Diana: Su Nueva Vida Diana Her New Life

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I Recommend the Book

The Best of the Lefties (Mr. Grove)

Sheds light on a forgotten legend

Outstanding portrayal of Lefty Grove

GOOD BOOK ABOUT GREAT PITCHER

Lefty Grove: American Original
Jim Kaplan
Manufacturer: Society for American Baseball Research
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0910137803

Book Description

Lefty Grove may have been baseball’s best pitcher. He was certainly one of its most interesting. A three-hundred-game winner during 1925–41, he captured an unmatched nine ERA and five winning-percentage titles. While starring for the Philadelphia Athletics he was known for “a fastball and a mean disposition,” qualities best exemplified in 1931, when he won thirty-one games and wrecked a clubhouse. Grove finished his career with the Boston Red Sox, where he injured his arm and reconstructed himself as a fabulous control artist.

Customer Reviews:

I Recommend the Book.......2007-02-22

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. It fills in the gaps that most baseball fans have regarding Lefty Grove, whom most confuse with Lefty Gomez. That's a shame becasue Lefty Grove is arguably one of -if not the - best pitchers in baseball history. Some has stated that his personality was rather dull and that explains why he is often overlooked. After reading this book, I'd characterize his personality as more eccentric than dull.

...And what a great pitcher! Read this book - you won't regret it.

The Best of the Lefties (Mr. Grove).......2006-09-10

I was particularly happy to receive this book on Lefty Grove because, as with a number of pre-World War II stars, a meaningful biography has been lacking about them. Jim Kaplan's version of Grove's life isn't perfect, but it's close enough, filled with stories about Grove, his teammates and the times. It's an interesting, well-written, thoughtful biography about an outstanding pitcher and one of the best ballplayers ever, and fills a gap in baseball literature that needed to be addressed.

Sheds light on a forgotten legend.......2003-04-16

Jim Kaplan sets out in this well-researched book to resurrect the figure of Lefty Grove, a 300-game winner whose career spanned those of Walter Johnson and Ted Williams. For the most part, he convincingly makes his case that Groves deserves to be included among a handful of baseball's elite pitchers and that he was perhaps the best lefthander hurler ever.

Whatever shortcomings the book may have, the reader is bound to be impressed by Kaplan's knowledge of Grove's career (he takes us through each of his 17 big league seasons and four that he spent at the minor league level) and his painstaking efforts to convey a sense of the time in which Grove played. When he describes one of Grove's many confrontations with Babe Ruth, the writing has the ring of truth. Particularly effective is his recounting of the famous 1929 World Series game in which Grove's Philadelphia A's scored 10 runs in one inning to wipe out an eight-run Chicago Cub lead en route to winning the world championship.

Kaplan brings to life several key figures of Grove's time, most notably Connie Mack, Grove's manager with the A's and a man who not only strongly influenced the lives of his players but also the organizational direction of baseball. Long before the 1997 Marlins were broken up to save money, Mack was doing the same thing, jettisoning big names and large salaries to build teams anew. He also offers a valuable analysis of Mack's and Grove's 1929-1931 Philadelphia A's, convincingly arguing that these teams (that also included Hall of Famers Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, to name a few) were the equal of the more celebrated 1926-1928 Yankees, whose 1927 edition is generally considered the greatest in baseball history.

Also of note is the final section, which analyzes the careers of Johnson, Grove and Sandy Koufax and offers the reader statistical food for thought in considering who was the greatest lefthander ever.

Kaplan's writing is solid but unspectacular and he lapses at times into a cheerleading tone, particularly when he discusses Grove's great achievements (which included nine ERA titles, a 31-4 season, a career .680 winning percentage and a 1935-1939 resurrection of his craft, during which he transformed himself from a fireballer into a finesse pitcher.)

Kaplan's otherwise fine description of the last day of the 1941 season, in which Williams secured his .406 average by going six-for-eight after refusing to sit on the bench for a doubleheader, is marred by the writer's tone of breathless admiration for the player's feat. Nothing wrong with being a fan when you write a baseball book, but I prefer that the author for the most part let the facts speak for themselves.

All in all, Kaplan produces a portrait of a driven, often disagreeable man who hated losing and was impatient with the shortcomings of mere athletic mortals. The picture of Lefty is convincing, but Kaplan uses the same strokes pretty heavily to produce it.

The baseball fan/historian will find this a very useful look at this undeservedly obscure figure and will find it particularly interesting to revisit an era of the sport that differs so radically from the present one.

Outstanding portrayal of Lefty Grove.......2002-09-26

When I told friend of mine (a sports fan) that I was reading a book about Lefty Grove, he asked "Who is that?" Considering Grove was probably the greatest pitcher who ever lived, this public ignorance is unfortunate. Robert Kaplan in American Original does a very good job of letting us know who Grove was. Grove's terible temper and hatred of losing are brought to life in this book. Kaplan also includes a statistical breakdown of Grove's career and a detailed comparison between him and some other great pitchers. No true baseball fan should miss this book!

GOOD BOOK ABOUT GREAT PITCHER.......2001-08-05

LEFTY GROVE AMERICAN ORIGINAL IS WORTH READING. I ENJOYED THE TELLING OF HIS CAREER AND LIFE. HE WAS PHENOMINAL TALENT WITH A HOT TEMPER TO GO WITH IT. THIS NOVEL IS WELL WRITTEN AND KEPT MY INTEREST ALL THE WAY. I RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE WHO ENJOYS BASEBALL HISTORY AND THE GREAT MEN WHO PLAYED IT.

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Lefty Grove: American Original
Jim Kaplan
Manufacturer: Bison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OB5YN8

Book Description

Though movies have remained our foremost cultural pastime for over 100 years, many of us still know very little about the tools used to create them. In this groundbreaking new book, Vincent LoBrutto provides an enjoyable and accessible education in the art of cinema: using 50 landmark films spanning the history of the medium, LoBrutto illustrates such important concepts as editing, production design, cinematography, sound, screen acting, narrative structure, and various genres, nationalities, and film eras. Each concept is illustrated by the selection of a film that epitomizes its use, so that readers will learn about film authorship in Citizen Kane, multiplot narrative in Nashville, widescreen filmmaking in Rebel without a Cause, and screen violence in The Wild Bunch. Providing a unique opportunity to become acquainted with important movies and the elements of their greatness, Becoming Film Literate offers a crash course in cinema, one designed to give even the novice reader a solid introduction to this complex and multifaceted medium.

Customer Reviews:

practical and helpful information for students.......2005-12-15

This book takes a different approach to film studies. There are 50 short chapters, each one on a different movie. Each movie is chosen to illustrate an important concept in film studies, such as "production design" (Blade Runner), "classical Hollywood film style" (Casablanca), "film noir" (Double Indemnity), and so on. Some of the chapters are on thematic or conceptual topics rather than technical categories, for example, "dream state" (Blue Velvet), and "method acting" (On the Waterfront). The individual chapters are well-written (if not exactly inspired), giving valuable information for understanding individual movies and important concepts in film studies. I really like his approach because it's grounded in specific examples, not abstract explanations. There is also a helpful glossary of film terms in the back. LoBrutto doesn't try to give a complete interpretation of each movie; rather he gives important background information and how the chosen concept illuminates our understanding of the movie. In this sense, his essays will serve as valuable starting points for students or scholars writing on these movies. His book doesn't try to cover everything, but it is still very valuable for students, in conjunction with other textbooks.

Becoming Film Literate: The Art and Craft of Motion Pictures

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Becoming Film Literate: The Art and Craft of Motion Pictures
Vincent LoBrutto
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OR9F14

Average customer rating:

Pretty decent opening guide for players up to 1700 USCF.

The best chess book I have ever bought

Reasonable repertoire book for players rated 1400-1800

A "database dump" with little effort from the authors

An Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Player (Batsford Chess Library)
Raymond Keene
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Co (P)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0805035826

Customer Reviews:

Pretty decent opening guide for players up to 1700 USCF........2003-04-30

This book is a reasonable attempt to piece together an opening repertoire that on the one hand is aggressive, but on the other hand does not require 100's of hours of preparation time.

I actually used the variations suggested in this book for a period of about 2.5 years in actual tournament play. I had very decent results (I am currently rated around 1800 USCF).

The lines selected are fairly forcing and unbalanced. There are a few places where the book is somewhat weak. I noted the same problems as one of the other reveiwers in the section on the pirc/modern defense. (There is a game that leaves you hanging in a terrible position, but seems to imply that you winning - it makes no sense at all. In fact, the side they are trying to convince you to play ends up losing very badly in the actual game.)

Other than that, I must say that the authors really have done a decent job of trying to "fit" a repertoire within the parameters ascribed.

I would estimate that it only took me around 5-10 hours to play over all of the games and footnotes in the book. I remembered them fairly easily, and went on to win a very respectable number of games.

I would recommend the book to players rated between around 1400 to around 1800. I don't feel that there are enough notes for players below around 1400 to really understand why certain moves are made. For players over 1800, much deeper preparation than this book provides would be required.

In particular, I have had incredible results with the openings chosen from the black side. They are openings that I would not have even considered playing had I not read this book. (Scandinavian and Chigoran).

There are better, there are much worse. This is not a bad addition to your library.

The best chess book I have ever bought.......2000-02-06

This book taught me how to prepare an opening repertoire. First I adopted all the suggested opening lines for black and white, and then I improved and accommodated them to my own playing style. It is a book I consult regularly. Although I bought this book in 1997, I still keep on reading it. It is a very good book.

Reasonable repertoire book for players rated 1400-1800.......1999-09-24

This book is an attempt to create an opening repetoire for the developing player which does not require hours and hours of study, yet provides the aggressive player with reasonable attacking chances.

In my opinion, the author succeeds for the most part. It is very difficult for a book this size to provide a complete discussion of the nuances in each of the opening systems presented. The approach in the book is to open each chapter with some "light talk" about the variation chosen, followed by a few representative master level games.

Players rated below 1300-1400 may not have developed the requisite skills to understand the material presented, while players rated above 1800-1900 will find that the book doesen't cover the variations in enough detail to fully prepare them face opponents rated 2000+.

Like most chess books, there are a few typos, but in general I feel that this book is a good value for a player fitting the attacking profile rated 1400-1800.

A "database dump" with little effort from the authors.......1998-08-26

At $14.95 and only 128 pages this book falls well below my 10 cents per page threshhold for value, but it also fails as a good chess book by almost any other criteria. The book is filled with errors, omissions and questionable assertions. In chapter 5, for example, the Byrne Variation versus the Pirc/Modern (4. Bg5) is recommended. However, on page 69 (note "c"), a game is given that is marked "1-0" as a win for White, yet it is clear that he is losing in the final position. Perhaps White played well up to a point (though it hardly looks it), and then blundered later. If so, the authors don't let on and we readers are left scratching our heads to try and figure it out. Surely a GM and IM could've given a little hint -- perhaps an exclamation point or a question mark along the way. In fact, the embedded games are almost completely devoid of annotation throughout the book. Where there is a note, one is left to wonder why they even bothered. An example is in the Alekhine Defense, Exchange Variation on page 79. After 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. d4 d6 5. exd6 cxd6 6. Nc3 g6 7. a4 a5 8. c5 dxc5 9. Bb5+ N6d7 the authors suggest "10. Bf4 intending Nd5 which is very dangerous for Black." Yet,in BCO2 (which Keene co-wrote!!), one can find 10...Bg7 11. Nd5 e5! 12. dxe5 0-0 13. Nf3 Nc6 given as unclear by Keene & Kasparov (p. 235, note 2). This doesn't look too frightening for Black. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg. A thorough read will often leave one hanging, confused or simply misinformed. There was a previous edition that was also bad. The next one probably will be, too. Look elswhere for a repertoire book.

An opening repertoire for the attacking club player

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An opening repertoire for the attacking club player
David N. L Levy
Manufacturer: Batsford
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 0713431377

Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Player

Average customer rating:

My Favorite Openings Book; Must Be Used Correctly
Read the other ORAP!
vastly underrated
Great aggressive repertoire book
Okay, but not good book.

Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Player
Eduard Gufeld
Manufacturer: International Chess Enterprises
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1857441966

Customer Reviews:

My Favorite Openings Book; Must Be Used Correctly .......2006-04-09

I find myself turning to this book again and again. At my level of play, lower intermediate, I want something on the order of guidelines to get me into a good game with chances all around. I'm not talking about playing at the 2000+ level where you really need to know your theory. For the rest of us down in the trenches we need ideas and concepts backed up with suggested lines of play.

This book delivers all of that and more; by following the play outlined in the book I'm able to get into situations where the play's the thing, against players up to about the 1700-1800 level. My four star rating therefore applies when this book is used by the intermediate player. The expert player won't find much here, though.

This is something that is so often overlooked. In class play you aren't up against super players, you're up against other humans such as yourself and you want positions that give opportunities for the other guy to go wrong and for you to take advantage (of course, the reverse can and does happen too).

To move to the next level, though, you will have to supplement this book with more extensive and complete treatments found in specialist books on various openings. For instance, the treatment here of the Dragon is fine to get you going but at an advanced level this is a line filled with deep theory and you will some day have to go to specific Dragon books.

Overall: a good book with plenty of ideas which will take you far in class play, and which will need considerable supplemental material beyond that.

Read the other ORAP!.......2005-01-15

As a an intermediate player I have Played for Years from another book called "An Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Player" written By Raymond Keene And David Levy (2nd edition published 1994 by Batsford) and I can't recommend this highly enough for players trying to learn to apply tactics in aggressive,sound openings.I wouldnt look past it to buy this volume!That said I haven't actually read Gufelds book!

vastly underrated.......2002-11-10

This is a great book; it is very well-indexed and right tothe point. Its recommendations are all sound and all are open attacking game. It does require further research if you wish to play many of the lines, but it is a great place to start. It is very well-done, and very easy to follow. Excellent!

Great aggressive repertoire book.......2002-09-04

I love this book, and finally found a book that presents a comprehensive repertoire that I can live with. The recommendations rae internally consistent, such as the Vienna along with the Grand Prix attack, as both involvve an early f4, along with the Dutch, which involves an early ...f5. As another reviewer pointed out, this book contains enough information to get you up and running, to do further research. The book also is good in providing recommendations for all the other second moves you will see as black if you play the Dragon. I was pleasantly surpised by this book! It is really wonderful.

Okay, but not good book........2001-12-27

My problem with this book is that some of the recommendations in this book are very complex defenses which beginning and intermediate players might find difficult to use. They are very tactical, and Gufeld does little explanation of them. There is some analysis, but many times he will just attach a game fragment and say who's better with no explaination of why or what to do. He gives brief strategy summary at the beginning of each section, but as an intermediate player (USCF Rating of 1650) I find it difficult to use these recommendations in my own play, because there is little explaination of the variations. If you use the recommendations, you may need to do your own research and analysis (which you should do anyway), but isn't part of a repertoire book's job to do some of the homework for you? What it does do is give a repertoire for most major defenses so that a player does not have to pick one himself. My best use for it was to look at the sections and find my own choices for variations and use the sections as a list of defenses I need to prepare for using other sources.

An Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Player : New Edition

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An Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Player : New Edition
Raymond ; Levy, David Keene
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MEGANA

Average customer rating:

Not worth the money

Executive Job Search Handbook by Orrin Wood

Principal, Quality Systems Management, Tewksbury MA

I used first hand the strategy defined in this book.

The Executive Job Search by Orrin Wood

The Executive Job Search: A Comprehensive Handbook for Seasoned Professionals
Orrin Wood
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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CareerJournal.com Resume Guide for $100,000 Plus Executive Jobs

Executive Job Search for $100,000 to $1 Million+ Jobs: Resumes, Career Portfolios, Leadership Profiles, Executive Branding Statements and More

ASIN: 0071409424

Book Description

The indispensable guide for executives in search of a soft landing

The groups hardest hit by the most recent wave of downsizings have been upper and middle management. People with 10 or more years on the job, much or all of it spent at one company, are particularly unprepared for the rigors of today's job market. The Executive Job Search shows these professionals how to take charge of their searches and land the jobs of their dreams.

Career expert Orrin Wood shows job seekers how to:

Determine their job goals so they can conduct a highly focused search
Improve their attractiveness to potential employers
Optimize their interviewing skills
Mine the contacts they've built up over the years for an effective networking campaign
Explore alternative career options and plan for the future

Readers will also find a gold mine of checklists, and sample forms and documents, including sample resumes, cover letters, interview scripts, and more.

Download Description

Customer Reviews:

Not worth the money.......2007-05-13

NOthing new in this text that has not already been said/written a hundred times before.
Dissappointing purchase.

Executive Job Search Handbook by Orrin Wood.......2004-04-11

Having experienced firsthand the sage advice of Orrin Wood in my own transition from corporate America to business entrepreneur, I applaud the publication of his second book. Recognizing how the landscape for the executive job hunt has changed, Mr. Wood provides important insights into the varied campaigns the successful candidate should undertake in this search. From thinking out of the box in developing your network of contacts, to understanding the power and the limitations of the internet, to setting critical hurdles for yourself - this book will challenge you to discipline and challenge yourself in this journey. This is the seasoned professional's "no holes barred" handbook for negotiating the landscape for the "next chapter". There are immediate and life lessons to be learned from this important book.

Principal, Quality Systems Management, Tewksbury MA.......2004-03-14

With over 40 years backgroud in the high tech field, I have experienced "job transitioning" several times; often as a painful journey. Orwin Wood, in his latest book, pulls together everything which took me 4 decades to accumulate.
I especially enjoyed reading the chapter on networking and the specific tips on being alert to hidden job possibiities. Had this particular guidance been available to me in years past, my own job searches would have been much less difficult.

Executive Job Search is an outstanding manual/guide for most levels of job hunters, even those not actively seeking new employment. I have recommended the book to friends and clients.

I used first hand the strategy defined in this book........2004-03-13

I used first hand the strategy defined in this book. Guess what? It works.

After losing my job at Agilent Technologies in Andover, MA in 2001, I spent 10 months in the Boston area looking for another job. There was none until I met Orrin and followed step by step what he prescribes in this book. I found my dream job 5 months later in the Washington,DC area.

The Executive Job Search by Orrin Wood.......2004-03-06

This book is the most comprehensive guide through the intricacies of the job search process that I have ever found. It methodically walks the reader through the complete executive job search process. Actually, to say it is comprehensive is an understatement. Orrin Wood starts at the very beginning prior to departing from one's current position, he proceeds to literally dissect the whole search process itself, finishing with the eventual adjustment period in the new job and beyond. It is rich with examples and step-by-step instructions on how to develop the necessary material for a successful job search. Then, to ensure successful use of the material just generated, Orrin Wood carefully alerts the reader to the many subtle pitfalls at various points in the search process, and the do's & don'ts to avoid them. In addition, applicable outside resources have been inserted throughout the book, making it an ideal primary guide during the job search. This book is a "must-read" for any executive who is realistic about the uncertainties in today's marketplace!

The Executive Job Search : A Comprehensive Handbook for Seasoned Professionals

Average customer rating:

The Executive Job Search : A Comprehensive Handbook for Seasoned Professionals
Orrin Wood
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OG684C

Book Description

In her prologue to Another Way Home, Ronne Hartfield notes the dearth of stories about African Americans who have occupied the area of mixed race with ease and harmony for generations. Her moving family history is filled with such stories, told in beautifully crafted and unsentimental prose. Spanning most of the twentieth century, Hartfield's book celebrates the special occasion of being born and reared in a household where miscegenation was the rule rather than the exception—where being a woman of mixed race could be a fundamental source of strength, vitality, and courage.

Hartfield begins with the early life of her mother, Day Shepherd. Born to a wealthy British plantation owner and the mixed-race daughter of a former slave, Day negotiates the complicated circumstances of plantation life in the border country of Louisiana and Mississippi and, as she enters womanhood, the quadroon and octoroon societies of New Orleans. Equally a tale of the Great Migration, Another Way Home traces Day's journey to Bronzeville, the epicenter of black Chicago during the first half of the twentieth century. Here, through the eyes of Day and, ultimately, her daughter, we witness the bustling city streets and vibrant middle-class culture of this iconic black neighborhood. We also relive crucial moments in African American history as they are experienced by the author's family and others in Chicago's South Side black community, from the race riots of 1919 and the Great Depression to the murder of Emmett Till and the dawn of the civil rights movement.

Throughout her book, Hartfield portrays mixed-race Americans navigating the challenges of their lives with resilience and grace, making Another Way Home an intimate and compelling encounter with one family's response to our racially charged culture.

Customer Reviews:

Race and the Emergence of Identity.......2005-12-31

Another Way Home takes the reader through a time that first seems long gone, but surprises with its current influence and meaning. At first blush the story tells of the societal strictures of the South against mulattos. Gradually, the reader realizes that the book is actually about the development of identity and the hurdles society puts in the path of individuals. The book becomes less about the tensions of black and white, and more about the importance of solid values, courage and self-confidence. Ultimately it is these three critical traits in Day Rone that enable her to create the life she wants with the man she loves, and to raise a gifted family of solidy rooted individuals. Day Rone shares everything with my Sicilain grandmother and my husband's Irish mother -- proving that we are more like one another beneath the skin than we are different. The book engages from the first page because it speaks to every family. Beautifully written, imaginatively presented, and too true to be fiction, it makes for an entertaining and moving reading experience. It's a book worth reading so that we do not forget the struggles of the past, and also so that we can see the strong women who shape our own lives.

A story well told. Bravo........2005-10-27

This is an informative & well crafted read that allows the reader to glimpse the grace, strength & determination of a family - especially & specifically the women of this faimly - that held them together on 'Hare-Track'/'The Place'/'Down Home' and consequently continues to be the foundation of what is now 5 generations removed. This book does an excellent job of allowing all who read it to experience the sense of family pride that I have known all my life. (Well done Cousin, well done.)

A must read..........2004-12-29

Why isn't this on the best seller list? Ronne Hartfield's family history is beautifully written, covering not only her family's transition from Mississippi to Chicago but black history as well. I grew up in a white neighborhood in Chicago. This book let me step into a parallel universe! Hartfield also covers women's changing roles over a century. The loving relationships among family members are a model and inspiration for all of us.

Another Way Home .......2004-11-26

Another Way Home, by Ronne Hartfield, works for me on three levels: 1) it tells the ever-interesting story of a woman (Hartfield's mother) who grew up a mulatto in the segregated South, then passed for white in Chicago; 2) it is a strong and powerful tribute by Hartfield to her mother, beautifully and lyrically told; and 3) it moves from the personal to the universal, reminding us all of the family continuum we are born into and the remarkable people our parents often are.

This book is a history lesson told through personal anecdote. As it wends its way through Day Rone's journey from South to North, the reader is given an up-close look at the celebrations, achievements and tragic loss of a remarkable American family. Celebrating Day Rone's life will lead you to want to celebrate your own family, too. I strongly recommend this book.

Another Way Home.......2004-11-12

This is a wonderful read. Beautifully written, and a fascinating bio of an exceptional woman whose life spans a time of crucial transition in American history. Everyone should read this book.

Another Way Home : The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family

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Another Way Home : The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family
Ronne Hartfield
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPEEE4

Average customer rating:

Another Way Home: The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family
Ronne Hartfield
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPAKMY

Amazon.com

Jack Todd made a fateful decision in 1969. A farm boy from a time and place where the obligation to serve in the military was taken for granted, Todd had just completed basic training at an army post near Seattle when he opted to take a Vietnam-veteran friend's advice and slip across the border into British Columbia rather than risk his life fighting in an unpopular war. His life in Canada was by no means easy; he spent time on Skid Row among fellow deserters and draft evaders, many of them parasitical criminals, and, although he was a veteran journalist, he had to start from scratch at a Vancouver paper, slowly winning the acceptance of his colleagues.

Todd renounced his American citizenship, which made him one of a handful of Vietnam-era deserters to have been ineligible for the general amnesty offered during Jimmy Carter's presidency--he could not even return to the United States for his mother's funeral. In this graceful memoir, Todd revisits what he calls his "absurd decision" to leave his country. Absurd, in part, because he later discovered he would not have been sent to Vietnam at all, but was instead slated to serve as a military journalist in Germany. For that decision he has many regrets, although he has clearly made a good life for himself in his adopted country. The cost was perhaps too great, though: "The effect of forced exile is felt not in any sudden tearing away but in the corrosive loss, over a period of time, of too many of the things that make you who you are." --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

In 1969, Jack Todd was twenty-three and happy beyond his dreams. He had left behind a hardscrabble youth in a small Nebraska town, had an exciting and enviable job as a reporter on the Miami Herald, and was wildly in love with his beautiful Cuban-American girlfriend. As the war in Vietnam drew closer, he assumed that he would fight, as the men in his family had always fought, though he was increasingly troubled by America's role there. His oldest friend had just returned from Vietnam and was already showing signs of the war-caused trauma that would destroy him; he had seen and done things too terrible to describe. He begged Jack to dodge the draft, to go to Canada. Nevertheless Jack entered the army and completed basic training. On leave before his departure for Vietnam, he agonized over a momentous decision. By now deeply opposed to the war, he crossed the border into Canada, leaving behind his family, the girl he loved — and his beloved homeland. Now one of Canada's most successful journalists, Jack Todd is a remarkable writer of great power and vibrancy. It has taken him thirty years to come to terms with the guilt and shame of desertion, to break the silence, to tell this controversial, important, profoundly American story. In a dark century, when many "only obeyed orders," he chose not to. This is an intensely moving personal story told with passion and literary verve, as well as an eloquent account of a tortured time in American history. It is hard to put down, and impossible to forget.

Customer Reviews:

Born In The U.S.A........2003-01-27

Toward the end of his treacly memoir, Jack Todd lists all the things he lost when he deserted the Army and fled the country during the Vietnam War, or as he so euphemistically moans, was "forced into exile". Country. Citizenship. Profession. Family. Love. He acknowledges that he will be called a coward and perhaps "... the people who say that are right". Well, if the shoe fits, wear it.

Todd aspired to be a Marine Corps officer but couldn't handle the training and washed out within weeks. Like so many spurned lovers his ardor turns to hatred. He makes an obscene parody of the Marine Corps hymn and describees perfect Marine material as "muscular nineteen-year olds with low foreheads and thick shoulders. Dumb and strong". He tries to ward off the draft by waving his unqualified separation papers from the Corps like a talisman but has no luck; he was inducted into the Army but fled to Canada before he was finished recruit training, motivated less by principle than by the fact that his girlfriend had broken up with him.

Excuses, excuses, excuses. His mother, his girlfriend, his best friend all told him to flee to Canada (Mr. Todd, much later, was afraid to return to the United States for his mother's funeral for fear of being arrested) so he went. Even when he renounces his American citizenship and becomes a Canadian he finds someone to blame-Richard Nixon. Mr. Nixon can be blamed for many things but causing a deserter to swear allegiance to a foreign country is not one of them.

A coward?.......2002-10-04

If you're not afraid of ideas and opinions that may differ from your own, read this book.

Is it cowardly, or un-American, to avoid a war if you truly feel it is wrong? The U.S. government does not rule by divine right. Our country was formed as a direct result of Americans revolting against what they considered to be unjust government. If it is our obligation, today, to blindly follow our government's "authority", then it was equally the obligation of our fore-fathers to do so in the 1700's. How many Americans think the Fathers of the Revolution were traitors for not submitting to the authority of their government?

After WWII, many Germans said, "we were just following orders...". It was not a legitimate excuse then, no has it ever been. We each have the power of reason, the power to judge right from wrong, and it is our moral and ethical obligation to exercise that power. It is NEVER right to turn that power over to someone else - not to the government, not to Ronald Reagan or to Bill Clinton, not to religious "authority" - not to anyone! "Desertion" is an account of one young man, an average American, exercising this power. Jack Todd's account of his stuggle in determining what his duty was is well worth reading!

If you want to read a tremendous account of soldiers selflessly answering the call to arms for what they knew was a just cause, read "We Were Soldiers Once...And Young". Whether you thought the war was right or wrong, these men were laying their lives on the line, doing their duty as they saw it, no matter what the personal consequences. That in and of itself deserves respect.

On the other hand, if you want to read a great story about an American avoiding a war he knew to be unjust, read "Desertion". That action, when motivated by a desire to do the right thing, is also deserving of respect. It is possible for people to hold opposing opinions about the same issues. We shouldn't feel the need to ridicule or persecute those that hold beliefs different than our own (although, unfortunately, THAT seems to be the American Way).

JFK said, "War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today." Apparently, from reading some of the reactions to this book, that day still lies in the distant future.

Breaking the Silence.......2001-09-06

Between 50,000 and 100,000 young men and women fled northward to Canada during the Vietnam War era. Yet, their voices have remained largely silent during the past three decades while a significant body of literature concerning the war experience has been evolving. Jack Todd has broken that silence with the publication of Desertion: In the Time of Vietnam, a moving memoir of a young man who followed his conscience to Canada in 1970 and waged his own private "war" as an exile in search of himself in an unknown land.

This intensely personal account follows Todd from childhood growing up in a small Nebraska town to a promising career at the Miami Herald to basic training at Fort Lewis, Washington. Six weeks into basic training, Todd begins to contemplate flight northward as the dehumanization of the military experience and a growing antiwar conviction convince him to reluctantly leave his country. The decision is not made without Todd's painful acknowledgement of loss ("family, country, career, the woman I love") and moral agonizing over leaving his homeland of 23 years ("It's not that I live in America or that I am American. We are indistinguishable. You grow up the way I did, you don't know where your country leaves off and you start."). Ambivalence haunts him ("One instant I'm leaning one way, the next moment I've swung in the opposite direction. It's like watching a compass needle waver back and froth, back and forth, until it settles on true north.") until the morning early in 1970 when a friend escorts him over the Canadian border to freedom, and there is no turning back.

The memoir concentrates primarily on Todd's life as an exile in a country "that is so much like home that every morning when you get up you have to remind yourself that this is not home, that home is now a place where you can no longer go." Starting in Vancouver he drifts from city to city, on the verge of homelessness much of the time, never staying in any one place long enough to make lasting relationships or discover the security of stability. "The only constant seems to be this endless flight, running on and on and getting no place at all," he writes.

Even as Todd attempts to create a new life in this strange territory, he struggles to write about the exile experience in prose that is both poetic and poignant. "I worry at the theme of exile," he writes, "the meaning of existence on what is, for me in this endless winter, the wrong side of a three thousand-mile border."

By the time the war ends in 1975 Todd feels as if he has been "fighting it one way or another" for the past eight years since becoming a "late convert to the antiwar movement in 1967." Although draft dodgers and deserters are granted amnesty after the war, "it is too late for me," writes a deeply regretful Todd, who earlier made the "absurd decision" to renounce his American citizenship during a period of deep disillusionment. "I have given up my country, my citizenship, my profession, my family, my belief in myself, my true love, everything but my life. For this I will be called a coward," he writes, "and perhaps the people who say that are right. I feel it's the hardest, bravest thing I ever did, but it's not for me to judge." Todd stops short of claiming to be a casualty of war, but does place himself among many others of his generation who were "very different people after we had passed through that fire."

Today Todd is an award-winning journalist for the Montreal Gazette who has "spent half a life on each side of the border" and feels both American and Canadian "in roughly equal parts," although the Wildcat Hills of Nebraska, where he returns to visit as an outsider, will always be considered home "even if there aren't too many people out here who would care to claim me."

Todd's compelling story has waited more than a quarter of a century to be told and undoubtedly took much courage to write. Desertion is a different kind of war story than many that are included in the Vietnam War literary canon, but it is nevertheless a war story. Breaking the silence of desertion, Todd has created a story of conscience, bravery, remorse, and ultimately, hope.

Sickening cowardice and narcissism.......2001-08-16

Why books like this continue to get published is beyond me. The author is a not very interesting sad case. Having washed out of Marine Corps OCS he turns against the entire United States and its armed forces. The story is one of personal cowardice in search of a moral justification which the author is pathetically unable to provide. Why publishers remain obsessed with deserters and antiwar protestors remains a mystery to me; I'd rather read about the heroism of the men who served in Vietnam. I'd like to invite the author to come to any of the many military unit reunions held every year in the US to celebrate the brotherhood and comradeship of those of us who answered our country's call in its hour of need, some reluctantly but all did their duty. Come and see what you missed; the hollow sense of shame that pervades your book will be easier to understand.

Cowardice.......2001-08-09

Todd is a coward and his self-serving mea culpa an affront to the memory of my friends and comrades who placed duty, honor, and country ahead of themselves.

May he live out his life north of the border surrounded by thousands of unsold books.

Average customer rating:
Desertion in the Time of Vietnam.
JACK: TODD
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UCKTNQ

Average customer rating:
Desertion: in the Time of Vietnam
Jack Todd
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N7BVJ4

Book Description

In Masters of War, Clara Nieto adeptly presents the parallel histories of the countries of Latin America, histories which are intertwined, each reflecting the United States' "coherent policy of intervention" set into motion by the Monroe Doctrine. As the value of this continued policy comes increasingly into question, Nieto argues for the need to evaluate the alarming precedent set in Latin America: the institution of client dictatorships, the roles played by the interests of U.S. corporations, the enormous tolls taken on civilian populations, and the irreversible disruption of regional stability.

Clara Nieto's Masters of War first appeared in Colombia, where it became a national best seller. Now available for the first time in English, it has been revised and expanded to address new developments in U.S. and Latin American politics such as the conflicts in the Middle East, the U.S. rejection of the International Criminal Court, recent controversies over globalization, and the new governments of Chavez and Uribe in Venezuela and Colombia.

Drawing from an impressive array of documents and sources as well as from her unique first-hand insights as a participant in crucial meetings and negotiations in the region from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s, Nieto chronicles the Cuban Revolution, the CIA-sponsored coup against popularly elected President Allende in Chile, the U.S. invasions of Panama and Grenada, U.S. support for the cultivation and training of paramilitary death squads in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Colombia, as well as similarly severe but less well-known situations in other countries such as Uruguay, Venezuela, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Honduras, and Guatemala.

Nieto shows how movements for social change and economic progress among the farmers and factory workers of South and Central America raised alarms in Washington as manifestations of the threat of Communism while the brutality used to suppress these movements was actively supported by the U.S. as an instrument of freedom and democracy. She introduces us to the presidents, government advisors, generals, guerrilla leaders, and intelligence officials who kept the region ablaze with political turmoil and bitter armed conflicts.

Masters of War is powerful in many respects: it offers, from an informed perspective, perhaps for the first time, a distanced, objective analysis of recent Latin American history, and the book revisits this history at a crucial moment. Developments in U.S. foreign policy are drawing sharp criticism from all over the world for espousing double standards, unilateralism, and unprecedented displays of military force as appropriate means to further its own interests. Clara Nieto's depth of knowledge and understanding is an invaluable resource at a time when the media is seen as unapologetically aligned with the interests of major corporations and policymakers, and the American public has reached a new height of apprehension regarding the intentions behind and consequences of its government's policies.

Customer Reviews:

A Long Narrative of US Agression towards Latin America.......2007-06-17

This book is a typical denunciation of US policy towards Latin America. It focuses on Cuba since the Revolution (1959), but covers events from countries throughout the region, including the Central American civil wars and the Southern Cone military dictatorships. Everything is true in the book; but its great weakness is that it is nothing more than a long list of events trying to show that US policy towards Latin America was belligerent in the latter half of the twentieth century. It lacks any original or dynamic interpretations. I would only recommend this book to someone who does not know, or believe, that the United States has behaved as an imperial power in Latin America.

A must read for the student of Latin American history.......2005-10-06

Overall an excellent book that deals with U.S. military interventions in Latin America from the perspective of a Latin American scholar. My one critique of the book is an obvious bias against the United States with no intent on even trying to be objective. I would still highly recommend it. The obvious biases aside it is an excellent tool in understanding why Latin American people and leaders have negative feelings towards the United States and why Latin Americans see the U.S. as the bad guys.

Excellent account of recent Latin American history.......2004-07-12

In this excellent history of Latin America since 1959, the Colombian diplomat Clara Nieto surveys the continent country by country, showing how the US state has consistently intervened in their internal affairs.
The alliance of neo-liberalism and social democracy internally, the USA and the EU externally, has kept capitalism in power in Latin America. So half its people live in worsening poverty, a third are unemployed, and foreign debt totals $400 billion.
Nieto focuses on the Cuban revolution and its effects. In March 1959, President Eisenhower ordered CIA sabotage and terrorism against Cuba. Kennedy was worse: Nieto writes, "His policies opposing the Revolution were more aggressive than Eisenhower's." Two days before the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, US planes bombed Cuba's cities, under Kennedy's orders. Kennedy started the US policy of counter-insurgency in Latin America (and Africa and Asia), supporting death squads and military dictatorships. Nieto shows how the US state sponsored counterrevolutionary wars in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Guatemala and Chile.
Johnson carried on Kennedy's policies: he backed the generals' fascist coup in Brazil in 1964, and attacked the Dominican Republic in 1965. Nieto depicts Reagan's wars - occupying Honduras, arming the death squads of El Salvador, running the Contras' terrorist war against Nicaragua, attacking Grenada - and Bush's attack on Panama.
The US state has never ceased its illegal, terrorist attacks on Cuba. The New York Times reported in 1983 how the head of a Miami-based anti-Cuban terrorist group admitted in a US court that he had taken germs to Cuba in 1980, proving Cuba's accusations of CIA biological warfare against Cuba. The US state made Armando Valladares - a former Batista police officer and convicted terrorist - ambassador and president of its delegation to the UN Human Rights Commission.
But the Commission's 1989 report refuted all the US slanders about Cuba's torture and abuse of political prisoners. The world knows now who tortures and abuses political prisoners detained without charge or trial.
Nieto's final chapter examines how Cuba has survived and kept its revolution going. The key is that its people, determined to defend their democracy, independence and sovereignty, actively prevent the counter-revolution from organising.

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