Intron Depot 3: Ballistics
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Not Impressed
  • More of M.S. fantastic work
  • Must have for Masamune Fans
Intron Depot 3: Ballistics
Masamune Shirow
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

GeneralGeneral | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1593070071

Book Description

The third volume of Masamune Shirow's best-selling art book series features spectacular full-color illustrations featuring high-caliber treatments. Often a sci-fi military theme is evoked, with special emphasis on detailed weaponry, but there is also a healthy batch of fantasy themes and outer space action.

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars Not Impressed.......2006-03-11

The cover of my order arrived with a large cut across the entire front cover. I normally wouldnt be too upset about something like this but these books are expensive.

5 out of 5 stars More of M.S. fantastic work.......2005-01-23

More of the jaw droping pretty girl art from Shirow. Full page glossy promotional images glore! Guns, shiney girls, sci-fi environments, And even more fan service than Blades!

If that's what you love about Shirow's work. This is for you!

As a long time fan of this artist, I say you can't go wrong.

5 out of 5 stars Must have for Masamune Fans.......2003-10-30

This is the best Intron Depot in my collection.
We, in the USA, don't get enough of Mr Shirows work, so if
you're a big fan, this is one to collect.
If you had his past Intron Depot, you will clearly see
how he has progressed with his incorporation of digital
graphics, with eith Photoshop or Corel Bryce. He has
taken his cyberpunk anime to another level.
The presentations of his art is outstanding. His details,
colors, depth, and his thoughts are well included in his work.
M only wish is that they included some of his works in CD-ROM, so I could display them on my PC the way he saw on his PC.
Many ppl scan his works but it only ruins the colors.
I hope in his next project they would include this CD-ROM like many graphic books are doing nowadays.
INTRON DEPOT 3 BALLISTICS Vol. 3 (Intorodepo) (in Japanese)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    INTRON DEPOT 3 BALLISTICS Vol. 3 (Intorodepo) (in Japanese)
    Masamune Shiro
    Manufacturer: Seishin Sha
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback
    ASIN: 4878922648

    Draw Scary: Creepy Creatures & Gruesome Ghouls
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Draw Scary: Creepy Creatures & Gruesome Ghouls
      Joel Fajnor
      Manufacturer: Lowell House
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

      GeneralGeneral | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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      ASIN: 1565652878

      Toekang potret: 100 jaar fotografie in Nederlands Indie 1839-1939 = 100 years of photography in the Dutch Indies 1839-1939 (Fotografie uit de collectie van het Museum voor Volkenkunde)
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Toekang potret: 100 jaar fotografie in Nederlands Indie 1839-1939 = 100 years of photography in the Dutch Indies 1839-1939 (Fotografie uit de collectie van het Museum voor Volkenkunde)
        Netherlands) Museum voor Volkenkunde (Rotterdam
        Manufacturer: Het Museum
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback

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        ASIN: 9065790632

        Bug's Woids of Wisdom: A Looney Tunes Pop-Up Book
        Average customer rating: Not rated
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          Treasures Warner , and Warner Brothers
          Manufacturer: Warner Treasures
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Hardcover

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          ASIN: 0446910996

          Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization
          Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
          • Keep It Simple Stupid
          • Gung Ho!- Is AWESOME!!!!!!!
          • Gung HOl
          • Best leadership book out there
          • Always Remember these gifts
          Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization
          Ken Blanchard
          Manufacturer: William Morrow
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Hardcover

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          ASIN: 068815428X

          Book Description

          Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles, co-authors of the New York Times business bestseller Raving Fans, are back with Gung Ho! Here is an invaluable management tool that outlines foolproof ways to increase productivity by fostering excellent morale in the workplace. It is a must-read for everyone who wants to stay on top in today's ultra-competitive business world.

          Raving Fans taught managers how to turn customers into full-fledged fans. Now, Gung Ho! brings the same magic to employees. Through the inspirational story of business leaders Peggy Sinclair and Andy Longclaw, Blanchard and Bowles reveal the secret of Gung Ho--a revolutionary technique to boost enthusiasm and performance and usher in astonishing results for any organization. The three principles of Gung Ho are:

          These three cornerstones of Gung Ho are surprisingly simple and yet amazingly powerful. Whether your organization consists of one or is listed in the Fortune 500, this book ensures Gung Ho employees committed to success.

          Gung Ho! also includes a clear game plan with a step-by-step outline for instituting these groundbreaking ideas. Destined to become a classic, Gung Ho! is a rare and wonderful business book that is packed with invaluable information as well as a compelling, page-turning story.

          Management legend Ken Blanchard and master entrepreneur Sheldon Bowles are back with Gung Ho!, revealing a surefire way to boost employee enthusiasm, productivity, and performance and usher in astonishing results for any organization.

          Raving Fans brilliantly schooled managers on how to turn customers into raving fans. Gung Ho! now brings the same magic to employees. Here is the story of how two managers saved a failing company and turned in record profits with record productivity. The three core ideas of Gung Ho! are surprisingly simple: worthwhile work guided by goals and values; putting workers in control of their production; and cheering one another on. Their principles are so powerful that business leaders, reviewing the manuscript for Ken and Sheldon, have written to say, "Sorry. Ignored instructions. Have photocopied for everyone. I promise to buy books, but can't wait. We need now!" Like Raving Fans, Gung Ho! delivers.

          Customer Reviews:

          5 out of 5 stars Keep It Simple Stupid.......2007-07-10

          The anti-cliche corporate example used as the basis for this book and its powerful message prove again that the best ideas are the simplest ones. The brilliance of the author's writing is its quick and easy-to-read format. An author with a larger ego could have easily mired this message in excessive wordiness to lengthen the page count, but why? The concepts are logical and straight-forward. Blanchard is to be commended for presenting them in a similar format.

          As for the message itself, the three basic lessons are gifts that keep giving. They can be applied to nearly any work environment, of any size, in any industry, by any manager. The message is particularly powerful for managers who are either constrained in their abilities to provide powerful financial incentives for employees, OR are surrounded by Gen X and Y employees who may only be marginally motivated by money in the first place. By actively incorporating these philosophies in day-to-day operations, managers are likely to not only see productivity improvements, but to see employee retention and motivation gains as well. The book is a roadmap to creating an environment that will nurture Gen Y's endless craving to work in a team-based atmosphere flush with positive feedback.

          Overall, a highly relevant read for anyone in management or aspiring to be so.

          5 out of 5 stars Gung Ho!- Is AWESOME!!!!!!!.......2007-06-01

          Ken Blanchard knocked this one out of the park with Gung HO! This book is a simple read that takes no time to read. The cool thing about this book it is not broken up into chapters. It is just one story from start to finish. This book is well worth the money and will get you pumped up to tackle the world.

          5 out of 5 stars Gung HOl.......2007-01-14

          I purchased 12 copies of this book to distribute to the administration and school board of my local district. The philosophy and of teamwork, quality work, challenging work and positive affirmations are presented in an easy to understand way which can aid in implementation. A great inspiring look at leadership.

          4 out of 5 stars Best leadership book out there.......2007-01-03

          This book is outstanding. It explains leadership in a way that is very easy to understand. Everyone can relate to this book.

          5 out of 5 stars Always Remember these gifts.......2006-12-02

          The Spirit of the squirrel, The Way of the Beaver, and The Gift of the Goose are the best gifts you can give to you managers. Blanchard and Bowles nailed the concepts of workplace co-operation and teamwork in a style that will appeal to all readers. Get this book for your managers and make your business an unqualified success. My book, "Always Remember, If it ain't fun, It ain't worth doing!" is a great follow up to this book. It will take your managers to the next level of management excellence... Wayne Kehl
          Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization
            Ken Blanchard
            Manufacturer: William Morrow
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Hardcover
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            Can I Play You My Song?: The Compositions and Invented Notations of Children
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              Can I Play You My Song?: The Compositions and Invented Notations of Children
              Rena Upitis
              Manufacturer: Heinemann Drama
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

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              ASIN: 0435087053

              Book Description

              Author and educator Rena Upitis has written a unique book to help regular classroom and private music teachers recognize and foster children's attempts at notating music as they engage in improvisation and composition. Through a colorful, engaging narrative, Upitis describes a "whole music" classroom where teachers, using a child-centered environment, can introduce activities encouraging children to compose and notate their own works. Familiar techniques from a whole language classroom -- such as the use of writing folders and conferencing -- are refashioned in a music context.

              Including over seventy examples of children's invented notations, comparing the development of music notations with invented spellings, Can I Play You My Song? is full of ideas for individual projects, small group compositions, and full-class works.

              Headpress 24: Powered by Love (Headpress Journal, 24)
              Average customer rating: Not rated
                Headpress 24: Powered by Love (Headpress Journal, 24)

                Manufacturer: Headpress
                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Paperback

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                ASIN: 1900486229

                Book Description

                Featuring an interview with Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club), and an exclusive meeting with gonzo porn auteur John 'Buttman' Stagliano, by Laurence O'Toole (author of Pornocopia).

                How famous are you, Mr. Stagliano? "As famous as anybody in porno."

                How successful are you? "Very. More successful than virtually anyone else. And I'm sort of bragging now, I know, but I'm also telling you the truth. . . ."

                Ginger Nuts The Unauthorised biography of Chris Evans
                Average customer rating: Not rated
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                  Johnson Howard
                  Manufacturer: Andre Deutsch
                  ProductGroup: Book
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                  ASIN: B000OPHEG4

                  First Six Weeks: Baby Tips the Little Terror (Baby Tips)
                  Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
                  • Bravo!
                  First Six Weeks: Baby Tips the Little Terror (Baby Tips)
                  Charlotte Preston
                  Manufacturer: Fisher Books
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Paperback

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                  Customer Reviews:

                  5 out of 5 stars Bravo!.......1999-10-11

                  Six weeks of hell...six weeks of my life I will never get back..six weeks of taking a beating.My daughter Kayla is so undeciplined,she can rip apart a household in 10 seconds.This book helped me control her for the first time in her life.Some of the tips I used was putting jalepheno juice on all of our stuff so she would not get at them without paying.I also used the diagram in the back of the book to construct a cage to keep her in when visiting family or friends.I have aged 10 years since she was born.I wear my pants to my ribcage.

                  Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle: All-Weather Attack Aircraft
                  Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
                  • Decriptive, entertaining and a pure delight to read.
                  • Excellent for the Strike Eagle Enthusiast
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                  Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle: All-Weather Attack Aircraft
                  Steve Davies
                  Manufacturer: The Crowood Press
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                  Book Description

                  The F-15E looks set to remain in USAF service beyond 2030. It has proved to be the safest tactical fighter ever procured by the Air Force, and its 16,000-hr service life could well see it in use beyond 2030. It is arguably the best all-round combat aircraft in the world and has a magnificent operational record gained in combat during Desert Storm, Balkan operations and the war against Terrorism. This book traces the history and development of the Strike Eagle from its conception as a replacement for the F-111 in 1984 to the present day. Every aspect of the aircraft and its operation are examined including airframe, powerplant, avionics and weapon systems. Design plans, photographs and color profiles give graphic portrayal of this meanest of mean machines.

                  Customer Reviews:

                  5 out of 5 stars Decriptive, entertaining and a pure delight to read........2004-01-02

                  Steve Davies has certainly done more than his fair share of homework for this excellent book. As an ex-military jet pilot, I have a greater than average knowledge of the workings and history of military combat aircraft, yet I was constantly surprised at the level of detail that this book went into.

                  Luckily the text remained easy to understand, and the reader quickly appreciates the technology available to today's most potent weapons delivery aircrew.

                  Accounts from a variety of experienced Eagle aircrew constantly verify the Author's statements, and make for a more enjoyable read - sometimes placing the reader right there in the ejection seat. From initial test flights to the latest combat missions in Operation Enduring Freedom, there are 'war stories' worthy of telling in any Officers' Mess Bar.

                  Whilst the majority of the photographs are in Black and White, there is also a generous Full Colour section with magnificent photographs. For the modellers, there are eight detailed colour plates of Eagle colour schemes.

                  You would only learn more about the F-15E Strike Eagle by actually joining the USAF - and even then being one of the lucky few.

                  5 out of 5 stars Excellent for the Strike Eagle Enthusiast.......2003-12-31

                  Alternate title for this book - "Everything You Want to Know About the Strike Eagle, but Were Afraid to Ask".
                  As an F-15E pilot, I was amazed at the amount of technical detail contained in the book. Davies practically walks you through every system in the aircraft and explains them from the ground up.
                  Outstanding photography - nearly every page has a photo, some that are absolutely amazing.
                  My favorite aspect of the book is the stories told by Strike Eagle aircrew interviewed by Davies. Included are some I had heard before and some I had not; combat missions into Iraq in Desert Storm, ONW and OIF, an F-15E air-to-air kill with a laser guided bomb, and a 15.5 hour sortie are just a few to name.
                  This book is a great read for those who are F-15E fans, but the technical jargon could be a little confusing for the average Joe (though it comes with a full glossary to reference).

                  5 out of 5 stars A Treasure Chest for F-15E Fans.......2003-12-31

                  Being the best all-round combat aircraft in the world, the F-15E Strike Eagle is a very popular war machine and is a good subject to write on.

                  Have you already read books on the Strike Eagle and have you already spent hours on the Internet looking for info? If yes, then it's good for you. But if not, then please don't do it! Read this book first!

                  I myself tried the `yes' variant before, but even after all my research this book surprised me with its richness of info and its level of detail. This kind of stuff is very hard to find even in small pieces, not mentioning to have them all in one place.

                  It covers the F-15E from every angle possible, giving you history, (lots of) technical details, combat records (and some stories even), details, specs and insight into the Strike Eagle community. Very military style, full with abbreviations, it requires attention. And it's technical, yes, expect deep water.
                  Nice and well chosen pictures illustrate it (there are lots of them, unfortunately not all of them in color), including special close-ups of parts of the jet (again something you will not find everywhere).

                  Packed in a neat hard-cover "casing" you will get 200 pages of intense information and feeling, like a jet blast from the twin engine of the Strike Eagle. Deep insight into the trade and very good connections with the Strike Eagle community - that's the feeling I got from it... and the inability to put it down!

                  So get a copy and see it for yourself. You will be glad that you did.

                  Russian Conservatism and Its Critics: A Study in Political Culture
                  Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
                  • How Can You Understand Russia if you Don't Understand Orthodoxy
                  • The Continuity of Authoritarian Government in Russia
                  • Scratch a Russian and find a Tatar
                  • NOT EVERYTHING SHOULD BE CONSERVED
                  Russian Conservatism and Its Critics: A Study in Political Culture
                  Richard Pipes
                  Manufacturer: Yale University Press
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Hardcover

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                  ASIN: 0300112882

                  Book Description

                  Russian Conservatism and Its Critics provides the first account of Russia’s immemorial commitment to the theory and practice of autocracy, the most formative and powerful idea in Russia’s political history. Richard Pipes considers why Russian thinkers, statesmen, and publicists have historically always argued that Russia could prosper only under an autocratic regime.

                  Beginning with an insightful study of the origins of Russian statehood in the Middle Ages, when the state grew out of the princely domain but was not distinguished from it, Russian Conservatism and Its Critics includes a masterful survey of Russia’s major conservative thinkers and demonstrates how conservatism is the dominant intellectual legacy of Russia. Pipes examines the geographical, historical, political, military, and social realities of the Russian empire—fundamentally unchanged by the Revolution of 1917—that have traditionally convinced its rulers and opinion leaders that decentralizing political authority would inevitably result in the country’s disintegration. Pipes has written a brilliant thesis and analysis of a hitherto overlooked aspect of the Russian intellectual tradition that continues to have significance to this day.

                  Customer Reviews:

                  2 out of 5 stars How Can You Understand Russia if you Don't Understand Orthodoxy.......2007-07-29

                  Like so many other Western scholars, Pipes sees monarchy and autocracy as retrograde, a "system" that impeded Russia's transition to an enlightened, modern state. This has resulted in an ongoing dynamic between those forces that sought to integrate Russia into a broader European culture and those that saw Western Europe as anti-Christian. Unfortunately, to understand this dynamic properly, one has to first understand Orthodoxy and how it differs metaphysically and ontologically from what would eventually become Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Many of the ideas credited to the Enlightenment and initiated by the Renaissance by men like Ficino, Pico, and Bruno were esoteric in nature, having their roots in Gnostic and Christian Kabbalism. The degree to which Orthodoxy took root in Russia meant that it was immune from these ideas and their apotheosis in the Englightenment. While Peter and Catherine were sympathetic to the Philosophes, the peasants and Church resisted them because they introduced distortions into what can only be called a Christian, Trinitian anthropology of Man. This is reflected in the reviewer below who quotes the Declaration of Independence -- that all Men are created equal. For the Orthodox, the first most basic truth is that all Men are created in the image and likeness of God. A specific Trinitian anthropology follows this, one involving ancestral sin, the nous, the soul, and what is possible in a fallen world - not a specifically ordered political reality geared towards what the "pure practical rules of Reason" determine to be just. Orthdoxy is not interested in creating Rawlsville but in creating a Christian society. The ideal for Orthodoxy is theosis -- not a "this worldly" ideal of social justice and the like. I would argue that one can't properly understand the Slavophiles' critique of the West or the writings of Dostoyevsky and Pobedonostsev without undestanding why they prefer monarchy to democracy. Since monarchy ideally represents the Law of God and the Law of God provides for the salvation of Man, social inequalities are simply not as relevant. Of course it is worth pointing out that while the Founding Fathers penned the Declaration of Independence, it didn't necessarily translate into a more just system that what was in place in Russia at the time. The federal government slaughtered the Indians, gave them the Trail of Tears, enslaved blacks, and embraced a doctrine of Manifest Destiny that was as jingoistic as anything that ever came out of Russia. In fact, Russia introduced more meaningful reforms for its peasants and disenfranchised than the US or Britain in the 19th century. Had the world revolutionary forces not assassinated Stolypin, who knows how the 20th century would have turned out. But one thing is clear: after the kings of Europe, Asia, and Russia had been sacrificed on the altar of freedom, equality and liberty, the world would become drenched in blood thereafter. Stick that in your "Pipes" and smoke it --

                  5 out of 5 stars The Continuity of Authoritarian Government in Russia.......2007-05-01

                  Russian Conservatism and Its Critics, by Professor Richard Pipes, traces the intellectual history of Russian political thought from the late middle ages through the twentieth century. As Pipes observes early in the book, one must be careful to define what one means when using the terms such as "conservative" or "liberal". In his context, Russian conservatism connotes the pattern of strong, centralized, authoritarian government that has dominated Russia's history from early Muscovy to Vladimir Putin, with brief respites in period between the 1905 and 1917 revolutions and under Boris Yeltsin. Pipes demonstrates the strong degree of continuity in Russian political thought and practice across 500 years. Both the totalitarian nature of the Soviet regime and Putin's increasingly centralized and authoritarian rule can be better understood as directly descended from centuries old Russian political patterns. A few key points from Russian Conservatism include:

                  * Early Muscovite Tsars did not differentiate between the state and their personal property - they literally "owned" Russia, including both the land and it people. As late as the early 19th century, political thinkers wrote that the nobles were the slaves of the tsar and the serfs were the slaves of the nobles.
                  * Peter the Great westernized Russia by opening it to western ideas, but he and subsequent "liberal" rulers neither accepted nor tolerated even the most limited concepts of popular sovereignty. Western concepts such as Natural Law were actually used to justify the Tsar's absolute power.
                  * Peter also created the Table of Orders which established the hierarchy of the state bureaucracy. Under this scheme, the highest levels automatically became nobles, regardless of their prior social status, thereby diluting the exclusiveness of the old nobility. This process created a split in the nobility which effectively prevented it from presenting an effective challenge to the Tsar's absolute authority. Perhaps it also set the precedent for the bureaucracy's dominance in the Soviet era.
                  * In the west, the Catholic Church acted as a brake on the power of the monarchies by insisting that kings should rule (at least in part) in the interest of their subjects. In Russia, the church was co-opted into supporting tsarist autocracy. In the debate between the non-possessors and the possessors over whether monasteries should possess property, the tsar sided with the possessors, allowing them to retain their landed estates. In return, the church supported unlimited tsarist power.
                  * Western feudalism was a two-way street: the feudal lord could expect service from his retainers but was also obligated to provide them with protection - failure by either party could be grounds for termination of the feudal obligations of the other party. In Russia, feudalism was a strictly on-way street: Everyone owed service to the Tsar, who owed nothing to his subjects.

                  Russian Conservatism touches on themes that Pipes presented in his previous books, Russia Under the Old Regime and Property and Freedom. His newer book presents these themes in the context of the history of Russian political philosophy and its main contributors. I found it to be a useful addition to his prior works and a framework for understanding current political trends in Russia.

                  I suspect that another key to understanding modern Russia may lie in the concept of nationalities. In Western Europe, the multinational empires largely gave way to nation states in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The 1991 disintegration of the Soviet Union into its 15 constituent republics might be viewed as the latest manifestation of this trend. Even in its currently reduced form, which resembles Russia's borders circa 1600, Russia appears to contain a diverse collection on nationalities, characterized by differing ethnic, linguistic, cultural, and religious affiliations. Conflict between nationalities is most apparent in the Chechen war, but may exist in less violent forms among other groups within today's Russia. Perhaps Professor Pipes will be able to contribute our understanding of this issue as well.

                  3 out of 5 stars Scratch a Russian and find a Tatar.......2006-02-16

                  Pipes' view of Russian history is the classical one which finds everything Russian non-European, barbaric, autocratic, and incorrigible. There is plenty of evidence supporting this view. Many Russian thinkers have concurred. Yet objective observers have to call this view of Russia "Polonophile," that is to say pro-Polish. This is what the Poles always said about the Russians, often with justification but not always. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was the exact opposite of Russia: it had powerful nobles and gentry, a Catholic as opposed to a Byzantine Church, political institutions, an openness to the West and its intellectual and religious diversity. But with all these advantages the Poles could not maintain their world, they treated the peasantry no better than the Russians did theirs, and the Poles never achieved the cultural heights of Russian literature and music. The Germans who also had all the cultural advantages of the West fell into a despotism even more degenerate and evil than the Russians. So one has to agree with Pipes that Russia is not good liberal material, but then neither are many other nations with more advantages than the Russian ever had.

                  In sum, one does learn much about the Russian proclivity towards authoritarianism but the book does not prove that the Russians cannot change. We may yet be surprised by Russia.

                  Pipes is also known for his belief that Soviet Communism simply replayed the traditional Russian proclivity for autocracy. This ignores the real achievements, the positive achievements of the Soviets: education, science, culture, literacy, modernity. Tsarist Russia was making progress by 1914 but it is hard to know what it would have achieved without the Bolsheviks.

                  4 out of 5 stars NOT EVERYTHING SHOULD BE CONSERVED.......2006-01-16

                  It is perhaps sufficiently self-evident by now that we will not stand accused of mere jingoism when we say that most of the ideas necessary to the End of History were encapsulated in less than a paragraph some two hundred and thirty years ago:

                  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

                  Indeed, that's such idea-rich terrain that we're unlikely to be able to address them all, but let's pluck out just a few of the key ones:

                  (1) Human dignity comes from our Creation by God.

                  (2) As a result of that Creation, all Men begin life as moral equals.

                  (3) God grants us Rights that precede any human institutions and can not be justly compromised by any such.

                  (4) Governments are, in fact, created by Men in order to safeguard human dignity and vindicate those Rights.

                  (5) Legitimate government, then, can be said to serve God's ends and to require the consent of the governed. Any government that does not do both is by its very nature illegitimate.

                  So pervasive are these ideas that, for instance, I just happened to be reading a book, The Case for Goliath, by a rather non-partisan/non-ideological foreign policy wonk, Michael Mandelbaum, wherein he states as a fact:

                  Government is not the essence of social life. In human affairs it is secondary, emerging from, and playing a supporting role for, what is primary: the social relations and the norms they embody that make up society.

                  Thereby he dismisses, quite correctly, all of the competing ideologies of government to our own ideal of liberal/parliamentary/republican democracy.

                  The recent competitors--well worth dismissing--have been Nazism, communism/socialism, and Islamicism. But the original competitors were autocracies, which not only viewed government as primary but located that government in the person of one ruler. The longest lived of these despotisms, at least in the West, was the tsardom of Russia and it is this tragic phenomenon that Mr. Pipes explores here.
                  Pipes, Richard. Russian Conservatism and Its Critics: A Study in Political Culture.(Book review): An article from: The Review of Metaphysics
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                    Pipes, Richard. Russian Conservatism and Its Critics: A Study in Political Culture.(Book review): An article from: The Review of Metaphysics
                    Jude P. Dougherty
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                    Release Date: 2006-04-04

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                    This digital document is an article from The Review of Metaphysics, published by Thomson Gale on March 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1216 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: Pipes, Richard. Russian Conservatism and Its Critics: A Study in Political Culture.(Book review)
                    Author: Jude P. Dougherty
                    Publication: The Review of Metaphysics (Magazine/Journal)
                    Date: March 1, 2006
                    Publisher: Thomson Gale
                    Volume: 59 Issue: 3 Page: 670(3)

                    Article Type: Book review

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                    Tsars & commissars.(Russian Conservatism and Its Critics: A Study in Political Culture)(Book review) : An article from: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life
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                      Tsars & commissars.(Russian Conservatism and Its Critics: A Study in Political Culture)(Book review) : An article from: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life
                      Daniel J. Mahoney
                      Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
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                      ASIN: B000FIGLJQ
                      Release Date: 2006-04-25

                      Book Description

                      This digital document is an article from First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, published by Thomson Gale on May 1, 2006. The length of the article is 2566 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: Tsars & commissars.(Russian Conservatism and Its Critics: A Study in Political Culture)(Book review)
                      Author: Daniel J. Mahoney
                      Publication: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life (Magazine/Journal)
                      Date: May 1, 2006
                      Publisher: Thomson Gale
                      Issue: 163 Page: 38(7)

                      Article Type: Book review

                      Distributed by Thomson Gale
                      Russian Conservatism and Its Critics: A Study in Political Culture
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                        Russian Conservatism and Its Critics: A Study in Political Culture
                        Richard Pipes
                        Manufacturer: Yale University Press
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                        Binding: Paperback
                        ASIN: B000OSI58M

                        Behavioral Neurobiology Of Bird Song (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences)
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                          Behavioral Neurobiology Of Bird Song (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences)

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