Central America Books

David Cochran is my professor at Loras College and really knows what he's talking about in this book. It's very informative and he's a good guy, ;)

Came across this book as a reference for a thesis I'm writing on this issue and it became my major source. Mr. Cochran masterfully delves into the subject matter and writes in a organized, concise style. Should be considered for text in related political science/sociology courses.

Conscription - or the military draft - is the state forcing a person to place himself in harms way - possibly to be killed - and is a violation of the most fundamental premise of the Declaration of Independence, that men are "endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Conscription is dictatorial and antithesis to a free society, because it deprives the citizen of his guaranteed unalienable rights.

In another respect, and this was the lesson learned from Vietnam, conscription is indirectly the state's admission of defeat in war, because if the state needs to force someone to kill or die for his country, the war is already lost.

A book on this subject is a necessity.

Excerpted from my review for The Orange County Register, 10/29/06

"Hell no, we won't go!" seemingly faded overnight ... until last year, when the Army missed its recruiting goal, lowered its physical standards and raised its age limit for enlistees to 42.

Fiercely against the draft, author Philip Gold is a rare military intellectual, a self-described Jewish Marine with fancy degrees from Yale and Georgetown. Shortly after receiving his draft notice in 1970, he brazenly replied to his draft board, "I will never serve in the United States Army. Please stop wasting my time, your time and the government's postage. PS: I recently joined the Marines."

Gold has written six books and over 800 articles during his tenure as a Washington-based think-tanker. It is his humor coupled with an inundation of facts that makes "The Coming Draft" an entertaining and convincing read.

He tightly argues against the reinstatement of military conscription in America, noting that the draft has been always inequitable and rife with loopholes for abuse. Conservatives may want to bring back the draft to ready our military for more interventions, while liberals believe that more Americans will question our foreign policy when their own rears are on the line for service.

"The Coming Draft" is an important and timely book filled with insights from a deep thinker. Gold's only son recently volunteered for the Marines and may someday serve in a war that his father has strongly opposed since its inception. A draft is not needed for the Gold family, after all.

Please note that the author of this book is Tracy Will, not Charles Calhoun, and that the photgrapher is Zane Williams

Wisconsin is lucky to have Zane Williams so he can capture our lovely state. Another book that captures Wisconsin's beauty is The Spirit of Door County with photographs by Darryl Beers. Darryl is to Door what Zane is to Wisconsin!!! Thanks to both of you!!!

If you've never been to the American Southwest, this book will inspire you to go. This detailed, easy to read book filled with descriptions of the best cuisine, museums, local treasures, and natural wonders is the best available guide to the Southwest.

The guide focuses on New Mexico and Arizona, but contains some information on West Texas, southern Colorado and Utah, and Las Vegas. The major areas covered are: Central New Mexico, Santa Fe, Northern New Mexico, Four Corners, Utah canyonlands, Grand Canyon/Las Vegas, Central Arizona, Southeastern Arizona, Southern New Mexico, and Texas Trans-Pecos. Whether you're planning a trip to see the Indian pueblos and Spanish missions, see the amazing natural wonders of the mountains, or just have some great food and fun with the family, this guide will do it.

Kerrick James's photography is enough to make you get in the car and GO! Great buy.

This, as well as all the other guides in the Compass series, is a fantastic resource! The text is witty, engaging and full of wonderfully descriptive information, with an emphasis on the historical and cultural background of the area. Not only that, but the pages of the book are peppered with gorgeous color photographs and sidebars relating historical anecdotes and extra tidbits of information. It also includes the standard information on festivals, tourist attractions, restaurants & hotels, but the value of the book, for me, lies in the writing. The deep love and enthusiasm of the contributing authors for this part of the country is infectious, and makes for great reading. I have spent hours poring over the other Compass guides in bookstores, although the American Southwest is the only one I actually own, and they all follow the same pattern; this will definitely be my guide of choice for any US destination!

I was amazed at how helpful a guidebook can be! Having this book, made my trip to the Gulf South so much more enjoyable and meaningful. Not only does Ms. Bultman obviously know and understand this part of the country, but her enormously entertaining writting make the book a joy to read. I enjoyed the book so much that I am continueing to read it even after I returned home!

I picked up the new Compass American Guide: Gulf South to plan a trip to a warmer climate. Outside the snow was blowing, but I was swept up in the fun and informative narrative by Ms. Bultman and associates. I definately plan a Mardi Gras visit to New Orleans for next year, and D. Fran Morley's "Confessions of a Fairhope Transplant" made me want to pack up and move to her charming little town tomorrow! For now I'll have to settle for a visit but the hard part will be chosing a spot. Natchez and the River Road? Cajun country? Fairhope? From a practical point of view, the book's restaurant and hotel/motel listings are quite complete, and I love the fact that it really tells it like it is in regard to places NOT to visit. The Compass Guides are called "insider's guides," and that's really true here. It's like getting great tips from old friends who know a place inside and out.

An excellent, balance guide of the entire state. The author finds equal pleasure in exploring the flat, high prairies of the northeastern section of the state, as well as the "signature" tourist attractions of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in the northwestern portion. The book contains sufficient pictures to truly inspire, and more than sufficient dollops of history. He wisely brings a fair degree of skepticism to various "historical events," mindful that the victors are the ones who write it.

He also has a passion for the natural beauty of the landscape, and even urges the reader to drive roads in a certain direction for maximum impact. The towns are equally described, from those worth a visit for retaining their "this is the way America was" character to those whose homogenized American sprawl of fast food joints should be passed through as quickly as possible.

The guide also contains much practical information, and I hope that the upcoming Fifth edition references websites more, in terms of those which provide the best, updated information.

I'll be in Wyoming for nine days this summer, and have planned the entire trip based on this guide. Thanks for the good work, Mr. Burt.

Logically arranged geographically with ample outstanding photographs of this spectacular state, adequate historical summary and clear highway guides.

I would highly recommend this book as a great reference when studying race and gender. Dr. Williams' book is an outstanding publication that should be required reading for political science students.

Using the later 20th/early 21st century as her canvas, Linda Faye Williams paints a disturbing and all too true portrait of American social policy's inherently racialized construct. Our formal declarations of `equal opportunity' are undercut by the cultural reality of racist social policy. Like Dorothy Roberts, she argues that gender and racial hierarchies intersect to specifically disadvantage black women.

Unlike Robert's earlier work, this book goes all the way back to the emancipation era and covers many more issue areas beyond reproduction. When the federal government has intervened for racial equality, it has only done so in periods which are relatively fleetingly in comparison to the magnitude of the problem.

Williams has her most provocative research in a chapter on the black community's consistent support for President Bill Clinton (1993-2001). Blacks had consistently supported the Clinton administration at levels which easily overshadowed the total support simultaneously received from white voters. Although she does not provide a detailed analysis of intra- African American socioeconomic issues, Williams does ask us to consider how goals and stereotypes subtly but pervasively co-exist in public policy programs.

Those ultimately racialized voter patterns were established and then further solidified even as Clinton signed `welfare reform' which specifically built off the specter of the `welfare queen'; a presumably African American woman who lived off of the government instead of having a `job' and then raising her kids `right'. Ironically, before the federal welfare program became racially integrated in the 1960's, the white welfare recipients were intentionally supposed to stay at home with their children and not work outside of the home specifically so that their children would grow up `right'.

Williams correctly recognizes that any `universal' public policy does fact take on racial connotations because of our society's fundamentally racialized nature. People who prefer the status quo (and the ensuing racial constructs) are not going to be happy with a program which then attempts to equalize the playing field for all Americans. Talking about democracy is one thing, but sharing it with somebody who looks different from the self still makes many Americans and our public officials uncomfortable in spite of their `tolerant' public demeanor.

This book is an essential read for people studying race/ethnicity, but I also think it needs to be at the top of public administration reading lists. Conceeding that public policy is not value neutral is the first step in making a society which truly is equal.

This is a wonderful purchase for anyone interested in the African influence in Latin America.

Gleaton's work is gorgeous. These photos are treasures for anyone who calls the Americas home. What's he working on now? Can't wait for the next Gleaton collection!

Cornbread Nation 1 was edited by John Edgerton and includes fifty-one original features and selections previously published in magazines and journals, all celebrating Southern people, places, traditions, and foods. It was published in association with Southern Foodways Alliance, a group of foodies who "celebrate, teach, preserve, and promote the diverse food cultures of the American South."

There are now four collections of essays thus the "1" in the title-- the "annual" has appeared four times over six years. The other collections are Cornbread Nation 2: The United States of Barbecue, Cornbread Nation 3: Foods of the Mountain South, and Cornbread Nation 4: The Best of Southern Food Writing.

This volume is organized by "People," "Times," "Things" and "Places", but it's much more fun to pick and choose your dishes much as you would at a buffet in Northern Virginia -- nothing prevents you from having dessert before the soup, for example.

As Edgerton writes: "Individually, the selections in these pages can stand alone; they need no shoring up from us. Collectively, they buttress our conviction that nothing else the South has to offer to the nation and the world--with the possible exception of its music--is more eternally satisfying, heartwarming, reconciling, and memorable than its food. Our dishes and beverages express our faith, our good humor, our binding ties, our eternal joys and sorrows, our readiness for whatever awaits us."

A few of my favorites: Rick Bragg's "Dinner Rites," Thanksgiving meal in Alabama with cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese ("a vegetable in the South.") "I eat until it hurts, and my brother Sam will grin at me, because he lives here, works at the cotton mill, and can eat it all the time."

Fred Chappell on "ice" tea: "I am one southerner who detests that dirty water the color of oak-leaf tannin."

Kathleen Purvis teaches that pig liver, head parts, and cornmeal spiced with pepper and sage is called "livermush" (possibly brought south from Philadelphia by German immigrants).

This collection sets a very high and enjoyable standard for the entire Cornbread series.

Robert C. Ross 2008
Robert C. Ross 2008

I truly could not put this book down. My daughter gave this book to me for my birthday last fall. When I looked at the title, I was alittle skeptical. As soon as I started reading the book I was completely absorbed. If you want to know about Southern cooking or the Southern people this book is for you. What a fun book.

this is by far and away best english language book on Costa Rican politics.

this book is the finest book on CR political economy in print.