M Books

In this 2nd volume of The Complete Peanuts, Charles Schulz refines the 1st 8 characters he introduced in the 1st 2 and 1/2 years of Peanuts. Lucy is a little fussier (she'll be known as crabby later on) and Linus, though still a baby, thinks deep thoughts and is known for sucking his thumb. Charlie Brown is establishing himself as the wishy-washy "loser" (he has his 1st Valentine's Day letdown in this volume). Also, the security blanket is introduced but it's Charlie Brown and Schroeder who endorse it at 1st, not Linus. Lucy admits she has a crush on Schroeder (the 1st in a series of unrequited love affairs). Violet and Patty are more or less reduced to 2nd bananas (they'll later be known mainly to repeat all of Lucy's putdowns to Charlie Brown). They plan a party and decide not to invite either Charlie Brown or Lucy, realizing that "inviting some people isn't as much fun as not inviting people." Schroeder is still a big fan of Beethoven and classical music (he's the catcher for Charlie Brown's team) and pretty much replaces Shermy as Charlie Brown's buddy (Shermy is rarely seen in these cartoons, he's given a crewcut). 2 new characters are introduced but only one of them seems to have "staying power"- Pig Pen and Charlotte Braun. Pig Pen is a lovable slob with soot all over his face and clothes. Charlotte Braun is a loud and obnoxious character, who would later be written out. Charlie Brown's team always loses and Snoopy's imagination runs wild (though he still walks on all fours and we can't read his thoughts that often). The term "blockhead" is introduced here. In fact, Schroeder is one of the 1st to call him that (but not to his face!). Lucy's mother disgraces her by writing The Life and Times of a Fussbudget. The term "Great Scott!" is used often by Charlie Brown (it would later be replaced with "Good Grief!"). In 1 cartoon, Violet and Patty announce they will not play Lucy's games, which makes Lucy quite upset. After a tantrum of kicking and screaming, she agrees "All right, then. Let's play your way." In another cartoon, she kicks around Patty's doll, Violet's stamp collection, Linus' cookies, Charlie Brown's picture puzzle and Schroeder's piano. Later, as she's running away from the angry gang, she complains nobody understands her! She won't let Linus play with her toys but she will let him play with a rubber band. She later takes it away, though: "I didn't mean for you to have THAT much fun with it!" Charlie Brown's pitcher mound is introduced. Linus stands up for the 1st time, but quickly loses his balance when Lucy rewards him with a cookie. In a few cartoons, adults appear in the background (particularly in the golfing cartoons). A lot (but not all) of what wound up in More Peanuts and Good Grief, More Peanuts is featured here. There is also an interesting introduction by news commentator Walter Cronkite.

Must have for that peanuts fan in your life. Be aware this is part of a set...

This is the second book in the series and my 12 year old daughter loves both. Once she was reading the first book she wanted the next one too. Seeing how the characters began is fun as well as the old drawings. And seeing them evolve in personality and age is great. Snoopy's antics get more and more animated, Linus is a baby, and there is the introduction of Pig Pen! He actually cleans himself up, but then decides he likes himself the way he was. I got the book for my daughter at Christmas. We've read several pages each night and are now almost done. I guess we'll be getting the next one in the series. If you are a Peanuts fan, these classic comics are definately worth collecting!

I've always loved Peanuts. As a kid, I especially enjoyed the TV shows, but of course everyone loves Snoopy, and the other characters, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Peppermint Patty, and Pigpen, are all very fun. As a result, when my wife got this for me for my birthday, I was fascinated to see how far what we know as Peanuts had evolved from what it started out as. Charlie Brown still has that shirt with the stupid stripe on it, Lucy has her hair with the two little bobs at the sides below her ears, and Pigpen (who makes his debut here) is followed by a cloud of dust (most of the time). But Snoopy is very very different from what we're used to, spending all of his time on all fours except when he's begging, and being much more dog-like than he was in later strips. He's even drawn differently, with a sharper nose and a more dog-like body. There's another girl (named Violet) who I don't remember from the more recent cartoons, and Patty (no Peppermint) is a pretty straightforward girl, not the tomboy who called Charlie Brown "Chuck" all the time. Linus can't even talk yet! This was one of the biggest surprises: to me, the Peanuts kids were always frozen in time, but apparently Schulz aged them in the first years.

I enjoyed this collection immensely, and I'm now determined to buy more of this collection.

This excellent series by Fantagraphics continues in volume two of the Complete Peanuts. This volume features an introduction by Walter Cronkite. This book features the introduction of Pig Pen. For an oddity, we also meet the long forgotten Charlotte Braun, who is a girl that looks just like Charlie Brown. My personal favorite character, Linus, begins to develop his personality. Volume two is another 5 star edition.

These heirloom quality, hardbound books are well received by my middle school aged son. Peanuts has a timeless feel, and the complete run in these books are a great tribute to this comic. I am buying all of the books in sequence for my son, and I think they will be enjoyed forever.

These are beautiful reproductions, bringing the joys of my youth back with full vigor and force. To be able to share them with my 6-year old daughter, listening to her playing out the parts as we read them together is all the more rewarding. Spectacular acheivement. I hope someday to amass the entire collection. The prices on Amazon are without parallel.

My wife is getting each one of these, couldn't wish for a better result from a gift.

All Peanuts Box Sets are worth to collect. Each book is well edited with a beautiful cover and package. Due to the long history of the story, it should be quite expensive to collect them all. However, they're still worth to try.

Like many others I grew up with Charlie Brown & gang. I bought some of Peanuts comic books when I was a kid. But with my meager allowance I missed out many of them. Now, even though I'm a mom with 2 kids, I was so excited when the box sets were released. I've bought the 1st 3 box sets and can't wait for the next. My son loves it too. It's wonderful going through the strips with my son on Sunday afternoons.

I used to read all these strips when they were in paperback form. I remember being around 12 or 13 and pouring over them again and again, with the added luxury of checking out the action every day in the daily paper. It's very gratifying, now that my six-year old daughter is reading, to share these volumes with her and watch her lose herself among the pages, and then ask to be quizzed on the many special characteristics of the kids in Charlie Brown's neighborhood. The printing quality is extremely high, the panels are crystal clear and the detail is really sumptuous.

My favorite so far is the Sunday strip where Charlie Brown is attempting to fly a kite in heavy wind and his cap keeps getting blown off, which he doggedly replaces atop his head every time. In the end Linus posits this classic: "I have a suggestion. Why don't you wear the kite and fly your hat?" I long for the day when we will have the collected volumes, and the prices on Amazon reallyl cannot be beat. But I must say, I miss those cheap little paper back volumes from my early youth. Rats!

If you already bought the previous releases of this collection, you know exactly what you'll find inside: intelligence, emotion and depth of the human relations.

Here you will get some of the Peanuts smartest movements, just like when Snoopy is locked under an ice piece and starts a reflection of his own life or when Linus sees himself without the safety of his blanket.

Even if you prefer the "modern version" of the strips (with Spike, Woodstock, the Red Baron, school scenes and stuff which would appear later, more precisely in the 70's), in this issue, you may find some of the roots and the reasons for the diamond that Charles M. Schulz carved on his life.

Thank you Charles, you really changed my life with these "guys" and "The Complete Peanuts 1961-1962" is another jewel from the master.

I bought all the items in the series and found them simply irresistible.
The strips are the integral version by the great master himself, Charles M. Schulz, and the edition is very, very good, with a robust hardcover and classy paper.

A special note for Italian speaking people: these are the "integral" strips, not the censored ones published for many years in Italy, where the religious quotations and remarks were systematically erased.

I gave this book to my dad who really enjoyed going through all of the comics. This is a very nice hard cover edition and is a good value.

This volume of The Complete Peanuts cover the years 1961 and 1962 in their entireties. The most noteworthy event of this book is the introduction of Frieda, the girl with the "naturally curly hair". Soon after her debut, the running gag where Frieda tries to get Snoopy to chase rabbits is used for the first time. Also introduced at this time was Frieda's cat Faron, who only made a few appearances before disappearing. Many of the jokes from this volume were later used in Peanuts television specials, most notably the Christmas and Halloween specials. Peanuts was one of the greatest comic strips of all time, and 1961 and 1962 are certainly among it's best years. Highly recommended.

A good addition to this series. The only let-down is that we're seeing more and more strips that have already been collected in other Peanuts books. It was bound to happen though, so I'm not knocking off a star for this.

There are two real gems to this book.
One is the story where Linus (my absolute favorite Peanuts character) runs for class president. I'm betting Schultz had a lot of fun with this. He lampoons the entire election process. This includes the speeches and promises, the press coverage, the polling, and everything else.

The other gem is even more important to me. This is where the title of my review comes into play. They had the great Bill Melendez write the foreward for this book.

Mister Melendez was an animator who wound up directing every single Peanuts movie and special ever made. In addition to this, he also did the voices of Snoopy and Woodstock on most of them (the exceptions being those few specials where Snoopy actually talked). Considering his close association with Schultz and his creation, he really should have been the one to write the foreward back in book 1 when this series started. Instead, throughout this series, we'd get nothing but celebrity endorsement after celebrity endorsement.

I was actually afraid that they'd do this entire series without so much as mentioning the man. Thankfully, these fears came to naught with the release of this book. Like I said, "they finally got it right".

The foreward itself is only 3 pages, but the quality makes up for it. Melendez talks about the events that led up to him meeting Schultz, his first impressions of the man, and how they went from a car commecial to a Peabody Award-winning special ("A Charlie Brown Christmas"), and then to a long and enjoyable career making other animated Peanuts titles (some great; some not so great). This is a story that certainly merits more than 3 pages, but Melendez takes the space he's given and manages both to inform and to satisfy.

If you're a Peanuts fan (especially if you're a Linus fan), click on that buy button. Trust me, you won't regret it.

This book, along with the rest of the collection, is simply marvelous. The complete work of Schulz is nicely presented. It reads itself so fast that we can't keep up buying the next one!

Much of this was more of the same, the continued development of the characters. There is a set of new characters (Five, with Four and Three coming later) but they turn out to be little more than props, good for a week or two and afterwards for when Schulz needed a generic male for Charlie Brown (Shermy now only shows up for group strips). Three and Four look like little Peppermint Patties, and since Peppermint Patty ends up coming from a single-parent family (father only) one wonders if this is sort of backstory for that.

Foreshadowing some of the changes coming up on the next volume are a couple of developments. The baseball mound has become a scene itself, where the characters come up to chat on various things. As for this volume (1963-64), it's just a couple of characters coming up with things to talk about.

As for the red-headed girl, she has changed from a merely distant figure (distant implying "out of Charlie Brown's League) to a seemingly active source of shame and humiliation. Not that Charlie Brown needs her to humiliate him (as some of the baseball groups show, he could do that all by himself), but it definitely adds an accent point to what's going on around him with those he talks to.

One of the most interesting comics has Charlie Brown actually coming on top, although it's more his father than him. Violet spends a few panels bragging about her Father, which Charlie Brown doesn't so much parry but amplifies by explanation. However, CB stops Violet short and explains that his father makes an honorable living and always has a minute for him no matter what he's doing. The last panel has Violet walking with a slight downward tilt of her head and a seeming sadness in her eyes, as if she had finally been devastatingly bested.

In the end, this is worth getting, although I'd get the 1959-1960 and 1961-1962 before this one.

This edition of The Complete Peanuts covers the years 1963 and 1964. Probably the most significant event during this time period was the introduction of "5", along with his sisters "3" and "4". 5 may not be well remembered, but he is still a pretty interesting character. These are classic comic strips from one of the masters of the medium. Great stuff, highly recommended.

I came to peanuts cartoons late in my life, but for the past five years I have bought every book available. Luckily for me as I have been a customer of amazon both in america and england and bringing out yearly books has been marvelous. Whenever I feel down I just read a few pages and I'm fine. The trouble is Im' going to be around 80 years old before this complete series is printed!!!! Is there anyway we can move this along? Doreen uk

I am so excited that The Complete Peanuts is being made available. I started with the first volume and have gotten each new volume. Charles Schulz was a master of understatement and pathos. HIs view of the world through the characters--Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus, Snoopy and the rest--is honest and real: skeptical, funny, pitiful and hopeful and very humanistic.

How can you review Charles Schulz? You're kidding right? He's an icon! As far as the collection, it's a must have if you're a Peanuts fan. My husband and I have all the collection books up to this point and they are wonderful. There are drawings from the minute you open the cover and that's even before you get to the comics. For a long time fan like me (Ok my first stuffed animal was a Snoopy) to see the development of the characters from their creation to when Mr. Schulz finished is delightful. As for the book, the quality of the paper is superb and the comics-priceless.

All the Fantagraphics Peanuts volumes are top notch, but this is my fave so far because it is at the beginning of my favorite Peanuts era. I love Peanuts, but the 60's strips will always be the ones I love the most.
The great thing about this series is that it reprints everything in chronological order. Previous Peanuts collections have either omitted strips or printed them out of order. The reproduction quality is also outstanding.
I'm looking forward to the Pogo series!

This book contains all the Peanuts comic strips from 1965 and 1966. The most significant events from this time period were Snoopy's first imaginary battles with The Red Baron and the first appearance of Peppermint Patty. Charles Schulz was so good for so long, it's hard to choose a "peak" period of the strip, but the strips here are definitely great. Highly recommended.

I gave this collection 5 stars because the strip was still at its peak; but, ominously, this is where Peanuts starts to go down hill. The introduction of the Peppermint Patty character is the turning point, where the peak of Peanuts ends and the long decline from greatness begins.

Not that there was anything wrong with the Peppermint Patty character to begin with. The character was amusing as an occasional intruder into the Peanuts World; but, eventually, Peppermint Patty and the other characters introduced over the coming years came to take over the strip. This new concept of the strip was not as good as the original, and it got worse as years went by. This corruption of the "pure" original concept of Peanuts, combined with the shocking deterioration of Schulz's drawing ability in later years, clearly marks the end of Peanuts as the greatest of comic strips. Greatness is not the permanent condition of anybody or anything, and no peak lasts forever. Schulz had as long a peak period as any other comic strip artist (George Herriman being a possible exception), and I highly reccomend this volume because it was in that peak period, though towards the end of it.

Peanuts was a great strip from the beginning, and it was on a continuous upward arc from there. By the early 60s, the cast of characters was as complete as it had to be, the addition of Charlie Brown's nasty little sister Sally being the last necessary addition. Schulz possibly started running out of ideas for this cast and felt, to keep fresh, he had to bring in new faces. Unfortunately, the new faces weren't as good, or funny, as the originals. Peppermint Patty was the first of these newer characters. Peanuts was still pretty darned good for ten or so years after this, up to the mid-to-late 70s, but here is where Schulz started abandoning the original Peanuts characters and the newer cast was distinctly less inspired than was the original.

The newer characters reflected a creeping mellowness in his outlook, which is common for an artist growing older. (Some, like Mark Twain, get nastier and bitterer as they grow older, but, as in the case of Twain, this doesn't necessarily make them better either.) The newer characters were too "nice". Peanuts, for all the (mistaken) talk of its "heartwarming" humor, was not sweetness and light on the comics page. It was a tale of rotten little kids being rotten to each other. This was the source of its greatness. That was the originality and innovation behind the strip. Once it became "mellow" and "nice", it lost its originality and cutting edge.

However, though this volume represents the downward turn, it is still great stuff. Rereading it all these years later, I found it better than I remembered. When I was younger, I didn't really care for the Red Baron & Snoopy strips, thinking them too far away from the true gist of the strip. Now I found them very funny. Schulz started to play heavily on the "Bleah" vs. "Nyahh" arguments between Lucy, Violet and Snoopy, which were peaks in silly (but accurate and on-the-mark) humor. The "grit your teeth" baseball sequence, and Sally and her troubles with the "New Math" were other very inspired highlights.

Though there were bad signs of the decline to come towards the end of this volume, that decline hadn't set in yet. Peanuts had at least 2 more peak years to come, then 5 or 6 more very good years. Buy this, because it is one of the best volumes in the set, but mourn also, because here is where it starts to go down, down, down.

I found this book very intreguing. I have read The Chronicles of Narnia completely several times as an adult and this book is right up there with it. The story was spell binding allegory. The princess, a prophecy, a secret, everything about it kept me reading. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of his sequel, The Devil's Mouth, so that I can continue my journey into the seven kingdoms.

Thomas Williams is truly talented! This book got me from the first page till the last and I neglected much work while reading it as I couldn't put it down.Set in medievil times around two kingdoms and an awsome forrest it's fast paced , exiting and full of adventure.It has strong characters and a fantastic story line that I wished would never end. It will make you believe in love and honour and think about your own morals and strive to be better.I loved every word!

This book has wonderful allegory that compels one to be noble and pure. It is a page turner (especially the last half)that is in ways comparable to Tolkien's works. It has extensive characters which come to life and plot that is quite enjoyable.

I am excited about Tom Williams' new book, "The Crown of Eden," for several reasons. First, for those who enjoy medieval tales of brave knights and fair ladies and enchanted forests, Tom's story will thoroughly delight. The adventures of Princess Volanna and the gallant knight Aradon are woven together in twisting episodes of romance, terror, tragedy and triumph. The story begins by bringing the reader up to date concerning the great empire of Perivale whose victorious battle with the evil Morgultha united seven kingdoms. But Perivale disappears mysteriously and an ancient sage appears out of the enchanged Braegan's Wood to foretells the breakup of Perivale's empire. He delivers also a hopeful yet cryptic prophecy concerning the eventual restoration of Perivale's glory through an heir who will one day take the throne, reunite the kingdoms and reign over days even more glorious than those of his father. "The Crown of Eden" is the exciting story of the fulfillment of that prophecy.

The best thing one can say about "The Crown of Eden" is that it is a wonderfully told story. The chapters are short, revealing just enough surprises in the unfolding story that it is difficult to stop. More than once, as the reader is gaining speed toward some seemingly inevitable conclusion, Tom inserts an unexpected turn in the plot which leaves the reader delightfully off balance. And though one senses near the end of the story how it might end, the twists and turns keep coming even to the last few pages.

Tom has created dozens of wonderful characters in the story including the noble King Tallis, the loyal servants Kalley and Olstan, and the pathetically evil prince Lomar.but the story centers around two main characters, Princess Volanna and the commoner Aradon. Through these two characters Tom is able to not only tell a great story, but teach profound lessons in an effective and unintrusive way. Which is the next best thing about "The Crown of Eden." It does more than just tell a good story.

Interwoven amidst jousting festivals, harrowing escapes through murky swamps, rescues from dark and foreboding castles, there are scenes and conversations which allow Tom's characters to give articulate expression to various truths. King Tallis expounds on the puzzle of balancing God's sovereignty and man's freedom. Father Lucidis eloquently expounds on the virtues of pleasure, delight and ecstasy. Lord Aldemar wrestles with the tension of obedience to law and loving his country. Bogard gives some of the best advice to be found on choosing one's life mate.

Best of all, we find in Volanna and Aradon the embodiment of what it means to be a womand and a man. Tom is at his best when he describes the beauty of Volanna, a beauty that does not inflame illicit passion, but awakens the legitimate passions which lie all too dormant within us. If there is a weakness in "The Crown of Eden," it is that these "philosophical moments" in the story may linger a bit too long and distract at times from the story.

One last observation which made the book enjoyable was the way Tom has blended his own fantasy with the history of scripture. These characters and their kingdoms exist only in our minds, yet they are christians and as such often look to biblical stories to make meaning our of their own experience. The most intriguing example of this is the use of the strange biblical story of King Jephthah and his daughter which finds in "The Crown of Eden" a narrative commentary.

This tale, which hopefully will be the first of many in the The Seven Kingdom Chronicles, is a wonderful addition to the rapidly growing genre of Christian fantasy and as enjoyable as such established authors as Terry Brooks (of recent Star Wars fame.) Though Tom's single story does not merit comparisons with his literary mentors, Lewis and Tolkein, clearly his writing exhibits the best of their influence and the tales of the Seven Kingdoms certainly deserve to be on the same shelves alongside the tales of Narnia and
Middle-earth.

Tom Williams has a marvelous way of telling a story. You will actually fall in love with the main characters--and right along with them--feel their hurts, fears, disappointments, as well as their ultimate joy and exhilaration. There are profound lessons woven into the story, but they emerge from the characters' wrestling with decisions and their actions rather than tedious, preachy dialogs and monologs. Williams addresses some knotty theological questions, such as how the free will of men and women fits into an unfailing providence revealed in prophecy. But not to the detriment of a beautiful love story.

This book is masterpiece. It comes in second to none, including the works of George MacDonald, J. R. R. Tolkein, and C. S. Lewis.

a must read book for those who seek the true,Maharaj explains us his knowledge,he hard earned with his life,free to us all,
what he is giving is the essence & will directly come into the hearts of the longing seeker ,
he also explains us that with words, truth cannot be explained,
we have to go beyond the words ,where the seeker meets the sought
& there wont be anyone to explain or hear
what he follows is the direct path to salvation and said as the Hardest,where the unconditional pure faith alone can liberate,
u can hear the unique words ,trust the book as it is from one of the realised ,i love the book
and it gives me strength to live without clinging to anything other that the "I",i bow my head at my Divine Master, from where i first happen to hear about Maharaj,& the Generation of Divine Masters,
I express my humble gratitude to Maurice Frydman Who let us all hear and know Maharaj

Using words to describe what is beyond words will always fall somewhat short; this book, however, narrows the gap considerably. You are not who you think you are. Who are you? This book answers that question as accurately as it can be answered in words. If you have only one book, let this be it; if you ask only one question of yourself, let it be "Who am I?"

Words do no justice to the "teachings" found herein. I would recommend no other book prior to this. If one wishes to end suffering and awaken to ones true nature, this is all you shall require. With all, as all.

I AM THAT is my bible-In his clear yet deeply profound answers Sri Nisargadatta expounds the timeless truths of self-realization which Christ called the Kingdom of God within us.This unique book can be opened at any page and provide the reader with powerful insights into their real essence by negation of the temporary and unreal to the true fullness of their real being.A must for seekers of the light.

I love this book. If only his main teaching were not eventually to stop reading and actually to start the deep inner search he suggests, I would happily while way the rest of my life reading it.

The absolute calm certainty of his position at the very centre of the inward search, calling you on and soothing your fears, is so reassuring.

Come on in, the water's lovely!

This is the best account I have ever read about the events leading up to the Civil War. Mr. Potter does an excellent job presenting the information and carefully analyzing it without taking sides. Whether you sympathize with the Union or the Confederacy, if you have an interest in the Civil War, you will enjoy this book.

This is without a doubt, one of the greatest books on the Ante-bellum period. I read this book when I was in college in 1991 and was impressed with it. It remains one of my favorite books to this day on the Ante-bellum period. Your library is truly not complete without this work.

Potter's insightful history leading up to the Civil War is a must. He explains the culture, the split, the issue of slavery in easy to understand language to edify the reader's understanding of the things leading up to the secession as soon as Lincoln was nominated yet before he took office. Anyone interested in the history of this time period, it is the best book I have read on the subject. Potter not only discusses the politics, but also gives us a look into Lincoln and his actions to prevent the war.

Abraham Lincoln's 1860 election as President of the United States was the catalyst that set off the American Civil War, but this book traces the political processes that led to that result during the just over a decade between the end of the Mexican War in 1848 and the start of the Civil War with the firing on Fort Sumner in 1861.

Today it is easy to look back and regard the entire process as inevitable. What David Potter does in this classic, first published in 1976, is present the politics behind each step that pushed the sections of the country apart over the slavery issue. One apparent mystery has been what drove the astute politician Stephen Douglas to force through legislation tearing up the Compromise of 1820, which had extended a line from Missouri westward, north of which slavery would not be permitted. It was a colossal blunder that opened what had been a more or less settled issue, fanning the flames of sectionalism needlessly.

His Kansas-Nebraska Act opened those territories, north of the line, to a concept of popular sovereignty, in which those supposedly living in the territories would be allowed to vote on the issue. This may have sounded democratic, but it led to a wave of Abolitionist settlers from New England, and pro-slavery visitors from neighboring Missouri, resulting in "Bleeding Kansas", with attacks and massacres from both sides, and very little democracy. Potter shows that Douglas started from a powerful need to organize the territories so a Pacific railroad could be built, preferably from Chicago in his home state of Illinois. That simple point of departure led him into a series of moves that only deepened the sectional divide.

Potter describes how the southern slaveholders won a whole series of meaningless victories that did nothing to extend the slave territories but did intensify feelings against slavery in the North, from the Mexican War and Kansas-Nebraska to the Dred Scott decision and the hanging of John Brown. He traces the rise of the Republican party out of the ruins of the Whigs and the Freesoil Party, and exposes the latter not as advocates of rights for black people, but driven rather by a deep-seated racism aimed at keeping blacks out of the territories. Complicating the 1850's political map of America was the American, or "Know Nothing" party, dedicated to stopping the recent flood of mainly Catholic immigrants from Europe.

He also demonstrates that the Unionist candidates did better than generally believed in the four-sided presidential election of 1860, and that the voting system itself gave the secessionists of late 1860 and early 1861 far greater strength than their actual numbers.

If you want to get deep into the politics that split the powerful Democratic Party and ultimately the nation, this book has what you are looking for.

THERE SEEM TO BE ENOUGH BOOKS ON THE COMING OF THE CIVIL WAR TO FILL THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. A FEW STAND OUT AS MUST READS AND THIS IS AMONG THE TOP FIVE. THE STORY, AND POTTER WRITES HISTORY AS A STORY WITH A LOT OF SUBSTANCE, BEGINS WITH THE TEXAS QUESTION AND CONTINUES THROUGH TO THE START OF WAR. IT IS A LARGE BOOK BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY INTEREST IN HTE TOPIC YOU WILL DREAD SEEING IT END. THIS BOOK RANKS WITH THE MORE CONTEMPORAY WORKS BY WILLIAM FREEHLING. IF POTTER TAUGHT AS HE WROTE HIS STUDENTS WERE AMONG THE MOST PRIVILEGED OF OUR HISTORIANS TODAY AND SO THEY SAY.

The Innovation SuperHighway is one of the fundamental pieces of work dealing with how to create sustainable collaborative advantage through the development AND implementation of knowledge strategies. The book defines the innovation frontier as our future assets and includes superb examples of innovation infrastructures being created in companies and countries - giving an understanding of how the attention should be on the people and not the technology per se. This since been documented in her subsequent research around knowledge innovation zones, the UNESCO reports and IBM CEO innovation surveys. In wise foresight there is also a chapter is dedicated to youth and how they are being mobilized with their vision. Finally, the vision in the concluding section documents the era of collaborative advantage - another evolving (and now accepted) principle of the Knowledge Economy. It is critical to note however that this book is NOT about knowledge management - it moves beyond these principles and provides a blueprint for discovering and leveraging intellectual capital, versus "managing" what is evident. In this manner the book enables the reader to sense not only why innovation is the utlimate manifestation of harnessing intangibles, but also how to create the dynamic conditions for profiting from an economy where sustainable succes is only possible if organizations and people innovate knowledge --existing and new-- more effectively to enhance economic growth and collaborative advantage. As we move from economic scarcity models based on land, labor, and capital to models of abundance based on an inexhaustible resource - knowledge, old rules do not apply; and the new rules are being innovated. This book provides the best starting point for executives and managers at all levels to begin this journey, and to set the stage for moving into a new innovation frontier - one based upon intangible value and intellectual wealth, for the success of their organizations, their enterprises and society.

Anyone who has read CIO Insight http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,1777087,00.asp
And who wants to understand the how of living in a globalized economy:
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman and Oliver Wyman (available here too) , would want to read Amidon's's two books The Ken Awakening as well as this one, .

The book, The Innovation Superhighway, is not about the how why of globalization as much as it is about the forces of globalization (ease of transferring and exchanging knowledge and how as Friedman says "What I am trying to do is say that something important really is happening. The value-creation model is moving away from a vertical silo model to an increasingly collaborative horizontal model, from command and control to collaborate and connect, and that's going to change everything."
This is not recreational read. It is a book to be studied. And the concepts put to use.

First off, when looking for books on innovation, one must know what type of information they are looking for and what information they are going to find in the book that they are going to read. The Innovation Superhighway is a book that starts out presenting the start of a framework using the internet as a means of transmitting information. Early on in the book it is stated that internet and all it's services and facilities are really about innovation, not information. While many innovative activities are occurred because of the information that is made more readily and by the "free wheeling" of early internet companies, the internet is truly about the transfer of knowledge. When much of the book deals with sharing of innovations across some infrastructure sounds wonderful, I have seem little of it in the corporate world, where it may be true in the academic world. In fact I have seen the opposite in the corporate world, where innovation is coveted and hoarded.

In the end, this book will do a couple of good things for you. It provides an excellent look into the ideas of Intellectual Capital, which still has a certain amount of nebulousness about it (although I was looking for something a little deeper here). The book also presents some excellent views into Knowledge and what it can mean to an individual, a company, and even a country. There is a lot of good information in those chapters.

This however only gets us to page 127 out of 349. At this point, the book goes into the story of ENTOVATION which I was unable to find much that I could use in many of my roles of using technology to facilitate communication and parts within a corporation's innovation processes. It becomes the story of how individuals from many roles got together to explore knowledge exchange and sharing for the purpose of innovation. Many of the cases that are put forth rely on companies and individuals seeing the benefit of sharing information and also that all information being shared is of equal value. I have been part of such attempts at sharing only to have them break down due to information having different value to different parties and therefore demanding different returns. The whole knowledge market, although referenced earlier in the book, seems largely ignored. The primary aspects near the end of the book rely on a more idealistic world, where personal gain (thinking selfishly here) is largely ignored and the greater good of society and countries are funded to aid innovation. I have seen little evidence of any working towards that or any chance of these goals coming to fruition. Painting of Exemplar Ken Practitioners through ~40 pages had little value to me in my quest for knowledge and innovation processes.

So, there is value to the book. I felt that the first portion of the book was the most valuable and would love to see more around the strong formations of knowledge management, but I was disappointed that after such a strong start, the end left me wanting for the creating of innovative processes out of technology.

Debra Amidon has thrown the lawn party and everyone's invited!
Before WWW, I used to think how unfortunate it was that the global reach of information and entertainment was primarily a one-way communication. Then the Internet came along and the great dialogue begin. Now, Debra Amidon is helping to create a new agenda and a principal part of that agenda is to how to take the dialogue to the next level, especially in terms of process.

One could see this book from a variety of perspectives such as innovation or knowledge management, but, in essence, it's an incredible coalescing of new human ability to collaborate and create. Debra Amidon not only provides the vision and direction, she also provides a viable example with a vibrant international network of amazing human beings.

As you read the book, you can see that Debra Amidon is actually helping to "pave" the innovation superhighway that she writes about. From a nationalistic point of view, hopefully we in the U.S. are effectively developing our stretches of this highway system. Hopefully, corporate America and the U.S. Federal government will get clearer about this picture. Also, we need to figure out how we can get her to spend more of her time traveling U.S. sections of the "innovation superhighway".

This book wrestles with measuring the intangibles. The metrics of a knowledge driven economy.
This book was first available in 2003. In the March 4th 2006 issue of The Economist there appeared an article: Getting a Grip on Prosperity - what if intangible investment is measured properly?. The concepts in this book are now entering the mainstream.

For someone who wants to understand the forces that will drive our economies and most likely their careers for the next few decades...this book is a useful introduction...particularly chapter 11.2 and Part 5.

I would say that this is a well written and indepth looks at Michael Jordans return to profession basketball with the Washington Wizards.

If you only read one story about Michael Jordan, this is the one to read. I am from D.C. and regard him as the greatest athlete of the 20th century. It was delightful to read about a second comeback. The fact that he did come back to be a Wizard, makes this story remarkable. Worth every sent!

Wow is the only words that can penetrate the ranging emotions that occur when this book is read. Awesome. A must have for any Michael Jordan Fan. I want to be so much Like Mike Right Now.

I would say that this is a well written and indepth looks at Michael Jordans return to profession basketball with the Washington Wizards.

For 13 brilliant seasons Michael Jordan danced the dance of greatness across hardwood floors of basketball arenas from New York to Los Angeles to Barcelona and Paris. With a warrior's heart and an artist's grace, Jordan long ago transcended the sport to become one of the 20th century's global icons.

On the court, his almost mythic flair for the spectacular prompted former Los Angeles Laker superstar Magic Johnson to say simply, "There's Michael, then there's all the rest of us"Off the court, Jordan's ability to alter markets and drive the business of his marketing partners is unprecedented.

Through it all, Jordan showed the world that greatness, true greatness, comes from the inside out. He remains perhaps the greatest practice player in the history of sports, his desire to improve upon his own example legendary. When critics questioned his all-around ability, he became the game's most dominant defensive player at his position. When teams decided to close down the lane and eliminate drives to the basket, he became a deadly jump shooter. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson had the most successfully teams of the 1980s but never won more than two consecutive championships. The Bulls won three straight--twice.

In Michael Jordan Returns to the NBA Again, the writer pulls back the curtain on one of the most remarkable sports figure of the 20th century and delves into the question of why he returns to the NBA after going out on top in 1998.