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This piece of work is well thought out and extremely well-researched. The author is very intelligent and put a lot of work into it. The amount of effort he put into insuring accuracy shines through on every page. Reading this thesis will tell you more about this subject than you probably ever thought you could know. You should read it!

I'm amazed that my NPS thesis found its way to Amazon. Basically, I wrote this while researching whether or not military funding is related to a Senator's or Representive's military experience. Since the majority of my experience is in warships, I looked at shipbuilding programs. I didn't find as much correlation between military experience and funding for programs as I would have liked. However, I did learn quite a bit about how and why some shipbuilding programs receive more funding than others. The results are in this thesis. I think that you'll find my research both interesting and informative.
Thanks!

- Ed Herty

Its been a while since I've read it, but I just had to review it because it was so unlike just about anything I've ever read. It was so original - such a breath of fresh air! Everything kind of transpired like a bizarre dream, and it was quite suspenseful. You couldn't help but like and sometimes pity the main character. It was interesting how he actually lived in the shopping centre, yet distanced himself from the obsession with consuming. I love a book with intriguing characters, and this one had plenty of them. It was basically cool.

One of Nicholson's best books (second only--maybe--to Bleeding London), Everything and More is also one of his most accessible. If you've read Hunters and Gatherers, The Food Chain, or any of his other novels, you know that he's a pretty tough author to categorize. His books--while focusing on eccentric, offbeat characters and situations you rarely (if you're lucky) encounter in real life--manage to convey a universal sense of what it means to be obsessed with...well, anything. If you haven't read any of Geoff Nicholson's books before, this is a great place to start.

This is an exceptional little book which tells the story of the four largest peasant revolts in Russian history all of which were named for the leaders who inspired the revolts--Bolotnikov in 1606-1607, Razin in 1670-1671, Bulavin in 1707-1708, and Pugachev in 1773-1774.

Readers have always wondered why Russia has traditionally felt the need for a strong authoritarian central government. This book answers that question in part. The huge Russian empire was made up of many different ethnic groups. Ethnic jealousies, resulting in civil wars and foreign invasions were always the result of a weak Czar or a change of dynasty. Thus the social compact of the Russian state was that all groups must submit to the power of a Czar in order to survive. This is the reason for the god-like status and supreme power given to the Czar in the old Russian empire.

Bolotnikov, Razin, Bulavin and Pugachev are all names lost to history yet these were leaders of four extrodanary revolutions which rocked Russia between 1600 and 1800. These revolts were largly ignored by historians because, at the times when they happened they caused panic among the Russian ruling classes. All four were revolts of common people, peasants, townspeople, Cossaks, low ranking priests and monks, and common soldiers. Indeed the story of these rebellions is the story of the Russian underclass, the "dark people" whole lives are ignored by historians.

In this narrative we learn about Russian peasants were enslaved by great Russians starting with Ivan the Terrible. Later a Cossak revolutionary named Stenka Razin leads a revolt against unpopular religious reforms and the state of serfdom. Another Cossak leader Bulavin leads a rebellion against Peter "the Great," whose sought to build a western style state at the expense of common Russians. Finally we are told about the bloodiest revolt of all, Emelian Pugachev who declaired himself to be the murdered Czar, Peter III and brough terror to the regeim of Czarina Caterine "the Great," an "enlightened" ruler whose reforms stopped short of benifiting the great masses of Russian people.

In each revolt, the methods used were often cruel. But also in each the repression of the rebellions was equally severe. They were all acts of desperation by desperate people. Often the rebels were comprised of ignorant peasants who sought to free themselves from the oppression of severe rulers.

The author, Paul Avrich neither approves nor condemns the actions taken by the revolutionary leaders. Rather he explains in graphic detail the causes of the conflicts, the courses of events and gives an analysis of the importance of each of these four events in Russian history. Avrich then ties in the rebellions of this book with later revolutionary movements, the Decemberist rebels, the Nihilist-Anarchist movements of the 1860s and even the Bolshivik movement. All the same he makes it clear that the rebellions in question were attempts to go back in history to times of simplicity when an agrarian based peasant economy existed with free peasants worked and lived lives of simplicity. This would make these rebellions seperate from western influenced revolutionary activities of later generations, which were led by members of the intellegencia.

This is a reprint of a book published in the 19th century. A source book for all other books on the Adena and the Hopewell. A Must have.

Ancient Monuments (more familiarly known as "Squire and Davis") is the undisputed primary reference source on Indian mounds in the eastern US till the mid-1800s. While there were a few others (such as Caleb Atwater's book), Squire and Davis offers the grandest illustrations of what remained of the unbelievable civilizations that inhabited this continent. Even as they published in 1848, hundreds of mounds were being plowed into oblivion; so few are still extant that theirs is the only guide to what was lost. The text is enjoyable on many levels, and can be forgiven for any lapses of scientific accuracy. They trekked over Ohio at a time when we weren't even sure who made the mounds, so everything they recorded is gold. The engineering prowess, the sheer magnificence and scale of some of the works, is astounding.

Mr. Schneider's story is told in plain simple language but it is a story all people can learn something from. Entertaining and enlightening for history buffs, fire buffs. Mr. Schneider is my grandfather.

Written by my father, I must say the stories I read in this book were just the same as the stories he would tell coming home every day after work. True, interesting and full of adventure this book delivers everything my father did.

A very concise how-to book on strategic planning for today's fire department whether it is volunteer or paid. Step by step plans as well as forms and other useful information to use. Very helpful for first time strategic planners as well as those updating their plans.

More often than not, we look to business and industry for answers to fire service problems. Most business strategic planning models have limited application to our profession. Mark Wallace has developed a fire department specific model that provides an excellent template in identifying medium and long range strategic planning issues. I have read this text and highly recomment it to the proactive planners of the future.

I purchased this book for a class I was taking. Fire Officer 100. The book was well written, easy to read and understand. I recomend both the book and the class to anyone that is interestred in becoming an Officer in their fire dept.

After reviewing the two other books of this type available, this one is by far the best. The chapter on CRM is what makes this one heads and tails above the others. If you are thinking of buying this book to read, don't think about it anymore. Buy it!

I bought a copy of this book while I was in Chicago to test for their fire department. I'd heard about it a few times, and I figured that I would buy it while I was up there.

In short, this truly was a great book. I've never read a book where so many of the stories stuck with me. You'll meet quite a few dogs through this book, but the one that sticks in my mind is Wino, Jr. He loved to frequent the bars in the neighborhood and befriended a number of the locals, who would steal food for him and give him drinks of their "adult" beverages. More than once the firefighters who took care of him would have a call from someone asking them to "pick up the dog that just passed out."

In a few of the stories, you would almost think that the dogs were actually reincarnated firefighters. Many of them had the same "personality" that most firefighters have.

If you're looking for a good book that will make you laugh and cry some, this is definitely for you.

In the past few years, firefighters have gotten increased, and deserved, attention and respect. But what of "that firefighter who is on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year"? That is the way Commissioner James T. Joyce of the Chicago Fire Department describes the firehouse dog in the introduction to _The Firefighter's Best Friend: Lives and Legends of Chicago Firehouse Dogs_ (Lake Claremont Press) by Trevor J. Orsinger and Drew F. Orsinger. It is no exaggeration to say that these dogs are for the most part not ornaments, not pets, but working dogs, busy with their responsibilities and taking them seriously. The authors are not firemen, but like many people, they admire firemen, and they realized that though there are volumes to record the history of the Chicago Fire Department, there were none devoted to its dogs. For some reason Chicago has a lot of these dogs, perhaps more than anywhere, and the stories here are funny, loving, and inspiring.

It is commonly thought that firedogs are just for show, good public relations for fire departments. They do get trotted out for photo ops and in parades, but many of the dogs here have valued roles as real worker dogs. Engine 30 has a dog named Thirty, a Dalmatian that has made 14,000 runs over the past nine years. Once on the scene, many dogs are eager to get into the work, helping to haul hoses or even entering buildings that are on fire. Many of the dogs are useful ratters. Dogs who stay in the firehouse are charged with guarding the valuables the firemen leave behind. It is significant that Chicago firehouse dogs do not have normal dog lifespans. Some of them die in the line of duty, boldly accompanying their men into burning buildings. Bruno of Engine 19 died from cancer caused by repeated smoke inhalation. Dogs do fall off speeding engines. Rags of Engine 24 stepped into water that had been electrified by a fallen wire and died, but his death ensured that his firemen avoided the same fate. One dog after another here is described as meeting death by being hit by a car at the scene. Sometimes dogs are too slow to move out and are run over by their own trucks, and more than one has been killed by being shut in the big firehouse door. Sometimes the fire station is in a bad part of town and the residents attack the dogs as symbols of authority. The other great hazard is obesity; the firemen all love to give their dogs table scraps.

There are lots of fine pictures here of dogs happily sitting on their engines, climbing ladders, marching in parades, posing for formal pictures with their crews, obligingly wearing fire hats, and being petted by guys who love them. There are plenty of dogs named Smokey here, and also Sparky, Ashes, and even Arson. There are stories of the far less successful firepig, fireduck, firegoose, and firegoat. There are great stories of heroic dogs, and if one or two have become exaggerated in the retelling by the firemen, that is only a tribute to the love and respect the firehouse crews bear for their mascots.

There were some people think the old firehouse was bad, they want to build the new one. But the Aldens love the firehouse, they try to save it. Can they save the firehouse?

When the Aldens try to save the old Greenfield fire department they get more what they bargained for including damage to the floors and even the puzzling theft of an antique trophy. A blue notebook leads the way to who stole the trophy and will the fire department be saved?

This is a great little book for interested lay people who want to "get fit like a firefighter". I know an EMT who boasts about it. The focus on using circuit equipment to "simulate" firefighting tasks, is a useful approach to making gym exercises "related to firefighting duties". I recommend this book for its excellent nutrition section and useful collateral information.

BUT, for the professional firefighter-- you might want to consider the book; Fitness for Firefighters: Enduro-Strength Training. It is designed ONLY for firefighters. The routines require actual firefighting equipment: hoses, axes, ladders, etc. and are effectively crafted for building power, strength, and endurance for firefighters. All told, both books have value for me.

This is a true workout book by firefighters, for firefighters.
It has several workouts that are not only career-specific, but position-specific as well. For example; "The Fire Candidate Workout" or the "Engine Company Nozzleman Workout".

This book also outlines diet and cardio workouts as well.
It even has firefighter-specific stretches (invloving the use of an apparatus as a stretching device! HA!)
It has all the details you need for the workouts!
The workouts are mainly weight-circuit type workouts that simulate live firefighting work.

The exercises employ practically every type of equipment/method (including calisthenics) except barbells. [Don't worry, there's plenty of dumbbell action.]

Most the exercises listed in the workouts have alternatives as well; e.g.: pushups vs. dumbbell bench press, or leg press vs. dumbbell squats.
There are many exercises that are directly related to firefighting duties like pushing/pulling ceiling, pulling hose, forcible entry, etc.

Don't get me wrong, these workouts will beat you up no matter how fit you are; because you can always up the weight, speed, cycles, and repititions as necessary.
These exercises will get you ripped in no time, and your muscular endurance will sky-rocket!.