The Paintings of Alice Dalton Brown

Book Description

Alice Dalton Brown's finest work is presented along with the story of her life and career.

Customer Reviews:

A distinctive, domicile-oriented presentation.......2003-09-15

The Paintings Of Alice Dalton Brown is a truly gorgeous, 131-page coffee-table artbook depicting the immensely popular and vibrant paintings of a truly talented female artist. Some black-and-white images as well as numerous full-color renditions of timeless paintings of homes, emptiness, natural beauty seen through windows, and more are accompanied by thoughtful commentary and informing insights into the depths of the presented works. A distinctive, domicile-oriented presentation, The Paintings Of Alice Dalton Brown is a very highly recommended and significant addition to academic and community library Art History collections.

Book Description

'Fashioning the Church'
Simona Segre, IULM University, Milan

'Projecting an Image and Expressing Identity'
Marjorie Kelly, Independent Scholar

'Dilemmas in African Diaspora Fashion'
Van Dyk Lewis, Cornell University

'The Cultural Politics of the Uniform'
Jennifer Craik, Griffith University

Book Description

One hundred and thirty cartoons of day-to-day camp life drawn by a teenage girl during 37 months in a Japanese prison camp in Manila, Philippines. Teedie Cowie Woodcock crowded her cheerful little sketches on scraps of cheap paper and "bound" these pages into a booklet for a present for her mother on Christmas Day, 1944. They had come to the end of this bleakest of years and this was the only gift she had to give. Because the booklet was intended to lift her mother's spirits, none of the cartoons stress the dark side. Most are humorous. All are exquisitely expressive, the facial expressions and body language excellent. With this expanded reproduction of the original cartoon collection (supplemented by extensive footnotes and references to other sources), the author hopes to encourage many more people to acquaint themselves with this historically significant event and the courage of these American civilians trapped half a world away from home. Most Americans do not realize that Japanese planes attacked targets in the Philippines only ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Japanese troop landings on Philippine soil occurred two days later. Teedie's father was killed by the Japanese bombing of Manila December 24, 1941. He had been assigned to the Manila office of the US Coast and Geodetic Survey only months before. She and her mother were arrested January 9, 1942. By this time, thousands of American civilians had been herded into Santo Tomas where they were to remain for 37 months. Hundreds died there, most of malnutrition exacerbated conditions, many of actual starvation. Santo Tomas prison camp was liberated February 3, 1945 by units of the 1st Cavalry supported by elements of the 44th Tank Battalion who broke behind Japanese lines and crashed the gate of the prison. Meaningful. Instructive. A fine collection of WWII memorabilia.

Customer Reviews:

A WWII Collector's Item.......2001-12-15

These cartoons, created sixty years ago in the civilian prison camp at Santo Tomas, Manila, in the Philippines, were drawn on scraps of poor quality paper by a talented teenage girl as a gift to lift her mother's spirits Christmas 1944. It was in this final year of imprisonment that food rations dropped below 700 calories a day. Weight loss was severe. Most males lost nearly 60 pounds, some lost over 100 pounds. Women fared only slightly better. Deaths from malnutrition related diseases and from actual starvation were occurring almost every day in the final months before liberation of the Camp. Yet this youngster found the spirit to sketch these approximately 130 cartoons of day-to-day Camp life. Each conveys its own brand of humor -- a truly remarkable collection telling only the bright side of this little known and tragic event from the Pacific Theater during WWII. An interesting aspect of the collection is the fact that each of these cartoons had to be computer restored to remove mildew stains, crease lines, and smudges -- a striking demonstration of what can be done to restore old family documents. William Rowan, Greensboro, NC.

Teenager sees life as a POW.......2000-11-22

As a young teenager in a Japanese POW camp in the Philippines, Teedie Cowie Woodcock created a remarkable series of cartoon sketches of camp life. Drawn on thin tissue paper, discolored by age, the cartoons have been magnificently restored and show prison life through the eyes of a child.

No one is spared the clarity of her pen - from those who hoarded food, those who sought special considerations, or those who were camp leaders - all are portrayed without guile in simple line drawings that leave the reader begging for more.

As the war raged across the Pacific, the internees treatment slowly worsened, each change captured on paper. The optimism of the early months faded as the Japanese began a deliberate policy to starve the internees to death. Like the military men who suffered the horrors of the Bataan Death March and similar atrocities, the civilians hopes changed to despair, the altering moods captured in these wonderful drawings.

Still, hope never died. Teedie cleverly intersperses characters - children determined to carry on a normal life in the camp school, children exhibiting the insouciance of youth, adults attempting to "make do" without the necessities of life - scanning the skies everyday, looking for the American rescue planes.

As an historian, I find Teedie's book a wonderful gift to America and perfect companion for the student of history.

Customer Reviews:

too true.......2005-12-07

It is hilarious in a i-wish-i-could-not-relate kind of way. I am about to graduate so I know (and haven't had the chance yet to forget) how horrible law school is!! You will find these stereotypical professors/students do exist! It is actually fun to read and realize that there are a lot of normal people who went to law school and found it just as bad. I don't think anyone who hasn't experienced it themselves will truely understand and relate to this book! So I would recommend it more for people who have been through it and not for people considering it.

funny.. but COME ON!.......2002-11-21

There are many laughs to be had while reading this book. But in the end it is written by a bunch of disgruntled law students who hate the profession and want everyone else to hate it as well.

I'm not sure where these people went to school- probably in those top tier schools that people sell their souls to the devil to get into, and then complain about the competition, money, etc.

If you go to a regional law school, or (gasp!) a public law shool, you will find that most of what is described in this book is not true. My professors are not out to get me or humiliate me. Perhaps the ivy league schools are filled with teachers with this mentality, but your state's school is most likely filled with people who enjoy teaching and want to produce good lawyers.

Read this for fun- but don't let it stop you from going to law school if you really want to go.

Average customer rating:
29 Reasons Not To Go To Law School
Ralph Wagner/Toni Ihara
Manufacturer: NOLO PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KAGMPC

Average customer rating:
29 Reasons Not To Go To Law School -
Ralph Warner -
Manufacturer: Nolo Press -
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000P34IZA

Book Description

Big Screen Country is a memoir and a revealing account of the development of Alberta's vibrant film industry through the eyes of Bill Marsden, affectionately known as the "Father of the Alberta Film Industry".

Average customer rating:

A book as big as the man himself!
INFORMATIVE HEART WARMING INSPIRATION!
Not about Bond, and not all that big.
Motivator
MAKING IT BIG is a Big Read

Making It Big in the Movies
Richard Kiel
Manufacturer: Reynolds & Hearn
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1903111315

Book Description

The memoirs of the actor best known as “Jaws,” James Bond’s steel–toothed nemesis. With a Foreword by Roger Moore.

Customer Reviews:

A book as big as the man himself!.......2002-11-20

Richard Kiel is one of my favorite actors from both Bond and beyond and this book surely doesn't disappoint! It has lots of backscoop of the movie industry, tip on how to break into the industry, lots of photos and dry humor to boot. My only complaint is that he becomes preachy and Billy Graham-ish in the final chapter, but that didn't sour the book one bit. A must for any 007 fan!!!!!!

INFORMATIVE HEART WARMING INSPIRATION!.......2002-07-18

Richard Kiel has a warm interesting way of sharing his reality of how persistence pays off. This book gives workable insights that will help anyone wanting to improve their lot in life! Richard's giant-size heartfelt sincerity shines through the dozens of stories about how he climbed each rung of the ladder that led him to more and more success - with dry wit and the type of charm that only truth brings. The "insider" knowledge he brings to life will serve to renew any reader's determination to reach his or her own goals. Definitely up there with books by Art Linkletter, Napoleon Hill and others. Don't pass it up!

Not about Bond, and not all that big........2002-07-12

This is a poorly written book. Kiel's writing style is very flat, and sounds for all the world like a 9th grader's "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" essay. At first, this simplicity is charming, but eventually it runs dry. It is short on feeling and long on flatly presented facts.

Every job he's ever had is detailed. Kiel is long on money, negotiations, and the one that got away. He's short on real behind the scenes stuff, on personalities, and on pulling out the most interesting details. His lengthiest description in the section on The Spy Who Loved Me was of a restaurant he ate at, it read something like a list of food items, followed by "Yum." I kid you not.

Kiel is selling this book based on his Bond experience, which is emphasized in the title (the full title on the cover is: Making It BIG in the Movies: The Autobiography of Richard "Jaws" Kiel, James Bond's Biggest Enemy, the Man with the Steel Teeth"). However, the Bond movies are given no more attention than any of his other film experience, and in fact, are given less wordage than his failed attempt to get a kid's TV series off the ground. This strikes me as misleading almost to the point of dishonesty.

The book has some small interest, especially if you're interested in the details of negotiating with filmmakers and agents.

Ultimately, it is about Kiel's Christianity, and ends with a chapter apparently intended as missionary work. I don't have an objection to the man being religious, but again, it's not what I plunked my money down for.

Not recommended.

Motivator.......2002-06-12

This book is a motivator. Richard talks from experience on how to sale yourself and make it big. Truly inspiring for anyone trying to make into Sales or Hollywood. Richard shows the pitfalls and achievements he has made. I highly recommend this book!

MAKING IT BIG is a Big Read.......2002-06-10

This is not only a vastly entertaining book, but informative, too. Richard gives advice and details on making your own films, from financing, casting, etc. He doesn't fail to mention some of the pitfalls to watch out for, also.

A very good read if you're interested in television, film, movies(in front of or behind the camera)!

Average customer rating:
Overture and Beginners, a Musical autobiography.
Eugene GOOSSENS
Manufacturer: Methuen & Co., Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B0000CI0MW

Average customer rating:
Overture and Beginners: A Musical Autobiography
Eugene Gossens
Manufacturer: Methuen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H05ROC

Average customer rating:
Overture and beginners;: A musical autobiography
Eugene Goossens
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006C2VD6

Customer Reviews:

He's a great writer and teacher.......2003-03-07

Simply put, Marovic is one of the best chess writers. He is a GM but knows how to communicate chess to you. All of his books are a joy to study. This book, along with his work, Play the Queen's Gambit, somehow seem to get a lot of use by me, while other more famous books go untouched. Marovic writes with passion, but not in an unbridled manner. He is always a perfect blend of intensity, variations, text, and enthusiasm. This book on the King's Indian is great. I love these Pergamon books from the '80. They were beautifully produced, they had sections covering variations, and each chapter had several illustrative games, and there is a nice index at the back. Sounds simple, right? Then why can't EVERYMAN books do it? Why can't GAMBIT do it? This is a great book, a perfect chess openings book.

PLAY THE KING'S INDIAN DEFENCE. Pergamon Chess Openings.

Average customer rating:

PLAY THE KING'S INDIAN DEFENCE. Pergamon Chess Openings.
Drazen. Marovic
Manufacturer: Pergamon Press,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N5UNPY

Average customer rating:

How to Play the King's Indian Defence
David Levy , and Kevin O'Connell
Manufacturer: David McKay Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0679133755

Average customer rating:

How to Play the King's Indian Defence

Manufacturer: McKay
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000I2WGWA

Average customer rating:

How to Play the King's Indian Defence
David & O'Connell, Kevin Levy
Manufacturer: David McKay Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000T45WNC

Average customer rating:

Play the King's Indian Defence
Drazen Marovic
Manufacturer: Pergamon Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OGRO0Y

Average customer rating:

Play the King's Indian Defence
Drazen Marovic
Manufacturer: Pergamon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NUL9ZC

Book Description

Ever wonder what makes us buy from a certain salesperson or prefer one TV news announcer over another? In each case, a human voice is subtly captivating our ear and commanding our attention.

Now celebrity voice coach Renee Grant-Williams reveals the trade secrets behind those persuasive voices and shows readers how to apply positive vocal techniques to business and personal situations. Much more than a guide to proper breathing or voice projection, this is a life-altering "owner's manual" to unleashing and directing the powers of communication within one's speaking voice. By exploring the rich connections between singing and speaking, Grant-Williams helps readers:

* Evaluate their "VoicePower" quotients * Literally breathe new life into their voices * Tap the amazing power of consonants--and silence * Deliver sales pitches virtually guaranteed to sell * Turn a voice mail message (incoming or outgoing) into a personal calling card * Become more confident, persuasive presenters and public speakers.

Customer Reviews:

Good Book but Not Without Coach.......2007-08-01

It is a good resource but you will be able to improve not as much as this book has promised, Because you need a coach or trainer in order to get the most out of it.

Well worth the investment!!.......2007-05-12

Voice Power was recommended to me by several friends and I have found it to be well worth the investment. It's helped me at work and it's made me feel more confident. Again I highly recommend this book. It's an easy read and I don't understand why anyone who actually read it would say otherwise. Jay Morgan MO

Don't waste your money!!!!!!!!!.......2007-03-16

This book is EXTREMELY boring. It's painful to read. It's written like the college textbook from hell!!!!!!!
Look on the bright side though, it will help you sleep if you're an insomniac.
Can you say, "Waste O Money"

Shameless self promotion, name dropping, with minimal useful material!.......2007-02-21

I can accept the author bragging about all the celebrities she helped, and all the "super stars" she created as part of the intro, and on the cover of the book, that is a sure selling point, and her right!.
But to go on and on, wasting valuable pages, with how she helped this celeb or how that celeb stunk until she helped, does not help ME at all.

The author must be good at what she does, but this book reads more like a promotional brochure or infomercial to promote her services.

I read this book to actually try to improve MY voice and to be fair, there are some useful parts in the book, but I think they are less than 5 pages in total!

The most important part the "Breathing technique", she explains in one paragraph, then goes back to all the name dropping.

The one good part was the "power of consonants", section, but very short.

If you like to know more about how she created or saved the career of your favorite singers, then this book is for you, however, if you are looking to improve YOUR voice, go somewhere else.

Great book so far.......2006-08-22

The information the author gives is not the usual stuff.
It is helpful and informative.
There are relevations as well.
Worth a purchase.
Boots

Average customer rating:

"Walk on. The feet will inform the soul"

Not what I expected unfortunately

One of the Best!

Vietnam Vet Takes You on a Rugged Journey

A Writer With Integrity

Walking It Off: A Veteran's Chronicle of War And Wilderness
Doug Peacock
Manufacturer: Ewu Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Essential Grizzly: The Mingled Fates of Men and Bears

Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness

Postcards from Ed: Dispatches and Salvos from an American Iconoclast

Walking the Big Wild: From Yellowstone to the Yukon on the Grizzly Bears' Trail

On the Wild Edge: In Search of a Natural Life

ASIN: 0910055998

Book Description

When he wrote The Monkey Wrench Gang in 1975, Edward Abbey became the spokesperson for a generation of Americans angered by the unthinking destruction of our natural heritage. Without consultation, Abbey based the central character of eco-guerilla George Washington Hayduke on his friend Doug Peacock. Since then Peacock has become an articulate environmental individualist writing about the West's abundant wildscapes.

Abbey and Peacock had an at times stormy, almost father and son relationship that was peacefully resolved in Abbey's last days before his death in 1989. This rich recollection of their relationship and the dry places they explored are recalled in Peacock's honest and heartfelt style in this poignant memoir.

Customer Reviews:

"Walk on. The feet will inform the soul".......2007-09-07

A warrior's articulations about his war sickness (PTSD) and his fabled relationship with his mentor Ed Abbey. Plenty of recollections about this tumultuous relationship as it unfolds in their hikes and times together. Mostly though, this is a chronicle of one man's struggle to feel peace in his tortured soul by spending as much time as he can in the wilderness.

In many ways, this is a companion volume to "Grizzly Years" (see review).
It is Peacock's further accounts of his life; but it is also about a mellowing, coming-to-terms middle aged warrior who is struggling to transcend much of his war-originated rage by retreats into the Sonoran desert and a return to "The Grizzly Hilton" of his "Grizzly Years" time.

Peacock also does his best to debunk the Hayduke mythology that he had thrust upon him via Abbey's only partially true charicature; the eco-warrior that was really a composite of others, and not much of himself.

Overcoming his psychic scars by walking them off, Peacock writes from his guts, his soul, the guts of his soul. He is a highly articulate guy; there is very good use of descriptive language and use of adjectives here.

He also is one tough hombre. Anyone who stalks grizzly bears armed only with a knife; who gets nailed by a rattler in the calf and hobbles 15 miles back out through the desert sands to a waiting Ed Abbey; and who survives internal bleeding in his esophagus (as did Abbey) at high altitudes in the Himalayas - this guy's got to be tough.

This line from the end of "Walking it Off" may be a vague summary: "I needed to get out in order to look back in"

Highly recommended for those who know the value of personal growth through seasons of solitude.

Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts

The Cloud Reckoner

Not what I expected unfortunately.......2007-08-02

"Walking it off" dwells too much on Peacock's feelings for Ed Abbey and tells you very little about his Viet Nam experiences or even himself.
It was a very disappointing read for me.

One of the Best!.......2007-01-11

This is one of the best books I have ever read. I am currently on my 3rd year in Iraq, so I find myself relating to this book very strongly. I have read everything that Edward Abbey has ever written and have a strong fascination with the southwest US. It was with great pleasure and sadness to read about his final days here. This book is one that I will continue to read and re-read for the rest of my life, as I believe it will speak to the reader differently depending on where they are in life at that moment. If you are only going to buy one book, this should be it.

Vietnam Vet Takes You on a Rugged Journey.......2006-11-28

Hayduke... I mean Doug Peacock has a few things he wants to get off his chest in his book "Walking It Off." (I love the title of this book!) And like most deep, emotional scars they take the combination of time and solitude to focus light on. Peacock is drawn - more like pulled - into wild places around the world. His journey is less about protraying the surrounding wilderness, but instead using it like a mirror.

A mirror onto himself - a mirror to reflect on the tradegy of the Vietnam War, the loss of his companion and teacher, Ed Abbey, and the fragments of a broken marriage. Certainly not easy stuff to grapple with, much less commit to the pages of a book. But you sense in this book, that Peacock is a warrior. Not the same warrior he started as, but a transformed sort of warrior. Much of his transformation happened while he got to know Abbey. Peacock shares his memories of Abbey.

I got the sense that Abbey's portrayal of Peacock as the character Hayduke in both The Monkey Wrench Gang and Hayduke Lives proved to be a mixed blessing to the author. On the one hand, there's extreme pride in being the first, Eco-warrior, poster-boy. On the other, the popularity of this take-no-prisoner, accept-no-compromise Hayduke character only served to paint Peacock into a much smaller corner. He wanted to be something more than this inspirational character for the new enivronmental movement. What exactly that "something" is for Peacock, he doesn't always know. But he knows what will get him closer -- shoulder a backpack and start walking.

We see Peacock's image of himself steadily change while he shares his encounters with the forces which shaped his life. It's an honest self-portrait softened by time and contrasted against a wonderful and rugged landscape.

A Writer With Integrity.......2006-10-15

Because I am a HUGE Edward Abbey fan, I really enjoyed this book. It gave some wonderful insights into Abbey's personality, but more importantly, showed me the real person behind Abbey's most famous character--George W. Hayduke.

First, the Abbey stuff was very good. Peacock didn't put lipstick and rouge on the warts--he told it like it was, and for that, he gained a lot of credibility with me. (This is opposed to that other guy, Loeffler, who wrote a similar autobiography that I think Abbey would be ashamed of.) He opens his soul to the reader, which is something that I wouldn't have expected of Hayduke, and for this I am very greatful, as I feel that I understand Abbey much better because of it.

Second, because he opens his soul, we get to compare the gruff and verbally challenged Hayduke to the complicated, highly pensive and articulate Doug Peacock. This vantage point shows how perfectly Abbey nailed him in some regard, and yet how different the paint on the canvass is from the subject. Peacock is definetly disturbed, gruff, stoic, self absorbed (ala Hayduke), but he's also highly intelligent, pensive, and well-travelled.

This is a must read for the Abbey fan, although I'm not sure how much anyone else would get out of it. For this reason, and for Peacock's writing style, which at times became too verbose and poetically strained, I'm giving it only four stars. Besides, there are waaayyyy too many 5 star ratings out there, and I must preserve my integrity, too.

Hayduke Lives!!! And I'm very glad to know it!

Average customer rating:

Well written, illustrative biography about a dedicated man

Creating a Paradigm Shift Toward Quality Management

Great View of this Special Man

The Rickover Effect: How One Man Made a Difference
Theodore Rockwell
Manufacturer: Naval Inst Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Rickover: The Struggle for Excellence

Creating the New World: Stories

The Death of the USS Thresher: The Story Behind History's Deadliest Submarine Disaster

Hostages of Each Other: The Transformation of Nuclear Safety since Three Mile Island

Rickover and the Nuclear Navy: The Discipline of Technology

ASIN: 1557507023

Book Description

As Technical Director, Rockwell worked alongside the legendary Admiral Rickover for the first 15 years, creating the nuclear navy, then the worldÂ's first commercial atomic power station. Rickover was both admired and hated as he forcibly reformed both bureaucracies and industries to harness the fearsome atom.

Customer Reviews:

Well written, illustrative biography about a dedicated man.......2007-01-09

Rickover is a legend in the nuclear field, and this book fills in many of the details to illustrate that the legend was a person and was following a very logical progression in building the industry we enjoy (without fanfare!) today. The people engaged in any industry today, particularly those now in or thinking of entering the nuclear field, would do benefit by understanding the history described in this book. Very well done.

Creating a Paradigm Shift Toward Quality Management.......2003-07-21

Many biographies have been written about Hyman Rickover, the father of the Nuclear Navy, which focus on his dictatorial idiosyncrasies and leave the reader wondering how anyone could have ever worked for him. In "The Rickover Effect: How One Man Made A Difference" author Ted Rockwell discusses how Rickover's leadership style created a paradigm shift among all of the organizations he came in contact with focusing away from the status quo and toward operational excellence and high-reliability. Rockwell, who worked for Rickover from 1949 to 1964 and served as the Technical Director of the U.S. Naval Reactors Program (NR) between 1954 and 1964 is certainly in one of the best positions to discuss his perceptions of Rickover's personality, work ethic, and style.

One of the quotes from the book that impressed me very much was that Rickover questioned how people who admitted they could never have accomplished what he had done -- building the first atomic submarine from abstract concept to reality in record time - could question his leadership and management style. Critics generally focus on Rickover's demanding style as ruthless and insensitive, when in reality he was building a committed organization and shaking out those that were not as dedicated as he was. It is quite obvious that Rickover would never had asked anyone to do anything he was not willing to do.

Rockwell's story encompasses his recruitment out of the post Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge until Rickover's death. While Rockwell left the Naval Reactors program 1964, he continues to write about how Rickover's influence shaped his management and technological paradigm and allowed he and two of his co-workers at NR to open an engineering firm delivering outside of the Navy the same operational excellence and high-reliability systems they had developed in NR. Rockwell also discusses how leaving Rickover's program changed their relationship.

Rockwell's book is a pleasant read, as his story is not overly technical and draws readers into an appreciation of how the Naval Reactors program influenced work systems and quality management. This book should be of interest not just to those interested in the life of Hyman Rickover and the Nuclear Navy, but persons studying leadership and culture management, technological advancement, and the career of Ted Rockwell - one of the unsung heroes of nuclear technology. I also encourage readers to check out Rockwell's new book, "Creating the New World: Stories and Images From the Dawn of the Atomic Age."

Great View of this Special Man.......2003-03-25

This is an excellent insider account of Rickover's efforts and
accomplishments. Dr. Rockwell really makes the history come alive.

The Rickover Effect : How One Man Made a Difference

Average customer rating:

The Rickover Effect : How One Man Made a Difference
Theodore Rockwell
Manufacturer: Naval Institute Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000V2LQ7S

Average customer rating:

A history of American Foreign Policy.

America's varied doctrines of dealing with the world

Making sense of US Foreign Policy Schizophrenia

Ambitious Promise, Inconsistent Delivery

An interesting essay on America's foreign policy traditions

Promised Land, Crusader State: The American Encounter with the World Since 1776
Walter McDougall
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
History & Theory | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Relations | International | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Political Science | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How It Changed the World

Freedom Just Around the Corner : A New American History: 1585-1828

First Great Triumph: How Five Americans Made Their Country a World Power

American Diplomacy (Walgreen Foundation Lectures)

The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates (Signet Classics)

ASIN: 0395901324

Amazon.com

When the Cold War ended and left the United States without one clear, monolithic enemy or ideology to battle, a hint of confusion and indecisiveness entered U.S. foreign policy, revealing weaknesses in the American diplomatic tradition. However, According to Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Walter A. McDougall, this confusion was not a result of the Cold War, but rather made more visible by the absence of a looming conflict. Reaching back to 1776 to analyze the foreign policy decisions made during the U.S. progression to superpower, McDougall reveals the numerous paradoxes present in American foreign policy.

Beginning with the original intentions of the Founding Fathers and the various interpretations of those ideals over the years, he deconstructs the role of the U.S. in global affairs, questioning both the logic and motives of how the nation deals with friend and foe. One of McDougall's major contentions centers on efforts to affect other countries' policies and governments by projecting U.S. standards or choices on them. He is particularly concerned with what he views as an overextension of resources and wisdom, and the glaring hypocrisy such efforts reveal. He points to several examples of how time and energy was wasted trying to change those who were uninterested or unwilling. As McDougall points out lucidly and convincingly in Promised Land, Crusader State: The American Encounter With the World Since 1776, one nation cannot cure the major ills of another, and the price of such an attempt is too great to risk.

Book Description

In "an entertaining and iconoclastic fashion" (Philadelphia Inquirer), the celebrated historian reinterprets the traditions that have shaped U.S. foreign policy from 1776 to the present. "McDougall has written a lively and provocative book" (Wall Street Journal) that is "a rich study of the American experience" (Los Angeles Times).

Customer Reviews:

A history of American Foreign Policy........2005-01-03

I picked this book up in the discount section and was prepared to read a boring analysis of American foreign policy. I was surprised because this is a concise history of the development of American foreign policy. Professor McDougall also destroys some myths viewed as facts by the American public. One item is the Monroe Doctrine. McDougall details what the Monroe doctrine was in reality, not what they tell you in the American history books. The book is divided into two parts, Promised Land (Old Testament) and Crusader State (New Testament). In each section, there are four chapters detailing the development and stages of American foreign policy. I thought the outline and stages of American foreign policy was a nice touch in showing the reader how different things influenced American foreign policy.
This is a great read for those trying to figure out American foreign policy. I actually learned how to view our foreign policy in the light of these eight stages in development and how Iraq and Vietman figure into the equation. This was written before the present Iraq war so it would be great to see how Professor McDougall views the present conflict. A good read.

America's varied doctrines of dealing with the world.......2004-10-05

I first saw Walter McDougall on the C-SPAN Booknotes show discussing this book in 1997. He impressed me so much that I went online and ordered it from Amazon instantly. It is a great read because McDougall writes clearly, concisely, and with a rare vividness for a scholar.

This is not a book of American History per se. It is a book about American's developing and changing doctrines of how to deal with the world beyond our borders. McDougall discusses eight doctrines with four under the "Old Testament" heading (when America was basically turned inward and worried only about the Western Hemisphere), and four under the "New Testament" (when America became a player on the world stage and, briefly, a colonial power).

Understanding these doctrines is essential to understanding America's changing place in the world. These doctrines conflict with each other and yet the all still echo through history to our present. This leads to some of the complexity in our present political relationships with the world and our own muddled sense of ourselves and our role in the world. Certainly, America has done some wonderful things for the world, but the wake of our great ship of state has also made navigation tough for some of the smaller barks trying to stay afloat in the storms of history.

This is a fine book and a great read. I encourage everyone, especially students and young people, to read it carefully and to consider seriously the arguments Prof. McDougall has put forth. You will be better off whether or not you end up agreeing with him.

Making sense of US Foreign Policy Schizophrenia.......2004-01-19

To many observers, American foreign policy appears schizophrenic--an odd mix of high-minded idealism and crass realism. On one end, American hegemony has coincided with an unprecedented degree of geopolitical stability and material prosperity; on the other, America has started fights when none existed and has meddled where it did not belong. In other words, some see America as a beacon, others as a beast. It is little wonder that the exercise of American power, most lately in Iraq, has proven so controversial.

This ambivalence was well captured by Senator Fulbright who wrote that, "The inconstancy of American foreign policy is not an accident but an expression of two distinct sides of the American character. Both are characterized by a kind of moralism, but one is the morality of decent instincts tempered by the knowledge of human imperfection and the other is the morality of absolute self-assurance fired by the crusader spirit." Walter McDougall, of the University of Pennsylvania, tries to cast light into these American contradictions by looking into the Old ("Promised Land") and New Testament ("Crusader State") of its foreign policy.

Mr. McDougall's purpose is to dispel certain myths surrounding American foreign policy and unify seemingly inconsistent traditions. The former goal is achieved through a meticulous reading of primary and secondary sources; for example, Mr. McDougall renames the hallowed principles of the Old Testament: Liberty for Exceptionalism, Unilateralism for Isolationism, Expansionism for Manifest Destiny, and the American System for the Monroe Doctrine. The New Testament is similarly described in four traditions: Progressive Imperialism, Wilsonianism, Containment, and Global Meliorism.

What connects these diverse traditions is the belief that foreign policy should never compromise liberty at home. What is more, these traditions coexist in the American mind and influence its foreign policy. In that sense, argues Mr. McDougall, simple dichotomies between realism and idealism miss the mark; American foreign policy is at the same time "good, bad and ugly." Only after appreciating this reality can one hope of understanding the basic tenets of American foreign policy and make sense of its apparent schizophrenia.

Ambitious Promise, Inconsistent Delivery.......2002-12-31

McDougall attempts to outline "The American Encounter With the World Since 1776" in his small volume, "Promised Land, Crusader State." Such an ambitious promise could never be fulfilled in such a small space given that there is little agreement about how to characterize "America's encounter with the world" and the effects that encounter has had on the lives of Americans (both good and bad).

McDougall imposes a paradigm on American foreign affairs which is easily seen from his table of contents. McDougall tries to shoehorn the history of American foreign relations into these eight traditions (divided into two testaments), and does so with surprising results. However, such a paradigmatic book will always suffer from the fact that some things just don't fit and that there could be other paradigms that would be more useful.

Still, McDougall brings attention to two important areas. First is the need for America to have the "moral high ground" when conducting foreign affairs. It is not enough for America to simply engage in games of power and politic, especially since such tactics were part of the Old (European) World and that America was the New ("exceptional") World. Second, McDougall leaves open the question of whether various historical actors were "heroes" or "villains." This critical look at the foreign policy decisions made by people such as Jefferson and Wilson allows the reader to safely criticize their history without feeling "un-American."

Standing alone, this book would rank a 3 star rating, but if the value of this book is enhanced if one already has a background in the history of American foreign policy or is reading this book in conjunction with other background materials, hence a 4 star rating.

An interesting essay on America's foreign policy traditions.......2000-11-01

McDougall identifies 8 different traditions in American foreign policy, which fall into two "testaments." The "old testament" consists of traditions such as liberty, unilateralism and the American System. Essentially, it involves Americans perfecting their own country and looking towards their own part of the world as the place they need to be most concerned. The "new testament" consists of such traditions as containment, expansion and meliorism. It calls for American to play a much broader role in the world's affairs, although for different reasons. McDougall does not purport to have written a comprehensive diplomatic history as to explain it and how it might be used to conduct future diplomacy. "Promised Land" is not highly ideological - some will find his questioning of the Marshall Plan's success and attack on foreign aid infuriating. Others will be unhappy with his assertion that the US is perhaps well served by its participation in the UN and Nato, as long as the USs ability to act unilaterally when necessary is not impeded. For example, he points out that Washington's famous injunction was against "entangling alliances" rather than all alliances and that those which serve the US interest without limited its freedom of action are consistent with Washington rather than opposing it. In perhaps the most interesting "revision" of the entire book, he repudidates the notion that America has ever been an isolationist nation, saying that it really was a concern for our ability to act unilaterally that was at issue and points to a long history of interventionism to protect US interests dating back to Jefferson and the Barbary Pirates. Finally, the book explains the role of religion in the changing nature of America's policies from that of a promised land where we would lead by example primarily to one where we would be more willing to intervene.

Promised Land, Crusader State: The American Encounter with the World since 1776.: An article from: Independent Review

Average customer rating:

Promised Land, Crusader State: The American Encounter with the World since 1776.: An article from: Independent Review
Ralph Raico
Manufacturer: Independent Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Independent Review, published by Independent Institute on September 22, 1998. The length of the article is 2725 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: Promised Land, Crusader State: The American Encounter with the World since 1776.
Author: Ralph Raico
Publication: Independent Review (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1998
Publisher: Independent Institute
Volume: v3 Issue: n2 Page: p273(6)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books