Events Books

I wanted a history curriculum that was chronological, christian-based and engaging for my 4 yr old and this is it. He has loved the hands on activities and actually requests his history lesson. Thank you Lisa!

Great for multiple grades. Hands on activity for each week. Makes learning fun and adaptable for all ages.

WONDERFUL BOOK VERY INTERESTING AND KNOWLEDGE PACKED. CAN BE USED FOR MULTIPLE GRADES/AGES AND COULD EVEN BE USED MULTIPLE YEARS AND ON DIFFERENT LEVELS.

While not a dreary textbook with it's details, this is an incredible overview of the intermixing of the Bible and history. We loved the extension activity ideas and the extended reading/video ideas in the back. I am learning right along with my kid. This is the best homeschool materials we have.

This curriculum is awesome! It is interactive and can be used and adapted for any age or level. It is written in easy to understand language and you can go as deep and be as interactive with it as fits your style and schedule. My son and I are having a blast with it!

Only a libertarian, or the authors' mothers, will truly agree with all 12 of the Supreme court cases featured in "Dirty Dozen." So what. It is thoroughly fun to read. As stated early on in the book, the authors picked the 12 worst cases decided since the New Deal, the period they define as the modern era of eroding freedoms and of government expansions. Most cases also have a "dirty dozen honorable mention" case to hold hands with it's main "dirty" case. They explain how the cases were selected, and the substantial legal assists they asked for and received in making the selections. Commendably, the authors prefaced their book with a legal expert who did not fully agree with their picks - how often does that happen!

"Dirty Dozen" reads smoothly for the non-lawyer, this reviewer included. The reasoning for all the cases was especially easy to follow, and the analyses were uniformly organized. Warning to future readers: three cases over the last 70 years pop out as naturals for a book like this: Brown v. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade, and Bush v. Gore. All are mentioned, but none show up in the dirty dozen! Roe and Bush, though, appear as postscripts, with explanations why they may have been bad law, but not included. Buy the book just to see these!

The gem which charms this entire book is its reference to, and love of, our US Constitution. This document with all amendments - plus dates ratified - show up at the back of the book. Get "Dirty Dozen" along with three bookmarks: one for the page where you stop for the day, one for the endnotes, and one for the Constitution.

The Supreme Court is governed by humans, and humans do make errors."The Dirty Dozen: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom" is an examination of these mistakes that have cost America dearly. Pointing out cases in which the Supreme Court has bumbled and allowed the federal government to interfere with private contracts or political support, detain prisoners charge, wrongfully seize property, and other misdeeds of the court, "The Dirty Dozen" is an expertly crafted and harsh criticism of the courts. Highly recommended for community library law collections.

This book is a good complement to Randy Barnett's _Restoring the Lost Constitution_. _The Dirty Dozen_ looks at twelve bad Supreme Court decisions that have effectively erased some of the explicit constitutional limits on the federal government and reduced individual freedom. The preface by Richard Epstein expresses a few minor disagreements about some of the cases chosen, and the end of the book explains why Roe v. Wade and Bush v. Gore didn't make the cut. Those that did include Korematsu v. United States (1944), which said that the U.S. program of internment for Japanese Americans was constitutional, Kelo v. City of New London (2005), which said that governments can seize private property in order to give it to other private hands, Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell (1934), which said that the government can unilaterally void parts of private contracts despite Article I Section 10's explicit language to the contrary, and Bennis v. Michigan (1996), which said that government can use civil forfeiture to take property without compensation that is involved in a crime even if the owner of the property has no involvement in that crime.

I have read the Constitution several times and it has always been a mystery to me how many (if not most) laws are permissible by our courts and deemed congruent with our founding fathers vision. This book no only addresses my confusion but does it in a clear entertaining style free of Latin and other confusing "legalese". I highly recommend this well written engaging book.

I listened to Robert Levy on Harvard Book Club. The man is brilliant. To the extent that the book claims that the Supreme Court failed to interpret the constitution in a reasonable manner, the book is one-man's opinion of what the constitutional law should be. Levy criticizes the notion of a "living, breathing" constitution because it encourages "judicial policy-making." Yet, this is what the law interpreters have done since Roman and Norman times. Law has never been a fixed rule, in our common-law system. The law is a reasonable interpretation within the established structural and doctrinal framework to fit the evolving standards of decency. This book is just one political opinion of what the constitutional provisions are. My fear is that a non-lawyer, reading this book, will inevitably get an idea that the Supreme Court is not upholding the constitutional principles. Nothing could be farther from the truth. For those non-lawyers, that are intrigued by the book, I can not stress enough the following: You must read many more judicial opinions to get a glimpse on how the Supreme Court operates and how laws evolve and devolve. For example, legal students have a benefit and duty of reading casenotes and comparing many opinions on a narrow topic; which the non-lawyer readers of this book do not.

This is the "bible" of genealogy citation. The layout of the book makes it easy to find the source and how to cite it correctly on research.

Service in getting this book was both quick and easy. The book is great and has been very helpful in my family research.

"Evidence Explained" by Elizabeth Shown Mills is by far the most comprehensive resource I have seen for accurately and effectively citing historical sources. The book is well organized and the author provides excellent citation examples for just about every source imaginable. Whether you are a novice or experienced researcher, I would highly recommend this book.

I have only begun to use this reference tool but have been very impressed so far. I needed a guide to thorough citing of sources in my genealogical and historical research. I am an amateur and is has been many years since I learned documentation. I was thoroughly confused about how to document electronic sources.

This book gives numerous and specific examples of citations for a wide range of possible sources. Even if you don't choose to use an established style, you can easily discern what information is needed to provide for a return to the source of your information. It is very much worth the purchase price if you are desirous of effective documentation of your work.

I admit it -- when a new book is announced by Elizabeth Mills, I immediately put in an advance order, without even reading any reviews. I've heard her speak at dozens of conferences and seminars, local and national, and I've read (I think) all of her published articles. My regard for her professional expertise is such that anything she cares to say, I want to hear.

Taken by the main title alone, and by the announced length of the book, I was hoping for a grand collection of the author's thoughts on the ferreting out of sources, the evaluation of evidence gleaned from them, and the knitting of that evidence into a provable case. Sort of a distillation of her forty-plus years of accumulated wisdom in an area of family research in she is arguably the leading expert. The subtitle, though, is more accurate. Only twenty-two pages at the beginning address the subject of evidence and what to do with it.

The bulk of the volume is given over to a series of topical chapters of various types of source materials -- published books and articles, unpublished manuscripts, business and institutional records, census, church, and cemetery records, local and state records produced by courts and clerks, national governmental records, and laws and court cases. Another sizable section covers handwritten and electronic correspondence, records and other materials (often ephemeral) found on the Internet, and broadcast or televised source material. Each chapter and section is preceded by a "QuickCheck" list of concise models and examples of the citation formats under discussion. (Those for electronic sources expand on Mills's "QuickSheet: Citing Online Historical Resources," a four-page laminated ready-reference tool also published by Genealogical Publishing (revised edition, 2007). There's an immense amount of detail here, far more than in Mills's classic and now standard _Evidence!_ (1997). If you need to know how to cite the contents of the Norwegian Lutheran Church's registers, you'll find it on pages 362-65. In that regard, this volume should be considered the genealogical equivalent of the _Chicago Manual of Style,_ and as such, it's going to be the immediate standard for genealogical writing for publication. But it will probably be regarded as overkill for most hobby-level researchers. (The author would argue that every effort should be made to produce the best work possible, whether the researcher is a professional working for pay or a weekend hobbyist, . . . and I would agree. But still.) Perhaps this book would have been better conceived (and marketed) as a substantial expansion of _Evidence!_ And I'm still hoping to see that future work with Elizabeth Mills's name on it, called perhaps "Everything I Know About Genealogy."

Finally: Not to cavil, but one error on the very first page caught my eye, where the author quotes Lawrence of Arabia's warning that "All sources lie," and then refers to him (twice) as "Sir Lawrence." Actually, Col. T. E. Lawrence's given names were "Thomas Edward," and the proper style is therefore "Sir Thomas." The copyeditor really should have caught that.

I think that the author's ideas are good, but lacking
substantially in thinking eschatology has been solved:
For instance, The two witnesses, I have a hard time
accepting that they are not Jewish members of the church or
preaching the gospel of Christ. If they are, it would follow
there are 2 clear examples of 2 church members being present
in the tribulation period.

Like Israeology, Fruchtenbaum has added a stimulating and well outlined work. This book starts from the basic outline of eschatological events found in Revelation. Interestingly enough, Fruchtenbaum writes, "The majority of the things found in the first twenty chapters of Revelation are found elsewhere in the Old Testament... The value of the book of Revelation is not that it provides new information, but rather that it takes the scattered Old Testament prophecies and puts them in chronological order so that the sequence of events can be determined" (p. 9). Fruchtenbaum then hangs the detailed eschatological truths of the Old Testament on this inspired outline. Very interesting and effective approach.

As with Israelology, I must take one star off my rating for both the failure to put a topical index in the back of the book and for the extrabiblical assumptions he makes. Fruchtenbaum takes the controversial approach to the seven churches as being seven different time periods of churches. This requires too much bending of the rigid truth. His view that the Antichrist will be virgin born is both unsubstanciated and rediculous. Arnold... where did you come up with that?

The author sees much fulfillment of prophecy in the past 100 years of Israel's history. Not necissarily good or bad -- just risky for the undiscerning reader.

Fruchtenbaum cautions those who believe that unrepentant unbelievers spend eternity in hell and repentant sinners spend eternity in Heaven. "Neither point it biblically true" (p. 362). He then explains that the former spend eternity in the Lake of Fire and the latter in the New Earth. Interesting but doesn't prove the heaven/hell tradition is incorrect. He also holds to the view that Hades is divided into two -- a highly suspect doctrine which has been shot down a number of times including Brotzman (cf. BibSac Oct. 1988).

As a complete whole, this is a very interesting and recommendable book. On a humerous note, notice Ryrie's forward which concists of three paragraphs which are hardly a ringing endorsement for the book :) (Was Ryrie a former professor 'forced' to write this forward for a former student out of kindness?)

Get the book - its worth the money!

I have read and tried to understand Revelation and eschatological works since I was a teenager - this book absolutely "unlocked" eschatology for me! It is not "milk", however, and should not be approached as such. First I borrowed a copy, but soon decided I had to have a copy of my own so I could mark it up with a highlighter and make notes in the margin. The book is so deep spiritually, one reading is not adequate. In fact, I try to reread it once a year. Any true student of eschatology should not consider himself well read without this work in his library. Even though I don't really read Christian fiction, I read the Left Behind series in the light of Footsteps of the Messiah and enjoyed them even more because I didn't have to question their eschatological validity. I found them to be in line with Fruchtenbaum's writings. This book is a must read!

Written by a Jewish Rabbi who came to realize that Yeshua (Jesus) was indeed the Promised Messiah of Israel. So much is taught here. Hebrew is the author's first language and enables him to open the Scriptures and shine the light of truth. My husband and I have read it together numerous times. I could not recommend more highly.

We recently discovered another book of similar value: "Our Father ABRAHAM," written by Marvin R. Wilson, who is a leading scholar on Christian-Jewish relations.

Shalom

This is a monumental study in the field of Biblical prophecy. As the title declares the book is essentially a study of the "sequence of prophetic events". Research which has taken six years to complete.

The author bases his interpretation of such events in the context of a "pre-Tribulation Rapture" and proceeds to describe the events leading up to and through the "Tribulation". Those conversant with Bible prophecy will understand the Tribulation to be a latter day period of seven years preceding the physical return of Jesus Christ. A period of turmoil, conflict and suffering which this book describes as actually beginning with the "signing" of a seven year "peace treaty" with Israel.

The book making reference to the "seventieth week" outlined in the book of Daniel chapter 9 which is still to take place and which precedes the second coming of Jesus Christ. Again those familiar with this area of prophecy will recognize the relevance and significance of the underlying precision in God's Word here. Even the very time of Jesus Christ's first coming being prophesied to the very day.

Amongst the many subjects dealt with are the appearance and identity of the Anti-christ, the "Abomination of Desolation", the "Mark of the Beast", the "Battle of Armageddon" and the Millennium. Latter day conflict in and around Israel is also examined, together with the make-up of the latter day nations & their roles in end times events.

Not least is a disturbing analysis of a latter day persecution of the Jewish people which the author describes as even bigger than the Holocaust. A satanically inspired and organised campaign to wipe out the Jews once and for all. A process which has been pursued from time immemorial to remove the source and channel through which God Himself has chosen to reveal His purpose and Person of redemption/salvation. (Something which I think is fundamental to any understanding of anti-Semitism.) The ultimate Salvation of the House of Israel is also covered in considerable detail. Despite all the turmoil and conflict researched here, the Sovereignty of God always shines through.

To be perfectly honest, I am unable to find a single aspect of prophecy relating to the latter days that is not covered. Pre-Tribulation events and those occurring within the Tribulation/Great Tribulation period itself are shown in what the author believes is their chronological order and each is thoroughly scrutinised. Indeed, the contribution this book makes to the study of eschatology cannot be overstated. The author treats the subject with the respect that it deserves, avoiding the sensationalism of a few who have perhaps brought the subject into disrepute in some areas.

The approach taken in this study towards prophetic interpretation is that where the "plain sense" of Scripture makes common sense to the reader, no other interpretation is to be sought. Therefore every word is taken at it's primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning, unless the facts of the immediate context studied in the light of related passages & fundamental truths, clearly indicate otherwise. In other words, all Biblical passages are interpreted exactly as read, unless there is something in the text that indicates that such should be taken some other way other than literally.

This is a sometimes complex book, which I feel is better suited to those with a basic knowledge of the subject. However, much of the content is very detailed so novices prepared to take on this subject/book would do well to engage in a study based on this work, with their Bibles open at the same time.

The Scriptural references are too many to mention. They are used at virtually every opportunity. An index is also provided at the back of the book which even relates New Testament Scriptures to their Old Testament references, especially pertaining to the book of Revelation. Numerous charts are also used to clarify/collate certain aspects of this study.

Whether or not the individual reader agrees with certain aspects of the author's interpretations, I am sure that readers will return to this work time and time again as a reference & will be both instructed and stimulated. There are some areas where I am not sure if I totally agree with the author's interpretations, but these are matters which I need to prayerfully approach and not allow to become issues of contention.

At the time of writing I understand that the author is presently releasing a new, updated version of this work. So perhaps those interested in this study may prefer to obtain the newer version. Either way, such an acquisition will not fail to provide the reader with many a hour of absorbing study. Recommended.

This book is an outstanding read. Concise, to the point and loaded with facts pertaining to the issue at hand make this a refresher course to bring the layman up to speed on his First Amendment knowledge and what it does and does not cover.

Read this book(!) if you care about the freedoms we enjoy in America or wonder about the limits that have been placed on them. It is history.., but the book reads like a set of short stories. It is enlightening, insightful, surprising, engaging, and down right scary in parts (the whos and whys of many court decisions) . Whether your interests are in freedoms related to speech, the press, or privacy, or all of the above; this is your primer.

In this brief history of the First Amendment one sees the array of interests that have so decisively shaped the interpretation of the First Amendment. Racism, religion, history, and politics are just a few of the more obvious forces that have shaped and reshaped the laws governing our freedoms. Less obvious forces that Lewis highlights are just as intriguing. Experiencing, through Lewis' non academic writing style, the chronology of events and court decisions, from Dred Scott to Guantanamo related (habeas corpus) decisions, this is a great read.

The fact that a book like this is even being written for the layman is very encouraging. It demonstrates that there is an emerging interest in what our freedoms are, how they evolved to this point, and by extension, how they can continually be refined to satisfy our ever changing needs as a "liberal democracy".

If you know the "enemies" of the First Amendment, you will be better prepared to fight them. If you know the effects of excesses in freedoms, you will be more likely to avoid them. Lewis gives you both, along with his humble thoughts on the major issues addressed in his book.

Thank you Mr. Lewis for taking the time to write this book. I cannot stop talking to friends, colleagues, and strangers about how it has brought to my attention just how recent our "freedom of speech" really is. Although our founding fathers might have written the text over 200 years ago, men and women were still being jailed under the libel laws and Sedition Acts. Current and future reporters please read this book and use it as a reminder of the importance of your role in our democracy, by keeping our leaders honest with your thorough research and candid accounts. Every American should read this book!

Unless a person goes to law school, it is unlikely that he or she will learn the 200 year old history of the First Amendment...yet is is a fascinating and necessary history to learn. The thesis of the book is that our common notion of what "freedom of speech and press" means in America is not self evident law. In fact, the author explains, our right to criticise the government and its leaders was developed and protected by "activist judges."

Think about the role of activist judges - many of whom are criticised today in certain political circles. Anthony Lewis reminds us that American activist judges used the language that all persons are born free and equal to issue rulings that slavery was against the law as early as 1783. 150 years later it was again activist judges and lawyers who struck down the Espionage Act of World War I which punished speech against the war. So it was only in the twentieth century that the First Amendment was used to protect free speech and condemn a statute that infringed this liberty.

Author Anthony Lewis takes us on a historical journey through First Amendment cases from its beginnings in the constitutional convention to its interpretation by the Jeffersonians and the Federalists to Woodrow Wilson's oppressive statutes, and finally to the more recent cases of flag desecration and the Patriot Act. Mr. Lewis is clear headed and forceful in his history and arguments. As I see it, this volume is one of the top 10 books on the law that I have ever read. I suggest it as a gift to your sons and daughters, to your high school or college students who care about what America means. Highly recommended.

One of my favorite things about reading history is getting a perspective on how new some ideas are even when they feel like they've been around forever. This book absolutely has that effect... and it's a really healthy thing.

Lewis does a nice job of laying out the history of free speech. He starts before the founding of the United States, but spends most of his time exploring the development of the right since the United States founding. What you see is how, even in two short centuries, the understanding of freedom of speech has evolved into what we take for granted today.

Starting with the Alien and Sedition Acts during John Adams presidency and working his way forward, you really come to understand that the freedom of speech we enjoy today is far in excess of what citizens of the very same country enjoyed 200, 100, or even 50 years back. It's truly fascinating to get that perspective and it helps you to understand that rights can go as easily as they can come if they aren't defended vigilantly and vigorously.

Highly recommended for fans of history or for anyone who wants to understand a little more about where one of America's fundamental rights came from. Lewis has written a clear, concise history of an idea and a right.

I can only look at the events of September 11, 2001 in a spiritual sense. After those terrible acts, I went to church to seek solace, pray for the victims and their families and also pray for the perpetrators. All humans are members of God's family despite the atrocities we commit against each other and we all will face God on Judgement Day. Therefore, I don't believe that the terrorists won: their hatred was and is totaly alien to God's nature and wishes for God's children and I believe they will suffer eternally. And, as Reverend Jakes wrote in his sermon, Jesus took many to be with him at the end of their lives. Christ is the Christian's hope and light in the terrible darkness we are walking through today. His love is a salve to me as it is to many others. The author's in this book accurately pointed out the many mistakes American politicians have made in foreign policy and have supported evil when it was to in their minds, advantageous to America. This book is well-written and I believe a must-read for those of us who are seeking answers.

So many people are turning to faith since September 11, looking for reassurance, trying to find answers to hard questions. This remarkable book skips the banal platitudes; instead, it gave me real, solid guidance to begin to face those hard questions and try to make sense of it all. The variety and depth of this astounding collection of essays is breathtaking. I was astonished by how many different faiths are represented. Especially moving, to me, was a New York parish priest's account of ministering to victims. We also get to eavesdrop on the Beliefnet community as they helped each other cope in the days following the attacks; the personal interactions are riveting. Only Beliefnet could have created this book. This is a gift that truly will help us all rise "from the ashes."

I stumbled across beliefnet.com a few days after September 11 and found it to be full of much of the best and most insightful writing to be found anywhere. This book, which compiles many of the articles Beliefnet has published on the tragedy, demonstrates that the spiritual issues raised in the articles Ñ justice, evil, retaliation, even the very existence of God Ñ are not just timely. They are issues we are going to have to deal with over and over again. And this book is loaded with wisdom for anyone who is attempting to deal honestly with those issues.

The authors range from traditionalist Christians to Bishop John Shelby Spong, who argues that after September 11, we have to picture God in a different way than we ever have before. The ideas range from strong supporters of military response to the Dalai Lama and Bishop Tutu who counsel forgiveness. One of the most interesting pieces, for me, was Karen Armstrong's essay on Islam, comparing its attitude toward violence to that of Judaism and Christianity. There has been so much nonsense published on that subject over the past month. It was wonderful to read the insights of someone who understands and respects all three faiths.

The best thing about this book is that despite the range of opinions (which guarantees that every reader is going to find many ideas they disagree with), I did not find a single essay to be without merit. Even the ones I disagreed with all said things I felt I had to think about. There is no political or spiritual posturing here, but, in every case, an open and honest discussion of issues.

This is a beautifully written and important book for anyone who cares about spiritual issues.

I can only look at the events of September 11, 2001 in a spiritual sense. After those terrible acts, I went to church to seek solace, pray for the victims and their families and also pray for the perpetrators. All humans are members of God's family despite the atrocities we commit against each other and we all will face God on Judgement Day. Therefore, I don't believe that the terrorists won: their hatred was and is totaly alien to God's nature and wishes for God's children and I believe they will suffer eternally. And, as Reverend Jakes wrote in his sermon, Jesus took many to be with him at the end of their lives. Christ is the Christian's hope and light in the terrible darkness we are walking through today. His love is a salve to me as it is to many others. The author's in this book accurately pointed out the many mistakes American politicians have made in foreign policy and have supported evil when it was to in their minds, advantageous to America. This book is well-written and I believe a must-read for those of us who are seeking answers.

Picked this book up at an airport just before
my flight and was unable to put it down during
the entire flight! It is filled with healing
words, inspirational thoughts, and wisdom from
some of the greatest spiritual leaders of our
times, at a time when so many are desperately
seeking answers to questions regarding this
horrific tragedy against mankind. I strongly
recommend this book --- a must read for all of
us who care deeply about what happened to our
nation on September 11.

If only we had had human rights lawyers preserving the rights of German, Italian, and Japanese prisoners of war. That would have advanced the war effort during WWII. FDR and Truman must be characterized as war criminals too given the narrow criteria of the author. It is merely mincing words to describe the detainees as somehow different than prisoners of war. The UN has failed to create a category for insurgents and militants in regards to combat and capture. They are not common criminals deserving a trial. It would be rational for the UN to create a category for such combatants, so they could be placed in prisoner of war camps until the duration of the conflict, but without a recoginized status of traditional soldiers. Without such criteria, my hat is off to the President for making a difficult decision knowing the human rights activists would attack him. I might add that in past conflicts, combatants not in uniform were shot on the spot.

Having served for 28 years as an Army officer and in multiple war zones, I can honestly say the detainees are treated much better than the military service men and women. Both in training and in conflicts, we endure sleep deprivation, often live in the elements for weeks at a time, sleep on the ground, miss meals, and are away from our families. I guess we've been tortured all these years. Where are our human rights lawyers? Don't tell me we deserve it because we volunteered. The detainees volunteered to join al Qaeda, Taliban, and other extremist organizations. I'm glad they are in Gitmo and other prisons. I hope they rot there for all the innocent people they've killed.

This book made me sad. Because it is so well-written about subject matter that was beyond my belief, I have been shaken out of my idylls. Worse still it is so well documented that every item can easily be looked up and confirmed.

What brought me to this book was my reading in German the book by Murat Kurnaz, "Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantanamo" in July of 2007. Not a detail of the legal matters mentioned by Margulies is in conflict with Mr. Kurnaz's first-hand account of his experiences as a prisoner. Margulies' book should be required reading for every Congressman and Senator in Washington, DC. I will not be able to rest now until justice is meted out to those who have committed such horrendous crimes against humanity.

Mr. Margulies and Mr. Kurnaz point out that "harsh interrogation" is far more than "water-boarding." Mr. Kurnaz was physically picked up and his head was placed under water while he was punched and kicked in the stomach. He was suspended from the ceiling for days, until he passed out. US physicians attended him, not to give relief from his suffering, but to keep him alive for more torture. He witnessed prisoners killed by US torture.

Margulies' book is an opportunity for education. May we all be better educated.

This book deserves a much wider audience. No matter how bad you think things are in Guantanamo, this book makes clear that the reality is ten times worse. Margulies is extremely knowledgeable about the issues, and he's a fine writer. It is hard not to feel ashamed -- and outraged -- by the injustices that are occurring under our flag. Let me add that I do not know (and have never met) the author, Joseph Margulies.

The author was the lead counsel for Rasul and other detainees in the noted Supreme Court case of 2004, Rasul v. Bush. The question in that case underlines the whole bitter debate with the Bush Administration: whether detainees at Guantanamo have the right to challenge their indefinite detention in a fair way. The other big issue in this book involves torture and how the detainees are treated.

The author notes that the United States has always been at the forefront in upholding the Geneva Conventions. Even during the Korean War when the North Koreans treated American POWs barbarically, the U.S. upheld the Conventions. Even during the unconventional Vietnam War when the Viet Cong did not wear uniforms and hid among civilians or when American fliers were tortured in North Vietnam, the U.S. honored the Conventions. According to the Red Cross everyone in enemy hands has some status, either as a POW under the Third Convention or as a civilian under the Fourth Convention. In the past the U.S. has served as a model in upholding these laws of war and had until recently established the moral high ground in the face of lawless torture around the world.

Bush keeps insisting to the American people: "We do not torture." He is not lying according to the narrow definition established in the Justice Department's legal opinion known as the "torture memo" by Yoo and Bybee, and subsequent revisions to that opinion. The author notes the veil of secrecy over the inner workings of Guantanamo, the careful screenings given to visitors, but Time Magazine obtained leaked records concerning the interrogation logs of Mohammed al-Qahtani, which reveal the kind of methods used: solitary confinement, sensory overload, induced hypothermia, sleep deprivation, various devices used to cause severe disorientation, various forms of humiliation; in other words, a systematic breakdown of the human personality, a psychological assault that can be done without laying a hand on the prisoner, intended to lower the detainee not just to the sub-human level but even to the sub-animal level (the chilling comparison by the interrogator to banana rats). The question becomes what else would be found if other interrogation logs were made available.

Secretary Rumsfeld referred to the detainees as "the worst of the worst." But are they really? Beyond the locked gate of national security, the author refers to numerous voices from the military and intelligence services who state that only a minority of the detainees have yielded intelligence of any significant value, that there have been "no big fish", that the majority were "dirt farmers from Afghanistan", or in the case of the author's clients, impressionable youth who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The author notes that only 5% of all detainees were captured by Americans. The rest were rounded up by the Northern Alliance or by war-lords who were more interested in settling scores. The roundup was made even more of a farce by a Defense Department campaign to distribute leaflets offering a bounty for any terrorist.

In response to the Supreme Court's decision in Rasul for judicial review of Guantanamo detainees, the Administration undertook to set up CSRTs (Combatant Status Review Tribunals) in order to determine whether a detainee is an "enemy combatant". But the CSRTs have been so skewed in the interest of national security that evidence is withheld and charges are often hidden in a farcical way. The detainees are also prevented from presenting evidence or testimony unless it is "reasonably available". An example of the absurdity of this process is an exchange quoted here from the petitioner Ait Idir, a petitioner in the forthcoming Boumediene v. Bush Supreme Court case, in which the name of the accuser, an alleged al-Qaeda operative, is not named for security reasons.

The author describes the outlandish charges made against his client Mamdouh Habib from "confessions" he gave after his rendition to Egypt to be tortured. Fortunately for Habib, when they tried to render him to Egypt for a second time, the lid of secrecy was blown off by the press, and he was released without any charges and flown back to his home in Australia after three years of incarceration.

One of the few books I've read about any controversial topic that resists the temptation to start name-calling, insult-slinging and obvious political agendas.

Dr. Margulies succeeds in explaining legal arguments in a way that is engaging and not condescending. He addresses every question you could have about torture and then some. He does something many authors fail to do: he argues his point in a greater context than the argument itself. That is to say, anyone can argue torture in the context of laws or the Geneva Convetions. Dr. Margulies goes further and discusses torture in the context of security for civilians and soldiers and foriegn policy, and then also provides the background for the writing of the Geneva Conventions and why we have refrained from torture in the past.

Absolutely enlightening.

This book is a great introduction to jQuery... for someone such as myself who had only a rudimentary grasp of javascript this book was a real eye opener. The depth to which 'jQuery in Action' goes in describing how even the freshest web developer can begin extending the capabilities of jQuery, writing plugins and creating well crafted and sensible script, is well worth the time taken to read the book. The writing won't put you to sleep and the sample scripts are extremely helpful... Now if only they had a book about jQuery, PHP, and Ajax...

jQuery is a fantastic JavaScript framework - not unlike Ruby on Rails, it has brought back the fun into building rich web applications. Whether you are a novice (like myself), or a seasoned JavaScript veteran, you'll find the level of detail just right, which in itself is a great sign of a well structured framework.

Yehuda Katz and Bear Bibeault focus on jQuery core and walk the reader through all the basics of working with selectors, manipulating the DOM, working with JavaScript events, simple AJAX with jQuery, as well as, making use of external plugins. By the end, I felt very comfortable with jQuery - I understood the internals and framework decisions, and had enough breadth to start developing a non-trivial web application. Interactive examples sprinkled throughout the book were very helpful.

Highly recommended read if you're looking for a structured introduction to jQuery core.

My introduction to jQuery was working on a web application for a few months a year ago. I learned enough to get along by reading online documentation. Despite that previous experience, however, I learned quite a bit from jQuery in Action.

I found the book's level-of-detail to be just right. The authors neither gloss over important details nor do they belabor the obvious. The book is not an introduction to JavaScript or AJAX, but neither does it assume previous experience with jQuery. One area that did receive extra attention, because it needs it, was the differing event models in Internet Explorer vs. other browsers. I appreciated the fact that jQuery in Action spends half of one chapter explaining these important differences, before moving on to a description of jQuery's event handling mechanism.

I am not a big fan of JavaScript. This book is pretty much perfect for programmers that need to use JavaScript but have not weathered in the trenches with the language. If you have weathered in the trenches, I suspect this book will make your programming that much more productive and enjoyable. The book states on the back cover that you should have some experience with JavaScript and Ajax. True - but I have found that reading through this book actually clarifies many aspects of JavaScript and Ajax via the presentation of the framework. Depends on the reader but I would expect that if you are familiar with another language like Python, have a handy JavaScript reference at hand, and understand the basic concepts of Ajax, then you are good to go. The book is a pleasure to read and the technology is very worthwhile to learn.

Covers all the major elements to understanding the power behind JQuery. Makes Javascript much easier to tolerate.

Mackeys Book "Lebanon A House Divided" gives an excellent easy
over view of the problems that have recked the Country for so
many years. A great read, May the Country of Lebanon find PEACE inside
its own borders.

This is the third book i read from Sandra Mackey (the Saudis and The Iranians are the other two).And this is another fantastic work for her.I love the clarity and well explained manner in which she explore the nation that is Lebanon and this is not an easy task.When you finish reading this book you have a very good understanding of the situation in Lebanon.As usual she describes every major political party and organization involved as well as the mindset of the people of Lebanon.Also she gives a great explanation as to the ramifications and involvement of other countries as the war rages in Lebanon.Just an excellent work!

Sandra writes a great book about the complex and interesting vectors that have to be understand and known to even start to comprehend the many factors that together make LEBANON.
I use this book as a constant reference for the Lectures on Middle East that I give to universities.

A book that constitutes an essential reading for someone who ignores but really wants or needs to know the complexity of the Lebanese society.

This book does a great job completely describing Lebanon before the civil war and everything leading up the war. I didn't know very much at all about the folks living there but Sandra does a great job describing the background of the people (The Muslim and Christian factions). I also had no idea about the involvment of Israel and Palestine.

I won't lie though, parts of the book are dry and probably go into too much detail. While I did enjoy reading the majority of the book, I actually did fall asleep while reading it once. Still, I would recommend this book

I really enjoyed the book. I could't put it down. It was enlightening and very interesting to see that these highly placed women are confronted with some of the same issues as other women. I began to understand why there aren't more women occupying seats of power. Very relatable and valuable for women who want to shatter the glass ceiling in their own organizations.

This book is written by a team of two authors and it shows. The book often seems disjointed and repetitive. It lacks polish and feels more like an undergrad term paper than a serious, analytical work. The information is interesting, but it lacks any serious examination of the policies these women pursued and it has serious omissions. It sticks with women in Congress, but fails to examine other powerful women such as Madeline Albright, Sandra Day O'Connor, or Ruth Baider Ginsberg. In the end, the book seems myopic in its approach and fails to show any evolution in the role of women in politics over time. You don't get anything here that you couldn't get out of Ms. Magazine.

Clift and Brazaitis have done the world a tremendous favor by writing this book.

While there certainly have been others on the subject (notably Witt Paget and Matthews "Runnning as a Woman: Gender and Power in American Politics") both authors delve further by suggesting candidates that could actually have won in this past election.

Although they are bipartisan, the stronger feminist base within the Democratic party means there are more women officeholders(and therefore candidates) to choose from. Aside from a few notables like Margaret Chase Smith, Lynn Martin and Elizabeth Dole the Republicans do not have as many potential prospects and/or a high voter identification rate with other women.

Even though it is not explicitly a feminist polemic (ie they do not appear especially interested in examining things through women's studies tools and paradigms)both authors clearly want a moderate democratic woman running the country. Among those on the list are Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY)

Because the number of women who regularly vote in presidential elections has surpassed men since the mid 1980's, the presence of a woman candidate should not be taken for granted. The fact that politicians have increasingly moved post-cold war to traditionally "female" issues like education and children is not enough.

It is worth noting that Kennedy Townsend and Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) both made Al Gore's potential list of vice presidential candidates. Although I was disappointed he did not chose either woman, the incident does prove the book's almost prophetic staying power.

This book is a motivating resource for all women, whether or not they are interested in politics. It is very revealing about national attitudes surrounding women with political power and the likelihood of a female president in the near future. Clift and Brazaitis also provide brief but thorough political biographies of several important female politicians as well as information about political organizations every woman should know like Emily's List. Get this book now, and order a copy for all of your female friends and relatives!

I really enjoyed the book. I could't put it down. It was enlightening and very interesting to see that these highly placed women are confronted with some of the same issues as other women. I began to understand why there aren't more women occupying seats of power. Very relatable and valuable for women who want to shatter the glass ceiling in their own organizations.