University of Missouri Books

As a local historian compiling data on free people of color, I found Ms. Winch's book to be outstanding. Her research into the backgrounds of the elite helped me track emigrants from Norfolk, Virginia to St. Louis.

I read the original book by Clyprian Clamorgan published in 1858. I am sure this edition will be equally as good. The author takes you on an interesting and humorous journey through the black community of " the colored aristocracy " in St.Louis during the middle of the 19th century. The book provides sketches of the members of "the colored aristocracy" who move in the same circles, who by education,wealth, or ability form an elite of the race....... Good and informative reading.

Great book. Very thought provoking. Arrived in good condition from this supplier.

"The first edition of this collection, published by Pennsylvania State University Press in 1993, contained a third section, which included several essays by scholars dealing with one or another aspect of the work of Strauss and Voegelin or with comparisons of their work. Partly for reasons of space and partly because the past decade of scholarly work would require significant revision of these papers to make them as useful today as they were then, we have omitted them from this edition." Introduction, 2004 Edition, p XXIII.

The 2004 edition only contains section 1, the correspondence between Strauss and Voegelin, and section 2, which consists of 4 essays - 2 by Voegelin and 2 by Strauss, and NO section 3. ...It would have been only sporting if this had been mentioned in the editorial remarks for the 2004 edition here on the Amazon site. And, to add insult to injury, if you click on the link 'look inside this book' (on the 2004 edition page) it shows you the index (of the 1993 edition) with the absent third section included! You are NOT getting, in the 2004 edition, essays by James L Wiser, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Stanley Rosen, Thomas J.J. Altizer, Timothy Fuller, Ellis Sandoz, Thomas L. Pangle and David Walsh. A pity - the Gadamer, Rosen, Altizer, Sandoz and Pangle pieces look quite interesting.

The collection of letters is well worth owning. I give only three stars because the absence of section 3 was never mentioned.

Two great minds share their thoughts on the rise of the main strategy used by the U.S. in the Cold War. Lukacs is arguably the only "conservative" historian worth reading. Well worth the cheap price.

This is not the typical work of diplomatic history, as it comprises a series of letters between George Kennan and historian John Lukacs in the mid-1990s. In his well-written and informative introduction Lucaks lays out his aim in writings the books, which is to chart Kennans's views on the Soviet Union prior to his writing of the Long Telegram and the Foreign Affairs article "Sources of Soviet Conduct."

They counter the New Left/revisionist thesis that the U.S. pushed the Soviet Union into the confrontation that would eventually become the Cold War. Rather, they believe that the U.S.'s response to Stalin was too little too late. Kennan criticizes the FDR Administration for playing up the cordial alliance with the Soviet Union, which had clearly being fighting for its own security and couldn't have cared a lick about democracy or friendly relations with the Western nations. Rather, as early as the middle of 1945 it was apparent that Stalin would not rest until the whole of Eastern Europe was led by people who were personally loyal to him, a loyalty that was enforced with violence and intimidation.

He then follows this thread discussing the difficulties of public sentiment, and how we transitioned--not very smoothly--from "friendship" with the USSR to being their rivals. While insisting that we should have taken a tougher line, however, Kennan also takes to task conservatives who turned containment into a domestic battle against supposed Communist infiltration. One of the reasons he wrote "Sources of Soviet Conduct", he states, was to "assure these people that even though it was impossible to collaborate extensively with Moscow, this did not mean that it was impossible to live without catastrophe in the same world with the Soviet Union" (56). Kennan then goes on to outline his view that negotiations should, at the very least, been attempted to hash out the future of Europe. He believed that Stalin was never in a position to risk his leadership of the Soviet Union by sending Russian and Warsaw Pact forces into Western Europe, and that this made a discussion of political issues a possibility.

All-in-all a very well organized and revealing look at the thinking of one of this country's superior diplomatic minds, especially in a time period that is not often the focus of Kennan studies. It is a very short work, and thus left me wanting to read more, which I suppose is a double-edged sword (more buying books I can't afford). A helpful and comprehensive bibliography of sources on the end of the Second World War and the origins of the Cold War is provided.

I used to for my EIT test. It's a great book preparing me for IE EIT.

If you were expecting something akin to the breadth and depth of material found in the general FE review manual (which is excellent), or other discipline specific manuals by Lindeburg, the preparation manual for the industrial discipline specific test will leave you wanting.

The manual is short, and essentially a practice exam. You will need other study materials, such as the Handbook of Industrial Engineering, to augment your study to adequately prepare for the exam.

A suggestion for future editions would be a review of the subject material like you find in the general review manual.

When a collection contains stories by such writers as Agnon, Aleichem, Babel, Malamud, Singer, and Zweig, you know that you're not going to get a bunch of junk ! Sure enough, there are some great stories in this volume, some by people perhaps not so well known, like Joseph Opatashu and Leo Litwak. There are also weak links, but "weak" is certainly in the eye of the beholder, I admit. Nevertheless, I'd have to say that this is an uneven collection and I wonder what the purpose of it was, other than to say, "Yep, we can compile a bunch of stories written by Jews and mostly about themes which relate to Jews." Perhaps the time for such collections has gone by and we can now say that as people, Jews have intimate connections to every aspect of human existence, just like everyone else. Is there really "African-American literature" which is only of interest to African-Americans ? Is there really a "Jewish" literature ? This book provides proof of two answers: one is yes, the other is no. I suppose it depends upon your already-existing perspective. Anyhow, if you want to read some excellent stories, whether you are Jewish or not, try this book. There are a lot of five star stories here---I give the book three stars as a "concept".

What a pity editor Bellow could not include his great long short story " The Old System" in this collection. As it is it contains a number of truly wonderful stories, including the very great story that Bellow translated into English and is one of the most remarkable stories ever written Singer's ' Gimpel the Fool' But there are many other treats here which make for much absorbing reading.

This is a moderately interesting read about the New Madrid Earthquakes from 1811-1812. Constant temblors for about 5-6 straight months. The Earthquake America Forgot is also a rather interesting read, aside from a bit of occasional biblical commentary.

If you're really into the New Madrid quakes of that period and some of the related geology, this might be worth a perusal.

Just heard of this event July 07. Maybe I was asleep in class when this was mentioned, but as noted in the foreword by Dr. Stewart I'm not the only one who missed this, maybe the greatest recorded event of all time, or is even yet unaware. This book, 120 pages, compiles in one place extensive amounts of information about "the event". I hope it's not a hundred year event, but as we are approaching another hundred years, it might do well to be watchful. Otherwise, in my humble opinion as an unqualified scientist, the book is very informative and rich with references for further reading, or study if you are qualified or wish to be.

This is an honest, unflinching memoir written by a Christian German who was sent to prison and later two Nazi concentration camps as a teenager for rebellious behavior during World War II. People interested in this subject and time period will appreciate the detail with which Meyer tells his story. He also does an excellent job of capturing the essence of his adolescent personality and outlook during those long-gone days. One editorial review complained that there was not enough explanation of how he felt at times (for example, while leaving his homeland, Germany, after the war), but his emotions at that point are self-explanatory to any reader who has been paying attention. For example, he was tortured and almost killed by the Nazi government of his "homeland", so by the time he left, he was not exactly sentimental about it. It is also fascinating to read about the outlook of his family members and friends; it gives the reader an idea of what Nazi Germany was like from an "Aryan" German perspective. The Other Victims: First-Person Stories of Non-Jews Persecuted by the Nazis (Sandpiper) , Hitler Youth , Swing Kids , Sophie Scholl - The Final Days

Walter Meyer's memoir, Tomorrow Will Be Better: Surviving Nazi German, speaks out to inform the world that the horrors of the Holocaust were not an exclusively Jewish experience but that it also included Hitler's own German people as well as other non-Jews. Many scenes that the author details have been chronicled many times in books and documentaries about the Holocaust, but these are familiar to the world as exclusively a Jewish nightmare. Meyer informs the world that this is a misconception. His voice helps to create a more complete picture of atrocities suffered by "millions of humans," not at the hand of the enemy, but by his very own government. Meyer reminds the world that Hitler was brutal in his quest to eliminate "any opponent of the Third Reich, regardless of race, religion, or nationality."

Meyer was arrested during World War II and, after botched escape attempts, sent to the Ravensbrueck Concentration Camp, where his weight declined to eighty pounds and he contracted tuberculosis. Realizing that if he didn't escape, death was certain, he devised a plan, and survived by sheer determination.

Meyer has been a resident of Austin, Texas, since 1963. He earned doctorates in History and Philosophy of Education, Psychology and Human Sexuality, was Assistant Director of the University of Texas' Center for International Education, and taught languages as well as philosophy. He has represented a number of Texas Governors as Ambassador of Good Will. He served as an interpreter to President Lyndon Johnson, and painted His Holiness Pope John Paul II on commission.

This book was a finalist in the Nonfiction Category of the Ninth Annual Austin Writers' League Violet Crown Book Award and honored with a Special Citation for Nonfiction in 1999.

Lewis successfully shoehorns the Afro-Argentine intelligentsia back into Argentina's lily-white history. Through poetry and excerpts from long-gone newspapers and novellas, Lewis gives us a bit of a glimpse into the minds of the Afro-Argentine writers, poets and even entertainers. This is a must for anyone who is interested in Afro-Latin or Latin American history. There are few Afro-Argentines left; this book is something of a legacy to them...

Arna Bontemps delivers an overview that is often overlooked in American history books, the African American migration. Bontemps decribes the hardships and struggles of Africans searching for a better life. To really enjoy the drama and detail of this novel, you must realize the impact that African Americans had on the history of America. I believe that this book gives a great presentation of black americans depicting the theme of hope, with disappointment, and love of life, and the struggle to gain that, any place but here (in the South). Although it is not grand reading material, you will learn a lot.

When I picked up Walt Harrington's collection of his profiles from the Washington Post Magazine, I'll admit it was rather dutifully (he's going to be speaking at a conference I'm attending), and didn't expect to become such a fan. I brought a prejudice of "just a newspaper article," not expecting the impact of anything born of a such a transient outlet (today's news, tomorrow's fishwrap) to outlast the day, or at best a week. But Harrington raises his sights higher. . . and lower. With one exception (the sensitive portrait of U.S. poet laureate Rita Dove, so evocative of a poet's thought process that I made copies for all my poet friends), he writes about people not normally considered "important" enough to make it into mass circulation. For example, Harrington's humane curiosity portrays the real world struggles between an elderly African-American minister, once strong and dominant, and his daughters who now take care of him, portraying without judgment their struggles with anger, their seeking compassion and not always finding it. Harrington's psychology and insight are amazing as he examines the "ordinary people,extraordinary lives" of his subtitle, such as a couple who has managed to create a marriage in which they equally share the childrearing, or of another couple who have slid into low-level poverty, or the life-changing experience for girls who participate in a competitive high school soccer team. Each of Harrington's subjects seems fascinating from a different vector: the tough streets of D.C. and how they are pulling down a once-stoic vice detective (part thriller, part sociological portrait of an impoverished neighborhood); the life of a man who works tirelessly for the release of death row inmates (an inspiring example of humanity at its best); a study of three generations of women (the groundwater basic impact of family, plus a feminist perspective of the changing attitudes and opportunities for women). With almost every portrait, we both learn about a few individual people we'd likely never have had the opportunity to meet, and we also learn a larger lesson-about the sociology of a section of people, or about the dynamics of family. . . . Also, interestingly, eight of the 14 portraits focus on African-American individuals or families, even tho Harrington is white. Harrington is deft enough that I don't think I would have known whether he himself was white or black if not for his author's photo. I didn't get any sense of finger-pointing at his African-American subjects, although I'm also white, so may not pick up on the same cues as black readers. On the face of it, Harrington's color blindedness seems laudable, and mostly creates in me a curiosity about what draws him to African-American subjects.