Cabinets Books

Days before his death, Lyndon Johnson entertained a group of old political acquaintances by telling them of a recent visit to the White House, now occupied by his successor Richard Nixon. Johnson marveled that while his old phone allowed him to talk to anyone in government he wished to chew out at the moment, Nixon's hotline had only three buttons.

"Just three buttons," reads the quote in "The Palace Guard." "And they all go to Germans!"

As Dan Rather and Gary Paul Gates go on to explain, Nixon would have benefited from disconnecting two of the lines, the ones that reached chief of staff H.R. "Bob" Haldeman and domestic affairs advisor John Ehrlichman. Together the two men effectively blocked all access to the President during most of his time in office, with only one exception, that being chief White House diplomat Henry Kissinger (German #3). By insulating Nixon so, they not only shielded him from a broader range of ideas, but instilled an institutional paranoia that abetted the blockheaded Watergate fiasco that brought them all down.

It's tempting to read "The Palace Guard" with an eye on co-author Rather, especially as he departs his own place of prominence this week over a scandal given the name "Memogate." Rather's knee-jerk liberalism is on display for sure, as when the book criticizes Nixon's opposition to forced busing as a blatant sop to racists while crediting him only for initiatives that revealed non-conservative thinking, like welfare expansion and reaching out to communist China. But "The Palace Guard" is not written in a mean-spirited way. In fact, it's quite entertaining for the snarky but sensitive way it presents its characters.

It's not only Haldeman and Ehrlichman who get the spotlight. Much time is spent on people like Wally Hinkel, the secretary of the interior who goes Green on Nixon and is frozen out after balking over Kent State. Arthur Burns, an early cabinet leader, is dubbed "Super Bore," which the book notes "was no small achievement when you stop and consider the place was something less than a haven for gifted raconteurs."

One exception to that rule, the effulgent future Democratic senator and urban affairs advisor Daniel Patrick Moynihan, mentors Nixon for a time on taking a more liberal policy course, thus earning Rather and Gates' approval, until he is undone by some memos leaked to the public, probably by Haldeman, that gets Moynihan in trouble with blacks and academics and undercuts his authority. That and, suggest the authors, there was less need for Nixon to protect himself by tacking left after his most likely opponent in the 1972 election drove himself off a bridge in Chappaquiddick.

The book's drawbacks include a lack of direct quotations (surprising given the fact one of the authors was CBS's White House reporter at the time) and a divided sense of what its supposed to be about, the various cabinet officers Nixon drew around him at various times or the way two of these officers (Haldeman and Ehrlichman) paralyzed the process by denying access to Nixon for anyone else but themselves.

Still, it's an entertaining book whatever it's about, very much of the moment and somewhat dated (words like "Negro" pop up from time to time) but worth having for Nixon lovers. Rather enthusiasts will miss the Texasisms of their hero's later career, but he and Gates put together a solid addition to the record on one of our most interesting, if not exemplary, presidents.

This book covers the inter working of the Nixon White House and the two people the authors claim really ran the day to day - John Ehrlichman and Bob Haldeman. The book starts out with a nice history on the power of the Presidents cabinets during the time from FDR to Nixon and the back and forth that took place with power being centralized in the White House or at the cabinet level. The authors also provided an interesting review of the Nixon cabinet picks - who they were, how they got their jobs and what happened to them during the course of the administration. Of course following the premise of the book a good deal of this reporting centers on how Ehrlichman and Haldeman interacted with them and or caused their downfall.

The authors did make a lot about how Ehrlichman and Haldeman were in such control and the power they held, but all administrations have similar people - if not they fall into disarray. A good example of this would be the first few years of the Clinton administration until the Chief of Staff was replaced - many books have detailed the out of control White House and the mistakes that were made. I think what is unique or most interesting about this book is the underlying tone of the administration and its use of power not only to get things done, but also to punish political enemies. The book touches on that part of the administration and you see it in many of the actions Ehrlichman and Haldeman took.

The authors have a spunky writing style, but many references are 1970's based and if you were not even a teenager in the 70's it is something difficult to understand the full meaning of the comments. Overall it was an interesting book that covers an aspect that was not as well reported as the break in and cover up. I would think that it is a book that would appeal most to political junkies.

"The Palace Guard" is the story of the two most powerful underlings in the Nixon Administration, H.R. "Bob" Haldeman and John Ehrlichman. Together, they rose to the pinacle of success by shielding their paranoid boss from all those with whom he did not wish to associate. And together they fell, both resigning on the last day of April 1973 as the heat from the Watergate scandal began to scorch the second term President who had been reelected by a landslide only months before. Rather and Gates's account, while lacking historical perspective, is fascinating in how it depicts two power hungry men who moved largely in the shadows. They served their boss well, even to the end when it was hoped that by their sacrifice he would be saved. Political junkies will love their story.

This is an interesting examination of the inner workings of Nixon's organization, concentrating in good part upon aides John Ehrlichman and Bob Haldeman. I bet most White House operations are run as strictly as Nixon's was -- you simply MUST have exemplary efficiency and effectiveness at that level -- though without the stainless steel quality that those two palace guards imbued.

My favorite episode was the one wherein the wife of a terminally ill senator petitioned the president's office for Nixon to visit the man on his deathbed. Haldeman evaluated the situation and determined it would be more politically beneficial for Nixon to be seen consoling the bereaved widow... so good old Bob wrote this immortal instruction to the staff member who'd forwarded the request: "Wait until he dies."

Christopher's book is highly readable. . .until he reached the point in his tale of becoming Secretary of State I found it difficult to put down. Chris was instrumental in handling and reporting (and in the aftermath dealing) with many of the urban riots in 1960s after the assassinations of King & RFK, and the urban riots surrounding the political conventions in Chicago. As undersecretary of state under Carter he was the key U.S. player in the Iranian hostage release, warmly adding how a restaurant applauded him at dinner shortly after coming home from those negotiations. Once he reaches Sec of State status in his book, the tale is less engaging but still informative, giving us a sharp and clear inside look at Chris' view of his job, and the policies and outlook of the U.S. government he represented for four years.

Warren Christopher gives his personal history the most cursory of treatments before plunging into exposition of his interactions with some of modern history's greater figures. At first I found this self-effacement irritating--I wanted to understand what would propel someone to work so tirelessly for his nation, under such trying circumstances as the widespread civil unrest of the late '60s and the hostage crisis at the end of Carter's term in office. Then I realized that Christopher's approach to his memoirs reflects his approach to public service: it's not about _him_, not at all. It becomes very clear as the book progresses that Christopher's modesty, discretion and unrelenting focus on the task at hand have made him the epitome of the gentleman statesman and a model to which other politicians should aspire. Sure, other ex-Cabinet members might write juicier memoirs. But they very likely are not be as widely-respected, or as consistently in demand over decades of American political life, as Christopher. "Chances of a Lifetime" is a worthwhile read for that lesson alone.

If you are looking for a kiss and tell book full of gossip or new and exciting state secrets this is not the book for you. The author may be the last true nice guy in politics and his book echo's his character. The book spends about 30% of its time on his boyhood, working with the LBJ administration and working on different riots in he country. To be honest, this was not what I really was interested in. The rest of the book deals with his work in the Carter and Clinton administrations, which I felt was the most interesting sections of the book.

Christopher spends a good deal of time on his involvement in the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 and 1980 and on the Middle East peace process during his Clinton years. Both areas are well written and interesting, he brings a sense of a true gentleman to his writing - always taking the civil high road in his descriptions. I also found the sections on the personal security given to the Secretary of State and how he travels around the world new and interesting. Overall the author does a good job in this memoir; it is well written and understated. You understand why the author is so well respected; he goes out of his way not to include snide little comments and back- handed attacks that fill so many memoirs.

This book was basically the "Reagan's Defense Departments Greatest Hits". The author was the Secretary of Defense for 7 of the 8 Reagan years and this is his recollection of his time in the office. Let me start by explaining what this book is not. It is not a detailed account of the politics the author was involved in with the military build-up and expanding budgets, a blow by blow account of the military actions during the Reagan years, nor a kiss and tell scandal book. The are more then enough detailed books out there about each of these subjects, and to be fair, there would be no way you could detail all these items in one book.

What we do get is a nice overview of the military actions during the author's term as the Secretary of Defense, a good overview of some of the political issues and a recap of Iran - Contra from his point of view. The reviews of the military actions are at a high level and are very good at providing the reader with why the action was taken, the outcomes of the action, and the other factors that needed to be kept in mind politically. We get a good review of the Grenada invasion, the Lebanon peace keeping, the Libyan attacks and the Kuwait shipping protection from Iran. We also get his views on the nuclear arms deployment in Europe, the KAL 007 shoot down, SDI and Iran - Contra. The author even found time to pick on the Reagan administration's favorite whipping boy - Al Haig.

Overall the author does a good job. He provides a very readable and interesting book that is written with some warmth. He stays away from any criticism of his performance or the Reagan administration as a whole, but you expect that from a memoir. This book is a nice addition to your collection for anyone that is interested in the 80's or the Reagan administration. There are even a number of interesting facts and details about the Middle East that are still relevant today. You will enjoy each page of this book.

This book should be of great interest to future historians since it tells the story of the Reagan Administration from the unique perspective of Reagan's Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger. The book, however, never managed to catch my fancy.

It failed in this regard for two (perhaps personal) reasons. First, being particularly interested in Ronald Reagan, I was disappointed by the fact that so little attention was paid to interactions between Weinberger and the President. For example, scant mention was made of discussions, pro or con, with the president and his advisors. On the contrary, the impression was given that simply with Reagan's blessing, Weinberger, as Secretary of Defense, was more or less free to operate on his own recognizance. (This of course lends credence to the belief of many of Reagan's critics that he was not a hands-on manager, as was his predecessor, Jimmy Carter. In the case of Weinberger, at least, Reagan apparently set the course for the ship of state and relied upon his appointee to steer the ship to his intended goal.)

Secondly; perhaps it was necessary, as the author states, that each of the major events of Reagan's presidency be compartmentalized in a separate chapter and discussed in isolation, but by doing so the chapters tend to read more like top level executive summaries than as part of a broader on-going saga. Worst of all, for me at least, it wasn't clear that relatively small and discrete events, such as the invasion of Grenada, deserved as much attention as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), Reagan's efforts to stem the tide of Communism and bring down the Soviet Union, or even Iran-Contra.

All that said, however, this book is still quite interesting for a variety of reasons. The introduction, for example, presents Weinberger's view of Ronald Reagan and relates some revealing stories about him which are well worth reading. And, since the book relates Weinberger's experience while Secretary of State, it yields much valuable insight into how he was, and as anyone in that position is, forced to deal with the president, other cabinet members, congress, the senate, the media, and various other Governmental entities and foreign powers. In addition, and of particular interest, the book clearly indicates that although Caspar Weinberger was in agreement with President Reagan on almost every important issue, he didn't agree with selling arms to Iran and did everything in his power to prevent it. But to his sorrow Weinberger finally came to believe that the President had been duped into at least tacitly agreeing to the exchange, i.e., by not saying no.

Most accounts of the Reagan administration characterize Casper Weinberger as the hawkish pro-military buidup Defense Secretary of the early years and the un-bending, un-yeilding Pentagon chief of the later years before he was "ousted". This book offers Cap's perspective and, even if you don't agree with all his reasoning and policies, provides a different perspective of the Reagan years. You don't get everything that occured during Weinberger's rein, but he does offer his angle of most of the major events and reasons for his being maligned towards the end of his term. His loyalty to Reagan is un-questioned and this story is somewhat biased towards those policies, but it's definetly worth reading (you may have some trouble finding it as it's out of print). Highly recommended.

"Madeleine Albright and the New American Diplomacy" is a seasoned reporter's lensview of "classic Albright" and the political, cultural and diverse complexities involved in the politiking of American diplomacy at the beginning of the 21st century. This book is the first up-front and up-close skillfully crafted exposé of the unyielding and seemingly overwhelming intricacies of the first Information Age secretary of state's practice of diplomacy. This book details from an American reporter's point of view the articulation of, and the simultaneous architecturing of Albright's personal and public political art and science of what I call "real-time" international human relations. This highly timely and acutely valuable book, which is an engaging read on American diplomatic practice in the Information Age, commences what will be a long series of critical evaluations of this period. This book merits an attentive reading for a variety of reasons. First, it provides a multi-dimensional insider's view of the behind the scenes collaborative (and at times coercive) "maneuvering" from all the respective domains, i.e., State Department, press, White House, Congress, foreign diplomats etc., which induced the outcomes of this new diplomacy. Second, it is the first book on the new diplomacy to provide a discerning profile of Madeleine Albright, the diplomat, as the reengineering diplomatic practitioner she has had to become in assuming the role of an information age secretary of state-a position the job description of which is just beginning to formulate its definition. Notwithstanding, it would have chartered its own course, Lippman in a lucid and vivid writing style demonstrates how Secretary Albright decisively sets Post-Cold War diplomacy on a new course. Third, this book educates us to some degree on the extreme difficulty in selling real-time civic-humanitarian (RTC) diplomacy convincingly to the American people-even though this era will demand more of global citizens than has traditional diplomacy. Fourth, Lippman details the critical relationship-building skills which are, and will continue to be, crucial as this revolution in American diplomatic affairs continues to chart its course. Fifth, Lippman does not foreclose, but aptly demonstrates, the intensity of plural flexibility which is required of new civic and governmental diplomats. Sixth, in as much as Madeleine Albright is the central figure around whom this book is written, this book is as much about the inevitable funeral of traditional diplomacy the world once knew and the birth of a civic revolution in American diplomatic affairs, as it is the inevitability of the emergence of creative and diverse meanings of the term "diplomacy' bringing new and diverse forms of diplomatic practice, i.e., website/Internet diplomacy, OP-Ed diplomacy, NGO-host diplomacy, public forum diplomacy, red-eye diplomacy, media diplomacy, etc. In the end Lippman's book demonstrates the unpredictable nature of RTC diplomacy in our new world even when you have the best resources, a steel will, the strategic means and noble motives as well as the most highly skilled and well intentioned of diplomats. Seventh, this book gives us a realistic look at who Madeleine Albright is and what she is about while at the same time demanding that diplomacy be broadly redefined "as whatever it takes in the context of ethical international human relations to reach the high ground of the, or some, moral excellence of peace." Eighth, this book provides one American male journalist's story of how an American diplomat has courageously role modeled for American citizens their own respective ownership of the American diplomatic process. Ninth, Lippman allows us to learn from Secretary Albright that American diplomacy for the cause of peace is something we must fight for-it is not a passive American past time in which American citizens have no investment-but that American diplomacy is an enterprise which the American people have an intimate role and responsibility to direct the future of, and to support-this message could not have come at a more appropriate time than during this UN proclaimed International Year of the Culture of Peace; Ten, this book is as much about the coming of [information] age of the press and the field of journalism as it is of the diplomats and diplomatic correspondents who are the moves and shakers of this RTC diplomacy. This book reflects the adjustment the media has had to make in reaction to, and commensurate with, the new demands of RTC diplomatic practice. Notwithstanding these commendable accomplishments the book is not without its flaws. The book being the first of many diplomatic affairs Information Age-time piece publications is understandably more concerned with recording the multitudinous diplomatic actions Madeleine Albright executed during her term rather than focusing on an academic impact study of the high technology information age revolution on her practice of diplomacy-- this comes through only as a backdrop to her diplomatic maneuvers. In other words, those criteria which make "the new diplomacy" new are so intricately woven into the fabric of Albright's "management of world affairs" that any study of the impact of her diplomacy on their outcome is expectedly obscured by the diplomatic war to overcome them. Third, being the fresh, first book of its kind this book subjects itself to the very scrutiny to which its main character is also subject-that of being a trail blazer with no previous model on which to depend-this is both a positive and negative factor. For the most part, this factor makes it more difficult to measure the merit of this type of book. If this book, through the active parlance of diplomacy of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, is designed to speak to and warn the diplomats of today and tomorrow, man or woman, governmental or nongovernmental of the intensity of, as well as the types of battles, confrontations, frustrations, criticisms and crises, both at home and abroad, they will continue to face in an unpredictable world of real-time civic humanitarian diplomacy of the 21st century it does just that. Finaly, Lippman accomplishes this while emphasizing the necessity to fully engage Americans in the role of incorporating "America" into the public enterprise and the international domains of American diplomacy.

we need to bring back Albright as soon as possible and this book helps us learn why. Why do we need albright? Because Albright will help Islam conquer the west. Albright will help the albanians topple most of their neighboors and we will bomb the civilians to stop these people from defending themselves. Albright is the greatest secretary of state in modern memory(the last 2 years are an exeption) and this book details every exploit, every inch Jihad came closer to our shores, every helping hand we gave to communism and terrorism and fascism. Albrights book is just a wonderful necceary aaccount of americas foreign policy.

She details how an foreign policy of invading countries that support terror is viscous. She shows how a better foriegn policy is supporting terrorists because if we support them enough they will become wealthy and then hopefully they wont have time to waste blowing themselves up because they can hire someone to do it for them. Albright explains in this book how she helped the PLO build airports and schools and day care centers so that the terrorists could mor easily get his bombs from Iran(the airport) teach his children the art of bomb making(schools) and then put his kids in day care while he went to become the next martyr. This policy was well on the way to achieving her goal(the destruction of israel) when viscious right wing neo conservatives stole the 2000 election.

A must read to understand americas morasss.

Lippman's biography is balanced, fair and an enjoyable read. You'll come away with a clear sense of Albright's strengths and special qualities as well as her weaknesses as a leader. You'll learn how her style differs from that of Christopher and Powell. I would have liked a little more clarity and depth on how she justified women's issues as a foreign policy imperative. Her comments about enslavement of women and the likelihood of war under women political leaders hinted at her views. I suspect, however, there's more to her arguments than the book covered. Albright's perspective and the national security establishment's reaction to it may color our relations with Arab allies, the Chinese and other important global players. I also would have liked to explore more how her personal history influenced her views on the Middle East. Lippman kept mentioning that Albright showed unusually little compassion for Palestinians yet I never learned why.

This is a good time for Pepys. Clare Tomalin's new biography has received lots of attention -- while a new weblog of Pepys' diary has been highly publicized (and is well worth checking out in its own right). I came to Coote's book for the meanest of reasons -- it was cheaper, but I have no regrets. This is a very readable, sometimes rollicking, turn through the details of Pepys' life. Don't expect careful analysis of the literary aspects of the diary nor rich historical background. (This is a popular history in both good and bad senses of the term.) Pepys is front and center on every page of this book and were it not for the extraordinary nature of his life it might have grown tiresome. We are with him in broad strokes and minor flourishes -- from silly infatuations to grand schemes of Royal skullduggery we see remarkable detail of both the man and the time. It is fascinating stuff and Coote doesn't get in the way. The details move quickly and coherently and when the diary itself ends the reader hardly notices. Compiling a detailed account of Pepys' subsequent trials and tribulations from letters and parliamentary reports, our vision of the man remains steady. Perhaps the greatest value of a biography of this sort is that it moves you towards the diary itself. This is no small achievement for Coote and says something about Pepys' himself.

It is almost certainly true that we would not remember Samuel Pepys without his diary, which is a magnificent blend of emotional candor and brilliant reporting of big events and small seductions. Pepys was, simply, a competent and often brilliant civil servant, even though he was involved in epochal and dramatic governmental changes. He did, however, live for thirty-four years after he had written his last diary entry, and so our picture of him is imbalanced. Stephen Coote has written a new biography, _Samuel Pepys: A Life_ (Palgrave), to correct the distorted picture Pepys unknowingly gave us. It is no small feat that Coote has been able to give almost as lively account of the years without the diary as the years so memorably recorded within it.

Pepys was the son of a London tailor who performed a social rise within his life that was almost unimaginable in his time. Eventually as secretary to the Admiralty, he was simply brilliant at his job. He had been raised Puritan, and although he loved his pleasures, also loved order, efficiency, control, and domination. Some of his innovations were small but useful; no one else is on record as starting the business lunch, but Pepys took his clerks home with him, "by that means I having opportunity to talk to them about business, and I love their company very well." Some innovations shook the navy to its foundations, such as insisting that even a member of the upper class who bought himself an officership in the navy would have to serve a term as midshipmen and pass an examination. A staunch loyalist, he rubbed many Whigs the wrong way, and he was imprisoned in the Tower of London for a year, accused of Popery. It was Pepys's ability, which he had perfected in his years of naval administration, to gather massive quantities of exculpatory information that enabled him to expose and explode the case against him brilliantly.

As Coote says, after the diary, Pepys wrote even private memoranda which would "show him as a public figure. The artist had, perforce, given way to the bureaucrat." His enormous service to the navy would have been what Pepys would have wanted to be remembered for, but his diary has made him immortal. Coote has diligently pursued ancient administrative documents as well as letters to give a bigger picture (even if it is not possible to examine the years after the diary with any hope of Pepys's detail), and has placed him within some of the most complex decades of English history. His explanations of the forces of history in the time are excellent, and his comprehensive portrait of the diarist and the bureaucrat gives us in full one of the most fascinating figures of English history.

In his biography of Restoration archetype Samuel Pepys, Stephen Coote takes as his theme the diarist's "personal motto": "[A]s is the mind, so is the man"-and so is the book (11).
Coote, who also has written biographies on Sir Walter Ralegh and Charles II, draws upon letters, speeches, parliamentary documents, and naval records to produce a comprehensive account of Pepys's colorful life. Incorporating the city of London as a backdrop, Coote describes Pepys's private affairs and public accomplishments to reveal a quintessential bourgeois gentleman. The reader is given opportunity to view, through Pepys's keen eyes, the world of seventeenth-century England in all its bawdiness, turmoil, opulence, and greatness.
Coote skillfully juxtaposes the two elements of man and city to create a panorama of the time. He evaluates Pepys's intellectual and emotional development in order to reflect the political and cultural tensions in contemporary London. For example, Coote opens his biography with the "saddest sight that ever England saw"-the execution of Charles I, at which the then fifteen-year-old Pepys was present (1). He describes how English society dismissed Cromwellian piety to embrace the decadence of the Stuarts, while simultaneously relating how the young Pepys struggled constantly to reconcile a Puritan upbringing with the temptations present in a loose society: "Beneath the severe surface encouraged by Pepys's homelife ran the deep, sensuous currents of a man whose feelings and sensations were easily stirred" (14). Through Pepys's experiences as a young man and office apprentice, we see the energy and recklessness of an entire people struggling to redefine itself. Throughout his life, Pepys repeatedly found himself at the forefront of this cultural tide. He entered into the service of the Royal Navy just as England was seeking to overcome the Dutch dominance of the sea trade (26). He gained in status and wealth as London society reached a peak of decadence; he did not resist the tantalizing pleasures the city offered: sailing on the Thames, witnessing royal processions at Westminster Hall, and visiting Nell Gwyn backstage at the theatre on the Strand (75, 81, 83). Even in old age, he served enthusiastically as the elected president of the scholarly Royal Society (337).
Pepys recorded such experiences in his Diary, his primary claim to fame. Coote's sections on this work are the strongest and most enlightening in the biography. Coote produces some of his finest writing in his account of Pepys penning his first words:
Pepys was making a balance-sheet of his world.... The young man
brought up in a Puritan household was examining his worldly
state. The historian was writing the history of himself.
Above all, the artist was at work.... Like many great writers,
he knew that he was his own best subject.... (34-35)

In all that he witnessed and experienced, Pepys "resolved...to confide his wonderment strictly to his Diary" (46). Through his analysis of this personal work, Coote reveals Pepys as a man of both method and whim-of a man "keenly aware of the value of order, system and style," but who also possessed an "exhausting conviviality" (12, 76).
Despite the vivacious lifestyle of his protagonist, certain sections of Coote's piece strangely lack drive and inspiration. Chapters five through seven, recounting the experiences of Pepys's midlife years, adhere so strictly to a chronological framework that the narrative slides into a dull cycle of work, play, writing, and work again. Instead of focusing so intently on a year-by-year evaluation, Coote would do well to structure his account around a unique element, such as the Diary.
Readers hoping for a glimpse into the indulgence and intrigue of seventeenth-century London will find Coote's biography delightful. Those seeking a more intellectual challenge will receive solid information and a wealth of detail, but may want to supplement their research with additional works on the period. But readers of all pursuits will identify with Pepys's lifelong desire to better comprehend the yearnings of his own heart and of the society in which he lived.

Very informative. Good source of information for anyone exploring the history of "Hoosier" style cabinets.

This updated 134 page guide-book has been updated from the previous edition, with more than 30 new pages. It's loaded with plenty of super photos, and includes a brief introduction to the collectible. You'll find plenty of manufacturers' catalog pages shown, along with advertising pieces. Collector's will find it interesting and informative. It covers Boon, Hoosier, Kitchen Maid, McDougall, Napanee, Sellers, Wilson Cabinets, and others. A worthwhile addition to your library.

This book is not like his first three books; readers should not expect this book to be the same becasue it was NOT INTENDED to be the same. i feel it is unfair to say this books does not give instruction or that it is not "hands on" and give it a low rating when this book was not written to be "hands on." this book contains many beautiful photos, though many in black and white, of krenov's great works. this book contains pictures of krenov's work that are NOT in his other books and with many close-up shots of details. This book, in conjunction with his first three, gives the reader a satifying number of photos and details of krenov's work to look at. Invaluable when you are working on your own piece that you aspire to make as fine as krenov's and would like to see how Krenov detailed the back of his cabinet, or the stand which is sits on, or when you are lost and don't know how it should be done. There is a bit of text here and there, though not that much, mostly explaining a certain piece or how he arrived at it's final appearace - all very important if you are trying to understand how a master craftsman thinks. overall a great book that no real krenov fan should be without.

This was a beautifully photographed book with lots of great pictures of gorgeous projects. I recommend it for that, but not if you want hands on information on the actual creation process.

Madeleine Albright is one of the most notable people to work in the Clinton administration. She was the first woman to ever become Secretary of State and hold such a high position. Most people, though, don't know the private details of this Czechoslovakian immigrant's life from fleeing her homeland to her political volunteering, life celebrations, tragedies, and accomplishments during the forty-first presidency. If you thought other immigrants' life stories were shocking, just wait until you read about this one.
Madeleine's life was interesting from the start. Born in 1937, Marie Juana Korbel was Joseph and Mandula Korbel's first born. Joseph had just earned his degree in international law from Charles' University and was headed for great things in the first independent Czechoslovakian government in over four hundred years. As a child, Marie Juana, or Madlenka, experienced first handedly how Hitler had terrorized Western Europe on behalf on the revenge-seeking Germans who were enraged by the extreme conditions of the Versailles peace treaty after the First World War. He and his followers, the Nazis, caused her family to escape to England as part of the Czechoslovakian government in exile program. There, Madlenka learned to speak fluent English and other subjects in school as World War II began. As soon as the war was over in 1945, the Korbels returned to their country, thankful Prague had only been mostly burnt compared to the damage in other cities. If only they knew that would be the last few months they would see their beloved land.
By high school, Albright's life turned for the worst. After the war, the Czechoslovakian government had kept the concept of communism to run the country. Joseph, being a loyal democrat, protested but finally accepted a job offer after watching his former superior be executed. He knew it was the only way to get his family safely out. The same year as he was on a business trip, Joseph arranged with a British official to temporarily station his wife and children there until he could get them across the ocean to the United States. Once there, they applied for an asylum, an official order that permitted the Korbels to permanently live in the states, and took a job as a college professor specializing in Czechoslovakian affairs.
As an American citizen, Madeleine became more involved with her new home. In college, Albright fell in love with politics, following the footsteps of her father. His influence got her through some rough times such as her surprising divorce from her college sweetheart Joseph Michael Patterson. Supporting three daughters alone, Albright began teaching until she had the opportunity the get really involved when she became the first woman to be Secretary of State. But during her four years of service, a reporter exposed a deep family secret even this powerful woman didn't know about. Her Czechoslovakian roots traced back to the Holocausts, concentration camps the Nazis used to murder millions of Jews. It seemed her three grandparents, one already deceased, all died in the camps across Europe. The disturbing report persuaded Albright to return to Czechoslovakia, now the Czech republic, for the first time in forty years. She then went to memorials dedicated to victims of the Holocaust and personally found all three names of her grandparents engraved in the stone. Devastated, she returned to the United States strong. As Secretary of State, she advised on many issues facing President Clinton such as China's human rights and the Israel conflict.
As the first female Secretary of State, some may have hated her opinions and actions, but all loved Madeline Albright as the immigrant that contributed to the country that helped her family escape the horrors of war and communism. Even to this day, about eight years after her retirement, many citizens across America cheer for this brave woman and the life she has led. Michael Burgan tells of her work and achievements brilliantly in this biography.

R. Turner

Madeleine Albright is one of the most notable people to work in the Clinton administration. She was the first woman to ever become Secretary of State and hold such a high position. Most people, though, don't know the private details of this Czechoslovakian immigrant's life from fleeing her homeland to her accomplishments during the forty-first presidency. If you thought other immigrants' life stories were shocking, just wait until you read about this one.
Born in 1937, Marie Juana Korbel was Joseph and Mandula Korbel's first born. Joseph had just earned his degree in international law from Charles' University and was headed for great things in the first independent Czechoslovakian government in over four hundred years. As a child, Marie Juana, or Madlenka, experienced first handedly how Hitler had terrorized Western Europe on behalf on the revenge-seeking Germans who were enraged by the extreme conditions of the Versailles peace treaty after the First World War. He and his followers, the Nazis, caused her family to escape to England as part of the Czechoslovakian government in exile program. There, Madlenka learned to speak fluent English and other subjects in school as World War II began. As soon as the war was over in 1945, the Korbels returned to their country, thankful Prague had only been mostly burnt compared to the damage in other cities. If only they knew that would be the last few months they would see their beloved land.
After the war, the Czechoslovakian government had kept the concept of communism to run the country. Joseph, being a loyal democrat, protested but finally accepted a job offer after watching his former superior be executed. He knew it was the only way to get his family safely out. The same year as he was on a business trip, Joseph arranged with a British official to temporarily station his wife and children there until he could get them across the ocean to the United States. Once there, they applied for an asylum, an official order that permitted the Korbels to permanently live in the states, and took a job as a college professor specializing in Czechoslovakian affairs.
In college, Albright fell in love with politics, following the footsteps of her father. His influence got her through some rough times such as her surprising divorce from her college sweetheart Joseph Michael Patterson. Supporting three daughters alone, Albright began teaching until she had the opportunity the get really involved when she became the first woman to be Secretary of State. But during her four years of service, a reporter exposed a deep family secret even this powerful woman didn't know about. Her Czechoslovakian roots traced back to the Holocausts, concentration camps the Nazis used to murder millions of Jews. It seemed her three grandparents, one already deceased, all died in the camps across Europe. The disturbing report persuaded Albright to return to Czechoslovakia, now the Czech republic, for the first time in forty years. She then went to memorials dedicated to victims of the Holocaust and personally found all three names of her grandparents engraved in the stone. Devastated, she returned to the United States strong. As Secretary of State, she advised on many issues facing President Clinton such as China's human rights and the Israel conflict.
As the first female Secretary of State, some may have hated her opinions and actions, but all loved Madeline Albright as the immigrant that contributed to the country that helped her family escape the horrors of war and communism. Even to this day, about eight years after her retirement, many citizens across America cheer for this brave woman and the life she has led.

R. Turner

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This book offers ideas and instructions for building kitchen cabinet accessories and organizers. None of the projects are particularly new or ingenious, but some could be helpful if your kitchen is disorganized or short on space. Most are reasonably easy for anyone with average experience with basic hand tools and simple power tools to accomplish.

Projects include:
1) work space -- stand-alone cutting boards and chopping blocks, countertop inserts, permanent or movable islands, hideaway tables, drawer-mounted
2) storage space -- door-in-door storage, pull-down racks, dummy-drawers, toe-kick drawers, stud-space cabinets, pantries
3) appliance space -- appliance garages (with or without tambour door), microwave oven shelf, etc
4) display space -- open shelves, glass shelves, plate racks, gallery railes, etc.
5) organizers -- pullout shelves, corner cabinets, storage bins, garbage containers, can rotators, drawer organizers and partitions

PROS:
1) The construction projects include a materials list and exploded diagrams.
2) Construction procedures are reasonably well documented.

CONS:
1) Some of the projects (such as the dummy drawer storage) simply tell you to go out and buy the organizer and install per the manufacturer's instructions. Not much help there, unless you hadn't thought of this idea before.
2) All the projects are shown first, then the instructions are presented. If you want to refer back to the project description/photo, it may be several pages back. Descriptions and photos should have been presented with the instructions for that project immediately following.
3) Photos are of actual installations. All are black & white only, and most look like they are simple snapshots, with such low contrast as to be difficult to see detail.
4) The projects as shown look like they would be very out of place in a "nicer" home. Many would look out of place anywhere except a post-WW2 "cookie-cutter" home. (The designs are too simple and bland, and some of the ideas just do NOT scream "class." Fine woodworking skills might help, but if you're that good, you don't need this book.)
5) Many of these space savers and organizers could be purchased easier -- and possibly cheaper -- than building them. And unless your construction skills are above average, AND you go beyond the basic design, the cheap plastic things from the local department or home improvement store might actually look and function better.

While I WILL use a couple of the ideas from this book for my upcoming kitchen remodeling, it's is definitely NOT the ultimate book on this subject.

BOTTOM LINE: Get some ideas from this book, but extend the construction plans or you'll end up with some really cheap-looking (though functional) space savers and organizers.
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This book is loaded with ideas. Lots of pictures and drawings. It shows and explains how to make everything from cutting boards to movable islands. It is also loaded with instructions for many ways to organize the kitchen and pantry, like lazy susans, spice racks, appliance garage and stowaway island. A very useful book for someone looking for ways to improve their kitchen.

John Crosbie is not a buffoon. John Crosbie is a hypocrit. John Crosbie is a braggart. John Crosbie thinks he's smarter than you. I started off reading this book with admitted skepticism. I don't particularly trust most politicians and I find most autobiographies self-serving and always one-sided. Early in, I was at least satisfied that Crosbie could at least acknowledge some mistakes and I was impressed with his knowledge and vocabulary. If ever you've gotten the impression from his infamous foot-in-mouth disease that he's uneducated or stupid- he's not. At least not in terms of politics. In terms of people he's (to borrow an Al Franken term) a "big, fat idiot." I seriously had to put the book down several times to calm down. His gaul to insult the Canadian public simply because they didn't always agree with his or his government's policies- too stupid, too sheepish to know what's good for them. Say that at election time, why didn't you? And then he uses the brains of the public to prove a point about Canadian art! To those worried about American culture and entertainment taking over and killing any such industry in Canada, Crosbie says that the Canadian public will decide if Canadian art is good, and if it is it will survive. If the Canadian public is so good at deciphering good art from bad art, why does he feel they aren't capable of distinguishing between good and bad government decisions? It was also so infuriating when he'd lambaste the Liberals for being corrupt yet he'd go on to declare that any corruption on part of the PCs was a necessary evil. Hypocrit. Still, he made me think, analyze, criticize and question history as I knew it. Not many other books have made me do that lately, and so, it wasn't a waste of a read.

John Crosbie has brought much needed light on the unfashionable truth of Conservative power in Canada. From his days as Newfoundland Liberal MPP to his cabinet positions under former Prime Ministers Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney, Crosbie describes the disturbing hypocrisies that are embedded in Canadian politics. He discusses a length the myth of Joey Smallwood, the duplicitous behaviour of Pierre Trudeau, the mean-spiritedness of a pro-Liberal media, and the orchestrated and groundless nature of the Airbus Scandal. He writes how easy it is to rise and fall in this country, depending on how the story is spun. "No Holds Barred" may not win any Liberal converts but it is absolutely essential if one is to know the Conservative point a view. Today's leaders may spoon feed an apathetic population with dogmatic ideas, but "No Holds Barred" manages to bring forward some welcomed facts to all those who dare call themselves educated.