United States Books

I like the writing style of Bob Buck better than that of Ernest K. Gann, but the two tell similar stories covering approximately the same time period. Bob Buck's career with TWA was longer than Erenest K. Gann's career with American and the short-lived Matson, so Bob's stories extend into the jet age, but it's the stories from the 30s, 40s and 50s that I find to be the most interesting.

Bob flew a specially-equipped B-17 during WW-II, looking for lightning and other severe weather. It was funny that he literally flew all over the world looking for bad weather, only to learn that there's no better place in the world to find it than at his home base of Kansas City.

Ernest K. Gann's "Fate is the Hunter" is the gold standard by which all other aviation books are judged, but, well, I like "North Star Over My Shoulder" better.

It would be heresy to suggest that you not read Ernest K. Gann's "Fate is the Hunter," but it would be a severe omission if you were not to also read "North Star Over My Shoulder."

This is one of the finest books, about an aviator's life, that you will ever read.

I am a professional pilot who has done the freight, airline and corporate thing and now calls instructing corporate pilots his gig. (It's my wife who has the sign in so F off!) This has been been my mecca of aviation history. I was born 30 or so years late and I missed the glory years so I found the fountain of youth, wanna fight about it!? This book is THE penultimate tome of written aviatory (Bush said it so it's a word!!) history and I read it many times a year!

Highly engaging. A chronicle of amazing change and progress in aviation in one man's career.

I found the book to be excellent. My father spent a career in what became TWA starting with TAT a few years before Bob Buck was hired into the merged airline. In fact, my father accompanied Bob Buck on the historic Rockwell polar flight. The book was so well written that I felt like I was getting a close up look at my father's environment over the years.

I really liked this book. Patty is a hapa (half white, half Taiwanese) and she's always wishing that she could fit in... She feels like her brother is better than her because he is the Good Child in her strict mother's eyes.

I like how this book deals with family issues, fitting in... such sensitive issues for some people but they were dealt with in a good way.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but wanted to read it because there was so many good reviews for it.

It was a nice change of pace from the typical teen lit books I read and that was a big plus. I loved that the main character, Patty Ho, was half Taiwanese and half white. What also brought the story more depth than your average fluffy teen book was that she hated who she was and wanted to be caucasion to fit in with everyone else. She couldn't understand why her Taiwanese mother acted the wasy she did. What she comes to realize through a summer of growth and maturing is that the truth of the matter is, she's perfect the way she is.

I'm looking forward to more from Justina Chen Headley.

I had the chance to talk to Justina Chen Headley briefly before she gave a reading from Nothing But the Truth (and a Few White Lies). She was very cool, grounded and an absolute pleasure to talk to. So, it should be no surprise that her narrator, Patty Ho, is equally enjoyable in every way in Headley's first novel written for young adults.

Half-Taiwanese and half-white, Patty feels like she doesn't belong anywhere. This fact is confirmed when, instead of going to the last school dance of the year, Patty's mother drags her to a fortune teller who discerns Patty's future from her belly button. Things get worse from there when Patty realizes that sometimes dream guys are anything but and finds herself enrolled in Stanford math camp for the summer.

This novel is a classic coming-of-age story. As the plot progresses, Patty learns that sometimes you have to find people like you in order to appreciate the value of being really unique. Now, that might sound a bit pat and cliche--but I can assure you this book is anything but.

Headley writes with a style unlike any authors I've read recently. The narration is snappy and spunky--as is fitting for a teenage girl as vibrant as Patty. I also like that Headley doesn't take the easy way a lot of the time. The story doesn't follow any typical girl-meets-boy formula. In fact, Headley has quite a few twists thrown in along the way.

It's also really interesting to read about Patty and her mother. The subject doesn't often come up in teen literature, where often the characters are immigrants if they are not white. Headley's dialog between Patty and her mother seems realistic (not being Taiwanese at all I can't really say). Her incorporation of slang and certain speech mannerisms bring to mind Amy Tan's writing in The Hundred Secret Senses (another book about a half-asian, half-white character, incidentally). Honestly though, everything in the book is interesting. Even math camp, which some readers will view as warily as Patty does in the beginning, turns out to be a cool environment to read about (with minimal time spent on math in the narrative).

In a lot of reviews you'll see me complaining that the characters come off as flat. Happily, I can say that is not the case here. Patty and her myriad friends (and enemies too) jump off the page. Furthermore, Headley artfully negotiates Patty's changing sense of self throughout the novel.

It's weird to be saying this about a novel that isn't a thriller, but it was really a page turner. I couldn't put it down. Headley has a lot to say here about identity and family and self-confidence. All of which she manages like a pro.

The term "new classic" is bandied about a lot for modern books and movies. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Nothing But the Truth is going to get that label if it doesn't have it already.

Nothing but the Truth is about fifteen-year-old Patty Ho, daughter of a controlling Taiwanese mother and a long-absent American father. Patty struggles to find her place in a world where she's not fully Asian, but not fully white, confronting both egregious and subtle prejudices from both sides. She also struggles with something I could personally relate to, being good at math, but also wanting to write. Her struggles come to a head when her mother sends her to Stanford for the summer for math camp (a month-long program for gifted high school students). While there she encounters humiliation and heartbreak, but also gains self-confidence, friends, and insight into her own family history.

Nothing but the Truth is a joy to read. Patty practically leaps forth from the page, fully three-dimensional. I refuse to believe that she isn't real. Every paragraph reveals something about her, or her family, or what it's like to be hapa (the Hawaiian word for someone who is half-white and half-Asian). Her mother, with her strengths and weaknesses, temper tantrums and quirks, feels real, too. Life at Stanford during summer session is also fully realized - the book is chock full of insider information about the university.

I particularly enjoyed the writing style in this book. Humorous, yet lyrical, and dripping with (frequently Asian-tinged) metaphors, and the angst of a teenage girl. For example:

"Mama breathes in sharply. She must be smelling my exasperation polluting the air. (page 13)"

""O-kayyy." Anne drags out the last syllable as if it's a hoe, raking through the intractable soil of my rudeness. (page 76)"

"I'm here because I don't want to be up in the Pacific Northwest where it's always overcast with disappointment and showering anger. (page 108)"

"Under the Dish that scans planets and distant galaxies, I know that the world -- the universe -- is bigger than high school and Mark Scranton and Steve Kosanko and their edamame-bean brains. That it's bigger than Mama and math camp. That maybe I am Zebra-woman, trapped behind black-and-white bars of my own making. (page 110)"

Despite the tremendous depth and authenticity that Justina Chen Headley brings to her hapa and Asian characters, this is a book that will resonate with teenage girls from all sorts of backgrounds. Because what it's really about (as is clear from Patty's essay at the end of the book) is the struggle to balance the conflicts in yourself, whatever they are, and find your place in the world. This makes it a perfect first book for the readergirlz discussion group, focused on celebrating gutsy girls in life and literature. An example of Patty's place as a gutsy girl is this passage, in which she muses about facing down her fears.

Is attitude truly the only thing separating embarrassment from triumph? That a little sass could turn you from a social zero to a social hero? (page 174)

I highly recommend this book for anyone who revels in reading about strong girls.

A slightly longer version of this book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on March 4, 2007.

A great strength of Nothing But the Truth is the interaction of its female characters. Patty, our protagonist, is at the heart of the story, but we see how the other girls and women in her life help her grow and change. When we discover why Patty's mother is the way she is, for us as much as for Patty, life takes on new levels. When Jasmine pushes Patty outside her comfort zone, we wonder what exciting opportunities may lie outside our own. And what is most reassuring is that after this transformative summer, Patty hasn't had to give up any of her former self; she's only added new dimensions.

In Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies), we see how a girl can grow and change and find out who she is, without losing a sense of who she was. We can be in the present, look to the future, and remember the past. And I think Patty's most important discovery, and mine too in reading this book, is that the events that shape us do just that - they shape who we are and what we become. But they don't determine it. That's up to us.

A mentor told me about this book about a year ago. As a business owner, I regularly have a list of books to be read. When I got to this book, it was about controlling the supply or controlling the demand. Without either one, you don't control the deal and your chances of remaining in the deal are minimal.

Peebles talks about his personal experiences of having the right people in your corner or "politiking". From Congress and Senate members, to local government, to environmentalist, you never know who you will need when it comes to landing commercial real estate deals. No matter what road blocks or obstacles get in your way, persist... Your persistence speaks volumes about your character.

Ensure you are going into deals with the right people. Some people can cause you more harm than good. Above all else, do not be afraid to be an entrepreneur. Your vision for a project may bring the "nay-sayers" on board with you. Use everything to your advantage: the media, your political connections, your constituents to win great deals...

Great book!!

Having recently taken a job where I need to understand the complexities of commercial real estate deals, I purchased this book after seeing Mr. Peebles on CNBC's Squawk Box and am glad I did. More than just discussing the technical aspects of the deals, the stories of the downsides were particularly riveting -- a side of the journey that you'll rarely hear from most successsful business people. It's a great story of perseverence and growth, and an important read for aspiring entrepreneurs. I'd also recommend it to business students and anyone facing a career crisis.

The book had good case studies for and advice for both entrepreneurs and business people in general. His Principles and Ground Rules are good advice from the real world. I found a couple of typos here and there, but it was a good quick read.

The book has a lot of motivation on how to utilize people that come in play with your life in a positive way. It shows you how to be creative in making real estate deals to your advantage.

Great book for those who want to become real estate investors.

The book is awesome. I first skimmed it at the bookstore but after getting home without it I decided to go back and purchase it because there were so many lessons in there that needed to be mulled over and studied again.

So many other books of a similar ilk don't go into the details that Mr Peebles does and his lessons could apply to many businesses, not just real estate.

Excellent book, but I am not sure the distinction is between Western and Oriental tactics. I suspect that American Indians, frontier scouts, the British SAS, U.S. Special Operations community, etc...would be very familiar with, and skilled at, these tactics.

A classic dilemma that resurfaces every time we go to war. Militaries, at least in the West, prepare to fight the last war and not the next one. As a free society, the public tends to forget the hard lessons learned and shuns warriors during times of peace. The end result is that we constantly are reinventing the wheel after every war/generation.

Victor Davis Hanson, in a recent editorial in the City Journal called Why Study War, gave a perfect example from the Post-Vietnam era; "The public perception in the Carter years was that America had lost a war that for moral and practical reasons it should never have fought--a catastrophe, for many in the universities, that it must never repeat. The necessary corrective wasn't to learn how such wars started, went forward, and were lost. Better to ignore anything that had to do with such odious business in the first place"...."A wartime public illiterate about the conflicts of the past can easily find itself paralyzed in the acrimony of the present. Without standards of historical comparison, it will prove ill equipped to make informed judgments."

A well-written and important book that provides an in-depth analysis of small unit tactics.

A sure test of talent and knowledge is the challenge of taking a very complex subject, explaining it in understandable terms and then offering solutions along with the understanding. My very brief stint in the Army ended long before Vietnam called the younger brothers of my generation. From the news reports it appeared that we suffered so many casualties only because the enemy was "sneaky" and prepared to die. How could the US lose to people who could not afford shoes?

Poole does a great job of bridging the gap from Sun Tzu to the muddy jungles of Vietnam and the significance of the lessons to our maneuver warfare. It is no accident that Boyd associate Willian Lind wrote the preface.

Poole finished the book just before 9/11. Our experience in Iraq and the Israeli experience during the past year show that we have much to learn. After 50 plus years of victories over various armies, the Israelis lost to what most consider a rag-tag army. Other than their heritage, they are as unlikely to defeat the Israelis as the sandal clod Vietnamese.

Poole's book is a gift to the small unit soldier and perhaps a greater gift to those in higher command who will order soldiers to assault targets with little understanding of what they may be facing. It may be at a distant command post or in the case of Somalia the commander flying overhead at 2,000 feet but unable to understand the river of lead flying down the street as he instructs troops to consolidate their positions.

This is a great aid to understanding current events and history from the comfort of your easy chair while balancing a martini on the arm. However, my sense is that it is far more valuable as a gift to a young trooper. In addition it should be mandatory reading ( along with Sun Tzu and Boyd's briefing slides) for every reporter who covers wars and "low intensity" conflicts.

Reading the book makes you appreciate Poole but feel uncomfortable with the contents. A great contribution.

As with all of Poole's works, we are treated here to an excellent analysis of the tactical sphere of war. This time, from the eastern fighter's perspective. Written, I believe, pre-9/11, the work itself is a thorough offering of actual techniques and wartime practices used by small units against western forces, but it is most remarkable in that it outlines in a concise and friendly manner what most analysts still fumble over on MSNBC.

In the world of tactical operations and small unit tactics, we can not ask for a better teacher than John Poole. Keep a close eye out for any and all of his works, for they have a lot to say about how and what western forces will fight for the next fifty years.

NOTE: This work makes a perfect companion to the author's "The Tiger Way," which outlines the ideal western method for combating such tactics.

I read all these reviews and in the main agree with them. However, the real "way of western combat" is exemplified right here: we -- AT THE BOTTOM LEVEL -- are discussing all this and implementing it as we go. And as another reviewer mentioned, our soldiers are getting at it and learning from this NOW. Here's the clincher: does the oriental soldier or citizen do this. No way. It's not in their culture. Hasn't been for thousands of years. Unlikely to be unless huge changes occur in their citizenry. West = democracy / more free / BOTTOM-UP APPROACH. East = tyrrany / less free / TOP-DOWN APPROACH.

SUMMARY: I'd much rather be in the West facing the Eastern way of war rather than be in the East facing the Western way of war. Let's be data-driven: what is the kill ratio of WW2, Korea, and Vietnam? 40-1? 10-1? And yet, Poole's talk about Japan in WW2 making "infantry the most valued weapon". What?! Americans (and all European armies before them all the way back to Alexander) don't line up rows of infantry and charge across open fields to be mowed down. Doubt it? Guadacanal. Korea. etc. That's the "cultural" difference highlighted here: we value life, even a single soldiers.

Further reading: Carnage & Culture, by Victor Davis Hanson.

Danger, danger, is very much the message put forth in this book and it should be heeded before it is too late. Some reviewers have mentioned Sun Tzu and his rules of warfare. Sun Tzu puts forth a very reasoned and systematic set of rules that define a nations path to victory or defeat. By definition, our present leadership has us solidly on the path of defeat. Our people in the field have to both fight our Eastern enemies as well as carry a great weight of poor leadership at the highest levels. This book is very informative and is for the most part, completely accurate and frightening.

The idea that hardware superiority alone can replace common sense is ludicrous and this book digs deeply into this. I remember seeing news footage of our troops in Afganistan heading up into steep mountainous terrain encumbered with huge heavy packs and body armor. They could barely move. They should have had only their clothes, rifles, ammunition and food and water and some good lightweight footwear. If you are going to fight an Apache you have to be an Apache. It seems at times to me that our soldiers are forced simply to carry as much weight in useless (and expensive) contractor equipment as a mule. Small unit combat and the tactics that win in this arena will be the deciding factor. Something also needs to be done about our so called free press. This game is for blood not for profitable commercial air time and these people should be subjected to the sort of censorship that our country used in WWII and the sooner the better.

I feel also that some of the opinions voiced on China are a bit over the top. The Chinese wish to better themselves and are not necessarily motivated by a desire to hurt us per se. It is very possible that in future that the Chinese could help us. They should not be blindly antagonized. They think and plan in a fashion that is very, very, long term. Our own leadership is cripplingly shortsighted in strategic planning.

I have lived and worked in the Mid East for a number of years and my personal opinion of the Iraq war can be summed up as follows:

1. The US leaves Iraq now and the country will dissolve into a bloody civil war.

2. The US leaves later and Iraq dissolves into a bloody civil war.

This book documents many of the reasons why this is so. Anyone who cares about the future of our country and indeed the world (China included) should read this book.

Don't look at this with the eye of a photo critic or you may miss the magic. This is an intimate glimpse into the life of Sammy, his family, friends, and acquaintances as only someone "on the inside" can capture.

A wonderful book!

an amazing collection of photos that serve as a historical and entertaining view of the times he lived through.

Few have personified the phrase "self-made man" as did legendary entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925-1990). The world remembers Davis for his varied and extraordinary accomplishments as an actor, singer, musician, dancer, and comedian.

But hardly anyone outside his circle of friends and family has been familiar with his photography--until now. With this hefty book, interspersed with reminisces by longtime friend Burt Boyar (who co-wrote Davis's autobiographies Yes I Can and Why Me?), his old fans and a new generation can revel in hundreds of images that reveal yet another significant facet of Davis's far-reaching talents.

Though Photo lacks the singular thematic focus of books published by such photographer-celebrities as Dennis Hopper and Gerry Spence, that's no drawback for this posthumously published volume. Rather, it pulls the reader into the exciting world of nightclubs, casinos, and Beverly Hills homes in which Davis moved, mostly from the late 1940s through early '70s. A voracious shutterbug, he took his photography seriously: his compositions are strikingly iconic, employing sophisticated use of line and form. Yet, his pictures are mostly snapshots--in the best sense of the word: they capture their subjects spontaneously, and his joie de vivre suffuses his work. Think of it as a highly stylized family album packed with candid portraits of "Rat Pack" pals Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, and Shirley MacLaine, as well as other famous friends like Nat "King" Cole, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Sidney Poitier, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Jerry Lewis, and Bill Cosby.

Among the more touching aspects of this book are the portraits of his actual family: his parents, his second wife May Britt and their children, and his third wife (and widow) Altovise Gore Davis. The most poignant are the many shots of actress Kim Novak, the first great love of Davis's life, who was forced by Columbia Pictures studio chief Harry Cohn to break off their relationship (interracial relationships were strictly taboo in 1950s Hollywood, not to mention in society generally).

One photograph, despite its matter-of-fact framing, is particularly chilling. Through the window of a passenger train en route to Miami, Davis snapped a picture of an elderly white gentleman on a station platform holding a cigarette, standing before a pair of double doors over which the foreboding phrase "WHITE WAITING ROOM" is painted. Davis's photographic abilities and inclinations were such that we see a mostly glamorous world through his eye. Thus, when we arrive at this jarring image, it's impossible not to apprehend it from his point-of-view--and also not to feel the sense of injustice that he must have experienced in the Jim Crow South as he clicked the shutter.

As Davis's show business career took off, many venues--even north of the Mason-Dixon Line--were happy to let blacks perform onstage; but the same headliner artists weren't even permitted to drink at the bar, use a dressing room, or occupy one of their hotel rooms. Photographs from Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial, and portraits of politician friends Senator Robert Kennedy and President Richard Nixon, give silent witness to Davis's largely forgotten achievements as an outspoken civil rights advocate.

Photo is a coffee-table book that won't spend much time on the coffee table if your houseguests are anything like mine. Because of a car crash in 1954, Sammy Davis, Jr., was left with only one eye. But what an eye this cat had!

This book is so fun. It has so many candid great photo's, really intresting history on Sammy Davis Jr. and his relationship's. I really enjoyed this book. Great coffee table book.

I originally picked up this book as a curiosity and found its links to a bygone era utterly fascinating. The subject matter, i.e., rat pack photos were wonderful but the photographic mastery of Davis Jr. is, I think, equally as stunning. A look into Davis Jr.'s remarkable life is given by him in the way, like other great photographers, he insightfully choses to document and communicate with his subjects through the lens. Again, like many great photographers, the images are powerful and soft, crisp and dazzling. More talent revealed from a man who had more in his baby finger than most of us have coursing through our entire bodies.
Bravo. Well done.

This book is recommended with respect to two aspects of the Gettysburg Campaign and its historiography. First, it provides a tactical study of JEB Stuart's controversial ride or raid east of the Army of the Potomac in late June of 1863, providing details that are not usually covered in conventional works on the campaign. Second, the authors have neatly summarized the 145-year debate that has grown up around Stuart's motivations and decisions. The three chapters devoted to this alone make the book worth reading.

There are two aspects of the author's treatment that I found problematical, however. First, the book does not have a campaign map showing the road system. It is much easier to grasp how the campaign unfolded and the impact of the choices Stuart made with this type of map, and I would recommend using `The Maps of Gettysburg' (B.M. Gottfried) while reading `Plenty of Blame to Go Around'.

It should be possible at this point, and more informative, to write Civil War history using a more contingent approach. The authors unfortunately do not do this, and allow the conventional historical reputations that have developed around the personalities involved to influence the history they write. Two examples:

-Put only in the context of the Gettysburg campaign and Stuart's ride, and leaving aside his unsavory reputation, Kilpatrick clearly defeated Stuart in the Battle of Hanover in that he made Stuart detour further east and miss his best chance of joining with Ewell's Corps prior to the battle at Gettysburg. Instead, the authors fault Kilpatrick for not pursuing and attempting to destroy Stuart's command. First, those were not Kilpatrick's orders, and second, Stuart outnumbered Kilpatrick. If the roles were reversed, I would suspect the authors would praise Stuart for effectively `screening' Kilpatrick's cavalry.

-The authors attempt to shift blame onto Beverly Robertson, a lesser light among Confederate cavalry commanders, for not providing intelligence to Lee on Federal movements. This is weak, since the method they use is the same one they find fault with when applied to Stuart, namely that of operating within orders as given. The fault here, if there is one, remains with Stuart: if wanted the rear guard cavalry to operate independently, he should have left Hampton behind and taken Robertson with him.

Clearly, overall responsibility for the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg cannot be laid on JEB Stuart. But the romantic reputation attached to him that has come down through history should not obscure the fact that Stuart made a number of serious errors, especially in the context of his orders and the main goal of campaign, that of crushing the Army of the Potomac (was not running into Hancock's Corps the first day of the ride a "hindrance"?). The authors do not address the main question in regard to the battle itself: If Stuart had been where Lee preferred him to be, providing reliable information on the position of the Yankees, would AP Hill have allowed Heth to proceed to Gettysburg knowing that I and IX Corps were within supporting distance of the cavalry there?

As a history of Stuart's epic ride, this book has no peer. As even-handed historiography of the critical aftermath, echoing for well over a century, it also no peer. I have two trivial criticisms: 1) the title isn't quite accurate, I think -- however many people were in the decision loop during those critical days, Stuart surely must have realized, at some point, that he had brought his command far from where it should have been; and, 2) the authors interrupt their clear narrative flow with repeated biographical digressions that should have been drastically curtailed or relegated to the endnotes (or both). The authors make the all-important point that Lee and his corps commanders marching into Pennsylvania had sufficient cavalry available for their purposes in the four brigades left behind by Stuart, but they failed to utilize these brigades properly and the brigade commanders themselves demonstrated little initiative. The biggest problem was not the absence of Stuart's three cavalry brigades but of Stuart himself, with his intuitive flair for scouting and delivering accurate reports to Lee.

Lets face it Lee lost the battle of Gettysburg. He admitted it himself, but he did have a co-conspirator. Due to his criticism of Lee, the fact that he wasnot your typical chivarlous southerner and becoming a Republican after the war Longstreet had been pick for that role. Everyone of the confederate corp commanders made mistakes. Cocky Hill letting Pettigrew go to Gettyburg with no idea of what was in front of him. Indecisive Ewell failing to attack Cenetery Hill when even Hancock admitted later that it could have been taken with a timely southern attack. And then there was Longstreet or what i like to call "The little train that couldnt" who whether right about not attacking the union postition or not certainly had a hand in that failure with his sulkying and perhaps even self fullfilling prophecy due to his lethargy and slowness. The mistakes these corp commanders made did not win the battle but only two if you want to discount that the federals won it lost the battle. Lee's ofder of pickett's charge and his incompetence in not properly overseeing Longstreets diligence in overseeing the attack especially Hill's corp lost the battle. Staurt was co-conspirator for these reason's. Would Hill have stumbled into a general engagement if Staurt's cavalry would have been there to report that it was federal cavalry and not militia in Gettysburg. There has been claims that there was sufficent cavalry left to Lee yet Stuart took every exceptional commander with him on his ride. What if he had left Wade Hampton to oversee that cavalry. As for Ewell he was getting reports that federal infantry was advancing up the Baltimore Pike It was confederate skirmishers and he was told that but how much did that and his ignorance of what federal forces were coming up because Stuart was not there to tell him contributed to Ewell hesitation. Not even Stuart can be blamed for Ewell not occupying an unoccupied Culps Hill. As for Longstreet and his suggested small flanking movement around the round tops and his larger one of putting the Condeferate force between Meade and Washington on defensible ground forcing Meade to attack. How feasible would they have been if Stuart would have been there to tell Lee where the federal forces were. Everyone of the corp commanders mistakes has the hand of Staurt on them. As for Picketts charge that was Lee's and Lee's alone so dont get the idea that this review is in anyway an attempt to exonerat him. Malvern Hill and Picketts charge showed he could perhaps be too audacious. Regarding this book hopefully it is the beginning of a movement that those Lee adoletors if they want to scapegoat Lee's failure at least it will go to the proper person. Stuart not Longstreet. I dont care about his brillance before and after the battle, i dont care that he died for his country. I dont care if he represented true southern chilavry. Jeb Staut made a monumental mistake in how he choose to obey Lee's orders by choosing a route that he could have foreseen the union army blocking his way north and his total lack of urgency in getting to Lee by chasing a wagon train half way to Washington. I have read Lee's order and while it may have given Stuart discretion in how he got there one thing was very clear in Lee's order. He wanted constant and up to date information about the whereabouts of the union army and he wanted him on Ewell flank protecting the army as SOON AS POSSIBLE and ladies and gentlemen him arriving on JULY SECOND just didnt cut it. So you Longstreet haters ease up and you Lee lovers if you have to blame someone i hope this book has at least given you the proper target.

No matter what you may think you know about Jeb Stuart's ride, you have to read this book. Its that good!!

As the last of George Pickett's men limped off the battlefield on the evening of July 3rd, 1863 it was clear the Confederate Army, after three days of fighting, had been defeated. General Lee, as the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, accepted all responsibility for the loss, but many, after the battle, blamed General J.E.B. Stuart instead. It has been 145 years since the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg, and the controversy over who is to blame for the loss has never abated.

Eric J. Wittenberg and J. David Petruzzi have brought the case to trial in their book, "Plenty Of Blame To Go Around: Jeb Stuart's Controversial Ride to Gettysburg." The first half of the book is an inquiry into the facts of the case, as the authors present General Lee's orders to Stuart as exhibits. Their careful and diligent research has turned up many witnesses, both Union and Confederate, who add their testimony, and together, they form a narrative of the events following Stuart's departure with his cavalry, their ride around the Federal Army and their arrival on the battlefield of Gettysburg on July 2nd.

The second half of the book enters the historiography of Stuart's ride into evidence, and breaks it down into three phases. In the first phase, immediately after the battle and war, those immediately involved in the Confederate high command, and those involved in the ride, begin the finger pointing and placing of blame. In the second, the controversy continues, and heats up, during the post war years, as the participants continue quarreling with one another. Finally, after the passing of the participants, the debate continued into the 20th & 21st centuries, when the historians took up the argument. In all three phases, JEB Stuart had his supporters and detractors. The authors have done a fine job, presenting the evidence and arguments on both sides of this complicated issue.

Was the infallible Robert E. Lee at fault for issuing vague orders to Stuart? Did Stuart disobey, either willfully or unintentionally, Lee's orders? The authors, in their conclusion, deliver their verdict and find there is no one single person entirely to blame for the Confederate loss at Gettysburg. There is enough fault for every one. Or, in other words, there's "plenty of blame to go around."

"Plenty Of Blame To Go Around" is the definitive history of Jeb Stuart's ride to Gettysburg. Eric J. Wittenberg and J. David Petruzzi's outstanding research has produced a book that is truly a joy to read.

This is an incredible, thought-provoking true-story of a young woman who has watched her mother die from cancer and then tests positive for a gene mutation that makes her nearly 90% likely to get cancer herself. What would you do if you had that knowledge?

Author Jessica Queller eloquently takes us with us on her journey. Despite the heavy material, this book is an easy read - I read it in 2 days - because her writing is clear and the story is so engaging.... You want to know Jessica and are rooting for her all the way.

This book is for EVERY WOMAN - not just those with BRCA mutations or with cancer in their family. It is for anyone who believes that true stories often make the best books, and are drawn to the extraordinary stories of 'ordinary' people.

I read this book in one day. It's a great read. Jessica really makes you think about your options. My mom is a breast cancer survivor and the BRCA test has always been in the back of my mind. It's definitely something that needs more discussing.

I am faced with the same genetic predisposition to breast cancer and it was a life-saver to read about another person's triumph.

The author explained her gene risk for breast cancer and ovarian cancer in an emotional informative way. I purchased the book because my daughter, twin sister and myself had just been tested for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutation. Our test results are that we all have a "variant" that is the same so it is genetic but it is a variant that the lab has never seen in the whole world thus it is "uncertain" what it means other than it is genetically being passed in our family. Reading this book helped me understand gene mutations. The author truly is "beautiful" inside and out.
Joan Reams

This book is a must for anyone with the BRCA mutation or anyone who wants to understand a woman's journey after she finds out she has a BRCA mutation. It is brutally honest and therefore, absolutely compelling. As one who has walked this path, I can tell you that Jessica is very brave to lay it all out there for others to benefit from. I wish her health and happiness.

Puppy mills are terrible and I support any book that shows the true horror of these operations. However, I had a hard time thinking about all of money this author wasted flying all over the country (she states some flights were donated) to take pictures of her dog with celebrities, when that money could have been donated to a shelter for food and vet care for the real victims of puppy mills. She pats herself on the back over and over again for rescuing this puppy mill dog (1st time she rescued a dog, previous pets were purchased), but she even flew across the country to pick up this particular dog - when I'm sure there are thousands of unwanted dogs in her own hometown. I just don't like how she comes across as some sort of animal advocate, when all she did was write a book.

What a wonderful book and story.The pictures are fabulous. Everyone should read this. More books such as this should be published and read. Thank you for this wonderful story. I highly recommend this book.

After meeting Baby and Jana in person, I just had to read more. This book has the painful story but shows the many people who are trying to make a difference by bringing awareness about puppy mills to the public. A must read for a heartwarming cause!

This book sucked me right in. I am so happy someone has finally stepped up to the plate about puppy mills. Jana Kohl did an amazing job telling people the truth about puppy mills and pleaded with anyone getting a dog to save one and NOT to buy from a store or from a breeder. Although there are responsible breeders many are not and she asks people to become aware and to ask questions, visit and demand to see where their puppies live. I was touched by many of the stories. It was a wonderful book to read and to share. Once you read it you will want to pass it on to others to enjoy the book and hopefully get the word out! Thanks Jana for doing a great job!!!!!

This is a wonderful book. I don't usually read books about things like puppy mills because it is too painful. But this book, although it deals with the tragic suffering of animals in puppy mills, was written in such a way that love and compassion come through too. The author took Baby to visit with famous people and politicians around the country to get their support to end the horrendous abuse Baby suffered and many other dogs suffer all day every day of their lives in puppy mills. The overwhelming support she received is a testament of humanity at its finest. And it's impossible not to fall in love with Baby!

This incredible book reminded me of the old Twilight Zone story where a stranger comes into town with only a book in his hand. He seems to be a wise man because he has unique and interesting ideas. The townsfolk however become worried that the man and his book might come from some alien world. Without even wondering what the book is about, they punish him and the ending is not a good one for the stranger.

In today's world, we all seem afraid of making better changes. We seem afraid of being politically incorrect. If we don't come together soon, we all will have the same fate as the stranger.

This book is like a cookbook. It is filled with simple recipe solutions that will help us in our everyday world. It will allow us to be better people. It will allow us to take control and make us responsible for our actions. I can't think of a more important book...ever. Every single American needs to take a look at the moral and logical solutions that are staring us in the face, a face called RENEW.

I was blown away by the ideas in this book. After listening to all the political pundits and talk show gurus I finally figured out something. And, that is, they don't help us. Oh sure they make us aware of the issues, and sometimes even give us both sides of a topic. I've come to realize however that Rush, Dr. Laura, Hannity, O'Reilly, Savage and the others really just talk about ideas. Maybe that is all America can handle. Maybe that is what we are use to. But, maybe we have never thought about the idea of taking it one step further. There is talk and then there is truly solving the problems. All these wiz kids really don't have a clue. E. R. Marks truly understands the issues, truly understands the process of solving problems and truly understands the action plans to get us there. We all know the issues, we have all heard the topics a million times. Don't you think it is time for America to want to do more than just survive. RENEW can help everyone succeed, and it has everything we need to get us there. Simply Amazing!!

Unlike the millions of so-called solutions before it, RENEW is the most dynamic answer to the problems of this millennium. It doesn't blame any group or individuals for past irresponsibilities and doesn't focus on what we should have done like all the other books out there. It doesn't rant and rave like the big talk shows and TV talk celebrities. It merely gives a do-over with huge results. In a quite profound way, it simply shows us how to succeed in this tough world of ours. There are answers to drugs, marriage, divorce, relationships, smoking, social security, poverty, gambling, guns and so many other issues. But, the answers are so new and so refreshing that you will wonder why no one has ever thought of them before as a collective idea. Today we all need to RENEW.

Unlike the millions of so-called solutions before it, RENEW is the most dynamic answer to the problems of this millennium. It doesn't blame any group or individuals for past irresponsibilities and doesn't focus on what we should have done like all the other books out there. It doesn't rant and rave like the big talk shows and TV talk celebrities. It merely gives a do-over with huge results. In a quite profound way, it simply shows us how to succeed in this tough world of ours. There are answers to drugs, marriage, divorce, relationships, smoking, social security, poverty, gambling, guns and so many other issues. But, the answers are so new and so refreshing that you will wonder why no one has ever thought of them before as a collective idea. Today we all need to RENEW.

We need this book more than ever. Our country has gone into a virtual tailspin with major problems, and there seems to be no end in sight. Just look at what has happened recently with the acceptance of gay marriages and families, the obesity of children, the lax sentencing of killers and rapists, the irresponsibility of so-called role models, etc., etc. When will it all end? There is hope however. RENEW is the closest thing to getting America back on track. The author has a vision that clearly identifies moral and logical solutions that everyone should understand and put into motion. Once you start it you won't want to put this book down and once you finish it you will realize that it represents all the possibilities of changing your life for the better. Tell everyone you know to read it. If you pay it forward, we will finally witness a new and RENEWED America.

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.