Western Books

Pauly brings Zane Grey alive for me in the many pages of documentation, research and quoted letters. I knew Zane was a prolific, wealthy (most of the time), respected writer but I never knew about his over-spending, mistreatment/neglect of his wife and family, and his many lady friends; but at least he wasn't a gambler (except with boats and fishing), smoker, wife-beater or heavy drinker. His primary weakness seems that he was always looking over the horizon for his next quest, another world-record, and maybe score another woman; but he had so much already with his faithful, supportive wife, healthy children and a talent that could turn out page after page of creditable prose. I believe the author should follow-up with more detail about the fall-out behind this man. He touches briefly on the children, the women, etc., but what happens when a person becomes totally ego-centric and disregards the feelings and emotions of others? A good book - a true-to-life glimpse at one of our important writers...

Having never read a Zane Grey novel, I don't know what led me to this book. Biography is my preferred genre, and the "adventures" part promised a good story. I think I dismissed "his women" as maybe something about his bachelor life or maybe some Annie Oakley types he met out west.

Was I surprised! I think his contemporary fans (as I envision them) would have been shocked. Pauly spares the details, but the picture is clear. Their lives with Grey belie their photos, which show these women as wholesome and modern for our times and theirs. Grey's condemnations of "jazz age morals" certainly helped to build his image (or brand) and the hypocrisy was a well covered trail. Pauly says this was only knowable in the last 10 years.

The early letters of wife Dolly are almost too painful to read. She deserves a bio of her own. She apparently took stock of her position and found fulfillment in raising children, business (a bank president!) and travel.

Grey was clearly intelligent, remarkably handsome and athletic. His flexibility is exemplified in transitions from dentistry to baseball, to roping mountain lions, to writing, to pioneering in the film industry, and inventing his own reel for sport fishing. He emerged from childhood with emotional and financial needs.

Pauly does a good job in presenting all of this. The book details what is known of his childhood and early adulthood, how he came to travel west, the novels, the movies, the outdoore life. Pauly has piqued my interest in the Zane Grey novel... perhaps I'll try one.

This is the most information I've ever seen on Zane Grey anywhere. He certainly was not like any of the characters he created. Apparently a charismatic man, but rather self-centered. After he had 3 children with his wife, he stopped spending any time with her or the children - his younger son remembers spending only one full day with his father in his entire youth. Grey took a series of mistresses with him on his yearly travels - and wrote to his wife about them!!! And told her he loved her and that she understood him better than anyone!
There is a good bit of well researched info about his youth and about his life. I enjoyed reading this book and finding out more about Grey's life. If you have enjoyed reading either his Westerns or his books on fishing and the outdoor life, this book wiil give you a "behind the scenes" look at those stories.

This book contains spurious research... the author was only able to examine records briefly... give us a break! He is factually inaccurate in many areas, i.e., birthplace of Lillian Wilhelm Smith. The author inaccurately copied information from Donna Ashworth's well-researched book on the topic.

If this clown is teaching somewhere, students beware!

Fran Elliott
Sedona, AZ

Without the journals and letters which the Gray Estate has allowed Professor Pauly to peruse and quote, ZANE GREY: HIS LIFE might never have been written. They help to deepen, immeasurably, our appreciation of Grey's peculiarly American character.

In so many ways his American-ness is absolute. The zest for living, the expansive nature, the hail fellow well met sportsman side, his relations with women, especially with Dolly, his long-suffering wife--a woman he couldn't live with, yet couldn't live without. In one letter she notes that they had spent 7 days together in the whole of the past 12 months. Grey's traveling begins taking manic proportions shortly before the First World War, and continues for another 25 years, during which time he spends great fortunes on living it up and doing some world class angling. One yacht alone cost $300,000, in the midst of the Depression, plunging him finally into what amounted to them as abject poverty. Dolly couldn't even afford a movie ticket, she was scrimping so much.

Gray was a handsome man, the photos in the book revealing a big, strapping he-man type whom Harrison Ford might have played in earlier days. He seems to have cut right through the Gordian knot of Victorian prudery and found carnal love right away. Pauly's book makes one wonder if sexual freedom wasn't practiced on a much wider scale back in the day than we had previously imagined.

Pauly's big find is that Grey spent most of his writing life cheating on Dolly more or less openly, and she turned a blind eye, sometimes a condescending one, to his wild private life. He had the "decency" to bring his women on his months long excursions, whether to Rainbow Bridge or to Tahiti. They were hired as secretaries perhaps, but somehow wound up in his bed straightaway, posing for pornographic photos, hundreds of them (none of which are reproduced in the book). Apparently Grey was addicted to porn. Professor Pauly is a little at sea with this thundering herd of women and lacks the novelistic background which might have helped us tell them apart, for the most part. However one or two of them jump out from the pack, particularly the would-be writers among them who hoped that the famous Zane Grey would help them sell their work. He would--but only after he signed it with his own name and for his trouble he'd pocket 85 per cent of the proceeds.

This cheating and petty larceny and the wasteful spending are all symptoms of an underlying depression, or so it seems. He often felt his reasons for living slipping away. There was always a bigger silver marlin over the next horizon. "Driven" isn't the word for it!

Pauly gets so caught up in the drama of the decline and fall of the great Western writer, that he forgets to include any material that would interest us in Grey's novels, most of which, he convinces us, are inferior dribble. Book after book is disappointing, but there must have been a few good books perhaps early on? For a critical biography, this one is all too critical!

Abraham Isaac Kook has had the Theophany. It is evident in his writing. It informs it. He has been reduced to nothing and raised up. His error and sin have been made whole, they have become the garments by which he understood his nakedness.

He has seen the same world made new. Here, even the shadows are golden.

The Union has been made in him. He has spanned the abyss. He has stood in the presence of Angels. He has proved the Divine. He has witnessed. And he serves the whole with his testimony.

His writing is accessible to everyone, all will benefit from it. Yet only a sweet few will cry tears of joy and affirmation. For our memories, this friendship will last forever.

To anyone interested in the miracle of being, I recommend this text. Don't waste time drinking from other men's buckets. Kook offers up the source. Drink freely, borrow his eyes.

This is one of the most profound books I've ever read. I cannot demonstrate the truth of what follows, but if ever words on a page can heal the human psyche, then this book might be a catalyst for it. As a non-Jew, I was deeply moved by the wisdom that fills every page of this book.

Rav Kook is the greatest Jewish thinker in the last 200 years because he most fully understands the spiritual crisis of the modern Jew. Although there were a number of dynamic Jewish religious leaders who took up the mantle of leadership in order to rebuild the shattered remnants of the Jewish world in the wake of the Holocaust such as the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik and the Satmar Rov, their message was basically directed at a relatively small group of Jews. Rav Kook has a message for the entire Jewish people. His great contributions were: (1) to emphasize the dynamic nature of both the spiritual and physical worlds, and, one the one hand, tell the traditional religious Jew that the Torah is flexible and can stand up to the challenges of modernity and change, while on the other hand demonstrating the perpetual relevance of the Torah to the Jew who has a less than full commitment to it; and (2) to demonstrate the absolute necessity of the Jewish people to return to the Land of Israel and build a modern society rooted in the Torah. This fine book gives a sampling of these ideas and is a good introduction to the mind of this remarkable thinker.

This is an excellent anthology, and contains samples of a number of different kinds of writing Rabbi Kook Z"Ts"l did. There is the text of his perhaps most well- known work, "Orot" and there are letters, essays, and poems. Rabbi Kook was a remarkable poetic thinker, like Pascal, Kafka, Kierkegaard, . He was too deeply devout and tremendously learned-a master of commentary in all forms of Jewish sacred Literature. His writing is often difficult to understand as it is so richly poetic.
But behind it all is a philosophical system based on his reading of the Torah, a system which sees the Cosmos as a whole moving toward Redemption. And which in this sees the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel as central to this cosmic process. Rabbi Kook is one of the great religious Zionist thinkers, and his ability to see the good and positive in the works of others, non- religious Jews and non- Jews also make him a philosopher who can speak to us today.
This work should certainly be read by every Jew who wishes to understand the Jewish role in history. It should also be read by every human being who wishes to come in touch with the work of an inspiring thinker with a message of love and redemption for all of mankind.

Rav Kook was the first Chief Rabbi of Palestine and helped lead the continuing dialogue of Jewish Mysticism into the 20th century. This collection of his writings is both profound and beautiful. Some of the pieces such as 'The Lights of Penitance' might appeal only to scholars, but Kook's poetry can be appreciated by all. His idea of a unified Judaism where the secular and the holy both make up parts of the whole are very moving. Other themes include vegetarianism and a universal love for all people.

Mr. Kofi Akosah-Sarpong wrote an excellent review of "Africa and the West" by Godfrey Mwakikagile, an academic author from Tanzania who has written many books about Africa, seven to date.

It is a major African work in the African Renaissance tradition and dignifies Africa, especially in the author's philosophical discussion of the African personality and Africa as an organic entity, in a way many African writers don't. And as always, as in his other reviews, Akosah-Sarpong captures the essence of the author's work few reviewers are able to.

There is, however, one semantic detail that needs to be clarified. The reviewer says: "Meanwhile, though the book deserves to be taken seriously, Mwakikagile states in the introductory chapter as if he wrote the book with another person by stating 'we' repeatedly."

As a well-read person himself, I'm sure Mr. Akosah-Sarpong knows it's common for writers, especially for academic authors, to use the first-person plural 'we,' instead if 'I,' in their writings; for example, by saying, "in the first chapter we discussed...," "We are going to address in the next chapter..." May be it comes from the imperial "We," when British kings said "we" instead of "I," and probably still do. It's acceptable in King's English.

One renowned African academic author is Professor Ali Mazrui in his book "Towards A Pax Africana" and others. As he states in the introduction to "Towards A Pax Africana": "In general terms we are concerned in this book with...We do not propose to limit ourselves to..." In chapter one, he states: "In this book we define diplomatic thought to be..." In chapter two: "In the last chapter we discussed utilization..." In chapter four: "We hope to discuss..." In chapter five: "We pointed out in the second chapter that..."

It does not mean Mazrui wrote the book with another person.

Otherwise Akosah-Sarpong's review of Mwakikagile's "Africa and the West," is not only excellent, but one of the best I have read of a major African book by one of Africa's prolific authors.

An impressive range of scholarship. The author's knowledge of the works of leading Western thinkers - from Kant and Fichte to Heidegger and Montesquieu and others - and of African philosophical traditions, is indisputable.

A lucid thinker of penetrating intelligence, Godfrey Mwakikagile is one of those Africans writing scholarly works to reclaim the dignity of the African personality that has been subjected to so much abuse since the imperial powers conquered Africa. Yet he is honest enough to admit Africa's mistakes, and shortcomings, including many in the glorious past of ancestral ways so much glorified by Afrocentric scholars.

This is a vital text in the study of African philosophy and identity, an area of abstract ideas in which the African mind is grossly underrated.

And the chapter on South Africa is a brilliant analysis of where this multiracial nation may be headed after the end of apartheid. The legacy of apartheid may be with us for generations to come; a bleak prospect for a country that is a beacon of hope on a troubled continent.

To be a modern African is perplexing experience. Not only is Africa the only region with the most dominant of foreign values, but the African, more especially the elites, are confused, transmitting such confusion unto the entire African personality, and making the African not only misunderstand himself/herself but difficult to explain himself/herself to the world about his/her personality.

Godfrey Mwakikagile, a Tanzanian journalist who worked with Tanzania's leading mass circulation "Daily News," echoing a familiar rallying cry, argues passionately for Africans to return to their native roots for balance and order. "Africa and the West" is also a reflective treatise, especially in its philosophical discussion of the importance of African values, history and tradition, African philosophical concepts, and way of life in pre-colonial times as compared to the advent of colonialism. "Africa and the West" is also an uncompromising demand for dignity and respect for Africans which they have been denied by today's leaders, which was not the case in pre-colonial times and continuing, as the author says, though contentiously, under traditional rulers in most societies across the continent today.

The author says the traditional leaders ruled by consultation and direct mass participation at village meetings. How to transform such pre-colonial consultation and direct mass participation across Africa's 2,000 ethnic groups in order to usher in democracy that fits the African environment is missing.

Mwakikagile recognizes Africa's natural beauty and abject poverty, diseases and disturbing ignorance, but his thesis aims at Africa's weak unity - "That is one of the main reasons why they [Africans] were conquered by foreigners, and why Africa is still weak and poor today." Before Mwakikagile attempts to answer why Africa's weak unity is the root cause of all its crises, he reveals the contradictory nature of Africa: Africa endowed with numerous world-class natural resources but at the same time Africa as "the only continent where it has been so easy for foreigners to take what does not belong to them." Why this? Weak co-operative spirit among Africans, more markedly their elites.

For Mwakikagile, Africa's weaknesses can be located in its personality. So to understand Africa, there is the need to psychoanalyze the African personality in relation to the world, "especially to the West." Why especially to the West? Because the West, more than any other people, conquered Africa, colonized it, brutalized it, demeaned its culture and indigenous institutions, and a large number of Africans, especially those who have been to Western schools, "were brainwashed into believing that they had no history they could be proud of; that all their customs and traditions were bad, and that even their languages were bad. Nothing good."

More than physical brutality to Africans such as Belgium's King Leopold ordering the amputation of Congolese for not meeting working (quotas) as expected in rubber farms or Germans brutalizing and killing Namibia's Herero ethnic group, the author demonstrates that the West's capture of Africa has been more at the metaphysical plain through propagation of ideas that skillfully but quietly demeaned African values. While he acknowledges that not all foreign ideas are destructive to Africa, he also states that not all foreign values are good either. It is here that Mwakikagile takes a swipe at Africentrism, a courageous venture aimed against the excesses of Afrocentric scholars. For Afrocentrists, there is nothing wrong with African values, and in their zeal to recall Africa's glorious past, have distorted Africa's values in order to "inflate our achievements."

His prejudices are firmly on the side of African Renaissance thinkers who recognize both the negative and the positive values of African culture and how to discuss them for the health of Africa's progress. This reveals the balances of Mwakikagile who is honest enough to criticize his own kind regardless of the wrath which he may spark, and which the African intelligentsia need for the health of the climate of the African Renaissance process.

Mwakikagile's piece adds to the struggles being waged by the new generation of African thinkers, journalists, and media outlets such as "Expo Times" (Sierra Leone), "West Africa" and "New African" magazines to open up the African culture, its negative aspects as well as its positive aspects, for eventual policy formulation. The reason being that colonialism did not help the growth of African values in relation to Africa's progress, and African elites, ever weaker, have not been able to mix their colonial legacies with African values unlike other ex-colonies in the development game. Meanwhile, though the book deserves to be taken seriously, Mwakikagile states in the introductory chapter as if he wrote the book with another person by stating "we" repeatedly.

A perfect rebuttal to the imperialist arrogance of the West.
Blunt in its assessment, incisive in its analysis, "Africa and
the West" is a vital work by one of Africa's most important
writers.

He may not be well-known like many others the continent has
produced; at least I have never heard of him, or read about him,
until recently. But that's probably because he's relatively new
on the literary scene, all his books on the market having been
published only since 1999. That alone is a credit to him, a mark
of distinction as a prolific author. And it does not diminish the
importance of his works.

"Africa and the West" is not only a definitive response to the
denigration of Africa by the West and others; it is also a major
achievement in the rehabilitation of the African personality
after centuries of subjugation by our conquerors. Godfrey
Mwakikagile has written an important academic book, which is
also a significant philosophical work about Africa, members
of the general public will find to be equally useful in their
study of the world's second largest yet least understood
continent.

Except for a number of typos, the publisher's fault, the work is
virtually flawless: unassailable its logic, well-documented, and
passionate in its defense of the African personality as a
spiritual and organic whole reminiscent of German nationalist
philosopher Johann Fichte in his lectures he delivered at the
University of Berlin, and published as "Addresses to German
Nation."

In one of the most important books written by an
African about African identity and the concept of the
African personality, Godfrey Mwakikagile's work,
"Africa and the West," is a compelling argument for a
return to roots, what Amilcar Cabral calls "a return to
the source," in Africa's quest for peace and stability,
equality and justice. Born and raised in Tanzania where
he also worked as a journalist at the country's main
newspaper, "Daily News," and at the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting before going for further
studies in the United States, the author knows Africa
well. His book is also a philosophical treatise,
especially in its discussion of the importance of
African values, philosophical concepts, and way of life
before the advent of colonial rule. The work is also
an uncompromising demand for dignity and respect which
the vast majority of Africans are denied by their
leaders who constitute the modern African state, which
was not the case under traditional rulers in most
societies across the continent; they ruled by
consultation and direct mass participation at village
meetings. The book is also a blunt assessment of
post-apartheid South Africa whose economy is still
dominated by whites, as are most of its institutions.
The chapter on Afrocentrism is one of the most
courageous statements ever made against the excesses
of Afrocentric scholars, by an African scholar himself,
who is honest enought to criticize his own kind
regardless of the wrath he may incur. The book is also
an important work in the history of Africa's conquest
and subsequent colonization by the imperial powers. But
the author could have done better if he had concluded
this important study with a much longer chapter. The
last chapter has some very strong points, but is just
too short. Nevertheless, the book is recommended for
scholars and laymen alike, and has undoubtedly earned
its place in some major public libraries, and in
institutions of higher learning where it is used for
undergraduate and graduate studies like all the other
books by the author. He has a thorough command of the
subject, and the book is well-written without scholarly
pretensions.

It's a very interesting astronomy book, it's explain how they've thought about the motion of the planets(epicycles)in the past(AC)by the time of the Ptolemy and Babylonia.

The main desire of Ptolemy in writing his Almagest is to explain and account for the motions of the apparently erratic celestial beings in terms of perfect and circular motions. In doing so he introduces the epicyclic (which states that the center of a smaller circle orbits around the earth and the object orbits around the smaller circle) and the eccentric hypotheses (which supposes that the center of the circular motion of the planet is not exactly centered on the earth), which are ultimatly equivalent to eachother in terms of result. Begining with the motion of the sun in the sky and moving on to the less accountable outer planets, Ptolemy moves his mathematics brilliantly with a nod to a story teller's art. Some may find his introduction of his equant (something that is often said to defile his principles of perfect motion), which explains the retrogradation of the outer planets, to be a let down to the fanfare of perfection in the stars. Yet, overall, the Almagest manages to recapture the magic and wonder of the universe through complicated mathematical hypotheses and to succesfully lay the ground for the break throughs of Copernicus, Brahe, and Kepler to come. If you are at all interested in astronomy or mathematics, you ought to read this.

so it turns out that the center of the eccentric circle that the planets travel on travels on its own circle but be careful this is not a giant epicycle on a small deferent! haha! genius!!

Adding to the other comment below about star names beginning with "al-," I might add that the title "Almagest" itself is an Arabic translation of the original Greek "Megale Syntaxis."

The mathematics is difficult to follow, but as it is developed from Euclid and Eratosthenes it is reliable. The observations have been made from a very wide area and over a long time; but while the mechanics may be rather mysterious the results are impressive.

Does the front cover always show Penelope weaving at her loom? - the ancients obviously thought highly of Homer and the Greek myths.

The Tetrabiblos survives together with the parallel Greek. Since the Almagest went through successive transliterations/translations (and interpretations?), it might not be too surprising if the Greek text has disappeared.

And what of Ptolemy's other books? - his geography for example. The Almagest has observations from Ceylon to Thule, including Britain. The ancients must have travelled widely.

Is there anywhere an account of the origin of the names of stars and constellations? These seem to have accumulated over time. Many star names begin "Al-", from the Arabic, I suppose.

Well done!

Much has been made of this. Sen. McCarthy had some things to say about the so-called good general. Eisenhower went ape, as they said then, and the establishment press pontificated---but these words, written by Forrest McDonald, are worth a view. Where was Marshall on Pearl Harbor day? Why did he consistently side with Mao? Read this for a decidely different view from the conventional one.

In 1951,Senator Joseph R. McCarthy made a lengthy speech(constantly interrupted)in the Senate,highly critical of the military and diplomatic career of General George C. Marshall(and other "public servants")during the Roosevelt and Truman administrations.The reaction from many quarters to this speech was one of indignant outrage.
In questioning the wisdom-indeed the very loyalty to the US-of Marshall,revered and sanctified as the "Organizer of victory" during World War 2,even Senator McCarthy's allies(such as Republican party chief Robert Taft),felt Joe may have gone too far.
To this day,it is McCarthy's "attack" on Marshall-Army chief,roving diplomat for Truman,Secretary of State and Defence Secretary-which is pointed to as being the "red-hunting" Senator's greatest political crime.This book,published in 1951,is basically a condensed version of McCarthy's speech,with some additional material.
Whether McCarthy was wholly responsible for writing the speech/book-or if,as some believe,it is largely the work of one of his more academic assistants,such as J.B. Matthews,is debatable.
Be that as it may,whoever has(like me)been informed by our "media" for decades that McCarthy's public attack on Marshall was a prime example of Joe's unholy wickedness,may have to revise their opinion after reading this book.The case made against Marshall,his proteges and advisors,is carefully argued,well supported by evidence-and devastating!Drawing on published memoirs by the politicians,military figures and such who were involved in the momentous events in which Marshall played a leading part,one is staggered by the scope of the indictment against him,and sobered by the thought of the other horrors which would have occured if Marshall(and others discussed here)had managed to get their way all the time(instead of just a lot of the time!).
Here we see Marshall's murky role in the Japan/Pearl harbour debacle,his monomania about opening a "Second front"-at a time when neither the US or the Britain could have mounted an assault on Nazi held Western Europe without colossal casualties and inevitable failure,solely to take the pressure off Stalin's forces in Russia(Stalin having been until very recently Hitler's ally and fellow plunderer of Europe);his sabotaging of the efforts of Churchill and others who were trying to prevent Russia occupying swathes of eastern europe and taking Berlin;his moves to see that Russia was brought into the war in the east(a strengthening of Stalin's hand quite unnecessary to the Allied war on Japan);his insistence on there being a land invasion of Japan(then defeated militarily,without supplies-as its Navy had gone-and suing for peace with the Allies)which would have seen massive needless loss of life among Allied servicemen;his role in ensuring Stalin got the territory he craved during behind the scenes manoevering at the big conferences like Tehran and Yalta;his willingness to forward the cause of Mao and his communist rebels at the expense of the Nationalist regime which led to decades of the Chairman's gory incompetent rule over China(turning it into an impoverished charnel house).
Anyone reading the indictment here will probably begin to wonder how on earth Marshall gained such a reputation as a sagacious guardian of the US and the free world's interests,and why he was thought of so highly by clever political operators like FDR,Truman and Eisenhower.Is this the story of a naive serial blunderer,whose errors were somehow turned into epics of reasoned statesmanship by a fawning gullible left/liberal media and political establishment-or were all these activities(which promoted the aims and ends of Stalin)coldly calculated and deliberate.We have the evidence from the previously secret US and Soviet intelligence archives that the infiltration into the power structure of the US by Soviet agents and fellow travelling allies was on a quite breathtaking scale in the 30's and 40's.Much more still remains locked in the archives of the Soviet intelligence services.There is uncontrovertable evidence that many of those previously declared by the "liberal consensus" to have been innocent victims of unscrupulous political witch hunters like McCarthy and the Un-American Activities Committee-from Alger Hiss and Harry Dexter White to the Rosenbergs-were in fact guilty as charged all along.Joe McCarthy came close to calling Marshall a traitor.Dwight Eisenhower,who coasted to prominence on Marshall's coat-tails,never forgave McCarthy for attacking his old mentor-it was one of the reasons why,as President,Ike finally joined the pack who were out to get the Junior Senator from Wisconsin,and helped destroy him politically during the 1954 Army Hearings and their aftermath.
Reading this book will help any impartial reader decide who was right about George Catlett Marshall.

Senator Joseph McCarthy was a contemporary of General George Marshall (the WWII U.S. military officer who worked closely with President Roosevelt), both having lived through the events that are described in this book, so this is a fascinating, absorbing first-person account of that history and those times. Senator McCarthy certainly lives up to his "no holds barred" reputation for directness and controversy in this book. Highly recommended!

CHAPTERS:

Background Leading Up to the Marshall Speech

Marshall and the Second Front

The Struggle for Eastern Europe

The Yalta Sellout

Marshall and Stilwell

The Marshall Policy for China

The Marshall Mission

The Marshall Plan

The Marshall-Acheson Strategy for the Future

Appendix A: Source Material

Appendix B: Press Reaction to the Speech

This small tome, expanding upon his speech in the Senate, provides a wealth of documented information regarding General Marshall and the deleterious effects his mistaken eforts have wrought on the US and the enslaved citizens of China.

A modern history of this subject with all the released information from the Venona files and the Soviet Union folded in would only enhance McCarthy's prescience in writing this book.

This book does not charge Marshall with being a spy, nor a Soviet agent, nor a communist, nor a fellow traveler, but whatever leanings Marshall had and how he was influenced by the Communists and American Traitors that were in charge of formulating and influencing the US's foreign policies, especially in the far east, are strongly inferred in this book.

This is a well written, well argued, and well documented book, that almost turns into a page turner and a one night read.

In evaluating Senator McCarthy's book, I will compare the situation he analyzed with another more well-known situation.

From reading William Shirer's book "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" I became aware that Neville Chamberlain helped precipitate World War 2 when he went to Munich. There, he appeased Hitler by allowing him to take chunks of Czechoslovakia and incorporate them into Germany, without a fight. Czechoslovakia was not even invited to these "negotiations." The situation was hopeless for that country; although it was well-armed and could have fought back Germany, the citizens capitulated and within a few weeks the entire country became engulfed by Germany. But that is all that Chamberlain did to encourage Germany into invading Czechoslovakia. To think that Chamberlain was a Nazi or a Nazi sympathizer might be overreacting.

Now, imagine that prior to Chamberlain coming to Munich, Germany was already invading Czechoslovakia by force. Not only that, but the Czechoslovak forces were steadily beating back the German army from the Sudeten regions. Suppose now, at the urging of Hitler, Chamberlain was to demand that the Czechoslovak forces cease-fire before taking back their lost territory, in the interests of "peace." Suppose that while assuring the British people, who wanted arms to be brought to Czechoslovakia, the arms were mysteriously sabotaged while being transported to Czechoslovakia in the care of Chamberlain. Suppose further that Chamberlain demanded that Czechoslovakia "reform" their government and hold elections, and allow the Nazis to be elected into their government positions, in the interest of "democracy." And that if they refused to comply, Chamberlain was going to withdraw British troops from, and discontinue aid to Czechoslovakia. Suppose that the Czechoslovaks conceded and ceased-fire but still this was not good enough for Chamberlain, who before returning to Britain, withdrew aid and troops, and made the statement, "With a stroke of the pen, I now disarm 39 divisions of the Czechoslovak army." Would you think that Chamberlain was a Nazi, had he committed these actions? Even if the man was considered by most of your countrymen to be a "war hero?"

In the previous paragraph, replace "Chamberlain" with "George Marshall," "Hitler" with "Chou En-Lai," "Munich" with "Yenan," "Germany" with "Russia and Red China," "Nazi" with "Communist" "Czechoslovakia" with "Free China," "Sudeten" with "Manchuria" and "British" with "American," and you get the idea, of what happened to China prior to it's fall to the Communists shortly after world war 2. Now we are faced with another question.

If you are yet undecided as to the answer of that question, then I suggest you read McCarthy's book, which is actually a transcription of a speech he made in the Senate. In spite of the media reaction to McCarthy and his speech, in the speech, and hence this book, much evidence is provided, and conclusions presented in a calm, objective manner.

A special section at the end of the book documents media reaction to the speech. Much vitriol was flung at McCarthy by editors of various newspapers. Much of the commentary demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of what McCarthy said, or worse.

It is a great injustice that Marshall is still considered to be a "war hero," when it is quite apparent that he committed numerous "errors," even prior to his shenanigans in China. The systematic nature of his errors, always in favor of the reds, explains a great deal why China is still communist today, and unlike Japan, has a government which is hostile to the US and may become increasingly so in the next several years.

I bought this book after seeing author McGrath as a guest on Ming Tsai's PBS show the other day.

The recipes look delicious and the photography in the book is great. I think that some of the recipes, though, are probably better-suited to restaurant preparation instead of the home kitchen. One sandwich, for instance, requires about thirty ingredients to prepare. Not only are you cooking the chicken for the sandwich, you're also making the bread in which the chicken is served. Some of the ingredients may be difficult to obtain, too. One recipe calls for verbena. Good luck if you don't have that growing in your backyard.

Many recipes also call for stock, and there are recipes for several stocks and reductions, but the recipes yield such a large amount and require such extensive preparation time that I'd spend all day cooking the stock before I could even start working on the desired recipe. Definitely not a Rachel Ray 30-minute recipe. It works in the restaurant, but it's not so practical at home.

I'm anxious to try some of these recipes, but anticipate modifying them a bit for home cooking and takiing a few shortcuts. If I was in McGrath's restaurant paying $24 for fish tacos on warm tortillas, for example, I'd expect that the tortillas be fresh and made on the premises, but if I'm making dinner for three people, I'd probably settle for tortillas I've purchased at the store. (His tortillas are made with lard, though, and that's a good thing.)

Robert McGrath first made a name for himself in Scottsdale, Arizona as the Executive Chef at the Princess Resort, followed by working as the chef de cuisine at the Phoenician's Windows and the Green, and then finally as the owner of the Roaring Fork.
His recipes are deliciously unparalleled, and he has put his best in this book.

My wife and I ate at the Roaring Fork last year while on vacation. It's a fine resaurant featuring American Southwestern food. I liked it but wasn't bowled over. So I was unprepared for how remarkably good the food in this cookbook is. I own over 100 cookbooks, and this is one of the very best.

The food is nuanced, sophisticated, yet very homey and comfortable. Imagine Grilled Shrimp with Chipolte-Creamed Leaks on a Golden Cornmeal Cake or Pan-Fried Trout with a Salad of Spring Melons and Green Onions. The first thing my wife and I tried was Grilled Rib Eye Steak and Blueberry Barbecue Sauce with Roasted-Garlic Mashed Potatoes. The steak sits on a nest of roasted green beans, red onions, and corn. If you are salivating by now, this cookbook isn't for you.

If you are a reasonably experienced cook, Robert McGrath has a treat in store for you. It is one of those cookbooks that you will want to cook through from one end to the other.

This is an excellent compendium of Robert McGrath's favorites. His Roaring Fork in Scottsdale has gained a wonderful reputation and deservedly so. Now this book shows how many of his magic tricks are performed. In addition to the recipes, it is beautifully illustrated with western scenes.

If you're going to cook southwest, this is the one and only way to go about it! Tips from The Master of Southwest Cooking. You can't go wrong with the wide variety of unique and interesting recipes to "wow" your family and guests. EXCELLENT!

This is a highly recommended book about Anne Frank and her diary. Miep Gies tells her whole story from start to finish what it really like hiding from the Nazis. She was a friend of the Frank family from the beginning so this is first hand knowledge and a must read for anyone who is interested or has already read the Diary of Anne Frank. It deserves 10 stars but there were only 5 available to give. *****

This tape was so captivating I couldn't put it down. I think its the best book I have ever heard of. I think everyone should read it or listen to it on tape. It makes the hardships and danger of World War 2 come alive.

This tape was so captivating I couldn't put it down. I think its the best book I have ever heard of. I think everyone should read it or listen to it on tape. It makes the hardships and danger of World War 2 come alive.

Anne Frank rembered captured my heat and it will capture anyone's heart who likes to read about Jewish people in hiding. It tells of the hardships of people trying to stay alive during World War 2. This book is one of the best books I have read in my entire life. I know that millions or all ready millions that has read it will be touched by it.

This book was the most fabulous book that I have ever read! All my friends liked it and so did I. Thats why I am on aol looking for a website on her. If anyone finds one please contact me at my email adress Heatluver33. thank you and if any of you want to look at this book make sure to read it because you will love it out of your mind!

Weidlich's study of how and why Lord Bertrand Russell was denied a teaching job at New York's City College is definitive.

It is difficult to see how anyone else could have written a clearer explanation of the embarrassing decisions made by the college's and the city's officials in denying Russell the right to express any views whatsoever on a college campus.

Appointment Denied: the Inquisition of Bertrand Russell. By Thom Weidlich. Prometheus Books, Amherst, NY 2000.

Weidlich, a journalist and former reporter for the National Law Journal, has described in lucid detail how famed philosopher Sir Bertrand Russell was denied a position on the faculty of City College (CCNY) of the City of New York. The 1940 incident has been compared to the "monkey trial" of John Scopes. I have read widely from Russell's work as well as about Russell and find Weidlich's book is definitive about Episcopal Bishop Manning's successful efforts to gain support from Catholics and politicians to keep Russell from teaching. Also, Weidlich explains Russell's views in layman's language that is understandable and on the mark. If the Vatican can apologize for Galileo, one wonders when will the Episcopalians apologize for their egregiously narrow-minded bishop?

This book is a story of how our society treats people who think they are smarter than everyone else. Most of the action takes place in New York City, where John Lennon also discovered that he was not entirely welcome, possibly for some of the same reasons that Bertrand Russell was a problem. While there is some concern in this book for free speech, the opposition to Russell was mainly a problem for people who might be held responsible politically for the taxpayer dollars that Russell was so concerned about getting. The British earl (3-times-married, twice divorced) needed enough income to provide for his child of two, at a time when "probably the world's most renowned living philosopher" (p. 10) was only two years short of the mandatory retirement age. This book was written before the events of September 11, 2001, and seems totally unaware of the possibility that anyone who disagrees with the financial control exercised by New York City over global economics could hijack airplanes and use them to reduce large buildings to rubble. America is fortunate that a plane on September 11, 2001 also struck the Pentagon, so the federal government had a direct military attack which it could respond to in a like manner (air superiority being a prime consideration in superpower planning for geopolitical dominance). The military use of aircraft has become an American obsession as critical to American geopolitical machinations as intellect is a distinguishing feature in the ideology which thinks it rules in New York City and in the mind of Ralph Nader.

The index has a lot of distinguished names, including Augustine, Bruce Barton, Bismarck, Giordano Bruno, Neville Chamberlain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Euclid, Sigmund Freud, Galileo Galilei, Hegel, Werner Heisenberg, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Thomas Jefferson, James Joyce, Lenin, Martin Luther, Karl Marx, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Plato, St. Joan of Arc Holy Name Society, Socrates, Baruch de Spinoza, Stalin, Trotsky, Voltaire, Woodrow Wilson, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. There is only a single entry for the Communist Party, none for the Democratic Party, and only a few pages are cited for Young Communist League and Young People's Socialist League. I am not related in any way to the Bruce Barton whose views on religion are so well known that the president of Hunter College, George N. Shuster, a lay Catholic, could describe other Catholics as "`like a blend of' the Daughters of the American Revolution, advertising man Bruce Barton, `and a random devotee of Torquemada,' the evil medieval inquisitor. Of their moralizing, he said that Catholics could see `nothing in the universe but middle-class primness--an order to avoid shocking some imaginary schoolgirl' (these were prescient words concerning Russell's predicament)." (p. 86).

My own interest in the role of the Democratic party in this book is a result of the situation for the appointment of federal judges, now that the Democrats no longer have control of the U.S. Senate, which has the power to approve such appointments and have tried to make this seem like an important role for protecting the rights of people who think that there is more to life than just getting married and having children. Prior to the appointment of George Shuster, the president of Hunter College was Eugene Colligan, "a political hack, installed when Tammany Hall, the notorious Manhattan Democratic machine, was still running the city (though not for much longer). . . . At the college's 1935 commencement exercises, the rowdy audience held placards charging `Colligan Lives Up to Mussolini's "Order of Merit"' (the fascist leader had bestowed upon him the Italian Medal of Merit for `distinguished educational accomplishment')." (p. 11). Throughout this book, the leadership of Protestant Episcopal Bishop William T. Manning of the Diocese of New York combines with the kind of politics that Democrats have spent years using, appealing to popular animus to try to avert the kind of confusion which the future is bound to run into sooner or later.

Those who learned the most about political advantages were students who had the opportunity to promote their own interests. At the time, the student body was pretty bright. ". . . and because of the Ivy League's limits on how many Jews it would take--during this period that Russell was to teach, `the City College student body represented perhaps the purest intellectual elite in the country.' Of the eight Nobel Prize winners the college has produced (more than any other public institution), three came from the class of 1937." (p. 54). Those who were there just a few years later might have resigned themselves to the belief that being born with a brain wasn't really all that great, if this book is any indication of how the world will treat you.

In the case of the Young Communist League, who "viewed it as a case of academic freedom . . . but we don't really give a hoot about Russell and this case," (p. 55) others "begged the YCL representative on the student council to keep the Communists out of the Russell controversy so they could win it. `Everything the Communists touched was the kiss of death. . . . the Hearst papers depicted the Communists fighting to get Russell in. This contributed to an extent in keeping Russell out. The irony was that the next fall, the YCL used their fighting for Russell to recruit new members among the incoming class.'" (p. 56) Now that the U.S. Supreme Court can be anyone who the President picks, we shall see how soon the people who placed obstacles in the way of those who wanted to count ballots for his opponent can be replaced by incoming justices, using the term loosely, of course, in the time-honored manner.

weidlich provides a stimulating and briskly-paced account of a seemingly minor historical event, which nonetheless serves as the springboard into a wide-ranging and meticulous consideration of deep, difficult issues: how much intellectual freedom in academia is too much? do individual taxpayers, as the ultimate funders of public academic institutions, get to answer this question? or is it their elected representatives? or neither? and can our society allow the answer to find its fundament in one particular religion's belief system? or in a morality that transcends particular religions? does such a morality exist?

the historical coverage of the russell controversy itself is thorough, carefully documented and generally unimpeachable. weidlich is conscious of the story's amusing, sometimes ridiculous components, which adds to the enjoyment. the book is worth the price for that analysis alone. the treatment of the bigger themes is gravy.

Weidlich's cogent historical narrative crisply sets up a seminal event in New York politics, and how the members of the power structure, for various reasons, conspired to better or preserve their political positions by opposing Russell's nomination to teach philosphy at City College in the 1940s. But in a larger context, Weidlich's book provides a prescient analysis of an event that was a harbinger of things to come - of the familiar debate over unpopular uses for taxpayer funds, and how educational priorities often fall victim as a result. While the book does not aspire to be anything more than a clear picture of a 1940s New York controversy, it would seem that this clear vision has made the more timeless aspects of the debate rise to the surface. Appointment Denied is a must for anyone with an interest in the political dynamic that ran New York's system of higher education, and the theological dynamic that still seems to govern the politics of the city - and the nation.

I bought my copy years ago and it is one of the most highly detailed and informative books on this Great American Hero
I have ever read and I own several on him.
If you can get a copy of this book, then do so. I is a must for every Audie Murphy library.
Audie Murphy is the best and you just can't find anybody better!

Actually, I give it ten stars! This outstanding book is the must-have for fans of "The Most Decorated Combat Soldier of World War II". I acquired mine in 1998 and it's still an indispensible resource!

There is no other single source of printed material on Audie as extensive as this. From his family tree, to being born into a family of twelve children, to his military career, to his film career and beyond, Simpson combines excellent prose with hundreds of photos, graphics, maps, drawings, etc.

Yeah, it's expensive, but it's also a large book and there were only 5000 printed. A few years ago, there were only 500 known copies left of the original printing.

This will be about as close as you get to meeting Audie L. Murphy...don't miss this chance!

George K. Keck
Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army (Retired)
Member, SGT Audie Murphy Club-Redleg Chapter, Fort Sill, OK
President, Audie Murphy National Fan Club-HQ, Lawton, OK

I'm a disabled Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran and have a great admiration and respect for this truely great American War hero. Col. Simpson has written the best book that I have ever read regarding Audie Murphy. I'm fortunate to have his wife, Vera, as a neighbor and a very dear close friend of mine. I've been honored by his wife as she presented me a signed copy of this book as a Christmas gift in 1998. I shall forever treasure this great book and it's author, Col. Harold B. Simpson.

I should have to "ditto" the review by Ms. Richardson. This is a must for ALL "Audie" admirers, such as myself. It is very detailed and Col. Simpson did extensive research with the help of Mr. Murphy's family and friends. You'll laugh and "CRY" in this special book about a very special WWII combat soldier.

This book is a serious, scholarly treatment of the life of WW II's most decorated combat soldier. It will likely stand and the definitive work on the subject. Based on extensive research into primary sources, it contains a detailed account of Murphy's life and work. Roughly divided into sections dealing with the different dimensions of his life - military service, movie career, and personal life, each chapter contains an extensive array of photographs. It's worth whatever it takes to have a copy of this book

Fortunately, The Teaching Company led me to Phillip Cary and Augustine's Invention of the Inner Self: The Legacy of a Christian Platonist.

His book brings two thoughts to mind. First, when I entered Western Washington University as a mixed-up student who had been disenchanted with "organized religion," an anthropology professor said, "Dick, you must find yourself." Secondly, I've always loved my Catechism's definition of a sacrament as "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace," but now Cary challenges me to look beyond the beauty of those words in order to gain insight into their Augustinian-Platonic meaning. His book unites both thoughts and sets me on a demythologizing journey.

This is a book I'll need not merely to read like The Reader's Digest. I'll have to live with it. That will require much study. At little over 200 pages, it's not long, and one quarter consists of notes and bibliography. But what his book lacks in length it delivers in depth. Happily, Cary is incurably interesting. And that's the problem. I have a hard time trying to put it down. He keeps digging dilemmas--or maybe I should call them paradoxes--that arrest my attention. Moreover, it's not the end of the story. Just this year, he published Inner Grace: Augustine in the Traditions of Plato and Paul, and Outward Signs: The Powerlessness of External Things in Augustine's Thought. The titles are witty references to my Catechism's definition of a sacrament. I'll need to read and mark all three books if I wish inwardly to digest all Cary has to tell me about Augustine's thought.

Moving from the Catechism to cataracts, the book's nine-point font bugs me, and I need my most powerful magnifiers to regain the joy of reading. Oxford University Press doesn't seem to realize America is aging. Nor does the corny cover reflect Cary's colorful style that, fortunately, is better reflected in the covers of Outward Signs and Inner Grace.

Prof. Cary's book on Augustine resonates with me as few books have. Every page is so fruitful. What is the soul? One might say: what are the limits and opportunities posed by "introspection" or "self reflection" or "self consciousness." The remarkable development from Plato through Aristotle through Plotinus to Augustine is captured in a unique, sensitive, and joyful way.
I'm a layman who formally studied a lot of philosophy in my twenties (forty years ago). I think back on my own painful quest for meaning earlier in life before I became a born again Christian (under reformed baptist doctrine). I was studying under a program of philosophy completely controlled by the logical potivists and the analytic philosophers of the 20th century. I was cut off from the history of philosophy with its great riches. In this book, I see the love for philosophy that I never was able to bring to fruition in my own studies. It is a joy to see that someone has succeeded where I failed.
The problem of the inner and the outer has dogged me all my life. I had a fixed mindset that the "Truth" lay with the inner -- the inner was more "spiritual." In this book, I better see the weaknesses of the "inner" yet, at the same time, the reasons for its great appeal to deeply reflective persons. The power of inwardness still has some hold on me. There is a mystical element of "union with Christ" in my philosophizing about my life and theology. Yet, by grace, I have been freed from the domination of the inward. To see the whole matter laid out in vibrant prose is a thrill.
Thank you Prof. Cary. Perhaps you never would have guessed that you were performing a great personal as well as a professional service in writing this book?

I'm a honors philosophy student at Eastern college, and Dr. Cary is my professor. I haven't read all of this book, but have flipped through it enough to know its worth. Dr. Cary's knowledge of Augustine is at once both vast and concentrated, and his writing is highly academic but very clear and easy to follow. I would recommend this work to any one interested in Augustine, the inner self, or historical and modern Christian thought.

To critique Augustine, is to critique Christion theology. All Christians pay homage to the feet of Augustine, and, ironically, all Christians seem to think that Augustine somehow agrees with them. This is true of both Protestants and Catholics. This is seen in a lot of popular writing, and sometimes even in scholarly writing. Because St. Augustine is neither Protestant nor Catholic (Catholic in the sense that we now understand it today) understanding him on his own terms has radical implications for all Christians. When I was reading this book I would ask myself, what is this guy driving at? What is the point to demonstrate that Augustine invented the inner self? Who cares if Augustine was a Christian Platonist? Well... everybody should! Because Augustine is considered one of the most influential writers since the apostle Paul! Dr. Cary draws some startling criticisms that are often considered 'biblical doctrine.' (E.g. the doctrine of the division of the soul and body, or that heaven is this aerial and surreal place.) No, Dr. Cary says, Christianity is a faith of heart and flesh. Christ came in human flesh to restore creation. My only disappointment with this book is that the conclusion is all too slender. I hope this is not the only book that Dr. Cary writes on this subject. I hope he is working on more.
Dr. Philip Cary is a brilliant scholar, and (I think) an incredible lecturer.
I first heard him in a series of lectures that he did to the Teaching Company, ... This book is accessible to both the scholar and the inquiring student. Dr. Philip Cary masterly uses common words and clearly defines unfamiliar words.
As someone who is always on the lookout for well-written book's and scholarly books to cite in later Ph.D. work this book meets both of those requirements. It is a bit pricey, but it is worth it. I bit Oxford Press now offers a more affordable paperback edition.

In his 'Augustine's Invention of the Inner Self' professor Phillip Cary shows the reader in a brilliant way how to reveal one of the most complex issues in Western culture to the average reader. As if it was his main goal to offer a didactic achievement the book is readable as a detective novel. Origin and conceptual development of the inner self are convincingly demonstrated.
Nevertheless I have one question about the book. That is: why doesn't Cary give us a more thourough explanation about Augustine's rejection of literature in education (see p. 97 and footnote 9 on that page)? According to my view finding ones self, being one of the purposes of education, depends for a great deal on exploring one's culture's history and literature. By searching the one and only Truth in the self being Christ, and at the same time repudiating culture's traditional vehicles for that search, as is vehemently recommended in Conf. 1.16, education as Augustine saw it might have been severaly hindered.
Since Augustine's time the humanities have suffered from enduring attacks by Christian critics. The search for the inner self, as we find it again in Pascal (see 'Pascal et Saint Augustin' by Philipe Sellier, Paris 1970; another reference I missed in Cary's book is 'La découverte de Soi' by Georges Gusdorf, Paris 1948), might be victimized by those attacks up till today's educational practice. On many schools and colleges in Holland and in many other Western countries, humanities are a bit of a nonitem.
How is Dr. Cary's opinion about the posibility of the actual consequences of Augustine's thought on these matters?

Dr. Guido Everts, Historical educationist
Amstelveen
The Netherlands
E-mail: geverts@hetnet.nl