United States Books

I have suffered with major depression for over 16 years now, but was officially diagnosed with depression just a couple short weeks ago. The title of this book is what immediately caught my attention. I knew I had to find a way to read it. I decided to check to see if my local library had a copy. It didn't. But I was able to get a copy from a public library in another city through inter-library loan.

I saw myself so often in this pages of this book. It made me feel less alone. Reading Ms. Thompson's book was like having an intense personal conversation. This book is extremely well written. Ms. Thompson has some great insights. I love her brutal honest. She gives an honest and complete disclosure. She talks openly about the good, the bad, and the ugly. I would highly recommend this book to people who suffer with depression themselves. But I would also recommend it to those who are struggling to understand the struggles of a friend or family member who struggles with depression. There are things in this book that caused me to think about my own situation in a new way. Some of her insights are profound. It couldn't have been easy for Ms. Thompson to write this book. After all, she was a well-known journalist. She was risking her career by writing with such brutal honesty. But I am so glad that she was able to overcome her fear of rejection. She has done all of us, especially those of us who suffer with major depression, a great service. I am so thankful for this book.

Like other great heroes, Tracy Thompson probably does not consider herself heroic. Nonetheless, she is very much a hero of mine. "The Beast" helped me soldier through the blackest days of my life, for which I will be forever grateful to Ms. Thompson.

"The Beast" is an exceptional and excellently written description of a deeply private, highly accomplished woman's journey out of a dark night of her soul.

If you suffer from depression or if you wish to better understand depression in order to support a loved one, I encourage you to read "The Beast."

I read this book shortly after it was released. My first thought was "Wow, someone understands how I feel." It is an excellent book for those around us who do not understand depression and the mental and physical problems that accompany it. I have read this book several times. I have also recommended it to many including my counselor. Tracy Thompson helped remove the stigma associated with mentai illness.

This is a great book about a personal struggle with depression and it might help those who love someone with this disease understand just a bit about the daily struggle and battle with the beast. It is a good title and you want to turn the page and see how things work out and you hope that it will work out, but you know that it doesn't always work out in the way in which you hope for.

This is a book from the inside out, meaning the author writes well about the subject because it comes from within. I have read several books about depression, and this is the one that has impressed me the most. Honest, well-written, and it tells it like it is. At times I found myself disagreeing with the author's actions (but who am I to judge) as if she was a character (see, it reads like a good book, a novel even, definitely not self-help and never ever patronizing), but I always appreciated her honesty and "straightford-ness." Somehow I found this book at the time I needed it the most, when I had given up all hope of getting better. I'm still not convinced I will, but this book has me rooting for the author. I am ever grateful and thankful it exists.

If you suffer from depression, just want to know more about it, or someone you love suffers from it, please READ THIS BOOK. Most of the time, in anthologies and even some "memoirs," I think: this person has no idea what they are talking about, I can't relate. Not here. This book is accessible and, I truly believe, helpful to anyone who reads it. Do yourself a favor and read this book. It is an asset to the field. And, subject not withstanding, it's a good book on its own. In other words, as a memoir it is interesting, entertaining, and you'll slow down your reading just to make it last longer (and to me, that's often the mark of a good book and an excellent storyteller). Best of luck to the author. And for anyone who reads this book because they "need" it, I get it. More importantly, so does the author. Good luck, then, to all of us.

I read the book in one day. It was very engaging and I went through the whole array of emotions as I read it. Reliving alot of similar moments for I am a Mom with twin boys that have been diagnosed with ADHD. I love to read, however the books on ADHD that I have read have been of little value. As Robert shares his story and his perspective it helped me understand my boys even better. The book may not have all the answers, but it did share some of the discoveries that Robert made on his own. In order to find ways to improve their self esteem, it helps to understand how society tears it down. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand a person with ADHD traits.

This book was phenomenal!! It is the story of my life and I am glad I am not alone.
I encourage all adults who think or know that they have attention deficit to read this.
The book encouraged me to accept me for who I am and start my own chapter for ADHD in my own city.

The Little Monster: Growing Up With ADHD
The Little Monster by Robert Jergen is a great read! The book takes the reader inside the head of Dr. Jergen, who has ADHD, and lets the reader see and feel what is like to have ADHD. This story will both touch and delight you as you read it. Most importantly though, this book will both teach and give you hope whether you have ADHD or are a parent or teacher for someone who has ADHD. Dr. Jergen gives the reader workable solutions to everyday problems as well as other referral sources for parents and teachers. When Dr. Jergen entered into his doctoral program, he discovered and wrote this, "The question became, not how to "cure" my ADHD, but how to utilize it."

I found this book to be very useful in seeing the world from an ADHD child and adult's perspective. But the author seems to feel that the entire world needs to shift to accommodate what seems natural to him. It seems that everyone must tolerate and indeed celebrate behavior that makes life unpleasant and difficult for the non-ADHD person who has the bad luck to work with an ADHD adult.

I came away from the book feeling sad for ADHD children and their parents and their poor teachers who have delivered into their classrooms the "gift" of an uncontrolled child. And I am profoundly grateful that I don't work with an ADHD adult.

It would have been nice to read more about how the author tries to accommodate others and less about how the world must warp to fit him.

I highly recommend this book to parents, teachers and anyone interested in learning more about ADHD. I am actually currently taking my Masters in Special Education and this book was a wonderful source of information. It is a very powerful book where the author talks about his personal experience growing up with ADHD. All parents of kids with ADHD should read this book because after this experience they will definitely understand better their kids' behavior. I congratulate the author for sharing his personal experience and for showing through his writing how parents and teachers have a crucial role in developing kids' self - esteem

This is a very informative book and a must read for anyone interested in understanding why the Bush administration is so prone to launching wars in the oil-rich Middle East region. The author, a renowned economist, is very knowledgeable about the economics and domestic politics that support such warmongering efforts. He identifies the pro-Israel Neocon movement and its alliance with the lunatics of the religious Right as important forces in the push toward involving the U.S. in wars abroad. The military-industrial complex and the strategic importance of Middle East oil are represented by Vice President Dick Cheney in the Bush administration, and are also prime movers of war.

Probably the most original part of this book is its chronology of empires and how Western civilization started its ascendency after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. This chapter (chap. 16) is worth buying the book in itself. The author's style is direct and pulls no punches. An excellent book.

As an amateur student of American foreign policy, I am appalled by the wave of anti-americanism it has generated over the last few years. The policy of systematically meddling in the internal affairs of other countries, especially in the Middle East, has been most counter-productive.

There is no doubt that unbridled interventionism, often done illegally and under murky influences, is the root cause of why there is so much anti-americanism around the world. And case in point is the gratuitous violence imposed on some Muslim countries, i.e. Iraq and Palestine. This is creating tons of resentment all over the Muslim world, turning many to hatred and some to terrorism.

Tremblay's book offers a way out of this circular dilemma: Apply to the Muslim world the same treatment given to the Communist world with the 1975 Helsinki Accords. As he puts it (p. 152-53), the Helsinki Accords, signed by 33 Eastern and Western European countries, the United States, and Canada, played a fundamental role in opening up the communist bloc to liberty, freedom and reforms. I doubt that bombs would have brought the same result.

Former President Mikhail Gorbachev has said that the Helsinki Accords opened the door to reforms that would not have taken place otherwise. Why can we not adopt a similar approach with the Muslim world, instead of jumping all the time on the war wagon? This is a well-written and well-researched book. It is highly recommended.

People who want a condensed introduction on how the Bush administration walked into a quagmire in Iraq should read "The New American Empire". I don't agree with all of Tremblay's arguments, but in my opinion he hits the nail on the head when he identifies the real reasons why Bush II invaded Iraq, i.e oil, Israel, military bases and domestic politics. By the way, the same scenario seems to be repeating itself with Iran, with the same deception about the real reasons for intimidating Iran.

So, even if you do not agree with everything the author has to say, this book is worth a ton of newspapers articles or hours of TV reporting. The chapters on `Oil' and on the `History of Empires' are worth buying this book.

Among the many books written on the Iraq war and the Bush administration's fixation with militarism, this book by economist Tremblay is one of the most readable and most informative.

The fact that George W. Bush was planning a premeditated attack on Iraq to secure 'regime change' in that country, even before he took power in January 2001, should make people pause and think. So should the Neocon blueprint for a complete American take-over of the Middle East ("Rebuilding America's Defenses"), drafted in Sept. 2001, by Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Jeb Bush and Lewis Libby.

Now that Iraq is a mess, that thousands and thousands of people have been killed, and hundreds of billions of dollars have been wasted, the American people are entitled to know the real reasons why the Bush administration launched an illegal war of aggression against Iraq, with no provocation but with a lot of bad faith. All the official reasons have been proven false. After reading this book, one knows the real reasons behind one of the most foolish enterprises ever undertaken by a U.S. government abroad. I have learned a lot also from prof.
Tremblay's new blog: http://www.TheNewAmericanEmpire.com/blog.

The truth shall set you free!

Dr. Tremblay is right on target with his assessment of the direction the U.S. is heading, along with his critiques of the politicians we have in this country. It is amazing that more people don't "see through" the false facades these people present to the public, and that so many people believe the lies doled out to unsuspecting voters! I would recommend this book as a very timely read....particularly in view of the upcoming 2008 Presidential Elections

This book may perhaps not meet your expectations regarding content: I expected to see the uncles in their own habitat, surrounded by the debris of compulsive hoarding, at one with the world they had created. Lidz does not show this world: instead, he shows mainly the two uncles who live outside asylums at odds with the outside world, fumbling their beyond-quirky way through the landscape of New York.

That difference could make or break your interest in the book. Which do you want to read about, two curmudgeons at home in the nest they have created or two outcasts in society? I'm not saying that either narrative pathway makes for a bad or good book; I merely suggest that, before you read, you be prepared for what you will be reading. You might also consider that the four uncles of the title really refers mainly to two uncles; one of the others makes a single cameo appearance, and the other uncle gets a bit of space toward the end.

Lidz takes slow steps in childhood, telling ancedotes about his times with the two main uncles. These humerous takes are made forceful because they are told against the backdrop of his mother's long, ultimately fatal bout with cancer, a narrative that underpins the first half of the book. You thus have two strong narrative themes in the first half: the bumbling uncles (and the question of how on earth they function) and the sick mother (and the question of how on earth she manages to hang on to life).

The book becomes rockier in the second half, beginning when Lidz is an adolescent and his father remarries. Time speeds up considerably and without warning: you go from the slow ascent of the roller coaster to the rapid descent, and, narratively speaking, it's a rocky ride. It does make some narrative sense to speed up this second half, but it's too much too quickly and thus disconcerting for the reader. The second two uncles are introduced rapidly and don't receive as much analysis as the other two.

The book goes on to wrap up (incompletely) too quickly as well. It's as if when one uncle dies, another uncle is plugged in to take his place, and, what with the uniqueness of the uncles being emphasized, it doesn't work in the narrative. Lidz's attempt to introduce his recording techniques is also akwardly introduced, though I don't know how he could have done it more smoothly.

All in all, though, it's a good book. The strong first half does much to make up for the weaker second half, and the character's personalities make for excellent dialogue throughout. Lidz is an excellent prose writer who simply needs to pace himself a bit better; the writing itself is commendable. Recommended.

Heard the taped version of UUNSTRUNG HEROES by Franz
Lidz, the author's tale of growing up in what might charitably
be called a dysfunctional family . . . it consisted of him and
his sister, their parents, and their father's four brothers who
played an even more significant role in his upbringing when
his mother died.

If you ever thought your family was strange, wait until you meet
this group of eccentrics . . . for example, one brother thought
Mickey Mantle was out to get him . . . another collected
shoelaces . . . how Lidz, who became a writer for SPORTS
ILLUSTRATED, managed to escape the lunacy is beyond
me.

The fact that he grew up on Long Island, not far from where
I was raised, made the book even more interesting to me . . . that
and the narration by John Turturro . . . the actor's work greatly
aided in my enjoyment of UNSTRUNG HEROES.

This story although sadding at times kept me giggling and laughing at the antics of these uncles based on the real-life uncles of the author. I can see why it was made into a movie--it is a ball of fun and yet heartbreaking in others and down-right silly at times--in the end you come to feel as if you KNOW these men and the rest of the family and you feel slightly sad that more people don't look at the world through their eyes, but instead are so quick to judge those considered "different". I hated to see it end---a great, great story!!!

The author possesses fierce intellectual honesty, and his prose has a bare, involuted rhythm that is almost hypnotic. Very, very funny.

I could show you a sentence in Unstrung Heroes as elegant in its implications as the binomial theorem, and another as economically sphinx-like as the square root of minus one. The declarative sentence, Franz Lidz makes you suppose, is perhaps a writer's highest achievement.

Phillip Done portrays life as a teacher in a humorous, enjoyable manner. His writing style is engaging and easy to read. As a teacher, it's easy to relate to many of the stories he shares. I enjoyed the book so much, I bought a copy to share with my co-workers. A fun, must-read for all teachers dedicated to the task of helping children build upon their self-esteem as well as grow academically.

As a third grade teacher I just want to say that Mr. Done has put my classroom into words-thank you, it makes me feel good to know that all third grade teachers are in the same boat, and enjoying the ride....most of the time.

If you want to laugh until you cry, then read this book! Phillip Done captures all the joys of teaching and expresses it in a way that is hilarious. As I tried to share passages with my family, I couldn't get it out because I was laughing so hard. Anyone who has taught or is starting their first year of teaching should definitely read this. You will be truly inspired!

If you teach, this is a MUST read!

Mr. Done was my fourth grade teacher. I was positively THRILLED when I realized he had written a book. He was, by far, one of my most memorable teachers to this day. His book is amazing, and brought back a lot of awesome memories I have of elementary school. Excellent read.

_Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond_, first published in 1985 and revised in 1992, by journalist and author Martin A. Lee and author Bruce Shlain is a fascinating and wild account of the history of LSD in America. The implications of this journalistic history are startling in that they show the role of the CIA and the government of the United States in creating much of the LSD culture that grew up during the Sixties. I should add that one advantage of this book over Martin A. Lee's other book _The Beast Reawakens_ (1999) is that Lee is able to keep a cool head and write about LSD without lapsing into paroxysms of hysteria as he does when writing about Nazis. This is very fortunate for the reader because it spares us from having to sort through a lot of irrelevant nonsense. The history of LSD in the United States is a fascinating one, and the creation of a drug culture in the Sixties as well as the links between this culture and the hippies, the New Left, and the anti-war movement offers much interesting material. But, lurking behind the whole thing is the nefarious role of the CIA and the government, originally in testing out these drugs in a series of unethical experiments and later in possibly manipulating the very culture that arose from their newfound prevalence itself. This is a fascinating story and one that should be told particularly in light of the complex relationship that has always existed between the drug culture and the state.

The book begins with an Introduction entitled "Whose Worlds Are These?" by Andrei Codrescu. This Introduction lays out the use of LSD as presented in the book both through the experiments of the CIA and as promoted by such figures as Captain Al Hubbard, Aldous Huxley, Timothy Leary, Owsley, Art Kleps, Ken Kesey, and others. The book proper begins with a Prologue in which the authors explain the discovery of LSD-25 by Dr. Albert Hoffman, who was later to give an important speech to psychedelic followers in 1977. This Prologue also details the role of the CIA and through such projects as Operation MK-ULTRA engaged in unethical experimentation with LSD on unwitting participants. The first section of this book is entitled "The Roots of Psychedelia". The first chapter of this section is entitled "In the Beginning There Was Madness . . . " and details the role of the CIA in the unethical use of LSD and later in promoting the LSD subculture. This chapter includes sections entitled "The Truth Seekers", "Enter LSD", "Laboratories of the State", "Midnight Climax", and "The Hallucination Battlefield". This chapter details the role of the CIA in experimenting with LSD through projects such as Operation MK-ULTRA, mentioning such figures as William "Wild Bill" Donovan, Allen Dulles, Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, and the hijinx of George Hunter White. The authors explain how originally the model for LSD was that the drug mimicked psychosis, but that eventually this model was to change. The CIA saw the drug as potentially useful for interrogations and engaged in many experiments on unwitting participants with the drug. The second chapter is entitled "Psychedelic Pioneers" and details how the drug was moved from the CIA clandestine operations to the counter-culture. This chapter includes sections entitled "The Original Captain Trips", "Healing Acid", and "Psychosis or Gnosis?". In particular, this chapter explains how government funded psychiatrists and psychologists came to believe that LSD may have some therapeutic potential thus abandoning the original "psychotomimetic" theory of LSD. The government engaged in much research on this drug, and by taking place in government sponsored experiments as participants, many prominent counter-cultural figures became involved with the drug (as a case in point there is the case of the poet Allen Ginsberg). Some figures came to see LSD as revealing deep secrets and as having a profound effect on human nature leading to the popular perspective that LSD offered a form of "gnosis" thus replacing the government's "psychosis" perspective. The third chapter is entitled "Under the Mushroom, Over the Rainbow" and explains how prominent individuals including Harvard professors (such as Timothy Leary and investment banker R. Gordon Wasson) became involved in the drug counter-culture. This chapter includes sections entitled "Manna From Harvard", "Chemical Crusaders", and "The Crackdown" - showing how the government eventually sought to crack down on LSD use eventually leading to its illegality. The fourth chapter is entitled "Preaching LSD" and discusses for example the hijinx of Timothy Leary (who some maintained was a CIA agent). This chapter includes sections entitled "High Surrealism", "The Psychedelic Manual", and "The Hard Sell". The fifth chapter of this book is entitled "The All-American Trip", detailing the rise of the Merry Pranksters who followed Ken Kesey. This chapter includes sections entitled "The Great Freak Forward" and "Acid and the New Left" - showing the problematic relationship between the LSD counter-culture and the political New Left. The second part of this book is entitled "Acid for the Masses". This part begins with the sixth chapter of this book entitled "From Hip to Hippie" showing how the LSD counter-culture created the emerging phenomenon of the hippie. This chapter includes sections entitled "Before the Deluge", "Politics of the Bummer", and "The First Human Be-In", in particular this chapter discusses how the "bad trip" came to emerge from a cultural matrix in which LSD was regarded as harmful by the establishment but as liberating by the counter-culture, virtually assuring that many would experiment with the drug themselves to find out for themselves the effects. The seventh chapter is entitled "The Capital of Forever" and includes sections entitled "Stone Free" and "The Great Summer Dropout". The eighth chapter is entitled "Peaking in Babylon" and includes sections entitled "A Gathering Storm", "Magical Politics", and "Gotta Revolution". In particular, this chapter shows how the LSD culture emerged in Haight-Ashbury and how it interacted with such other phenomena as the political New Left and the anti-war movement emerging as opposition to the Vietnam War, mentioning such things as the Diggers and the Yippies. In particular, many on the politically reductionistic New Left saw the whole hippie phenomena as an attempt to drop out of politics entirely and thus regarded it negatively. Further, many hippies became easy prey for dangerous psychopaths such as Charles Manson. The ninth chapter is entitled "Season of the Witch" and includes sections entitled "Armed Love", "The Acid Brotherhood", and "Bad Moon Rising". This chapter explains the relationships between the New Left and the anti-war movement forming as a force of opposition to the Vietnam War as well as the continuing and complicated relationship with the hippie culture and the phenomenon of folk music. The tenth chapter is entitled "What a Field Day for the Heat" and includes sections entitled "Prisoner of LSD", "A Bitter Pill", and "The Great LSD Conspiracy", in particular, this chapter maintains that behind the scenes the CIA may have been manipulating the drug counter-culture and may even have seen the Haight-Ashbury district as a social laboratory. The book ends with a Postscript entitled "Acid and After" and an Afterword.

This book offers an interesting study on the Sixties and the drug culture focusing around LSD that emerged out of this decade. In particular, after reading the book, it becomes clear that the hippie movement was easily manipulated by psychopaths such as Charles Manson and larger forces out of their control such as the CIA. Further, the naïve belief of many that LSD would lead to world peace turns out to have only been a passing phase. Another problematic raised by this book is the relationship between LSD use and New Left politics. Unfortunately, the New Left sought to reduce everything to politics so failed to appreciate any sort of development that lay outside of their own political sphere. This book offers a good examination of a troubled era and some of the hopes of people in that era that were ultimately manipulated by larger forces.

Yhis book belongs on the bookshelf of all those interested in the early days of psychedelic research and it's social ramifications. One word for it: Excellent!

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2NWFN612DXX3 My video review of Acid Dream. Really great bookAcid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond. ***** 5 stars =)

Can't think of a more informative and interesting way of describing this period of time. I loved this book. Big thanks to the authors!

This book is perfect - It offered everything I was hoping for when I first purchased it. It covered from the end of the 50's and the Beat generation and how their influence lead into the hippie generation, and it ended in the early 70's tying in the beginning of rock and punk. It is a true spectrum of the 1960's counterculture generation.

It's a large book but its facinating to learn about the history and the culture. Like previous reviewers said, it really ties up everyhting and clearly shows the correalation between the drug counterculture and the govn't & society during that time period. I was born in the 80's and this book really showed me alot about the 60's counterculture and the attitudes towards drug use and young people during that time. I can see alot of correalations between that era with Vietnam as the war that they were protesting versus todays war in Iraq and the amount of US citizens that are against it.

The author also goes into government policies at the time and conspiricys and covert CIA and classified documents. I was amazed by the actions of the CIA and thetesting of LSD on unsuspecting American citizens. It is like the stuff movies are made of but it really happened! Truly and amazing and interesting book - I could not put it down. I reccomend it to everyone, regardless of your view on LSD or drug counterculture - a true wealth of information on 1960's America.

This is a REAL book about a REAL person, Asya, who so candidly, yet carefully unfolds a story that takes the reader through time and across cultural and international boundaries! I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Asya's voice as I read. With the photos from her life included, it was easy to hear her telling me her story and delivering her laws...the wisdom she developed in her lifelong quest for real love. I appreciate her honesty and vulnerability in depicting how she regarded herself throughout this quest and in each of her roles - a girl looking for love, a lover, a wife, a daughter, a mother, etc. Her own perspective on Latvia and Latvians and America and Americans is also interesting to observe as it changes from beginning to end. Thank you, Asya, for going for it with this book!

In this world of virtual and mediated reality, Latvian-born Asya Raines has brought decades of memories to life. From tales of her mother as a WWII Soviet freedom fighter blowing up Nazi trucks, to the post War Russian occupation to a late 1970s consolation prize trip to Bulgaria that began with a yearning to see Yugoslavia, to perestroika and her eventual emigration to the United States, she enlightens us with her perceptions and charms us with her perseverance. A book that merits multiple reads!

I would like to thank Asya for finding the courage to write about her life. It was not only educational and interesting, but it helped me to realize that we can all "choose" the life we live. No one has to be a victim if they don't want to be. Also, she gives great advice in love! An inspirational book that I would recommend to any and all who love to read or love!

I really, truly enjoyed this book. It feels like Asya is sitting next to you telling her story - and she's so warm, and so honest, that you become engrossed in her tale. I picked the book up on a Friday evening, and finished it in a few hours. A great book to share with friends and family - of any age.

Carrie Bradshaw and the girls gave us a peek into the challenges, heartbreak, friendship, and love that is life in Manhattan. Asya lets us see and feel those same emotions and experiences that made up her life in Riga. She even describes her version of the Hamptons. Asya entertains as she talks with us, she also educates. My lesson? While there are clearly interesting intellectual and cultural differences, when it comes to matters of the heart and soul we are all clearly One. Brava!

This is just a great book. Being born and raised in a Coal Camp in McDowell County, West Virginia really made me appreciate the descriptive style of writing which captures the true spirit of the "holler." When I finished the book I celebrated by cooking up a big pot of pinto beans and baked a big ol' pan of cornbread. Thank you for such a wonderful book.

"Over the course of my life, I have been lucky in that I have seldom managed to get exactly what I wanted; instead, I have most often been able to grow to appreciate what I got." You find out all the things the author strove for during her youth that never seemed to materialize...except for her studies when she always did well except for a very short period of time.

Linda Scott has told about her life that is most revealing and about a place in Appalachia in Eastern Kentucky that is so well explained that you know exactly what her hometown area looks like and how everyone lived. The twists and turns in her life are like a corkscrew where changes are constant, but purpose remains strong. The author is the most down-to-earth academician I have ever known including my brother who is a retired professor. If you want a marvelous reading experience, then get this book. I guarantee it!

I loved this book. It really tells the story of my people.

I was born in Paintsville (home of Loretta Lynn) and had to move away when I was 4. Reading this book took me back to my Grandma's front porch and the well outside. It reminded me of church outhouses and dinner on the ground. Made me want to throw rocks in the creek off the bridge at Grandma's and walk up to the family graveyard to wonder about my ancestor's lives. If you are from Eastern Kentucky, this book will make you proud to say "warsh" and "tard." If you aren't from there, read it anyway. It might make you appreciate us "hillbillies" a little more.

As a long-time enthusiast of Appalachian literature, I was eagerly aniticipating reading 'Creeker'. Though I didn't care much for the stereotypical title, I thought I would be able to make it past it to enjoy a unique brand of literature.

Boy, was I wrong!

This book typifies the apologist mentality that premeates Appalachia and keeps the ignorant serfs on the proverbial feudal land.

If you're a true fan of Appalachian literature, stick with the true masters, Bobbie Ann Mason and Lee Smith.

If you are a relatively new and inexperienced reader of American history, especially of the 20th century, this is the one book you should read as a foundation. The book's contents are accurate, the style is readable and entertaining, the perspective is unusually unbiased compared to current history writers. It's what a good history book should be.

Most compelling to me as someone born in the 1950s is the incredible sense of context the book delivers. Born after World War II, I was living through events in the 1960s and 1970s that seemed crazy until I read this book and found how much of that present flowed out of the past described in Manchester's book. For a young reader of today (circa 2000), the book still provides a strong foundation for current events. While history doesn't repeat itself, as Mark Twain is alleged to have noted, history rhymes. With this book, younger or inexperienced readers will begin to hear the rhymes and perhaps draw the reasons for why things are happening as they are today.

This is one of the best history books I've read in a 50 year reading life (so far!). It is impeccable in its scholarship, but accessible and enjoyable in its style. Everyone living today should read this book. It would give us a common ground to disagree from!

The Glory and the Dream is a two volume set of over 1600 pages. Mr. Manchester calls it a narrative history of America. It covers the years from 1932 to 1972. And I mean "covers". There are 37 chapters, almost one for each year.
These two volumes, as with all history books, contain a wealth of information, but Mr. Manchester's books seem to contain more information, if that is possible, than other history books. He is overwhelming.
Every time I pick up one of his books I end up re-reading the whole thing. And for some reason the man's style is always able to keep my interest. His feelings and intensity come through and not necessarily with his prejudices attached. He is just a good writer, plain and simple.
This set begins in the year 1932 with the Bonus Army marching on Washington D.C. It is a fascinating and tragic tale.
The year 1932 was "rock bottom" for America and the Great Depression.
When I picked up this first volume I thought it was the most radical thing that I had ever read. I thought that the book contained every corruptible thing about America that had ever been written. But now I realize it is, more or less, plain old American History. Since that time I have read more and more corruptible things.
I think reading William Manchester's account of things is what set me off on reading history.
William was a marine and served in the Pacific in W.W.II. He refused to become an officer - which has to say something for his character.
His style makes reading a learning history a pleasure.

This is the book I recommend to people who say that they hate History as a subject. When I was reading Manchester's account in the beginning of the book about the Bonus Marchers in 1932, I could feel the heat and humidity of pre-war and un-airconditioned Washington D.C. And Manchester conveyed the suffering of these veterans and their desperation in clear and concise language. I don't think that any historian has written about the Depression in as moving and compelling a manner as he does. And this is only the begining of the book. There's more great passages in his description of the home front during WWII. He recounts forgotten stories such as the "I want to go home" riots by GI's at the end of the war in Europe.

I disagree with one earlier reviewer who thought that a weakness in the book was Manchester's alleged liberal bias. In fact, his account of the Alger Hiss affair is unabashed in showing Hiss's guilt and in highlighting Nixon's diligence in pursuing the truth.

I completely wore out the copy I bought back in 1980. I first read it in the hospital when I was recovering from elective surgery. I was so ensconsed in it that I finished it during my three day stay.

William Manchester (1922-2004) provides a highly readable look at the USA from 1932-1972. This gripping narrative is written in the style of general history, yet readers come away with a profuond understanding of the times and events. The narrative begins with the nation in the depths of the Great Depression, with millions hungry, homeless, riding the rails, and looking for jobs that didn't exist. Enter Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, which greatly improved conditions. Then what followed was the Second World War, the post war boom, McCarthyism, Civil Rights, Vietnam, etc. The author does more than merely describe events and major personalities; he captures the feel of the various decades, looking at social conventions and changing mores over this 40-year period. Manchester even includes vignettes of major figures like Walter Reuther, Eleanor Roosevelt, Marilyn Monroe, etc. This is a superbly readable and slightly liberal two-volume narrative about the USA from the Depression to the end of Vietnam.

William Manchester bookends this sprawling, epic US history with two protests in the heart of Washington. He opens in 1930 at the rise of the Great Depression, with veterans across from the White House coldly shunned by President Herbert Hoover when asking for advance relief from the Great Depression, then brutally attacked by troops and national guardsmen led by Douglas MacArthur. He concludes with President Richard Nixon's second inaugural in 1973 at Watergate's rising, Vietnam demonstrators audible blocks away amidst calls for national unity and self-reliance.

In between, across 1300 pages, (excluding index and exhaustive bibliography) "The Glory and the Dream" chronicles the American Century's meatiest, most eventful years (1932-72). Manchester details a diary for and about what he called the "swing generation" but whom ex-NBC-TV anchorman Tom Brokaw (who cited Manchester as an influence) christened "the Greatest Generation."

These men and women endured and thrived through what, against Manchester's narrative, seemed (except for the relatively tranquil late 1950s) a non-stop whirlwind of hardship. Painting in broad strokes by economic numbers Manchester reveals compelling pictures of the Depression, bank and crop failures, Franklin Roosevelt's election and the New Deal, World War II, and the Korean and Cold Wars. He also includes near month by month chronicles and analysis on America's roots and involvement in the Vietnam War and Watergate, which takes up most of the book's final third. And of course, he addresses the still-shocking days of rage, murder, and decaying social fabric in the late 1960s.

Manchester's storytelling is expertly paced, foreshadowing careers of 20th century icons like Nixon, JFK, Marilyn Monroe and even the Edsel. He traces their steps to the national stage and devotes personal "Portrait of An American" sections to many (including Dr. Benjamin Spock, Edward R Murrow, and Ralph Nader). He does this deftly balancing international, social, and economic views of day to day life, worked, and socialized, even addressing political and social extremists (50s beatniks, 60s hippies, John Birchers). Isolationist vs. internationalist foreign policy views, themes as recent as last month's Iraq election, pops up throughout the book; virulent opposition to FDR's war mobilization leads to the opposition to the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan. Vietnam's civil war slowly creeps across several administrations beginning with Dwight Eisenhower's, reaching the heart of American experience as the decade and book close.

Anyone knowing or having lived through part of the last half-century can reference America's seismic events at a high level. To Manchester's credit he reached deeper into the causes behind pop culture and historical touchstones like Nixon's "Checkers" speech, 1968's Vietnam My Lai massacre, the oft-overlooked 1936 hurricane crushing New England (and ineffective warnings against it), and Japan's 1937 sinking of the USS Panay which foreshadowed Pearl Harbor. He draws dimensional character studies amidst the era's scandals (the fall of Eisenhower right hand man Sherman Adams as one example). He allows you to understand personalities and issues behind history's strongest feuds: President Harry Truman against union leader John Lewis (or MacArthur, or Joseph McCarthy...), between Southern governors and other leadership against Dr. Martin Luther King, the Freedom Riders, the Kennedy administration, and finally against the Black Panthers' vicious 1960s anarchy. Finally, he chronicles the "silent majority" generation gap between Nixon/Agnew's divisive, reactionary leadership team and a generation's angry youth.

Before his death last year, Manchester wrote whole volumes on major figures included here (Winston Churchill, MacArthur, JFK). But given the relatively short time each is presented (except for FDR, who dominates the book's first half ), Manchester masterfully retells individual personal style, social time, major accomplishments, blunders, and closure to their lives and histories. "The Glory and the Dream" is filled with protests after violent counter protests (which Manchester respects even when he does not agree), well-drawn, memorable characters more remarkable for being real life characters, and insightful side comments on issues like the role of the vice-presidency and American tolerance of dissent.

At its publication, Manchester himself called "The Glory and the Dream" the culmination of his career, and for once it was not hyperbole. Anyone wishing to understand American character must start here; "The Glory and the Dream" is the finest history-based book I've ever read, and one of the finest in any genre.
Absolutely essential.

This book had to have been an exercise in humility to write. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Phil Vischer after reading his story. My wife and I learned about the Veggie Tales in the late 90's after receiving a recommendation from some of our friends. We've been fans ever since and have 3 kids who have all grown up with Bob, Larry, and the Veggie crew. It's hard to believe so much was going on (good and bac) behind the scenes at Big Idea as we all laughed and sang along with the Veggies at home.

A great story about one man's Christian journey through the world of business and his growing relationship with God! As an entrepreneur in the early stages of several companies, the lessons taught are invaluable. As a Christian who is always dreaming, setting goals, and striving for worldly "success" this book has made me step back and re-evaluate my life and relationship with Him.

On business, Phil talks about the early stages in computer animation world in which he was a revolutionary. He teaches about money and cash flow in relation to running a company. He discusses leadership and his struggle to run a profitable "Christian" company in a secular world with non-believers all around. What's amazing to me that through it all, this is not a book that points blame anywhere but the on it's author. In fact, the names of anyone in which others might have placed blame are not ever mentioned!

On Christianity, it's inspirational to read a true story showing the Christian walk and struggle illustrated by Henry Blackaby in his devotional study Experiencing God. Blackaby writes, "If you start something and it does not seem to go well, consider carefully that God, on purpose, may not be authenticating what you told the people because it did not come from Him, but from your own head. You may have wanted to do something outstanding for God and forgot that God does not want that. He wants you to be available to Him, and more important, to be obedient to Him."

What a powerful book! A must read for Veggie Tales fans, Christians, and business people alike. Lessons to be learned by all.

I just got finished reading this and was totally blown away. I really appreciated his honesty and openness about what happened to Big Idea and this reaffirmed my feelings about the other so-called business books out there: it's easy to look like a genius when you study successful companies and draw contrasts, but the same methods don't work for every company.

Phil is a great storyteller, and I'm pleased to have been let into his world for a few hours.

This is a great book for everyone who wants to run out and do great things for God without stopping to ask what God actually wants. The only drawback in my opinion was the way "apologized" to the people he had hurt. If he would have just offered an unqualified apology it would have been great, but for some reason he felt the need to mention that he had been prompted to apologize and then follow it up with, "there, I've said it." But, part of the point is that we're all growing and learning, and I did see real humility in the way he's running his current business. No longer playing the same games as before. Very entertaining and insightful book.

I laughed and cried, but I learned as much from this as a management textbook. Very captivating, entertaining, but emotionally charged with what do we do when God allows our dreams come crashing down around us.

Raised as I was on Sesame Street, it took me several episodes before I realized, "Hey, there are no females here. Isn't this show about good role models?" (VeggieTales came out the same year CTW launched Zoe, Sesame Street's first popular female muppet, to great fanfare.)

But the Veggies were fun so I continued to watch, as Bob, Larry, Pa Grape, Junior Asparagus, Mr. Nezzer, Mr. Lunt, Jim and Jerry all got personalities and subtexts. Poor Little Laura remained a whiner. Junior's mom hardly gets to speak. And Esther? A one-note.

So I was interested: Did some executives force Vischer onto this lopsided stage, or did it just happen? And the answer is: he really is that way.

He says that when he and his now wife (wife of 16 years, no doubt happy) found they were expecting, she "had" to drop out of college in her freshman year. We are just supposed to accept that. As it takes longer than one school year to go through a pregnancy, he didn't mention any complications, and this was the '80s, not the fifties, I found that puzzling. He just as cavalierly dismisses her singing aspirations--again, this is the '80s.

Again and again, his theme is that "kids" and "families" need good examples. This is good. He condemns Madonna. Understandable. And it doesn't occur to him that some kids might be females who need good examples, and that families might include women. Interestingly, Vischer even quotes the Bible to explain creating Bob: (paraphrasing) The Cucumber came first, but he was alone, and that was not good. So I created a sidekick.

Wait a minute, didn't the original tale mean creating a ...?

There are many intentionally laugh out loud moments in this book, and some that I think occurred by accident. After working himself into a heart condition, he states that while his wife and in-laws played with the children, he went into his wife's childhood bedroom and started to sketch the Veggie Tales Theme Park. Shades of Harry Chapin, here.

I absolutely expected more about __valuing__ his wife and children. It would have been possible to do that without compromising privacy. But they barely get a mention.

But, to be fair, all that is puzzlement at the man. To review the book, I have to say it was well-written, humorous, and told a great deal about the writer and his philosophies. He is absolutely driven to create, and does so, despite odds. He gives as clear, and as beautifully written, an account of how CG changed the entertainment scene as I could ever hope to see.(Vischer covers so much material it would have been helpful to have had an index.)

He is true to his vision as long as he is able, and doesn't let failure tear his faith apart.