United States Books


Books-Under-Review-->Recreation-->Outdoors-->Hunting-->Foxhunting-->Magazines and E-zines-->United States-->86
Related Subjects:
More Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250
United States Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

United States
Highpoint Adventures : The Complete Guide to the 50 State Highpoints
Published in Paperback by Colorado Mountain Club Press (2002-03)
Authors: Charlie Winger and Diane Winger
List price: $15.95
Used price: $10.00

Average review score:

Highpoint Adventures
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-25
This book and the references it makes, particularly to websites, will give you accurate and fun information about getting to the highest point in each of the fifty states. There is useful general information about hking, and each of fifty descriptions is excellent. If you buy the book and join the club, you will have something to do on vacations for years to come.

A Great Gift
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-20
This is the second copy I have purchased as a gift. Also I have one that was a gift to me. The book is outstanding for the hiker/traveler. My copy is dog-eared from all the attention it gets. It is well organized and accurate in its descriptions and directions.

Highpointing: Adventure and Great Family Fun
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2005-01-25
After thru-hiking the AT, my wife decided she wanted to go to the highest point in at least the continimerous 48 states (plus Hawaii as a reward). I bought a membership to the Highpointers Club and a copy of this book. We've used it to summit 13 states so far including easy drive-ups like Florida and Arkansas as well as challenges like Colorado (second highest point in the lower-48) and New Mexico.

While the book isn't a detailed hiking guide, it does contain information that is absolutely necessary to reach certain highpoints, especially those on private property. Additionally, the book contains a list of local highlights and interesting sites to see.

P.S. Our favorite highpoint, so far, is Kansas' Mount Sunflower!

A guide to my favorite hobby
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-21
Highpointing is a great way to see all 50 states and get a little exercise (or a LOT of exercise in some cases), and this book is the perfect guide. I have climbed 22 Highpoints and own 4 Highpointing books. I would definitely consider this my favorite of the 4. I would still recommend owning more than one Highpointing book, but like I said, this is definitely my favorite. This one also seems to be the quickest revised and the best kept up to date. Though I suppose you can always get updates on highpointing very easily off of www.highpointers.org.

This one has it all
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2004-09-04
Excellent guidebook. Provides everything you need in a few concise pages for each "mountain": Location, directions, summary statistics and comparisons, maps, alternate routes, nearby attractions, and human interest. The hiking distance and vertical elevation charts for each route are instantly helpful. The absence of errors is truly amazing for a book category that is continuously travel directions, distances, and routing. This book is so reliable that I have occasionally gone into the backcountry without procuring the mandatory real map. I own many dozens of mountain guidebooks--this may be the best for quick lookup of needed information! It is even a very convenient page size for fitting into a day pack. The authors have made these journeys a much simpler task compared to the days of the Frank Ashley book.

United States
Hot Shots and Heavy Hits: Tales of an Undercover Drug Agent
Published in Paperback by Northeastern (2005-07-01)
Author: Paul Doyle
List price: $21.95
New price: $12.68
Used price: $8.46

Average review score:

Kept waiting for the excitement
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-18
While the story chapters in the book are individually interesting, they somehow don't make a whole. The book feels choppy, as if it needed additional narrative to make if flow more smoothly. I expected, based on other reviews, to become immersed in the life of a narcotics officer. Just a average read.

One of the Good Guys
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-13
I truly enjoyed this book. Paul Doyle's experiences were something that needed to be put on paper and published for the world to see. Although the names and the places may change, the core root of the drug world remains the same. In reading this book I found that other than the bell bottom pants and silk shirts, the happenings of the underground drug world are in so many ways similar today. The difference being the technology used and the way the intelligence is gained. I bought this book at a fair where the author was present and signed my copy. I spoke to him for a few moments and told him that I worked for a police department in a neighboring town and that my husband was also a police officer. He suggested that I read it and have my husband do the same. This book was a real page turner and I wasn't able to put it down until I was finished. I was truly impressed with his compassion for people which can easily be lost in the investigative and enforcement field. He points out that he actually had to become 'one of them' in order to take some of these criminals down. It was a different day and age. God Bless Paul and the guys that he worked with. It's not a job for the meek and mild.

Superlative tale telling- and guess what- it's all true
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-02-17
Paul Doyle delivers edge of your seat excitement. Poignantly related, this warrior served as an undercover drug agent in the seamy sixties and seventies, in Boston's most rag-tag blighted neighborhoods.What is most refreshing is the lack of moral ambiguity in this narration.While remaining compassionate to the true victims of drugs- the addicts themselves, Paul Doyle mercilessly hunts down the perps on the top of the food chain, the major dealers and manufacturers- in an effort to staunch the flow of the drug epidemic.
I really enjoyed the book, my hope is that if it does get made into a film that the director has as subtle a touch as the memoirist.

Outstanding! Opened my eyes - a must read
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-30
Read this book at the advice of a friend and it is a must read for every caring American. Opened my eyes to the sacrifice some people are doing on our behalf and opened my eyes to a life most of us cant imagine. These folks do it for us and then in the end the Author takes us on a learning experience about where the drug money goes and who is behind it - the terrorist connection. He also lets you know the solution to cracking the incredible drug problem in this country lies in our families and not in Washington. Read it

Hot Shots and Heavy Hits: Tales of an Undercover Drug Agent
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-24
Excellent. Didn't want to stop reading until I was finished the book.

United States
The Independent Film Producer's Survival Guide: A Business and Legal Sourcebook
Published in Paperback by Omnibus Press (2002-10-01)
Authors: Gunnar Erickson, Harris Tulchin, Mark Halloran, and J. Gunnar Erickson
List price: $34.95
New price: $9.99
Used price: $8.95

Average review score:

Should Be Used As A Textbook
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-16
I purchased this expecting some advice on legal issues, but this book is so much more. It talks you through the whole process of producing a film from start to finish, including valuable information on finding investors, attaching stars, behind the scene terminology, production advice, sample legal forms and what do with your film once you've made a cut. All of the advice is indispensable. This is a must have for any independent film producer, especially those new to the industry. It should be taught as a textbook in film schools. The most helpful book on producing I've stumbled upon yet.

Indispensable
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-06
I highly recommend this book. As a first time amateur independent film producer, with about 30 film books resting on my shelf, I believe I was constantly thumbing through this one the most during preproduction. This book contains so much useful information and helpful insights, it's almost like having an industry consultant right there with you. Unlike other books, there weren't a lot of sections where they seemed to rush on to the next chapter without exploring the present topic in some depth.

Great Resource
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-02
If it's not already, this book will soon become the industry standard for substantive knowledge of the film business for independent filmmakers. Deal points, standard contract provisions, the often technical and confusing jargon, and the historical context for many industry practices are all covered here in comprehensive yet concise fashion. Topics of interest that are covered in depth include standard talent and producer agreements, developing a screen play, financing, and digital distribution. The book was a tremendous asset to me when I had to help an independent filmmaker comply with complicated federal securities laws in order to raise $200,000. Highly recommended.

jeffbrownlegal@gmail.com

Lawyers not producers
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-16
It was a book with that gave you a good background on how film production works from a legal perspective. So you should read it if that is your concern. The authors are lawyers, not producers.

Excellent book - idiotic title
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-22
This book is a serious but very readable approach to educating filmmakers on the maze of legal hoops that must be jumped through in order to create a film. Indispensable resource to have.

United States
Into a Desert Place: A 3000 Mile Walk Around the Coast of Baja California
Published in Paperback by W. W. Norton & Company (1995-04)
Author: Graham Mackintosh
List price: $16.95
New price: $10.12
Used price: $3.25
Collectible price: $16.95

Average review score:

Great reading!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-10
This book is an wonderful read. Graham Mackintosh somehow manages to convey the beauty, loneliness, danger, and culture of Baja in a way that is absolutely captivating. I have spent a fair amount of time in Baja myself working with the fishermen, and I thought his portrayals of these interesting folk was spot on and entertaining. I normally don't write reviews, but I could not put this book down, and good books are few and far between in my opinion! Besides being a great adventure story, this book has another side, which in a sense describes the author's spiritual awakening. He's not there, as are so many foreigners, to amuse himself in Baja as if it were a giant playground; rather he immerses himself in the land and the culture in a way that even most of the locals have failed to do!

Baja is a magical place that you simply can't appreciate from the comfort of your hotel room, RV, or (God forbid) your off-road vehicle. This book will hopefully inspire many people to seek out solitude in one of the last places in the world you can still find it.

Husband's birthday present
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-12
This book was the perfect gift for my husband. He keeps talking about his dream of going in the desert, walking, exploring, being away from civilization for a while,... but he's never done it. This book author DID IT!

True Baja experience
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-25
I have traveled many times down to Baja, his descriptions reflect my impression of the people and places.

The word incredible barely lends justice to Graham's effort
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-12
Baja is an adventure, even if by air in your own airplane. Hopscotching from place to place on a peninsula that stretches almost a thousand miles south of California, is quick and efficient but, as always in a single engine aircraft, the prospect of an off field emergency landing is on the pilot's mind.

In Baja, where an arid, desolate landscape, and rugged mountains stretch endlessly below the wings and dry riverbeds host cactus and rattlesnakes, nature ups the ante. These inhospitable thoughts are a memory of my flying adventure to "The Baja" in October 1993, but they are nothing in comparison to Graham Mackintosh's incredible journey on foot following the coastline.

As luck would have it Graham was in Mulege (about midway down the eastern coast of Baja on the Sea of Cortez) and attended the well known Hotel Serenidad's pig roast fiesta with us on Saturday evening. In response to our questions, Graham (this was before I read the book) told us how ill-suited and inadequately prepared he was for his adventure. But his appearance belied an iron will, unyielding perseverance, and an indomitable spirit. It took two years to achieve his goal, then another two more to write the book. My fellow travellers and I sat in awe as he recounted his tale.

The inscription he wrote for me in my copy of the book shows his humility. He very generously referred to me as "A Fellow Baja Adventurer," but I know there is no comparison in our experiences. Thanks Graham, I wish you well. Is there a movie in the works?

Spiritual Journey not just a travel adventure
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2002-07-31
I originally read this book several years back and now find myself periodically rereading it as its a spiritual journey packaged in a travel adventure. I dream of doing something like it however will probably not. If you like "cultural experiences" with the locals where you travel to you will love this book.

United States
Into The Heart: One Man's Pursuit of Love and Knowledge Among the Yanomami
Published in Paperback by Prentice Hall (1997-01-17)
Authors: Kenneth Good and David Chanoff
List price: $45.00
New price: $36.25
Used price: $4.50

Average review score:

excellent read!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-03
this is an exceptional book. I could not put it down. It is a book that will capture your soul and heart from beginning to end. I also had the pleasure to be taught by the author, Dr. Good. He is a marvelous, enlightening, and kind man. His story is a real eye opener to other cultures that are very different from the U.S. incredible book that I will continue to read over and over again. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did!

Into the Heart and Into My Heart
Helpful Votes: 11 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2001-06-10
Good's work is a participant observation study of a primitive group of Indians who live along the Orinoco river in the Amazon. These people live communally and have a different world view than most of us are familiar with. As a result, the Yanomama normative structure is based on their world and culture. As I tell my sociology students, certain patterns may be considered universal, but the content of culture varies. For example, the Yanomama have no concept of privacy. Everything they did according to Good was public, except for sex and defecation. This is similar to the south African !Kung (Bushmen) who have no word for stranger. (Lee, 1969, !Kung Bushmen Subsistence...) They lived in large circular houses called shapono. There were no walls in these structures, and people arranged themselves by kinship and lineage so that the social organization of the families in the village is reflected in the placement of hearths and hammocks. It is within this structure and the central plaza that nearly all domestic activity takes place: child rearing, food distribution and preparation, trading and feasting, curing and cremation, drug taking of the men, singing and dancing of the women. (p. 33)

Good referred to the Yanomama as the pain in the neck people instead of the fierce people as Napoleon Chagnon did in his original work of the same title. Good found the Yanomama's lack of concern for privacy somewhat difficult to deal with. In our culture, privacy and independence are the expected norm. We even have terms for behaviors that violate such norms such as invasion of privacy and, of course, trespassing. The Yanomama are not viewed as violent or aggressive but rather as highly emotional and acting without (social) constraints. We might call this behavior impulsive.

Good believed that "... the best way to study the Yanomama was to understand the entire cultural context, rather than concentrate solely on the quantitative measurements...wanted to understand them--and I wanted them to understand me...not simply to record what they were doing, but to comprehend what it meant in the context of their lives." (p. 47)

The Yanomama never use their names in public...they call each other by the appropriate kinship term (father, mother, son, daughter) (p. 52) With a numeric system that stops at two, the Yanomama do not reckon years or ages; instead they categorize people according to general age groups: infants, children, adolescents, adults, elders. (p. 66) Their sense of self (women) included lack of concern for the way they appeared to others. Judgments about another person were not based on how they looked/appeared. Although skills in hunting and shamanism were valued, still every person was on the same level as every other one. There was minimal concern with vanity. (p. 80).

Among the Indians, a visit is never just a visit...and trade is always involved. (p. 97) Normally, the Indians don't like to have their pictures taken since they believe that the image (soul-noreshi) is captured. They were especially irritated when the German scientist Eibel-Eibesfeldt set up a video camera in the middle of the village all day. (p. 137)

I certainly empathize with Kenneth Good's comments about Chagnon's work. Unfortunately, I have never been to the Amazon, or lived with the Yanomamo. I do envy his experiences. In addition, I give complete credibility to his comments and find them most interesting. In the past, I assigned his book as required reading for my Sociology classes. I also list Chagnon's work as supplementary reading as well.

Moving piece of work
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-29
I was lucky enough to have Dr. Good for a class one semester at NJCU where he teaches. This book is an insightful look into a world far removed from ours. If one had read this book without meeting Professor Good, one would wonder what type of man he is given the difficulties he faced in the Amazon. Ken is one of the most down to earth professors I've ever had and opened my eyes to a new culture while teaching me to put aside ethnocentrism. If you attend NJCU, I suggest taking him for an anthropology class. Be prepared to have your cultural horizons broadened.

A Bible-based love
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 21 total.
Review Date: 2001-01-20
Book review

I have found the book "Into The Heart" by Kenneth Good very appealing both from a woman's point of view and from a Scriptural aspect. When reading the Bible about how a husband ought to love his wife: Ephesians chapter 5 verses 25, 28, 29, 31, 33, is very clear on that. In Kenneth Good's book I could sense the genuine love this man had for his wife which he had demonstrated in so many ways.

In the jungle, he tried to protect her from harm. During an imminent miscarriage, he insisted on carrying her heavy basket, while they were trekking in the rainforest. Husbands in that culture did not carry women's baskets even if these women were at death's door. Later, when the miscarriage was in progress, he was at her side in the dark of night, trying to comfort her. To shield her from insect bites he sprayed her back with mosquito repellent. A woman is obviously not at her attractive best during a miscarriage or childbirth, but this author was not turned off by her appearance. He did what he could to minimize her suffering. These were acts of kindness out of love. All he wanted to do was to ease her suffering, discomfort and fear. How many men in our Western civilized society would do this? A few but not all!

He further demonstrated his love for his wife when he took her back to the United States. By marrying her, he had made a statement to the WORLD: This is the woman I love, she is the one I have chosen to be the mother of my children. He knew full well that by this interracial cross cultural marriage he would face some criticism. Racism after all is alive and well in our Western Societies. But this author stood by his wife, was never ashamed to be seen with her. Financial sacrifices were made to return for a visit to his wife's tribe and family. It was during such a trip that their second child was born in a jungle hut. It is obvious that every thought of the author was to please his wife, to make her happy, to make her isolation and separation from her family bearable. This is a poignant love story, a story of endurance, a story of sacrifice, a story of one man's unselfish love for his wife. Albeit he lost his wife, but I concur with the saying: " It is better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all".

A reader in Canada. macska@christiancanada.com

A Great Story With Many Different Layers!
Helpful Votes: 9 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2004-02-21
LIke many, I picked this book up from an interest in anthropology. Like most of those same people, when I finished it, it felt as if i'd ended a great novel. To be completely honest, there are a severely limited number of times I (a twenty-six year old male graduate student in politics) have read a book only to have tears roll down my cheeks. Seriously, this is a glorious story as well as a fascinating anthropological commentary.

Here's the context: Ken Good was a graduate student under Napoleon Chagnon who was one of the first to do work with the Yanomamo indians. Chagnon wanted Good to do some research (field work) that might help supplement Chagnon's thesis that that Yanomamo are violent more by nature than culture. No matter the reasons, Good ends up not only abandoning Chagnon and his research, but finds the Yanomamo significantly less violent (by nature or culture) than Chagnon did. This may, in part, have been due to the fact that where Chagnon always remained the detached observer (his book is full of graphs, charts, and statistics), Good's got very personal (no stats here, for better or worse).

...Which brings us to the next layer of the story. Beyond being an anthropological perspective on the Yanomama, it is a fantastic - FANTASTIC! - love story. After a few years of living in the Yanomama community, good was offered a wife according to tradition. It took him a while to warm to it (and her even longer, given that he had strange habits like writing in notebooks and wearing 'foot coverings' Who would do such things?!). Their love blossomed, though, and the second half of the book is much about a host of difficulties: his struggle to 'hold on to her' when obligation took him out of the village for months at a time, the struggle to get a legal marriage to a woman who has no birth records, and later, how to get her out of the village with him.

The only problem i had with the book has less to do with the book and more with its circumstances. Good comments that Chagnon, in painting the Yanomama to be 'fierce people' overexaggerated (rather than fabricated) their ferocity. My guess, after reading both books, is that Good did the same thing by possibly underexaggerating. Good, for instance, will speak of some of the heinous things that Yanomama do, speak of it as a ancillary side-note, and wrap it up in two sentences, only returning to the topic chapters down the road. Truth be told, I think the truth lies betwixt Chagnon's and Good's accounts and I can't fault either book, but when one reads the two together, one gets the impression that BOTH authors completely missed (or ignored) things that the other got. How else could such different accounts come to pass?

For all that I strongly recommend this read both for education in anthropology and as one of the best love stories around.

United States
It Happened in the Catskills: An Oral History in the Words of Busboys, Bellhops, Guests, Proprietors, Comedians, Agents, and Others Who Lived It
Published in Hardcover by Harcourt (1991-05)
Author:
List price: $24.95
New price: $85.72
Used price: $1.12
Collectible price: $24.95

Average review score:

A WONDERFUL BOOK ABOUT THE CATSKILLS - BBC RADIO!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2001-06-19
The Frommers are terrific interviewees and their book is a history and an entertainment resource about the Catskills - what else would we expect from oral historians of their rank.

GREAT!!!!!!!!! Yakov Smirnoff
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2000-08-15
GREAT INSIGHT INTO WHAT THE CATSKILLS WERE ALL ABOUT

WONDERFUL - - -Chicago Tribune
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2000-08-14
WONDERFUL COLLECTION OF REMINISCENCES

WONDERFUL ====VARIETY
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2000-09-01
wonderful oral history - - -covers a lot of territory

Engaging Book Is Nearly As Fun As The Era It Celebrates
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2003-07-04
While working at the Nevele Country Club, one of the many legendary Catskill resorts covered in this magnificent document, I briefly met Myrna and Harvey Frommer while doing their research. They probably don't remember me, I was too young at the time to offer the kind of history they were looking for, but the pair's enthusiasm and obvious love for the area's resorts and their unique (now long gone) familial atmosphere was readily apparent. When I finally got to read this book, it provided me with a sense of pride for being a part of its history. There's even an ancient picture of my father playing sax in the old Art Kahn Orchestra! But aside from personal connections, this book stands as a definitive oral history of an era. The people interviewed are true insiders, some of them legends in their own right among Catskill lore. And while the book provides some deep sociological perspective concerning its ethnic background, the authors know how to balance this with charming, amazing and often sidesplitting anecdotes. If you ever spent a weekend at Grossinger's, The Concord, The Nevele or one of the dozens of small bungalow colonies, this book will wash you in warm memories. And if you didn't have the chance, it will make you wish you did.

United States
Jubal Sackett (G K Hall Large Print Book Series)
Published in Hardcover by G K Hall & Co (1986-02)
Author: Louis L'Amour
List price: $17.95
Used price: $10.69

Average review score:

Audiobook: L'Amour's Best
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-20
Of the many novels Louis L'Amour wrote about the Sackett family, Jubal Sackett may be his best. The story is set in early America in the wild Rocky Mountain country--before the mountain men arrived. The story is addictive. I listened to the CDs at home, at the office, and in my car. It may also be the most creative and imaginative story that L'Amour every wrote. It is highly recommended.

Jubal Sackett
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-23
I loved the content and the reader. Louis L'Amour did extensive research for the book and did a fabulous job a capturing the adventure and romance of the era. It's hard to imagine the frontier with all of the modern conveniences we currently have but the author paints a reasonable picture.
The reader did a fabulous job of relaying the essence of the book.

A decent read, but a bit monochromatic
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-23
A typical L'Amour book - a dashing, trustworthy protagonist, just trying to live in peace but able to defend himself if and when necessary. Jubal Sackett is loved and trusted by all except the villains, who themselves have absolutely no redeeming qualities at all. In other words, the characters are very flat and monochromatic, and as a result, they come across as very artificial.

One thing you have to hand to L'Amour, though - he writes book easily read in an evening.

Wonderful western
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-04
A very good story. I would have liked to know more of what happened before it ended. I found out that there are 3 books in the series that I needed to read before this one so I ordered them today. I would recommend this series to my friends and family.

great audio book
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2003-03-13
This by far is the best audio book Ive listened to.

The guy reading the story has an accent that fits the story perfectly. While this is a lengthy book it is never boring
The pacing is perfect and the story itself is riviting.
Do yourself a favor and get this on audio. You will not be dissappionted

United States
Justice for All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made
Published in Hardcover by Riverhead Hardcover (2006-10-05)
Author: Jim Newton
List price: $32.00
New price: $2.87
Used price: $1.97
Collectible price: $32.00

Average review score:

Multi-faceted man
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-25
I found this book in the bargain bin at the university bookstore last December and bought it for $4 (Canadian) as a holiday or end of term present for myself. I ended up finally reading it this past June, while on vacation. The book is a lengthy one and well-researched.

I ate this book up and have dog-eared a few sections (Brown case and some others) for teaching the Supreme Court sections of my American Politics courses. The book does so many things and I'll note a few: shed light on the multi-faceted politics of a liberal Republican prosecutor, California Governor, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The Warren Court really did help make the nation with decisions on so many important cases. I have a broader affinity for Warren after reading this book. The book also explored the relationship or lack thereof between Warren and Nixon. The book's coverage of Nixon was honest and unfavorable, which was insightful to read about the sparring between the two men.

This book is great for anyone interested in the law, California history, Supreme Court history, or American Politics. The book's tone is written for a learned lay audience or an academic one examining the history or psychology of the Court and decision-making.

Earl Warren- Judge
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-15
I received this book promptly and in excellent shape.
The seller is great as far as I'm concerned.
Charlene Kornblum

Great Political Biography
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-25
This is a remarkable book of Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the 1950s and 1960s. The author does a superb job describing both the personal feelings and professional dealings of one of the US's most notable (or notorious, depending on your perspective) activist judges. Few these days remembers him as the Republican governor of California and vice presidential candidate, and that era gets extensive treatment, laying out the roots of his judicial philosophy The book clearly presents the arguments of why Warren was such a success at judicial consensus building and therefore one of the most effective supreme court justices. Interestingly, the book also has one of the most rational descriptions of the Warren commission buried within its pages (explaining both the strengths and weaknesses of their process) and does not try to hide the warts of the man. This book is a fantastic learning opportunity.

A Great Man Regardless of Your Politics
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-16
I grew up in a neighborhood and a time when "Impeach Earl Warren" signs were common. As an engaged teenager I closely followed the changing legal landscape of the late fifties and early sixties as the Warren Court rearranged the legal landscape and with it the social order of our nation in the areas of civil rights, criminal justice, freedom of speech, privacy and the role of religion in public schools. Even today as a practicing attorney I admit to strong philosophical disagreements with some of the Warren Court decisions. Having said that, Jim Newton has produced a masterpiece in his book "Justice for All."

First, this book is a marvelous biography of one of the most notorious men of the 20th century. From humble beginnings in the dusty backwater of a turn of the century Bakersfield, California to Chief Justice of perhaps the most influential court in the world, Earl Warren's story is compelling. In addition you are treated to a wonderful and readable history of California politics in the first half of the 20th Century, a time of unparalleled opportunity, growth and change in the Golden State. That alone is worth the read.

Nevertheless, the real gold nuggets of this book lie in its recounting of the internal politics of decision making within the court, as Chief Justice Earl Warren, guided not so much by legal principle but by what he perceived to be the "right thing to do", rewrote and redefined some of the most important constitutional issues of our time. While such a disclosure, poorly written might leaden the eyelids of all but the most inspired, Newton masters this task by writing a clear and easily understood layman's explanation of the facts, the legal and social issues and the courts resolution. I found myself excited, engaged and highly entertained by Newton's easily understandable prose. I was in a sense a fly on the wall as some of the most important legal decisions of the 20th century unfolded before my eyes.

Warren is not portrayed as a flawless Deity (he after all recommended and supported the forced incarceration of Japanese American's in WW II) but rather as a multi-faceted personality whose core belief was in using the power of government to do good for the common man and whose political and legal judgment evolved to blend with and sometimes challenge the social and legal fabric of our nation.

I was amazed to learn of his post Miranda concern (fueled by a very real and I would say predictable jump in crime in America after Miranda) that perhaps the court had gone too far in defining the relationship between those who would do harm and those who are ultimately charged with our protection. Thus while the basic concept of Miranda is appropriate and now fully integrated into the fabric of our legal system, later Supreme courts thankfully have more clearly defined the boundaries under which we balance the rights of the accused and the right of our citizens to be free from the terror of criminal activity.

OK enough politics, after reading this book, I am wiser, far better informed and far more sympathetic to a man so many have reviled as the father of judicial activism. Such a label in the absence of context does a huge disservice to this huge man and his historical significance. This book provides a context and insight that far surpassed my expectations. Regardless of your politics or your view of judicial activism, this is a truly enlightening book worthy of your time.

Great Learning Opportunity
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-01
I rarely give a 5-star review on a book. This one gets one for a stack of reasons.

When I finish a biography, I ask myself if I feel like I know the person. I feel I know Warren.

Another reason to like this book, it makes no bones about Warren's bad decisions, his support of the uprooting of Japanese in California in 1941. The author is not shy about criticizing Earl Warren.

Finally, I am a layman. It is a tough task to explain complex legal decisions to a non-lawyer. But Newton does it quite well.

One other thought: After all the learning I did by reading this book, it makes me quite critical of any and all the "teachers" I had in government and American History. They could not teach a politician to steal.

United States
The Last Men Out: Life on the Edge at Rescue 2 Firehouse
Published in Paperback by Holt Paperbacks (2005-05-01)
Author: Tom Downey
List price: $16.00
New price: $3.51
Used price: $3.01
Collectible price: $25.95

Average review score:

The Last Men Out
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-31
I read this book in three days. I have not read a book for enjoyment in years. Once I picked it up it was over. The stories make you TRY to relate to your own house. At the risk of sounding gay, It becomes a tear jerker.

Motivation
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-13
I am a firefighter in a department much smaller than the FDNY. We do not run many calls and I was starting to get unmotivated and complacent. After reading this book I remembered the brotherhood of firefighters I am in and gained a new love for my job.

awesome
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-09
the most moving book I have ever read.It takes the good with the bad. No sugar coating, all honesty.

A good way to scratch the surface...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-29
I should know: I'm a firemen's daughter. In fact, I'm a Rescue 2 firemen's daughter (we're a special breed) and have spent my entire life in the wacky world of Rescue firemen. Although it's really hard to capture the type of insanity and devotion these guys have for their jobs - Tom does a really good job. If someone you love is a fireman: read this book. It'll help you understand them better. Hey, even if you don't know anyone whose a firemen you should read this book. I just have 1 bone to pick with you Mr. Downey: Captain Ruvolo's daughters are not what I would call "pampered" (p.62). He loves them and they love him just as much.

great book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-25
Amazing stories in this book. You get the feel of the life of a member of the famed FDNY RESCUE 2. It is the kind of book that you read one chapter, and say..."Just one more chapter and I will put it down." But you cant put it down. After I finished the book, I said "I wish there could be more stories." Highly recomend this book to anyone interested in the life of those crazy enough to run in where the rest of the world runs out!

United States
Lincoln's Assassins: Their Trial and Execution
Published in Hardcover by William Morrow (2006-10-31)
Authors: James L. Swanson and Daniel Weinberg
List price: $39.95
New price: $7.90
Used price: $6.55
Collectible price: $39.95

Average review score:

Excellent Pictorial Study of Lincoln's Assassins
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-04
James Swanson has done a super job at presenting Lincoln's assassins thru the the use of pictures of the individuals as well as documents of the time. An excellent source for teachers dealing with the capture, trial, and execution of those associated with Lincoln's assassination.

Excellent
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-26
This is more of a picture book than a text-laden history book, but it's the appeal of the many photos, pictures, illustrations, and even cartoons that make this book a fascinating one to read. The book includes photos of all the conspirators, in life as well as death, along with other interesting details such as a letter Booth wrote as a teenager. Today few remember that John Wilkes Booth was the teenage heart-throb of his day, making it all the more shocking when he was involved in the assassination.

The details of the trial sound like something from some fantastic kangaroo court, not the U.S. For example, the defense had no time to marshall their case, interview or call witnesses, or even to meet much with their clients. The jury was composed of generals and military men, not civilians, and their decision would be final, with no right of appeal.There were indeed judges in the courtroom, but they were watching from the audience.

The public and the press constantly talked about their favorite conspirators, of which the young, handsome and dashing looking Lewis Powell was the favorite, who attempted to kill secretary of state William Seward with a Bowie knife on the night of the assassination, rather than the president, but was foiled. Even the decision of who to prosecute left many questions unanswered, as several suspects with far more incriminating evidence weren't even brought to trial, whereas others with less evidence were tried and executed. The authors suggest that this might have had more to do with who actually plotted the murder vs. who was involved with post-assassination attempts to shelter Booth.

However, it's the stunning visual presentation here rather than the now well known history that is the star here. This book will be enjoyed by any history or Americana buffs or anyone interested in a well done presentation of a unique event in our history.

Lincoln Conspirators in pictures and text.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-31
Excellent addition to any Civil War library. Text has nothing really new but reads very easily. The "gold mine" in this book are all the photos, some of which are new to me.
Quick read and terrific service from the vendor.

GREAT READING & PICTURES
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-29
Great reading leading up to the hangings of the shooting of President Lincoln and even greater pictures which have never been displayed before , I have a collection of 150 civil war books and this will be a great additon to my collection

reads like a movie
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-12
This is an EXCELLENT book. The pace reads like a movie. The characters are expertly depicted and the author presents a flow of events that kept me reading continuosly. The sparse use of photos bothered me at first but then I realized that I liked it better not to have too many images.


Books-Under-Review-->Recreation-->Outdoors-->Hunting-->Foxhunting-->Magazines and E-zines-->United States-->86
Related Subjects:
More Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250