Lonnie Holley: Do We Think Too Much? I Don'T Think We Can Ever Stop. (Catalogue)

Book Description

This 25-year survey of the diverse works of self-taught artist Lonnie Holley consider his painting, sculpture, installation, and performance art in the context of mainstream multimedia work. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, the artist is most celebrated for his large installations created from salvaged materials.

Parents Who Think Too Much: Why We Do It, How To Stop

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must have and must read for every intellectual mother
Not what it claims to be
Hooray for common sense!
Does not live up to it's title
Goodbye Penelope Leach

Parents Who Think Too Much: Why We Do It, How To Stop
Ann Cassidy
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0440508126
Release Date: 1998-06-08

Book Description

With the baby boom generation came the genre of parenting books that told parents how to teach their kids everything from toilet training to developing self-esteem. Generally the message has been: go easy on your child, but hard on yourself. It is starting to become apparent, especially in the best of families, that giving your kids lots of choices, validating their feelings at great peril to your own and providing "enough" individual attention for each child is creating a generation of kids over whom we have no control.

Cassidy argues that this comes from over-thinking our role as parents. We've pondered every step so much that the juice, the joy, and worst of all, our confidence is gone. The reasons are clear: We have fewer children later in life so we've had more time to ponder. We've grown up just as research on infant and child development has come of age, so there's no shortage of material to think about. As a generation we've prided ourselves on self-improvement and we bring the same zeal to child improvement. We're less likely to live close to our families, and so are more likely to seek out expert solutions.

To counter this thinking, Cassidy will suggest keeping the big picture in mind--what kind of people do you really want your kids to be? Honest, kind, cooperative, empathetic? It may mean losing sight of whether enough play dates are scheduled for the week and if you've positively reinforced the latest creative endeavor, but it will bring back your instincts about what is important to your family as a whole, and to your kids to become decent people.

Customer Reviews:

must have and must read for every intellectual mother.......2007-04-06

Before I read this book, I really couldn`t understand why my daughter was so snappy, to me and everyone around; now I know, it`s been 3 days I started reading the book, and started to act firmly, I can see the change in her behaviour. Thank you so much Anne Cassidy!

Not what it claims to be.......2006-06-25

This book has some valid points about the way some parents raise their children, however, the solution it offers is not what it claims to be. It is, rather, a reaction to permissive parenting books and a return to raising kids the way Grandma used to do it. Her Grandma, I should say. It's not about doing things according to our instinct, but hers. It is nothing but the same old tired advice from the fifties- if you pick up your baby too much, the baby will become demanding. Tell your kids to leave you alone, etc. It sounds like the author was fed up with trying to be a better parent (and maybe she truly did try too hard at the expense of herself) but then has overcompensated and adopted the attitude of "I'm too busy to try to do a good job so I'll do whatever I want and my kids will turn out just fine."
In spite of what she says, it does matter what you say to your kids, how you phrase it, and how you react to their feelings. But discipline is important, too. And you shouldn't drive yourself crazy worrying about every little thing you do. Every parent needs to find their own balance.
This is just another parenting book, disguised as an anti-parenting book.

Hooray for common sense!.......2005-09-21

I have given this book as a gift to every expecting mother I know. It is so nice to see an advocate for the return of common sense to parenting. I absolutely loved this book and I know that the "old fashioned" way of raising kids works. I have two awesome, respectful, well adjusted, kind, caring and intelligent children to prove it. Great read! Sad thing is the people who need it most will be the ones NOT reading it.

Does not live up to it's title.......2004-12-14

Like the previous reviewer, I found the book highly negative. I did not like it all, but let me start with what I did like. The author does makes a couple of good points about child centered parenting, and about parenting books that make you feel inadequate. The quote: "read enough and you begin to think there are lots of neat pathways to deal with bedtime, tantrums, homework, you name it. You begin to think there are one-size-fits-all answers to every childrearing query. When the one-size-fits-all answer doesn't fit you and your child, which it often doesn't, it's easy to worry what's wrong with me?" is spot on, as far as I am concerned.

She bashes books like "How to talk so kids will listen", said that they do not really work anyway. My experience is different, I have learned a lot from those books, even though they are not perfect, I am glad that I can parent much more positively than my parents did, and some books and online communities have helped a lot with that.

Cassidy, on the other hand, says: "The truth of the matter is, most of us are happy, productive, civilized human beings, and we got that way being raised more or less as our parents and grandparents were". I think this is the point were I disagree most with Cassidy. Even though she detests terms like 'parenting', she still thinks around those lines. She still says things like that you should determine what you want your child to be, and actively work on that. Parenting is not about making adults, children will grow up perfectly fine by themselves. Parenting is about living with children, and I know quite a lot of perfectly well adjusted adults who do not look back so happily on their childhood.

She presents the book as an anti-parenting-book-book, but it really is just another parenting book with a lot of simple criticism about other books. Cassidy promotes authoritive parenting (you may occasionally spank your children, but you must also reason with them), something she got from a book herself. Not all parenting books are evil, appearantly, only the ones she does not like.

I wholeheartedly recommend "Hold On To Your Kids" by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate instead of this book. It has sort of the same premise, namely: parenting is not a set of skills. It is also fairly negative about "today's children", and critical about child-centered parenting, but the authors explain the problem much better, much more eloquent, and with scientific backup.

Goodbye Penelope Leach.......2002-02-21

Goodbye to Penelope Leach and T. Berry Brazleton. I fell for all the child-centered theories and almost drove myself crazy. After reading "Parents Who Think Too Much," I felt like a giant weight had been lifted off of me. All the parenting books and articles had me convinced that if I could only go that extra mile, my child would be happier - make time for the sports activities, the flashcards, the PTA activities, the Family Fun projects. After reading this book, I said to my children "turn off that TV and go outside and play -NOW!!!" Things have better for them and myself ever since.

Book Description

Description: Fascination questions the representation of virility and masculine power that has always dominated Italian culture, from gladiators to the fascist aesthetics of Mussolini, from the ambiguous sexuality of Versace models to the figure of Mastroianni. Its twin, Romans, is a luxurious photo novel presenting 378 video stills from the work Philippe Terrier-Hermann produced during his residency at the Villa Medici in 2001.

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Blue Sky Gallery, 1975-1980: Anniversary of an alternative

Manufacturer: Distributed by The Gallery
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0931194024

Book Description

Storm Riders Vol.11

A new weapon will be born - Ultimate Sword! Cloud continues his search for the right weapon to break open Empress Gate Mausoleum, so he can visit Kong-Chi's body. Ultimate Sword's birth date draws near, and warriors from Sword Worship Villa are anxious that their life's work will soon bear fruit. However, the sword chooses its own bearer.

Book Description

The great challenge in writing a feature-length screenplay is sustaining audience involvement from page one through 120. Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach expounds on an often-overlooked tools can be key in solving this problem. A screenplay can be understood as being built of sequences of about fifteen pages each, and by focusing on solving the dramatic aspects of each of these sequences in detail, a writer can more easily conquer the challenges posed by the script as a whole.

The sequence approach has its foundation in early Hollywood cinema (until the 1950s, most screenplays were formated with sequences explicitly identified), and has been rediscovered and used effectively at such film schools as the University of Southern California, Columbia University and Chapman University. This book exposes a wide audiences to the approach for the first time, introducing the concept then providing a sequence analysis of eleven significant feature films made between 1940 and 2000.

The Shop Around the Corner / Double Indemnity / Nights of Cabiria / North by Northwest / Lawrence of Arabia / The Graduate / One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest / Toy Story / Air Force One / Being John Malkovich / The Fellowship of the Ring

Customer Reviews:

Fairly Decent Introduction to Sequences.......2007-06-12

Unfortunately, I had to knock it down two stars.

Gulino lost one star for including only a cursory overview of sequences and the second for presenting a piss poor analysis of Fellowship of the Ring.

Seriously, a "screenwriting" professor should be savvy enough to understand that Fellowship of the RIngs actually has a fairly solid structure.

Gulino's primary error is in a fundamental miscalculation of the protagonist. If you get that wrong, everything else feels unsteady. To be fair, it is pretty obvious Peter Jackson got it wrong, too, but in making a fairly faithful adaptation of the book, the original plot controls the flow of story -- we just seem to be watching it from an askance point of view.

I'll say this once so everyone can hear. Frodo is THE MAIN CHARACTER. Sam Gamgee is THE PROTAGONIST.

Often the MC and the Protagonist are the same person but NOT ALWAYS. Here, we know that Frodo is not the protagonist because he is presented with no real choices -- he must deliver the ring: it is his destiny. He'll either do it or he won't. And by the end of the film trilogy, it becomes clear that if it actually WAS up to him, he wouldn't be bothered. Fortunately, by this time in the trilogy, Sam Gamgee has come into his own. This is codified by the statement, "If I can't carry the ring then I'll carry you."

In the first film analyzed in this book, Fellowship, Sam is given two distinct choices (one in the first act - leaving the Shire - and one in the third - choosing to go with Frodo in a boat even though he cannot swim).

This final beat is the dramatic heart of the entire film and is replicated on scales large and small throughout... over and over we see Sam, through courage and love, doing what he thought was impossible." It may not be of the same grandeur as other moments in the franchise, but emotionally - because Sam is ordinary and not a warrior, or a child of destiny, or a wizard, or a goof - it is the greater FEAT.

The ENTIRE MOVIE, the ENTIRE TRILOGY, and indeed the entire SIXTH OF THE BOOK that didn't make the cut into the film (where Frodo isn't even around, mind you) all chart the journey of Sam Gamgee going from a "person who hides" to a "courageous leader of men."

Gulino didn't see any of this because he was looking in the wrong place.

A must for storytellers.......2007-05-22

Screenwriting books, like fiction writing manuals, tend to rehash the advice of their predecessors more than offer any new material. So when I picked up SCREENWRITING: THE SEQUENCE APPROACH by Paul Joseph Gulino, and read the tagline "The Hidden Structure of Successful Screenplays," I thought to myself, "Okay, Paul, let's see if there really IS a hidden structure for successful screenplays."

The result? A book that utterly and completely blew me away.

Gulino defines a "sequence" and why the best movies are broken up into sequences--not SCENES--and further breaks up each sequence into three distinct parts, much like the classic three-act story structure. From there, Gulino dissects no less than ELEVEN movies made between 1940 and 2001, a true testament to how effective the sequence approach has been over several decades of storytelling. Not only that, but as he dissects each movie, he highlights new tips and suggestions found within each one, such as Reversals, Subplots, Motifs, and Indirection, to name a few. And he doesn't analyze only the well-done movies; he picks apart a few that didn't adhere to the sequence approach, showing how they would have been significantly better had they done so.

The great news about SCREENWRITING is that it packs a ton of useful information for both the screenwriter AND the fiction writer alike. Some of the advice is screenwriter-specific, but not very much, and so 95% of the book is beneficial to those who pen books instead of screenplays. I can't recommend this book enough. If Amazon allowed six or more stars, I wouldn't hesitate to bump up my recommendation. Get this book and revolutionize the way you tell stories.

Both Insightful & Superficial.......2007-04-13

This book works well as an introduction to the Sequence Approach. The inclusion of sequence breakdowns for 11 films is helpful. However, there's a lot this book fails to cover. Of its 224 pages, 205 are devoted to analyzing the 11 films. That means there's only 19 PAGES of theory on the sequence and how it functions. I love being able to learn from other scripts, but after finishing this book, you realize that you really only have a cursory understanding of the sequence approach. Details like how to structure sequences, how connective tissue functions, how to figure out who makes the best protagonist for a given sequence, etc are simply not covered at all.

ALSO... Of the 11 films Gulino analyzes, 2 are unreadable: "Toy Story" and "Fellowship of the Rings". Gulino is so excessively laudatory of "Toy Story" that it's sickening. Is he an author or a lobbyist for Disney/Pixar?! Yes, it's a good film, but watching Gulino fall all over himself to point out the GENIUS and BRILLIANCE of every moment of the film is just creepy. Meanwhile, he trashes "Fellowship of the Rings" like it was "Gigli" or "Catwoman". Take one look at Gulino's picture on the back sleeve, and it all becomes painfully clear--he is a total fantasy nerd who can't stand that he wasn't the one to make the LOTR Trilogy. The "Fellowhsip" section, then, feels as if it were written by the Comic Book Store Guy from The Simpsons--a surly condemnation devoid of any analytical merit..."Worst fantasty novel adaptation EVER!"

Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach.......2007-01-08

Author Paul Joseph Gulino did an amazing job breaking down the narrative structure. Gulino not only de-constructs films into the classic 3 act structure, but also furthers his analysis into 8 sequences. The sequence approach is a fun and easy comprehensive way to understand story structure. With his analysis of classic, popular, and fairly recent films, the book is definitely applicable. The sequence approach most definitely reminds one to constantly be aware of "conflict" in their writings. I believe all writers can find use of this book and would recommend anyone to add this book to their library.

Terribly superficial.......2006-05-21

The information in this book isn't exactly wrong, just so overly simplified and incomplete that it is very misleading. For example, there's no mention of what separates one sequence from another: the protagonist gets new information, makes a critical decision, and takes new action. For another, you won't find out from this book that each sequence is about the protagonist overcoming some particular obstacle that is necessary to achieve his or her overall goal or fulfill his or her underlying need. Filmmakers will often create new 'sub-worlds' that are appropriate for that specific activity, but these changes in setting are not what separate one sequence from another, as Gulino states in chapter one.

Your money would be better spent elsewhere. If you can get into a seminar by Robert Franke (screenwriter, not the singer/songwriter; find him in LA or Nashville), you will get much better instruction about sequence structure. If not, put the money toward a John Truby course. He doesn't talk much about sequences, but his info about underlying story structure generally is absolutely priceless.

Book Description

Features 150 authentic songs collected by a foremost authority. Songs of love, of the sea, of battle; humorous songs, songs on the theme of the broken ring token, Irish songs, nursery songs, songs native to the province or North America and more. Includes the words and music. Introduction. Bibliography. Index of Titles.

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Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia

Manufacturer: Dover Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Lieder & Art Songs | Forms & Genres | Sheet Music & Scores | Formats | Books
ASIN: 9992450371

Book Description

Undead Science examines the story of cold fusion, one of the most publicized scientific controversies of the late twentieth century. In 1989 two Utah-based "discoverers" claimed to have developed an electrochemical process that produced more energy than was required to initiate the process. Finding no other explanation, the researchers described their findings as some kind of nuclear reaction. If they were correct, an important new energy source would have been found. Objections surfaced quickly, and in the year that followed hundreds of scientists worldwide attempted to reproduce these results. Most, though not all, failed, and the controversy became increasingly antagonistic. By 1990, the promise of an energy revolution died as scientific opinion favored the skeptics. Nevertheless, many scientists continue to do research on cold fusion, an instance of what Bart Simon calls "undead science."

Simon argues that in spite of widespread skepticism in the scientific community, there has been a continued effort to make sense of the controversial phenomenon. Researchers in well-respected laboratories continue to produce new and rigorous work. In this manner, cold fusion research continues to exist long after the controversy has subsided, even though the existence of cold fusion is circumscribed by the widespread belief that the phenomenon is not real.

The survival of cold fusion signals the need for a more complex understanding of the social dynamics of scientific knowledge making, the boundaries between experts, intermediaries, and the lay public, and the conceptualization of failure in the history of science and technology.

Book Description

This book is the first authentic account of the history of Radio Pakistan/PBC. It is a vehicle for ventilation of aspirations and grievances, leading, directing, and mobilizing the nation towards set goals. The detailed and comprehensive information provided by this work covers all of Radio
Pakistan that can be resourceful. It emphasises the role that radio can play as an instrument of change, as trendsetter and a development support communication system.

Radio Pakistan: Historische Entwicklung und Gegenwart (Medien & Kommunikation)

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Radio Pakistan: Historische Entwicklung und Gegenwart (Medien & Kommunikation)
Shahjahan Sayed
Manufacturer: Lit
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Pakistan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 3886604454

Book Description

A New Strategy Toward Cancer Control.

Still in its infancy, the familial/hereditary approach to cancer control is proving to be one of the most potent strategies in the war on cancer. Over the past few years the human genome project has generated an abundance of valuable information on the genetic origins of a range of cancers. Tests now exist for several hereditary, tumor-promoting genetic mutations-including those found in BRCA genes associated with breast cancer as well as mutations of HNPCC genes which have been linked to colon cancers-and many more are anticipated in the near future. Armed with the information yielded by these tests, physicians have already saved countless lives through preventative counseling, early detection, and more highly-focused intervention strategies.

Inspired by the proceedings of the UICC 1997 Symposium on Familial Cancer and Prevention held in Kobe, Japan, this volume provides clinicians and researchers with a detailed review of the latest developments at the front lines of the familial cancer prevention movement. In a series of edited contributions, leading researchers and clinicians from around the globe summarize their experiences and analyze current and emerging trends in:
* Information gathering and history taking.
* Risk assessment.
* Genetic testing for colorectal, endocrine, breast, and other familial cancers.
* Diagnosis, prognosis, and management of an array of familial cancers.
* Genetic counseling for familial cancers.

Up-to-date, authoritative, and comprehensive, Familial Cancer and Prevention is an important working resource for clinicians, cancer researchers, and epidemiologists.

Book Description

James Lucas takes a comprehensive look at the German Army (das Heer) as it evolved during the Second World War. In particular the book focuses on its origins in the post-Versailles Treaty era and its resurgence under the Nazi regime; training and organization during the war years; equipment, vehicles and weapons; uniforms, ranks and insignia etc. He also describes the parts played by the Waffen-SS and the airborne arm of the service, the Fallschirmjager. Although neither force was strictly army, both fought as ground troops under Army commanders. Illustrated with almost 200 photographs and line drawings, this is an indispensable and fascinating guide to one of the most feared armies of the twentieth century.

Customer Reviews:

very disappointing.......2001-10-25

Ah, this book was a big disappointment. I owned Steve Zaloga's Soviet Army Handbook of the same series and I though it to be excelelnt, well researched and detailed. This one is not.
It is very superficial, contains inaccuracies and lacks the organisationsl details needed for any book of this series.
I would not advice anyone to but this book, I will try to sell mine. sorry.

German Army NoteBook!.......2001-09-18

To short in many points.

Mr Lucas should have left to other the review of the small arms and tanks (there is so many anyway).

The Doctrine of the Nazi party is not inlight by a german vision of the "Volks" (people) of the time, but by a analysis of a contemporaty Britannic Vision.

I could sound desapointed or even more betray by the title of this book, because I've read and I owned many military books of the subject (Wehrmacht und Heer und Waffen SS Deutsh Armee)I did'nt expect to see author writing truncated version of Order of Battles that much.

The book is intended to neophyte of the World War II period. Serious reader and poeple seaching for details aspect of the German Army should look somewhere else, like for Order of Battles it would be the much sought-after series of Goerges F. Nafziger, or for Small Arms and Tanks the Arms & Armour series and for Campains the Opsrey Series

Paul Bougault
2Lt/Fus MR21/34thCBG/RCAC

Holy resource!.......2001-02-12

This book is incredible. It gives you all the logistical information you can handle. It covers what weapons were produced when, the specs on army equipment, and better yet it includes a great forward by Mr. Ambrose! This book will tell you how many panzers made up a tank batallion in 1939 and 1945. It goes far beyond that in depth. A tremendous resource.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in the breakdown of the Wehrmacht before and during the Second World War.

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German Army Handbook 1939-1945
W.J.K. Davies
Manufacturer: ARCO Publishing Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PB0V4E

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German Army Handbook 1939-1945
James Lucas
Manufacturer: Sutton Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000W5DBDQ

Average customer rating:

Maybe Old, Maybe Dated, but still very good.

Seems very genuine information

German Army handbook, 1939-1945
W. J. K Davies
Manufacturer: Arco Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Germany | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
General | World War II | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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Red Storm over the Balkans: The Failed Soviet Invasion of Romania, Spring 1944 (Modern War Studies)

ASIN: 0668033762

Customer Reviews:

Maybe Old, Maybe Dated, but still very good........2006-08-13

I have the 1974 edition of this book. If this edition is the same or similar, it is a valuable overview and reference work for anyone interested in the German Army (Heer) of WWII. It is of a much higher standard than many recent works encountered (names withheld to spare the guilty).

W.J.K. Davies is able to succinctly cover Divisional organization, weapons, and tactics in one, 176 page, volume. While not going into any great depth, the information, such as German chart and tactical symbols (also used on vehicles), and their meaning, are an important rare find. Most of the book covers "Equipment" (Chapter 5) and "The Men and their Accoutrements" (Chapter 6).

It's too bad more people have not read his work. He clearly explained the difference between Wehrmacht and Heer over 30 years ago. Yet, virtually everyone is still making the same mistake...

Seems very genuine information.......1999-08-20

I borrowed a copy of this book from my local library for the purpose of research for Wargaming (a strategy game played with scale models) The information in general was first class. Some of the info. I have not been able to find in other books. There is detail on vehicles of the German army, Which was & is my primary interest. The historical background, organisation of the Army, tatictics, Equipment -- The list is not endless but it it seems comprehensive, Detailed, Genuine

Soldat: The Ww II German Army Combat Uniform Collector's Handbook, Equipping the German Army Foot Soldier in Europe 1943

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Soldat;the WW2 German Army Uniform Collectors Handbook
Very Good Introduction with great pictures

Soldat: The Ww II German Army Combat Uniform Collector's Handbook, Equipping the German Army Foot Soldier in Europe 1943
Cyrus A. Lee , and Chris Mason
Manufacturer: Pictorial Histories Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Uniforms | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0929521013

Customer Reviews:

Soldat;the WW2 German Army Uniform Collectors Handbook.......2001-10-09

A fine book on the subject of the German infantryman's uniform in 1943.While not as in depth as other available books,it has plenty of information and photos of the uniforms and equipment.Only drawback is that excepting four pages of color the photos are black and white.Still very good for the price.

Very Good Introduction with great pictures.......1999-02-05

There are many books out there on the same topic, but Soldat features the best reconstruction photos going, plus provides a very good price into the bargain. Comprehensive, well laid out, with good colour photos in a separate section, SOLDAT is good for veteran and newcomer collectors alike. Highly recommended for collectors, re-enactors, costumers and historians.

Soldat: The Ww Two German Army Combat Uniform Collector's Handbook

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Soldat: The Ww Two German Army Combat Uniform Collector's Handbook
Cyrus A. Lee
Manufacturer: Boydell & Brewer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Uniforms | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books

Military | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0929521765

Soldat: The Wwii German Army Combat Uniform Collectors Handbook

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Soldat: The Wwii German Army Combat Uniform Collectors Handbook
Cyrus A. Lee
Manufacturer: Pictorial Histories Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Uniforms | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books

jp-unknown2 | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 0929521595

Soldat: The WWII German Army Combat Uniform Collectors Handbook. Volume Five: Uniforms and Insignia of Panzerkorps Grossdeutschland 1939-1945

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Soldat: The WWII German Army Combat Uniform Collectors Handbook. Volume Five: Uniforms and Insignia of Panzerkorps Grossdeutschland 1939-1945
Cyrus A. Lee
Manufacturer: Pictorial Histories Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000QXUQY6

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German Army Handbook 1939-1945

Manufacturer: Arco, New York
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000I9FHOW

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All you need to know about Government and then some

Why did Hedrick Smith waste years of his life writing this?

Pig Circus On The Potomac

Not Government 101

Cure for the insomniacs

The Power Game: How Washington Works
Hedrick Smith
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
Russia | History | Subjects | Books
General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Practical Politics | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
U.S. | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Divided America: The Ferocious Power Struggle in American Politics

The Challenge Of Democracy: Government In America

No Place for Amateurs: How Political Consultants are Reshaping American Democracy

The Rise of Southern Republicans

The Choice: Global Domination or Global Leadership

ASIN: 0345410483
Release Date: 1996-09-29

Book Description

"May be the most sweeping and in many ways the most impressive portrait of the culture of the Federal Government to appear in a single work in many decdes....Konwledeable and informative."

THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Power is the name of the game. But until now, no one outside "the beltway" knew just who was wielding how much--and for what ends. Pulitzer Prize-winning, ex-Washington bureau chief of THE NEW YORK TIMES, Hedrick Smith, tells the whole story. From PACs to influence-peddling from the Pentagon to the WASHINGTON POST, THE POWER GAME reveals Congressional staffers more powerful than their bosses, media advisors more powerful than the media, and money that not only talks but threatens. It's all there, and it's all in here.

Customer Reviews:

All you need to know about Government and then some.......2006-06-07

Hedrick Smith wrote and amazingly in-depth novel about American Politics and Government. So in-depth, in fact, that you have to put the book down every five to twenty minutes to absorb the hundred and one things he just told you.
"The Power Game" is a long read and unless you are superbly interested in politics and government you may not want to read this. However, to everyone that dreams of the Senators at work, taking PAC money and being led by lobbyist (or if you are a Reagan fan), this book is perfect. Smith takes you inside the heart of government. And not the metaphorical heart, he truly shows all aspects of American Politics and Government. I am sure if people were capable or reading so much about politics and government; Smith could have written another 711 pages and still would not have covered everything that HE wanted to. But if it were any longer Smith would not have made a profit selling it.
Smith's analysis of Washington would have brought tears to my eyes, only because of his understanding of the best institution out there. However, Smith's love for Reagan did damper my mood of the novel. Smith seems to have a love affair with Reagan. Though Reagan did shake things up on Capitol Hill, Smith going more than fifteen pages with out mentioning something "great" about Reagan is nothing short of a small miracle.
I would love to Read this book if Smith had written it in the passed five years. Sadly this look at "the Power Game" is almost twenty years old and has no analysis of resent dynamics and shenanigans in Washington. If you are thinking of reading this book, make sure you have time and a lot of love for America. I recommend "The Power Game" because it does give you a deep understanding of Politics and Government. How deep you want to go is up to you. If you can handle knowing everything and then some, please pick up a copy. If you do not really want to know the "then some" or Washington than I would recommend a different novel. There are many novels that will give you an understanding of Washington, with out confusing or boring you. All in all, Great Book.

Why did Hedrick Smith waste years of his life writing this?.......2005-03-23

I have to read this for my AP government class. It is the worst thing I have ever read. Smith goes on for pages and pages repeating his point over and over again. It has become excruciating to read. Some of the stories that he tells are interesting but the rest, about 700 pages, is a complete waste of time.

Pig Circus On The Potomac.......2004-11-07

Talk about your weighty tomes. Hedrick Smith's "The Power Game" takes on the story of politics in Washington, D.C., circa the 1980s. Not only does he dig into every subject imaginable, like the importance of staffers, the intricacies of foreign policy work, and the behemoth of defense spending, but he takes more than 700 pages doing so.

"The Power Game" works best as a series of anecdotes about political life, and the passions that ran riot across the national landscape at various times in the second half of the 20th century. Smith gets some tremendous candor from many of his subjects, like former Massachusetts senator Paul Tsongas, who tells Smith that his "substantive work" suffered most when he was most in the public spotlight. "I was probably a lesser senator when my numbers were going up," Tsongas confesses.

There's great anecdotes about presidential power, too. The book begins with preparations to convert a senator's rambler-style ranch house into a bunker as Ronald Reagan plans a sleepover there, and then dovetails into an account of the symbolic importance of the office. Smith's style is to present such an anecdote at the start of each chapter or section, then offer some insights and overview.

The anecdotes are great, like the one that features Lesley Stahl anchoring a CBS attack piece on Reagan. After, she gets a call from a White House senior official. She expects a tirade, but instead the guy thanks her. Stahl's acid commentary was aired over image after image of Reagan in carefully staged feel-good set pieces, sort of by way of ironic contrast. But the senior official told Stahl no one cared what she said, it was the images that would resonate with the viewer, and those images supported Reagan. Alas, to her chagrin, he was right.

The problem I have is with the analysis and overview. At times Smith is very dry, writing at length about congressional backroom games, staff work, and supplemental appropriations in a way that's probably too elementary for the poly sci student and too dull for everyone else. Elsewhere, he is just wrong, nowhere more so than when he talks about the presidency as a debilitated institution. He discourses on such things as the Democratic control of Congress and the dominance of PAC money as if they are things that will always be with us, when time has shown him wrong.

The last chapter is the book's weakest, not because Smith attempts to offer prescriptions for the ills he ably depicts in the rest of the book, but for the "this could work, but then again..." tone he takes as he offers them up. Smith is a typical reporter; he wants to find fault but not commit himself to anything that smacks of a solution, since his inner cynic tells him such nostrums only bite you back in the end.

There's a great book about Ronald Reagan and his impact on D.C. in "The Power Game" which I sort of wish Smith had hacked from the rest of this book and released in its stead. Smith is no fan of Reagan, but he's a keenly perceptive critic, not blindly partisan but very mainstream media in his generic liberal disdain. He makes some strong points about Reagan's less-than-positive legacy on the economic front, specifically by channeling the artful turncoat David Stockman, who ran the numbers for the early Reagan budgets, then turned around and told everyone Reagan was just in business to give tax breaks to the wealthy. Reagan also got run around by Congress more than popular history remembers, and Smith is there with the play-by-play.

But did Reagan's first term in office see less growth in the national economy than the lone term of his predecessor, Jimmy Carter? Smith says so, but I sure don't remember it that way. He also lambastes Reagan for things that history proved him right on, like his handling of the Soviets, the Contras, and tax relief, and for Star Wars, where the jury is still out. By the end, Smith has worked up such a head of steam that he lumps Reagan and Kennedy alongside Carter, Ford, Nixon, and Johnson as failed presidents. [Here's a clue: When they name a major airport after a president, it probably means he did something right.]

The problem is that the premise of "The Power Game," that Congress is winning, is flawed. Since Smith keeps hitting on that point, it keeps sounding a false note.

But Smith is a solid journalist, and at its best, which it frequently is, "The Power Game" is a fine inside-the-Beltway account of what went on in Washington during a time of great change. In some ways, the book is valuable historical reading as much for what it gets wrong as for what it gets right.

Not Government 101.......2002-12-22

Forget everything you were ever taught or told about how government works. Rick Smith has captured the reality. Though it was written about Washington much of The Power Game is also true of state and sometimes even local government. A must read for anyone with an interest in government or politics.

Cure for the insomniacs.......2002-08-01

This book was assigned to me for summer reading for Advance Placement Government class. I got it through borders and paid high price for it, I highly suggest buying it used through amazon.com. In the beginning this novel seemed very interesting with its unique insider perspective however this insider perspective drowned the novel with annoying anecdotes. The perspective was lost with countless examples that were perfect cure for when I was in desperate need of sleep. The author states his views and makes his points in the first page of two of every chapter and for the next 10-20 pages it just filled with every moment of his 30+ year experience at D.C. This novel is 700+ pages long and could very easily be trimmed down to under a 100 and still have a greater impact. So I would advise to buy it used then just read the first page of every section.

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The Power Game: How Washington Works
Hedrick Smith
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IN20Q6

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THE POWER GAME - HOW WASHINGTON WORKS
SMITH HEDRICK
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RN0FTQ

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The POWER GAME. How Washington Works.
Hedrick. Smith
Manufacturer: Random House,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MZ318G

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Power Game: How Washington Works
Hedrick Smith
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OV9ZBK

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The Power Game: How Washington Works

Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000FH9NFQ

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The Power Game: How Washington Works
Hedrick-Smith
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8RH18

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Power Game: How Washington Works
Hedrick Smith
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NU0QOC

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THE POWER GAME - HOW WASHINGTON WORKS

Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HU64H6

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Daywatchers.......2006-07-31

Peter Parnall is a talented nature illustrator and this book is a real gem!

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The Daywatchers
Peter Parnall
Manufacturer: New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1984
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NXGB2U

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The Daywatchers
Peter, Illustrated by Parnell, Peter Parnall
Manufacturer: Atheneum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OA5768

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