Central America Books

Five years later and most of the places in this book still rank right up there.

This Chicago travel guide is fun to read and will get you excited for your upcoming trip. It is broken down into useful chapters (ex. Dining, Notable Potables, Shopping, etc.), with entertaining entries (Best hotel that's crazy about Chicago, Best club where both the food and the music are "hot"). This is one of the best Chicago travel guides available, and it is especially great for lovers of Chicago who return again and again wanting to discover a new, wonderful aspect to "our kind of town."

This book has moving stories of war told from many different countries, which is helpful for building reading skills, vocabulary, and building on historical knowledge in the classroom. I have used the stories from Russia, France, Italy and Germany the most in my history class.

This book is perfect for prose selections. I am doing a selection of Fiorella which is absolutely beautifully written and and very moving. I really enjoyed it very much.

This book provides both a useful overview of urban social history in turn-of-the-century Rio de Janeiro and a unique and convincing analysis of how poor urban and suburban residents responded to urban renewal projects. The author places her analysis in an engaging, accessible, and accurate narrative of the city's broader history, weaving together the findings of a broad array of specialized secondary works. Her own primary research on popular protests provides a crucial part of this history, and her conclusions are suggestive of how popular movements might be understood elsewhere as well. The book shows that the effects of undemocratic urban administration can be disasterous for the least powerful sectors of the population. Yet is also shows that the urban poor were by no means "marginalized," nor did they decline to participate in orderly, legal forms of protest. Riots and violence exploded in Rio only after poor residents had tolerated arbitrary and violent government implementation of urban policies, and after they had found other avenues of appeal to government officials closed. This book is effective in undergraduate and graduate courses alike. In addition to providing an excellent overview of Rio's early twentieth-century history, the book stimulates students to think critically about urbanization, class conflict, forms of protest, and the peculiar concerns of non-industrial nations to create images of order and civilization in the early twentieth century.

This a major addition to the social history of urban life in Brazil, and Latin America generally. By shifting the emphasis from workplace struggles to conflict over urban space, Meade allows us to rethink dramatic and sometimes puzzling episodes of popular protest in turn-of-the-century Rio de Janeiro (such as the revolt against compulsory smallpox vaccination). Her argument that these protests should be seen as part of the contest over capitalist modernization, and are no less "modern" than workplace struggles in nearby Sao Paulo, adds to the ongoing discussion of political consciousness as forming in struggles both within and beyond the point of production. Meade also explores the implications of "urban beautification" for the popular classes in a way that connects processes in Rio with broader global tendencies during the Age of Imperialism. Finally, the book is highly readable and accessible to the non-specialist, and can be used in courses ranging from introductory undergraduate surveys to graduate seminars.

Here is the last part of Aztecs' History in CHIMALPAHIN's compiling. It's followed by a precious kind of calendar by CHIMALPAHIN himself. A prime material to understand Aztecs' meaning of life. I'm waiting for the 4 other books of this exceptional collection of indigenous testimonies (Please excuse my bad English: I'm an usual French writer)

There are many "Codices" about MesoAmerica. This one is presented as a translate of primitive nahuatl compiling of Aztecs' History. An important contribution to Mexican History. The total collection counts 6 books; two are now available.

David Cochran is my professor at Loras College and really knows what he's talking about in this book. It's very informative and he's a good guy, ;)

Came across this book as a reference for a thesis I'm writing on this issue and it became my major source. Mr. Cochran masterfully delves into the subject matter and writes in a organized, concise style. Should be considered for text in related political science/sociology courses.

I must say I expected a good book following the purchase of Metallic Cartridge Conversions, what you get with Colt Single Action: From Patersons to Peacemakers is a superbly produced book covering this genre. Not only informative as you would expect but written so well, not over technical just sheer good interesting subject reading, add the brilliance of Dennis Adler's photography you have one of the best books on the market. If you are a devotee of R L Wilson's books as I am, he now has some very serious competition.

This book is chuck-full of information; the opening chapters, particularly those pages dealing with Patterson rifle conversions are unique in my experience! Mr. Leavett has some fascinating pieces.

The illustrations are of the highest quality; I was happy to see the coverage given to the engraved versions of the "second-generation" black-powder revolvers, having owned a few myself.

This is right in there with the best $19.99 you can spend on a gun book.

Conscription - or the military draft - is the state forcing a person to place himself in harms way - possibly to be killed - and is a violation of the most fundamental premise of the Declaration of Independence, that men are "endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Conscription is dictatorial and antithesis to a free society, because it deprives the citizen of his guaranteed unalienable rights.

In another respect, and this was the lesson learned from Vietnam, conscription is indirectly the state's admission of defeat in war, because if the state needs to force someone to kill or die for his country, the war is already lost.

A book on this subject is a necessity.

Excerpted from my review for The Orange County Register, 10/29/06

"Hell no, we won't go!" seemingly faded overnight ... until last year, when the Army missed its recruiting goal, lowered its physical standards and raised its age limit for enlistees to 42.

Fiercely against the draft, author Philip Gold is a rare military intellectual, a self-described Jewish Marine with fancy degrees from Yale and Georgetown. Shortly after receiving his draft notice in 1970, he brazenly replied to his draft board, "I will never serve in the United States Army. Please stop wasting my time, your time and the government's postage. PS: I recently joined the Marines."

Gold has written six books and over 800 articles during his tenure as a Washington-based think-tanker. It is his humor coupled with an inundation of facts that makes "The Coming Draft" an entertaining and convincing read.

He tightly argues against the reinstatement of military conscription in America, noting that the draft has been always inequitable and rife with loopholes for abuse. Conservatives may want to bring back the draft to ready our military for more interventions, while liberals believe that more Americans will question our foreign policy when their own rears are on the line for service.

"The Coming Draft" is an important and timely book filled with insights from a deep thinker. Gold's only son recently volunteered for the Marines and may someday serve in a war that his father has strongly opposed since its inception. A draft is not needed for the Gold family, after all.

Please note that the author of this book is Tracy Will, not Charles Calhoun, and that the photgrapher is Zane Williams

Wisconsin is lucky to have Zane Williams so he can capture our lovely state. Another book that captures Wisconsin's beauty is The Spirit of Door County with photographs by Darryl Beers. Darryl is to Door what Zane is to Wisconsin!!! Thanks to both of you!!!

If you've never been to the American Southwest, this book will inspire you to go. This detailed, easy to read book filled with descriptions of the best cuisine, museums, local treasures, and natural wonders is the best available guide to the Southwest.

The guide focuses on New Mexico and Arizona, but contains some information on West Texas, southern Colorado and Utah, and Las Vegas. The major areas covered are: Central New Mexico, Santa Fe, Northern New Mexico, Four Corners, Utah canyonlands, Grand Canyon/Las Vegas, Central Arizona, Southeastern Arizona, Southern New Mexico, and Texas Trans-Pecos. Whether you're planning a trip to see the Indian pueblos and Spanish missions, see the amazing natural wonders of the mountains, or just have some great food and fun with the family, this guide will do it.

Kerrick James's photography is enough to make you get in the car and GO! Great buy.

This, as well as all the other guides in the Compass series, is a fantastic resource! The text is witty, engaging and full of wonderfully descriptive information, with an emphasis on the historical and cultural background of the area. Not only that, but the pages of the book are peppered with gorgeous color photographs and sidebars relating historical anecdotes and extra tidbits of information. It also includes the standard information on festivals, tourist attractions, restaurants & hotels, but the value of the book, for me, lies in the writing. The deep love and enthusiasm of the contributing authors for this part of the country is infectious, and makes for great reading. I have spent hours poring over the other Compass guides in bookstores, although the American Southwest is the only one I actually own, and they all follow the same pattern; this will definitely be my guide of choice for any US destination!

An excellent, balance guide of the entire state. The author finds equal pleasure in exploring the flat, high prairies of the northeastern section of the state, as well as the "signature" tourist attractions of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in the northwestern portion. The book contains sufficient pictures to truly inspire, and more than sufficient dollops of history. He wisely brings a fair degree of skepticism to various "historical events," mindful that the victors are the ones who write it.

He also has a passion for the natural beauty of the landscape, and even urges the reader to drive roads in a certain direction for maximum impact. The towns are equally described, from those worth a visit for retaining their "this is the way America was" character to those whose homogenized American sprawl of fast food joints should be passed through as quickly as possible.

The guide also contains much practical information, and I hope that the upcoming Fifth edition references websites more, in terms of those which provide the best, updated information.

I'll be in Wyoming for nine days this summer, and have planned the entire trip based on this guide. Thanks for the good work, Mr. Burt.

Logically arranged geographically with ample outstanding photographs of this spectacular state, adequate historical summary and clear highway guides.