North America Books

What a wonderful book. APACHE is beautiful.

What a beautiful book. It's really stunning. I'm envious. I hope the publisher does as well with it as I think they should.

APACHE is a beautiful, really beautiful book.

APACHE: The Sacred Path to Womanhood is magnificent. It, the photography and writing, deserves an award.

Apache is graphic & well-told as a photo story, which is rare indeed.

This book provides an excellent overview of the arc of Diebenkorn's painting style, from abstract to figurative and then to his final amazing abstracts. This is a good starting point for understanding Diebenkorn's art, with large beautiful color prints of his paintings. And, because it's a paperback edition, it's pretty affordable for an oversized, color fine arts book.

Great reference on Diebenkorn with lots of color plates and in-depth text on the process of his work. It was recommended by my professor and I keep it by my easel!

If you love the Bay Are Figurative movement as much as I do, this book is the definitive volume.

Richard Diebenkorn has finally achieved the status of Modern Master, but his success was only secured later in his life and after his death. Although he was at first an Abstract Expressionist artist who painted as convincingly as Still, Rothko, Kline and Motherwell, he was too much identified with the Bay Area, and therefore he did not have the imprimatur of the New York critics. Then, in the 1950s, he was viewed as having betrayed the New York Abstract Expressionists, when he turned to figurative painting with David Park and Elmer Bischoff. Eventually, until his death, he returned to abstraction with his much-acclaimed "Ocean Park" series. And then the critics finally realized what had eluded them for years: That Diebenkorn painted abstract realism, leaning more to one and then the other, all his life.

Jane Livingston does a fine job of portraying the life of Richard Diebenkorn through his stunning paintings, which exemplify fire beneath the calm. Be sure to read the Norland book as well, since his book is still the seminal book on Diebenkorn.

This is a great collection of Diebenkorn's work through the years. Though it's a paperback, the book is big, sturdy, and will last a long time. The color plates are very true to his original works.

First, let me make a note: A couple of Mormon readers have been slamming my reviews because I gave negative reviews to some books trying to prove that the Book of Mormon is not a novel.

Oh, well. How about leaving a comment with some mature criticism?

In the case of the present book, perhaps some Mormons don't want people to know that Maya glyphs have been translated and say absolutely nothing about the claims and subjects of the Book of Mormon.

Nevertheless, if you are planning a trip to Mexico or Central America, the "Code of Kings" is essential reading. The following Maya sites are discussed: Tikal, Palenque, Copan, Seibal, Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and Iximche. I have visited most of these sites and the book really helped me appreciate them.

One stela at Copan is particularly interesting. Known as "Stela B," it depicts two huge macaws in the headdress of a Maya king. These macaws were mistakenly identified as "elepant heads" in a crackpot book written in the 1920s.

This identification was always refuted by the experts, and just looking at a drawing of Stela B, it is clear that the "elephant trunks" are actually the beaks of macaws (they have nostrils on the sides, which elephants lack and macaws have). Also, the area is full of the striking birds with their red and blue plumage.

The story might have died there had not the Mormons picked up the elephant-trunk claim and put it in the Book of Mormon in the 1960s and 1970s. A photo of Stela B was among the many examples of "evidence" for the Book of Mormon, which claims that the civilizations of ancient America had "elephants." Actually, there were only wild mammoths, and they were never associated with civilization anywhere in the world.

All the photos from the Book of Mormon were eventually deleted, including one of a "horse" (actually a damaged feathered serpent--a feather being its head).

Now that the glyphs on Stela B have been deciphered, we know that they speak of "macaw mountain" (page 162 in the present book) near Copan and a bird sanctuary today. Regrettably, the glyphs do not speak of "elephant mountain."

Schele and Mathew's masterful 418-page work is a must for anyone interested in the Maya and the many false claims made by Mormons. It doesn't even mention the Book of Mormon, an indication of that book's status in the real world of archaeology.

Highly recommended.

I bought this as a gift. This reciepiant loved it. They told me it gives much knowledge on the Maya Langue and the meaning of the the symbols.

"The Code of Kings" suffers from too much seriousness. The structure of the book relies on interpreting some main architectural achievements of the Mayan kings who commissioned them. That is, for most chapters a brief historical narrative is followed by a detailed description of the monumental group of interest and ends with an interpretation as to its relevance. The interpretations are good, and we can appreciate the great scholarly gifts of Linda Schele (in particular when the authors dispose of the Toltec Maya myths of Chichen Itza). We can even be moved at times such as when the authors talk of the Great Plaza of Waxaklahun-Ubah-K'Awil (this reviewer was happy to have read it a few days before going to Copan). However, this dense package might scare away a more casual reader of the Maya history. It also makes this book pretty useless to take along in your trip to Guatemala and Yucatan, unless you will have plenty of time to sit down under some trees and read while you visit. But if you have plenty of time to prepare for your trip, you definitely need to read it. And of course, it is a must in any serious book collection on the Maya.

I have only had time to browse through and start this book I recently purchased, but if it will stop the flow of e-mail mails from amazon asking me to review it, I will review it anyway. It is one of Linda Schele's last collaborations and for that reason alone it would be interesting. The only thing I can say so far is that it seems to be an interesting book aimed at the educated amateur. Although the title would lead the unwary to think it was strictly a book on Maya epigraphy and although it does contain a lot of epigrapical and linguistic information, it is really a tour of several Maya sites with in depth explanations, floor plans, and charts, all by leading experts. Though I am not in good enough health to travel, still it looks like a very useful book to any Maya scholar amateur or otherwise. I am over the age of two (katuns)

What a magnificent book for any general reader, like me, who loves to read about the cultures of Mesoamerica. The authors take us on a tour of seven of the best known and most visited sites: Tikal, Palenque, Copan, Seibal, Chich'en Itza, Uxmal, and Iximche'. The book opens with a most helpful introduction to the archaeology of Mayan culture and the cultural elements that are common to all the city-states / regions that we call Mayan.

Look at page 21 at the photo from 1891 that shows us what the Temple of the Inscriptions looked like before excavation and restoration. Obviously, all the trees that are cleared in the picture would have hidden them even more, but the photo could not have been taken with them there. As you read through the lessons on Mayan architecture, housing, writing, religion, and warfare, the Maya become life and blood people who existed at a time and place that becomes nearer to us through this great book.

If you are planning to visit one or more of these sites, then this book is a must read as well as a field guide to take with you on the trip. The authors take key features and each site and explain them in detail. What a great experience it would be to stand in front of these monuments, murals, and temples with this most helpful text helping you understand what you are seeing.

The book is richly illustrated with many drawings of important inscriptions, buildings, monuments, and architectural details. There are also many black and white photographs, and a section of wonderful color plates to help us understand the beauty of the natural setting that provides the context for these cultures.

After the visits to the cities there are many helpful features that comprise another hundred pages of the book. First, a concordance of Maya personal names provides the spelling used in this book, alternative and common anglicized versions of that name, and a brief description of who that person was. There is also a key to pronunciation and orthography that I found to be most helpful. It is always intimidating to see words without having any idea how they would be said.

The notes section is full of very helpful information for those readers who want to dig a little deeper as is the list of references (really, a bibliography). The Glossary of Gods and Supernaturals is amazingly interesting and helpful and the index is a handy way to get back to certain topics in each section when you are trying to tie the cultural elements together across time and geography.

As I said at the beginning, this is a fantastic and wonderful achievement that I am very grateful for and it is a final example of why we miss Linda Schele so much. The other authors are also fine and will continue to bring us much, but Prof. Schele had a special eye for the aesthetic achievements of the Maya and the ability to help us see things her way and enriched all of us who are fortunate enough to read her words.

I read this book after visiting Arcata this summer. While there, I went on a BLM ranger-guided hike into the Headwaters, the "lush, mysterious, ancient, holy" (p. 82) subject of Dunning's book. I wanted to see for myself what all of the protesting was about. Enjoy this book, then experience the Headwaters' redwoods.

Dunning's book is about many things. Trees. Community. Redwood politics. Bearing witness. The destruction of "one of the most magnificent ecosystems on Earth" (p. 3). Saying "enough!" Non-violent civil disobedience. Protecting America the beautiful. It is also about Dunning's personal journey, or "metamorphosis" as she calls it (p. 239), from naturalist to activist. "What is an 'environmentalist'," she reflects, "but simply a citizen who has shed denial, who has opened his or her eyes and said, 'it does matter nature does not have an infinite capacity to heal herself, himself, itself . . . I am responsible'" (p.228).

Dunning's book reads like an insightful journal, in which she sets out to tell it like it is. "This book is not about happiness," she warns her reader on the first page. Rather, it is about "yielding to conscience. It is about a forest, and it is about us" (p. 1). She reveals that the destruction of old-growth forests like the Headwaters isn't someone else's problem, but our own. Dunning reports that in 500 years, we have destroyed more than ninety percent of our country's ancient forests, leaving only 3.5 percent to protect (p. 263). By saving the redwoods, we save ourselves. Dunning writes, "I want nothing more than to dissolve the polarity that plagues this county and this country, to bring us all back to center--the owls and the pussycats, the loggers and the environmentalists, the business community, everyone--to put us all in the same life raft, which is our Earth" (p. 61).

Dunning also reports that redwood civil disobedience is nothing new. We learn, for instance, on November 19, 1929, Laura Perrott Mahan (1867-1937) lay down in the area now known as Founder's Grove in California's Avenue of the Giants to halt redwood logging. Dunning also writes, and her collaborator, Doug Thron's photographs show that clear-cutting "is an act of violence that affects trees, rivers, air, water, earth, and every person, owl, toad, or human who lives there" (p. 88). "Our whole earth is suffering from the cumulative effects of a million minute daily actions" (p. 240).

Although much of Dunning's book is downright depressing, her real message is this: "Find a corner of the world and fix it" (p. 240). Turn your driveway into a garden. "For each of us," Dunning says, "regardless of where we live, there is a valley, a mountain range, a beach, a whale, a peregrine, a gnatcatcher, that if we merely give our time as a witness to the loss, will gradually unite the being of its existence with our own, will ground us by putting us in touch with what is wild and speechless, will empower us when we speak out in defense of the powerless" (pp. 14-15). (Those interested in how each of us can make a difference might also enjoy Thomas Berry's, THE GREAT WORK (2000), which I also recommend as one of my favorite books.)

In addition to Thron's amazing color photographs (note the cover photo), Dunning's book is also illustrated with her own drawings of redwoods (p. 17), salamanders (pp. 25, 174, 179, 260), a banana slug (p. 41), flying squirrels (p. 56), frogs (pp. 67, 187) and an owl (p. 103), among other subjects.

In our world of "Cars. Cars. Cars." (p. 124), Dunning's book triumphs in showing the value of silent, "dark, dripping, ancient" (p. 37) redwood forests, that tell us to "Be still." For its insights, photographs, and drawings, this book about the wonders of tall trees should not be missed.

G. Merritt

I learned so much by reading this book. Joan Dunning has a way of tackling difficult, cumbersome and emotionally charged subject matter and making it easily digestible. It's a compelling read and the photography by Doug Thron is extraordinary.

No book has ever moved me the way this one has, I have tears in my eyes as I write this. I've just read many of the other reviews, and I don't have the way with words that some do, but they tell it like it is. Joan tells it like it is. Books don't get any better, and this one will change your life, like someone said it isn't all about happiness, and I have become informed and aware of too much to not so something about what is being done to our Redwood Forests, and what is being allowed to be done to our envirnment and watersheds. It's a true story, happening right now, this book documents it succinctly with amazing one of a kind pictures. It will open your eyes. Something needs to be done about Charles Hurwitz from Houston, Texas and his company MAXXAM. He is savaging The last of the Virgin Redwood Rainforest in California. I cannot beleive the CDF and the department of Forestry are "letting him get away with it." Not to mention the way he "aquired" the land, which is explained in the book. Please read this book. This book will light a fire in you, and like me you will have to do something. There are several websites listed in the back to point you in the right direction. I beleive this book is THE BEST one on the subject and if you plan on reading only one this should definitely be it. It has the most facts, information, and insight and is so well written, I couldn't say enough. And 57 pages of priceless color pictures! I am buying used copies for people, I would give one to EVERYONE if I could, and I have only said that about 2 books, and I read alot. The book is priceless. Thank You Joan

I had the opportunity to listen to Joan read from this book. It touched my soul, and I have started to give it to some of my friends to read.

This book explains in simple terms the descruction that P.L unloads on our earth. We are all suffering from the greed of hurwitz. When they "take" a tree alongside a stream, the sun hits the water. Then the water becomes silted, and the water heats up. Then the salmon do not come anymore. Then the eagles have nothing to eat, so they leave. With no trees, no air is cleansed, and with bad air we die. Somone else needs to leave.

This is an Excellent book. When I picked up the box that it was shipped in out of my mail box I was surprised at the weight of it. I started to ask myself if I had any other books on order that may of been shipped in the same box. This is an excellent book really nice pictures of the insects. The only problem I have is that I like to see bigger descriptions of each bug. I'm in the landscape and lawn care industry and you need to know the habits of each insect/bug that you are dealing with. But I would not drop a star rating because of this. It is a very nice book that it layed out well.

This guide is a bit pricey, and too heavy to serve as a field guide, but it is an excellent research tool for the Master Gardener, Master Naturalist, Entomologist, or anyone with a serious interest in insects.

The descriptions of each insect family and the many color photos of representatives of each family are interesting and memorable. This book gave me a fun overview of most insect families, and has a nice picture key that is much easier to use than conventional keys. I am a novice to insects, but as I learn more and more, I have no doubt that I will continue turning back to this book with its wealth of information and photos. This book is truly an intellectual gem - fun to read, and packed with interesting information. A MUST-HAVE for anyone interested in insects.

I love this book. I flip through it frequently. It is not much in terms of a field guide, but it really covers a lot of insects and the pictures are fantastic. I would do, however, prefer to see a bit more information on range/habitat/size, but to include that for each of the insects listed in this book would make the volume too large, and likely prohibitively expensive.

Stephen A. Marshall's INSECTS: THEIR NATURAL HISTORY AND DIVERSITY isn't for the general-interest holding so much as the college-level collection catering to entomologists or students of such. Insects of Eastern North America are the focus in a jam-packed colorful reference displaying insects within their order and including notes on their introduction, habitats, coloring and more. It's the professional's solid reference to identification and habits, making it a top basic reference pick for serious science libraries.

Although the author was clearly writing for an audience in their teens, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a quick read for an adult. The text is large and the sentence structure simple. The plot is easy to follow. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the story of Roanoak Island and the mystery of the vanishing villagers who made friends with the Croatoan Indians off the Outer Banks. I would not, however, assume that this author is a historical expert on the subject. Nor would I assume that her perspective is necessarily the only possible explanation for the disappearance of these settlers.

The book is an excellent tale! I recommend it highly!

Ive read all of the books so far except for the last one which i cant wait to read. I can assure myself that it will be great and its better since I know the illustrators daughter in my school and i tell u i couldnt wait to get the fourth one i searched everywhere every library i could go to and when i got it I was amazed once more my frends like them to but this book was stuck in my mind for weeks until i found the fourth one but before then i couldnt get it out of my mind i was just so hooked on the book its like my life depended on the book i definitely think this book deserves a 5 stars i advise all kids to read this book ill definitely look for more of miss Steiners books, they're just the best. if i new when the final one was coming out it would be great(...)

M. L. Stainer is a wonderful writer. The Lyon's Roar tells the story of Jessabel Archarde and her family, who travel to the New World in 1587 and get stranded on Roanoke Island. The characters are believable and there's a lot of action. Everyone should read this book!

Highly palettable presentation of a reasonable explanation for the disappearance of the first colonists in America, on Roanoak Island off Virginia. They were stranded there in 1587 (a year before the Spanish Armada distracted Queen Elizabeth's attention from exploration and colonization of the New World). Related in the first person by 14-year-old Jess, this book reads swiftly, thanks to many short chapters and extensive dialogue. The author includes non-judgmental references to native religion and medicine, while offering a viable alternative to the theory that the entire colony was brutally wiped out by hostile Idians.

But this is no boring history book; rather it is more a coming-of-age tale with some gentle romance. Jess confides her dreams and fears, her doubts and plans, as her family emigrates to the Chesapeake Bay--to found a city called Ralegh. We suffer with her on the ghastly ocean voyage; we observe life in that island colony which has since disappeared into the misty myth of time. Jess shares the gradual dawning of her womanhood--both physical and emotional--as she writes in her diary. This young protagonist is torn between George, her first crush, and the allure of the forbidden "savage"--the son of one of the camp's two native guides.

Being blond was something special even back then, as this daring girl matures from selfish child to compassionate young woman, pursuing her private quest for love, while remaining steadfast in her family loyalty. Excellent for middle school, partiuclarly girls; it will stimulate discussion about the fate of the Roanoak colonists. Well-researched, the LYON Saga will entertain and hold the interest young readers. History made Human!

More people need to learn about this book. It's a really great story, full of adventure, first love and coming of age. The time period is America's early colonial history, with few people realizing the Lost Colony was here long before the Pilgrims. Only they vanished without a trace. As a new teacher, I would recommend this book to all literature and history classes in the middle schools.

This was one of my favorite Mandie books!I really loved the part when they find the gold in the cave.Everyone should read this book!!!!!!!!!

I started reading this series when I was 12 I fell in love with the charecters and story. I laughed and cried with Mandie. The second book in the series is one I have read over and over.

I was extremly impressed by this book.It was really cool when they found the cave and discoverd the gold.I think that T'sani was really mean to not save Mandie from the panther and when he left Mandie,Sallie and Joe in the cave.I am going to buy all the Mandie books that come out!!!!!!

WOW! I absolutely love Mandie and this book was definately AWESOME! I loved the waterfall and the cave behind it. Ever since I read this book, I have been dreaming that I could go on adventures like this one. Also, Dimar was socool. I dunno who Mandie likes more. I think Joe, but that's my opinion. Anyway, ya gotta read all the Mandie books and you'll will share my enthusiasm.

Mandie is happy that she finally has her family back. Her biological Mother has just married her Uncle John, and the three of them, or rather the four of them, if you count Mandie's beloved kitten Snowball, are preparing to go stay with Uncle Ned and the rest of the Cherokee Indian tribe. Mandie's best friend, and probable future husband, Joe, will also accompany them on their journey. When they arrive, Mandie hears of a mysterious legend involving the Cherokee people and long-lost gold, that has been hidden for centuries by an Indian chief. As Mandie, Joe, Snowball, their new friend, Sallie, and their new enemy, Tsa'ni begin exploring the Indian grounds, they stumble across treasure. Now Mandie is worried that the treasure may bring a curse upon the white men who find it.

As someone who absolutely adored Lois Gladys Leppard's previous tale about Mandie, MANDIE AND THE SECRET TUNNEL, I was skeptical about MANDIE AND THE CHEROKEE LEGEND living up to it. Surprisingly, MANDIE AND THE CHEROKEE LEGEND was just as good, if not better than MANDIE AND THE SECRET TUNNEL. Mandie is an exciting character, who is spirited, and loving towards everyone she meets, whether they are kind to her or not. I really love the way that Lois Gladys Leppard introduces a few new characters into each story, as it keeps the books fresh and interesting. Fans of MANDIE AND THE SECRET TUNNEL must read this book. You won't be disappointed.

Erika Sorocco

National Audubon Society Field Guides are the GREATEST! Thank you for this excellent book on the weather. This book is technical, but really gets into forcasting the wather.

I have given several of these as gifts to friends of a more scientific mindset, and they love it. They can pick it up and identify that odd thing over the mountain, and the haze around the moon. I have also used it many times for work. I can show a Director this book and he/she can say "I want that kind of sky!". Sure beats trying to create a sky from some vague mis-informed description of clouds they say years ago! I am about to give a copy to a director I'm working with right now, and that's why I'm here: to order it!. He loved the book today when I pushed it across the tabe to him, and it helped flag the clouds we'll use in his commercial. I recemmend it to anyone of a curious mindset, or for professional art direction. High quality binding too!

L.E.

This is a great book. We have several Audobon Society handbooks and love them all.

I believe this book was previously known as the Field Guide to Clouds, not sure exactly when the change took place but I'm glad to have finally re-found this book. What first allured me to this series when I was a child were the amazing photographs in the middle. Some very rare species of clouds all beautifully captured. The information contained within this book is very well organised, and as said in the title it fully lives up to its field guide reputation. By identifying the clouds you see in the sky via the photographs you can then follow the page number to the description of the formation and what weather you can expect from it. Alternatively, there are essays in the beginning describing several weather phenomenon and their life cycles, where they can be expected in North America and much much more.

This is a fantastic book for anyone interested in weather and particularly clouds. While made with North America in mind, anyone could enjoy this book especially the brilliant photography included with it.

What I find very valuable about this book is the fact that it is loaded with illustrations of different kinds of meteorological phenomena. For a pilot, it is important to understand what sort of weather you are going to be flying into. If you don't spend a lot of time studying meteorology, it can be difficult to conceptualize what kind of cloud formation is ahead of you. Some of the pilots' literature have rather weak illustrations.

This book is an excellent supplement to any pilot's training manual in providing visual aids for learning about spotting weather phenomnena.

Also, in general, it is very enjoyable to page through the book, as the quality of photography is very good.

I read this book years ago and it still sticks with me. As a reporter in Vietnam, Halberstam was a thorn in the side of the Johnson and Nixon administration. He was watched by Nixon's plumbers and the FBI; Nixon thought he was a subversive. What he is is an exceptionally perceptive historian. In this book he follows the growth of the media industry from newsprint to magazines, radio and television. He told the Edward R. Murrow story before anybody else and his details on Watergate are even more frightening than Woodward and Bernstein's "All the President's Men." Halberstam seems to have that unique capacity to crawl inside the heads of people like Luce who gave us Time magazine. From their perspective, and those of everyday reporters, we see the struggle to balance grasping for the truth and the glory of the headline. We begin to understand how McCarthy could rise to power by using the deadline to sneak in enuedos about people. The author does a masterful job of showing the frustration of reporters and editors and how they finally overcame McCarthy's sinister power. This is an excellent book, not only for journalist but also for those who wish to understand the power of the media in shaping our world.

Please rate this review. Thanks.

This book is big and thick and it is hard to put down. It opens the reader to the media-the reporters-the owners-the news broadcasters and the men and women behind the scenes. He tells in vivid detail how the reporters all over the world as well as covering wars are supported or not by the publications that put them there. And he vividly relates the love-hate relationship of the above people with the various presidents of the USA. I have recommended this book to everyone who will listen to me. I would go on a book tour to get people to read it.!

David Halberstam proves again what a thorough and engaging journalist/historian he was. He presents a detailed account of the rise of the great media families and individuals of the 20th century without being pedantic or tedious. Anyone who wants to understand The L.A. Times, The Washington Post, Time or CBS should start here. The book unfortunately highlights the huge loss that Halberstam's death represents.

Author David Halberstam takes us behind the scenes as he analyzes U.S. media from the 1940-1970's, showing many factors and internal squabbles that influence the medium. The author shows how a mix of professionalism, sloppiness, arrogance, and favorites affects what the media reports, plus how it reports. We see how the media sometimes kowtows to corporate sponsors, and often allows itself to be manipulated. Consider the 2004 campaign, when the media routinely filmed President Bush before cheering crowds, but never his secret service illegally detaining silent dissenters at rallies. Readers also learn about skilled leaders like Edward R. Murrow, capable if imperfect executives like William Paley (CBS) and Katherine Graham (Washington Post), and shysters like Henry Luce (TIME) that avoid truths when they don't fit the agenda.

This book arrived in 1979, before the advent of Internet and most cable news. Still its lessons remain appropriate, even if media often fails to live up to the hopes of the founding fathers and the First Amendment. Halberstam is a talented observer who capably follows George Selby, Theodore H. White, and many others with a critical eye towards the media. I gave the book just four stars because the prose is a bit thick, but this remains an important read.

Read all the other reviews for the media impacting intent which is only a small part of Halverstam's real message in spite of the title of this epoch. Halberstam's media message ranges from imformative to scarry.

But that which will stick with me forever is the way Halberstam delivers the frailty and fate of America to a mere mortal, the President of the United States. Eisenhower fiddles, Kennedy charms, Johnson screams and Nixon frightens. It took Halberstam seven years to research and write this book and after you read it you will wonder how he did it so fast, a monumental effort.

Fortunately the truth is often downright funny. Nixon's twenty eight year old publicity man making a side comment that Nixon looks like he drops down out of his closet every morning in the same rumbled suit and badly in need of a shave.

Halberstam conveys how power was for the taking and that those who had it developed it primarily in accordance with their own agendas, personal or family politics and use it and us in the process.

No matter that this is now just history ending with Watergate. Halberstam's real message is that the circumstances he describes will remain the same in any generation.

The Powers That Be may change the way you think of power and how it affects you.

I was living in Cambodia when I came across this book, following the recommendation of one of my English friends. I bought the book, opened it... and could no longer put it down! This book came as a complete eye-opener to me, on both how America had conducted its war across Indochina, but also on how Cambodia's history had/has been so intimately intermixed with Sihanouk's.

If you are into learning the backside of what we could all dub "official history", then this book's for you. You will no longer look at Kissinger, Nixon or Westmoreland with the same candid, obedient and servile eyes after reading it. Packed with previously unheard-of accounts, reports, testimonies, following a clean, highly intelligent argumentation methodology, Sideshow acts as a real bulldozer on the reader, repeatedly confronting him/her with loads of devastating illustrations of unsound decisions, hidden political actions, secret wars of influences etc. It is certainly one of the punchiest, journalism-based historical account I have ever read, whatever the subject.

It shed a completely new and intense light onto the poor -though touching- little country I was living in then, and forever changed the way I looked at politics, diplomacy and intelligence.

Shawcross gets into the minds of Kissinger and Nixon so well. His is a book to be read over and over again to see the working of the U.S. Government and how it can destroy a country. He talks about the 25 pound shark at the bottom of a swimming pool full of children -- and we understand how the USA's leaders destroyed a country. It is a lesson to be learned over and over again as we go about destroying other countries. This is one great read - worthy of the time it takes to understand it. A victory for the author over Mr. Kissinger.

This book has managed to live on, which is perhaps unfortunate - historically speaking, it's far more relevant to contemporary geopolitics than it should be.

In any case, SIDESHOW has managed to stand as one of the better books on Cambodia, and America's involvement in Cambodia (Elizabeth Becker's WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER is a must-read as well). One could debate Shawcross' perspectives, but his research is meticulous and has withstood many attacks, and his depiction of the machiavellian darkness that can creep into foreign policy is chilling and ruthless, and - for better of worse - makes for hypnotic reading, all the more frightening as it's drawn straight from history, research, the Freedom of Information act.

Now more than ever, this is essential reading.

-David Alston

On Junior Day, 2006, I would recommend SIDESHOW by William Shawcross. It contains information about the twentieth century that could be applied to situations that America faces in the world in 2006. The global superpower naturally thinks that everything will be resolved by the application of hyperpower, as Japan suffered a humiliating defeat at the end of World War II when it discovered that the United States was not just fighting a war against Japan, it would nuke their cities to bring about whatever result it wanted. When American troops openly invaded parts of Cambodia, Congress responded by imposing limits which were still in place on April 30, 1973:

"The justification for bombing Cambodia had been to protect Americans in Vietnam. Since October 1970 the Congress had included in every military appropriation bill a proviso expressly forbidding bombing in Cambodia except for that purpose. By the end of March 1973 there were no American troops left in Indochina. Still the bombing of Cambodia increased. The administration now based its case on Article 20 of the Paris Agreement. Rogers now claimed that American withdrawal from Vietnam did not affect the situation in Cambodia, and that Article 20 legalized the bombing `until such time as a ceasefire could be brought into effect.' " (p. 277).

One of the strange things about the invasion of Cambodia was that Nixon made an announcement on April 30, 1970 which attempted to keep all previous secret activities secret:

Ignoring Menu, Nixon began with the lie that the United States had "scrupulously respected" Cambodia's neutrality for the last five years and had not "moved against" the sanctuaries. This falsehood was repeated by Kissinger in his background briefings to the press. That same evening he told reporters that the Communists had been using Cambodia for five years but, "As long as Sihanouk was in power in Cambodia we had to weigh the benefits in long-range historical terms of Cambodian neutrality as against any temporary military advantages and we made no efforts during the first fifteen months of this administration to move against the sanctuary." The next day he said of Sihanouk's rule, "We had no incentive to change it. We made no effort to change it. We were surprised by the development. One reason why we showed such great restraint against the base areas was in order not to change this situation." (p. 146).
In his announcement of the invasion, Nixon stated that his action was taken "not for the purpose of expanding the war into Cambodia, but for the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam"; he would give aid to Cambodia, but only to enable it "to defend its neutrality and not for the purpose of making it an active belligerent on one side or the other." (p. 146).

Currently Iran has a militia of five million, and if Iran were to officially enter a war in Iraq as a result of bombings by Israel, as urged by Vice President Cheney, to remove Iran's nuclear capabilities, even if a bomb based on plans provided by the CIA wouldn't work, Iran has other ways it could strike back. Being subatomic is very much like Cambodia was in 1970, but we shall soon see what issues are about to be submitted to the UN security council, and if it helps or hurts. A blockade created by Iran so American supplies might have more trouble reaching Kuwait and Iraq; oil exports from the region could end; American dollars could fall; the interest on bonds could rise so high that the U.S. government couldn't balance a budget; and some of the world's banks might then be alarmed.

SIDESHOW by William Shawcross is the only book I have in which I can look up Lon Nil in the index. Lon Nil might well be Cambodia's forgotten man. His brother, Lon Nol, declared himself Chief of State as well as Prime Minister and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces when he dissolved the Assembly in October 1971 and assumed emergency rule. (p. 229). In December 1971, an American psychiatrist in the U.S. Army found "his close associates indicate his mental faculties have deteriorated markedly as a result of his February 1971 stroke" (p. 208). On April 1, 1975, at the urging of his brother Lon Non, Lon Nol took half a million dollars and moved to Hawaii. (pp. 357-358). But for me, the best picture of events in Cambodia is the final page of Chapter 8, The Coup, in March 1970, when Lon Nol overthrew Sihanouk, using the hostility of the urban elite and military officers to Sihanouk to justify a power grab by a former Minister of Defense who "had been the principal scourge of the Vietnamese Communists while privately profiting from the thriving covert business that they brought through Sihanoukville." (p. 113). Sihanouk responded by forming a government recognized by Peking on May 5, 1970, shortly after the American invasion announced by Nixon. Sihanouk had flown from Moscow to China on March 18, 1970, but Lon Nil was still in Cambodia:

Rioting broke out in several provinces; opposition was strongest in the market town of Kompong Cham, Cambodia's second city, fifty miles northeast of Phnom Penh. After Sihanouk's radio broadcast, the town filled with peasants, fishermen and rice farmers from the neighborhood. The townspeople refused the government's orders to remove the Prince's portrait, and they burned down the house of the new governor whom Lon Nol had appointed. Demonstrators gathered in buses and trucks to march on Phnom Penh. They were halted by an army roadblock, and after that . . . About ninety people were killed or wounded. (pp. 126-127).

The most vivid display of anger against Lon Nol occurred, again in Kompong Cham, when peasants seized his brother Lon Nil, killed him and tore his liver from his stomach. The trophy was taken into a Chinese restaurant, where the owner was ordered to cook and slice it. Morsels were handed to everyone in the streets around. (p. 127).

Really bad decisions made by the Nixon administration toward Indochina and the Vietnam War are now fairly obvious. However, we must remember how difficult this type of investigation would have been back when Shawcross did his intensive research back in the late 70s. Here Shawcross builds a very hard-to-dismiss case against Nixon and Henry Kissinger, in terms of how their problematic military and diplomatic strategies at least indirectly led to the hideous destruction of Cambodia (in fact, one of Nixon's documented strategies was to make the Communists think he was a madman, assuming they'd get scared and give up).

During the earlier years of the war, Cambodia was a relatively tranquil nation that was trying to remain neutral. But the country was being used as a hideout by North Vietnamese soldiers, leading to bombing by the Americans. Here Shawcross shows how Nixon and Kissinger made use of political trickery and overhyped threats to keep the bombing going to an extent that was far more destructive than necessary. As a bonus, this book also documents the wire-tapping paranoia and unconstitutional shenanigans in the Nixon White House. Shawcross is especially tough on Kissinger, finding that he disregarded the integrity and safety of Cambodia (which he had only ever visited for four hours), in favor of short-term political advantages and unyielding ideology. The relentless bombing destabilized Cambodian society, leading indirectly to the hideous genocide and societal destruction enacted by the Khmer Rouge a few years later. It is difficult to argue with Shawcross' heavily researched conclusions, and the hellish wholesale collapse of Cambodia (of a type never before seen in modern history) becomes all the more poignant as a result.

Be sure to get an edition of this book from 1986 or after, in which Shawcross adds materials from the political firefight that the book ignited. Kissinger was obviously upset and went to great lengths, through articles written by his lackey Peter Rodman, to try and disprove Shawcross' assertions. If your copy of this book contains these articles, you'll be quite bemused by Rodman's evasive, dissembling, and downright condescending rebuttal attempts, which are easily shot down by Shawcross. This war of words in itself proves that Kissinger had, and always will have, a lot to answer for. [~doomsdayer520~]