P Books

John Warden was the strategist of the air campaign in the 1991 Gulf War. In 1998, he updated his influential book. A must read for anyone interested in the military, its past, present and future.

John Warden's book earned high praise because of its author's role in planning operation Desert Storm, but although the book is a very good synthesis of air warfare theory it is not either groundbreaking or revolutionary. In fact most of its arguments were presented for the first time by the pioneers of air power of the 1920s and 30s like Giulio Duhet and William Mitschell. Warden's contribution has more to do with the revival of those forgotten theories and the presentation of a complete picture of aerial operations instead of inventing new methods of war. Central to his thesis is the idea that air superiority is crucial, that a campaign will be lost if the enemy has it, that in many circumsatnces it alone can win a war, and that its possession is needed before other actions on the ground or in the air can be undertaken.

Warden also places emphasis on thorough training saying that if something is going to be done in war, it ought to be practiced in peace, and if it has not be practiced, losses are likely to be high and the plan is unlikely to go as expected. He analyzes the three kinds of inderdiction (distant, indermediate and close) and he gives an interesting definition of the term "close air support": "It is an air operation that theoritically could and would be done by ground forces on their own, if sufficient troops or artillery were available".

The author repeats often the great value of striking the enemy's center of gravity, that timing is everything in the commitment of air reserves and that ground and naval forces can serve as an adjunct to air forces in the battle for air superiority. His opinion that fighting defensively is the worst way to fight an air war is uneiversally accepted as is his thesis that numbers are important, so important that a primary goal of the operational commander ought to be to make sure that his forces outnumber the enemy every time they meet. Modern research using the Lancaster equations has also proved his argument that the large force almost always inflicts greater absolute casualties on the smaller force and thath it also suffers less in the process.

John Warden also explains in the Epilogue how his concept of ideas was implemented in the Desert Storm campaign of 1991. In that case the enemy was visualized as a target system of five concentric rings (leadership, key production, infrastructure, population and field forces) with the leadership ring at the center. In the case of Iraq, the US goal was "to reduce the energy level of the entire system enough to reach our peace objectives" which were to eject "Iraq out of Kuwait and an Iraq that would not be a strategically threatening regional superpower for the next decade".

On the minus side of the book are the extremely poor black and white pictures.

A fresh and renovated review on a complicated topic such as Strategy. Interesting and updated points of view with a simple and easy language. A must for any military aviator.

Colonel John A. Warden III was one of the most distinguished officers of his generation. A veteran fighter pilot, he was--is--as well a true defense intellectual--not the sort of individual often touted by the so-called "defense reform movement," but a true warrior-scholar in the classic image of, say, a J. F. C. Fuller--or a George Patton. Not one to shy away from controversy, Warden was convinced in the 1980's that the United States Air Force--had strayed away from its first principles. It had become a stove-piped, tribal organization, riven by discord and confusion between its "strategic" and "tactical" communities. Warden, in this brilliant work (written as a thesis at the National Defense University), posited an exciting new vision of the centrality of air power in national defense. This book served as an important departure point for the service's subsequent "Global Reach--Global Power" strategic planning framework issued in 1990. By that time, Warden was running Checkmate, a key office in Air Force planning. Through his own initiative and vision, he and a small team of "weapons officers" planned Instant Thunder, the first major response to Saddam Hussein's aggression in the Gulf. Warden briefed Instant Thunder to the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff (the Chief was away), and then on his suggestion to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Colin Powell. Powell sent him to CENTCOM to brief Norman Schwarzkopf. His reaction was enthusiastic, and Warden was directed to brief Instant Thunder in the Gulf, to the CENTAF air component commander, General Charles Horner. Horner, brilliant in his own right, accepted much of what Warden said. But the personal chemistry between the two men was bad, and Warden returned to the States, leaving behind a small staff of acolytes and experts, most notably Lt. Col. David A. Deptula. It was the partnership of Deptula, Gen. Buster Glosson, Gen. Horner, and (back in Checkmate) John Warden that made the Desert Storm air campaign a success. After the war, Warden became commander of the Air Command and Staff College, making notable (and badly needed) changes to its curriculum. This book is a "must read" by anyone who would consider themselves a military and/or air power professional. There are Americans alive today because of John Warden's work. Warden never made general, largely because of petty jealousies by senior people above him. He was--is--a consumate professional and true patriot: never complaining, never self-advocating, always keeping true to his core beliefs. But his truest legacy is this book and the thinking it has inspired--thinking that has lead to five notable American victories over the last decade. Buy it, read it, keep it, use it!

Col. Warden adds new material to this important work on strategy, especially new material on what happened after the Gulf War. This book is many things. It is a history of airpower. It is a fresh look at the application of airpower. It is a guide for anyone in the military or business world who wants to compete or attack a system. Very readable. With Col Warden's reputation as the architect of the Air Campaign against Iraq, he has demonstrated that he can apply his ideas in real world situations. Outstanding read.

Im planning to go into Aviation Management and this is a great book that goes over everything that happens at an airport and how to run an airport!! Great book!!

Don't be afraid of the great amount of number data. It's all understandable

This book is an excellent text to all airport related personnels. I found it's particularly useful to people working in airport and/or aviation management who want to gain more in-depth understanding to all areas of airport operations. This book can also serve as in-house classroom training text for airline personnel. A highly recommended one!

This is a great source of information and very clear definitions of many of the key issues relating to Airport Management and Operations. Although written primarily from the European and Asia Pacific Airport and Airline perspectives, the author has worked very hard to include North American issues and examples. As The Airport Industry moves continually towards privatization, these differences will move to the background and be less obvious; and less important. This is a great starting place for the researcher or the occasional affectionato

This book provides a thorough analysis in all facets of airport operations and provides the reader with a logistical insight that is unmatched. While the book provides a great overview, it lacks information particularly on air cargo development and facility planning at airports. While the growth in air cargo traffic significantly outpaces passenger growth, air cargo development issues at airports become more significant. Air cargo development issues must be addressed by airport authorities. This book only makes scant reference to this. However, "Airport Operations" is a valuable book to all airport authorities, consultants and transport researchers. No doubt, a very timely piece of information.

Its really a good book for chess lover . Even Kasparov "want to play like Alekhine" who his games have a lot of brilliant idea . I strongly suggest this book to beginner who might get tremendous benefit out of it.
This book does not dissapointed , you could learn chess tactic & subsequently improve your game .

I had bought this book last month at Times Bookstore and the price is only USD34 , equal to RM114 . With Jusco Card I got 10% discount from the price. And I wonder why the price here is more than USD200!

Excellent condition! I received this book on time, just like the sender had promised.

There is no doubt that Alekhine was a genius, way ahead of his time in his style of attacking chess. If you are like me, you will go green with envy if you play through these games and see how he conjured combinations from the simplest looking of positions. I believe that Alekhine was the inspiration for great later players such as Tal and, of modern times, Kasparov and Shirov. If you don't have a collection of Alekhine's games, you could do no better than buy this book.

This book is a classic and amust read for any serious chess student.13th world chess champion Garry Kasparov himself says this in his forward to this book.The book is a combination of 3 books,2 of which are analysed by Alekhine himself and the other is a book by former British champion CHOD Alexander.Both authors analyse the games critically and explain the ideas and plans behind the games.The selection of games and the opponents definitely don't dissappoint-in the 1st book there are many unknown players but the games have high quality,while in the 2nd world class players enter the scene like Capablanca(1927 world championship),Bogoljubov(1929 and 1932 W'ch and tournament games) ,Euwe(1935 and 1937 W'ch and tournament games),Nimzovitch,Rubinstein,Keres,Reshevsky,Em.Lasker,Tarrash amongst others.In the game Alekhine tells HOW he goes about achieving his aim,WHAT plan he chooses when he gains the advantage and WHY,and HOW he goes about converting his advantage. Make sure you buy this book because it will cause a revolution in your thinking and will widen your scope to STRATEGIC CHESS and ATTACKING CHESS.

On making acquaintance with some of Alekhine's games in my youth, I realized that chess was a game of inexhaustible richness and beauty. A generation later, I still derive inspiration and delight from these remarkable battles. If you must limit your game collections to those of three players, I would include Alekhine's name alongside Kasparov and Fischer. And if you could only choose one volume of Alekhine's games, this is the one to get. There are 118 games, with the original annotations by Alekhine himself. In addition, there are valuable and unobtrusive footnotes by Grandmaster John Nunn, containing corrections to the analysis, performed with the benefit of historical hindsight and the assistance of modern computers.

This is a straight game collection, i.e., there is no attempt at a biography, no list of tournament and match results, no dramatic prologue setting the stage for each contest, no trendy puzzle section. You will find a player index and an opening index. The text is in two column format with figurine algebraic notation. The diagrams aren't as crystal clear as those of Gambit Publications, but they're adequate.

Alekhine was not just World Champion, he was important for the development of Chess itself. He thought in terms of what it meant to unbalance the position. Alekhine took this concept and forced it into his games. Whether he was on the hunt with his own attack, or desperately defending he relished positions in which he could take some advantage he had and use it to the maximum. That he greatly favored being the attacker is obvious. This book is the most complete collection of his games in existence and will reward your study many times over. Not for the beginner, it is very expensive but worth every penny

This book is truly a marvelous book to have in my library. I have been collecting chess books since 1969 and despite having almost 500 chess books not much comes close. This book most clearly resembles the excellent two volume book on Rubinstein by John Donalson and Nicolay Minev. As big as a phone book this book does not easily fit on all bookshelves. The only caveat is that there could have been more anotated games. One example is that all the games from NY 1924 should have been annotated as Alekhine himself annotated all the games from the tournment and all of his games from that tournment should have been annnotated.

This book is excellent! It is expensive but worth every penny! It would have been nice if it included some rare photos but this is very minor. Even if you own other works of Alekhine's this is still a good book to have because of it's completeness. The publisher has other chess books of this quality on chess masters such as Capablanca, Marshall, Steinitz and Reshevsky.

This huge book is of a great value to the chess enthusiast and a must for the Alekhine admirer. It is really an exhaustive investigation work and better yet, with Alekhine's own annotations on games! We must be grateful to the authors on this fine work and to the publishers for the high quality edition...

This book is everything Amazon's desription says. And it's a very solid hard-cover job, with excellent layout and printing. Some interesting biography bits prefacing each chapter were new even to a die-hard Alekhinbe fan like me.
Finally a book that does him justice. One could only wish that *all* the games were annotated, à la "Chess Stars" series (I have all four Tal volumes), but it's really hard to complain about a fine book like this.

Shirley Hughes's books are incredible, and this one is our favorite. I have read this book to all 3 of my daughters and they all love it. They are now 19, 15, and 4. I grew up in England and have lived in the US for the last 35 years and Shirley Hughes's books bring back the feeling of being in England so well. Little ones can listen for hours to her stories!

When my son was born 13 years ago the hospital gave him this book. His first book. His favorite book until recently ( I think he is to cool to admit it now). It is evene in perfect condition. Hard to do with a toddler, young reader and now teenager. He still keeps it on his bookshelf and he tells his friends it was his first book.

Alfie Gets in Frist is about a boy who gets in first. He gets lonely and starts to cry. His sister was hungry and thirsty so she was crying to. I think it's funny, but it's not supposed to be. Here's why I think it's funny: it has this page and it's a funny page. It shows him cyring up a storm. I think it's funny because he has more tears than a regular cry.
I think people who like sort of funny books should read this. Also, people who like short books with some challenging words should read it.

This is one of my favorite Alfie Books. It is also the first in the series. It's about a toddler named Alfie who keeps running ahead of his mother and baby sister as they return from their shopping. Alfie wants to get home first. Eventually, he gets into the flat first--only to shut the door and lock himself in. Various neighbors come over to help, until there is a crowd in front of the door. The situation is rendered wonderfully in "split-screen" fashion, with the adults and the exterior of the flat on the left-hand page and Alfie and the interior of the flat on the right-hand page. Thus we see the adults standing outside and becoming increasingly alarmed, while Alfie calms himself down, brings a chair over, climbs up on it, and opens the door. Then everyone comes in for tea. It's really a sweet story. It's also a cautionary tale for those toddlers who, like mine, tend to shut doors they ought not to. Alfie's predicament made quite an impression on my son!

I have a hard time believing such a wonderful book for two year olds is out of print. Both my children love the story of this little boy whose brazen independance places him in a scary situation. They truely could relate to his delimma and the feelings it caused. They really loved the ending. It reinforced that independance may get you into scary situations but with it you can also get out of them and feel proud of your accomplishment.

The textbook came in earlier than expected and was in excellent condition.

This is a decent Algebra II book. The examples are comprehensive and detailed, but sometimes I couldn't follow with the examples. The easy, medium, and hard problems are all excellent. I would recommend this book to future algebra students.

Faithful to the highest standards of traditional math, this rigorous and thorough tour of algebra and trigonometry is presented with meticulous clarity. It is an invaluable tool in its own right, but is especially worthwhile in preparation for advancing to upper level math concepts. The sections dedicated to word problems have particularly relevant real world applications, addressing the "When are we ever gonna have to use this?" issue with convincing examples. The organization is intelligent, uncluttered, and methodical. As a resource, this volume represents an investment of substantial educational merit, and uncompromising quality.

As a teacher of mathematics I have used a number of different algebra texts and evaluated many others. After an extensive search for a text that would meet the needs of students preparing for college-level mathematics, I decided that this book had no equal. The exposition is both clear and rigorous, and the problems are of real mathematical depth without being too difficult for most students. One of the best aspects of the book is the extensive drill on algebra skills included in every section.

I used this book (when it was written by Mary P. Dolciani) in 1973-74 as a junior in high school and loved it. The recent revisions continue the excellence of Dolciani and the series. The theory is sound and the examples are easy to follow. Especially important is the numerous exercises graded in difficulty that help the student master the material. This book actually makes students THINK and does not spoon feed the material.

I can't say enough great things about this text. My school district uses this text for the honors tract (9th/10th grades) but uses another text for the "regular" 11th grade Algebra II sequence. I feel this is unfortunate because all students can benefit from the rigors of this book.

This book was even better than expected. I haven't finished it yet, but having a hard time putting it down. Highly recommend to any mother! Helped me get rid of the guilt of staying home.

Cindy Ramming uses humor and her own life experience to help you assess the pro's and con's of working vs. staying at home. As an accountant, she evaluates the cost of working vs. the cost of staying home. Although she came to the conclusion that for her it was best emotionally and financially to stay home, she does not say that this choice is right for all mothers, rather, she helps give women tools to assess their own needs and come to their own conclusion. I look forward to reading future books by Mrs. Ramming.

All Mothers Work manages to affirm stay-at-home motherhood, without needing to put down mothers who work outside the home. Cindy Ramming has been both a stay-at-home mom and a working-outside-the-home mom, and knows whereof she speaks. Her informal, intimate, and humorous style makes this book a quick read. The first half of the book helps the reader decide if staying at home is for her, the second half has practical supportive advice for those who do decide to "stay at home" (including a key secret--to be a successful "stay at home" mom, you need to get out of the house!). Unlike so many books for mothers which create idealized perfectionistic standards, All Mothers Work is realistic and supportive--Rammings admits some of her own foibles, too, which we can all identify with. The only reason I gave the book 4 instead of 5 stars was that it was shorter than I would have liked.

As a stay at home mom, I didn't think this book was for me, I had already made my decision. But as I read it, I was encouraged and affirmed in my choice to stay home and raise my children. Ramming also had some advice to help make the job easier.

An excellent source for women looking into the possibility of staying home, the book is also great for women who had already decided to do so. Great for stay-at-home women who, when asked what do they do, say "I'm just a Mom". It helped me to live with my own decision of quitting my job (and leaving behind a career) to take care of my daughter. Three cheers for Cindy Rammings!

I remember this book so well from kindergarden!!! I'm almost 18 now, but I still remember a few things from those Amelia Bedeilia books! (forgive me if my memories aren't exact,it's been amost 12 years since I've read one!):

-She stole the base, took it home, & brought it back with cookies!

-She was told to soe the seeds & she literally sewed them in the ground!

-When she was told to draw the drapes so the furniture won't fade, she actually drew them!! And she said you have to "undust the furniture!"

I also remember a girl in my class named Amelia & we all teased her by calling her "Amelia Bedelia", but it was out of love!

By the way, if you (or kids you know) love these books, go read "Eloise" & see the movies!! They're so adorable!!!!!!! <3

This is a great series for a child learning to read. It is filled with mixups that will keep the teacher as well as the student entertained. The stories teach children about "play on words" as well as being able to accept mistakes (because we all make them). This is a great series!

I always loved the stories of Amelia Bedelia as a child. Nothing could make me laugh more. I especially loved when she would try to do housework, and take things a little too literally!

Peggy Parish's Amelia Bedelia series stands as a monument in children's literature --- not only for the young, but for the young at heart as well. Amelia Bedelia is one of the whackiest characters ever conceived ---she's constantly caught up in adventures (or shall we say misadventures) of the most humorous sort. If you love to laugh, I highly recommend these classic tales of mischief, laughter, and delight!

The Amelia Bedelia stories are about a young woman who is hired to work for a wealthy family. Amelia is from the country and gets everything mixed up, almost all the time. Her two saving graces are that she is very kind and a fabulous cook. These simply written books (appropriate for a 7-9 age range) do not seem to provoke the sense of anxiety that many 'crazy mixed-up' books seem to. Best of all, of course, is Amelia Bedelia's name itself.

This is the 7th of the 8 volume history which the late Page Smith (he died Aug 28, 1995) wrote on the history of this country. I have not read the 8th volume, but it is not correct to say it is a 10,000 page history. The first 7 volumes only have a total of 6,823 pages. My comment on finishing volume 7 was "I'd say about 5000 of the 6823 pages were really interesting reading." One of these days I want to find volume 8 and read it so that I will have read the whole set. Nor do I agree that this work was what Professor Smith devoted his life to. He has a two-volume biography of John Adams which I am going to read some day, I hope. (I know exactly the library where I can borrow it and I have been planning to do so for years--and some day I will.)

Although I offer the following thoughts in connection with Volume VII of the late Professor Smith's magnificant eight-volume, 10,000 page, history of the United States, what I really want to do is to express my affection and appreciation for the entire eight-volume work. I commend what must have been Professor Smith's life's work and proudest accomplishment to anyone seriously interested in learning in detail about the history of America, with both its shameful and its pride-justifying aspects. Smith's skilled story-telling commences with the first English settlements in North America and ends in about 1940, though the author also provides, at the end of Volume VIII, an abbreviated discussion of the succeeding forty years or so. The scope of his coverage ranges from each quadrennial presidential election and congressional politics to literature, art, and architecture. Well written, entertaining, and comprehensive, making ample use of diaries and other colorful primary sources, Smith tells the story of America in a manner that reveals his palpable patriotism and love of country, despite his keen awareness that, like any other human endeavor, the efforts to build a new nation in North America involved a great many incidents about which no modern person would be proud. Smith believed that the typical yeoman eighteenth-century white American, removed from the active control of England for more than a century, had become a new kind of man who, unlike the more compliant peasant of Europe then and previously, simply would not give up his freedom without a fight. This ornery "new man," though drawing on the tradition of English liberties, was the true founder of modern democratic government. Smith portrays the American of the early frontier as a rather uncouth and violent, if indomitable, specimen, whose desire for land, expressed in westward migration, was to reshape the face of the world. The two broad recurring themes in Smith's eight volumes are racial relations and the ongoing struggle! between labor and management. Although an obvious liberal in his politics, with great sympathy for the African Americans, Smith is by no means cynical or overly judgmental in his description of Euro-Americans of the past. In fact, his vivid descriptions of figures such as Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt help bring life to these giants, whose personalities are no longer vivid in the minds of many modern Americans. Sadly, Smith completed his opus before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and thus did not have the benefit of the end of the Cold War to influence his world view. As a result, he ends his work by suggesting that we need to learn how to get along better with the Soviets. We may easily forgive him this lapse of vision into the future, however. Smith was plainly a man of great heart and a true patriot. It saddens me to see that his magnificent written legacy is now out of print. I have seen all eight volumes, however, in many used bookstores. I therefore encourage would-be readers to request Amazon.com to contact its network of used booksellers to try to track down copies. Perhaps enough such requests might prompt one of the two companies that previously published Smith's history -- McGraw Hill and Penguin -- to issue a new edition. Such republication would be a great public service in a world and nation in which ignorance of history is appallingly widespread and in which patriotism strikes many as an outdated concept.

This series is an all-encompassing narrative of our history from pre-colonial times to the twentieth century. Smith spent over 50 years as an academic and popular historian, and his life's work was A People's History. The series is written in an engaging but detailed style -- only two or three times in over 10,000 pages does it become difficult to read. Smith obviously had digested large volumes of primary source material, because his explanations of events often reach far before and after the events, linking them insightfully with their deep causes and effects. An author who writes piecemeal from one source at a time could never make those kinds of deep connections.

Smith also remains balanced and fair througout the text. He is not a liberal critical historian (like Howard Zinn), but even more importantly, he is not one of the newer conservative historians (like Russel Kirk). Smith manages to avoid the two extremes of paranoia and zealotry.

I was initially disappointed at the lack of footnotes in the text, but I did come to trust in Smith's philosophy that if a point were well-worth making *and* well-supported, he would make the point in the text itself, thereby eschewing what he felt was an underhanded academic trick of making footnotes of ill-supported assertions or attacks on other schools of thought.

The end-notes and indices are more than adequate for researchers and critical readers.

All in all, this series is the best way I've found to really understand American history as more than a sequence of events, characters, and trends. Smith weaves them together into a coherent story.

It is a sad commentary on public literacy and civic awareness when a whole series of books so splendid, educational, and damned readable is allowed to go out of print, such as has the quite literate eight book series by noted historian Page Smith. This massive and spectacularly executed series is organized around the continuing themes of American History, and centers on our emergence into the larger world as a main player in the world community. This is modern history at its best; masterfully retold, entertaining and edifying to read, and organized around central themes that make the subject both approachable and more understandable.

The present volume, "America Enters The World: A People's History Of The Progressive Era and World War I", is the seventh of an eight volume series Professor Smith published, and represents the culmination of the series in approaching the entry into the 20th century and the modern era after masterfully threading through the mass of American history. Dr. Smith begins here focuses on two key figures, a dynamic and energetic Theodore Roosevelt, on the one hand, and an austere, professorial, and intellectual Woodrow Wilson, on the other. With Roosevelt's gravitation to the Oval Office, an incredibly turbulent and event-packed two decades of momentous change commences, marked for such tumultuous struggles as the battle between management and labor, and the emerging progressive political movement.

This was also the period of international reawakening that found the United States increasingly drawn into world events, culminating in our reluctant and begrudging participation in the First World War. Of course, initially it was Roosevelt swinging that `big stick' of power and enthusiastic involvement, swaggering confidently onto the world stage that first opened our doors to increasing involvement in international affairs. Yet, it was much more Woodrow Wilson's intellectual thoughtfulness that led directly to our enthusiastic flag-waving yet fateful entry into the growing darkness of the world war. In due time, the enthusiasm flagged, turning to disillusionment and an increased national mood of isolationism. In twenty short years, we had seemingly come full circle. Yet things had changed, changed utterly, and would never be the same again.

As with his previous volumes, Professor Smith guides us masterfully through the particulars of the lives of a stream of extraordinary people, individuals who rose to the manifest challenges of the era with energy, imagination, and selfless enthusiasm. In so doing, they reshaped and redefined the meaning and possibilities for America, and eventually helped in the effort to transform the world in the process. As with each of his previous volumes, the author uses his narrative to tell the story of individuals both famous and anonymous, and in so doing helps the reader to better appreciate what it meant to be alive and involved in one of the most amazing periods in modern history, when America rose mightily and purposefully from the obscurity of provincial isolationism to greater international responsibility and involvement, spurring America onto the stage for the events of the twentieth century, where she has remained since.

In sum, this is a work of a great and singular historian, one offering a unique perspective on a most momentous, dangerous, and exciting time in our history, a period during which America came of age internationally. It is the story of two decades that did so much to define and forge the modern nation we are all so familiar with, and helps to explain how it is we have come to arrive at our present destination, and in the process gives the reader great cause for celebration and concern. I highly recommend you search out this book as a used commodity and then hang onto it for dear life. I do. Enjoy!

In America Enters the World, Page Smith recreates a masterful account of the Progressive Era. He does not follow a strict chronological path (though there is more or less a sequence of events) but once the reader gets accustomed, it flows pretty well. Smith makes clever use of colloquialisms ("skedaddled" "smashed"-meaning drunk, and "skulduggery" are but a few) which helps make the reader feel comfortable. Finally he states his thesis on page 140 (barely 1/10 of the way through the massive book) of viewing history as a part of a larger whole.

Smith often extols the virtues of socialism as the great counterbalance of industrial capitalism, which since this is a "people's history" makes some sense. He has the ability to enter the shoies of those he writes of, an admirable trait in a historian. However, at times he gets carried away with the socialist undercurrents, sometimes to the point of annoyance. He does give great leaders like Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson their just dues, and comes down hard on stupid leaders like William Howard Taft and Warren Harding, and this gives the book balance. Unfortunately by giving lengthy accounts of the doings of Big Bill Haywood and Emma Goldman Smith seems to elevate these people to the unwarranted level of greatness as well. The Roosevelt-Wilson rivalry is the most dominant political theme in the book. Smith admires them both, Roosevelt for his populism, Wilson for his vision, and he covers each objectively and fair.

Smith never cites his sources so it is difficult to verify, but the reader learns to trust Smith as an authority on his subject. He makes an un-stated advocation of how committees served the country well in winning World War One, then attempts to illustrate how the Soviet Union emerged as a model of efficiency ("soviet" is defined as a governmental council). He makes great progress in some chapters then takes one step back with his unwavering advocacy of the socialist state. He seems to fall victim to his own conclusion on page 642 that "obsessions make bad politics".

But Smith is able to recognize genius when he sees it. Wilson's vision was the apex of the Progressive Era. When the unqualified Harding assumed the presidency, Smith ends his historical narrative. It is clear to Smith that Harding did not represent "progress" (one could conclude Harding didn't represent anything). The final several chapters are dedicated to technology, arts, education, and religion. He covers the American scene. Racism, bigotry, women's rights, philanthropy, mainstream and side stream politics, war, peace, industry, and many other themes are all handled with equal care by this prolific, intelligent author. His conclusion is well supported and his mastery of English would impress any wordsmith.

This is a detailed and heartbreaking story of the failure and collapse of the American steel industry. Sometimes the details are more than one needs to know, but this book will serve as an excellent case history on the underlying reasons for the transfer of the "rust-belt" jobs overseas, and now America's reliance of foreigners to produce the goods we use, in return for pieces of paper (Bonds) giving them claims on American wealth.

Mr. Hoerr tries to write a dispassionate history, but it is difficult in the face of such monumental stupidity and greed. "A vibrant forty-six mile stretch of river valley, providing primary jobs for over thirty-five thousand steel employees... would be devastated and expunged from economic memory in less than five years." "After that, the opportunities are limitless... from here to there where McDonald's needs someone to serve the one-trillionth burger." (p12-13).

The author was a reporter during this period, and apportions blame to both the steel company management and the unions, but clearly reserves his primary animus for management. They saw labor as an undifferentiated mass of dumb "hunkies", the pejorative term for people of Slavic origins, who only needed to take orders. That attitude was repaid, as Mr. Hoerr says: "I have known only two major corporations that actually engendered feelings of hatred among their employees, GM and US Steel." (p206) Management eventually acquiesced to the form, but not the substance of labor participation by forming "Labor-Management Participation Teams," but usually ignored their recommendations. There was also a willful neglect in spending the capital to modernize the operations - USX finally proposed building the first continuous caster plant in the Mon Valley in 1986! - at the very end. (p550) Instead it infuriated the labor force by spending its capital in buying Marathon Oil.

The author had access, and draws telling portraits of the principal actors involved, from the USW's I.W. Abel, Lloyd McBride, Lynn Williams, Bernard Kleiman and Edmund Ayoub. On the management side there was David M. Roderick, Thomas Graham and David Hoag.

I worked in US Steel's Homestead Works for two summers during my college years - '65 and '66. At the time I thought this work was the most "real", and those mills would be eternal - America would always need steel, and would obviously need to produce it. Fortunately the avenging angel passed me by, as I decided this work was not for me. Once again another "wolf" has finally come to America - this time high (and higher still) gas prices, which will force more economic dislocations that prudent planning could have avoided. Will American society be able to organize its economy prudently, to truly meet the real needs of its citizens, and minimize massive dislocations? This book is an excellent story of previous follies - can we learn from them?

Coke works at Hazelwood closing chapter on demise on steel in entire region. Read also: Homestead, with new forward by author, best one-town summary

I read this years ago, and I thought it was an excellent analysis of the collapse of the steel industry in Pittsburgh, filled with compelling tales of individual people.

The books feels like a Greek tragedy, in which the protagonists are doomed to a slow slide towards the edge of a cliff. Institutionalized conflict overcomes the efforts of people from both labor and maangement to halt, or at least slow the inevitable slide.

For people who think that the current dot.com crash is a serious downturn, this book offers a very good counter-perspective. When an area loses 100K jobs in 10 years, and whole towns essentially close, that's a *real* downturn.

On the other hand, there's always hope. Pittsburgh has bounced back, and has a much more diversified economy. The last time I visited, I could see the sky, which was more difficult in the steel days. To grasp those days, either see the early Tom Cruise movie "All The Right Moves", or for depth, read this book.

This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to learn about what went wrong in this basic industry. Not only a study of the collapse of the steel industry in the Mon Valley, the book is also a study of the pain of postindustrialization that swept the country in the 1980's. Esentially, the author is writing about a national trend, but focuses on the Pittsburgh area, which is really a microcosm. It is also a good look at what happens when unions and management can't get their acts together.

My dad - who died a couple of years ago - published this book. He was very proud of it, and I think he would have been very pleased to see that Amazon customers are responding to it favorably.