Book Description
This is the first major comprehensive book on the history and evolution of antique glass bottles, flasks and jars between 1500 and 1850. Lavishly illustrated with specially commissioned colour photography, it depicts 773 bottles and seals carefully chosen from private collections, with only three examples being from museums.
Whilst the collecting of antique drinking glasses is very popular throughout Europe, the collecting of utility bottles, flasks and jars has until recently very much neglected on the Continent in spite of the wide variety of shapes and colours. This book has been written for all collectors, archeologists, museums, libraries,historians, researchers, writers, institutions, bottlemakers, wine and beer enthusiasts, pharmacists and anyone interested in the collecting of antiques and the social history they reflect. It includes the most comprehensive world-wide bibliograpy on glass bottles ever produced, listing 1,150 titles,an extensive glossary and a separate 16-page price guide booklet.
The history and evolution of glass bottles is chronologically (1500-1850, the pre-industrial period) described in a general chapter.
Bottles illustrated in the book are systematically classified in separate chapters by country :Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Scandinavia, Alpine Countries, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and America.
Customer Reviews:
At Last, a True Guide for European-Bottle Collectors.......2001-10-27
The publication of Willy's book marks a major milestone in the field of black-glass collecting. It is the first real effort at a comprehensive and authoritative guide on European bottles aimed at a broad English-reading audience worldwide. For years, collectors and others have waited for just such a book to appear. The numerous colour photos are outstanding. The text is clear, to the point, and easy to read. Any collector, no matter where he lives or what he collects, will, after reading the book, be able to pursue his passion in a much more informed way. I highly recommend the book, which should be on the book shelf of every serious bottle collector and student of historical glass containers.
Book Description
SEEING AND BELIEVING Religion and Values in the Movies A Choice Best Academic Book of 1996 A prominent religious historian explores what popular films of the 1980s and 1990s say about religion and the values we live by. "Miles's graceful writing style, intelligent analysis, committed religious-political perspective and affection for the movies will appeal to anyone interested in cultural, religious, or film studies." -Marilynne S. Mason, Christian Century "Takes the religious study of film to new and rather glorious heights." -Publishers Weekly
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Technical Variants on Hanon's Exercises for Pianoforte
Manufacturer: Alfred Publishing Company
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0874876575 |
Customer Reviews:
Sometimes puzzles are not obvious........2006-03-05
This book on Puzzles was first published in 1986 and later published in paperback. I borrowed it from my Library a couple of times and recently obtained my own copy. If you have any interest in puzzles,you'll immediately agree that this book is outstanding in every way. The authors are two of the biggest names when it comes to writing about mechanical puzzles of today and of the past. Jerry Slocum has collected puzzles all his life,has over 30,000, and has probably the finest collection in the world. He is President of the Slocum Puzzle Foundation,in Beverly Hills,California.
This book is an overview of just about everything there is about puzzles.There are all kinds of puzzles such as Crossword,Word Search and many types more commonly called Pencil Puzzles;but that is not what this book is all about. It is somewhat difficult to define Mechanical Puzzles;but if you think of the types of puzzles that you can pick up in your hand,it helps to see the types of puzzles covered in the book.
The authors cover puzzles everyone is familiar with such as Rubik's Cube,Sliding Blocks,Tangrams,Wire,String & Rings,Mazes,Puzzle Locks,Puzzle Boxes,Take-Apart Puzzles,and on and on. I think you get the picture.
The authors cover the history of the puzzles and give hundreds of pictures of them from their collections as well as from collections of other great collectors. The book has many pictures of the creators of puzzles and it is a real treat to put a face to the names which are so well known in the puzzle world.
The book is a pure delight to read and to look at the fascinating array of puzzles;but it doesn't end there. There is all kinds of information on how to go about solving many of the puzzles;and on top of that lots of instructions oh how you can make many of the puzzles. No doubt,the reader could build quite a collection of puzzles,just from the information in the book.
I also find this book to be a real help in finding and identifying puzzles. People don't throw away these puzzles;but they often end up in Flea and Antique Markets,Second Hand Shops,Garage Sales and so forth. This book shows you what to look for and find. Let me give you an example. A while back,I saw one of the Japanese building towers shown on page 65,sitting on a shelf amongst a bunch of bric-a brac,didn't recognize it as a puzzle ,and passed it by. When I saw it in this book,I immediately knew what I had missed. Oh well,live and learn. The point is,if you hope to find puzzles,you got to know what to look for;and this book shows you. Another good example. The Bombay stores carries puzzles at times and recently had 4 very well constructed puzzles.I bought one called "The Comet" which is quite similar to the "Papa-Chuck" puzzle on page 74 and consists of 51 interlocking pieces.
So,if solving,collecting,making or anyting else about puzzles interests you,this book will become a prized possession.It would take many lifetimes for one person to find and enjoy what the authors have assembled in to this excellent book and made it available with extremely high ,color,paper,illustrations ,printing and construction quality;and at the same time a very reasonable cost. While you're at it,why not check out Jerry Slocum's Page on the Web,to see what's going on in the world of puzzles.
Excellent book for anyone interested in puzzles.......2005-12-27
I bought the book originally to learn how to make some of the puzzles. The fact that there are dozens of puzzles to make immediately differentiates the book from others. There is an enormous wealth of information about puzzles of all kinds. The authors have notes about puzzle inventors, tips on making puzzles, and, in a few cases, tips on how to solve the puzzles. Really a nice book for anyone with an interest in puzzles.
It's no puzzle this is a great book!.......2004-05-29
This book is full of many types of mechanical puzzles many dating from the early 19th century. 150 pages of pictures and discriptions of how to make and solve many of these puzzles along with history and biographies on many of the puzzles and makers. The authors have included concise instructions on how to make many of these puzzles from wood with common handtools and a basic knowledge of how to read net drawings. A great read for any age.
Information Galore!.......2001-02-22
Whether you love puzzles or they just frustrate you beyond belief, you's sure to find this book intriguing and absorbing. Filled with 150+ pages of pictures, diagrams, text, and solutions, this book is the most comprehensive treatment of puzzles of all natures that I've ever seen. Puzzles addressed include: 3D Wood block puzzles, Drinking Vessles, Imposible Objects, Folding Puzzles, Disentanglement Puzzles, and more...
Of course not all puzzles are solved by the book...the authors have to leave you something!
If you're handy in the machine shop you'll enjoy the diagrams of wooden blocks and other items that you can make. I've made a few with great results.
Book Description
A fully revised guidebook on the basics of accounting-- updated to cover an increasingly complex financial arena
In the wake of recent accounting scandals, most managers now realize they need to know more about the inner workings of finance. Many, however, don't know where they will find the time. The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Finance for Non-Financial Managers is designed to give readers a working mastery of all finance essentials in just 36 hours and has now been updated to help readers understand the substantial regulatory and practical changes that have taken place in the new world of business accounting. This hands-on workbook delivers its information in accessible and reader-friendly style, including self-study questions and case studies for each chapter. Information new to this edition includes:
- Key updates to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
- Sections detailing what auditing is and what auditors do
- Entirely new sections on pro forma financial statements, stock options as an expense, and more
Customer Reviews:
Good practical book.......2007-07-08
The best of this book is how accounting and management are described. Very practical and useful.
The author send you the certificate as promised.
36 hours?.......2007-05-02
Business Basics Bestseller 1: The Easy, Interesting, Open-book Look at the Game of Business Numbers! 2nd Edition
If the prospect of spending 36 hours going over finance and accounting stuff in the privacy of your own home doesn't excite you, but you still want to get into F&A, consider this option -- "Business Basics Bestseller 1."
This gem of a book, at less than 150 pages (with sketches!), can give you a basic start on understanding business and its numerical underpinnings -- F&A. You'll find that BBB#1 is clear, concise, and easy to understand and you can finish each chapter in 30 - 60 minutes (there are six chapters). The author doesn't assume you know anything more about business than what you would if you opened checking and savings accounts and owned a car. The book is not simplistic, just straightforward. Don't consider the BBB #1 book a replacement for 36 good hours with McGraw Hill, just take a look at it first -- you can always buy both.
Great book, worthless on-line exam close to fraud.......2007-04-11
The book is great, and a big thank you to the writers. When it came to the on-line exam and certification, I am still strugeling with the Mc-graw hill support. After sending them two emails I finaly got to the exam on the internet: [...].
BUT, after I finished the exam, they basicly just said thank you and good bye. What I wanted when I passed the test with 90% was a form where I could enter my adress so they could send me the certificate, but no no. Two emails later, I havent heard a word from them yet. Mc-graw hill - this sux and if feels like you are close to commiting fraud when it is so difficult to first find the exam and impossible and close to impossible to get the certificate. This was not what I expected when I saw "Earn certificate of achievement through the free on-line examination" on the book cover. Without this trubble, the book would easily get five stars.
A good start.......2006-11-16
Very helpful for the student thinking of pursuing a degree in finance. If you have no finance or business experience, this is a good place to start.
Not as bad as a root canal.......2006-08-31
I'm not a finance person nor do I plan to be one in the future. Will working in sales for the past 10 years I have become more aware of what I don't know and finance is surely one of those areas. This book covers the basic's of the financial world without putting you into a comma. The homework at the end of each chapter gets to be a bit of a pain since I was looking for the "concept" not trying to become an accountant. The best part of the book is it starts basic and builds off of that throughout the book which helped me understand some of the more complex financial terms. Good book for someone trying to get up to speed quick.
Book Description
In this acclaimed biography, Linda Greenhouse of The New York Times draws back the curtain on Americas most private branch of government, the Supreme Court. Greenhouse was the first print reporter to have access to the extensive archives of Justice Harry A. Blackmun (190899), the man behind numerous landmark Supreme Court decisions, including Roe v. Wade. Through the lens of Blackmuns private and public papers, Greenhouse crafts a compelling portrait of a man who, from 1970 to 1994, ruled on such controversial issues as abortion, the death penalty, and sex discrimination yet never lost sight of the human beings behind the legal cases. Greenhouse also paints the arc of Blackmuns lifelong friendship with Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, revealing how political differences became personal, even for two of the countrys most respected jurists. From Americas preeminent Supreme Court reporter, this is a must-read for everyone who cares about the Court and its impact on our lives.
Customer Reviews:
It's No The Brethren.......2007-01-25
I was really excited for this book. It did not fulfill. If you haven't read Bob Woodward's The Brethren, or if you for some reason wholly disagreed with it, then you might like Becoming Justice Blackmun. But if you did, you might find this book disappointing. Greenhouse almost completely ignores the negative qualities about Blackmun, especially the incredible amount of time it took him to get his briefs out, and the lack of quality in his first drafts (weaknesses that annoyed many of the other Justices). And what I really wanted to learn more about, the falling apart of Burger and Blackmun, really didn't get the attention that it deserved. They wrote to each other less? What a revelation.
My other problem with this book was the format that the last third of the book takes: quasi-topical/chronological. You can tell that Greenhouse wants to switch to completely topical (which is probably natural for a reporter), but it's a biography, it needs to be strictly chronological. It's hard to keep track of Greenhouse as early in one chapter Ginsburg is a Justice and White isn't, and then all of a sudeen White's on the bench and Ginsburg is arguing in front of it?
This book is good, don't get me wrong. But it belongs nowhere near the upper eschelon of Supreme Court accounts. Read The Brethren. Read Supreme Conflict. Read the 3 biographies on Earl Warren or almost any of the biographies of the justices on his court or on Burger's. To think that Greenhouse had first access to Blackmun's limitless notes, one just expects something that we didn't already know.
Intriguing Book; Disappointing Justice.......2007-01-08
I'm hesitant to review Becoming Justice Blackmun because I think my distaste for the book comes from its main character -- Justice Blackmun -- rather than the book itself. To begin, the book is not so much a biography of Blackmun as it is a book that offers various insights into his character and judicial philosophy (or lack thereof). What emerges is not pretty. Blackmun was devoid of any consistently applied judicial philosophy and rather appeared to decide cases based on his gut. Unfortunately, usually his "gut" was guided by his thin skin and petty disposition. The utter lack of critical thinking that the book shows went into Roe v. Wade, one of the most significant Supreme Court cases to this day, as well as its progeny, is particularly disheartening. Nevertheless, the book is certainly worthwhile in understanding the thinking (or lack thereof) behind the case. It will truly make the critical reader - rather than the knee-jerk liberal - question what our Supreme Court has become.
Very enjoyable, not boring at all.......2006-11-25
I had bought this book on a whim. I remembered one of my professors had recommended to me one semester. The author's style of writing was excellent. Not boring, kept the story moving, focused in on specific court rulings that were controversal.
Blackmun's Papers.......2006-09-15
Please be aware before you pick up this book that it is based almost solely on the personal and professional papers of Justice Blackmun, which he left to the U.S. archives for analysis five years after his death.
That said, this is a smooth and informative read for someone who is interested in how the Court works, as well as a first person account of the Court in the 70s/80s/90s. As expected, special attention is placed on Roe vs. Wade, which Blackmun ended up most famous for. However, the book also does a good job of covering other important decisions during Blackmun's tenure. Worth a buy!
Not so much a Biography...........2006-09-01
What Greenhouse has done with this book is taken a Lifetime Justice Blackmun's papers and condensed it into the "Best of" highlights.
A substantial porition of this book covers Roe v. Wade: Events leading up to it, his role in writing the majority opinion, and then the "preserving Roe" cases and decisions that came to the Court afterwards.
Thus, often times I felt like I was reading about legal meanderings of the Roe v. Wade decision then a biography of Superme Court Justice. The behind the scenes life of being on the Court are often potrayed in the context of deciding abortion related issues.
Yes, there is his story about his beginnings, and his relationship with Justice Warren Burger and how their professional differences resulted in them growing distant. Yes, other cases he are addressed. However, the reader is essentially hampered by the authors decision as to what she finds the most important and what the documents reveal.
If she interivewed any of the 103 law clerks and innumerable other people who knew him during his 21 terms, not to mention his family, it would have made a far more interesting biography. As written one gets an overview of how conservative person ended up being the author of the Roe. v. Wade opinion and its subsequent defense in years thereafter.
Definitely a good starting point but the definitive biography of this Justice has yet to be written.
Average customer rating:
- Becoming Justice Blackmun
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Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey.(Book Review) : An article from: The Advocate
Gordon Turiff
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: B000BQJMAM
Release Date: 2005-11-10 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Advocate, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2005. The length of the article is 999 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: Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey.(Book Review)
Author: Gordon Turiff
Publication:
The Advocate (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 63
Issue: 5
Page: 765(3)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
Becoming Justice Blackmun.......2006-01-21
This book is fun reading if you are in any way interested in the law and especially how the Supreme Court works. It is never dry and lives up to the standards we have come to expect from Ms. Greenhouse.
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Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey.(Book Review): An article from: Florida Bar Journal
C.D. Rogers
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
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ASIN: B000EULMH6
Release Date: 2006-03-03 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Florida Bar Journal, published by Thomson Gale on February 1, 2006. The length of the article is 863 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: Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey.(Book Review)
Author: C.D. Rogers
Publication:
Florida Bar Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 80
Issue: 2
Page: 44(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey.(Book Review): An article from: Trial
Robert S. Peck
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
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ASIN: B000EQIJ94
Release Date: 2006-02-28 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Trial, published by Thomson Gale on February 1, 2006. The length of the article is 981 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: Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey.(Book Review)
Author: Robert S. Peck
Publication:
Trial (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 42
Issue: 2
Page: 71(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Washington Monthly, published by Washington Monthly Company on July 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1537 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: Blackmun's drift: Linda Greenhouse charts, but doesn't explain, how a conservative justice came to write Roe v. Wade.(Becoming Justice Blackmun Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey)(Book Review)
Author: Stephen Pomper
Publication:
Washington Monthly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 2005
Publisher: Washington Monthly Company
Volume: 37
Issue: 7-8
Page: 58(3)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Small Battle book.......2006-05-03
Writing a readable book is not an easy task, writing a readable book about history is harder. Even harder is writing a readable book about an obscure historical event. Making the event real, immediate and understandable is an accomplishment that should be recognized. Mr. Ecelbarger manages to do this in a very real way.
This book succeeds on many levels, first it is well written, instructive and a pleasure to read. The central battle is not an isolated event but carefully placed within the fabric of the war, campaign and the local area. We understand what leads the armies to this particular place and why each side is making incorrect assessments. The aftermath is very well done giving us a balanced view of where the battle took the war and those that fought it. This little battle continued to reverberate for many years as participants attempted to justify there actions that day. The Jackson/Garnett controversy starts here but continues to our day. The charges, counter charges, defense and string pulling make a fascinating read. That Jackson managed to keep from losing and Garnett was never able to emerge from under the cloud the charges cast says much about the system and the men.
Most of all this is a battle book and it delivers a battle! The maps are plentiful and excellent! You will not get lost on the field and you will understand where things are. This is one of the strongest points of the book. The battle narration and the maps allow the reader to keep up and stay in position. I have never been to the field and read little about the battle but with them, I understood what was going on and never got lost.
Another major item is personalizing the men fighting the battle. It is hard to do this in a big battle when the participants have star power. Their are some stars on this field but the majority are just ordinary people participating in an extraordinary event. The author does an excellent job in telling us about them and what happed to them later. I always like this in small battle histories and it is well done and interesting.
Overall, this is an excellent book, well worth the money, an enjoyable read and a learning experience.
A superb battle monograph and more.......2005-10-12
To the average Civil War student, the First Battle of Kernstown appears a hopeless, lopsided engagement where Jackson's forces never had a chance. That is how I had long viewed the engagement based on summaries of the battle. Gary Ecelbarger's book reveals a far different reality. Despite the disparity in numbers, Jackson's attack was not simple folly that was easily and predictably repulsed. This was a desperate fight that was a surprisingly close affair.
The author presents a refreshingly balanced view of the campaign from both the CSA and Union perspective. By comparison, otherwise fine works such as Tanner's "Stonewall in the Valley" are understandably focused on Jackson's army. In particular, Ecelbarger's account of the Winter Romney Campaign presents the Union side of the story from Brig. Gen. Lander's position, making it an appropriate companion to Tanner's work.
The author has done an outstanding job of tying together the phases of the battle and explaining a confused fight. Participants such as Tyler and Shields (and even Jackson!) had sought to obscure the truth and had been disappointingly successful. Mr. Ecelbarger has peeled back the curtain using the accounts of participants to reveal Tyler's disastrous attack in column, the presence of multiple stonewalls as key features in the battle, as well as explaining the confusion over Garnett's whereabouts. Shields claims of a master deception are soundly refuted, and Kimball is given his proper credit (and blame with respect to Sandy Ridge.)
While the author's conclusions about the impact of Kernstown appear sound, there is one point that is not well supported. Shields is blamed for the vast over estimation/exaggeration of CSA numbers. While on the surface this is true, it is also clear that Kimball, Banks and others in a position to know differently were similarly deceived, and they most likely influenced the wounded Shields perception after the battle. The reality of the confusion is revealed by Banks' initial concern that he was being sent to his death pursuing the defeated foe! It should also be noted that for such a small force, Jackson was fielding a rather large compliment of artillery (over twice the norm, and more guns than the Union had present.)
The battle map detail is some of the best I've seen-nineteen maps covering all phases of the battle at battalion level, and with important details such as the location of stonewalls. The scale is adjusted as appropriate to show large or small movements. The topographical effect could be enhanced, but this is a minor quibble. One thing lacking is a sufficient campaign scale map.
Another commendable feature: Mr. Ecelbarger's examination of the true strength of Union forces at Kernstown--far fewer than most believe. I wish more authors would go into such detail explaining how many soldiers were actually on the field from each unit in given engagements.
We are in for it!.......2002-09-25
A useful study of a battle that doesn't get enough attention.
The author states in his introduction that he feels the battle has been misinterpreted, but he never clearly gives his thesis. That's a minor glitch in an overall vivid portrayal of the events. As a student of the 27th Virginia I was excited to learn about their heroic performance here.
The battle recreated in microcosm some of the war's larger tactical themes, giving a pretty clear view of the new power of the defense, illustrating the screening role of cavalry, and making very plain the fact that attacking in column should stay in Napoleon's grave where it belonged, so even scholars not especially interested in the Valley Campaign will find something of interest in this study.
An excellant account of Stonewall Jackson's only defeat........1998-07-17
Gary Ecelbarger, a well known speaker and tour guide in the Northern Virginia area, has produced one of the finest battle histories published in the last decade. Ecelbarger's research, both meticulous and voluminous, tears away much of the myth surrounding Jackson's defeat at Kernstown. Ecelbarger is unsparing in his criticism of Jackson's handling of the battle, but still retains his objectivity. One welcome aspect of "We Are In For It" is its even-handed treatment of the Federal side, something that many other 1862 Valley Campaign books neglect. All told, this is a superlative effort by a rising young Civil War historian.
Rod Gainer, Kernstown Battlefield Association
Book Description
Robert D. Kaplan is one of our leading international journalists, someone who can explain the most complicated and volatile regions and show why they’re relevant to our world. In
Surrender or Starve, Kaplan illuminates the fault lines in the Horn of Africa, which is emerging as a crucial region for America’s ongoing war on terrorism.
Reporting from Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea, Kaplan examines the factors behind the famine that ravaged the region in the 1980s, exploring the ethnic, religious, and class conflicts that are crucial for understanding the region today. He offers a new foreword and afterword that show how the nations have developed since the famine, and why this region will only grow more important to the United States. Wielding his trademark ability to blend on-the-ground reporting and cogent analysis, Robert D. Kaplan introduces us to a fascinating part of the world, one that it would behoove all of us to know more about.
Customer Reviews:
more relevant than ever.......2007-01-18
I have enjoyed reading a half-dozen books by Robert Kaplan, a journalist who writes about foreign affairs for the Atlantic Monthly, and this one was no exception. Although some critics consider Kaplan's analyses as overly pessimistic, most give him high praise for his skill in combining first person travel narrative, history, geo-political analysis, and a street-level view of what is unfolding in the farthest corners of our world. Surrender or Starve was first published in 1988, right after the epic famines that devastated the Horn of Africa from 1984-1987; this new edition includes a new foreword and a postscript on Eritrea (which declared independence from Ethiopia in 1991 after a thirty-year war).
Kaplan is an unapologetically opinionated writer. Most of the media covered the famines that devastated eastern Africa as caused by horrible droughts, which is partly true. But Kaplan insists that Africans, and not only God, were also to blame, because the famines were greatly exacerbated by ethnic conflict and class warfare. In Sudan, the northern Muslim government in Khartoum ignored the plight of Christians in the south. In Ethiopia, the ruthless Marxist regime of Mengistu Hailie Mariam (1977-1991) turned the famine into a weapon of war against the ethnic Oromos, Tigreans and Eritreans. Massive "villagization" or forced collectivizations that displaced five million people were hailed by Mengistu as "famine relief." In 1986, for example, the World Human Rights Guide "gave Ethiopia the lowest rating of any country in the world" (p. 81). Today Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world. What makes Kaplan such an engaging writer is his stated intention to think and write about Africa in "a bold, unpopular, but more realistic way, judging Africa by the same standards of moral conduct that would apply to any other part of the globe" (p. xii). Characteristic of all his books, Kaplan thus places himself squarely in the tradition of realpolitik as opposed to all forms of political idealism.
The crimes of Mengistu and the Dergue........2006-08-08
This book is almost completely about how the Communist government of Ethiopia misled the West into thinking that a small harvest was the reason for the mass starvation of 1984. Most remember this as the time when the charitable West stepped in with huge donations of grain and musician celebrities formed to perfom Band Aid. It is bad because the main culprit was the dictator Mengistu and his Communist buddies doing forced resettlement, collectivization, and centralized villages. They wanted to win the civil war raging in Ethiopia and install a Marxist government. Millions died, the Hollywood establishment blamed bad weather, and leftists told the West they weren't doing enough. Well the Ethiopian government could have stopped the genocide by stopping its failed policies.
This is an eye awakening book about how the West was deceived by a Marxist Third World government. There is some material in the book about Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen but the main focus is Ethiopia. The fallen Ethiopian government failed the people it governed.
Robert kaplan need more research.......2006-02-25
The book takes a view of one side approach. I lived in Ethiopia in the 1980's and most of the staff Mr. Kaplan talked about never happened. The historical facts are missing. Emperor Menelik was not the first Amhara king there was Emperor Tewdros form Gojam which is the main Amhara region who united Ethiopia from Red Sea to Showa. Reading the book makes me think that the author had a good close relationship with then gorilla fighters now the people in power in Ethiopia and its former province Eriteria.
The worst book on the Horn of Africa I have ever read.......2006-01-28
Kaplan's book "Balkan Ghosts" was described by slavist H. Cooper (Slavic Review 52, 1993) as "a dreadful mix of unfounded generalizations, misinformation, outdated sources, personal prejudices and bad writing". The same can be applied to "Surrender or starve". Any specialist could point dozens of minor errors in this book, but lack of scholarship is not the worst. Kaplan is exasperatingly tendentious and partial and his extraordinary simplification and misunderstanding of the conflict in the Horn is outrageous. He overemphasizes the ethnic component, sometimes dangerously approaching racism in his contempt for the Amharas (they are all intrinsically bad). To be sure, the Derg (the communist regime) was evil, but linking a particular culture (the Amharas) with a transient political regime that was imposed against the people's will is absolutely wrong. Besides, anyone minimally informed knows how many Amharas suffered by the resettlement policies of the Derg.
Worst of all, Kaplan embraces the politics he presumedly criticizes: "Surrender or starve" is not the slogan of the former Ethiopian communist regime, it is Kaplan's own motto. According to the author, we should have left 10 million Ethiopians starve in 1984-85, so as to foster a local rebellion against communist rule! To put it bluntly, this book is scholarly defective and morally despicable.
Forget Kaplan. If you really want to be informed about the complex reality of Ethiopia and neighboring countries, take a look at any of the books written by historians Bahru Zewde and Harold G. Marcus or by anthropologist Donald Donham. And if you want to be informed and at the same time enjoy a superb literary experience go for Ryszard Kapuscinski's "The Emperor"!
Insightful but hard to follow look at a troubling time.......2005-11-23
Kaplan's Surrender or Starve is a fascinating, albeit difficult at times, read on the war-torn Horn of Africa during the late 70s and early 80s. I grew up during those years, and I remember reading horrific stories of starvation and death in Ethiopia, but I had no real awareness of the whys and whos involved in the tragedy. Kaplan attempts here to address just those points, and his basic thesis is the debunking of the idea that this was a "tragedy" in the sense that most of us would use that world - this wasn't some unavoidable fallout from nature and outdated farming practices, it was the intentional result of years of systemic oppression and subjugation of various ethnic groups to collectivization and the like. The book does not deal with events in strictly chronological order - it is rather an overview-by-travelogue introduction to the various players and groups involved in the messy conflicts that leap across borders which seem tenuous at best. As a tyro in the history of this area, I was at times confused by this approach - it was hard to divine the common thread of Kaplan's these at times, and the book has a disconcertingly disjointed feel to it. But this approach also works well in some other respects, namely in the way it lets Kaplan pull in so many players onto one stage without turning the book into a mere catalogue. It's fairly readable, and I was torn between giving it three and four stars. In the end, I decided that Kaplan's realpolitik approach to how things should have been done, in his opinion, smacked at times too much of facile armchair quarterbacking - this is where a deeper chronological approach would have, I think, helped him make his points better and tie them more clearly to the narrative. But don't get me wrong - this is very much a worthwhile read about a neglected region.
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