History Books

Two books are tops for those who love the game and choose to continue learning how to play it well: this one and Every Shot Must Have a Purpose: How GOLF54 Can Make You a Better Player The stories, experiences, tips, and memories are superbly inspiring. Worth re-reading every year!

I don't play golf but I LOVED Ms. Vold's book, read every word, hated to have it end! I would recommend this book to anyone whether they play golf or not.

This book has it all....contemporary history of women who love the game and made the LPGA what it is today, nostalgia, technique and lots of food for thought. Any woman who has a passion for golf must read this one. I seldom read a book more than once...I'm on my third time through in less than three months. Do yourself a favor by buying it and keeping it near your nightstand to refer to again and again.

"If a person has any greatness in them, it comes to light , not in one flamboyant hour, but in the ledger of their daily work." Beryl Markham "West with the Night"

The women Mona Vold writes about in her book, "Different Strokes", are national treasures worthy of any reader's time. And although the common thread of their journeys is the world of golf, the passion of their hearts, the clarity of their minds and the strength of their voices both dig deeply into and transcend that rich and humbling game.

Without reservation, I highly recommend this wise and thoughtful book.

Fun to hear what the other half has to say about the game. Great stories a good read for any golfer. Not to sure about the technical information. You might want to purchase GOLF IS A WOMAN'S GAME to set you straight on that. Both books really elevate women's golf.

Earth Prayers From around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations for Honoring the Earth We are finding this book useful each week in our Mass readings and will continue to use it for reflection.

A friend of mine just purchased this book and we read quite a few of the prayers/poems together. They are exquisite; lovely, lovely poems that are a blessing to read and share. I highly recommend this book. Coming from a Christian faith, I found them to be a wonderful bridge to read and share of other faiths and honoring mine as well. I'm purchasing several for Christmas gifts. Wonderful gift for anyone who enjoys the outdoors.

I use this book frequently. It has many wonderful prayers that I share with others. The book was like new and arrived quickly in good condition.

This is an excellent selection of Earth-centered prayers. I borrowed an instructor's copy, and had to acquire a hard-bound copy for myself!

This eclectic collection of prayers, poems, chants, verses, and mantras from all around the world is worth keeping near at all times. A dear friend gave this to me many years ago and I've nearly worn out the copy carrying it with me while sauntering from the Rockies and high Sierra, to the depths of the southwest desert canyons, to the wild Pacific shore. This is truly a wonderful collection of wisdom and inspiration that should be part of everyone's library. Its strength is found in its extensive Native American selections. Its only shortcoming is a scarcity of poetry from the Chinese masters.

By Kyle Gardner, author of Medicine Rock Reflections

Robust account of one of the seminal figures of early America, one attempting the creation of an indigenous culture cast in a more universal mode than that of the provincial Christianity of his roots. The courage to give up his secure life as a minister for the uncertainties of exploration and creative renewal marks Emerson's trail through a pioneer's psychological American wilderntess, to touch on and integrate everything from the post-Kantians, to the Buddhists/Hindus to the Persians and Sufis. That Emerson evolved into a near firebrand abolitionist is an aspect of his life unsufficiently told, and this part of his later career runs clear in this book. All in all, a first rate pioneer story of another kind.

This is the only biography of Emerson that truly matters. Richardson locks in on the essentials - the development of a seeking mind is search of the ground of being and the nature of reality. Emerson is our Founding Thinker and to do him justice, a biographer has to grapple with the how and why a mind grows, changes, struggles and reaches new heights. Even if you haven't read much Emerson, this biography sheds light on what Emerson meant when he said, "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind."

In the past, my experience in reading Emerson has been similar to reading the Tao Te Ching; interesting, non-mainstream in its point of view, puzzling to understand what exactly it means. So I would pick up the Tao and read it at different times of the day and different frames of mind, hoping that it would resonate with me, but it never did. Maybe it was the cultural difference, or the language, or not being able to easily identify with Lao Tzu. Such had been my experience with Emerson. I wanted to understand him better because what little I did understand made me want to learn more, but I just couldn't get there.

This biographer, Richardson, really did his homework and any who want to understand Emerson better should appreciate this work. Emerson kept exhaustive journals and collections of his thoughts for many years. He read widely and deeply, kept detailed notes, and thoroughly indexed the notes. What perfect material to access for writing a biography! Apparently Richardson went back and studied much of the source material that Emerson references in his journals and brings into this biography an understanding of who Emerson was reading and what it meant to Emerson, so we receive the pleasure of following along on a journey in the development of a powerful mind. Then Richardson is able to write about this development so that it is easily readable to us moderns. It's quite a remarkable achievement.

"Mind on Fire" shows me that Richardson is certain that studying Emerson and his message is worthwhile. So much consideration has gone into this biography that when I laid it down after almost non-stop reading for several days over the holidays, I felt like I really understood Emerson for the first time, and now have much better insight. I plan to let this book simmer in my mind a few more months, then pick it up and read it again.

If Richardson could also write something as lucid and detailed to help me understand the Tao Te Ching, I wouldn't have 10,000 questions about the 10,000 things. ;-)

Mr. Richardson's 'Thoreau A Life of the Mind' was not only the best biography I've read on Thoreau, but one of the most exhilerating and enlightening reading experiences of my life. So I decided to read his 'Emerson The Mind on Fire.' And it was every bit as intimate and intelligent.

There are times you feel that you're intruding upon Waldo and Henry on one of their walks. It was an endless stroll of two intellectuals and humanists on the path of being very human. Each of the one hundred chapters (both books) are kept short, which helps move the reader from topic to topic without ever feeling put upon (too much detail can drag what is otherwise very interesting.) Though, for me personally, I would love to savor every moment these two great men shared. I don't think I could ever get bored.

Emerson has many close friends with whom one gets to know intimately. His personal address book was a whose whose of literary and intellectual greats.

The relationship between Emerson and his second wife, Lidian, is of great interest. She was also intellectual and as much a partner in life as she was a wife. Her presence is everywhere in Emerson's life.

Emerson's essays are pure poetry. And the behind the scene snippets into how they became a part of his legacy was both insightful and relevant to the day to day interactions and causes he committed himself. His transformation from the unremarkable child into the neverending 'student' of self-education and commitment to social conscience throughout his entire adult life is one to be admired.

Mr. Richardson is one of the best biographers of nineteenth century literaries. He is truly one with his topic.

Robert Richardson's biography of Emerson is superb. Though, as Richardson reminds us, Emerson did not like superlative language when precise and adequate language would do, it is the case that at times the superlative, the precise and the adequate converge (as, in fact, they often did in Emerson's writings). Richardson's biography is indeed superb in its unfolding of Emerson's life -- the loves, the friendships, the losses, the intellectual and spiritual hunger, the religious quest, the writers in America, in Europe, in Persia and elsewhere to whom Emerson owed and acknowledged debts, the grasping at and for a world, the determination of a single, brilliant human being to find his way and to see his life, and all individual lives, as imbued with the divine and thus worth living.

The book is also superbly written. Each short chapter offers enough substantive insight to urge the reader into the next. It is a long book, but not long-winded. Richardson provides the reader with some morsel of insight in a few pages of narrative, and then offers a rest to digest what has been said. His placement of quotations from Emerson's journals, essays and other works is brilliant, offering the reader a useful sketch of Emerson's metaphysics and ethics. In my own case, this has allowed time to reach for other literature more fully descriptive of the events or scenes offered in a particular chapter, or to reread chunks of Emerson's writings while moving through the biography. The book is a useful tool not merely for a study of Emerson's life but for a study of Transcendentalism and of the interplay of ideas across the Atlantic that shaped American thought in so many ways. One sees more clearly where and how such writers as Nietzsche and Thoreau obtained the seeds of their own truths from Emerson's works and thoughts.

Richardson has set the standard for the writing of future biographies. Again, simply superb.

When Hitler was asked about the possible negative consequences of the "final solution" in gassing all the remaining Jews in the world, he is reported to have responded by asking the question of "Who remembers the Armenians" who were killed by the "young Turks" at the end of the Ottoman Empire. While the numbers are in dispute, the reality is that over a million were killed outright or died of hunger during the campaign to exterminate the Armenians. But the real hidden holocaust took place over a decade later, when the Communist jackals running the "Evil Empire" in Moscow set about to eliminate the Ukrainians by systematic starvation, in far greater numbers than Hitler was able to accomplish with his ovens in concentration camps all over Europe.
Whoever Miron Dolot is, since he wrote this under a pseudonym for some reason, he lived a horror for many years that is incomprehensible for normal human beings. His description of the day-to-day struggle to exist under a system so evil that it boggles the imagination was very eloquent. Dolot talks about the neighbors who starved to death, families who engaged in cannibalism in order to survive, mothers committing suicide after the last of their children had died from malnutrition, frozen bodies stacked like firewood, roads littered with the remains of those who died trying to find a kernel of corn to ingest, and many other horrors that bring tears to your eyes. The Soviets did everything they could do to kill their opposition, including killing dogs and cats to keep them from becoming the last remaining food source for farmers who had no other option to stay alive. Even birds were shot from the trees to keep them from the starving peasants. But it was not limited to the Ukrainians; just ask the relatives of the millions of Chechens, Ingushetian's, and others who wanted independence and were rewarded with death in Soviet concentration camps called Gulags. Most of this story deals with a small Ukrainian village, but it is a microcosm of what happened in the Communist utopia under Stalin. Some of the stories from those who returned to the village after the horrors of being transported in cattle cars and escaped from the gulags are no different than the pictures of the same form of transport shown in many Holocaust movies.
But this story is far better than many of the holocaust films we have seen from Hollywood that concentrated on the one committed by Hitler. And why have we not seen this book on film to put all of the holocausts committed in the last century in context? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that McCarthyism still exists in its original form, when the communists controlled Hollywood in the 30's and apologists like Walter Duranty of the New York Times, who carries the label of "Stalin's Apologist" won a Pulitzer prize for his misreporting from Moscow about how great Stalin was. Ken Billingsley and his masterful book "Hollywood Party" shows that the real "blacklist" existed when loyal Americans veered from Moscow's party line, and explains Ronald Reagan's contempt for the communists who controlled his union until he won election to rid the union of these lice.
This is a great book. Hopefully someone like Mel Gibson will convert this to film for those who do not read, but are mislead by the Hollywood elite who condemn the USA and would have lasted two minutes under the Stalinist regime they glorify.

In 1929, Joseph Stalin ordered the collectivization of all Ukrainian farms. During the resulting upheaval, some seven million Ukrainians died of starvation. But, while it ended with mass starvation, the Soviet program of oppression started with property confiscation, arbitrary arrests, judicial and extrajudicial murder, and a whole constellation of unspeakable mistreatment.

One of the survivors of this holocaust was a young Ukrainian boy, who survived the conflagration and World War II, and succeeded in escaping to the United States. Written under the pseudonym of Miron Dolot, this heart-rending book tells the story of what he saw throughout the holocaust, and what he felt and thought.

I originally picked up this book because my own family, who were Russian Mennonites, left Ukraine before this time, but all of the relatives that stayed were annihilated to the last man, woman and child. Even so, I dare anyone to read this book and not be moved. The author does an excellent job of bringing the heartless insanity of this holocaust home to right where you live.

So, if you are interested in Russian or Ukrainian history, then I highly recommend this moving book to you.

This book is a record of what some daily life was like in the Ukrainian villages during the Great Famine.
It is his memoirs, so it cant really be judged for facts and such, but it seems very intresting to read, and accurate.
The numbers couldt be a tiny bit too high, but it might actually have been that, but we will never know due to the destruction of any documents concerning mass death in The Famine.
I say its a good book, but would only recommend it too people intrested in Russian History specifically, because its such a specific and narrow read on a subject, from a first hand account, which usually dont know everything. There are better academic books out there documenting the famine well, but this is nontheless a good read and history.

Excellent first hand account of the attempts of collectivization under Stalin; attempts that met with little or no success. I earned and received a Bachelor of Arts in History and this subject was never covered as well as it should have been. The "less hidden" Holocaust always seems to take center stage in this society. I became interested in the subject due to the flight of my paternal grandparents from the affected area prior to the full onslaught being felt.

It seems impossible that, in a place comparable to the American Midwest for rich soil, that the people who live there, millions of them, starve to death in spite of the bounty of their land. But their Ukrainian farms are collectivized by orders from faraway Moscow. The food is shipped to wherever the authorities decide it will go. This is not a dry history of bushels shipped and numbers of private farms collectivized, but a compelling depiction of lives progressively ruined as an ideology takes over. Families who resist collectivation are demonized as dirty, selfish kulaks, and are punished. The promises to the communities sound good, early on, but the resulting devastation of the Ukrainianian people that results ultimately reveals that there was not much in it for the people who worked the land.

Purusing these two books is a delightful experience. Anyone with an appreciation for fashion and clothing created in the 17th - 20th centuries will be amazed at the care and keeping the pieces in the Kyoto Museum's collection have received. The close-up photography reveals the marvel of the handwork and creation of each design, and each piece is a wonderful representation of its era. And the price of the set was unbelievable!! All around, a wonderful find and a keeper.

I own the one volume book in paperback.
In comparing the two books side by side they are nearly identical!
But the two volume set is missing 14 pages that appear in the copy that I own! Most of the images are just close-ups of the garments, one set is a period illustration from Diderot, but some are garments completely omitted. The 20th century fashion is all complete though.
So you have a toss up choice, larger photos or more photos. otherwise they are identical!

4 out of 5 stars because of those missing pictures.

This set of books is absolutely stunning. I paid NZ$150 (around US$90)at a bookstore here in New Zealand and volume 1 alone is worth every penny of the sale price.
If you're interested in historical costume, you won't regret this purchase.

Due to the publisher not anticipating the demand for this set of books it took me just over a year to acquire my copy. It was more than worth the wait. The photography is stunning. If you have an interest in costuming
add this book to your collection without delay.

Your mailman will probably hate you for buying this but this is really one of the best resources to have and it's very inspirational! You get 2 hardcover volumes with great large photos for a really bargain price, I love it!

The world owes a great debt of gratitude to Gary W. Gallagher for his efforts in producing this book. Even though I would consider myself a "Private" in the ranks of civil war buffs, I have read dozens of memoirs by Civil War era men and women. None of them moved me the way this book has. At heart, I am a "Union girl", but when I finished reading this book and had to close it, I truly felt like I had lost a friend. E. Porter Alexander was a gifted, candid, and witty writer. His reminiscences are like sitting down with your favorite uncle for an evening of story telling by the fire. This book is a treasure, and is definitely worthy of more than one read.

Although Alexander's memoirs weren't written as memoirs as such they provide a good insight into the war as fought by the Army of Northern Virginia. General Alexander held an important position in the Confederate Army and was in a position to see much which was otherwise missed by historians or left out of the memoirs of more senior officers who had reputations to protect after the Civil War was over. A fascinating book!

This is a wonderfully engaging memoir, written by E. Porter Alexander, engineer, staff officer, and, as most recall him, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's First Corps artillery guru. What sets this book apart is its honest, candid view of events from Alexander's perspective. Not the usual glorification of the cause and its leaders as with many other actors from the Civil War. This book stayed hidden from sight for many years after it was completed; it is a blessing to those who study the Civil War that it came to see the light of day with publication. The Introduction concludes by stating that (page xxiii): "'Fighting for the Confederacy' is a book to be savored, one of those wonderful volumes that is both instructive and pleasurable to read."

One line that exemplifies this, focusing on Lieutenant General Leonidas Pope, a corps commander in the Western Theater's Army of Tennessee, is enchanting. Polk was a bishop in his church and, for some unfathomable reason, had the confidence of President Jefferson Davis and General Braxton Bragg. When Alexander and the troops of General James Longstreet's First Corps joined Bragg's army at Chickamauga, he observed that (page 289): "So all our pious people with one consent & with secret conviction that the Lord would surely favor a bishop turned in & made him a lieut. Gen., which the Lord had not." A sly way of saying that Polk was a disaster as a general (and, indeed, Alexander was accurate in his assessment).

A couple passages that make this volume--and Alexander's method--so refreshing. At the close of his discussion of the battle of Chancellorsville, Alexander notes that Union Commanding General Joseph Hooker lost his courage and will--as did his top commanders. Alexander observes that the Union Army was intact, outnumbered the Confederate force and could have won the battle with better leadership. Then, in a passage extraordinary for a Confederate officer, he says (page 217) "Had it been Grant in command, he would not have dreamed of giving up the fight." This suggests a perspective on the war that many partisans--whether Union or Confederate--never had. Indeed, had the Union Army listened to Generals Meade and Reynolds who were arguing strenuously to counterattack the Confederate forces, the end result might have been a significant Union victory. We'll never know, of course, but Alexander does suggest an alternative history.

Then, Gettysburg. . . . Here is the poignant scene, told from Alexander's perspective, where Longstreet must order Pickett's forces (and others) to advance. But Longstreet fears a disaster, and obviously is in a state of inner turmoil (see pages 254 and following). At one point, it is almost as if he were giving Alexander the task of deciding whether or not the charge takes place. At a later time, Longstreet expresses openly his fear (page 261): "I don't want to make this attack--I believe it will fail--I do not see how it can succeed--I would not make it even now, but that Gen. Lee has ordered & expects it."

So, in the end, this is a wonderful first person description of the war, one of the finest of Civil War memoirs.

I have read many books of self accounts of the civil war. This book tops all others in the details and extra touch of personal feelings that where experenced by this brave man and all his fellow soldiers that fought this conflict. If you enjoy accounts of the civil war this book is a must read!!!!!

While there may be debate what is the best Civil War memoir overall (many would likely pick Grant's), E.P. Alexander's memoir is easily the best written by a Confederate. The book is candid (he was writing it for his family) and pulls no punches about what it was like to serve for the Confederacy. Alexander also led an interesting career, seeing service in both the Eastern and Western Theaters so that makes the book all the more interesting. I could write pages about how good this book is, how well it is written, and what a page turner it is, but several other reviewers have done that so I'll just say--Go read this book. You won't be disappointed.

If you have not had the chance to meet Frankie in person this is a great way to get to know the man who many swing dancers as myself has grown to love and admire. In person you would not see a 93 year young man but someone who is full of life! He always greets you with a smile and has a beautiful sense of humor. I have learned so much from him and admire him for being an example of how to live a full and wonderful life!

It's definetly a book I recommend for you to read even if you are not a swing dancer. And if you aren't one when you start reading the book, I won't be surprised if you start taking swing dance lessons after reading the book!

I made personally Frankie Manning and he is a sweet guy. Being myself a swing dancer, I enjoyed reading his unique journey through time. It is not a fiction, but a true view of swing dancing from a master. if you like the book like I did, read also books from Norma Miller (one of his partner). Thank you Frankie !!

If you love dance or swing music read this book. I even had Frankie sign my book at a dance in NYC. Well written and fun....the real deal.

If you have ever met Frankie Manning then you know that his sheer joy transcends his own physical presence to the point that it can fill a whole room! Frankie is truly an amazing and beautiful individual. Luckily for the reader this makes for a very inspiring book, which aside from being autobiographical in natures and having biblical stature in the Lindy Hop community, it's extremely entertaining to the dancer and non-dancer alike.

My only complaint is that it was so good that i never wanted it to end!

I love a guy that is still dancing at his age. Great stuff from the past and great photos. Frankie is not a glory hog or braggart - he gives credit when credit is due. Enjoying this book like no other.

Midshipman Alan Lewrie continues to reveal his inherent talents as a fighting officer in the British navy. Ashore with his beloved artillery at the Battle of Yorktown, he meets the Chiswick family of American Loyalists, forming relationships that will develop throughout the series.

The 2002 McBooks Press version (paperbook) that I bought at Borders has pages 145 through 192 printed twice, and then pages 198 to 241 are missing altogether! I can't imagine how such a mistake could get by. One minute they are setting up in the trenches, the next they are sailing wearily out of the the bay. So...I have no idea what happened and I'm taking it back tomorrow for a refund.

So check it out before you buy it.

Otherwise, great book.

As a strong fan of Dewey Lamdins' books, I've now read them all, The French Admiral was the best. I felt a much greater sense of history and a deeper understanding of the conflict as it impacted the lives of Loyalists, Revolutionaries, and their families. The bloody fighting seemed more in context than the conflicts described in the other books of this series.

I recommend this book very highly.

The French Admiral in paper has been awaited by Alan Lewrie fans since 1990. It is the crucial #2 "missing link" from early in the series of Alan's swashbuckling adventures in the age of fighting sail. Although we know the general events of this long-missing novel about the Royal Navy from references in succeeding books, it comes as a throwback to the exciting rakehell that Lewrie was early in his career. The alleged orphan [] of a scheming English knight, Lewrie has a most modest opinion of himself, although he comes of age as a mariner in the course of this pivotal novel. American readers will be most interested that this novel takes place on the Eastern Seaboard, especially during the crucial siege of Cornwallis' troops at York Town. (From the detailed sailing descriptions in the Chesapeake Bay it's a good bet that Lambdin sails there often.) This story offers a chance for an extended look, from the British point of view, at the vicious enmities and fighting that characterized the American Revolution in the genteel South. It does not, however, offer the least personal glimpse of the French Admiral. That august and triumphant sailor, the shipbound Admiral de Grasse, is instrumental in the series of British blunders and defeats that lose the rebel American colonies to England.

The language is a bit rougher than is the salty talk customary in sea stories by genuine British authors. I wonder if Lambdin chose "Lewrie" as his hero's name because it resembles lurid and lewd, which Alan is, although he's not a scoundrel as well. This is a physically bigger book than the other Lambdin pb's I've read, thanks to the customarily expansive McBooks Press edition (i.e., larger type and better paper than the stubby Fawcett Crest/Ballantine editions).

This is the second installment in what is developing into quite an enjoyable naval series. In _The King's_ Coat, Alan Lewrie, an illegitimate sixteen-year-old London rakehell, was essentially forced into going to sea in 1779 as a midshipman after being framed by his moneygrubbing father and his two half-siblings. He had a very rocky start in his new career but was beginning to learn his trade and had made a few friends, as well as more than a few enemies. He had also managed to come to the notice of at least two men of note, and well-placed interest was always paramount in advancing one's naval future. And there was the gorgeous young Lucy Beauman in Antiqua to whom he began paying court. Now it's two years since he left England and the rebellion in America is drawing to a close, buoyed by incompetence on the part of the British army and navy. And in the process, Alan finds himself trapped like a rat with Cornwallis at Yorktown. He escapes the disaster, partly through chance, partly through the aid of some Loyalist militia, and partly through his own intelligence and unexpected competence. By the end of the book, his future has improved in several important ways, both professionally and personally, and he has become a harder sort of person than he was at the beginning. And there's a new love interest, whether he wants to think so or not. Lambdin offers a welcome antidote to the rather proper style of Hornblower and even Audrey -- his sailors swear fulsomely, his protagonists can be just as narrowminded as anyone else in their society -- but he certainly knows his naval lore. And just when you're settling in to an adventurous episode, something horrible happens to remind you of just how bloody a true civil war the glorious American Revolution really was.

This book contains a number of factual errors.
To site a few:
pg. 57 "Illinois Senator (and future president) Willian McKinley... When Frank Smith declared he would run against McKinley, Insull opened up his pocketbook and provided more than $25,000, a substanital sum in the 1920s." What!?! McKinley was from Ohio, not Illinios. He served in the House and as Ohio's governor. He was never a senator. And he was assassinated in 1898.

pg. 119 "Eron... declared bankruptcy on December 2, 1997" Wrong. Enron declared bankruptcy in 2001.

pg. 108 "providing energy payments from utilities that rose from 5.6 cents per kilowatt in 1984 to 10.1 cents in 1983 and even to 15 cents in 1998" Huh? that doesn't make sense. Did this book have an editor?

There are way too many errors in this book to take it seriously.

As you consider Enron's Kenneth Lay going to trial, "From Edison to Enron" provides the necessary historical context. Unlike any of the other Enron books, Richard Munson's explains where Enron fits within the power business. Munson also provides good portraits of Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Samuel Insull, who has amazing simililarities to Ken Lay, although 70 years ago. This is a really good book.

Electricity is perhaps our most important industry. It certainly is our largest. It also is our least understood. That's where Richard Munson provides such a valuable service. He offers an engaging historical overview -- with first-rate profiles of Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, Samuel Insull, George Norris, and other industry giants -- and he also provides an insightful review of the current issues and challenges facing the electricity business. This book is a real resource for university history as well as business (and even engineering) classes, and it offers an entertaining read for the general reader interested in the environment and the economy.

I was particularly taken by Munson's comparison of Samuel Insull -- an energy tycoon of the 1920s and 1930s -- and Enron's Kenneth Lay. The author reveals both men's accomplishments and deceits, but he also highlights how each brought change to the industry.

Munson also is effective when he discusses the potential for improvements in the power business. While noting the industry's stagnant efficiency, pollution, and lack of reliability, he argues for removing the regulatory barriers that were developed over the last century to promote and protect monopolies, which have had no incentive to innovate. He describes clearly several innovative technologies and profiles some of the entrepreneurs trying to bring those innovations to the market. Munson is even handed, showing how some utility executives as well as environmental activists are protecting the status quo and blocking efficiency.

The book is well written, effectively integrating information from history, politics, as well as engineering. It is the best business book of the last year.

Electrification is the single greatest achievement in the 20th century. Electricity revolutionized commerce and transportation and improved both the standard of living and the quality of life for all who had access to it. Economic progress without it would be slow and tortuous. Like water in any society, electricity has become a critical resource (or rather, service) in modern society, and like any other critical resource, it is subject to often intense politics.

Edison set the stage when he perfected the humble light bulb, and Tesla got things moving when he discovered the interesting properties of alternating current and the transformer. Edison also put into play the first combined heat and power plant, for which many today (including the author) feel is the future of electricity. However, these knaves fail to acknowledge that on the one hand, electricity is high-grade energy, one that can be used far from its source of production, while heat is low grade energy which must be put into play immediately where it is produced. Lord Kelvin and Westinghouse, seeing the benefits of alternating current, each played a role in setting the stage for centralized, monopoly electricity production. However, it was Samuel Insull who championed for the formation of the traditional, investor-owned-utility (IOU) that most every ratepayer is familiar with today. A slew of politicians, from Democrat FDR to Republican George Norris, turned electricity into a populist cause, and basically ensured that the CEO of every IOU henceforth would be a rabid Republican.

Some say that the greatest technological achievement of the 20th century belongs to computers, or to antibiotics, but these individuals overlook one important thing. Electricity is the great enabler, as it allows people to free themselves from the whims of natural rhythms, escape lives of tedium and drudgery, and above all, achieve a level of convenience and prosperity unheard of in recorded history.

The key thing here is convenience. Electricity made possible a whole slew of appliances, from the humble stove and refrigerator to the mighty microwave and washing machine, that made life easier for all who access to it. Once it was proven safe and (more or less) reliable, the key thing then was to ensure access to service for all that needed it or wanted it. This was the operating paradigm up until 1970 or so, when things first began to change. Given the state of the technology in that period, transmission and distribution of the electricity presented itself as the key stumbling block, and given the massive investment required to make access available to all, it seemed logical to let one supervised player control all aspects of the service, from generation to transmission and distribution. In return for earning a known return for his investment, this player agreed to strict regulation in exchange for the exclusive right to provide the service to consumers in a given area.

The author seeks to make the case that the technology has progressed to the point where consumers can be their own producers of electricity, and meet their own needs. He neglects to tell the reader that electricity consumers have had this ability for at least four decades now, and the reason that most do not pursue production is because it is more convenient (and cheaper) to let the utility do it for them. Those that need to produce can produce, but most of us do not need to produce what we consume. The author also claims that the traditional IOUs hamper innovation via their monopolistic position and practices. While true to some extent, he neglects to inform the reader of a few things, particularly the fact that most consumers, especially residential ratepayers, do not want innovation; they want the convenience of power at preferably cheap rates.

Because of the populist nature of electricity, for the longest time, business has been in effect subsidizing residential ratepayers via high rates, and only recently has this state of affairs reversed, in part because of greater competition brought about by the rise of the merchant generator and innovative (but not necessarily new) technologies. Nowadays, you essentially have two classes of ratepayer- business and residential. Like most commentators on the subject, the author is openly more interested in the welfare of the business ratepayer (who without a doubt has benefited from de-regulation, seeing prices come down by more than half in some cases), while neglecting the plight of the friendly neighborhood, wage-earning, rent-paying residential ratepaying schmuck (who without a doubt has been the loser in deregulation, seeing her prices actually go up). These two ratepaying classes take access for granted, and nowadays have very different concerns and priorities. The over-riding concern of the residential ratepayer is the same then as now- convenience (about all they know about the service is vaguely who to send the bill to... most months!). The business ratepayer has two concerns- lowering his costs thus increasing his profits, and ensuring a steady, reliable supply of energy to ensure that he can deliver his good or service so as to thus avoid lost business.

Perhaps the author's biggest omission is this: electricity is a commodity that it seems no one, either the business or residential consumer, wants to shoulder the full cost for. This key omission holds considerable horrors for anyone looking to be involved in this industry (especially on the investment side). In sum, the experience with (electric) utilities has shown that competition is indeed good for some, particularly big business consumers, and innovation, though very cool and sounding very nice, takes a back seat to both convenience and cost concerns for business and residential customers alike.

Richard Munson offers a unique and entertaining look at the 20th century by tracing the efforts to capture and capitalize on electricity. His profiles of Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla, Samuel Insull, and others are first rate. He also clearly documents how this unique form of energy has changed our lives and altered our landscapes.

Munson paints a clear-headed critique of our outmoded and inefficient electricity system. He also offers a balanced view of the opportunities for efficiency and innovation.

If you can read but one energy book -- particularly in light of concerns about pollution, climate change, reliable supplies, and economic development -- I strongly recommend "From Edison to Enron."

EXCELLENT!!! I love this book. I've been waching GH for years now but this book gave me the backstory to alot of plots. The pictures are great and seeing all the old charachters from years back is the best. I love it, love it,love it!

A wonderful compilation of memories from a once-great soap opera. It's a necessary memory tool for Classic GH fans to remember the show before it turned into the poorly produced, poorly written mockery it is today, courtesy of current misproducer Jill Farren Phelps (better known as Dull Darren Delps) and hack writer Bob Guza Jr. (a.k.a. Mob Luza Junior Writer).
It's a fine written tribute to the late, great producer Gloria Monty, who guided GH out of the doldrums in the late 1970s. Monty's best are on parade in the scrapbook --
The love triangle of Luke, Laura and Scott.
The love triangle of Alan, Monica and Rick.
The spy adventures of Luke teamed with Robert Scorpio opposite the wicked and domineering Cassadines.
The expansion of the WSB/spy stories through the characters of Sean Donely, Anna Devane and Frisco and Felicia Jones.
The enduring loving couples that put your faith back in human nature -- Drs. Rick and Lesley Webber, Lee and Gail Baldwin, Steve and Audrey Hardy, Edward and Lila Quartermaine -- are well presented.
The great villains -- Helena Cassadine, Cesar Faison, Grant Putnam, and Heather Webber -- are in the house.
There's also a neat section of GH vets who went on to bigger and better - singer Rick Springfield (GH's Dr. Noah Drake) and Demi Moore (the soap's erstwhile newspaper reporter Jackie Templeton).
Only thing that's needed is an update of the book. The current book only goes as far as 1995. Warner should bring it up to 2002, the year GH began its rapid decline.

Sincerely,
J. Mosher.
(a.k.a. doneleywannabe of ABC's GH Internet message board).

This is especially great for old time fans like myself, because it reminds us of some great old scenes. It's too bad a lot of the newer actors are not in this, but it's a few years old. I love seeing this on my book shelf, proclaiming my love for GH. A great gift for the fan.

Okay, this book goes back, way back, to the beginning. LOTS of great photos and it explains the storyline as well! So if you wonder what Jason used to be like or who's related to whom...this will explain it all!

I bought this book as a gift for a friend so I can't comment on the contents but she LOVED it and is a big GH fan so I'm assuming I did well! My experience was exceptional. Got my book within a few days in mint condition as promised!

This book I will cherish for all my life. I love looking back at the old GH to the present. It just shows you how awesome General hospital is. It has such great stories. Love stories like Brenda and Sonny, Robin and Stone, to break through stories like Allen drug addiction to Stone's AIDS Story. God this book will make you scream in glee or shead a few tears. To All- ENJOY!