Benn Books

I first read this book when I was a youngster, back in the 70s. I now have my own son and looked for these books both in the US and in the UK only to find them out of print. The original stories from Beresford are heartwarming and fun for younger readers. I really wish someone would consider re-printing them! They are just as applicable today as 25 years ago. The newer versions of Womble stories are meant for the younger readers and do not have near the depth of the older books.

After 186 years, it's about time for a comprehensive look at the Indians' participation in the War of 1812, on both sides of the conflict. While Carl Benn's focus is on the Iroquois of the Six Nations (or Grand River Tract) of Upper Canada, and the battles and skirmishes in the Niagara region, he also refers to their brethren of western New York, the Seven Nations of the lower St. Lawrence region, Tecumseh's western conflict, and other nations such as the Delaware, Ojibwa and Mississauga. His explanation of the Iroquois way of war does much to dispel the myth of the "savage" and leads to a better understanding of their reasons for fighting, temporary desertion, looting and the now-repugnant practice of scalping. He allows the reader a glimpse into Iroquois society and the divisions within it, similar to those of Euroamericans, with pro-British, neutral, and pro-American factions. His account of the personal agendas and internal strife among the Indian Department, the civil authorities and the military illustrates that, unfortunately, the status quo has changed little over the centuries.

This book is a scholarly treatise, with 609 footnotes, and although there is a factual tone to it, it is certainly not dry. Benn has made the best use of an extensive bibliography to create a well- balanced examination of the Iroquois alliances and conflicts, among themselves, and with their allies and enemies. His description of the Battle of Chippawa is downright exciting.

Benn tends to skim over actions that do not involve the Iroquois. This is understandable, due to the subject matter, but quick reference can sometimes result in slightly distorted facts. As an example, Benn states that "Brock ordered the commandant at St. Joseph's Island in Lake Huron to capture the American post of Fort Mackinac at the head of Lake Michigan." In fact, Brock was under direct orders from his commander-in-chief, Sir George Prevost, to restrain from aggression; he therefore ordered the captain at St. Joseph Island to act according to his best judgement; by capturing Fort Michilimackinac, the captain acted on his own initiative. However, this is a small point. For the most part, this is an excellent book about a part of history that deserves to be better known and appreciated.

This is a great book! It simply retells the old story with beautiful illustrations. I would recomend this book to read with your small children.

I have just finished reading one copy of the first print of this book,date of which is 1926.So one may expect to find it more in the spirit of a newspaper article than a historical survey.But ,so i can say,it does accomplish to be "scientific" more than i expected.It is able in conceiving such a hot and fresh matter in the larger context of the historical contest and collision or interaction of East and West. In its predictions on the near and far future of Turkey -as a Turk i can say- it is mostly proved right. But,in spite of the authors apparent striving after impartiality,it has an implicit desire to "manipulate" rather than to understand some aspects of the policy of the early Turkey,especially on the matters which involve England.Perfect example of this attitude is the Musul and the "kurdish problem". The book in its entirerity is trying to prove to western people that "Turks are human-beings".This sounds strange to me-i said:i am a turk- but maybe helpful to some western people -in two ways:1)to understand that we are human or 2)to see the state of mind of western people in the beginning of this century.I hope that the first may be unnecessary now. Ýt is well written ,easily readable,and very informative:deserves to be read.

Professor Elie Halevy writes with almost unparalled learning and with great acuteness from a standpoint distinctively individual, aiming at impartiality, if not wholly achieving it. No other account approaches his for solidity and brilliance. (This book is a translation from the French language by Watkin and Barker)

Ms. Hillert's books are *GREAT*! I sat down with the expectation of reading them *to* my pre-kindergartener and I found that suddenly we were actually reading it together!

Wahoo-where Dick and Jane had failed to engage her attention and interest, `The Three Goats' did. I read the harder words (at first) and she was just took off reading the rest!


About the Book:

It is written for the youngest beginning readers-- the book suggests those who have 6-8 weeks under their belt. We had none.

There are 36 vocabulary words; the most complicated of which are `goats, three, something and funny'. (The rest are of the `see, the, go, up, down, I, look' variety.)

There are 22 pages most of which have 3 sentences that are usually 3 words long. These sentences are similar to those of Dick and Jane, but the story line is actually much more interesting, or so I am told. LOL.

That said, the story of Billy Goats Gruff is left limping with such simple sentences, so unless your child is familiar with the story you should read or tell them the full version beforehand.

Four Stars. The story is interesting to kids, and at this price it is a great addition to the home library.

This is undoubtedly one of the best histories of Indian Police. The emphasis is on the Indian Police since 1861 till Independance, though attempt has also been made to trace its roots from earlier times. The portions relating to Vedic and Ancient times leave much to be desired. Dr. A Gupta has done more justice to the ancinet Indian Police. Sir Percival was a member of the Indian Civil Service who served long years in India under the Raj and like many other illustrious member of the elite service, he has taken great pains to research into the history and culture of India. Though there are larger and more scholastic tomes on the subject, To Guard My People stands out as the most readable work so far.

Buxton spent several years in the 1940s travelling through much of Ethiopia, and
recounts the state of the country at the time -- about 10 years before Thomas Parkenham
decided to spend his school holidays looking for the Royal prisons of Ethiopia. While
Parkenham's account is far more focused than Buxton, Buxton visited far more of the
country than Parkenham had. Between them, these works preserve a description of a
country and its monuments with a distinct and storied culture, before internal strife
and the desire for a modern life and its benefits eradicated much of the traditional
way of life.

I must say the editorial review above is a little ridiculous. Wilson was a visionary, a strong President, and world leader. Visit his birthplace and museum in Staunton, Virginia, and learn about him. Read this book and learn about him. He is not respected by many in his own party today. White's biography, though not perfect, is an enlightening study of a complex man and mind.

Short and cogent argument that the current "neoliberal" emphasis on diversity (of race, culture, language, or religion) devalues economic equality and real political progress. "Celebrating diversity . . .is now our way of accepting inequality."

Michaels doesn't spend much time talking about his suggested solutions to the problems, but based on what he reveals, I would strongly disagree with most of his solutions anyway. He has, however, framed the arguments exactly right, and with a slyly sarcastic wit belying his income ($175k) and occupation ("tenured radical" English professor at expensive private university).

The author's thesis is an important one: the American celebration of diversity masks, and may be designed to mask, increasing economic inequality and decreasing social mobility. He makes his point in a funny and engaging (if self-indulgent) way. But his jabs lose their force under the weight of repetition. By mid-book the reader -- at least this reader -- has read enough.

I think this is an excellent and highly original, even brilliant, analysis of how special interest/identity group politics result in increased acceptance of economic injustice, the hiding of poverty. The book analyzes, with astute insight, this problem or "trouble" resulting from the focus on diversity politics. On that score, the author is very persuasive. The problem is the absence of any well presented solution to the problem. This may have been intentional, a deliberate decision by the author to focus on uncovering and analyzing the problem, perhaps with a limited goal of raising awareness. In fact, I think the author may not be very qualified to present a proposed solution, having neither economic expertise nor experience working with the poor. Liberal individualism, as is increasingly common today and obviously a failure in terms of addressing injustice does not seem to result in coherent or effective policies any more that conservative approaches. Perhaps the author found trying to find a political solution akin to trying to lift oneself by the bootstraps.

This book has been analyzed extensively. So I'll be brief:

WBM's suggestion to ameliorate income disparity is NOT income redistribution. It is RESOURCE (healthcare and education) redistribution.

Real estate taxes fund schools - so wealthy suburbs have better public schools than low income neighborhoods. How does an individual parent solve this? Move to the better neighborhood!

Healthcare is ones own responsibility. The actual cost of this for a mediam income family of 4 is 10-20% of income (depending on who you listen to). How does a family deal with this? Suck it up and pay!

In both cases policies for the provision of what are normally considered to be public goods have been outsourced to the marketplace in the US.
If you believe that education and health are the ticket to a better life, then you have no choice but to agree w/ WBM that this is effectively not avaialble to those in the lowest quintile in the US.

US society papers over this by harping on diversity.

The studies showing that social mobility in the US is the LOWEST among OECD nations confirms this.

This is one of the dumbest books I've not finished reading. A professor of American Literature with a family income of $250,000 tackles the Big Problem: Economic Inequality is the Basic Social Problem facing this country--but he's not giving any of his money away. In fact, he says he wrote the book so he could make more money. He advocates closing all private schools and other nonsense as solutions to the problem. He claims that the only meaningful equality is equality of outcome. Sure, we all have the right to be doctors and lawyers and so forth if we want to be.

What he has to say about race is not worth summarizing.

It's a silly book. Don't waste your money..