Montana Books

AA isn't for everyone, only those who can't stop by themselves, it's pretty simple. And as you can see from some previous reviewers, "SOME ARE SICKER THAN OTHERS". Only the most closed and narrow minded won't be able to make it work. All it takes is a little willingness and honesty. Everyone dies someday and in one aspect, an alcoholic has 3 choices. Die Drunk, Die drunk and having failed at AA, Die sober. Just beyond me though at how some people can be so hateful of those striving for the third option or the "cult" that brings it all together.

a great book. each time i read it i gain many new insights. the stories at the end of the book reached me 1st. years later i began a serious "working of the steps". through that serious work i did undergo a "profound personality change" which has served me quite well. if a person can accept the sometimes old-fashioned language there is really a lot here that can be profoundly helpful. AA is not the only answer for the alocoholic but it has worked for millions so should at least be taken seriously. In my experience many things heard in an AA meeting do not reflect the premises in this book. So a person has to be smart. read the book, listen at meetings(if you go) but think, read & contemplate. After 20 years of sobriety i return to this book over & over. Not only for a deep comfort but for inspiration & guidance. one last thought: i don't take myself or "everything" so seriously, but i do take my sobriety seriously. good luck - it is a life "second to none".

Popular? Yes! A good guide to life? Well I don't know about that.... Rating this book is like rating the Holy Bible. Unfortunately, that's how it is regarded by many in this day & age. I am a recovered alcoholic who found solace in learning to trust my gut, instead of trusting a book written by a stockbroker with only 3 years sober. I did go to AA and one of the first things I heard was "It takes two years to get your brain out of hock, and 3 more to unscramble them". How many years sober did Mr. Wilson have again when he penned this text? Gee... by his own definion, he was rather foggy brained when he wrote his own religion. Hmmmmm..... I can't argue that many people adore this book, people are generally lazy, and enjoy having a "life" handed to them on a platter. So be it.

While AA may not be the answer for everyone, it is for many thousands of alcoholics and others. 12-Step programs are popular in many places now, based on the Steps to recovery first written in this book. Alcoholics Anonymous has never been on any best seller list, but it has sold over 20 million copies. This is good reason to take seriously what the authors say in this book. I can add my personal testimonial: the 12 Steps have changed my life for the better. Given the choice between potential death or 12 Steps, I will take the Steps!

this book gave me a working relationship with power grater than myself ,that deepens day bye day. I owe my life to this book.

a hybrid between "a history of the world according to coffee" (subtitle) and stewart lee allen's research travelogue, the book follows allen who follows coffee's historical and geographical paths of adoption

the early history of coffee is largely unknown, so the first half of the story primarily narrates allen's travel snags in unsuccessful research; border problems, boat breakdowns, getting ripped off by faux art-smugglers, etc

the 2nd half of the book is content-rich and much more interesting - covering the fascinating rise and role of coffee since the ottoman empire (primarily europe, india and the americas). allen provides a lot of speculation (his and others) with his facts - for a subject as nebulous as coffee's impact on civilization, speculation feels appropriate to me

the format would work better for me if 1) his travel tales worked together to form an interesting narrative of their own and/or 2) they had anything to do with coffee. unfortunately they fail on both these counts, and become filler

overall, allen's caffeinated and irreverent writing style makes the book easy to read and i found it reliably funny. for example on page 126 he writes ->

"the main nonalcoholic source of nutrition, bread is now believed to have been plagued with the hallucinogenic fungus ergot, the base ingredient for lsd. drunk doctors, tipsy politicians, hungover generals: the plague, famine, and war. add a pope on acid, and medieval christianity starts to make a whole lot of sense"

if you're interested in the history of coffee and you're okay with some travelogue-genre fluff, you'll probably enjoy this book. i would give it 3 and half stars if i could

This is a must read for Barista's. A rollicking adventure/travel/history book. Makes your everyday cup of Joe an event. This could be on Coast-to-coast radio.

Stewart Allen's "The Devil's Cup" is one of those books that appear to suffer somewhat from a case of multiple personality syndrome. It's gonzo food journalism with a healthy dose of history and cultural anthropology carefully disguised as a travelogue.

The focus of the book is coffee, and Allen treats his subject with Hunter S. Thompsonesque flair as he traces the history of the divine bean from it's African origins all the way to the Texas Panhandle. I'm still a little skeptical as to how much of the text was real experience as opposed to caffiene-induced delusion, but in the end it really doesn't matter much. It's an entertaining and informative read, and that's what really counts. You certainly can't fault the author on his research and sources. Allen has good footnotes and his stories hold up well under the scrutiny of a good many Google searches.

The author is accompanied on his quest for javalightenment by a revolving door of unusual and interesting characters, all helping to drive the narrative forward with lightning speed as Allen travels from one locale and adventure to another. Allen begins his quest in Ethiopia, where coffee was first cultivated. He moves quickly along the traditional trade routes to trace how the bean migrated through Arab and Muslim lands to Europe, the New World, and beyond.

"The Devil's Cup" is too short to provide a holistic picture of the sacred bean, and I'd recommend pairing it up with one of the more traditionally written histories on the subject such as "Uncommon Grounds". That said, this is a great compliment to other coffee-related books and it should sit on your shelf if you have even a passing interest in learning more about the magic grounds.

Grab a good cup of joe, get this book, and start reading already!

I received this book as a gift and was hoping for a more informative book about coffee, its history, and its intricacies. Instead, I found a collection of miscellaneous chapters that were, at best, loosely connected. The anecdotes provoked laughter, but I don't think I would call it hilarious. "The Devil's Cup" is a light read and worthwhile so long as you don't open the book hoping for an academic read.

I came across this book by accident and bought it out of my sheer love for coffee. But the book not only has the great tale of how coffee came from Africa and made it's way all over the earth to the daily drink we know today, it also is a first rate travelogue. The author follows coffee's migration from Africa to Europe. Mr. Allen has quite a knack for finding and reporting his adventures and misadventures with a fun easy to read style.

If you like non-fiction travelogues, then do yourself a favor and buy this book.

This book provides a good and balanced background into how Monsanto changed the face of commercial agriculture. The author manages to stay relatively neutral in the battle between the opposing biotech proponents and "GMO free" activists. The only "slightly" negative point is that the book is now about 8 years old and an update would be most appreciated!

I had to read this book for a class at Cornell (life science entrepreneurship), and have to say I really enjoyed it. You must be into biology to get the beginning of the book, however, or it would appear pretty dry. The end is where most of the business insight comes into play. Overall, the book uses research, interviews, and analysis to paint an impressive picture of the emergence of biotechnology, using both scientific and economic points of view. If you are interested in where your food comes from, this book will both reassure and disturb you.

Daniel Charles crafts an incredibly well-balanced and thoughtful account of plant biotechnology from inception to near-present. With evenhanded treatment of both sides of the debate, Charles weaves a fascinating and informative narrative.

I worked at Monsanto (Immunology Dept.) in the early 80's when all of the plant biotech stuff was going on, so it was fun to read about the guys I knew there and their collaborations. Some photos and extras. A little bit dramatic, but fun to read. Funny to think that this is now biotech history!

This book was just a very pleasant historical overview of the biotechnology growth in agriculture. This presented the various companies that were in competition in the new industry: Monsanto, Dupont and some of the European companies. This was told in a very good story approach, giving different perspectives from different times and from different people (including scientists and protesters). The most interesting part is Monsanto's comparison as the "Microsoft of biotechnology" due to its predator practice of licensing DNA around their roundup ready seeds. However, they did differ in the approach from Microsoft, as they made the approach from going straight to the corporate farmers in hopes to quickly cash in on the science. I believe this might have been their downfall (and that include other companies that did this too). If they would have followed Microsoft strategy of coming up through the small personal farmers and maybe even the small time gardeners, they might achieved the Microsoft fame and captured most all of the market. Instead, they lost market shares and squabbles in the biotechnology backlash. All in all the book, really gives the story well enough to come away with more understanding of what occurred and part of the scare around genetically modified foods and plants. These companies mentioned in the book all now share science information and are back to a more scientific rather than overly corporate approach. The only complaint that many people have on this book, is it ends at the time right before the biotech is starting to explode again. And excellent read!

This book is very well-cited and even though it's dated, it isn't out-dated. More recent studies only strengthen the arguments herein. At a time when we are seeing more and more bunk science being used to sell books, this book needs to be rediscovered.

The subtitle says it all: Carol Tavris' book "The Mismeasure of Woman" is about why women are not the better sex, or the inferior sex, or the opposite sex. In particular the last bit plays a major role, as Tavris analyzes the various explicit or implicit ways in which sexism is pervasive by taking males as a default or standard for all of humanity. She goes effectively into many examples of this phenomenon, such as medical testing that tests only on men, men as standard in civil law, men as standard in psychology, etc.

Tavris makes a clear case about the truth of physiological differences between men and women, and their importance in socio-economic contexts in everything from toilets to employment, while at the same time stressing the untruth of many of the pop psychological assumptions about the 'mental' differences between men and women, which experiments in social psychology have disproven many times. She also criticizes the medicalization of many social psychological problems among men and women both, where psychological issues that are clearly consequences of social ills or systematic mistreatment are perceived as 'diseases' from which only medication can be an escape. In particular it is often the case that what is considered a personal failing in women is considered a 'disease' beyond his control in men, whereas in reverse many natural and universal psychological phenomena, such as mood swings or periodic unhappiness, are considered symptoms of inherent weaknesses (PMS etc.) when they appear in women.

Equally however, Tavris makes sure to reject the mystifying nonsense about women as being superior to men, or having a "special bond with nature", and things of that sort. She concludes that what matters is not the use of a (usually male) standard and then measuring both sexes by them, but what is more important is making sure that an effective equality can exist between both sexes in the social and economic spheres, and to prefer social policy to psychiatry. This book is a valuable contribution to understanding the true nature of sexism today.

This book really lifted my spirits in its even-handed treatment of the 'language' of the genders. It explored the cultural expectations---and decpetions----about the genders, and gave each credit and offered an uplifting, intelligent, hopeful conclusion. I especially liked the fact that she gave men their due for their often-misunderstood gestures of affection and care----the clumsy and non glamorous gifts that form the backbone for so many sitcom jokes. Tavris is a sympathetic and vivid writer with wonderful logical and analytical abilities.

... is the double-entendre premise of this book and it is very well articulated. Ms. Tavris points out a tendancy to see men as the norm and women as the deviant and therefore something to be corrected and studied. She demonstrates as much with, for example, the following-



- Studies conducted indicate hormonal fluctuations in both men and women, and certain studies show that fluctuating testosterone in men decreases sense of humor and interferes with hand control ... yet men aren't faced with umpteen pieces - seemingly in competition with each other - trying to explain exactly what ways they are rendered irrational/unstable/incapacitated by those menacing hormones (or numerous "syndroms" ... one wonders if there is any time of the year where women are healthy!), not to mention the "common wisdom" of attributing their anger and hurt feelings to said hormones, and all because they aren't like women.

- The "equal as same" fallacy, where it is believed that a woman working in the same environment as a man should then conform to his, ie. the "normal", standard if she wants "equality" thereby missing the point that it is outcome and opportunity that matters for instance in the way a parent would treat two different children with different needs depending on them but still be sure they get it. Or, conversely, the belief that if two things aren't the same then one must be inferior.

- Things, such as crimes, looked at from the male experience. For example how it is often in our culture questionable when a woman doesn't fight back during a sexual assault, completely overlooking the fact that - as a woman - she risks even more physical threat from the heavier, stronger male than a man would. Further the tendancy of jurys to still scrutinize an alleged rape victim based on her demeanor, dress, and sexual prowess (because, of course, from a male point of view she is "looking for him" or "asking for it").

- She also addresses another pitfall, that women are somehow "superior" to men because they *aren't* like them.

To not give too much away I will stop, but this is certainly one of the best books I have ever read and hope that there will be an updated soon.

It isn't necessary to agree with everything in this witty book to realize that its subject - male bias - is crucial to our understanding of ourselves as humans. It is such an obvious, if overlooked, fact that using the male as the standard of normalcy for humans is illogical.

Tavris exposes the confusion between gender equality and gender sameness. Women and men do differ because of differences in reproduction and these lead to differences in health issues, life experiences, access to resources etc etc.

When Tavris shows the results of using the female as the norm then female bias becomes obvious. Men become selfish with inflated self-esteem, narcissistic, inflexible etc etc and possibly many should be diagnosed with Delusional Dominating Personality Disorder.

Not being able to see the male bias in so much of the debate about equality is surely a major block to its achievement. Imposing a male standard on both sexes does not lead to equal consequences for the sexes. As parents recognize the differences between their children, treating them equally does not mean treating them uniformly as if they are the same.

This recognition of male bias and the difference between equality and sameness is essential. It is something so obvious that it is hard to believe we have been so blind to it for so long - a case of not being able to see the wood for the trees.

Of course dominant groups are always in a position to impose their own perspective, experience and values as the norm and subordinate groups can be caught in the trap of either trying to prove they are the same or accept their difference and their consequent poor treatment. Some might attempt to assert their difference as superior, too, as some women do (and perhaps many more do in private).

Tavris warns against all these outcomes of inequality and leads us to the acknowledgement of difference and a change of focus from equal/same treatment to equality of outcome.

I have to say I absolutely loved The Witches of Elleanan series. A true masterpiece for anyone's fantasy collection. I didn't know what to expect from a new series, set in the same world a little later after the first series. I have read other books by authors that seem to loose their touch when they deal with a new series that a previous series has taken place in. That did not happen in this book. I have to say, "Wow!" The author doesn't have a save the world/kingdom thing going on. She comfortably let's you see how your beloved kingdom has prospered from the change brought on in the first series. And it is good.

The tale does well with what it has, and there is never a dull moment. (Even though the action scenes aren't epic battles. And I loooove action.) The world is just as fleshed out and well felt as the first series. I almost expect to wake up and find my whole life is a dream and that I need to go back to my beloved home in Elleanan.

The characters are so real, I almost dare say, richer than the people in reality. The author flaunts her skills in making the unreal into reality it takes my breath away. Each character has a depth the most authors can't match.

I have to touch on an issue from someones review on this book. Some one commented on how the Scottish accent was to much. I was apprehensive at first when I started the Elleanan series, because of the Scottish accent. But I found that I slipped into translation smoothly, even adopting it. (Leading to bits of confusion!) The dialect is nothing to hate the novel for. In fact it gives this series, the writing, everything, the tone that makes this novel so incredible.

*****To conclude. Fantasy lovers will eat this up. It's different from the save the world/kingdom novels. Giving a reality that few books can really, truly give in a fantasy series. Kate Forsyth knows how to do it. And is it good! I can't get my hands on the rest in the series!!!

For those familiar with the author's works, The Tower of Ravens, and the rest of "Rhiannon's Ride", is set in Eillean, and takes place about 20 years after the sixth installment of the Witches of Eillean series. I would recommend that if you haven't read the series, but intend to, I would read it before starting The Tower of Ravens, due to the fact that there would be some spoilers in this series about the Witches series. This book/series, is about a half human half satyricorn girl who escapes her mother, who is the matriarch of her herd. She has some amazing adventures, and somehow comes through it all. Only things I could have wished to be different in this series, is maybe a little less sexual tension between Rhiannon and Lewen early on in the series, and maybe having the afterward being about 3-5 years out, instead of 3 weeks out. Overall, a very pleasureable reading experience. Couldn't put the books down. A must read for people who have read the previous series, and also, for those who would like to get to know the authors works better.

The Tower of Ravens is a wonderful continuance of The Witches of Eileanan. This gives Forsyth's wonderfully complex characters in her first series some relief to grow up in relative peace. This new trilogy is based in the next generation of Witches, some fifteen years after the end of The Witches of Eileanan saga. This Trilogy stands alone; however, I seriously recommend reading The Witches of Eileanan series first.

Bloody AWESOME!!! Highly recommended. So good that I have read all the books in this series. Also I have started the other books in the series before Rhiannon's ride. These ones tell the tales of the older characters in Rhiannon's ride. It doesn't really matter if you decided to read this series after the Tower of Ravens, but I think it would make things even more exciting!

None the less one of the best novels/series I have ever read.

Very rarely does a fantasy novel manage to take you into its world from the first page and refuse to let you go until the ending. More often than not, stories in a series get you hooked into its magical world, then leave you hanging as you breathlessly await the next installment. Not so with Kate Forsyth's THE TOWER OF THE RAVENS. For those who have never visited her world of Eileanan in books such as The Pool of Two Moons: Witches of Eileanen Book 2 (Witches of Eileanan) or The Cursed Towers (Witches of Eileanan, Book 3), never fear! THE TOWER OF THE RAVENS is a fantasy epic that can definitely stand alone, and does so with competent writing, fantastic world-building, and a deeply heroic cast of characters.

Ever since she was a young girl, Rhiannon has wanted nothing more than to catch a winged horse, to tame and train it so that she could fly away and escape from the hellish nightmare that is her life. Scorned, ridiculed, and even feared by her fellow man, Rhiannon lives in near solitude, wanting only to belong. Without even a name at this young age, the daughter of One-Horn and a human father. One-Horn is the mother of the tribe of satyricon, fairies who have horns and hoofs instead of feet. Rhiannon, born without a horn and with human feet, is immediately branded an outcast, and she lives her solitary life with only the hope of escape as comfort.

When she finally manages to escape upon a winged horse, its not without injury and risk to herself. Arriving at the home of Lewen, an apprentice witch, she's finally given a name-and perhaps a chance to truly belong. When Lewen and his family decide to bring Rhiannon to the Tower of Two Moons in the city of Lucescere to be tested for magical ability, Rhiannon worries that she might once again lose any sense of self she's just beginning to gain.

Murder, intrigue, and suspicion soon surround Rhiannon when a member of the Guard is found dead. Suddenly surrounded by unimaginable evil and malevolence, it will take all the strength and magic that Rhiannon possesses to protect herself and those she loves.

THE TOWER OF RAVENS is a wonderful fantasy novel that will thoroughly immerse you in Kate Forsyth's magical world. A woman who wants only to find her place in the world, Rhiannon is a strong, caring woman who truly overcomes her past to be a woman that everyone can be proud of.

Deanna Manetti is running for her life. When her escape is cut short by a wild stallion, she finds herself depending on a man named Shepherd Jones and the kindness of strangers. But who can she trust? "Along Came Jones" is an action-packed tale of suspense and second chances.

Linda Windsor paints a colorful picture of a close-knit western community. Her writing style flows smoothly from action sequences to romance to intrigue to spirituality and back to action again. This is a wonderful novel - so engaging, I didn't want to put it down.

The characters were realistic, the plot was riveting, the romance was beautiful. The only thing that got to me was the ending. Holding onto the "bad guy" and giving him such a major role kinda threw me. And the realization "blow up" scene near the end was a tad over done, but everything eventually ties up nicely. Great book.

I have never written an online review before, but I just HAD to review this one. It's my first Linda Windsor, but it won't be my last. I loved this book! Romance, action, humor, lovable characters, a great plot, and cowboys...what's not to love? Deanna's journey back to God, and the trust she learns to rely on are common in every Christian's life at some point. A friend loaned it to me, and I went out and bought it. This book should be a movie. Read it!

picture your self being acussed of a crime you did not comit. Then after being questioned for countless hours you come home to find your appartment totaly trashed, wouldn't you be freking out. Well that is just some of what happened to the lead character in this thrilling mystery/action/romance novle.deanna has to over come the fear that some one is out to get her after driving several states from the only home she has known her hole adult life. in the mean time she totaly turn the life of a simple rancher sheperd jones (ex-marshell of the US gov.)upside down when he runs her off the road destroying her sports car and stranding her at his desrted gost town. Just wait and see all the trouble deanna and shep get in to as the find that broken hearts can mend and love is not totaly lost. that if you can beat the trials that they fase together any thing is possible with the help of god.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even though it may not be the best Christian fiction novel out there. The characters are realistic, the dialogue doesn't seem forced, and the story is compelling. The romance is rushed at times, but the banter and chemistry between Shep and Diana makes up for it. I found myself laughing at Diana countless times, and the author's sarcastic tone is refreshing in a world of stale Christian romances. I would definitely recommend this book!

I found this book particularly interesting as I grew up in the area of "In the Snow Forest" in the Trinity Alps. The whole place has such a unique feel to it that I wonder if it is hard to absorb when reading Parvin? I loved "In the Snow Forest" but I am viewing it through "local" eyes and could easily picture the lead characters meeting at the Yellowjacket (a real place) for lunch and conversation, especially as the summer wears on the cold loneliness of fall in the Trinities comes on and the tourists stay home. I liked this story and would recommend it to people who enjoy western literature.

I didn't enjoy these short stories very much. The first, titled "Betty Hutton," is just plain creepy. An ex-con struggles to avoid repeating his violent past. When he comes upon a young woman and her little son at the beach, your skin just begins to crawl hoping against hope that he won't do them any harm. Will he or won't he kill the old guy in the ice shack? Will he or won't he use his gun after the card game? I was uncomfortable reading this, and to be honest, I wouldn't have cared that much if someone had just blown him away. I really didn't see all that many redeeming qualities in Gibbs and didn't feel much concern for his fate.

The second story, "In the Snow Forest," is so emotionless, you don't really care much about these characters at the tragic ending either. There was zero passion in their relationship, and the characters are flat and lifeless. I understand that the author is intentionally drawing the characters in a way that illustrates life and hardships, but come on, when two people discover love, there is always some amount of excitement and joy. I felt that the two main characters were interesting, but the author does absolutely nothing with them.

The last story, "Menno's Granddaughter," was my favorite, and I enjoyed this one quite a bit, with the exception of two plot points. Would a divorced/widowed forty year old woman in 1957 sleep with a complete stranger on a train when still upset over losing her husband? Nothing in the character of Lindsay, as drawn by the author, really gives us too many clues into this, except of course that she's lonely and still mourning loss. And then there's the strange "kiss" at the end of the story that seems so totally out of place in the plot. Anyway, it was an interesting character study, but defintely flawed.

All in all, I can't really recommend this book. Since there are so many glowing reviews here, I felt I needed to add my opinion.

The three novellas in this book are so rich and satisfying-I read them one to a sitting, not wanting them to end, savoring every word, losing myself in the snowbound landscapes, tied up in the characters' lives and desires. Each of the main characters is at a juncture-what's in their hearts doesn't quite match up with what's in their lives-and what they do when they realize this makes for great stories-and wonderful reading. The writing is clean and spare and beautiful. I'm looking forward to reading this book again and again.

Competent and unchallenging stories with long conversational asides about the meaning of it all in the now familiar style of "well written prose." These read like expanded short stories flushed out to novella length and would have made decent filler in a longer collection. By the first sentence of a scene, the end of the scene can be predicted. It's a sad commentary that a plain book like this only gets published wrapped in inflation and hype filled blurbs.

These stories made me hurt and laugh all at the same time. I knew I would love them right after the very first sentence of the first novella. And who doesn't know someone at least a little like Gibbs? I just loved when he ripped off the rear view mirror. Classic! More, please. A novel, please.

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.

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.

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 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).

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!

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 :)