Average customer rating:
|
Artwords 2: Discourse on the Early 80s (Studies in the Fine Arts Criticism)
Manufacturer: Umi Research Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 History
| Subjects
| Books
| Africa
| Americas
| Ancient
| Arctic & Antarctica
| Asia
| Australia & Oceania
| Books on CD
| Books on Cassette
| Europe
| Gay & Lesbian
| Historical Study
| Large Print
| Middle East
| Military
| Military Science
| Russia
| United States
| World
General
| History & Criticism
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0835717771 |
Book Description
A comprehensive text and over 440 photographs of authentic children's fashions from the 18th century through the 1920s comprise this book. It brings together a wealth of information about boys' and girls' clothing and current values.
Customer Reviews:
Fabulous!.......1999-06-21
Great text not just on clothing, but on the history of childhood. Wonderful photos
Book Description
"It may be the most lucid account of the strain of epic moviemaking that we'll ever get. At its center there's a great artist-hero caught in a trap - struggling to find the theme of the picture he's already shooting." -Pauline Kael
Customer Reviews:
i enjoyed the book...but i'm a big fan of the movie.......2001-01-07
to balance the reviews i have to add that i really enjoyed the book. i loved the film, the follow up documentry was as impressive (oscar winning i think), and this is a very interesting addition. i must add that one needs to be 'in' with the film making history already (i.e its no introduction to the most infamous 'touch-and-go' film productions) before one could appreciate this. its a well told tale.
A look at film from an interesting angle.......2000-03-24
I found the book to be very compelling and insightful. It takes a look at what went on behind the scenes of "Apocalypse Now" from the point of view of someone not involved in filmmaking in a direct way.
Don't waste your time with this book!.......1998-07-21
Perhaps a better title for this book would have been Meaningless Notes on the Making of Apocalypse Now. The author, who was charged with making a behind the scenes documentary of how the film was made, wastes the reader's time on disjointed anecdotes about her family life during the three plus years it took to complete this film. While the book jacket teases the reader with suggestions of her invaluable insights, the actual text is much more heavily devoted to Ms. Coppola's observations of her children, her husband's (in)fidelity, and what various dinner guests were served while visiting with the Coppola family. We learn much more about how four year old Sofia Coppola spent her days than how Martin Sheen's heart attack impacted the production. Why was Sheen hired to replace Harvey Keitel?...... What about those rumors of animosity between Marlon Brando and Dennis Hopper?...... Why did director Francis Ford Coppola choose to ignore weather experts and watch as the sets were des! troyed by a typhoon? Unfortunately you won't get any answers to those questions in this book. You will however learn in great detail how each of the Copppla clan spend their individual birthdays and how the Phillipines can't compare to California when it comes to health food shops and clothing boutiques. Duh!!! If you are truly interested in learning more about this historic film, I suggest you use your browser in a search of magazine and newspaper archives for appropriate material. Your time will be better spent surfing the net than waiting for Ms. Coppola to tell you why Robert Duvall's character was so hung up on having his Air Cav troopers surf "Charlie's Point."
Book Description
This great new interactive songbook/disk pack for digital keyboards lets you step into the spotlight as you play exciting piano solos, keyboard guitar solos and sax riffs, lush string lines and more! The disk features fully orchestrated accompaniments, and for each song, you can change the tempo and key, create you own orchestration, find your perfect mix, and improvise your own solos. Includes 12 huge RandB hits: Baby I Need Your Lovin' * Dancing in the Street * Heatwave * Money (That's What I Want) * My Girl * Please Mr. Postman * Stop! In the Name of Love * The Way You Do the Things You Do * You Can't Hurry Love * more!
Average customer rating:
- Enticing mystery
- Beautiful and atmospheric
- WHY did I ever lend this book out?
- A fascinating, if not exactly stupefying, puzzle
- Why arn't you people reprinting this book!
|
The Egyptian Jukebox: A Conundrum
Nick Bantock
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
| Baby-3
| Ages 4-8
| Ages 9-12
| Animals
| Arts & Music
| Books on Cassette
| Books on CD
| Authors & Illustrators, A-Z
| Computers
| Educational
| History & Historical Fiction
| Issues
| Literature
| Obsessions
| People & Places
| Popular Characters
| Reference & Nonfiction
| Religions
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Series
| Sports & Activities
General
| Puzzles & Games
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Puzzles
| Puzzles & Games
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Role Playing & Fantasy
| Puzzles & Games
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Bantock, Nick
| ( B )
| Authors, A-Z
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Children's Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Entertainment Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Museum at Purgatory (Byzantium Book)
-
The Forgetting Room: A Fiction (Byzantium Book)
-
The Venetian's Wife: A Strangely Sensual Tale of a Renaissance Explorer, a Computer, and a Metamorphosis
-
The Artful Dodger: Images and Reflections
-
Windflower: A Novel
ASIN: 0670849448 |
Customer Reviews:
Enticing mystery.......2007-09-15
In the tradition of Nick Bantock, it is an artful mystery more complex than many of his other works (all of which I intend to collect). It is short and combines both the metaphysical and curious ancient artifacts from other cultures. I am taken on a journey and led to think of possible connections between the items. I am sure I will reread this work many times. Each time finding something new. It's a journey in intimate archeology. I wonder what someone would think of me if they looked through my life's souveniers?
Beautiful and atmospheric.......2005-09-12
For those of you trying to get hold of this (as of 2005) out of print volume, I recommend ebay or abebooks. I paid only US$12 for a very nice used copy and I treasure it.
From an artistic point of view it's really a breathtaking little volume. Bantock really does put a lot of care and thought into his constructions and collages and you can spend hours examining them (as an engineer I like that sort of art!)
I did cheat and look up the answer, but for puzzle fans I would recommend sticking with it a while. I did notice that all the drawers had different patterns on the edges which appeared to be coordinates, and figured out that Ln and Wd meant lenght and width, but besides that some of the clues were truly puzzling. But then I worked on Riven for weeks and finally had to look up a cheat to finish it...
In any case, as popular as Bantock's other works are I am surprised that it hasn't been reprinted recently. If I am decoding the publishers page correctly I think that mine is a third printing, but that is not a negative since I enjoy the book collectible or not.
WHY did I ever lend this book out?.......2003-07-07
It was never returned, and I mourn its absence.
To me, The Egyptian Jukebox is the "Myst" of book puzzles. With a central theme that mixes Egyptology with Rock & Roll, woven together with intriguing little trinkets, cryptic narration, and a deceivingly simple riddle to solve ("Where do my worlds join?"), it will draw in anyone who ever dreamed of solving an ancient mystery or unearthing a lost treasure.
Many with short attention spans will discard The Egyptian Jukebox before long. There are no instructions explaining how to even begin. But if you are a creative thinker and problem solver (and perhaps just a little obsessive), this puzzle will be both amusing and rewarding. The solution will amuse you, but like a favorite novel, will leave you wishing that the book never came to an end.
A fascinating, if not exactly stupefying, puzzle.......2000-07-01
If you enjoy puzzles which carefully interweave illustration and prose, this is a good pick. The puzzle is challenging enough not to be boring, but it's not mind-numbingly hard like some others (notably Christopher Manson's "Maze," the only book of this genre I've liked better than this one). The illustrations are beautiful, and the aura of enigma created by the puzzle enticing. The only drawback I would cite is that once you make a certain intuitive leap in the puzzle's trickery, a bit of busy work lies before you to finish. But reaching that leap is reward enough. A good pick, if you can track it down.
Why arn't you people reprinting this book!.......2000-03-18
I want to read this book very much but it has told me the same this for months, that it is not avalible! If any one knows where to get this book else where email me! locust@snet.net
Book Description
Are the 95 million Americans invested in mutual funds making a mistake? Will inherent problems in the fund industry keep investors from achieving their goals? ""Absolutely,"" says author and financial expert Don Wilkinson. ""Mutual funds are the road kill of American investing.""
In Stop Wasting Your Wealth in Mutual Funds, Wilkinson throws passé investment strategy out the window to make room for the reality of a new era. According to Wilkinson, there’s a smart alternative to mutual funds-separately managed accounts, or SAMs.
In this brilliant how-to guide, Wilkinson explains that investors can gain and maintain wealth through a SAM, an individual basket of stocks or bonds. This new handbook shows how the average investor can now open a separate account for as little as $25,000-and have the account managed by a top institutional money manager through the investor’s financial advisor.
Stop Wasting Your Wealth in Mutual Funds proves to mainstream readers that they can invest like the super-rich and reap the myriad benefits of a SAM: reduced taxes, elimination of hidden fees, customized holdings, and potentially improved performance.
Packed with top-notch advice from a financial pro, Stop Wasting Your Wealth in Mutual Funds is the bible for investors seeking superior results with greater control. One of the most useful and thought-provoking investment books published this year.
Highlights In Stop Wasting Your Wealth in Mutual Funds, Don Wilkinson provides:
•Point-by-point comparisons of SAMs to mutual funds, outlining risks, benefits, and returns
•A user-friendly process for opening, customizing, and switching to a separate account from mutual funds
•A comprehensive list of financial advisors for fledgling investors
•Ways to find advisors who handle separate accounts for clients
Customer Reviews:
Book's thesis is nonsensical.......2007-07-14
Wilkinson spends most of the book deriding mutual funds and selling the idea that (if you are already wealthy) you should place your investable assets in seperately managed accounts. Strangely, the reasons he uses to slam mutual funds apply equally to SEPs.
Wilkinson blames high fees, incompetent or corrupt fund managers, and investor ignorance for mutual funds' supposed poor performance. His answer? Invest your money in your own account with broker's fees, an account manager to guide you, and your own investment decisions.
The audience for this book seem to be people with around $100K to invest, who are savvy enough to handle their own diversification and investment strategy and make sure their broker is on the level, but are unable to track the performance and diversify their mutual fund holdings.
If you are wealthy enough to safely follow the ideas in this book, chances are you don't need the advice in the first place.
A convincing explanation why you should avoid mutual funds and an alternative.......2007-01-06
Due to recent revelations, there are several messages that investors should receive loud and clear. New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has done the general investor a great service. By exposing and prosecuting dubious and illegal practices by investment institutions such as flawed recommendation strategies and after hours trading, he has made the investment industry much more transparent. Many investment advisors were counseling their clients to purchase stocks where the advisor had a conflict of interest. Some were also conducting after hours trading, which in the words of Spitzer, was equivalent to "betting on yesterday's horse races." There is a simple lesson in this, there is no substitute for performing detailed and consistent due diligence regarding your investment portfolio.
In this book, Wilkinson points out the general ineffectiveness of investing in mutual funds. In doing so he performs a significant service for the higher end "average investor." By the time the fees and taxes are paid, expenses that are often understated by mutual fund brokers, most mutual funds under perform high interest money market accounts. Furthermore, mutual funds often lock you into investments that you would rather avoid.
Fortunately, while debunking investment in mutual funds, Wilkinson presents a viable alternative. It is the separately managed account, which provides a great deal more flexibility and where the expenses are much smaller. Unfortunately, most separately managed accounts require an initial investment of at least $100,000. Therefore, if you are an investor in that category, it would be very advantageous for you to read this book. Even if you are not, it is worth reading to learn the many pitfalls of investing in mutual funds.
The disadvantages of mutual funds and the advantages of separately managed accounts are completely explained in non-technical language. I am not an investor in mutual funds and after doing the research that reading this book prompted me to do, I probably never will. Wilkinson's main point of advice is very sound, but not easily executed. "Find a caring, knowledgeable financial advisor interested in benefiting you and stick with them for the long haul."
Stop wasting weath improved my bottom line.......2006-02-10
I have read Mr. Wilkson's book and really took it to heart. My wife and I changed our entire investement strategy as he suggested and now are making 12% on our IRA. Could not be happier.
Joe DeCamp
Great book for individual investors!!!.......2006-02-07
This a book worth reading. It provides plenty of useful information for the investor. If you are currently investing in mutual funds, read this book and find out why you shouldn't.
Excellent Information.......2006-02-02
As an investor in mutual funds for many years, I have finally found the
answers on why I have been losing money consistently in mutual funds.
For example, the book powerfully and successfully explains the
excessive fees and the built-in capital gains burden of mutual funds.
The idea of "tax harvesting" performed by a professional money manager
described clearly in the book makes sense to me. Unlike one reviewer,
who appears to want a textbook to teach financial planners about
separate accounts, I 'm an investor who demands solutions not a myriad
of details. I expect my Financial planner to take care of the
specifics. After reading this book, I am going to be questioning him
on why he hasn't put my portfolio into a separate account earlier. This
book is for investors like me. Low returns, paying excessive capital
gains taxes, nicked by fees and charges I don't even know about is my
history investing in mutual funds. This book offers an
alternative--separately managed accounts-- and makes sense for the
right investor. Check it out. I give it high marks
Book Description
Fish. Chicken. Deputy. Icon. TV's beloved Don Knotts gives his millions of fans the book they've been waiting for.
Don Knotts recounts with warmth and humor the events that shaped his life and a career that spans half a century: his colorful childhood in his family's West Virginia boarding house; his hectic stint as a comic on the road, and as a rising star in the burgeoning days of live TV; his big break on Broadway in No Time for Sergeants; his five-season, multi-award-winning portrayal of Mayberry's bumbling and beloved Barney Fife. With candor he takes us behind the scenes on the set of Three's Company, and behind the sets of his hugely successful film comedies. And he shares bittersweet memories of The Mayberry Reunion, and affectionate recollections of his professional and personal relationships with such legends as Andy Griffith, Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Orson Welles, Lou Costello, and Arthur Godfrey.
Here is the inside story of the comedic genius behind Mr. Limpit, Mr. Chicken, Barney Fife, and the other characters we've come to know. And love.
* With a foreword by Andy Griffith
Customer Reviews:
nipped it.......2004-10-01
DON knotts nipped it in the bud with this one. it was a very good book. I read it so fast because it was hard to put down. Barney Fife is the funniest man on tv! if you are a mayberry fan you will love this book.
Barney and Don Knotts are two different men!.......2003-04-04
I have really enjoyed reading this book, and have read some of the other reviews of it. I think Andy Griffith summed it all up in the foreword he wrote for this book, when he stated..."Don was not Barney Fife. Barney Fife was a character that Don created. I know Don to be a bright man and very much in control of himself. As everyone knows, Barney Fife had very little control of himself." Obviously Don did not write this book as Barney would have, but there are little traces of that personality hidden in it, if you infer it that way.
People who buy this book expecting to hear the caustic ramblings of a Hollywood burnout will be sorely disappointed. Mr. Knotts seems as warm and fuzzy as your favorite stuffed toy, without a harsh word to say about anyone. If you want more real background information on him from a more objective standpoint, watch the excellent Biography Channel special on his life and career. Or visit the website www.interestingideas.com and look for the essay someone wrote about him, that was gritty and much more candid and philosophical. You will be fascinated!
However, if you are new to watching the Andy Griffith Show, like I am, and this is the first book you read on the show, like it was for me, this book is a great way to get introduced to the show, and prepare you for the more theoretically advanced books you will read about it in the future. Especially if you are a "Trained Noticer" like me!
Now, if Howard Morris (Ernest T. Bass) would just write his autobiography...
Barney Fife Rules!!.......2002-09-20
This is an excellnt biography of comic genius Don Knotts from his childhood and school years in Morgantown West Virginia to his radio,movies,theater and ofcourse his his famous portrayal of Barney Fife of the Andy Griffith Show.Barney Fife Rules!!
Another Missed Apportunity.......2002-04-30
Andy, get Barney another bullet. He missed with this one. Okay, so the guy's sweet, kind, can't get a mean word out of him. He went through two wives, he had kids, he had disapointments and missteps, and he doesn't share any insight into the pains, joys and frustrations of his life with the reader. We see a picture of his kids, and that's it. What's their names, Don? Do you love them? We hear about a divorce, thrown out like an after-thought. With what little I've been able to glean from other sources, Don Knotts is maybe the greatest missed chances for comedy, ever. Without killing himself with drugs or stupidity, Knotts blew it. True or not? I'll have to look for the answer somewhere else. He blew it with this pablum book too. Hopefully someday someone will write a biography of the man, and we can see his humanity, instead of just his brave face.
Hey Barn!!!.......2002-02-11
As I am sure most readers of this book are, I am a huge Andy Griffith fan. So when I picked up this book to read, I expected a few chapters on the show itself. What a let down!! Only a few short chapters at best. Knotts has to be one of the most talented funny men in television history. The character Barney Fife in my opinion is the funniest tv charcter period. The book is carefully written with no smut what so ever. That is fine by me, however the A-G show took up 6 years of his life, and he spends more time talking about the Apple Dumpling gang then he does the show itself. The title is a classic publisher bit, making the title "Barney Fife....." has a lot of people thinking that the book is going to be about Barney and Andy and the behind the scenes tales we all want to hear about. You will get some of that, but will be left begging for MORE!!!!!
Average customer rating:
|
One Of The Boys: Homosexuality in the Military During World War II
Paul Jackson
Manufacturer: McGill-Queen's University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
History
| Gay & Lesbian
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World War II
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Home Front
| World War II
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Canada
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Military Science
| History
| Subjects
| Books
20th Century
| Canada
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Gay Men
| Special Groups
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0773527729 |
Customer Reviews:
A big fat lie.......2006-12-04
This book seeks to overthrow perceptions of American diplomacy and foreign policy. The thesis is simple and typical: America was never isolationist, there was always a hidden hand making America imperialist, America always desired money and power and never did anything in the name of justice or honesty, in short nothing good. Beggining after the Second World War America tried to export its imperialism oversees by overthrowing good democratically elected officials like Castro and betrayed its own 'values'.
But lets ask a few questions about this. If America's true values were always money and imperialism, because America is supposedly inatly bad, then how did she 'betray' her principles. But of more importance is the question of why the book seems to ingore that there was always a genuine discussion about America's role in the world. There is no discussion that there were real historical currents in American foreign policy, such as Henry Cabot Lodge, arguing for no foreign intangelments, unlike leftists who wanted a more active foreign policy.
The book seems to skip the FDR foreign policy that brought America into war with Nazism. Where is the crime there. Apparently this is skipped because the book cant seem to think of a good argument about how the war against Nazism was actually 'bad' and actually imperialistic.
Lastly it is important to show how dated this book is by exmaining the Castro claim. This book claims Castro was a good democrat who the bad Americans wanted to overthrow, but after 50 years of a Castro dictatorship it seems to put the lie to that one. The United States didnt make Castro give up democracy.
Seth J. Frantzman
Erudite, splendidly crafted, fine piece of scholarhip.......2006-04-08
Williams book explores paradoxical nature of US Foreign Policy.
Firstly author refutes orthodox view that accidental,inadvertent turn of events transformed America into a global power.Williams has argued market forces unleashed by private free enterprise economy dictated the growth of American power;it has also molded country's foreign policy and continues to do so.To comprehend this fully one has to understand the intricacies of Capitalism.
It goes without saying that Capitalism carries within it the seed of self destruction.Late 19th century American economy was convulsed by frequent bouts of economic depression which led to wide spread social unrest.Home markets saturated with goods which people find difficult to absorb as they had only limited purchasing power.'Frontier' had close down and country's leading intellectuals [William Jackson Turner,Brooke Adams,Alfred Thayer Mahan] frantically called for overseas expansion avert an impending economic doom
Thus economic considerations compelled successive American Presidents[Grover Clevland,William Mckinley,Thedore Roosevelt,Woodrow Wilson]to remake the world in America's image.Unfortunately this policy boomeranged because Afro,Asian,Latin American world refused to share American view
Iniquitous,unfair trade practised by US helped Washington to enrich in detriment to welfare of latter economies.This was closely followed by American tendency to externalise evil.It posits the view that other nations have a stake in America's continued,prosperous existence.This preposterous notion,according to the author, has been the starting point America's troubles.Actually problem lay in funamental nature of capitalist economy.Attempts to reverse this trend triggered counter revolutionary wars in Asia,Latin America.The above feature forms essence of this book;this idea continues to permeate the book.
Williams provide fresh interpretation on the onset of Cold WarHe holds Truman administration accountable for the coming of iron curtain in Eastern Europe.Firstly in immediate postwar years US taking advantage of its economic might tried to extend its 'open door'policy into Eastern Europe.Further exploiting atomic monopoly the President tried to reverse political order which emerged in areas under Soviet control.
We may pause here try to establish reasons behind America's post war hostility toward Soviet Union.Unlike Britain which during the days of the empire could invest and dominate worldwide, America upon the end of World War II inherited a divided world
Soviet economy wth its emphasis on industrial self sufficency apart from shutting the door US investment was in the process of curtailing imports substantially.With the success of Communist revolution 1/3rd of world's population had wrenched free from capitalist sphere influence.With so much production capacity lying idle,US by the end of World War II was haunted by a spectre of another depression.Challenge before America -challenges her still-wheather market will shrink.
Marshall plan leading to massive post war reconstruction Western Europe must be seen from this angle.Rebuilding war-ravaged economies stimulated economic growth in US.Thus in my opinion Marshall plan must not be construed as a manifestation of American altruism;it was motivated by economic self interest.
Author's stress upon market forces dictating the American destiny
broadly agrees with Marxian interpretation of History.Perhaps this was reason why Williams was dubbed Marxist,Stalinist by conservative,liberal elite of his country.This book deserves to be read by those whio believe current anti American sentiment sweeping the world stems from sheer envy for American prosperity.
Cold war classic still rings true today.......2004-08-24
In his cold war classic, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera expounds, "There is an infinite difference between a Robespierre who occurs only once in history and a Robespierre who eternally returns, chopping off French heads." In his own cold war classic, William Appleman Williams investigates the "tragedy and terror" of an American foreign policy that, in subverting our American ideals of humanity and self-determination and then continually forgetting, has chopped off heads ad infinitum.
In "The Tragedy of American Diplomacy," Williams traces the Open Door Policy, from its articulation in the Open Door Notes of the McKinley Administration to its culmination, when it became engrained in the minds of cold warriors like Truman and Kennan. That the Open Door became internalized is perhaps why it, like Kundera's Robespierre, "eternally returns." The ruling class has continually turned to the Open Door, which basically holds that our internal tensions and economic problems can be solved not here at home but by transforming the rest of the world to our liking, all the while thinking they've struck upon something entirely new. As Williams writes, "Among the many ironies of Kennan's policy of containment, perhaps the greatest is the fact that he had so internalized the assumptions and principles of the Open Door Policy that he thought he was proposing a radically different program." This is sharp historical analysis, and if "Tragedy" were filled with only the likes of it, the essay would still be a cold war classic. But it is philosophical weight such as what follows this critique of Kennan that leaves "Tragedy" full of meaning and relevance fifteen years after the fall of the Berlin Wall: "This is indeed the final act in the transformation of a utopia into an ideology." As I write, it is 2004 and American forces occupy Iraq. Whether you agree with Bush's rationale for war or not, you should understand that it is not some new doctrine; whatever he tells us, September 11, 2001 did not "change everything;" nor are Bush's neocons the first to dream up such utopia. Like Kennan, however, those who led us to war believed they were doing something radically different. And like Kennan's containment, the Iraq war is in fact just another swing of the Open Door Policy that first opened with the Spanish-American War (which also devolved from military victory over tyranny into a more ambiguous crushing of a native insurgency). Along the way, leaders such as Senator Vandenburg, as he admitted in a candid moment, have realized the need "to scare hell out of the American people." Williams laments that Vandenberg and likeminded elites "did consciously employ exaggeration and oversimplification to accomplish their objectives." (In another odd foreshadowing of 2004, Williams's 1972 revision opens with a young Vietnam veteran turned protester named John Forbes Kerry asking, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?") Clearly then, Williams has much to teach us still today.
Williams did not preach despair. He was hopeful that America might find transcendence, as Karl Jaspers defined it, of the tragic, by looking in the historical mirror with brutal honesty and then acting humanely, armed with the truth. He hoped that America might stop smashing local revolutions while calling them Soviet plots, and instead turn our focus inward, to show the world how a people can live peacefully and democratically. In the 1972 edition I read, Williams concludes by holding up Chile as an inspiration of self-determination. A few months after he wrote this, the Nixon Administration, particularly Henry Kissinger, made sure there'd be no more self-determination in Chile. With President Allende's death on September 11, 1973, and the installation of murderous war criminal Pinochet as dictator, the Open Door, and the executioner's axe, kept swinging.
The Tragedy of American Diplomacy.......2004-06-08
In the Tragedy of American Diplomacy, William Appleman Williams illustrates how America fails to honor its own principles when it approaches foreign policy. America believes in self-determination and the right to develop its own brand of democracy. Unfortunately, no other nation is afforded the luxury of self discovery. Other nations must conform to America's vision of democracy or face the terror of America?s military might. This, to Williams, is the tragedy.
Cuba is his first case. America wanted Cuba to adhere to American visions which meant wealth for the sugar planters and their American backers. When Cuba sought its own course and threw off a repressive regime, America objected. The rift has existed ever since as no American administration will ever acknowledge Cuba's right to govern its own affairs so long as Castro is in power.
Williams then systematically follows the years from 1898 through 1961 and paints a similar picture. It does not take the reader long to get the idea and carry the argument beyond Williams' parameters and show that everything from Grenada to Lebanon to Afghanistan to Iraq can be shown in the same light. American puppet governments are not granting freedom and democracy to their constituents as much as they are part of a ruling class dominated by the business interests that exploit their workforce and deny requests for reform until the entire population is ripe for rebellion (remember the Shah of Iran). One wonders if the Saudi government is the next great western ally to fall victim to a popular revolt of Muslim fundamentalists.
Williams is a master of detail and works his arguments creatively in an entertaining fashion. Neoconservatives of today will have the same objections as their predecessors from the 1950s in acknowledging Williams as a valid author. But Williams makes a strong case and if more people were exposed to his writing, our country might even find a way to avoid the same pitfalls. A Saudi revolution would disrupt oil markets and jeopardize world economies. Perhaps if some thought is put into policy such a scenario is avoidable and preventable. If people are willing to give Williams a chance American foreign policy might eventually reflect a broader American vision rather than the interests of a few.
A revisionist manifesto on U.S. foreign policy.......2002-04-22
The Tragedy of American Diplomacy holds a unique place in the annals of foreign policy and diplomatic history. As the veritable grand-daddy of revisionism in this field, its influence has been pervasive. As proponents worked to produce revisionist studies in the same vein and opponents set out to debunk those new arguments, a postrevisionist synthesis of sorts has emerged. Williams' focus on economics in the determination of American diplomacy has compelled other historians to take better take economic factors into account and in so doing to gain more understanding of the subject. While the field of study has benefited from the influence of this book, the arguments of the book itself are often questionable.
I found this book to be fascinating, sometimes insightful and sometimes propagandistic. As Bradford Perkins says in his essay on the book's influence, this is a manifesto rather than a monograph. The politics of the author appear clearly on the very first page, as he condemns the American invasion of Cuba and holds the policy behind that move up as a shining example of the tragedy of American diplomacy in his eyes. Williams' acknowledged radical views are spread liberally throughout the book, and they often serve to disrupt my own interest in some of his arguments. Basically, he says the drive for economic expansion, as espoused in the Open Door Doctrine of the late 1890s, determined American foreign policy from that time on, that it became a veritable axiom of American political thought. In Williams' eyes, the intensive desire to expand America's market and sell her surplus products throughout the world led to a problematic form of economic imperialism and inevitably did much to start the Cold War. His discussion of economic policy as foreign policy in the wake of the depression of the 1890s and up until the end of World War II struck me as very insightful and even compelling. While he says that America's intentions were indeed humanitarian, the policy caused other nations to resent America's dominating influence in their societies and further fueled the revolutions of the first half of the twentieth century. Williams' argument diminishes in impact, however, when he comes to discuss the origins of the Cold War. His portrait of the U.S. is one of an economically aggressive, imperial power seeking to remake the world in America's image. He contends that America was in fact the opposite of isolationist in its policies and that its steps forced the Soviet Union into a corner and brought on the Cold War.
William's intense radicalism thwarts his own efforts. He goes out of his way to defend the Soviet Union and its policies. He describes Stalin as a man who had no intention of spreading communism, only wanting to secure his own borders after World War II. America is the bully that "forces" Stalin to take over Eastern Europe and install the iron curtain there. His U.S.S.R. is one always looking to compromise and to live in peace with the terrible Americans. It is easy to see why some critics labeled Williams a Stalinist tool and dangerous Marxist intellectual. Williams pleads that he is not saying economic determinism is behind his theories, but the fact that his arguments are largely Marxist and all but solely economic in nature leads me to believe he only wanted to avoid being labeled as the socialist he was. I often found Williams to destroy what were valid arguments by slipping in snide political remarks--the most galling of which was that America's efforts to penetrate the Chinese market in the 1930s led the U.S. to go to war with Japan (as if America was the belligerent and not the victim of Japanese attack).
I do want to emphasize the fact that Williams does present some interesting and compelling ideas about economics and foreign policy. While I disagree completely with his overall view, I have to praise parts of the book for effectively making points worthy of consideration and of great value in understanding America's history of diplomacy in the 20th century. Anyone deeply interested in the subject almost has to read Williams because this book has affected the nature of the debate; if you are a conservative such as myself, you may have to grit your teeth through some sections, but you will reap definite rewards from reading this book.
Product Description
One of the most perceptive books ever written on U.S. foreign policy. A profound and provocative study of the underlying causes of our failures
Book Description
In AMERICAN HYPOCRISY ~~American diplomacy, American Tragedy~~ Stephen N. Grand, Ph.D. offers an examination of numerous current social issues, ranging from the need for reconciliation among nations to forming a World Federation, an one-world government. In this book Dr. Grand,s treatise addresses also to consequences of our hypocrisy towards religious prejudices, hypocrisy in criminal justice and as well as in sex education. He advances also a proposition of a Constitution of a one-world government, which will ensure sovereignty for all nations, where all people on Earth will have the right to live in peace, dignity and justice. Dr. Grand announcing to the whole world that we, the Homo sapiens, we are almost at the end of our civilisation beacause of the eminent possibility of biolgical, chemical and nuclear catastrophe. He is asking all people on Earth to accept the solution described in this book, because it is the only way to achieve world peacae, it is the only way to save the human race.
Product Description
"One of the most perceptive books ever written on U.S. foreign policy."
--The Churchman
Average customer rating:
|
Veedor the Condor
B. L. Walker
Manufacturer: Bliss Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Scientists
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Zoology
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Birdwatching
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0964895900 |
Product Description
Meet Veedor, the world's only free-flying, captive Andean condor and learn interesting facts about this endangered species. Explore Veedor's world and the human family that has protected and loved him from the very start. From dancing onstage to performing in educational programs, Veedor's life is dedicated to helping raise awareness for condors the world over. With any luck, many of his cousins will be able to roam the skies freely and carry on for generations to come. Journey through hardships and triumphs as Veedor becomes a majestic ambassador for condors in the wild. This book is filled with amazing photographs and fun information for both children and adults.
Books:
- Beyond the Flower: The Autobiography of a Feminist Artist
- British Textile From 1850-1900 (The Victoria & Albert Museum's Textile Collection)
- Byzantine Women and Their World
- Christian Iconography: A Study of Its Origins (A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts)
- Cities and Scenes from the Ancient World
- Concepts of Pattern Grading: Techniques for Manual and Computer Grading
- Contemporary Indian Art: Other Realities
- Dewey Decimal System Defeats Truman!: Library Cartoons
- Drawn from Nature: The Plant Lithographs of Ellsworth Kelly
- Extreme Bodies: The Use and Abuse of the Body in Art (Skira Paperbacks)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Melody in Songwriting: Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs
- History: Fiction or Science
- Fra Angelico
- In Your Wildest Dreams
- History: Fiction or Science
- Human Anatomy & Physiology Lab Manual, Main Version, Update with Access to PhysioEx 6.0
- John Peel: Margrave of the Marshes
- Civil War Art of Winslow Homer from Harper's Weekly
- Good Kids, Bad Habits: The RealAge Guide to Raising Healthy Children
- The Legacy of Cell Fusion
