Customer Reviews:
Great Adobe book!.......2006-03-15
This book is full of great information and is well worth purchasing. For the average consumer it is all you will need. However as an engineer, I wish it had more technical information (shear capacity of adobe walls, etc). I've looked for such a book, but I don't think it exists.
How to Build Your Own Adobe Home.......2002-08-17
This book is for the individual who wants to and is able to build his/her own home. The details are geared towards someone who is already familiar with building techniques and jargon. If you're planning to design your own adobe home but have a contractor do the actually building of it, you probably don't need to know this much and will be overwhelmed by the information provided.
Excellent first book on adobe and rammed earth buildings........2000-04-09
This book is easy to read and understand when the author explains adobe and rammed earth buildings. The book seems to be a bit more focused on the details of adobe brick making which is great if that is what you want. The rammed earth sections are very informative but lack some of the construction details. I would have liked to have seen more detailed decriptions with better drawings of forms, for example. The author also has several table having containg soil composition that was a bit too technical for practical use. Overall,I believe this book is well worth the money for an introduction to adobe and rammed earth buildings. Additional books would be needed to learn enough to build one yourself though.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Architectural Science Review, published by University of Sydney, Faculty of Architecture on March 1, 2005. The length of the article is 3687 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Experimental studies on the thermal and moisture properties of rammed earth used in adobe buildings in China.
Author: Zengfeng Yan
Publication:
Architectural Science Review (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 2005
Publisher: University of Sydney, Faculty of Architecture
Volume: 48
Issue: 1
Page: 55(6)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This inspiring guide provides artists with the knowledge they need to paint watercolor landscapes. It features easy-to-follow exercises illustrated in an accessible format that invites readers to jump in and begin painting right away. Artists of all skill levels will learn from:
-30 step-by-step demonstrations
-Chapters that focus on basic landscape elements, such as land, water and sky
-Special mini demos for capturing important details, including trees, mountains, waves, clouds, sunsets and more.
Most importantly, this guide's instruction teaches artists the foundations of strong composition and encourages them to pursue their own individual style to create landscapes that are compelling and unique.
Customer Reviews:
Nice book to buy but .......2007-08-23
Its a nice book but if you already have the other book from Gordon Mackenzie, I wouldn't recommend it. Basically half the book almost has the same things.
If you don't have any book from him.... its a nice buy. you will enjoy reading it.
Fine book to learn from, if you will practice........2007-08-09
I bought the "Watercolorist's Essential Notebook"(WEN) and this "WEN - Landscapes," fearing they would be the same with a few different illustrations. (I was specifically looking for ideas on mountains). I was surprised that the first 20 pages contained the same material, but presented with landscapes theme. The rest of the book had many ideas and suggestions, not just rehashed WEN. There was enough new material to warrant this purchase. I should keep trying the presented techniques, but there was enough to satisfy my desire. For less than the cost of a lesson (I consider shipping/handling the same as using my vehicle to drive to the lesson) I have hours of experimenting ahead of me. The illustrations of the effects of each technique are very good, and the "step by step" illustrations aren't cookie cutter recipes, but suggestions for your own experiments. As a "new watercolorist" (meaning I haven't sold anything yet, but I am at the point of feeling I now could), I was surprised at how well I took to, and how much I learned from, both WEN books. I would say suitable from the start for beginners, and advanced students to working.
Beginner or advanced, if you paint you NEED this book!.......2007-07-13
I was so pleased with this book that I bought the author's previous one, "The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook" and was just as happy with it! I learned so much from this book, and still continue to learn from it. I consider myself a beginner as I have only been studying watercolor for less than a year, but I took it to class and showed it to my instructor. She was so impressed by it that she bought it to use in her classes. Even with an MFA, she found information that was new to her. The author has a wonderful, playful style that makes learning exciting and fun. Whatever your skill level, you owe it to yourself to own this book!
Excellent for beginners and all.......2007-07-12
Mr. MacKenzie shows techniques which all can utilize. I have been doing watercolor paintings for about two and half years with some success. I find his suggestions a great help. He is precise and forthright in his endeavor to share his artistic techniques with each reader. It's a great book.
The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook: Landscapes.......2007-05-09
Excellent review of ways to do landscapes. Good techniques and interresting form.
Customer Reviews:
Nice book.......2007-08-23
I like this book because it not only provides you with lots of knowledge but also encourages you to go away from conventional suggestions and create your own style. Its flow is very nice. Its material has been organized properly and I not only gained knowledge but also enjoyed reading it.
Perfect companion for the watercolor artist!.......2007-07-13
This is THE book that every beginning to intermediate watercolorist must have. I have been studying watercolor for several months, and I learned more from this book than I did in all of my classes combined. The author has a lovely sense of humor, making for a fun read while sharing so many of the tips and tricks he learned from decades of painting and teaching. There are detailed pictures demonstrating his techniques, as well as tips on how to choose paints, paper, and brushes. If you can only afford one book this month, it should be this one! And after you have read this one, check out his other book: "The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook: Landscapes". Yet another fantastic book by this gifted artist and instructor!
MacKenzie's the Man.......2007-07-12
A great book for the beginners. I really appreciate his sharing techniques which he has utilized for many years. Each day every artist should seek to find a new way to do what they do. Mackenzie gives one good ideas and foundational principles. I enjoy reading and utilizing both of his books.
Most informative Book for Watercolor.......2006-11-05
The Watercolorists Essntial Notebook is the finest work on "how-to" that I have ever read. The examples are wonderful and enhance the narrative to the extent that I understood just what to do. The book is well written. I would recommend this book to beginners and experienced watercolor artists alike.
The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook.......2006-08-07
This has to be one of the best books ever for the serious beginner in watercolor. It is divided into three parts: tools, techniques, and composition. I primarily bought the book because it has a chart comparing the paint quality of different manufacturers and lists the numbers of fugitive pigments. Many books warn about avoiding colors that are not lightfast, but this book actually identifies them. This is just one small example of the helpful information provided for beginners who want to become serious painters.
Book Description
In trying to gain entry to the interior, private world of Southern Appalachia virtually forgotten by the rest of America, photographer Mike Smith would often hear, upon knocking at a door, "You're not from around here." Despite his "outsider" status, Smith, through these beautiful photographs, allows a rare and intimate glimpse of this unique region of America.
With You're Not From Around Here, Smith joins the ranks of those renowned artists who chronicled the American South, including Walker Evans, William Eggleston, William Christenberry, and Eudora Welty, investigating the Southern landscape and unraveling its complexities. Arriving in East Tennessee in 1981 to teach, Smith has spent the past twenty-three years exploring the delicate nuances of life and land that define Southern Appalachia.
Following in the footsteps of its photographic forebears, You're Not From Around Here injects a new voice into the canon that is direct, complex, and mature. Smith found his subjects interspersed throughout his surroundings--the houses, barns, pastures, and fences of the old family farms, and the folks who inhabited them--and then eased his way past the initial barrier of unfamiliarity to create a unique visual study of a vanishing piece of American geography and culture. Smith's enduring images evoke a wide range of powerful emotions, from humor to grief, and reveal the reality behind the stereotypes of rural Southern life.
Customer Reviews:
Not what I thought it was............2005-06-20
I purchased this book as a gift thinking that it would show off the beauty of East Tennessee. Instead, I found page after page of the run-down poverty in Appalachia. We all know that those places exist, but what about the Smokies? Cades Cove? Knoxville, Chattanooga and the Tri-Cities? Definitely not what I was looking for.
Art.......2004-05-23
Many of us try and try to express ouselves in so many ways. Mike, because of the turns of his life (the Vietnam War) uses a camera. First look at this book as a record of art peices that you have handy, ready when you need it then let it take you to a gallery or museum that has Mike's work. This work is so huge in the empathy, the love for the people and places and the sheer importance to the vocabulary of art in America that we really have to become familiar with it. Find his work and look at it, you will be more of a human for the effort. I have looked at Mike's pictures for years. I am from this region and I know more from looking at this work, about where I am from and about Art, than I did from living here.
When and Where in the South.......2004-05-21
Mass. Art / Yale Uni. graduate, Mike Smith has taught and photographed the backwoods of northeast Tennessee for over 20 years. Smith moved to Tennessee to teach at East Tennessee University and subsequently feel in love with the area which shows in his photographs. Constantly dealing with being an outsider Smith has responded to his environment with eyes wide open. His photographs are of those stereotypical areas that we all know are out there, but shown with a grace and clarity that is rare in most modern landscape imagery. Who could imagine a chicken could appear so beautiful? Images like these take time, patience and above all a personal connection with the subject matter. This book is an epic view of a region in decline. Southern or not these are fine photographs by a master of his craft.
highly recommended for those that appreciate William Eggleston, Walker Evans and Joel Sternfeld.
Customer Reviews:
Totally Cool.......2001-07-06
If you like Beavis and Butthead, then you will love this addition to their book library. All about them talking ridiculously about other foreign countries. I love it and if your a fan you will too.
Average customer rating:
- Intriguing
- Anyone interested in education or humor should read this
|
School Daze: The diary of a first year, Washington, D.C. teacher
Todd Bradley
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Educators
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Memoirs
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1418404101 |
Book Description
School Daze is the diary of a first-year school teacher. It is an extremely funny yet true account of his daily experiences. From the sound of the first bell, School Daze sucks you into the reality of the teaching profession. You will experience the ups and downs, all the time wondering whether he will make it through. The self depreciating humor and refreshingly honest outlook make this book a must read.
Customer Reviews:
Intriguing.......2005-11-15
Someone recommended this book to me and gave it to me as a gift. I was less than thrilled until I started reading the book. I truly enjoyed it, far beyond what I had imagined. Bradley uses a light touch and every page is lifted with Bradley's unique sense of humor. Highly recommended.
Anyone interested in education or humor should read this.......2004-10-26
I have been teaching for nearly 20 years and came across School Daze on the Internet. I purchased the book hoping to compare my first year as a teacher to Bradley's. When the book arrived, I read the book in two days. It is an extremely accurate portrayal of the life of a first year teacher. Also, the humor Bradley uses really takes the book to another level. I highly recommend School Daze.
Average customer rating:
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Paul Gascoigne: the Inside Story
Manufacturer: HarperCollinsWillow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Soccer
| Biographies
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Football (American)
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Soccer
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0002185377 |
Average customer rating:
- The Inside Story as seen from the consultant
|
Paul Gascoigne: the Inside Story
Jane Nottage
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Soccer
| Biographies
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Football (American)
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Soccer
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0006382614 |
Customer Reviews:
The Inside Story as seen from the consultant.......2005-06-19
In the beginning of the 1990s Paul Gascoigne was one of Europe's best soccer players. He had become very popular after he had played very well during World Cup 1990, and he was praised as a huge talent when he returned to England. Not long after he was bought by an Italian club named Lazio, and the author of this book, Jane Nottage, became his consultant.
After a while Jane Nottage was given her notice, and she responded by writing this book. In this book she tells a lot about Paul Gascoigne's life on and off the pitch, and she reveals that she wasn't very happy with the soccer player's wife. Jane Nottage portrays her as bossy and difficult. The author does mention that Sheryl Gascoigne had told her that her husband once had pinned her to a wall and told her she wasn't the greatest and that she was not allowed to socialize with the other soccer wives. Still, it doesn't seem to ring a bell for the author: Only later were we able to see photos of a bruised and battered wife in the papers.
The book is easy to read, but I must admit it I prefer Paul Gascoigne's own book. Somehow Nottage's book is too superficial, and all the time I feel that she wrote the book because she is upset that she got the boot. It's obvious that she blames Sheryl Gascoigne for this.
Amazon.com
The hardest part of being a parent is the certain knowledge that there are some things you can't control. When Beth Kephart's son Jeremy was labeled with the unsettlingly vague diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder (a behavioral disorder related to autism) in the fall of 1991, there were no definitive medical answers, no guidebooks to Jeremy's inner world, no maps to help Jeremy's mom and dad lead their boy back into the land of relatively uncomplicated childhood. Jeremy was a beautiful child who screamed whenever strangers came near him and spent long hours every day obsessively rearranging his toy cars into indecipherable patterns. He was an early talker, but by the time of his diagnosis Jeremy's speech had degenerated into mindless parroting--a condition known as echolalia. Jeremy's triumph over his disability and his journey to reintegration is the primary story of this beautifully written book, Kephart's first.
The other story, the more universal story, is the haunting account of the symbiosis between mother and child, which grows particularly intense when a child feels pain from which his mother cannot shield him. Kephart's fears that her own maternal failings are somehow implicated in Jeremy's problem stand out as the emotional core of this memoir. Her faith in her son, perseverance, and eventual acceptance of herself play as important a role in his healing process as any course of therapy--and her unflinching descriptions of her own healing are what make A Slant of Sun such a stunning debut. --Patrizia DiLucchio
Book Description
Named a Best Book of the Year by Salon magazine and The Philadelphia Inquirer, A Slant of Sun was praised for its incandescent prose about the experience of loving a child who brings tremendous frustration and incalculable rewards and for its extraordinary resonance. Like Operating Instructions and The Liars' Club, A Slant of Sun is a contemporary classic.
Nearly one in five children grow up facing a developmental or behavioral challenge, and like them, Beth Kephart's son, Jeremy, showed early signs of being different: language eluded him, he preferred playing alone to an afternoon on the jungle gym. Doctors diagnosed Jeremy with a mild form of autism called Pervasive Developmental DisorderNot Otherwise Specified. A Slant of Sun is a passionate memoir about how Kephart, guided by the twin tools of intuition and imagination, helped lead her son toward wholeness. Pulsing with the questions, "Is normal possible? Definable?" A Slant of Sun speaks to everyonenot just parentsof the redemptive power of love.
Customer Reviews:
Lyrical writing style, some useful advice.......2005-09-21
The author writes in a highly personal, lyrical, and IMO
somewhat self-indulgent style. It's not my cup of tea, but
if there is a large audience for this form of writing, more
power to the author. I personally think that the most useful
message to come out of this book is "trust your instincts".
The primary inspiration is Beth's courage, amidst
the shock of dealing initially with the PDD-NOS conunudrum,
to tune out the noise, and chart Jeremy's course
herself based on her own instincts of what felt right
and what seemed to worked best for him. Having been in
a similar albeit less traumatic situation, I can't
convey how much courage it takes to jettison, or at
least cherry-pick among the advice of the experts. The
instinct to let the experts take over is very powerful
when you are searching for answers, and want to protect
your child from something unknown and frightening. But
when it comes to autism spectrum disorders, parental
instinct can often trump psychology.
A Self-Portrait of a Mother's Love.......2005-06-07
As beautifully as it is written, as much praise as it has received, and as interested as I am in the subject, A Slant of Sun was hard to pick up. For in opening these pages, I had to pry open a part of myself. The struggle was worthwhile, however, for the elegant prose of this book sheds light and hope upon the challenges faced by parents whose children receive the diagnosis of "Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified" as well as other invisible and elusive conditions that can affect the development of young children.
Beth Kephart immediately engages the reader as she takes you into her heart and mind. You get to know this quite ordinary, unassuming first-time mother as she struggles with the normal but uncomfortable worries of parenthood. The pages resonate with the devoted passion of a mother's love. Then comes that all too familiar, slow-dawning realization that her child's differences are beyond the range of the typical. As a parent of a child within the spectrum of PDD, I had no choice but to relive my son's early years and my own anguish in discovering that he would never be "normal."
As the author puts it, "What in the end are you fighting for? Is normal possible? Can it be defined?...And is normal superior to what the child inherently is, to what he aspires to, fights to, every second of his day?" Kephart refuses to confuse her only child with a label. She describes as only a fellow traveler can how she and her husband found therapists who "felt" right and held onto the ideas from doctors that made sense, like not letting their son get stuck in his rituals for too long. She talks about how hard it was as only a mother at home all day with her child can. As she put it, "It required more of me than I actually had to give, and at the end of it all, it was Jeremy himself who provided the light and the wisdom that moved us forward."
Jeremy is described today as a successful second grader in a country Quaker school. As a reader, I couldn't help but feel jealous for my own son has never made dramatic progress despite my hopes and dreams and efforts to the contrary. A Slant of Sun reopened that longing within me and led me to rethink my steps from my son Tariq's early years until now as he approaches his nineteenth birthday still functioning in the range of mental retardation. Still it was worth the effort, for the broad category of PDD has different implications for each child within the spectrum and for each parent who has to come to terms with the reality for their child. The combination of love and good programs can take each child as far as he or she can grow--but no further. Neither Beth Kephart nor any of us other parents have control over that.
We can hear Kephart's grief out loud in many of the essays which make up the book. While she observed her husband, on the other hand, to have grieved inside himself as most men do. Together they both did all they could while youth and innocence left this first-time mother. Like the rest of us struggling with disabilities in our children, they have been through years of having little life for themselves as they struggled to understand and meet their child's needs. First on their own, and then with therapists and teachers with the same approach, they learned to engage in Jeremy's world which helped him to enter theirs. They learned how to coach and pull him through his obsessions rather than yank him out of them and frustrate him. They made the world of relating appealing to their son.
PDD has multiple causes and numerous symptoms which appear in quite individual profiles in children who struggle simultaneously yet unevenly with language, motor skills, and social awareness. Love is the only reasonable response in the absence of a cure. It is a love without conditions for our special children regardless of how far they can or may develop. Our children teach us about the love and wonder of raising a child that escapes and transcends science and logic. A Slant of Sun lives up to its title and deserves to endure for it casts light on the arduous but rewarding journey of parenting a special child.
*****
Robert Naseef, Ph.D. is a nationally recognized psychologist specializing in families of children with special needs. He is the author of the highly regarded "Special Children, Challenged Parents: The Struggles and Rewards of Raising a Child With a Disability" (2001, Brookes Publishing). On the web at (...)
This is a great read.......2003-10-29
Unlike most books about autistic children written by their mothers, this mom doesn't offer the difinitive methodology for "recovery", no recipe for success. She tells the story of herself and her son to tell what she has found to be the greatest truth of the parent child relationship - love matters. You do your best, you love your child, you teach him/her what is important. So many parents of autistic children, particularly those with very young children, are so afraid of the future, they want answers. You will not find those answers here. This doesn't tell you what to do, but suggests that whatever path you take, be sure it is full of love. This is a lovely book, beautifully written, sweetly told.
beautiful insight, hopeful and profound.......2002-06-06
This book is a must read for parents of children finding their way back from the cloud of autism spectrum disorders. Beth Kephart paints a picture, not just of a heartbreaking condition but also of hope and joy in the midst of recovery. As the mother of a toddler battling the same mysterious condition I appreciated her acceptance and delight in her son. Beth Kephart put into words perfectly how parenting an autistic child can be so magical and thrilling and so sad and heartbreaking at the same time. Her refusal to let a diagnosis define her son is inspiring.
This is an excellent book to read as a companion to all the information books about autism and pdd. Her son is not 'cured' but he is back, loving and being loved.
Aside from the story itself Beth Kephart's use of words and language make the book worth reading, she writes beautifully.
A wonderful book.
one child's dignity.......2001-02-04
A Slant of Sun is a beautiful book written about a boy whose dignity and integrity teach his mother many things. This book is not an appropriate selection for parents who are seeking a plan of action or a series of steps to take toward a child's wholeness; the author makes it clear, repeatedly, that what worked well for her child is not necessarily a prescription for all children. Instead, A Slant of Sun is a book for those who believe it is important to step back, to spend time with their children, and to learn the lessons that they teach. It is a book for those who have been profoundly moved by their own child's first words, by unexpected gestures of love.
Book Description
In this compelling book Stanley G. Payne offers the first comprehensive narrative of Soviet and Communist intervention in the revolution and civil war in Spain. He documents in unprecedented detail Soviet strategies, Comintern activities, and the role of the Communist party in Spain from the early 1930s to the end of the civil war in 1939. Drawing on a very broad range of Soviet and Spanish primary sources, including many only recently available, Payne changes our understanding of Soviet and Communist intentions in Spain, of Stalin's decision to intervene in the Spanish war, of the widely accepted characterization of the conflict as the struggle of fascism against democracy, and of the claim that Spain's war constituted the opening round of World War II. The author arrives at a new view of the Spanish Civil War and concludes not only that the Democratic Republic had many undemocratic components but also that the position of the Communist party was by no means counterrevolutionary.
Book Description
The Spanish Civil War has long been the stuff of legend. Thousands of brave young men from all over the Western world, most of them organized by their local Communist parties, rushed to Spain to support the democratic Republic against right- wing forces led by rebellious generals in the Spanish officer corps. Although the Republic was eventually defeated, some observers believed that the effort to defend it was a selfless undertaking of the international Communist movement and the Soviet Union—a noble crusade against Hitler, Mussolini, and their Spanish puppet Franco.
This book presents a very different view of the role of the Soviet Union in this war. Based on previously unavailable Moscow archives, it provides the first full documentation of that country's duplicitous and self-serving activities. Documents in the book reveal that the Soviet Union not only swindled the Spanish Republic out of millions of dollars through arms deals but also sought to take over and run the Spanish economy, government, and armed forces in order to make Spain a Soviet possession, thereby effectively destroying the foundations of authentic Spanish antifascism. The documents also shed light on many other disputed episodes of the war: the timing of the Republican request for assistance from the Soviet Union; the rise and fall of the International Brigades; the internal workings of the Comintern and its influence on Spain; and much more.
Authoritative and startling in the new information it offers, the book is essential reading for anyone interested in Soviet foreign policy or the Spanish Civil War.
Customer Reviews:
valuable documents on Communist role in Spain.......2005-02-05
Don't let Ron Radosh's move to the political right discredit the
value of this book from a leftwing point of view. The documents
are of value in themselves. To over-simplify a bit, there were
really three sides to the Spanish Civil War. It wasn't just
a civil war but a working class revolution. Spain in the '30s
had a vast revolutionary labor movement. The industrialists,
land-owning oligarchy, Church leaders and generals backed a
violent "final solution" aiming at the extermination of this
movement. But the Communists had very little support within the
Spanish working class. The main social force was an anarchist-
inspired union movement, together with socialist unions
mostly outside the control of the Communist Party.
An interesting aspect of this book are the documents that
give the assessment of the non-Communist left from
the point of view of Stalin's agents. From the point of view of
the workers who built the first labor militias to fight the
fascist army, the war was a class war, a revolutionary war.
Radosh's book shows clearly that the Communists aimed to create
a one-party totalitarian state in Spain, if Franco had been
defeated. To do this they had to crush the authentic Spanish
working class left. It's strategy was to use the leverage it got
from the Soviet Union's arms shipments to Spain to first create
a conventional hierarchical army to replace the initial labor
militias and then eventually capture control of the state by
gaining control of the army officer corps. The documents in this
book, from the Soviet archives, provide evidence to support this
hypothesis.
RIPS AWAY THE ROTTING SCAB OF STALINISM.......2005-01-15
Ron Radosh, whose own uncle, Irving Keith died in fighting the Fascists in Spain, has written a gripping, if ponderous, terrifying if also mundane account of the Stalinist grip on the Republic of Spain.
In a series of documents, culled from the former Soviet archives, Radosh spins a thoroughly believeable tale of cunning, avarice, deceit and betrayal not only of the Spanish Republic, but of the thousands of idealistic young men - the vast majority of them Communists - who flocked to Spain believing that MOTHER RUSSIA was the great white hope of stopping Hitlerism in its tracks. And thousands died, never knowing of the deals that pockmarked scum toady was making with Herr Hitler.
Radosh also presents the documents of those International Brigade men who went to Spain fighting for Democracy and Revolution, and when they found out that the revolution and fight against Fascism had been betrayed, they themselves were arrested and many shot. Close to a dozen Americans were shot by the GPU, some on charges of desertion, others like Albert Wallach, Vernon Selby, Marvin Stern and Harry Perchik on political grounds. Even non-Communist Lincoln Brigaders like one-time commander Philip Detro, a self-described Roosevelt Democrat, may have been terminated by a Party that was little tolerant of dissent.
One of the foremost documents Radosh features is one written by "M. Fred" M. Fred was Manfred Stern or Emil Kleber the vaunted General Emilio Kleber who saved Madrid during the November 1936 siege. Kleber writes a critical document, encompassing almost 75 pages, justifying his role in the International Brigades and acknowledging mistakes. What Kleber was really writing here was a plea for his life, because Stalin had already begun the purges of International Brigade commanders (1938) when this document was written.
And little did Kleber know - he was to perish shortly after returning to Moscow - that Stalin had already made up his mind that no matter how many victories the International Brigades would win, the Republic was doomed and just a pawn, a toy to be played with Herr Hitler.
Many, like Bill Herrick in his excellent "Jumping the Line" would learn the bitter truth early on. Others, like Harry Fisher, would parrot the Party Line till the day he died protesting the just war against the Stalin of the Middle East, Saddam Hussein.
This is a five star book that only received four stars because I wish that Radosh would write more of the Lincolns and his uncle. Their idealism, and in many cases a sincere fight against Hitlerism and to support the democratic republic of Spain - instead of the cynical betrayal of it by Joe Stalin.
Important documentary evidence of Stalin's criminality.......2003-11-15
This is another wonderful volume in the very important Annals of Communism series published by Yale University Press. I can't praise this series enough for the service they have provided us in every one of these volumes.
This book provides, in English translation, 81 important documents of the true Soviet actions in its participation in the Spanish Civil War. Historians will have to make the final judgments and assessments of this material. But I am glad to have the myth of the idealistic Soviet exposed for the lie it always was.
Just as an example of what we learn, we now understand Stalin's desire and success at basically stealing the $50,000,000 Spain had in gold reserves. by shipping Spain outdated and non-functioning military junk as arms. We also know that the French, in effect, supported the Nazi's by interdicting other Soviet arms shipments to the Republic.
There is much more valuable information between the covers of this wonderful book. It reads shorter than its five-hundred plus pages because the documents can be read quickly and the commentary on them is completely fascinating.
A poor work.......2003-09-29
This work contains many false statements, poor use of evidence, and just plain incompetence. Far from showing Soviet "betrayal," these 81 documents make the Comintern, the International Brigades, and the massive Soviet aid to Spain appear in an extremely positive light. Reading the documents alone, and ignoring Radosh's "commentary," any objective person will come away with tremendous respect for the communist effort in the Spanish Civil War, not only by the Comintern and the justly famed International Brigades, but of the Soviet Union -- or, as Radosh says it, in his crude demonizing synecdoche, of "Moscow" and "Stalin."
I've written a longer review of this book at
http://eserver.org/clogic/2002/furr.html
In short, the documents are of great interest, but Radosh's commentary is incompetent and dishonest.
The bitter taste of Soviet bureaucracy.......2002-08-06
The facts speak for themselves. But in this case the casual student of history might nod off during the lecture. The numerous translated documents lose their novelty appeal rather quickly. I recommend it only to the hardcore SCW scholar who can use it for citing references or teaching college courses. It really is a huge, valuable piece of the puzzle. However I would not take it as total vindication for the Republic's detractors: the Popular Front had some support from the Comintern, but it is a slippery-slope fallacy to claim that its decline into Stalinism was therefore inevitable. Its decline was greatly helped along by the war, a condition that always tends to centralize authority and rationalize police-state tactics, and by European & American isolationism. France also elected a Popular Front coalition which, like Spain's, had all the left factions from moderate liberal to communist. Despite the fragmentation of this multiparty system, France managed not to have a civil war over it, and was not undermined by Stalinism. Conspiracies can only do so much; if you look at the documents, the Soviets in Spain had their hands full dealing with the chaos. One could just as easily argue that quick intervention by France, the UK & USA could've saved the Republic from Stalin AND Franco. FDR later admitted to US Ambassador Bowers that he had been right on this point all along.
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England's Empty Throne: Usurpation and the Language of Legitimation, 1399-1422
Paul Strohm
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0300075448 |
Book Description
After the dethronement and subsequent murder of Richard II, the usurping Lancastrian dynasty faced an exceptional challenge. Interrupting a long period of Plantagenet rule, Henry IV and Henry V needed not only to establish physical possession of the English throne but to occupy it symbolically as well. In this boldly revisionary book, Paul Strohm provides a new account of the Lancastrian revolution and its aftermath.
Integrating techniques of literary and historical analysis, he reveals the Lancastrian monarchs as masters of outward display, persuasively "performing" their kingship through a variety of novel ceremonies in a quest for legitimacy. He also describes far-reaching Lancastrian experiments in domination, including the proscription of prophecy; the enlistment of poetry as court propaganda; the extensive use of spies and informers; and, most ambitiously, the redefinition of treason to cover not only overt deeds but words and thoughts as well.
Strohm's account of the Lancastrian quest for legitimacy, and the uses of symbolic power, illuminates—indeed, recasts—our understanding of a period of unprecedented political upheaval.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Canadian Journal of History, published by University of Saskatchewan on April 1, 1999. The length of the article is 906 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: England's Empty Throne: Usurpation and the Language of Legitimation, 1399-1422.(Review)
Author: Shannon McSheffrey
Publication:
Canadian Journal of History (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 1999
Publisher: University of Saskatchewan
Volume: 34
Issue: 1
Page: 92
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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The Competitive Strength of the Information and Communication Industry in Europe: An Integrated View of Europe's Experts on: Strengths and Weaknesses; Actions to be taken
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