Washington University Books

Politician and Other Stories is a collection of short stories written by the Thai author Khamsing Srinawk. Srinawk grew up in the rural northeast section of Thailand known as Esan; almost a synonym in his home country for poverty. Many of his stories center around life in an Esan village and the hardships that that entails. Other stories concern the experiences of Esan people in the city. Always, his theme is the friction between country and city, peasant and metropolitan folk. Srinawk captures the hardship, pain, and humiliation of being born poor in Thailand. Unlike other Thai writers of the bourgeouis class who romanticize the life of the poor, Srinawk, himself a peasant, paints his people in all their ignorance and selfishness. He never loses sight of what it means to be an Esan peasant, and simultaneously, what it means to be human.

When I first bought this book I figured that the only relevant material would be the science since the political side is almost ten years old, but I found that the politics was still relevant. In the end I found the entire book to be very informative and reader friendly, two things that I place a great value in for all books.

I am not a nuclear physicist by any means, but I found the science to still be accessible. I only have a basic understanding of the physics and chemistry involved but the author doesn't go too in depth into the science in main text, but does add some appendixes for those who are much more versed than I in the scientific aspects. I think even for those who do not have a deep understanding of the processes you will still find the science elucidating.

The technical aspects were very informative. The author goes into great detail about the materials required for the various separation processes. He talks about the different requirements for chemical, gaseous-diffusion and other separation methods, and then he goes on to talk about the benefits and drawbacks of each method for a developing nation attempting to develop the technology for nuclear weapons such as the difficulty of purchasing the materials needed for laser diffusion to the problems of hiding large facilities in other methods. With evolution of the NPT and other treaties in affect it has become increasingly difficult for developing nations to purchase materials that are used for the development of military use nuclear technology. The problem occurs with the dual use materials which are materials that are used for both peaceful and military purposes.

The political side of the book was one of the biggest surprises for me. I expected much of the information to be out of date, and so my reading would be for more of a historical look at the pre-Sept. 11 world. What I found was that the problem of proliferation remains pretty much the same, as does the methods for combating proliferation. One of the main points I took from the book is the need for more international cooperation. The problem of proliferation is really just a problem of security no different really than a nation with conventional weapons superiority and a neighbor looking for parity. A big problem is that as long as any nation has these weapons there will be other nations that consider it to be of profound national security interest to counter a possible nuclear threat. Without a robust international organization with actual power to enforce rules and regulations on all parties there will be nations who will seek this technology.

The author talks about ways in which the U.S. could protect itself from a possible attack, but I found these suggestions to be impractical. I think it is an impossibility to close off our borders whether land or sea from any attack. We have too much shipping and trade with our neighbors to the North and South for us to be able to ever become completely safe. The cost of inspecting all that shipping alone would be more than the country would be willing to bear, and that is even after Sept. 11. I think the author was correct when he suggests we spend more money and energy on intelligence. This is where the author seemed prescient.

All in all I found this book to be very good. Some of the science was over my head, but I still greatly enhanced my understanding of nuclear technologies. Any one looking for a good look into nuclear proliferation would be well served to start right here.

Lyons probes deeply into the various and overlapping political struggles behind efforts to reinvent policing in the United States. The analysis focuses on the community side of policing reform, which is a welcome antidote to the overwhelmingly police-centered literature most often found in this field.

In Lyon's study, it was community groups that first mobilized to pressure the police to do things differently. These communities wanted geographic integrity, police-community partnerships to jointly target criminal activity, and more attention to order maintenance and police accountability. These citizens, for reasons that are thoroughly documented in this marvelous study, succeeded in pressuring a reluctant police department to create partnerships and experiment with innovative patrol strategies. They persuaded the city to hire a new police chief, known nationally for his leadership in community policing. These efforts initially paid off: crime declined.

Lyons skillfully explains the interactions among the loose coalitions of citizen groups and between these groups and police officers or administrators. He then draws valuable lessons about effective policing from the kinds of reciprocal partnerships that community mobilization created. This book is a must read for anyone, citizen or officer, interested in the promise of community policing and the political forces that can undermine this promise. At the same time, the failures documented in this study are the most impressive and insightful contributions of this book. While citizens did succeed in the ways noted, their success was short lived and, Lyons argues, the atrophy of their initial partnerships and patrol innovations now stand as significant obstacles to the advancement of community policing. Instead of reciprocal partnerships that improve the effectiveness and accountability of policing these partnerships have evolved into organizations dominated by the police department that serve to make it more difficult for communities, especially those critical of police practices, to be heard. The marginalization of those communities already most victimized by crime is the most important finding in this study.

This work is a very good example of the minority Christian belief system that was present at the time of the founding of our nation, or in fact, that has always been present historically since the time when it was the only Christian belief system(during the first 2 centuries AD). It is good that Amazon has these wonderfully historic works available to the modern Christian students.

This book efficiently, elegantly and in a highly readable way provides a close look at the situation of American Jews in the last five decades of the twentieth century. It covers the assimilationist trends of the 1950's the counterculture of the 1960's and 1970's and the division of the the 1980's and 1990's into a small core of committed Jews and a large periphery of Jews who are proud of their Jewish culture but barely attached to it. A must for anyone who wants to understand where today's American Jews have come from and where they are going.

(p)A PRACTICE ALMOST PERFECT; The Early Days at Arnold,Fortas&Porter Reviewed by Gene M. Gressley (P) In those days, "it was always springtime" writes Abe Krash in the foreword to this remarkable history/memoir by Norman Diamond of the early years of that unique law firm, Arnold, Fortas & Porter. And so it was -- a magical time -- a joie d'vivre, with all of the attendant excitement, humor and rambunctiousness which infused the atmosphere and reflected the personalities of the the founding fathers - Thurman Arnold, Abe Fortas and Paul Porter. (p)Arnold, as Robert Jackson so vividly characterized as "a cross between Voltaire and a cowboy" -- was brilliant and vocal, with a mental agility dazzling all who understood him: a mind that leapfrogged the complexities of a problem to uncover a solution, an authentic genius. Fortas was a "meticulous craftsman" whose approach to legal entanglements was much akin to his mastery, via the violin, of a difficult movement of Paganni. Fortas replayed the score again and again until he conquered it. So it was with the law, Fortas wrestled with a challenging legal passage until he arrived at comprehension. Paul Porter's charm and ebullience enchanted clients and colleagues alike. Porter's irrepressible good humor defused many a contentious scene, both within and without the firm. (p) These three legal Musketeers created in 1946/1947 an institution which became the model for twentieth century law firms. How did they build such a legal powerhouse? Norman Diamond scatters the answers throughout the narrative. Probably the most concise and pointed analysis for the eminence of Arnold,Fortas&Porter, Diamond provided in 1968 in a clarion call to the younger partners. Sensing that Arnold&Porter was in danger of resting on its laurels, Diamond, in an extraordinary "Chesterfield-like" memo to the younger partners, at once analyzed the basis for past achievements and chartered the way for the future. Ticking off the essentials for greatness, Diamond's advice ranged from the care and feeding of clients, to the necessity for thorough research and presentation ("Oxygen tent" cases are the normality), to diplomatic behavior when interacting with senior partners, concluding with a reminder that "pure ability is meaningless unless followed by results." Throughout the memo, Diamond stressed that the future of Arnold&Porter resided with the younger partners. (p)Diamond's 1968 counsel reverberates throughout his chapters. With an elan and a style so seductive as to induce envy, Diamond again distinguishes himself from so many of his colleagues in a profession which often permits the expression of the routine to torpedo any eloquence. In sum, Diamond has a story to tell, and he tells it well. (P)Insights abound. As the reader turns the pages, one finds discussions of the insanity of the McCarthy era; the intriguing case of Steve Masters, who originated mass discount retailing; the abuse of regulatory agencies, especially the Federal Trade Commission(a particularly arresting observation refers to the arrogance of Paul R. Dixon, as Chairman of the FTC, "It may be no exaggeration to suggest that his reckless exercise of the authority of his office contributed to the beginning of distrust of government by Congress and the business community." (191);the rise and fall of James J. Ling, and the tragic fall from grace of Diamond's mentor,Abe Fortas. (p)The sensitivity, the charm, and the call to greatness are all deftly captured by Diamond via the spell he casts over those years. Abe Krash was right -- it was Victor Herbert time. About the reviewer -- For three decades, Gene Gressley was the founding Director of the American Heritage Center and Assistant to the President, University of Wyoming. In 1977, Gressley edited the correspondence of Thurman Arnold, entitled Voltaire and the Cowboy(Associated Press of the University of Colorado).

Claire Rudolf Murphy's The Prince And The Salmon People is an entertaining rendition of the legend of the Salmon People, an ancient tale told among many tribes of Northwest Coast Indians. Based upon accounts and interviews with Tsimshian elders and craftsman, and enhanced with black-and-white drawings, by Duane Pasco, this classic Native American legend comes to life for young readers in a particularly vibrant story about the interdependence between humans and animals.

this book is a valuable asset for any sociologist and specifically people of inidan origin. Mr. Brass is a scholar par excellence and has shown is schlorship throughout his book. The conflicts between Hindus and muslims are very real and serves the purpose of vested intrests. I hope more people read this book and understand the politics of relgion

Dr. Cox has written a very well-researched account of the differing lifestyles, and attitudes towards, officers and enlisted person during the American War of Independence. Without the historical background, it is nearly impossible for people with today's sensibilities to understand the dichotomy. We have long left behind the life when a "commoner" was expected to doff a cap in the presence of a gentleman, or the fact that such individuals were really not held to be as "equal" as some of our documents from the periods would seem to indicate. "All men are created equal" clearly did not apply to everyone. In fact, the breaking down of the the distinction between the gentry and "the common herd" was something that many revolutionary leaders neither anticipated nor advocated (see S. Gordon Wood's The Radicalism of the American Revolution or Revolutionary Characters, for example). Washington himself, as Cox notes, was a huge proponent of the distinction and believed that the accepted superiority of the character and intelligence of "gentlemen" was necessary for military order. Cox makes this accepted distinction crystal clear and shows the implications for how the troops were treated and were considered by the population at large. To our eyes, the distinctions between how officers and enlisted persons were treated seems arbitrary and most unfair. Cox's careful historical analysis allows us to understand this better by understanding the thinking of the day regarding the make-up of the people involed. I would recommend Freeman's Affairs of Honor as excellent supplemental reading.

This book is a must for anyone interested in Sino-India relations. It chronologically analysizes the relations/events between modern China and India upto the late 1990's and mainly covers military and political aspects. It's interesting to read the Chinese view points and policies though understandably overall more of the Indian perceptions are explained.

The author John Garver has done a thorough job and I was suprised the the in-depth information on all important issues. References to Sardar Patel as leader 'realpolitik', failures of Indian diplomacy to garner support inspite of supporting democratic insistitutions/values in the region, China playing the Pakistan card to achieve higher status, India's sphere of influence v/s China's tributary status in the region, reasons for Sino-Soviet split are some of the few.

Now with post-Deng China attaining great economic progress and slowly abandoning its belligerent Maoist policies, it would be good to see if it can sustain this level of progress without social change and freedom. At the same time India's bureaucratic and dysfunctional democratic system needs a lot of catching up to do if it wants to reduce the progress gap with China. The opening of the Nathu-La pass, the Qinghai-Tibet railway, fierce competition for global energy resourses etc.; these two Asian giants are getting more interactive leading to rivalalry with few instances of cooperation. Like John Garver says that unless India is willing to become a junior partner of China in the emerging world order, we may further see Sino-Indian rivalry in the 21st century.