North America Books

Douglas Leighton is an amazing photographer. It's clear from looking through this book that he knows how to take photos worthy of publication. I've never been to the Canadian Rockies but now I intend to.

I recently went on New Year's ski trip to Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada (1998-99) and took some great pictures. Unlike my amature pictures, Douglas Lighton's pictures truly capture the spirit and raw beauty of this unsploiled landscape. In this book, on the inside cover, one line reads,

"Many of today's visitors are on their own kind of vision quest. These mountains rejuvenate tired souls."

Let me tell you, I left my high stress corporate job and graduate studies for 8 days to enter the most beautiful area I have ever visited in my 28 years of existance. I fully agree with the author when he wrote, "These mountains rejuvenate tired souls." I came back to Atlanta changed forever by the utter sense of "awh" when we stayed in the magnificint resort town of Banff and visited the surrounding areas like Lake Louise. I highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates the splendor of mother nature doing her finest work. I also recommend visiting Banff National Park in either the summer and/or winter seasons; either time of year you will get the full effect of this magnificent and rejuvenating area. By the way, the residents of this area are among the friendliest people I have ever met too!

If you're looking for the perfect "coffee table book" this is it. From first glance you will be captivated by the most beautiful pictorial you could ever lay your eyes on, no exaggeration! This book will have you calling your travel agent and planning a trip to Canada A.S.A.P. From Mt. Robson in Jasper to Red Rock Canyon in Waterton, over 100 pgs of full color landscapes, flora and fauna of the Canadian Rockies. Each picture is titled and described with historical facts and details which only enhance your enjoyment of this awesome book. I highly recommend this photographic masterpiece, you won't regret the money spent!

Kim Grant has undoubtedly composed quite a thorough and resourceful guide to Cape Cod! This book covers all the towns along the Cape as well as the two islands - Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. One will find information about sightseeing, shopping, dining, activities, etc.

I picked this book instead of Frommer's or any of the other travel books because Grant made it quite clear that she personally went to each and every place that is in this book - so she didn't merely compile the listings of businesses along the Cape, she went and saw them each with her own eyes. Hence, the book has more of a personal touch to it. It is quite evident that Grant spent a great deal of time putting together the valuable information which comes in pretty handy for those touring the Cape.

An excellent resource indeed!! All people who travel the Cape, regardless of the degree of knowledge you possess (or don't possess) of the Cape, have this book with you!

As a lover of the Cape; I enjoy finding new places to explore when I go there. This book has given me that and more. Ms Grant (no relation to me) gives a very personal look at places to see, places to eat, and places not to miss. I couldn't put it down. I found things in this book that I've never seen on the Cape before and I've been going there for over 20 years. Ms Grant gave very easy to read, accuarte details, phone numbers, websites and names. I've found in each area of the Cape she gives a brief, yet thorough description of stores, specialty shops, restaurants, ice cream shops. She has also included Museums, Courthouses, even Cemeteries. Also included is Medical Information. Motels, Hotels, Bed n Breakfasts, Cottages. Tennis, Golf and Miniture Golf Courses. Times, places. When they open in the spring, if they're open all year round, when they close in the fall. There was a great little specialty shop that I visit each time I visit the Cape. It wasn't in the book. So I emailed her and told her. She visited there, as did her mother and it was in the next edition she published.

Before I purchased this guide, I was able to use it in a cottage I stayed at recently. I found it extremely helpful and truthful, so I felt I needed to own it myself. I bought two and gave one as a gift. I highly recommend this if you are traveling to Cape Cod.

The Carpatho-Rusyn Americans - Paul Magocsi
The best introduction to the Carpatho-Rusyn people and country

This is a delightful book about the Carpatho-Rusyn people, culture and land. It is easy to read yet fully detailed about the major topics of this small but complex area of study. The author is the leading expert on Rusyn history and culture and this is his beginner's guide to this topic. The text is illustrated throughout with black-and white photographs, artwork, and maps and there is an eight page insert of color plates called "The Seasons of the Church" that illustrates the liturgical uniqueness of this group.

The first chapter, "From a Little-Known Land", is an introduction to the geography of the Carpathian Mountain region which is the Rusyn homeland. A 1914 map of northeastern Austria-Hungary shows this land when it was last united in one country.

The second chapter is called "The Homeland" and follows the history of this region up to the mid-1980s when the book was written. This region is in the geographic center of Europe and has been at the divide between Eastern and Western Europe for centuries. This is the land where the Roman alphabet changes to the Cyrillic, and where western Christian and Byzantine Orthodox theologies meet. It is the home of the Uniate church, a curious compromise where Byzantine liturgies are performed in churches owing their allegiance to the pope in Rome. The language is a dialect of Ukrainian, but has been greatly influenced by the Polish and Hungarian spoken in the countries the land has been a part of for centuries. The cultural awakening of these people in the Austro-Hungarian Empire of the 18th and 19th centuries is outlined. The division of the land between Poland and Czechoslovakia at the end of World War I, and the later removal of a section into the USSR after World War II are outlined.

"Events of the Immigration", the third chapter, describes the conditions that led to a vast immigration of Rusyn people to the USA in the late 19th and early 20th century. This immigration was stopped by World War I and was reduced to a trickle after the war.
"The New World" describes the arrival of the Rusyns in the coal mines and steel mills of western Pennsylvania, and the factories of New York and New Jersey. The people brought their own Uniate priests who were often married and they built their own churches. They ran into misunderstandings with American Catholic bishops who had little knowledge of the unique situation of these eastern rite Catholic churches.

In "Assimilation and Adaptation" Magocsi tells the story of how these churches confronted their problems in various ways. Some of the early churches, led by Father Alexis Toth, converted to Russian Orthodoxy and built up that church in America. After World War I some churches formed a new church that was affiliated with the Greek Orthodox community. Of course, some remained in the Uniate churches of their ancestors, while still others started attending Roman Catholic churches. The Rusyn press and fraternal organizations in the USA are also described in this chapter.

The next chapter, "People of Prominence" , discusses some famous Rusyn-Americans and their contributions. Sandra Dee and Andy Warhol are the most famous of these but many others are also mentioned.

The last chapter, "Looking Toward the Future", describes the resurgence of interest in Rusyn heritage in the USA and mentions some of the prominent people and groups involved. However, since this book was written in 1989, years before Ukrainian and Slovak independence, the future described in this chapter appears a little dated. A new edition of this book has just been published, and hopefully will bring Rusyn history up to date with some information on the Rusyns of Slovakia and Ukraine.

The illustrations in this book really make it outstanding. There are illustrations of major historic figures like Cyril and Methodius, Prince Fedir Koriatovych, Aleksander Dukhnovych, Adolf Dobriansky, Reverend Alexis Toth, and Gregory Zhatkovich. Also lots of pictures are of ordinary people, like young girls or children in traditional costumes, dance or choral groups also in traditional dress, immigrants arriving at Governor's Island, miners and factory workers, church groups, and family groups. The unique architecture of Rusyn churches is represented by eight pictures from both North America and the Carpathian Mountains.

If you have one book about the Rusyn people, this should be it.

This is a delightful book about the Carpatho-Rusyn people, culture and land. It is easy to read yet fully detailed about the major topics of this small but complex area of study. The author is the leading expert on Rusyn history and culture and this is his beginner's guide to this topic. The text is illustrated throughout with black-and white photographs, artwork, and maps and there is an eight page insert of color plates called "The Seasons of the Church" that illustrates the liturgical uniqueness of this group.

The first chapter, "From a Little-Known Land", is an introduction to the geography of the Carpathian Mountain region which is the Rusyn homeland. A 1914 map of northeastern Austria-Hungary shows this land when it was last united in one country.

The second chapter is called "The Homeland" and follows the history of this region up to the mid-1980s when the book was written. This region is in the geographic center of Europe and has been at the divide between Eastern and Western Europe for centuries. This is the land where the Roman alphabet changes to the Cyrillic, and where western Christian and Byzantine Orthodox theologies meet. It is the home of the Uniate church, a curious compromise where Byzantine liturgies are performed in churches owing their allegiance to the pope in Rome. The language is a dialect of Ukrainian, but has been greatly influenced by the Polish and Hungarian spoken in the countries the land has been a part of for centuries. The cultural awakening of these people in the Austro-Hungarian Empire of the 18th and 19th centuries is outlined. The division of the land between Poland and Czechoslovakia at the end of World War I, and the later removal of a section into the USSR after World War II are outlined.

"Events of the Immigration", the third chapter, describes the conditions that led to a vast immigration of Rusyn people to the USA in the late 19th and early 20th century. This immigration was stopped by World War I and was reduced to a trickle after the war.
"The New World" describes the arrival of the Rusyns in the coal mines and steel mills of western Pennsylvania, and the factories of New York and New Jersey. The people brought their own Uniate priests who were often married and they built their own churches. They ran into misunderstandings with American Catholic bishops who had little knowledge of the unique situation of these eastern rite Catholic churches.

In "Assimilation and Adaptation" Magocsi tells the story of how these churches confronted their problems in various ways. Some of the early churches, led by Father Alexis Toth, converted to Russian Orthodoxy and built up that church in America. After World War I some churches formed a new church that was affiliated with the Greek Orthodox community. Of course, some remained in the Uniate churches of their ancestors, while still others started attending Roman Catholic churches. The Rusyn press and fraternal organizations in the USA are also described in this chapter.

The next chapter, "People of Prominence" , discusses some famous Rusyn-Americans and their contributions. Sandra Dee and Andy Warhol are the most famous of these but many others are also mentioned.

The last chapter, "Looking Toward the Future", describes the resurgence of interest in Rusyn heritage in the USA and mentions some of the prominent people and groups involved. However, since this book was written in 1989, years before Ukrainian and Slovak independence, the future described in this chapter appears a little dated. A new edition of this book has just been published, and hopefully will bring Rusyn history up to date with some information on the Rusyns of Slovakia and Ukraine.

The illustrations in this book really make it outstanding. There are illustrations of major historic figures like Cyril and Methodius, Prince Fedir Koriatovych, Aleksander Dukhnovych, Adolf Dobriansky, Reverend Alexis Toth, and Gregory Zhatkovich. Also lots of pictures are of ordinary people, like young girls or children in traditional costumes, dance or choral groups also in traditional dress, immigrants arriving at Governor's Island, miners and factory workers, church groups, and family groups. The unique architecture of Rusyn churches is represented by eight pictures from both North America and the Carpathian Mountains.

If you have one book about the Rusyn people, this should be it.

This is a delightful book about the Carpatho-Rusyn people, culture and land. It is easy to read yet fully detailed about the major topics of this small but complex area of study. The author is the leading expert on Rusyn history and culture and this is his beginner's guide to this topic. The text is illustrated throughout with black-and white photographs, artwork, and maps and there is an eight page insert of color plates called "The Seasons of the Church" that illustrates the liturgical uniqueness of this group.

This year 2000 revision of a 1989 text brings a classic introduction to the Rusyn people back into print and up to date. I call it a revision rather than a new edition because the changes are actually quite minor. Five paragraphs have been rewritten and two new ones added. To reflect the passing of eleven years, a few dates and numbers have also been changed. Two pictures were replaced with new ones and the captions to three others have been enhanced. Also, the two maps have been redrawn. On the page called Further Reading, three items were dropped and two new items added.

The illustrations in this new printing suffer from a common problem with reprints. the photos are darker and less in focus than those in the original edition. If the illustrations are the important part of this book for you, then seek out the original edition rather than this updated revision.

The first chapter, "From a Little-Known Land", is an introduction to the geography of the Carpathian Mountain region which is the Rusyn homeland. A 1914 map of northeastern Austria-Hungary shows this land when it was last united in one country.

The second chapter is called "The Homeland" and follows the history of this region up to the mid-1980s when the book was written. This region is in the geographic center of Europe and has been at the divide between Eastern and Western Europe for centuries. This is the land where the Roman alphabet changes to the Cyrillic, and where western Christian and Byzantine Orthodox theologies meet. It is the home of the Uniate church, a curious compromise where Byzantine liturgies are performed in churches owing their allegiance to the pope in Rome. The language is a dialect of Ukrainian, but has been greatly influenced by the Polish and Hungarian spoken in the countries the land has been a part of for centuries. The cultural awakening of these people in the Austro-Hungarian Empire of the 18th and 19th centuries is outlined. The division of the land between Poland and Czechoslovakia at the end of World War I, and the later removal of a section into the USSR after World War II are outlined.

"Events of the Immigration", the third chapter, describes the conditions that led to a vast immigration of Rusyn people to the USA in the late 19th and early 20th century. This immigration was stopped by World War I and was reduced to a trickle after the war.
"The New World" describes the arrival of the Rusyns in the coal mines and steel mills of western Pennsylvania, and the factories of New York and New Jersey. The people brought their own Uniate priests who were often married and they built their own churches. They ran into misunderstandings with American Catholic bishops who had little knowledge of the unique situation of these eastern rite Catholic churches.

In "Assimilation and Adaptation" Magocsi tells the story of how these churches confronted their problems in various ways. Some of the early churches, led by Father Alexis Toth, converted to Russian Orthodoxy and built up that church in America. After World War I some churches formed a new church that was affiliated with the Greek Orthodox community. Of course, some remained in the Uniate churches of their ancestors, while still others started attending Roman Catholic churches. The Rusyn press and fraternal organizations in the USA are also described in this chapter.

The next chapter, "People of Prominence" , discusses some famous Rusyn-Americans and their contributions. Sandra Dee and Andy Warhol are the most famous of these but many others are also mentioned.

The last chapter, "Looking Toward the Future", describes the resurgence of interest in Rusyn heritage in America and mentions some of the prominent people and groups involved.

The illustrations in this book really make it outstanding. There are illustrations of major historic figures like Cyril and Methodius, Prince Fedir Koriatovych, Aleksander Dukhnovych, Adolf Dobriansky, Reverend Alexis Toth, and Gregory Zhatkovich. Also lots of pictures are of ordinary people, like young girls or children in traditional costumes, dance or choral groups also in traditional dress, immigrants arriving at Governor's Island, miners and factory workers, church groups, and family groups. The unique architecture of Rusyn churches is represented by eight pictures from both North America and the Carpathian Mountains.

If you have one book about the Rusyn people, this should be it.

Despite the perennial popularity of the American Civil War as a literary/historical subject, by comparison only small attention has been focused on the Civil War in the West - nor on the background of Cherokee Indian removal, or the varied and interesting history of the five civilized tribes in the West and their role in that same war. Truly neglected is the canvas that is the war's devastating effect on them.

Readers of the recent book "The Cherokee nation in the Civil War" by Clarissa Confer will be divided into two groups: those who never knew most of this happened, and a much smaller group who wonder if anything fresh is left to say about it. Native Americans, and most individuals with Native American heritage are, after all, antiquarians...these things are not new; so much here is familiar to them. They are astute in this rich and unique historical/ethnic area, as are so many around them. In Oklahoma state law requires one semester of Oklahoma history for high school graduation, and many college programs also require it. While school textbooks are not a scholarly treatise, they do provide substantial blocks of knowledge on these topics surrounding the Indian and the West and also the Civil War. This serves as a starting point for such an historical work.

Miss Confer narrates for us a story that is sad, rich, and absorbing. She approaches it at times as an essayist, at times in a tighter style. She writes about notable Cherokee leaders; about slaves, women, children, enlisted men, freedmen; about families and factions who participate, willingly or not, in the upset and devastation that was the Civil War as it played out in the West. She makes the point that these people and their lives must also matter to us. In other words, she does not consider mainstream white males in leadership positions to be the only actors on the historical stage. She insists that we look to the story of minorities of all stripes; to the little people history books so often ignore. Because of this viewpoint that is all encompassing and humane, she accomplishes an historiography that is new and significant. I wished it had been longer and perhaps fuller, but I admired it.

The bibliography of Clerissa Confer's book nearly duplicates that of so many pioneering histories of this region of the 19th century West, but with different results. Obviously she has been tireless in consulting the extensive original sources at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, the Western History collections at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, and the Oklahoma State Historical Society. Anyone who enjoys Civil War, Western, or Indian/Cherokee history will be enriched by Miss Confer's book and will surely want to add it to their collection.

The book is well written, and readable. The research is amazing ,scholarly and accurate. We don't offen see Native Americans portrayed that honestly, or thouroughly. Very different from the Hollywood
verison.

A well researched and beautifully written account of a time in history that usually finds its focus elsewhere. The devastating effects the Civil War had on our Native Nations is sadly overlooked in our study of American History. Ms. Confer does an outstanding job of bringing it to life for us in an interesting and readable work. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more from her.

The middle school-aged children I've shared this with enjoy the story. It inspires many good questions and comments from them.

I teach reading and language classes. This book is an excellent resource to encourage reading, to introduce new language, and to increase my students knowledge and understanding of other cultures.

This literary piece is well written with the exquisite paintings that amplify the story over all. To have the visual images interact with the writing so well, I have to wonder how such an artist would only have illustrated a few books. A must read and a visual pleaser to the afficianados of art. Irving Toddy is a fine artist whose work should be sought out more. Eve Bunting is a good writer whose work is always complemented by the illustrator. In this case, to have a Native American-Navajo illustrate and to have lived the characters experiences is great.

I love it when I get find a book that I can't stop reading, and this is one of them. Each chapter is as good as the last and Ms. Conley writes in such a way that you feel as if you are right there with the subjects. I was especially moved by Tommy, the Korean street child. No two characters are the same and this book really opened my eyes to the everyday struggle of immigrants in this country. Go get it!!!

These stories are addictive in their drama and passion. Each time you wonder how the next chapter can match up to the last one, you are surprised by the poignancy of the voices of these immigrants, which Conley preserves in their original forms. You can almost smell the herbs and cheeses from the various corners of the world from which her subjects hail. Required reading for any citizen of our now-globalized society.

Ms. Conley's collection of stories offers a vivid insight into the lives and experiences of recent immigrants into the US. As a recent immigrant, I found I could identify with many of the experiences and feelings lived by the actors in this book. I felt like finally someone had given voice to my own emotions.

I strongly recommend this to anyone who wishes to understand the plight and struggles of immigrants into contemporary America.

An excellent overview of the four years that shaped a lot of America's values and changed America's character. The 8 volume series was never boring and I found it especially valuable in that I could break it into 1-hour commute times. The introduction cassette covered some often over-looked tidbits of history and I found it most interesting. I would certainly recommend it.

An outstanding collection on the Old west. The format is well thought out, editing is good overall, and content is about right. The series use of actors to read material (diaries, letters,and newspaper articles) gives you a good idea of what life was truly like during the period. Though the editing is very good, I can't help feeling that they should have either spent more time on fewer categories, or spent more time on the materials covered in this set. Prices vary, so be careful (I saved $10 per set on MSRP), but still will be donating sets of this (and other titles in the series) to the local school's libraries. The kids will love it! A great gift!

An excellent overview of the four years that shaped a lot of America's values and changed America's character. The 8 volume series was never boring and I found it especially valuable in that I could break it into 1-hour commute times. The introduction cassette covered some often over-looked tidbits of history and I found it most interesting. I would certainly recommend it.

Very informative history of the Cleveland franchise from the late 1800's to the present. Comments and player stats for every season. Bios on all players, front office, ballparks, Hall of Famers, Great Moments and many other features. There really isn't much of note that you could want to know about the team that isn't included. This effort must put the Indians fans in a more knowledgeable position about their team than any other fans

The wealth of expertise from author/editor Russell Schneider is demonstrated in this hefty volume of facts and history of the Cleveland Indians.

Schneider was a long-time Indians beat reporter/columnist for The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer and ended his newspaper career several years ago as a sports columnist for a small weekly chain based in northeast Ohio. He has written a number of books on the team.

This is a definitive exploration of the franchise, with the sketches on each season a major highlight. And since the 2008 team has stumbled to its 10th consecutive loss, the information is readily available on the last time the club reached such futility (for the record, it was 1979, in a season where the club stole more bases than hit home runs).

The encyclopedia will be a welcome addition to the clubhouse of any fan of the team and is certainly a first-round draft pick for those who enjoy exploring the history of "America's Favorite Pastime."

The Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia(2nd Edition) is even better than the first! I don't actually own the book, my mother-in-law, Lillian Zupancic, does. She is not only a die hard fan of The Cleveland Indians but a fan of both the authors as well. Russel Schneider has a co-author who also worked on the 1st edition with him, Mr. Joseph Simenic. He is a prominent baseball researcher and co-founder of the Society of American Baseball Reasearch. He is a long-time Indians fan.

The authors have done a marvelous job on the book. It is complete with beautiful color photos and a color insert of the current home of The Cleveland Indians, Jacob's Field. Facts included are all players from the origins of The Cleveland Indians to present time complete with stats. This is a book that you definitely must own if you are a fan of the Cleveland Indians.

I say this not only because Mr. Simenic is my mother-in-law's brother and my husband's uncle, but because The Cleveland Indians Encyclopedia (both editions) are a valuable asset to any fans' library!

A must have for anyone interested in Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology. I'm not sure when the new edition is coming out, though. You may want to look into that.

Dear Sirs,

I have returned the book "Pathology and genetics of tumors of the soft tissues and bones" because I have already bought by amazon.com in my other account (vencio56@hotmail.com). My mistake.

The book is very good (5 stars).
Sincerely,
Eneida Franco Vencio

This is a great book to review bone and soft tissue tumor.

This book is a knock up the side of the head! Now I understand the disconnect between what I was brought up to believe about the United States and the non-western world, and what is happening now e.g. US policy is really that of Britain before 1942!
Must read for all us old hippies!

Edward W. Said convincingly argued in his 1979 masterpiece, Orientalism that the West (mainly America) traditionally had a rather monolithic view of the East. This perception, according to Said, was based more on fantasy than in fact - and that the West saw the East in terms of the `other.' MIT Literary Professor Christina Klein re-visits Said's conclusions in Cold War Orientalism: Asia in the Middlebrow Imagination, 1945-1961. In this work, she successfully argues that "while many American representations fit comfortably with Said's model of Orientalism, many post-war representations of noncommunist Asia do not, although they do not contradict it entirely"
(p.11).

Essentially, Klein illustrates that various cultural mediums in post-WWII America actively engage Asian topics to bridge the cultural divide between East and West. In her powerful and well written work, Klein masterfully explains "the relationship between the expansion of U.S. power into Asia between 1945 and 1961 and the simultaneous proliferation of popular American representations of Asia" (p. 5).

There are numerous examples cited in this work that provide evidence to support her main claim that America and the Orient (the East) "could learn to understand each other" (p. 200.). For instance, she brilliantly illustrates that America reached out to post-WWII Asia through films such as The King and I and The Bridges of Toko-Ri; and through magazines such as the Readers Digest and Saturday Review. These cultural mediums, asserted Klein, educated America about Asian topics - and advanced the American Cold War interest of "economic globalization" (p. 268).

Although Klein wisely stops her study in 1961, her conclusion draws parallels between recent U.S.-Asia relations and those of post-WWII such as the revival of the King and I in 1996 and a 1991 speech by Dole Foods CEO who "praised Asian Americans as a National Resource" (p. 269).

A cursory query of reviews for Klein's work resulted in an abundance of praise and admiration for her scholarship. Klein, noted one reviewer, "is not content to simplify the complexity of the time period in order to schematize things too neatly. Rather, she seeks to dig into the richness of America's expectations for Asia, including the countervailing currents within that relationship" (review by Jespersen T. Christopher). The blend and overall comparisons between cultural mediums provides the reader with a rich and compelling story.

The passages, scholarship, anecdotes, and readability of this work are impressive. But the real value of this work is that it advances a new understanding of the East and West during the Cold War - where the former educates the latter in a mutually beneficial platform. In this reviewer's opinion, there are no obvious weaknesses to this work, nor are there any harsh criticisms from other reviewers about Klein's overall thesis. This is an important work for students of the Cold War and expands nicely on Said's research on Orientalism.

Christina Klein contends that the paradigm of the Truman Doctrine can not offer a complete understanding of Cold War American culture or policy. She juxtaposes its policy of global communist containment with a 1957 speech by American diplomat Francis Wilcox that harped the need to educate Americans about the world beyond the national boundaries. This contrasts what the author terms the "global imaginary of containment" with the "global imaginary of integration." Both of these are educational projects. The first teaches the global politic as a heroic crusade against communism, the latter teaches it as a sentimental connection with the cultures of non-Americans. While acknowledging the abundance of quality scholarship that investigates the former project, Klein positions Cold War Orientalism as an investigation of the policy of Cold War internationalism and its related trope of "sentimental education." In doing so, she aims to dichotomize the discourse of history by proving that integration of the capitalist world went hand-in-hand with Soviet containment.

Klein begins by documenting the Federal policy initiatives that promoted cold war internationalism in the American populace, like the United States Information Agency's people-to-people program. These initiatives rose in the wake of McCarthyism because the Truman Doctrine had a basic rhetorical disadvantage when promoted to the American public. As shown in her analysis of National Security Council directives, a foreign policy of communist containment has the public relations problem of being defined by that which it opposes. The integration of "free" people and commodities becomes the necessary positive to imbue the ideology of containment with original purpose.

The author then considers how "middlebrow intellectuals"-the author's term for the editors of mass periodicals like Reader's Digest, claimed Cold War internationalism as a public pedagogy and instructed readers about the American commitment to cultural difference. The text importantly contends that "middlebrow"-an adjective and Klein's subtitular term-has roots in cultural populism of the 1920s. It functionally describes a process of repackaging diverse culture for mass consumption. This "offered [upwardly mobile immigrant] consumers the cultural capital that would make them feel more secure in their new class identity (Klein 64)." It also appropriates the cultural inadequacy that permeated the Untied State's post-WWI uneasiness with the global mantle. It translates this inadequacy into a call for individuals to claim the authority of widely informed knowledge. Finally, Klein contends that the "middlebrow imagination" conflated education with enjoyment and moral purpose, ironically couching human difference in the trappings of soothing universalism. To show the connection between Cold War Internationalism as public policy and middlebrow cultural project, the author compares novelized travel accounts (like James Michiner's The Voice of Asia) to policy documents like NSC-48. Both envision an Asian communism that is rabidly expansionist and interstitial states that teeter on the verge of being "lost" or safely preserved in the bloc of the free world through cultural understanding (Klein 126).

While Klein's scholarship is original, taking policies that have been discretely engaged by multiple works and disciplines (like, for example, the propaganda policy considerations of Jacques Ellul), her lexicon of sentimental internationalism also offers a fresh critique of liberalism. It remains an unfinished project to extend this exciting paradigm into wider considerations of American conflict and axes of difference.