Columbia Books

For Calvin, union with God is by faith. It would be a mistake to attempt (as the Mannermaa school has done) to suggest that there is no forensic element to soteriology. However, neither Luther or Calvin made soteriology only forensic, as the Mannermaa school has suggested. It is both/and: both forensic and unia mystica. Overall, a very interesting and informative read.

Dennis Tamburello is pure genius. His clear writing simply brings St. Bernard to life in this scholarly portrayal. This goes down with "Ordinary Mysticism" as one of the biggest classics of our time.

Dennis Tamburello is pure genius. His clear writing simply brings St. Bernard to life in this scholarly portrayal. This goes down with "Ordinary Mysticism" as one of the biggest classics of our time.

intelligently written and great for everyone who loves st. bernard. books written by bernard are difficult to read, you really have to like this guy, he is very flowery and does not speak to us in our time. not contemporary. so in this book you only get small doses of bernard and it is very good. unlike leaders in the catholic church bernard does not shrink from giving priority to faith over good works. catholics today stress being good deed doers. god accepts us because of belief in Christ. this emphasis and other medieval thoughts present in bernard's mystical writings are a pleasure to read being examined by the scholarly author.

Great size, design and easy to fold down. You don't need to carry a big and troublesome map to get in the city.. And you feel secure cause you don't seem like tourist cause it doesn't look that you are carrying a map.

This map is great. I have a wedding coming up and I intend to purchase a map for every person coming in from out of town. This map is easy to navigate, small and easy to carry, contains metro information, streets, hotels, points of interest, shopping, and restaurants. It is so handy! I recommend this for anyone planning a trip to DC.

Used this map for our vacation to Washington DC this summer. The fold out maps are detail and informative and on 2 scales so you both see the area map as well as the large city. I liked that the Metro stops were on the maps and that there was a separate Metro map on the backside. Fits easily into a shirt pocket or pants pocket.

All of the Monuments and Tourist sites were well marked and shown with a walking distance scale.

I moved to DC two weeks ago and went a week without this map and now a week with it. What a difference! At first, I was using a hodge-podge of metro foldouts, museum maps, and visitor guides. It was do-able, but messy and confusing and all the folding and unfolding was annoying and quickly dog-eared any maps I had.

I saw this pop up map in a store and got it because I thought it looked cute, but its dang useful and I take it everywhere, which it is small enough to do.

This is why its awesome:

- its sturdy and made with a cardboard cover that protects the inner maps
- its small and folds up to fit in a back pocket or purse, but expands to a nice size
- it has a full metro map on the back cover (exactly like the ones found on the trains)
- no folding! It pops out and pops back in, takes 1 second
- makes great use of space, a map on every surface except the front
- detailed with great information on the Mall area only on one map
- detail of old town Alexandra w/ bus routs and detail of Georgetown
- index of streets and places of interest with map coordinates on back of fold out maps (which makes them a little awkward to read)
- $6.95, how could you go wrong?
- dang it if it aint cute


Some things it might be lacking:

- it does not cover all that big of an area, but it gets 95% of what a tourist will visit
- no info on city buses at all, just metro trains
- the street maps shows the metro stops but not the lines of the routs
- it does not show where the outlets of the metro stations are, for example some metro stations are very large and have two or more outlets on different streets. This is small thing, but I had a map with this info on it and it was surprisingly very very useful

Even with these things "missing" I still gave it 5 stars because its super useful, nice looking, easy to read and use, and all for only 7 bucks! Also, they made great use of space on the map and if they added all of those things it would be a confusing mess or wayyy bigger. I just mention them to make you aware of its limitations.

This book is not intended as an introduction to Shingon Buddhism, but rather, provides an in-depth, scholarly look at Nara and Heian-era Buddhism and the rise of Shingon Buddhism. This book is intended for serious scholars of Japanese Buddhism and reads like a college thesis. Professor Abe's research is immense, and he regularly cites the research done by previous Japanese scholars through the book. What I like best about this book is that Professor Abe debunks a lot of long-held beliefs in the academic world regarding Shingon and early Buddhism, such as the myth that Shingon appealed to the upper classes only.

Abe's research on the Mahavairocana and Vajrasekhara sutras also is very valuable as very few books in the West even explain what the sutras are about.

This work may not be your first source to learn about Shingon, but for Japanese historians, this book is a treasure of academic research.

For the first time I read a convincing explanation, what Kukais thinking - and thus also Esoteric Buddhism - was about.

Fortunate enough to find this gem in a Kyoto bookstore recently, it was with the greatest pleasure that I savored this book. Abe has indeed set a new standard for true Esoteric Buddhist research, investing within "The Weaving of Mantra" original and insightful ideas concerning Kukai's creation of a new esoteric presentation of Buddhism. Abe brings together not only highly reputable sources here within the Japanese community but original introspection into a period within Japanese Buddhist history that has left its mark on Buddhism as a whole.

The serious student or researcher of Esoteric Buddhism will no doubt require this volume in his/her collection as it now represents the pinnacle of Mikkyo insight. A treasure not to be missed.

Dr. Abe has, with his THE WEAVING OF MANTRA, accomplished a rare feat. His book is an in-depth analysis of important era in the history of Buddhism and Japan, which surpasses all other works written on the topic, and which is nonetheless accessible to the non-specialist. Written in an engaging style which informs without resorting to pedantry, Dr. Abe introduces us to Kukai and his social and historical milieu. Focusing on Kukai's construction of Esoteric Buddhism as an innovative category in the field of Buddhist discourse and practice, he avoids the simplistic models of past studies and brings to his topic an analytic sophistication that is matched only by his eloquence.

This work is by far the best book on Kukai and Shingon Buddhism currently available in English, and it should also, hopefully, exert a powerful influence of the field of Buddhist Studies as a whole, for which it should serve as a model for excellent scholarship.

I truly loved this book. For once, because it's part of my own past, Paul Hertel was my mother's uncle. And second, I like Mrs. Falkenhagens style. It was great for me to learn about my ancestors. Now I understand much better my own urge to discover the world.

"Wilderness Beginnings" is truly an adventure story about two people facing seemingly insurmountable odds both in Pre-WWII Germany and in the wilderness of British Columbia during the 1930's. This true-life book is extremely well written and an easy read. The story draws you in from the start and holds your attention throughout the remarkable journey. There are times it is difficult to believe this is not fiction. I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages.

A true life adventure of a young German immigrant who migrates to the wilderness of British Columbia during the mid 1930's. The adventures and brushes with death from the natural elements remind me of Jack London's "Call of the Wild".

A wonderful true-life story of the adventures of a young German immigrant who becomes a 20th century pioneer in British Columbia. After falling in love with the BC landscape and learning to live in harmony with the forces of nature, he returns to his home in Germany to marry his sweetheart. They both return to BC to share the natural beauty of the country and indure the challenges of the Great Depression, which are intensified by the general distrust of Germans in Canada as Hitler invades Europe, and Canada and the United States are drawn into World War II. Inspite of these obstacles, Paul and Grete Hertel raise a family and eventually settle on a farm on Vancouver Island.

It was with a sense of sadness when I finished this story, knowing that I could no longer look forward to reading any further adventures of the Hertel family. I wish to thank the author for sharing this fasinating story of her father's early years in British Columbia.

In only ninety pages, Schlossberg was able to explain the basics of Orthodox Judaism. The first half of the book explains things like customs, holidays, Sabbath observances, lifestyle and dress, as well as the differences between groups who practice different types of Orthodoxy. The second half addresses the issue of Kosher foods - what makes food Kosher, how to entertain Jews who only eat Kosher, and the like. It was a very down to earth explanation from a practicing Orthodox Jew himself. I felt as if he were sitting across the dinner table explaining all this to me. (In a Kosher restaurant, of course!) I must admit, I was embarrassed how uninformed I was about Orthodox Judaism, their customs and culture, and certainly about what Kosher meant. Though reading this book certainly didn't make me an expert, it was an excellent beginning of understanding this subculture which exists both in the United States and around the world.

This book is an excellent reference for jews and non-jews alike. An enjoyable read, easy to understand and in an hour and a half a great deal one can learn. Recommended for parents whose children become more observant. An excellent tool for people to learn about kosher and jewish rituals. Makes a graet gift for jewish or non-jewish friends.

Being curious about the requirements inherent in Orthodox Judaism, this slim volume looked like a good starting point for my research. It didn't let me down. Mr. Schlossberg has done a great job covering so much ground in such a short book. I especially appreciated the humanity and humor the author brings to the various discussions, especially the explanation of what makes food kosher. While I'd hoped that this book might have provided a little more coverage of the differences of observance among the Orthodox, this book is both a good quick reference and a good read.

A wonderful book for someone who wants to learn more about the life and customs of an Orthodox Jew. The book answered many questions that I've had and explained the Orthodox practices very well. I learned a great deal from this book and I really enjoyed reading it. I would highly recommend it.

I am a PhD student. This book was recommended by an instructor who cared about making me a better scholar. Stott's writing advice is crisp, clear, and actionable. After I implemented his recommendations, my assignments were consistently noted for their quality of expression. My writing is judged on what I say (content), not how I say it (style). I will always struggle with my writing. In spite of that fact, I now have a book that guides and encourages me with practical, effective advice. I wish I'd had this book earlier in my academic career!

Stott opens your eyes to what writing should be. He teaches very plainly that there is no reason that you can't simply "write to the point" and say exactly what you want to say (in your own words).

By the way, it's a lot better than the other book of the same title.

I had a Ph.D., needed to publish, thought I was a 'good writer' but in fact my writing was obtuse, rambled, unfocused and ineffective. A supervisor gave me this book. Within two years my writing was getting easily accepted for trade and academic publishing alike. Writing is now something I consider one of my strengths. I recommend this book to staff and students.

This is an excellent book. I would rate this as the best book on nonfiction writing. Bill Stott encourages you to break and bend the rules and tells you why you should start a sentence with "and" or "but." His writing flows perfectly and you can practically read it right through like a regular book. If you need suggestions on how to improve your writing slgihtly or a lot, this book is for you!

This is an invaluable guide to discovering the region of Central Washington State-filled with maps, photographs, and historical lore, including information on geology, natural wonders, and the trails themselves, presented in detail and with mileage and elevations.
Central Washington is a vast, rocky, and dry steppe; a relatively uninhabited area in which the region's prehistory is readily apparent. Hikers will find the sun and varied landscape, holding a surprise of grasslands, mountains, caves, and ancient dry rivers, as well as a rich collection of plants, birds, and animals.

Some of my favourite hikes:
Swale Canyon-moderate
Dalles Mountain Ranch-moderate
Tucannon River-moderate
Hardy Canyon-moderate
Crab Creek Trails-moderate

Has excellent photos, maps, directions and places that I was not able to find on other books for this part of the state.

We've been exploring this area for 20 yrs, but this book has led us to some new places. Directions and descriptions are very good. So far, Dusty Lake is my favorite- see it online.

This book was originally Aptheker's PhD thesis and was written to de-bunk the idea that the enslaved Africans were docile and accepting of their lot. After reading this book, you will know that they were not docile or accepting of their lot and that slave revolts were more or less constant from the beginning of slavery.

It's not a fun read -- it's quite dry and mostly a carefully researched and documented listing of facts. But after you read it, your attitude toward how slavery affected the people enslaved will be different.

You'll know how the Ku Klux Klan came to be, how powerful the African-American people and culture were even while subjected to slavery, and you'll be able to spot so many lies that are being told today about slavery, black people in America, and white people in America.

Go ahead, read it. Yes, it's a little dry but it will change your life. It reads a lot faster if you skip the numerous footnotes.

The author provides a "narrative of the numerous plots and rebellions that persistently rocked American slave society for over two centuries" (p.367). In so doing he hopes to dispel the generally accepted notion that the response of the American Negro to his bondage "was one of passivity and docility" (p.374). Behind this notion of docility lies the belief that African-American slaves were well treated by their masters, generally contented with their lot, and inferior to whites. Jefferson Davis asserted this notion of docility on January 10, 1861 in the United States Senate in "Declaring that he found the speculations as to whether 'our servants' would rebel or not 'exceedingly offensive' he went on to assert: 'Governments have tampered with slaves; bad men have gone among the ignorant and credulous people, and incited them to murder and arson; but of themselves - moving by themselves - I say history does not chronicle a case of Negro insurrection. (p.105)."

Herbert Aptheker's meticulous documentation of hundreds of cases of slave resistance, which often resulted in the death or grisly punishment of the slaves, easily refutes statements denying African-American discontent and rebelliousness. His collection of materials is quite remarkable, for slave state newspapers censored most accounts of insurrections. "The particulars, we are constrained to observe, must be withheld for the present, from motives of precaution (p.158)" typically wrote one Virginia newspaper. To achieve his narrative, Aptheker drew upon "government archives, personal letters (sometimes published in distant newspapers), journals, diaries, and court records (p.159)." The Aptheker book should be a standard reference work for anyone exploring this topic.

In arranging his materials, the author first discusses slave insurrection according to major themes, and then he describes the insurrections in chronological order. This reader sometimes felt overwhelmed with example after example of insurrection, especially when they were treated chronologically.

The thematic chapters on: "The Fear of Rebellion", "The Machinery of Control", and "Exaggeration, Distortion, Censorship" were particularly rich in materials that highlighted the American slave society's predicament. Many slave owners had valiantly fought in the Revolutionary war and championed republican principles. Yet, slave ownership was driving them away from these same principles by requiring them to place increasing limitations on free assembly, free speech, a free press and jury trials. Slave society began to live in a general siege atmosphere, especially after the Haitian revolution. Aptheker quotes one Virginian on the possibility of a slave insurrection; "I wish I could maintain, with truth ... that it was a small danger, but it is a great danger, it is a danger which has increased, is increasing, and must be diminished, or it must come to its regular catastrophe (p. 49)". In such a growing atmosphere of fear, the white inhabitants of the slave society felt themselves increasingly threatened and moved to curtail civil liberties. Abolitionist ideas could be "infectious" and possessing an abolitionist document was a crime. Free Negroes could not travel to other states without losing their right to return home, and they could not possess weapons. Vigilance committees began to replace the police and court systems. Slavery was no longer a topic that could be openly discussed by citizens. It would appear that removing the topic from discussion had the unfortunate consequence of undermining the republican institutions necessary for managing social change.

Aptheker's narrative is replete with fascinating historical tidbits. He carefully documents how religious instruction was aimed "to inculcate meekness and docility" in slaves (pp. 56-59) and quotes from a white preacher's sermon to slaves on why whippings, called "corrections", should be suffered patiently. The preacher goes to great lengths to demonstrate how any whipping is merited and concludes: "But suppose that even this was not the case - a case hardly to be imagined - and that you have by no means, known or unknown, deserved the correction you suffered; there is great comfort in it, that if you bear it patiently, and leave your case in the hands of God, He will reward you for it in heaven, and the punishment you suffered unjustly here shall turn to your exceeding glory hereafter. (p.57)". Another item describes John C. Calhoun's concerns about the loyalty of federal troops if they are called upon to suppress a slave revolt. The Secretaries of the Navy and Army were required to report on the numbers of Negroes, free or slave, in the U.S. military. Here it was reported that a regulation "forbade over one-twentieth of a ship's crew to be Negro (p.68)."

Woven throughout Aptheker's narrative are numerous references to maroons, or fugitive slaves who live in relatively inaccessible, generally swampy, areas and periodically prey on local residents. "Reports, no doubt greatly exaggerated, were current that two or three thousand Negroes were hiding in the Great Dismal Swamp ... (pp.307-308)." I suspect that assessing the relative prevalence of maroon activity is problematical and to his credit Aptheker carefully avoids such speculation. Aptheker simply cites maroon activity as further evidence of general slave discontent. I found less convincing Aptheker's attempt to identify periods of greater or lesser slave insurrectional activity, but this analysis is not crucial to the book's narrative. For example, while Aptheker uses this analysis to establish a causal link between increasing insurrectional activity and periods of economic stress, common sense might do just as well.

This reader admits to having approached this book with some reservations and a bias. Herbert Aptheker was an active member of the US Communist Party for a number of years. Quite a few years ago I completed a serious graduate school course in Marxist-Leninist thought, which required me to read all of the important original documents of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Mao. I find it difficult to imagine that an intelligent person can read these materials and still become a Marxist-Leninist. I would like to think Dr. Aptheker was too busy doing his path breaking historical research to read all of the Communist classics. His American Negro Slave Revolts contains none of the turgid prose and convoluted theorizing that I associate with Marxist historians. We're spared discourses on the labor theory of value, class struggle, increasing concentration of capital, etc. As for its accuracy, I confess that I didn't check his footnotes. Curiously, I don't see this work widely cited. I wonder how many American historians are afraid to cite a Communist work, even when it's good research.

I've been working about slavery for years, and that made me read lots of books that can be called an "ecologic murder". This book is the best that you can find about slave revolts in the United States. It fulfills two purposes, the first one, tell the truth about a subject that've been full of lies for more than 200 years. Second, make people think why this subject' been full of lies for more than 200 years. An accurate bibliogrpahy helps to understand all things that matter about slavery in the states.

In Animals as Persons -- which is composed of seven separate essays, given thematic unity by an introductory section -- Francione explains, clarifies, and elaborates on the major themes of the abolitionist approach to animal rights, which are as follows:

-- The abolitionist approach to animal rights is based on veganism as the rejection of the commodity status of nonhumans and a recognition of their inherent value;

-- as long as animals are property, they can never be members of the moral community;

-- sentience is all that is rationally required for membership in the moral community;

-- animal welfare fails to provide significant protection for animal interests and because it allows the use of animals in circumstances in which we use no humans, it necessarily deprives animals of equal consideration.

The latter point is demonstrated by a number of so-called ''major victories'' of animal advocacy in the past dozen years (and before) which Francione criticizes, among other things PETA's (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) agreement with McDonald's on higher slaughter standards for its meat suppliers and on providing increased space for hens in egg batteries.

Francione also tackles the ecofeminist approach to animal ethics, responds to some objections to his theory of the property status of animals, analyses the use of animals in biomedical research, and refutes the argument made in Tom Regan's book The Case for Animal Rights (1983) that throwing a dog out of a lifeboat in order to save a human would be required by rights theory.

Francione shows the objections with which the abolitionist approach continually has to contend to be invalid; indeed, the clarity, soundness, and consistency of abolitionism make its being dismissed, especially by self-identifying animal rights advocates, difficult to explain. Excellently written and easy to read, this book is a significant part of a work which, as I hope, will reach an increasingly wide audience and obtain due recognition worldwide as by far the most important contribution to animal rights theory to date.

No where will you find more compelling and succinct arguments in favor of the rights of animals. Gary will leave you wishing you had his undeniable gift for communicating what is in his mind to the spoken (or written) word. In plain talk, he's fierce!

(Originally published at ananimalfriendlylife.com)

Working Animals as Persons: Essays on on the Abolition of Animal Exploitation into my ridiculous schedule was relatively easy, in part because the book is comprised of individual, self-contained essays that allowed me to conveniently break my reading up into manageable sessions as time permitted. You might find this helpful as well. While the essays range in length, none of them are terribly long (particularly after the first two), and together they all provide an excellent and highly readable introduction to Professor Francione's abolitionist theory of animal rights. If you are one of those people who have put off reading his earlier books due to time constraints or for any other reason, this might be an ideal place to start.

I recommend not skipping over the introduction, particularly if you've never read Francione before. In it, he gets right to the pivotal assertion that the animal advocacy movement is, in effect, two very different movements: one that seeks to abolish animal exploitation by eradicating the property status of animals, and the other a movement that seeks the regulation of animal-using industries while failing to effectively challenge the property status of animals.

He expands on the core concepts of abolitionism in the first chapter, "Animals as Persons." That essay is itself a relatively brief but thorough presentation of Francione's theory as developed more fully in Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog? (ITAR) While it is not a substitute for reading that book, "Animals as Persons" is a very clear essay that will quickly have you up to speed on the basic concepts.

The next chapter is an essay called "Reflections on Animals Property & The Law (Ethics And Action) and Rain Without Thunder Pb." In it, Francione responds to various critics who have argued that the property status of animals does not necessarily prevent advocates from improving animal welfare, and that animal welfare regulation is an effective way of moving incrementally toward recognition that animals have more than the value that we assign to them.

You don't necessarily need to have read the two books to appreciate "Reflections," though I'm sure I got more out of it because I had. I found the essay particularly interesting because Francione deconstructs real-world legislation such as Florida's gestation crate ban and California's foie gras ban. While he frequently deconstructs current events on his blog, as he did with the announcement that KFC Canada would adopt a controlled-atmosphere killing policy, these case studies offer new readers relevant and useful applications of his abolitionist theory.

In his third essay, "Taking Sentience Seriously," Francione focuses on flaws in the "similar-minds" theory, a critical analysis all the more relevant in light of news that Spain's parliament plans to extend legal rights to life and freedom for great apes. Based as it is on cognitive abilities rather than sentience, this pending legislation is a case in point for Francione, so you'll definitely want to read chapter 3 if you don't know why this seemingly good news is a bad precedent for animal rights.

Returning to his critics, chapter four's essay, "Equal Consideration," focuses specifically on Cass Sunstein's review of ITAR, in which he claims that Francione fails to justify why animal advocates should not focus on regulating human treatment of animals rather than abolishing animal use. This gives Francione an excellent opportunity to point out some fatal flaws in Sunstein's thinking, along with that of Jeremy Bentham and Peter Singer, who seem to believe that some sentient beings have no interest in continuing to live, despite the logical implication that their very sentience gives these animals an interest in continued existence.

Francione's fifth essay examines the justifications for vivisection, which he also covers in IATR (along with descriptions of numerous specific experiments). Here, too, he observes that even if there is some plausible empirical claim for necessity, this form of animal use cannot be morally justified. "The Use of Nonhuman Animals" is one of the clearest, most concise critiques of vivisection I have read, from both the empirical and moral points of view. While the empirical section should be sufficient in and of itself to clear up any confusion as to whether vivisection is as valuable as is usually claimed, Francione footnotes our way to additional resources, and of course he follows this up with a moral critique that is impossible to refute without engaging in hypocrisy.

His next essay, "Ecofeminism and Animal Rights," is actually a 1996 review of Beyond Animal Rights: A Feminist Caring Ethic for the Treatment of Animals, in which he examines arguments made against animal rights and for an "ethic of care." Like Cass Sunstein's review of IATR, essays in Beyond Animal Rights suggest that we do not need to end the institutionalized exploitation of nonhuman animals in order to include them within the moral community, and even go as far as to actually legitimize that exploitation, ironically perpetuating speciesist hierarchy at the same time that they condemn the rights view as hierarchical. Francione swiftly and effectively counters these views.

Finally, Francione turns his attention to perhaps the world's best-known animal rights author and philosopher, Tom Regan, who in his seminal The Case for Animal Rights made a sustained, comprehensive, and complex philosophical argument for animal rights. In it, he presents the "lifeboat case," a hypothetical scenario he resolves in part by claiming that death is a greater harm to humans than it is to nonhumans such as dogs. Francione critiques this view with "Comparable Harm and Equal Inherent Value," a 1995 essay updated with a 2008 postscript to respond to the new preface Regan wrote in 2004 for the second edition of The Case for Animal Rights, in which he responded to critics of his lifeboat example.

One of the few drawbacks of gathering together all these different essays is that, even though the case studies and responses to specific criticisms may prompt you to understand Francione's abolitionist theory more clearly, you frequently end up reading the same thing you've read elsewhere in his work, including other essays in this book, and sometimes nearly even verbatim. However, it is that very deja vu experience that reminds you how so many supposedly different debates always come back to the fundamentals, which we would do well to learn... and that may just be the reason Francione keeps repeating them.

In recapping his abolitionist animal rights theory and defending it with such precision, clarity, and authority, Gary Francione successfully reasserts the view that nonhuman animals will not be meaningfully protected from unnecessary harm so long as they are considered human property, and that welfare reforms or variations on the theme are incapable of leading to their emancipation. Animals as Persons is a must-read for anyone claiming to support or to even simply be interested in animal rights.

A well-written, finely researched book on a critical but otherwise unnoticed player in international terrorism. What is most interesting is Al-Suri's diverse history of terror cell membership and the resulting network of international links he maintained. This book is more than a biography. By reviewing Al-Suri's life, from his ideology, travel and marital choice, the book outlines a blueprint of "serious" terrorists that has been closely mirrored by many other hardcore jihadists in Al-Qa'ida and other groups. Most interesting is Al-Suri's shift from gun-toting combatant to ideological propagandist and his lasting influences. Though Bin Laden is "the face" of modern terrorism, this book leads the reader to question if the most dangerous players have yet to be identified.

In a fascinating tale of a fascinating individual this book delves deep into the soul of the Jihadist, learning about him, showing us his seminal work, which was 1,600 pages, and shedding lihgt on the man who theorized the global Jihad that threatens so many people today. This was not the Marx of Islamism or the Lenin. This was the Trotsky, the man who understood 'War Islamism' and how individualized Islamic cells of only a few men could spread havoc and take the war to the enemy on ground of the Islamists own choosing. Although Abu Mus'ab al-Suri, whose middle name was Sethmarriam, was not a latter day Sun Tzu or Clauswitz, her might have been. Alleged to have been killed in the snowy hills of the Pashtun, his wareabouts are actually unknown.

A fascinating book about Islamist history, about the birth and making of the Islamist and the strategy of Islamism. He was truly an architect of the international terrorist revolution.

Seth J. Frantzman

Required reading for anyone wanting to better understand the past organizations and efforts of the jihadists and an insight into possible future organizational structure for the terrorist networks. The translations of key sections of the "Global Islamic Resistance Call" of Al-Suri's 1,600 page book shows his well thought out, objective case for his idea of a global Islamic resistance design, or for that matter anyone wishing to cause chaos in today's world. You have to understand the enemy to defeat him because a leaderless resistance would be one of the longest, hardest battle this nation, or any others confronted with this threat, will have to fight. A fight that will take an unfailing determination and focus. A fight of generations to discredit the jihadist propaganda and let the true voices of the areas afflicted with this disease to be heard.