Letters to His Son, 1752

Book Description

Ride with the author, Rod Koch, and share his adventures as he struggles to win the epic Baja 1000. Seven Years from Start to Finish covers the early years of the Baja races from 1968-1975, up to the moment when the author becomes "Numero Uno," a winner in the incredible endurance race down and around the Baja California peninsula.

It's a personal look into the vast wilderness of Baja at a time when it was the last true frontier in North America (that's not covered by ice and snow 6 months of the year). Here an average guy takes on the Baja, the corporate-backed teams, and the stiff competition including famous personalities like Steve McQueen, James Garner, Pat Wayne, Parnelli Jones, Roger Ward, and a host of others, to finally realize what it means to be a winner of that legendary Baja 1000.

At each race, the drivers, including the author, find the Baja races to be a great social equalizer. Then, there is Baja. A land of immense contrast and beauty, which like the racers and winds that pass over it, cannot keep it from the creeping pressures of civilization.

It tells of a time and a place not so very long ago, where a person could feel free to compete and travel just as fast and as far down a primitive road as their individuality could take them.

Customer Reviews:

Great read!.......2007-05-02

I purchased this book before I participated in my first Baja race so I would have a better idea of what to expect. Even though most of the accounts took place over 30 years ago, it was refreshing for me to find out that many things had not changed. Often times younger generations feel like they can't associate with an older generation or the older generation can't identify with the younger.......in this book I found that the thought patterns and what was important to the racer 30 years ago have not changed. I rate this book a great read that takes you for several rides up and down the Baja peninsula during the pioneer days of offroad Baja racing.

Not the same as the hardback.......2005-11-29

I ordered this for my husband becuz all his friends had it and were ranting and raving about it. I give it to him and he is really stoked and calls his brother to talk about some famous car in it. Well this is when we find out there is a big difference between the hardback and the paperback. The paperback doesn't have all the pictures in it that the hardback does. Very disappointing for my husband.

Average customer rating:
The Exorcist (Faber Reel Classics)
William Peter Blatty
Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Reservoir Dogs: The Screenplay

ASIN: 057120239X

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The Exorcist (Classic Screenplays)
William Peter Blatty
Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 057120015X

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The exorcist: Final draft screenplay
William Peter Blatty
Manufacturer: Script City
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B0007C6E5G

Book Description

Once upon a time, before the advent of the indie rocker and the alternative chick, before primitivism became a style trend and tattoo parlors set up shop on the good avenues, tattoos were the secret language of a restricted world, a world of criminals. The photographs, drawings and texts published here are part of a collection of 3,600 tattoos accumulated over a lifetime by prison attendant Danzig Baldayev. Tattoos were his entrance into a secret world, a world in which he acted as an ethnographer, recording the rituals of a closed society. The icons and tribal languages he documented are artful, distasteful, sexually explicit and sometimes just simply strange, reflecting as they do the lives and mores of convicts. Skulls, swastikas, harems of naked women, a smiling Al Capone, assorted demons, medieval knights in armor, daggers sheathed in blood, benign images of Christ, mosques and minarets, sweet-faced mothers and their babies, armies of tanks, and a horned Lenin--these are the signs with which this hidden world of people mark and identify themselves.

Customer Reviews:

Wow!.......2007-04-10

Excellent photos and artwork with clear, concise explanations. An excellent collector's item, but not really a suggested "coffee table" book. There's quite a bit of nudity, graphic political and sexual imagery, and one heaping dose of harsh reality.

Better then the first..........2007-03-24

Great original photography and a whole new look at tattoos...super raw, but oh so cool....not your average tattoo book....but a must own..

Truly an inside look at an exclusive society.......2007-03-14

When I bought this book, I flipped through the pages and looked at all the tattoos before reading anything. The tattoos were interesting enough, but I had to read the introduction to understand the culture that was molded wholly around the artwork itself. This encyclopedia gives a detailed account of what having a tattoo means in the culture of Russian prisoners. In many societies, tattoos mean very little. Many people get them on a whim, or go into a parlor knowing they want one, but not knowing what they want (probably a butterfly on her back, or a tribal band around his arm). This book explains how tattoos among Russian inmates serve as their resumes--who they are, what they've done, where they rank in the society, who they serve, how they feel about the state... the culture made possible by the tattoos is extremely fascinating, but you have to either be an inmate or read a book written by a credible source (read: this book) to find out about all the facets of it.

good book.......2006-03-28

this is an excellent book for those interested in tattoo art from other countries. this book has a lot of sketches describing each tattoo and its meaning. it also has actual pictures of russian inmates with their facinating prison tattoos. i would not recomend this book for anyone under 18 since some of the tattoos/sketches of tattoos are extremely violent and pornograhic. But facinating at the same time.

This book is not for the faint of heart.......2005-08-24

well, first of all, the book is shocking and distrubing. the book is mainly made up of drawings. These drawings are actual tattoos and many of them are accompanied by a brief story about the persons lifestyle or conviction. There are about, lets say 30 photos at the most, there is some nudity in the photos, male and female. Some of tattoo drawings are extremely XXX in context.Yeah its hard to beleive that someone would tattoo a graphic image of some sex acts on their skin. this book does have a lengthly introduction about the meanings of the whole Thieves World tattoos, there are pages also showing the meanings of the Finger ring tattoos which was quite interesting.The book mainly states that behind the meaning of alot of the tattoos its a personal expression against the soviet system, plain and simple.
The book gives you a feel about how it was to be caught up in the soviet system. I bought the book because i have been around the whole mexican gang scene and i have seen the tattoos that many of them get, and i just wanted to see the similarites of the criminal underworlds. Its all the same around the world.this
book will offend you no matter what, If you really want to still
learn more about the about the tattoos, get both of the books that amazon has here.

Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia: v

Average customer rating:

Gem from the underworld

Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia: v
Danzig Baldaev
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K2JBYY

Customer Reviews:

Gem from the underworld.......2007-06-16

There is a reason this book is currently sold out. Anyone who thinks ethnography is boring need only open the covers of this book, where excellent illustrations unearth the language of Russian criminal tattoos, revealing politics, sex, hierarchy, race, even longing, and explores a surprisingly systematic code by which prisoners relate their lives. Baldaev is one prison guard who was not wasting his time.

Average customer rating:

Harnessing Vision, Reality, Ethics, and Courage to Build a Great Leadership Mind

Sound, but dated despite revision

Top 5 business books

Inspiring, empowering and practical -- this book is a gem.

Philosophy in Business...and life

Leadership: The Inner Side of Greatness, A Philosophy for Leaders, New and Revised
Peter Koestenbaum
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Awakening the Leader Within: A Story of Transformation

Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence

The Leadership Challenge, 4th Edition

The Philosophic Consultant: Revolutionizing Organizations with Ideas

Executive E. Q.

ASIN: 0787959561

Book Description

It has been more than a decade since the first edition of Peter Koestenbaum's landmark book Leadership: The Inner Side of Greatness was published. Since that time world events have caused a dramatic shift in how we think about our lives and our work. Now we grapple with the fundamental questions. How can we live a courageous life and manage anxiety? Is it possible to reach greater heights of ethics and responsibility?
Peter Koestenbaum, the preeminent business philosopher, has been a trusted mentor to business leaders worldwide. In this thoroughly revised edition of his classic book he shares his wisdom about the fundamental nature of leadership and shows what it takes to become an exceptional and passionate leader in today's complex world. At the very heart of the book is his Leadership Diamond model— a paradigm that challenges managers to transform their thinking and approach everything with fresh effectiveness in order to reap richer results and become great leaders.

Customer Reviews:

Harnessing Vision, Reality, Ethics, and Courage to Build a Great Leadership Mind .......2006-12-29

Peter Koestenbaum correctly adopts a holistic, philosophical approach to leadership that has a better chance to resist the grinding effect of time than an approach built on the last ephemeral buzzword. Leadership means greatness in all one does. Koestenbaum stresses that leadership is not limited to the work sphere. Koestenbaum identifies the six areas of leadership that he calls work, family, self, social responsibility, ecological responsibility, and financial strength.

Koestenbaum links his leadership model in part to philosophy because of its depth, perennial strength. Koestenbaum does not believe in born leaders. Leadership is rooted in one's free will, which underpins both responsibility and accountability. Just having money or authority does not turn anyone into a true leader. Character strength ultimately separates aspirants from authentic leaders who have a personality strong enough for translating mere words into actions.

Koestenbaum builds his leadership model in the form of a diamond whose beating heart is greatness that rests on standards. Four competing styles of thinking shape how the leadership diamond looks like: Vision, reality, ethics, and courage. Vision gives someone a larger view; reality is built on pragmatism; ethics reflects a concern for feelings; courage is rooted in free will. Koestenbaum associates supporting tactics at the professional, social, psychological, and philosophical levels with each of these four styles of thinking. Koestenbaum helps his audience build individual and organizational skills mostly through good examples.

To summarize, Koestenbaum gives his readers building blocks that they can assemble like a Lego. Anyone looking for the proverbial silver bullet will be disappointed. Leadership is shrouded into ambiguity, polarity, and uncertainty. Greatness in leadership is a lifelong endeavor which is open to anyone who has the character strength it takes to make a real difference.

Sound, but dated despite revision.......2003-02-19

This is a competent example of the many formula based books on leadership, one built round four dimensions of vision, engagement with reality, ethics and courage. Originally published in 1991, much of what it argues is now part of the common currency of the literature. It is well set out and simply written, but does not really engage with the great issues of today's society. Similarly, there is no explicit definition of leadership, the implicit definition used being a traditional one that is under considerable challenge.

Top 5 business books.......2002-11-22

I've read a ton of business books and 80% are rehash, obvious garbage. This is a keeper. Inspiring, will make you excited to go to work again.

Read it!

Inspiring, empowering and practical -- this book is a gem........1999-10-23

This book presents a way of thinking about leadership that is both deeply personal and universal.

The Leadership Diamond organizes the paradoxical imperatives of leadership into a simple but far from simplistic model. It brings other leadership theories into perspective by offering a dynamically balanced, holistic and actionable approach.

Philosophy in Business...and life.......1998-05-19

For the intelligent business person tired of easy recipes, and yearning for a deeper approach to the paradoxes of modern business, here is a work by an original thinker, Psychologist and Philosopher, applying the ages-old wisdom of Philosophy to the challenges of leadership in today's business world. Koestenbaum presents his approach in a didactic manner, yet never underestimating his audience, utlizing a model for Leadership values in the form of a four vertex diamond: Vision, at the top, encompassing the ability to think strategically, but also to understand others with different cultures and realities than our own; Courage at the bottom, which surprisingly represents not heroic, one-time achievements but rather sustained initiative, the ability to focus on an objective throughout life; Reality on the left, comprehending the ability to deal with hard facts, but also the understanding of the paradoxical nature of life; and, last but not least, Ethics, which beyond anything represents empathy and stewardship, service to others as the ultimate way of realizing greatness.

Two fundamental concepts guide the whole book: Greatness, the embodiment of one's potential for life; and Free Will, the simple but powerful recognition of every human being's ability to take charge of his own life and the consequences of his decisions. Dealing with each of the four dimensions of the leadership diamond at increasing levels of depth, Koestenbaum allows the reader to approach practical problems in everyday's business life with new, enriching perspectives, staying away from oversimplifying, or establishing any orthodox "right" answer, but rather recognizing the paradoxical nature of many apparently easy questions in the business arena of today. The quest for Leadership is defined then by the search to achieve balance between those four dimensions, as the ability to recognize and deal effectively paradox in modern life, not only in business, but in every sphere of life: business, family, personal, community. ! As a Psychologist, Koestenbaum brings an original perspective to the bussiness leader's career: the importance of his awareness to other's people's perceptions of his behavior. This ability to understand the leader's own "market" and to attract and receive feedback becomes an essential requisite in he learning and teaching of leadership. Koestenbaum's teachings bring a humanist approach to business, the recognition that the tranformation of enterprises starts and ends with the decisions of individuals to transform themselves. (Yes, another paradox, for we are tryng to transform that of which we are a part of). Most importantly, this book offers the modern businessperson a way to make our position in a company,and the way we deal with leadership, become the very vehicle by which we can trascend,the means by which we can give meaning to our lives.

Book Description

First published over fifty years ago, Isaiah Berlin's compelling portrait of the father of socialism has long been considered a classic of modern scholarship and the best short account written of Marx's life and thought. It provides a penetrating, lucid, and comprehensive introduction to Marx as theorist of the socialist revolution, illuminating his personality and ideas, and concentrating on those which have historically formed the central core of Marxism as a theory and practice. Berlin goes on to present an account of Marx's life as one of the most influential and incendiary social philosophers of the twentieth century and depicts the social and political atmosphere in which Marx wrote. This edition includes a new introduction by Alan Ryan which traces the place of Berlin's Marx from its pre-World War II publication to the present, and elucidates why Berlin's portrait, in the midst of voluminous writings about Marx, remains the classic account of the personal and political side of this monumental figure.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting philosophy, but little biographical details.......2007-07-30

Because of the way my brain is wired, I take a lot more interest in the historical than I do in the philosophical. Even though Marx spent a good chunk of his life sequestered away in the reading room of the London Library, I still find the narrative details of his life fascinating: his banishment from one country to another, his participation in the 1848 revolutions, the numerous petty squabbles he had with other 19th century revolutionaries, his involvement in the politics of the International, and his last great fight against Bakunin.

It's always a struggle to find a good biography that focuses on the historical instead of on the philosophical. And after reading Isaiah Berlin's take on Marx's life, I am beginning to appreciate how good the biography by Francis Wheen was that I read this past summer.

Isaiah Berlin does a good job of summarizing Marx's life in under 300 pages, but most of the book lingers on Marx's philosophical development, with whole long chapters devoted to topics such as "The Young Hegelians" and "Historical Materialism." I would have preferred more emphasis on the narrative sections, but when reading a biography of a philosopher, I suppose it is hard to get away from the philosophy.

One thing Berlin does which I thought was very interesting was that he emphasized the paradoxes in Marx's legend. For example Marx lived during the age of romantic revolutions in which popular revolutionary figures like Herzen, Mazzini, Blanqui, and Lassalle commanded almost religious like followings. Marx spent most of his life in obscurity in the London library, and yet today his name is still known by almost everyone on the planet. Marx's central thesis, that historical material conditions and not ideas influence history, has been undercut by its very success.

Or how the German and Austrian communists, who followed Marx's advice about organizing from the bottom up, were eventually overwhelmed by the fascists, where as the Bolsheviks, who committed the most un-Marxist act of a revolutionary coup, was the first (and for a time the only) successful Marxist revolution.

Bakunin, as seems to be the case with any biography vaguely sympathetic towards Marx, comes off a bit badly here. I suppose that's to be expected. (When I was in my big anarchist phase at College, I used to read biography's about Bakunin in which Marx came off badly.)

There is no denying that Bakunin had his flaws. Anyone who has read any piece of analysis by Bakunin knows he didn't have the brilliance of Marx's pinky. He was a romantic without a clear ideology, and he didn't share Marx's horror for Revolutions that went off half-cocked with no chance of succeeding. And, as every biography of Marx makes clear, he was an anti-Semite.

And yet, he was right (well, not about the anti-Semite part). But history has shown all of Bakunin's criticisms of Marx to be true. And, to his credit, Isaiah Berlin does include some of Bakunin's extended quotations:
"We believe power corrupts those who wield it as much as those who are forced to obey it. Under its influence, some become greedy and ambitious tyrants, exploiting society in their own interest, or in that of their class, while others are turned into abject slaves. Intellectuals, positivists, doctrinaires, all those who put science before life...defend the idea of the state and its authority as being the only possible salvation of society-quite logically, since from their false premises that thought comes before life, that only abstract theory can form the starting-point of social practice...they draw the inevitable conclusion that since such theoretical knowledge is at present possessed by very few, these few must be put in control of social life, not only to inspire, but to direct all popular movements, and that no sooner is the revolution over than a new social organization must be at once be set up; not a free association of popular bodies...working in accordance with the needs and instincts of the people but a centralized dictatorial power concentrated in the hands of this academic minority, as if they really expressed the popular will....The difference between such revolutionary dictatorship and the modern State is only one of external trappings. In substance both are a tyranny of the minority over the majority in the name of the people-in the name of the stupidity of the many and the superior wisdom of the few-and so they are equally reactionary, devising to secure political and economic privilege to the ruling minority, and the...enslavement of the masses, to destroy the present order only to erect their own rigid dictatorship on its ruins."

Berlin gives a surprisingly hostile account of the Paris Commune, which he appears to have based completely off the Bourgesious press. And he also advances the interesting idea that Marx actually opposed the Paris Commune because it was more along the lines of Bakunin's revolutionary ideology, but once it was clear the Commune was going to fall, Marx embraced it for the cynical reasons of the desire to link his name with the most infamous revolution in Europe at the time. Berlin is the first writer I have come across who claims this, and well it certainly is not an impossible conclusion, it would be nice if he gave some more evidence for it.

Not quite best autobiography but worth reading.......2006-09-30

David McLellan's Karl Marx: A Biography is a better standard biography. McLellan had access to much more material about Marx's life than did Berlin and he brings it all together in a satisifying package.

Berlin's book, however, provides a superb discussion of the philosophical background to Marx's work. Because of that Berlin's book is extremely valuable.

Readers of Berlin's book must be aware that his interpretation of Marx's social theory is colored by Berlin's anti-communist beliefs. Although many today reject that a close tie existed between Marx's social theory and the USSR, Berlin assumed that such a link existed when he looked at things in the late 1930s. As a result, a tone of worry and concern suffuses Berlin's discussion of many of Marx's ideas and Berlin tends to paint Marx as more of a potential authoritarian than did later biographers.

Despite that, Berlin's book is well worth a read.

A classic account of Marx.......2005-03-09

Rereading the fourth edition of this classic short intellectual biography of Marx, one finds it as interesting as on the first occasion, and the result is a crisp portrait of one of the most misunderstood figures of philosphical history. Marx lived in what was not only a rapidly changing social environment,but one in which the social ideologies of modernity where themselves undergoing shifts of paradigm. From the electric world of the now almost unimaginable period of the Hegelian tide, via Feuerbach and the Left Hegelians, we pass to the age of post-Comptean positivism, and the post-Darwinian world view. This divide is reflected in Marx's philosophic development itself, one of the reasons he is almost never properly understood. Berlin's deft account proceeds through this obscurities with a sure touch.

IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS.......2003-07-18

Isaiah Berlin's biography of Karl Marx is as erudite as it is compelling. Taking one of the more controversial and laborious men of the twentieth century as his subject matter, Berlin weaves the intricate and sometimes confounding thoughts of his subject into a patterned and complex whole.

Karl Marx is treated fairly in this book--neither with sycophantic adulation nor with profound cynicism typical of other treatments of Marx and his philosophy. Perhaps because of the political consequences of Marx's ideas, the negative overview's of his life have emphasized his tempermental side, the irony of being funded by an aristocratic Engels, or the silliness of his labour theory of value premise (shared by David Ricardo). Meanwhile, on the other side, there are writings on the life of Marx that stick to his genius, his profound impact on the world, and further entrench his cult status.

It is this latter part that I found most interesting in Berlin's work--the exploration of Marx's temper tantrums with anyone who should deviate from Marx's conception of how things must be. Proudhon, for instance, is castigated by Marx. So, too, is Feuerbach and the Young Hegelians (Berlin muses about whether or not this has to do with the mighty influence these have had on Marx's own thought and Marx's desire to be seen as a wholly original thinker). Bakunin does not escape public ridicule when they differ on the value of the State as a mechanism to be used by the proletariat. Bakunin, of course, did not believe in hierarchical orderings of any kind--whether in capitalist industry, or in the socialist state--and issued proclamations and gave speeches to that effect, explicitly cautioning people about the possibility of the government violating the freedom it was supposed to secure. Marx was not impressed, and consequently mocked him openly. Engels was perhaps the only man to escape the eventual polemical wrath of Marx, saving himself from such a fate possibly because he simply agreed with whatever Marx said, and indulged him in most everything else.

Still, what comes across most forcefully is the life of a man steeped in ideas, and interested in the fundamental, radical underpinnings of society as a whole. Marx is often enough considered a genius of the highest calibre, with impeccable literary credentials to back it up. It is this attention to minute detail, and his incredible analysis of society (or rather, the historical 'movement', if you will, of human relationships which reciprocally interact with the concrete, material conditions of their existence) that makes this praise seem a bit understated.

This singular fact--Marx as a man of ideas, and the fact of the practical consequences of his ideas--is touched upon in a self-conscious bit of irony by Berlin. For Marx explained that it isn't ideas that do anything, really, but are, instead, the consequences of material conditions, these conditions being fundamental. And yet it was the writings of Marx that sparked several revolutions and formed the primary cause of the one in Russia which stuck around for a while (no one is here implying a monistic view of history... the lessons Marx tried to teach are not entirely lost on me).

What we're left with is an incredibly vivid picture of Marx, the man (not the myth, or the legend; although a little bit of both is tossed in for spice). Berlin does a masterful job, so anyone picking this book up should find it entirely enjoyable.

PURE AND PROPER INTELLECTUAL HISTORY.......2002-11-21

Let me say that if you are looking for a biography of Marx's life you had better look elsewhere. There are no long chapters about his school days, his relations with his Sisters, Mother or Father. You will not find detailed references to every argument Marx had or every aspect of his squallid and, at times, extremely personally irresponsible lifestyle. You must look elsewhere for those details.

This book is about ideas and the struggle between ideas. It is about Marx emersed in the ideas of his time and how those ideas shaped his thinking, whether changing his ideas, borrowing or regjecting them outright Berlin has a wonderful, at times unique grasp of the issues and the ideas of the times that Marx lived.

Starting with a broad description of the Rational-Empiricist debate and the Hegelian reaction to empiricism, Berlin describes Marx as a unique German Hybrid of British Empiricism married to a searching German Hegelian spirit, dissatisified with the traditional historical interpertations offered by Hegel and his German offshoots, the Young Hegelians.

Along the way Marx comes across a uniques set of millenarian and social theorists of his time; Proudhom, Bakunin, Engels, Lasalle, Feuerbach and others, whom all, even though perhaps disliking Marx personally, respected his argument style, his learning, and his deep insight into the problems of the time.

I would not classify this as a beginning book on Marx. There is a lot of ground covered here and if one does not have at least a thumbnail sketch understanding of the times, the social and political issues, then there will be a chance that the author will loose some of his readership. Berlin's prose has been described variously as dense and hard to understand. It may be for some readers. But Berlin is not excessively wordy (it is a slender volume), but he does have the ability to cover a lot of ideas and currents in a single sentence. It is this juggling and keeping in mind of a lot of ideas and concepts in a single sentence that may necessitate one to reread certain sentences, or at least know the concepts to which he is referring.

If you do have general outline of the ideas of the age then you will love this book. I sat down thinking that this was my "serious reading." I fully expected it to be a labourious process to get through this book. Instead I was profoundly surprised by the breath and depth Berlin covers in his lucid prose.

I found it hard to put the book down.

There is no analysis of whether Marx was right or wrong. Of how his ideas become to become the bible of the oppressed on the earth or how it eventually was transmogrified in some cases to justify the mass killing of those who stood in the way of historical materialism. This is a book of ideas, and as such the ideas discussed of Marx, his contemporaries, and his intellectual primogeniteurs are a ripping good read.

Book Description

A companion volume to Soldiers in Zimbabwe's Liberation War, this collection focuses on the beliefs, ideas, and experiences of the Zimbabwean people during and after the war, including the ideas used by whites to justify brutality, and the civilian experiences at the hands of guerrillas and the Fifth Brigade the role of African religion and Christianity in the struggle, and efforts to educate people for a new society postwar political change and the evolution of new ideas.

Book Description

This new edition of the definitive history of the Secret Service lays bare the 2004 Bush campaign’s political uses of the agency and the new challenges it faces as a branch of the Homeland Security Department, in a post-9/11 world. Acclaimed scholar of political violence and governmental secrecy Philip Melanson explores the long-hidden workings of the Secret Service since its inception in 1865 and through rigorous research and extensive interviews with former White House staffers and retired agents, uncovers startling facts about the Agency’s role in such traumatic national events as the assassination of JFK and the shooting of President Reagan. Included, too, are revelations about presidential demands on the agency; the problems of alcoholism, divorce, and burnout among agents; and the Service’s inexplicable failure to develop profiles of potential assassins. Up-to-date and explosive, this book assails the public image of the Secret Service as a highly professional apolitical organization, exposing the often-detrimental influence that politics exerts on the Agency.

Customer Reviews:

Not quite .......2007-06-25

For most of us the Service Service (a rather ominous sounding agency name in a democratic society) is best known as the security detail for the president and most foreign dignitaries, and maybe some know it also pursue counterfeiters. Stern, unsmiling, in black suits & sunglasses. (Clint Eastwood's "In the Line of Fire" (1993) did a lot to humanize the Service.) As a historian-type, gadfly, civil libertarian, civics junkie & polyhistor I came across the book and had to read it. For anyone interested or considering going into the Secret Service this should be a must-read. This is not a dissuation, but know what to expect being an agent--it is not an easy life. First it is a tough process. Second it is a storied agency. Third, it's had its moments (good and bad--the best are in the law enforcement part; unfortunately what people remember is when things go bad). It is a special kind of discipline to be an Agent, more about 'protect' than about (counter)-offense. Boredom vs. the anxiety of 'what if'. Meticulous detail work on preparation. It takes a special kind of discipline, and from reading about the other federal agencies, it takes quite a bit to be an FBI agent, but it takes something different (more?) to be a Secret Service Agent. I know I don't have the stuff, but my brother (CPA, former security officer, and aikido sho-dan, attention to detail, got stuff together, can put mind in 'pause') would have excelled at the fraud counterfeit investigation work. (I wish there was more on the work of forensics of counterfeiting--it may sound boring but I'm somewhat familiar because of a family interest in numismatics; my brother collected coins and our grandfather (also a CPA) had a large collection of silver dollars.) This is incredible work done by highly trained and dedicated people. As the historian type I actually do like them coming forward to support/verify *as a second or third sources* any stories historians are pursuing on presidential/high level persons (years/decades later, usually deceased or at least long since retired from public service and as documents and personal papers are being declassified & released after the usual 30+ years), but am thoroughly against having agents as 'listening bugs' for 'high crimes and misdemeanors' for oversight given the present & past atmospheres. (I think how the Jenna Bush fake ID was handled well, after all she was 'in custody' of federal law enforcement agents at all times.) Having worked with multiple agencies about bio-terrorism, this was interesting about their liaison/interface work with other agencies at all levels.

Again, this is a must read for anyone considering joining the Service. Also, there is a Uniformed Branch of the Secret Service (they are not called Agents) who also do protective detail work and around US Treasury facilities. After reading this I have a greater appreciation for these agents--now having to see through their sunglasses, when on that protective detail about who's just enthusiatic, who's just protesting, who's just angry, and who's actually about to ....

[Many years ago, I read my dad's copy of Bouton's "Ball Four" in [....]. So it was a look behind the curtain of baseball's 'clean image'. It was a funny book, and real people. Today I know more about baseball than most people, particular its history, statistics & sabermetrics, and a card-carrying member of SABR (Society for American Baseball Research). I consider baseball people the most quotable species on earth. While baseball, like most disciplines, has a seamy side (it's partly what gives it some color, not always the scandalous but stunts), it is not an indictment of the sport. Nor should what is seen behind the Secret Service's mystic dissuade anyone from pursuing a position. It is simply not an agency for those who are introspective, emotionally restless, or racked with doubt. Just know what to expect. It was a good read from beginning to end.]

Vince Palamara, Secret Service expert, deceived us.......2006-01-08

As a proud former member of the United States Secret Service, I believe that this product is worth your time and money...and I also feel it is my perogative to inform everyone here that, while Vince Palamara is to be commended for his notable research acumen and getting many of my colleagues-and myself- to speak to him, he has also done so at the expense of many of their feelings, beliefs, and trust. In short, Vince Palamara believes the means justifies the ends.
So, imagine my horror when I turn on the television a few years back and I SEE the young researcher who promised myself and many others that he was not a journalist, stating facts, theories, and innuendo as the gospel truth. Emory Roberts, for one, cannot defend himself. I will concede that I have no good explanation for what transpires on the film Palamara shows-but does that have to lead to conspiratorial conclusions? Does it, Vince?
From what I gather, many members of the AFAUSSS, myself included, are quite upset with him, as well they should be.

Can we let sleeping dogs lie? Lee Harvy Oswald killed President John Kennedy, acting alone. Yes, my colleagues did not do their jobs as effectively as they could have or probably should have-but will that bring back the man? No. What useful purpose is served by defaming Kennedy's memory and all the still-living former agents with calling into question the very painful loss of said man, as well as their job performance.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
T.R., proud alumni/ past member of the folowing organizations:
MSU
Army 1957-1959
USSS 1961-1982

New & improved...sort of (4.5 stars, anyone?).......2005-09-16

As the leading civilian authority on the U.S. Secret Service, I was much looking forward to the REVISED AND EXPANDED version of this book, as ***my*** own book ("The Third Alternative-Survivor's Guilt: The Secret Service & The JFK Murder" [1993-1998], now massively expanded and updated as "Survivor's Guilt: The Secret Service & The Failure To Protect The President", available now!)was listed in the original version and it is obvious Melanson made good use of my material for his chapter on the JFK assassination entitled "Losing Lancer." [pages 74, 77, 80, 87, 343-344 (endnotes), 358 (bibliography), & 371 (index) ["etc."]

Well, Melanson evidently heard all the first-edition bad reviews regarding editing and typos and the like: gone is his co-author, Peter F. Stevens. Also, he added a nice new cover and TWO new chapters, as well as sourcing former agent Joseph Petro's excellent 2005 book entitled "Standing Next To History." (It still says "the authors" [plural] in the Bibliography and, from the larger font, you can tell that Petro's book was added!]

That said, I highly recommend this book (as I did with regard to the poorly edited/ proofread first edition)---still alittle bit of a "dry" text, but he listened to all the criticisms regarding STYLE. And, while I achieved a world's record---SIXTY SEVEN former agent interviews (the old record was by the HSCA: 44)---Melanson did interview a handful of former agents (such as Winston Lawson, also interviewed numerous times by myself)and his book serves as a good general overview---using mostly secondary sources--- of the (history of) the Secret service, 1865-2005 (while my work focuses more on the FDR-Reagan days, with special emphasis on the JFK/ LBJ years...and alot more PRIMARY research). For the record, my work is now credited on pages 72, 74, 77, 85, 388, 389, 408, 424 ["uncredited": pages 59, 60, 70, 71, 73, 75-76]

Potscript: Melanson writes on page 61: "Some of the agents, THOUGH NOT WINSTON G. LAWSON, lied to the Warren Commission about how thorough they were [my emphasis]." It is obvious that Melson didn't want to ruffle Lawson's feathers, as he interviewed him and probably feared he would take exception to that!

If you want an extremely thorough, take-off-the-gloves approach to the Secret Service, get my 276-page book "Survivor's Guilt: The Secret Service & The Failure To Protect The President." In the meantime, Melanson's 30 pages regarding 11/22/63 should suffice...and the rest of the book, now mostly improved and expanded, should still be a good start for anyone interested in the U.S. Secret Service.

Book Description

"This book presents the most comprehensive discussion of the economics and practicalities of incentive instruments that could be used for endangered and threatened species conservation. I believe the book will have broad appeal to lawyers, biologists, economists, and others working in the field of endangered species, as well as to general readers with an interest in conservation."

—J. B. Ruhl, Florida State University, author of The Law of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management

"For those considering development of an incentive program, Species at Risk should be required reading. For others, it offers some clear perspective on what the next era of species-at-risk conservation in the United States could look like."

Great Plains Research

Protecting endangered species of animals and plants is a goal that almost everyone supports in principle—but in practice private landowners have often opposed the regulations of the Endangered Species Act, which, they argue, unfairly limits their right to profit from their property. To encourage private landowners to cooperate voluntarily in species conservation and to mitigate the economic burden of doing so, the government and nonprofit land trusts have created a number of incentive programs, including conservation easements, leases, habitat banking, habitat conservation planning, safe harbors, candidate conservation agreements, and the "no surprise" policy.

In this book, lawyers, economists, political scientists, historians, and zoologists come together to assess the challenges and opportunities for using economic incentives as compensation for protecting species at risk on private property. They examine current programs to see how well they are working and also offer ideas for how these programs could be more successful. Their ultimate goal is to better understand how economic incentive schemes can be made both more cost-effective and more socially acceptable, while respecting a wide range of views regarding opportunity costs, legal standing, biological effectiveness, moral appropriateness, and social context.

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