United States Books

In "Howard Zinn: A Radical American Vision," Professor Davis Joyce has made a valuable contribution to twentieth century American historiography. This intellectual biography of Howard Zinn is scholarly and entertaining. Davis provides lucid summaries of Zinn's major books. He also skillfully places Zinn's works within the context of recent American history. Anyone who is interested in better understanding Howard Zinn's approach to history would benefit from reading this book.

This volume is a very good introduction to the life, thought, and times of Howard Zinn, which should be of broad interest to students of society. I found the details of Zinn's struggles with John Silber fascinating (such university presidents are not at all uncommon--right Kern?). While many readers will be familiar with Zinn through The People's History, they should especially enjoy the overview and critique of such writings as Disobedience and Democracy (very relevant today), and The Politics of History (addressed to all of the social sciences). Dr. Davis Joyce is an excellent writer; he obviously admires both Zinn and his thought (if not his grading policies). This is truly an excellent intellectual biography.

BUY THIS BOOK as a gift for someone in need of hope.

In these times of desperation for so many among us around the world, it is in the inspiring story of Howard Zinn that the message every individual makes a difference, shines bright. That our collective efforts, both large and small, do indeed change the world.

Howard Zinn makes me proud to be a liberal and an intellectual, and his well-written biography gives me hope that in the end, reason, compassion, and common sense will prevail over prejudice and dogma. After reading it, I feel energized, and optimistic about the future, confident that my efforts at stemming the tide of ignorance in this country are worthwhile.

This book, is in my opinion, a must-read for all liberal-minded individuals. Howard Zinn's life is an inspiration, and his clear, concise viewpoints are brilliant -- a much needed counterpoint to Medieval, Dark-Age ideologies.

Zinn shows us that we are not, as special interests would like us to believe, "an obedient, acquiescent, passive citizenry." He articulates what many of us feel, that the ideologies which we take for granted "...are not the result of independent thought on our part, and indeed do not match the real world as we experience it..." A real eye opener. I enjoyed this book, and I'm sure you will too.

Howard Zinn: A Radical American Vision
Davis D. Joyce, Published by Prometheus Books
By Denis Mueller
I met Professor Zinn about eight years ago and began, with my Co-filmmaker Deb Ellis, a journey that would lead to a film about his life and the idea that the individual can make a difference. It was an amazing experience and one that has changed my life. I learned how to speak in public by watching this tall angular man walk to the podium and begin his talk with a joke usually about himself. I learned about his courage both physical and intellectual. Zinn was a bombardier who risked his life against the war on fascism, so when he gets to academia, it is nothing to risk his job for what he feels is the right thing to do. This gets him fired at Spelman for supporting the Civil Rights Movement and constantly at war with Boston University dictator John Silber.
What we did not do was chronicle was his development as a historian and teacher. A film cannot do everything, and some historians felt we had left out his importance in the study of American history, but if that was what they were interested in there is no better place to look at some of those critical debates than here in this book by Davis D. Joyce. Howard Zinn's book, A People's History of the United States, has sold over 1,000,000 copies and has helped change the study of history itself. He has been at the forefront of American radicalism, both as an activist and as an intellectual, yet some in the historian profession fail to understand the importance of the activist-scholar. He was a leader in the Civil Rights movement as an advisor to the Student Non-Violent Co-coordinating Committee, an adult who respected the students, and gave them the intellectual backing they needed in the antiwar movement during the Vietnam era. He remains an outspoken critic of our disastrous policy in Iraq.
Yet, when American historians are mentioned, some dismiss Zinn as a populist and fail to understand his importance in the study of American history. Davis D. Joyce, while acknowledging his work as an activist, goes a long way to correct that assumption and positions Zinn as a leader in what could be described as a revolution within the study of American history. Joyce looks at all of his work but plays special attention to his book, The Politics of History, which is perhaps as important as A People's History. It is here, more than anywhere else, where Joyce is able to fuse Zinn's influence as a historian and his life long commitment to a history that speaks to the great issues of our time. Joyce does this quite well when he illustrates the importance of a quotation by Denis Diderot on the writings of Voltaire, which Zinn uses in The Politics of History.
"Other historians relate facts to inform us on facts, you relate them to excite in our hearts an intense hatred of lying, ignorance, hypocrisy, superstition; and the anger remains even after the memory of the facts has disappeared."
Joyce has a keen eye for a quote and his selection of quotes from Zinn, whose quotes are a dream for any biographer, is one of the great joys of this book and they are used quite well to articulate Zinn's unique point of view. This is a book that is needed to help illustrate Zinn's contribution to the intellectual development of American history. In an essay about the historian as citizen, and the forgotten role of the public intellectual in today's society, we would be wise to listen to what he has to say:
"In a world hungry for solutions, we ought to welcome the emergence of the historian-if this is really what we are seeing- as an activist scholar, who thrusts himself and his works into the crazy mechanism of history, on behalf of the values in which he deeply believes This makes him more than a scholar; it makes him a citizen in the ancient Athenian sense of the word."

This is a great book for boosting morale on any campus at any level. The ideas are fresh and enlightening for building relationships and team building. This book would be a great way to boost staff development, and active participation from all staff members.

This is a wonderful resource for Staff Development. If you are tired of having teachers yawn through your important presentations, this is a book full of ideas to help add fun to your work. The activities keep the audience involved, listening and learning throughout your presentation.

This book gives the administrator and anyone who supports the teachers in a school some great things to think about and ways to help the teachers on a day to day basis.

thanks for a wonderful job, the book and the service is excellent. well done

I had the honor to see Ms. Connors speak at a teacher conference this past week. I was feeling a bit jaded over the profession of teaching after completing my second year of teaching and after completing a research study proposal on the sad state of teacher retention due to low administrative support. I was at an oh-too-typical low point...

Ms. Connors' words (both in spoken and written form--I flew through her book after listening to her speech) really hit home. This is a book that every teacher and every administrator should read. It gives simple solutions that could and would make a big impact upon the current state of education today. I encourage every person involved in teaching students to read this book and think about the roles they currently play and the role they could play. THANK-YOU MS. CONNORS for humorously yet seriously pointing out both the problem and the necessary solutions.

This is the best account I have ever read about the events leading up to the Civil War. Mr. Potter does an excellent job presenting the information and carefully analyzing it without taking sides. Whether you sympathize with the Union or the Confederacy, if you have an interest in the Civil War, you will enjoy this book.

Written in the 1970's, and finished by a colleague, David Potter's depiction of the 1848-1861 timeframe is a finely researched book on the subject. Most importantly though, unlike other writers and historians (in particular James McPherson) who look back on this time with modern day hindsight, Potter writes a book which follows this time as it was, with all the issues and ebbs and flows of that era. Potter gives us refreshing perspectives such as:

- The Republican Party, upon rising to prominence in the mid-1850's, were fellow travellers in many ways with the nativist "Know-Nothing" Party.

- Not only was 1860 a sectionally divided presidential election, but so was the 1856 contest. The Republican John Fremont was a non-factor in the southern states, while Millard Fillmore (with the Know-Nothings) ran strongly in that region. The opposite was true in the northern states (which allowed James Buchanan to win the election).

- The reputations of Buchanan and Stephen Douglas fare much better in this book. Douglas in particular is portrayed as one of the few people who could see how the electoral divisions were going to lead to secession, unlike the Lincoln/Seward Republicans.

- The South's tactical victories in the Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act and Dred Scott decisions were actually strategic defeats. The South became more isolated as a result of these events, and less powerful.

Many books on this subject present the Civil War as an inevitable result of the 1850's, yet Potter illustrates many examples where the middle ground may have prevailed and possibly prevented the conflict. Other issues were important in this day, particularly the tariff issue which created the same sectional rivalries that slavery did.

Overall it's a refreshing, well-researched book that I would highly recommend to anyone interested in this era.

This is without a doubt, one of the greatest books on the Ante-bellum period. I read this book when I was in college in 1991 and was impressed with it. It remains one of my favorite books to this day on the Ante-bellum period. Your library is truly not complete without this work.

Potter's insightful history leading up to the Civil War is a must. He explains the culture, the split, the issue of slavery in easy to understand language to edify the reader's understanding of the things leading up to the secession as soon as Lincoln was nominated yet before he took office. Anyone interested in the history of this time period, it is the best book I have read on the subject. Potter not only discusses the politics, but also gives us a look into Lincoln and his actions to prevent the war.

Abraham Lincoln's 1860 election as President of the United States was the catalyst that set off the American Civil War, but this book traces the political processes that led to that result during the just over a decade between the end of the Mexican War in 1848 and the start of the Civil War with the firing on Fort Sumner in 1861.

Today it is easy to look back and regard the entire process as inevitable. What David Potter does in this classic, first published in 1976, is present the politics behind each step that pushed the sections of the country apart over the slavery issue. One apparent mystery has been what drove the astute politician Stephen Douglas to force through legislation tearing up the Compromise of 1820, which had extended a line from Missouri westward, north of which slavery would not be permitted. It was a colossal blunder that opened what had been a more or less settled issue, fanning the flames of sectionalism needlessly.

His Kansas-Nebraska Act opened those territories, north of the line, to a concept of popular sovereignty, in which those supposedly living in the territories would be allowed to vote on the issue. This may have sounded democratic, but it led to a wave of Abolitionist settlers from New England, and pro-slavery visitors from neighboring Missouri, resulting in "Bleeding Kansas", with attacks and massacres from both sides, and very little democracy. Potter shows that Douglas started from a powerful need to organize the territories so a Pacific railroad could be built, preferably from Chicago in his home state of Illinois. That simple point of departure led him into a series of moves that only deepened the sectional divide.

Potter describes how the southern slaveholders won a whole series of meaningless victories that did nothing to extend the slave territories but did intensify feelings against slavery in the North, from the Mexican War and Kansas-Nebraska to the Dred Scott decision and the hanging of John Brown. He traces the rise of the Republican party out of the ruins of the Whigs and the Freesoil Party, and exposes the latter not as advocates of rights for black people, but driven rather by a deep-seated racism aimed at keeping blacks out of the territories. Complicating the 1850's political map of America was the American, or "Know Nothing" party, dedicated to stopping the recent flood of mainly Catholic immigrants from Europe.

He also demonstrates that the Unionist candidates did better than generally believed in the four-sided presidential election of 1860, and that the voting system itself gave the secessionists of late 1860 and early 1861 far greater strength than their actual numbers.

If you want to get deep into the politics that split the powerful Democratic Party and ultimately the nation, this book has what you are looking for.

Just when I thought I had read everything about the space program, French and Burgess have done it again will a follow-on effort to their book "Into That Silent Sea."

I have no idea when they have the time to create such excellent work, but the latest book begins where the first one ended and includes much information I had never seen before, especially the chapters on the Apollo 1 pad fire and monumental Apollo 8 mission, it alone, a historic accomplishment rivaling the actual Moon landing.

Riddled with numerous never-before seen accounts (at least by me), the book is simply bulging with information such as Lola Morrow's dire premonition concerning the Apollo pad fire, and the raw emotional impact experienced by the crew of Apollo 8 upon seeing the first Earthrise observed by man.

I sincerly hope that Francis and Colin keep up the good work; maybe they could do a similar effort on underwater exploration? That would be such a contribution....

C. Newport, D.Sc.
Author of Lost Spacecraft: The Search for Liberty Bell 7

I own and have read most everything related to the Mercury through Apollo space program and this book shows new information that I hadn't seen in the other books published by many other astronauts and authors. Information was gathered from a myriad of sources and checked against other sources. The book greatly changed my opinion of a few astronauts and paints the entire NASA program in a more accurate light. The passing of time since the event depicted in the book has allowed the authors to see the "big picture" and step away being politically correct and instead be factual and accurate instead.

I just finished this wonderful historical and personal account of the race to the Moon, and feel privileged to know a little more about the brave men at the apex of mankind's tremendous achievement all those years ago. The authors have expertly captured the spirit of the times and given us the "warts and all" perspective on the personalities involved. For those who love history but are concerned that this book may be a "technical" account, there's no need to worry - it's exposition of events is clear and uncluttered, and clevery interwoven with the life stories of the people involved.

I strongly recommend this book as required reading to younger, high-school and college-age readers who may wonder today "How did we get there?". (Or sadly, even if we got there at all!). The answers are here, where we learn that despite our ever-present human failings, we CAN do great things when united to a common purpose. By the end of the book it will become obvious why and how we could reach the point where Armstrong and Aldrin could safely land on the Moon and return home - in fact it's almost anti-climactic!

Knowing more about the fallibilities of the astronauts has only deepened my respect for these remarkable and courageous men. As they grow old over a time when we haven't returned to the Moon, it's important to capture their stories for future generations, and French & Burgess have succeeded eminently in doing so.

My only niggle is that apparently the publishers balked at the idea of an index, which would have served as a guide for those who want to return to this book from time to time to "dip in" - as I'm sure I and many others shall do for years to come.

What authors French and Burgess have managed to accomplish with their book "In the Shadow of the Moon" is a sense of being there.

This book transcends a third-party recounting of events. French and Burgess have created an extraordinary interface between the reader and the people sharing their stories. "In the Shadow of the Moon" does an exquisite job of bringing us into the fold, allowing a rather personal access to these astronauts' lives and innermost thoughts: helping us to better understand an experience we will never have ourselves.

The authors' skillful marriage of informing and storytelling help to ensure that it is a book that will be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of their interest level in space history. The authors did an excellent job of introducing background information on a mission, and then following it up with personal interpretation by someone who was there. The authors' thorough research is apparent, but it is woven so well with the narrative that it allows the reader to simply take it in, absorbing it effortlessly.

By writing this book, French and Burgess share with humanity that which few have experienced. But more than that, they help us all understand a little better the magnitude of our venture into space. The accomplishments of the few, holding meaning for us all.

There are and have been hundreds if not thousands of books about manned spaceflight over the years but only a select few have really been able to communicate the true story and feeling generated by one of the most fondly remembered era's in American history. A time most commonly remembered as being one of technological marvel. However the true story is one of the men & Women who supported and flew the missions. This book goes deeper into the "Golden era" or manned spaceflight and tells stories that have never been told all the while keeping the reader enthralled. It touches on subjects long since forgotten or ignored and brings them to the fore. With first hand interviews with the people involved the authors really touch on the human aspect. I was especially taken by surprise that they told the story the way it should be. Not just the American effort, but the Russians too as there story never really gets told. I have read many books on spaceflight and I can honestly say this is one of only a few books that have kept me addicted and wanting to come back for more. Buy this book. You will not be disappointed. Even if you are not interested in manned spaceflight buy this book as you will be by the end. It reminds us all why we were interested in spaceflight to begin with. For a long long time the Book A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin was the book to beat. This is no longer the case.

The book starts out with, "Don't read this book if you are pregnant" (or something like that). I was six months pregnant with my first child, yet steamed ahead anyway. I am glad that I did. The description of the insanity, temporary or otherwise, that can be brought on brought on by modern motherhood that Ingman paints is exactly what a parent-to-be like myself needed, because it prepared me for the worst, and let me off the hook from the overambitious expectations that I had (elaborate birth plan that did not go as planned? check. Dreams of cooking my own organic baby food now making way for Gerber jars? check). The writing had a way of taking me to the absolute depths of her experience while at the same time injecting humor and compassion that made me feel like everything was going to be all right. I didn't expect to laugh out loud, but I did many times while reading.

This book is WAY more complex than any review can possibly hope to convey. It's personal, and political; funny, and sad. While reading, you realize that a lot of the problems Ingman faces are not just parents' issues, but women's issues. Are the mothers crazy or is the world crazy? Read and decide for yourself.

I think pretty much everything that the author has to say can be (and is!) said in the first 30 pages or so. After that, it's bits and pieces, loosely strung together but without a goal in sight. Neither a great resource for those dealing with PPD nor a good comic relief.

"Inconsolable" is smart, funny, and heartbreaking. This book should be required reading for any woman considering motherhood--it rips off the layers of Hallmark sentimentality and reveals exactly how agonizing post-partum depression can be. Frankly, it made me want to send my mother a bouquet of three dozen long-stemmed red roses.

This is a brave book written by an astonishingly talented writer Whether or not you're considering having a child, this book will change the way you think about motherhood, pregnancy, and mental health long after you've put the book down. I will never play Nine Inch Nails without thinking of Marritt ever again, and man, I play a lot of NIN.

Thank you for this book, Marritt.

When I suffered from debilitating depression after the birth of my 2nd daughter, I searched everywhere for something to grasp onto. Anything to grasp onto. Somehow I found this book. All of a sudden, here was someone like me - someone else who wanted to drive off a bridge. I felt like I had finally made a connection and I wasn't alone in this anymore.
I can honestly say that this book was pivotal in my (LONG) recovery. It is what ultimately encouraged me to push through, connect with others and reclaim motherhood. Marrit's accounts of early motherhood are real, moving, poignant, and honest. I highly recommend this book to any new mother - if you aren't suffering from PPD yourself, you might be able to understand and reach out to someone who is.

If you are a mom and you think you are loosing your mind, read this book!! You'll find out that you are not alone. I think all moms feel this way at times but most are too worried about what people will think if they admit it. Props to Marrit for being brutally honest.

This is one of the better first-person accounts I've ever read. I highly, strongly recommend that you take the time to read it. It's well-written, relevant, and hard to put down.

A great day in an day out story about the war. No hype, no frills. Just the story of what the days were actually like for a foot soldier in WW II.

I had to read this book for a course on WWII. Neil does an excellent job of "putting you there" as the cliche goes. The complexities of battle, to the horrid conditions to the mindstate of men about to die are all covered well in this novel. Neill really does a good job of keeping the reader attached to the book, and helps bring to life something that many people have only read about in history text books. I recommend this novel to anyone interested in War in general, and of course in WWII.

George Neill presents a front line soldier's view of what it was like to be part of the WWII American infantry. While reading the book, I almost felt the cold and fear that were the soldier's constant companions. while the rear echelon soldiers got the winter boots, and the generals got heated quarters, Neill and his fellow soldiers tried to survive the cold, boredom and attacks. I felt like I was there. This book gets my very highet recommendation.

The ASTPer's were the brightest, most intelligent young citizen soldiers of their part of the World War II generation. Originally deferred from military service to be allowed to attend college, they were thrown into the battlefields of Europe when America needed bodies to make to final push to Berlin, just in time for the Battle of the Bulge. Infantry Soldier: Holding the Line at the Battle of the Bulge is an accurate account of the fighting and front-line conditions facing the common infantry rifleman during one of Europe's coldest winters. Neill not only served as one of these men, he has done the research and interviews needed to complete the picture, not just of the men on the ground who knew little beyond the events of their immediate foxhole, but events on the German side and U.S. Army rear echelon and high command decisions. Included is an excellent description of the destructive power of a German artillery barrage, and the problems encountered when supply lines are stretched and items desperately needed by the front-line soldier for survival are being diverted to rear-echelon personnel. Neill also takes an intelligent look at war in general, and the conclusion is that we should never forget the horrors and untold human suffering caused by war.

James Douglass presents a strong case that John Kennedy was assassinated by a CIA-controlled plot, and Lee Harvey Oswald was a 'patsy' that was set up to take the fall, aided by a CIA double. These are not new ideas, yet Douglass has careful references to document his thesis. This reader is not convinced. The contention that the shots came from the 'grassy knoll' rather than from the Book Depository are claimed by Douglass to be supported by the piece of JFK's skull that was dislodged by the fatal bullet. But, evidence shows that this bone particle came from the parietal portion of the head, and not the occipital as suggested by Douglass. As such, there is no way the bullet could have entered from any angle other than from the rear. Furthermore, the contention that the bullet entered the throat and exited the head would require a shot from the front and below, not from above as Douglass' conspiracy theory contends. There are other obvious flaws in the conspiracy argument, including eye witnesses with very shaky psychological pasts. Above all, how could it be that such a wide-ranging conspiracy involving even field agents of the CIA could have been kept a secret all these years? It is not a compelling rehash of the old evidence.

What is compelling, however, is the evil Douglass chronicles in his book that existed in the country in the early 60s. There was a deep hatred of JFK in the South and in Texas in particular. War mongering was at its height, and there is no doubt there was great rejoicing in the Pentagon and the CIA when his death was announced. This was the unspeakable that Douglass discusses in his book. In this matter he is right on. In that sense, as was discussed in the Dallas newspapers in those dark days in 1963 (I was living there at the time), we were all responsible in some way for his death by tolerating the intolerance, the outright hatred, and the talk of his demise. Furthermore, his book has the chilling effect of reminding us that we have learned nothing, absolutely nothing from that history. We have recreated over and over wars and insurgencies via the CIA or the Pentagon, and the ideals that Douglass' Kennedy represented have not found a place in the heart of the nation. For that reason, the book is well worth a read. Take in this reading, and whether or not you agree about the conspiracy, be prepared to be chilled by the animosity between JFK and the military-CIA leaders of his time.

I cannot give this book five stars because it is so uneven. Long sections are somewhat hysterical hymns to the wonderfulness and saintliness of JFK (I believe the author is a Catholic priest)that also connect JFK to the late Thomas Merton. ? I tended to skip these parts. (They are also prayers-for-world-peace and can't-we-all-just-get-along and we should not study war no more, etc. etc. I flipped pages very fast here. HOWEVER, the sections with specific details about the JFK assassination are absolutely fascinating and sort of ring true (although how can you really tell) and raise all kinds of interesting questions in your mind. There is also a third part to this book (three parts written by different people? reads like it) dealing in detail with JFK's behind-the-scenes efforts to reach rapprochement with Krushchev and Castro. This could explain the need for "some people" to take him out of the picture. Draws interesting links in one's mind (okay, my mind) between Lee Harvey Oswald and Francis Gary Powers, the U2 pilot who crashed his airplane in the Soviet Union, and thus wrecked a "summit meeting" between Eisenhower and Kruschev. One recalls that Oswald was in Minsk at the time. One also recalls that Eisenhower, upon leaving office a few months later, warned about the threat to the nation of the "military industrial complex." Hmm. Oswald-CIA-KGB. The mind spins. Anyway, read the book, if this is a topic that fascinates you, as it does me, this one makes a good addition to the collection. Just be prepared to skip sections.

The best book on both Kennedy's presidency and assasination. It Reads very easy and is understandable considering the many characters involved. A must read...

Introduction

Exquisitely written and drawing heavily on the underground works of the renegade Monk and advocate of peace, Thomas Merton, James Douglas uses Merton's Catholic peace philosophy as his spiritual guide to unfold a theory of the JFK assassination that has many good features to recommend it, but also has a few very definite drawbacks as well.

Using recent archival releases from the FISA collections on the JFK assassination, and exclusive interviews with previously reluctant witnesses, the author posits his own version of the "CIA as the shadow government of systemic evil" theory of who killed JFK. And while much of his theory retraces well-trod ground, offering some interesting refinements, and placing the assassination into a wider more universal frame with a more human message and appeal, it too still does not completely "close the deal." There is nothing here that is startlingly new, or that changes the actual shape of the Jim Garrison Investigation, who in my view had his hands around the throat of the JFK conspiracy. And who, but for the open opposition, contempt and hostility of the very government he was trying to assist, would have indeed closed the deal. As the author notes, there can be no innocent explanation for why the USG failed to assist rather then oppose the Garrison investigation.

The author sees, exposes, interprets and then tries to give existential meaning to the broader human connections between the unspeakable cabal that Killed JFK, American political culture, and Merton's Catholic theology of peace. As he puts it so nicely, "reality is a lot bigger than we think." The reasons we should care about the JFK assassination, in Douglas' mind are undoubtedly due to this larger frame and to advance the larger message it contains, a message of peace and hope. However, romanticized prose is one thing, hardnosed investigation of Cold War reality is quite another. That aside, it must be said, because it is true: that Douglas' rewriting of Cold War history (with its religious and peacenik twist to it) is a message that on its own merit, and aside from the assassination itself, is worthy of serious reflection and independent consideration. If nothing else it is a heartfelt rendition of how JFK tried to work his way out of the twisted "unreality" of the Cold War.


The Good News

On the good side, the book adds to, but does not completely "fill in" the missing pieces and twisted motives of those who "did JFK in." For instance, rather convincingly he exposes the roles of some of the more shadowy but central "behind-the-scene players" from the intelligence game, long reputed to have been involved in the assassination: players such as Allen Dulles, James Cabell, David Atlee Phillips, and James Jesus Angleton, among others. Departing from the format of other theorists who have linked the JFK, Malcolm X, RFK and MLK murders, the author goes one step further in building a larger moral and political framework in which to situate this rash of political related assassinations. In doing so, Douglas' version, in the same vein as Peter Dale Scott's "JFK and the Deep Structure of American Politics," ceases to be just another more complicated conspiracy theory, but develops, as an important corollary, a full ontology of non-violence.

The centerpiece of the author's narrative is the allegation that what got JFK in trouble was his secret "back channel" communication with Khrushchev -- a channel seen as treasonous by key leaders in the military and intelligence community (who in any case, were obviously monitoring it throughout). It was JFK's attempt to fight the Cold War as a lone warrior and on his own peace-oriented terms that set the wheels of the cabal turning and churning, until they inexorably reached their final destination in Dealey's Plaza on November 22, 1963.

As it did the rest of us, the Cuban Missile crisis jolted JFK's consciousness with an abruptness that made it difficult for even the most rigid of minds to ignore, and JFK's was a supple and attentive mind. Yet, most Americans were not only captured by the Cold War reality, but were so deeply immerged in it that its false existential appeal had become our "only reality." Never was this truer than with Kennedy's military generals. However, in fairness to those generals, it must be said that mistrust in the world was so deep at the height of the "Cold war" that it would have been a qualitative leap of monumental proportions to get from a doctrine of MAD to the other side of the road to JFK's doctrine of peace. There simply was no way to connect the dots from one reality to another. Only JFK's brilliance, his American U speech, coupled with a keen love for his country and for mankind allowed him and Khruschev to make this huge leap into the unknown. And once they made the leap, and began to move beyond the orbit of the "false consciousness" of the Cold War, the problem they had then was how to reach back into the old MAD reality, and lead their respective populations -- and most of all their rigid generals -- to a new promise land of peace and tranquility? Neither succeeded in doing so. What they did instead was stir up a hornet's nest that ended in JFK's assassination and Khruschev being deposed.

Another good aspect of the book is that it gave a graphic picture of the "Rosetta Stone" of the JFK assassination -- the machinations of Jack Rubinstein, aka, Jack Ruby. Even a casual investigator could readily see that after the assassination, every finger that got close to Jack Ruby was scorched as if it had just touched a hot stove. This clearly is what happened to Dorothy Kilgallen, who interviewed Ruby and was (as she put it) about to blow the lid off the assassination conspiracy before she was suddenly force into suicide. But the same happened to all of those close enough to Ruby to have guilty knowledge about the assassination: They too started dropping like flies until none of them were left. But the direct evidence of Ruby's key role is even more compelling than this indirect evidence. Ruby was so ubiquitous in the run up to, during, and after the assassination that there are no innocent explanations left to explain his movements? Ruby's phone records showed that up until a month before the assassination, he made hundreds of calls to key mob connected figures in Chicago and New Orleans. Then in the last two weeks before the assassination, the calls all abruptly stopped. And although a lot has been made about Oswald being seen with David Ferry and Clay Shaw in New Orleans during the spring and summer of 1963, Ruby was also seen at least once in New Orleans with Oswald during the same period. As well, more than one person testified that Ruby and Oswald were seen together in his nightclub just weeks before the assassination. Rose Cheramie, who had foreknowledge of the assassination claimed that Ruby and Oswald were bed partners. And this is only the beginning:

On the morning of the assassination at least one witness saw Ruby handing a dismantled gun in a brown paper to a man who then proceeded to position himself behind the fence on the grassy knoll. Shortly thereafter, Ruby was seen by several people driving Ruth Paine's green Nash; and then dropping off a dark-complexed man and a young thin white man in front of the Texas Book Depositary building.
After the assassination he was seen at the rear of the same building picking up two individuals. Then only minutes later, a reporter (Seth Kantor) encountered him in Parkland hospital as doctors were trying to save JFK's life. Later still, as Oswald was being arrested in the movie theater, Ruby was reported by one officer as sitting in the back watching the whole process and was asked to move, as shots were about to be fired. Around 4:30 when Oswald had already been taken to the Sheriff's office, Ruby barged into the office, only to be turned away. Later that night, he was in the audience at the press conference in which reporters put questions to Oswald, one of which Ruby himself answered for Oswald. Then of course, he showed up on Sunday morning just in the nick of time to kill Oswald as he was being transferred from the City to the County jail. As this book is the first to note, it is impossible for their to be an innocent explanation that explains all of Ruby's phone calls and movements better than that he was probably the CIA's Operations Manager on the ground running the assassination.

Equally, the book gives dramatic new details that trace the second Oswald much further than has been done before. All point to an "over-determined" intelligence operation as being in the driver's seat of the assassination.

The Bad News

Finally, on the down side, it must be said that as compelling as it is, Douglas' theory is just that: another theory in search of plausibility and confirmation. And as usual, the confirmation needed to separate the "weakly plausible" from the more "robustly plausible," lies in the details, and in how those details are woven together into a compelling and confirmable narrative -- which is not so much a criticism as a statement of fact for any JFK theories.

My first difference with the author lies in his decision to take the moral high road, and to ride it a bit too far into the clouds of abstractions and metaphysical divination. Affixing spiritual and metaphysical meaning to both JFK's life and death is the kind of romanticization and enlargement of the facts that we have come to expect of artists, such as was the case with Oliver Stone's movie JFK. Stone's reinterpretation of Jim Garrison's "facts" did not bother me at all since there is such a thing called "artistic license." However, here, we expect, not art (although the prose here is very high art indeed) but the kind of cold-blooded analysis more common to a sleuth, than a spiritual analysis of JFK's life and death. Compelling as it is in its allegorical neatness and cleverness, this Romanticization and dichotomized sentimentality, subtracts from the plausibility and does little to confirm the theory. Instead, in a reductive sort of way, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as we reflects back to ourselves, the best vision of our own goodness and define all else as "systemic evil." However, the fact is that evil cannot be systemic without being a part of the whole universal human condition. The "systemic evil" that Douglas finds unspeakable, has evolved from an embryo whose seed was incubated in our society, our culture, our very way of life. The systemic evil that Douglas attributes only to the cabal that killed JFK, reside within us all. The evil that killed JFK inheres in any political and cultural system that demeans the human being and plays tricks with its moral and human values. Since political cabals are organic outgrowths of a sick society, systemic evil is by definition a cultural problem. It is the sickness that "fathers the evil." That is the problem; that is what is systemic, rather than the evil, per se. Evil inheres in the structures and the walls of any society that loses its moral integrity by slow normalized dehumanization, such as racism, classism, sexism and perverse religiosity.

No matter what else is said about this book, and despite my own criticisms, I like it a lot. It is obviously a five star effort.

The foundation of this book is rooted in the belief that a conspiracy was behind the assassination of JFK and that the conspiracy was linked directly to Kennedy's alleged intentions of appeasement especially on international matters regarding Vietnam, Cuba and the Soviet Union. So really nothing new. Of course there were many powerful individuals and organizations who stood to benefit from harder stance on the perceived communist threat of the time, but is there evidence to suggest that Kennedy was removed from office by a conspiracy that originated in the highest level of office. James Douglass thinks so - and why wouldn't he? He places JFK on a pedestal, lures the reader into share his sentimentality on "what might have been" and in doing so cleverly dupes the reader into believing that such a great man could surely not have been killed by some deranged 24 year old nut case called Lee Harvey Oswald.

Douglass bases much of his pro conspiracy belief on selected pieces of evidence that seem to support his view that Kennedy was shot from the Grassy Knoll and that a team of conspirators were present in Dealey Plaza that day to ensure the assassins escaped and that Oswald was set up as the Patsy. Sound familiar? It does to me. It's been presented as the central thesis in countless dozens of books. Of course Douglass is unable to name the assassins, presenting the usual suspects as behind the plot, the CIA, Military Intelligence and Lyndon Johnson and of course the good doctors who performed the autopsy that evening in Bethesda. Let us not even think about the fact that the autopsy took place at Bethesda Navel Hospital because Jacqueline Kennedy requested it at the last minute. Other doctors were preparing for the autopsy at the Walter Reed Army Hospital and no doubt a number of personnel were on standby in various medical institutions should there expertise be required. That is a large number of people. Let us think about that for a moment. And let's not even consider the silliness around a plot that involved shooting JFK from the front but setting some one up having them "shooting" from the rear. Think that one through.

Douglass presents a number of persuasive "facts" about the events of the assassination that will inevitably lead the reader to conclude he is right - unless they have of course read and considered the alternatives. Let us take the case of Julie Anne Mercer who saw a pick up truck parked on the curb of Elm Street near the Grassy Knoll at 1100 on the morning of the assassination. Mercer recalled that one of them had a package containing a gun or that looked like a gun. Now let us consider this - can we honestly believe that a team of assassins would be parked up on the street 90 minutes before the motorcade was due to pass and in full view of the public? That is ridiculous, but it's also largely immaterial because it has been established beyond a reasonable doubt that the truck was owned by a local maintenance company and that they were undertaking work on behalf of the civic authorities. Douglass has all sorts of fake Secret Service agents on the knoll and cites the testimony of bystanders Gordon Arnold and Ed Hoffman both of whom saw "gunmen" on or near the knoll - incidentally both men saw different "assassins". He ignores the testimony of the three workers on the 5th floor of the TSBD almost directly under the south eastern window who heard THREE distinct shots and some 95% of witnesses who heard three shots. He ignores Amos Euins testimony that he saw a rifle protruding from the 6th floor window and that he saw the rifle fired. He ignores the many dozens of people - several in the motorcade - who were certain that the shots came from the TSBD. But of course most of all he largely ignores the medical and ballistics evidence that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Kennedy and Connally were hit by shots fired from above and behind. He chooses instead to believe that evidence was falsified.

One extremely irritating piece of irresponsible journalism centres on the alleged figure of Oswald in the doorway of the TSBD in the Altgens photograph taken just moments after the shot that hit Kennedy in the neck. The man in the picture was TSBD employee Billy Lovelady - who looked like Lee Harvey Oswald. Lovelady subsequently produced the shirt he wore on that day and identified himself as the man in the photograph. Few in the pro conspiracy lobby would agree with the contention that the man was Oswald. Douglass does however. The author also has Oswald escaping from the TSBD building by car minutes after the assassination with one or two other men in the car. Clearly an organized "get away". Yet we know beyond a doubt that Oswald took a bus and a taxi en route to his rooming house on North Beckley. Yes Douglass ignores this. Oswald then appears some 45 minutes later on foot walking through the Oak Cliff area where he lived. Is this likely given the "fact" that he had just been spirited away ? I don't think so.

Douglass also cites as evidence of conspiracy the employment of Lee Harvey Oswald at the TSBD just over one month prior to the assassination. He neglects to mention that Oswald was bitterly disappointed not to get another job across town and that Roy Truly the warehouse manager had Oswald lined up for another job at another location no where near the motorcade route. But its so easy isn't it to ignore all those counter arguments because they are rather more compelling and in fact rather undermine the foundation of the book. Frankly as the educated reader will know, it's all been done before by the likes of Summers, Hurt, Lifton et al. But its been comprehensively addressed and debunked effectively. If there was a shot from the Grassy Knoll, it missed and the shooter escaped into thin air. If Oswald had any co conspirators no shred of evidence of them exists.

Douglass fails comprehensively in his task to convince that the assassination was a plot originating at the highest level. This is sadly another poorly presented thesis on this bottomless pit of a subject and judging by the other reviews here the author has already duped the majority into believing it.
Perhaps just about worth reading if your interest lies more in Kennedy than his assassination, but if you are looking for a balanced "common sense" approach to the pro conspiracy front avoid this work.

The life of John James Audubon could have been a historical novel. This West Indian French bastard survived revolutions, wars, earthquakes, floods, economic collapses, and epidemics. He called everywhere in North America, as well as Europe and the Caribbean, his home. He combined entrepreneurial skills with a love of the outdoors and the gifts of the naturalist and artist (not to mention hunter). His equally-amazing English-born wife Lucy took to the frontier as readily as he, raising a family and providing frontier hospitality wherever their fortunes took them.

A biographer or historian may lack a novelist's eye for the kinds of background details that make the past come alive to the reader. But Richard Rhodes has immersed himself in his subject's world. He's read everything, not only what Audubon himself wrote, but also what his family, acquaintances, and others who experienced the same things wrote. Suppose you'd been in New York City on 9/11 but hadn't written much about your experience. A future historian might use the descriptions by others who were there too to fill in the gaps. That's what Rhodes has done for Audubon.

Before this book, Rhodes was known for his Pulitzer-winning history of the development of the atomic bomb. Now he's known as Audubon's biographer, having edited the Everyman's Library edition of The Audubon Reader and contributed an introduction to the forthcoming Audubon: Early Drawings. This is a remarkable book by someone who really knows his subject, his period, and his craft as writer and historian.

This book is nothing short of MAGNIFICENT! Rhodes is an elegant writer who knows and loves his subject as well as history and gets it all right. This is more than the biography of one brilliant man; it is a history of frontier America in its early days and is populated with much more than birds. There are Indians, friends, enemies, 4-legged animals, and yes, loads and loads of American birds. The voyages back and forth from Europe to America are enlightening and amazing to think about. I knew next to nothing about birds when I bought this book; I bought it because of an interesting book review I read a couple of years ago.

There is another Audobon book that came out the same year, Under a Wild Sky by Souder, and I own that book, too. The Souder book was a finalist for the Pulitzer, but I really don't know how it could have been selected over this book by Richard Rhodes. For example, this book goes into all the details of Audubon's personal life right up to his last days on earth, whereas the Souder book covers most of it in a few paragraphs at the end of his book.

I LOVED this book! I had a couple of bird books next to my chair as I was reading (one, a condensed version of Audubon's Birds of America), and referred to them throughout reading, which was fun and very enlightening and educational. Audubon knew and loved his birds so well that he even wrote biographies of individual species, and indeed individual birds themselves! What could be more amazing than that?

This is a truly delicious book that I wish more people would read. Right now there are only 18 individual reviews, which is much less than this book should have. I always blame the publishers for not doing justice to the fabulous books they are entrusted with. Do yourself a favor and read this special book! It is about a great man, yes, but also covers so much more. In these days of being green, Audubon predicted (and saw the beginnings of) the sad ruination and ultimate demise of nature in all its forms, and that was in the early 1800s. He was a pioneer as well as a bright man, and a funny man, and a driven man who loved and adored his family and his birds.

In its own way, this book reveals as much about the early 'natural history' years of the nation's founding as "Roots" does about early 'social history' years of Americans' tangled involvement with its imported slave population. Just as a national audience sat transfixed before TV sets watching a human drama unfold, so too, a reader following Audubon's manic treks back and forth from the East Coast to Louisiana to capture and sketch American birds, and his inspired obsession develop and finance a folio of ornithological plates by selling subscriptions in England, would marvel first at his tenacity, second at his self-awareness, and finally recognize that we live in a much less fecund animal world than the one he captured.

Audubon was an innovator of the first rank, in devising a systematic methodology (wire-frame supports) for accurately posing the bird in its natural setting, and a keen observer of the world he was both illustrating and helping to eradicate. Throughout his collecting and drafting career, he noted the transformations of habitats and ranges, and recognized that the 'natural' world he knew would look very different after his death. Large-scale conversion of woodlands to other uses, and the relentless pressure of colonization, exerted a profound impact on the distribution and range of avian species, and Audubon watched it happen in real time. His descriptions of the 'bird counts' he conducted tell the story. Repeatedly, he describes flocks that 'blacken the sky' - something we'll never see today.

Rhodes' biography is exhaustive, and a review should note that there is quite a bit of superfluous detail brought into the description of his early years. Furthermore, Rhodes in this effort did not turn out to be a great prose stylist, so some serious editing for length would have helped. Those criticisms aside, the Rhodes biography succeeds in bringing to life a vanished world, one in which colonists, pioneers and settlers were surrounded by 'wild nature,' and most of the people could actually name the animals (and birds) they saw!

If you want to really gain a great deal of insight into the forming of the American Frontier...read this book! It is really far more about that than it is about JJ Audobon although he is a very interesting character all by himself. A fascinating person at a fascinating time in history. I highly recommend it.

In the tradition of the great biographers, Rhodes leaves no stone unturned in his exploration of this remarkable fellow. The author carries us through the journey of the quintessential self-made man as he comes into maturity with his new country, the United States.
This is a study of a man, not an ornithological treatise. We all have seen the beautiful portraits of birds (terrific color plates in the paperback edition I have) and, through Rhodes efforts, discover Audubon's ingenuity in rendering them with the sort of lifelike quality he hoped to achieve. He earned his passage on many early excursions as the boat's hunter and trapper requiring lone forays into the hinterland. He clearly absorbed everything in his environment while he was making his way. His love for wildlife extended beyond avian society to all flora and fauna contained in the natural environment. He painted other animals and plants, as well. In his waning years, he executed a series of North American mammals with his sons. He had hoped to do much more.
Audubon's history is entwined with early America. He surely enjoyed his notoriety in European courts but always longed for his wild territory. In his later years (he died a decade before the Civil War), his assessment of the burgeoning nation was that it was becoming too crowded, overpopulated; ruined. THAT America was gone before Audubon died but Mr. Rhodes allows us an almost palpable glimpse at it as he illuminates one of it's most colorful citizens. Who would be a better guide into the young U.S. than this great naturalist, so skillfully revealed by this delightful writer?

This book is such a comfort for anyone who has lost a loved one. I'd recommend it to anyone grieving and their close friends and relatives. The theology and prayer in this book is uplifting.

I have not lost a child. In fact, I'm not a parent. So, admittedly, much of the power of this book, as expressed by other reviewers, is simply lost on me. I cannot empathize with the author's experience in any way.

However, I am still glad to have read this compact book. Though one reviewer suggests that it is too academic, it is no such thing. Intelligently written? Yes. Academic? No. Instead, it is a strikingly authentic expression of the pain and suffering that the author experienced immediately after and further past the event of losing his 25-year-old son to a mountain climbing accident.

The greatest asset of this book is the author's brutal honesty. All Christians would do well to follow his example of opening our emotional landscape for God and others to see, rather than somehow trying to stuff our most "unChristian" feelings behind some facade of strength. When things hurt, I am confident that God allows His people to hurt. In fact, Wolterstorff suggests that God hurts with us.

This book is not filled with Christians platitudes, so spiritual sounding but ultimately so silly, that we often offer to each other to try to help with despair. Instead, it sits in that grief, analyzes that grief, admits the brokenness, and still reaches for the comforting hand of a loving God. Especially for those who have lost a child but even for any Christian who wants to learn how to honestly grieve, I recommend this book as worthwhile.

My son died from injuries suffered in a fall while serving in the Peace Corps in Zambia in 2005. This book has put words to many of my own feelings. It is raw and heart wrenching. I have quoted many of the passages in this book. I highly recommend it for any grieving parent. We have a copy in our Compassionate Friends library, where it will serve as a comfort to many others.

Having lost our son last year, this book was recommended to us. You think you understand what a loss means, but you really don't until you are there. This book identified so many emotions I have been through and touched my heart at the love and compassion shared. If you know anyone who has lost a child, read this book and then you will have a better understanding to walk with them through this journey of grief.

This book was recommended to me by a wonderful lady by the name of Mary who owns a bookstore in Sandwich, MA on the Cape. I was curious as to how it would fare due to how thin it was but I began reading it immediately. I could NOT put it down. I read it in one sitting as it's very easy to read due to it's journal style. Nicholas Wolterstorff is a master at writing about all the feelings one goes through after a loss. Feelings that leave you scratching your head and wondering how you arrived at them and yet mange to still function as part of society. Feelings that leave you numb and wounded from the heavy burden and pain. Feelings that if you wanted to capture you would struggle to form concise sentences from the sheer overwhelming nature of them. Nicholas manages all of the above and more. He will touch you with his heart-wrenching understanding of grief. I cried, I nodded my head, I marveled at just how much my pain was not only recognized but acknowledged and validated. My pain is still with me, you will never be rid of it nor should you want to be (a notion mentioned in the book) but I have a feeling of peace more so than before I read it. This peace I think comes from not being alone in my pain. And while I wouldn't wish the loss of a child on anyone, I'm so blessed to have had the chance to read Lament for a Son because it has allowed me to feel part of a community of mourners. A community where I am allowed to suffer and grieve, but also clearly be aware of why I suffer and that is because I LOVE. Sadly in the real world we are made to feel we must 'get over' our loss and as a result are outcast in society. Through his words Nicholas Wolterstorff shows just how much of a force death and grief affect the loved ones left on earth. This book is a gift for those in pain from loss and is also a gift for those who want to help family or friends but don't know what to say. My son was stillborn and while this loss is diffeent from losing a 25 year old child, it is still a loss that has forever changed me. Lament for a Son has helped me in my grief, and I hope it helps your pain too.

Cindy Guidry lives in Neverland. Living and working in Los Angeles is difficult enough; try dating there. Guidry is a smart, funny, sexy woman who is trying to get in touch with her own power as she approaches 40. She's knows it's in there, somewhere. But it's hard to feel powerful when you live in a town where everyone is judged by appearances, and most of those are plastic.

I really enjoyed Cindy's voice. This is a book written by a clever woman who realizes that most of the men she meets are bombarded with too many choices on a daily basis. They can no longer make a decision about anything, especially the most important one of all, the decision of commit to a mate.

Guidry takes her readers on an enjoyable ride through Hollywood as she starts to put the pieces of her life together (accompanied by a Dave Matthews soundtrack) all the while feeling like she's the Last Single Woman in America.

She may get stuck with the easy "chick-lit" label, but Cindy Guidry has written a book filled with enormous humor, wit and poignancy -- and a well-earned understanding of relationships between men and women. Her trenchant observations -- on her own life, the men in it, her career, her family -- take no prisoners, including herself. More importantly, I loved her voice: the one of that smart, way-funny girlfriend who always tells the truth, no matter how uncomfortable, and god bless her. Men will be pleasantly surprised by their un-chick-lit treatment here, if they ever read it (mine have, and responded overwhelmingly positively -- "She gets it!"). Definitely a worthy read.

I have never found a book in which the writer (and narrator in this instance) seemingly gave forth so many of my own thoughts. I always considered myself to be a little too jaded, cynical, or critical, and am now glad to see there is a whole generation of us. Cindy Guidry shows there is really nothing too depressing about not knowing what you want to be when you grow up and, guess what?, there are lots of us out there. To heck with Generation X, it's Generation Cindy Guidry all the way!!!

Having been a former lover and devout follower of the series "Sex in the City" and having had to settle for vacuous attempts to fill that time slot or reruns on TBS ever since, I am looking forward to seeing this book and the idea behind it coming to life on HBO.

You get it all here..answers to the dating Universe and some.. I laughed, i cried and i was shocked at the honesty..very refreshing indeed!
.. highly recommended from this Goddess (and not just a chick read guys).

If you're a guy and you cringe that this might be another MEN SUCK book written for only women to read and rally together around the flagpole of self inflicted injustice, this is the book for you. Although she has her complaints about men, this is a refreshingly fair-handed, often sympathetic book about both men and women and their attempts to find and understand each other in this isolating cyber-world. While there are bestsellers as well as entire television networks dedicated to the proposition that MEN SUCK, Guidry offers the possibility of individual empowerment and an unflagging belief in Love, all the while making you laugh out loud about waxing and nail polish and cats and other things men don't generally care about. Men really do want to know what women think, and Guidry tells us in a way both entertaining and enlightening.