Kansas Books

Very well written and shows the evolution of operational art within the Russian Tsarist and later Red Army. From as early as the Russo-Japanese war the Russians were already experimenting with 'front' type formations and groupings of armies, this later led to those of the first world war, civil war, and finally in the beginning of the second world war. The different ideas and people are listed and detailed with their plans for how modern war should be waged. Tuhachevsky, Isserson, Triandafillov, and Svechin are all described as well as the opposition each one faced, the purges, and the some of the reasons for why the Red Army was in such a bad position in the summer of 1941 are also listed and talked about. Mainly it is a description of the development of the ideas and theories of operational war within Russia and later the Soviet Union, very useful in understanding why Nazi Germany lost to the Red Army and how.

This is a fantastic book for the history of witch craft enthusiast. I loved it and learned a lot that I didn't already know.

The author does a great job of providing context surrounding the issue. Additionally, the text is not too academic so it is an easy read. A very thoughtful and accurate work.

Santa's Parade of Nursery Rhymes is a delight for any embroidery and quilt enthusiast. Three Men in a Tub, Mother Goose, the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe. Wonderful characters! How Santa fits in exactly? He's a tad eclectic. The patterns for both embroidery work and the sashing are easy to follow. I have made two versions of this quilt. The first in a deep burgundy red, and gave it away at Christmas to a librarian who was battling breast cancer. The finished product was beautiful. The second quilt, I used a deep aqua blue and substituted the Santa block with one of my own design from a nursery rhyme, Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess all went together to seek a bird's nest, which I will give to my daughter Elizabeth. Delightful book just to pour over, but the finished product will be something to take joy in.

As I read this book I hear coffee drinkers talking, espresso machines grinding, blenders blending, and a Christian rock band trying to be heard above it all. Homer's Coffeehouse... a Christian "Cheers" where everone is 'Norm.' Homer's Coffeehouse... it was a dream that became a reality that seems dreamlike. This book will make you drive out of your way to Homer's Coffeehouse and see what it's all about.

Edited by the well-known Civil War historian William C. Davis, "Secret History of Confederate Diplomacy Abroad" is an event. Indeed, rare are the books dealing with the attitude of France and Great Britain to the Confederacy. First published in the New York "Citizen" in 1867-1868, the reminiscences of Edwin C. DeLeon - a Confederate foreign agent in France - sank out of sight until its recent reprint (2005) by William C. Davis.
This book is an event because for the first time it discloses the attitudes and the intrigues of the Confederate diplomats in France. Moreover, through the words of DeLeon we discover petty jealousies between Confederate agents at Paris.
"Secret History of Confederate Diplomacy Abroad" is henceforth the "bound-companion" of F.L. Owsley's "King Cotton Diplomacy", Case & Spencer's "The United States and France : Civil War Diplomacy", B. Wilson's "John Slidell and the Confederates in Paris", and C.C. Cullop's "Confederate Propaganda in Europe".
Serge P. Noirsain, Belgian historian ; author of "La flotte européenne de la Confédération sudiste" and "La Confédération sudiste, mythes et réalités".

See Government Grow: Education Politics from Johnson to Reagan (Hardcover) - A Review by Gary D. Hughes, M.S., M.Ed.
Gareth Davies (Author)
2007 - University of Kansas Press
It is doubtful that the title of Gareth Davies' book, See Government Grow, will spark the frenzy within many readers to snatch the book from the shelves of the local bookstore as if it were the latest novel in the Harry Potter series. This is certainly unfortunate, because this book is a truly fascinating journey through the politics that has shaped education policy in the United States during the past five decades, policy that has touched the lives of every single American. Davies' title is misleading and does not do justice to his work. The growth of government in the realm of education funding and policy takes a backseat role to the true unstated theme of Davies' argument - government working (albeit it dysfunctional most of the time). Davies takes us on a painstakingly detailed journey from the true beginnings of Federal education funding, and the public and private dealings and battles that ensued within our maturing democratic government as fights were fought to fund the public education system in the United States.
The Presidents
Davies guides his readers through the history of education funding in America that got its roots during the Johnson administration following the inability of John F. Kennedy to navigate funding policy through the perils of religious battles and the separation of church and state. This by no way demeans the education funding crumbs, one billion dollars, that the Eisenhower administration tossed to students wishing to pursue college educations in areas deemed vital to countering Sputnik and the Cold War with the passage of the National Defense of Education Act of 1958. Davies argues that it was Lyndon Johnson who was the first "Education President." It was Johnson, who was left out of much of the policy and decision making of the Kennedy administration, who tackled the issue of poverty and tied it to the need for a stronger education system in the United States. It was Johnson who, unlike Kennedy, was able to strong arm members of Congress to get the votes he needed to pass his education platform. The passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965 was a crowning achievement of the Johnson administration's War on Poverty and Great Society, and although early evaluations of the ESEA were not spectacular, Johnson's program continues to live today. Sadly, the Vietnam War seems to overshadow the views of Johnson's presidency.
In contrast, Davies explores how the Republican successor to the White House, Richard Nixon, vehemently sought to cut the education funding of the Johnson presidency, but later became "largely aloof" from the battles surrounding education spending in Congress. Davies fairly portrays Nixon as having had poor relations with Congress and as having a self-serving, power hungry ego that interfered with his ability to force education funding cuts. Nixon was confrontational in his battles against the liberal trend in government, and such confrontations included Nixon's impoundment of education funds on a number of occasions. Davies alludes to the fact that Nixon was "mortally wounded" because of his confrontational stance even before his ultimate downfall - the Watergate scandal.
In what is one of the most fascinating pieces of the education funding story, Davies proclaims that the establishment of the Department of Education in 1979 by the Carter administration was the "clearest illustration of presidential leadership in education policy since 1965." Carter's removal of education from under HEW and the placement of its leadership as a cabinet level post delighted the National Education Association (NEA). However, it became an important target for Carter's successor, Ronald Reagan. Reagan had long been a critic of the government's expanding role in education, and when elected, he promised to eliminate the Department of Education. However, Reagan chose first to tackle the floundering economy. To lead the Department of Education until he could dismantle it, Reagan appointed Terrel Bell as the Education Secretary. Bell's commissioning of a cabinet level investigation into the state of education in the United States led to the Commission's report: "A Nation at Risk." In an attempt to show the country that Ronald Reagan cared about the state of the schools, the White House, with the assurance that the report called for no additional federal education funding, released the report before a large gathering of reporters. During the press conference, Reagan spoke of many issues, but it was "A Nation at Risk" that filled television and newspapers around the country with the dire news of the failing education system of the United States. Reagan's naïve understanding of the chilling nature of the report prevented the dismantling of the Department of Education, a Reagan election promise.
Davies brings his reader's to understand that George W. Bush's unfunded mandate, NCLB, is a culmination of the education policies of the Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations. What is most fascinating is that Bush's NCLB increases the federal government's role in what Republican's of the past have fought: interference in the local community's control of the education of their children. However, even as Republicans fought to cut education funding since Lyndon Johnson achieved passage of the ESEA, education funding in the United States has continued to grow, even under Republican administrations. Davies leaves the reader to decide whether this was due to design or due to incompetence by the numerous actors in this drama.
School Desegregation
Davies illuminates the differences between Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon in their views of school desegregation. Lyndon Johnson was a champion of civil rights, and he had little patience for school districts that were not following desegregation mandates. However, when Federal monies were withheld from the city of Chicago, a "furious" Johnson intervened at the urging of his political ally and Chicago mayor, Richard Daly. Johnson's commitment to desegregation was called into question. Although Johnson was undoubtedly a champion of civil rights and desegregation, Davies points to this intervention by Johnson on behalf of Daly as a serious misstep.
Richard Nixon, Davies points out, was against busing to achieve integration and was against judicial activism to force schools to integrate. Nixon, who needed southern support to win the election of 1968, even went so far to state that "I don't believe you should use the South as a whipping boy." Interestingly, Nixon was opposed to withholding funds to schools who were not integrated or who were at least making attempts to integrate, even though he abhorred most federal funding of public education altogether. After taking office, Nixon found himself embroiled in the controversy of "judicial activism" and the refusal of his own Justice Department to fight pro-desegregation court rulings. Nixon realized that he was fighting an unwinnable battle, and he detached himself emotionally from the issue. This detachment, according to Davies, allowed Nixon to play an important role in the desegregation of our Nation's schools. According to Davies, "desegregation happened despite rather than because of Nixon."
Davies includes a fascinating quote from Pat Buchanan draft speech that was written twenty years before he ran for the Republican nomination for President. Buchanan wrote the following: "For the life of me, I cannot see ahead any benefits to justify the terrible costs we are paying and that we shall pay in the future, if we move toward racially unified school systems throughout this country." It is frightening to note that Buchanan won the New Hampshire primary in 1996, just twelve short years ago.
Special Education
Davies illuminates the fact that rights for the disabled rode in on the back of the African American freedom struggle. He details the three federal court rulings that helped establish the fact that children with disabilities had constitutionally protected rights to an education. These three rulings, Wyatt v. Stickney, PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Mills v. Board of Education, which were decided in 1971-1972, led to public law 94-142 - the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. This act, passed in 1975, guaranteed the right of disabled children to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). What is most interesting about this story is the fact that the Nixon administration, that so vehemently was opposed to desegregation efforts and increased federal funding for education, "had no particular interest in disability issues," according to Davies. Furthermore, President Ford, who threatened to veto the act due to its "prescriptiveness" and costs, signed the bill into law because of his bid for reelection and fears that a veto might damage his campaign.
Critique
Gareth Davies will undoubtedly be an education historian of reference for decades to come. See Government Grow provides a history lesson for those living during the Johnson to Reagan Administrations that one would only be more privy to if he had been an actor in the dramas that played themselves out in during the shaping of educational funding and policy for the United States Government and its people. However, his descriptions of the people and events provide a vivid framework for understanding for those readers who were yet to be born but whose lives have been affected by the political battles, court rulings, and infighting that helped shape current educational funding and policy.
Davies is very adept at not only providing a chronological framework for the events that unfolded at a given point in time, he also succinctly ties these events to important past foundational governmental actions that help place them in an understandable and usable context.
Davies not only includes the primary actors in his telling of the historical education events of the period, he includes less major players. Although it is at times a difficult task to maintain a clear picture of each player's role, such detail is a necessary and welcome evil if the reader is to truly understand the composite picture of the battles that were being waged for and against Federal involvement in education. Furthermore, for me, a person who was alive and politically cognizant during this period, the inclusion of some of the less celebrated names, Jody Powell for example, unleashed a flood of memories from a long-sealed vault of forgotten knowledge. So detailed is Davies' account of the history of education during this period, the "notes" section at the end of his book spans 83 pages. For Davies, this project surely was a daunting, massive undertaking.
Davies presents a fair and balanced retelling of the historical events of the period. This comprehensive, important, and fascinating look into the public and private battles that helped shape education finance and federal education policy is a must-read, not only for graduate students in education, but for first semester freshmen entering the field of education.
Hopefully, Davies will continue his historical exploration where this book left off. I can only imagine what important (and salacious) details would be uncovered if Davies takes on the Bush, Clinton, and Bush administrations and their education policies.

This is one of a slew of recent books focusing upon the nomination process for Supreme Court Justices. The author, an associate professor of political science, argues that the current process, while not perfect, is neither as ineffectual as some critics allege or as destructive of judicial independence as other observers contend. To assess the current process, the author discusses the history of the selection process; the intended constitutional role of the Senate in the process (i.e., is ideology fair game?); and the record regarding confirmation hearings. The author disputes that the process is overpoliticized, which he attributes to the inaccurate images of the Bork and Thomas hearings. Rather, the key determinant is the professional qualifications of the nominee, his ethical views, and whether his constitutional philosophy is in the mainstream. The book contains the results of a survey the author conducted of experts that concluded there has not been an erosion in the quality of recent Justices. A most interesting chapter on the Thomas nomination is included, which was a mess largely due to an indecisive Judiciary Committee handling of the Anita Hill issue. The author also discusses whether nominees are scrutinized too much, or not enough. A solid discussion of the Rehnquist court is employed to argue that a ideologically conservative court does not necessarily go off in bizarre directions, but remains largely in the mainstream. In short, for the most part, the current selection process the author contends is in fairly robust good health. The analysis is supported by 58 pages of helpful notes and an extremely valuable bibliography of sources on this issue. While perhaps a bit overly sanguine about the current process, nonetheless a thoughtful discussion of this vital issue.

Many Americans think a visit to a National Park might allow them to escape the world of capitalism. However Selling Yellowstone: Capitalism and the Construction of Nature explains that it is not possible. Mark Barringer, an assistant professor of history at Stephen F. Austin State University, details how the forces of capitalism have been shaping the national parks since Yellowstone's designation in 1872. The book chronicles the history of concessions and park policy in from the park's beginning, focusing on a concessionaire monopoly built by Harry W. Child near the turn of the 20th century and carried on by his family after his death. Early on, Child built lavish hotels that catered to wealthy Easterners arriving by rail. His stagecoaches transported guests to each major point of interest with a hotel nearby, including Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. These stately edifices became just as much an attraction as the park's natural phenomena.
The advent of automobiles ushered in a more egalitarian era of National Park tourism. The middle class took advantage of its new found mobility and started visiting the national parks, symbols of national pride and a way to get "back to nature." This group of tourists largely shunned the park hotels, viewing them as snobbish, and instead camped. With the coming of motorization, National Parks became places of expected recreation instead of just scenery (58).
Selling Yellowstone illustrates that during its first 40 years the NPS and concessionaires were partners in park management and that public opinion largely determined park policies. However, in the 1950s and 1960s attitudes about what national parks should be began to change. During that period, wilderness advocates became more influential, arguing that parks were "pristine wilderness whose inherent value was threatened by alteration" (147). By the early 1960s public opinion was divided between what national park policy was better - accommodation or preservation. At this time, Barringer explains, the NPS and its concessionaires were faced with "molding a landscape with expectations impossible to fulfill" (162).
Barringer's thesis is clearly that the NPS and its concessionaires presented their product to fit the perceptions of the natural setting prominent at the time. Early Yellowstone concessionaires created an idyllic form of nature that would appeal to tourists. Throughout the volume Barringer illustrates the key role advertisements and presentations, either by the concessionaires or the NPS, had in shaping public opinion.
The volume, however, suffers from poor word choice throughout. For instance, Barringer overuses the word mythology. The word means anything to him. He definitely stretches too far when stating that campfire programs give a "mythological connection to nature." Campfire programs actually can give the audience a connection with nature. Such presentations educate on key environmental and policy issues, which inspire their listeners to take better care of national parks. Alternate word choices instead of mythology could have been "imagined," "perceived," "idealistic" or "preconceived." Adding to the word choice problem, Barringer redundantly emphasizes his thesis, even using some of the same words. Reading such statements over again becomes tiresome.
Despite its weaknesses, the volume presents an excellent history of National Park policy with Yellowstone's concessionaires as the focal point. Readers get an idea of what was happening in other major national parks like Yosemite, Mount Ranier and Glacier during the same time period. The book demonstrates thoroughly that no policy or idea in history is static. Each generation reinterprets what is ideal and seeks to obtain gratification through that ideal.

I find Mrs. Asher's book to be quite enjoyable. I was reminded of a cross between "Cheaper by the Dozen" (the book, not the Steve Martin movie) and the Laura Ingalls Wilder books for the glimpse of family life in a large family.