Biography Books

This is a "pick it up, and cant put it down" book. Bold and honest in it's writing and also pays respect to the other units involved in the bastonge battle. This rates as one of the better books I have read with regard to the Bastonge battles. The freshness and clarity of the accounts shine through, having been written shortly after the battle and make this book a good read. The hand drawn maps showing company movement supports the written work well. A must read. 5 stars. I will be reading more of Don's work

This is the best of the 4 books that Burgett wrote (and all are excellent). This book does a fantastic job of summarizing just how outnumbered, outgunned, under-supplied, and exhausted the 101st was at Bastogne. After reading this book, I've got a new interest in the Bulge and will be buying more books on the subject.

This is an excellent book, the kind you can devour in an night or a few days. I agree with the other reviewer that this book would be worth of 6 stars.

all four of his books are great first person accounts of his military service as a WW2 paratrooper.a very easy read.

This third of Burgett's four books about his experiences in the 101st Airborne during World War II reveals a young man (19 at the time) at what could be easily seen as his finest (or worst) hours. The author gives this book an intense personal touch that is missing in many accounts of this unit during its defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Burgett takes the reader into the hell he lived through, vividly describing the shortages of basic military necessities such as weapons and ammunition, the incredible struggle for Noville in the early days of the battle and the withdrawal back to the main lines, and the difficulties of being ready to fight after coping with the harsh winter of the Ardennes and the lack of sleep, food, and water.

But what really comes through most clearly in this account is death. Burgett sees much of it in just a few weeks. He sees close friends (the "old men" of his company) and replacements die in what seems to be a random pattern. He takes the lives of German troops without a shred of remorse, yet almost shoots a fellow paratrooper who shot a prisoner of war.

Burgett does not portray himself as a hero--only as a man doing his job. He was very good (and I would also say lucky) at what he did. His story is not the nice neat narrative found in many accounts of the Bulge. It is dark, chilling, and brutal. It makes one wonder what men like him endured--both during the war and the many years since. I highly recommend it and the others volumes about his time in the 101st.

Donald Burgett gives a great view of WWII through the eyes of a 101st airborne paratrooper.

I own an original first edition (and did not realize its value until recently), but in searching for this book to add a link from within my new book on Irregular Warfare: Waging Peace, I realized the reader is faced with two choices today, one costing $4 more than the other. I believe I found the explanation in the less expensive version, which is described as "severely abridged." So all things being equal, buy this version instead.

There is no finer summary of this work that I have encountered in my literature search than "T.E. Lawrence And the Mind of An Insurgent" by James J. Schneider, Ph.D., a professor of military theory at the School of Advanced Military Studies, U.S. Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Previously published in 2005 in varied works, it can be easily found online by searching for the author and title.

My preliminary research for the new book shows that the Lieutenant Colonels/Commanders and some Colonels/Captains of the Navy get it, but the flags do not. Even the vaunted counterinsurgency handbook avoids dealing with three realities:

1. Absent a moral legitimizing strategy that includes a commitment to sufficiency of presence, no occupation will succeed.

2. Absent a national intelligence community willing and able to jump deep into Multinational, Multiagency, Multidisciplinary, Multidomain Information Sharing and Sense-Making (M4IS2), no commander will succeed.

3. It costs asymmetric irregular warriors $1 for every $500,000 they force us to spend with our present idiotic emphasis on technology as a substitute for both thinking and human presence. They can keep this up forever, we cannot.

IMHO, Dr. Schneider's distillation is utterly brilliant, and if the publisher issues a new edition, I urge the publisher to obtain permission to include Dr. Schneider's distillation as a new professional preface.

Although I have a very very large personal library (photo at oss.net), here are the books I bought today as part of my homework. In the comment I provide the URLs for the pieces I have had printed locally.

Modern irregular warfare: In defense policy and as a military phenomenon
The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism
Counterinsurgency and the Global War on Terror: Military Culture and Irregular War (Stanford Security Studies)
Asymmetric Warfare: Threat and Response in the 21st Century
Guerrilla Warfare: Irregular Warfare in the Twentieth Century (Stackpole Military History Series)
The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual
Never Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom
Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man

Two other books I already own within my ten link limit:
War of the Flea: The Classic Study of Guerrilla Warfare
Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam

And everything written by H. John Poole, but especially Tactics of the Crescent Moon, Phantom Soldier, One More Bridge to Cross, and Tiger's Way. Also Col Hammes on Sling and Stone, Mao and Che, Max Manwaring's various works including Search for Security, Uncomfortable Wars, and Environmental Security....and on, and on, and on....IRWF is finally "in" now we just have to spend ten years waiting for the current flags to retire.

Although a bit confusing in his presentation of dozens of key characters unfamiliar to the reader, Lawrence paints an extraordinary sketch of a time and people otherwise just a footnote to World history. The richness of the text and word pictures were worth the time spent laboring through massive amounts of detailed narrative.

TE Lawrence (1888-1935) the British soldier, poet and scholar wrote this insightful personal account of the Arab Revolt based on his war journals which is as confronting as it is poetic and beautiful. How could one not be enthralled by the writings and perspectives of a fine intellectual mind tormented by the reality of war and hypocrisy? What makes this book unique and powerful is Lawrence's sensibility as a poet and a soldier. Even if you are not into war history, this is a riveting book you can't afford to miss.

This is one of the great books of the 20th century. That it could be written at all is almost a miracle in itself. Take a brilliant Oxford student trained in the old classical tradition, place him in the Arabian desert as advisor to the wild Bedouin tribesmen during their revolt against the Turks and have him write with an acute sensitivity and unparalleld insight into what was transpiring before him and you may have some notion of what the book is like.
It's a long book. You will learn a great deal about blowing up a railroad bridge in the desert, about camel rides, thirst, and hunger and the heroism and brutality of war. The portraits of Sheik Auda, Sherrif Ali and Prince Faisal of the two Arab boys who Lawrence takes under his wing are masterpieces in and of themselves. The nobility and savagery of the desert tribesmen contrasted with the cold stoicism of the British and the inculcated cruelty of the Turks are just some of themes addressed during the course of the work. There are brilliant passing insights as to the Semitic inspiration for all the revealed religions and their relation to the desert beautiful descripitions of the terrain the weather and the obstacles encountered. When Lawrence says that from the beginning he believed the Arab revolt would succeed because it grew out of a sympathetic population was opposed by a modern army that could not garrison the territory occupied one wishes that President Bush had read it instead of just seeing the movie. Read it yourself.

Rightfully regarded as a modern classic, this book is nevertheless not light reading. This is a result of the density of information, as well as Lawrence's writing style, which often makes a re-reading of passages necessary to fully grasp them, besides his use of some unusual vocabulary. But by the time one has completed the journey to Damascus with Lawrence and his Arabs, one has almost got a taste for his own peculiar style, even if one cannot always agree with his views, which however, were pretty progressive for a man who grow up at the height of imperialism.

There are, however, many contradictions in the man. At the start of the book, for example, he sympathizes with the unwilling Turkish conscipts, illiterate Anatolian peasants who really wished to be back home, led by a militaristic officer caste fresh from the Armenian genocide. Later in the book though, little sympathy is shown, and on one occasion when Lawrence was angered by the Turks, he did nothing to stop their massacre on their defeat, and left all their wounded where they fell - every one of hundreds froze to death in the cold winter night...

But when one considers that he lost both brothers in 1915 in France, his father in 1919 of the Spanish influenza, and his closest friend, and probably boyfriend, Salim Ahmed, shortly before his entry into Damascus, one can be more forgiving of his attitude. And who can forget his botched execution of Hamed, who'd killed another man? To avoid a blood feud, Lawrence suggested that he execute the man, which was insisted on by the Arabs. 3 shots with his pistol, one of which hit the man on his wrist. No wonder he said he couldn't sleep that night. Or his having to shoot long-time compatriot Farrah in the head as he was too seriously injured to move, and wanted to avoid the inevitable torturing to death of Arab prisoners. Enver Pasha, the Turkish commander, had thrown so many men live into his furnace that he knew just how long it took before you heard the sound of their heads popping. Considering this background of brutality, Lawrence comes across as positively humane.

The book has it's lighter moments though. Who can forget the tribe of the Ageyl, who were so poor they used to go into battle stripped to their loin cloths, both in the belief that it reduced their chances of infection if they were hit, as well as to protect their clothing from bullet holes or blood stains...the young Arabs urinating on others' wounds as the only antiseptic treatment in the desert...the Howeitat treatment of snake-bites - bind up the part with snake-skin plaster, and read chapters of the Koran to the sufferer until he died. Life was hard, and luxuries were few, something which seemed to attract Lawrence even more towards his mission of reaching Damascus and driving out the Turks, even if his conscience continued to bother him that the British Govt's promises to the Arabs were unlikely to be fulfilled.

Finally, Lawrence claimed he left the original manuscript on the train, and had to rewrite the entire book from memory, an amazing feat considering the wealth of detail here. Actually, it would be a superhuman task, and Robert Graves, one of his best friends, believes the story was a lie. The implication is that Lawrence made out that he'd had to rewrite the book by recalling his memories as a cover for the fact that parts of the book are invented, and many facts changed, and that this would be the perfect excuse should his information later be found to be inaccurate. But why claim to have blown up over 70 bridges when the real number was around 20 or so?

The answer is that this is a work of literature, and not a military textbook. We'll never be really sure of which parts are exactly true, and which merely invented as representing what typically happened. It's not always light reading, so set some time aside for this one, but when you get to the end, you'll be glad of having made the effort.

If you love the game of tennis, you'll love Paul Fein's insightful comments on the game that fill this book. From the "look behind the curtain" that Paul provides in his interviews with Pete, Mac, Jimbo, etc., to the well thought out logic he applies to many of the current controversies of the game, you will find much interesting, amusing, and thought-provoking material in Tennis Confidential. Buy it!

Tennis Confidential is not an encyclopedia, but it IS encyclopedic. There's a lot of substance within its covers: player profiles, interviews, controversies, history, greatest matches, and even a brief history of racquet design.
Fein's passionate concern for the sport is evident throughout. He writes, "If tennis tries to be all things to all people, it will lose its brilliant uniqueness and end up being nothing much to anyone." His book, however, comes close to being all things to all tennis fans.

As Founder and President of the International Mental Game Coaching Association (IMGCA), I am always searching for new material, stories and background on sports psychology that I can bring to our members via articles, training programs and our IMGCA Certification programs.

I have followed Paul Fein's writing for years and have always been greatly impressed by his tennis acumen, his intellectual depth, and his writing style. He is one of the very best tennis writers being published today, and this book, Tennis Confidential, is no exception. This is a superb addition to the tennis literature, and one you will want on your bookshelf.

Paul's in-depth analysis of the social context of tennis is remarkable, and I really appreciate his engaging interviews with tour players that reveal the hidden mental dimension.

This book has appeal to all tennis players. I highly recommend this book for players, coaches, teachers, parents and officials.

As a former coach of several world-class players and also former National coach for the French, Swiss and Hellenic tennis Associations, I most appreciated the originality and expertise in Tennis Confidential. Pro tennis has plenty of controversies about on-court coaching, the scoring system, equal prize money, ranking systems, doubles reforms, the service let, etc. The essays analyze them with more thoughtfulness and fairness than I've seen before. Your opinions about certain issues will undoubtedly change after you read these essays. Interviews and features with Agassi, Serena Williams, McEnroe, Ashe, Navratilova, Borg, Sampras and other champions are also eye-openers. History fans will definitely enjoy the six retrospectives and the 10 greatest matches. On a light note, everyone will have fun with "True Confessions" and the amusing and sometimes shocking trivia that is sprinkled throughout the book. Several of the articles received writing awards. This is a book you will want to read and re-read.

As a tennis fan, especially in a family with few tennis fans, I enjoy reading outside material about the game. Not tips on playing, but about the pros, especially stories, history, analysis, etc. So I figured this book would fit right in with my appetite, especially from the subtitle, 'players, matches, and controversies.' I was right!



Tennis Confidential contains all of this and more! I was excited to read about events that happened before I was around, and also enjoyed reading about events that happened while I was around, and Fein brought a fresh and inside perspective to dozens of topics. Chapters I particularly enjoyed include the Burning Issues section, in which Fein examines modern topics like power, blacks' domination, new stats, and more; Controversies, with topics such as equal prize money, women's tennis superiority, the let rule, and more; and all time top 10 matches, with many surprises, but deep analysis.



No wonder my 2nd favorite sport is baseball. Both it and tennis, my favorite, invite analysis, discussion, controversy, have rich histories, and no clock. Reading this book allows me to appreciate the game more, want to discuss it more, and proud to be a tennis fan.
Plus, the author is very friendly and happy to discuss his work. I met him at a tournament, and we took a picture together.

This is the book I've always wanted to read! I had just turned 6 when Pearl Harbor was bombed and my uncle and most of the other men in our family and neighborhood disappeared to that thing called "WAR"! I prayed for all of them and wondered, "Where did they go, what happened to them, what was it like?" My uncle was captured in the Battle of the Bulge, spent time in a German prison camp and came home very different - now I know and understand better why! Reading Prof. Harrison's book I finally know what happened to the young men who were suddenly jerked from their families, schools, futures, through no fault or desire of their own, and were trained and sent to see and do things they could not have previously imagined. They were pushed to and beyond limits they did not know they had, degraded, treated like cattle at times by our own army, and thus molded into a great and loyal fighting unit.

How any of our men experienced this and stayed sane, that they were able to return home to slip back into the lives they had expected, is incredible. I have read every book I find on World War II and studied military history in college trying to understand and know what happened, what war is REALLY like for our men. I've always known it wasn't what we saw on the movie screen. Now I know. Thanks to Prof. Harrison's detail and honesty, it is possible to get a sense of what it was like for the draftee. UNSUNG VALOR is very properly named - to go when called, to perform with the best of your abilities, to respond to the unknown and unbelievable with fear and courage, that is valor at its best - and it was unsung.

To survive, to return home, to teach hundreds of teenagers to speak properly in public, to act and produce plays, to put up with all the campus nonsense that young people in their late teens and early twenties produce, and to never lose your cool, never tell them what he saw and experienced at their age - that was also UNSUNG VALOR! A. Cleveland Harrison is an unusual man and has written a book that should be required reading of all Americans!

"Unsung Valor" by A. Cleveland Harrison. Subtitled: "A GI's Story Of World War II". University Press of Mississippi, Jackson. 2000.

This is a very complete and detailed book, tracing the experiences of a skinny Southern boy, (in 1943), drafted into the United States Army, deciding on the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP), trained at the University of Mississippi, transferred into a regular Army unit (the 94th Division) and then sent to the European Theater of Operations, ETO, just when things were becoming really hot. General George Marshall had shut down the Army Specialized Training Program so as to supply warm bodies as replacements for all the causalities in the ETO. The author, A. Cleveland Harrison, recounts being wounded (88 artillery fire,) as his Division advanced on the town of Orscholz, his treatment, infection, his stint in hospital and, finally, his recovery. Then, he remained in England until his reassignment, April 1945, to the hostilities in Europe. Happily, the war in Europe ended in May 1945, and the author became a "Clerk-Typist" in Versailles, France and later, a "Mail Clerk-Draftsman" in Frankfurt am Main.

If you have had the opportunity to study the history of World War II, you probably have been exposed to the grand strategies of different battles, the movement of this numbered unit on one side against another number on the other side. You might even have become impatient with the stories of how one American general (or two) could not get along with a certain British field marshal, and begin to wonder how many people were killed by the egoistical personalities of such high ranking individuals. So, this present work, by A. Cleveland Harrison, is a refreshing relief in its detailed examination of the feelings and daily experiences of an ordinary Americana solider in the ETO

I became the fiftieth reviewer of this book because of the correspondence form Dr. Harrison prodding me to add his book to my Amazon Listmania list on the Army Specialized Training Program, ASTP. The first two chapters of Dr. Harrison's book deal extensively with the Army Specialized Training Program. certainly merit a place on any list on the ASTP. Thos chapters speak about an ASTP experience at a Southern university, which, from what I read, quite different than the ASTP experience at Manhattan College, my alma mater. I do not believe that an ASTPer at Manhattan College had to be concerned with how to wear a saber without getting the weapon caught between his legs. On the other hand, the Manhattan College ASTPer had to be concerned with living in an apartment on 7th Avenue.

I am happy to join some 45 other Amazon reviewers in assigning five stars to this book.

Unsung Valor is truly an extraordinary book. I am 44 years old and have studied World War II rather extensively in the past. However, this book has revealed this war (and all wars) to me in a way that is completely surprising and unique. I now have a different frame of reference for studying all wars, especially World War II. For someone like me who has never served in the military, this book provides an invaluable insight to truly understanding the realities of war. The common, mundane, everyday details, which are made so interesting, provide a setting which only heightens the intensity of the actual battle scenes in an unusually enriching and exciting way. This book reads so easily you literally feel as if you are going through the experiences with Dr. Harrison. Unsung Valor brings the reality of war to the reader in a unique way and succeeds where most other narrowly focused books fail. Dr. Harrison should be commended for educating a younger public on the extraordinary sacrifices made by ordinary men who answered when their nation called. It is well worth the read and the time invested.

After posting a message on the 94th Infantry Division's website looking for information on the attack on Orsholz, Germany January 20-21, 1945 I was contacted by Cleveland Harrison. Mr. Harrison put me in contact with other members of the 301st Regiment of the 94th Division who were with a family friend when he was captured outside of Orsholz. Mr. Harrison mentioned his book and suggested it might provide more detail about the battle. After reading his book I was amazed at the clarity and detail of his recollections. I have corresponded several times with Mr. Harrison, and he was gracious enough to sign my copy of his book with a dedication to my friend. His story is wonderfully expressed as the memories and journey of one man in a time of fear and uncertainty. It is written in a way that will touch the average person, and make them understand, if only for a moment, what it was like to see the world through his eyes.
To all the 94th Division veterans, and to you Cleveland, thank you for your service.
Welcome Home.

Upon reading Unsung valor I discovered that Cleveland Harrison and I had been inducted into the army the same day at Little Rock, Arkansas,we went through the same sweltering day of probings,punchings,bendings,spreadings, and at last were sworn into the Army of the United States.our serial numbers were just a few numbers apart,yet I never met Professor Harrison. Upon reading Unsung valor this fall I was immediately taken back in time to 1943, and to the years following throughout WWII of which our president Franklin Roosevelt said" This is the generation which has a rendezvous with destiny"I relived that traumatic,hectic day of gathering together the eighteen year olds of our state predominately ,recent high school graduates ,to perform the miracle of making us into soldiers and sailors to free a world in chains. That group of newly inducted soldiers went to all parts of the globe.Prof. Harrison went as a rifleman;I went into the Army Air Corp as an aerial gunner with the Eighth Air force and was shot down over Germany and spent the last months of the war as a P.O.W..Our generation kept that rendezvous and fully met the responsibility placed upon our young shoulders to the satisfaction of a grateful nation and world. Professor Harrison's book tells about all this through the eyes and heart of a young Arkansas lad who as we said in those day "took up arms as a boy,became a man overnight,and a hero in a twinkling of an eye,some to come home,some to remain. Since reading Unsung Valor I have met Cleveland Harrison via E-mail and have discovered that we have much in common. it took took 63 years and one most touching,moving literary epic to do this.For Professor Harrison's time,effort,and no doubt many shed tears,I am truly thankful to him. Hand Salute <><

Overall, I was pleased with Chuck Pfarrer's autobiography. I felt this is a good book which focused on the man rather than a high profile SEAL. Chuck takes us through his childhood to his combat tour at Beirut and the tragic bombing of the Marines barrack to his short time at Team Six. I felt he explained everything quite well.

I felt some parts were left blank. For example, he cheated on his wife several times, and even more so I wonder why Chuck did what he did. He explained several times how bad he felt about his cheating, but I didn't felt like he explained it well enough. Also, the part with Sam (I don't think I got that name right) in Beirut and how scared Sam was and how Chuck called him a chicken and how no one liked him. I was surprised by this and even more so, later on after the bombing, Sam actually volunteered to go on the mission to spot for the French fighters who bombed the terrorist's bases. Why did Chuck left out many of the details on him?

I recommend this book to anyone interested in just Military stuff, not only SEAL stuff. I think the book is well written enough so that you understand the person behind the SEAL, instead of just the SEAL.

On a side note, about the cover, I thought I recognized it from somewhere and I think I found it. It was the cover used for a early 1990s computer game called SEAL Teams. I felt that was kind of cool and I believe the front cover is a man during the Vietnam era.

Although this book provides a glimpse inside the Navy Seals from an team leader's perspective, it was generally dry and drawn out ,spending a lot of time on Beruit and providing a lot of background information and editorials on the politics etc of that event that I am not interested in. This guy is a stud- no doubt, but I found myself skipping through the pages to find something interesting.

Seriously, this was an AWESOME BOOK. Reading the stories I was amazed at what kind of sh.. Mr. Pfarrer got himself into. From BUD/S to Beirut to Banana Republics to Cancer.. he's been at the front row of many key world events, as well as personal ones. (And I'm sure there's a few more that haven't been reported)

The book was very compelling. And he did a great job writing. I really had a tough time putting it down. I always wanted to read "just one more story".

I also enjoyed how it didn't glamorize, but also wasn't falsely modest. Chuck seems like a solid human being--and certainly went above and beyond in his service and in life. And he shares much of his experiences through the book.

Anyhow, thank you Mr. Pfarrer!

ps: and remember, it's "air-BORNE!!"

An excellent account of SEAL training and operations. Chuck Pfarrer is a veteran of the Beirut war and a witness to the car bombing called the first act of terrorism by our current enemies. He is a combat veteran and a former Naval officer. His Navy experience is important because he recalls the beginning of the war on terror , namely the situation in Beirut. This is an important book.

I would never have guessed that this book was written by a purely military man and not an actual writer.

My son is a navy seal, and though I was in the Marines, I don't know too much about them, so I try to read everything I can when I get the chance to try and understand what they go through. Why a lot of them join, why they go through the training, why the training is they way it is. This book hit all those points spot on. Although I as well as everyone am aware there is nothing in the world like Navy seal training, this book does give us probably the most in depth view into the world that I've come across as of yet. It will leave you with a sense of awe at what a human is capable of physically, mentally and emotionally. These are men amongst men.

I read this book years ago and was amazed and horrified by its content. Amazed because of the indomitable spirit of a man like Col. Rowe. Horrified because of the torture he endured at the hands of the enemy. Years later, as I became more interested in politics, I couldn't remember the author and thought it was a story of John McCain...both stories are so similar. Of course, with a little research, I learned the error of my ways and know they are two different people. However, now that Sen. McCain is running for President, because of the harrowing account of this book, I will vote for McCain because that kind of proven character encourages me to be a better American and, as said in Saving Private Ryan, I wish to "earn this."Five Years to Freedom: The True Story of a Vietnam POW

James Rowe's story is one that makes you appreciate how good we have things in our day to day lives. I love POW tales because I am always hoping the person(s) can find a way to escape to freedom. This story was fine but I would say a little darker & more depressing than most POW tales I have read.

Interesting but written more as a novel and not as an actual recount of his 5 year imprisonment in the hands of the North Vietnamese. The minute detail of his every recollection during his 5 years of captivity makes it difficult to believe that he himself wrote his memoirs. Nevertheless I salute him for his bravery, his will to survive and service to his country.

Incredible story of this man and other POW's in Vietnam. This is one of, if not the best, books I've ever read. One of the many points I took away was how the will to live sustained Nick Rowe and so many others. Maybe more so, it gave me an appreciation for the freedoms we take so much for granted. I finihed the book days ago, and can't get it out of my mind. Great book, Great leasons, Great man.

This book should be on everyone's "must read" list. It should also be on the must read list for evey high school student. This book is very well written and easy to follow. It is also very hard to put down once you start reading it. Being a Vietnam War Veteran myself, I would highly recomend this book to anyone.

While looking to see if one of my favorite historical authors (James Alexander Thom) had a new novel out, I came across the books of Allan W. Eckert on of those "If You Like This Book, You'll Like This Too" lists. I had never heard of Eckert before, but based upon the GREAT reviews of this book I decided to give it a try. What a suprise! All of the positive reviews aren't lying. I can't put the book down! It just pulls you in until you feel like you're roaming the Ohio Valley with Kenton and all the other brave folks (White and Indian). The 588 LARGE pages make it extra special for folks like myself who fly through books quickly. I would highly recommend the book and can't wait to start another one by him.

P.S. The books by James Alexander Thom are equally well written for those who are looking for a simular type author.

Wow, what an interesting, exciting, factual book! Just as engaging and excitingly written as any Louis Lamour or Zane Grey novel, except very factual. Based on tens of thousands of pages of interview notes taken from those who lived during this period of history. You will learn a lot of American history and enjoy it, to boot, if you read this book! Don't miss this one!

Eckert has written a truly engrossing book on an amazing figure in American history. Simon Kenton, like Daniel Boone had the lust to wonder the woods for days and both had a immense memory for the scope of the land he wondered. The narrative writing is excellent. It puts you back in the 18th century when America was truly wild. It was a harsh land when one false step led to an early death, often times gruesome. The Shawnees were none to compliant to give up their lands and sold it at a high cost of human life. Tecumseh also emerges here, also one of the greatest figures in history. A Sorrow in Our Heart, which is about Tecumseh is also a must read. In the Frontiersman, the Ohio River flowed blood red with hatred for intruders. There are captivating stories here of the many clashes that took place between whites and indians. It was a time period of two cultures clashing, one wanting to hold on to a way of life etched into the land through balance and harmony, aganst a culture that produced men who were determined to see new vistas and experience the thrill of blazing a trail that many would soon follow. But it was this migration which ruined the very thing they loved most, the feeling of true wilderness. This book captures it all. A must read for those who find history a fascinating subject.

I first became acquainted with Mr. Eckert's books a few years ago while shopping for a gift for my son-in-law who loves local history and someone recommended one of his books. I took it home and while wrapping it, read a page. I was hooked, I went out and bought one for myself. We live in an area rich in history and his books cover our area extensively. I only wish all the history classes I took in high school and college had been this interesting. Our whole family now enjoys Mr. Eckert's books.

I was assigned to read this book for my 10th grade American History summer reading. I loved to read as a teen. I loved history -- I went on to get my degree in it. This book threatened to change all of that.
A ponderous piece of agonizing minutiae, this book brought me to the breaking point. I read it -- the whole thing. As a fifteen year old. I think it actually made me cry, I hated it so much. It's well researched, but seemed almost masturbatory in its envisioning of the motivations of frontiersmen. And excruciatingly long. Some people obviously enjoy this book. To each their own. But for the rest of you, it is okay to hate it. Really. You know you want to.

This book is absolutely amazing. My mother got this book for me when I was about 17 and just really starting to bud out and become an artist. Dan's work was absolutely mesmerizing and inspiring. His colorful life and tragic death spark something in you to go out and change the world.

This is a dense, rich book of images and words left by Dan Eldon, one of those brilliant, outsized people who burn through life like a flare and are gone. He surrounded himself with beauty and horror and tried to both record and to make some sense of his experiences and the constant, jarring disparity between the extremes of life.
If you love photography and art or are just drawn to precocious brilliance and the intense energy of people who are present in every moment of their lives, you should own this book.

After seeing this book in a Borders store, I decided to buy it. I couldn't put it down, page after page offers so much of the author, yet offered so much to the reader. It makes your own imagination soar again, and as a fellow photographer, it gave me a kick in the butt I needed to start shooting again. The vision of Dan Eldon was not only through a lens, but through his heart as well. He accomplished a great deal in a short life, and definitely contributed to the bettering of our world. His photographs of Africa, combined with the scrapbook like additions of text and objects could be considered a new form of documentary photography. I strongly urge anyone who is interested in travel or photojournalism to get this book and have it transform your outlook on life.

Eldon's story of the war-torn Somolia is as much an artwork as it is an engaging story. This "book" is a reproduction of photojournalist Dan Eldon's journal from his travels in the most impoverished regions of Africa. Part insightful reading, part artistic work, this book should be on anyone's reading list who wants to know more about the world we don't see everyday, and it truly makes one think about all we have, and all Eldon lost...5 out of 5 starts easily!

I bought this book upon it's release in 1997. I can remember allowing the contents of this memoir to captivate me for hours on end. I lent my copy to a friend shortly thereafter and subsequently forgot about it. I recently ordered a replacement and I must say, this book is even more compelling than I ever remembered. Dan Eldon was a profound visionary, an articulate statesman and a devoted caretaker. As a Reuters photo-journalist, he traveled the world and served as a dipomatic embassador to many, yet his life was taken prematurely in a stoning riot in Somalia. He experienced more in his brief 21 years than most of us will over an entire lifetime. A MUST HAVE.

I am giving this to a friend of mine's son who is nine who could care less about Derek Jeter or the Yankees. That is how good I think that this book is. It shows how Derek was focused on his goal from age 8, and I am going to get more copies for children of my friends to give to them when they turn 8.

Great book and great lessons for kids. Shows what can happen when you are ambitious enough and try hard enough. Great book about Derek and where he came from and where he wants to go!

After reading the first couple of pages I knew right away that this book would be a good one. The reason Derek Jeter became so well known is because he started very young knowing what he was going to do in life. Throughout high school and college Derek Jeter was an outstanding athlete and student, but at times he did have those people that said that he couldn't do it and that he couldn't make it to the major leagues. This book would be recommended to those who look at Derek Jeter as an idol and also are athletes. Reading this book could change the way you look at Pro athletes and maybe even inspire you to do better.

Book review mod 1

Over the summer I read a few books. One of those books was The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your by Derek Jeter. I choose this book because I'm a Yankees fan and love Derek Jeter. This book is a great book for someone who needs a role model. Derek Jeter is an amazing role model he had strait A's growing up. In this book Derek Jeter tells you how he grew up and how hard it was for him and how he never stopped trying to get what he set his goals for. This book is wonderful it shows you how any body can do it. His dream his whole life was to play short stop baseball for the New York Yankees. This book is one of those books that will inspire a person to go out and try harder then every one and get what he set out for. That's how good this book is, your are into baseball and trying hardest any way. This book is written well and will show you how a person who really like really tries his hardest and never gives up and will do what ever he has to, just to get what he sets out for. If there was a rating for this book it would get a 10 out of 10 or 100 out of 100 or 5 stars. That's just my opinion. This book is just like I said be for just one of those books that just makes a person want to do something good in life or achieve a goal or something. In this book Derek Jeter said that he would write all of his goals down and check them of as he achieved them threw out the year. This book is wonderful inspiring and just an all around baseball lovers dream book, if I was to recommend this book to anyone it would defiantly be a YES! This book is one of my favorites and would hope it would be one of yours as well. =]


By Kevin Lunn

This book starts off as derek jeter stating that he wil play for the New York Yankees when he is 8 years old. They discuss the 10 rules about how to live you life and what to do. Growing up derek had alot of racial problems with his parents. He had one black and one white, and he had a sister, they were a really close family.

growing up there were many racial problems in his town. He went to college in Kalamazoo michigan. He played baseball there and now hes making millions doing what he loves. He said he loves to wake up every morning knowing he loves his job.

Derek is always saying set your goals high so you are always working toward them. Not too high to where you cannot reach them but just high enough that you have to work at it to get to them.

This is one of the greattest books i have ever read. I will give 2 thumbs up. It was a very interesting book becuase i lvoe baseball and i want to be exactly like derek jeter.

The content of the book is a deeply moving story of a taugh girl who didn't lose her hope to be a free person. The most of the people in our world are not aware of a crude fact that slavery exists in 21 century. The highest toll pay children and women.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I would recommend it to anyone who likes to ready true stories from someone's life.

I am was in shock throughout this entire book. I could not believe that this actually happen in the 21st century. Mende told her story so descriptively. I could not stop reading it. Excellent memoir.

Parts of this book were too graphic for me. I can't believe what women in some parts of the world have to endure. I couldn't finish it.

I just finished reading this book and wow. One of the things that really helped me was the references to modern things like cell phones and VCRs. It really helped reminding the reader that this happens today. The book will have a profound effect on whoever reads it. We live in what we consider a civilized society but who knows what goes on in the house next door. I wish the remaining years for Mende to be filled with health, love, and happiness.