also left Russia with a sizeable population of Central Asian nomads, ensuring that this land would forever now be no longer exclusively European, but Eurasian. Thus, the ripple effect.
Ripple effect again: encroaching nomads pushed Ertughrul's tribe out of modern-day Turkmenistan, which led him to seek land under the Seljuk Turks. He then gave birth to one Osman, who would raise an Islamic empire whose military methods were largely drawn from its Central Asian predecessors.
The author keeps it short and still manages to pack this thin tome with rich details of the coming and goings of so many nomadic tribes: the Tu-chueh, the Avars, the Bulgars, the Alans, Oghuz, Genghiskhanid Mongols, the Turkic-speaking peoples who eventually became the Ottomans and today's Turks. Using modern-day geopolitical and military terminology Chaliand greatly enhances the reader's ability to see the various offensives and counter-attacks waged between nomads and the sedentary peoples that sought to raid, ravage or ruin. "Nomadic Empires" is a great and interesting introduction to a lost world of vast steppes, galloping horses, mounted archers, the rise and fall of countless nomad states and the ever-present struggle of man against man.

Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia To The Danube by French academician Gerard Chaliand (Director, The European Center for the Study of Conflicts - Paris) skillfully surveys the two thousand year military history and geopolitical phenomena that was the reality and legacy of the Mongol Empire of Genghis-Khan and his heirs (5th Century BCE to 15th Century CE) which spread out over Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. A wealth of carefully researched dates, descriptive interplay of sweeping forces, and close dissection of the organizational, strategic, and psychological military techniques employed in conquest that changed history are combined in an informed and informative text. Nomadic Empires is a strongly commended addition to academic library reference collections and inherently fascinating reading for any non-specialist general reader with an interest in world history.

Ray Jones is an incredibly talented photographer. I've watched his work evolve over the years from promising to promised. He's become one of the rare all seeing eyes for those of us who aren't paying enough attention to the beautiful things that surround us. To get an in depth look into the diversity of the straight edge movement from the perspective of such a thoughtful photographer is an honor to myself and to others who wear X's. Though, whether you're edge or not -- this is great book. Few better ways exist to understand a philosophy than to look at the faces of those who embrace it.

First off, the photos in this book are well composed and do a great job of capturing the subjects in very natural environments.

This book is a refreshing look at a scene that has slipped from its prominence of a decade ago when the straight edge scene had figureheads like Earth Crisis leading the charge on its behalf, let alone two decades ago when Minor Threat coined the term of "straight edge."

It is good to see such a diverse group of people with such a wide range of interests and professions. Growing up does not mean that someone has to sell out a belief system that provides for a clean lifestyle that serves as a means to better one's life.

this is a great book of amazing photographs. it's nice to be able to actually see some of the diversity in the straight edge scene. many people that consider themselves straight edge only see/meet people in their own areas. many newly straight edge kids might think that straight edge is cool for now, but "who knows about when i'm older." this book captures the commitment, the dedication and the individuality of a movement that truly means something. it shows people from all over the united states who are newly straight edge and people that have been straight edge from the start. i can only hope that this book creates enough "buzz" that one day an, out of step:world view, might grace my bookshelf. pick this book up. XXX