Washington Books

This is a great book of emotions and feelings this author really knows how to put her feelings into words and touch your heart. Eventhough though some of the emotions are sad its the feelings that everyone experiences and would like to express. I especially love the poems about hear love and friendship the tell you the real meaning of love. I recommmend everyone to read this book and get in touch with their own feelings.

SOME POEMS MADE ME SAD AND WANT TO CRY, BUT ONLY BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE READING MY OWN WORDS, IM A OLDER MAN AND ITS NOT MUCH THAT I GET CHOCKED UP OVER, BUT THIS BOOK HAD ME CHOCKED UP. I REALLY LIKE THE POETRY IN THIS BOOK, IT IS STRAIGHT FORWARD AND IS EXPRESSED PERFECTLY, THE POEMS ARE DEEP, VERY DEEP, BUT HEY I CAN RELATE TO THOSE DEEP FEELINGS MYSELF, I THINK THIS BOOK DESERVES FIVE STARS BECAUSE THOSE POEMS HAVE MANY QUALITIES TO THEM, POEMS IN THIS BOOK MAY VERY WELL HELP SOMEONE IN DEEP SADNESS ONE DAY, JUST BY LETTING THEM KNOW THAT THEY ARE NOT ALONE.

I THINK THE AUTHOR POURS HER HEART OUT IN THIS BOOK AND BRINGS TRUE MEANING TO THE TITLE "POETRY FROM THE HEART". I RATED THIS BOOK FIVE STARS BECAUSE A BOOK SHOULD MAKE YOU FEEL THIS WAY. IT SHOULD LEAVE YOU CHOKED UP MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU KNOW THE AUTHOR AND RELATE WITH THE STORY THERE TELLING AND FEEL THE HURT & PAIN THERE FEELING OR THE JOY & HAPPINESS. I THINK "POETRY FROM THE HEART" HAS IT ALL AND EVERYONE SHOULD OWN A COPY. THANKYOU MS BODDIE FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO GREAT POETRY AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOUR NEXT BOOK

Reading these poems leaves a tender spot in MY heart. "Living Without You", although I know that it wasn't, I still feel as though this was written w/myself in mind. I hope that she plans to do a book-signing because I would love to tell her in person how her book has affected me. I have yet to finish the book because I want to savor [if you will] these life poems. Although these poems are written about others, I feel like I could have written some of them myself. I guess that many people feel the same as I do, but I like to think that this book was more personal...that this was for Kokoa. All in all, I must say that "Poetry From The Heart" is definitely a work of art for any person to feel. Whether you're depressed and need to know that someone feels the same as you, or if you just broke up w/someone, or even if you've lost a loved one...now you know that Miss Davita Boddie "feels you."

Book follows alone with the trials & tribulations of the original people as it moves through the American Revolution

I am almost to the end of the last volume of the series. I have so come to appreciate the great sacrifice that our forefathers made to make and keep our country free. My heart was pained and I was brought to tears at the unbelievable things they had to suffer in their battle for independence. The 4th of July has a much deeper meaning for me now. I very much appreciated all the research done by the author to produce such a well written series. I have them all and they are prized.

This story of our American Revalutionary War, is told so vividly that the reader feels like they are there, experiencing it with the people at that time. It covers the period when George Washington and his troops were at Valley Forge. It is at the same calaber as the rest of this series; "Prelude to Glory". I highly recommend this book to all DAR members.

This book is extremely moving and intense. I have gained a great appreciation for the selfless acts and unyeilding faith that our forefathers had. I have learned a great deal about the history of the Revolutionary War as the author has creatively woven in fictional characters and yet accurately described events and locations that are a part of this nations history. I have read the entire series and cannot wait for the next one to be published.

This book is well written and very informative. This is more of an academic history than a page-turner, such as the books by the likes of David McCullough, but then again few books are. This book will appeal to those interested in history, especially American history. It is about the first 8 years of the government of the United States. Because the constitution was not specific on many of the aspects of how the government was to be run, it was necessary for Washington, his Cabinet and the Congress to further define their roles. This book describes how the men involved and the challenges that they faced directed the evolution of the government of the United States. It describes, in detail, Hamilton's financial system, the internal challenges of Indian uprisings and the resistance to the power of the government (as shown by the Whisky Rebellion) and the relations with foreign powers (primarily with Britain, France and Spain). I especially liked the discussion of Hamilton's system of monetizing the debt incurred during the revolution and using this as the basis for a currency system. This is a very complex subject, one that few at the time (or later) understood. This book not only clearly explains his system but also shows that it was based on the British system, thereby making it less mysterious and not a completely original creation of Hamilton's. Much time is also spent on the attempts of the French and Republican politicians, such as Jefferson, to support the French Revolution, even at the risk of war with Britain. In opposition to this were the Federalists, such as Hamilton, who wanted to avoid war with Britain at all costs. A considerable amount of space is therefore spent on the Jay treaty with Britain, and the support and opposition to it. The book also shows how the challenges faced by the US and the rivalries between the men involved helped to lead to the evolution (much to Washington's dismay) of political parties.

While the title is accurate, it is also a bit misleading. This book is not primarily about Washington, in fact, in most of the book he is only in the background, ratifying or rejecting the acts of others. The author's view of Washington really only becomes clear in the last two pages, where he is depicted more of a symbolic presence than a dynamic leader. Nonetheless, the book makes it clear that Washington was more than just a figurehead. He created a stronger president than the weak one desired by Congress. He brought the heads of the departments of the government (State, War and Finance) clearly under the control of the President, reporting to him and not to Congress. He refused to hand over the papers associated with the development of the Jay treaty and refused to acknowledge the Senate's right to prevent him from firing someone they had previously approved. This book thus shows how the presidency of George Washington shaped the history of the Presidency and the US.

Forrest McDonald is an excellent writer. He produced a wonderful full length bio of Alexander Hamilton that I recommend to anyone interested learning about our government's start and the role played by the man second only to Washington in ensuring that these United States succeeded in laying a firm foundation for self government.

This book is one of McDonald's two contributions to the Univ. of KA's "Presidency Series." It is splendid.

McDonald concisely explores the challenges presenting themselves and issues demanding attention from our new and untested government. In just under two hundred pages, the author does an excellent job of boiling down the topics to their essentials and describing how the nascent government struggled to define its role, the meaning of it's constitutional structure, the balance of factions and America's relation to warring European giants.

His book accomplishes this with brevity, clear and concise writing and in an interesting manner. Along the way are fascinating tidbits. For example, neither Washington nor the Senate knew what "advise and consent" meant regarding treaties. About to send negotiators to several indian tribes, Washington walked down to the Senate to seek their advice on instructions for his agents. As the Senate sat dumbfounded, and then finally began to debate the seven points Washington sought advice on, it became clear how impractical legislative micro management of treaty making would be. Washington turned on his heels and left in disgust when it became obvious the Senate could not give him clear and definative advice. Thereafter, it was mutually agreed that the Senate's role would revolve mainly around "consent" and come when the President presented negotiatied treaties to that body for consideration and not before the treaty making in the form of advice. And thus has it been, evermore.

This is a very good book that will inform those interested in learning how our government got up and running and how important Washington and the players around him were in charting the course for our young government.

The general consensus is that the two greatest US presidents were George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. I firmly believe that and in my opinion, Washington was the greatest. Before he became president he did something very rare in the history of the human race. After the victory in the war of independence, his stature was such that he could have been "elected" king. However, his honor was such that he had to be persuaded to run for president and then re-persuaded to run for a second term. He then thoroughly rejected any thought of a third term.
The nation that he led was still very fragile and every action by Washington or congress that was not explicit in the constitution would establish a precedent. Furthermore, the world was still a dangerous place, with the French revolution and subsequent European war creating a dangerous environment for the new nation. His actions in building the new government and keeping it out of foreign entanglements fully justify the admiration that he receives.
This book kept my attention from the first page as the early years of the new government are described. For this is a book about the Washington administration rather than Washington the man. So many legends in the annals of history were there and setting the tone for over 200 years of continuous government. You also learn of the emergence of political parties, as Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson and Adams among others vie for power and influence. Alexander Hamilton is the most interesting of these giants, as he successfully creates the financial institutions that made the country fiscally sound.
The more I read about Washington and that period of history, the more I am impressed by him. I have no idea what would have happened if he had been different, but it is a sure bet that it would have been worse. It is unfortunate that we teach our children nonsensical myths like the one about the cherry tree. The truth is so much more inspiring, and he truly deserves the accolade of "the father of his country."

"The Presidency of George Washington" is exactly what its title implies. It is the story of the Washington Administration. It is not a biography of George Washington, nor is it even a book which revolves totally around George Washington. It is the story of the people, issues and events which made up the administration of George Washington.

The book starts out with an introduction into the United States of 1789. The regions and interests, as well as the political alignments, which supported and opposed the adoption of the Constitution are explained in some detail. The economy, trade, finance and the neighboring powers of Spain and England all laid the background for America's experiment with its new Constitution.

The first task facing Washington was the establishment of the National Government. While reading this book we come to understand just how little guidance he had from the Constitution. Many of the practices which we take for granted derive, not from the Constitution, but from precedents established by Washington and his successors. The title of address for the President and the role of the heads of the executive departments, which were to become the cabinet, were among the first issues to be addressed. The role of the Senate in granting "advice and consent" on foreign policy matters had to be defined. An early trial occurred when President Washington appeared in the Senate to present his proposals and ask for advise and consent. After this awkward exercise, the practice was established that the executive would formulate policies and negotiate treaties, which would then presented for advice and consent.

The power of removal of executive officers also had to be refined. It was presumed by some that any officer who required Senate confirmation for appointment, also required Senate consent for removal. It was the Washington Administration which established the principle that executive officers could be removed by the President without Congressional approval. This was an issue which was to be resurrected during the impeachment of Andrew Johnson.

Beyond organizational problems, the towering challenge facing the administration was that of finance. The debts of the Continental Congress and the states raised a myriad of issues. Should debts be paid? Should the debts be paid at par? Should payment be made to the bearer, who had often bought the bonds at a discount, or should some or all of the payment be made to the original lender? Should the national government assume the debts of the states? All of these issues had important consequences to the credit worthiness of the government. The assumption of state war debts had unequal impacts, depending on whether the individual state had serviced its debt or let it accumulate. Ultimately the Hamiltonian proposal to assume the war debt of the states and to pay the holders of the bonds was adopted, with the concession of the location of the national capitol in the South to win necessary support.

An issue which would remain controversial until the Administration of Andrew Jackson was the establishment of the Bank of the United States. One of the main reasons for the establishment of the bank was the dearth of banks in the country capable of handling federal deposits.

The domestic issues confronted by the administration introduced the spirit of party into the Administration. The differing views and personalties of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson brought contention into the administration. It was their personalties, particularly that of Hamilton, which came to be the heart of the Administration, even more than that of Washington himself.

The second term was to be dominated by foreign entanglements and a domestic insurrection. The advancement of the French Revolution and its wars with the powers of Europe brought European problems to America. The continuance or renunciation of America's treaty, made with Royalist France, was a hotly debated issue, as was the ratification of a later treaty with Britain. Acceptance of the Jay Treaty with Britain was, ultimately, decided in a reaction to alleged official corruption. In America's first encounter with Islamic Terrorism, raids against American shipping in the Mediterranean by Barbery Pirates, resulted in, again after heated debate, the establishment of the U.S. Navy.

1794 saw resistance to federal taxation on whiskey erupt into the Whiskey Rebellion. The assertion of Federal authority lead to the raising of the militia for the suppression of the rebellion. The declaration of the Rebellion and its suppression may have had more to do with Hamilton's desire to crush his political opponents and brand them as traitors than it did with any actual insurrection.

Washington's ultimate gift to the nation was his retirement and transfer of power to an elected successor at the conclusion of his second term.

This book is recommended to anyone desiring an understanding of the personalities who made up our first national administration, the challenges which confronted them, their responses to those challenges and their legacies to our country.

This book reminds me again just how much fun the study of history can be. The basic facts of Presidential elections from the beginning to today are solid historical accounts. But they also include the tidbits of electoral trivia that go on in each election, but that are often obscure or unnoticed. This book is both informative and entertaining. I plan to give it as a gift to my opthomologist who is also a history buff. As a retired history professor I look forward to chatting with him during my annual examinations.

Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington To George W. Bush by Paul F. Boller, Jr. is a lively, informative, and often surprising history of American presidential election campaigns. This is a complete chronological history of from the unanimously concented ascent of General george Washionhton, to the divisively contested Gore vs. Bush recall scandal. Presidental Campaigns is a superbly written and presented political history that, in these politically divise days of presential electioneering, deserves as wide a readership as possible among the electorate.

I own a previous edition of this book. Facinating information about each campaign. You think 2000 was bad? Take a look at 1876 or 1824. I'd offer more in this review, but it's 4 am and I need to get back to sleep.

You wouldn't have recognized the election of 1789. There were no primaries, nominating convention, rival candidates, campaign speeches, or debates on public issues." (All quotes are direct from the book.) Yet the will of the people was perfectly expressed. Everyone simply agreed that Washington had to be the President. Four years later they had political parties, but both of them picked Washington. That was the end of the smooth sailing.

In 1796 Adams and Jefferson remained on friendly terms with each other, but had their supporters do a lot of name calling (sound familiar?). By 1800 Adams was calling Jefferson ... well, read the book. Suffice to say, the American way of politics was in full swing, has continued unabated until now and shows no sign of making significant changes in the future.

I must say that I do miss the rum. When Washington was running for the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1758, there were 391 elgible voters. Washington gave them 160 gallons of rum. It's kind of a wonder just how they could vote.

This is a delightful book. I remember taking American History in college, and that was pretty dull. This reads like a novel, full of interesting anecdotes while conveying the facts as well.

This book is wonderful for ages 7 and up. Our family members are all becoming Presidential scholars. Can't stop reading it.

I am teaching a high school extra-curricular class this semester on the history of U.S. presidents and wives. This book has proven wonderful! Loads of information and each formatted the same for easy referencing. Great buy!

Quotes from Raiders of the Lost Ark aside, I recently became alot more interested in American history. I guess after years of complaining about politicians and where I stood on issues, I kind of wanted to know at least a little of what I was talking about. So I stumbled upon this book,and at a great price no less(cue audience going OOOOOHHHH with fake surprise)! Anyway, I eagerly awaited it and when I recieved it, couldn't believe how extensive it is. It covers every president up to Dubyah and basically reads like a school textbook-which I think it was. It is a very large book and not only focuses on the Presidents and their administrations, but important people behind the scenes and even family members. I learned alot that I didn't know(or couldn't retain from school) and it allowed me to view alot of these men in a different light. It is truly a fascinating read. The one drawback is the fact that it is basically a textbook makes the writing very dry and sort of fact by fact history. This really isn't too much of a problem though because i really wanted something unbiased and informative. This is by no means a way to become an expert on any on of these people, but a great way to get started by learning a little about all of them.

The price tag for The Presidents Fact Book: A Comprehensive Handbook To The Achievements, Events, People, Triumphs, And Tragedies Of Every President From George Washington To George W. Bush is a bargain for a weighty, sweeping survey of American presidential biographies as presented by Roger Matuz in over 700 pages of detail: any high school, college or general public library collection with an interest in Presidential history and biographies will appreciate this review of the lives and times of all the nation's presidents. Included are not only biographical sketches, but boxed details on key historical figures of their times, first ladies, and lesser-known presidential facts.

This is a terrific, pretty light read. The thing that keeps it from getting 5 stars is the fact that nobody followed in Morgan's footsteps to keep it updated. It is an excellent account of early PNW history, but it stops before it gets to more recent events in the region's history.

This is Murray Morgan's masterpiece. I've read most of Murray Morgan's popular histories. Skid Road is more popular, a breezy, easy read that gives great context to Seattle. The Last Wilderness (about the Olympic Peninsula) is my personal favorite, for sheer range of characters and stories, more humanity packed into a book than most novels.

But Puget's Sound has the most depth and detail, from original sources, of any of Morgan's books. It covers each era of South Puget Sound history, thoroughly and with footnotes. Because of that, it reads more academically than Morgan's other books, and weighs much more, too! But if you are a fan of well-written history, there's nothing better than reading a labor of love from an author with great depth and feeling for a region.

Great book. I disagree with comments in earlier review about book being "... a must-read if you want to amuse and/or bore your fellow Tacomans with antecdotes on street names, unusual buildings, etc". This book is a true narrative as the title indicates, with Morgan taking the historical details and breathing life into them, making for both an informative and an engaging read. Although the title suggests Tacoma as a major topic, the book is really a narrative of Puget Sound. Other books of this genre often spend too much time on Seattle and not enough on other places. This book does NOT focus soley on Tacoma - I'd estimate only 1/4 of it is Tacoma. Although Morgan's "Skid Road" about Seattle is more popular, I'd consider this book "Puget's Sound" to be a much better book than "Skid Road" in content, style, and prose. In fact, University of Washington Press just reprinted "Puget's Sound" (May 2003) as one of the Columbia Northwest Classics Series in recognition of its very important contribution to the Pacific Northwest. Great book by a great historian, newspaperman, writer, etc.

It's unlikely this book will be of much interest to anyone not living in the Tacoma area. Just the same, it is a colorful portrait of the city that used to be, the dreamers and scheamers who came so close to creating the west coast's hub city from scratch. The story of Tacoma's rapid rise to prominence, and its equally swift and steady decline is not only facinating, it delivers a valuable lesson on what still happens today when civic cheerleaders go blind with optimism.

This book is a must-read if you want to amuse and/or bore your fellow Tacomans with antecdotes on street names, unusual buildings, et cetera. Perfect fodder for Tacoma's burgeoning barstool-pundit culture.

This book on Puzzles was first published in 1986 and later published in paperback. I borrowed it from my Library a couple of times and recently obtained my own copy. If you have any interest in puzzles,you'll immediately agree that this book is outstanding in every way. The authors are two of the biggest names when it comes to writing about mechanical puzzles of today and of the past. Jerry Slocum has collected puzzles all his life,has over 30,000, and has probably the finest collection in the world. He is President of the Slocum Puzzle Foundation,in Beverly Hills,California.
This book is an overview of just about everything there is about puzzles.There are all kinds of puzzles such as Crossword,Word Search and many types more commonly called Pencil Puzzles;but that is not what this book is all about. It is somewhat difficult to define Mechanical Puzzles;but if you think of the types of puzzles that you can pick up in your hand,it helps to see the types of puzzles covered in the book.
The authors cover puzzles everyone is familiar with such as Rubik's Cube,Sliding Blocks,Tangrams,Wire,String & Rings,Mazes,Puzzle Locks,Puzzle Boxes,Take-Apart Puzzles,and on and on. I think you get the picture.
The authors cover the history of the puzzles and give hundreds of pictures of them from their collections as well as from collections of other great collectors. The book has many pictures of the creators of puzzles and it is a real treat to put a face to the names which are so well known in the puzzle world.
The book is a pure delight to read and to look at the fascinating array of puzzles;but it doesn't end there. There is all kinds of information on how to go about solving many of the puzzles;and on top of that lots of instructions oh how you can make many of the puzzles. No doubt,the reader could build quite a collection of puzzles,just from the information in the book.
I also find this book to be a real help in finding and identifying puzzles. People don't throw away these puzzles;but they often end up in Flea and Antique Markets,Second Hand Shops,Garage Sales and so forth. This book shows you what to look for and find. Let me give you an example. A while back,I saw one of the Japanese building towers shown on page 65,sitting on a shelf amongst a bunch of bric-a brac,didn't recognize it as a puzzle ,and passed it by. When I saw it in this book,I immediately knew what I had missed. Oh well,live and learn. The point is,if you hope to find puzzles,you got to know what to look for;and this book shows you. Another good example. The Bombay stores carries puzzles at times and recently had 4 very well constructed puzzles.I bought one called "The Comet" which is quite similar to the "Papa-Chuck" puzzle on page 74 and consists of 51 interlocking pieces.
So,if solving,collecting,making or anyting else about puzzles interests you,this book will become a prized possession.It would take many lifetimes for one person to find and enjoy what the authors have assembled in to this excellent book and made it available with extremely high ,color,paper,illustrations ,printing and construction quality;and at the same time a very reasonable cost. While you're at it,why not check out Jerry Slocum's Page on the Web,to see what's going on in the world of puzzles.

I bought the book originally to learn how to make some of the puzzles. The fact that there are dozens of puzzles to make immediately differentiates the book from others. There is an enormous wealth of information about puzzles of all kinds. The authors have notes about puzzle inventors, tips on making puzzles, and, in a few cases, tips on how to solve the puzzles. Really a nice book for anyone with an interest in puzzles.

This book is full of many types of mechanical puzzles many dating from the early 19th century. 150 pages of pictures and discriptions of how to make and solve many of these puzzles along with history and biographies on many of the puzzles and makers. The authors have included concise instructions on how to make many of these puzzles from wood with common handtools and a basic knowledge of how to read net drawings. A great read for any age.

Whether you love puzzles or they just frustrate you beyond belief, you's sure to find this book intriguing and absorbing. Filled with 150+ pages of pictures, diagrams, text, and solutions, this book is the most comprehensive treatment of puzzles of all natures that I've ever seen. Puzzles addressed include: 3D Wood block puzzles, Drinking Vessles, Imposible Objects, Folding Puzzles, Disentanglement Puzzles, and more...

Of course not all puzzles are solved by the book...the authors have to leave you something!

If you're handy in the machine shop you'll enjoy the diagrams of wooden blocks and other items that you can make. I've made a few with great results.

This is a well thought out, organized and very important historical document/autobiography.

I read this book in highschool while living in in Seoul, Korea. I am a Korean-American woman and I found the information in this book to be _invaluable_. Unlike similar historical works such as John Okada's 'No-No Boy' or Sui Sin Far's 'Mrs. Spring Fragrance and Other Writings', this is pure autobiography (or ethnobiography if you want to be technical). I cannot believe how lucky we are as Americans to get a first-hand account of a Korean-American living in turn of the century America, when there were literally only a handful living in the country at the time. The 'memoirs' are not only highly satisfying in themselves, they serve as anchors to the past in which to begin tracing a discernable branch of Asian-American history. Adds perspective in which to view today's world of American race relations. I think this is necessary reading for anyone who is interested in race, American society, and/or history. Will also appeal to minority activists.

I am a student from San Francisco State University and this is one of the books that I have to read for my Ethnic Studies Class. I really think this is a book made for student of Ethnic Studies and I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about history of Asian American.

I was assigned Quiet Odyssey for an Asian American studies class, and I was riveted by the clean, simple prose. But the story is far from simple, I admire Mary Paik Lee for her incredible endurance and courage. As a second generation Asian American, my family's roots in the United States are relatively new, but now I realize, that it has been due to Asian Americans like Mary Paik Lee that allow me to lead and pursue the life I wish. Not only is Quiet Odyssey the story of her life, it is also the story of California. It's eye opening to see how much Los Angeles and the rest of California have changed since she first landed here. And lastly, Mary Paik Lee has some incredible spunk to do and say some of the things she did. Impressive.

Phillip Kurata's vivid prose style and deep sociopolitical insight capture the essential conflict of post-colonial Tunisia; but more than that this spectacular literary debut speaks to an eternal question confronted by every man and woman: How do I live truthfully and what price do I pay for compromising my integrity? Kurata makes these costs explicit through richly drawn characters and the consequences their actions bring about. This novel succeeds because, unlike so much contemporary fiction, it possesses a moral center that pulls the reader into the lives and locale of a distant yet all too familiar place. It is fair to compare "The Reluctant Agent" to works by Lampedusa, Hemingway, Koestler and Solzhenitsyn. I hope there will be an encore performance.

Anyone who ever spent time in a third world country in the post colonial cold war era will recognize the characters and settings in Phillip Kurata's The Reluctant Agent. The country is Tunisia shortly after its independence and Habib Ben Hamed is caught between his own world and that of the former French colonizer. Unfortunately Habib is at home in neither and becomes caught up in a postcolonial drama he cannot fully comprehend nor control. The political rhetoric is of socialism and progress but the reality is that of power and domination as the world of the colonizer gives way to that of the local ruling class.

Reminiscent of Graeme Green's best work Kurata draws the reader into a rich psychological world of men and women caught up in historical forces that sweep them along to inevitable endings. The exotic settings of North Africa, colorfully described in clean declarative prose, amplify the inner turmoil of a hapless Habib caught between his heart's desire and the cruel reality that denies it.

My own postcolonial third world experience was in Somalia at the end of the cold war but the settings and characters differed little from those described in Kurata's novel. I saw many Somalis draw sustenance from their former colonizer's culture even as they moved quickly to their own destruction crushed between the early socialist rhetoric of their postcolonial freedom and the twin barbarisms of dictatorship and cold war politics. Many of today's headlines stem from the cold war and postcolonial issues still unfolding in developing countries. Thus, Habib's dilemma is as relevant today as it was twenty to twenty-five years ago. Kurata, who lived in Tunis, saw to the core and created a world that allows the rest of us to see it too.

I'm an occasional reader of fiction spending much of my time scanning newspaper articles and opinion pieces dealing with U.S. foreign policy and world affairs. So Phillip Kurata's first novel, The Reluctant Agent, though set in the '60's of a turbulent Tunisia, was a real find as it addresses contemporary issues of cultural and political conflict in a repressive Islamic society. Ben Hamed is the protagonist, an unlikely hero, an Arabic 'everyman' who just wants the good things in life but finds himself caught up in an escalating spiral of intrigue and danger in order to survive. Kurata has an artist's eye for background detail and character development. The story builds and carries the reader forward to what becomes an extremely powerful ending.

"The Reluctant Agent" is Phillip Kurata's first novel, but in its lean, evocative writing and uncluttered structure, you'd never guess it was the work of a first-timer. In leading Habib ben Hamed, a feckless Tunisian intellectual, to his inexorable fate during the political unrest of the 1960s, Kurata brings home two major truths: that in times of injustice, the war between conscience and personal safety is usually unwinnable; and that revolutions eat not only their young, but anyone in their paths. Kurata has been compared with Graham Greene and Albert Camus; in his detailed insight into how dictatorships work, he obviously knows his Orwell and Arthur Koestler as well. In its persuasive portrayal of the collision between modernism and traditional Islam, "The Reluctant Agent" is urgently pertinent reading in 2002. The deceptively simple yet compelling story keeps you turning the pages to the final paragraph, which is breathtaking in its lethal spareness. "The Reluctant Agent" is a must-read for anyone interested in the literature of revolution and politics.

Coburn has produced a heartfelt, tightly paced first novel in which two childhood friends must confront their past after a decade apart. Shifting back-and-forth in time and locales (the South, Seattle), "Remembering Jody" examines such powerful plot themes as love and friendship, guilt and responsibility, madness and family.

A reminiscence about a Jewish girl's coming of age in America's Deep South narrated by witty wordsmith Marsha Rose: "I work part-time in a bookstore. I still don't have a Jewish boyfriend, but while this seems to bother Aunt Eileen, my mother takes the tack of treating Jimbo [the unapproved boyfriend] as if he's a style I will eventually outgrow." The narrator is called "Mashie" by her childhood chum Jody Lurrey, a paranoid schizophrenic who invades Marsha's adult life in Seattle, re-surfacing from semi-happy childhood days to heap heavy guilt upon the narrator's writerly shoulders thereby launching two trips that form the zigzag double helix spine of the book: Trip One is the real-time airplane return to mythical Sparta, the Deep South landscape which triggers Trip Two -- a series of memory dives into the narrator's past, where Marsha/Mashie relives indelible moments of personal history with her eccentric childhood buddy: horseback riding, swimming, smoking marijuana, climbing into bed, having sex, flipping out. Remembering Jody is a solid first-novel debut for Coburn, a free-lance journalist and screenwriter.

Coburn has written a dense first novel about time and memory and the disjunction between past and present, between reality and memory. At its heart, Remembering Jody is a tale of a lost Eden before the eruption of guilt. Dr. Thrailkill, the psychiatrist who treats Jody in Seattle implies the loss of innocence when he remarks to Marsha: "If you mean will he [Jody] ever be who he was before he became ill...." The Diaspora and assimilation form two of the subtextual threads binding this novel together. Almost Biblical in its examination of human weakness, Coburn's work tackles the hard questions of family, duty, love, sex, and belonging. Marsha Rose, the narrator, wants desperately for Jody, her childhood friend and onetime lover to belong, to be home, but the powerful split between past and present can't be overcome so she creates her own Jody in her head: "I told him anyway, in my head, where I could address a grown-up Jody of my own invention: I've lived there a long time, but it's not really home, either..." As with all Odysseys, Remembering Jody, tells two stories. The narrator's inner journey of discovery is wrapped within the physical journey of a road story. The near-fusion of the protagonist, Marsha, and her catalyst, Jody, could not be clearer: "I'm holding his hand because at this moment, he hardly seems separate from me at all." Because Jody doesn't know where he belongs, Marsha escorts him home. In an allegorical passage that speaks to the inner and the outer journeys, Jody tells Marsha the story of the boy, Richard, who stowed away on a plane in Australia so that he might get to Paris: "The coolest thing is that he'd never been to Paris before in his life, but he knew that was where he belonged." Here the author's technique at blending the inner and the outer tales is unmatched. At the conclusion of the novel, Jody returns to his safe haven, but not without having an effect on those around him: "...his reentry into our lives over the next few days made us all seem kind of inside-out, seams showing and threads unraveling in ways that were, for a change, fairly obvious."

As a librarian who reads hundreds of pre-publication first novels, I was extremely impressed with this absorbing book. In the space of very few pages, Coburn ably handles several major characters, drawing the reader into their lives. Best of all, the portrait of Southern Jews in a small city is true-to-life. Having spent time in the Jewish community of a place very much like the fictional Sparta, this book made me feel I was back there again. Readers who enjoy reading Kaye Gibbons, Ann Hood or Anna Quindlen will savor this story of relationships. I'm eagerly looking forward to Coburn's next novel.