Current Events Books

This is a very informative book and a must read for anyone interested in understanding why the Bush administration is so prone to launching wars in the oil-rich Middle East region. The author, a renowned economist, is very knowledgeable about the economics and domestic politics that support such warmongering efforts. He identifies the pro-Israel Neocon movement and its alliance with the lunatics of the religious Right as important forces in the push toward involving the U.S. in wars abroad. The military-industrial complex and the strategic importance of Middle East oil are represented by Vice President Dick Cheney in the Bush administration, and are also prime movers of war.

Probably the most original part of this book is its chronology of empires and how Western civilization started its ascendency after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. This chapter (chap. 16) is worth buying the book in itself. The author's style is direct and pulls no punches. An excellent book.

As an amateur student of American foreign policy, I am appalled by the wave of anti-americanism it has generated over the last few years. The policy of systematically meddling in the internal affairs of other countries, especially in the Middle East, has been most counter-productive.

There is no doubt that unbridled interventionism, often done illegally and under murky influences, is the root cause of why there is so much anti-americanism around the world. And case in point is the gratuitous violence imposed on some Muslim countries, i.e. Iraq and Palestine. This is creating tons of resentment all over the Muslim world, turning many to hatred and some to terrorism.

Tremblay's book offers a way out of this circular dilemma: Apply to the Muslim world the same treatment given to the Communist world with the 1975 Helsinki Accords. As he puts it (p. 152-53), the Helsinki Accords, signed by 33 Eastern and Western European countries, the United States, and Canada, played a fundamental role in opening up the communist bloc to liberty, freedom and reforms. I doubt that bombs would have brought the same result.

Former President Mikhail Gorbachev has said that the Helsinki Accords opened the door to reforms that would not have taken place otherwise. Why can we not adopt a similar approach with the Muslim world, instead of jumping all the time on the war wagon? This is a well-written and well-researched book. It is highly recommended.

People who want a condensed introduction on how the Bush administration walked into a quagmire in Iraq should read "The New American Empire". I don't agree with all of Tremblay's arguments, but in my opinion he hits the nail on the head when he identifies the real reasons why Bush II invaded Iraq, i.e oil, Israel, military bases and domestic politics. By the way, the same scenario seems to be repeating itself with Iran, with the same deception about the real reasons for intimidating Iran.

So, even if you do not agree with everything the author has to say, this book is worth a ton of newspapers articles or hours of TV reporting. The chapters on `Oil' and on the `History of Empires' are worth buying this book.

Among the many books written on the Iraq war and the Bush administration's fixation with militarism, this book by economist Tremblay is one of the most readable and most informative.

The fact that George W. Bush was planning a premeditated attack on Iraq to secure 'regime change' in that country, even before he took power in January 2001, should make people pause and think. So should the Neocon blueprint for a complete American take-over of the Middle East ("Rebuilding America's Defenses"), drafted in Sept. 2001, by Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Jeb Bush and Lewis Libby.

Now that Iraq is a mess, that thousands and thousands of people have been killed, and hundreds of billions of dollars have been wasted, the American people are entitled to know the real reasons why the Bush administration launched an illegal war of aggression against Iraq, with no provocation but with a lot of bad faith. All the official reasons have been proven false. After reading this book, one knows the real reasons behind one of the most foolish enterprises ever undertaken by a U.S. government abroad. I have learned a lot also from prof.
Tremblay's new blog: http://www.TheNewAmericanEmpire.com/blog.

The truth shall set you free!

Dr. Tremblay is right on target with his assessment of the direction the U.S. is heading, along with his critiques of the politicians we have in this country. It is amazing that more people don't "see through" the false facades these people present to the public, and that so many people believe the lies doled out to unsuspecting voters! I would recommend this book as a very timely read....particularly in view of the upcoming 2008 Presidential Elections

Several months ago while surfing the Internet, the name Dr. Davey popped up in association with "fluoride poisoning," the WWII "Manhattan Project," making of the "atomic bomb" and secret "human experimentation" in the 1940s. I am aware of my father's D-Day story but now, 60 years after his death, the final chapter of his life has been revealed in this incredible book. After further investigation and filling in between the lines, it is apparent that Navy Medicine, having seen X-ray reports of "fluoride poisoning" in the bones of American workers during WWII, refused to participate in a medical cover-up during the early Cold War years.

It was shocking to read "Chapter 8 - Robert Kehoe and the Kettering Laboratory" in The Fluoride Deception by Christopher Bryson. My father, LT. J. Russell Davey, Jr., MC, USNR, who died in 1948 (unknown to the author), is described on page 108 as "the offending radiologist" who inadvertently exposed Dr. Robert A. Kehoe's study regarding industrial fluoride exposure of workers at the Pennsylvania Salt Company in Easton, PA. Dr. Davey made a January 31, 1947 medical X-ray diagnosis of "fluoride poisoning" which became known to management and workers several miles away at the Pennsalt plant in Easton.

Bryson describes top officials at Pennsalt headquarters in Philadelphia as being "furious" with Drs. George Pillmore and Davey. The two Navy radiologists were not aware of Dr. Kehoe's Kettering Laboratory mission, to secretly collect medical data regarding poisoned American workers in order to protect the US government's bomb-related defense industry from potential lawsuits. The author brilliantly lays out Pennsalt's role in producing hydrofluoric acid (HF) for atomic bomb production and the resulting cover-up of workers suffering from fluoride poisoning.

Fluoride poisoning resulting in "crippling skeletal fluorosis" had been recognized in Europe since the late 1800s. In 1937, Danish scientist Kai Eli Roholm, MD, published "Fluorine Intoxication, an encyclopedic study of fluoride pollution and poisoning." Dr. Roholm reported that fluoride exposure produced a host of medical symptoms in factory workers. Most distinctly, fluoride could visibly disfigure a worker's bones, disabling them with a painful thickening and fusing of spinal vertebrae, a condition he called "crippling skeletal fluorosis."

In 1944, 26-year-old Lieutenant Davey, 6th Naval Beach Battalion, returned from the Normandy invasion and became a student and protégé of Captain George U. Pillmore, MC (S), USNR, Chief Radiologist at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital. During that period, the Philadelphia Navy Yard housed a super-secret facility using hot liquid fluoride and pressurized steam to enrich uranium for the atomic bomb. Although bomb making was an Army project, the purpose of the Philadelphia plant was to supply insurance against failure of the Army's "separation program" and provide the Naval Research Laboratory with materials for the study of atomic energy.

Bryson describes a serious accident at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in September 1944. There was a release of man-made radiation and perhaps the worst fluoride accident of WWII. "A giant white plume of uranium hexafluoride gas drifted over the dockyard." Twenty-six men were exposed, killing two and seriously injuring the remainder. The Philadelphia coroner was not told the "cause of death." Body organs of dead men were considered "classified" and stuffed into a briefcase becoming the property of the Manhattan Project Medical Department. Years later, a Navy doctor explained to injured nuclear scientist Arnold Kramish that when fluoride gets into your bones, it "stalks you the rest of your life."

The following year after the accident, Dr. Davey was ordered to a Naval Special Hospital, Camp Wallace, Texas to serve as Chief of the X-ray Department in a 1,000-bed-hospital. After retuning to Philadelphia in May 1946 and relieved from active duty, Drs. Davey and Pillmore teamed up in a radiology practice 65 miles north of Philadelphia in Easton, PA. Dr. Pillmore established a Naval reserve unit that included Dr. Davey and about 30 medical doctors in the Easton area.

Bomb making was under the purview of the US Army during WWII. The Army maintained that "fluoride poisoning does not occur in the United States." However, the Navy Medical Department Cold War position on "fluoride poisoning" contradicted the Army Manhattan Project Medical Department. In 1946, Captain George U. Pillmore published Clinical Radiology: A Correlation of Clinical and Roentgenological Findings, Volume I & II, with 1,558 pages. LT. Davey was a contributing author. Navy Surgeon General Ross T. McIntire, Vice Admiral, MC, wrote in the Forward that X-ray examinations are "often the magic key in diagnosis."

Clinical Radiology states, "The source of fluorine intoxication include: (1) drinking water containing one part per million or more of fluorine, (2) fluorine compounds used as insecticidal sprays for fruits and vegetables (cryolite and barium fluosilicate), (3) the mining and conversion of phosphate rock to superphosphate which is used as fertilizer. (The fluorine content of phosphate rock is about 4 percent. During conversion to superphosphate, about 25 per cent of the fluorine present is volatilized.) (4) The fluorides used in the smelting of many metals, such as steel and aluminum, and in the production of glass, enamel, and brick....In 1932, Moller and Gudjonsson described a peculiar form of bone sclerosis in workers exposed to cryolite dust for a number of years. Since that time there have been many published reports of chronic fluorine intoxication and its effect on the osseous system."

Guided by a group of corporate attorneys known as the Fluorine Lawyers Committee, Dr. Kehoe's Kettering Laboratory conducted secret research in order to defend fluoride on behalf of a group of corporations that included Pennsalt, DuPont, Alcoa, and US Steel, all of which faced lawsuits for industrial fluoride pollution. Kehoe's aim was to block scientists from serving as effective witnesses in court cases. Manhattan Project Chief Leslie R. Groves wrote a February 28, 1946 memo to the Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Atomic Energy, advising that "the Department of Justice is cooperating in the defense of these suits."

Unfortunately for the plaintiffs, Dr. Kai Eli Roholm, the world's leading fluoride expert who visited this country just after WWII, died March 29, 1948. The brilliant Danish scientist was regarded highly by the medical profession but now would be unavailable to provide testimony in the fluoride lawsuits. Dr. Roholm's death was "a tragedy for all who rely on scientist to tell them the truth about chemicals they handle in the workplace and the risk from industrial pollution." The 46-year-old physician left a wife and two young children.

Dr. J. Russell Davey, Jr., the young Navy radiologist who exposed Dr. Robert Kehoe's scientific cover-up of fluoride poisoning, died suddenly June 5, 1948 of undetermined causes. The 30-year-old physician left a pregnant wife and three young children.

In 1949, US worker fluoride lawsuits resulted in no compensation. Former Manhattan Project toxicologist Harold C. Hodge, coordinator of the secret human radiation experiments at the University of Rochester and the nation's leading fluoride expert, wrote in 1965 that "crippling fluorosis has never been seen in the United States."

This book is far better researched than the material that consumer use of fluoride is based upon.

Very scary!

In easily readable style, investigative journalist Christopher Bryson reveals the appalling truth about how an industrial waste product with toxicity equal to that of lead has come to be dumped in our drinking water. Researching official documents from the years of World War II and the cold war of the 1940s, declassified in the 1990s after 50 years, Bryson tells of the lies and the cover-ups, names the multi-million dollar corporations and the people involved, and through rigorous footnoting, his source documents. This book is a must-read for all those wanting to know the shocking facts about how, through misrepresentation of the results of scientific research and skillful propaganda, unsuspecting communities have to been made to believe that a toxic industrial waste product is completely harmless and will prevent tooth decay.

It's all about a substance that has been placed in our municipal tap water for the last sixty years. It is classified as a non-approved drug, but is prescribed to everyone without our consent, without public debate, and without dosage instructions for each individual. It amounts to mass medication without consent. This is the main reason that 98 percent of Europe will not fluoridate. In fact, most of the industrialized countries of the world do not fluoridate. And, statistically, their oral health is just as good as in the U. S..
Extremely detailed and thoroughly researched, this book cannot be recommended more highly. Bryson spent ten years digging into the dark depths of government and industrial deception to produce an eye opening revelation concerning the health of everyone who is a victim of the risky practice of fluoridation.
Upon reading the information in this book, I personally visited the website, [...] to discover a treasure trove of detailed information, both scientific and popular about fluoride, its politics, and its adverse health effects, and how to reduce exposure to the substance (which proves to be quite difficult).
However, nothing convinced me more solidly than my personal experience. Once I had reduced my exposure to fluoride for only a week (by distilling our tap water and using "organic" foods when possible), twenty-five years worth of "mysterious" symptoms that had confounded my doctors simply went away, ..... vanished. My symptoms were diagnosed as depression, arthritic pains, muscle aches that really shouldn't have been there, cloudy thinking, and several other problems that came and went as drugs were prescribed to mask each new symptom. But, nothing worked as well as simply drinking clean, pure water. (I found out later that it is estimated that about five percent of the population is particularly sensitive to very low doses of fluoride. I can only guess that perhaps I am one of the five percent).
I have spoken with expert toxicologists both corporate and with the EPA. They have all confirmed what Bryson explains in this book. In fact, the union that represents the EPA's scientists and workers in Washington, D. C. continues to publicly recommend that all fluoridation of municipal water systems be stopped. This is in direct opposition to the stance taken by the administration of the EPA.
Despite being painted as crazies and loonies by the pro-fluoridation corporate and governmental lobby, I can tell you that all of the people I have met who are working against fluoridation are intelligent, forthright, and not willing to be led like sheep when they feel an injustice is being done to others. Rather than dedicating time to deriding the credentials of their opponents, they use logic and scientific evidence to patiently explain why fluoridation should be stopped. They really care.
I sincerely hope that Christopher Bryson's novel will find its place as one of America's finest exposures and examples of how science and the truth can be distorted and twisted by money and influence until even the experts are convinced that something inherently dangerous is safe for everyone, no matter what the dose.

I read this book as part of a book club and was absolutely amazed at the history of lies and chicanery associated with flouride in our water, toothpaste and dental use. If you want validation of what is in the book look no further than the January 2008 issue of Scientific American who interviews and quotes many of the scientists whose stories are found in this book.

I used to think that anti-flouridationist were cranks, based on the way they are characterized in the media and by folks in public health. Now I am seriously concerned about the level of flouride in my drinking water and trying to figure out how to protect myself and everyone else I can. Do yourself a favor and get educated. The public health implications, including the risk of neurological damage in the very young and arthritis and other unexplained disorders in adults is worthy of great concern. Especially when you realize that adding flouride to water was initially done to whitewash and to undermine concerns that this industrial pollutant (from coal mining and steel production among others)was poisoning communities and workers.

I'll be brief. My mom told me about this book years and years ago. I finally read it a few years ago.

Style-wise, I thought it was a bit melodramatic and I thought the author was stretching for words for emotional impact. Thus, I deduct a star for that.

What this guy's been through and what he's accomplished? Five stars isn't enough. I'd give him a million if I could on this site.

His journalistic travels to the middle east, especially his ride up the mountain on the back of a donkey, leaving his wheelchair behind - intense and beautiful.

I look up to John Hockenberry. I have a travel site, Wheel Adventure, and I am a paraplegic in a wheelchair. I think about this guy when I travel alone. If he can do it, I can travel solo as well. And I have and continue to do so.

Glad mom suggested this. One of the best reads ever and I was an English major and have read a slew of books.

I bought this book immediately after a close relative was injured in a car accident. It seemed different than the others (Although some of the others have been a great help in other ways). I know NPR and I had seen Hockenberry on NBC. The book was over the top better than I could have hoped. It is unique because it is written with such a clear voice in language that really grips you and takes you for a ride, it is funny--even laugh out loud funny and I'm a cynical person, it is witty, it has a political edge (which is why he and I would have some loud arguments at the dinner table), and it is not sugar-coated so while you are interested and amused you do get an education about what it's like to be a "crip." The best part is that when it was done, and I read it pretty passionately, I knew for a fact that I probably would not like him as a person, but I do respect him. Interesting take on "crips" for a newbie to that world. Thank you so much for this and I do hope that my dear cousin will be up to reading it one day.

John Hockenberry has a declaration to make, and he does it in an incredibly moving and entertaining manner. I highly recommend this book. It is poignant, very funny, and educational--about Middle Eastern geography and politics and about life from the perspective of those in a wheelchair.

From buying it (i think) 2 days early and reading over a very nice summer weekend in june 1995, i knew this book was - just- different. Amazing use of the language, probably the best crip biography to date (and it's well over a decade now. Based my Honors Thesis in College on what Hockenberry wrote in this book, traveled miles and miles to see his off broadway play, speaking dates across the country, and even got to know myself - and him, better as well, he ain't on nbc anymore, but this still stands as probably one of the must reads in disability studies or crip liberation.

I want to keep my review short because, if you have not read this book, reading my review will take up some of the time in which you could be reading the real book. When "Moving Violations" was first published, I heard a review of it on NPR. John Hockenberry is an NPR alum so I expected the book to be almost as good as the review led me to believe. I ordered it from Amazon and devoured it in almost no time. It was actually better than the radio review had led me to expect. A month later, I got a call from Seattle that delivered horrific news. My 21-year-old son had been in a contest with gravity and gravity had won. Although he had just had 18 hours of surgery, there was no way to know if he would ever walk again. Through the years since that time, I have read "Moving Violations" many times. It initially gave me entrance to a new world and was much more helpful to both my son and I than all the rehab publications combined. I knew, from the moment I answered that phone call that both my son and I had crossed into the Twilight Zone and nothing would ever be the same again. The Twilight Zone, however, had at least one map. My son's journey was, and continues to be, unique (as all such journeys are). I did feel, from the very beginning, that we had a preview of some of the directional signposts and even some of the scenic overlooks. I cannot help but think that our family has been living and learning about this new life in a richer way than would never have been possible if we had not read this book. As soon as my son came home from rehab it became clear that he had lost his will to live. I had a captive audience and started reading "M V" aloud. It is well written and mirrors many of the dilemmas in the life of a young male with spinal cord damage. I think it only took two days for my son to get interested enough that he started reading it himself. This book was truly one of the first things that helped him recover his will to live. Living with a catastrophic spinal cord injury is not even at the bottom of the list of interesting travel sites, and while I cannot believe that anyone would take that path voluntarily, "M V" is proof that, along with the horror, there can be adventure and possibilities in life; possibilities that could be so easily missed. So...READ IT! While spinal cord injury may never be a part of your personal life, sooner or later something awful could be. As the Eagles remind us, "The wolf is always at the door." In whatever guise the wolf presents itself, you will have learned something useful about what to do when or if the wolf appears.

This book is a book that anyone who is considering a career in any type of child services needs to read. I myself am going into social services and this book made me realize what I will be seeing on a daily basis. Mary Ellen was such a brave little girl and I applaud her for surviving her early life!

The book Out Of The Darkness is an awesome book. It shows the hard time that a little girl named Mary Ellen had to go threw. She has such a hard life, but in the end everything work out. I recommend this book for everybody. This is an outstanding book, everybody should read it.

I'm Eric Shelman, co-author of Out of the Darkness. I just wanted to ask that if you buy this book, come on back and write a review of it when you're done. I've never had anything but positive feedback about it, but others can use YOUR personal experience with it to better judge it prior to purchasing. I thank all of you who have read and commented on our book.

The authors of this book have created a wonderful window of understanding how child abuse/neglect has evolved over the years. This book should be required reading for anyone interested in the human service field. Through the heart-felt story of Mary Ellen, we can see why there is such a strong need to protect children and continue to evolve for many more years. Thank you to Shelman & Lazoritz for telling such an important story.

Review of Out of the Darkness: The Story of Mary Ellen Wilson by Eric A. Shelman and Stephen Lazoritz, M.D. Dolphin Moon Publishing, 2003

I chose to review this book because it explains the job of a social worker in the early days of the profession. The book appealed to me as an author and advocate. Set in New York City immediately after the Civil War, this book offers a powerful story in a historical context. Using an original style that combines journalism with fiction, the writers completed a work of art that is based on a true story. The protagonist, Mary Ellen Wilson, was a real orphaned child who experienced devastating cruelty at the hands of the first woman to be tried and convicted of child abuse, Mary Connolly. The story climaxes when Etta Wheeler, a social worker; Henry Bergh, the founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; and Elbridge Gerry, ASPCA attorney, come together to rescue Mary Ellen. It's nearly inconceivable that animals were awarded victims' rights before children.

Thomas Wilson was an immigrant from Ireland who fled the potato famine to shuck oysters at a New York City hotel. In 1861 he married Frances Connor, an English immigrant who he'd met while she was a laundress at the hotel. While he was on the front lines during the Civil War, she gave birth to their daughter, named Mary Ellen. The year the child was born was the same year that Tom Wilson died in battle, 1864.

Frances found it difficult to work and care for her child, so she sought the services of a woman named Martha Score. Childcare for the working poor in the tenements of New York City provided meager nutrition and crowded conditions with no sanitation. However, Miss Score took good care of the baby while Frances worked long hours at the hotel. Travel through the tenements was treacherous at night, so Frances could not visit her child as often as she wished. After her husband died during battle, Fanny turned to alcohol for solace, leading to the loss of her job. Eventually, Fanny died in an "inebriate's asylum." When the war ended, working women returned to housekeeping as their husbands went to work. This left Miss Score with no income, thereby having to abandon the then two-year old Mary Ellen to Blackwell Island almshouse. Mary Ellen was illegally adopted to the evil Mrs. Connolly, where she suffered for seven years.

Etta Wheeler worked for St. Luke's Mission; she cared for the "outdoor poor" and frail elderly in the slums of the city. When neighbors spoke about the cries of a child called Mary Ellen, Miss Wheeler used all available resources to rescue Mary Ellen. However, she was often told by pastors, police, and lawyers to not interfere in the family's business. Undaunted by the advice, Etta persisted in her rescue efforts, eventually aided by Henry Bergh of the ASPCA. In 1874, with police assist, Mary Ellen was carried out of the abusive home, covered with a horse blanket provided by the ASPCA. The court proceedings set a precedent: "There had never been a recognized way to remove a child from an unfit home." The jury trial resulted in felony assault charges against Mrs. Connolly.

Etta Wheeler's sister, who lived on a farm in upstate New York, legally adopted Mary Ellen. Etta continued her social work in the tenements of New York City, where she was needed most. Mary Ellen eventually married, and her daughters spoke of their mother's burns and cuts that never fully healed. However, Mary Ellen lived until the age of ninety-two, surviving her husband by thirty-one years. Meanwhile, Mr. Bergh founded the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Mr. Gerry was responsible for forming the initial laws pertaining to the rights of children.

This story will cause the reader to wince at the cruelty and rejoice at the rescue. Perhaps the most poignant message in the book comes with the ending: "Perhaps we should see Mary Ellen not as the victim of abuse, but as the survivor, and as a persistent reminder that the efforts of a few people on behalf of one child can make a real difference." As a social worker, that is my hope.

How can I review the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? I can't, it's been done already, probably thousands of times. They're remarkable and in my opinion, a must have for EVERY American in every walk of life.

This edition however, I can review that. It's small, light, convenient, easy to read and easy carry. Very handy.

At about 2/3 the height of a mass-market paperback book and a trim 58 pages, the only real disadvantage to this collection of America's most important documents is that, if you shelve it on your bookshelf, it may get lost. It is a tiny book, meaning that it's not bogged down by a ponderous introduction or tedious analyses. It contains just the Declaration and the Constitution themselves, as well as a concise and informative introduction. It's really the book to buy if you just want to have the Founding Fathers' documents plain and simple. And read it every few years, just to get a sense of what principles America was built on. These documents should always be the basis of any intelligent discussion about American politics.

The real value in this book is that it has explanations about recent case law, the popular and dissenting opinions, and implications of the Bill of Rights.

Of course the book has much more than that, but as Americans our liberties are the most valuable asset we possess. This book is a good reminder of all the history, and how amazing the freedoms we have been gifted as American citizens are. I like to re-read the Constitution every few years, and this book, with its included annotations, is a good way to do that.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
& THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

This is probably the best-liked of all the pocket Constitutions out there due to its compact size and nice-looking appearance. It's height and width are roughly akin to a man's wallet, making it easy to carry and

The book begins with a preface by Roger Pilon of the CATO Institute. Pilon recommends that Americans should use the Declaration of Independence to provide a context for the more specific language in the Constitution. He points out that the Founders believed that our rights are inalienable and come from the principles of natural law. Our rights do not come from the government, and the government exists to protect our rights and defend the country. The Founders developed the system of enumerated powers so that no segment of government would hold too much power.

Included are the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and a list of amendments to the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Constitutional amendments).

This is the same version of the Constitution that Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) pulled out of his pocket during the MSNBC debates and on the Colbert Report television show. It is also the same one that Republican B.J. Lawson (called "Ron Paul Jr.") held up during the GOP primary race in North Carolina (he later won the nomination). Here's to any elected official who has read and understands the founding documents of this great country!

"Government officials must respect their oaths to
uphold the Constitution; and we the people must
be vigilant in seeing that they do. The Founders
drafted an extraordinarily thoughtful plan of
government, but it is up to us, to each generation,
to preserve and protect it for ourselves and for
future generations. For the Constitution will live
only if it is alive in the hearts of the American people."
~Roger Pilon, pg. 7

This little book which is compact enough to be carried in your back pants pocket has a terrific intro by the Cato Institute. Beyond that, it is just what it says it is - no more no less. For $5, an excellent value. Every American should read this & carry it with them, & the most patriotic among us, do. It may come as quite a surprise to many who do read it (sadly, most who pick up this book probably already have, & those who need to, won't) that there is nothing in it allowing the federal government to provide health care, welfare, social security or education, to wire tap, to arbitrarily take away our civil liberties (before, during, or after a "national emergency") or protect "family values." All are unconstitutional. But don't take my word for it. See for yourself & buy the book.

It was recomended by a teacher friend. It's quirky, funny & full of imagination. I have read books by Elisabeth Peters on archeology & discovering Egyption tombs so I enjoyed this because it challenges the imagination on what future scientists might discover about our civilization.

The 41st Century is full of mysteries. Like what happened to Ancient Yankees who lived in North America? Why did they die out and how did they live. One day a tomb, untouched, is found and it gives us a glimpse of what these Ancient Yankees were like in the 20th Century. Sacred items, musical instruments, and the sacred point will make you laugh and wonder how much of OUR knowledge is based on such conclusions?

Motel of the mysteries is a fun, easy read.
Everyday items are seen in the light of future archeologists, with interesting, funny and sometimes insightful interpretations. Good book to share with others.

When this book first was published, the Hotel Technology department head inadvertently had the college library purchase this book for the department. When it arrived we laughed hysterically about it, and many times, I have laughed about it ever since.

Two years ago, I ordered a copy for the library where I am currently a Children's Librarian. It did not even make it to the "stacks", someone
liked it so much they "permanently borrowed" it.

If you need a good laugh...!

I've carried my copy of this book over many moves. It grows on me each time I read it. Originally it seemed just a humourous retelling of the Carter discovery of Tutankhamun and the Egyptian hysteria that accompanies it. Later on, after getting much more involved in arguments over interpretations of Roman historical artifacts, I realized how to the point the book is about the way we see the past and argue over the meaning of what we see. Still really funny though.

Before approaching the text of Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, I had little realization as to the proper content of his prophetic work. To my former understanding, the text was merely a collection of adulation and reflections upon the American way of life by a French observer in the nineteenth century. Upon reading this abridged version of Democracy in America, I found a much more prophetic text which reflected more upon the cultural impact of democratic institutions than upon the praise which should be attributed thereto. While one may fault de Tocqueville for approaching the democratic world with the cutting eye of a small aristocracy, it is quite evident that he accepted the fact that the human spirit was led to greater democratic tendencies and that such was to be taken almost a priori as the state of the world in his era.

The truly important reflection of the work as a whole comes in the considerations which he places upon the consequences of equality which follows from democratic revolutions. The phenomena of hardy individualism and its potential devolvement into individualism were not lost in his reflections. From this hardy individualism, de Tocqueville feared that humanity in democratic times may tend more toward equality and stability than toward liberty. In this, he not only foresaw the simple tendencies of utilitarian artwork and literature but also the potential destruction of civil associations and the devaluation of individual accomplishment and differentiation. It is this latter point, which seems somewhat paradoxical at first glance, which is perhaps the most prophetic of his reflections. In the process of cultural homogenization and individuation, de Tocqueville foresees that centralization of power will become much more likely as the populace views itself to be nothing more than an accumulation of nearly-identical citizens. Beyond this, his fears of the tyranny which could result by the abandonment of liberties by the people are well founded, for a society which wholly forgets the fact that some human beings can stand out is one which can easily allow itself to be subjected to the capricious desires of a powerful state as liberty is wholly forgotten.

These prophetic words should be read by all reflective Americans as we continue to move toward a larger centralized state and clamor with greater intensity for security in all forms (be it physical or social), for such equalizing security can only come at the cost of the liberties which allow the individual to actually have the worth which we intellectually affirm that he or she has.

As an American living in Europe, I read with great interest Alexis de Tocqueville's book about a European experiencing America.

Like most people, Mr. de Tocqueville started out with a characterization of the United States, believing that the country's early 19th century prosperity was a function of its distance from rivals in Europe. But after his famous trip, he concludes that the real difference comes from each side's view of risk taking. It's an insight as relevant today as it was when it was written.

Mr. de Tocqueville predicted that the growing issue of state's rights would lead to bloodshed (it led to the Civil War -- though he wrongly predicted it would eventually lead to a breakup of the union, he was very nearly right on that point as well); he predicts the fledgling country's industrial rise and its emergence as a true world power; he recognized the symbiotic role between industry and democracy at a time when they were believed to be unrelated. His insights into the American psyche, optimism, and ambition at times seem timelier than most op-ed pieces.

More than a century and a half after it was written, I am hard pressed to conjure the name of a better commentary about America and Americans. It is an astonishing feat considering the brevity of Mr. de Tocqueville's four-month visit, his youth (he was in his early 20s), and early stage of development the country was in. But the result is something that shouldn't be skipped by any serious student of the political and social essence of the United States.

Praising this book is a bit like saying Huckleberry Finn was one of the great American novels - it's a profound statement of the obvious. Even so, it must be said: Alexis de Tocqueville's magnum opus is a brilliant sociological analysis of America, with his genius made all the more evident by how applicable his observations about 1830s America are to its twenty-first century counterpart. Everything from the solidity of America's political infrastructure to the disquieting trend toward anti-intellectualism are explored in this massive work, and his gift of analysis is matched only by his gift for prophecy (can you believe that he predicted a conflict between America and Russia before the rise of Communism?). An amazing book, and necessary reading for anyone who wishes to understand America, rather than merely talk about it.

I have three complaints about this edition of Tocqueville:
1) Nowhere in the book is the translator credited. This violates basic principles of publication and scholarship.
2) This is in fact an abridged version of the original English-language translation by Henry Reeve, dating from sometime before 1862. Unless you want to re-create the experience of a modern Frenchman confronted with de Tocqueville's somewhat archaic French by reading the text in somewhat archaic English, I would seek out any of the more recent translations: there are at least three.
3) The ellipses, that is, the abridgements, have sometimes been made to conceal some of the author's less flattering views America. In fact I suspect this is a "patriotic" abridgement. For example, in the second chapter of part one, Heffner has omitted references to some of the excesses of Puritan law in New England which the notoriously even-handed Tocqueville had cited.

As a former reviewer has stated this edition takes quite a bit of liberty in excising the less flattering aspects of Tocqueville's views of America. In fact the entire section on race-relations has been excised --perhaps it was deemed too controversial? This kind of editing is even more unacceptable in our age of open communications and hopefully open minds. Find another edition.

I was hoping for a lot with a 5 star amzn rating but unfortunately I only got through half of the book because it failed to meet those expectations. I was hoping for a technical presentation of clandestine affairs. If the author was going to describe a particular stakeout and audio operation I was hoping it would be presented with maps, technical layouts, and diagrams of devices such that the detail would justify another book in this area. What I got was a shallow examination of multiple operations where little information was divulged and most of the drama centered around the departments lack of preparation and eventual overcoming of their technical shortfalls through private industry or industrious tech.
I was hoping to read a book about the technicalities of the operation not a book where i had to flip back and forth to the appendix to look up the abundant acronyms used and where I would go pages just reading about the cia's lack of preparation. occasional stories were interesting but would likely not be new to anyone versed in the subject.

I skimread this book, I admit it. Sections were so dry, I just couldn't deal with it. I needed a good mix of the technical and the real-world.

It broke my heart that so much time and effort was needed to get to a place where our Soviet informants could share info, only to be ruined by Hanssen.

Meantime, I roared at the stories of the agents desperately experimenting with inflatable sex-toy women as possible "doubles" for car passengers who had bailed from a car moments before.... and the stories of what was involved in trying to buy bulk numbers of inflatable person-shaped anythings for experimentation as body doubles. THAT tickled me enormously. The ultimate details of why this double was needed, the misery of what the real human would be doing in the meantime, grim grim stuff. James Bond movies have done us all a big disservice. The real spy world is anything but glamorous stuff.

I am in awe and forever grateful to those who stuck it out to get a few seconds of eavesdropped conversation, a page of forbidden blueprints. Thank you guys. I get what you did, what years you sacrified.

Oh, and, yeah, I will no longer be impressed by people who think it's clever and antidisestablishment to sneak over and hang out in Cuba as tourists, having read the detail of the Cuba prison system. Horrific stuff.

SPYCRAFT is the book, every lay person should read. This book shows that good intelligence work rather than being glamorous, can be a tedious and perilous occupation that involves pain-staking preparation. Intelligence means gathering necessary information for policy makers to make realistic and level-headed decisions. With provided intelligence, policy makers can take steps to prevent disasters from occurring or global conflict from taking place.

While reconnaissance satellites can show what physical movements are taken by nations and NGOs, HUMINT or human intelligence is needed by policy makers to decide if a bluff is being made or deterrence will be required. SPYCRAFT shows how the CIA has used innovation and daring in the gathering and transmitting of HUMINT. The innovation of inventing tools is used for gathering and transmitting of intelligence. The personal risk involved usually doesn't involve gun-play or some melodramatic heroism. Personal risk is about not getting caught and taking personal risk to protect a source or helping an exposed source from deadly reprisal.

Too often, the public sees the Central Intelligence Agency as later day Keystone Kops or Americanized versions of James Bond. Neither stereotype is accurate. SPYCRAFT demonstrates that the people who work at the CIA are everyday Americans who have decided to take up the cause of maintaining the peace by sustaining a professional intelligence organization.

I have known Bob Wallace since we were 3rd graders in neighboring communities in Lincoln and Ottawa Counties, Kansas. We competed against one another in team sports throughout our grade school and high school days and were teammates for several years of summer baseball for Home Oil Company, Barnard, Kansas. I had not seen Bob since 1962 or perhaps a few years later, but I kept track of him through one of his cousins who happens to be my brother-in-law. Clearly, Bob is an outstanding individual whose accomplishments (those he can discuss, let alone those known only to a select few with the highest of security clearances) are incredible. It is almost unbelievable to me that this tough farm boy, who used to pigeon-toe out to the mound from behind home plate in dusty sweat-soaked catcher's regalia to counsel me about my side-arm deliveries, went on to become one of our nation's top CIA officials.

I ordered a copy of Spycraft months before its release and read it with great interest. I learned more about clandestine service and specific case histories than I had ever anticipated. I guess it had not occurred to me that the techies didn't just do a quick orientation for the end user and go on to the next new thing. Also surprising was the candor with which Bob described the agonizing process of getting this book approved by the CIA. My having known Bob since early childhood permitted me to ascribe the highest credibility to this account of key events and inventions involving spies and spytechs.

I had the privilege of being Bob's guest at a presentation he made to a local fraternal organization a few days after Spycraft was released. He signed my copy of the book and bemusedly asked me my favorite part (was this a test to see if I had read it?) Near the end of his presentation, I think he set the stage for the next few chapters of a yet unwritten update someone may write in a decade or two. Bob responded to the last question of his Q & A, inquiring whether even more refined and amazing gadgets were currently being developed and used in the field. He could not answer except to say that the gadgets described in the book were developed up into the 90's and with the passage of a number of years one need only use imagination to extrapolate from then until now. My parting comment to Bob in an email after the luncheon was that I hoped we lived long enough for him to write and me to read his memoir. In the meantime, I am content to use my imagination to insert him into the book here and there when he quotes one of the old hands or an unnamed station chief--who knows; could be???

Having read and enjoyed Spycraft, I expected it to garner solid reviews. However, I am quite surprised to see that until now, it's received 100% five-star reviews. I've almost never seen a book reviewed this favorably and I've certainly read better books with more mixed reviews.

Don't get me wrong, Spycraft is a good book. It allows its reader behind a curtain into a world that is typically strictly off-limits. You get to experience the real-world existence of spies living and working secretly behind enemy lines. The book reveals a lot of the technology used by spies, focusing in on listening devices, cameras and communication devices. What stands out is the ingenuity and craftsmanship that goes into the creation of the devices upon which people stake their lives.

While the book is written about spy technology, what I found to be the most surprising from the book was the the amount of time and effort invested in some of the CIA's covert operations. Often times, years are spent establishing credible cover or doing piecemeal research about a target to avoid drawing attention. 100% of some peoples' living patterns are built around an operational necessity that takes up only the smallest percentage their time. It's truly amazing to read about the sacrifices made to achieve an intelligence payoff.

There is a problem, however, the book reads unexpectedly dull. I'm sure this is an outgrowth of the fact that real CIA operatives have to be consummate professionals and not suave, womanizing James Bond-types, but it takes away from the book. I am not implying in any way that anything should be fabricated or embellished to add to the excitement, but instead that the story is inherently exciting and that the writing should have reflected that more even if the author's demeanor is necessarily even-keeled.

A great book, but exciting stories get told in a seemingly Prozac-tamed manner. I recommend this one highly, but it could have been better still.

Thought it would have more written by Frank McCourt. Even though, I still appreciate great photographs, especially having to do with 9/11.

Simple and to the point, yet poingint and touching, this book shows like no other how the world's greatest fire department dealt with the aftermath of tragedy.

Outstanding It shows the amazing grief and resolve of New York and its firefighters. It is is visual history of the Sept.11 attacks and their aftermath

I was moved to tears reading this, not only having witnessed the 9-11 atrocities firsthand but as a widow I know the pain suffered by the widows of those brave firemen that perished that day. This book is a must-read along with the others that are listed. I cannot say enough about it, God Bless Those Brave men.

As you are reading though the tribute to the fallen, you see thenamesof each of the lost Firefighters scrolled across the bottom of the pages. Each page left me more and more with a sense of loss. I did not lose anyone that fateful day, yet, we all lost. The words you read are quite moving, the pictures mean more than the words and poems. Yet i am most moved by the names of those precious and brave firefighters name across the pages from the front cover to the back cover.

There are parts of the book that are clearly written in the immature style of a teenager (colloquial speech) and parts that have been edited so much that they seem to come from an entirely different person. The overall book is choppy in terms of style, although the organization is excellent.

I would have preferred that the author articulate more clearly his emotions that accompanied his experiences. I would have hoped that his editor/professional writing mentor would have worked on making the story more compelling. I was a bit sad to get to the end of the book and not feel inspired. I felt like it was an "interesting story," but inspirational--not quite.

The captions below the photos should either not exist or tell additional information that is not contained in the text. I was annoyed to read a summary statement below the photo that I had just read on the previous pages.

It would be a good leisure read for high school students (or anyone for that matter), although as an example of good quality writing, I wouldn't suggest it.

A wonderful book that will give you a firsthand account of the situation surrounding child labor in South East Asia.

The Kielburger story is one of an incredible journey that he took as a twelve year old to explore the problem of child labor. The "journey" has continued since then into his discovery of the problem all over the world, in addition to his solution through his organization. They build schools, spread awareness through lectures (and their website www.freethechildren.com), inspire young leaders through their programs, and so much more. This is a story that needs to be told over and over again to whomever in hopes that the world can work together to "Free the Children" all over the globe. Get this book and pass it on to any one and make sure they pass it on....

Craig and Marc's stories are so amazing. I used to think that I can't make a difference in the world because I am only 14 years old. This book taught me that even the smallest of actions can create a ripple that affects more people than I can ever imagine. The ideas in this book are really quite simple, but when articulated so clearly by Marc and Craig, it just makes so much sense.

Craig Keilburger is an amazing man and is one of the Worlds greatest heroes. I have learned more from this book then any in the whole world. Even Social Studies!