Montana Books

In "The Slave", Singer presents us with a pious Jewish man (Jacob) who, despite the fact that he has lost his wife and children in a massacre in 1648 Poland, still retains his religious beliefs.

Jacob, after losing his entire family in a slaughter, is sold as a virtual slave to a Polish farmer, where he lives years of his life in a barn. Part of this time he is tended to by the farmers' daughter Wanda, with whom he eventually falls in love. Jacob is a slave to the Polish farmer, and his love for Sarah (name changed from Wanda because of societal pressures) make him a sort of slave also, forcing him to forgo religious convictions which do not permit the marriage of Jews and Gentiles. And for the rest of his life, he and Wanda also must live as virtual slaves to the mores and arbitrary rationales which permeates the country and do not allow the two to live simply as husband and wife. Their love which is one which is not permitted by any of the cultural backgrounds of the time. And because of this, a surreptitious love must take place, making the two of them slaves to societal norms of the times.

In the end, The Slave is a simple story of love, of acknowledging what actions and beliefs of man go against God's will, and of shedding the yoke of slavery and of these societal norms, and in doing what indeed is the will of Providence.

Another masterpiece by Singer.

Although it was written originally in Yiddish and not Polish, the book is about Poland in XVI century, seen with the eyes of a Jewish person right after World War II. The book itself is very meaningful: it shows every single community in a rather pessimistic light but it is quite accurate. Polish people, Ukrainian people, Jewish people: nobody escapes harsh commmentary. The story is very beautiful and it made me cry at the end. The author definetelly is trying to find answers to what happened to Jewish people during the World War II. The book is set in the times of Khmelnytsky Uprising against Polish-Lithuanian Common Wealth and not a Polish Revolution. Uprising was a rebellion of present day Ukrainians and included armies of Cossacks and Tatars. During the uprising Polish noblemen, Catholic priests and Jewish people were commonly eradicated.

Much like his predecessor Henryk Sienkiewicz, Warsaw-born Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-1991) likewise won the Noble Prize in Literature. 'The Slave' is the first of his writings I have had the pleasure of reading and much like the other reviews reflect, I found it immensly enjoyable. I have read a great deal of Slavic fiction and I found this piece reminding me of other great works, in particular, Eliza Orzeszkowa's 'Meir Ezofowicz'. Similarly, it has the same romance and adventure you would find in Sienkiewicz's epic Triology and it's historically related. Sienkiewicz's 'Z Ogniem i Mieczem' (With Fire and Sword) is historically set around the 17th century Cossack uprising in the Polish Commonwealth.

In 'The Slave', the protaganist Jacob is a Jew that has found himself quite literally a slave to a Polish family as a consequent of the anti-Semitic rage that the Cossack uprising brought about. Jacob not only finds himself fortunate to be alive, but is in love with his master Jan Bzik's daughter, the beautiful Wanda. The romance develops throughout the story, along with Jacob the Jew's inner struggle to give into his feelings for Wanda the Gentile.

If you are a fan of slavic literature in general, you certainly won't be disappointed by this story.

I could not put this story down. The writing is vivid and engrossing in this compelling story set during an almost barbaric time in Polish history.

The Jewish, Christian, pagan undertones shape the story. The quest for love and happiness send the reader through many years of trials.

Highly recommended.

This is a beautiful, spare book about a great, forbidden passion, in which two cultures clash with tragic and yet strangely uplifting results. The Slave is Jacob, a survivor of unspeakable horrors in the 1648 Polish revolution - having lost his entire family and become enslaved in desperate and degrading circumstances, he strives to keep his religion and his inner self intact. What he discovers is an unexpected love in a Polish peasant, Wanda, who though simple is in fact intelligent and deep. There is an air of destiny to them.

The book largely takes the form of Jacob's inner dialogue, which is religious and scholarly, a natural outsider who strives to be good in terms that make sense to himself. This is an alien world of unpredictable dangers, race hatred, and bizarre superstitions that overturn his views of the universe as a good and just place - enough to enable his to cross the barriers he faces as he struggles to create a life for himself and then with Wanda. I found this deeply moving, masterfully translated into terms that I could comprehend and empathize with.

In addition, there is much to learn in this about the history of the Jews in Poland. Singer romanticises nothing and is hard on everyone concerned, with perhaps the exception of the lovers and their constant dread. It adds up to a truly vivid portrait of a time, yet played out with universal philosophical dilemmas. Jacob's is an extraordinary journey, believable and moving.

Warmly recommended. I will never forget this life.

Essentially a physicist's interpretation of the Battle of Little Bighorn, author John S. Gray's "Custer's Last Campaign: Mitch Boyer and the Little Bighorn Reconstructed" is a fascinating account of one of the most storied battles ever to take place on American soil. And this was a battle, with more than 350 men, women and children killed in the span of two furious hours on the dusty slopes of 1876 southeast Montana.

This is not a book for beginners of Custer/Montana lore. It can be extremely tedious at times as Gray utilizes time-motion studies to piece together the puzzle of what happened during the Seventh Calvary's final minutes. Since every man of the U.S. Army was killed during this prong of the battle, there are no eyewitness military accounts. Yes, hundreds of Native Americans survived, but few spoke of this battle for fear of punishment and hatred of Anglo historians. Crazy Horse, one of the few Native American leaders during this confrontation, was assassinated a week after arriving on the reservation. So this very important man's account was never taken. Thus, we are left with a hodgepodge of hazy Native American reconstructions.

Visiting the battlefield today, which stretches over several miles, solemn white headstones mark the spot where bodies of the Seventh Calvary were found. The location of these stones are included in Gray's complex, mathematical equations. What he's intricately pieced together, with the help of eyewitness accounts, archaeological digs and his own analytical mind, is a realistic result of this unusual battle. His conclusions are perhaps outside of the realm of what people would consider today.

The myth surrounding Custer and Little Bighorn has been shaped by such matinee films as "They Died With Their Boots On," "Little Big Man" and television's "Son of the Morning Star." These films portray Custer as headstrong, vain, heroic and, in one case, a tad insane. But each version, thematically forged by the decade it was filmed, portrays Custer fighting gallantly to the last, standing alone in buckskins while angrily firing his pistol at the approaching Native American hordes. Custer, as if performing the concluding act of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," falls dead to the ground in bloody, poetic, slow motion. It makes for a great painting hanging above the neighborhood bar.

The reality, revealed by Gray's novel, is Custer did indeed have a battle plan rather than making a vain stab at glory. But his forces were simply overwhelmed, chaos ensued, and panicking men were run down like herds of buffalo. It's not very poetic, but has war truly ever been? To understand America's fascination with this battle, one must first read Evan S. Connell's "Son of the Morning Star," one of the greatest historical nonfiction novels ever written.

Gray discards such weighty wisdom like an old blanket, and scientifically gets to the root of what actually happened. A Last Stand does indeed take place on Custer Hill, where Custer's body was found. Survivors panic, some commit suicide, and Boyer and company frantically run west, fighting and killing in a froth-like animal panic. But west is towards the Native American village they were attacking in the first place. They are then desperately cornered in a ravine, a small gully which can be stared at to this very day.

When the U.S. Army rides into a primitive village, shooting defenseless women and children, the primitive man will fight back if for no other reason than to protect their families. Like poking a stick into an ant hill, Custer and his Seventh Calvary were overwhelmed, the sorry battle ending in a ditch. Men attempted to claw their way out, perhaps asking themselves how they ended up in such a remote location, dying the loneliest of deaths.

This battle haunts us for a number of reasons, mainly because of our inhumane treatment of the Native American people. So we obsessively analyze this epic Homerian battle, trying to find a moment of heroism, a brief glimpse to help salve our morally guilty wounds. But all we find in Gray's account is wide-eyed reality, and desperate men crying in a ditch. Gray's novel details these horrors in scientific fashion, and unknowingly provides a glimpse of the dangers of American warrior vanity.

The reader becomes mesmerized and impressed by the thorough and meticulous process of constantly checking witness testimony with known topography and horse/walking/etc. mph rates, then time/motion studies with all possible data examined to see what plausible explanations can be more pushed forward as likely scenarios.

At the center here is the infamous Indian scout, Mitch Boyer and the testimony of the young Curly, survivor with Custer.

Amazing how the evidence Gray presents turns Custer 180o around from what is historically bantered, an aggressive disobiendent hawkish leader. Gray's reconstruction reveals soldier who emphasized and implemented what orders were given to him, to pin the Indians from left flank escape, and all the time awaiting Benteen's company and ammo train, which never arrived in time.

Disappointed that no chronology chain here shown how the followup takes place to discover the battlefield. Possibly Gray's other books on this subject cover that.

Remarkably well written, able to keep this reader's attention easily even with all the careful calculation checks, etc.

After reading the glowing reviews here on this book, I purchased it and went to work on it. I have to say, this is probably the most disappointed I've been in any book in a long time. Yes, the author puts together some impressive time/motion study. And I did gain some insights into both the battle and the causes of the campaign.

However, I found the text very dry. MitchMitch was here. Mitch went there. Mitch did this. Mitch did that. I also was overwhelmed with the details of who was where when. In the middle of all this detail the author has a hard time giving you his main point behind all the statistics.

I also didn't like the huge number of assumptions on speeds he made to arrive at his conclusions. He may well be correct, but anyone can make a theory fit the facts if they toy with the numbers. What is "trotting speed"? What is trotting speed over rough terrain? What is it uphill vs. downhill? Do units trot constantly or make stops now and then? The whole time/motion study thing left me unconvinced. It is at best a theory.

Surprisingly, a minority of the book was about the battle itself. I realize the author may feel it's already been covered. But his concentration on who was where when left way too many details of the participants unrevealed. It came off as very dry. Why did Reno do what he did? Or Benteen? The author made assertions about their motives, but gave relatively little foundation for his assertions, relative to the masses of data on less interesting topics.

I think the author did a great job at what he set out to do. It just wasn't as interesting as I expected. And the lack of detailed battle and campaign maps was disappointing. One gets lost in all the names of various coulees, ridges, knolls, hills, fords, and other bodies of water.

I found the time/motion graphs very difficult to read, with some variables on them not even indicated on the legend. But I did figure them out. I think he could have used a much better layout to show the timeline of events. I kept having to page back to reference previous graphs as he added more information. Past a point the mind can't keep it all organized, and more effective visual aids would have helped.

I was left with many unanswered questions about the battle. Topics such as weapon effectiveness, actual tactics used, etc, he seemed to just ignore in favor of his extensive analysis of who was where at what time.

I have read other books that give much better overlays of what happened and why, but lack the depth of this book. I'm hoping to find one that puts it all together.

This book is actually in two parts. The first half is a biography of sorts of the half Sioux, half white scout Mitch Boyer, who served with various military units on the Plains beginning in the 1850s and ended his life with George A. Custer at the Little Big Horn in June 1876. The second half is a detailed, at some points even minute-by-minute, account of Custer's Last Stand. Examining all the evidence (though disregarding but not totally dismissing the archaeological evidence that was just being made known in the 1980s), John S. Gray reconstructs the last week or so of Custer's campaign, concentrating especially on the afternoon of June 25 when Custer and the Seventh Cavalry met their demise.

A scientific historian, Gray introduces time-motion graphs to depict the movements of troops and Indians on the battlefield. More constructive for me are the itinerary tables that do pretty much the same thing but in a different configuration. Gray theorizes a general counter-clockwise movement of Custer's troops from the Medicine Tail Coulee to Calhoun Hill and eventually to Custer Hill where (Custer's) Last Stand occurred. His interpretation follows pretty much the standard one (challenged more recently by archaeological reports which extends troop movements beyond Custer Hill). He believes the testimony of Indian scout Curley, who had been with Custer right up to the early action on Custer Hill and then left the scene about a half hour before the final moments of the fight, was generally accurate and valid, though misinterpreted by interviewers at the time. Gray must be commended for insisting that what happened during the last half hour of the fight must remain conjecture only, since hardcore evidence is lacking.

It's hard to imagine a more thorough examination of events surrounding this single battle could be made (that will not stop others from trying, I'm sure), and Gray's account might be the closest we get to what actually happened (barring the uncovering of future evidence or revelations made by archaeological findings). Too detailed to be one's first book on the Little Big Horn fight, it will surely be devoured by anyone with a strong interest and some already acquired background information concerning the battle. An important study, highly recommended.

This is an outstanding work, and Gray did a great deal of work to piece togather the Indian accounts of the final battle and like his work shows the last stand wasn't on Custer hill, but the rush to the river to escape the attack on Custer hill from behind by Two Moon's force. Two Moon's account doesn't go into much detail and has to be put togather with the other accounts to know Mitch is the one leading the men towards the river after Tom is killed on the Hill by Rain in the Face. Most do agree the last soldier standing at the Custer battlefield was Sgt. Bulter.
The men rushing to the river and death were for the most part E company, Dr. Lord and Mitch Boyer (who was already wounded).

There is only one more mystery of the this battle to be solved and that is the horse found miles away dead and shot in the head by the trooper, with its oat bag full and gear intact (which means someone other than Curly made it out of the battle, which means it had to happen before the final stand and best bet it happen when the horses were chased away from Calhoun and Keogh's command by Crazy Horse's force).

Good, but ULTIMATE SACRIFICE the best book ever

While I thought this book was worthwhile in many respects, ULTIMATE SACRIFICE is simply the best book ever on the JFK assassination.Still, worth your time.

Vince Palamara-JFK/ Secret Service expert (History Channel, author of two books, in over 30 other author's books, etc.)
Pittsburgh, PA

BEST JFK ASSASSINATION BOOK: ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
BEST JFK SECRET SERVICE BOOK: SURVIVOR'S GUILT BY YOURS TRULY :)

This is a complex book but it reaps the clearest, most compelling conclusions as to who were responsible for the JFK assasination.

Reading the last third of the book is dizzying and alarming. The vertigo effect lingers long after you put it away.

Along with Carl Oglesby's "The Yankee Cowboy War" and Michael Piper Collins' "Final Judgment," this is the best book ever written on the JFK Assassination. It may also be the best book ever written on the way the American political process ACTUALLY works. It is certainly the most honest one.

Deep Politics should be required reading for undergraduates in all American college and university Political Science courses. If for no reason other than that, in the course of getting at the bottom of the assassination of JFK, Professor Scott did not hesitate to expand the context of American political life to those unacceptable areas that lay just beneath the American consciousness and at the bottom of the American political undercurrents.

Once one is guided through his process of expanding the context of understanding (or actually "over-understanding") the machinations of the American Political process (its corruption, deceptions, cover-ups, and other pretexts for explaining away its immorality), then the details of the assassination itself, are almost a foregone conclusions - little more than a logical afterthought.

All three authors focus on what is most important -- the big picture - leaving the details to be sorted out by those "eager beaver" researchers that seem so much to relish and are so obsessed with, the minutia such as "who was in the sixth floor window," and with what happen to Senator's Specter's now infamous "Magic bullet," etc. ad infinitum.

Oglesby eschews these nasty details and focuses on the economic war between the old money of the Northeast and the new money of the Southwest. In a reductionist socialist sort of way, he shows that the JFK assassination and Watergate were mere logical conclusions of this economic war. Collins, on the other hand, but like a radar (and like Jim Garrison before him), uses his own "crap detector" to separate the wheat from the shaft and divides the important from the inessential by forging ahead like a bulldog, even against charges of being anti-Semitic, to the only logical conclusion: that Myer Lansky was at the center of the planning of the JFK assassination. Scott, in his own inimical and professorial way, lays out a new political geography of the American political chessboard; one that is expanded to include what is both above and below the political waterline. He then shows that certain roles and circumstances when they cross the lines of morality, limit the men in them to only certain immoral squares on the chessboard.

It turns out that once the links connecting "organized crime" to "disorganized crime" (the criminal minds within the acknowledged and "so-called" legitimate American political process) there is little else that needs explanation. The moves on the American chessboard are all then pre-determined and predictable. It is checkmate for anyone who gets in their way as JFK did, and for the American people and the democratic process -- which they all claim to love so much.

By showing that these unholy connections not only exist but are in symbiotic alliance with each other, and trump the normal American political process, Scott not only exposes, but lays completely bare the underbelly of the utter hypocrisy and corruption of the American political process.

There is one example in the book, above all others, that best summarizes and punctuates the orgy of corruption that existed in the American political process at the time of the JFK assassination and that remains alive as a result of it.

It is the Pre-assassination party (or final coordination meeting, or whatever one wants to call it) called to order in Dallas by J. Edgar Hoover at Clint Murchinson's house on November 21, 1963, the eve of the assassination.

The attendees included, among others:

J. Edgar Hoover (Head of the FBI, next door neighbor of LBJ, racist and Jew hater, and friend of mobster Frank Costello), Clint Murchinson (Texan oil Baron, racist and Jew hater but still a business partner of Myer Lansky, and acknowledged Kennedy hater),
H.L. Hunt (financier of rabid right-wing fanatic causes, racist and Jew hater, Texas Oil Baron, and Kennedy Hater), John J. McCloy (Washington Lobbyist/Fixer and later to be appointed member of the Warren Commission investigating the JFK assassination), Allen Dulles (ex-head of the CIA, fired by JFK in the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs fiasco, and soon to be appointee to the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of JFK), John Connally (ex-Secretary of the Navy, ex-Governor of Texas and close friend and confidant of LBJ), General Charles Cabell (Deputy Director of the CIA fired by JFK after the Bay of Pigs fiasco), and his brother Earle Cabell (the Mayor of Dallas at the time of the assassination), Richard Nixon (defeated by JFK for the U.S. Presidency, and avowed Kennedy hater), LBJ (the sitting Vice President who was days away from going to jail because of a whole series of scandals, and who would be sworn-in on Air Force One minutes after the assassination as JFK's successor)

Would someone please give me an innocent explanation for such a meeting in Dallas of all of these Kennedy haters on the eve before his assassination?

Five stars

Peter Dale Scott tells us up front that his purpose is not to use the evidence to pinpoint the killer(s) but to illustrate deep politics. He mentions planting of evidence in various ways to paint Lee Harvey Oswald as part of a Communist conspiracy and as a lone-nut. Also discussed is the Oswald as double-agent idea, establishing a record of the mail-order purchases when guns were readily available locally and the difference between Marina Oswald's testimony and the official record. Scott also mentions the 100 names missing from an index of Jack Ruby's acquaintances. These names provided a negative template of organized crime and those with corrupt political backgrounds purposely deleted from official records. There are many other examples of suspicious activity cited. Hoover and the FBI figured prominently, though not alone in the fancy footwork and public relations (media) that made this at least temporarily satisfying to everyone that all was well as the killer was identified. Peter Dale Scott's investigation and writing is thorough, intelligent and thought provoking. By the way, at the time of writing this book, Scott named three senior FBI officials most likely to be Deep Throat and one of them was correct, as we have recently found out.

Yes, it is I, the secret and very evil member of the ultra-high-level underground trilateral elite squadron of suicide Amazon reviewers here to turn you away from the truth. For Peter Dale Scott has managed with this book to piece together what we have been trying to keep ultra-top-secret since the Middle Ages, and so now we must put out our black ops!

Man, the paranoia and narcissism in this country really shines with books like this and reviewers like these. Face it guys, you're all just craving SOMETHING EXTRA to fend off the horror of your own inevitable death. Seeing conspiracies is like seeing heaven -- it is a natural consequence of the human condition. But so is rape and genocide. So do your part to resist it!

I have always enjoyed the adult series of Left Behind books. The kids books are just as good. The kids interact with the characters from the adult series, experience the same events, etc. However, since the main characters are teens, these books can appeal to younger readers. So far, the stories haven't had the ups and downs that the adult series has had. The adult series has books that are a lot more boring than others. The kids series seems to be good in every book. These are not for really young kids, but would be appropriate for young teens. I enjoy them and I am an adult.

This series is the best! I love this series. I have finished the whole series and are waiting for the 29th book! It is a great Christian series about the end times. I don't reccomend this book for kids under 9. It is pretty scary!

Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim Lahaye Explain the Tribulation in this book. The Tribulation is when all Christians are taken to heaven while the others are left behind. Four kid(Judd, Vicki, Lionel, and Ryan)are left behind. During this episode a great earthquake occurs. This earthquake is hit worldwide.

The four kids are also in different places in the world during the earthquake. Each experiences their view in the earthquake. During the time they are trapped doing something that they shouldn't be doing. This is an extremely thrilling book and I would recommend anybody to read this action packed book

This book is filled with critical moments when many must decide what to do when the wrath of the lamb happens.
Mrs. Jenness has finally caught Vicki, and is taking her to the GC when the earthquake starts. Mrs. Jenness's car plummits into a river, and Vicki has to think fast as to what to do next. Will they make it out alive?
Judd and Taylor Graham are on their way to a reeducation center when the earthquake strikes. Judd and Taylor manage to get to a safe area, but how long will they stay there?
Ryan Daley is at Vicki's house, and when the earthquake starts, he falls to the basement and the water cooler bursts and Ryan cant move. Will someone find him in time?
Lionel Washinton is with Conrad when the earth starts to shake. He gets hit on the head, and forgot his memory. He finds a bible, and notes in his journal. But cannot remember anything from before the earthquake. Will his memory come back?
This book is a great book, and its one of my favorites in the seris. But take caution when you read it. It is a very emotional and sad book. I recemond reading this as well as the rest of the books in the seris.

After being witnesses to the Wrath of the Lamb earthquake, the four members of the Young Trib Force are seperated and left to find their way back to Mount Prospect. This book was filled with adventure, and all takes place in one day!
Judd has just been discovered at the hideout at the Stahley mansion, and was being transported to a Detention Facility along with Taylor Graham when the earthquake struck. What will happen after the earthquake-can they escape?
Mrs. Jenness had just caught Vicki with The Underground and was being taken to the GC. While crossing the bridge, the earthquake began and the car tumbled off, Vicki and her principal diving into the icy cold waters of the river. Could Vicki possibly tell Mrs. Jenness about God before it's too late?
Lionel is being held at a GC training facility, where they're teaching them to become Morale Monitors. While doing some training exercises, the earthquake hits, and Lionel is knocked on the head, leaving him with no memory of his past.
Phoneix barks wildly, and Ryan lets him outside, the ground starts to shake and he knows whats coming. But before he can get outside, the floor splits in two and he falls, hitting the cracked concrete floor hard. As the water level rises, Ryan wonders if he can survive God's earthquake.

Pretty darned good popular science for a Marxist, rest his soul (do Marxists have souls, and do they rest after there's no historical left in their materialism?).

This book offers a dazzling tour of Darwiniana, often as straight history but always in the form of essays for (Natural History Magazine) that are digestible in one sitting. Gould's writing is so masterful and clear that it is simply stunning to read. Gould comes across as a great humanist, respectful of the points of view of others - even the Creationists - and erudite in only the way a lover of knowledge can be. I have studied his writing style for years: it is elegant, spare yet sensual, and continually reformulates ideas is new ways, that is, rarely repetitive. Unlike his later essays, which covered quirkier details in increasingly lugubrious attempts to get at the broader notions he cherished, these essays are fresh and light, in my view amoung the best of the entire series.

As an introducer of popular notions and as a scientist, I believe that Gould will be remembered as a genius. I think he was one of the great essayists of the 20C. Warmly recommended.

Jill had been trying to get me to read Gould for over a year. She subscribes to Natural History and so had a fresh dose every month to tackle me with. And I'm not sure of my reluctance. Jill would say that it's because I'm reluctant to do anything that she wants me to do--I'm not ready to admit that (I certainly hope that that's not true!). I think it may have been that I didn't want to add Natural History to my voluminous stack of stuff yet to read-- cleverly forgetting, if I had ever truly realized it, that Gould's column was collected, and continuously being collected, in a series of volumes, of which this one is the first. Maybe I just wanted to start from the beginning.

It's a good thing that Jill had introduced me to some later Gould, because this, while genuinely entertaining, and definately intellectually stimulating, is a rougher mix. Gould has grown as a writer (and probably as a scientist) since originally starting his column.

This isn't a book to try to read at one sitting (I think it's been at my bedside for the last year) because it is thick and meaty. While Gould attempts to write at a level that a layman can understand, he doesn't simplify things. It's a tough slog through some of these essays, but always worth the effort. I've got the next volume by the bedside now, and I look forward to growing with Gould.

All of Stephen Jay Gould's admirable traits as a splendid scientist, fine historian of science and gifted writer are prominently on display in this elegant collection of essays; the first of many he published from his celebrated essay column "This View Of Life", which was published for over twenty five years in Natural History, the popular journal of the American Museum of Natural History. Gould brilliantly illustrates the explanatory power of Darwin's theory of evolution via natural selection, discusses some of the most fascinating discoveries from a fresh, more mathematically rigorous, approach to paleontology to which he, himself, contributed, and ruminates on the sociology of science in one exceptional essay after another. He does this in engaging, often lyrical, prose, in which he draws analogies from literature, film and baseball to make his cogent points. Anyone who enjoys great writing, especially on science, won't be disappointed with this tome nor the rest in Gould's essay collection series.

Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould is a collection of essays, his first, that brings together his knowledge, wit and intellectual musings to the art of writing a scientific essay as no other can.

There are 33 essays in the tome that are unparalleled and are far beyond any of his contemporaries, but brought to us by his unmatched ability, so the common man can understand his intrinsic intuitive profundity.

Gould brings us essays on Darwiniana, Human Evoution, Odd Organisms and Evolutionary Exemplars, Patterns and Punctuation in the History of Life, Theories of the Earth, Size and Shape, from Churches to Brains to Planets, Science in Society-- a Historical View, The Scince and Politics of Human Nature. All of these are thought provoking with a sophistication unmatched in the realm of science today.

As we read on in the book, we see the knowledge brought to us. Can we who read this comprehend both the lessons and the limits of scientific understanding here? Gould brings us his thoughts, as we read, I can only wonder and learn. This is a remarkable achievement.

This brings back memories, like forty-year snapshots. The author begins Chapter 2 by citing the morality of Calvin and Wesley as to amassing as much wealth as they can, and an 18th century traveler as to the worship of self-interest (also true of other peoples?). There is also the tradition of frugality and plain living, which made a virtue out of a necessity. The author betrays a naive and ascetic outlook in claiming the Roosevelts entered politics for "unselfish reasons" (p.22). Government power leads to riches, in all times and places (Kevin Phillips "Wealth and Democracy"). The author says John F. Kennedy opposed the Titans of Wealth (p.23). But every President represents some parts of the ruling classes, and act for its interests. It is also true that JFK represented change, and a threat to parts of the ruling classes and their "order of things" (p.28). JFK's father was one of the twenty richest men in America, but JFK attracted a huge majority from the minorities (p.31). JFK's politics were to be friendly with everyone. His wealth and power created fear among many Americans. One change was the flaunting of wealth and style, a change from Truman and Eisenhower (p.42). Critics sniped at Jacqueline's spending, the lifestyle of the rich and famous.

Chapter 4 notes the changes of the Kennedy administration, more striking in retrospect. The author talks of the "aristocratic and plutocratic conception" of the Kennedy family, and their resentment by many of the well-to-do (jealousy or envy?). Chapter 6 tells of the gangland murders in the Boston area (p.89), and the contacts between "millionaire pillars of the community". [Are they still protected by politicians? Does this explain the Massachusetts laws against Second Amendment rights?] Pages 112-113 list JFK's novel Cabinet appointees; some could have served in Eisenhower's Administration. Page 132 tells of the Defense Dept. control of the American economy. The taxes of the many support the corporations owned by the few. These 'make work' projects prevented another after-war economic depression (p.151). Peace would bring a terrific blow to the oil industry (p.153). The "Alliance For Progress" led to more military coups, and forced capital to flow to the U.S. (p.158). Big Business feared the Kennedy administration (p.174). Chapter 10 explains how Big Oil controls governments (p.189). [You'll never read this in newspapers and magazines!]

Chapter 13 is the heart of this 1968 book - it says the assassination was driven by politics and arranged by a "Committee". It depended on powerful men in the Government who would no interfere (p.288). Chapter 16, and others, are an antidote to the fiction of the Warren Report. Chapter 20 ends the book. The deaths of JFK and RFK were not accidents. [What about JFK Jr.?] The 1960s saw many changes in America (p.375). [One index of the 1960s is that people were economically better off than the decades before or after.] But this chapter's ending became outdated. Thirty-five years later some youthful protesters are now part of the Establishment. Some things have changed, but it still remains the same. The prediction about China is now amusing (p.380). Ten years later the Select Congressional Committee re-opened the investigation; they concluded that there were two shooters (refer to pages 356-7), and effectively demolished the shoddy cover-up of the Warren Commission. More books were written because this was no longer a "controversial topic" that was censored by the Establishment. We've also seen other scandals: Watergate, Contra-gate, Iran-gate. The smiling mask on the Establishment wears thin.

This book could not be distributed in the US at the time it was published in Europe for obvious reasons: the author had seen a copy of the Zapruder film, which contradicts fundamentally the `findings' of the Warren Commission. The Zapruder film was not publicly available at the time.
The copies available today are still censured: they create the illusion that the president's car didn't stop in order to give the snipers a better opportunity to shoot at the president.

This book contains nothing new about the plot, which is debated in only a limited part of it.

For a global evaluation of the JF Kennedy assassination I recommend the book `Deep Politics and the Death of JFK' by Peter Dale Scott.

I cannot recommend this book.

Good, but ULTIMATE SACRIFICE the best book ever
While I thought this book was worthwhile in many respects, ULTIMATE SACRIFICE is simply the best book ever on the JFK assassination.Still, worth your time.

Vince Palamara-JFK/ Secret Service expert (History Channel, author of two books, in over 30 other author's books, etc.)
Pittsburgh, PA

Bill Turner has a pretty interesting collection of work. No matter which side he's on, he always seems interested in the real truth-even if it's the opposite of what it was 20 years ago and 20 years before that and so on. History will tell he is trying to let people know who is really running things. The most powerful people, not necessarily the people with the high IQ's. But what's worse are the killers who think they're acting intelligently out of the most brutal types of professions in the world. What's worse is a Business Army getting paid--a lot--to intelligently force wills on people in the name of freedom. It's ironic how all the politicians are, in hindsight, copying the only President that ever made them mad enough to kill in recent times. No, Kennedy wasn't like any of them. And the same for Robert. They've been etched in history as forcibly being thrown out of the false concept of Politician ilk which inspires running, or hiding, from the press. Or badgering the press. Or being repulsed by any issue which requires courage, or an opportunity to change something big to enhance everyone at least a little instead of all for the little level at the top. They've been sealed by truth with the act of being slain to promote honest justice for the betterment of the whole world and not just the good old US Big Business. Read your bibles. Good book Bill, I'm glad to know someone's fighting for my right to the truth.

I, too, couldn't obtain a copy of this book within the United States for years... Finally, I was able to download [for several hours] a copy off the Internet a few years ago.
Perhaps it's "dated", but that's what makes it all the more valuable a document historically.

And indeed it is, as Bobby and Jackie secretly cooperated with the writing of "Farewell America"...

No WONDER you couldn't get it here for 40 years! It must have SOME validity!

I loved this book! It has action, introspection, and wonderful descriptions throughout. To follow the main character from the beginning of the story when he doesn't even have a name, to the end and throughout all his adventures is a terrific experience for the reader.

I liked this story, yes I did but some parts are unrealistic.
I first read this story for book report and I thought it was O.K.

The Loner always made you think about what would happen next,therefore it was very exciting.

The Loner is a very eciting book. It has a great cast of charecters. My favorite was cluny who keeps you on your toes. the book keeps you thinking about what will happen next and has agreat lesson to it. The story takes place in the mountains of Montana, where a boy runs of and meets a sheepherder named Boss.There was also Jup and Juno who belonged to Boss.

The Loner is about A boy who was a crop picker and moved alot. In this story the boy is going to California but on his way is he is found by a lady named Boss. Boss is very manly and is a sheep hearder. when she finds the boy she names him from the Bible, David.

Item was shipped timely in great condition. I would buy from this seller again. The book is fabulous, I especially like the story titled "Romance", I could read it over and over and till take something away from it. Robert James Waller is a great author with wonderful words.

Since this is a group of essays, it is easy to pick up and read any particular portion at will. I've read "...Rachael's room" several times, cry every time, and it makes me give thanks AND say a prayer for our own son. Love the flow. Each story is unique, and living. I've given a number of these books as gifts, and will again. I'm glad Mr. Waller shared these stories with us.

I found "Old Songs in a New Cafe" to be the choice selection of Waller's essays. Waller is a master of dressing emotions in words and a new experience. I was intrigued with the sensitive prose. Behind it all is a seeker who has "been circling a thousand years and still does not know whether he is a Falcon, or a storm, or a great song." Waller sets me on a high plains afternoon remembering the flowers and the wind, dancing through the late autumn dust remembering those who were free.
Trish New, author of The Thrill of Hope (Amazon.com), South State Street Journal, and Memory Flatlined.

Reads a tremendous lot like Robert Fulghum, but beyond that...

Through essays, the presumably all true story of a man who lived as if he was born with a detailed, incredibly accurate set of instructions and near-Godlike wisdom. Learns pool and billiards as an eleven-year-old kid and beats the town champ. Takes up basketball, making his high school team as a freshman and becoming a good major-school college player. Starts a loving marriage in college that remains super-strong over 25 years later. Plays guitar, and with his small combo is chosen for national TV appearances with Charles Kuralt and Robert Kennedy. Despite all his independent thought, establishes a solid - actually distinguished - career in academia. And, in the decade after this book, writes a novel that may have sold more copies - and tickets to its subsequent movie - than ANY in the 1990's!

And guess what? NONE of this - not even a SCRAP of it, according to the essays - ever misled him or cost him anything! He didn't drop out of school to hustle pool, ignore academics to over-concentrate on basketball, discover his wife who he chose at age 22 didn't fit his ever-evolving life at age 50, go for a low-paying full-time music career, QUIT music altogether and lose the fun of playing recreationally, or constrict his thinking by getting it in line with the PC work setting of a university.

Not only did he seem to be always doing the exact right thing at the right time, he avoided every trap there was.

Amazing! Have never seen a life so comprehensively superb since Jennifer Beals' in Flashdance, and she was FICTIONAL!

So, Robert James, we have two ways to interpret you. You can be one of the most premier renaissance men of our time, or an archly annoying "perfect" person akin to Martha Stewart. So, my challenge to you is - write an essay, telling us in detail, how in at least one instance YOU, not circumstances, luck or the people around you - have FAILED. Have you done it? Can you do it?

I enjoyed reading this biography of writings by Robert James Waller. I, too, felt he was very similar to Robert Fulghum in his approach to life; a reverence for all that is simple and beautiful in this world. After reading only his fictional works, I gained a deep appreciation of the author himself and am refreshed that someone with a PhD in business can have a soul.

This book is a valuable contribution in refuting the falsehoods spread by the so-called "Christian" Right, and particularly by the far Right Christian Identity movement which is even more extremist. It is a good companion to a wonderful new book titled Real Prophecy Unveiled: Why the Christ Will Not Come Again, And Why the Religious Right Is Wrong, by Joseph J. Adamson. And another good book is A Pilgrim's Path, by John J. Robinson. Thank God for books like these, because they shed light in a world made dark by "religious" bigotry, hypocrisy, and aggression. They give me faith that the humble and meek shall inherit the earth after all.

This is a good history of the Christian Identity movement. The biggest fault this book has is it barely touched on the huge influence the old Mormon faith (before it became pc) had on Identity doctrine. As much of a kook religion as it is Identity theology has always fascinated me. I do find it rather odd that some of the biggest foaming at the mouth Jew haters are people who either practice religions that have roots in the Jewish culture or even claim that they are Jews themselves. Its like they have Jew envy or something.

Barkun recites a Talmudic workmanlike account of Identity recent history, but he is intentionally selective in omitting material which is damaging to his worldview, he is a Russian jew living in USA. In the book, Barkun seeks to downplay the real genealogy of (just what he is) an Ashkenaizic "jew". He omits scholarship such as Prof Wexler of Tel Aviv which shows that the Ashkenazi jews are not at all "Bible Jews". This alone verifies the core teaching of Identity preachers: the illusive Identity of the dominant "jewish" group. What else does Barkun, who is clearly a bright fellow, what else does he conceal in his book and which would undercut his thesis? He speaks of Dispensationalism but he never goes on to tell us that Scofield who concocted a very popular Bible commentary ca 1900, was largely funded by Zionist jews such as Schiff. Schiff was the same Russian jew who through his Wall Street brokerage virtually funded the "Russian Revolution" which resulted in the killings by Russian jews of over 50 million Christians in Russia and Ukraine. You could either attribute these deaths (Christians murdered by jews) as being of Satanic or earthly origins, but they clearly are a part of history. The recent book The Black Book of Communism, which is clearly not "an evil Christian Identity book", lavishly documents these crimes.

What else does Barkun selectively omit from his book. He glosses over Identity persons and groups which he apparently realizes are helpful to the cause of jewish zionism. For instance, he says at the outset that he will have little to say about Herbert Armstrong. Any man who lived through the era of 1930 through World War 2 and on through the 1970s surely remembers listening on the radio to The World Tomorrow --Armstrong and his son Garner Ted Armstrong. But, Armstrong clearly taught Identity and Armstrong LOVED the jews. He cheered on Roosevelt and his jewish advisors who faked the "surprise attack at Pearl Harbor" to bring America into WW II and the deaths of many million Christians --all for the benefit of the jews. The reason Barkun has very little to say about Armstrong is because: here was a Christian Identity preacher whom the jews used to advance their goals of eliminating Germany and creating the marxist experimental State called "Israel". Another Identity preacher of today who serves the jews is Pastor Arnold Murray of Arkansas. In fact, the leading Identity preacher now in 2007 is Murray and his Shepherd's Chapel. He is on TV, radio, Internet, and shortwave. There is no stronger supporter of the jews and Israel. No mention of Murray in Barkun's book. Can you guess why? There are several other very significant omissions in this book. And, it is both obvious that Barkun was shrewd both in making conclusions and in failing to connect the dots in many areas.

This book does a very good job of attempting to trace the origin of Chrisitan Identity up to the current day. While it does cover material that is already common knowldege amongst those familiar with Christian Identity, and it doesn't address fully the current members of this right-wing movement, I would suggest this book to anyone who has a rudementary understanding of Christian Identity but who would like to learn more.

While I highly enjoyed this book and found it meticulously, yet engagingly, researched, I will try to refrain from repeating what other reviewers have already stated. What I would like to add, is that I was unexpectedly impressed with the tortuous connections Barkun unearthed between the Identity/British-Israel sects/movements and other strains of Protestants and Pentecostals. I felt that I learned not only about Identity, but also gained a wider perspective on America's colorful religious history. Barkun also did an admirable job of maintaining a degree of objectivity and emotional distance from his subject, preventing a preachy or moralistic tone from overwhelming the book.

This is a great devotional that draws on a wide range of scripture and also on President Carter's long, interesting, diverse, and meaningful life. Not only is Carter a good exegete of scripture, but his genuine faith comes through in every page. He writes in a very personal style that makes you feel like you're studying the scriptures with a favorite uncle...who happened to be the leader of the free world some years back.

The book is divided into 52 short sermonettes, I suppose so you can read one a week for a year (though you will almost certainly want to read it faster than that). These sections are further subdivided into 9 sections: The Word Became Flesh, His Healing Touch, Who is my Neighbor?, What We Believe, Christians in the World, To Know and Worship, God's Riches at Christ's Expense, When the Road is Rough, and God's Call. The messages are broad enough that you can likely find a word of hope or encouragement or challenge somewhere in here, depending on what it is that you need to hear.

The meditations are intellectually stimulating, yet simple enough that I have used some of them as reading for my youth group.

In his life, Jimmy Carter has shown what is means to live out your faith. In this book, he reflects on what that can look like for us.

Thoughtfully written, this is one of those books to keep on the night stand and read one chapter a night and meditate upon the lesson set forth in the chapter. Highly recommend.

I gained a respect for Jimmy Carter that until now was only a fair assessment of the man. I know he wrote this with the intention of being a once a week reading, but I have just about finished it in just under two weeks with intentions to reread it many many more times. His style of writing has left me with the desire to read many more of his works. One cannot help but to find ones faith taken to a higher level after reading his Bible Teachings.

This is the very first book I read of Carter. I never expected that an ex-president, supposed to be pragmatic and rational, can have written such a beautiful, sensational, clear and to the point spiritual book. Not a few messages, but fifty-two meaningful and insightful ones in this 241 page book. The format is traditional, with three to four pages of elaboration on a particular biblical verse. Nevertheless, the impact is great and you really feel your faith and spiritual strength being enhanced through reading it, of course with intermittent prayers in between for optimal effect. I dont want to comment it as a tool book, but it does serves its purpose really well.

In short, a great read not to be missed! It's the best and the least difficult spiritual book I had read in months, after the intense round of five to six Philip Yancey books I read about half a year before, which I still deem them the very best amongst all christian books.

p.s. Below please find two good passages for your reference:-

Pg 74: The context for Jesus's stories about the Samaritans, ...For Samaritan, substitute black, Muslim, AIDS, Haitian - or perhaps roll them all into one! ... His acknowledging the gratitude of the healed leper and using a Samaritan's actions as epitomizing the Golden Rule are powerful lessons against prejudice.

Pg 112: We argue incessantly about separation of church and state, the priesthood of believers, ordination of women, prayer in schools, gay rights, predestination ... and any number of other "crucial" issues. Perhaps worse than the Corinthians, we forget the solid, unquestionable, unifying foundation of our faith in in the gentle Jesus, full of grace and truth. As Cecil Sherman has said, "Too many churches are majoring in the minors."

I cannot express in words how important this book is to me. I started reading it during a very difficult time in my life and it really helped me. Many people look for spiritual guidance, but let's face it, the bible can be a difficult read. Jimmy Carter takes passages from the bible and explains what he thinks they mean. However, Carter does it in a very loving and objective way. Mr. Carter speaks of the compassionate and forgiving Christ. There is no finger pointing and moralizing here. Mr. Carter simply tries to relay what God's message is and how me might live it. Although I am not a Baptist like Jimmy Carter, I really felt in tune with what he had to say. If the bible by itself has not helped you to understand God's greater message, maybe this book will.