Churchill Books

For someone whose exposure to Islam has been primarily shaped by the nightly news, Lewis & Churchill's ISLAM: THE RELIGION AND THE PEOPLE is an enlightening and easy-to-digest overview on the Religion. The book presents an historical perspective on Islam, Mohammad, The Koran, and the people and nations that embrace the religion. There's a massive glossary of Islamic terms and topics in the back of the book, for quick reference whenever you encounter an unfamiliar term or a topic you want to learn more about, and an appendix dealing with Islamic food and dress, monetary systems, customs of dress, etc. The Author's present a fair, balanced picture of Islam, avoiding the "Religion of Peace and Love" sunny picture, but not painting everyone in the Middle East as Jihad-crazed murderers. The book provides a lot of food for thought in an easy-to-read package.

This book will help you understand the Islam religion. It's probably not the kind of book you'll want to sit down with and read all the way through, but you will find it useful when you have a question about a certain aspect of the religion.

The author provides interesting historical insights that shed light on Islam as well as Muslim countries. I also enjoyed how he compared Islam to other religions, especially Christianity and Judaism. In fact, I wish he would have done more of that. Personally, it would have helped me understand better if he had provided more contrasts and comparisons between other organized religions.

Still, there is no denying that the author is an expert on his subject. He explains ideas clearly and provides lots of examples. This is an excellent book if you're new to the subject.

This short, readable book is an excellent introduction to the religion, culture, and civilization of Islam. As Lewis and Churchill make clear from the start, the topics they introduce here require much more study for complete understanding. One of the book's strengths is that it is a very calm and balanced treatment. A number of the other books about Islam that are currently popular are no more than political screeds, and some of very nearly calls to religious warfare. This book is scholarly, in the best sense of the word.

The book is brief, but it covers everything one needs to know about, including the essential principles of the religion, the customs and cultures of various Islamic societies, controversies in the religion, the language and terminology of the Koran, and a brief history. The authors take care to correct the most common Western misconceptions about all of these issues.

The book's short length is its main weakness. Many times, I wanted more detail about what the authors were describing. Since this isn't a formal academic study, there aren't footnotes or bibliographical citations or even a list of recommended reading.

On the other hand, it's clear that the authors intended this to be an introduction, a beginning point, intended for an general audience not familiar with Islam. And that's what it is.

I recommend this book very highly. It will more than justify the time and effort reading it requires by providing you with a good, general introduction to one of the modern world's most important but least understood religions and the culture that encompasses it.

The authors give an even-handed, nonjudgmental exposition of the basics of Islam, the world's fastest growing religion. They cover the many admirable aspects of the religion while at the same time exposing the basic tenets which are at odds with Western culture. Some particularly uncomfortable doctrines: (1) Like Christianity, the religion calls its adherents to convert the world to the true faith, but unlike Christianity, Islam has no pacifist tradition. (2) Government and religion are almost inseparable. (3) Muslims must not only refrain from evil, but command others to do so, too, and quite a lot of what postmodern Westerners call freedom Muslims call evil. (4) Whereas the People of the Book (Jews, Christians, and Sabians) are to be tolerated, atheists, agnostics, and polytheists are not. Although most of the Islamic world does not take these doctrines to the extreme, certain small but well financed and powerful sects take them beyond the extreme.

The last two chapters of the book clear up a lot of misconceptions about radical Islam and its "fundamentalist" doctrine. The authors do not like the term "Islamic fundamentalism" because, as they demonstrate, radical Islam is not fundamentalist and goes against deeply held Islamic values, like the prohibition on suicide and the injunction to refrain from making war on noncombatants such as women and children. They compare the threat of radical Islam to the threats of Fascism and Bolshevism and point out the inherent inabilities of Western governments to deal with the threat.

Reading the book gave me cause to consider an intriguing possibility: Radical Islam does not hate Western Christianity so much as Western atheism. As militant atheists merrily make war on Christianity in the West, radical Islam makes war on Western atheism. If militant atheism succeeds in its aim of destroying Christianity, it will create a vacuum of faith that can only be filled by a faith which is immune to its arguments. If atheists pray, they should pray that it is not radical Islam that fills the void.

Lewis provides an excellent introduction to overall principles and history of Islam, and is especially skilled at explaining areas for which there are common misconceptions. For example, his treatment of how terminology and concepts which are common in Judaism and Christianity differ in the Muslim interpretation - this is very valuable in showing the limitations of language in translation.

This would not be a book for advanced students of Islam. It is a survey course, which well may lead to a reader's being stimulated to pursue the topic in greater detail. For the average reader, it is a quite comprehensive introduction to a wide scope of concepts surrounding Islamic religion and history.

Once rich socialites, now down on their luck, Lily Brewster and her brother Robert inherit a mansion only to find out later that they were left little money to run it. Great-uncle Horatio's death is questionable and a mystery is born. A great first book in a series. I look forward to reading about Lily and Robert and Grace and Favor Cottage again.

Great start to a new series. Lily and her brother Robert inherit a home from a little known uncle during the depression. The conditions of the home ownership are a bit murky, but the town has a few secrets revealed when a man is found murdered in their kitchen.

Jill Churchill's, "Anything Goes," is the first of the "Grace and Favor" series. It is light, but it is MAGNIFICENT. Charmingly, the books in the series are named after various hit songs from the period. The series chronicles the adventures of Lily Brewster and her brother Robert as they make the transition from high-living lifestyle of the idle rich to the depths of the stockmarket ruin and father's subsequent suicide to their miraculous inheritance of the Grace and Favor mansion from a distant relative.

"Grace and Favor" refers to the house that they have renamed. Although, rather than a true "Grace and Favor Trust" - which allows tenants the use of an estate during their lifetime only -Lily and Robert will inherit the mansion and the estate if they adhere to the stipulations in their Uncle Horatio's will and reside in the small town for 10 years.

Although, on the surface this may sound hokey - "down and out kids inherit from long-lost relative" - it truly works and is believable.

It opens with Lily Brewster, hot and miserable from her bank teller's job, looking back at the lifestyle that she used to live. It is upbeat, but rather than glibbly glossing over their depression-era life, Churchill lets the reader know how Lily has nothing in common with the other tellers; how Robert's job is akin to socializing with the gang rather than confronting the reality that he now has to work as a waiter and escort to make a living; how the apartment is small with no bath tub and thin walls; and how all their family's possessions have been sold.

Churchill also doesn't tritely make life wonderful when the characters go to the Grace and Favor mansion. She depicts the sacrifices for social butterfly Robert in leaving the excitement of New York behind. It also reveals his thrill in discovering the Dusenberg Model J car that with his attention will soon be in excellent condition.

Churchill not only makes this a spiffy little mystery - she makes her characters believable in the 1930's setting.

What a wonderful addition to Jill Churchill's Jeffrey books. And a rather different situtation--sister and brother set in the early part of the 20th century. Reminds me of Tommy and Tuppence that Agatha Christie wrote. Can't wait for more in this fabulous new series. Lots of fun to read and they take you away from everyday life for a few minutes. Good clues and plot.

Lily and Robert Brewster (sister and brother) are formerly upper-middle-class young adults who have been thrown into poverty by the Depression. Suddenly they find themselves the owners of an upstate New York mansion, bequeathed to them by an almost-forgotten, rich, great uncle. The bequest comes along with the requirement that they live in the mansion for 10 years.

When they arrive at the mansion, they find the area populated by the usual "cast of strange characters" that comes along with most whodunits: people with various reasons for hostility toward each other - or, more importantly, hostility toward the recently deceased great uncle. It soon becomes clear that there was something not quite convincing about the official explanation of the great uncle's death (surprise, surprise) and Lily and Robert begin to investigate.

So, the plot outline is standard stuff for mysteries of this kind. Therefore the quality of the book depends on the characterizations, the atmosphere, and the plausibility of the plot. I'm happy to report that Churchill handles all three of those things wonderfully. Lily is the no-nonsense, responsible member of the pair of sleuths, and Robert is the carefree, slightly irresponsible, fun-loving one (and he's delightful). The atmosphere of the depression is vivid and rings true, but on the other hand it doesn't weigh the book down with gloom. The plot is completely believable, and I wasn't able to guess the guilty party until almost at the very end. (Not that I tried very hard; I read these books for the atmosphere and the satisfaction of a conclusive ending, rather than as a puzzle to be figured out before the end of the book.)

At any rate, if you're a fan of the cozy Agatha Christie type of mystery, then this should be on your list. This is the first Jill Churchill book I have read, and I look forward to the others.

I will continue to purchase all of my texts from Amazon.com.

This book is primarily a collection of essays that Churchill has written and published elsewhere. Churchill's main focus in this book is on the genocide perpetrated in the Americas by the Europeans against the various indigenous peoples, and documents how the livelihoods, cultures, and lives of these peoples were decimated over the course of several centuries. What makes the book most worthwhile is the extended discussion on the meaning of the term "genocide" - a term that I consider used often incorrectly, and way too narrowly - towards the beginning and end of the book. The definition of genocide that he uses can be readily applied to various other atrocities, such as the genocide that occurred in Rwanda, Israel (Israelis against Palestinians), Vietnam (first by the French, and later the US), and most recently Iraq (perpetrated by the US) and Sudan.

Recommended for social scientists attempting to understand the causes and consequences of genocide, and well-suited to an educated lay audience as well. The book is a recommended companion to Stannard's "American Holocaust."

This book is a must read for anyone seriously interested in the true historical origins of the United States. Ward Churchill wastes no time dispelling the myth that the German Nazis were the originators of the systematic extermination of a cultural group. Likewise, he demonstrates that the Jewish people were not the first nor the last to be the victims of a Holocaust. Through his meticulous research of historical records, Churchill gives us the facts surrounding the theft of this nation from its native peoples. Afterwards, you may never look at Columbus and the discovery of the "New World" with the same rose-colored glasses.

Professor Churchill has done a magnificant job writing this very comprehensive,extremely well-researched book.This book makes people aware that the Jews are not the only victims of Genocide.This book examines the history of Genocides dating back to 1492 to the present day .This book is very important because it educates people about the many occurances of Genocide.Mankind needs to know the past so that mankind can strive to make certain that the tragedies of history will not be repeated.

"A Little Matter" is worth reading simply for its discussion of the term "genocide". But there's so much more. If I get started I'm going to blather on at extreme length, so I won't.

The content of this book has been well covered by the reviewers before me, so I simply want to add my 5 stars. If you're interested in the issues suggested by the title, you've found an insightful, solidly referenced, powerfully argued resource.

Ward Churchill has an axe to grind, certainly, but he also has a forest to cut through. There are so many lies abroad in the world that we are all choking on them, I think, both victors and victims. This is a book I'm grateful to have read.

Stannard's wonderful and terrible "American Holocaust" is another. As are John Pilger's "Secret Country", and "Blood on the Wattle" by Bruce Elder, both of which concern Australia, my own sad, similarly haunted homeland.

Undead. The very word makes you shudder. Cold, lifeless bodies somehow still moving, running solely on instinct with an all-consuming hunger for human flesh. A horde of walking dead that don't stop clawing at you, don't stop chasing you, don't give up...until they have you.

The Undead's collection of zombie stories is just like that: unrelenting, non-stop, the-dead-keep-on-coming action, nearly each story gripping you hard and sucking you into a world of never-ending night.

Some of the stories in this book are simply exciting tales of flesh-hungry gut-munchers, where others are more atmospheric, and yet others more character-driven than zombie-driven. For me personally, it's the latter that I enjoy most (though I'm never opposed to a good old-fashioned zombie romp either).

My favorite character-driven stories for this anthology were, "Home" by David Moody and "Ann at Twilight" by Brent Zirnheld.

"Chuy and the Fish" by David Wellington is also a huge favorite. So very original, in this reviewer's opinion.

Other cool and well-written tales I thoroughly enjoyed were: "Hotline" by Russell Calhoun, "Graveyard Slot" by Cavan Scott, "13 Ways of Looking at the Living Dead" by Eric Pape, "Undead Prometheus" by Rob Morganbesser and "Pale Moonlight" by D.L. Snell.

There were a few stories that fell short and one in particular that I remember reading and going, "Okay, not really sure what that was supposed to be."

There are three more books in Permuted Press's Undead Anthology series.

They're on my list.

This first volume got me hooked.

This collection should be given a miss, not even really one compelling story among the lot. I have read about half the stories and am a bit disapointed. Anyone want my copy for 5 bucks? :-)

Worth the money and the best of the three. Liked the different takes on the Zed's but the art work was cheesy. With all due respect to the artists it was a distraction to the writing.

Many different genres and styles represented. A great read. It was over much too soon.

I really liked this book. There were a couple of stories I didn't care for, but it really scratched that itch I have for the zombie genre. There needs to be more of these!

Have if you're like me and have a lot of friends that don't read (but love Blue Collar Comedy Tour...) then you can start using quotes right out of this book and they will think you just came down from the mountain of knowledge and wisdom. Hey you can even use this for those fun quotes at the bottom of your email! Look how global you can become, yes you!

Great book, very well organized and really a lot of fun to read. Winston Churchill was truly a clever man and would be on my top 10 list of Dudes I would like to have a Newcastle with.

Robb Boyd from Cisco's TechWiseTV is number one on the beer list...

A delightful book. I thought the author a little too sycophantic for my taste (I am an Australian after all) but the contents are very entertaining. You can dip into it at any place and read for two minutes or two hours and have a good chuckle.

A compact book with more than 1,000 quotations and anecdotes you can enjoy at any time.

Here are just a few:

Violet Asquith, the irrepressible daughter of Prime Minister Herbert Asquith, found a kindred spirit in Churchill, who served in her father's Cabinet.

Once, in a flight of philosophical gloom, she turned to her dinner partner and said, "Winston, in terms of infinity, we are cosmic dust - we are just worms."

"Perhaps, Violet", Churchill replied, "but I am a glowworm."

* * *

If "Franglais" has been only recently coined to describe the bastardizing of the French language by English words, Churchill may have been the sire of this hybrid argot. Sometimes his additions to the noble Gallic tongue were even more attrocious than his accent.

During some delicate negotions at Casablanca, the stubborn Charles de Gaulle denounced an Allied plan to fuse him and his rival, French general Henri Giraud. Churchill, glaring at the Gaulle, delivered this concoction: "Si vous m'obstaclerez, je vous liquiderai!" (If you obstacle me, I will liquidate you!) A bewildered de Gaulle backed off.

* * *

In 1900, the twenty-six-year-old Churchill, after just being elected to Parliament, made a speaking tour of America. In Washington, he was introduced to a majestically endowed woman from Richmond, Virginia, who prided herself upon her devotion to the "lost cause of the Confederacy." Her family were Democrats who had opposed the Repubican policy of Reconstruction.

Anxious that Churchill should know her sentiments, she remarked as she gave him her hand, "Mr. Churchill, you see before you a rebel who has not been Reconstructed."

"Madam," he replied with a deep bow that surveyed her decolletage, "reconstruction in your case would be blasphemous."

In this book, James C. Humes gives his audience an excellent opportunity to conjure up a mental picture of Winston Churchill and his legacy. As a renaissance man, Churchill was more than a skilled politician and a gifted soldier. Perhaps more importantly, Churchill was a man of inspired words, whose work was ultimately crown by the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953. Churchill often was far from politically correct and did not hesitate to say, write and do what he thought was right. Churchill's bluntness did not make him dear to everybody.

Humes first brings to light many of the great thoughts of Churchill in "Observations and Opinions." Humes classifies key words alphabetically without giving context so that readers can easily find a quote of their liking about a specific subject. Some readers might get frustrated about it if they are not familiar with the key milestones in the life and career of Churchill. These readers can read books such as "Churchill a Life", "Churchill a Study in Greatness", "Clementine Churchill The Biography of a Marriage" or "Winston and Clementine The Personal Letters of the Churchills" to fill in the gaps in their knowledge of Churchill for that purpose.

Humes forges ahead in a similar way in "Orations and Perorations", "Coiners of Phrases", "Saints and Sinners" and "Escapades and Encounters." In these sections, Humes is usually very good at giving his audience the context so that readers better understand where Churchill was coming from. Hours of fun and laughter are virtually guaranteed, especially in "Escapades and Encounters."

Churchill's witticism, wisdom and oratory probably reached their climax in the faithful summer of 1940 when Britain stood alone against the Nazi monster. Churchill galvanized by his words and actions the civilized world to soldier on when the horizon seemed hopelessly bleak. As President Franklin Roosevelt said to his aide Harry Hopkins after listening to one of Churchill's radio broadcasts during that period: "As long as that old bastard is in charge, Britain will never surrender." The words of Churchill will continue to resonate for a long time in the heart and soul of humanity. Churchill's words will further shine like diamonds in the night when humanity loses hope from time to time.

The book is entertaining. It's the kind of book you don't just read through, but pick it up read a few sections at a time.

Doubtless this biography is insufficient to really understand Churchill, but for those who are fairly ignorant of the man, it provides a useful quick sketch, and perhaps a jumping off point for further reading.

Publisher's Weekly is entirely mistaken, in their comments above, in suggesting that Sir Winston Churchill once belonged to the Labour Party.

He never did, of course.

Churchill did, however, cross the floor to join the Liberal Party, often making common cause there with his Liberal ally David Lloyd George. He left the Liberals and returned to the Conservative Party (at first, as a "Constitutionalist") in the 1920's...

Alan D. Hyde

I've never been a big fan of Winston Churchill, but after reading esteemed historian John Keegan's succinct biography of the man, I must say that I like AND respect him just a little bit more. Keegan himself confesses that he never thought much of old Winston until he stumbled across an old recording of his speeches (in NYC of all places) and realized what a gifted and inspirational orator and leader he was. He led his beloved Britain through her darkest hours in modern history, to a victory that was anything but assured. The people seemed to genuinely love him, and his sentiment was seemingly mutual.

His years as Prime Minister during WW2 are the most well known, but Churchill led an amazingly full life, and his life of public service began way back in the late 19th century. Keegan describes how the young Winston, who did poorly in school, but had an undeniable intelligence, educated himself in politics, history and the English Classics. He was a romantic who was in love with his small island nation, and he dedicated his life to it. He was a brave soldier who served in numerous wars, including WW1, and while it would be fair to say he was a little too fond of war, he was no different from the average English officer of the time in this regard. In my eyes, his major fault was his hypocrisy. It just seems hard to reconcile his staunch imperialism with his constant talk about the virtues of freedom and liberty, and how Britain was the main proponent of such things. I would have liked for Keegan to address this point a bit more, but for such a short biography, I can let it slide.

I was intrigued to learn that Churchill and IRA founder Michael Collins were on friendly terms and greatly admired each other. In fact, Churchill apparently had a "gut sympathy for fighters" which is why he had more respect for the Irish and Boers of South Africa than he did for Ghandi and his passive movement in India.

Anyways, the book is extremely well written and entertaining, and I found it to be an overall excellent introduction to the life of one of the most important figures of the 20th century. 4.5 stars.

In 1895 when his father died, the sickly and indifferent 21-year-old military cadet Winston Churchill was flat broke, the legacy of a father who was a compulsively extravagent wastrel.

Lord Randolph had been syphilitic since early youth. His mother, American-born Jennie Jerome whose father was a stockbroker and part-owner of 'The New York Times', was always attracted to men other than her husband or her sons (Winston, born 1874, and John Spencer, born 1880). In modern terms, they were trailer trash; in Phoenix, Sheriff Joe would have set aside a bunk in his tent-city jail for Winston.

But, instead of slums, Winston was born and brought up in Blenheim Palace, built 1704-22 and still one of the great estates of England. American ex-presidents get palatial libraries as their memorials; the British rewarded their leaders with mansions and great estates. Blenheim Palace was one of the finest, far better than the estates later awarded to Nelson and Wellington.

Perhaps it was the milieu of Blenheim Palace, but Churchill matured into a man absolutely convinced of the majesty of the British virtues of patriotism, loyalty, courage and fair play. For him, being British meant manliness, courage, tenacity and ultimate moral decency. It resonated with the vigorous American spirit of Theodore Roosevelt and the beauty of the strenuous life.

President George Bush is reported to keep a bust of Churchill in the Oval Office; perhaps as a reminder of the complete contrast to himself. Bush ducked the Vietnam War in the Texas Country Club Air Guard; Churchill eagerly sought war, even though he hated it.

Like Ulysses S. Grant, Churchill was a gifted wordsmith instead of a stumblebum. He free-lanced as a journalist while serving as a British officer and was sometimes earning 20 times his military pay. He never stopped learning, he wanted facts, order, reason. His mother sent him crates of books while he was on duty, and he devoured them all.

Gen. Sir Herbert Kitchener described him as a "medal-hunter" and "self-advertiser" who was "super-precocious" and "insufferably bumptious." It was a good assessment. But, the public loved his books and even the Prince of Wales praised him. Whatever one thinks of Churchill, his career and successes are due to his own effort, intelligence, work and nerve.

In brief, this is the story of a man who might well have ended up as a Soho souse, but instead became the greatest man of the past century. He did it through his own efforts, not because of Daddy's friends, money or ability to pull strings.

This book defines the character of a great man.

Let me make clear at the outset that I am no historian. Indeed, I wouldn't even qualify as an amateur historian. I am just your average 30-something fairly ignorant reader living a period of love for more or less recent history. Given this premise, I found this little book quite perfect for what I was looking for.

This is a short, entertaining, and VERY well written biography of one of the greatest men in the 20th century. Because of the serious limits of my knowledge on the subject, I certainly cannot judge on the accuracy of the reports. However, to the best of my knowledge, the author is considered a reputable WWII historian. Indeed I liked this book so much that I also purchased his history of WWII. You can read this book in a day, and it will entertain you like a good novel, while also informing you as few novels would do.

I would not pay too much attention to those reviewers that complain about this book not delving into Churchill's shortcomings as a man or as a politician. This is a very small book, about 190 small-format pages. You can hardly expect a comprehensive treatise from such a book. Also, I suspect that emphasizing Churchill's shortcomings would be like emphasizing Hitler's moments of tenderness with his lovers or with some German children during the Nazi regime. I mean, they surely happened, but it's not what you want to spend pages on, if you have only limited space to devote to the topic, isn't it? Besides, even if the Churchill that emerges from this book is certainly a truly great man, he does not emerge as a perfect great man. To me that was enough, and I am glad I read this book.

I am grateful to the author, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a short, beautifully written biography of this man, to whom I certainly owe something...

A very clear way to study and undestand a very dificult and complex subjet- The pictures are very clear and didactic.

A requirement textbook for my college course.

It is an excellent book with a lot graphs and clear illustrations.

This book is very helpful when preparing to go in for my lab. It goes step by step through the regions with blood supply, innervation, bones, etc. all in full text, yet it is concise for those short on time. I use this book to prepare for and complete labs and the Atlas of Clinical Gross Anatomy when I am dissecting.

Pros:
Good organization of the material
Chapters are structured in a way that helps learning
Images are unique in their approach to demonstrating the anatomy

Cons:
I've heard from several unrelated sources that the book has lots of inaccuracies in it (I've yet to find one)
Many of the diagrams are oblique views that take some time to figure out the orientation and then relate it to anatomical position

As a medical student I often find myself spending more time with this book than I do anything else in my life. With that said, the book does an adequate job of making difficult parts of the body seem approachable and understandable. There is a lot of over-lap between different sections which can be a benefit and a problem, It is beneficial because you go over the material again, which helps reinforce the concepts. It sucks, because you have to waste time reading the same material two and maybe even three times. Overall, this is a decent book that present the concepts well and to the point, and for the most part this is a great book. Even though I have a few quarks about this book, I would recommend this to others.

I read this book during the 2008 Republican National Convention, and what a stark contrast between the rhetoric from the podium and the facts (documented in this book and its 55 pages of references). The title "Web of Deceit" is (if anything) too mild for the tale within, which goes way beyond deceit and is far more pervasive than a simple web. Perhaps a better title would have been "Fabric of Disaster" or "Imperial Hubris."

The book documents 86 years of Mesopotamian history, from the British creation of Iraq in 1921 from unrelated warring factions, to the state of open civil war between those same warring factions in late 2006. This book was completed sometime after the start of Saddam's trial in August 2006 but before his subsequent execution in December. Needless to say, conditions in Iraq have not markedly improved, making the book still very timely.

Iraqi history is appalling in its greed, avarice, inhumanity and cruelty -- both from within and outside the country of Iraq. There's no point recounting the sober and well-researched narrative of the book, you can and should read it yourself if you're interested in the truth instead of propaganda.

The author makes clear that the absurd calls for "victory in Iraq" will first have to define exactly what that would entail. From Iraq's sad and blood-soaked history, such a chimera is by no means obvious.

For me it was a fascinating read. I learned not only a lot about Iraq and its past. I learned about how international politics work and I learned about the dynamics between the international policies of the US and its internal powers and opninions. It is astonishing how the United States likes to play the good cop of the world but is really just a government looking after its own interests and especially those of the active lobby groups.

It's a good read, sometimes though to get through and very detailed because complete and correct but if you care about the truth and you want to know what's happening in the world this book will amaze you and give you knowledge all people should have to make this world a place where justice rules and not deceit.

Barry M. Lando presents a thorough analysis of Western intervention within the Mesopotamian region. Not only does it study the current issues of Iraq but the very history of Western Imperialist goals through colonialism and governance by proxy starting with the British in World War I, giving stunning parallels to the current U.S. attempts.
This book is one giant, and necessary step to understanding the hatred emanating towards the West from the Middle East and the roots of "Islamic" fundamentalism.

Barry Lando, an award-winning investigative producer with 60 Minutes, has written a most enlightening book. Most accounts of Iraq proceed as if there had never been any foreign intervention, and as if the tyrant Saddam just appeared from a cloudless blue sky. By contrast, Lando shows the dire effects of a century of foreign abuse.

For example, during the British occupation and counter-insurgency war of 1919-24, Winston Churchill successfully urged using gas bombs to punish Iraqis `without inflicting grave injury upon them', as he knowingly lied. The RAF bombed and machine-gunned at will.

The CIA and MI6 both aided the bloody 1963 and 1968 coups in Iraq. In 1980, the US government gave Saddam Hussein the green light to attack Iran. Alexander Haig, Reagan's first Secretary of State, wrote in a confidential memo, "It was interesting to confirm that President Carter gave the Iraqis a green light to launch the war against Iran through Fahd [Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia]." The USA, Britain and Israel all sold arms to both sides in the Iran-Iraq war, despite a UN Resolution banning sales to either.

Before the 1990 Iraq war, US diplomats lured Hussein into attacking Kuwait, telling him that the USA would not intervene. In that war, USAF and RAF bombing of unparalleled intensity destroyed Iraq's civilian infrastructure. Thatcher and Bush, who had sold Saddam Hussein his chemical and biological weapons, then accused the war's opponents of supporting him!

After the war, US-British sanctions throughout the 1990s killed a million Iraqi people, half of them children, making Iraq's child mortality the worst in the world. Bush, when asked if sanctions would cover food and medicine, replied, `everything, everything'. It is a war crime to starve a civilian population.

The current US-British occupation of Iraq is a disaster. A 2003 US National Intelligence Estimate stated that the insurgency was fuelled by local conditions and drew its strength from real grievances, including the presence of US troops and bases. A century of outside interference has not brought peace, democracy or prosperity to Iraq, just one catastrophe after another.

Lando begins by telling us that numerous world leaders have contributed to the mess in Iraq, beginning with its illogical formation after WWI. However, most "Web of Deceit" focuses on the actions of Bush I and Bush II, particularly the former. Readers sense that both Gulf War I and II, as well as the War on Terror could have been avoided through better decision-making.

Saddam (as a CIA "asset") and the U.S. joined forces first in the overthrow of a nationalistic Iraq government that had the audacity to threaten a Kuwait takeover (long-standing border dispute) and actually nationalized Iraqi oil production and marketing. This was followed by Saddam's involvement in the first of numerous mass executions implicitly sanctioned by the U.S. - this one because it was getting rid of pro-Soviet Iraqis.

The U.S. then backed a Baath Party takeover in return for reversing sulfur-mining concessions Iraq had granted French companies. We also supported Kurds' anti-government actions. The French, West Germans, and Italians then provided Iraq with extensive and sophisticated arms, as well as two reactors and training. When Saddam invaded Iran, Presidents Carter and Reagan supported him with arms as a means of undermining Khomeini. These included cluster bomblets, some with delayed timing to maim and kill rescuers. The U.S. also ignored Saddam's use of chemical weapons vs. Iran's human wave attacks, and may have been involved in their production. Iraqi troops also received unconventional warfare training in the U.S. in case Iran overran Iraq, and considerable intelligence from U.S. spy satellites. (Iran also received arms, at least partly in an unsuccessful effort to obtain the release of hostages, and also because eg. Kissinger hoped both sides would destroy each other.)

Bush I was down in the polls ("No new taxes" reversal) when Saddam grossly miscalculated reactions and invaded Kuwait. After initially responding with mixed messages, Bush decided this was an opportunity to take out Saddam - despite our earlier support. The U.S. mislead Saudi Arabia as to the extent and progress of Iraq's buildup on the Saudi's borders as a means of obtaining their approval to stage 15,000 troops, as well as obtaining a broad coalition of support. (Similarly, Kuwait's P.R. firm massively mislead Congress and U.S. citizens with untrue stories of abuse by Iraqi troops.) Tens of billions in aid and debt forgiveness was doled out to help convince those undecided, and in one case aid was cut to a non-supporter - Yemen. Bush then rebuffed Saddam's face-saving offers to withdraw - eg. in return for a U.S. supported conference on the Palestine issue. Bush then proceeded with his "altruistic" mission, though to some our charges of aggression rang hollow vs. Panama, and Israel vs. Lebanon; similarly, our mission to enforce a U.N. resolution on the issue seemed two-faced to many, in light of our non-support for U.N. resolutions vs. Israel.

Lacking post-war plans (the U.S. was worried about fracturing the coalition) led to allowing Saddam use of his "civilian" helicopters to massacre Shiites in the South and Kurds in the North after Bush had urged them to revolt. Only after it became known that some of the helicopters were being used in chemical weapons attacks were the "No-Fly" zones established - much later.

In Lando's opinion, the most lethal "WMD" to hit Iraq did not occur until the U.S./Britain sponsored U.N. Iraq trade embargo. Since the country imported 70% of its pre-war food, had had its electrical power generation largely destroyed by U.S. air attacks (intended to created civilian anti-Saddam pressure), as well as water-purification and sewage-treatment plants rendered inoperable, the result was a perverse type of biological warfare that killed 500,000- 1,000,000, mostly children. Exceptions were made to allow for medical and other emergency supplies, but these were mostly window-dressing as the bulk of resulting funds were directed to reparations to Kuwait and paying U.N. overhead.

The embargo's intent was to topple Saddam - experts estimated he would only last six months. Later the focus shifted to finding and destroying Saddam's WMD programs. This effort, however, was undermined by the U.S. planting spies within the inspection group, and creating artificial crises from time to time.

9/11 ultimately led to the end of Saddam. Bush II had a hatred of Saddam ("He tried to kill my dad"), surrounded himself largely with neo-cons focused on deposing Saddam, and took advantage of the situation to manipulate information into an anti-Saddam frenzy.

Lando's "Web of Deceit" is a great service to those interested in the truth. It reveals that most U.S. actions in the area were counterproductive - especially the long-term stationing of troops in Saudi Arabia that became a major irritant to Muslim extremists.

I picked up with book without knowing the details of the race or even that there was such a race between Sydney and Hobart. But within pages I could not put it down. The book is a must for any sailer, kayaker or power boater. It tells the tales of the spirit of sport combined with an under estimation of what mother nature can produce.

This is such a riveting story that it would be hard to write a bad book about it. Mundle is a fine writer, and the book is easy to read and a real page turner.
As a story teller though, he could use some improvement. For example, one of the yachts is capsized by a giant wave and a man thrown overboard. What happens to him? Will he drown in the stormy waters of Bass Straight? Or is he rescued? We turn the page to find... a quote from the man in question describing what was going through his head as he fell from the yacht. So he lives! Full marks for thorough research, zero for sustaining the tension of the story.

Another caveat for non boating readers. Mundle makes no attempt to explain any of the yachting jargon used throughout the book, so if you are a non boating person like myself, I would recommend reading with a copy of Wikipedia or the full Oxford dictionary by your side so you can understand terms like storm sail, jib, cockpit and many others that are used throughout the book. This will enhance your enjoyment of the book no end.

All in all a great read.

Rob Mundle is journalist and it shows. But behind the bonhomie and parochialism of the yachting scene insider there's an immediacy to this narrative, a rawness to the action and a fire in these heroics that combine to make Fatal Storm an inspiring read. There's something wild about this story, something that makes it different to Fastnet Force 10. There are moments in Fatal Storm when the sailors reading it will be afraid.

The Southern Ocean---that landless sweep of sea that girds the lower third of our planet and isolates Antarctica---is notorious for its evil weather. Huge rollers, unchecked by any landmass, roil around the circumference of the Earth, making this area one of the most daunting, hazardous and challenging for any mariner.

Once yearly on Boxing Day, the 630-mile Sydney-to-Hobart Yacht Race crosses a small portion of the Southern Ocean. One of the three great sport sailing events (along with the Fastnet and the Newport-to-Bermuda) the Sydney-to-Hobart has always had its fickle aspect, but never more so than 1998 when the entire regatta found itself trapped in an unforecasted cyclonic "bomb"---a small and unseasonable but virulent hurricane that produced 80 knot winds and steep hundred foot waves in the relatively narrow Bass Strait.

Although only six sailors died, most of the fleet was battered into kindling by the waves, tall as buildings, heavier, and with much more velocity. Author Rob Mundle, an experienced distance ocean sailor, does a fine job of reportage as he tracks and traces the fates of the various participants, including the Sea-Rescue parajumpers who leapt into the darkness of the angry ocean to save the hapless crews of the shattered boats.

FATAL STORM is well written and avoids becoming bogged down in too much nautical technospeak making it a good adventure story for the armchair enthusiast. The one drawback of FATAL STORM is that Mundle assumes the reader's relative familiarity with the meteorology, landforms, and idiosyncrasies of Australia's natural environment. For those of us not "Down Under" this makes FATAL STORM slightly more difficult to decode than it needs to be.

I finished this book on a flight from Sydney to Los Angeles...with one disaster after another occurring in this massive storm, the writer keeps the reader actively turning pages throughout the book. You would not believe the bravery of everyone involved, from the actual racing teams to the rescue teams, not one person was left unphased by this experience.

I am not an active sailor now, but with some experience in racing with a crew on sailboats, I found the account of this true story gripping.

Certainly, a fun book to read, even if you are not into sailing. It may even convince you to never go open ocean sailing!

The author took too much time explaining science of energy. If you have already read up on energy and the science behind it, this book is repetitive. I prefer Dr Gerber's "Vibrational Medicine".

Great book on the exploration of energy and health. Helps us to understand different healing arts.

very nice condition, new in fact, but arrival in day 10 th. Very late in comparison with 4 books more that we asked at the same time. It was the last...

The author does a superb job in illustrating the advances in scientific knowledge. It is amazing to me to learn how far advanced science is in discovering the workings of the body. It is also amazing to learn that so many "far out" methods of healing are now appoaching mainstream.

I was fortunate to have had a Reiki treatment. The session took about 20 minutes. All that time I could feel the pleasant heat from the therapist's hands although they never touched me. This experience made me more receptive to the author's comments, as there are many references to the effectiveness of hands on therapy.

I also liked the short chapters on each issue where the subject matter was covered in detail with explanatory diagrams.

My only concern, and why four instead of five stars, is that I would think that some people would have difficulty not only in accepting his presentations but also the amount of detail involved. This book is not for you if you read it with a prejudgment. Again, if it were not for my Reiki experience, I would have had some difficulty.

In summary, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the author's style. I hope that you do also.

If you want to start learning about energy throughout history, and understand how it all started and especially why new age vibrational healing is rising up like a motherf... hammer killing all them damn classic doctors who want to keep you drugged up so you will shut up and stop complaining about pain. Get this book right now!

It will provide you with wisdow that will change your point of view when we're talkin about (vibrational) healing, illness and where we get our energy from, concerning the information we have about CRYSTALS!!!! just a second there, isn't practically everything a vibration!! ha, think about that!!! verrryyy interesting! It's subject is focused on the 'Brain' like the doctor said, thinking: tssss all your bloody problems, but saying: madame/sir it's all between your ears. So this is a good book to start helping yourself without any doubt that the material is wrong, cause their mostly facts presented by true scientists who are truely concerned about us and not only about their paycheck.

Verrrrry easy to understand since I'm from Belgium and I speak dutch, french and persian too I still could understand everything about every subject in this book, I'm only 21y old, using the credit card of my mom hehe. I did study sports so anatomy comes in handy understanding some bio pictures from cellular material, but not nessesairy cause we have google don't we ;-)
Also good to mention are the very good references towards other books, but I would still search them here @ amazon and look for the 5 starred miracle that can improve/change your life in a positive way. Have fun with this one, it's truely blessed.