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United States Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

United States
Happy Endings: The Tales of a Meaty-Breasted Zilc
Published in Hardcover by Simon Spotlight Entertainment (2007-07-01)
Author: Jim Norton
List price: $23.95
New price: $10.75
Used price: $4.91

Average review score:

Happy Endings
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-29
Lil' Jimmys book doesn't disappoint. He's definitely one of the best comedians going today. Hopefully his next book isn't too far away.

Replused but hilarious!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-27
Absolutely hilarious. If you have heard him on Opie and Anthony and/or saw his stand up, this is a must. He holds nothing back. His tails of childhood are brutally honest showing his true colors. He takes everything on: race, handicapped, fat women, pooping, not bathing and even masterbation - several times. I honestly could not put it down. Every part is great. Quick read and very well written.

Jim Norton is an blankhole!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-08
This book is in very poor taste, there is a very simple construct to it as well. What I mean is that it's the standard memoir only interlaced with vulgar demeaning language, and tales of his supporting the global sex trade. The foreword was written by the ever hilarious Colin Quinn but the rest of this book is all Norton. It is not a 1 star becuase he is funny, I just don't see the need to be so low brow about it.

Hilarious reading....
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-10
From the cover....to the content throughout....had me laughing so hard I could hardly catch my breath.

he is a nice man
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-14
this is the book the nice man on the cover gave to me after he touched me in a bad place.

United States
Fancy Nancy (Spanish edition): Nancy la Elegante (Fancy Nancy)
Published in Hardcover by Rayo (2008-05-01)
Author: Jane O'connor
List price: $16.99
New price: $8.40
Used price: $9.99

Average review score:

One of our favorites
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-01
Nancy is sweet, cute, fun and fancy!! This book is perfect for any girly girl- big or small! It's also a great way to teach your little ones BIG words!
Mommy's High Heel Shoes

Wonderful!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-16
This book is adorable especially for little girls who like to dress up and look fancy. The story is heart warming and funny but in the end, it teaches about love and family. Nancy's search for way to sound fancier also teaches children wonderful new vocabulary words(sometime in French as well).

Creepy Cover
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-22
The pictures inside and the story may be uber-cute but doesn't anyone find the cover picture a little bit JonBenet Ramsey creepy? It's basically what makes me reluctant to give this to any little girl.

Love to Be Fancy
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-11
What a wonderful book! Well, I admit, mostly I like looking at the pictures. But even for someone who's completely grown out of pink and purple, I often read this book wishing I could have the self-confidence to dress just like Nancy. I've read things about this book saying that there is no deep message, but I think there are several. I love that Nancy's parents make room for her to be herself even though they don't act like she does. And I love that Nancy has the desire even at such a young age to see beauty and elegance in everything around her. Her parents don't let her do everything she wants (think of the time she goes to her grandparents' anniversary party) but they let her do enough to let her personality shine through. And as for being too dramatic - I believe that the only people who believe that over-the-top clothing and attitudes are wrong are the people who need to take a deep breath and figure out why they spend that much time thinking about stuff like that.
Keep being Fancy, Nancy!!

Do you really want your child to think like Fancy Nancy?
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-16
How will this book make children who don't have fancy things at home feel? I think materialism is a vice that doesn't need to be taught in a children's book. Enough people learn this on their own, why try to instill it in a 3 year old? If you want a book about a cute silly girly-girl, buy Madeline.

United States
Bush-Gorbachev summit plays to mixed reviews in Soviet media (Foreign media analysis)
Published in Unknown Binding by Office of Research, U.S. Information Agency (1991)
Author: Scott Righetti
List price:

Average review score:

I'll be very quick ...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-27
... as there is nothing else to add except that this book is THE BEST book I've ever read in my entire life. Carl Sagan is a GENIUS. His memory will live on forever through his books. He made me love astronomy so much I bought a telescope! :o)

Masterpiece
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-20
Carl Sagan's COSMOS is simply one of the best popular science books ever written. What sets this book apart from others on the subject is Sagan's poetic style and enthusiasm for the topic. By the way, the pictures in the hard-cover version are beautiful.

Fantastic
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-30
This is undoubtedly the most beautiful work of science ever written for the general public. It spans across multiple disciplines, from evolution, to genetics, to chemistry, to physics, to astronomy, and astrophysics. Whether you're a scientist or just a child interesting in the world around us, Dr. Sagan does not disappoint and conveys science with nothing less than elegance.

Awe-all, not just some
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-26
I have to laugh that one of the tags for this book is atheist. Was he an atheist? I don't know. But I truly enjoyed this book, and it was a further shovel of dirt on religion in the ground for me. A number of things had led me to that point (taking a philosophy course way back when I was in college), but this book really gave religion in a frank light: nothing more than an explanation of the unknown for societies. The ones that took hold and didn't go away when science explained away are what we have today. But seriously, lets only go as far as agnostic, please.

Religion aside, this is truly a magnificent travel through space. I read it whilst camping that really assisted in its fine journey. A little outdated, but highly recommended nonetheless.

read what you can of it, but READ it!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-12
This is an incredible book, even if it is dated. I am a words person, not numbers, so when Sagan got into a lot of equations and chemistry, I had to kind of skim over those parts. I never could have understood them, and if I'd tried to force myself to, I probably would have gotten frustrated and gave up on the book. So I stuck with the parts (happily, that was most of it) I could absorb and easily understand. There were so many fascinating aspects to it that I would have missed had I given up over the math. This book is capable of starting you on a journey. It has made me find a book on Alexandria, which I am just starting. There is a fascinating history there, and I will continue on with books on da Vinci and Einstein. They are men I've heard about, of course, but never has my curiosity about them been so piqued. Being a book lover, the Library of Alexandria is something I want to learn more about. This book will make you want to learn more about a lot of things.

United States
The Complete Little House Nine-Book Set (Little House)
Published in Paperback by HarperTrophy (1994-05-30)
Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
List price: $62.99
New price: $34.25
Used price: $26.97

Average review score:

Little House boxed set
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-24

Very nice set--I purchased it for a gift and am very pleased with it :)

Josh's review
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-20
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder is a whole series of books about a girl named Laura Ingalls Wilder. The books talk about some of the hardships Laura and her family faced. These books also tell about every thing that happened in her life from Wisconsin all the way to Kansas. The story of her life starts as a young girl and talks about her getting married as a young lady. The books tell how she changed and some of the places she went and even some of the people she met.
I like these books because the way these books were written because they were written so you fell like you are actually there. I also like these books because they tell what people had to go through in the 1800's. I read all these books and I liked them. If you read them you will like them too.

A Magical Wonderland
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 24 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-03
"They're an inspirational source of literature that celebrates the turn of the century, the struggle of the American family and the bonds that held them together."

These books are straight garbage, a friend got them for me and they stink...I could totally pWn Pa Ingall's IRL.

Little House 9 Book Box Set
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-27
Fantastic set. My daughter was very excited to receive the set and continue her reading journey. The quality of the set was very good and will last a long time.

Fun Books
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-30
I purchased these books for my eight year old daughter. We read all of them already. She loved them, and so did I. I was a little disappointed that there were no pictures at all. In the older version, there were some very beautiful pictures that helped bring understanding to some of the concepts of being a pioneer. Overall, this was a great purchase.

United States
Heart and Soul of Nick Carter
Published in Paperback by Onyx Trade (1998-12-01)
Author: Jane Carter
List price: $9.50
New price: $6.00
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $14.97

Average review score:

The Heart and Soul of Nick Carter by Jane Carter
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-17
I've got to admit, I was quite impressed with this book and I also found it to be very interesting reading... in fact, I find it so interesting that I end up reading it over and over again. Heck, I might even start reading it again tonight. This book has all interesting facts about Nick Carter (even if some of it is outdated). It has everything about from how his parents decided to name Nick as well as who they named him after, and where he stands in the music business today as a Backstreet Boy. Like I said, this book goes back to 1998 but that is ok, because I like books that go back in time (history, biographies, etc). Anyway, I highly recommend this book (who figure?). KTBSPA

It's all about Nick....
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-03-19
If you thought you knew all there is to know about Nick Carter, think again! Jane Carter tells us some stuff about her son that only she and the rest of Nick's family know about. This is a very nice book, beautifully written by Jane. It is full of secrets and anecdotes about Nick's childhood and rise to superstardom. However, the information about Nick's career may seem kind of old, now, since this book was published in 1998. Perhaps Jane should have waited a couple of years before writing a book about her son, because God knows she would have plenty of things to say : she could give her opinion on Nick's arrest, his solo career, the trials and tribulations that the Backstreet Boys have been through, Nick's relationship with Willa Ford (yeah right, like Nick would let her write about that!!), etc. Nick's been through a lot of things since 1998, and I believe that if Jane decided to write another book about Nick, it would have a lot more substance and depth than this one. But don't get me wrong! It's a great read, as pleasant as a fairytale. Because, in many ways, that's what Nick's life is! And seeing it through his mother's eyes really gives it a whole new dimension.

BORING....
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-08-17
You shouldn't buy it i've had it for four years and ive only read the first ten pages I'm selling it because it is pointless!

As a BSB fan you have to read it some time..................
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2002-02-20
I have got the book and I like the writing style and to know the facts as a BSB fan. I kinda think it's wrong to get money out of someone else his succes, but on the other hand it ain't lies and Nick knew of and agreed with it, so as not such a big fan anymore (NO I didn't become a hater) I would suggest it, but not too much.

Only For TRUE Nick Carter Fans!
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2001-12-04
I'll be completely honest:

If I weren't such an obsessed Backstreet Boys fan, I would consider this book (bad).

It's not well-written, it wanders and meanders to the point it doesn't make sense, and it's very self-serving.

However, being an obsessed Backstreet Boys/Nick Carter fan, I love the book.

The first few chapters are the best, because they read more like a story than a biography. Plus, they told me the most about Nick that I didn't already know.

Near the end, however, it turns into a "How to Turn Your Kid Into a Star" how-to manual. BORING!

BOTTOM LINE: LOVE Nick Carter? Buy the book. LIKE Nick Carter? Borrow it from a friend or the library. COULDN'T CARE LESS about Nick Carter? Avoid this book like the plague.

United States
Chasing Ghosts: A Soldier's Fight for America from Baghdad to Washington
Published in Kindle Edition by NAL (2006-11-01)
Author: Paul Rieckhoff
List price: $15.00
New price: $9.99

Average review score:

An important read.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-04
Chasing Ghosts is an honest and powerful account of Reickhoff's experience in Iraq. While it's tough reading at points, I think it is good for us to recognize the reality of what we're asking the men and women of our armed forces to do for this country every day.

It took a lot of courage for Reickhoff to write this book and my hat goes off to him for doing it; and for the important work he's doing for veterans every day now.

Just the truth
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-11
Rieckhoff is a well-spoken and thoughtful individual who, in this memoir of his service as part of the occupying force in Iraq, takes the reader on his journey from intelligent inductee to Generation Kill to intelligent advocate for peace. It's a good terse read with very little fluff or filler, and is required text for anyone wanting a soldier's perspective on the invasion and occupation.

Thought-Provoking and Intelligent
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-10
As someone who has read a large amount of literature concerning the current state of international affairs, specifically in the "War on Terror" and as a hopeful future officer in the United States Army, I found Paul Rieckhoff's account of his time as a platoon leader in Iraq to be not only well-written, but helpful and insightful. From the accounts of under-equipped Guard units, to the sometimes seemingly trivial nature of the Rules Of Engagement, the book paints a quite vivid, and scarily what I imagine to be accurate, picture of the face of America's first gander at twenty-first century warfare.
Though I found parts of the read to be erie in nature, and though the book provokes questions and doubts about our great nation's leadership and decision-makers, it in no way influenced me to give up joining the military. Rieckhoff has made it clear that the country's leadership is quite questionable, and in part of his writing acknowledges the fact that a new generation of veterans will soon be stepping into the political realm.

Chasing Ghosts deserves to be read.

Short and Simple
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-11
This was a great book and an easy read as it kept you engaged and intrigued. Enjoy!

An Emotional and Patriotic Look at the Truth
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-31
Personally I am not a big reader of books. However, with a brother in his 3rd tour in Iraq and growing up in a military family and having known Paul as a simple aquaintance in high school, I was excited to check out his book. Not many people from our high school make it into the public eye like Paul has. From the moment I picked up the book I was hooked. It is a powerful and inspiring account of a true and rare American patriot. A patriot who knows what his beliefs are and who is willing to put his life on the line to defend those beliefs. It stirred up a lot of emotions from laughter, tears, and in the end a belief that our soldiers are true heros. I would definately recommend this to anyone and do. Congratulations Paul and look forward to following your inspring career in the years ahead.

United States
When Pride Still Mattered
Published in Kindle Edition by Simon & Schuster (2004-01-07)
Author: David Maraniss
List price: $9.99
New price: $7.99

Average review score:

Great book, maybe a little long......
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-06
This is the complete Vince Lombardi book. The author has left no stone unturned it seems and goes into great depth in looking at what made Lombardi tick.

It is not a shrine to the greatness of Lombardi book, the author does write about the Coach's flaws (lack of attention to family) but it is so engrossing that I was upset when the final chapters on Lombardi's death were being read.

Maybe the book is a smidgen too long, there were times that it seemed to drag a little but all in all, a great book.

What It Takes To Be #1: You Have To Pay The Price
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-09
Presidential biographer David Maraniss ("First in His Class") turned his attentions away from Washington, D.C., and towards Lambeau Field in this remarkable book. His subject was Coach Vince Lombardi, who took over a losing program and turned Green Bay, Wisconsin, the smallest market in professional sports, into "Title Town, U.S.A."

Immediately prior to Lombardi's acceptance of the head coaching position, the Packers managed to win only a single game in an entire season. In short order, Lombardi made Green Bay synonymous with victory. The trophy given to the team that wins the Super Bowl is now named for Lombardi. The Packers won the inaugural Super Bowl and repeated the following year under their celebrated head coach.

Lombardi was a star player for Fordham when that university still had a football program. He developed and refined his coaching abilities at the high school level and he was promoted to assistant coaching positions at the United States Military Academy (West Point) and with the New York Giants of the NFL.

As Maraniss demonstrates, Lombardi enjoyed influence throughout the country during the Sixties: he became a much sought after business conference speaker and Richard M. Nixon even contemplated offering him a place on the political ticket of the Republican Party for a brief time.

This is a superior biography and a document of a time that now has gone.

David Maraniss was born to write
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-21
This is the best sports biography that I've ever read, and is the gold standard by which I rate every other sports bio. I originally read the book when it was published in 1999 and decided to read it again. I didn't realize that I had forgotten so many details. Many of the games discussed I remember like it was yesterday. If you were a Packer's or NFL fan from the 60s this is a must read book.

I'm very skeptical of Amazon's public reviews as I find 80% +++ of the reviewers are too easily impressed (especially business/investment books). Most grossly overrate books. With such skepticism, I did scan through a page or two of the now 138 reviews to see why anybody would give this book < 5. Two compliants said it had too much minutia and wrote too much about Vince's early life. I find that most if not all biographies talk too much about the person's early life and the person's lineage. I usually scan the early chapters of a biography until I get into the person's adult years. On my second reading of this book I picked it up around Vince's time at West Point.

One last point about the author. I've also read First in His Class & his book about Roberto Clemente. Both were excellent books. However, Maraniss did co-author a book with a younger woman, who's title I forget. It was obvious from the reading that the woman had written most of the book and Maraniss wrote little of the book. His name may have been listed as a co-author to sell books.

One of the best sports biographies I ever read
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-20
I couldn't help feeling that I was right there in frozen Green Bay, in the 1960s, at one of the Lombardis' Sunday post-game cocktail parties, and everywhere else Vince Lombardi went in his life, while reading this great book.
It's a great read, very vivid, about a great coach and (as Maraniss illustrates) not the greatest father in the world. In other words, a portrait of a human being who did great things with his work, but who had foibles like everybody else.

A very engrossing read
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-19
I picked up this book after hearing a strong recommendation. I knew next to nothing about Vince Lombardi, other than that he was an excellent football coach. Very glad I bought the book as this was a particularly engrossing biography.

The author was very thorough in his research and traces Lombardi's life in detail for his full nearly 60 years. He provides a lot of detail on Lombardi's strengths and weaknesses. At times I wanted to slug him and tell him to quit being so intense about football and pay more attention to his family. Other times, I found myself admiring the daylights out of him. It is astonishing to think he could take the most losing team in football and turn them into major winners in just one season.

There's a lot of food for thought in this biography. Is winning really so important that you should sacrifice your family and your health? Is success really success if you never enjoy it? As a recovering perfectionist, I saw many powerful examples from Lombardi's life about why I DON'T want to be a perfectionist! Nothing is ever good enough, and you never, ever get to be happy. That is one lesson in Lombardi's life that really comes blasting out of every story.

If you like biographies, you will really enjoy this one. Glad I decided to pick it up.

Jan Dahlin Geiger, author of "Get Your Assets in Gear! Smart Money Strategies" Get Your Assets in Gear! Smart Money Strategies

United States
House to House
Published in Hardcover by Free Press (2007-09-04)
Author: David Bellavia
List price: $26.00
New price: $4.95
Used price: $4.99
Collectible price: $26.00

Average review score:

Simply the Best!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-08
The many reviews alrady posted about this book already to a good job summing-up its content and subject matter. Therefore, I'll simply say this is absolutely the single best memoir yet written about the Iraq War, specifically from the perspective of an Infantry NCO. I eagerly devoured this book within a 24 hour period and was enthralled by Bellavia's story on every page. Highly recommended and should be required reading for soldiers, politicians, journalists (especially journalists), and, hell, the general public.

Mr. Bellavia, words cannot possibly thank you and your fellow veterans enough for what you have done for this country.

A true story of heroes in a horrid situation
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-08
Bellavia is a highly decorated vet of the Battle of Fallujah in 2004. This is his account of the time leading up to the battle and of the battle itself. People need to be constantly reminded of two things; first, how totally brutal real war is, and second, how important it is to honor the people who go to war on our behalf. This book does both in spades. The gritty description of the action as the US Military faced the early stages of the Iraqi insurgency is gripping. There were many times when I found myself on the edge of my seat, or I had to take a break from the reading and unwind. It also describes the bonds developed by combat vets quite well. This bond comes from facing mortal danger and unimaginable hardship together. It is something we should all strive to understand. Without any spoilers I will say that the dramatic climax is personal and gripping, combat writing at its best.

Everyone should Read this
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-05
I have never had the urge to write a review before, but this book has overwhelmingly compelled me to do so.

What made this book an astonishing standout to me was not only the constant gripping action, but the brutal honesty with which the author writes. Brutal honesty not only about the events, but the real and hardcore emotions he goes through in dealing with the events as they unfold. It is hard enough to imagine doing the things he has done for his country, but even harder still to imagine coming to terms with those things and sharing those horrors with others - completely uncensored. Now that really takes some guts in my opinion.

When I first ordered this book, I was really hoping it wasn't going to be just another journal of long patrols, and daily discomforts, with the occasional bit of action thrown in to spice things up. I was not disappointed. From the minute you open this book, David Bellavia smacks you in the face with the gut-wrenching, filthy, inhumane realities of the boots-on-the-ground perspective of the U.S. Army shooters in Iraq. The action starts almost instantly, and takes you for a ride throughout the book that is as intriguing to read as it is exhausting. What you are left with at the end is a new perspective that the headlines and news stories could never give, and a profound new respect for what our soldiers go through to protect and defend our most basic rights of freedom.

Some of the reviews have commented on the use of language (to which this book is chock full of obscenities), but I think anyone who has served the military as an enlisted person already knows, that kind of language is just par for the course. If anything, I think there were probably more swear words left OUT of the book, than were actually spoken in real life on the battlefield. That's reality. And that's why the language is in the book. Its not meant to offend, or exaggerate, its meant to epitomize what it is truly like when your right there next to your buddies and the bullets start flying. I personally am glad Sgt. Bell' didn't clean up the book - war is not clean, or nice, or polite, and it should not be presented that way.

Ultimately I think this book is a perfect illustration of an old quote that I have always held in high esteem...

"Freedom has a taste to those who have fought for it, that the protected will never know." (author unknown)

must read best book ever
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-23
i brought this book to try and understand what my man faces, when "doing his job",it was spell binding, gripping, should be compulsory reading for everyone,these guys are heros and real men, if you only read one book a year , make it this one, good book by a good man, job well done

GROW UP OR DIE
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-19
This story is not about feminized boys in earrings and eyeliner, piercing or polish, bling bling or sagging clothes.
It's not about gangsta rivalries or wigga wannabes - Xbox, cars or whoes.

It's about young adults in a death struggle to manhood, carrying firearms, bombs and bandoliers.

It's a story of the transition from the privileged silk cords of American culture to the stainless steel cable of American courage:
A cable that will air lift, under withering fire, the next great generation of American loyalty, relentless bravery and reluctant, though resolute heroism.

It's a story of sacrifice, blood and treasure
The hand-to-hand blood of both brother and belligerent, spilled on body armor and in foreign sands.

The sacrifice of wives, and mothers, and children.
The treasure in America's soul.
Some of which only the progeny of warriors will grow to truly know.

No wonder liberals hate the military: it turns young boys into men.

Got ADD? Grab a gun. You'll either focus or you'll die.

United States
The Civil War: A Narrative
Published in Hardcover by Random House (1958)
Author: Shelby Foote
List price:
Used price: $124.99

Average review score:

Wonderful Narrative
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-04
Without a doubt, the greatest narrative ever written on The War Between the States. Anything else is just fluff. 'The Longest Night' and 'Battle Cry of Freedom' don't even come close.

A wonderful odyssey through a terrible time.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-01
I was initially intimiated about the prospect of launching into just one volume of Foote's narrative and so I made the mistake of buying only the first book -- I should have bought all three volumes at the start! It takes about 50 - 100 pages to get into Foote's style of writing, and at times he turns a quirky phrase from the '60's (1860's), but this is enjoyable reading, bar none. If there was ever a way to learn the history of the American Civil War, this would be the way to do it.

I've spent nearly a year making my way through the three volumes, sometimes on airplanes, some of it as 5 - 6 pages before going to sleep. My biggest regret is there is no Vol. 4. I will miss Mr. Foote. The richness of detail and the descriptive character achieved by Foote makes you feel as though he lived in the period and knew many of the characters personally. You will come away with vivid and lasting impressions of Lincoln, Grant, Davis, Lee, Johnson, Jackson, McClelland, Custer, Semmes, Porter, Sherman, Sheridan, and countless others who defined these years. The series is not a dry recitation of facts and figures, but a storytelling of the war with enough statistics to provide a sense of scale.

Imagine the year is 1899 and you are a young man or lady of 12 or 13, sitting with your aging uncle who had lived and fought through the major battles of a war on the verge of being forgotten. He shares with you his remembrances and vast knowledge of what happened on the major battlefields and political stage (and behind it) during the war. He is a master story teller. You are enthralled and look forward to each evening's session. That's what Foote offers to the reader.

The books have some flaws -- a lack of maps, no program of players, ambiguous chapterization, shifting time lines and locations. While there are large scale maps inside the covers to convey the flow of the entire war, there are not enough maps for the individual battles. You must dog ear those map pages for reference. I'm not a history buff, so I constantly had to keep asking myself "who was that general?" as Foote leaves one theater of the war and then returns to it several chapters later. A suggestion -- get an index card and each time you meet a major player, write the name, side, title and use the card as a book mark. The problem with shifting time lines and locations is unavoidable in such a vast work. Foote generally does a good job to tying overlapping periods to each other, but you need to keep alert on our own.

There are few books I would ever consider reading again, but these will stay on my bookshelf for just that possibility.

American Civil War
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-08
I found this a very through account of a momentous part of American history full of detail and knowlegeable details.For any student or some like me curious about the history of the American Civil War I recommend these books.

The Civil War: A Narrative (3 Vol)
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-09
I am about half way through and find these volumes excellent. They not only address the battles fought, but also address the political climate how people from the North and the South felt about the war, their leaders etc. It is interesting to be made aware of the annimosity that existed toward the "press." It is also interesting to hear how the press on either side was willing to print information that may prove detrimental to military activity and probably help to contribute to the many deaths experienced on both sides. And I mean the southern press printing about the movements of southern forces and the northern press printing about troop movements of the northern armies. Also, it comes across to me that Foote presents a relatively fair and unbaised narrative of both the North and the South. Excellent reading especailly for you history buffs. However, be ready to have fun trying to keep track of all the different generals etc. It is a little like alphabet soup.

Biased view of the civil war
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 18 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-04
I wanted an objective account of the civil war and an objective description of the battles, but Foote's three volume books is anything but objective. He is an engaging writer and, as another reviewer points out, brings the characters back to life, but Foote makes confederate thugs like Stonewall Jackson look like lovable, eccentric and courageous heroes. He portrays the confederate soldiers as poor, under-equipped soldiers full of valour, but then paints the union soldiers as over-equipped soldiers, lacking in courage and drive, who are there only for the experience and who pillage civilian homes when they go into southern towns (see the battle at Federicksburg for an example).

I note another reviewer commenting that Foote's view is not apparent in the books, but to me it is very clear he is rooting for the confederates. For example, on page 19 of the second volume, he writes "Texas was decontaminated" and the only bluecoats were Magruder's prisoner (this was about Magruder winning the battle at Galveston for the confederates). Only those in support of the confederate would say that Texas was decontaminated when Magruder won. If the writer was objective, that phrase "Texas was decontaminated" would not have been inserted. It's not even necessary!!

There is also a little too much detail. I can do without how many men are in each division and how many men were killed, wounded or captured.

I do not intend to read all three volumes because of his pro-confederate tone. It was a struggle to finish the first volume without wanting to throw the book at something (I am not pro-union, just anti-confederate). I am reading the second volume only so I can read about Stonewall Jackson's death. I am not sure how Foote has portrayed his death, but I'm sure with his pro-confederate feeling, it will be a glorious death!!! To me, Stonewall is a hypocritical thug and murderer and I will delight in reading about his death, however, glorious it might be to Foote.

United States
Time Enough for Drums
Published in Turtleback by Demco Media (1988-08)
Author: Ann Rinaldi
List price: $9.95

Average review score:

Time Enough For Drums
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-06
I got this book for Christmas and i finished it that day. It's a book you just can't put down. It's about Jemima(Jem)Emmerson, who's 15 when the story starts. The war becomes reality when her brother joins the millitia and her mother starts writing letters under a psudonym to a local newspaper asking for supplies for the army. These letters end up making something very bad happen to the family. When her father employs a tutor for her that is a tory she hates him nd treats her very badly. Then Jemima finds a coded message that tells her that John Reid(her tutor)is a spy for Washington then she gets to know him and falls in love with him. Then her younger brother goes away to the army too, and she and her mother are left home and worrying. This is a really good book. I don't really like that Jemima sort of looses the spirit she has at the begining; sassy, fun, and willed. But it's still really good.

Another of my Favorites!!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-05
Jem is probably my favorite character out of all the Ann Rinaldi books!! She's stubborn and high spirited , I reread this book every chance I get and never tire of it. I don't know which Ann Rinaldi books are my favorite the Revoultionary or the Civil War? But I do know that I Love them all!!!

Time Enough For A Good Read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-01
Romance, tragedy, and life lessons are all wonderfully displayed in this novel, set during the period of the Revolutionary War. TIME ENOUGH FOR DRUMS, by Ann Rinaldi, is the story of Jem, a rebellious Patriot teenage girl, whose family is torn apart by the war. Her father is persecuted for not selling tea, her mother has a war "secret" of her own, the war beckons both of her brothers, and on top of all that, she clashes with her Tory tutor. Through the ups and downs of her life, Jem learns some important life lessons the hard way but comes out on top, and learns that people are not always what they seem. The reader learns that there is always, "time enough for drums." This novel keeps you wanting to know more and more about Jem and what is going to happen next in her life. It is also an additional bonus, how Ann Rinaldi uses accurate historical events, to base her book upon. If you love to be entertained while you read, than this book is definitely for you!

Time Enough For A Good Read
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-01
Romance, tragedy, and life lessons are all wonderfully displayed in this novel, set during the period of the Revolutionary War. TIME ENOUGH FOR DRUMS, by Ann Rinaldi, is the story of Jem, a rebellious Patriot teenage girl, whose family is torn apart by the war. Her father is persecuted for not selling tea, her mother has a war "secret" of her own, the war beckons both of her brothers, and on top of all that, she clashes with her Tory tutor. Through the ups and downs of her life, Jem learns some important life lessons the hard way but comes out on top, and learns that people are not always what they seem. The reader learns that there is always, "time enough for drums." This novel keeps you wanting to know more and more about Jem and what is going to happen next in her life. It is also an additional bonus, how Ann Rinaldi uses accurate historical events, to base her book upon. If you love to be entertained while you read, than this book is definitely for you!

Great Book
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-31
This is the best of all Ann Rinaldis books (I have read all of them). This book has the most interesting characters and a great plot. Everyone will enjoy Jem and her tutor and what happens between them. I have read this book probably 15 times and never get tired of it. The hints of romance and interest to this book. It teaches you about history without making you ever feel like you were in history class.


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