History Books

I already owned this great resource; I bought these for friends that were
going to lead their own bible study group. The information in this book
is wonderful as a reference for any study group.

Every Bible teacher should purchase this book. There is more than just maps and charts, such as a diagram of the tabernacle and the meaning behind each article in it and a denomination comparison and histories of the apostles and more. It is worth the price.

This is am amazing to understand yet very complete resource for every Bible teacher or studier of the Bible. I highly recommend that every household have a copy.

Borrowed a copy of this book and was quite impressed with the extensive amount of information contained. It is much more than just time-lines as it offers thorough Old Testament and New Testament reviews of key events and biblical doctrines. I bought several copies to hand out for Christmas gifts and one for myself.

A very clear history, I am sure would prove to be a good addition to any Christian library.

The book Ruby's Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges, takes place a long time ago in a city in China. A rich man married many wives and had over one hundred children. So since he had so many children he hired a teacher. Girls never really learned how to read and write. That's why girls had to work extra hard. The girls were supposed to just learn how to cook and keep house. All girls stopped going to class accept for Ruby. Ruby wrote a poem that her teacher and her grandfather were impressed with. She wanted to go to university than get married. So when she got older her grandfather gave her a red packet. When she opened it, it was a letter from a university saying they would accept her as one of there first female students

Ruby is a fantastic student she had the best calligraphy in her class. Even when all the other girls stopped going she stayed.

Ruby really wants to learn. Shirin Yim Bridges wrote, "When the boys had finished there studies for the day, they were free to play." "But the girls had to learn how to learn about cooking and keeping house. Ruby wanted to go to university even though it was unusual for girls to do that.

Ruby is a really hard working person. She chose to go to school because if she didn't want to she didn't have to. Ruby had to work hard since she was a girl. She worked so hard she was accepted to university.

By Jesus

Our six year old daughter really likes this book. It has a great message and darling pictures.

I loved this book! Ruby is a Chinese child living in China with her very large family. As a child, she knew that she was destined to marry, like all the females in her family, but she really wanted to
go to the university. It is a childrens' book with beautiful illustrations. There is a special little twist at the end that makes the story even more endearing to the reader. We have given it as a birthday present to a few of my 5 year old daughter's classmates, as well as to her teachers for a year-end present. We highly recommend this book!

Set in turn-of-the-century China, young Ruby wants to go to school, but tradition holds that only boys get an education - hence the title, _Ruby's Wish_. The artwork is beautiful, with abundant details, but the book's strength is the story itself and the morals of the value of an education and working for what one desires. The ending is also very sweet. Particularly recommended for young girls.

My story is Ruby's Wish.It is by Shirn Yim Bridges,it was a great story.It's about a girl who loves red.Ruby is good in school.The boys had cler all she had was only the letters.She wrote a pome that said;also bad luck to be a girl,worse to born in this house were only boys are cared for. My favorite part was at the end. The book had very good illustrations. I hope you read this book.

Charles L. Granata is a Sinatra Historian and Archivist, and he has distilled a wealth of information into his book: Sessions With Sinatra. It covers Frank Sinatra's career, from his first recording in 1939, until his last in 1993. It focuses on the music, and only mentions his private life if it pertains to the music. The book is about Frank Sinatra, the singer, but it is also about the Art of Recording, and the development of recording technology, which parallels the career of Frank Sinatra, or that is the central thesis of the book. "Chuck" Granata puts up a very good case, and documents his case with extensive detail. But with evidence like the illustrious career of Francis Albert Sinatra, it is an easy case to make.

Frank Sinatra is quite a paradox, someone with a dark side, but also a sensitive artist, the greatest singer of the 20th Century--but sometimes he could be a real jerk. The book doesn't pull any punches, but since we mostly see him in the recording studio, he is on his best behaviour. There is mutual respect between him and the musicians, the producers, and arrangers, with him occasionally pushing them to do their best. Yes, there are tantrums at times, and it is all in this book.

As well as information about Sinatra, his singing, the arrangements, and the music, there is also a tremendous amount of technical information. The various microphones used, the recording equipment, the echo chambers used to enhance it, the various studios and their construction and acoustics. Sometimes this can be a little dry to the non-engineers who might be reading it, but what is fascinating about it is that Frank was there making records when they were recorded on laquer covered disks, and he was along for the ride for all of the technical innovations that followed. To study the recordings of Frank Sinatra is to study the history of recording. He was not only there when it happened, but often the force making it happen, or at the very least the catalyst.

It is all there in Mr. Granata's book: From his early days with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, through his solo career at Columbia and Capitol. He left Capitol to form his own company, Reprise, and then finally at the end, for the Duets I and II he was back at Capitol. The great arrangers and producers that worked with Sinatra are all covered: Axel Stordahl, Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Gordon Jenkins, Don Costa, Johnny Mandel, Jimmy Bowen, Mitch Miller, Claus Ogerman, Ernie Freeman, and many others.

If you have ever wondered what is was like at the creation, this book is for you. If you are skeptical about Frank Sinatra's talent, if you doubt that he was the greatest singer of the 20th Century, and if there is a greater one in the 21st, he or she has yet to reveal him or herself, then listen to the songs listed in the book, then read the book. Songwriter Sammy Cahn knew Frank when he was just starting out, and as his career was just starting to gather momentum, he told him of a dream, a vision, that he could be, was going to be, the greatest singer the world has ever known. And he was.

Essential Sinatra:

Songs for Young Lovers (Nelson Riddle, August 1954) My Funny Valentine, The Girl Next Door
In the Wee Small Hours (Nelson Riddle, April 1955) In the Wee Small Hours
Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (Nelson Riddle, March 1956) I've Got You Under My Skin
Close to You and More (Nelson Riddle, January 1957) Featuring The Hollywood String Quartet
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (Nelson Riddle, September 1958) One For My Baby (and one more for the road)
Come Fly with Me (Billy May, January 1958) Come Fly With Me
Ring-a-Ding Ding! (Johnny Mandel, March 1961) Let's Fall in Love, I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
It Might as Well Be Swing (with Count Basie) (Quincy Jones, August 1964) The Best is Yet to Come
September of My Years (Gordon Jenkins, August 1965) It was a very good year
Strangers in the Night(Nelson Riddle and Ernie Freeman, May 1966) scoobey doobey doo!

Sessions With Sinatra sets a unique standard of excellence in balancing historical research with respectful recognition of Sinatra's importance to Twentieth Century music.

"I adore making records. I'd rather do that than almost anything else." ~ Frank Sinatra, 1961 ~

"Frank had the color and the fire and the brains and the imagination. Intellectual background strangely enough. Artistic sensitivity." ~ Nelson Riddle, 1983 ~

"Most Sinatraphiles would argue that his finest work, and the style he will ultimately be remembered for, was forged with Nelson Riddle. Sinatra-Riddle partnership was musically ideal and illustrates how a symbiotic musical relationship between orchestrator and singer can make a world of difference in what we hear and how we hear it." ~ Chuck Granata, 2004 ~

"Sessions with Sinatra and the Art of Recording" is indeed a wealth of information on everything you should know about Frank Sinatra's recordings. It is divided into five parts: The Big Band Years (1937-1942), The Columbia Years (1943-1952), The Capitol Years (1953-1962), The Reprise Years and Capitol Revisited. Mr. Granata did an excellent job in outlining Frank Sinatra recordings during his entire musical career, and his vast knowledge on all aspects of recording, technical in particular, is so amazing.

The Foreword was written by Phil Ramone, who himself is very well-versed when it comes to recording session engineering, and once said that he "was in heaven on the day that he realized his dream of engineering a Sinatra session."

Nancy Sinatra, who herself is a star in her own right, has written a very loving tribute to her famous Dad and "her hero" on the Afterword. I would single out a quote from her that I found so moving, here goes. . .

"My father always had a genius for picking the right songs, and when you consider the relationship between the tunes he selected, and the remarkably different themes that comes with each passing decade, you can see that his music tells a story that parallels his life and ours. Those songs, and their changing themes, represent Dad's most passionate dream - the one he talked about on dates with my mother - and the realization of that dream, which brought him almost insurmountable pain along with irrepressible joy as he experienced it, and as he lived it."

This wonderful and well-written book also features over a hundred black and white photos of the star himself with his fellow artists, musicians, conductors and arrangers such as Nelson Riddle, Quincy Jones, Billy May, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Mitch Miller, Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, his daughter Nancy, among others; Nelson Riddle's original score for "Close To You" in 1956; a vocal lead sheet of "April In Paris," (from Come Fly With Me sessions in 1957), which Mr. Granata cited as an example of how great Frank Sinatra was in legato-style phrasing, breath control and vocal maturity.

Mr. Granata wrote about the collaboration between Sinatra and Riddle (Part 3, Pg 92) and called it "A Musical Marriage." Frank Sinatra believed that Nelson Riddle was "the greatest arranger in the world, a very clever musician who was like a tranquilizer - calm, slightly aloof. And he's got a sort of a stenographer's brain." If Sinatra tells him, "Make the eighth bar sound like Brahms," or "make it like Puccini" - Riddle will make little notes, and will obey the Chairman. Their partnership was so fruitful and creative as well, and had produced the finest recordings of all-time, there's no doubt about it. They were truly musically made for each other. They both had good work ethic and the same musical goal. They knew what "each other was doing with a song and what they wanted the song to say." They had a very good rapport in all their collaborations, which is the most important factor to the success of a recording.

This is a very detailed source of information to any new Sinatra fan looking to start a collection of albums for the appendices show lists of Companion Recordings, Basic Collection, Concept Albums under Columbia, Capitol, Reprise, QWest Records. It also enumerates "Fifty Songs That Define the Essence of Sinatra" and most of them are meaningful, special songs that are my all-time favorites.

Congratulations, Mr. Granata for an excellent and well-crafted book you've written. And thank you very kindly for inscribing my copy. :)

Very highly recommended to any Sinatra buff.

This book comes from a different perspective and reminds the reader that really , it should be about the music .

I had read some silly books about Mr Sinatra and was glad to come across a serious one - I've always been fascinated by recording studios , having done some recordings myself . I wish I could have been at some of Sinatra's sessions .

This book is the next best thing for me .
I loved it .
Buy if you are even a small fan - this will make you into a bigger one .

Read this one cover to cover. Incredible detail, both technical and artistic. The only thing that would have made this book better is a complete sessionography or a description of the recording process of each album rather than just select dates. That said, it is an incredible resource. This book, along with Will Friedwalds excellent "The Song Is You" are the definitive works on Sinatra's recording career.

I read the book SOG, and as with any book relating true life war stories, you try to picture in your mind the people, surroundings and the enemy as they saw it. A Photo History, brought all of this to life for me. Excellent Book !!!

Back in 1997 I picked up a copy of SOG by Major Plaster and quickly became engrossed in the tales within the book that had never before seen the light of day. Later in 2004 came another book, SECRET COMMANDOS, again behind the lines material. But in between these two books came the real blockbuster: SOG--A Photo History of the Secret Wars.

I'm an ex-vietnam era serviceman, early Vietnam being out by 1967, and could not believe the wealth of intel within these three books, much of which was totally new to me. The later SOG book has over 700 photos giving a photo or more to almost every page. The value of this book is not something that can easily be put into words, and with most of these heroic men never coming back, the years have not taken the edge off that. If not for Major Plaster these men would have never gotten much recognition at all. That in itself is not right, but they one and all did their duty to their country and not for a handful of tin medals.

I have many history books on my shelves, some on Vietnam, but I can think of none that I would not part with other than John Plaster's books. These three books burn the secret wars and its warriors into your memory, and at times it defies belief the character of these men.

To read any of these books is to be proud of these men and yet humbled at the same time by their sacrifices. As Admiral Tarrant asks at ending of James A. Michener's THE BRIDGES AT TOKO-RI, "Where do we get such men?"

Semper Fi.

A fantastic book for anyone interested in MACV-SOG and Special forces recon teams. This is the biggest collection of photos I have seen regarding SOG and recon teams. The book is very well done.This is where the Vietnam war was really fought, across the fence.This is a major piece of history that was never really documented and the truth needs to be available to all who have misconceptions and untruths about the Vietnam conflict. These men in special forces are legends. A tribute to those who served on recon teams and most of all those who did not make it back.

This is an incredible book, perfect companion to the other John Plaster books:
"SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam" & "Secret Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors of SOG".
The pictures have great historical value.

This book tells the story of secret ("black") military operations run by the United States during the Vietnam War. Under the name Studies and Observations Group (SOG), the secret was kept so well that few veterans ever heard of it until long after the war.

It was composed purely of volunteers from the best of the American military, including Army Special Forces and Navy SEALs. Their missions involved going behind enemy lines in Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam, areas officially off limits to US ground troops. That's why all of their missions were classified.

The North Vietnamese went to great lengths to keep the Ho Chi Minh Trail open at all times. Special military units, stationed from one end to the other, had the task of maintaining and defending a 20-30 mile stretch. If the US bombed a particular area one day, it would be fixed and open the very next day as if nothing happened.

The task of a SOG team could be practically anything, from prisoner snatching, to confirming something seen in aerial reconaissance to placing sensors on a road to give Intelligence an idea as to the traffic level. Every mission was meticulously planned and rehearsed. From the moment they were on the ground behind enemy lines, the team members could assume that the enemy was seconds, or minutes, away. A number of teams made it out safely (the only escape route was by air), but they had to shoot their way out. Some teams were never heard from again.

Since their missions were secret, nothing the soldiers wore or carried could be traced to America. There were no dogtags, no obviously American uniforms, and, in many cases, their weapons were foreign modified weapons.

This book also profiles the people who risked their lives day after day. To most people, they wer just American soldiers who served in Vietnam, but, to those who were there, the following names are practically legend: Larry Thorne, Billy Waugh, Walter Shumate, Jerry "Mad Dog" Shriver and Dick Meadows.

When SOG was disbanded in 1972, all the photo files were ordered destroyed. The interesting thing about this book is that the several hundred photos here are not the "official" photos. The photos were taken by the men who were there and kept in trunks and shoeboxes for many years. The author also knows something about SOG, having been a three-tour veteran.

For military historians and those interested in special operations, this book is a requirement. For the rest of us, this is a fascinating look at an unknown part of the Vietnam War. It is highly recommended.

STUKA PILOT is the autobiography and Second World War adventures of Hans Ulrich Rudel. Rudel, one of the most highly decorated officers in the German Third Reich, was Hitler's favorite soldier. His unbridled passion was to be a pilot and keep flying. Wounded severely several times, he continued flying combat missions until the end of the war. Often incorrectly stereotyped as an "Unrepentant Nazi," STUKA PILOT's emphasis is on Rudel's experiences as a Luftwaffe pilot and commander. Born to humble circumstances, Rudel struggled to gain acceptance into a Luftwaffe officer candidate program. Though an exceptional athlete -- and often a dare-devil -- Rudel chose a dive bombers as his piloting career field.

The book follows Rudel through his early frustrations in missing out on early campaigns and being grounded by unforgiving squadron staff officers. The invasion of the Soviet Union offered Rudel the opportunity to hone dive bombing operations to a fine art. Rapid promotion followed. At the end of the war we find Rudel commanding anti-tank dive bombing units as just about the only force remaining to stem the Red Army.

STUKA PILOT provides excellent military history reading along with lessons in leadership. Though highly recommended, the book does harbor shortcomings. Rudel's printed story is too closely translated from German and the verbiage is sometimes confusing. Rudel's narrative also sometimes strays from a chronological recounting of events. As noted in other reviews, most versions of this book lack maps of any sort and so it is difficult to appreciate the extensive geography involved in this story. Rudel's story also abruptly ends with the end of the war. It is too bad that he did not append later version with his post war activities.

Do not expect to find much about Rudel's personal life in this volume. This book is devoted to Rudel's wartime exploits. Consider STUKA PILOT a military classic. If you enjoy military aviation books about World War Two, this book should find its way into your collection.

As so many of the previous reviewers indicate, Hans Ulrich Rudel was an amazing man. Set aside the sad truth that he dedicated his talents to the service of The Third Reich and instead focus on his individual achievements, which set him apart from nearly every warrior of history, except perhaps Achilles.

I was simply unable to put the book down. Rudel's experiences from bombing Soviet ships, to blasting Soviet armor, to cliff diving, river swimming, foot racing from the enemy to flying with one leg are just a sampling of the adventure this man lived. It's no wonder that he alone bears the highest version of the Knights Cross of all Nazi Germany's many talented warriors.

Rudel's exploits will inspire the reader with unapologetic admiration. His politics were flawed and remained so for the remainder of his life, but he never wavered from his dedication to Germany and to his own ideal of National Socialism. For this too, a man can be admired. Many other great warriors in history also fought for causes that did not deserve their individual greatness.

the lines between hero, fool and lucky are often hard to distinguish and more often ignored. rudel's accomplishments, as he remembers them, are indeed extraordinary. imagine a single pilot sinking capitol ships, destroying hundreds of front line tanks and thousands of trucks and artillery pieces all while flying an aircraft that was obsolete at the war's begining. in addition to rudel's flying stories, he also shares with the reader the more 'traditional' views of germany's enemies and its leaders both of which the author openly embraces. rudel is strictly 'old school'. i first read 'stuka pilot' at the age of twelve, it being the first of dozens of books i have read by enemy combatants over the years. i have found the book an excellent primary source to life 'on the other side' and during subsequent readings of the rudel book over the years i am always as impressed with his skill with an airplane as with his skill with a typewriter. rudel should be remembered for his accomplishments as both writer and pilot along with such other heros of the sky as billy bishop or gregg boyington.

This book is terrific in terms of action as recounted by the most decoated soldier of the Third Reich. After an inglorious beginning, Rudel's star shined on the Eastern Front where he flew 2,530 operational sorties and destroyed a huge amount of enemy material. In this book he analyses many of his tactics, the conditions in Russia, the loss of many of his comrades and his narrow escapes from death and capture. He received his higher decorations from Hitler himself, thus he can also give his imrpessions about the dictator and the private conversations he had with him. Rudel was a real killing machine and he didn't stop flying even when he had his right leg amputated from a direct anti-aircraft hit. The book ends with his months of capture in England and France. Rudel states emphatically that he fought for his country and not for a particular Party, but many times in the book he repeats his horror seeing the "asiatic hordes" invading the German soil and his sorrow that the Western Allies didn't side with Nazi Germany to save the European civilization! Apart from this propaganda moments though, the book is an excellent first hand account of the colossal battles on the Eastern Front and the great carnage that experienced fliers like Rudel caused to the advancing Soviets. The only serious drawback of the book is that the English translation made a lot of errors regarding the Luftwaffe units nomneclature. Thus the Gruppe became a Squadron and the Staffel became Flight, which is absolutely wrong. The same applies for the highest command echelon, which became just Group. The ranks were also translated to their RAF equivalents (correctly this time) which is really absurd for most of the readers who are not familiar with this system. There are also some minor mistakes regarding aircraft types, which shows a lack of a good editing.

Not perfect, but close.

Highs - Historically correct and well told firsthand viewpoint of possibly the best ground attack pilot to fight in WW2.

Lows - Some things are a little bumpy in the stories and don't flow as good as say "Iron Coffins". British translation makes Hans seem "british" at times! More maps of where he was talking about would be helpful.

How did this guy survive!

Overall, excellent. 96/100.

The information contained the book will allow any reader to develop a comprehensive understanding of the historic and current circumstances affecting the everglades national park ecosystem health. It is also entertaining, a fun read.

Grunwald is a captivating author. The Swamp takes time to digest because it is rich in history but it's well worth it. It's interesting to see how history repeats itself.

This book provides a history of south Florida since European settlement, with the emphasis on the problems of swamp drainage in the former Everglades and the struggle to preserve a small part of the ecosystem in national parks and wildlife refuges. Grunwald has done a good job of research, and unlike many journalists he reads extensively in addition to interviewing people. The book is both informative and a lively read despite its length.

Grunwald's story revolves around draining lands for agriculture and for (sub)urban development in South Florida. The history of Everglades National Park, which occupies only a small part of the Everglades ecosystem, provides a secondary theme.

Grunwald starts, and ends, with the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan of 2000, an $8 billion project that ostensibly would save the Everglades. The CERP is ultimately supposed to increase water flows to the national park, but this comes at significant ecological cost. To obtain passage, supporters of CERP had to front-load the economic benefits while postponing the environmental benefits for five decades. The economic benefits include enough new water for six million new residents, continued sugar subsidies, and support for continued urban development.

Grunwald doesn't take a position on the CERP but makes clear why it was politically feasible while more serious plans would not have been. Whether half (or a fourth) of a loaf is better than none in this case is an open question.

Ironically, CERP was signed during the Florida recount in the 2000 presidential election. As it turns out, Al Gore was a major supporter of the bill though many environmentalists opposed it as inadequate. Those environmentalists voted for Nader instead, which swung Florida to George W. Bush. Thus, the story in this book is not just important for Florida and the Everglades but for the next eight years of American politics as well.

Grunwald tells the whole story well. Highly recommended.

I wanted a single book that gave as complete a picture as possible of the Everglades and its history. This book was exactly what I needed. Grunwald's research seems comprehensive, and his writing gives you a very strong sense of the Glades and the people and politics that have shaped its history. Really well done. Just very impressive. Cannot recommend highly enough if you have an interest in the swamp.

The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise

Once dismissed as a dismal swamp fit only for alligators, snakes, flamingos and Indians, the Everglades has become a battle ground in Florida's continuing tension between development and conservation.

In "The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise," Michael Grunwald writes a well-researched and fluently written history of America's unique ecosystem. The United States bought Florida from Spain for $5 million. A hundred years later, nearly $8 billion was proposed for a comprehensive development and restoration plan for the Everglades that has yet to be completed.
Along the way, a cast of colorful characters influenced the story, including Henry Flagler, John D. Rockefeller's partner and the builder of the "impossible' railroad from Palm Beach to Key West; Spencer Holland, Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, and environmental secretaries from several administrations.
There were villains: "Big Sugar" and other agricultural interests that wanted to dump (and still do) their wastes in the headwaters of the Everglades; the railroads, which consumed rights of way as political payoffs; and the "Plumers," - hunters who almost exterminated Florida's native birds so wealthy women could wear feathers in their hats. Andrew Jackson's administration fought three wars of attrition against the Seminoles in what was America's first Vietnam. And there were heroes and heroines: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who started out writing public relations pieces for developers and ended up in her `nineties and beyond as "The Mother of the Everglades"; and Ernest Coe, another visionary environmentalist.

The Everglades, and a proposed Jetport within it, influenced the outcome of the 2000 presidential election. It has pitted the powerful sugar industry against environmentalists, but also forged strange political alliances including that of lobbyists for U.S. Sugar and the Sierra Club. Grunwald, a political writer for the Washington Post, interviewed dozens of current and former political leaders to get an insider's picture of the wheeling, dealing, and chicanery that went into the 2000 Florida presidential election in which Al Gore, the Nobel Prize winning environmental champion, found himself on the wrong side of the environmental fence.

In summary, Grunwald has done a yeoman job in compiling this important book based on extensive journalistic and historical research.

-- 30 --

I have been a big fan of the movie for years but had never read the book. Well, I have to say that the book is even better than the movie, and I still love the movie. If you have seen the movie It will be hard not to imagine Bogie and walter Huston in the main roles. And this is not just because they are already planted in your mind, I think director John Huston did an excellent job of casting the movie. Anyway, I highly recommend this book!

This book is the basis for John Huston's film of the same name. Both author and director share a love of Mexico and it's people. Having seen the movie many times it was interesting to come to many familiar parts of the story knowing what was going to happen and enjoy on the page verbatim bits of dialogue. The story takes awhile to get going as Traven sets up his characters but it builds to a powerful ending proving once and for all that man's greed destroys his soul. There are some who have criticized Traven's socialistic leanings but I don't think they get in the way of the story at all...in fact, I think they prove his point that unregulated capitalism is the bane of western civilization. But enough of that - this is a timeless story that meanders a bit so it won't appeal to casual readers. If your reading tastes lean to anything recent, this book will probably be too slow; in that case, watch the movie - you will get the same point in less than 2 hours. However, if you like Literature you will appreciate Traven's insights to human nature and his excellent story-telling method. I myself couldn't read this without putting the movie out of my mind...if someone tells you not to think of pink elephants...well, you get the idea. All in all, this novel is well written but could've been a bit shorter.

If you have seen and enjoyed the John Huston film of the same name, and believe it to be one of the greatest films ever produced, then it is mandatory to procure and read this book.

This review is written from the perspective of someone who has seen the film at least a half dozen times before reading the novel for the first time. The film is mostly faithful to the novel, so no nasty surprises await those weaned on the film. While less dramatic in some ways, the book provides a better explanation for the motivations of the characters. This necessarily leads to significant, though not unpleasant, changes in some of their fates compared to the film (or perhaps, better said, vice-versa). Some of the more interesting scenes also are expanded, such as the encounter with the bandits at the camp, and more background is provided about the bandits themselves and the efficient and clever way that they are ultimately dealt with by the local people.

Though a little slow going at first, once accustomed to Traven's writing style and well into the meat of the story, the feeling of the realization that a very special experience is in store for you simply builds and builds and continues doing so until the satisfying conclusion of the book is reached. This is a masterpiece, a gourmet treat for the soul, a book to relish during a lazy morning spent in a soft bed, or sitting by a cozy fireplace.

As in many screen adaptations, seemingly ancillary elements were culled for the film. However, those elements, namely the description of the factors which led to the oppression of the native peoples of Mexico, provides a pervasive, unifying theme throughout the novel. This lends an enriching, interesting counterpoint to the story of the central characters.

There is a tiny bit of information given about the mysterious B. Traven, just enough to make you want to learn more. A speculative look at his identity is presented in the extras which are included with the newly-released reissue of the film on DVD.

The stirring and adventurous novel, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" was penned by enigmatic author B. Traven. Traven a political anarchist active in the 20's and 30's was thought to be of German descent and was purported to be the illegitimate son of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Nonetheless he lived for many years in Mexico and as seen by his most celebrated work, had an excellent working knowledge of Mexican culture and society.

His novel which served as the framework for the John Huston classic film starring Bogey and Walter Huston, greatly embellished the story seen on the screen. His tale of adventure, hardship and greed was admixed with political commentary as Mexico was emerging from years of colonial rule and subsequent exploitation by big industry. The oil business was seen ruling the economics of the region described in the book.

Traven's ingenious blending of the gripping tale of his main characters, Dobbs, Curtin and Howard braving the wilds of unexplored jungle regions of Mexico in quest for gold with social commentary was very effective. He was thereby able to expose his points concerning the Mexican social and political climate. He also didactically pointed out that life's riches are not solely based on precious metals but also on the fellowship, relationships and respect among mankind.

I bought the The Treasure of the Sierra Madre at a small used bookstore that was moving across town so that they marked all of their fiction half off (half off of used prices - awesome). So I left with about 20 books for about $20 - $25. I was grabbing things at random that looked at all interesting or at all slightly familiar. One of those books was The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

I had seen parts of the movie years ago on TV, but not enough to remember any plot points. My dad had a tendency to habitually switch channels between five movies all at once so for the longest time I thought John Wayne and the scene where they blow up the bridge during "Bridge over the River Kwai" were scenes in EVERY movie.

The book was slow going at first. The characters are introduced and they take their time to finally get to the part where they're prospecting. As I read it I thought, "yes. There's lots of social inference in here." But then continued to read on taking it all at face value instead of trying to over analyze everything. It's more fun to think about it for a month later and think, "Man, that's so true. We'll all turn against each other in an instant if money is involved. tsk."

I enjoyed the characters, I felt frustrated for them as they fell into paranoia and insanity. I kept thinking, "Which one is Bogart? Is that Bogart?" And when the one guy **spoiler** gets his head cut off, I was like 'Whaa? For real? That's pretty intense." I've been reading a lot of Beat writers a lot lately, and the Mexico that Traven describes is a lot different from Kerouac's or Burroughs' Mexico - they tend to romanticize the poverty, where the guys in this book are actually living the miner hardships. Mexico's a lot better when you have a trust fund, huh, Burroughs?

And yes. I was so happy that the famous `badges' line is actually in the text. I pictured Micky Dolenz saying it from a skit in the Monkees TV show that I used to watch after school on Nickelodeon. I laughed and laughed.

I took the Microsoft exam 70-216 for network infrastructure today and all I can say is AMAZING! How did the writers know what was on the exam? There is so much obscure stuff on the exam that no other book I read covered the questons on the exam. But this one did. So much of the test was troubleshooting the network, so I guess a TCP/IP troubleshooting book would be the right one. But the similarity of this book to the test is amazing.

This book was good to read too and I am using it at my job and fixing some of the problems we've had with WINS and VPN based on what I learned. Great book and best study guide for the test.

This book is heads and tails above any other TCP/IP book I've read or own. Finally understand how DNS works, the RAS section helped me put together my Win2k VPN. Get this is you wnat to understand some of the weird stuff in Win2k TCP/IP.

We are in the process of moving from NT to Win2k and my boss made me the project manager. I had to get on top of Win2k networking fast. I bought this book on the recommendation of several of my co workers. Glad I got it. The book is informative and detailed in explanations and examples. A must have for the busy guy like me.

OK, I admit it. I learned my TCP/IP for Windows NT exams from reading Exam Cram. Needless to say, I passed the Windows NT TCP/IP test, but couldn't tell a subnet from a supernet. Now I have a job in the industry and I needed to actually learn TCP/IP, especially since we are moving up to Windows 2000 in our shop.

This book is unreal in how good things are explained. Great detail in describing RRAS, WINS, DNS, and the TCP stack. Using the information in the book I am now up to speed on TCP/IP. Enough to pass the 70-216 test! Not bad for a NT MCSE!

For Real, this book helped a lot. I owe the author's a beer on this one.

This book is fresh air to someone like myself who has read at least a dozen Windows 2000 books. I get the impression that a lot of the Windows 2000 books were written by people who write books and don't work with the technology. This book doesn't fall into that class. It was great to read this book, because it renewed my faith that a tech book could be written in a way that doesn't put me to sleep.

They cover Windows 2000 TCP/IP from top to bottom. WINS, DNS, DHCP, RRAS, IIS, routing and network devices. Its all there, and its filled with little known factoids that makes me want to keep reading and have another "aha!" experience.

This book also was the major reason I passed the Microsoft 216 exam so easily. Although I didn't buy it to pass the exam, they seem to cover all the material that the exam covered. A nice bonus. I wish they made the book longer, because I'm sure they could have said a lot more that I would like to read about.

This book isn't for beginners, but neither is Windows 2000. I think once the reader is ready to manage Windows 2000, they'll be ready to get the most out of this exceptional book.

I read this about 6 years ago when it was assigned in one of my undergrad classes. There are enough online reviews for you to read about the plot and like. Rather I want to tell you how her voice has stuck with me. I think of her ability to see the slivering when everything is just gray, and her amazing capacity to keep going. Whenever I think I can't go on, this death/or lost/ or series of unfortunate events as shattered the very last of my will I remember her words. I highly recommend it. I regally give this as a gift, I know I'm not just giving someone a powerful story, but really I'm giving someone a packet of extra strength for when they need it most in life.

This is a well-written, quick read. Heda's 27 years of suffering - first at the hands of the Nazis & then under the communist regime in Czechoslovakia - is heart rending. It's a book that should be part of high school curriculums to raise awareness of what too many people had to endure in the middle of the last century. It would be much more effective than relying on a history textbook that deals only with the 'facts.'

I would recommend this book to anyone. Even if you think you don't like reading about history, you'll like this book. In fact, it is books like these that are the reason I love history so much, and why I'm majoring in it. It isn't about the politics or the wars or whatever else (although those are certainly important), it is the story of a woman trying to survive through a hell most of us cannot even imagine has existed on this earth, especially not in the last 50 years. Peoples' lives are what connect us to the past, and what make it relevant to the future. It gives a little meaning and heart behind all the dates and events that you have to memorize in class...make them more personal. And furthermore, you will be inspired by this woman. Her strength and character is admirable, to say the very least. Actually, I don't think even a fictional writer could invent a heroine more honorable than this one.

So please, read it. stories like these deserve to be shared.

it is a great book use in my world civ class, and highly recommmand by my professor and TAs.

Clive James, in "Cultural Amnsia' - his magesterial review of literature and totalitarianism - said: "Given thirty seconds to recommend a single book that might start a serious young student on the hard road to understanding of the political tragedies of the twentieth century, I would choose this one". It tells a remarkable personal tale of a Jewish girl in Prague caught up by the Nazis and going to Auschwitz, then her escape and return to her beloved Prague, and subsequent worse sufferings under the communist government in the 1950s and 1960s. Her husband was a high ranking government official but later was put on a show trial and killed.

"Under a Cruel Star" (also called "Prague Farewell" in some editions) is not as bleak as the story sounds. It is a slim volume of hope and understanding, written elegantly by a woman who later in life worked as a translator from English and finished her working life in the Harvard Law School library.

Operation Desert Storm was unique in the annals of American wars. Soldiers were given thorough physical examinations, found "fit for combat", trained to fight, and then sent into a hostile environment with the intention of defeating Saddam Hussein's forces -- thought to be the largest military organizations on the planet. Upon arrival, most U.S. military personnel watched as technology did their jobs. After months of exposure to biological and chemical warfare (and only one hundred hours of ground fighting), most of them returned to civilian life without so much as a token physical exam. Then the consequences (perceived or real) began to emerge as a result of their having been subject to experimental vaccines, radioactive depleted uranium, and rage at the seeming indifference of the American government in general, and the Veteran's Administration in particular. The Unexpected Storm: The Gulf War Legacy is Steven Manchester's vividly recounted and personal story of his experiences before, during, and after the Gulf War, along with stories of friends made and lost, battles anticipated but never fought, and broken promises to a generation of American men and women who answered the call of their country and put themselves in harm's way to advance national policy and security. No 20th century American military studies collection can be considered complete without the inclusion of Steven Manchester's The Unexpected Storm.

Truth is often times stranger than fiction, but rarely revealed in a biography.This book is a "MUST READ"for anyone is interested in the Gulf War.The author tells an excellent story about his experiences and those around him.

Truth is often times stranger than fiction, but rarely revealed in a biography.This book is a "MUST READ"for anyone is interested in the Gulf War.The author tells an excellent story about his experiences and those around him.

"Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy, forget in time that men have died to win them." FDR


"The Unexpected Storm" is the story of one soldier's journey from the moment he and a friend made the decision to join the military to the quiet beach where he found peace at last.

Steven Manchester joined the army while still in high school. Later he transferred to the 661st M.P. Company, a National Guard unit out of Massachusetts. Normally the National Guard isn't sent into battle, but Saddam Hussein made life anything but normal in 1991. Sergeant Manchester found himself destined for Iraq, leaving behind a wife to deal with a work-related injury and financial difficulties alone.

He arrived under the most beautiful sky he had ever seen with a little bit of fear, and a heck of a lot of courage and determination. He wasn't fighting for oil as some would have him believe, he was fighting for all the women, children, and men who had suffered under the cruel hand of a sadistic leader. Sergeant Manchester's heart was in the right place.

The long grueling months in the hot desert took its toll. Hours turned to days, days to weeks, and weeks to months. He witnessed children blown apart by landmines, the twisted metal and burned soldiers in the aftermath of technological warfare, and senseless deaths. He dealt with a platoon sergeant who wobbled on the edge of insanity, and he was constantly sick from the inoculations and "preventative medicines" shoved upon him by the US Government. And, though the war was over, Sergeant Manchester still felt as if he were living on borrowed time and dodging the Grim Reaper.

I felt as if I were a ghost shadowing his every step, seeing what he saw, hearing what he heard, and feeling his emotions. I laughed, I cried, I smiled, but above all else I was touched beyond measure. In the end, Sergeant Manchester sacrificed almost everything for his country and the Iraqi people. He returned home to a hero's welcome, but also to a government that shoved him out the door and left him to fight his physical and mental pain on his own. Finding peace within him proved to be a cruel battle in its own right.

I recommend you read "The Unexpected Storm", and then you'll understand why I continue to thank Sergeant Manchester and soldiers like him with every breath I take.

It's not often that I pick up a book about something other than the Vietnam War but I'm so glad I did. The Unexpected Storm: The Gulf War Legacy by Steven Manchester is amazing! It's not that the war was amazing but rather the way the author has depicted it and perhaps amazing is still not the right word to use.

As I opened Chapter One for the first time Steve was talking about being onboard the C-5A Galaxy plane that was taking his National Guard unit off to the Middle East. He wrote candidly of his feelings toward the war and his fellow soldiers. He was open and honest throughout the entire book.

This was the first time the American public watched as members of the National Guard and various Reserve units around the United States were being deployed along with their active duty counterpart troops to serve their country. No it's not the first time units of that nature were deployed but this time was different. Everything was aired on television and the country quickly became aware of the sacrifices our men and women in uniform were making. Many were leaving spouses, children and jobs behind. In some instances both parents of children were being deployed and their children were being left with grandparents or other family members.

Steven's group was no different. Many members of his Military Police (MP) Company from Massachusetts were married and had families. Throughout the chapters he reflected on some of them. He spoke of how he and "his comrades have come to heal their nation from a ghost that has haunted them for two decades: the poltergeist of Vietnam." He wrote of seeing "the after-effects of 41 days of uninterrupted bombing." AND how "The Arabian Desert has been used as a testing ground for every new weapon in the American arsenal." He held nothing back including his feelings and emotions.

The war itself ended on 28 February 1991 but that's when Steve's group was really put to work. However, Steve's war began earlier when he was first injected with the many shots required of the soldiers before they could deploy. They were already getting ill from those shots and the pills they were forced to swallow frequently that were supposed to protect them from various known nerve agents. Now "Steve's body is invaded with its own ghost of torment." He and his fellow soldier's have been "brutally introduced to `The Mystery Illness'" better known to the American public as Persian Gulf Syndrome.

As Steve sat onboard that C-5A he reflected on his life, family, friends, and how he got to that point in his life. He realized he was 23 years old and now responsible for ten other lives in his squad. His wife was being left behind, out of work due to a back injury, to handle everything that he normally did.

He wrote about growing up in a loving household in New England-an area that I'm very familiar with-of his school years, and his best friend. Steve spoke of their very special friendship. His friend wanted to go in the Marine Corps but Steve thought that joining the Army and being trained as an MP would help him in his ultimate goal of working in Law Enforcement. They chose the Army National Guard. He wrote about their Basic Training, the first MP Company they were assigned to, and the company that Steve transferred into that eventually went to Saudi Arabia.

Steve wrote of his parents and siblings. He spoke of his uncle who served in Vietnam and how that war affected him. This author readily shared the love of his life, his girlfriend who became his wife, with his readers. They had a story book romance which went bad in large part due to the after effects of the war.

Steve wrote about finally getting the word that his group was returning home. They attempted to smuggle some souvenirs out. They were on their way to the most glorious homecoming scene in decades in the US. Steve had seen and experienced so much. He wrote "the Army had broken him down....He was affected physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually."

The soldiers were whisked through out-processing-nothing like what they went through when they were in-processed. "The Army wasn't even pretending to care. Like their Vietnam War predecessors, Uncle Sam just wanted them off his menial payroll." They soon learned "It was going to be a long fight." This was going to effect his relationship with his wife too.

His book went onto explain what was done to him, how it effected his relationship with his wife, and what he ultimately did. When his wife became pregnant he worried the whole nine months that he would have passed on his illness to his son. Steve spoke of deciding to change jobs and how he came to realize what would make him feel better.

As I said at the beginning this was an amazing book. This is one book that needs to be read in its entirety by everyone. Go through his life with him, journey to a foreign land, and pray for him as he goes. This is truly an inspirational story even though the author has changed the names of the people and units to protect them and wrote it in third person. I highly recommend it.