Hey, Waitress!: The USA from the Other Side of the Tray

Book Description

Most of us have sat across the tray from a waitress, but how many of us know what really is going on from her side? Hey, Waitress! aims to tell us. Containing lively, personal portraits of waitresses from many different walks of life, this book is the first of its kind to show the intimate, illuminating, and often shocking behind-the-scenes stories of waitresses' daily shifts and daily lives.
Alison Owings traveled the country--from border to border and coast to coast--to hear firsthand what waitresses think about their lives, their work, and their world. Part journalism and part oral history, Hey, Waitress! introduces an eclectic cast of characters: a ninety-five-year-old Baltimore woman who may have been the oldest living waitress, a Staten Island firebrand laboring at a Pizza Hut, a well-to-do runaway housewife, a Native American proud of her financial independence, a college student loving her diner more than her studies, a Cajun grandmother of twenty-two, and many others.
The book also offers vivid slices of American history. The stories describe the famous sit-in at the Woolworth's counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, which helped spark the civil rights movement; early struggles for waitress unions; and battles against sexually discriminatory hiring in restaurants.
A superb and accessible means of breaking down stereotypes, this book reveals American waitresses in all their complexity and individuality, and will surely change the way we order, tip, and, most of all, behave in restaurants.

Download Description

Most of us have sat across the tray from a waitress, but how many of us know what really is going on from her side? Hey, Waitress! aims to tell us. Containing lively, personal portraits of waitresses from many different walks of life, this book is the first of its kind to show the intimate, illuminating, and often shocking behind-the-scenes stories of waitresses' daily shifts and daily lives. Alison Owings traveled the country--from border to border and coast to coast--to hear firsthand what waitresses think about their lives, their work, and their world. Part journalism and part oral history, Hey, Waitress! introduces an eclectic cast of characters: a ninety-five-year-old Baltimore woman who may have been the oldest living waitress, a Staten Island firebrand laboring at a Pizza Hut, a well-to-do runaway housewife, a Native American proud of her financial independence, a college student loving her diner more than her studies, a Cajun grandmother of twenty-two, and many others. The book also offers vivid slices of American history. The stories describe the famous sit-in at the Woolworth's counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, which helped spark the civil rights movement; early struggles for waitress unions; and battles against sexually discriminatory hiring in restaurants. A superb and accessible means of breaking down stereotypes, this book reveals American waitresses in all their complexity and individuality, and will surely change the way we order, tip, and, most of all, behave in restaurants.

Customer Reviews:

Good read if you like the food/service genre.......2007-02-23

I was introduced to waitress stories by the book Waiting (Debra Ginsberg) and subsequently by Nickel and Dimed (Barbara Ehrenreich). I highly recommend those two books for people interested in this genre, as they each describe one author's experience. Hey, Waitress! contains several interesting anecdotes, but I made the mistake of trying to read it in one go. I think a selection of the stories, or breaking it up into multiple reads, would be better. I bought a remaindered copy and suggest you share your copy with a friend - there is some good material here. The best part is that these are all true stories, and many of them come from lifelong waitresses. I give it 3 stars as I consider it well-written but not something easily digestible in one read, not something I could not put down.

Welcome to the world of waitressing.......2004-08-15

I learned about this book from Smithsonian magazine's book reviews and was immediately intrigued. I, too, glossed over the brief history of waitressing in the beginning of the book to get right to the interviews. The part of the book I enjoyed most was the section on the women who have been involved (albeit peripherally at times) in major historical events by way of their profession. It was also very eye-opening as to the structure and dynamics of the restaurant system and the pay structure. I first became aware of the abuses in this system when a good friend of mine worked for a major sit-down dining chain in the United States while we were in college. His pay as a waiter was based only on tips (no hourly wage at all), and he was once "rewarded" for his excellent service by a large party of customers who paid for their dinner via a gift certificate, leaving the $0.11 balance as their tip. This book merely confirmed that such experiences are not necessarily that rare. It also provides some data on how waitresses perceive their customers which was also fascinating. I do leave a little extra now when dining out....

Welcome to the world of waitressing.......2004-08-15

Waiting Tables for Godot.......2003-12-03

I confess, I skipped the short history of waitressing at the start of the book to go straight to the interviews. These stories are fascinating.

This could have been a depressing expose about the low pay and poor conditions inherent in waiting. But Owings evidently has quite an admiration for waitresses, and she manages to bring out the pride these women have for their work. Even waitresses who hate the job are proud of some aspect of what they do.

The diversity of waitresses interviewed was impressive: from truckstops to Chez Panisse, from Alaska to Louisiana, from the Forties to the Millennium, from poor waitresses to not-so-poor (there are no rich waitresses), from high school dropouts to PhDs.

This is a wonderful book to include with Nickel and Dimed and Waiting by Ginsburg.

Wisdom... and the price is right.......2003-09-13

Where ever is wisdom available to working women?

Here it is in "Hey, Waitress."
The bright and lively novella-like interviews
shine a brilliant and witty light on all our lives.

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Hey, Waitress!: The USA from the Other Side of the Tray
Alison Owings
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HANDG6

Book Description

This book is the inspiring biography of a local boy who makes good. Brandon Burlsworth excelled in high school football, making All-Conference and All-State. He walked on to the University of Arkansas to become the first All-American from that program in a decade. He was selected in the third round of the 1999 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts. He went to mini-camp, but was killed a few days later in an auto accident. His motivation and drive to be the best stemmed from his character of integrity and the stand that he took as a Christian. His life proved that success can still be earned the "old-fashioned way." His is truly a remarkable story that will be an inspiration to all who read. [This version has an Indianapolis Colts cover]

Book Description

During the 1930s, the first Looney Tunes*r series debuted at movie theatres as part of Warner Brothers Vitaphone Shorts. This classic series achieved overnight success for its brilliant animation and pre-recorded sound. It proved to be the perfect diversion for audiences looking to escape the harsh realities of the Depression Era. At the start of World War II, Bugs Bunny*t was introduced. His patriotic character instantly became an American icon. Even after almost 70 years, the Looney Tunes*t characters still dominate the limelight. As American classics, they have inspired literally thousands of quality products to be manufactured. These items are sought after by eager collectors because of their humor and fine craftsmanship. Can you believe that memorabilia like a Bugs Bunny*t waffle iron, Tweety Bird*t lawn sprinkler, and Pep Le Pew*t perfume bottle actually exist?!! Yes, it's true! These collectible items are shown among the 450 plus color photographs, along with descriptions and values. If you are "Looney for Tunes," this book is a must for your collection.

Book Description

“Mitchell’s collection of portraits is the exact opposite of the books that choose an important subject, but are hastily written and have nothing much to say. These books, which form the bulk of current writing, always make you feel as if you had paid for looking into the wrong end of a telescope. Mitchell, on the other hand, likes to start with an unimportant hero, but he collects all the facts about him, arranges them to give the desired effects, and usually ends by describing the customs of a whole community. Commodore Dutch, the subject of one portrait, ‘is a brassy little man who has made a living for the last forty years by giving an annual ball for the benefit of himself.’ Mitchell doesn’t try to present him as anything more than a barroom scrounger; but in telling the story of his career, he also gives a picture of New York sporting life since the days of Big Tim Sullivan. The story called ‘King of the Gypsies’ is even better. It sets out to describe Cockeye Johnny Nikanov, the spokesman or king of thirty-eight gypsy families, but it soon becomes a Gibbon’s decline and fall of the American gypsies; and it ends with an apocalyptic vision that is not only comic but also, in its proper context, more imaginative than anything to be found in recent novels.
“Reading some of his portraits a second time, you catch an emotion beneath them that curiously resembles Dickens’: a continual wonder at the sights and sounds of a big city, a continual devouring interest in all the strange people who live there, a continual impulse to burst into praise of kind hearts and good food and down with hypocrisy.” —Malcolm Cowley, The New Republic

Customer Reviews:

Review for those who haven't read Mitchell.......2006-03-10

I originially bought this book because I am a fan of McSorley's and wanted to learn a little about New York History. I had no previous knowledge of Joseph Mitchell's works, and did not know what to expect. I wondered how someone could write a 350 page book about when bar. Then i soon realized that the book is a compilation of short stories about the characters of the city in the 30's and 40's. Primary source history usually bores me, because it is often dry, about someone consequential, and you have to read through alot for a little interesting information.
But the way Mitchell presents these characters you are drawn in into their plight,eccentricities, or just regular routines. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of the city, or if you are a fan of the bar and are just curious like myself

There's a better bargain out there.......2001-07-17

"McSorley's Wonderful Saloon" is, indeed, a wonderful compilation of Joseph Mitchell at the height of his uncanny literary powers. But Mitchell fans should be aware that all of its contents are likewise to be found in a previous compilation ("Up In The Old Hotel")which also includes "The Bottom of the Harbor," "Old Mr. Flood" and "Joe Gould's Secret." Fortunate readers who already possess "Up In The Old Hotel" should acquire the other newly republished Mitchell compilation, "My Ears Are Bent," a terrific collection of newspaper articles written by before Mitchell became embalmed at "The New Yorker."

Return of a classic.......2001-06-19

What a pleasure to see this classic returned to print. Mr. Mitchell had a wonderful ear in his time, and now almost fifty years later, the tone is still strong, and the places that he told us of are mostly gone. Thankfully, McSorley's is still with us, but the Beefsteak Party (The Second best of the stories) and the theater on Park Row are long gone, as is the Third Avenue El. No one rides that anymore in the summer to cool off. There is a reason why this was voted one of the top 100 pieces of American Journalism in the 20th century by New York University's journalism department. (it placed 84th)

Buy it to read the bit on McSorley's, "The Old House at Home," and buy it to read "All You can Hold for Five Bucks," buy it to read one wonderful story at a time. Its good to see it back.

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McSorley's Wonderful Saloon
Joseph Mitchell
Manufacturer: Blue Ribbon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000BX6FG4

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McSorley's Wonderful Saloon

Manufacturer: Penguin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000FAPOGU

Product Description

Vintage paperback reprint. Fiction.

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Mcsorley's Wonderful Saloon

Manufacturer: Grosset & Dunlap
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

Here is New York

ASIN: B000B8ZPWE

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MCSORLEY'S WONDERFUL SALOON [ 1st ]
Joseph MITCHELL
Manufacturer: Collins White Circle Pocket Novel # 208
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GJZC1C

McSORLEY'S WONDERFUL SALOON. Penguin #557.

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McSORLEY'S WONDERFUL SALOON. Penguin #557.
Joseph. [New York History]. Mitchell
Manufacturer: Penguin Books,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PG11UW

MCSORLEY'S WONDERFUL SALOON. Foreword by Calvin Trillin

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MCSORLEY'S WONDERFUL SALOON. Foreword by Calvin Trillin
Joseph. Mitchell
Manufacturer: Pantheon Books,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N7KKP0

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Mcsorleys Wonderful Saloon
Joseph Mitchell
Manufacturer: DUELL SLOAN & PEARCE INC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UCG5S4

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McSorley's Wonderful Saloon
Joseph Mitchell
Manufacturer: Grosset & Dunlap,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O14WVS

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McSorley's Wonderful Saloon
joseph mitchell
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O1UOU6

Customer Reviews:

WORTHLESS.......2003-08-18

After living in Las Vegas, and Reno for over 20 years, I've seen tons of people write about secrets to winning at slots. About 95 percent are completely worthless. This book does not tell you where to win or how. Most of his "Tips" are a lot of junk, mostly common sense. If a machine isn't hitting after you hit the button fifty times, the chances that it will are slim. Mr. Cardoza never gives any real, solid winning advice through the whole book. If you've never in you life played a slot read the book. It is good for people who don't know anything about slots. If you have played slots, don't waste your money on this book. Understand that Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City, Laughlin, and others are built on SLOTS not the table games, not the pricey shows, SLOTS. Casinos in Las Vegas make about 50-75% of their revenue on the SLOTS. Keep that in mind when you go. I love playing the slots, and I have won several thousand dollars, but not by employing anything in this book. Use the money you want to spend on this book and get a book on Black Jack and Poker. Which incidentally are the best paying games in the casino. Problem is they take a long time to master, but the pay off is much greater.

This is a must!.......2001-01-21

I happened to see this book at my friend's house but didn't finish the book. So, I went home and ordered it online. After finished reading this book, I must tell you that I'd gained a lot more confidence in winning more money. Last week, I went to Las Vegas with my family, and it DID pay off. Not all the tips and secrets in the book applied, yet I managed to win more money than I'd ever done before. Take it from me, I don't like reading much, but I got to admit that this book is pretty easy to read. Better yet, you can just skip to any chapter you're interested in right away.

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Secrets of Winning Slots
Avery Cardoza
Manufacturer: CARDOZA PUBLISHING U
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K203XW

Book Description

Caughman's book, Real Estate Prospecting will explain:
* How to sell yourself and your agency to the community
* How to plan your work and work your plan
* Provides direct mail ideas that generate responses

Customer Reviews:

Obsolute.......2002-12-15

Much of the book focuses on the use of technology. Unfortunately, it is from the 1994 perspective of a 386 PC, and in 8 short years is totally outdated.

The methods outlined are basic, and most likely taught for free at any real estate company new agent training class. No original or unique ideas here.

Throughout the book she even takes quotes from books of supposed real estate "top producers"/"authors", so much so that you would think she gets compensation per plug.

This book may be useful for brand new agents proficient with a typewriter.

Obsolute.......2002-12-15

Much of the book focuses on the use of technology. Unfortunately, it is from the 1994 perspective of a 386 PC, and in 8 short years is totally outdated.

The methods outlined are basic, and most likely taught for free at any real estate company new agent training class. No original or unique ideas here.

Throughout the book she even takes quotes from books of supposed real estate "top producers"/"authors", so much so that you would think she gets compensation per plug.

This book may be useful for brand new agents proficient with a typewriter.

Book Description

This is the extraordinary first-person account of a young woman's coming of age in Somalia and her struggles against the obligations and strictures of family and society. By the time she is nine, Aman has undergone a ritual circumcision ceremony; at eleven, her innocent romance with a white boy leads to a murder; at thirteen she is given away in an arranged marriage to a stranger. Aman eventually runs away to Mogadishu, where her beauty and rebellious spirit leads her to the decadent demimonde of white colonialists. Hers is a world in which women are both chattel and freewheeling entrepreneurs, subject to the caprices of male relatives, yet keenly aware of the loopholes that lead to freedom. Aman is an astonishing history, opening a window onto traditional Somali life and the universal quest for female self-awareness.

Customer Reviews:

An interesting story, but not well written.......2007-04-14

If you are looking for well written literature, this is not you.
It has some interesting cultural observations, but it is important not to generalise that the cultural practices described in this book are true of all Somali women.
I have known, and been friends with, a number of Somali women who have not experienced the horrific practices described in this book.

Aman is a true story of a Somalian girl.......2003-05-07

Aman takes you through all the good and bad traditions of her country! If you like to travel to Somalia but you can never make it, read this book!

don't miss it.......2003-03-07

I began reading this book for a research project and became enraptured. It will transport you to the time and place Aman speaks of. Not only did i fall in love with her story and the charaters in the story, but two years later, many of the historical facts and truths of somalia have really stuck with me. Poignant and at times painful, this book is unforgatable and enlightening.

a waste of paper.......2002-11-13

I thought this book was very unrealistic and insulting,for one thing the girl's name is spelt wrong.i had trouble finishing off the book because it was so boring overall I thought this book was a waste of paper.

a waste of paper.......2002-11-13

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Aman Story of a Somali Girl
Aman , Janice Boddy , and Virginia Lee Barnes
Manufacturer: Trafalgar Square
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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Shadowed Lives: Undocumented Immigrants in American Society (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology)

ASIN: 0747520224

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A good place to start, but not end

A History of the Lion's Den

What Started out as Survival Mode, Turned into Empire

Imperialist who is not completely wrong

Like Imperialism itself, this book is Fun...but Wrong

Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power
Niall Ferguson
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
General | England | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
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COLOSSUS

The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Descent of the West

The Cash Nexus: Money and Power in the Modern World, 1700-2000

The Pity of War: Explaining World War I

The House of Rothschild: Volume 1: Money's Prophets: 1798-1848

ASIN: 0465023290
Release Date: 2004-04-13

Amazon.com

At its peak in the nineteenth century, the British Empire was the largest empire ever known, governing roughly a quarter of the world's population. In Empire, Niall Ferguson explains how "an archipelago of rainy islands... came to rule the world," and examines the costs and consequences, both good and bad, of British imperialism. Though the book's breadth is impressive, it is not intended to be a comprehensive history of the British Empire; rather, Ferguson seeks to glean lessons from this history for future, or present, empires--namely America. Pointing out that the U.S. is both a product of the British Empire as well as an heir to it, he asks whether America--an "empire in denial"--should "seek to shed or to shoulder the imperial load it has inherited." As he points out in this fascinating book, there is compelling evidence for both.

Observing that "the difficulty with the achievements of empire is that they are much more likely to be taken for granted than the sins of empire," Ferguson stresses that the British did do much good for humanity in their quest for domination: promotion of the free movement of goods, capital, and labor and a common rule of law and governance chief among them. "The question is not whether British imperialism was without blemish. It was not. The question is whether there could have been a less bloody path to modernity," he writes. The challenge for the U.S., he argues, is for it to use its undisputed power as a force for positive change in the world and not to fall into some of the same traps as the British before them.

Covering a wide range of topics, including the rise of consumerism (initially fueled by a desire for coffee, tea, tobacco, and sugar), the biggest mass migration in history (20 million emigrants between the early 1600s and the 1950s), the impact of missionaries, the triumph of capitalism, the spread of the English language, and globalization, this is a brilliant synthesis of various topics and an extremely entertaining read. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

"A splendid history.... If Americans want to be convinced of the benefits of empire, as well as apprised of its costs, they need merely pick up Ferguson's dazzling book." --Weekly Standard

The British Empire was the largest in all history: the nearest thing to world domination ever achieved. By the eve of World War II, around a quarter of the world's land surface was under some form of British rule. Yet for today's generation, the British Empire seems a Victorian irrelevance. The time is ripe for a reappraisal, and in Empire, Niall Ferguson boldly recasts the British Empire as one of the world's greatest modernizing forces.

An important new work of synthesis and revision, Empire argues that the world we know today is in large measure the product of Britain's Age of Empire. The spread of capitalism, the communications revolution, the notion of humanitarianism, and the institutions of parliamentary democracy-all these can be traced back to the extraordinary expansion of Britain's economy, population, and culture from the seventeenth century until the mid-twentieth. On a vast and vividly colored canvas, Empire shows how the British Empire acted as midwife to modernity.

Displaying the originality and rigor that have made him the brightest light among British historians, Ferguson shows that the story of the Empire is pregnant with lessons for today-in particular for the United States as it stands on the brink of a new era of imperial power, based once again on economic and military supremacy. A dazzling tour de force, Empire is a remarkable reappraisal of the prizes and pitfalls of global empire.

Customer Reviews:

A good place to start, but not end.......2007-09-27

Ferguson's EMPIRE is well-written, like all of his work. It is not a comprehensive look at the details of expansion and conquest--there are other books readily available for that--but instead looks at the empire as a process. Thus, he focuses on key figures and locations, primarily India and Africa. One gets a good sense of who was behind the imperial drive, and what the drive for empire was all about. It is, however, a little bit too "pro-Empire." To be sure, Ferguson acknowledges that imperialism had its nasty side (especially against the Boers). However, we don't get much of the violence and cruelty that characterized British expansion and conquest, which very much should have been included. Also, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland are barely touched on. Its still worth the read for sure, but must be used as a framework around which much else should be read.

A History of the Lion's Den.......2007-08-18

Niall Ferguson, author of other non-fiction hits as "Pity of War", "The Cash Nexus" and 2006's "War of the World" offers a modern analysis of one of the most influential empires in history. An Englishman, Ferguson tackles the history of the British Empire in this layman's volume of 370 pages, rich with illustrations, maps, and photos stretching from empire's reluctant beginnings in the 17th century to the final collapse following WWII. The hardback edition of the book which I read had a textbook quality to it physically, more of a squared geometry, with glossy paper and text layout resemling a history textbook. However, the writing style was definitely not of a textbook. Niall has two great qualities for a history writer that endears him to this layperson - the ability to write history in a witty, conversational fashion, and a penchant for promoting alternative conclusions for historical events, often diametrically opposed to the standard ideas. For example, he rates the British leadership over India as an overall positive thing, without which India would not have quickly risen to the heights it has obtained today, in fact, it may have easily fallen victim to the Japanese empire of WWII. This contrasts with the mainstream view of the freedom movement promoted by Gandhi which eventually ended a repressive, exploitive British rule.

Before reading this book, I had scant knowledge of the history of the British Empire, besides the typical stories of American colonial resistance to British rule, and the dysfunctional relationship of ruler and ruled in Burma detailed by George Orwell in his essay "Shooting an Elephant". I came away from this book with a much more thorough understanding. At its height, it governed about 25% of the world's population and covered about 25% of the world's habitable land. All this was accomplished with a relatively small number of administrators and soldiers. Indeed, the colonial areas supplied large percentages of the Empire's soldiers for small regional conflicts and large wars with other European powers. Niall argues that this was accomplished by the relatively benign rule of the English and an increasingly loosened authoritarian grip, ending in a Commonwealth of states that survives in small form today. Whereas other modern empires, such as Stalin's Soviet Union, Hitler's Reich and Tojo's Japan were ruled by a heavy hand and often brutal tactics, the British were more "hands off", their empire having more of a commercial orientation with occasional digressions into missionary movements and cultural assimilation.

Perhaps the most poignant point of the book was Ferguson's reasoning for the end of the British Empire - after being sapped of money and resources from the first world war, Britain was faced with a stark choice when Hitler began his campaign across Europe - agree to a peace deal with Hitler or lose the empire in a draining fight to the finish. By agreeing to keep out of Hitler's conquest of the European continent, Britain most likely could have kept her vast empire, ironically at it's largest size right when Britain was least capable of protecting it. Ferguson argues that Churchill led England on the more noble path of imperial self-sacrifice for the good of the rest of the world.
Not only did Great Britain pay perhaps the highest price for the defeat of the Axis powers in World War II, she also failed to benefit substantially from the Marshall Plan and IMF/World Bank loans following the war to the extent that those same Axis powers were able to use to their benefit. Another surprise for me was Niall's argument that Britain continued to lose imperial possessions after the war due to the sometimes predatory policies of the US. While the 20th century relationship between the US and Great Britain is often portrayed as one of friendship, Ferguson paints a picture of a US more interested in containing communist expansion at the expense of the British Empire during the Cold War. Through a series of humbling military blunders (such as the Suez military campaign in 1956) and numerous Independence movements among the colonies, British colonial administrators often found themselves presiding over poignant transfer-of-power ceremonies, the British empire steadily disintegrating after the 1940s to today's Commonwealth of a few scattered islands around the world.

Why should we feel sorry for the demise of an empire? Traditionally, empires are seen as evil accumulations of power, enslaving masses of subjects for the benefit of a ruthless ruling people. Niall argues that while this has happened in the long history of civilization, empires are not all evil, and in fact the British empire was in the end a positive presence in the world. Ferguson says that without it, the spread of democracy, capitalism, even the predominance of the English language as the world's business lingua franca would not have happened, or to a much smaller degree.

Throughout the book, comparisons were made between the past British empire with the current "empire" of the United States. This is indeed an intriguing comparison, and in fact is the subject of another of his books- "Colossus - The Rise and Fall of the American Empire".

For those whose interests point in this direction, I can recommend this book as a thoughtful, if at times controversial story of a deceased Empire that left an indelible stamp on the modern world.

What Started out as Survival Mode, Turned into Empire.......2007-07-16

Based on Ferguson's analysis, the growth of British Empire was in many ways serendipity. Starting by building a large private navy, based on privateers (read Pirates) and then expanding it into the British Navy, England originally got into the "Empire Business" as an offshoot of it's plundering of the Spanish and Portuguese New World Empires. Once they got good at attacking the Spanish 'Treasure Fleets' it was just one stop further to taking over some of the territory for 'security' reasons (sound familiar).

They became so good at it that at one point the British Empire ruled over 25% of the total land surface of the earth and the sun never set on the British Empire. At the same time, no other country contained a Navy that could compete with their's or their merchant fleet. For the British the Empire was a money making proposition up until the 20th century. Each of the colonies paid it's own way from trade or investment. It was only after almost bankrupting themselves during the two world wars, that the Empire became a millstone around their neck.

In Ferguson's conclusion, he discusses (rather jingoistically) how in the final analysis, the British brought more to the people of the 'colonies' than they even took from them; even taking into account the death and destruction that was wrought in the name of 'civilization'.

Ferguson seems to have missed three interesting and important points: 1) the British created and then ended the slave trade (though much after it stopped being economically viable), 2) they created the first major drug cartel (forcing China to open itself up to the importation of Opium from India) and, 3) that by bailing out of Africa in the 1960s, they left most of those colonies unready for independence or democracy.

As to the slave trade, many a British (and American) fortune can trace themselves back to a relative who made their money as part of either the trade in slaves or the use of them on the West Indian sugar plantations. Only at the beginning of the nineteenth century did they decide that it was an "unChristian" institution. Planters were fast to learn that it was cheaper to hire slaves as 'seasonal' workers than to take care of them from cradle to grave; because those on these islands had no choice except to go back to Africa.

The Opium War was fought in the middle Eighteenth Century to force China to allow the continued importation of Opium (through Hong Kong) into their country. It was the beginning of the long spiral of Chinese subjugation and the blueprint for how to make money by exporting large amounts of drugs into another country. Today's narco-traffickers learned their lessons well.

Lastly, one of the major problems with the African continent (and this includes the French and Portuguese) was that the colonies that were created were done so on an ad-hoc basis. Except for in a few instances (such as Egypt and Ethiopia), nations and tribes that had been adversaries for generations were lumped together in Colonies. No where did any of the colonial powers prepare for democracy, most were run by the British Colonial Office (with mostly white managers) who left little government structure behind them when they pulled out. In many cases they had raised a small tribe to prominence (because they were Christians, think the Ibo's in Nigeria) which were left with the stigma of collaborators after the British left.

For some reason, the United Nations bought the idea that none of the colonies in Africa should be allowed to break up and seek their own level of comfort in size and composition. It's as if the example of nationalism for the last hundred years in Europe never happened. Almost every country in Europe (except Belgium) is now ethnically homogenized. No one complained when Czechoslavakia had their velvet divorce; and the ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia differs little from what happened in Poland and East Prussia after WW2.

It's a good read and my only real complaint is about the structure of the book. It's printed like a textbook so that the pages have lots of room for footnotes on the inside columns, but the size of the type is quite small and gets smaller when in quotation so that it can be very tiring to read for long periods. Oh well.

Imperialist who is not completely wrong.......2007-07-11

Good writer. It would be obvious to the reader that the author has a more positive view on British Colonism than most people who grew up in a British colony. That said, being one who came from a British colony myself, I personally think that the writer is not completely biased and I agree with some of his views. I am curious how many people in Britian shares the authors view. In the least, this will be a feel-good book for British to read. For those full of resentment on past colonial history, reading this at least will present a different point of view to you.

Like Imperialism itself, this book is Fun...but Wrong.......2007-07-06

As a professional historian who specializes in European imperialism, I can easily explain why the book was panned by professionals, but popular with amateurs.

Ferguson is, quite simply, a great writer. His anecdotes are apt, his comments witty, and his stories are either dashing or tragic. Great stuff.

But the book is so flawed historically as to be basically useless.

I taught with it once. My students loved it for the first few chapters... but after I pointed out to them the many factual errors and especially, the MAJOR errors of omission that riddle every single chapter.... and then showed how Ferguson's re-enchantment of "empire" not only saturates but slants every single argument in the book...hey quickly lost interest in it. (And understandably so: if you can't trust the author, why waste your time reading the book, no matter how entertaining?)

For an example, read closely his section "Black and White" in the chapter "White Plague". At first glance, it seems to say that British slavery was indeed quite awful, gosh darnit bad, etc. etc. etc. But pore over it more closely, and you'll recognize that he is, in fact, working quite hard to equate the slavery (of Africans) to indentured servitude (of Europeans), both practically and (by extension) morally. (!)
This is, quite simply, wrong and wrong-headed. I can't go into all the reasons here, but trust me: if you are ever reincarnated in the 18th century, and you have the choice of coming back as a black slave or as a white indentured servant, do yourself a big favor: choose indentured servitude.

It is an "apology" of Empire in every sense of the word.

And as a historian, I find it just a bit unethical.

Book Description

The Spy Book uncovers the secrets and decodes the messages of the covert world of espionage. Over 2,000 entries on people, agencies, operations, and tools comprise this definitive work. Insiders Norman Polmar and Thomas Allen have unearthed files that have only recently been made available, including many from the KGB. This second edition includes the latest unveiled spies and situations, as well as new entries on the effects of espionage on literature, movies, television, and other media.

Customer Reviews:

LOTS OF SPIES, BUT NOT ALL.......2006-01-29

SPY BOOK, with 2500 entries packed into one big paperback, is an exceptionally handy reference tool, but still far from a complete encyclopedia of espionage. For example, a photo display on page 513 shows Soviet postage stamps honoring the intelligence officers Stanislav Vaupshasov, Rudolf Abel, Konon Molody, Richard Sorge and Ivan Kudrya, plus British agent Kim Philby. If you look for an entry on each of these men, you will find it--except for Kudrya. At the place where he should appear you will see: Kryuchkov, Vladimir... Kuczynski, Dr. Jürgen... Kuczynski, Robert René... Kuczynski, Ursula... Kuehn, Dr. Bernard... Kuklinski, Col. Ryszard... A rather full listing within such a small range of the alphabet, but still no cigar. Turn the page, and you'll discover no listing for Leonid Kvasnikov, head of the Soviet "technical department" (atomic espionage) in the US during WWII--a rather serious omission.

A quick check for other names that come to mind reveals that most are represented, but Dmitry Bystrolyotov, Pavel Fitin, Vera Goutchkoff (Guchkova) and Jan Valtin (Richard Krebs) are missing. Each scholar of espionage who comes to the book will probably add a half dozen names to this list. There is an entry on Vasili Mitrokhin, the KGB archivist who brought thousands of copied documents out to the West in 1992, but no entry for Melita Norwood, the chief British spy he exposed. (Her story broke in 1999; Mitrokin, incidentally, is given the first name "Nikitish," which was his patronymic.) There is an entry on Los Alamos, but no separate entries for the Manhattan Project, Tube Alloys or General Leslie Groves, who was not a spy but did head America's most secret wartime project. Most entries fail to conclude with a citation of the literature on the subject. The bibliography and list of VENONA codenames at the back are fairly random selections, not the last word.

The edition I consulted is the second from 2004, and it is mostly up to date, but some information is hoary. The VENONA project, much studied and publicized after the National Security Agency released its documents to the public in 1995-1996, is represented with a full entry, but many figures involved in it (such as Fitin) are given short shrift. Theodore Hall, exposed in 1996 as the Soviet agent MLAD, receives a suitable entry; but Morris and Leontina Cohen are described only with outdated material from the 1960s (as the Krogers). Anatoly Yatskov, control officer of Lona Cohen when she carried Hall's drawing of the plutonium bomb from Albuquerque to New York, is not described in this role (nor is she), but appears only as Anatoli Yakovlev, the pseudonym he used in the USA, and as the control officer of Harry Gold--information from the time of the Rosenbergs' trial.

Despite such lacks, the book is good to have when you need to grab some basic facts in a hurry, as when in the heat of writing. It appears to be strongest in US intelligence. For example, I found the entry on William Donovan very full and illuminating. There are many interesting photographs and some box-charts of organizational structures, plus lists of CIA and KGB directors, and explanations of tradecraft terms. The layout is attractive and conveys a sense of enthusiasm. All in all, it does a better job than previous spy encyclopedias, and so is well worth having. But too many spies get away.

Customer Reviews:

Adequate for discussion in graduate or undergraduate classes.......2005-05-12

I liked this book in general. Nevertheless the authors are as more interested to promote agroforestry systems as some times; it is similar to they are selling a product. In the first chapters, writers promote several advantages for adopt an agroforestry system however some of their arguments are in need to be better proved and justified. The general idea expressed in this book is "to adopt agroforestry practices is better than not to do". However depending how these practice is adopted, it could bring several disadvantages for environment and farmers. I think that, this reality needs to be better worked in this book.
There are others concepts whose need to be better defined on this book, also. And agroforestry concept is is one of them. Authors have considered other several practices in the same mood of agroforestry practices and these must be cause of confusion in the lectors.
This book is adequate for discussion at undergraduate and graduate environmental seminars.

Book review: Agroforestry and biodiversity conservation in tropical landscapes [A book review from: Biological Conservation]

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Book review: Agroforestry and biodiversity conservation in tropical landscapes [A book review from: Biological Conservation]
R.H. Marrs
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B000RR73M4

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This digital document is a journal article from Biological Conservation, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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