Wang Books

The language barrier in China is greater than the Great Wall and Zhao cards is the solution. The authors seem to know Shanghai intimately, as the recommendations for food and places to see were all great. This efficient and well-suited travel guide is a must for Shanghai.

This is a very different book than the Lao Tzu. It's written in a much less poetic style, but I find Zhuangzi more readable for that reason. The style is more conversational, and well rendered into contemporary English by Burton Watson.

These inner chapters contain only the core of a much longer work. Over the 2200 years since its writing, many accretions had crept into the work, including commentaries and addenda by other authors. Watson strips those away and leaves only the central and most vivid writings. Some of those may already be familiar to today's reader. For example, this book originates the man dreaming to be a butterfly dreaming to be a man. Zhuangzi offers many more of these anecdotes, too long to be analogies but too short for fables. He also calls on the history and mythology of his time - not always distinct from each other - and creates mythology of his own, whether he meant to or not.

That mythology lived on in Chinese alchemy, when Zhuangzi's magical sages were taken as literal beings. Zhuangzhi lived on, too, in Taoism's eventual alignment with Buddhism. His cryptic, non sequitur style of answer seems to foreshadow the koans of the distinctly Chinese and Japanese schools of Buddhism.

This is a wonderful complement to the Lao Tzu. If that book is the art of enlightenment, then this is more like the practical craft. I recommend it highly to any student of eastern classics.

I must add that Zhuangzi is a more recent romanization of "Chuang Tzu" - different renderings of one name. It is easy to become confused and think that the two were different writers. It is especially confusing since Watson published this same material many years ago under the "Chuang Tzu" spelling, and now as "Zhuangzi." While I have the highest respect Burton's scholarship, I think that this difference-without-a-difference should be made more explicit.

A horrifying account of one man's survival of the concentration camps during the Nazi regime. This book is quite short--maybe 50 pages or so, but in those few pages Wiesel's words are chilling, devestating and horrifying. And I hope that anyone who reads it might then get a small insight into the worst crime against humanity in the western world and say "never again."

Wow...every page is like a sock in the gut, and like many memoirs full of twisted events, I find myself hoping it isn't true. But what's most remarkable is Wiesel's legacy, how he survived and lived to tell about it as a respected intellectual (this isn't a part of the story). Historically relevant, brutally tragic, painfully morbid. A true story about hanging on to life, and literally losing everything but. It's small enough to read in a day, and that might be the best way to go about it. I read it in small, painful chunks. As I read it, I often felt ashamed of humanity for it's self-destructive cruelty. This story includes the extra detail they didn't put in your history book.

I received this item in a timely matter in great condition! Would do business with again!

As an English teacher, I have my ninth graders read this memoir every year. And every year, I am moved to tears. Not only does Mr. Wiesel tell of his devastating experience of dehumanization in the Holocaust, but he tells it with such eloquence and mastery of the English language, that one would wonder if he was always a writer. This is his first book and it reads like a story written by some of the greatest writers of the literary canon. Be forewarned that his story will change your perspective on life and will most likely you move you to tears as well. If it doesn't, than as my Pastor would say, "your wood is wet."

You may be asking yourself, "why would I want to read something that will just get me upset?" My answer to that is that if we don't get upset, how can we facilitate change? Ignorance leads to bliss? No way--it leads to destruction. Furthermore, antisemitism hasn't gone away. And in the midst of the violence and hatred exploding in the middle east 63 years after Hitler was defeated, there are millions of people who once again want to annihilate the Jews and are devising plans to do just that. So this memoir must be read. Mr. Wiesels' story must be heard.

From the moment we had began on this book in our classes it was truly an eye opener. Words cannot describe the misery that was felt in each and every word this book had within. The book itself had casted night over all of us, especially me as we listened intently on what could be known as the most heart striking tale. From the start of the camp to the death marchings in the snow, the story gives a full eye account of the horror that was seen in the Nazi war. No story ever has been written so amazingly nor dramaticly as this. Yes, it touched me darkly and it burned deeply but this story, this story is something everyone should read because no one should forget what happened so long ago. You cant go your whole life without reading this book, its something that you should not miss.

I give it a rating of five stars and I hope you, the reader, can also find that too.

This short book, which is largely autobiographical, reads like a nightmare. It will shake you, even if you are fully aware of the evils of the Holocaust. This book should be required reading in high school or college. In this book, mankind is forced to confront the issue of evil. This is a philosophical concept but real-life evil of man against man. Only when we understand mankind's capacity to commit Holocaust can we stand against it in the future. Thank you to Elie Wiesel for the courage to tell these stories to the world in the hope that something like this will never happen again.

Love this book! Not a happy, feel good read but something that everyone should read and understand. It's hard to imagine the horror faced by the author but he does such a great job describing the events.

I was happy to see that this book was added to Oprah's book club, this ment that millions who never knew of this book would read it or at least hear it's story. I read this in college as part of the debates on wither the US should have entered WW2 before 1941. When I was done I felt that I had been robbed. Not that I didn't enjoy the book but that noone had told me about it before. I would rather have read this in Middle or High school then some of the junk books they forced on us, and while Romeo and Joilet is a fine work I belive that the story Wiesel gives us is more timly and would give kids something to think about.
The story of Wiesel and his Father in the camps should make anyone who reads this book take note of what happens when Fascism and National Socalism are given a foothold.Sadly we are having to learn some of this lessons again, hopefully we learned then well enough to stop another Holocaust.

Night is a book that truly makes you think and feel. What happened to the Jewish people is devastatingly awful.My mom homeschools my siblings and they chose to listen to Night on audio tape. Everyone was enraptured in Elie's story wanting to know what happened to him. I think everyone should read Elie's story or hear it at some point in your life, because it makes you grateful for your own life and because everyone should know what the Germans did to the Jews. That time in history should never be forgotten.

I want to point out that George Guidall did a remarkable job narrating the book Night. I homeschool, and chose to do Night as one of our books for this year. My kids were horrified with what one human could do to another. It struck all of our hearts on a daily basis when we would turn on the next CD. This book is a must read. The horrific injustice the Jewish people undertook will never be forgotten and shouldn't be by anyone.

Good book. I enjoyed it.
Especially good for those interested in the Kelly criterion and all the people along the way who wanted to maximise gambling profit or investment profit.

Book was more than I expected. Tied in many stories dating back to the early 1900's and the beginning of AT&T. Excellent read, very entertaining and well researched.

This book is a concise look at the evolution of formal investment theory, with continual contextual references to its ties to gambling and to organized crime. It also is a hilarious and insightful history of gambling from the Bernoulli's in the 1700s through the hedge fund traders of the late 1990's.

The author devotes over 50 pages to notes and the index. This was appreciated since I wanted to look up more about so many of the anecdotes he included.

Mr. Poundstone poignantly describes the downfall of high-flying firms such as LTCM, where the investment wizards went from the darlings of Wall Street to the dredges of the investment community in large part because they were so clever; and they started to believe they were infallible.

One LTCM road-show presentation was held at the insurance company Conseco in Indianapolis. Andrew Chow, a Conseco derivatives trader, interrupted Scholes. "There aren't that many opportunities," Chow objected. "You can't make that kind of money in Treasury markets."
Scholes snapped: "You're the reason - because of fools like you we can." (Page 281)

Warren Buffett marveled at how "ten or 15 guys with an average IQ of maybe 170" could get themselves "into a position where they can lose all their money." That was much the sentiment of Daniel Bernoulli, way back in 1738, when he wrote: "A man who risks his entire fortune acts like a simpleton, however great may be the possible gain." (Page 291)

He also points out the real world flaws in some theoretically appealing scams. The St. Petersburg Wager seems mathematically correct; yet it overlooks a vitally important constraint (pages 182-184). Another is the unfounded weight we unconsciously give to historical returns, as evidenced by his retelling of another Warren Buffett story:
In a 1984 speech, Buffett asked his listeners to imagine that all 215 million Americans pair off and bet a dollar on the outcome of a coin toss. The one who calls the toss incorrectly is eliminated and pays his dollar to the one who was correct.
The next day, the winners pair off and play the same game with each other, each now betting $2. Losers are eliminated and that day's winners end up with $4. The game continues with a new toss at doubled stakes each day. After twenty tosses, 215 people will be left in the game. Each will have over a million dollars.
According to Buffett, some of these people will write books on their methods: "How I Turned a Dollar into a Million in Twenty Days Working Thirty Seconds a Morning." Some will badger ivory-tower economists who say it can't be done: "If it can't be done, why are there 215 us?" "Then some business school professor will probably be rude enough to bring up the fact that if 215 million orangutans had engaged in a similar exercise, the result would be the same - 215 egotistical orangutans with 20 straight winning flips." (Page 314)

The author follows the lives of a few major contributors to investment theory, information theory, and betting theory: Claude Shannon, who invented Information Theory and paved the way for the digital computer age; John Kelly, who developed the formula for gains with no possibility of ruin; and Edward Thorpe, who built upon these findings and beat the roulette wheels, the blackjack tables and the investment fund managers.
It's a fast read - only 329 pages before the notes and index. I highly recommend it!

This is a nice look into the past systems of betting. Also nicely written and gives a good understanding of the Kelly formula. Was not quite what I thought it would be but was a nice book.

Having just finished Poundstone's book on Gaming the Vote, I was hoping for a book equally as interesting. Although this book was worth reading, and there are a few aspects from it that I will put into practice, I did not walk away wanting to quote it on a regular basis like I did Gaming the Vote.

It gives an interesting historical overview of various scientists involved with gambling and the stock market, and it reviews the concepts involved. These parts were interesting, but truthfully not fascinating.

The sections about Murder Inc, Boesky, Millken, and the junk bond collapse were much more interesting.

In short, it is an interesting book and worth reading, but there are many other books I'd read first...

At gunpoint you couldn't force me to read the 9/11 Report. What Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon have graphically done is truly innovative.
Not only does this graphic depiction tell the story, it is historically factual. It sets out all the findings, history, conjectures, failures and recommendations of the Commission.
We find out in exact detail the timing, training and execution of the terrorists in accomplishing their terrorist acts.
We look inside the four flights and simultaneously see what each one was doing all at the same time. Using the magic of graphics we follow all these flights at once.
Jacobson and Colon tell of the attacks in graphic clarity. They also show the history as outlined in the 9/11 Report leading to the United States not organizing properly to avoid the greatest attack of the United States on 9/11/2001.
This report goes into great detail of what mistakes our Security Agencies made. The lack of cooperation between Agencies led to petty complaints and jealousies. A lack of a unified Security Command led to this atrocity.
In this report, we see the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and also a report card given on 12/5/2005 in which the Commission was still giving low grades. Read it and be scared. We still have to get our act together.
Great insight. I highly recommend this graphic report.

The 9/11 Report is a straightforward, full-color graphic novel adaptation of the final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Featuring a foreword Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton, the Chair and Vice Chair of the 9/11 Commission, The 9/11 Report distills the report's findings concerning how the attacks happened, America's subsequent response, and the glaring weaknesses in America's security. Perhaps the most troubling part of The 9/11 is its postscript, which lists letter grades of America's actions to make itself more secure up through 2006 - most of the grades are C's, D's, and F's. "Progress in many important areas has been slow or nonexistent. While the terrorists have been learning and adapting, we have been moving at a bureaucratic crawl." A plain-terms, respectful presentation accessible to readers of all backgrounds, the 9/11 Report is recommended reading for all American citizens - and therefore a "must-have" for public library collections everywhere.

When I saw this volume on the bookshelf, I shook my head. I picked it up and examined it a couple of times before finally deciding to take it home. I did not believe that a graphic version of the 9/11 Commission report would be anything more than an inadequate summary at best, or a sad joke at worst. I was wrong. The graphic version of the 9/11 Commission report is fascinating, communicating in words and pictures the most important concepts and vents of that fateful day.

The book lays out many aspects of 9/11, from a side-by-side chronology of the attacks of the four jetliners used that day by terrorists, to the history and operation of Al Qaeda, to the way our government did and did not respond to the crisis, to the experience of first responders and victims of the attacks. Laying out its findings in neutral tones, the report details the confusion and dysfunction that allowed 19 terrorists to enter the country, train to fly, obtain access to airliners and wreak destruction and death on America. Americans are portrayed in our multi-racial realities. Terrorists are portrayed fairly frequently as menacing, with sneers and scowls that some might consider unneeded and even approaching racist. Others might find this portrayal appropriate and even subdued, given the mayhem they eventually produced. But this is a minor criticism and id not unduly ruffle my sensitive feathers.

This book is fascinating and instructive, and not at all heavy on gore. A person assassinated by a hand grenade, for example, ifs shown without blood. Politicians of oath sides are depicted accurately and without attempts at personal caricature. Definitively a good choice for the age 10 and up, and would be a helpful primer to those who plan to read the full report. The forward by Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, he the Commission's Chair and Vice Chain, lends credibility to the volume. A winner and a real public service.

9/11 Report
By Sid Jacobson
This book is about the plane crashes on September 11th 2001. It's a comic book with lots of information. It has all the planes and terrorists that crashed into New York, Washington D.C. and Virginia. It's like the book, "9/11 Commission Report," only in a comic book. It also talks about what the government knew and how Bin Laden and Al Qaeda planned the attack since 1993.
We enjoyed this book because it had clear, nice pictures and was organized well. We also enjoyed it because it was descriptive and explained a lot and it was pretty easy to follow. It was also nice because it was facts, not opinions.
We wish it could have been different by having less boring information that didn't matter. We also wish it was different by having it more understandable for younger readers.
We would recommend this book to the ages: 15 and Up. We recommend it to both males and females because it's important to know the crisis that happened and how we could avoid a terrorist attack next time!
We would recommend this book because it has lots of useful information and tells facts that many people don't know about the terrorists and the attacks.

Written by: Jacqui, Alena, Pascal, and Adam

This has to go down as something our children will be reading in school. What happened on that day can not be forgotten nor will it be with books like this.

This is so funny I bought a copy of the FA book 2003 and looking at it and comparing it to the 2002 version I saw that almost all of the mistakes where being corrected and stuff like that...
I had the 2002 version, which was fraught with little mistakes here and there...
Yeah like I said there were many mistakes on the 2002 version; in the different subject areas.
At least the ones that I had come across while attempting to read it really made me mad...
Now the question is:
How come a book like FA for the usmle step1 book had
Some serious mistakes Like that?
I mean being so popular and all...
What a shame...
It had mistakes in Path; biochemistry and so forth and so on...
Thanks God that the 2003 edition came out; the book
has so many corrections made; you know thinking back now in those days, those mistakes really drove me really mad...
it drove me crazy some times thinking that they were meant to be at one time or another to be thought of as true....
It was driving me paranoid...lol
Oh my, all of those little mistakes, fraught with mistakes...?
Thx for your time in reading this article.
Hope that it made you less skeptical in buying future editions of the first aid book for the usmle step1.
Dr.Claudio A.G.Monteiro Filho
Recife,Pernambuco.
Brasil
South America.
CREMEPE: 13.652

Definitely the key source for step 1 preparation but as the authors say: it should not be the only source of preparation.
Molecular biology and genetics should have a separate section in the review section as they are heavily tested in the actual exam. Otherwise very good and concise presentation of high yield facts. Do not forget to practice questions which are most similar to the real thing in NMS or on Kaplan website.
Careful with rating of book recommendation.
Better to make up your own mind.
Good luck.

I found this book highly useful for the usmle step 1. It summarized the topics in a reader friendly format. It helped me to study for the test without carrying so many textbooks around with me. I also recommend the following which is sold on amazon:
Spinal Anatomy Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers
ISBN: 0971999600
Microbiology Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers ISBN: 0971999635

The last 2 study guides showed me the kind of topics that were asked on portions of the USLME step 1. You can't go wrong with these 3 books.

I wouldn't recommend reading this book 6 times cover to cover as the guy below me did, but it's definitely a must for Step I. Good images, great high yield info, wonderful index, great buzz-word association section, and helpful reviews of other medical texts at the end. You're making a big mistake if you don't pick this one up... if you have the time (and the lack of social life) to read this book cover to cover 6 times, more power to you... if you get through it once, more power to you. A must!

This is a great book for overall review. I'd recommend buying it at the start of 1st year or the very latest the start of second year and use it as a review tool for exams. Make notes in the margins on things you think are important and aren't included. By making notes in the margins it will become the only book you'll need to study from because if you know everything in this book you are guarenteed to pass the boards.

If you like system-based approach, Step-Up is a great supplement, but it's micro section is poor

-3rd Year Medical Student

Should be required reading especially for anyone who is ignorant or foolish enough to believe "Drill here, drill now" is the solution. The writing is plain English, not geological or oil & gas jargon. Hubbert's peak is carefully explained, and the explanation does not require much understanding of math. The author also explores other energy sources in addition to oil & gas. The basic message is that we need other energy sources now and we had better get cracking.

I thought this book sets out the peak oil theory and supporting information in a highly readable way. You can argue about whether it applies to just light sweet crude or to oil in all its forms but the distinction is not that relevant in the short term. I found it both readable and very thought provoking. I have been long oil for awhile as a result and that has been very successful.

While the list of books on this topic continues to grow all the time, this is probably one of the must-have books if you are interested in the topic of Peak Oil. Deffeyes is often quoted in other works, as is his former colleague, H. King Hubbert. Deffeyes comes off as a wise expert when talking about issues directly related to his area of expertise, and an honest layman when talking about things he's not as much of an expert on. This give the book an air of authenticity. It is a fairly short book, but manages to give a good background on the different energy industries related to the question of oil and its possible substitutes. It also gives a pretty succinct summary of the state of reserves and production which can go a long way towards clarifying many common misconceptions, such as the idea that we can drill our way out of the crisis. Deffeyes predicted that peak oil would hit on Thanksgiving Day of 2005. Interestingly, he maintains a web page on which he comments on the latest events. So far he has yet to retract his predictions.

A perfect introduction to energy for well educated readers. Short, clear, to the point chapters on the various options from traditional to alternative, full of pithy observations and good humor. Not alarmist, just fact based, clear headed and long sighted.

Deffeyes has written an excellent book on M K Hubbert's 1969 published predictions for future world oil production.The most interesting chapter is chapter 3.It covers the basic logistics model that Hubbert showed fit the data like a glove fitting your hand.Deffeyes has uncovered a small error in Hubbert's exposition.It is presented on p.51.Deffeyes correctly states that production,discoveries,and hits started together."Hits have to initially grow faster than discoveries.Discoveries have to initially grow faster than production"(p.49) Hits has the highest peak and peaked about 1960.Discoveries then has the next highest peak and peaked about 1980.Production(discoveries and hits)peaked around 2000.

The conclusion is that "the major theoretical conclusion is that a straight line requires that production(discoveries,hits) depends linearly on the fraction of oil that is unproduced(undiscovered,unhit)".(Deffeyes,p.51).The major prediction is that the price of oil will be going up constantly.Possible remedies are conservation,more(much more)fuel efficient cars, nuclear power,solar power,wind power,and cogeneration.The one non solution is to try to drill our way out of the problem.This is not possible given the technical constraints of the problem.

A GREAT read! Just open the book anywhere and peruse the definitions. Bierce is satirical and puts his finger right on the nub of the thing!

Ambrose Bierce obviously had some fun at the expense of his fellow 19th century Americans with the cynical and sarirical word entries in his wicked dictionary.

Also known as "The Cynic's Workbook" this collection is classic and belongs in any library. Ambrose Bierce, like Mark Twain and few other of his contempories, had a biting wit that always left a mark.
Here is just a taste of his humor.

Philosophy: A route of many roads leading from nowhere to nothing.

Eulogy. Praise of a person who has either the advantages of wealth and power, or the consideration to be dead.

The large font is a plus in this book. Good illustrations.

Good good stuff.

.
If you, from time-to-time, need a little whimsy in your day; a little humor to add a smile when else it would not shine, then open to any page and read at will. You will be rewarded with a chuckle and perhaps a laugh and perhaps a new perspective on the word you just learned.

If you think you have a potent vocabulary, read this book; because you will get the most from it. These definitions, while not literal, are in fact most accurate and as it seems, timeless.

It must have been a great privilege to know and converse with such a man as Ambrose Bierce.

The Devil's Dictionary / 0-19-512627-0

DICTIONARY, n. A malevolent literary device for cramping the growth of a language and making it hard and inelastic. This dictionary, however, is a most useful work.

This "dictionary" by Ambrose Bierce is witty, scathing, and totally hilarious. In his characteristic style, he dishes out his contempt and distaste for those societal norms which he sees as foolish, hypocritical, and dangerous. This is not a book to read, but - truly - a dictionary to reference whenever the mood takes. The aphorisms ring true, even today, and the only real complaint is that we would wish for so much more - the dictionary is "only" 219 pages long, and while that is quiet a fair lot of words, oh, we wish he could have left us even more...

This book was an excellently written portrayal of presidential politics in the early 60's. Short of actually being there, "Before the Storm" gives a fully-developed experience of the time. Well done!

I found this book to be on many accounts a very interesting account of the birth of modern conservatism and the atmosphere of the U.S. in 1964 which lead to its emergence. Still, I found that the author went out of his way to paint the birth as a negative thing, obvious by the title, and something that has harmed the country more than helped it.

The portrayal of Barry Goldwater the man is very negative. He is often portrayed as garrulous bordering on rude when the fact was that Goldwater was plainspoken and made no apologies for who he was or what he thought. Heaven forbid that today. Also, the grassroots organizations that helped to place Goldwater at the head of the ticket in 1964 as executing a type of putsch over preferred candidates. Yes the candidates were preferred but not by Republican rank and file. Lastly, very little attention is given to the failures of the Democrats or the fact that the long grouping of Southern Democrats and northern machine bosses, neither of whom were very democratic, were falling apart when faced with voter dissatisfaction.

Overall this is a long book and it does a great job of describing a point in time. Be prepared to deal with the author's biases against both Goldwater and those who brought him to power.

Rick Perlstein has done a magnificent job telling one of the most important political stories of our time: the triumphant journey of American conservatism from the political fringes to the center of power. Or at least the opening chapters of that story: Perlstein focuses on the doomed 1964 presidential campaign of conservative icon Barry Goldwater, a short-term setback that, in the prescient words of William F. Buckley, "planted seeds of hope, which will flower in a great November day in the future.'' Although Perlstein writes from a left-wing perspective, he is scrupulously fair. Goldwater emerges as a principled, decent, somewhat simple-minded man, baffled and often disturbed by the intensity of his supporters. Perlstein clearly admires the passion and resourcefulness of Goldwater's early backers such as Clif White. He doesn't hesitate to expose the hard-ball tactics Lyndon Johnson and the Democrats used against Goldwater in '64; young Bill Moyers comes off as especially Machiavellian. Sometimes Perlstein's narrative is a bit jarring, as he struggles to smooth over the ups and downs of political campaigns. On page 280, for instance, Perlstein writes that Nelson Rockefeller "knocked them dead in New Hampshire.'' By the next page, Rockefeller's "popularity was plummeting, his chances of (success) remote.'' Similarly, the Goldwater campaign sometimes comes across as an unstoppable force; at others like the fringe effort it proved to be on election day.

But that's a quibble. I learned a lot from this book. I never before realized the extent to which the money and venom of anti-union industrialists helped get movement conservatism started. I hadn't realized how early - pre-1964 -- Republicans started making inroads in the South, exploiting the white backlash against civil rights. I enjoyed many vignettes, including one on Lady Bird Johnson's courageous campaign trip across a hostile South. Perlstein is unsparing toward the era's elite political reporters, blinded by their own biases and comfy assumptions, who failed to see the movement emerging right before their eyes. Even after 516 pages of Perlstein's thorough reporting, intelligent analysis and fine story-telling I still can't really understand the conservative worldview. I'm a little like Adlai Stevenson, mystified when confronted by an unhinged rightwing protester. "What is wrong?'' he asked plaintively. "What do you want?'' Why did they see communist plots everywhere and a society lurching toward doom? Why did they overlook the violence and injustice in the South and see civil rights legislation as the first step toward a fascist dictatorship? I just don't get it.

~Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus~ is a sweeping narrative history of the American conservative movement in the 1960s. The author Richard Perlstein, a liberal journalist, actually offers a fairly balanced and objective view of the American Right in the 1960s. He doesn't quite picture the American conservative as the racist Archie Bunker character from Norman Lear's All in the Family television show, but rather sympathetically reveals their concerns and convictions, which were deep rooted in the American psyche. Conservatives were animated by a love of country, a principled anti-communism that was sometimes paranoid, and a desire for fiscal restraint in government particularly at the federal level. Many hoped to repudiate the New Deal of FDR. Perlstein leaps right into the streets of conservative bastions like Orange County, California and Dallas, Texas, and offers a snapshot of the conservative movement in microcosm. With clarity, he communicates their concerns and response to the troublesome and insecure world around them. Against the backdrop of the beleaguered conservative movement of the 1960s were the tumults of radical Leftist activists in and out of the government. The Great Society of the Lyndon Johnson administration marked the ascendancy of welfare-statism in the United States, which proved especially baneful to principled conservatives and constitutionalists.

Perlstein's trenchant commentary is well-researched and offers a bombastic flare which captures the spirit of the insurgent, albeit beleaguered conservative movement. Against the backdrop of liberal dominated 1960s, the conservative movement in the 1960s solidified into well-organized constituency which eventually propelled the Reagan Revolution forward in 1980. While the political tides propelled an activist centralized government in Washington, D.C. to the helm, there was a deep-rooted libertarian streak to American conservatives which desperately desired to fight tooth and nail against political consolidation and central planning.

Perlstein chronicles the failed Goldwater campaign of 1964, and illustrates how its mass appeal to free markets and constitutionally limited government rallied throngs of conservatives under the American banner. The powerful Rockefeller dynasty shifted all their fortunes in favor of the Johnson bid for the Presidency, and labored against Goldwater every step of the way. The Lyndon Johnson presidential campaign itself shamelessly exploited the heightened Cold War anxieties and insecurities in the wake of the tragic assassination of John F. Kennedy, Jr. This sensationalism was encapsulated in television advertisement which pictured a little girl in a field plucking a daisy, and then a brilliant flash of light followed by an atomic detonation. Johnson was always viewed by the American Right with suspicion. Johnson, a racist Texas politician by instinct and an opportunist, pandered to the worst socialist instincts of the Civil Rights movement with his Great Society proposal, and he made no qualms about the reality it was a vote-buying scheme.

Perlstein sympathetically elucidates upon some of the anxieties felt on the Conservative Right. The anxieties were multi-faceted and owed to racial and social strife, as well as the heightened Cold War tension with the communist world following the Cuban Missile Crisis. There was grave apprehension that elements of the American Left and the Civil Rights movement were conciliatory to the Soviets, or worse yet, treasonous pawns of Moscow. Herein, we see an erudite profile of the various factions of political activists on the Right from the Young Americans for Freedom to the more conspiratorial minded members of the John Birch Society. The Right lacked cohesiveness and men like President Eisenhower and William F. Buckley were viewed by some as trojan horses on the political Right. The conservative movements began to emulate the mass-organization of their antagonists on the Left. Groups like the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) and Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) were very articulate and erudite in the quality of scholarship they produced. Both defended the free-market economy and constitutionally-limited government with extraordinary intellectual rigor. While Yippies and student radicals were protesting on college campuses, articulate conservative activists like Phyllis Schlafly and Robert Welch pandered to the concerns of American conservatives. They pressed for repeal of New Deal policies and sounded alarms about communism and the emerging feminist movement. A former G-Man Dan Smoot who left the FBI, warned tirelessly of subversive plots from Moscow. Other enigmatic voices came and went. As pamphleteers and propagandists, activists on the Right told prescient tales of communist subversion in our midst. Given the radicalism of the Left from the Black Panthers to the SDS, some of their fears were certainly warranted; but some of their conspiratorial speculations often proved to be unfounded.

Perlstein stumbles from time to time, but overall this is a quality work. It is well-researched and possessed of extraordinary clarity and a meticulous quality that makes one wonder that it is possible for an outsider to the conservative movement to put such a monumental work together.

I was really looking forward to "Nixonland" -- 'though not anymore -- and in anticipation I thought I'd try Pearlstein's Goldwater book, mainly because of all the great Amazon reviews, and because I'm a junkie for presidential campaign books.

Wow, what were the other reviewers looking at when they read "Before the Storm"? Let's just say that Pearlstein's "depth" makes Teddy White seem like Suetonis. In Pearlstein's background as to the causes of the rise of the American Right to total and complete dominance, there is nothing about 1950s culture and the sexualization of what was pretty neutral stuff pre-rock and pre-TV, nothing about TV itself, nothing about the rise of the military-industrial-intelligence complex, nothing about the Dulles Brothers(et al), nothing about the vast nationalist movements across the world, nothing about the militarization of the society and culture, nothing about the rise of the Western Cowboy economies(space, oil, weapons, big agriculture etc), nothing about class, nothing about capitalism itself(the word is not even mentioned in a book of almost 700 pages), and nothing about the slow takeover of media by the far right.

There is a lot of mention, however, of Barry Goldwater's brawny arms, magnificent chin, and deep glistening tan.

An amazingly stupid book, supposedly written by a "leftist" in hopes of understanding the right. Which I guess means to become as dumb as they are. At that, Pearlstein has magnificently succeeded.