History Books

I'm writing this as the mother of an adopted Ethiopian child- I bought this book after a random search and it has been the most valuable book of our whole adoption journey. It's loaded with helpful background info on the AIDS & Orphan crises in Ethiopia, history of Ethiopia, insight into the cultural perceptions of adoption (especially by affluent, white Westerners!) and the very moving perspectives of the orphans themselves, and their Ethiopian caretakers. The heroine of this story is very real, and her character development was deep and insightful. I laid the book down several times to have a good laugh (or cry!) but could hardly keep from turning the pages. Whether you are adopting yourself, supporting someone who is, or just interested in learning more about Ethiopia and this heroine's story, I know you will come away inspired.

Author Melissa Fay Greene, who is the adoptive mother of two Ethiopian children, relates the story of Haregewoin Teferra, an Ethiopian mother who becomes the foster mother for a multitude of AIDS orphans during the height of the pandemic. Greene truthfully tells the tale without painting Teferra as a "modern day Mother Teresa," but rather as a very real and human woman who is asked by clerics to take in one abandoned orphan after another. A grieving mother whose adult daughter died from AIDS, Teferra discovers that helping the children provides her with a means of overcoming her grief. The individual stories of these "lost children" who arrive on Teferra's doorstep are riveting, as is Greene's account of the assimilation of her adoptive children into her family. Accompanying photos show children shortly after they arrived in very bad shape at Treferra's compound and then later with adoptive American families.
Greene spares no one as she rails against the pharmaceutical companies that withheld AIDS medications from third-world countries at the height of the pandemic, causing the loss of a whole generation of parents. Despite having no drugs to help the children, hit-or-miss medical care, and scarce food for all, Teferra does her best to feed, clothe, house, and educate the orphans put in her care. Although one might think that this book is a "downer," it is a very uplifting page-turner that relates the indominable spirit of one Ethiopian woman and her many foster children.

Melissa Faye Green is an excellent writer. She is a true artist painting a vivid picture of scenes, and weaving historical, political and social aspects of the deadly HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is an incredibly powerful book. It is not easy to read due to the difficult emotional toll it can take on one, but I felt morally obligated to read it, so that I wasn't just shutting out the devastating misery suffered by so many millions. She portrays the human face of this awful disease with poignancy. It is an inspiring and human story of one woman's efforts to alleviate her own and others suffering. God bless Melissa for opening our eyes.

This was a wonderful book! Having myself been to Addis Ababa recently (July 07) with my daughter to pick up her adopted Ethiopian baby boy (4 months old), you can just imagine how this story of one woman's love for so many orphans resonated with me. The book is a quick read -- something interesting in every chapter. The author intertwined Haregewoin's up and down story with bits of Ethiopian history and the unwinding spread and theories of HIV-AIDs plus added her own experience with H. and the adoption her own Ethiopian children -- which made the reader come away with a true cultural experience. H. is truly a "Mother Theresa" figure and an inspiration to all women. Thank you, Melissa, for introducing us to her. I really enjoyed having the photos of many of the children and their adoptive families to relate to. I will be sure that my daughter reads this book and I have suggested it to my book club in Boulder, CO which will read it in the fall. -- Gayle Weiss

I like what the story is about, however the book has so much detail it is hard to get through the first chapters.

This book is about a 10 year old girl named Sookan and she lives with her mother, grandfather,aunt, and little brother. They live in North Korea in 1945. Her and her mother and aunt work in a sock factory for the Japanese soliders in World War II. They had a Captain Narita and he came by and it was her sister's birthday and mother went to go get a book from older sister at the convent. Mother gave it to her and Captain Narita told his men to destroy it. Sookan's mother can't even have a garden or else Captain Narita will have his men step on them. Her father is in the military and her sister is in a convent. Also, her older brothers were sent away tp labor camps. The war ends and the Japanese lose. The Russions take over North Korea and brainwash them into loving Russia, so Sookan and her brother must go to South Korea because she thinks that her dad and older brothers and sister are waiting for them. She hopes she will find freedom in South Korea. I think that is really sad to not have your father around or older brothers and to have to work in the sock factory. Also, I liked how her and her brother stood side by side. This book is a Fantasy book and the theme is Fictional.

Sookan is a 10-year old girl living in Korea in 1945. The Japanese have taken over and force communist ideas and laws onto the Koreans. Each day, Captain Narita inspects the house and backyard. Their backyard holds a shack that is used for sock-making. The sock-girls would work day and night trying to meet their quotas. Koreans are deprived of rice and money. The children, including Sookan and her brother Inchun, have to attend a very strict Japanese run school. When the Japanese leave, the Koreans rejoice, but are shortly taken over by the Russians. Things begin to get worse, and Sookan, with her mother and brother, try desperately to escape to the South where the Americans are.

This historical fiction book takes you along the incredible journey of 2 children as they take drastic forms of lifestyles to earn the freedom they deserve. The beginning of this book started out slow, but took fast pace when the Russians were introduced. The author has a wonderful writing style that truly makes you feel like you are part of the story, especially near the end. This is my favorite book and I recommend it to everybody of all ages. Do not miss out on this surprisingly realistic journey.

Sookan is ten years old, living in Korea with her mother, grandfather, aunt, cousin, and little brother. World War II is going on and things are very hard in Korea. The Japanese forces are in control of their country and they treat the Korean people like slaves in their own home, making them give up all valuables to help the Japanese army, putting them to work making clothing for the Japanese and sending the children to schools where they make weapons and learn propaganda about the Japanese army. More than anything, Sookan wishes she were with her father, her older sister or her three older brothers, who are all far away. Her father is working with the resistance forces, her brothers have been taken away to labor camps and her sister is in a convent.

Then after what seems like an eternity of being at war and under Japanese control, the war is over and the Japanese have lost. Sookan and her family think that things will be much better now, but then they find that their country has been divided into two parts. Rather than being helped by the Americans as they'd hoped, they are instead under Russian control, and the Russians seem determined to brainwash everyone into loving Russia. They make everyone go to meetings to show their support and those in authority are constantly looking for traitors. It becomes clear to Sookan's mother that they need to get to South Korea where the Americans are, and where she expects Sookan's father and brothers may be waiting for them. But will Sookan and her little brother be able to make the journey to safety?

I liked the descriptions of what life in Korea was like during the war. It's hard to imagine what was going on in other countries when we mostly hear about what was happening in our country. I also liked the interaction between Sookan and her brother. They were really nice to each other and probably wouldn't have made it without each other's help.

It was sad to read about the lives of the Koreans during the war; it sounds like such a horrible way for anyone to spend a childhood.

You MUST read this book and the two other books by Choi-Echoes of White Giraffe & Gathering of Pearls. All three books are written from Sookan's perspective, as she grows up in the midst of the Japanese occupation, the war and in America, as a foreign college student. Aside from the cultural issues, as well as historic issues, the plot flows very well. The stories are very personal & honest. I really enjoyed these books and I know that when my kids, ages 5 and 9, get a little older, they will also. These are enjoyable and educational stories.

The Year of Impossible Goodbyes is written by Sook Nyul Choi. The book is 169 pages in length. It is about a girl named Sookan who lives in Korea during World War II. At this time, Korea is under control of the Japanese. Sookan and her family are being suppressed by the Japanese. Sookan's mother is a supervisor at a sock factory. But, the workers at the sock factory were sent away to the war, forcing Sookan's mother to close down the factory. Then, Sookan is sent to a Japanese school, where she learns about Japan and nothing else. But soon after, the war ends! Freedom at last! Sookan and her family rejoice! But neither the rest of their family nor the sock girls have returned. Sookan is worried. Also, to make things worse, Russia took over North Korea, and they again are suppressed. But, after a couple of attempts, she and her family make it to liberated South Korea!
Sookan is kind, loving, compassionate, smart child. She takes care of others and has an unbroken spirit. She is resolute and determined.
Sookan faces many conflicts throughout this book. First, she hates her enemies, the Japanese, who have been occupying her country for many years. She is taught not to hate; yet she is unable to suppress these feelings. Sookan knows that if she spoke what is on her mind, her whole family could be executed. Luckily, she is mature enough to realize this and keeps her emotions to herself.
Another of Sookan's conflicts is her attempt to escape from northern Korea. She gets separated from her mother at the passport checkpoint and is left with caring for her younger brother. Sookan is ten years old and has neither currency nor provisions. She is by herself. Escaping is very risky and life hostile. Sookan and her brother stay alive on their own and make it to South Korea; where they are reunited with their family.
Finally, the Japanese occupying Korea is another conflict Sookan has to face. The Japanese suppress Sookan's family, forcing them to do Japan's bidding. The Japanese police take their belongings to help in the war effort and force Sookan's mother to supervise a sock factory. Sookan's patience helped her wait out the war.
The author uses the reoccurring theme of determination in her novel. An example of this theme is when Sookan gets divided from her mother at the identification checkpoint and is left with caring for her youthful sibling. Sookan is ten years old and has no money or food. She is on her own. Escaping is very dangerous and life threatening. Sookan and her brother manage to survive on their own and finally reach South Korea, where they are reunited with her family. This shows determination because she is only ten in an unknown world. She has no money and has to take care of her younger brother.
Another example of the determination theme occurs at the beginning of the story. The Japanese suppress Sookan's family, forcing them to do Japan's bidding. In fact, the Japanese police take their belongings to help in the war effort and force Sookan's mother to supervise a sock factory. Still, Sookan's patience helped her wait out the war. This shows determination because she does not give up her life and try to run away, but is patient.
The style of novel is very unique. Author Sook Choi writes in first person view and adds very smooth sentences. Most of her sentences are like this,"Listening to this boy was as refreshing as diving into a cool stream". In this sentence she uses many descriptive words and there was no comma to slow it down. Choi's sentences are both short and long. Many authors use only one kind of sentence. This is what makes this novel and author unique.
The plot, characters, theme, and style are all good, which makes this book really fun to read. It's filled with adventures and many other thrilling topics. This book is great for most ages. I recommend this book to whoever loves adventure!

One Day She'll Darken: The Mysterious Beginnings of Fauna Hodel

Audrey Hepburn loved her children and all the children of the world...Sean honors his mother...we all honor his mother...a mother to so many...indeed...an elegant spirit...

The photos here are lovingly chosen by her son, and the entire book is an absolute joy.

This book was pleasant and thoughtful, as is its subject. Though admittedly the writing was far less enchanting than I would have expected; I like to think it was kept simple to further emphasize the simplicity and sincerity of Audrey herself. This book did not add any revelation for the reader about her life; but instead, allowed for a glance at Audrey Hepburn's everyday existence. I was constantly amazed at how strong and genuine her character when faced with life's sometimes complicated decisions. This book shows Audrey as a person who effortlessly put others before herself, and seemed to never question her sense of what is right.

Even the idea of such simplicity has become a fairytale in our lives, and it is so refreshing to read about someone who was capable of remaining so solidly pure, that I cannot help but read a little more. One need only look to her work with UNICEF to know how first-rate she truly was.

She has allways been one of my favorite stars.The book has a beautifull
lay-out and is a pleasure to read.Lots of photographs never seen before
and beautifull passages about her work for Unicef and what a wonderful mother she was.I can highly recommend this book.

Bought this as a gift for my daughter as she is a fan and thought that the personal insights were revealing and poignant.

The quality of the photography and printing are really outstanding. When ever I want to alleviate stress, the pages of this book are my solace. It makes me mindful of the miracles of nature found in the rainforest. The book makes a nice gift.

This is a book of fabulous pictures. We bought it to inspire paintings and other artwork for my brother. He absolutely loved it. You will look at it over and over. It's big, heavy, so colorful, and great for all ages. A good book to leave sitting out to inspire conversation, fill time, or appreciate the world around you.

Even people who aren't as avid about nature as I am have found this book to be simply spectacular. It was given to me as a Christmas present and promptly got passed around the room. People who only take a glance have bought their own copy! The large, professionally printed photographs will take your breath away, and the captions and stories are just as entertaining. This book is organized neatly into chapters, and its layout is stylish and modern.

Worth more than what you will pay, the images are pristinely clear, colorful, large, and just plain amazing. I am giving it to my 11 year old animal-loving son for Christmas, but I must confess, I want my own!

A perfect gift for that hard to shop for person on your list, or...the person who 'has everything!' This beautifully illustrated and timely piece of literature uses imagination, intoxicating photographic talent, and intreague creating this work of art, with everlasting beauty for all ages. The distinguished global vastness pulls the reader into its clutches and keeps them craving for the next page. The accompanying CD highlights the haunting sounds of the Rainforest and echos it's melodic and transcendent voice, escorting the listener to the very heart of the...Rainforest! A+++ Highly recommended.

All the abuses discussed in this book are accurate, and the author does a fine job in bringing them to life. But the books leaves the reader with the impression that all black workers in the South were virtual slaves, who were forced to stay with the same employer year after year. This is simply not true. Many African Americans switched jobs year after year, to the frustration of planters. Others migrated, sometimes alone, sometimes en masse (e.g., the Kansas Exodus, the Edgefield Exodus) to other parts of the South. Labor agent Peg-Leg Williams moved over 80,000 people from the Carolina southwest all by himself. And so on. The real history is bad enough, no need to exaggerate it. For the relevant sources, see the footnotes to David E. Bernstein, Only One Place of Redress ch. 1 (Duke U. Press 2001), which discusses one way planters tried to limit black mobility, through laws banning labor recruitment.

I am pleased that the book came in a reasonable amount of time.

-Not what I learned in school. But this book opened my eyes to the truth of our American History, and caused me to think about what I see in society today, differently. I would recommend it highly!

There were times when I read this book I was in a fury with rage, when I was completely dumbfounded, flummoxed, horrified, disturbed (deeply) by another chapter of our good country's history. Yet there were also times when I was proud of those portrayed here who were moral and just -- folk who sought to cleanse the countryside of those who thought nothing of life, except to take advantage of it until there was nothing more to give. This richly researched, sharply written book is an essential read.

As an historian, I have long been aware that slavery did not end the evils perpetrated on black people in this country, but I never realized the full extent. Although this book is at times repetitious and disjointed, it is a powerful narrative of a period in American history arguably more disturbing than ante bellum slavery. It's as though all the humane slave masters have been replaced by Simon Legrees and Bull Connors. The complicity of corporate America and the emergence of industrial slavery make the situation even more problematic. This book needs to be read by all who want to fully understand the ramifications of history on race relations in this country and should be required reading in high school and college classrooms.

The Soul of Baseball illuminates what life can be. It would help anyone get past their bitterness and see that life is about what I can do today and not what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow.

Poz is one of the best writers in the business. Thanks for writing a really great book about a great baseball man. Buck's is a great American story and the way it's written makes you feel like you're on the road trip with them.

This book got to me, in a very good way.

Buck's stories are funny and poignant, and we as readers definitely learn some history if we pay attention. But even more than that we can learn from Buck O'Neil's outlook on life. He was patient, caring, outspoken in an articulate and positive way (something our politicians should learn how to do), and he had grace. More than anything else reading about Buck O'Neil was a lesson on how to live with grace.

I want to tell you the last words of the book, but I won't.

If you like baseball, people or life you will like this book.

Highly recommended!!

Sometimes a great author writes a 5-star book, and sometimes he must only get out of the way and let 5-star material shine through. "The Soul of Baseball" is one of the latter. This isn't a knock on Joe Posnanski. The decision to tell the story by reporting on a year in O'Neil's life, rather than interpreting O'Neil's history, was a brilliant judgment. The reader benefits from Posnanski's willingness to set his writer's ego aside.

Another good Posnanski decision was reporting O'Neil's occasional querulousness. Rather than seeing O'Neil as a mindless happy face, the reader sees O'Neil as someone who must work to maintain his positive approach. The occasional lapses serve to highlight the effort that O'Neil makes to bring the light into the lives of those around him.

But ultimately, the star of the book is Buck O'Neil. Not because he was a great ballplayer or manager. But because he was a decent, good-hearted human being whose attitude toward life is worthy of emulation.

I give few 5-star rankings, but this book deserves it several times over.

My son, Jeremy, always gives me good books. He doesn't just pick up the latest best-seller, but takes the time to choose something special just for me. He hit a home run with The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski. It's the story of an extended road trip Posnanski took with legendary Negro League player and manager Buck O'Neil. The lessons learned along the way are great ones for sons and fathers to share.

Posnanski, an award-winning sports columnist for the Kansas City Star, chose not to write a biography of the irrepressible O'Neil, even though the story could bear to be told over and over again. Instead, he penned a moving memoir of the year he spent with the then-93-year-old O'Neil as he toured the country promoting the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City and the memory of those men who played the game in the days before whites and blacks could share the field. The trip takes them everywhere from Nicodemus, Kansas, to New York, New York, and O'Neil has a fascinating story to tell at every stop.

He talks about Satchel Paige, Willie Mays, and Josh Gibson, names that will always be enshrined in baseball's collective memory. But he also tells the tales of forgotten men like Dan Bankhead, the first black pitcher in the major leagues, who would have been a great hurler if he hadn't been afraid to pitch fastballs inside against white batters.

The key theme of the book is Buck O'Neil's spirit-lifting embrace of the best in every person he met. Despite years of back-breaking struggle, O'Neil never turned bitter, never condemned anyone for their prejudice, never had a bad word to say about the often ugly conditions the black ball players endured. Even when he failed to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Buck O'Neil refused to be angry about it. To make up for the egregious mistake, the Hall awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award after his death.

The lessons Posnanski drew from his experiences with O'Neil are well worth telling and the book he created from them is well worth reading.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds: A Novel of Scandal, Love and Death in the Congo

Yhis book belongs on the bookshelf of all those interested in the early days of psychedelic research and it's social ramifications. One word for it: Excellent!

Can't think of a more informative and interesting way of describing this period of time. I loved this book. Big thanks to the authors!

_Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond_, first published in 1985 and revised in 1992, by journalist and author Martin A. Lee and author Bruce Shlain is a fascinating and wild account of the history of LSD in America. The implications of this journalistic history are startling in that they show the role of the CIA and the government of the United States in creating much of the LSD culture that grew up during the Sixties. I should add that one advantage of this book over Martin A. Lee's other book _The Beast Reawakens_ (1999) is that Lee is able to keep a cool head and write about LSD without lapsing into paroxysms of hysteria as he does when writing about Nazis. This is very fortunate for the reader because it spares us from having to sort through a lot of irrelevant nonsense. The history of LSD in the United States is a fascinating one, and the creation of a drug culture in the Sixties as well as the links between this culture and the hippies, the New Left, and the anti-war movement offers much interesting material. But, lurking behind the whole thing is the nefarious role of the CIA and the government, originally in testing out these drugs in a series of unethical experiments and later in possibly manipulating the very culture that arose from their newfound prevalence itself. This is a fascinating story and one that should be told particularly in light of the complex relationship that has always existed between the drug culture and the state.

The book begins with an Introduction entitled "Whose Worlds Are These?" by Andrei Codrescu. This Introduction lays out the use of LSD as presented in the book both through the experiments of the CIA and as promoted by such figures as Captain Al Hubbard, Aldous Huxley, Timothy Leary, Owsley, Art Kleps, Ken Kesey, and others. The book proper begins with a Prologue in which the authors explain the discovery of LSD-25 by Dr. Albert Hoffman, who was later to give an important speech to psychedelic followers in 1977. This Prologue also details the role of the CIA and through such projects as Operation MK-ULTRA engaged in unethical experimentation with LSD on unwitting participants. The first section of this book is entitled "The Roots of Psychedelia". The first chapter of this section is entitled "In the Beginning There Was Madness . . . " and details the role of the CIA in the unethical use of LSD and later in promoting the LSD subculture. This chapter includes sections entitled "The Truth Seekers", "Enter LSD", "Laboratories of the State", "Midnight Climax", and "The Hallucination Battlefield". This chapter details the role of the CIA in experimenting with LSD through projects such as Operation MK-ULTRA, mentioning such figures as William "Wild Bill" Donovan, Allen Dulles, Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, and the hijinx of George Hunter White. The authors explain how originally the model for LSD was that the drug mimicked psychosis, but that eventually this model was to change. The CIA saw the drug as potentially useful for interrogations and engaged in many experiments on unwitting participants with the drug. The second chapter is entitled "Psychedelic Pioneers" and details how the drug was moved from the CIA clandestine operations to the counter-culture. This chapter includes sections entitled "The Original Captain Trips", "Healing Acid", and "Psychosis or Gnosis?". In particular, this chapter explains how government funded psychiatrists and psychologists came to believe that LSD may have some therapeutic potential thus abandoning the original "psychotomimetic" theory of LSD. The government engaged in much research on this drug, and by taking place in government sponsored experiments as participants, many prominent counter-cultural figures became involved with the drug (as a case in point there is the case of the poet Allen Ginsberg). Some figures came to see LSD as revealing deep secrets and as having a profound effect on human nature leading to the popular perspective that LSD offered a form of "gnosis" thus replacing the government's "psychosis" perspective. The third chapter is entitled "Under the Mushroom, Over the Rainbow" and explains how prominent individuals including Harvard professors (such as Timothy Leary and investment banker R. Gordon Wasson) became involved in the drug counter-culture. This chapter includes sections entitled "Manna From Harvard", "Chemical Crusaders", and "The Crackdown" - showing how the government eventually sought to crack down on LSD use eventually leading to its illegality. The fourth chapter is entitled "Preaching LSD" and discusses for example the hijinx of Timothy Leary (who some maintained was a CIA agent). This chapter includes sections entitled "High Surrealism", "The Psychedelic Manual", and "The Hard Sell". The fifth chapter of this book is entitled "The All-American Trip", detailing the rise of the Merry Pranksters who followed Ken Kesey. This chapter includes sections entitled "The Great Freak Forward" and "Acid and the New Left" - showing the problematic relationship between the LSD counter-culture and the political New Left. The second part of this book is entitled "Acid for the Masses". This part begins with the sixth chapter of this book entitled "From Hip to Hippie" showing how the LSD counter-culture created the emerging phenomenon of the hippie. This chapter includes sections entitled "Before the Deluge", "Politics of the Bummer", and "The First Human Be-In", in particular this chapter discusses how the "bad trip" came to emerge from a cultural matrix in which LSD was regarded as harmful by the establishment but as liberating by the counter-culture, virtually assuring that many would experiment with the drug themselves to find out for themselves the effects. The seventh chapter is entitled "The Capital of Forever" and includes sections entitled "Stone Free" and "The Great Summer Dropout". The eighth chapter is entitled "Peaking in Babylon" and includes sections entitled "A Gathering Storm", "Magical Politics", and "Gotta Revolution". In particular, this chapter shows how the LSD culture emerged in Haight-Ashbury and how it interacted with such other phenomena as the political New Left and the anti-war movement emerging as opposition to the Vietnam War, mentioning such things as the Diggers and the Yippies. In particular, many on the politically reductionistic New Left saw the whole hippie phenomena as an attempt to drop out of politics entirely and thus regarded it negatively. Further, many hippies became easy prey for dangerous psychopaths such as Charles Manson. The ninth chapter is entitled "Season of the Witch" and includes sections entitled "Armed Love", "The Acid Brotherhood", and "Bad Moon Rising". This chapter explains the relationships between the New Left and the anti-war movement forming as a force of opposition to the Vietnam War as well as the continuing and complicated relationship with the hippie culture and the phenomenon of folk music. The tenth chapter is entitled "What a Field Day for the Heat" and includes sections entitled "Prisoner of LSD", "A Bitter Pill", and "The Great LSD Conspiracy", in particular, this chapter maintains that behind the scenes the CIA may have been manipulating the drug counter-culture and may even have seen the Haight-Ashbury district as a social laboratory. The book ends with a Postscript entitled "Acid and After" and an Afterword.

This book offers an interesting study on the Sixties and the drug culture focusing around LSD that emerged out of this decade. In particular, after reading the book, it becomes clear that the hippie movement was easily manipulated by psychopaths such as Charles Manson and larger forces out of their control such as the CIA. Further, the naïve belief of many that LSD would lead to world peace turns out to have only been a passing phase. Another problematic raised by this book is the relationship between LSD use and New Left politics. Unfortunately, the New Left sought to reduce everything to politics so failed to appreciate any sort of development that lay outside of their own political sphere. This book offers a good examination of a troubled era and some of the hopes of people in that era that were ultimately manipulated by larger forces.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2NWFN612DXX3 My video review of Acid Dream. Really great bookAcid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond. ***** 5 stars =)

This book is perfect - It offered everything I was hoping for when I first purchased it. It covered from the end of the 50's and the Beat generation and how their influence lead into the hippie generation, and it ended in the early 70's tying in the beginning of rock and punk. It is a true spectrum of the 1960's counterculture generation.

It's a large book but its facinating to learn about the history and the culture. Like previous reviewers said, it really ties up everyhting and clearly shows the correalation between the drug counterculture and the govn't & society during that time period. I was born in the 80's and this book really showed me alot about the 60's counterculture and the attitudes towards drug use and young people during that time. I can see alot of correalations between that era with Vietnam as the war that they were protesting versus todays war in Iraq and the amount of US citizens that are against it.

The author also goes into government policies at the time and conspiricys and covert CIA and classified documents. I was amazed by the actions of the CIA and thetesting of LSD on unsuspecting American citizens. It is like the stuff movies are made of but it really happened! Truly and amazing and interesting book - I could not put it down. I reccomend it to everyone, regardless of your view on LSD or drug counterculture - a true wealth of information on 1960's America.

Here is writing which makes history come alive. I have read other civil war books, but I would say this is bar far the best, most comprehsive books I have read. I beleive it is equal in representation of both the north and the south but there is a slight bias towards the south in some respects. The author puts more a human face to Davis whereas Linclon is not always afforded this. But conversely, the author lauds Grants, even more so then Lee.

The book is written so narrtively that the reader actually feels he is standing there on the field with the generals and sitting amng the soldiers. The battles were throroughly gripping. And as much attention was given to the Virginia theater as to the Wetsern theaters. The depth and breadth of the coverage is awa inspiring.

My only two complaints would be the lack of pictures. I would like to actually put a face to the generals and so forth while reading about them. Secondly, I would like some more maps. There were some battles in whcih I wound up looking on the inside cover to find where I was.

There's a reason why you see Shelby Foote in every Civil War documentary. He's the best and these three books are evidence to back up that assertion. Besides, once you hear his Southern drawl, you won't be able to imagine a better voice for the conflict.

Shelby Foote is THE master of the genre and while it is detailed verbally, I would have appreciated more maps and
illustrations of where the actions occurred in better detail. Still the set rates 5 stars!.

Shelby Foote has managed to do what most fail to do with a History Book. He brings the Civil War to life and gives the characters presence and energy. Superbly written and wonderful to read.

For me as an Englishman living in the Southern States, I am now beginning to have an understanding of the real politics and social background to the Civil War.

And What it felt like to be a Confederate!

This is just a great book. Being born and raised in a Coal Camp in McDowell County, West Virginia really made me appreciate the descriptive style of writing which captures the true spirit of the "holler." When I finished the book I celebrated by cooking up a big pot of pinto beans and baked a big ol' pan of cornbread. Thank you for such a wonderful book.

"Over the course of my life, I have been lucky in that I have seldom managed to get exactly what I wanted; instead, I have most often been able to grow to appreciate what I got." You find out all the things the author strove for during her youth that never seemed to materialize...except for her studies when she always did well except for a very short period of time.

Linda Scott has told about her life that is most revealing and about a place in Appalachia in Eastern Kentucky that is so well explained that you know exactly what her hometown area looks like and how everyone lived. The twists and turns in her life are like a corkscrew where changes are constant, but purpose remains strong. The author is the most down-to-earth academician I have ever known including my brother who is a retired professor. If you want a marvelous reading experience, then get this book. I guarantee it!

I loved this book. It really tells the story of my people.

I was born in Paintsville (home of Loretta Lynn) and had to move away when I was 4. Reading this book took me back to my Grandma's front porch and the well outside. It reminded me of church outhouses and dinner on the ground. Made me want to throw rocks in the creek off the bridge at Grandma's and walk up to the family graveyard to wonder about my ancestor's lives. If you are from Eastern Kentucky, this book will make you proud to say "warsh" and "tard." If you aren't from there, read it anyway. It might make you appreciate us "hillbillies" a little more.

As a long-time enthusiast of Appalachian literature, I was eagerly aniticipating reading 'Creeker'. Though I didn't care much for the stereotypical title, I thought I would be able to make it past it to enjoy a unique brand of literature.

Boy, was I wrong!

This book typifies the apologist mentality that premeates Appalachia and keeps the ignorant serfs on the proverbial feudal land.

If you're a true fan of Appalachian literature, stick with the true masters, Bobbie Ann Mason and Lee Smith.

Incredible book! Can't stop reading once you start. This books is the prove "THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!!!" Very heartbreaking. It will change your life.

One of the top few books I've read about the holocaust. Riveting. Couldn't put it down. One of those "stories" that really hook you - you can't wait to see what happens next and you're a little horrified that you're reading it so avidly and enjoying it. At the same time you feel such sadness for the people who lived (and didn't) through it.

I was captured by this book. It is amazing what the human body and mind can endure. Also appalling what horrors humans can put upon each other. I was afraid it would be too graphic or depressing but it was quite the opposite. You get a very good idea of what it was like, i.e., the point is made. This book is a lesson about civilization and I could not put it down.

This review is based on the original (1947) edition. Let's focus on some seldom-developed issues.

Large numbers of Polish clergy were sent to Auschwitz in the early years of the camp. However, Lengyel reports many more arriving in 1944 (pp. 108-110). They were often put to death immediately; the remainder being subject to degrading humiliations and tortures. Polish children were frozen to death (p. 210) and mostly Polish women were used by the Germans for vivisection experiments. (p. 176) Ironically, the Germans forgot their racism when they included the use of Jewish blood for transfusions to save the lives of wounded German soldiers. (p. 176)

Recent claims that Jews and homosexuals were consistently treated the most harshly are fallacious. Lengyel says: "It would be difficult to say which of the internees were treated worst. Most of us, whether political, racial, or criminal prisoners, were reduced to existence on the animal level. But the Jews and the Russians were treated cruelly. On the other hand, the German internees, whether common-law criminals, perverts, or political prisoners, benefited from certain privileges. They provided large numbers of the camp functionaries; and, no matter what their duties, were never chosen in the dreaded `selection'." (p. 44) In fact, homosexuals were also victimizers: "The prisoners, men or women, were frequently abused by the German barrack leaders, among whom was a high percentage of homosexuals and other perverts." (p. 185) The camp "beasts" included Irma Griese, an SS woman (p. 40) and bisexual, who forced her way on female inmates and then disposed of them when she got tired of them. (pp. 185-186)

Lengyel describes the Sonderkommando revolt, as well as the escape of a Polish inmate with his Jewess lover (pp. 124). Unfortunately, the SS uniforms that they had stolen fooled the Germans for only a few weeks.

Once finished with the Jews, the Germans intended to do the same to the Slavs. After describing gruesome experiments designed to perfect mass-sterilization methods (pp. 177-179), Lengyel comments: "Once we asked an Aryan German inmate, a former social worker, for the basic reason for the sterilization and castration. Before his captivity he had been active in German politics and had known many eminent people. He told us that the Germans had a geopolitical reason for these experiments. If they could sterilize all non-German people still alive after their victorious war, there would be no danger of new generations of `inferior' peoples. At the same time, the living populations would be able to serve as laborers for about thirty years. After that time, the German surplus population would need all the space in these countries, and the `inferiors' would perish without descendants." (pp. 179-180)

We know it happened; many of us have read books by others on the same subject--and yet it is hard to believe what went on. People gassed and tossed into ovens (even though some weren't even completely dead...) Then you've got your so-called Dr. Mengele who performed castrations on patients (male as well as female) without anesthetics. It goes on. It's gut-churning, but needs to be read. Because if we don't read about what happened, and if we don't see films about it--not only to honor all the innocent who were murdered (six million of the Jewish faith, and another six million non-Jewish), but as a reminder to remain vigil, keep alert...because you've got wannabe little Hitler jerks all over the place who'd love to do a re-peat of what their sorry and confused, not to mention mentally imbalanced "hero" set out to accomplish back in the 1940s--and, thankfully failed.

Makes you wonder what Olga Lengyel's life was like after she survived her ordeal. How do you go on, knowing that your husband, your two kids and both of your parents were senselessly slaughtered? How was she able to endure?

I read somewhere that she died a few years back. Not much else about her on the internet.
All I can say is read the book--and pass it on to someone else.

R.I.P.