Companies Books

I haven't found any picture book of Manhattan that's as sharp, descriptive and beautiful as this one. Unfortunately, it is a bit outdated--for those seeking a realistic portrayal--because of new construction and destruction in New York City.

This book is really great. I recommend it to anyone who loves NY!

Let me first say I love New York, it is quite simply the most energetic, vibrant, alive place on earth. This book does the city such a service, it is spectacular and photographs just amazing. Mr. Cameron is such a singular talent and he does it hanging out of a helicopter. This book really captures the city and lets the viewer see the hidden New York, that very few see. I love the photos of Central Park, you have no idea what an oasis it is until you see it from high above. Some photos are in summer some are in winter and you get to see the city in all its various incarnations. Mr. Cameron also includes some vintage photos to let the viewer see how much the city has changed. I only wish that Mr. Careron had been able to photograph my city of Houston, she would have welcomed him with opened arms. I highly recommend this book, you won't be disappointed.

Robert Cameron's "Above New York: A Collection of Historical and Original Aerial Photographs of New York City" sets itself apart from other similar books. In no particular order:

a) the photos are unbelieveably crisp and the printing is of top-notch quality;
b) don't ask me how, but Mr. Cameron makes the city look like a place where human beings actually live and work, rather than making the cityscape look like an architectural diorama;
c) other boroughs are represented! New York is not just Manhattan, as so many other books would have you think.

The contrast of the modern skyline with the older photographs is very effective, as others have mentioned. But what is also appealing is the changes of the skyline between the time these photos were taken (ca. 1988) and today, as we New Yorkers would notice. The images of the World Trade Center are poignant, but I'm glad that the publishers did not update the book, in order to remove them. As time takes its healing course, we can look back fondly on those buildings--still with pain, but now with some acceptance. "Above New York: A Collection of Historical and Original Aerial Photographs of New York City" remains a glorious collection that has yet to be eclipsed in quality.

Rocco Dormarunno
author of The Five Points

This is the best photographic book I have ever seen. Its pictures of The Big Apple are magnificent! Comparative pictures taken in years past, many in the 1920s, show how sections of the city have changed. Whether one is a fan of New York and who isn't, you will enjoy this book. It makes me want all the other "Above" books now.

I loved this book so much I have decided it is definitely a keeper. I will reread it over many times

Funny, touching, passionate. Make me laugh and then cry. There's no doubt, this book is the best novel i've ever read.
Read it more and more!

WHEW! HOT, STEAMY. he's a hunk but he is mean in the beginning this book will make you cry. It is Diana at her best.

I enjoy all of Diana Palmer's books, but this one is especially good - highly recommended.

Description from the book back cover:

It all started as a joke. Sabina Cane was only pretending to be engaged to her best friend, millionaire Al Thorndon. Al had talked her into this scheme as way to trick his older brother, Thorn. Al had no choice but to lie and make Sabina his accomplice, and she thought it would be for just one night. So when Thorn accused her of being a gold-digger, she just laughed it off. She didn't think of the repercussions - that Thorn would dig up her long-buried secrets. Revealing them now would destroy everything she'd worked so hard to put behind her. But she couldn't let her best friend down, could she?

Diana Palmer is so good! This is another one of her wonderful novels. Why is it that I always get so upset at the male leads and then fall head over heels for him? It must be because she expresses the male character so well, you can't help but understand his conflict and reactions. I became emotionally involved in this book and it satisfied me in every way!

As with most of these DK Eyewitness guides - they are great for kids and adults. Very informative and surprisingly detailed. We purchased this to accompany our viewing of the Tutenkahmen exhibit. It worked great! My son has become an Egyptology enthusiast.

This is the Ultimate Ancient Egyptian sticker book. Besides being colorful and interesting, the stickers and various forms and shapes explain how they were used in Ancient Egypt and are historically correct. It is a useful learning book for any child or adult interested in ancient Egypt history and well worth the price.

I got this book because my 5-year old wanted to learn more about the ancyent Egypt. The images are pretty cool, but the information and contains are randomly written (maybe this is good for older kids that already know some about the ancient Egypt culture). However, you could get a better introductory book for 10 bucks more.

This is another in the series of books published under the "Eyewitness Books" imprimatur. These are designed for younger readers, to introduce them to important subjects. The focus here? Ancient Egypt.

To understand human history, a sense of Egypt's role is critical, just as the study of Greece and Rome. This book does a nice job for its audience; those who want in depth discussion ought to look elsewhere.

The volume begins with a brief history of Egypt and notes the role of the Pharaohs (including an enumeration of some of the more important/renowned (e.g., Akhenaton, Ramses, Thutmosis, and Tutankhamen), with some consideration of the nature of the royal court.

In some ways, as with many others in this series, the approach is "pastiche," featuring a variety of subjects, each discussed quite briefly. But, when one pouts these together, the end result is a decent introduction to key features of the subject covered.

One gets a sound introduction to "everyday life" in Ancient Egypt, including coverage of such topics as food and drink, song and dance, magic and medicine, writing, adorning the body, and so on.

In short, a nice volume for younger readers, to provide them some background regarding an important subject for understanding who we are and where we came from. Also worth noting is the wonderful set of rich illustrations.

THIS DK BOOK WAS JUST VERY INTERESTING.
HISTORY IS THE BEST


KYLE VENTURA
(...)

A wealth of information. Techniques, warm-up scales, alternate fingerings, transposition, practice music to improve different areas such as range, intervals, pitch. Learned about this from a horn player in the Dallas Symphony when I was in high school, found it very useful when I played with the Guam Symphony, and used it regularly when I returned to playing after several years of absence. Given it to young players across the US and overseas.

This book is my favorite of all time-- and for a teenager, that may seem strange. I have played horn for about four months, and this is my reference for any issues from technical problems, to practice advice, to encouragement and warnings. Philip Farkas speaks in a way that I love-- he offers frank advice and talks to the reader in a voice that clearly states that he is a fellow hornist, a friend helping a friend. His tone is clear, honest, and very distinguished-- I found it very encouraging that he does not speak to the reader in a condescending way. I am extremely encouraged that he offers such a wide variety of advice, though I do question some of his techniques, such as sitting while practicing and advising not to hold the horn "free". I do agree with his preference of a dark, mellow tone, but I believe that can be achieved while holding the horn free if the right hand is in the correct position. Furthermore, Mr.Farkas's book is the bible of french horn and should be commited to memory by each and every hornist that is serious about this art.

95 pages full of advice for any hornplayer, beginner, advanced or pro. Maybe the fotos and the layout are not best quality, but finally its the content that counts.

As a Horn teacher for many many years, this is required text for all my students. The "manual" for Horn playing.

This book is awsome, it is a wealth of information that every horn player should know. I love it to death, as has been said before it truely is the bible of french horn playing. If your not the reading type you may not appreciate this book's full potential, but for everyone else: BUY THIS BOOK!

This book is part of the curriculum for 3 year-old children at private Carden schools, along with Good Night Moon. Both are Classics and belong in every child's library. The pictures, although sketches, look like the real animals, which is a plus compared to many cartoons, and the premise Disney's more modern Baby Einstein is based on too. It introduces children to the Real World. It also teaches the quality of being giving and sharing what you have, and how a gift doesn't always have to be tangible, since a hug can be a great gift to give and receive too.

Ask Mr. Bear is a wonderful little classic. I like to read it but more important, my 3 littlest cherubs love to have it read to them. It has a good storyline and the older artwork adds variety. They love the ending -- a big bear hug for mom! It is a favorite at our house with the under 7 year old group.

Wonderful children's classic to add to your child's collection. Heartwarming story about a little boy wanting to buy his mom a birthday gift and along the way he asks all his animal friends. The end is sweet and endearing.

I loved this book as a child, now my children love it. It gets them thinking about gifts they can give, and understand that a hug and a kiss for Mom is one of the best presents they can give. I've gotten a lot more of them since reading this book to them.

I can recall reading this book to my much younger siblings and then to my own 4 children; now I am reading it
to my grandson. I especially like the way the animals help the little boy find a gift for his mother with the perfect
gift not being something material but just a lovely big hug. What a wonderful message to pass on to a child.

Henry Brinton has been tackling challenging issues for many years. His church, in Northern Virginia, is in the midst of the DC Beltway ethos of compromise and euphemism, however, he maintains a uniquely clear and accessible perspective. He has honed his insight as a frequent contributor to the Washington Post.

Pastor Brinton provides a gyroscope for many of the dividing issues within mainline Protestantism. Following traditions like Jacques Ellul - he uses the tension between issues of Liberty and Obligation as glue instead of as a wedge.

Henry provides a perspective that every lay person needs in order to arrive at a sure foundation in uncertain times.

I want to commend Henry Brinton for his successful effort to define the critical issues the Presbyterian Church (USA) and other "main line" churches face today and into the near future and encouraging us to zero in on these issues in the every day life of the church. John McLellan

I have long enjoyed Henry Brinton's columns in The Washington Post and USA Today. Balancing Acts is another outstanding example of Brinton's understanding of the spiritual crisis in America created by our own diversity and certainty in our own opinions. This is honest, straightforward, and necessary talk about the division so prevalant in Christianity on both theological and social issues. Brinton does not simply offer these topics lip service--he offers practical examples of how to bring about unity in a faith divided. This should be required reading for pastors and lay people alike.

Pastor Brinton does an excellent job of describing Obligation (the individual with God) and Liberation (the individual with the unknown masses). What is missing is the individual with family.
Our God has revealed Himself to us as Father.
Not Hermit-Monk (Obligation) or social-Christian reformer (Liberation).
Our culture minimizes the role of Father and reduces it to a sitcom. Thereby, the clever devil undermines the paradigm of God the Father.
I challenge Pastor Brinton to write a book on "Intentionally Unfruitful". How can we moderns understand God's revelation if we had no father, were abandoned by a father, or choose to flee from responsibilities of fatherhood?

Henry G. Brinton, pastor sequentially of two medium to large mainstream churches in the northern Virginia suburbs, writes with engaging nuance of one of the most complex jobs around.

"What does God require of pastors?" seems to be the underlying question. Brinton's answer: "balancing acts." The image evoked for me was of a high-wire artist, juggling a red-hot pole with a cluster of strongly held beliefs dealing with "obligation"--purity, moral clarity, exclusiveness--on one end, and a cluster of beliefs-in-progress, dubbed "liberation"--diversity, charity, inclusiveness--on the other end.

These theological tensions, as mediated by pastors, are the meat of the book, "a balancing act between the truth of God and the grace of God." (Brinton, quoting Rev. Dr. Susan Andrews, former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (PC(USA)).

The analytic use of moral categories like Obligation (Abraham, covenant) and Liberation (Moses, exodus) is designed to help us understand a source of conflicting group passions in theologically and demographically diverse congregations, in cultural politics, and ecumenism. In this genre, the Berkeley linguist, George Lakoff's "strict father"/"nurturant parent" come to mind, or Jack Haberer's five types of "God Views."

Brinton opens up (a) mismatches between young pastor expectations and deep-seated ways of doing that involve comfort, maintenance, tradition; (b) the impact of wholesale incorporation of immigrant groups into progressive churches; (c) the ambivalent reception by committees on the preparation for ministry of the flood of women inquirers and candidates; (d) government faith-based involvement; (e) relation with other denominations; (f) gays and lesbians; (g) youth and mission; (h) the unchurched and self-help spirituality; and (i) living in a nation at war.

The text is sprinkled with insights from the Pulpit & Pew research project at Duke (where 46-year-old Brinton did his undergraduate work; his M.Div. is from Yale), and from his wide-ranging reading. Parishioneres and leading lights, academic and ecumenical, serve as quotable resources in Brinton's conversation with the reader.

Things 'get in balance', in Brinton's view, when people work together, learn to respect one another in outreach and church work, and in loving, joyful worship. The chapters are thematic and lend themselves to good small group discussion.

I love Build-a-Bear and retail management...so of course I loved this book. But I think anyone who has an interest in bussiness would find this interesting. It is well written and a fast paced read. Plus...the cover is eye catching and fun and makes you want to pick it up everytime you pass it on the nightstand or coffee table! A great book and a great company!

This is a great book that gives good ideas about starting up your own business. However, it makes it sound as you need way too much money to start so a bit disappointed that is not as easy as I thought. I guess many people would be able to start a business with more than a million dollars. I believe she had to ask investors for more than four million.

As a huge fan of Build-a-Bear, I picked up the book to learn more about the company. I have a daughter who is in the target market of Build-a-Bear and I have spent many enjoyable hours in the stores. I have always found their marketing to be amazing and wanted to understand more about the company. The book does talk a lot about Build-a-Bear, but it also gives a wealth of marketing and customer service ideas that could be used by any company. The book appears to be written for entrepreneurs, but the marketing and customer service ideas could be used by any size company, that has an entrepreneurial spirit. I really enjoyed how Maxine shows how many well-known companies are using the ideas from the book.

The Bear Necessities of Business was an inspiration. It re-enforced one should always believe you are capable of success when you make the decision to go out on your own and develop your business. There was a tremendous amount of information on how to be a good boss and to inspire your employees to work for the success of your company. I will definitely use the information from Maxine Clark to make a success of my own new business.

I very much enjoyed finding this book in the bookstore a few days ago, and then reading it yesterday morning. It was an easy read, and it was jam packed full of information. It is really three books in one. The first book is the story of Maxine Clark, a short round energetic woman originally from Florida who went to the University of Georgia majoring in journalism. When she graduated she started a career in retail that she continues at today. And what a career! She now makes St. Louis her home with her husband who is also an entrepreneur. She has no children, but her business is basically kids. I think she can be a great role model for many women out there.

The second book is a PR plug for her company: Build-A-Bear Workshop. I had never heard of it before I picked up this book. But while I was at one of my local Malls yesterday (Quakerbridge in Lawrence, NJ) I noticed in the mall directory one of her franchised stores exists there. Naturally I visited the store and the book had greater meaning to me at once. The company was started in 1997 probably as an LLC. And I suspect in 2000 when it was converted to a corporation that is when it did its initial IPO. But that is just a guess. The philosophy behind the company seems to me to be a mix of Starbucks Coffee Shops and the Disney Retail Stores. Quite a combination, and it is proving to be a successful approach to entertainment retail in Mall environments.

The third book is a words-of-wisdom tome on how to vision, plan, implement, and work a business from scratch. It talks about the importance of reinventing traditional products or services from the ground up and then put your own unique spin on them. The author says she sells a brand experience, not a product. But she does move products - and lots of them. She also says that planning and self-reflection are the key to creating a business. And she says she took almost a year to research and write her masterpiece of a business plan she used to start Build-A-Bear Workshops.

The overall book is divided into seven parts:

1. Getting Started
2. Being a Great Boss
3. Connecting with Your Customers
4. Creating an Incredible Experience
5. Using Essential Marketing Strategies
6. Growing Your Business
7. Giving Back

My favorite part of the book was the first: Getting Started. Part 3 was pretty good. And I very much liked parts 5 and 6. I thought at page 64 "marketing tools and strategies" should have been included in the list there. But all in all this is a wonderful book and an important addition to what is available for entrepreneurs to read and study when thinking about getting involved in starting their own business. 5 stars!

The book is amazing and easy for read [ASIN:0809115093 Beginning to Pray]. I am concerned about the way we pray and what we are supposed to wait from pray. The book shows that we may be searching the wrong way, and addressed me to improve may pray.

My spiritual director recommended this book to me. The book guides me in my spiritual life and is clear in its message.

I am reading this book for the 5th time, and I just got finished leading a study group for it. Each time I read it, it is as if it's brand new. English is not the author's first language, so some of the wording is a little choppy at first. He phrases things a bit differently than English speaking people, but once you get used to his style you can't help but be challenged and encouraged in your personal relationship with God. I think an appropriate sub-title for this book could be: How to have a personal relationship with the living God. His first chapter "The Absence of God" hits a topic that all of us have experienced at one time or another - Why does God seem so far away? I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in deepening his walk with God. Among many things, it will challenge you to be authentic before God, show you how to be still before God, and demonstrate how to live in the present moment - practicing the presence of God.

The apostle Paul tells us "we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs to deep for words."

This little book by Anthony Bloom will help any person find the way to a prayer life breathed with the Spirit's life.

Anthony Bloom's Beginning to Pray is not just for beginners in prayer. In it, Bloom offers practical suggestions for novices in prayer and profound insights for even the most spiritually mature. Bloom draws from a life rich in challenges and communication with people and God in myriad circumstances. His writings of prayer reveal the mysteries that open to a person who prays in God's presence often.

The introduction to the book is the transcript of an interview of the author answering questions about his life and ministry. The interview illustrates his qualifications to write a book on prayer. It also shows that his is a remarkable life journey that has taken him from Russia to the Orient to France. He worked his way through college to become a surgeon, eventually being conscripted by the Germans after the occupation of France. He then became ordained as monk in 1948 and served as a monk and a surgeon before leaving his medical practice for ministry.

His first point in writing of prayer emphasizes our state before God. People at some point will face God, and when they do, they will receive salvation or condemnation. He encourages readers to accept their desperate state and to go to God asking for and receiving mercy. Then prayer can begin. Otherwise, God is outside of us and cannot hear. Prayer will be sent to the unknown.

Bloom urges readers to develop a passion for God at the expense of the possessions of the world. He reminds readers that one must take up his or her cross daily to follow Jesus. Bloom offers readers ways to experiment with types of prayers to find what suits them. These include written prayers like psalms, short prayers like the "Jesus Prayer, praying with icons or spontaneous prayers. What is important writes Bloom is that those praying believe in their own prayers and pray heartily not haphazardly to God. He also exhorts readers on the importance of sitting quietly in one's room away from the distractions of the world. To Bloom, practicing silence before God is a key to closeness with God in prayer.

For Bloom, those "crises" in our lives that would become excuses not to pray are the very dangers that should prompt us to pray. Let nothing stop you from entering into quiet time before the Lord. He devotes a chapter to managing time and prayer.

The final chapter entitled "Addressing God" discusses the necessity of a personal relationship with God as opposed to a functional relationship with God. This idea critiques a relationship where readers see God as serving a purpose only in their lives versus a relationship with him in which he is the object and desire. This personal relationship requires us to call God by a name that is personal and address him not vaguely but as someone known.

Bloom's insights target intensity, passion, relationship and time in prayer. I think all Christians often need to begin again in prayer. This book is a tool to help readers do just that and to analyze their prayer lives and see where they stand. Bloom offers several ways to "experiment" with prayer, and these are useful. The main impact for me in this book is his emphasis on taking prayers seriously. He writes that if we want God to listen and act on our prayers we must pray earnestly and sincerely with thoughtfulness and heart.

He adds two meditations at the end of the book. One I found instructive and one I did not find helpful.

Craig Stephans, author of Shakespeare On Spirituality: Life-Changing Wisdom from Shakespeare's Plays

This book is amazing. Brilliant photos and great to read the history of Bulgari. Definitely a great book for lovers of the brand and of gorgeous jewelry as well.

Bulgari
Great book beautifully illustrated with great photography of their products. Interesting information regarding the company and designers.

What a beautiful book. I appreciated the jewellery before but this book is a lovely way to see how it is made, the desiging and the creating stages. The photographs alone make it a worthwhile investment. As a jewellery appreciator, I think it's a wonderful addition to my library. I don't get to see these pieces up close so this is a wonderful way to expand apreciation and understanding of jewellery.

Any college-level art library strong in jewelry history needs BULGARI: a lavish, oversized and powerful collection of color photos and archival pictures that trace the unique Bulgari style which was born in Rome in 1884. The book first appeared in 1996: its updated edition represents an extensive revision and reflects newly-discovered historical material and historical facts on the Bulgari firm, making it a top pick.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I was pleasently surprised when I recieved this book. When I looked over the discription of the book I thought I'd enjoy it but didn't know just how much until it came. The images are beautiful, full color and the discriptions are well done. This book gives a great overview of the design house Bulgari. I would recommind this book to anyone interested in learning about Bulgari or if you are just a lover of beautiful jewelry.

Famous Hispanic novelist writes broad brush cultural and political history of the connection between Spain and Spanish America--the "New World" of the subtitle.

He shows how the three threads of Spanish history in 1492--feudalism fighting toward central monarchy, Christianized Europe fighting against the Islamic outpost on the Iberian peninsula, and the three peoples of the Book--Jews, Christians, and Muslims--fighting for survival and cultural footholds in the rebirth of knowledge in the Rennaisance--played out on the projected Utopia of the "New" World.

Good high-level framework for studying South and Central American history.

Reading this book, helped me see how close to each other we all are. How the Islamic culture and arts are part of the Hispanic world. For instance, a great percent of the words that we use in Spanish derived from the Arabic language. It's a great read!!

This book is the English translation of El Espejo Enterrado, by Mexican writer and diplomat Carlos Fuentes. It consists of 399 pages divided into 5 parts and 18 chapters which describe the history of the Spanish speaking people from their Cretan and Greek roots, through their development during the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Imperial Period, all the way to modern Spain and South America.

The book also includes 5 two page tables titled The Monarchs of Spain and showing detailed genealogical information on the families that ruled Spain from 970 ad to the beginning of the 20th century (not included in the Spanish version published by Taurus-Bolsillo 1992), as well as a large number of beautiful black and white and color illustrations (also not included the Spanish version published by Taurus-Bolsillo 1992). I missed such information, when reading the Spanish version, particularly the illustrations, because the author refers to them in the text, often with very detailed descriptions.

The book ends with the credits, acknowledgements, and index.

El Espejo Enterrado is listed as an essay, although it probably should be classified as a history book. Yet it is more than that, because Carlos Fuentes is more than an essayer or a historian. He is a multifaceted artist who sees and describes reality in a more comprehensive as well as captivating manner than the average essayer or historian would. Hence he does not just give the description of the events that shaped the history of the Spanish speaking people, he makes them interesting, he makes the reader want to learn more. For example, by discussing the individuals whose thoughts and actions influenced the decisions of the Spanish speaking people (e.g., Jean Jacques Rousseau and Napoleon); by relating the major world events from which those related to the Spanish speaking people developed (e.g., the Renaissance, the French Revolution, the American Revolution); or by describing the works of some of the major Spanish speaking artists (e.g., Don Quixote, La Vida Es Sueno, Las Meninas, La Maja Desnuda). Hence with this book, you will learn more than the history of the Spanish speaking people, you will meet some of the great thinkers of the Western world, you will be reminded of the history of the Western world, you will learn about the products of the most illuminated minds of the Spanish speaking world. You will also discover about many word origins, (how many among you reading this review know the meaning of the word Saragoza, the origin of the name Malinche, the identity of the woman from whom California got its name, the reason why the Mexicans call the turkey guacolote). And you will acquire an awful lot of useful information which would otherwise not be easily available all in one book, for example, the real significance of Goya's painting Saturn Devouring his Children".

If you are educated in the history and artistic expressions of the Western World and interested in Spain and South America, you will not be able to put this book down until you come to the end. In actual fact, you will probably wish that you never came to the end.

This book is absolutely spellbinding and captivating in it's presentation that is both an excellent narrative and artistic with imagery to further enhance the experience. The editorial review here at Amazon by Kirkus Reviews is a good synopsis to get a good idea about the books contents. Also there are many sample pages available for your perusal. From a readers perspective this book is one to cherish after the reading experience is over. Carlos Fuentes presents the subject of Spain and it's influence on the new world with clarity and makes his points with the precision of a sugeon, clean and accurate. Beginning with the ancient imagery of the bull found in caves in Spain Fuentes begins his analysis showing how this imagery continues in the arts and culture in such diverse domains as the works of Goya and Picasso, advertisements for brandy and of course the Spanish spectacle of bullfighting. He picks and chooses his historical path, weaving through the centuries concluding with the the growth of Hispanic USA. The book is full oh historical facts, little known bits of information abound as Fuentes draws analogies that stimulate the mind, stimulating the reader to conclude further inferences. The book reminds me of Bronowski's "The Ascent of Man" only on a smaller scope, from a perspective that makes connections between Spain and Latin America as oppossed to the whole of humanity. The "mother" countries influence is expounded upon as only Fuentes can, his use of language is powerful, insightful and revealing all the while showing his keen intelligence and sharp eye for details. The accompanying artwork throughout the book is fantastic and helps the reader to further understand the subject. A moving narrative is delivered by Fuentes and I highly suggest this book to anyone interested in the history of Spain and it's long lasting influence in the Americas. A natural outcome of reading this book is to further explore one of the many topics introduced. Included is a complete lineage of Spanish succession detailing the various ruling families and marriages that created the kings and queens of Spain. Aslo there is an outstanding suggested bibliography. This is a superb book that stimulates the mind while you read and beyond.

The countries of Latin America have collectively had a long and tortured history; starting with the wars between the great native empires, the arrival of Columbus and the Spaniards, and finally US imperialism throughout the 20th century. Now, at the dawn of the 21st century, Latin Americans are more conscious than ever of their past, the contributions both native and European to it, and the state of their current economies, societies and culture. Part of this awakening and collective consciousness is the rise of prominant authors born and raised within the Hispanic world. One of these is Carlos Fuentes from Mexico, who in this book examines the origins and evolution of Latin American peoples, countries, and cultures. Paying attention to the influences from Spain, Portugal, France, various current and ancient native tribes, and now the US, this book shows how modern Hispanic culture came together in ways often violent, haphazard and chaotic. Rarely was one person in charge of this process; rare are the works that dominated this evolution. Outside of the Catholic Church, Latin America knows no equivalent of Sun Tzu's Art of War, Homer's epic poems, or the US Constitution. The author then tries to distill what is best about Latin American culture, and in doing so, points a way forward for Hispanics throughout the Western Hemisphere. Overall, a great book to understand this region of the world, its past, its present, and its probable future.