Los Ninos Preguntan, Los Premios Nobel Contestan

Book Description

A rich, anecdotal history of the British soldier from the American Revolution through the Indian Mutiny.

Redcoat is the story of the British soldier—those noncommissioned men whom Kipling called "the backbone of the army"—from roughly 1760 to 1860. Based on the letters and diaries of the men who served and the women who followed them, the book is rich in the history of a fascinating era. Among the highlights are Wolfe's victory and death at Quebec, Wellington's Peninsular War, Waterloo, the retreat from Kabul, the Crimean War, and the Indian Mutiny.

The focus of Redcoat, however, is on the individual recollections and experiences of the ordinary soldiers in the wars fought by Georgian and early Victorian England. Through their stories and anecdotes—of uniforms, equipment, flogging, wounds, food, barrack life, courage, comradeship, death, love, and loss—Richard Holmes provides a comprehensive portrait of an extraordinarily successful fighting force. 16 pages of color, 16 pages of black-and-white illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Greatest Book I Ever Read.......2006-03-26

I have a massive collection of history books. Some that I have never yet had time to read. And you know why I do not have time to read them? Because I often pickup this book at least twice a year to reread, that is how good it is. I have never enjoyed a book as much as I do with Redcoat. The descriptions are fantastic and make you feel like you are there on the field with Wellington high atop his proud white horse while the French advance on you singing La Marseillaise. It is gritty, bold and highly descriptive. If you love history, you'll love this book.

A Wonderful Book.......2006-01-13

This book is a pleasure to read. Not only is it full of interesting information, but R Holmes is also an excellent writer,along the lines of Shelby Foote. He truly brings history alive. I am a fan of the Richard Sharpe novels and found this good background information for them as well as interesting on its own merits.

An Excellent Survey of the British Army in the age of Brown Bess.......2005-09-09

"Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket" is a well written survey by Richard Holmes of the British Army in the period from roughly the Seven Years War to the Crimean War. As Holmes points out, this is the period of time in which the British Army, although never the size of its European counterparts, managed to play a key role in the conflicts of Europe, especially the Napoleonic Wars, and in the establishment of a worldwide Empire. How the British Army was equal to this challenge is the subtle theme of this book.

"Redcoat" is not a battle history, although Holmes makes frequent references to the Army in battle and on campaign. Instead, Holmes focuses on the organization, equipment, and life of the Army during this period. We find that the British Army ranked behind the Royal Navy in terms of funding and prestige, and was saddled with a complicated, even Byzantine organizational and support structure designed, perhaps, to keep it from being too efficient and therefore a threat to the state it served.

Holmes suggests that the British Army fashioned its success out of a unique set of circumstances that involved the integration of a more or less volunteer soldier into regiments with generally well-established traditions, armed with basically reliable weapons, and led by officers and NCO's who, if often more enthusiastic than professional, was also often surprisingly good. Out of these combinations came an infantry that was as professional, and as successful in battle, as that of any nation in the period; the British cavalry and artillery also often performed well.

That the British Army suffered from all the shortcomings of any armed force in that age (or any age) is also thoroughly explored by Holmes. Particular attention is paid to a draconian system of discipline and to what now seems like incredibly harsh and unhealthy living conditions.

"Redcoat" covers over a century of conflict and numerous changes in organization, equipment, and national policy. This is perhaps too much material to handle in a single volume; the narrative ocassionally wanders and sometimes jumps from topic to topic. Richard Holmes is an exceptional capable writer who is obviously very familiar with his subject. Readers who can persist through the long text will be rewarded by his combination of factual narrative and vivid vignettes that provide a human scale to the story. Holmes has included a nice set of illustrations.

This book is highly recommended to the reader looking for a survey level treatment of the British Army for the period. This book is also a solid foundation for those intending a more detailed study of the role of the British Army in, for example, the Napoleonic Wars.

An Overdue, Stand-Alone Treatment.......2004-07-20

Perhaps the single most identifiable soldier in History, the British Redcoat, gets Author Holmes' undivided attention in this delightful volume, and it's about time. As an avid reader of 18th and 19th Century British military history, I thought myself thoroughly familiar with the lives and times of the common soldier, loved or reviled by the same sobriquet, "Redcoat", but I couldn't resist ordering this volume just in case, and I'm very glad I did. In reading it, one realizes that the numerous works recounting major battles, etc., although necessarily touching on the lives of those who fought them, seldom take the time (or make the effort) to dwell on them. Using the technique so skillfully and more expansively employed by Lyn MacDonald in her wonderful World War I books, that is, the recollections of actual soldies as an integral part of the narrative, Holmes weaves a rich and unique tapestry of every facet of the British soldier's life during the period (c. 1755-1860) with discussions of military actions limited to setting the stage for the "real" central players, the men who took the orders rather than gave them. If this concentration on rank-and-file British combatants of the era is not unique to this book, it is certainly rare in my experience, and I recommend this fine work to anyone interested in the period and its soldiers.

Balanced and Informative.......2003-03-15

I like how this book points out in the beginning how in recent cinema the British redcoat has been derided by politically correct gibberish movies. This book shows how wrong Hollywood has been with its simplistic views on history. This superlative work provides more social history than true battle accounts. In this respect I am reminded of Byron Farwell's books on the British and Indian armies in the 19th century. These works were more social military history as well, just as Richard Holmes book is here. There is nothing wrong with this approach. Unless you prefer just pure military history instead.

Holmes deals with the earlier period of Horse and Musket, 1750s to 1850s roughly, and provides much needed analysis in that era. The reader will find a lot of fascinating information on the organization of the British army by various branches and departments. You can find out the number of regiments in the army, how they were broken down into different types, etc. He does this for infantry, cavalry and artillery. Readers will find this particularly useful because this information is often referred to eslewhere, but not elaborated on in other works. Here you will learn the anatomy of the British army. The book is filled with all sorts of fascinating details. The famed 95th Rifles for instance were formed from drafts from the militia and 12 line regiments.

Holmes uses extensive memoirs and first-hand accounts to illustrate his points. Many of these works have been cited elsewhere, but their inclusion here provides additional clarification. Some of the works are well known and are in print again, but their use here is useful. Some readers may become confused because Holmes tends to jump around from one period to another in order to make his point. Those not well versed in British military history of the period may find it difficult to keep up at times. Notwithstanding this minor point this is still a tremendously informative book. I personally found much that was new to me even though I have studied this topic for many years. It also clarified many other points that I was not sure on from readings elsewhere. This book should be read by all future movie producers so that they can get it right when it comes to portraying the redcoat on film. Doubtless they will chose to ignore it. Those interested in the topic and period can't go wrong with this excellent work. You will want to have this in your library for constant use.

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REDCOAT - THE BRITISH SOLDIER IN THE AGE OF HORSE AND MUSKET.
RICHARD. HOLMES
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8OLAI

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2004-11-18

I loved this book. It is one that I always recommend for those interested in California history, especially if you are familiar with the Oroville, Chico area.

Ishi the Last Yahi - A Documentary History

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Ishi the Last Yahi - A Documentary History
Robert -editor and Theodora Kroeber Heizer
Manufacturer: U of California
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IOX9E2

Book Description

“I had to stand there and watch while the rest of my life was determined by the shaky adhesion of a few millimetres of fractured ice and the dubious friction of a tiny point of metal in a hairline crack in a rock wall…”

Marking the climax of his climbing career, Joe Simpson confronts his fears and mountaineering history in an assault on the North Face of the Eiger. Since his epic battle for survival in the Andes, recounted in Touching the Void, Joe Simpson has experienced a life filled with adventure but marred by death. He has endured the painful attrition of climbing friends in accidents which call into question the perilously exhilarating activity to which he has devoted his whole life. Probability is inexorably closing in. The tragic loss of a close friend forces a momentous decision. It is time to turn his back on the mountains that he has loved. Never more alive than when most at risk, he has come to see a last climb on the mile-high North Face of the Eiger as the cathartic finale to his climbing career.

In a narrative that takes the reader through extreme experiences from an avalanche in Bolivia, ice-climbing in the Alps and Colorado and paragliding in Spain - before his final confrontation with the Eiger - Simpson reveals the inner truth of climbing, exploring the power of the mind and the frailties of the body through intensely lived accounts of exhilaration and despair. The subject of his new book is the siren song of fear and his struggle to come to terms with it.

Customer Reviews:

Great combination of climbing history and history in the making.......2007-05-12

I decided to read this book after reading Simpson's first book Touching the Void, which is one of the most interesting and inspiring books I have ever read. The Beckoning Silence shows a different side of Joe, and one that is most entertaining. He is someone with the confidence to make fun of himself as well as expose his fears but with an unwavering inner strength and wisdom. Originally I thought the book would be entirely about climbing the Eiger, but he actually takes you on a journey climbing several mountains while paralleling his experiences with his climbing heroes of the past and interweaving the impact they have had on his life. He also takes you paragliding in Spain; although, reading about his fear of flying while on a jetliner circling the airport with mechanical problems was one of the funniest things I have read in a long time. The last quarter of the book is dedicated to his climb and his fear of climbing the Eiger and all his heroes who paved the way with their lives before him. The reflection on the death of two other British climbers on the last three pages was a bit melodramatic and way to drawn out, but I think you'll really enjoy this book and since I heard he just finished the movie of the same title, you may want to check that out as well. Incidentally, "Touching the Void" was an excellent documentary, one of the best and most interesting I have ever seen and very true to the book.

Examining the Dangers..........2007-04-23

"The Beckoning Silence" is another installment in British climber Joe Simpson's meditation on the dangers, and pleasures, of climbing. Simpson is a gifted writer, a very good climber, and not afraid to write out loud about the inherent risks.

In a rolling travelogue that moves from climbs in South America to Colorado to various venues in Europe, ending in an aborted attempt on the Eiger, Simpson describes his growing sense that the hazards associated with climbing at altitude and over high-risk rock and ice exceed the pleasure associated with success. Simpson's misgivings are reinforced by the steady parade of deaths of fellow climbers.

Paradoxically, while fear of dying undoubtedly contributes to a willingness to back down from obvious danger, it is equally obvious that Simpson couldn't quite bring himself to quit climbing altogether. His musings on the benefits on climbing are illuminating. The sense of perspective and humility gained in the presence of the mountains are not quite replaceable, for Simpson, by the events of a more ordinary and less tested life.

The concluding chapters on the North Face of the Eiger are a fascinating mixture of climbing history, travelogue of the area around the Eiger, and the hair-raising account of his own attempt on the wall. Simpson and climbing partner Ray Delaney attempt the wall but are turned back by a ferocious storm that kills two or three other climbers. His accounts of other, less fortunate climbers who died on the Eiger make his and DeLaney's decision to retreat from the storm one of infinite common sense.

This book is highly recommended to those interested in climbing and its philosophical and physical implications for climbers.

Another fine book by Joe Simpson.......2005-08-15

Joe Simpson is consistent in delivering high quality writing in his books, which are always hard to put down. Simpson questions here his passion and drive for his sport, and how fatigue, close calls, and fears have begun to take their toll. Not just for mountaneers, anyone involved in a sport that threatens to cross the thin line between thrill and death can relate to it. Thanks Joe!

Up the Nordwand!.......2005-06-11

The Eiger Nordwand comes to life as Joe Simpson describes the attempts he and Ray Delaney made on it in 2001. At the time, this route was the big item on the tick list Simpson had worked up as his fortieth birthday loomed and he considered retiring from serious climbing. Simpson's writing and climbing are bold, clean, and done. Touching the Void, is a single story, whereas The Beckoning Silence is a set of stories and ruminations - on climbing, on danger, and on aging. Simpson seems to have been of the "Live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse" school of living. As he hit forty, he discovered his body no longer seemed indestructible and he saw very competent friends get killed. The phrase "wrong place, wrong time" recurs in this book. Time to move to Plan B, cut the hazard, and figure how to live to a sedate old age.

If you have stuck your neck out on rock, snow, or ice, you will resonate with Joe Simpson's descriptions here. It rings true, evokes the spirit and feelings of the crags and mountains. Simpson is a professional climber, but even moderately ambitious weekend climbers will feel a frisson of vicarious fear as Simpson describes his unease as "Tat" Tattersall swings up the crux of Alea Jacta Est on dodgy smears of ice over rock with unreliable protection. At 68 I am looking for interesting though less challenging climbing objectives. Given Simpson's remarkable record of achievement, I expect him to be around for many further climbs, especially if he pulls in his horns a bit, as he says he intends to in this book.

I wish him the best, possibly including a full ascent of the Eiger Nordwand under ideal conditions - and with some long-time climbing partner. Let's hope his writing remains at this standard, too.

A Very Good Read.......2005-03-17

I've enjoyed every one of Simpson's books that I've read. It's hard to say why -- maybe it's because his books seem more personal than others or maybe it's because his books tend to ramble in a personal way that cover a lot of ground -- from personal to philosophical and then to the side of the mountain. At any rate, this book starts with a climb in the Andes and a near call with a collapsing serac and Simpson's increasing sense of his own mortality. For some people, this would be called a mid-life crisis and Simpson explores the impact of this realization on his own endeavors. Unlike other people, though, Simpson decides to climb the classic route up the North Face of the Eiger. As he prepares for the climb, he reflects on some of the historic efforts in the 1930s -- and then as he details his climb, he relates the stops and efforts to the history. In fact, he revels in the history as he ticks off some of the stops on the route. I get the sense that we haven't heard the last of Simpson yet.

This should be the second of Simpson's books to read after Touching The Void.

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THE BECKONING SILENCE
JOE SIPMPSON
Manufacturer: CAPE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000S5R5J6

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A Beckoning Silence
Jim Brewster
Manufacturer: PublishAmerica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Action & Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1424181224
Release Date: 2007-05-07

Book Description

Following BrewsterÂ's earlier novel, The Vicar of Afton, this story picks up with the new curate, Rachel MasonÂ's, determination to leave St. James and go to Nepal to seek peace and a new meaning in her life after the drug death of the man she had sought to help. While on her flight to a Tibetan rescue camp in central Nepal, the plane crashes and she is captured by Chinese Maoists. The acceptance of her captivity in the shadow of the mystical Himalayas and her own gradual healing in aiding the wounded Â“enemyÂ” restores her faith and purpose. The attempts by the U.S. Government to obtain RachelÂ's release are frustrated by internal conflict and secrecy to the point, when leaked to the newspapers, they cause a national outcry. RachelÂ's story is played out against the restive activities of new voices at St. James and the complicated lives of its parishioners.

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Beckoning Silence
Joe Simpson
Manufacturer: Vintage UK
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OHF694

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The Beckoning Silence
Joe Simpson
Manufacturer: Jonathan Cape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OON7Y8

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Beckoning Silence
....................
Manufacturer: Non Basic Stock Line
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 0099458837

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Beckoning Silence Header
Joe Simpson
Manufacturer: Arrow Children's Dump List
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 0224068245

Customer Reviews:

brilliantly written; an exiting and informative read.......1998-10-18

Even if this book is currently somewhat harder to come by, this is definitely the book to read if you want insight in this all-important part of WW II as well as an eminently readable book. Mr. Van der Vat's background as a journalist clearly shows, as well as his and his wife's thorough research on the subject. One of the few of my history books that stands re-reading without losing its grip.

ATLANTIC CAMPAIGN : WORLD WAR II'S GREAT STRUGGLE AT SEA

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ATLANTIC CAMPAIGN : WORLD WAR II'S GREAT STRUGGLE AT SEA
DAN/ VAN DER VAT, CHRISTINE VAN DER VAT
Manufacturer: HARPER COLLINS TRADE DIVISION
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KUI22I

The Atlantic Campaign : World War II's Great Struggle at Sea

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The Atlantic Campaign : World War II's Great Struggle at Sea
Dan Van der Vat
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OF2P2C

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The Atlantic Campaign: World War II's Great Struggle at Sea
Dan Van Der Vat
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K1BBIE

Book Description

This book investigates strategic coordination in elections worldwide. Although the classics of electoral studies have dealt with issues of coordination, this is the first book that employs a unified game-theoretic model to study strategic coordination--including both strategic voting and strategic entry--worldwide and that relies primarily on constituency-level rather than national aggregate data in testing theoretical propositions about the effects of electoral laws.

Customer Reviews:

Common Sense vs. Academic Nonsense.......2007-05-02

It has been an unsettled debate for years among the political scientist whether we should name the discipline as `Political Science' or simply Politics or Government. Having read 150 pages of Gary Cox's Making Votes Count, which is praised on the back cover for being "original", and not encountering with any non-intuitive argument in it, I thought maybe it is time for us to reconsider the connection between politics and science. Of course, everyone has its own understanding and definition of science; yet I guess we can define science in a conventional way as "any endeavor that produces relevant information for us to understand the reality." Now, what original and non-intuitive arguments/findings does Cox produce in Making Votes Count?

Unfortunately, current political science studies, in particular the quantitative branch of it, deals more with "confirming the obvious" than with revealing what is not obvious to naked eye. I have not been able to understand the value of studies that start and end with theories like "states fight more with their neighbors than with their non-neighbors" or "international organizations increases the likelihood of peaceful settlement of disputes". As homo sapiens, do we not have enough common sense or intuition to know these `facts' without the help of the so-called `political scientists'? In the same vein, do we have enough justification to say that the mere `quantification' of a commonsensical truth can be considered a scientific improvement? Coming back to Making Votes Count, does it have any achievement beyond summarizing the basics of electoral politics and quantifying the commonsensical convictions on voting behavior?

The main argument of Cox is that "electoral institutions determine how votes translate into seats," (p. 8) in general and "strategic voting imposes an upper bound on the effective number of competitors," (p. 148) in particular. Appreciating all the flavors that Cox adds to these arguments with his quantitative analyses, I still think that these are `facts' that are quite obvious to any homo sapiens, or at least to all homo politicus. That every voter votes so as to maximize its expected utility is a postulate and needs no further confirmation. And strategic voting is a necessary instrument for any rational human being to make his vote count.

The book does not lack complete originality, though. Cox refines two of Duverger's theories. He first demonstrates the conditionality of the Duverger's Law and argues that Duverger's Law, which states that simple-majority single-ballot system favors the two-party system, "really pertains a quite specific system and is not very robust to small changes in that system," (p. 96). He then claims that Duverger's Hypothesis, which implied that there were typically no reason for voters to vote strategically in dual-ballot systems, is simply wrong: "in top-two majority runoff elections with three or more candidates, voters always face incentives to vote strategically," (p. 137). However, with no intention of denigrating Duverger's achievements, I do not think that we need that much models and numbers to understand the shortcomings of his theories.

Making Votes Count might be a nice introductory book for a class like Electoral Politics 101. Yet I do not think that it is original, innovative, or provocative enough to be an assigned reading in a graduate-level course.

A pleasant challenge.......2000-06-20

I'm a Freshman at a German university. I had to read most chapters of this book for a class project. First of all I have to state that this book has a really sophisticated language and is quite hard to read for Undergraduate students. I think that Mr. Cox did an excellent work with this book. The excellence starts already with the very logical structure of this book: Parts, Chapters, Sub-chapters and one more sub-division of each sub-chapter. In the first three chapters, Mr. Cox gives us a very detailed insight on electoral systems and the different schools of thoughts about the linkage between electoral systems and party systems. I could easily state that someone who is totally "illiterate" about elections would not have any difficulties reading the book, since every single aspect is being represented in the first three chapters. Then Cox moves on the much more exciting discussions: The game-theoretic stage of strategic voting. Once more in this part of the book, his very structured division is remarkable. In each of the chapters, he does not only talk about the electoral backgrounds only, he also emphasizes the importance of microeconomics (an individual's maximization of utility). Since the reader is also someone eager to maximize its own utility, the themes proposed by Cox about strategic voting in the local level make all sense perfectly. Finally Cox has included some chapters about the Macroeconomic level of elections. Themes about the general effects of electoral systems on the whole political system (for example national party system, the composition of the parliament, government policies and coalitions) are discussed in great depth. After having read his detailed chapters about the local "economics" of voting, it was very exciting for me to also learn something about the macro effects of electoral systems. I want to make some remarks about the chapter construction as well. In every single chapter, Cox has written a sort of introduction briefly stating what he is going to examine in that chapter. Then at the end, he summarizes the key themes of that specific chapter. Even at the end of each part of the book, he does not fail to include a Conclusion as well. His empirical studies and examples that he cites to prove his themes are - to my opinion - unique in the literature that I have studied so far. I would encourage everyone interested with that topic of the linkage of electoral systems and party systems to read and study this book. However I want to conclude my review by reemphasizing that this book includes numerous theoretical themes which may be hard to understand for English as a second language Undergraduates or even for native Undergraduate students. But it is an enjoyable challenge!

Customer Reviews:

An excellent account of a personal odyssey.......2001-08-16

Aldo Leopold is widely admired for his contribution to the modern conservation movement and his seminal work, "A Sand County Almanac." In my own profession (wildlife ecology and management), it seems like a Leopold quotation carries the ultimate weight of authority (and they're much more common, since Meine and Knight's collection, "The Essential Aldo Leopold," came out).

For many years I admired the wise, kind-hearted old man who wrote The Almanac. Aldo Leopold became the most exalted member of my personal pantheon of saints. Aldo Leopold became inspiration incarnate, but lost his humanity in the process. He could do no wrong.

Then I read Curt Meine's biography. Leopold's famous essay, "Thinking Like a Mountain," chronicles only one of the many lessons learned in a life filled with equal parts reckless bravado and deep introspection. Leopold launched his career as a fortunate son, cocksure and itching to change the world, only to learn that real change takes patience, commitment, hard work, compassion, and an open mind willing to learn. Sound familiar?

I read Curt Meine's biography before I read Marybeth Lorbiecki's "Fierce Green Fire." To be honest, I enjoyed both, but found Meine's biography to be more fulfilling. If you want to understand where the Land Ethic really came from, pick up "His Life and Work."

One of the best on the life of Aldo Leopold - riveting!.......1998-05-08

If "Sand County Almanac" was your first taste of Leopold, you'll want to read Curt Meine's book. It's one of those books that you can't put down (if you are a true Leopold fan - if you're not - don't bother, you wouldn't appreciate it!

Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work (First Edition with Dustjacket, Like New)

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Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work (First Edition with Dustjacket, Like New)
Curt Meine
Manufacturer: The Univeristy of Wisconsin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TR79B2

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ALDO LEOPOLD. HIS LIFE AND WORK [K3]
C. Meine
Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Pres
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WQ4PWQ

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Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work
Curt Meine
Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSD9W4

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Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work
Curt Meine
Manufacturer: Univ of Wisconsin Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSBL56

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