Papers Books

Compendium of Cardmaking Techniques - Fabulous, thorough, great photos, and covered techniques that you don't typically get to see in cardmaking books. As a collector of books, I've seen and own quite a few on cardmaking. This one is a "must buy" in my opinion. Excellent!

Delighted, thank you. Item in perfect condition; fast and efficient service. Highly recommend.

If you love paper crafting, this is the book for you. It has excellent color pictures of completed cards and easy directions.

This book has a tremendous selection of cool and unusual cardmaking techniques...one of the best books on cardmaking I have ever seen...

Exceptional ideas, beautifully illustrated with step-by-step instructions that are very clear. Artistic designs are exemplary.

I return to Nigel Slater's cookbook, Appetite over and over again. He give's us great recipes, and then teaches us how to vary the recipes - an invaluable skill in the world of cooking and eating! Bravo Nigel.

Nigel Slater is a real cook. His books are a joy to read. He makes you want to jump-up and cook. He inspires.. A no-frills cook. Comfort food is OK. His traditional recipes are soothing, pleasing, comforting. - Food Porn!

This is an inspiring read. Slater writes about real food the way real people like to eat. His recipes are practical and unfussy. They are irreverent and certainly do not submit to any soul and appetite destroying preoccupation with ersatz low-taste,low-fat food. Worth reading for the description of how to roast a chicken that is almost poetic

`Nigel Slater's Real Food' and `Real Cooking' by Nigel Slater (name above the title, of course) are two great expositions on the real joy of cooking. Slater characterizes his point of view in the motto to `Real Cooking' as `There is too much talk of cooking being an art or a science - we are only making ourselves something to eat.' With this sentiment, Slater dismisses the Shirley Corriher / Alton Brown `kitchen science' camp on the one hand and the Keller / Boulud / Girardet `haute cuisine' camp on the other. In some ways, this also dismisses the high-end culinary magazine crowd as you may find in `Bon Appetit', `Gourmet', and `Martha Stewart Living'. While this seems to dismiss a goodly portion of the modern culinary establishment, it really does not. Slater is certainly in the same camp as his nibs, Jamie Oliver, his good friend, Nigella Lawson, and Oliver's mentors, Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers of London's River Café. In fact, if I did not know that Oliver was primarily influenced by Gray, Rogers, and Gennaro Contaldo, I would have guessed that Oliver was a Slater disciple from the word `GO'. I am happy to say that there are plenty of important cookbook writers in the United States who can easily be considered to be in Slater's camp. Leading the list is probably Jacques Pepin, especially with his various quick cooking books such as his latest `Fast Food My Way'. I do not wish, however, to give the impression that Slater is all about fast cooking. He is certainly about simple cooking in the same sense that Richard Olney describes in `Simple French Food', but he is a whole lot more about being in love with the sensual qualities of food and how well those qualities of various foods mix together in the most effective way.

What is certainly true is that both Slater and Oliver represent the kind of cooking I enjoyed on my two trips to England, primarily the kind of cooking I saw at some of the better pubs in Hampshire and in London suburbs.

Both of these books are primarily about recipes and the salient qualities of particular classes of food. For a study of Slater's `philosophy' of cooking in depth, see his recent book `Appetite'. These two books are even organized in very similar ways, in that each chapter presents a particular raw material or class of raw material. The more traditionally organized `Real Cooking' has chapters on:

Fish & Shellfish
Chicken & Other Birds
Pork, Bacon, and Sausages
Lamb and other Meats
Pasta, Beans, Rice & Grains
Vegetables
Cheese, Snacks & Puddings

The later book, `Real Food', which is also the tie-in book for a Television Series (not seen in the US, to my knowledge) is more to the point, with chapters entitled:

Potatoes
Chicken
Sausages
Garlic
Bread
Cheese
Ice-cream
Chocolate

The chapter on bread is a good indication of Slater's point of view, in that he gives us nothing on baking bread, but just about everything you may want (this side of Nancy Silverton's sandwich book) to know about making some really interesting and unusual sandwiches. Similarly, the sausage book says nothing about how to make sausages, only how to make the very best use of them.

True to his word in his `motto' quoted above, you will find not one word about the relative fat content of milk and cream, the emulsifying power of an egg, or calibrating the temperature of your oven. On the other hand, you will find much about, for example, the relative tastes of pork, beef, and lamb fat and the virtues of free range raised poultry. Here is one strong point of contact between the articulate and reflective Slater and the ebullient and emotional Oliver (or our own Emeril Lagasse, if you wish). Both will rhapsodize at length over the qualities of a nice thick layer of fat on a chop from an artisinally raised hog.

For those of you who do not like `chatty' cookbooks, both of these books may be preferable to the very discursive `Appetite', although both of these books do have their share of culinary poetry before the recipe details. Neither book is as extreme as `Appetite' in the direction of teaching us to cook without a book. You can easily pick out a recipe from these books and make them without a lot of background reading or culinary skill. But never confuse `simple' with `easy' or `fast'. While Slater may do the Rachel Ray gig in other books, these books have their share of slow marinades and braises. They also have their share of whisking, filtering, and thickening techniques.

The other side of the coin is that Slater's palate is extremely simple. Aside from his protein or starch of choice, few of his ingredients go far beyond the simple pantry of milk, cream, butter, basic cheeses, parsley, flour, lemon, lime, bacon, sage, thyme, bay, bread, olive oil, rice, stock, garlic, and mushrooms. Unlike Sir Jamie, Slater is about as down home English cooking as Paula Deen is about Savannah cooking.

The biggest difficulty an American is likely to have with Slater's recipes is that they are all make heavy use of metric units for weight and larger volumes in place of ounces, pounds, and cups. Even though I was a chemist thoroughly familiar with the metric system, I had to dig out a good conversion table to remind myself that a pound was about 450 grams. A lesser difficulty may be with Slater's names for common food varieties such as potatoes, although he almost always specifies `waxy' or `floury' potatoes rather than the English varietal name.

The other main difficulty with Slater's recipes is that they are all paradigms of high fat, high sodium, and high cholesterol preparations. They are definitely dishes to be eaten when the occasion calls for serious comfort food.

If you like Jamie Oliver or Nigella Lawson, you will really like Slater!

In Real Food, Nigel Slater manages to invoke the feeling and quality of comfort food but goes beyond that with some of the bold and certainly delicious flavours he encourages us to explore. Every recipe that we have tried out of this book has been a huge success. It's great to find a book where the recipes are simple without being boring. Don't comb through the book looking for the low-fat gems, instead enjoy these delicious recipes in moderation.

I got a good number of well received children craft ideas from this book for 4th through 6th grade kids, which were the level 3 crafts. The level 1 & 2 crafts are too simple for this age range of kids, but should be fine for K through 3rd grade kids. I also got several other very good craft ideas from Ms. Henry's other book, "Kids Art Works."

All that is needed are these three items, and you can make the cutest crafts! Because of the easy supply list, we use this book so much more often than other books that you might not have the needed supplies on hand for. This one we keep right in the kitchen and the children can make things whenever they like! we just got it for Christmas and have already made lots of the projects! and there is room to be creative - just using the ideas as examples and taking it from there.

For the last several years my summer school has included art every day for students whose ages range from 6-13. This book has an excellent selection of art projects that are appropriate for all these ages. Everything is made using construction paper, scissors and glue, which are readily available in the school supply room, are inexpensive and easy to work with. The projects turn out bright and colorful. My class has just completed a lively mural of a pond habitat after making fun frogs, fish, turtles and other aquatic creatures and plants, using ideas from the book.

I love the instructions and lay-out of the book. The steps and resulting project are clearly shown in large drawings with minimal text, so it just takes a few minutes to read through each project.

Some of the projects feature geometrical designs and patterns, which allow substantial room for creativity, some fold and curve paper to make them three dimensional. There is a good variety of themes including animals, seasons, nature, a still life, a robot, and a couple of cultural items. Although I haven't done it yet, the Panamanian mola looks like it will turn out stunning.

If I want to stick to using paper, glue and scissors for my art classes, this book will give us plenty of fun and attractive projects to do for several weeks. Parents will also find it a great source for young artists at home.

Cut-Paper Play is an excellent collection of over 80 kid-approved construction paper creations for children ages 4 to 10. The projects are grouped by 3 different skill and difficulty levels. A variety of techniques is shown. All you need is different kinds of paper or cardboard, scissors, glue, sometimes yarn or a stapler. So the crafts are inexpensive, but very amazing. Two- and three-dimensional projects, mobiles and seasonal projects are shown. We got inspiration for many more paper projects for the future!

This book provided hours of fun for my four-year-old. We were pleased that we always had simple household items and paper to complete the projects.This book can be used as ajumping off point to many other creative projects.

We loved this book! It is very entertaining & kept my son, Mason laughing all the way through.

Deputy Dan was an interesting character because he was funny. He always does just what he is told. When he is told to answer the door he says, "Hello door!" instead of opening it. This was my favorite part too. I would recommend this book because if you like funny stories, you will like the story about Deputy Dan.

Hi This is a great book, I was a School Resource Officer for 3 years and the kids love to hear stories of my chosen career , so, i tell them it is similar to the book because we have to do what the Sheriff says and it is a lesson in following instructions even in school as a student.

We love this book! The story is very simple to follow and is very funny. Deputy Dan is comparible to Amelia Bedelia books. The sheriff will give deputy Dan an order and deputy Dan follows it to the letter. Like when he tells him to pick up his horse and go after the bank robbers. Deputy Dan knows he can not pick up his horse, it is too heavy, but he always follows orders so he gets a crane to pick up his horse. We read this story aloud to the kids and we all giggle at the antics of deputy Dan. I highly recommend this book to all families. It is a joy.

This is an excellent book for primary school children. The character Deputy Dan is similiar to Amelia Bedelia in the Amelia Bedelia series by Peggy Parrish. Deputy Dan is a funny character which teaches children the double meaning of words in the English language. For example, after someone has knocked on the door, the sheriff tells Deputy Dan to answer the door. Deputy Dan goes to the door and says, "Hello, door!" I hope you enjoy Deputy Dan's silliness as much as my second grade class.

Tom Tierney has produced a work of art worthy of Diana, Princess of Wales -- the most gracious and lovely woman of her generation.

If you love Diana, Tom Tierney's book is a beautiful addition to your collection.

I first came in contact with this book in a city 800 miles away from home, I purchased it right away. I am looking for more books, and would like to know if there is a catalogue, which I could choose from.

I like this book because it makes me remember the priness and how beautiful and kind she was when she was still alive

This is an excellent book with 1 doll and 31 famous dresses drawn by Tom Tierney. A perfect reminder of just how beautiful Princess Diana was, and her likeness and poise have been perfectly captured.

This book gives a brief history of the dresses. The illustrations are quite good. He actually manages to capture Diana very well in his presentation. If you want to see the dresses that were at the Charity Auction this is definately the one to get. The book is printed on high quality paper so you are sure to enjoy this one for a long time.

All the Seth books are worthwhile, arguably profound and life-changing, and this is no exception. At times Seth takes wing and, as usual, presents very original arguments ...at times with a concision and eloquence that itself suggests that Seth is an essence from another dimension (as he says he is). But the book suffers from too much comment (in footnotes and an epistle of an introduction) by Robert Butts, the husband of Jane Roberts and the person who actually produced the text dictated by Jane. Robert Butts seems not to realise that what he has to say is infinitely inferior to what Seth says...and yet Butts goes on at far too great length. Stick to Seth if you want the essence of these books.

Well, perhaps "wrong" is too strong a word, since there are truths embedded in each of the belief systems (or theories, if you'd like). But Seth's more all-encompassing explanation -- best read if you've started out with other Seth books first like "Seth Speaks" -- is shattering in its implications. Once you get your mind around the entire framework of it, it's also absolutely the most logical explanation, too, in my opinion.

Both Darwin and the literal Bible interpreters (Creationists) were/are working through a set of filters and by default, a more limited awareness of the true nature of reality. Seth's explanation, even if you don't buy into it 100% on the first read, is nonetheless extremely fascinating.

Also a comment on the excess verbiage by Robert Butts: Yes, sometimes he goes on too long with details such as, "Jane woke from trance a bit groggy." But all of Butts' comments are in italics, and I've learned from reading the other Seth books to just fast-forward over the italics. It's not that big of a deal once you program yourself to do that.

Having read hundreds of books on the qualities of consciousness, there are NONE superior to Seth's. My first book on the subject back in the 1970's was Seth and still, though many are fabulous, none compare to the DEPTH of Seth.

Where do we come from and why are we here. This book deals with the origin of mankind and the creation of this world in dreams. I'd not recommend it if you do not know other Seth books, and also not if you are looking of ways of how to improve your life situation (get Nature of Personal Reality in that case). However, it's excellent if you enjoyed Seth Speaks and Unknown Reality.

Seth at one point referred to this book as his masterpeice, the one that all of the others have been building up to. The concepts that he tries to get across here are actually pretty simple once you get your mind to thinking that way--it's a way of viewing oneself, the planet, and the interconnectedness of all relationships (sentiant and otherwise). All of his books are profound, so it would be redundant to say this one is too (but it is). A story within the book is Jane's rapid and dramatic physical deterioration, and Seth's dictation at times takes a back seat to Rob's records of her physical and mental state, and his notes about Three Mile Island and the Iran hostage crisis. When I reread, I will probably skip the notes and just read the dictation, if only to get a clearer flow.

Xenophobia is the fear of foreigners. Yet Xenophon's greatest book was a biography of the most hated foe of the greeks, Cyrus.

Cyrus was the greatest emperor of the Persian empire, and the antecedent (see what a great scholar I am? I can't remember all the exact facts like a real student should; I read this stuff for fun) of the Persian emperor who Alexander defeated right before Alexander went crazy and decided to conquer the rest of the world while he was on a streak.

In today's Jingoistic anti-Iran & Iraq climate, it's illuminating to get the Persian perspective on world history, and since I haven't found any Persian histories written from the ancient Persian viewpoint, this book is the best I've read.

Herodotus' Histories is often considered the gold standard of knowledge pertaining to the Persian empire. Little is made of the fact that this Ionian had certain political grudges against his political masters and had never visited Persia or had entry into Persian society. Xenophone however was a nobleman who lived amongst the Persians and the Medes and was acquaianted with their ways and histories. Xenophone's observations on Persian society and religion are far closer to modern scholarship than Herodotus. Furthermore even the chronological inaccuracies of Cyropaedia are in the Persian tradition. As evidenced by Sassanian histories, the Persians had the habit of attributing the conquests of dynasties to their founders. However the most fascinating and thrilling aspect of reading this book is that the educational stories attributed to Cyrus are identical to the stories found in Adab or the Persian courtly literature of Islamic era. Given that Xenophone was not translated into Persian or Arabic, this confirms the authenticity of the materials used by Xenophone. I love this book and have read it twice already. I recommend it to anyone who wants to have a closer look at the realities of Persia.

This book was indepth research of King of kings Cyrus the Great with respect how did He became the King of Persia/Iran.

Interestingly, Cyrus the Great became the King of Iran not by having large army but by hard work, and relying on His good allies and friends to establish His empire.

If English is your second language or if you are first time reader of Cyrus the Great you may wish to read this book "Xenophon's Cyrus The Great" by Larry HEDRICK in order to grasp King of kings Cyrus the Great very well.

Ahura Mazda be with you.

This truly is one of the most remarkable books I've ever read and I would encourage anyone with an interest in military science, government or leadership to take the time to read it. This book requires commitment and a quiet place to read and savor its thought-provoking passages. The investment of time and effort is dwarfed by the magnitude of the lessons this book has to offer. Make the commitment and you'll see why this book was a favorite of men like Alexander the Great, Scipio Africanus, Caesar and Machiavelli.

This book is not in the style of a Platonic dialogue, or a play (whether a tragedy or comedy), a Homeric epic (but if you're careful, you'll note parallels), or a history (like Herodotus).

No, Xenophon - a contemporary of Plato's, a student of Socrates - was considered a philosopher way back when. He tells a story and you might think it is a history that is meant to be accurate. There is nothing accurate about Xenophon's use of history in this book; however, the story is well-told and funny, and the prose moves fast in this edition. (Which was your primary concern, of course: that this was a good read.)

He does teach philosophy - ancient philosophy concerned with ethics and politics - in an interesting way. The plot of the book is as follows: Cyrus of Persia receives an education unlike any of his peers. With that education, and a considerable bit of ruthlessness, he attempts to take over the world.

It's difficult to write a story where different philosophical viewpoints define characters and events. Somehow, Xenophon pulls this off, and manages to entertain his reader with tales of battles, lots of humorous exchanges between characters, and even some love stories strewn throughout.

(If you do Classics, you probably want to get acquainted with Xenophon, fast.)

I received what I ordered, to the correct ship address, on time and in good condition.

A few months ago I was browsing the CS Lewis books at Barnes and Nobles. A woman approached me, said her brother wanted to know more about CS Lewis, and asked which book she should get. I recommended Mere Christianity, but the Essential C.S. Lewis was not available. This book, with its wide range of works including two complete novels, a selection of essays, and others is certainly the choice. C.S. Lewis is for the thinking Christian and you find yourself, especially with his essays, looking for a piece of paper to write down the ideas.

The binding of this book and the paper make it very attractive. The size and type of font are easy on the eyes. The price of this book makes it a bargain.

This book gives an excellent, balanced introduction to the wealth of ideas found in C.S. Lewis' many works. It includes some complete works of differing genres, and many selections from an even wider range of his works including letters and essays. Many of the most quoted passages from a large number of works are included. A great book for anyone who knows a little of Lewis' works and wants to know what else the man has to say. Especially good if one feels a bit overwhelmed by how many works there are to choose from and wants to sample first.

This volume is a good selection of Lewis's complete works. This book gives an excellent, balanced introduction to the ideas found in C.S. Lewis' works. It includes some complete works of differing genres, and many selections from an even wider range of his works including letters and essays. Many of the most quoted passages from a large number of works are included.

This volume is a good selection of Lewis's complete works, even tho it is not quite the book I would have made. However, it does lay a fair claim to presenting the essential CSL both in terms of what he was best known for and what his devoted readers would agree is most important. Included are two of his indispensable essays, Abolition of Man and De Descriptione Temporum. Two novels are included, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe; and Perelandra. Poetry, writings on literature, autobiography, letters and apologetics are all represented. The only glaring omission in my opinion is his introduction to George MacDonald: An Anthology, but it could be argued that that essay was about someone else and did not really belong here. And my only real complaint about the book is that it is printed on what appears to be rather cheap paper: books like this one are meant to be kept for a long time.

I am so glad a friend pointed this book out to me. We have a grandson and I can't wait to get started on a quilt from this book for him.

Fanciful Quilts is a wonderful paper piecing book. It has a touch of Holland with the windmills and tulips. The wedding quilt would be a beautiful present for that special bride and groom. For the special little boy who has to have a town for his little cars, this book shows you how to create such a town. Other quilts include a rose quilt, a wilderness quilt, a cat quilt, bear quilt, turtle quilt, and the cute cover quilt, the dog quilt.

The book is beautifully photographed and also includes extra ideas for each project. Fanciful Quilts to Paper Piece is a lovely addition to any quilter book shelf. I highly recommend this book. I hope this is just the first of many books Wendy will write!

I loved reading Fanciful quilts to paper piece. It's full of great quilts, good photo's showing how to do things and clear directions for the patterns themselves. The writer also showed different ways of using the blocks or sections of a pattern to make something else as well - not a common occurance and much appriciated!

The pattern i tried first was the windmill block and it went together like a dream!

This was my first book about paper-piecing and now I only want more! Such lovely projects are in this book. This is a book for all generations of quilters! I'm going to make the weddingsampler for the anniversery of my parents and I want to make the turtle wall-hanging for my hobbyroom :). And the cats.... they are just like mine :) So another project on my to-do list :) I can't wait to see more books of this designer!

I purchased this book because of the dog quilt on the front cover. Between my daughter and I we have 5 dachshunds and I thought the quilt would be perfect for us. The entire book is awesome! I found several other quilts I want to make especially the play quilt for my twin grandsons. The instructions for paper piecing include some pointers I have never seen before and prove to be extremely helpful. I highly recommend this book, even if you are a beginner.

It's a book for my masters program, I have no opinion, it's a requirement.

An essential book for every American both young or old, male or female, Democrat or Republican. A delightful discovery on the need of God and guns (or perhaps swords) in the United States and the intolerance of a government in charge of all but answerable to noone. An undeniably perfect fit for todays culture.

Discover your roots from the men that gave their lives for the signing of the Constitution; true heroes. Their resolve was unquestionable and the love for country without reproach.

They brought us so far. We've walked away. Read it and weep. BK

The Federalist was an astonishing political document. Written for public consumption during the debate over adoption of the U.S. Constitution, it combined immense learning and sophistication with shrewd insights into the nature of politics in a republic. It's an essential text for anyone interested in American political history or constitutional theory. In fact, the Federalist should be essential readingt for any educated American: it remains an unparalleled example of realistic political analysis being placed in the service of political ideals.

After more than 200 years, the Federalist has lost little of its relevance. The sections on judicial review and Presidential nominations, for example, could have been written about current controversies over judges. Likewise, the discussion of Presidential war powers, or the emphasis on checks and balances as essential to the preservation of liberty, are eerily topical in an age of pre-emptive war and one-party control of Washington. Even when the analysis is wildly dated -- as with the Commerce Clause or slavery -- the reader can see how far Constitutional doctrine has wandered from the "intent" of the Founders.

The Federalist is also superb as literature: the writing is droll and eloquent, once you get used to the long, convoluted sentences. The introduction by Benjamin Wright is excellent and helps to place the text in political and intellectual context. I don't know why I wasn't forced to read the Federalist at law school! Six stars.

Note: Contrary to one review below, God is hardly mentioned in the Federalist, and then only as a rhetorical flourish. The Federalist has countless references to ancient Greece and Rome, but none to the Old or New Testaments. It is a thoroughly secular document. Religious nationalists and other conservatives should actually read it.

When you read this, you can't help but wonder where all the great minds have gone. This assessment of basic human rights and freedoms should be required reading for all kids, and repeat reading for adults with any appreciation of history and/or politics. Its lessons and statements are universal, and should not be examined as simply a part of US history, but rather how the lessons may be applied elsewhere in parts of the world that are still stuck in the Dark Ages.

We want our founders to be demi-gods and our original texts to be divinely inspired. For an example of this nonsense, please see the first review on this page.
I want to offer a vision of The Federalist in historical context. I will argue that to see it thus enlarges its greatness will allowing us to admit its faults.
In many ways, the developments that led to the Constitution of 1787 started as soon as colonists reached our eastern shores. We had at least 150 years of experimentation in writing charters and in representative governance behind us by 1787. After the Declaration of Independence the States either wrote new constitutions or reaffirmed old charters. The national government wrote the Articles of Confederation and we lived under that from 1781 to the late 1780s.
The Federalist should be seen as part of that ongoing development. More specifically, it should be seen as part of the ratification debates in New York. Largely written by Madison and Hamilton, these papers reflect the compromises that the founders made in regards to the Constitution. Madison had wanted the President to have a veto over any state laws. Hamilton had favored a President for life during good behavior (read #78 in re the appointment for life of federal judges to sense the fervor that Hamilton felt for the benefits of lifetime tenure). Neither man believed in the necessity of a Bill of Rights. Madison eventually saw the political necessity of such amendments. During the first United States Congress he wrote up the Bill of Rights and guided them through passage. This way he could make sure they did not grow too numerous.
As a whole then The Federalist should be seen as rhetorical and political arguments for passage of a Constitution that the authors had some doubts about.
Of course, as Publius they could express no doubts. Madison, Hamiltion and Jay used this pseudonym which was a typical rhetorical device of elite writers at the time. (See Saul Cornell's The Other Founders for a nice discussion of the variety of rhetorical strategies used by writers during the ratification debates.) The idea was that hiding their identities would allow readers to focus on the quality of their arguments. As a result, there are many passages that can strike the modern reader as duplicitous because Publius pretends to know nothing of what went on during the convention. Madison and Hamilton, of course, were instrumental throughout the Constitutional Convention.
Publius works his explication of the need for the Constitution by critiquing the Articles of Confederation then by going thru the new document, article by article supposedly answering all objections. His counterarguments are largely of two types. In the first type, he will state a political principle so "obvious" that any "candid" reader will instantly agree to it. Publius then builds his arguments from there. The famous paper #10 is one such chain of argument. Or Publius will demolish the arguments offered against the Constitution by pointing out that the article objected to is contained in some or many of the States' constitution and have resulted in no such problems. Many of these arguments are justly famous. Number 10 is very much worth reading. (Although I still find it curious that when Madison asserts that a man's property holdings has a great influence on the way he thinks it is celebrated as political realism but when Marx says much the same thing it is decried as class warfare. But that's just me.)
But the reader really does get a sense at to how much thought went into the various checks and balances and the competing claims of the states and the new national government. To me this is where the glory of the book lies. We as a people thought our way out of the failure of our first experiment in nation building. We avoided civil war (for a while) and did not become the victims of foreign manipulation. We don't have to make our founding fathers and mothers demi-gods. In their fully flawed humanity, they dazzle aplenty.
Finally, it should be noted that The Federalist as a piece of political rhetoric avoided some issues entirely. The main problem that most Anti-Federalists had with the proposed Constitution in re jury rights had to do with the following phrase: "such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed" (Article 3, Sec.2, Para. 3). Whig thought at that time insisted on juries being as local as possible. Blackstone stated that jury trials should be held within the county of the crime. This guaranteed that local knowledge of the crime, the defendant and the victim would be maximized in the jury pool. Trying cases in distant jurisdictions or without juries had been some of the main provocations of the British prior to the revolution. Men like Patrick Henry saw that phrase in the Constitution as a clarion of the tyranny to come from the new national government. The Federalist does not speak to this issue at all. Instead, Hamilton focuses on arguments about whether jury trials are guaranteed for civil cases and even has Publius argue that maybe we should limit jury trials a little because juries are so bad with complicated issues, blah, blah.
Should all Americans read this book? Yeah, probably. Are we the worse if they don't? Again, probably yes, but what we really need as a people is more of a sense of our history. I would rather have more people read a good series of books on our history as a whole (I recommend the Oxford History of the United States as one excellent ongoing series).
But if you want to get to know two great minds at work on political issues that are still relevant then this is your book. Forget Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau. Their philosophies are antiquarian in a way that Publius is not.