Washington Books

As the other reviewers have stated, it is an insightful book depicting the day-to-day existence of civilians suddenly thrust into the role of unlikely heroes and now called Sailors. That makes it unique from other military type books. Fahey enlisted in 1942 as did most of his shipmates aboard the USS Montpelier, not 1945 as the book news editorial review mis-stated. Secondly, the USS Montpelier was a Light Cruiser, not a Heavy Cruiser as one reviewer indicated. It was capable of traveling at speeds in excess of 30 knots which is why it served as the Admiral's flagship. Light Cruisers had nearly the fire power of Heavy Cruiser and nearly the speed of a destroyer which made it a highly versatile ship. It is likely that no other ship anywhere in Naval history has ever been in as much "action" as the Montpelier. Some called it the luckiest ship in the US Navy. If Fahey and his mates had not survived, this book would not exist and I would never have been born. In an ironic note, USS Montpelier was sold to the Japanese as scrap steel many years after the war. Currently there still is a USS Montpelier in the US Navy. The new vessel, which proudly bears this name, is a submarine.

This book realy tells it how it was for sailors of the U.S. Navy during WWII in the Pacific theatre. Fahey kept a diary of his daily experiences on board a heavy cruiser. All the little mundane details of life are revealed, which is what distinguishes this book from the "formal" history books. No student of history should miss this book.

This is a fascinating book. Written by a young man who joined the navy in 1942 and served through 1945 out in the Pacific aboard the light cruiser "Montpielier" Fahey is neither a career sailor, or a writer. But he accomplishes an amazing thing; that is transporting the reader to the author's time and place, and making you feel as if you are there, day by day. It's delightfully simple and fresh.

For anyone who is interested in WW2 naval history, this is a highly recommended companion to all the more formal works concerned with the great events and famous people involved. It really rounds out your perspective of what it was really like.

It also makes you appreciate the sacrifices made by this generation of Americans who left the safety of home to fight against evil in far away places.

This is a great activity guide to Seattle from the point of view not only of a Dad, but of the Dad and his daughter [now five] and with a range of activities for tiny through teenage kids. It's not only for whole families, but for Dads and Mothers alone with a child or children on an excursion. It's enticing and reassuring at the same time -- so that, for example, a grandmother [myself] can imagine exploring new places with her grandchildren in a spirit of confidence. There are many helpful hints and asides along the way. And there are a few places most long-time residents probably have never heard of. Certainly even those with no children at home will find it helpful when out-of-town guests with kids come to stay. The Guide also includes some pedagogical suggestions, such as the one on preparing your little one(s) for an hour or two at an art museum. Buy, read and reap the rewards. I'd be glad if Hobson would start scouting out some other Pacific Northwest cities. Vancouver B.C., Mr. Hobson?

Every parent knows that before one can call a vacation "successful," the kids have to be happy about it. Before heading out of town, what's the first thing a wise parent does? She calls her good friend who either A) lives in the city she's visiting, or B) vacationed there last year. We all need a little advice on where to eat, what to do for fun, what to avoid. The problem is, we don't always have a friend handy in our chosen destination. Well now we all have a friend in Seattle, and his name is Tom.

Tom Hobson's book, "A Parent's Guide to Seattle," is frank and humourous, and packed with information not every friend has at his fingertips. You'll find tips on restaurants, funky stores and educational opportunities, as well as maps, historical facts and ticket prices. It's a full-service guide obviously written by a true fan of Seattle, and someone who treasures it's unique offerings.

Whether you're visiting Seattle for the first time, are a new Seattle-area resident, or a native looking for some diversions, you'll enjoy Tom Hobson's book. And we can all use another friend.

A REVIEW FROM A MOTHER OF 4 CHILDREN (ages 4 months to 13 years) - - - That should add credibility!

What a fun book!!! Definitely a "must have" for visiting families and a wonderful opportunity for Seattle residents to re-visit their beautiful city through the eyes of a child.

Unlike other guide books, A Parent's Guide to Seattle is not just a directory listing of all the places to go and things to see in Seattle. Mr. Hobson has hand-selected his favorite Seattle destinations and his thorough descriptions will arm busy parents with enough fun facts and background information to make the most of every visit.

It is obvious that Mr. Hobson's selections are based on real-life experiences with children and an ear to his own "inner child". The result is a book filled with recommendations that will appeal to both children and parents alike.

So little information is available about artist Paul Horiuchi that this book by Barbara Johns is a real treasure. I particularly enjoyed the biographical material and look forward to visiting the museum in LaConner, WA. so that I can see the Horiuchi collages displayed there.

Book came on time as ordered; no problem. The even better news is that it confirmed that a painting I bought at an auction 20 years ago, really is a signed Horiuchi watercolor!

A captivating account of Paul Horiuchi's life and art. This gifted and devoted talent was a shining star in the golden era of Northwest modern art, merging Oriental and Occidental components to create rich and unique forms. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the art of America's Pacific Northwest.

I ordered Phlip Vera Cruz: A Personal History of Filipino Immigrants and the Farmworkers Movement to gain insight into Filipino farm worker culture in America. What I got was more than I ever expected. I learned about the differences between generations, of the vast sea of Central Valley and Delano culture, and the history of Filipinos in America, whose hardships were endured by transplanted and misunderstood culture.

I've since learned that generational gaps in understanding Filipino culture exist that tear the rooted fabric of Filipino culture, making its historic transformation to Americanism nearly forgotten by many of the younger generation. Craig Scharlin's book of Cruz's memoirs provided a means through which I could research and begin to understand what many Filipino youth have never gained.

I am often dismayed when college aged Filipina/o Americans, many of whom are the children and grandchildren of post-1965 immigrants, cannot appreciate the lives of the Manongs, early Filipino immigrants from the the 1920's & 30's. I realize that it was a long time ago and there are many other Fil-Ams to recognize and honor, but I believe that this first large wave of immigrants to the U.S. is a part of Fil-Am history that should not be ignored. The life of Philip Vera Cruz epitomizes the lives of many of these immigrants who came to the U.S. as migratory and service sector laborers but became activists by protesting labor exploitation. Further, Vera Cruz and other Filipinos played an integral part in the formation of the United Farm Workers. Young Filipinos often complain about not knowing their history or the role Filipinos have played in U.S. society. This biography is a good place to start learning about where we've been and what we've done.

I picked up this book because I am a Filipino-American and knew little of the contributions of Filipino-Americans to American society and even had non-Filipino friends tell me of this man and the contributions to the UFW and labor laws in America. It's a sincere story of an honest man who bridged people and cultures and stood up for what was right and worth fighting for. I read it over one weekend and had a hard time putting it down. It's a great read for anyone interested in the UFW, Cesar Chavez, Filipino-American contributions, labor laws, and/or inter-racial relations.

This novel is about a very good-looking guy named Dorian. And like many extremely handsome guys (you know who you are ;), he thinks he can get away with anything!

This is full of wit and clever one-liners. Written by Oscar Wilde in the late 1800's, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is as true today as ever.

Oscar Wilde was one of the foremost representatives of Aestheticism, a movement based on the notion that art exists for no other purpose than its existence itself ("l'art pour l'art"), not for the purpose of social and moral enlightenment. Born in Dublin and a graduate of Oxford's Magdalen College, he initially worked primarily as a journalist, editor and lecturer, but gradually turned to writing and produced his most acclaimed works in the six-year span from 1890 to 1895, roughly coinciding with the period of his romantic involvement with Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, sixteen years his junior. Douglas's strained relationship with his father, John Sholto Douglas, Marquees of Queensberry, eventually resulted in a series of confrontations between Wilde and the Marquees, which first led to a libel suit brought by Wilde against his lover's father (who had openly accused Wilde of "posing as a sodomite" and threatened to disown his son if he didn't give up his acquaintance with the writer) and subsequently to two criminal trials against Wilde for "gross indecencies," based on a law generally interpreted to prohibit homosexual relationships. Sentenced to a two-year term of "hard labor" in Reading Gaol, Wilde emerged from prison in 1897 a spiritually, physically and financially broken man and, unable to continue living in England or Ireland, after three years' wanderings throughout Europe died in 1900 of cerebral meningitis, barely 46 years old.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray," Wilde's only novel besides seven plays as well as several works of short fiction, poetry, nonfiction and two fairy tale collections originally written for his two sons, is critical to an understanding of Wilde's body of work and his personality primarily for two reasons: First, because it constitutes one of his earliest fully accomplished formulations of Aestheticism, and secondly because of its undeniable undercurrent of homoeroticism; an inclination which, after a six-year marriage widely thought to initially have been a true love match, Wilde had begun to explore more openly around the time of the novel's creation (1890). The story's title character is an exceptionally handsome young man who, both in the eyes of the artist tasked to paint his portrait, Basil Hallward, and in those of their somewhat older friend Lord Henry Wotton, epitomizes perfect beauty and is coveted by both men for that very reason. Seduced by hedonistic Lord Henry into believing that beauty can literally justify anything, including any act of immorality, Dorian sells his soul for maintaining his beautiful appearance, letting his portrait age in his stead. (In that, his character resembles Goethe's and Marlowe's Faust.) He then quickly turns from an innocent youth into a cruel and calculating man whom society, in its shallow adherence to appearances, nonetheless never associates with any of the results of his cruelty, never looking beyond the surface of his handsome exterior and assuming that a man so beautiful must necessarily also be good. Ultimately it is Dorian himself who brings about his own downfall when he is no longer able to face the manifestation of his evilness in Basil Hallward's picture.

Upon its initial publication in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" was widely scorned as immoral by a public neither familiar with nor particularly open to the concepts of Aestheticism and its mockery of middle class morality, and repulsed by the thinly veiled homoerotic relationship of the novel's protagonists. Wilde republished the work the following year, adding a preface designed to explain his views on art. Yet, it was that preface which, along with several of his other publications and his written exchanges with Lord Alfred Douglas, ultimately would play a devastating role in his trials, where Queensberry's attorney would come to use an excerpt from that very preface - "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written" - to extract from Wilde statements to the effect that any book inspiring a sense of beauty (including, as implied in the attorney's question, an "immoral" book, if "The Picture of Dorian Gray" could be qualified as such) was well-written and therefore commendable; that only Philistines, brutes and illiterates - whose views on art he considered invariably stupid and for which he therefore didn't "care twopence" - could consider this novel "perverted," and that the majority of the reading public would probably not be able to draw a proper distinction between a good and a bad book. It was testimony such as this, as well as the impending confrontation with a number of male witnesses ready to testify as to the nature of their relationship with Wilde, that not only caused the author's attorney to convince his client to drop the libel suit against Queensberry but also opened the door for Wilde's own subsequent prosecution.

If "The Picture of Dorian Gray" has a central theme besides the supremacy of beauty and the depiction of a society primarily interested in appearances, it is a call for individuality: Dorian's cruelty is brought out only after he allows himself to be influenced by Lord Henry's equally seductive and cynical hedonism; and similarly, Basil Hallward's blind idolizing of Dorian eventually proves fatal for the painter. - Wilde's only novel is one of the first and most poignant expressions of his own individualism; but unlike his protagonist, who ultimately pays a ghastly prize for selling his soul and giving up his individuality, Wilde paid as high a price for maintaining his. Like Dorian, he knew that "[e]ach of us has Heaven and Hell in him," and although this novel's preface ends with the provocative statement that "[a]ll art is quite useless," it was the very fact that Wilde put his entire being into his art that ultimately destroyed him. But like beauty, which is finally restored to perfection in Dorian Gray's portrait, Wilde's works have stood the test of time; and not merely for their countless, pricelessly witty epigrams. They're as well worth a read as ever.

Also recommended:
Complete Works of Oscar Wilde (Collins Classics)
Oscar Wilde
Wilde (Special Edition)
The Oscar Wilde Collection
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Importance of Being Earnest - Criterion Collection
The Importance of Being Earnest
An Ideal Husband
A Good Woman

This has to be one of my favorite books of all time. This is breath-takingly honest look at life when the physical is all we look at...and many of us do.

From the brilliant quotes to the numerous times when Dorian Gray proves what a scoundrel he is, this book makes any reader think and enjoy their own lives much more to see what that type of thinking causes. Here is a man who looks lke a Greek God and he takes everything for granted because he knows his powers will never allow his looks to be tarnished. Then he loses his sanity and actually commits murder on his artis who painted him and then does himself in!

Not only brilliant, but pretty funny, too!

Check out this book! It's a once in a lifetime experience!

Dr. Scranton is an excellent author. Playing Hurt is well written and captivating.

He brings you behind the scenes of the NFL, and describes the entire process of an athlete's life in well written detail. Medical knowledge is helpful, but not reqired. You can reference the medical terminology on the internet if need be.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is curious about sports medicine, or even the casual NFL fan (like me).

The descriptions of some injuries may be difficult to those without a background in common athletic injuries (eg. buckethandle cartilage tear). But, this is a great insight into one team physician's experiences in the NFL. I would agree with one review that said he focuses on his drinking, but having limited exposure to the world of sports medicine, as a collegiate student trainer, this is very much a part of the atmosphere. He discusses the bonding of a medical staff in a bar setting, that hazy arena where information on potential players is shared and war stories abound.

I would whole heartedly recommend this book to anyone that is even the slightest bit interested in the world of sports medicine.

The title of the book caught my eye. I see all these players getting hurt on Sundays. What is really happening? As I read the book I found it was something different. The medical aspect servers more as a backdrop into how the NFL works. Stranton talks about what really happens at the combines, what is draft day like, how do game days go, etc.

On the down side the book drags in a few places. He talks too much about all the drinking he does. Also, the book focuses almost exclusively on the Seahawks. On the up side he does not pull his punches. He is not afraid to say so owner or coach is a jerk.

Fun quick read.

I bought this book for my five-year-old grandson and had to read it first. It was very well written and a great story of a great man. Well worth the read.

Like most six-year-olds, my son loves peanut butter. He is also interested in historical figures. Therefore this book--though it's intended for older children--was a perfect fit. My son liked hearing about Carver's travels, the way he overcame obstacles, and how, under pressure, Carver found various uses of peanuts. The story of this great man teaches the importance of determination, grace under pressure, industriousness, patience, and creativity. It inspired my son--and me as well!

A goober is the old name for peanuts and A POCKETFUL OF GOOBERS is a biography about George Washington Carver, the scientist who made peanuts famous. To be completely honest, I didn't know much about Carver and therefore found this children's book entertaining, educational, and informative. For instance, I learned that Carver was a gifted artist as well as a scientist and that later in life he became good friends with Henry Ford. The biography is written in a simple style that elementary students will find easy to read and Carver's life is so interesting they should find the book interesting.

In Portland Laugher, Emerson uses his cavalier style of writing to develop a sinister cast of characters caught in a fatal game of cat-and-mouse. But who's chasing whom?

More than a cleverly woven story, Portland Laugher intertwines its twisted plot with the bittersweet emotional complexities. On all fronts, this book kept me spellbound until its devastatingly brilliant conclusion.

This was the first book I read by Earl Emerson. As a Portland resident and a Tacoma native I was able to identify with Emerson as he weaves his plot from Seattle to Portland. Thomas Black is the perfect character for this and the other books in the series. An ex-cop turned private investigator, Black has the feel of a Northwest detective. Living in the U Dub district in Seattle, Black is depicted as a down to earth guy trying to earn a living as a private detective. Emerson draws from his own knowledge of the Northwest as a Seattle firefighter and a Tacoma native in unraveling the plot. Many of the characters he creates are unique and present a great composite of Northwest life styles. A great read and terrific climax.

I bought this book in the Portland airport just before a flight back home. Usually I pick up a book for reading on a flight, and when done leave it for either the airline people or another passenger to pick it up -- but not this one. I was hooked from page one and when finished I kept it and loaned it out to others as a highly suggested read.

This was my first Emerson novel; what is interesting is how it shows that he (the author) had developed his ability to paint characters richly as well as handle plots with more dexterity than in his earlier novels, which I sought out to read after this one. I also have read books he's written since this one (except his latest, "Catfish Cafe"), and feel this is his best effort -- both in the Thomas Black series (this book features Thomas Black) and in the Mac Fontana series.

If you are an Emerson fan and haven't read this one, by all means read it. If you've not read any Emerson books yet, make this your first one. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I first heard of the Heritage Foundation while at college when I read a booklet by analyst Dan Mitchell about the flat tax. Intrigued, I started reading about Heritage. When I got my hands on this book, I immediately devoured it. It is an eminently readable history of one the greatest; if not the greatest; conservative think tanks in America.

Edwards starts at the beginning when Ed Feulner and others wanted to found a think tank to get ideas and papers out fast and timely. He follows through the troubled 70s into the triumphent 80s when Reagan became president. HE looks at the ideas Heritage put forth and how it did not hesitate to criticize Reagan if he went wrong. He follows through the Bush administration and into the 90s. This, like Feulner's book about conservative thought is a must read for all conservatives!

Lee Edwards has cranked out another gem on the history of American conservatism. I submit that one could say that he has taken up where the late Russell Kirk left off. In any case, Edwards is to be commended for bringing the history and role of The Heritage Foundation to light. And The Heritage Foundation is to be commended and praised for its significant contribution towards the propagation of conservative values and ensuring a conservative trend in public policy. I dearly hope that Edwards' concluding assessment is accurate, namely that Heritage will continue to play a substantial role in moving mainstream thought back towards the fundamental and enduring principles that are the foundation of American culture, economics, and society. And may God continue to bless Heritage with a steady flow of brilliant public policy experts willing to devote their energies towards advancing conservative values. And may God also bless Heritage with the type of brilliant leadership that it has received from Dr. Ed Feulner. And may the conservative movement continue to be blessed with historians willing to document the life and times of our heroic predecessors.

Lee Edward's "The Power of Ideas: The Heritage Foundation at 25 Years" is the definitive book to read if one wishes to understand the rise of conservative ideas in America. The Heritage Foundation helped, by embodying the principles of Lincoln, Roosevelt (Theodore), Nixon, and Reagan. Their work in shaping United States domestic and foreign policy is impressive. Lee Edward's book will inspire people in making America the place where freedom reigns and the individual and not the government holds the power. I hope the people who read this book have similar thoughts and ideas on how to make America GREAT. I also wish this book will rank next to "Democracy in America" in time.

Very well researched, very readable. I bought the book originally because I was interested in the period, and was glad I did.

Wiley Sword has written the definitive book on one of the most important chapters of our national history; a chapter that has unaccountably remained obscure and understudied despite its overwhelming importance to the development of the United States. The Indian War of 1790 to 1795 was an important postscript to the Revolution, involving undefeated belligerents and a continuing, undeclared cold war with Britain. It was central to the eventual development of a professional, standing army in the United States, an idea that had previously been anathema to many Americans who preferred the idea of national defense through state militias. It contained the worst single defeat of an American army in the 100 years of war between the United States and the Native tribes, a defeat that dwarfed Custer's much more famous one, and was comparable to the Braddock Massacre of the French and Indian War. And it was the single most important action in the one hundred year history of war between the United States and Native American tribes. It marked the best chance the tribes ever had to gain their objectives, and their eventual lose of that war was a mortal body blow to the tribes, making all their proceeding wars little more than the inevitable death throes of their cause. Finally, it cleared the way for the American settlement of the Northwest Territory; modern Ohio, Indiana, Illinios, Michigan, and Wisconsin - it created the heartland of America.

In the Treaty of Paris of 1783, the British not only gave up their claims to the thirteen colonies, but ceded the vast track of land beyond them that would become known as the Northwest Territory - the homeland of many of the tribes that had been their allies during the war. The treaty made no provisions for or any acknowledgement of their former allies, the tribes that inhabited that land. Americans prepared to expand their nation westward, and settlers began pouring into the Ohio country. The undefeated tribes were determined to protect their homeland from the encroachments of an alien civilization, and began to resist with all possible force. The British, seeing in this an opportunity to maintain their influence and their profitable fur trade, as well as a possibility of regaining some of their lost territory, broke their treaty agreements, and continued to maintain several frontier forts on American territory from which they provisioned the tribes and encouraged their resistance to the Americans. For the next seven years, intrepid American settlers floated down the Ohio River to make a life in Indian country, and determined Natives resisted them ferociously and effectively, until the Washington administration decided that they must move decisively against the tribes to make continued westward expansion of the nation possible.

Sword's book effectively captures all the elements of the war, the drama leading to it, and its aftermath. He examines it not only from the American perspective, but from the point of view of the tribes and the British as well, without injecting value judgments. He chronicles not only the military action, but the often flawed and usually deceitful diplomacy that was carried on, and the goals and strategies of all three of the players involved. His descriptions of the battles are riveting, and he captures a sense of the times and the people involved in the action believably. While his writing here had not yet developed to the full potential of his later books, it is still a cut above the typical fare of scholarly histories, and anyone at all interested in the subject should find reading his book enjoyable, as well as enlightening. I know of no other single book that details this crucial chapter of American history half as well as does Sword's book, and I recommend it highly.

Theo Logos

This is one of the most well-researched books on the Federal period of our country that has been written. It has become the "bible" of anyone interested in this turbulent period of our nation's history. If you want to know anything about the settlement of the Northwest Territory, this is the book to read. It has a lot of historical detail in it, but it is still a very readable book. I use it for reference all of the time, living is one of the historical towns mentioned in the book