Central America Books

The Weekly Standard May 7, 200l Scrapbook, page 3 Book Notes

The Scrapbook is pleased to report the publication of a fine new book by Weekly Standard contributor and weapons-technology expert Henry Sokolski. Best of Intentions is a significant work of scholarship: the first comprehensive history of American efforts to stop the global spread of strategic weapons capabilities since World War II. Any self-respecting grown-up will want to buy a copy immediately.

Best of Intentions: America's Campaign Against Strategic Weapons Proliferation -- A Practical Primer

As reviewed in ORBIS Summer 2001, By Mark T. Clark,Ph.D., Director of National Security Studies, California State University at San Bernardino.

Henry Sokolski, in his Best of Intentions, expressly eschews the search for the causes of proliferation and instead prefers to evaluate efforts to prevent proliferation in the first place. A former military legislative analyst in the Senate and an official in the Department of Defense during the first Bush administration, he currently heads the nonprofit Nonproliferation Policy Education Center in Washington, D.C. His interests, therefore, lie in the search for practical answers to policy questions, not in the development of theory per se. He proposes to determine how effective U.S. and international efforts have been in curbing proliferation, and specifically intends to "identify and weigh the premises of U.S. nonproliferation policies (p. xii).

His book is divided into seven chapters, the first and last of which deal with the history and future of nonproliferation. The five central chapters are analytic histories of the major nonproliferation policies: the Baruch Plan, the Atoms for Peace Program, the NPT, proliferation technology control regimes, and the U.S. Counterproliferation Initiative. According to Sokolski, each of the initiatives had distinct assumptions that were built upon an assessment of the strategic dangers that needed to be avoided at the time, and each was designed to correct the failures of its precursors. He further argues that "[t]o the extent each characterized the strategic threat properly, they produced nonproliferation measures that were sound. To the extent that they did not, they encouraged measures that were impractical or that actually compounded the proliferation threats they were supposed to reduce" (p. xii).

How U.S. leaders characterized the strategic threat makes for an interesting approach to the periods under examination. It also reminds the reader that there is always a strategic context to policy, and favored solution to perceived problems. In other words, policymakers' assumptions about the world tend to influence their responses to it. For example, after World War II, American policy makers worried that the spread of nuclear weapons would inevitably generate undeterrable wars against which no defense was possible. Since the United States would not be able to deflect potential offensive nuclear wars, it sought to retain sole ownership of nuclear weapons. The Baruch Plan that was offered to the United Nations in 1946 provided, among other things, that anything critical to nuclear bomb making be turned over to the control of an international atomic energy authority, a meritorious proposal in itself. However, the United States' exaggerated fears of undeterrable offensive nuclear wars made it crucial for the country to maintain it sole nuclear monopoly until thorough safeguards were in place - and that condition alone provided the Soviets with the reason to reject it.

The drafters of the Nonproliferation Treaty of l968 had their own strategic assumptions, which continue to fuel debate over nonproliferation policies today. At the heart of the first three articles of the NPT are concerns about the horizontal proliferation of nuclear weapons, that is, the spread of nuclear weapons to nonnuclear states. The original Irish proposal in l958 reflected the early fears that the addition of new nuclear powers would lead to international instability, making nuclear war more likely. Before the NPT was finished, however, negotiators began fearing the effects of vertical proliferation, that is, the accumulation of nuclear weapons by the superpowers targets against one another, which could lead to accidental or unauthorized nuclear war. Today some states refuse to sign the NPT unless and until the major powers move more drastically toward disarmament. In the meantime, the dangers of horizontal proliferation continue to grow.

Sokolski's history and analysis would seem to be premised on political realism. In the concluding chapter, however, his prescriptions for new nonproliferation policies reflect a different theoretical bent. Since there are limits and weakness to all the previous policies, he argues, new initiatives must focus on issues more lasting than technological or military contingencies. The next counterproliferation campaign must be anchored in larger policies that distinguish between liberal and hostile illiberal regimes in an effort to broaden, over the long run, the "zones of peace" and shrink "zones of conflict." In other words, Sokolski relies on a form of the "democratic peace theory," which suggests that democracies do not wage war against other democracies. This idea has broad acceptance among American political leaders, from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton to George W. Bush.

Sokolski and Best of Intentions deserve credit for accomplishing the politically impossible: Clarifying the last half century of U.S. strategic arms control and nonproliferation in a manner that both the Right and Left can support. This is no mean trick. How many books on this subject get featured not only in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, but the Weekly Standard; get endorsed by Conservatives including Bill Kristol and former CIA Director Jim Woolsey and liberals such as Democratic Congressman Ed Markey; and have receptions thrown for them by both the liberal Carnegie and the Conservative Heritage Foundations? Other than this book, none that I know of. How could this happen? No mystery here: The book is unusually well written and to the point. More important, it makes a very critical, nonpartisan point: Every U.S. effort to control the spread of strategic arms has presumed some vision of the next war that has either been wrong or overtaken by events. As such, the U.S. needs to focus its next arms restraint campaign less on dubious military predictions and more on the political and economic trends toward markets and liberal democracy that are both sounder and more positive. Indeed, Best of Intentions' effort to detail the past assumptions of U.S. policy makers is first rate reading for anyone smug enough to assume that the U.S. has done the best that it can to prevent armageddon. Clearly, it has meant well but there is room for improvement. For any student or official interested in clarifying this point or who is anxious to get on with this project, Best of Intentions is the best (and a most bipartisan) place to begin.

"...Best of Intentions provides a timely and well-reasoned history of U.S. attempts to prevent the spread of nuclear materials. Henry Sokolski has succeeded in setting forth the current dilemmas facing present-day decision makers and making a compelling analysis of where past policies have gone right or wrong."
Representative Edward J. Markey, (D-Massachusetts), Co-Chairman of the House Bipartisan Task Force on Nonproliferation

"...informed and trenchant...offers valuable insights and presents important challenges - not only to those who have advocated prior non-proliferation initiatives, but to those who contend that there are better options..."
Alton Frye, Vice President, Council on Foreign Relations

"Henry Sokolski has done us all a great service by parsing, briefly and succinctly, the tangled history of nonproliferation, and relating it to the problems we face today."
James Woolsey, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency

"This is an outstanding survey, analysis and critique ...a vitally important addition to the reading lists and libraries of scholars, policymakers, and others having an interest in U.S. national security strategy, technology transfer, arms control and proliferation."
Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr., The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

"For any Democrat or Republican wishing to rethink what our nonproliferation policies should be, Best of Intentions is the place to begin."
William Kristol, Editor, The Weekly Standard

"...an indispensable primer on a long and crucial battle we may now be losing."
Peter W. Rodman, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs

"A fascinating history and penetrating critique of U.S. nuclear nonproliferation policy."
Frank Von Hippel, Princeton University, former arms control advisor to the Clinton Administration

"...raises fundamental strategic questions that must be addressed...a thoughtful, welcome provocation."
George Perkovich, author, India's Nuclear Bomb, director of the Alton Jones Foundation

"The Scrapbook is pleased to report the publication of a fine new book by Weekly Standard contributor and weapons-technology expert Henry Sokolski. Best of Intentions is a significant work of scholarship: the first comprehensive history of American efforts to stop the global spread of strategic weapons capabilities since World War II. Any self respecting grown-up will want to buy a copy immediately."
The Weekly Standard

"...This sobering analysis is must reading for scholars and policy makers alike."
Henry Rowen, Stanford University, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs

"...a reference work no serious student of these matters should be without."
Gordon C. Oehler, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency's Nonproliferation Center

A history of U.S. efforts to stop the expansion of nuclear arms "ownership" is not novel. One that treats both vertical proliferation, for old owners' stockpiles, and horizontal proliferation, to new owners, is unusual. So too is a work that is conceptual yet succinct. Henry Sokolski, the Pentagon chief of non-proliferation policy in the first Bush presidency and executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, delivers on both counts. Best of Intentions looks at the results of arms control policies, which often involved unintended consequences-but consequences that Sokolski shows nonetheless follow from their authors' thinking. Ultimately, however, the character and designs of regimes owning weapons of mass destruction is Sokolski's most portentous theme.

Best of Intentions is intended, it appears, for undergraduate and early graduate-level students, though policy analysts would do well to read its treatment of arms control doc-trines and instruments-both carrots and sticks. Sokolski has a certain under statement manifest both in succinctness and, occasionally, in subtlety, which may leave the not so nimble behind.

Sokolski draws lessons from five cases: the Baruch Plan rejected by the Soviet Union; Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" initiative, which paved the way for the inadequate" safeguards" regime of the International Atomic Energy Agency; the1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) based on bargaining with nuclear have-nots; proliferation technology control regimes such as the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, and the Australia Group on Chemical and biological weapons; and counterproliferation policy in the1990s, which prepared military means to eliminate emerging weapons of mass destruction (WMD) arsenals.

Sokolski draws three lessons from these cases. First, strategic assumptions shape initiatives. For instance, he attributes the NPT's effort to reward nations promising to desist from acquiring nuclear arms with access to ostensibly civilian nuclear technology to 1960s ideas on "finite deterrence" and an attendant right to acquire civilian nuclear technology. He offers a unique critique of the 1994 Agreed Framework with North Korea, which he demonstrates shares the premises of the NPT, hatched a quarter-century earlier. Second, Sokolski highlights the risks of basing nonproliferation initiatives on wrongheaded assumptions about the sources and nature of future wars. Finally, he suggests that horizontal proliferation can only be reduced when the nuclear "haves" reduce their vertical proliferation-but only "without increasing the world's access to ever larger and more uncertain amounts of strategic materials and capabilities."

Sokolski offers corrective prescriptions for the future. He insists that quid pro quo for nonproliferation promises must be banished because they encourage efforts to acquire WMDs to get a reward. Also, he calls for a centrist position on export controls between existing voluntary consultation regimes and a new version of the Cold War COCOM, whereby nations "could deny any export (listed or not) to Any destination and expect this denial to be upheld (i.e., not undercut) By other members until they met to learn why the denial was made . . . [so that] incremental agreement might be reached on a substantial number of items and destinations."

The book has several particular strengths. It offers rich portraits of doctrines, such as the Mutual Assured Destruction balance of terror and the early Clinton Administration paradigm of "cooperative security," as alternatives to either export controls or missile defense. Sokolski brilliantly shows how the premises of initiatives like Atoms for Peace led to perverse results. Also, his critique of "carrots" is quite convincing. For instance, he asks about one incentives-based policy of the 1990s:"Wouldn't including both proliferation suppliers and consumers into organizations that had relatively free trade in sensitive technology simply turn existing proliferation technology denial regimes into proliferation breeding grounds?"

Indeed, in style, the book's objective and balanced tone is welcome, despite strong normative implications. For instance, Sokolski writes, "Atoms for Peace may have gotten the relationship between vertical and horizontal proliferation wrong but at least it recognized that there was a connection." And once again, conciseness is a strength of this veritable primer -- including informative documentary appendices on the cases.

The best insight the book offers, though, is emphasized in the last Chapter of the text. The "intentions" highlighted in the title are important when it comes to countries the United States is seeking to constrain from acquiring WMDs. What really matters is not so much the deadly capability of other nations, but their intent in acquiring that capability. As such, regime-type is all-important. Authoritarian states that take the lives of their own citizens lightly typically take the use of supremely deadly force against other countries lightly as well. Therefore, the United States should seek a world filled with more benign neighbors, because "a world of Canadas is a world not at war." Democratic states either forego WMD arsenals, or pose no danger if they do acquire them.

By implication, non-proliferation policy must focus on the demand side, not just the supply side. Sokolski observes that "in the 1980sand very early 1990s, Taiwan, South Korea, Ukraine, Argentina, South Africa, and Brazil all foreswore or dismantled their nuclear weapons or long-range missile programs." Why? He believes that it is because they became more democratic-typically with a little push from the United States. Going beyond reliance on globalized trade to inevitably yield political liberalization, the author asserts that active democracy-promotion is the best nonproliferation policy.

Hence, Best of Intentions contributes to multiple sets of literature. It belongs to the rich literature on nuclear doctrines, but breaks new ground in dissecting U.S. nonproliferation policy initiatives. In particular, the work belongs to an under developed literature critiquing prevailing deterrence and arms control theory by emphasizing how intent, rather than capability, matters most to nuclear peace.

More generally, Best of Intentions contributes to the literature on ideas, and not just books dealing exclusively with nuclear doctrines. It adds to the literature on U.S. foreign policy doctrines. Finally, the work links nonproliferation to the literature on the democratic peace and the importance of democracy-promotion. This final contribution may be even more crucial than Sokolski intended.

Although published back in 1985, this is one of the best ever written books about the Maya. Anyone who sets a price for his/her attitude towards true knowledge will find this jewel of a book as astonishing as its pictures. Linda Schele unveils the secrets of Maya life, as deciphered by tens of scholars before her, and sets her own trademark as well. Definitely not for those who still wander through the fantasies of extra-terrestrial connections, but for those who study history as a living process, a result of historical and geographical circumstances. Enjoy!

Mary Ellen Miller and the late Linda Schele put this book together in 1986. The field of Mayan studies is a fast-moving arena, and Mayanists already know a lot more now than they did when this book came out, but in my opinion this book is still the place to start if you want to begin learning about the Maya.

For one thing, the photography of the artwork is fantastic - the book is worth acquiring for that alone. Secondly, the commentary is by the greatest names in the field, including an introduction by Michael Coe. Thirdly, the book never strays from academic discipline, unlike a great deal of New Agey-type material written about the Maya. In fact, the book studiously avoids making any observations that cannot be substantiated - perhaps a reaction in the field of Mayan studies against the sometimes too pat assumptions that Eric Thompson made when he dominated the subject. Fourthly, it covers all the major cultural features of the Maya, providing abundant commentary on each piece of art portrayed. Last but not least, it tackles the thorny subject of Maya iconography. This is a field about which we already know a great deal more about now than we knew in 1986, but in fact if the book were written today there is probably very little that would actually be changed.

The book was printed in Japan, for some reason. No harm in that - the Japanese have a tradition, and a reputation, of producing quality bindings and excellent photographic reproductions, both of which are evident in this edition and which add to the quality of the book. I can't recommend it too highly to anyone interested in the Maya.

The Blood of Kings by Linda Schele and MAry Ellen Miller was written on the occasion of the Kimbell Art Mesuem's exhibition of Maya Art in 1986. The hope was to draw attention to the rich legacy of Maya art along with a book that would give texture to these artistic recordings of the singificant ritual events in the lives of the Maya. What better way, since art has been our keyhole to understanding the magnificance of there thought, language, science and culture? Schele and Miller do an incredble job of focusing on these artifacts to bring us inside the current understanding of what th experts perceive the maya ritual and life to be about-- including the deciperment of the syllables of the maya language.

The book begins with a history of the road to understanding the Maya culture, complete with its meadering and diversions. This "age" delights in knowing that the Maya are filled with blood, both their own in bloodletting and those of captives that they sacrifice, unlike previous interpretations of a more peaceful existence. Blood, the ooze of life, was offered to eh gods in hopres that they would continue to give their ooze of sap, rain and other life-sustaining things. The book is based on 8 sections of art and interpretation: person, accession rites, courtly life, bloodletting, captives, the ballgame, and death, and the kingship of the Maya Cosmos. Of note as weel is the colors on p.158 where one can get an interpration of what the colors might have been in the Classic period.

In this book Coe prefaces the book commenting on the profound understandng that the world of the Maya is filled with notions of death. But the myth of the Mayas is that the hero twins went to the underworld and by trickery defeated death and those rose to take their place in the Mayan night sky. Perhaps these indiscernible Maya have continued to trick us as well in our attempts to traverse the road of their culture-- and their greatest preoccupation, enscribed on their ceramics and reliefs ---is not death, but life, in all its oozing forms.

When I went through school the Maya were peace loving agriculturists that invented a lot of neat stuff, especially in astronomy and calendars. We even looked at some of the writing. To bad we did not look a little closer.

Look at the cover of the book ad you will see a Mayan pulling a rope with knots in it through his tongue. The also had plenty of blood thirsty rituals and rivalries with neighboring Mayans. Their underworld is a place full of farts.

I bought this book as part of an exhibit at Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth. I am still a member.

The book its self is oversized and has lots of glossy pictures. There are a lot of good references to other books and articles on the Myna.

After reading this book and getting a good overview of what Maya really is, you may want to find some of their writing "Popol Vuh : The Definitive Edition Of The Mayan Book Of The Dawn Of Life And The Glories Of" by Dennis Tedlock.

It is nearly twenty years since this book was published in 1986 as part of an exhibition at the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas during the Texas Sesquicentennial. This book was and remains a triumph. We still mourn the loss of Linda Schele and are grateful the Mary Ellen Miller continues her work and teaching at Yale.

The book makes clear the Mayan Kings were not Emperors. They were rulers of city-states that competed with one another. They also had a spiritual role in the life of those they ruled. This book discusses how one became a Mayan King, life in the court, the role of bloodletting and visions (hallucinations?), warfare and human sacrifice, the all-important ballgame, the Mayan concept of afterlife and Xibalba, and the Mayan view of the cosmos. All fascinating topics and the articles are written quite well. I find them to be a captivating read.

The selection of images for the book is fabulous. This book can make a wonderful coffee table book, they are that beautiful. However, the articles are far superior to most books you find on coffee tables. I remember seeing Maya Blue (the shade that the Mayans painted on a great many of the monuments and sculptures) for the first time in this book. Having seen it in person since then I can tell you the shade is captured very faithfully in the photographs in this book.

Much has been written since 1986 and new discoveries and new examinations of existing discoveries deepen our understanding of the Maya. But this book still stands strong and valuable. It is not too technical for the general reader and still has value for the student. I am glad to have my copy on a shelf of favorite books.

I wish to commend "Bushed!" to any person who is undecided about the upcoming presidential election. Dr. Walter Clemens' book will clear up any uncertainties that might accidentally induce a subsequently shaming vote for George Bush.

This book is assured protection from post-election regrets. Every reader should be spared the pain and heartbreak of sending a total scoundrel back to the White House. It is a must-read for the informed voter who cares about his or her own personal integrity.

Read "Bushed!" now; not his lips.

H. Watkins Ellerson
Attorney at Law & Commentator
PO Box 90
Hadensville, VA 23067

Clemens's incisive evaluations of the president's statements and actions over a wide spectrum since 2001, graphically enlivened by Morin's editorial cartoons, tellingly exposes the emptiness of the 'compassionate conservative' mantra and the multiple failures of the administration's domestic and foreign policies. Bushed! pithily encapsulates the concerns of those disillusioned with the administration's foibles. From beginning to end, the book engages as well as disturbs and alarms the reader. It should be widely read. - Hermann Fr. Eilts, former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and Deputy Commandant, U.S. Army War College.

A thorough and complete review of all the events, policies, and ideas that this Administration has used to make a person fear that the U. S. is undergoing changes. Changes that would make the average citizen gasp if he or she knew about them and drew the unavoidable conclusions. And the illustrations are great!

I bought this book figuring I knew it was obviously going to be anti-George W. Bush. But I'm surprised at how fact-based it is. By that I mean the author isn't just giving opinions about our current President, he's citing actual documents and official sources in illustrating the many liberties taken by the Bush administration.

It's amazing just how much George W has gotten away with, going back to when he transferred all his papers as the Governor of Texas to his daddy's Presidential Library, away from public view...To giving himself more control over his White House papers than any President before...To allowing the identity of a CIA agent to be leaked after the agent's husband was slightly critical of Bush's administration. That's just a small tip of the iceberg. I haven't even mentioned Iraq! The rest is for you to read.

BUSHED! is actually quite a pleasant read. You can use it almost like a reference tool, especially considering it's extensive table of contents. And the political cartoons seem not only to compliment the words, they enhance them.

While I'd LIKE to recommend this BUSHED! to fans of Dubya, I know better. Instead, I'd recommend this book to everyone else.

Although there are many political cartoons, which made me laugh out loud, the authors cover Bush's not so stellar record from Govenor to President. This book makes no claims of being objective, however the events and issues are referenced lending them at least a minimal degree of credibility. The Authors also take it up an intellectual level by showing how Bush's actions are Machiavellian to a fault and they tie in some quotes of the ancient Greek philosphers on how democracy is supposed to work.

There are no issues here which will surprise anyone who has watched the news for the past four years, but will remind us of things like: how our president wants to promote a cluture of life and thus protect the unborn, but during his terms as TX govenor, TX had the highest number of excutions in the US; ENRON's and Halliburton's ties to the current administration, Environment- what was that Kyoto thing?; Education and how NCLB is mandated, but not funded, the Middle East Debacle, and many more.

If you are already firmly anti-Bush this book will reinforce your sentiment. If nothing else the cartoons are worth it, but the text is not throw-away by any stretch.

Although Richard Trout writes for young people, as an adult I found this fast moving adventure held my attention. While caught up in the story of the MacGregor family, I also learned about environmental issues and scuba diving from Trout's research and experience. I finished the book thinking, I want to learn to scuba dive!

Hurricanes, diving and treasure all make Richard Trout's Cayman Gold a fun read. It tells the story of the MacGregor family on a trip to the Cayman Islands to study ecology issues about turtles and ends up being a trip of adventure and danger. Trout creates believable and engaging characters and uses story elements from geography and history to create an adventure that is fun for everyone. I have been diving in the Caribbean and survived a hurricane; the realistic way these are used in the story shows Trout has done his research.

I have been reading this book and can't put it down. I love the adventure and interesting historical facts in the book. Anyone who likes an action packed series should read the Macgregor Family Adventure Series

For the past couple of weeks, I have been reading Richard Trout's novels. I have already finished "Cayman Gold" and while I was reading it, I couldn't put it down. I am now almost finished with the second book in the series: "Elephant Tears". I do not usually like this kind of book, but this series has absolutely intrigued me. I love the sense of adventure! I am about to start the third book in the series: "Falcon of Abydos" and I cannot wait. Hope M, San Antonio, Texas

For the past two days, I have done nothing but read...and when I say read, I mean "Cayman Gold". It is the greatest adventure book, or for that matter, the greatest book I have ever read. One of the reasons I love this book so much is because when it gives you an action-packed scene, as you read it, you are there! My favorite part so far is when Captain Garcia meets the English ship, the Lady Elizabeth. Blake R, San Antonio

The photographs in this book work as both documentary on the state of the Maya in Chiapas and as pieces of art. Turok's visions are sensitive and understanding. One gets a sense of both place and people.

A marvelous visual "walk" through contemporary Chiapas. Antonio Turok's sentiments are palpable in his pictures. A 'must-have' book for those interested in modern Mexico and, particularly, Chiapas.

I went to school with Tony. He was never without his camera throughout high school. He is able to capture the "moment" through his photographs in this book. He is a truly gifted artist.

Antonio Turok prints in black and white all the shades of grey that he has seen in the last 25 years in Chiapas. A brilliamt photographer, madly funny with a wide eyed fasination with Maya culture and an unblinking witness to political tradgedies, this book will give you the clearest vision of Chiapas behind the news.

A marvelous visual "walk" through contemporary Chiapas. Antonio Turok's sentiments are palpable in his pictures. A 'must-have' book for those interested in modern Mexico and, particularly, Chiapas.

...and have been referring to it regularly ever since. (Probably the only refs I use more often are World Almanac, Statistical Abstract of US, and Encyclopedia Americana.) I know of no better first place to go when I have a question about Chicago (which happens often, even tho I've lived here continuously for 33 years.) The illustrations are a little cramped - if you want better, get 'Above Chicago' (but no where near 1,000.) A good mix of pics and intelligent copy. I was surprised to see it still in print, but that just proves many share my opinions.

This is a must read for any Chicagoan (as we all know there are two types of people....Chicagoans and people who wish they were Chicagoans.

I still have my 1974 purchase. Well worn and borrowed often.

This superb book describes the evolution of Chicago with over 1,000 photographs and dozens of maps. Readers see how a combination of geography, industrialization, railroads and immigration rapidly changed Chicago from an 1837 outpost on Lake Michigan to one of the world's greatest cities. Quickly becoming the earth's leading railroad center, Chicago grew to 110,000 persons in 1860, 550,000 in 1880, 1.6 million in 1900, 3.5 million in 1930 - and at this writing some nine million persons call Chicago (or more often its suburbs) home. Readers see how "the Windy City" has always been a magnet for immigrants seeking jobs, opportunity, and/or urban flavor. The authors focus heavily on the many neighborhoods, and show how our city's growth was influenced by architectural, historic and economic trends. There's also solid coverage of downtown and its famous skyline, our differing ethnic groups, plus many parks, suburbs, slums, highways, railroads, the subway/EL system, etc.

You can read this book straight through, use it as reference, or just learn about our city from the many photos. Either way, you'll sense the pride that leads many residents to identify themselves first as being from Chicago, and only later as being from Illinois, the Midwest or the USA.

I first read this book over 10 years ago. it quickly became one of the only textbooks I have read cover to cover more than once. Anyone wanting to learn more about Chicago history will love this book. I continue to use it as reference and as a continous form of entertainment.

This book is a very thorough overview of Chicago's rich history. It also has a very large amount of pictures which make it good as a display book for your coffee table. Anyone who has lived in Chicago can read this and understand the significance of Chicago's past and its influence on the city's evolution.

Not at the level for me of Tales of Old-time Texas but still an excellent collection of stories from J. Frank Dobie. This collection is focused, as the title should tell you, on buried treasure, treasure maps and things of that nature. The book is still a joy to read and I don't understand why more of the country doesn't know about Mr. Dobie.

The author, a premier folklorist from Texas, writes about the Southwest and the type of treasure with which nature consoles the seeker -- "shadows for want of substantials." Unlike Coronado, the author seeks the treasure that emanates from the heart and mind. This is a fine book written seven decades ago and improves with each reading.

Dobie talks about this land of shadows where we meet Alice Henderson, who faced down fifty cow thieves; Don Milton Favor, who built his own fort while making treaties with hostile Indians; and Cheetwah, a mystic Indian chief who vanished into the mountains to keep vigil over hidden treasures. These and other characters spring from the pages of Dobie's book with a vigor and purpose that makes the heart sing.

The Texas of the Big Bend country is where Dobie's prose satisfies, "Outlandish pictures painted down the sides of caves by aborigines which no white man can now decipher...a jagged and gashed land where legend has placed a lost canyon, its broad floor carpeted with grass that is always green and watered by gushing springs, its palisaded walls imprisoning a herd of buffalo...somewhere in this land credulity has fixed a petrified forest with tree trunks seven hundred feet long."

The author claims, "After I hear a tale I do all I can to improve it," and this is an understatement. Readers who possess a sense of wonder will enjoy this book. History often cloaks personages with dusty trappings, stuffy sayings, and mixed motives so time has faded the awe that Drake, Cortez, Raleigh, and Coronado experienced. Dobie illuminates the wonder of the children of Coronado as they chase their dreams and draws us into their world of enchantment.

Francisco Coronado never found his golden riches or the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola during his time in the Southwest. When he returned in 1542, and told the truth about his barren search, he wasn't believed. One person who did believe said, "Granted he did not find the riches of which he had been told -- he found instead a place in which to search for them."

And the search continues. For centuries Coronado's vision of wealth has lured countless thousnads to the Southwest where tradition and myth have marked mountains, rivers, and ancient ruins with boundless treasures. This book follows long forgotten Spanihs trails, buffalo trails, cow trails, and areas where there are no trails as searchers dig for riches which eludes their grasp. Others, rather than searching, have sat and told stories of lost mines, buried treasure and of ghostly patrones who guard the treasures -- adding layers to the myths that abound in the land of Coronado.

This book lovingly describes Spanish influence and tradition on the Sountwest and combines a terrific cast of characters, interesting situations, and Dobie's unmatched skill at weaving a tale. The author's footnotes are at the end of the text and are filled with tales and legends of lost mines and treasures. There's an interesting section on the elaborate Code of Treasure Symbols used by the Spaniards. An excellent glossary of idioms used in the Southwest follows that section.

There is more to the American West than gunfighters, farmers, bankers, cowboys, and miners. The author has given us the realm of the dreamers.

J. Frank Dobie was a folklorist of Texas and "Coronado's Children" may be his best and most famous book. He was born in 1888 and bridged the old west and modern times. CC was written in 1930 when many of the old timers, who knew how to spin a yarn, were still around. Dobie sought them out and recorded their stories of lost gold and buried treasure. He was also a serious scholar who rummaged through Spanish and American archives to give authenticity to his stories -- and he was not adverse to saddling up a horse and doing a little on-the-ground research.

"Coronado's Children" has inspired thousands of otherwise normal people to pick up a shovel and head off to some god-forsaken wasteland to dig in the ground looking for the "Lost San Saba Mine," the booty of pirate Jean Lafitte, or the $2 million the James boys supposedly buried in the Wichita mountains of Oklahoma. These are the kind of stories that dreams are made of -- and who knows? Some of them might be true.

Dobie has collected nineteen tales in CC and he tells them beautifully in prose that is conversational and colorful. He has enormous respect for the land and the Indians, the Mexicans, and the Anglos who live in the harsh, dry country of the southwest. An oft-used adjective to describe his stories is "magical" and so they are. "Coronado's Children" is an American classic.

Smallchief

Perhaps the best folklore book ever written about lost mines and buried treasure, caves full of gold bars, and Spanish silver. As in most of Dobie's writings, this is not straight history but Dobie's version of other people stories with a large dose of Dobie in all of them. A Texas classic.

I read this book 30 years ago. I am now 75, and I rank it as one of the most fascinating books of my lifetime. It opened up a whole world of places and things that are long gone, but which deserve to be remembered. I believe that I have since read almost everything that Frank Dobie has written, but believe this is still the best.

Kevin Schafer's gorgeous photographs and thoughtful and well-written prose make Costa Rica come alive. This beautiful book definitely makes me yearn to visit Costa Rica sometime soon!

Dear Kevin Schaefer: Saw your lovely book about Costa Rica at the Casa Corcovado Jungle Lodge last week and HAD to have it. It was $80 in a San Jose book shop, but I'm happy to see that it's much less thru Amazon.com. I've ordered it and hope to have it soon. Nothing else I ever saw captures CR quite like it. The photographs are beautiful and the text insiteful. It truly is a work of love. I recommend it highly to anyone who loves that country and it's special places and wildlife like we do. Thank you, and I hope it sells well! Kathy Dickey

Costa Rica; Forests of Eden is a spectacular book with spectacular photos. The photos are realistic, they give a good view of how things really look. No tricks are used in the photography, so when you go to Costa Rica yourself you can actually see it as it is photographed. The text that goes with the photos give good information about ecotourism and about the environment and animals that are on the photos. The book is made with care of the photographer.

Costa Rica; Forests of Eden is a spectacular book with spectacular photos. The photos are realistic, they give a good view of how things really look. No tricks are used in the photography, so when you go to Costa Rica yourself you can actually see it as it is photographed. The text that goes with the photos give good information about ecotourism and about the environment and animals that are on the photos. The book is made with care of the photographer.

Here in one book were all the shots of flora and fauna that I missed. Upon opening the first page, I was instantly transported back to the rainforest. At times, I felt the author had stood in the same spot that I did to take his photographs. Glorious color that captures the mood, emotions and life in the rainforest. A beautiful book to give anyone who has been to Costa Rica or who can only be an armchair traveler.

One country, one people, so many moods...so much to linger on.
Like most Americans, I have never been to Cuba so I cannot say for certain, but the feeling from cover to cover is that of total authenticity.
Jack Kenny has expanded my world through his lens and obviously through his heart. His photos are wide-ranging and each one, evocative.
I love this book!

Having visited the area myself, I find Jack Kenny's work to be a true representation of the island of Cuba. Mr. Kenny, however, delves deeper into the soul of the country and truly transmits the character of the people, the atmosphere of the region and,in black and white, the attraction and beauty of Cuba. John Baird, Clearwater, Florida

Jack Kenny's insight into the lives of today's ordinary Cubans offers an extraordinary visual introduction and occasional thoughtful comment on a culture I realize I knew nothing about. His presentation and excellent photography tell a story far more revealing and intimate than one of words alone. If only this examination were afforded to countless other tiny nations equally misunderstood and unknown. This is a fascinating book to all who look.

This is a "must have" book for anyone interested in Cuba, and in great photography. Jack Kenny, a photographer from Ann Arbor, Michigan, has produced an incredible book of photos from his 40+ trips to Cuba over the last decade. His rare views of ordinary Cubans at work and play will dispel any notion you might have that Cuba is a somber and depressing place, and will draw you in to the history and the people that make Cuba our most fascinating neighbor. The photos themselves are clearly the work of a master photographer; the photo entitled "Che Tattoo" is alone worth the price of the book.

Since 1996 photographer Jack Kenny has been a frequent visitor (thirty visits as of the printing of this book in 2005) to the strangely mysterious island of Cuba, mysterious because for most of us since the Castro Regime the island has been off limits, the only information available being from the censored media and from friends who managed to periodically return to their Cuban home to cautiously visit family.

What Jack Kenny gives us in this generous, large-scale book is a series of vignettes of the people and places of the island we know so little. It is obvious from the technically facile, artistically composed black and white images that the people he shares with us have a trust in him. The photographs are from the old monarch of the island Havana, the Playa Baracoa, and the rural villages that dot the island. The players in this volume range in age from infants to the elderly, from lovers, game players, workers, families, and sundry gatherings of people making the best with the little they have.

And in great contrast to the simple beauty of the people Kenny focuses on the grand (if decaying) architecture of the ruins of a city that was once a chief tourist attraction for the world. Certain images feature statuary without heads but with intact wings, fossils of a grander time on this paradise. For those of us who are familiar only with the traditional 'shots' of the 'intended for public viewing' spaces on the controlled island, this collection celebrates an entirely new view of why Cuba remains so dear to the countless refugees who fled the island to live in America. This is a perfect time to turn to Jack Kenny's love affair with Cuba: with Fidel Castro having stepped down, perhaps there will now begin a transformation or return to normalcy that will revive the old Queen of the Caribbean. Grady Harp, February 08

Both my 5 & 3 year-old children LOVE this book. It is a nice combo of something fun (the pinatas, the design, & just the thought of candy...) and reality (photos of Don making pinatas). It is simple enough for them to understand, and captivating enough for even my younger child. We haven't delved much into the spanish text, but will eventually. For now, we're working on making the star for my daughter's sixth birthday party!

The Piñata Maker describes how a Mexican gentleman, Don Ricardo, became a piñata maker. It elaborates on how he makes his beautiful piñatas, while including a description of his way of life. The book is fantastic for individuals who are studying either English or Spanish. I'm using it both to become more familiar with Spanish and to teach English to a Spanish speaking person. It is written on an appropriate level for adults to use in this manner, but it is also an excellent book for children.

Before I retired to Mexico from teaching in Texas I used this book as a guide to classroom activities for a self-contained classroom of boys with severe behavioral problems. The response was far beyond my expectations.

In both Spanish and English Sr. Ancona tells the interesting story of Don Ricardo, an elderly pinata maker in a small Mexican village. He also includes complete instructions which allow the reader to construct his or her own pinata.

Using the construction process as a reward I was able to involve my elementary level students in a number of academic activities they had earlier resisted, as well as expanding the learning process into a number of new areas. In addition, behavior related problems decreased dramatically because participation in the reading, discussion, and pinata design and construction were based upon the completion of other academic work as well as classroom behavior and all wanted to engage in the interesting activities and discussions suggested by the book.

The ways in which this book can be used by creative teachers are many. I strongly suggest that teachers consider using this book as inspiration for a number of enjoyable and effective learning activities.

The charming little book follows Don Ricardo as he designs, makes and delivers his pinatas in a small Mexican town. Don is 77 years old and started making Pinatas 15 years ago. You are not only taken through every step of making a creative yet traditionally made pinata, but you also get the feel for the ruralness of the town and it's people through the photographs. I recommend this as great book to read to your kids, or to use to get help with making Pinatas. The bi-lingual text, helps it work for both spanish and english speaking children.

Tio Rico lives in a village in Oaxaca (wah-ha-kah), Mexico. He is a 77 year-old who became a pinata maker when rheumatism made it too difficult to continue his business of making sombreros.

A village boy collects newspapers and concrete sacks for Tio Rico. These he uses to fashion unusual and decorative pinatas. The process is explained by a delightful profusion of photographs which accompany the story. The author, George Ancona, also shows "puppets" which are child-size papier-mache forms worn by young folk dancers. He shows his own version of pinata formed over cardboard or balloons for those of us who cannot buy clay pots at a local market.

Children everywhere will enjoy this colorful book and be eager to try the craft. With luck, they will have patient teachers and learn some Spanish and/or English words, too! My favorite companion book is "Colors of Mexico" (isbn: #1575052164), illustrated by Janice Porter.

"THE PINATA MAKER" is a 5-star book for adults as well as children, and most appropriate for the 2003 church women's study of Mexico. Find a group of children to share this book with, and increase your enjoyment three-fold.