Amazon.com
On September 8, 1900, a massive hurricane slammed into Galveston, Texas. A tidal surge of some four feet in as many seconds inundated the city, while the wind destroyed thousands of buildings. By the time the water and winds subsided, entire streets had disappeared and as many as 10,000 were dead--making this the worst natural disaster in America's history.
In Isaac's Storm, Erik Larson blends science and history to tell the story of Galveston, its people, and the hurricane that devastated them. Drawing on hundreds of personal reminiscences of the storm, Larson follows individuals through the fateful day and the storm's aftermath. There's Louisa Rollfing, who begged her husband, August, not to go into town the morning of the storm; the Ursuline Sisters at St. Mary's orphanage who tied their charges to lengths of clothesline to keep them together; Judson Palmer, who huddled in his bathroom with his family and neighbors, hoping to ride out the storm. At the center of it all is Isaac Cline, employee of the nascent Weather Bureau, and his younger brother--and rival weatherman--Joseph. Larson does an excellent job of piecing together Isaac's life and reveals that Isaac was not the quick-thinking hero he claimed to be after the storm ended. The storm itself, however, is the book's true protagonist--and Larson describes its nuances in horrific detail.
At times the prose is a bit too purple, but Larson is engaging and keeps the book's tempo rising in pace with the wind and waves. Overall, Isaac's Storm recaptures at a time when, standing in the first year of the century, Americans felt like they ruled the world--and that even the weather was no real threat to their supremacy. Nature proved them wrong. --Sunny Delaney
Amazon.com Audiobook Review
Reading in his signature dispassionate style, narrator Edward Herrmann brings an eerie calm to this powerful chronicle of the deadliest storm ever to hit the United States--a huge and terribly destructive hurricane that struck land near Galveston, Texas in September of 1900. Author Erik Larson re-creates the events leading up to the disaster in astonishing detail, tracing the thoughts and actions of Isaac Cline, a scientist with America's burgeoning U.S. Weather Bureau. Cline's unwavering confidence--"In an age of scientific certainty one could not allow one's judgment to be clouded..."--blinds the meteorologist to the deadly onslaught about to be unleashed. Herrmann's calculated performance reflects the impending doom and dangers inherent to an unquestioned and absolute faith in science. (Running time: 5 hours, 3 cassettes) --George Laney
Book Description
September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange deep-sea swells and peculiar winds that greeted the city that morning. Mere hours later, Galveston found itself submerged in a monster hurricane that completely destroyed the town and killed over six thousand people in what remains the greatest natural disaster in American history--and Isaac Cline found himself the victim of a devestating personal tragedy.
Using Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude. Riveting, powerful, and unbearably suspenseful,
Isaac's Storm is the story of what can happen when human arrogance meets the great uncontrollable force of nature.
Customer Reviews:
NO PICTURES.......2007-09-30
My first thoughts after finishing Isaac's storm was, that for such a big and devastating storm, it didn't seem do it justice. I wanted understanding (why didn't people leave?). I wanted some PICTURES!!.
As luck had it, someone who checked out the book before me had tucked a newspaper clipping pic in the inside flap, of the Bishops Palace and surrounding survivors w/ tons of lumber stacked up against them. THANK YOU whoever you are. I returned the picture to the flap.
Whatever happened to Dr. Samuel O.Young the amateur meteorologist? Sam kept a diary. And it seems was the only proactive person in town, in that he telegraphed his wife and children warning them not to come to Galveston because in his opinion, a big storm was coming.
One reviewer here claims Cline is a hero in Galveston but "Cline gave his official meteorological opinion that the thought of a hurricane ever doing any serious harm to Galveston was "An absurd delusion". Many residents had called for a seawall to protect the city, but Cline's statement helped to prevent its construction."
"Local legend has it that Cline took it upon himself to travel along the beach and other low-lying areas warning people personally of the storm's approach. This is based on Cline's own reports and has been called into question in recent years.
Cline did issue a hurricane warning without permission from the Bureau's central office in Washington, D.C. but by that point the city was already under water. I don't recall reading that Cline actually told anyone to get off the island..
I enjoyed the book but minus one star for lack of pictures.
I hear that John Edward Weems' book 'A Weekend in September' is also recommended reading on the 1900 storm.
Erik Larson is Quickly Becoming a Favorite.......2007-09-10
"Isaac's Storm" is a fictionalized telling of a real-time tragedy. It tells the story of the hurricane that devastated Galveston and provides impressive details on the history and science of meteorology. For the story-telling aspect of the novel, Mr. Larson uses Isaac Cline, Galveston's weather observer at the time.
Erik Larson's committment to research and detail is impeccable. I wish he had been my history teacher in high school!
Book is a Category 4.......2007-09-10
I enjoyed the book. It reminded me of a hurricane, starting slow but building as it went along.
BEATS READING THE BOOK.......2007-09-05
THIS DEFINATELY BEATS READING THE BOOK, BUT TAKE NOTE THAT THIS IS THE ABRIDGED VERSION!!!
Issacc's Storm.......2007-07-23
Again, another book by a great author, Erik Larson. I couldn't put it down, but then again I live in Florida and Hurricanes are of special interest to me. I'm not sure if you didn't live in a hurricane area, example Alaska, that this book would strike you the way it did me.
Average customer rating:
- The wrong message
- Read this book
- Life As We Knew It
- Well....
- Great look at that thoughts of a young person in criss
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Life As We Knew It
Susan Beth Pfeffer
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Amazon.com
It's almost the end of Miranda's sophomore year in high school, and her journal reflects the busy life of a typical teenager: conversations with friends, fights with mom, and fervent hopes for a driver's license. When Miranda first begins hearing the reports of a meteor on a collision course with the moon, it hardly seems worth a mention in her diary. But after the meteor hits, pushing the moon off its axis and causing worldwide earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, all the things Miranda used to take for granted begin to disappear. Food and gas shortages, along with extreme weather changes, come to her small Pennsylvania town; and Miranda's voice is by turns petulant, angry, and finally resigned, as her family is forced to make tough choices while they consider their increasingly limited options. Yet even as suspicious neighbors stockpile food in anticipation of a looming winter without heat or electricity, Miranda knows that that her future is still hers to decide even if life as she knew it is over.
Veteran author Susan Beth Pfeffer, who penned the young adult classic The Year Without Michael over twenty years ago, makes a stunning comeback with this haunting book that documents one adolescent's journey from self-absorbed child to selfless young woman. Teen readers won't soon forget this intimate story of survival and its subtle message about the treasuring the things that matter most—-family, friendship, and hope.--Jennifer Hubert
Book Description
Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.
Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world.
Customer Reviews:
The wrong message.......2007-09-27
What should you do if a sudden natural disaster - an asteroid hitting the moon - causes tsunamis to drown both coasts, destroying our electrical and communications grid, and provoking new volcanic eruptions that obscure the sun? Should you band together with others to distribute available food and fuel to the needy and find alternative ways to grow food? Not in this book, at least. Here the heroine mom thinks to clean out the food stores before anyone else realizes the extent of the disaster. She retreats to her home with her wood stove and denies food from her well-stocked pantry to anyone other than her immediate family. While she thinks the country's president, who has been evacuated from the flooded Washington D.C. to his "Texas ranch" (wink, wink), is an "evil jerk," she hunkers down in her home waiting to be bailed out by the government that he heads; failing that, she will starve, or die of disease. If this happens to you, make sure to be entirely selfish while you're waiting for government handouts (while simultaneously despising the hand that feeds you). What sort of message is this for teens, or anyone else?
Read this book.......2007-08-25
I am an adult who sometimes reads good young adult fiction. But only when it is outstanding do I reread the same book. I have read this book twice even though I only have had it since June.
Parts of this reminded me of Anne Frank's diary. The last section reminded me of what Anne would have written had she been able to keep writing in her diary until later on. But the ending of "Life as We Knew It" is a more hopeful one.
It is the story of an ordinary family and how they showed extraordinary courage.
It is a story about growing from self centeredness to maturity, from girl to young woman, and a story of becoming strong and how being compassionate is a way of being strong: perhaps the best way.
The story had a reality to it: I could almost believe that it was truly happening.
Then I thought about how there may be families in various parts of the world who are struggling for survival: due to war, or drought, or disasters, and realized: that it IS happening. And that we need to show kindness and reach out to each other.
And like other readers, yes I went to the supermarket and stocked up on canned food. (:
I look forward to the sequel, "The Dead & the Gone", and hope that it continues the story beyond the time frame of "Life as We Knew It" because there are some questions:
Was the flow of food temporary, and are people still going to starve?
Will normal life really return in May, as the President promised?
If the volcanoes were continuing, how can there be any hope for life on earth: won't people still not be able to grow food, or are they using the Texas oil reserves to grow food in greenhouses? Are there areas, such as near the equator,but inland, where the normal climate is hot enough that agriculture can continue? I hope though that this sequel will have different things to say than "Life as we Knew It", or else there will be no point in HAVING a sequel: there are so many series, such as "The Shadow Children" series by Haddix, where the first book was great, yet then she stretched it out to more and more books that did not have the same power or freshness.
In "Life as We Knew It", the author has built a world that I CARED about and wanted to hear more about.
If you are interested in what if books about the future, or even just in books about courage and survival, read this.
Life As We Knew It.......2007-08-15
I am so glad that I read this book. It was a real eye opener, about what life could really be like. It makes me realize how many things I have... the option to go to school, to walk down to the store and buy a Snickers bar, and even being able to leave my house and get some fresh air. Not to mention the internet and TV and the radio... all good things that I can't really imagine living without. But this book lets me see what a sad life it would be without these simple luxuries.
I cried almost nonstop towards the end- although some of it might have been PMS. Still, this book was fantastic. I probably wouldn't read it again, but it was definitely something I'd recommend to others.
Well...........2007-08-14
What do you say about reading possibly one of the most depressing books of all time? I was very intrigued to read this, but at so many points it was very hard to turn the pages. Of course, I was amazed at what Miranda and her family proved themselves to be capable of, following what could have possibly been "the end" -- of everything. There is a point in the story where Miranda (bear in mind she is like 16) is completely on her own, forced to do everything in her power -- including forgoing sleep and food -- to keep her family alive through the night (and for several days afterward). As you read, you begin to rejoice in the small miracles that occur, such as their very heartwarming Christmas celebration, a long awaited phone call or letter, the treat of eating a "real" dinner, or the return of their beloved cat, Horton. I think that it is very true that people surprise themselves with how they find ways to adapt and triumph over adversity -- and in this case, worldwide catastrophe.
Great look at that thoughts of a young person in criss.......2007-08-08
Life As We Knew It I believe was intended to be a book for young readers. However, the point of view of a girl keeping a diary to record her thoughts, hopes and fears has great meaning for all of us. This book I think should be required reading for students and adults alike. The way the author keeps you hooked by keeping the reader guessing on what will happen next is very rewarding. Instead of keeping the reader updated with what is going on in the rest of the world like in most disaster (end of the world) books the author keeps you focused emotional on one family and their stuggle to stay alive.
The ending is open but gives us hope that everything might just turn out ok.
Amazon.com
The history of civil engineering may sound boring, but in David McCullough's hands it is, well, riveting. His award-winning histories of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Panama Canal were preceded by this account of the disastrous dam failure that drowned Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1889. Written while the last survivors of the flood were still alive, McCullough's narrative weaves the stories of the town, the wealthy men who owned the dam, and the forces of nature into a seamless whole. His account is unforgettable: "The wave kept on coming straight toward him, heading for the very heart of the city. Stores, houses, trees, everything was going down in front of it, and the closer it came, the bigger it seemed to grow.... The height of the wall of water was at least thirty-six feet at the center.... The drowning and devastation of the city took just about ten minutes." A powerful, definitive book, and a tribute to the thousands who died in America's worst inland flood. --Mary Ellen Curtin
Book Description
At the end of the last century, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was a booming coal-and-steel town filled with hardworking families striving for a piece of the nation's burgeoning industrial prosperity. In the mountains above Johnstown, an old earth dam had been hastily rebuilt to create a lake for an exclusive summer resort patronized by the tycoons of that same industrial prosperity, among them Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Mellon. Despite repeated warnings of possible danger, nothing was done about the dam. Then came May 31, 1889, when the dam burst, sending a wall of water thundering down the mountain, smashing through Johnstown, and killing more than 2,000 people. It was a tragedy that became a national scandal.
Graced by David McCullough's remarkable gift for writing richly textured, sympathetic social history, The Johnstown Flood is an absorbing, classic portrait of life in nineteenth-century America, of overweening confidence, of energy, and of tragedy. It also offers a powerful historical lesson for our century and all times: the danger of assuming that because people are in positions of responsibility they are necessarily behaving responsibly.
Customer Reviews:
Another Excellent Historical Piece by Mccullough.......2007-10-03
Very well researched, excellent narrative. Like Mcculough's other works (on Panama Canal and Truman, for example). The audiobook is well read and does not have a dull moment. Perfect for long trips.
By Far, In my 57 years of life, The Johnstown Flood is the Absolute Best.......2007-08-25
As an avid reader from age 10 to present, having read over a thousand books or more, this it the ABSOLUTE BEST BOOK that I have read. I took the book with me to read during our summer vacation in Potter County, PA where my brother-in-law is President of a hunting cabin. This is located perhaps 100+ miles away, so I decided it was the 1st book that I would read during the week of 8/11 to 8/18, 2007.
Mr. McCullough must have boundless energy, a great I.Q., and a patient intensity of research ability,for there is tremendous details written within. Example: after all the mass of houses,trees,dead horses,human corpses,and anything else that you can imagine, washed down and jammed up at the large stone bridge west of Johnstown and lodged there, after round the clock efforts of all types including a large locomotive trying to budge the jam loose - and failed, it was finally set free to wash down the Conemaugh River by a tremendously huge charge of dynamite. Approximately 8 days later in a small town along this river, a live baby with a birthmark on its neck was pulled from the cradle it was carried in along the river. Long story made short - the baby was eventually recovered by her mother, a survivor of the flood, by identfying the birthmark! Numerous such incidents amazed me, and despite the lure of taking a hike in the mountains or fishing in a native trout stream nearby, I stayed on the open deck of the cabin and read on and on. I could not put the book down.
Everybody needs to read this book. I was reminded of the lifestyle of one generation to the next and how the millionaires who built the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club were ultimately responsible for this devasting flood. And if you do read this book, you might find yourself taking on a new perspective of life.
Please don't fail to read it. You also will include it in your list of alltime greatest books. Buy it immediatately!!
Very interesting book.......2007-07-24
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. David McCullough has a gift for writing history through focusing on individuals involved in the events. The author writes about specific people, well-known and unknown, for whom the flood changed (or ended) their lives and lets us into their lives and homes through his vivid descriptions and impecable research. What a tragic, preventable event.
Excellent History of Events Prior, During, and After the Johnstown Flood.......2007-07-16
In ten minutes time, a flood hit the Johnstown area in 1889, killing over 2,000 people, making it the most devastating flood in our history. This is an excellent book of the history, not only the flood itself, but of the events leading to this tragedy, and how Johnstown rebounded.
The water that would ultimately create the flood was from a reservoir the state legislature funded in 1836 to support a canal system idea that ultimately was abandoned. Thus, the dam no longer had its original purpose soon after it was built.
The dam fell to neglect. The dam would found to be defective and did break on a few occasions. Yet, there was little water collected behind the dam on those occasions and any damage was minor. The state legislature faced financial difficulties and approved only intermittent construction on the bridge through 1850. The Pennsylvania Railroad purchased the dam at a discounted price for its right of way. This new owner neglected the bridge.
A group of wealthy people from the Pittsburgh formed the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club and bought the dam to turn the dam's lake into a recreational area. Members of this club included Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Fricke. The club began renovating the dam, yet a huge rain destroyed all the previous repairs.
Lumbering operations had removed much timber that would have retained much water from a flood. The water behind the dam pushed the dam away in one big motion. The riverbed was mostly rock. The first large community hit was Woodvale, who lost 314 of its approximate 1,000 population in five minutes. When the flood hit Johnstown, the flood reached at least 34 feet in height (and some estimates are that it may have reached as high as 44 feet).
The book aptly describes of the aftermath of the flood. The press stirred paranoia that ethnic groups were looting the bodies. This later proved to be false. Yet they did not stop mob beatings of members of the accused group. The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club was found responsible for the not properly repairing the dam in court, yet the club never paid any damages. Daniel Hastings, who achieved acclaim for his efforts in helping Johnstown rebound, would later be elected Governor. Three babies were born in Johnstown on the day of the flood, and they were given the names Flood Rhodes, Flood Raymond, and Moses Williams.
This is an excellent history of a horrible Pennsylvania disaster. It is written clearly and thoroughly describes the events of that time. This is a fantastic book for people interested in how people handle disasters, how such a flood could ever occur, and in Johnstown area history.
The Very Best True Story.......2007-05-20
It is better than a mystery, a true story told like you were there by an expert of emotional feelings, David McCullough. Exceptional and David's first book.
Book Description
Meticulously researched and supported by pictures from all over the world, this new edition of the authoritative work on the subject brings the grim but important story of air disasters up to date. Fully updated, includes all major air accidents since the last edition was published in 2000, for example, Alaska Airlines MD-83 (January 2000), Concorde Air France (July 2000), plus a full account of the September terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentegon, and then goes on to crashes worldwide up to and including Sosoliso Airlines DC-9 (October 2005).
Customer Reviews:
Title Released.......2006-12-29
According to Sutton, the fourth edition of this excellent reference has now been released. My review of the third edition:
The book includes only airline disasters which involved more than 50 fatalities. This is a shortcoming because many substantial lessons have been learned in accidents involving fewer fatalities. For example, only one of the two fatal Lockheed L-188 Electra crashes that were attributed to the "whirl-mode" phenomenon (see also: Robert Serling, "The Electra Story") made it into the book. Both of the early Comet disasters which were caused by fuselage skin fatigue and resulting explosive cabin decompression are omitted. Also, the Northwest B-720B which suffered a jet upset and resulting structural failure in an area of thunderstorm activity west of Miami, Florida in 1963 is also omitted. However, the book is well-worth its purchase price and it includes a summary of each accident, along with the probable cause, a list of publications consulted, a brief glossary, and a good index in which the entries are by aircraft type.
The book is imcomplete.......2004-04-27
I did not see anything in the the book about the first
airplane crash on November 1, 1955 involving a bomb
hidden in a passenger's luggage. A man named John Graham
put a bomb in his mother's luggage and then took out an
insurance policy on her life while he was at the airport
in Denver where the airplane took off from. His mother
was a passenger on the airplane that crashed.
Also left out was the PSA flight that crashed in San Luis
Obispo County, California because an employee that had been
fired by the airline still had his employee identification
badge. He shot the pilot of the airplane. At that time
airline employees were able to bypass airport security if
they had an employee identification badge. Now all airline
employees are required to go through security just like the
passengers, which is good.
Other than these omissions the book is well-written and well-
researched.
The best there is........2003-08-08
This book is absolutely fabulous. It covers in excellent detail every major air crash from 1950-1999. Some get small descriptions, but the most notable (Pan AM and KLM 747's on the runway at Tenerife, USAir 737 in Pittsburgh, TWA 800, Air Florida 090 (14th St Bridge in Washington), Korean Air 007 (Shot down by the Soviets) and more get very detailed descriptions. Addidtionally the author simply spells out the facts. He doesn't editorialize like other disaster books do. It's a fascinating historical read.
A good almanac of mishaps, but some notables are missing........2001-10-02
By far, the best book I've come across covering a wide range of airline mishaps. Many notable and obscure crashes over the last five decades are covered, with special attention paid to some of the more mysterious ones. I was especially pleased at the attention given the mysterious mid-air explosion of the TWA 747 shortly after takeoff from JFK and the USAir 737 that had an uncontrolled rudder deflection. Both crashes were covered in good detail.
I was a bit disappointed, however, with the omission of 2 crashes that I wanted to know more about, namely the 737 at KLAX that was given clearance to land on a runway already occupied by a Fairchild Metroliner, and the PSA Bae146 that was suicide-crashed near So. California.
All in all, though, a good book for those interested in such things.
Aviation Disasters.......2001-08-27
An exhaustive and thought provoking read - very hard to put down. Air travel is still, and by far, the safest mode of transportation available, and I would still take it over risking my life at the hands of...drivers on our freeways any day. However, in those rare instances when things do go seriously wrong in flight, the results are usually horrific. Pilot error, communications failure, mechanical breakdown, catastrophic structural failure - its all here. Gero provides detailed technical explanations of what went wrong, and the "lessons learned" from each crash that led to improvements in subsequent air travel that have made it safer for all of us. Highly recommended.
Book Description
In a small village outside of Phnom Pehn, little children as young as five years old were forced to live as sex slaves. Day after day their hope was slipping away. Tireless workers from International Justice Mission (IJM) infiltrated the ring of brothels and gathered evidence to free the children. Headed up by former war-crimes investigator Gary Haugen, IJM faced impossible odds-police corruption, death threats, and mission-thwarting tip-offs. But they used their expert legal finesse and high-tech investigative techniques to save the lives of 37 young girls and secured the arrest and conviction of several perpetrators. Terrify No More focuses on this dramatic rescue story, and uses flashbacks to tell those of many other victims who were given a second chance at life by this amazing organization.
Readers of John Grisham and Ted Dekker novels will appreciate the suspense, plot twists, and relentless pursuit of justice found in the true story of Terrify No More.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointment.......2007-09-06
This book is a great disappointment. Buying this book I thought to obtain some serious information on the subject. I didn't expect to buy some superficial nonsence of a local U.S. sect. To European standards Gary Haugen's prostelitizing is appalling obscene and self serving and in this IJM is to be considered a dangerous sect. Don't buy this book.
Painful, powerful book -- may change your life.......2007-08-19
Sometimes enlightenment comes like a cold slap in the face. That's what this book delivers -- stories of abuse and oppression that most people don't know exist in our world today. I didn't. But Haugen and Hunter, in a style that is smooth and suspenseful, tell the stories of numerous victims of slavery and oppression who were helped through brave undercover operations by true-life heroes. At times heart-breaking and painful, at others joyful and celebretory, this book is hard to put down. You won't want to, but you will want to give copies to your friends. Nicely done. Thanks for helping me to understand the world just a little bit better outside my own whitewashed life.
Julia L. Truelove Needs to Get a Life.......2006-12-29
The review by Julia L. Truelove is one of the most ridiculous and unintelligible rants that I have ever read. It is clear that the reader approached this book with a strong bias of quasi-christian hatred and had already made up her mind before she got passed the cover. The author of this book has a Harvard law degree and previously worked for the U.S. Department of Justice. Thus, if he wanted to attain distinction and/or accumulate wealth for himself, there were many avenues at his disposal that would have been far easier and yielded greater returns then starting an organization to stand up for forgotten children of third world countries. Her attack that the author has created the International Justice Mission (which has rescued hundreds of children from underground commercialized rape and prosecuted their aggressors) only to garner prestige and money for himself is completely asinine. Her extremely thoughtful and innovative solution at the beginning of her diatribe is to simply inform the U.S. government and put things in the hands of politicians because, as we all know, that is usually the most effective way to fix any problem. First of all, the author of the book talks extensively in chapter 25 about how he and others have put pressure on the U.S. government to substantively confront these problems. He mentions how the American public needs to be made aware of the evil that lives in this world in order that they too might take it up with their government. Also, mentioned in Haugen's other book, Good News About Injustice, is the forced child prostitution that has existed, and does exist, in the United States. (I believe that this is mentioned in Terrify No More as well, but I am not 100% certain.) The author's purpose in writing this book was obviously awareness, not literary distinction, and I give him kudos for it. Gary Haugen saw the aftermath of a terrible genocide in Rwanda and decided to do something tangible and effective to confront the injustice and the abuses of power that run rampant in this world. Why is this so disturbing to Julia L. Truelove? I guess it's because the guy is a christian, a christian of the worst kind, one that actually does something with his convictions to help and love other people besides just going to church on Sundays. I don't understand why it is such a deeply troubling idea to tell a child that has had the concepts of love and affection perverted in the most despicable of ways that there is a God that cares about her with a perfect holy love. Julie's allocations that Haugen condemns Vietnam as a sinful nation because it is non-christian is ludicrous, especially since the book is centered around an operation that takes place in CAMBODIA. One of the main parts of IJM's whole mission is to get the honorable people of a certain country to uphold honorable laws that by and large already exist but are not being enforced. She goes on to mention President Bush, the Iraq War, and mistreatment of Native Americans to try and bolster her argument but forgets that they have no relevance to the work she is commenting on. Terrify No More really is a compelling book about a terrific and successful organization that has committed itself to stand up and fight for the oppressed who would otherwise have no voice. IJM is a christian ministry that truly lives out Christ's example in a bold, loving, and tangible way and has brought hope to many. This should not be something to be feared or ridiculed, but rather embraced and supported. Those who actually read the book, and at least have one foot in reality, will see what I'm talking about.
Terrible yet captivating.......2006-11-28
Haugen, Gary A. Terrify No More. Nashville, TN. W Publishing Group. 2005.
This riveting book by Gary A. Haugen, founder and president of the International Justice Mission(IJM), first-handedly tells the story of a mission proposed by members of IJM, to rescue child sex slaves from Savy Pak, a city in Cambodia that is infamous for its sex trafficking and sex tourism. IJM is a non-profit organization that fights for justice in a world riddled with injustice. This book is amazing as the reader is placed in the middle of the action. However, the content of the book can be extremely disturbing as one reads of the conditions and terrors that these young children face; but there is an amazing sense of hope that comes through to let the reader know that this is not a hopeless case, there is something that is being done. This book traces chronologically the path that IJM took to rescue a few of the millions of children that are trapped in the sex trade. Photos of the children and the conditions help the reader grasp reality through pictures. The book is geared towards those of the college age and older; an easy read that emphasizes the cause of justice in an unjust world. This book gave me a first hand account of the fight against sex trafficking which is what my senior thesis is discussing, I used this book as a basis to understnd more about the sex trade, and those who fight against it.
Excellent book.......2006-09-03
Excellent book! The subject matter is tough to handle at times, but I've bought this book for a few friends because it is so good.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
During Mobutu Sese Seko's 30 years as president of Zaire (now the Congo), he managed to plunder his nation's economy and live a life of excess unparalleled in modern history. A foreign correspondent in Zaire for six years, Michela Wrong has plenty of titillating stories to tell about Mobutu's excesses, such as the Versailles-like palace he built in the jungle, or his insistence that he needed $10 million a month to live on. However, these are not the stories that most interest Wrong. Her aim is to understand all of the reasons behind the economic disintegration of the most mineral-rich country on the African continent; in so doing, she turns over the mammoth rock that was Mobutu and finds a seething underworld of parasites with names like the CIA, the World Bank and the IMF, the French and Belgian governments, mercenaries, and a host of fat cats who benefited from Mobutu's largesse and even exceeded his rapaciousness.
Wrong turns first to Belgian's King Leopold II, who instituted a brutal colonial regime in the Congo in order to extract the natural and mineral wealth for his personal gain. Mobutu, with the aid of a U.S. government determined to sabotage Soviet expansion, stepped easily into Leopold's footsteps, continuing a culture built on government-sanctioned sleaze and theft. Under the circumstances, it's hard not to feel some sympathy for the people who survived in the only ways they could--teachers trading passing grades for groceries, hospitals refusing to let patients leave until they paid up, cassava patches cultivated next to the frighteningly unsafe nuclear reactor. What is less comprehensible--and rightly due for an airing--are Wrong's revelations about foreign interventions. Why, for example, did the World Bank and IMF give Mobutu $9.3 billion in aid, knowing full well that he was pocketing most of it?
In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz is a brilliantly conceived and written work, sharply observant and richly described with a necessary sense of the absurd. Wrong paints a far more nuanced picture of the wily autocrat than we've seen before, and of the blatant greed and paranoia of the many players involved in the country's self-destruction. --Lesley Reed
Book Description
Known as "the Leopard," the president of Zaire for thirty-two years, Mobutu Sese Seko, showed all the cunning of his namesake -- seducing Western powers, buying up the opposition, and dominating his people with a devastating combination of brutality and charm. While the population was pauperized, he plundered the country's copper and diamond resources, downing pink champagne in his jungle palace like some modern-day reincarnation of Joseph Conrad's crazed station manager.
Michela Wrong, a correspondent who witnessed Mobutu's last days, traces the rise and fall of the idealistic young journalist who became the stereotype of an African despot. Engrossing, highly readable, and as funny as it is tragic, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz assesses the acts of the villains and the heroes in this fascinating story of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Customer Reviews:
A great description of Zaire under Mobutu but poor investigative reporting.......2007-07-16
Few nations have had as sad a history as Zaire, currently known as the Congo. Michela Wrong, a journalist for the New Statesman, has taken the time to write a book about the Congo's history particularly under Mobutu, and her experiences in the Congo during his kleptocratic rule.
Her stories are well-researched, and it's clear she's talked with many of those who influenced the history of the time. The sterile recounting of Congo's continuous deterioriation under Mobutu is quite well done. What I found infuriating about this book is that Wrong never seems to ask why things happened, or were allowed to happen.
When Zaire, for instance, became independent, it boasted all of 17 university graduates in a country the size of Western Europe, and years of Belgian investment. Surely the Belgians, who left, realized that the country would be dependent on Western knowhow for many years. Why did they not leave advisers behind, perhaps advisers with a brief to make the president offers he couldn't refuse, as happened in other francophone colonies? One of the cataclysms under Mobutu's rule was his expelling of many non-Zairians, who left their capital behind, but not their connections and understanding of their business. The economy duly crashed. Why did neither the Belgians nor the French nor the Americans dissuade him from a policy that all but destroyed Zaire's prosperity? One reason why the above mentioned powers were loath to antagonize Mobutu were the many services he performed for them during the Cold War. Why does Wrong only allude to them, and not mention them? One could continue in this vein, but I felt as if what could have become a fascinating book focusing on the crunch times when astoundingly disastrous decisions were made, instead focuses on the misery that these ill-begotten decisions wreaked, which is not as nearly interesting.
If you need to need a source for academic work on Zaire under Mobutu, you may enjoy this book, but I wouldn't recommend it as pleasure reading.
A good introduction but nothing more..........2006-12-03
`In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz' is a nice introduction to the intriguing life and times of infamous dictator Mobutu, from his rise to power to his less than glorious downfall. I advise it to anyone who is unfamiliar with Zaire-Congo. Very good reading is her account of the final collapse of the Zairian army. This book was originally conceived as a radio-program on BBC. It is however just that: an introduction. The author is so kind to refer to further reading in the last pages of the book. There the interested reader can find very good resources on the history of the Belgian Congo.
Michela Wrong does suffer from some prejudice towards Belgium and the Belgians not uncommon in the UK. Apart from King Leopold II, the role of the Belgian monarchy and the Belgian governments, especially while supporting the brutal Mobutu dictatorship is hardly present and when mentioned it is downplayed. Not a word on the part that King Baudouin and Prime Minister Gaston Eyskens played in 1959-1960, especially concerning the assassination of Patrice Lumumba. I strongly suggest The Assassination of Lumumba by Belgian journalist Ludo De Witte for a good background on that period.
The author points out that it took an American historian to dig up the facts about King Leopold II's barbarity. While the author is absolutely right in pointing out that Belgium has still not come to terms with its own colonial past, and while King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild is a must read, it is NOT the first published account of that period. That honour goes to the Belgian former diplomat Jules Marchal. But even so, in 1985 he still had to use the pseudonym of A. M. Delathuy and go to the small leftwing publisher EPO (Education Prolétarienne - Proletarische Opvoeding) to get the first ever book published of a ruthless campaign that would nowadays be labelled as genocide. All big Belgian, French and Dutch publishers flatly refused it. Unfortunately this book is only available in Dutch and French, not in English.
Michela Wrong does give credit to this book, stating that it is only available in French (and Flemish if you can read it) ...Two small remarks here, there is no such thing as a Flemish language. I know that even recently a quality newspaper like The Guardian still claims that `the Flemish Belgians speak Flemish, a language related to Dutch'. The author does not have to take my word for it, she can go check any library and ask for an Flemish-English dictionary, there is no such thing. She can also come check the curriculum in any Flemish school, where she will find that students learn mathematics, geography and `Dutch' at school. While her apparently not so well informed ears may find it odd to hear that the Flemish speak Dutch while not being Dutch, maybe it will help to point out that also the Austrians speak German, that the Brazilians speak Portuguese etc ... Do the Flemish have a different accent than the Dutch? Yes; certainly, but so do Texans, Jamaicans, Australians, yet they all speak English. I also do not understand why Michela Wrong finds it necessary to give a demeaning remark ... if you can read it ... Dutch is the native language of 16 million Dutch and 6 million Flemish, that is more than all Scandinavian languages combined. Another detail that reveals her prejudice towards Belgians and Flemish is that the only Belgian politician she mentions by name is Leo Tindemans who she misspells with a typical `German' double `nn'. Of all Belgian Prime Ministers that ever played a role in Zaire-Congo, he was the least active on Zaire. Every Belgian knows about Tindemans' personal distaste for Mobutu (the feeling was mutual).
A good introduction to Mobutu indeed, a translation into French and Dutch (I can read it!) is more than welcome.
Lode Vanoost (Belgian native Dutch speaker, 7 years old in 1960, no strings attached to Congo), Brussels, 26 November 2006
Well written,fascinating.......2006-11-10
An excellent look at what has brouoght the DRC to where it is today, extremely readable.
Somewhat interesting, but poorly written.......2006-07-17
A number of the reviewers sum this up quite adequately. The is not at all scholarly and is a jumbled mess of vignettes. I give it 3 because there are so few books written on the subject and because she tried to be balanced in her reporting. This seems to be a very long winded news article with little depth and real insight. Just a mass of reporting on insignificant experiences she encountered rather than a serious recount of the history. Dissappointed and trying to slog through for any nuggets of insight. Even the brief recount of Congo/Belgium in "The Scramble for Africa" was a much better treatment of the subject, albeit solely focused on Belium's colonial period.
not as good as King Leopold's ghost, but still worth the read..........2006-01-03
After reading King Leopold's Ghost, I was looking for a good synopsis of what happened in the post-colonial era. After a few weeks of searching, I settled on In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz. Both were fascinating books that give great insight on the problems with the Congo. Both are written in a style that is highly readable, entrhalling and at the same time informative.
Amazon.com
It may seem a stretch to connect a volcanic eruption with civil and religious unrest in Indonesia today, but Simon Winchester makes a compelling case. Krakatoa tells the frightening tale of the biggest volcanic eruption in history using a blend of gentle geology and narrative history. Krakatoa erupted at a time when technologies like the telegraph were becoming commonplace and Asian trade routes were being expanded by northern European companies. This bustling colonial backdrop provides an effective canvas for the suspense leading up to August 27th, 1883, when the nearby island of Krakatoa would violently vaporize. Winchester describes the eruption through the eyes of its survivors, and readers will be as horrified and mesmerized as eyewitnesses were as the death toll reached nearly 40,000 (almost all of whom died from tsunamis generated by the unimaginably strong shock waves of the eruption). Ships were thrown miles inshore, endless rains of hot ash engulfed those towns not drowned by 100 foot waves, and vast rafts of pumice clogged the hot sea. The explosion was heard thousands of miles away, and the eruption's shock wave traveled around the world seven times. But the book's biggest surprise is not the riveting catalog of the volcano's effects; rather, it is Winchester's contention that the Dutch abandonment of their Indonesian colonies after the disaster left local survivors to seek comfort in radical Islam, setting the stage for a volatile future for the region. --Therese Littleton
Book Description
Simon Winchester,
New York Times bestselling author of
The Professor and the Madman, examines the legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa, which was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. The effects of the immense waves were felt as far away as France. Barometers in Bogotá and Washington, D.C., went haywire. Bodies were washed up in Zanzibar. The sound of the island's destruction was heard in Australia and India and on islands thousands of miles away. Most significant of all -- in view of today's new political climate -- the eruption helped to trigger in Java a wave of murderous anti-Western militancy among fundamentalist Muslims, one of the first outbreaks of Islamic-inspired killings anywhere.
Krakatoa gives us an entirely new perspective on this fascinating and iconic event.
This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Good book but..........2007-09-17
The topic is too fascinating. I surely would like to have some more maps in order to better follow the stories. I agree with other reviews that states that the book could have been shorter without losing nothing of the story. But in the overall it was a good reading.
Nature at its Most Awesome.......2007-09-13
Of all the volcanoes throughout the world, it is probably the case that Krakatoa is the most well known. Its awesome explosion in 1883 was heard more than 5,000 kilometres away. It caused extraordinary sunrises and sunsets across the world for years. There has never been anything quite like it in recorded history.
Simon Winchester has performed an admirable task in bringing the background to the events of 1883 to light. At time he dwells too much on the esoteric but, in the end, he brings us back to the explosion and its consequences. The reader is wrapped up in the story as it rolls along. We are mesmerised by the explosion itself and almost as fascinated by the island of today. Indeed, at the end of the book, Winchester travels to new Krakatoa and scales its ever growing peak to peer down into the cauldron. How many among us would know that the island is again growing apace? In fact, return to the sight after a few years' absence and the changed topography is obvious to the naked eye. One can only surmise that, one day, history could well repeat itself.
I enjoyed Winchester's tale. He can be prone to being distracted by less than totally relevant facts but, in the end, he has told a great story. Read this book and marvel at the forces of nature over which humans have no control.
Great Read for a rather Dry subject.......2007-09-08
One would not have thought that a book about Krkakatoa would be this intersting, it does take you on tangential subjects which nevertheless are fundamentally the cause of Krakatoa. I learnt a lot.
The grandness of the event describe would be even grander if we had not already known/experienced the Indian ocean Tsunami of 2005.
This book lets you understand the forces underlying that as well. A very good read, even if at times you get more information than you think you need.
Highly recommended
Delightful ramble to a big bang.......2007-09-08
This is not the direct route to Krakatoa. If you are ready for a delightful historical and scientific ramble with plenty of quirky side trips (including parentheticals*)that eventually bring you to "The Day the World Exploded" then you will love this book. From why a lace furniture shroud is called an "antimacassar" to the German roots of Tsingtao beer. By the time the tsunami arrives you may have forgotten that this was why you picked up the book in the first place. But in this case it is very much about the voyage not the destination.
* And plenty of footnotes.
Absolutely fascinating.......2007-09-05
To Simon Winchester, Krakatoa is more than just a volcano: it is an anti-hero of sorts, a figure that has existed for thousands of years, that has been the source of myth and mayhem. Krakatoa has shaped the way we view the world, and no one can tell that story quite like Winchester.
Winchester tackles this tale like any other epic--starting at the beginning, working up to the climax (he doesn't reach the actual 1883 eruption until page 200, and then spends only 60 pages on it), and then going into the aftermath...or, in this case, a new beginning. You'll learn more than you bargained for by purchasing this book; but then again, you won't really care. Winchester tackles subjects ranging from the foundations of trade in the East Indies, to the origins of the Islamic faith. He spends a bit too much time dealing with the science of plate tectonics (although the history of the theory is told in a fascinating manner), but we can forgive him for this brief geological digression, as it is relevant to the story (many of his digressions have very little to do with Krakatoa directly, although you won't mind one bit). "Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded" is an informative, interesting story of one of history's most infamous creations. More importantly, though, it is simply a good read.
Amazon.com
Geologically speaking, 1906 was a violent year: powerful, destructive earthquakes shook the ground from Taiwan to South America, while in Italy, Mount Vesuvius erupted. And in San Francisco, a large earthquake occurred just after five in the morning on April 18--and that was just the beginning. The quake caused a conflagration that raged for the next three days, destroying much of the American West's greatest city. The fire, along with water damage and other indirect acts, proved more destructive than the earthquake itself, but insurance companies tried hard to dispute this fact since few people carried earthquake insurance. It was also the world's first major natural disaster to have been extensively photographed and covered by the media, and as a result, it left "an indelible imprint on the mind of the entire nation."
Though the epicenter of this marvelously constructed book is San Francisco, Winchester covers much more than just the disaster. He discusses how this particular quake led to greater scientific study of quakes in an attempt to understand the movements of the earth. Trained at Oxford University as a geologist, Winchester is well qualified to discuss the subject, and he clearly explains plate tectonics theory (first introduced in 1968) and the creation of the San Andreas Fault, along with the geologic exploration of the American West in the late 19th century and the evolution of technology used to measure and predict earthquakes. He also covers the social and political shifts caused by the disaster, such as the way that Pentecostalists viewed the quake as "a message of divine approval" and used it to recruit new members into the church, and the rise in the local Chinese population. With many records destroyed in the fire, there was no way to distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants, and thus many more Chinese were granted citizenship than would have otherwise been. Filled with eyewitness accounts, vivid descriptions, crisp prose, and many delightful meanderings, A Crack in the Edge of the World is a thoroughly absorbing tale. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
Unleashed by ancient geologic forces, a magnitude 8.25 earthquake rocked San Francisco in the early hours of April 18, 1906. Less than a minute later, the city lay in ruins. Bestselling author Simon Winchester brings his inimitable storytelling abilities to this extraordinary event, exploring the legendary earthquake and fires that spread horror across San Francisco and northern California in 1906 as well as its startling impact on American history and, just as important, what science has recently revealed about the fascinating subterranean processes that produced it—and almost certainly will cause it to strike again.
Customer Reviews:
Get to the point!.......2007-10-11
This book, "A Crack in the Edge of the World," by Simon Winchester, professes to be about the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. But is it?
The whole thing reads like a series of hesitations, digressions, and backstories, as if it's almost afraid to get to the event itself and talk about it. As more than one other reviewer has pointed out here, it's not until halfway through the book that the earthquake itself is first described, and by that point we've been treated to so many (often interesting, I'll admit) digressions, that we're not even sure anymore if the story of the 1906 quake is even the one most worth telling. I mean, why that one? Why not the 1960s Alaska one? Why not the big Asian tsunami of recent headlines? Why not a more general story of San Francisco? Why not a history of the earth itself?
This book defines anti-linear--is an antonym incarnate for chronological. Another author could probably have pulled it off better, and maybe Winchester could have himself with some more time to work on this, but this just made me jittery that any second the story was going to be yanked out from under me so that I could hear about how the sun affected the creation of the earth's geologic plates several billion years ago.
It reminded me of this guy I knew who used to tell this story about making a machine for automatically roasting and peeling green chile. It was an okay story to hear once, maybe, but the way he told it was worse. Not only did he repeat the story almost every time I saw him, but as soon as he got to "...and they never even paid me," I would think, "Oh thank you Lord, it's over," and then he would start telling me the story's prequel! Or a digression about one of the people who worked on the machine. Or something about the atomic makeup of chile. It was vicious, and it would go on for literally hours sometimes.
Anyway, this book reminded me of that. It was all over the place.
Even just putting these events in chronological order would have helped the story's lucidity immensely, but even then there's way to much peripheral stuff here and way too little focus on describing the event itself and its effects. It's really frustrating at times, and not at all as streamlined as say, the same author's "The Map that Changed the World."
All that said, it's obvious that this is written by a man brimming with excitment for his subject, and I admit there are a handful of topics that obsess me so much in their every detail that if I were to ever attempt to write about them, they might turn out seeming pretty sprawling as well. Also, the book is generally interesting, and I do feel that I have a better understanding now of the event and its contributing geology, as well as a nice supply of related anecdotes.
Three stars for this rambling wunderkammer of a book.
Three stars and a coin.
There's got to be a better book about this subject, though.
Unfocused.......2007-10-10
Simon Winchester's book on the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 is a disappointing study. There is a good deal of discussion of plate tectonics in the first half of the book. His presentation makes this highly technical information understandable to the general lay reader, and will probably seem superficial to specialists in the Earth sciences, but there is a good of repetition and more data than a general history designed for mass consumption requires.
The biggest problem, though, is that he rambles and goes off on all sorts of tangents. Somehow he manages to discuss Neal Armstrong and Albert Einstein, then when he mentions Amarillo, Texas, we get more information than we need or want about this West Texas city. The earthquake and narrative does not really get going until halfway to two-thirds of the way through the book. My gut instinct is that Winchester simply lacked enough material to sustain a book length account of the incident, which is the reason for the unfocused nature of the text. As a published author, I am very surprised that his editors accepted this manuscript and agreed to its publication.
Things I should have read in geology class.......2007-09-24
A considerable amount of time was exhausted by Mr. Winchester in the research, writing and editing of this bestseller. If my geology course in college, which was a very long time ago, had a book of this substance, I may have spent more time reading and preparing for class.
The book does not lead right in to the California earthquake of 1906. You must read a few hundred pages from the creation of the world, the movement of the continents, the history behind the chosen name for San Francisco and other cities, the gold rush days, the segregation of the Chinese, then the climactic earthquake.
The book is more of a history and geology lesson than a book with a plot and characters that are followed from beginning to end. This is the book you want to read for that one up on everyone else when earthquakes are the topic at the dinner party (humor emphasized).
Plate tectonics for idio-dummees(R).......2007-09-02
(Trying not to infringe on any copyrights with the title up there)
Simon Winchester's book is an excellent, concise easy-to-read, summary of many disparate but inter-related topics: the development of San Francisco in the late 19th/early 20th Century; the history of white settlement in California; the birthing of the new science of geology; and, most importantly, the science of plate tectonics and the reasons why, when and where earthquakes occur.
Yes, the geology and earth sciences is not covered at a PhD level. It wouldn't be readable if it were. And the history of California is not examined in sufficient depth (no pun intended), but then the book would have to be 10,000 pages. The book strikes the right balance between breadth and depth, the personal and the historic, the academic and the understandable. If you've read Winchester's excellent "Krakatoa" book -- and if you haven't, what are you waiting for? -- you'll enjoy this similiarly-styled treatment of another geologic event.
Tremors and digressions.......2007-08-29
Many of the reviews here seem upset that the author "rambles", which frequently is code for not compressing a story into easily digestible quanta. If you have any patience at all, you'll enjoy this book. I honestly find Mr. Winchester's "digressions" enjoyable, and find they add color to what could be a dull narrative. The geology of earthquakes, the reaction of a city to a disaster, the technology that had recently been developed to detect earthquakes being put to the test (and found wanting) - these stories, while fascinating, are natural stories. This book manages to make even that insurance claims made after the quake and fire interesting and even a vital part of the story.
Customer Reviews:
Revealing scholarship.......2007-07-25
David Icke's exploration of the 9/11 disaster is a real eye-opener, with some remarkable assessments of the 'official' story. The number of curious inconsistencies that are uncovered here, makes for a really thought-provoking read. Why has the Government willfully seized and witheld so many sources that would surely strengthen the case for the official line, unless the reality is that sources are damaging to their claims? This is clearly the product of intensive research and Icke must be applauded for his effort to expose the truth. Still, I can't for the life of me see why the publishers decided to reprint it here in a double-bill with Lewis Carroll's fairy-tale classic (or why he is uncredited on the cover). Chalk and Cheese, if you ask me. That factor aside, Icke has really triumphed over adversity with this magnum opus. Incidentally, he holds back on the notorious shape-shifting lizards in this, which slightly weakens his case in my opinion. More of the Lizards please David!
Another outstanding David Icke book..........2007-05-15
David Icke blew my mind with his "The Biggest Secret". With "Alice...", Icke supplies more pieces to the intricate puzzle that is 9/11, providing substantial evidence that the story mainstream media attempts to perpetuate is full of holes. Though he covers much of the same information provided in his other tomes, it is crucial to receive that information again and again to emphasize that the world is really not as it seems.
Alice in Wonderland and the World Trade Center Disaster.......2007-05-12
A significant book of our time. Informative, scary, eye-opening, daring. A few years ago I borrowed this book from a friend and read it through. Now I have my own reference copy. Susan, Massachusetts
Less disinfo this time from Icke.......2007-04-23
You get a lot of good solid verifiable stuff on the neo-cons, 9/11 and the new world order in this book. There is less disinformation in this than anything else Icke has wrote and there is even the disinfo has some truth interwoven into it this time. Regardless I still have a hard time trusting Icke.
Alice in Wonderland is worth reading if you can borrow it from the library but when you consider there are multitudes of better books on 9/11 and exposing the new world order plus the very high price they are asking for this book I wouldn't recomend it buying it.
Read it for yourself!!!!!.......2006-09-19
I admit I first started to read Icke's books for the amusement value. I love strange, off the wall, UFO and alien conaspiracy books. But, damn, his books make a lot of sense. Especially this one. His writing has a ring of truth to it that, frankly, the nonsense churned out by the mainstream media sadly lacks. There are facts in this book that the Bush Administration would dearly love us to ignore.
Book Description
With All the Trouble in the World, P. J. O'Rourke once again landed on best-seller lists around the country, confirming his reputation as the pre-eminent political humorist of our time. Attacking fashionable worries - all those terrible problems that are constantly on our minds and in the news, but about which most of us have no real clue - P. J. crisscrosses the globe in search of solutions to today's most vexing issues, including overpopulation, famine, plague, and multiculturalism, and in the process produces a hilarious and informative book which ensures that the concept of political correctness will never be the same again. "One of the funniest, most insightful, dead-on-the-money books of the year." - Los Angeles Times; "All the Trouble in the World is O'Rourke's best work since Parliament of Whores." - The Houston Post; "The dispatches are unfailingly funny....Mr. O'Rourke gets to the heart of the matter with a steady stream of wisecracks....Economists, political scientists and sociologists are inclined to approach the ills of society with regression analysis. P. J. O'Rourke just points and laughs. Not surprisingly, it is Mr. O'Rourke who gets it right." - The Washington Times; "Bottom line: Buy the book." - The Wall Street Journal.
Customer Reviews:
Funny as hell.......2007-07-04
Some disclosure - I'm a huge PJ O'Rourke Fan. Even so, this book, along with "Eat the Rich" is a classic.
Everytime you hear how messed up the US is, or how bad things are, or any other Chicken Little squawking pick this up. I've read it at least three times and it still cracks me up. It's a great perspective and makes you feel lucky if you live in the US. His books give me some of my best one-liners.
Humor and logic... two great tastes that taste great together........2005-11-25
Even those who disagree with P.J. O'Rourke's conclusions will usually tell you that his manner of expressing those conclusions is highly entertaining. O'Rourke's dry wit and bizarely appropriate analogies are absolutely hysterical. I listened to this book at the gym and had several of those "weird guy laughing at nothing" moments that can make you an outcast in a hurry.
But besides being funny, O'Rourke applies sound fundamentals of economics and history to a very logical dissection of the world around us. Being written in 1993, some of this book's examples are dated, but the logic used to analyze them is just as instructive today as it was then, and most of today's issues possess close parrallels in O'Rourke's 90s examples.
The book reads lightly, but O'Rourke traveled to Somalia, Haiti, the Amazon, Vietnam and other hot spots in writing this book - he did serious work and has a serious philosophy underlying his humor.
Give this one a read and see the world the way the politicians would rather we didn't.
Laugh and Learn .......2004-10-29
P.J. O'Rourke is the thinking man's John Stewart. Where Stewart is merely snarky and cutesy, O'Rourke has some actual working knowledge of the world, of history, and of human nature. In this book, he adroitly and hilariously skewers all of the "Henny Penny" sky-is-falling enviro-nazis who's holier-than-thou worship of nature is about to snuff out the human race. If you wonder why ideas like the Kyoto Protocol are so insane and ill-advised, read this book. If you've ever wondered about terrorist groups such as E.L.F., read this book. If you've ever had an unexplainable urge to snicker and hoot with derision whenever some earnest WASPy wannabe rasta mon tie-dyed tree-hugger begins to blather on about alar, read this book. In the midst of all of his cynicism and sarcasm, P.J. actually sheds a lot of light on some of the motivations, emotionalism, and deceptions of the far leftist enviro-whacko movement...how it is based in inaccuracy and ideological lunacy. He presents solid, well-researched facts in a way that is not dry, but delightfully pointed. This book is the archenemy of Al Gore's sci-fi thriller, EARTH IN THE BALANCE, and it blows the ex-Veep's book all to hell, and will leave the reader in tears of laughter. Check it out!
Funny...but not convincing........2003-07-08
Before I go on: Yes, I'm a liberal--I had to read this book in a English Comp II class taught by a libertarian professor.
O'Rourke's analysis, while scathingly funny, falls short of the mark due to sheer lack of evidence. His essay skewering environmentalism, for instance, provides NO scientific evidence for his claims (which was also a criticism levied by my professor). The pollution essay provides merely circumstancial evidence, and O'Rourke even admits he gave up trying to write about plague in Hatiti, and goes to talk about his visit to the black market and a voodoo shrine (which, I will admit, is terribly interesting).
Look, I think O'Rourke is hysterical. His one-liners are great, and yeah, he makes a few points. But the guy doesn't offer solid evidence, and the way he treats EVERY SINGLE liberal as a communist sympathizer is annoying.
Of course, if you do lean to the libertarian/fringe Republican side of the political spectrum then this review won't matter. For the rest of us, I give you fair warning.
It is fair to note that the book was last published in 1994, so it is rather out of date, if you are interested in purchasing it.
Skewer the liberals and roast their ideas........2003-02-18
P.J. O'Rourke gets it right. First time and everytime. I appreciate the logical perspective he puts on his selected issues. From population to pollution, he shows the liberal slant in reporting is not reality. Funny how the population of Bangladesh is frightening, but not in Fremont, California, though both places have the same density. O'Rourke has a fun writing style and a propensity to use words that makes many readers cringe as they reach for their dictionaries. The man is truely a master of his craft.
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