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Ms Me Teaching Is Touching Tomorrow
Manufacturer: Andrews McMeel Publishing
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0836209451 |
Customer Reviews:
Good insight.......2007-01-21
The author gives a good insight as to why the backcountry of both Pennslyvania and Virginia were inept in trying to quell the Indian raids of the period during the French and Indian war. I had read a lot of books on this era, but this is the first to tackle the reasons why.
The Seven Years' War in PA and VA.......2006-01-25
Matthew Ward has written an excellent account of the Seven Years' War as it played out along the frontier of Pennsylvania and Virginia. He begins with a chapter on the development of the backcountry (roughly the area west of the Susquehanna River in PA and the Upper Shenandoah Valley region of VA) and how events there became a struggle of occupation between the French and English, especially as they played out through the trade relations both countries developed with the Indians. Population soared in this area during the 1700s, and settlers' visions went beyond the Appalachians to the Ohio Valley.
Ward discusses the effects of the fur trade, the frontier attitudes and how they differed from those of urban dwellers, and the question of who would control the Ohio Valley as important concerns in setting the stage for conflict. Of course, he tells of Braddock's expedition and defeat and how that unleashed a great number of raids and depredations against the settlers in the Cumberland and Shenandoah Valleys. The western settlers in PA had much difficulty getting the Quaker rulers in Philadelphia to appreciate the tremendous bellicosity that existed between them and the Indians (under French control), and their need for supplies, weapons, even soldiers to prevent all of central PA from being totally evacuated. Hundred of people were being killed and much property destroyed. Sometimes settler groups took matters into their own hands to defend themselves or protest against what they considered an uncaring government (the Paxton Boys). Ward covers all of this carefully and insightfully.
The Forbes expedition to recapture Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh) is dealt with, especially the controversy over which route to take, the old Braddock Road up from Cumberland, MD, or a new road through central PA (the latter was chosen, over the protests of Virginian George Washington, because it was shorter and forded fewer streams). After the British took firm control of the Forks of the Ohio, Indian relations broke down, fueled by the French. This led to Pontiac's rebellion, a last-ditch effort by the Indians to expel the English; one by one the British forts began to fall until only three remained standing (Niagara, Detroit, and Ft. Pitt). The backcountry was in flames once again. Col. Henry Bouquet led a force across Forbes's old road to Ft. Pitt, and a few miles short of it fought a battle at Bushy Run with a large contingency of Indians; Bouquet's victory stabilized events until a larger force could be raised and sent into the Ohio Valley the next year (1764) to put the conflict to rest once and for all.
The book is scholarly and academic, but it's not dry. I found his focus on Virginia and especially Pennsylvania to be informative and fascinating. The war as it played out in PA is of particular interest to me, so I found Ward's book most welcome and enlightening. There aren't too many surprises in his account, no grand revisionist theories, just straightforward history related wisely and with style. Highly recommended.
Focus on the Frontier.......2005-05-02
Historians of the Seven Years War have often neglected to give much attention to the waging of that war in the backcountry of Pennsylvania and Virginia, preferring instead to concentrate on the conquest of Canada. Most of the set-piece, European style battles of that war happened in Canada or New York, and the conquest of Canada is generally viewed as the most important accomplishment of that war in North America. Yet it was in the backcountry of Pennsylvania where this first truly global war started, and its causes lay in the dispute between the English settlers of Virginia and Pennsylvania with the French over control of the rich country of the Ohio River Valley. And no area of North America suffered more from that war than did the frontier settlements of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Matthew Ward has taken on this oft neglected subject, and has given us an excellent book detailing the war as it was fought in the backcountry.
Ward opens by detailing the disputes between the Pennsylvanian and Virginian colonist with the French power in Canada over who had rightful claim to the Ohio country. He touches on the winter journey of young George Washington on his unsuccessful diplomatic mission to the French at Fort LeBoeuf, and his even more disastrous military expedition and defeat at the Great Meadows the following year. (Washington's ill-fated expedition is often cited as the unofficial beginning of the Seven Years War.) He then moves on to the disaster of Braddock's expedition and massacre, which marked both the official beginning of the war, and the beginnings of several years of savage, bloody raids on the backcountry, raids that nearly depopulated the entire frontier.
The war in the backcountry was not a war of set-piece battles, but one of small, guerilla style raids by bands of Indians, sometimes accompanied by French soldiers. They were repeatedly able to strike settlements quickly, wreck maximum damage, and retire before any resistance could be organized. In some instances, they engaged in psychological warfare, by purposely leaving mutilated bodies of women and children to horrify and terrorize the colonist. (This was a novel development, deviating from traditional Indian warfare, where women and children were valued as captives and generally not killed.) In this manner, the French and Indians, though numerically inferior to the English colonists, were able to devastate the Pennsylvanian and Virginian frontiers.
Ward goes into great detail over the problems these two colonies had in forming any kind of effective military resistance to these raids on the backcountry. Neither colony had any previous military tradition, as both had enjoyed long periods of peaceful relations with their native neighbors. In addition, the population of the frontier was fragmented over issues of race and religion, had developed few community binding institutions, and had no clear elites who could naturally step into roles of military leadership. In Pennsylvania, the problem of organizing an effective defense force also ran up against the pacifistic beliefs of the Quakers who dominated politics in that colony.
Ward does an outstanding job of holding a historical magnifying glass to the situation of the backcountry between Braddock's massacre and the successful Forbes expedition that finally came to terms with the Indians and chased the French from the forks of the Ohio River, effectively ending the war along the frontier. He also deals with the troubled relations between the English and the Indians after the establishment of Fort Pitt at the forks, and ends with Pontiac's Uprising, that Indian war that was the post script of the Seven Years War.
If your primary interest is in the history of the regions covered in the book, then `Breaking the Backcountry' can be appreciated as a stand-alone book. If, however, your principal interest is in the Seven Years War, I would recommend reading it as a supplement, after reading a book that gives the full sweep of that war. `Crucible of War'. By Fred Anderson is an excellent place to begin to discover the big picture of that war.
`Breaking the Backcountry' effectively puts a focus on an often overlooked but crucial aspect of the first great global war. It is well written, carefully researched, and I enthusiastically recommend it.
Theo Logos
An Excellent History.......2004-06-03
Matthew Ward's interesting and informative book is a meticulously researched social and military history of the Seven Years' War. It will be of special interest to those who live in those parts of Pennsylvania and Virginia that in the mid-18th century were part of the "backcountry" where most of the fierce fighting took place. Social, economic, and religious divisions among the inhabitants of the backcountry play a prominent role in this story as does the diplomacy between various Indian tribes and the British and the French. British military ineptness along with the scandalous treatment of the Indians by greedy colonial landowners and unscrupulous British agents are central themes of the book. As students of American history know, this fascinating conflict between the British and French (and their native American allies) generated issues that led directly to the American revolution of 1776. If you want to read one book on the Seven Years' War, this is a good place to start.
Excellent.......2004-04-07
Well-written, well researched book on Seven Years War in a "war and society" type of format. Good military history, without getting bogged down in too much detail.
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- Heavy Reading but Terrific Information
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Jane, the Quene Third Consort of King Henry VIII (Studies in British History)
Pamela M. Gross
Manufacturer: Edwin Mellen Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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Tudor & Stuart
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ASIN: 0773482040 |
Customer Reviews:
Heavy Reading but Terrific Information.......2004-03-25
As far as I am aware, this is the only biography of Jane Seymour in existence, and Ms. Gross has done an excellent job with it. Having traveled to England herself and visited the Savernake, conducting research on the Seymour family that came to power some five centuries ago, she has uncovered a great deal of information on the mysterious woman who managed to supplant the wife Henry VIII moved Heaven and Earth to have and to hold. Though his first two marriages are well documented and both Katharine and Anne are popular figures in history, Jane Seymour has somehow alluded us. In Ms. Gross's novel one can trace her life as never before; the history of her family and her home at Wolfhall, interesting information on her parents and their influence on her life, and her story of coming to Court and serving the Queen(s) before her. By revealing some of the shadowy mysteries of Wolfhall, Pamela Gross has taken us beyond Alison Weir's or Antonia Fraser's thorough research on Jane's reign as Queen to further understand the woman wearing the crown. It's no pleasure read though; the book is made up like a research essay with footnotes and sources. For any fellow researchers, I think you will find "Jane the Quene" to be the ideal biography on Henry's third wife.
Book Description
THE SETTING: It's 1948, the dawn of the computer age. Our drama unfolds at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, an intellectual haven, a place where the most brilliant minds on the planet, sheltered from the outside world's cares and calamities, could study and collaborate and devote their time to the pure and exclusive pursuit of knowledge. For many, it was indeed the "one, true, platonic heaven."
THE DRAMATIS PERSONAE: Enter some of the biggest names in modern science. Albert Einstein -- by common consensus the greatest physicist the 20th century had ever known. Kurt Gödel -- mathematical logician and unacknowledged Grand Exalted Ruler of this platonic estate. J. Robert Oppenheimer -- perennially controversial, the father of America's atomic bomb program, and director of the Institute for many years. John von Neumann -- the Hungarian-American polymath who developed of game theory, the axiomatic foundations of quantum mechanics, and the digital computer. Lewis L. Strauss -- millionaire banker and political hawk, he played a pivotal role in the development of the hydrogen bomb and von Neumann's visionary computing machine.
THE PLOT: Key figures at the Institute begin to question the limits of what science is able to tell us about the world, pondering the universal secrets it might unlock. Can science be the ultimate source of truth? Or are there intrinsic limits, built into the very fabric of the universe, to what we can learn?
In this fascinating new book, John L. Casti, author of The Cambridge Quintet, continues the tradition of combining science fact with just the right dose of fiction, combining scenes of documented fact with creatively imagined fiction -- so that the two are expertly knitted together to tell an intriguing tale of science, history, and ideas. Imaginatively conceived and artfully executed, The One True Platonic Heaven is an accessible and intriguing presentation of some of the deepest scientific and philosophical ideas of the 20th century.
Customer Reviews:
Intellectual heaven on earth.......2004-07-11
What Casti means by the title 'One True Platonic Heaven' is polyvalent - in the first place, it is frequent reference to the IAS, the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, a think-tank founded for the advancement of pure science. So adamant are some that it remain 'pure' rather than 'applied', that when one of their number proposes to bring a computing device in, there is controversy among the members, that this would end up being an 'application', and implicit slippery slopes abound.
Of course, the timing of this novel (and it is a novel) is the early twentieth century - the prologue begins with snapshots of various points prior to World War II, key moments in the development of mathematics and scientific epistemology. The core of the book takes place just after the war, in Princeton, as the earliest computing machines (ENIAC, anyone?) have been developed by the military, and are now being further developed for both civilian and military applications.
The cast of characters Casti draws is impressive - the core group includes Einstein, Godel, von Neumann, Oppenheimer, and Strauss; other 'also starring' roles go to T.S. Eliot (Oppenheimer was a poet on the side, and the idea of the limits of knowledge is a multi-disciplinary task), Goldstein, Weyl, Pauli, Bohm and others. Casti draws these people together in informal and formal settings, preferring the former to the later - walking to campus and having discussions, gatherings at tea-time, etc. Casti injects the human element into the mix (we are told of Godel's eccentricity such that he starved himself to death no fewer than three times, for example) - his descriptions help the narrative flow of the novel, but can be distracting for those who wish to get directly to the heart of the arguments.
The book is rather thin - 160 pages of text, small-format pages at that - and while the subject matter is rather high end intellectual thinking, in fact the substance of the book probably only consists of about a third of those pages; the rest is psychological tid-bits about the characters (enlightening from an historical standpoint, and pointing the way in some respects as to why people thought the ways they did) or narrative linkages, so it can be read fairly quickly (unlike a mathematics textbook, which would more likely take a longer time). There are no equations here - Casti is assuming some knowledge of mathematics in general theory; Casti also assumes a grounding in physics and in philosophy. Without some background in at least one of these disciplines, the reader is likely to be lost at several points.
It is fascinating to realise that the limitations on knowledge discussed in this hypothetical construct by such exalted twentieth-century thinkers contain elements still on the table for discussion today. This is where another meaning of the 'one true Platonic heaven' comes into play - it is a theoretical construct, akin to the Forms, without direct substance, yet reflected in important ways in 'the real world'.
A bit more philosophy might not go astray here - elements such as Husserl, Whitehead, Ayer and others who have examined the crisis of science and scientific knowledge might have been drawn into the conversation (it would have required a bit more fictional stretching, but cold have proved worthwhile). However, it is remains a fascinating and fairly accessible means for exploring some of the key underlying ideas in modern scientific, mathematical, and epistemological thinking.
Casti does it again!.......2004-06-24
John Casti has emerged as the most articulate, humorous and sophisticated science writer in the world in recent years. Writing on topics as diverse as Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics and Complexity, Biology and Genetics and the Philosophy of Science, he now has taken the boldest step as of yet, an effort to debate the limits of knowledge itself. As in his earlier book, The Cambridge Quintet, Casti weaves together a fictional set of discussions between famous scientists set in the 1940s at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, the "one, true, platonic heaven", a place where the most austere and profound theorists in the world could come and think. Participants include such luminaries as J. Robert Oppenheimer (who was director of the institute then), Kurt Godel, Freeman Dyson, John von Neumann and the great Einstein himself. The discussions take place at diverse locations and times; in the common room during tea time, between Einstein and Godel during walks from the institute to the house, and at a party hosted by the great mathematician John von Neumann. The topic? What are the limits of our knowledge, in Physics, in Mathematics, in Social Sciences, in Philosophy. At the background are minor discussions of matters involving whether Kurt Godel should be made a permanent member, and whether von Neumann should build the first ever computer in the Institute. There's also a cameo appearance by T. S. Eliot, who was an invited member for a year. I have to admit that this book is not as profound as The Cambridge Quintet. However, Casti has an uncanny knack for constructing life size figures of famous scientists, and making the discussions relevant, articulate and accessible. There are of course, a few cliche lines coming from each of the scientists, but then since the discussions are fictional, who knows what all of them would have actually said. In the end, there is no concrete conclusion, as there cannot be any about such a profound topic. But I closed the book feeling sure only about one thing, that we must continue the quest for the limits of knowledge, even if we don't know what they are at this moment. This is surely an example where, for once, the journey is infinitely more interesting and important than the destination.
Unique and enjoyable work.......2003-08-29
Casti's unique blending of science and fiction is a delight to read. The story takes place against the backdrop of the early years of the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study--a true citadel of genius if there ever was one. Characters like Einstein, Kurt Godel, J. Robert Oppenheimer (who was its director), Hermann Weyl, Wolfgang Pauli, and John Wheeler (not all of whom were at the institute) come to life as they discuss and debate the great scientific issues of the day. Much of the story transpires over conversations in the halls of the institute, or at the gregarious and likeable von Neumann's cocktail parties.
Some of the best conversations are between Godel and Einstein as they stroll along the streets of Princeton. The gnomish and reclusive Godel was one of the few people who could surprise Einstein, and one time Godel (who was most famous as a logician) said he'd just happened to be playing around with Einstein's relativistic field equations and had found a solution that had escaped Einstein that suggested that time didn't exist, or at least there was no meaning to our ideas of temporal succession. In this solution, closed, relativistic, timelike lines existed in space, and one could go forward in time as well as backward. Einstein is stunned and impressed by this little bombshell that Godel had dropped on him--yet another example of Godel's amazing genius, and why he was known as the "Grand Exalted Ruler" of the "One True, Platonic Heaven"--the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study. And that's not to mention the fact that Godel's famous incompleteness proof threw into doubt the great Hilbert's entire program of completeness in mathematics which had been widely supported. This is just one of the many fascinating discussions which Casti skillfully uses to explore and explain very clearly and concisely not only some esoteric science but also such questions as the ethics of science, aesthetics in science, Einstein's controversial and infamous stand on quantum indeterminacy, and the scientist's place in society.
Casti also manages to inject some drama into the story with the controversy surrounding von Neumann's proposal for building the first big electronic computer at the Institute--a proposal which many of the Institute's professors opposed because it was against the Institute's stated mission of doing only pure and not applied research. Through some clever politicking and persuasion, Oppenheimer manages to get the project approved, although it was the only such engineering project ever undertaken at the Institute, and nothing else like it was ever done again. Another side story involves Godel's elevation to full professor which had been delayed because of some of his personal quirks and otherworldly nature--the job of full professor also involving not just thinking about your subject all day long but also requiring spending considerable time in various administrative duties which the other professors thought Godel unsuited for. But Oppenheimer points out that how can any of them be full professors if Godel, possibly the greatest of them all, is not? Again, through his usual skillful persuasion, Oppenheimer manages to get it approved. All in all this is a fine little book (it's only 150 pages long) blending both science and fiction in a very readable and entertaining way.
Book Description
When this Pulitzer Prize-winning biography first appeared in 1976, it rescued T. E. Lawrence from the mythologizing that had seemed to be his fate. In it, John Mack humanely and objectively explores the relationship between Lawrence's inner life and his historically significant actions. Extensive interviews, far-flung correspondence, access to War Office dispatches and unpublished letters provide the basis for Mack's sensitive investigation of the psychiatric dimensions of Lawrence's personality. In addition, Mack examines the pertinent history, politics, and sociology of the time in order to weigh the real forces with which Lawrence contended and which impinged upon him.
Customer Reviews:
An unavoidable piece of work on Lawrence's life.......2006-12-23
While searching for literature on the man in the movie `Lawrence of Arabia', otherwise unknown to me other than knowing him as the brother of D.H. Lawrence, I stumbled across this most authoritative biography on the man who David Lean so magnificently portrayed in his film. He is one of the men who could be placed in par with other great leaders of Britain during the early part of the 20th century.
While Lawrence's autobiography, `Seven Pillars of Wisdom' gives gory picture of his life in the desert and his adventurous war campaigns, Mack's book gives more insight into the man's psyche just as Judith Brown did on Gandhi in her book `Gandhi - A Prisoner of hope'. His many questionable traits (exhibitionism, homosexual tendancies, overemphasis of his achievements) are wonderfully analyzed with information gleaned from tons of historical materials. While the west looked at him as a great war commander (though some question his contributions during the great desert wars), the east, even the people who worked with him, do not consider him as a man who helped Arabs gain their freedom from Turks other than agreeing to the fact that he helped king Faisel in wars.
Lawrence's genius is considered twined with his behavioral disorder, a not so common association among people who have schizophrenic symptoms except may be for rare cases of autistic geniuses like Peter Guthrie (not the Scottish mathematician but a not so well-known artist). There have been debates during his later years as whether Lawrence was in fact an autistic. At any rate, as reflected in one of his most famous quotes, he was a `dangerous' daydreamer who dreamt with open eyes and made things happen unlike night dreamers who dream in their dusty recesses of their minds only to wake up in the morning to see they are vain.
T.E. Lawrence's life and his untimely death (by motorbike accident) left us with lot of questions as who was he and what was he doing in the middle east and what made him to completely depart from the politics of middle east and lead a secluded life of 23 years in the Royal Air Force (not forgetting his contributions to the invention of new types of speed boats). His appearances in Arab's traditional attire in Versailles during 1919 Paris Peace Conference with the King Faisel and with other western dignitaries draw a stark similarity with Gandhi's appearance in loin cloth and shawl during the Round Table Conference at London. Though Faisal trusted him as his benevolent, he did not entrust Lawrence completely as he always thought him as a British spy.
I would suggest anyone who is inquisitive of T.E. Lawrence, also see David Lean's much acclaimed epic motion picture `Lawrence of Arabia'. If the movie `Lawrence of Arabia' captivated me, Mack's biography enthralled me with its abundance of well researched information. As with any other great men, Lawrence's life also is worth researching into. And these biographers are the ones who make legends live and help sustain the new generations' interest on these great people. A great biographical work!
Mere coincidence or not, John E. Mack died of a car accident in New York in 2004.
Wonderfully thorough Research.......2005-01-05
I have now read several books both on T.E. Lawrence, the Middle East, World War I and English governmental history. This is by far the best biography on T.E. Lawrence and the situation in the Middle East that I have read. John Mack did an outstanding job of researching Lawrence for this book. One of the most interesting sections of the book was reading the endnotes. They provide even more information about Mack's research as well as to clarify some previous misstatements about Lawrence.
Although Lawrence suffered greatly from depression and other disorders he was a truly great man. That he was able to be an outstanding friend to so many people while enduring personal suffering is amazing. John Mack portrays Lawrence in an honest light which actually makes Lawrence and his achievements all the more spectacular because of his personal struggles.
John Mack's biography shows us that great people are not perfect nor does their greatness make them happy. He also shows that people who, if truth were know, live outside of societies norms can do world changing things and be loved by society. Lawrence seemed to have been very accepting of all people, other than himself.
To call Lawrence's life tragic in some way diminishes his accomplishments. Was Lawrence a great man because of his problems or in spite of his problems? I think that Lawrence was capable of being a legend because of his problems. The psychological struggles he endured were who he was. Society is so quick to discount a person because of psychological problems, whether they are great people or not. If society were honest with itself, it would realize that everyone has some problem or other. Some, as Lawrence was, are open (relatively) and honest about their problems while most choose to act as if they don't exist.
Winston Churchill, a contemporary of Lawrence's, also suffered greatly from depression and probably some other things as well. Churchill was also hero and a legend and was largely responsible for keeping the world free from Nazi Germany when few noticed the threat or appropriately dealt with it.
It appears to me, that the greater the leader and the more astounding his or her abilities, the more "different" they are from what society believes is normal. A good thought to ponder.
John Mack does an excellent job of providing a well-documented biography of T.E. Lawrence as well as an outline of his psychological makeup. Mack does not claim to understand Lawrence or to explain every behavior. I had expected to read more of a detailed psychological report and was, at first, a bit disappointed. However, the longer I read the more apparent it was that Mack was portraying Lawrence's personality through an accurate telling of his story rather than trying to lecture on "who Lawrence really was" and "why he did everything he did". John Mack also did not fall into the overly Freudian theory that Lawrence did everything because of sex. Sex obviously played a role in his psychology but did not appear to be the overriding theme.
Almost as eloquent as Lawrence himself.......2004-08-19
Dr. John Mack's study of Lawrence is one of the most absorbing reads I've ever enjoyed in my lifetime. As Irving Howe wrote, "What finally draws one to Lawrence, making him not merely an exceptional figure, but a representative man of our century, is his courage and vulnerability in bearing the burden of consciousness." The impact that the trial by fire in Arabia appears to have had on his post-war life is shocking, and teaches us once again not to envy our great heroes. Lawrence wrote of General Allenby that great men cannot be judged by ordinary standards, anymore than the sharpness of the bow of an ocean liner can be judged by the sharpness of a razor. After reading "A Prince of Our Disorder," I recognize now that Lawrence was probably thinking of himself while writing those kind words about his former master, asking that he not be be judged by his hidden afflictions, torments, and self-doubts, all the while laying out those same imperfections for all the world to read. Lawrence warned us,"The documents are liars ... No man ever yet tried to write down the entire truth of any action in which he has been engaged." No man is truly capable of understanding his own subconscious motivations, but I doubt that anyone has ever struggled harder than Lawrence to achieve self-understanding. We will have to try to read between the lines, learn what we can, and apply that knowledge to enrich our own poor lives.
So sad for all of us that our leaders are not of the same introspective type. Dr. Mack comments in his introduction that "The destructive leader, and the eagerness of a large segment of the population to identify with him, comprise one of the central threats -- if not the greatest threat -- that faces human society. There is perhaps an increasing unwillingness to entrust our well-being and our lives to individuals and characters we do not understand and whose ultimate purposes we are ignorant of." Let's hope so.
Jeremy Wilson's massive biography "Lawrence of Arabia" may better satisfy military readers interested in extensive contemporary document citations, and includes much more detail on Lawrence's Cairo years. Wilson also has a better set of photographs. The 1922 Oxford full text of "Seven Pillars of Wisdom," edited by Jeremy and Nicole Wilson and available from Castle Hill Press in the UK, is most highly recommended to all who find "T.E.L." fascinating.
We Will Never See Its Like Again.......2004-01-10
For years, I have studied the life and works of T. E. Lawrence. My research has lead me across the pages of hundreds of books including his own Seven Pillars of Wisdom, but the best biography and analysis of Lawrence I have yet encountered is A Prince of Our Disorder.
Dr. Mack's thorough examination and explanation of the effect of Lawrence's childhood on his adult life and mentality is brilliant. Instead of merely stating his opinions, he touches on those of other biographers as well and then proceeds to state how and why he feels they are accurate or inaccurate, providing quotes from military reports, other Lawrence books, interviews with Lawrence's relatives and friends, and Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
If you read A Prince of Our Disorder, I can almost 100% gaurantee that you will have a better understanding of Lawrence's personal role in the Hejaz Campaign and the lasting effects of his experiences in Arabia on him physically and psychologically. Thankfully, it is beautifully written, and not at all confusing.
From the moment Mack "introduces" you to Lawrence you will have a desire to learn more about him, and as Mack walks you through his troubled life, you will feel pity and awe for this untouchable man.
I think that A Prince of Our Disorder clarifies the line between the legend of the indestructable, hero-Lawrence and the lost, soul-searching man Lawrence really was.
Fresh, engaging view.......2003-10-01
I've been studying the life of Lawrence nearly all of my own 50 years, since I was thirteen. I've read and reread all I could find about him, especially his own Seven Pillars of Wisdom. How refreshing it was to read Professor Mack's excellent book which covers so much more than I'd ever found before and with surprisingly brilliant insight. A fresh look at this enigmatic figure with modern eyes and a richer understanding. A great read.
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- Pop history damnation of the SS
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The SS: A Warning from History
Guido Knopp
Manufacturer: Sutton Publishing
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Hitler's Warriors
ASIN: 0750933925 |
Book Description
The best known but least understood organ of the Nazi state, the SS grew from a minor politician's small, unpaid bodyguard into a force which dominated the racial, cultural and professional spheres of the most powerful empire Europe has ever seen. Often referred to as 'the state within a state', the SS was Heinrich Himmler's personal fiefdom and its influence pervaded all walks of German life, both private and public. Its tentacles extended into the army and police, the business world and of course the death camps. The author reveals Himmler to be a man despised but indulged by Hitler who was obsessed with crackpot theories of Germanic mythology and deeply involved in the Final Solution. He assesses the career of Reinhard Heydrich, who put the organizational muscle and ruthlessness into the SS. The Totenkopf Brigade, set up specifically to run the concentration camps and death camps, is examined, as is the Waffen-SS, the military formation which killed thousands of Jews and partisans across Eastern Europe and fought bitterly against the Allies in Normandy. The postwar story of the SS is also outlined, from clandestine organizations of former SS men to the activities of ex-Nazis and neo-Nazis today. Supported by photographs and the words of former SS men, their close friends and colleagues, Guido Knopp brings back to life a generation whose fanaticism and violence shaped the identity of the Third Reich.
Customer Reviews:
Pop history damnation of the SS.......2007-03-19
This is a very general review of the SS that discredits and demeans it at every opportunity.
This generally works except when overbroad generalizations are made about the militarized portion of the SS, the Waffen-SS, which was minuscule until about 1942 but, man for man, is generally considered to have out-performed the regular German army in World War II, the Wehrmacht. The author (or authors, see discussion below) contend that the Waffen-SS was generally no better than the Wehrmacht but provide no evidence to support their contentions, other than broad generalizations, e.g., about numbers of injuries that establish nothing, and a comment that other portions of the German Army advanced slightly farther and faster than the Waffen-SS during the Ardennes offensive. But as one Waffen-SS commander noted even before that offensive: "The twists and turns on the path/roads we are expected to manouever our tanks and armor are so tortuous we would probably travel faster on bicycles." The author(s) go on to repeatedly decry the West's glorification of the Waffen-SS as a premier fighting force because to him (them) the mere fact that these soldiers fought under the tangential auspices of the SS means that no matter what they did or how they performed it does not deserve any praise of any kind for any reason whatsoever.
The book is broken down into six chapters. Each chapter lists two authors, the designated author of the book itself, German popular journalist Guido Knopp, and another person. No information is given on why the other person is listed as a co-author or what was their contribution.
Each chapter is also interspersed with quotations from people who were involved in the matters being discussed. Sometimes this is helpful but, for the most part, the quotations interrupt the flow of the text (and often contradict it). In addition, too many of the same people are quoted too many times, with less effect each time. For example, one Communist opponent of the early Nazis is repeatedly quoted that the Nazis were not good people and killed opponents, such as Communists. Do we need a Communist (who also killed their opponents, such as Nazis) to tell us this? Indeed, the authors quote one Communist as bragging that before the Nazis came to power when the Nazis came marching down his block he and his Communist cohorts, when they could, made sure they trapped the Nazis and they did not leave, i.e., they killed the Nazis.
An exception are quotations from the memoirs of the widow of Reinhard Heydrich (at one point the apparent no. 2 man in the SS), which are by turns perverse, bizzare, or intriguing, depending on your point of view.
The six chapters are on (1) the beginnings of the SS, (2) background on the SS's primary leader, Heinrich Himmler, (3) background on Reinhard Heydrich, Himmler's second in command until Heydrich's assassination in May 1942, (4) a review of the concentration camp system and mass deaths that resulted, (5) the (non)exploits of the Waffen-SS, and (6) a review of post-World War II activities of the SS, mainly escapes and escape routes from Germany by former SS members and/or avoidance of "victor's justice" at the hands of the Allies, former occupied countries and territories, and Israel.
The chapters suffer from overblown generalizations and sheer exaggeration to make a point as well as what appear to be misstatements.
For example, the author(s) claim membership in the SA, the forerunner or precursor of the SS, at its height was over 4 million, yet every account I have read before this numbers the SA at its height at no more than 3 million (and it is often credited at no more than 2 1/2 million). (The author(s) provide no bibliography or footnotes to support any of their claims, althoug occasionally sources are referred to in the text.)
Also, the author(s) claim Himmler did not have an especially strict father, yet a recent review by noted historian Richard Rhodes, in his work "Masters of Death," claims just the opposite, that Himmler's father was extremly strict. (Mr. Rhode's work, by the way, contains a precis' of Himmler's background and Weltanschauung that is superior in every way to the one found in this work by Mr. Knopp.)
After the war there was speculation that Mueller had been "turned" by the Soviets or had become a stooge of the U.S. The problem is that Heinrich Mueller is/was a common name in Germany. E.g., there were two different SS-Generals named Heinrich Mueller. After the war the U.S. made an intensive search for Gestapo Mueller and questioned many individuals named Heinrich Mueller, including at least one who was retained at a U.S. internment camp. But as far as anyone knows the U.S. never found Gestapo Mueller: Under the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure act, the U.S. issued a report in about 2001 concluding, after an extensive review of its records (including those of the CIA and CIC (Counter-Intelligence Corps of the U.S. Army), that what happened to Gestapo Mueller after the war is still unknown with any uncertainty but the U.S. never found him, much less interrogated him or, even worse, interrogated him and released him (he was on a list of top Nazi war criminals), and that he probably died in Berlin in early May 1945.
The book does include 30 pictures. With rare exceptions they are all of good quality, although many appear to have been published elsewhere.
The book appears to have been written for popular consumption. It is written at about a high school level of reading. Serious students of the Second World War, the Third Reich, or the SS are unlikely to obtain anything of value from this book. Anything they do find cannot be substantiated for the reasons discussed above.
Book Description
After reading this text, the reader will have a fuller understanding of the nature of domestic terrorism and a clearer understanding of the basics. These basics include a review of the complex history that spans thousands of years, an explanation of definitions, a review of contemporary domestic terrorism, and the examination of intelligence gathering, threat analysis, and emergency responses to terrorism-incident management. It is hoped that such knowledge as presented here will enhance the public's understanding of domestic terrorism and law enforcement's ability to prevent and respond to its acts. It focuses almost exclusively on right-wing domestic terrorism because of its strong presence in the last twenty years and the projection of experts that right-wing terrorism will prevail well into the twenty-first century. The book is divided into three parts. The first part deals with definitional problems associated with policymaker's and law enforcement's handling of terrorism, an historical overview of terrorism and terrorist incidents in the global community, and an historical examination of terrorism from below in the United States. Part Two addresses the American Hate Movement and patriot-militia activities. It also discusses the emergence of special- interest extremist and terrorism groups that advocate violence based on an ideology or belief, which may include the desire for political and social change. They include ecological resistance groups, antienvironmental movements, animal rights and antiabortion activists. Part Three focuses on effective criminal intelligence-gathering techniques and the implementation of terrorism-incident management strategies.
Customer Reviews:
Great Textbook.......2007-06-27
This was a great textbook that chronicled the terrorist movement in the United States. It addresses both Right-Wing extremists and Left-Wing extremists. The information is well researched, and well documented. I found this book to be one of the most informative book regarding Domestic Terrorism.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from World Watch, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2005. The length of the article is 727 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: Between alienation and claustrophobia?(Book Review)
Author: Lindsay Hower Jordan
Publication:
World Watch (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 18
Issue: 5
Page: 31(1)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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