Customer Reviews:
Wow!.......2002-02-07
This little book is cram-packed with fun learning activities, ideas, advice, songs, etc! It's worth every penny. If you ever wake up with your child and wonder "Ok now what?" this book will give you lots of ideas to help you plan your day. It's guaranteed to produce equal amounts of giggles and concentration from them, and hopefully less stress for you.
Customer Reviews:
Controversial, but still worth reading.......2004-02-27
Few books on the Texas Revolution have caused as much furor as this book, and it's primarily because of the brief description of David Crockett's death after the fall of the Alamo. With just a few short sentances, De La Pena earned the wrath of many modern day historians. To suggest that the imortal Davy cowered in fear and begged for his life was unthinkable, especially to "baby boomers". But, for all the nay-sayers out there, if you read this part of the text CAREFULLY, it makes NO SUCH CLAIM. And hero worship is hardly a reason to condemn the work. Taken as a whole, it's obvious that De La Pena was an observant, articulate and some would say a compassionate individual. What many scholars are unaware of, is that De La Pena dictated these pages while he was in prison for his opposition to the Santanista regime. He was deathly ill at the time, and it's very likely that De La Pena put more than a little of his anger towards "El Presidente" into the "diary" Some have suggested that the description of Crockett's death was exaggerated and was recorded as more fodder to use against Santa Anna. Only time will tell
Believing in this is like believing in the tooth fairy!.......2004-01-15
This book is a bunch of bunk.
I cannot reccomend this to any serious sudent of Alamo and Texas history.
If Pena wrote any of it, it was the first few pages that covered the march to Texas. Nothing else.
It is a forgery plain and simple and painfuly obvious.
There are so many errors in it that it is ludicrous to believe in it. But there are those who do and it is their right to be so misinformed.
If you really want to study this subject, leave out this book and all the revisionist authors who believe in it.
Very important Alamo document. Critiques often fantasy........2003-11-21
De La Pena presents a battle recollection not unlike many soldiers' accounts. Perhaps miscounting the numbers of burning corpses on a pyre, or the number of men killed and wounded, etc.,as many memoirs do, he nevertheless opens a window to the horrors and cruelties of the battle and its aftermath. Bayonets or no bayonets? Note that in a report of the inventories of arms and equipment in the town, the arsenal, and the Alamo itself, turned over to Col. F. W. Johnson by subordinates of General Cos in Dec, 1835, there were 257 carbines and muskets, 50 muskets with bayonets, two barrels containing 166 bayonets,thousands of musket cartridges, and hundreds of pounds of powder. The Texans had more ammunition and weaponry than they could use,plenty of bayonets included. There was more artillery in the fort (est 13 -21 guns) than in the Mexican army (10 guns). What the Texans lacked was manpower to use all that equipment. Maybe some of them did stack loaded weapons in ready. Flintlocks can be loaded, but not primed...it's the priming that usually dampens and causes misfires (personal experience). Some of the defenders were members of militia units and knew how to handle military weapons. De La Pena's views actually lean toward much that is verified elsewhere, but they often are contrary to many of the fanciful beliefs and various speculations associated with this battle. His description of the prisoner incident is a genuine attempt by a soldier to record a brutal event that he found to be distasteful and dishonorable...not unlike Crockett's own recollection of his disgust with the Creek War. This book should be carefully read and evaluated by any student of the Alamo. De La Pena is certainly more likely to have been an eyewitness, than any of his modern critics, regardless of whether or not he made errors.
The Diary Lives!.......2003-01-15
Twenty-five years ago the De la Peña diary breathed new life into the old story of the Texas Revolution. The controversy over the authenticity of the diary continues the process by showing its impact on people today. View this story on the VHS documentary The De la Peña Diary: A memoir of the Texas Revolution including the death of Davy Crockett also available through Amazon.
An Alamo Defender.......2002-12-14
The whole controversy surrounding this narrative seems to center around the way Mr Crockett met his end, and the onle reason this version is believed over the previous ones is its age and the fact that a Mexican supposedly wrote it. Does that mean that, in another hundred years or so, someone will rediscover the Rosswell flying saucer reports, and they will suddenly become the true version of what happaned? Just wondering...
Book Description
A reflection on everyday existence in the 'sphere of consumption of late Capitalism', this work is Adorno's literary and philosophical masterpiece.
Customer Reviews:
Pure thought.......2007-06-03
Though largely unknown outside of certain obscure academic circles, Theodore W. Adorno was, without a doubt, the foremost socio-political theorist of the 20th century. For truly intelligent, literate, questing minds (free of occultist nonsense) Adorno's MINIMA MORALIA is absolutely indispensible. A compendium of always eloquent, surprising, mournful, and deeply humane musings on modern capitalist society in all its terrible unfreedom, this book is among the most uncompromisingly radical ever written (cf. Max Stirner's THE EGO AND ITS OWN). To read and understand Adorno--even imperfectly--is to experience the tremendous pleasure of being in the presence of impeccable historical awareness, great moral rectitude, and visionary wisdom.
We're all damaged.......2007-03-06
This is essential reading for our times, and Adorno's insights can be applied to many different areas e.g. literature, sociology, politics, and philosophy. Highly recommended.
Firme Vatos.......2007-01-04
Dis is puro...firme vato locs. Down for Adorno por vida..Smile now, Cry later..
a damp, dark mine of of thought, with a few sparkling gems.......2005-11-21
Adorno is a sort of Nabokov of the armchair left: elitist, haughty, immaculately cultured, cynical and despairing, and capable of penetrating aphorisms and sparkling metaphors.
This collection of brief meditations on life and culture under late capitalism is maddening, provocative, illuminating, opaque, invigorating, and dour-- and often all of these on the same page.
Adorno is a writer capable of keen insights and exquisite turns of phrase, and the book contains a half dozen aphorisms that will stay with me. But reading Adorno fruitfully requires a lot of prereading: references to Hegel, Marx, Freud, Nietzche, Goethe and lesser figures of German philosophy and literature are tossed around with little hand-holding. In the end, his arcane cultural references and dour, despairing worldview cast doubts in my mind whether his books are worth the trouble.
His insights into the more subtle mechanisms of domination and comformity that pervade our society are important, but are rendered with greater clarity by writers such as Gramsci, Reich, P. Goodman, Debord, Chomsky, Marcuse, and Postman, writers who align themselves more closely with social struggles to resist these forms of oppression and thus have a more measured, hopeful view of the possibilities for reconstituting society along humane lines.
Ultimately, Adorno offers no way out of the morass, only criticism of those who seek it. His outlook of despair and non-involvement serves only to justify his elitist, impotent musings on esthetics and philosophy, and offers little instruction for resistance. Perhaps this is why his writings are so avidly championed in graduate programs in the humanities. His followers would do well to take heed of the warning Adorno himself ran afoul of:
"He who stands aloof runs the risk of believing himself better than others and misusing his critique of society as an ideology for his private interest." (MM 6)
Mediocre insights disguised and packaged in florid, flatulent prose.......2005-09-26
This book would make a perfect gift for the wanna be intelligent idiot in your family.
Theodor Adorno use his overly complex prose to dance about linguistically and make big intelligent sounding noises. It's sure to impress anyone looking for something deep SOUNDING.
"In its absurd readiness to accept these, impotently prostrate humanity tries desperately to assimilate to experience what defies all experience"
You see? Movies are bad.
Almost all reality changing ideas can be said with common language. So what is the purpose of this book?
Me thinks it amounts to simple written [...].
I actually burst out laughing more than a few times while reading this. Or in the style of Mr. Adorno...
"Whereas the blank page speaks none so much as a latent novelist who has bequeathed his mightiest thoughts, so does flooding of pages with equally blank ink. This dark coloring arranged and thoroughly thought out as to light a question unto the reader in such a manner as to ask "what is the purpose of the unnecessary prose? Thus, laughter develops, envelops and utterly denies the its intended purpose. Namely, the communication of ideas."
Sadly, I have a feeling many literary snobs and ego-maniacs will fall for Mr. Adorno's slight-of-language tricks.
Great thoughts are best disseminated though common language. Don't let his complex packaging fool you. There isn't much inside.
Try reading Mises/Hazlat/Rockwell and co....
Average customer rating:
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Minima Moralia: Reflexiones Desde La Vida Danada / Reflections on a Damaged Life (Basica De Bolsillo / Pocket Basic)
Theodor W. Adorno
Manufacturer: Akal Ediciones Sa
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 8446016699 |
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- A Slightly Muddled Look at Military Escapes
- The bible of American escapes
- A thought provoking book on the fighting man's duty.
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A Prisoner's Duty : Great Escapes in U.S. Military History
Robert C. Doyle
Manufacturer: Bantam
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0553579738 |
Amazon.com
A prisoner of war's first duty is to survive; his second duty, writes Robert C. Doyle, is to escape. This anecdote-driven history of escapes and escape attempts recounts harrowing acts of bravery, such as when an American lieutenant captured in the Philippines swam eight miles to secure his freedom. There are also several humorous episodes in this colorful book. One Confederate prisoner during the Civil War who entered an escape tunnel got stuck and blocked the exit because he was so fat. Another Southerner, General John Hunt Morgan, broke out of his cell block after digging through two feet of masonry with table knives. He later sat next to a Union major on a train that passed the Ohio penitentiary that had once confined him. "That's where the rebel General Morgan is now imprisoned," said the major. "Indeed," replied the disguised Morgan, "I hope they'll always keep him as safely as they have him now."
Doyle's history spans from the Colonial period through the 1980s. His book focuses on American prisoners of war, but a chapter on slaves and the Underground Railroad, plus substantial attention to America's British allies during the two world wars, demonstrates a broader ranger of interest than the subtitle suggests. --John J. Miller
Customer Reviews:
A Slightly Muddled Look at Military Escapes.......2002-01-17
On the plus side, this is the only comprehensive look at US Military escapes available. It ranges from the American Revolution to our experiences in Beirut and Somalia. It's extraordinarily well researched and documented, with nearly 50 pages worth of sources listed. On the minus side, it's sort of an anecdotal look at escapes, and sort of a scholarly historical study. There's just enough of a first hand account given to gain your interest, but then the author trails off and heads somewhere else. The author is very repetitive, providing the same thoughts several times in a chapter, and sometimes across several chapters. There is also a fair bit of extraneous material, from the Underground Railroad to the experiences of foreign POWs in US custody. Interesting areas, but not related to the book's title. There is some great information here, but you have to do some slogging to get it. I'd recommend you buy the book, mark the references of the more interesting first-hand accounts, and then read those books for the more in-depth look at an individual escape.
The bible of American escapes.......2001-04-22
"Great Escapes" sounds like a collection of exciting escape stories, but you might be disappointed if you buy it for that purpose - most of the individual stories are one page long or less. It's a scholarly look at every documented escape by an American from the frontier wars until the present, and the psychology of the escapers. If you're into the escape genre, this should be a great reference for the big picture and a huge listing of related books. Here's an overview:
Introduction - 30 pages - the history of escapes; Chapter 1 - why people escape; Chapter 2 - frontier war; Chapter 3 - mexican war; Chapter 4 - escapes from American slavery; Chapter 5 - Civil War; Chapter 6 - World War I; Chapter 7 - World War II - Europe; Chapter 8 - World War II - Asia; Chapter 9 - The Korean War; Chapter 10 - Vietnam; Chapter 11 - Civilian escapes (e.g. Iran); Chapter 12 - Rescue Raids; Chapter 13 - Reflections, and experience of enemy POW's held in American camps from frontier to present.
A thought provoking book on the fighting man's duty........1999-03-22
With apologies to the Bard, but, to escape or not to escape, that is the question. Robert Doyle does an outstanding job of describing a subject that does not get much publicity unless it is in a movie that usually is all glamour and fiction and nothing near the truth. This book is a wonderful introduction to describing how man reacts to the loss one's basic right, the right of freedom. Many take freedom for granted, and it takes the harsh reality of imprisonment to make many realize what they have lost. I am a prisoner, do I risk death and try to escape? Or do I sit and wait and hope to be freed? A wonderful book on the subject of "escape."
Book Description
The controversial bestseller that caused huge waves in the UK! The Independent calls it "required reading." Noam Chomsky says it "contains valuable information that we should know, over here, for our own good, and the world's." We call it our biggest book so far and will be backing it from day one with guaranteed co-op spending, a national publicity and review blitz, talk radio bookings, various retail sales aids including postcards, and of course the usual full court press on the Web and via email.
This is NOT just another 9/11 book: it is the book for those of us trying to understand why America-and Americans-are targets for hate. Many people do hate America, in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa, as well as in the Middle East. Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies explore the global impact of America's foreign policy and its corporate and cultural power, placing this unprecedented dominance in the context of America's own perception of itself. In doing so, they consider TV and the Hollywood machine as a mirror which reflects both the American Dream and the American Nightmare. Their analysis provides an important contribution to a debate which needs to be addressed by people of all nations, cultures, religions and political persuasions-and especially by Americans.
Described by The Times Higher Education Supplement as "packed with tightly argued points," the book is carefully researched and built to withstand the inevitable criticism that will be aimed at it. A book that some reviewers will love to hate and others will praise for its insights, it's guaranteed to cause a stir.
Ziauddin Sardar is a prominent and highly respected journalist and author. Prolific and polymath, he is a familiar U.K. television and radio personality.
Merryl Wyn Davies, writer and anthropologist, is a former BBC television producer.
Customer Reviews:
Fact free.......2007-09-08
It's time to put down a book when it is obviously substituting contention for fact. This one says that the Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh was assassinated by the CIA in the 1950s. In fact, he died of cancer in 1967. Very clever, those CIA agents, to get him to do that.
summer reading for school.......2007-05-31
have not read it, probably shouldnt be reviewing it yet but oh well...
A Very Long Rant.......2006-10-02
Those who love to bash the USA may find this book right on the mark. It is an endless rant against everything that usually attracts ranting: McDonald's, capitalism, military force, movies, TV news, etc.
I picked up this book hoping for some new insights. There were none. You will leave this book exactly as you were when you began it. If you hated America, you will still hate it. If you loved America, you will still love it. It will make you neither informed nor wise.
In brief, people hate America because America is rich and powerful and they are not. Being rich, Americans are seen as buying whatever they want. Others can't. Being powerful, the American government often uses intimidation and sometimes uses brute force to accomplish whatever it wants. Most of the world wishes it could do the same. Knowing that, you know more than the book will tell you.
Those who fail at capitalism fall for socialism; those who fail rarely blame themselves. It is so much easier to make failure proof of virtue and success evidence of crime. The world must be poor, because America is rich. The world would not be violent, except for American military interventions.
I live in Korea, which was a colony of Japan in 1945, when America's atomic bombs made it a free country -- by brute force. Prior to 1945, Japan required Koreans to exchange their names for Japanese names; it banned using the Korean language; it forced young Korean women into sexual slavery for the Japanese military. Today America is loved in Korea -- and hated. Knowing why these two feelings coexist in Korea and around the world would require real insight.
For those new to the real world, a useful comparison might be a novel, "The Ugly American," published in 1958. Hatred of America is nothing new, nor is it undeserved. The question for readers is whether this post-911 diatribe (published in 2002) will add anything helpful to our understanding of the phenomenon.
The authors of "The Ugly American" suggested that communism would win the battle for the world. It didn't. Half a century later, Sardar and Davies seem to have the same dream. It happens that I recently heard a lecture by a businessman born in China and educated in the U.S. His business spans the globe. He is hostile to America on many of the same grounds as the authors. His conclusion, however, is the precise opposite. The strength of America is that its culture and lifestyle dominate the world. Given a choice, people eat at McDonalds, watch American movies, listen to American music, wear American blue jeans. The businessman says we should recognize that America will dominate for one or two more centuries.
It would be unfair to blame the authors for their lack of research -- they both made careers in TV. Their idea of research is going to the movies (you will find many, many movies discussed in this book). It would be unfair to blame them for lack of analysis -- having done no real research, they had little to analyze. It would be unfair to blame the publisher, The Disinformation Company, for not providing any real information. Doesn't the name say it all?
Why Do They Hate Our Freedom?.......2006-05-22
At least what is the real question everyone is asking? Most Americans may agree that America is a great place to live. Why should we be hated if we live in such a great place called the land of the free? Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies attack America from an outsider's prospective that although many American's may not agree with, they must at least hear once in their lives. This novel conatains insight from two very intelligent authors that every American should be aware of.
The novel covers all subjects regarding foreign policy of the United States government to the strength of her military structure and superiority. The authors also bring up the strength of America's influence of her exports to developed philosophies a rational civilization and the influence of democracy has on the world. The book addresses a popular assumption that many people and societies do hate America, The Middle East especially along with certain countries in Europe. Sardar and Davies write an excellent novel with interesting insights that many should hear.
why do people love this book?.......2006-05-21
I picked this book up two days ago and already finished it. it says everything I would have liked to say had I written such a book, and I feel it hits the nail on the head again and again.
It is crammed with staggering facts which really make you wonder how long America can survive in a world where it flattens the interests and wellbeing of every other country.
I have been angry with America for a few years, but after reading this book am even angrier. Armed with these facts, no sane person can deny that the largest problem facing the world today is not terrorism at all: it is America. This should be required reading for everyone on the planet.
Customer Reviews:
honest officer ... it fell into my lap!.......2006-10-07
I probably wouldn't have bought this, much less read it. I took the kids to New Hope, PA, and busied myself with browsing a bookstore while they went boutiquing. They're over 18 ... it's not as if I let toddlers wander the streets.
I bumped into a stack of paperbacks, and this title fell to the floor among several others. I picked it up to put it back on the stack, but I wanted to have a look at it first ... and that was the end of that. I bought it after reading a few paragraphs.
I was an American sailor on several deployments to the Mediterranean during the 1970's. I remember feeling the flush of anticipation when seeting foot ashore in my first port of call, Naples, Italy. My Dad and uncles had told me how well Americans were received there during WWII, and I guess that I expected a similar reception. Naivete ... it's a good thing it doesn't last long.
This book shed a little light on some things that happened, that I couldn't comprehend at the time. I'd never done anything to anyone, and yet here were people who seemed to hate me just because I'm American. It's a dreadful sensation ... the feeling of being a REAL alien in a strange place in a strange time.
It's a good read ... I can't vouch for everything in it, but I can say that the hostility is very real.
A Thoughtful Overview of the Situation.......2003-04-12
The authors have done a good job of showing why much of the world hates "America" (distinct from Americans). The hypocrisy and double standards, as well as the avarice of the USA's foreign policy, are well-documented. There is, perhaps, a little too much focus on linking issues to popular TV shows and hamburgers (you have to read it to understand this last point!).
Product Description
Nonfiction
Book Description
A lifelong hunter and wild-game gourmet who has traveled the globe on expeditions with world-class sportsmen, Guy de la Valdéne purchased an 800-acre farm outside Tallahassee and set out to raise and hunt his favorite game bird, bobwhite quail. But de la Valdéne is also a naturalist at heart, and as he planted trees and divided fields, he found that running the farm compelled him to operate as both hunter and preservationist, predator and protector. De la Valdéne structures his reflections around a year in the life cycle of the bobwhite quail, from one generation's birth through mating and the raising of their young. Along the way, he gets pulled along on some side trips: to a masterpiece of controlled burning performed by a Vietnam veteran in a helicopter with 300 gallons of napalm, and to his own adventures when he improvises some dam-raising to fill his pond. For a Handful of Feathers reconciles a passion for hunting with a deep sentiment for the wild. Learning early on that while his work on the farm may awe his friends, he can never impress nature, de la Valdéne tries, with sensitivity and patience, to find his, and perhaps society's, place in the natural world. "A classic that compares well with Turgenev's A Sportsman's Notebook . . . simply and beautifully written."-The Bloomsbury Review; "For a Handful of Feathers is an American classic . . . a book as unapologetic as it is thoughtful about blood sport . . . . the verbal spark and pace of a fine novel."-Gray's Sporting Journal; "A gem that will appeal not only to hunters but to all readers who love the land."-Publishers Weekly.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful.......2002-04-15
Hemingway proved that few subjects are better topics then hunting and the outdoors.
Guy De La Valdene does a wonderful job writing about the types of things that make life worthwhile and fullfilling: birds and dogs.
Additionally, he makes the point that much of our wildlife and habitat would not exist if not for the devotion of true outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen.
Brett
Impressed.......2000-04-02
I have not read much hunting literature, but was quite impressed with this book. I found that De La Valdene made a good case for hunting, and I found his conservation-minded views to be very enlightening. The book covers as many aspects of the sport as possible, including De La Valdene's love for dogs and even a certain love for other predators of quail. The writing is not the best that I have read, but his passion for the sport is such that it transcends any writing difficulties. A beautiful book.
Country Boy's Review.......1999-12-06
I belive that Guy de la Valdene book was written very well. In his book he wrote numerous facts on the Bob White Quial and the management of the species. He wrote on the quial,s habitat, feeding, and average of how many quail would reach maturity. I found that in his book he didn't have harsh feelings against the birds predators. Also that he felt that killing the predators wasn't the answer to the conservation of the Bob White Quail. Although he is a hunter, I belive that he is more of a conservationist. His book would help anyone with the understanding of the Bob White Quail.
Remarkable book!.......1998-09-05
This is a remarkable book. Admittedly my vice is quail hunting, but this book is that and much, much more. It demonstrates an insight into the minds of people. Its language can be a bit rough but only in the way people speak. To anybody who has a love for the outdoors, nay, civilization, this is highly recommended. Its near literature.
fantastic reading.......1996-01-10
valdene's style is just right for the hunter and outdorsman in me. i enjoyed valdene's down-to-earth approach to hunting and his expressions of the feelings of a hunte
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