Government Books

Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb is an unusual combination of travel guide and presidential biography. The authors discuss the American Presidents by describing how they are memorialized. By exploring each Presidential gravesite, the Authors also describe the lives of the Presidents. The book is far from morbid and quite enlightening and entertaining.

Although this book is about the deaths & funerals of this nations chief executives, it brings history alive for folks like myself who enjoy all things presidential. Focusing on the events that led to the end for each of our late presidents, this book is a thoroughly enjoyable read. I have visited many of the gravesites mentioned here & intend to endeavor to visit the the ones I haven't yet. This book is an indespensible guidebook for my future travels. Lots of great photos, too.

This book does not immediately give one the impression that it would be as good as it is. My first impression from the cover was that it would be just a compilation of unknown facts and surprises about famous people ,things and places.Then, after noting the sub-title "A Tour of Presidential Gravesites";I thumbed through it and immediately saw it was a very good summary of all the Presidents,their time in office,their wives,what they did after leaving office,the cause of their death,funeral arrangements,interm and final resting places and detailed information for anyone who would like to visit any or all of them. From this book you will learn what to expect at the sites as well as what else exists as 'museums'
there,hours open and any admission costs.It also details other final resting places of other known personalities nearby.
Lamb does an excellent job of showing that in the American system of Government, the President is one of the people and remains so; even after his term of serving in the world's greatest office; he returns to being just another American Citizen;a point often made by President Harry S Truman.
One of the things I liked about this book was that the author didn't just put together a bunch of readily information to fill a few pages on each President.He provided all the same information for each President, and in doing that;he makes it very evident that these were highly different people and comparisons are clearly brought out.A guide of this type where things are given about one President ,but not another, would be a lazy approach and frustrating to the reader.
In a very thumbnail manner the author shows that all these Presidents put the privilige of holding the office above all the politics involved in their lives.
I have to admit,that the answer to the title,s question,left me wondering until I saw the answer in another Cusromer,s Review.
If I may,here is something to entice you;
What President was the sole mourner at the committal of a politician,who had gone to jail for tax evasion; and when asked by the pastor; "Mr. President,why are you here?, he asked. "It's cold and bitter. Did you know this gentleman?" The President replied; "Pastor,I never forget a friend."
Anyone interested in American History or Politics will find this a great source of information and a readily available reference source. While a super guide to the Presidents' graves ;it is also a good reference.

This unique book is full of surprises, plenty of clear pictures, and short evaluations of each president. From Washington to the present George Bush, the reader visits the final resting places of our American presidents and learns how and when they died and their final words, in many cases.

Altho this book was published before the death of Ronald Reagan, pictures of his library and of the other living presidents are discussed.

In back of the book are names and places of the presidential libraries, the presidential and vice presidential gravesites listed by state, the burial places of president's wives and a host of other relevant material. Websites are even included.

Reading this book is an armchair traveller's delight. The traveller will appreciate the excellent directions. The research is phenomenal. Students of American history may want to add this to their book list.

If you are a fan of the American presidency and appreciate the valuable information that Brian Lamb and C-Span staff give us every day on the cable channels, you will absolutely enjoy this lively and well written book. Chapters are short, to the point, and contribute a wealth of information .

Brian Lamb and his C-SPAN team have written a number of wonderful and extremely-informative essay-filled booknotes on American History and Characters. "Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb" is no exception.

With contributions from Douglas Brinkley, Richard Norton Smith, and other noted Historians, this compact, easy-to-read volume is filled with vignettes and facts about all of the deceased Presidents, their last days, presumably their last words, and where they are buried. Admission prices to their libraries and museums (and this includes living Presidents and Jefferson Davis too) is also included.

Brinkley's insightful essay at the end of the book, in which he writes with great eloquence of the attachment of Springfield Illinois to Abraham Lincoln, and of his visits to other Presidential gravesites and museums is almost worth half of the price of this bargain edition.

Note: This book was published prior to the passing of President Reagan, yet it does note where he wished to be buried, and has information about the Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.

The book shows the human and humorous side of the Presidents, including Calvin Coolidge's funny comment to a woman who said she'd bet him if he would say two words ("You Lose", was Silent Cal's response), or how William Howard Taft, a Unitarian, deftly fought back against religious prejudice.

A solid and fun read, especially around the July 4th holiday, and at 4.99 is a much better buy, and totally devoid of political commentary ala Sarah Vowell's weak-at-the-knees "Assassination Vacation".

This is a powerful book indeed. The facts are there for those willing to check them out. For some people this maybe hard to acknowledge , but Chomsky is writing an account of History that everybody should take a time to read and investigate. In so doing , I am sure that you will have a new understanding of how things are , how the world really works and why.
When you read all those books praising globalization , world free trade and neoliberal economics...take a time and verify...go to the real world...and see what is really happening to the majority of the people...Capitalism is a better system , I'm sure...but some adjustments need to be done to the way the big economies are trying to impose it to the little countries....It is creating more poverty and social unrest..and I am afraid that there will come a time when we are not going to be able to control this...

Dense like lead is dense next to tin, Chomsky's serial revelations of atrocious U.S.A. histories will leave you burdened to suspend belief. If you can read and you are a citizen you will contend with your complicity of the 'us' in U.S.A. These plotted histories(many times not linear by the way)spill you through hundreds of years of stuff you don't think 'we' could do and up into 1992. Instead of pushing the weary citizen reader to the safety of the beach and THE END you will realize it is 2004 and we, the U.S.A. are the same.

If you cannot suspend belief you will bend over dazed, thoughts spinning like an errant compass, by the time you finish a few decimals of the first chapter, let alone if you can possibly fight through the moral exhaustion to reach 288.

If you have heart you will finish. If this is your first Chomsky, 288 will not be the end as the Notes and Bibliography begin and spider into more places to go. This is the densest calorie of writing as behind each thought and twitch you sense the colossus of study behind that tiny notice called a footnote. You will feel that this word 'footnote' should be dismissed as a derogatory description for these 288 moments - they should be called Massivenotes or something.

This is a sorrowful journey that is impossible for rationals to contend with. All i can do afterward is know 'yes, i am American.' I feel as if orphaned and wanting to know who I-Am-We-Us are. And 501 hasn't left me alone.

I happened to be reading this on the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks; on the same day my local paper carried a Mallard Fillmore strip which tried to mock the liberal media by having a stereotypical liberal media commentator intoning, "Today the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor. Let's examine how we brought this on ourselves." Amongst many other topics, Chomsky actually does show how we brought Pearl Harbor on ourselves. The "Pacific War" as he calls it was not just an unprovoked act of aggression. The Japanese imperialists, even though (as Chomsky points out) they were every bit as brutal as their white rivals, had an arguably legitimate political goal: that is, they wanted Asia to be ruled by Asians rather than by Europeans.

As others have noted, this is a pwerful, angry and wide-ranging book. As you can see just from the title: "Year 501" refers to the 501st anniversary of Columbus's first voyage, but Chomsky's story ranges all over the globe abd all over history.

If you're like me, you know Chomsky's political works primarily from his extensive collaborations with David Barsamian, which are based on speeches and radio interviews. Chomsky voice is much more fiery when, as he is here, he speaks without Barsamian as a moderator.

Chomsky's Year 501 is another engrossing work from this erudite and learned treasure and scholar. A good place to start is the concluding chapter as it presents an incredible analysis with an astonishing array of facts and figures relating to the domestic American scene and the conditions that have befallen the average U.S. worker. He brings the same studious approach to this area of inquiry as he's done for the last forty years regarding the international arena and linguistics. Along with Michael Parenti's Democracy For the Few, it's simply some of the best work available on this pressing topic. Deindustrialization, increasing underemployment, rising poverty, the increasing gap between the super rich and middle class, and the business community's relentless assault on unions - Chomsky touches on all these issues. He summarizes these developments by writing that the United States is showing the characteristics of a Third World country by becoming a two-tiered society. That the child poverty rate in New York city is approaching forty percent is just one example of the many nuggets of information a reader can garner from Year 501.

Of course the majority of the book covers an incredible amount of ground pertaining to international politics and economics with particular emphasis on Latin America. As always these passages shine with insight and brilliance while being backed up with rigorous documentation and research. Colonization to neo-imperialism are broached along with the two rip off machines known as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Since he's always refused to punk out to mainstream corporate opinion Chomsky's a somewhat cruel reminder to the orthodox pundits and intellectuals of what intellectual responsibility is truly about. The New Yorker recently ran a hit piece against him; this of course demonstrates that he's still pontificating and writing truths the black-tie cocktail party set refuse to countenance. Year 501 follows in the tradition of a long line of Chomsky books that make the establishmentarians a bit uncomfortable.

This is a book by Chomsky that is probably even more scholarly than usual. At least in the way it is written. Chomsky wrote this book on the 500th anniversary in 1992 of the beginnings of the invasion of much of the world of what Adam Smith refered to, in a rather narrow context as "the savage injustice of the Europeans ("revealing himself to be an early practicioner of the crime of 'political correctness,'"Chomsky comments sardonically)". Chomsky begins his survey by analyzing the policies of the major European powers and the United States as they grew to dominate the world. Such policies., he explains, are not the free market doctrines stressed by right wing talk radio hosts, University of Chicago professors and other such bores and frauds but by massive state subsides, huge tarrifs to block foreign competitors, extreme violence and colonial occupation.

Places like India and Bengal (Bangladesh) which were highly advanced industrial societies by the mid-1700's but all of the industries which were superior to their counterparts in Britain were deliberately undermined or simply forced out of existence by the British colonisers. India and Bangladesh became extremely poor, feudal agricultural countries supplying Britain with raw materials and as a captive market for British goods. The latter is a familiar pattern outlined by Chomsky in this book. The West, since World war II, dominated by the U.S., has always sought any way it could to block advanced economic development in the third world. The exceptions to this that Chomsky points to are Japan and its former colonies in Asia who violated all the laws of the free market to create very dynamic, if, of course, very far from perfect economies. The British, noted Chomsky, started to adopt "free trade" as policy as the United States would do later under similar circumstances, around 1846 when they had no competitors in their field but this changed around 1930 when they, along with the Americans, French and Dutch erected high tarrif walls around Japanese exports to their colonies in Asia with which they could not compete, a major factor in staring Japan's wars of conquest.

He examines the U.S. role in the slaugter of half a million people in Indonesia in 1965 as the independent nationalist Sukarno was overthrown and "a staggering mass slaughter of communists and pro-communits." The U.S. media, rejoyced at the massacre of landless peasants and the destruction of the only mass-based political party the communist PKI. General Suharto took power initiating ongoing plunder and exploitaion of Indonesia's resources by Western corporations while engaging in mass murder in the U.S. backed occupation of East Timor and elsewhere. He examines the media reaction to this slaugter and the reaction back in 1990 when this great event was brought up again by Kathy Kadane.

He examines the showcases of capitalism in the third world like Brazil, whose liberal capitalist president Goulart was overthrown in 1964 with U.S. aid by a group of Neo-nazi generals who compiled over the next few decades a truly horrific human rights record but who were praised for producing an "economic miracle" as the population sunk into quite horrific levels of malnourishment and disease and land became ever more concentrated in fewer hands and millions of street children arose in the big cities. And Nicaragua where the massive terrorism, celebrated by the media liberals that Chomsky quotes, brought to force upon the Nicaraguan people a defeat of the Sandanistas in "democratic election" in 1990 (the 1984 election won by the Sandinstas dissapearing into the memory hole). This has predictably resulted in a terrible rise in starvation and disease and drug running and street children and on.

He continues with an in-depth examination of the woes of Haiti and the American and Western efforts to ravage it since 1804, and particularly since 1915 when the U.S. invaded and reestablished virtual slavery, with a U.S. imposed constitution ratified with five percent of the voting public participainting under the U.S. marine bayonets, reversing the ban on foreign ownership of land.

He compares the podering of the unique evil of Japan in being unable to fully face up to their past crimes and the comparable ignoring of things like the hundreds of thousand of tortured victims of U.S. chemical warfare in South Vietname, which occasionally elicits a comment in the science pages of the newspapers about how we are missing a great opportunity to study the effects of dioxin on a control population

It is a very good book, the reading is really good!!! I loved reading the letters between Jefferson and Adams!!!! The letters are very good!!!!

This is a very intersting book. The letters are all preceeded by an introduction that gives the reader historical context as well as a description of the relationship at the time between the writers of the letter.

What an incredible feeling reading the words of two of our country's founding fathers. To feel the respect and affection , as well as irritation, of these men is astounding. I am grateful that they have been made available to us to have and hold in our own hands and libraries and to pass on to our children.

Out second and third presidents began their political career as friends, fell out, and then fortunately became friends again. In this wonderful collection of personal letters we see not only the men but the times until their deaths July 4, 1826. One of our most beloved presidents and most mis-understood are brought into reality by this collection. They were after all both remarkable men and human beings.

Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall and to be able to share in the thoughts and happenings of important places and people? Well, if your desires in that regard include the office of the Presidency of the United States and the early days following the American Revolution, that is exactly what this book provides.

As was typical of statesmen of that day, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams maintained a lengthy personal and professional correspondance the subjects of which were both mundane and highly intellectual. This book takes that correspondance, chronologically arranges it and then groups it according the characteristics of the time and the themes of their correspondance. As an additional bonus, John's wife Abigail Adams is included as well.

My attraction to this volume was to seek clarity and focus on several questions that are quite relevant to today. What was meant and intended by the concept of Separation of Church and State and what was the philisophic and religious thinking of there two important figures? There's no shortage of resources out there to tell you what these men thought, the context of their society and usually as an added bonus how these matters in one way or another support the agenda or perspective of the one putting the source together.

At some point however, if you really want to grapple with these issues or just understand the times and importance of these two men, there is no substitute for simply reading and allowing them to speak for themselves.

The added benefit of reading it through in its entirity is that you are not subjected to the judgement of another as to what is significant, what isn't and you aren't relying upon snippets and quotes that may or may not be in context and may or may not be representative of all that either man had to say upon a certain matter.

Certainly, this is just a small cross-section of all that these two men wrote and by itself there is much more that should be added. However, more than any other correspondance preserved from that day that these men engaged in, this was an exchange between men who considered the other his equal and for whom, with exceptions in time periods that are noted, mutual respect and a desire to explain themselves to one another motivated a candor and depth of intimacy that is difficult to find in other sectors.

Certainly, any student of American History needs this resource as a reference and as such it affords a ready means to add information and topically flip through the pages to see what each man had to say on a particular subject.

Every such student though, in my opinion, owes it to themselves, at least once, to just sit down and read the entire volume. Do this, and you'll have a handle upon the style of communication of the day, a feeling for many of the issues of the day and how they were viewed by the participants who did not have the advantage of knowing at the time how something would resolve. Idiosyncrasies in language and social custom will become more self-evident and the chances of being mislead by a quote isolated from its context will diminish considerably.

In short, for anyone who loves History, this is an experience not to be missed.

The footnotes and introductory passages to the different sections in my opinion do a remarkably good job of providing the reader with just enough context and outside information so that the letters themselves make sense and are not misunderstood. The reader is not told what to think about the letters per se, but rather equipped to make a better informed evaluation and come to their own conclusions. Those elements make the book valuable as well.

5 stars if ever there was a book worthy of 5 stars; again, this IS history.

Bart Breen

This review is only four years late. I was given a copy of Dr. Haley's book as a thank you gift stemming from a business relationship with the sole task of thanks that I would write a short review.

I just finished reading this book for the second time - and it was just as good the second as it was the first - possibly even better.

Dr. Haley caputures quite a bit of the charm of living in the Pacific Northwest (so many accurate quotes about the heat waves of Washington,) and then you factor in a cast of characters that seem familiar at first glance, but have the power to totally surprise you the next page over.

Full of humor and an egaging story, this book is perfect for fans of science fiction, without the snooty science fiction, and of amazing adventures. Sort of like a combination of Good Omens, Indiana Jones and Cheers.

Doc, You overdid yourself. I am hooked. Already have the second book, and can't wait to get started. You are one of the great minds of this day. Loved reading your book...multiple times...and surely again real soon. Looking forward to the sequel and hopefully a trilogy!!!!

Great book! How can I add anything to that? Best thing is that I can read it again and again but I need more. Yo! Mr. Haley, we need another book real soon. I have worn this one out reading it for the tenth time. Talking with a friend in LA and the rumor is that the big boys have been looking this over for either a movie or TV sitcom. Hope both are true! More rumors are that you have at least six more books coming out. When will they be here? Please hurry! Harry O

It was one of those books that once I started reading it was difficult to put down. I enjoyed the characters that Wayne created and how they functioned together. Enjoyable content, I recommend it for fun reading great entertainment.

The entire family loved this book. It kept you captive from start to end. I didn't want to put it down (just had to know what was going to happen next). I'm only sorry it took me so long to place my review because I truelly enjoyed this book. I am anticipating the release of the next book.

I don't think the founding fathers had an iron-clad 2 party monopoly based government in mind when this country was founded. In fact in was thought that the most intelligent and creative citizens would volunteer their time and energy to run the government and then return to their real vocation. What a distance we have traveled since those ideas. Robert Roth really tells it like it is, not like we hear it from the political parties. Our government is way out of control, when it cost $40 million to run for a primary in California's gubernatoral race and when big business can buy legislation almost on demand. It's time for change, and Roth's book sheds all the light we need to see how crucial and timely that change is needed. What an extraordinary book he has written and what a must it is for all of us to read it.

For anyone interested in third party politics, this book offers a good snapshot of the Natural Law Party, which, along with the Libertarian, Reform, and Constitution parties stands as one of the "major minors" -- often on the ballot, with a fairly professional operation. That said, much of the book drags, as Roth preaches about NLP views on several issues at great length, and gives short shrift to the party's actual plans for future electoral action. Perhaps silliest -- though most telling about what a minor party must face -- is a lengthy section about the creation and publicity of just one press release.

A real eye opener for anyone interested in the future of our country (and the world). This book clearly illustrates how the United States has become the least democratic country in the western world. It is the responsibility of every U.S. Citizen to read this book, something the Democratic and Republican parties do not want you to do. After reading this book, you will know how to make your vote really count!

This is a very humorous and readable indictment of our political process. It manages to clearly present the ways in which our democracy is not in the least democratic, without whining or complaining. It also presents the startling and surprisingly realistic proposals of the Natural Law Party.

Bob Roth has done us all a great service with his highly readable, timely book that offers us a vision of a simple, practical way out of political gridlock and incoherence and into a more harmonious age. The new millennium is upon us. It is time we thought in new millennium terms, not in an obsolete paradigm that is bringing us down. Bravo for this book and the courage and promise it holds.

THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY is an excellent legal resource which can be read by legal scholars, however, lay people need to consult a legal dictionary from time to time. But the book clearly establishes how the right to privacy applies to every citizen when used against several aspects of everyday life the citizen comes in contact with. Caroline Kennedy, along with Ellen Alderman, has proven her excellent legal scholarship which, in my opinion, qualifies her as attorney general and/or associate justice of the U. S. Supreme Court.

This book starts off Rated R. I wish I could give a copy to my teens, but it gets a little too descriptive (necessary for impact though) of police violations on women. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. (Maybe when they're older...) It is a collection of some landmark cases, conflicts, and horror stories of the reality of our government's instrusiveness into people's personal lives. It is an eye-opener to those who blindly follow government orders. I'm comfortable reading legal documents, but I thought one of the book's better points was that it put legal terms into layman's terms. I found the book so lively and intriguing I finished it in a day! I definitely recommend this for anyone concerned about government instrusiveness and loss or interpretation of constitutional rights.

a bit boring but just shows what big brother can do to innocent people . good to see caroline standing up for ordinary people .

I enjoyed this book, even though it is heavy on legal court cases. Don't let that fool you, though, it's not a legal reference. This book covers significant cases in privacy using a very interesting approach. There a interviews and behind-the-scenes stories that explain what happened, how the plaintiff felt, and what the outcome was.

If you liked this book you will love "The Digital Umbrella." It is a great compliment to this book.

This book is written by a couple of lawyers who specialize in privacy issues. It is essentially a collection of thoughly researched court cases with added commentary from the authors. As such, it reads like...well... a collection of court cases.

A copy was originally lent to me by a very well-read and intelligent friend of mine who considered it overly dry. I, on the other hand, loved it. It's very details-oriented from cover-to-cover and packs in a wealth of information that is invaluable to anyone interested in the legal aspects of privacy.

I have read much on the history of our beautiful country and also of other countries as well.

This book by Thomas Paine "COMMON SENSE AND THE RIGHTS OF MAN" is an extraordinary out line of how man should form his government and live in harmony with his fellow man in this world. Thomas Paine, one of our founding fathers, is a man that saw the rights of man being trampled on by England. His writing is plain common sense, of which many of us fail to utilize, about what a government should be and should not be. Our founding fathers gave us a Republic, if we could keep it. So far we have taken the declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights completly our of context. We are nowhere near the government our founding fathers gave us.

Those who wish to find the truth are compelled to read this book. Those who are satisified with the status quo will continue to be so. Read one of the best books ever written on the Rights of Man and then make your decision whether you want to live free men or langour in slavery.

Thomas Eby......

Thomas Paine is the Main Man who started the two Revolutionary Wars, first America which took 7 years then afterwards France starts her own Revolution with Thomas Paine's help but hers is won almost overnight. Thomas Paine not only started these Revolutions but he participated in both. This book is a real page turner that you won't be able to put down!

With all of the current claims by people of what the Founding Fathers intended for our country I decided to begin reading them for myself to achieve a personal perspective on what the Founders intended. This book and the writings contained are an excellent source of information and insight as to what Thomas Paine's intentions were.

Thomas Paine is an important figure in the founding of the United States. Although he was later ignored by the United States (when he was a prisoner in France...).

The book is a good compilation of the works of Thomas Paine. Paine was a smart man and his writings were influential in the American Revolution (Common Sense) and the French Revolution (Rights of Man). This book combines the writings into one book.

Common Sense is a short phamplet that greatly influenced the United States foundation. The sensical arguments seem obvious to readers in the 21st Century but in the late 18th century they were ideas that people needed to hear, and was a kickoff to the drive for independence. Common sense was read by a lot of Americans at the time and would do students of American History well to get the feelings of the Revolutionary period.

In today's politically heated atmosphere, people seem to have forgotten what this great nation was founded on. Reading this book is enlightening, awakening, and reminds us of what it took to make America. Sadly, it's also a pretty sharp reminder of how more and more of our rights are being stripped away from us. I think this book should be required reading in school, and certainly before any political discussion. I recommend this book to ANYONE of ANY AGE. Absolutely amazing.

As you consider Enron's Kenneth Lay going to trial, "From Edison to Enron" provides the necessary historical context. Unlike any of the other Enron books, Richard Munson's explains where Enron fits within the power business. Munson also provides good portraits of Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Samuel Insull, who has amazing simililarities to Ken Lay, although 70 years ago. This is a really good book.

Richard Munson's "From Edison to Enron" is the best book available on the power industry, which is the nation's largest and arguably its most important business. Munson provides zest to the story with entertaining profiles of Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, Nicola Tesla, Samuel Insull, Kenneth Lay, and others. He also provides a cogent review of current trends and emerging technologies. Anyone interested in biography and/or business will find this book to be informative, entertaining, and well reasoned.

Electricity is perhaps our most important industry. It certainly is our largest. It also is our least understood. That's where Richard Munson provides such a valuable service. He offers an engaging historical overview -- with first-rate profiles of Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, Samuel Insull, George Norris, and other industry giants -- and he also provides an insightful review of the current issues and challenges facing the electricity business. This book is a real resource for university history as well as business (and even engineering) classes, and it offers an entertaining read for the general reader interested in the environment and the economy.

I was particularly taken by Munson's comparison of Samuel Insull -- an energy tycoon of the 1920s and 1930s -- and Enron's Kenneth Lay. The author reveals both men's accomplishments and deceits, but he also highlights how each brought change to the industry.

Munson also is effective when he discusses the potential for improvements in the power business. While noting the industry's stagnant efficiency, pollution, and lack of reliability, he argues for removing the regulatory barriers that were developed over the last century to promote and protect monopolies, which have had no incentive to innovate. He describes clearly several innovative technologies and profiles some of the entrepreneurs trying to bring those innovations to the market. Munson is even handed, showing how some utility executives as well as environmental activists are protecting the status quo and blocking efficiency.

The book is well written, effectively integrating information from history, politics, as well as engineering. It is the best business book of the last year.

Electrification is the single greatest achievement in the 20th century. Electricity revolutionized commerce and transportation and improved both the standard of living and the quality of life for all who had access to it. Economic progress without it would be slow and tortuous. Like water in any society, electricity has become a critical resource (or rather, service) in modern society, and like any other critical resource, it is subject to often intense politics.

Edison set the stage when he perfected the humble light bulb, and Tesla got things moving when he discovered the interesting properties of alternating current and the transformer. Edison also put into play the first combined heat and power plant, for which many today (including the author) feel is the future of electricity. However, these knaves fail to acknowledge that on the one hand, electricity is high-grade energy, one that can be used far from its source of production, while heat is low grade energy which must be put into play immediately where it is produced. Lord Kelvin and Westinghouse, seeing the benefits of alternating current, each played a role in setting the stage for centralized, monopoly electricity production. However, it was Samuel Insull who championed for the formation of the traditional, investor-owned-utility (IOU) that most every ratepayer is familiar with today. A slew of politicians, from Democrat FDR to Republican George Norris, turned electricity into a populist cause, and basically ensured that the CEO of every IOU henceforth would be a rabid Republican.

Some say that the greatest technological achievement of the 20th century belongs to computers, or to antibiotics, but these individuals overlook one important thing. Electricity is the great enabler, as it allows people to free themselves from the whims of natural rhythms, escape lives of tedium and drudgery, and above all, achieve a level of convenience and prosperity unheard of in recorded history.

The key thing here is convenience. Electricity made possible a whole slew of appliances, from the humble stove and refrigerator to the mighty microwave and washing machine, that made life easier for all who access to it. Once it was proven safe and (more or less) reliable, the key thing then was to ensure access to service for all that needed it or wanted it. This was the operating paradigm up until 1970 or so, when things first began to change. Given the state of the technology in that period, transmission and distribution of the electricity presented itself as the key stumbling block, and given the massive investment required to make access available to all, it seemed logical to let one supervised player control all aspects of the service, from generation to transmission and distribution. In return for earning a known return for his investment, this player agreed to strict regulation in exchange for the exclusive right to provide the service to consumers in a given area.

The author seeks to make the case that the technology has progressed to the point where consumers can be their own producers of electricity, and meet their own needs. He neglects to tell the reader that electricity consumers have had this ability for at least four decades now, and the reason that most do not pursue production is because it is more convenient (and cheaper) to let the utility do it for them. Those that need to produce can produce, but most of us do not need to produce what we consume. The author also claims that the traditional IOUs hamper innovation via their monopolistic position and practices. While true to some extent, he neglects to inform the reader of a few things, particularly the fact that most consumers, especially residential ratepayers, do not want innovation; they want the convenience of power at preferably cheap rates.

Because of the populist nature of electricity, for the longest time, business has been in effect subsidizing residential ratepayers via high rates, and only recently has this state of affairs reversed, in part because of greater competition brought about by the rise of the merchant generator and innovative (but not necessarily new) technologies. Nowadays, you essentially have two classes of ratepayer- business and residential. Like most commentators on the subject, the author is openly more interested in the welfare of the business ratepayer (who without a doubt has benefited from de-regulation, seeing prices come down by more than half in some cases), while neglecting the plight of the friendly neighborhood, wage-earning, rent-paying residential ratepaying schmuck (who without a doubt has been the loser in deregulation, seeing her prices actually go up). These two ratepaying classes take access for granted, and nowadays have very different concerns and priorities. The over-riding concern of the residential ratepayer is the same then as now- convenience (about all they know about the service is vaguely who to send the bill to... most months!). The business ratepayer has two concerns- lowering his costs thus increasing his profits, and ensuring a steady, reliable supply of energy to ensure that he can deliver his good or service so as to thus avoid lost business.

Perhaps the author's biggest omission is this: electricity is a commodity that it seems no one, either the business or residential consumer, wants to shoulder the full cost for. This key omission holds considerable horrors for anyone looking to be involved in this industry (especially on the investment side). In sum, the experience with (electric) utilities has shown that competition is indeed good for some, particularly big business consumers, and innovation, though very cool and sounding very nice, takes a back seat to both convenience and cost concerns for business and residential customers alike.

Richard Munson offers a unique and entertaining look at the 20th century by tracing the efforts to capture and capitalize on electricity. His profiles of Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla, Samuel Insull, and others are first rate. He also clearly documents how this unique form of energy has changed our lives and altered our landscapes.

Munson paints a clear-headed critique of our outmoded and inefficient electricity system. He also offers a balanced view of the opportunities for efficiency and innovation.

If you can read but one energy book -- particularly in light of concerns about pollution, climate change, reliable supplies, and economic development -- I strongly recommend "From Edison to Enron."

While as comprehensive and extraordinarily detailed as a college text, and as fully annotated, this is a great example of a 'popular' history at the top of its game. The enormous amount of (often grueling) material is nicely organized across time, place, and category, the many significant characters are well-delineated, and there is a sense of narrative flow and pretty steady momentum to this highly readable book.

This is a excellent, outstanding and informative book, that every patriotic american should read. These men are real American Heroes, I needn"t say more.

Definitely one of the best books I every read. It's amazing what a man will do for honor, to protect the life and dignity of another, at his own peril. There are scores of examples of this in this book. On the down side, what men bent on tyranny and oppression will do to break the will of another. However, light truly shines through darkness. If you think you have it rough, read this book.

This is a lengthy but well written book. If you are looking for an excellent history of the POW's from the Vietnam war, this is the one to get. If you are interested in history or the human aspects of the Vietnam POW's this would be very valuable. I have read a number of books on POW's and this is by far the best of the lot.

This observer has followed the POW situation since 1972, when he was still on active duty. He is familiar with many POW memoirs, so the men in Messer's. Kiley and Rochester's voluminous work are no strangers. Most of the prominent POWs are well known to many and they are certainly all here: Ernest Brace, Robinson Risner, James Stockdale, Jeremiah Denton, Frank Anton and Everett Alvarez-plus many more. If this reviewer had to choose a favorite memoir, it would be Anton's "Why Didn't You Get Me Out?" Honorable mention certainly goes to "A Code to Keep" by Mr. Brace. HB goes into far deeper detail than do individual stories, yet necessarily lacks the personal touch folks like those two gentlemen provide. Those in the amazon community who have read no POW tales and are satisfied with one big picture have the perfect book in HB. The back cover noted that HB "combines rigorous scholarly analysis with moving narrative". That it certainly does, in fullest detail. All the torture, all the mind games, all the coming and going and transfers, all the gripping boredom and fear, all the gruesome details of prison life are here. It will be clear that the POWs were anything but one big happy family. Disagreements abounded, especially that nebulous subject regarding compliance with the Code of Conduct. Some favored active resistance, some a "cooperate-graduate" approach. The authors also do an excellent choreographing of the release of the Spring of 1973. They were not repatriated on one fleet of C-141s but came home in stages. We learn that a handful of guys were released through Saigon and 2 through Hong Kong (!). There are some caveats attached to this review: HB cannot be skim read. It demands attention and a substantial investment of time upfront. Casual readers are in the wrong place! They won't appreciate the 88 pages of appendices and notes/footnotes. HB also concentrates on prisoners held in the major North Vietnam detention centers. The missing in Cambodia, Laos and even China are outside the scope of HB. But HB is also silent on the fate of the discrepancy cases of those lost in the 4 countries. One hopes that the authors, writing a book that admits to being "an official publication of the Department of Defense", are not attempting a "Case Closed" on the 1,783 still unaccounted for. This observer will give the authors the benefit of the doubt here. Still. FAR more disturbing is a gratuitous remark on Page 589 that those who continue to press for a fullest accounting of the missing are "a swarm of polemicists and opportunists". This reviewer is one of them! He belongs to neither of those species! Since it is most likely that no offense was intended, none is taken but that comment demands an explanation! It certainly merits an unfortunate reduction in rank to 4 stars. That there even is a page 589 is the essence of HB. This one is not for those with a passing fancy on the Indochina War. A final note: There is a new, voluminous publication available on amazon-"An Enormous Crime". That particular 566 page volume-in small type no less-claims to be the "definitive account of American POWs abandoned in Southeast Asia". The different scope of EC should encompass what HB did not. Maybe these 1,000+ combined pages of text will shed a final light on the thorny question of POWs/MIAs in Indochina. Congressman King (R-NY) is also attempting to convene new hearings on the same subject. This painful matter will be with us for a while. The bottom line to "Honor Bound" is the headline above. This is indeed a great work of military scholarship and for that the authors deserve their due.

The work of Hakim Bey is well-known in that other american world, the "underground" society, the one of subculture, silent resistance and anarchy. But slowly it has been bubbling to the surface, often in unexpected places. The novel and film Fight Club, surely shows an affection for poetic terrorism, an idea rooted in Bey's ontological anarchism and closely related to the situationist tactic of detornement. T.A.Z. is not the property of any philosophy but chaos and elegant disorder. Sure, there are aspects of anarchism, chaos thinking, situationist leanings, but that is just a symptom of the spectacle and is such precisely because of it. These essays all point to a way out of this spectacular society, but the first step comes with the mere recognition of it. This is harder than it sounds, or perhaps easier. TV and the media are always easy components to recognize, the real challenge is to recognize how the spectacle, i.e., the prefabricated, artificial, consumerist milieu penetrates, influences and shapes even our most intimate thoughts--which we often mistake for our own desires, wants and needs. In T.A.Z. Bey offers suggestions on how we can extricate ourselves from this structure and start creating our own temporary autonomous zones, within this system of economic, social and cultural oppression. Immediatism, Poetic Terrorism, and the embrace of Chaos are just a few of the strategies that he advises, all of which presuppose a new dialectic with reality.

This is only an outline, a mere review, I leave discerning and interpreting the details to you...Get this book today (also available in spoken word from axiom records).

TAZ is an amazing book. I personally see it as a philosophy and a self-improvement book. Hakim Bey presents his ideas about how the universe should be, chaotic. If you are into chaos magic or discordianism you will find this book very appealing and its a book that must be in your collection.

TAZ is a virus, it spreads through all the self-created walls that hold you down with the promise of true freedom. Suddenly you will become chaos.

Assume nothing.

I am surprised that the sort of people attracted to such a work--to guess from previous reviews--are still apparently apt to want to swallow the thing wholly, assertions that "they lied to you, sold you ideas" and all. Personally i reckon that we are in the midst of a conspiracy, yes...but most likely an unconscious one--the aggregate of fear & complacency & ignorance & such things, that is, resulting insidiously in the effects of a sort of conspiracy. What sort of result, for example, would one really expect from blowing up a transmission tower? A sudden enlightenment of the populace? No: most people would likely become even more reactionary when faced with causes for alarm.

Essentially this book, in spite of its claims to the contrary, seems to me a variety of art movement and not the "ultimate" anything, but as with anything so incendiary and beautiful its value can still hardly be overestimated. Who can resist Poetic Terrorism or Bey's felicity with language (eg. Chaote art)? The language and imagery are colourful and bursting full. Imagine a feast laid out on a table with barely enough room for the feasters' plates--and certainly not enough for their elbows--and everyone seated around it wearing purple plumage or velvet saris or nothing at all & laughing with food in their mouths.

I'll take what i need and leave the rest, as it goes. Implicit in most of the writing is criticism of those who would reject any part of the "freedom" described, but who's afraid of Hakim Bey? I'm glad he wrote even if i won't be taking all of what he wrote to heart.

Have a couple of dictionaries standing by, or be sure to have a few dozen bookmarked online while reading this, for if you're to appreciate Bey's prose, you're likely to need 'em. He writes in a strange way, obviously highly intelligent, but rambling, and if you're not quite sure what he's on about, it's just going to seem worse.

There are a lot of ideas in here, based on things I'm not very familiar with, such as Sufism and dadism - some of which are at least partially explained, but this is one of those books you need to read, and then come back to later and see how it compares. Certainly on the first go struggling somewhat to get a feel for how his mind works on paper.

It's a very inspiring work, which he may loathe to hear, but I intend to do something about it. I recommend reading it to anyone interested in expanding their interests and testing the limits of one's mind. Agreeing with everything he presents isn't necessary, but thinking about it is - doing even better. Highly recommended reading.

This is one of those pieces of literature that you simply cannot afford to miss. It's like discovering Marge Piercy at the tender, malleable age of 12, or finding Clarissa Pinkola Estes' book, worn and well-loved, after a ten-year marriage filled with abuse. Except, TAZ doesn't require you to be at any particular phase of your life to change it. It just does. Sometimes, it's not immediate. Sometimes it sits quietly in the back of your mind, bubbling up curt replies to oppressive corporate and societal forces that occasionally - tragically infrequently, to begin with - with issue forth from your mouth and cause bank tellers to go pale with shock.

Temporary Autonomous Zones are nets of co-conspirators, ready to take the mass of over-bearing government and the thin veneer of so-called civilization down, not through bloody revolution, but rather through obsolescence. If we do not respect the right to control us, if we have our own power back to do our own work, only then are we our own people. And moreover, in "Ontological Anarchism", we find the suggestion that we do not have to define ourselves by ANYTHING other than what WE feel we are. We are "supposed" to be productive, civilized, friendly, codependent, well-dressed, well-paid, well-fed and easily coddled. But humans are NOT that - we are animals, base creatures of a triple nature, as gods are, as goddesses are. And in each as our own deity, we cannot be truly shaped by anyone else but our own ineffable nature.

And that's just the beginning....