The Red Zone: Cars, Cows and Coaches : The Life and Good Times of a Texas Dealmaker

Average customer rating:

Great reading for business or sports fans. Great for a trip!

The Red Zone: Cars, Cows and Coaches : The Life and Good Times of a Texas Dealmaker
Red McCombs , and Mickey Herskowitz
Manufacturer: Eakin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Business | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1571687076

Book Description

Big man, big voice, big boots, and big deals. Meet Red McCombs, who hasn't heard his given name, Billy Joe, since his mother called him that years ago. His is a story of "only in America," but with a Texas twist. Even down to the name he never uses, Red is a living logo for the Lone Star State—a strapping man with a booming bass voice, a wheeler-dealer who shoots from the hip and asks questions later.

In the circles he travels, people know him only as Red. They also know him as cattle and oil baron, empire builder in cars and sports, investor in more than 200 companies.

In the area of sports, Red offers a revealing glimpse that few if any owners have ever shared. He tells how trades are made and how coaches are hired and fired.

Few self-made billionaires ever had a more rollicking ride for their money. McCombs has power and knows how to use it. He's made a fortune and knows how to share it.

This is an autobiography unlike any written by a corporate giant.

Customer Reviews:

Great reading for business or sports fans. Great for a trip!.......2003-01-07

Great, quick reading book( 3 hours) but lacks the details us young bucks are dying for. Red has had a very interesting life but the book would have been even better if he would have told us more details and stories(good and bad)to his deals and issues. Red is forever a car salesman who lives for the adrealine rush of a deal and bores very quickly with the small details(don't we all?), just as he has done in this book. He should have let Gary Woods help him by filling in some of the intricies and details just as he does in his deals. Red seems to love to deal and buy companies, then turn them over to a manager(coach) to either ride the company to success or hang himself with the rope Red gave him. He makes sure to give you enough rope to hang yourself when your success doesn't come quick enough for him. I would love to meet the man! My hat(Stetson) is off to him!

Book Description

To many fans, Hall of Famer Ted Williams is baseball. The Boston Red Sox left-fielder dominated the game in the 1940s, achieving astounding hitting records, including 521 home runs and a career .344 batting average; he was also the last player to bat .400 in a season. As good as he was, many wonder what the Splendid Splinter could have been if he hadn't missed five years of the game serving as a pilot in World War II and Korea and two seasons due to injuries. In addition to hundreds of photographs, this attractive volume includes Williams's candid words about his life on the field and off, a firsthand account that will certainly become a collector's item for all baseball fans.

Customer Reviews:

A must have for the Williams Fan........2002-07-09

The definitive book on the complete life of Ted Williams. This is not simply a re-hashing of every picture of Ted that you see time after time. It's a fresh look through his own words and some magnificent photos that must have been sitting in his attic. You really get the feeling that you are sitting around Ted's kitchen table going through an old photo album as he comments on everything from the biggest fish he caught to what a "[bad] haircut" he had.

Best Book on Dad.......2001-11-30

Best Book written to date on my Father.

A WONDERFUL NEW ADDITION.......2001-10-02

I am co-author (with Jim Prime) of TED WILLIAMS: A TRIBUTE (1997), which was another large-format book on Ted with a lot of photographs. There are quite a few books on Ted. When I heard this book was in the works, I wondered what more there was to show and what more there was to say.

I was pleased to be able to proofread this book in its advance state and I hope I helped correct a very few minor errors. I hadn't seen the photographs or layout at that stage. When I saw the final book, I was blown away.

This is a wonderful new addition, and Ted's voice comes through loud and clear here. David Pietrusza has done a wonderful job here and this is a book I will myself treasure.

--Bill Nowlin, Cambridge MA

Engaging Photographs and Brief Anecdotes.......2001-06-15

This book will be ideal for those who know relatively little about Ted Williams, yet are Red Sox fans. The combination of over 250 photographs and recent reminiscences make you feel like you are sitting around the kitchen table with Mr. Williams swapping stories about his life while you enjoy a cool beverage. The anecdotes have a crisp conversational tone that seems to have often emerged with little editing from a tape recorder. That makes the book more spontaneous than if it were dressed up to be a formal autobiography.

Some of my favorite stories in the book include:

Choosing not to sit out the doubleheader at the end of the 1941 season when he already had batted .400. He went 6 for 8 that day, and increased his average to the league-leading .407.

His frequent heroics in All-Star games (including hitting the eephus pitch for a home run while going 4/4 in 1946).

Crash landing his plane after being hit by small arms fire and starting to burn while flying a mission over North Korea during the Korean War.

His many accidents and injuries.

His batting performance after other teams began using the shift on him.

Hitting a home run in his last at-bat in Fenway Park.

The strength of the book comes in the photographs. Surprisingly, many of these are very blurred and don't quite meet the standard that you will expect in a pictoral autobiography. The first photograph with Bobby Doerr when both were just starting with the Red Sox is an example.

People who are interested in his swing will enjoy the sequence with his shirt off that appeared in Life magazine. "The key was the right swing, studying the pitchers, studying the situations, waiting to get your pitch, and just plain working like hell at it."

The book isn't only about baseball. You will also learn about his mother's hard work on behalf of the Salvation Army, his hunting and fishing, and meeting sports and political celebrities.

Mr. Williams had a reputation as a player for being uncooperative with the press and the fans. To his credit, he shares his side of these events pretty candidly. The famous spitting incident is well covered.

One of the most telling exhibits is an advertisement for cigarettes. Mr. Williams was not a smoker, and clearly admits to having done it for the money. He always intended to make a donation for cancer research to return the money, but indicates that he never did. I admired him for including this event, which he clearly now views as a mistake.

He also is candid about not being excited about serving in both World War II and the Korean War. This service cost him 5 major league seasons during his prime years. He was only one of two major leaguers to do this.

After you finish enjoying this book, think about how Mr. Williams turned his talent to other areas outside of baseball. Have you turned your hand to as many other areas as you would benefit from trying? After all, we only have so many days on Earth to make our contribution. Make the most of them!

A nice-looking, readable book.......2001-06-15

I found the above negative review of this book far more disturbing than anything about the book itself.

What's the writer's problem with "ghostwriting"? It's no secret. It's not as if David Pietrusza (the co-author) isn't listed. It's obviously a book of pictures with comments from Ted, edited into decent copy by Pietrusza. That's what a co-author on a celebrity book does.

It's very much Ted Williams in the comments -- maybe even to an uncomfortable extent. He rambles on about the press, about politics, and about hunting and fishing, and none of his views are what could even be possibly construed as "politically correct." But I find it interesting that after all this time, he's still his own man -- frustrating and inspiring at the same time.

The photos are largely terrific. The layout is good. The text is interesting. And it's the best photo book on Ted Williams out there. That sounds like a recommendation to me.

Average customer rating:

Best Damn Book on Ted Period.

Teddy Ballgame: My Life in Pictures
Ted Williams
Manufacturer: Sport Classic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Williams, Ted | ( W ) | People, A-Z | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

What Do You Think of Ted Williams Now? : A Remembrance

My Turn at Bat: The Story of My Life (Fireside Sports Classics)

Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero

ASIN: 0973144300

Customer Reviews:

Best Damn Book on Ted Period........2003-07-06

This revised edition of Ted Williams: My Life in Pictures is even better than the original which was terrific. If one is not moved to tears by David Pietrusza's account of his last meeting with the Splendid Splinter, you have no heart. This book is a wonderful combination of genuine straight-from-the-hip anecdotes and commentary by one of the most opinionated men in the history of the game and brilliant editing of pictures and text by co-author Pietrusza. Coming on the heels of Pietrusza's excellent biography of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, this book establishes him as one of the top baseball writers of his generation.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Cineaste, published by Cineaste Publishers, Inc. on December 22, 2002. The length of the article is 1811 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Lindsay Anderson: Maverick Film Maker & Mainly About Lindsay Anderson & Camera Cambridge University Film Quarterly. .(Book Review)
Author: Brian Neve
Publication: Cineaste (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 22, 2002
Publisher: Cineaste Publishers, Inc.
Volume: 28 Issue: 1 Page: 60(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

This book features memorable quotations from all four seasons of the Sopranos.

Customer Reviews:

Repeat those dialogs - Sopranos style.......2006-10-31

If you're like me, you'd have commended on the amazing situations and dialogs on several instances during the shows. This book is the perfect companion for reliving those very moments, alone or with friends!

Mob Doctrine.......2006-03-20

If you didn't get into the Sopranos, you won't have a clue what this book is all about. Having said that, for series afficionados, reading the dialogues will throw you back to memorable and pivotal scenes and storylines; putting the characters' words into a Taoist perspective does make you think about the plotlines in a deeper way, however, don't worry, not too deep as to be unenjoyable. This book makes a better script-accompaniment than a philosophical teaching, but between series fans, it will undoubtedly promote discussions. Capische?

A MUST for Sopranos fans (others may be a bit confused).......2003-11-10

If you're a Sopranos fan and realize that the show deals with a bit more than people getting killed, betrayals, a marriage falling apart, relationships and families -- then this book is for YOU. In fact, it is a MUST for any Sopranos fans.

The Tano of Bada Bing! is a masterful idea, beautifully executed (no pun intended), and small but meaty enough so you can take it on a trip. No, I didn't feel ripped off by this book at ALL... in fact I have read it four times already on trips and I love it.

The book culls key dialogue from four seasons of the Sopranos and puts them in chapters headed by a piece of immortal wisdom of the Tao Te Ching, the ancient Chinese text underpinning Taoism. YES...there are larger issues in the show's various scenes. And if you're a fan then seeing these larger issues, plus recaping your favorite moments, makes you realize again how much good WRITING is required in television (and film) to bring off an enduring hit. You realize that it isn't actors schitck that sustains the Sopranos but gem-like scripts that have big themes in them.

The Taoism is merely a device that gets this point across. Plus, it also serves to wet readers' appetites to find out more about Toaism itself, which isn't a bad idea.

The only reason this book shouldn't get five stars is this: there is really no explanation in it about various characters quoted in the key scenes used to illustrate the short Tao material heading up each chapter. So Sopranos fans, or anyone who has an even modest knowledge fo the show, will understand who is saying what -- but a non-fan or non-viewer will have trouble figuring out who the character is who is in each scene. Bottom line: GREAT book for any Sopranos fan who wants to enjoy the show's best moments and consider larger issues than sex, betrayal and violence. A bit confusing for non-Sopranos fans.

Exploitation publication HBO cash cow.......2003-07-10

Nothing here beyond this: Large print between hard covers to justify high price (A paperback would have been about 1/8" thick), jumbled quotations from the various Sopranos episodes, chapter headings with fortune cookie level "wisdom", and that's it. This passes for a book?! A silly exercise in pop culture exploitation on the level of a Brittany Spears biography or a National Enquirer advice column. The series is brilliant- this kind of pure exploitation commercialization demeans it. James Gandolfini is right. People take the Sopranos FAR too seriously- especially if they regard this kind of fluff as anything other than another way for HBO to make money.

Bada Wow!.......2003-06-24

Who would have thought there is a logical link between the centuries-old tenets of the Tao Te Ching and the "whack-y" antics of TV's most un-Zenlike family, the Sopranos? The editors of this book, that's who! With some of the best and most enlightening dialogue from all 4 season of The Sopranos, The Tao of Bada Bing! offers a truly unique way of reliving the great writing from the show. One of the most original TV tie-in books I've ever read.

Book Description

BradyGames' P.N.03 Official Strategy Guide features a comprehensive walkthrough to lead gamers through every mission. Detailed maps depict each mission and pinpoint important locations. Exhaustive rundown of the different types of Aegis Suits and enemy machines. Killer fighting tactics to help players survive intense combat and battles with bosses. Game secrets revealed and tips for achieving the most points.

This product is available for sale worldwide, excluding Japan and Asia.

Book Description

A comprehensive collection of sample resumes for any job in any field

202 Great Resumes! gives job hunters more of everything they need to get a great job. These resumes cover more professions, more resume styles and formats, and more cutting- edge job search strategies than ever before. Fresh sample resumes for today's most sought-after professions are included, as well as special samples for recent grads and those who've been out of work for extended periods. Features include:

Resumes for every experience level, from college grads to corporate executives
Endorsed by the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches
Proven advice on cover letters, networking, negotiating, and references
More keywords that hiring managers look for in a resume

Download Description

A comprehensive collection of sample resumes for any job in any field

202 Great Resumes! gives job hunters more of everything they need to get a great job. These resumes cover more professions, more resume styles and formats, and more cutting- edge job search strategies than ever before. Fresh sample resumes for todays most sought-after professions are included, as well as special samples for recent grads and those who've been out of work for extended periods. Features include:

Resumes for every experience level, from college grads to corporate executives
Endorsed by the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches
Proven advice on cover letters, networking, negotiating, and references
More keywords that hiring managers look for in a resume

Customer Reviews:

Get the Interview Everytime........2006-03-20

Had alot of valuable information I needed to update and make my resume better.

not great.......2005-09-30

I thought this book would be a good reference to see great styles and get ideas but was disappointed. I don't know what they based their career field selections on but of the 1000s of jobs, 202 isn't that many. Stylistically, most of the examples seem to go against the advice of other resume books and were not impressive. I did find a few helpful ideas from 2 or 3 of the resumes and it helped somewhat just to read through that many butit would be better for someone whose career choice happens to be in the book and the example they have is for someone at the same level.

Best Resume Samples and Advice Of All.......2004-04-30

Just received this book and it really delivered. It's got over 200 samples, though I really only cared about the ones in my industry, healthcare. There were also some good letter samples I'll use. The advice on how to research a company and position yourself to line up closely with a posted position was helpful. I'd never done it as specific as they recommend. Anyway, of the books I've seen at the bookstore and read briefs online, this one was a great value. Good luck !

Book Description

One of the most colorful characters in modern history, Catherine II of Russia began her life as a minor German princess, until the childless Empress Elizabeth and Catherine's own scheming mother married her off to the Grand Duke Peter of Russia at age sixteen. By thirty-three, she had overthrown her husband in a bloodless coup and established herself as Empress of the multinational Russian Empire, the largest territorial political unit in modern history. Portrayed both as a political genius who restored to Russia the glory it had known in the days of Peter the Great and as a despotic foreign adventuress who usurped the Russian throne, murdered her rivals, and tyrannized her subjects, she was, by all accounts, an extraordinary woman. Catherine the Great, the first popular biography of the empress based on contemporary scholarship, provides a vivid portrait of Catherine as a mother, a lover, and, above all, an extremely savvy ruler. Concentrating on her long reign (1762-96), John Alexander examines all aspects of Catherine's life and career: the brilliant political strategies by which she won the acceptance of a nationalistic elite; her expansive foreign policy; the domestic reforms with which she revamped the Russian military, political structure, and economy; and, of course, her infamous love life. Beginning with an account of the dramatic palace revolt by which Catherine unseated her husband and a background chapter describing the circumstances of her early childhood and marriage, Alexander then proceeds chronologically through the thirty-four years of her reign. Presenting Catherine in more human terms than previous biographers have, Alexander includes numerous quotations from her reminiscences and notes. We learn, for instance, not only the names and number of her lovers, but her understanding of what many considered a shocking licentiousness. "The trouble is," she wrote, "that my heart would not willingly remain one hour without love." The result of twenty years' research by one of America's leading narrative historians of modern Russia, this truly impressive work offers a much-needed, balanced reappraisal of one of history's most scandal-ridden figures.

Customer Reviews:

Enlightened Despot?.......2003-09-10

This is a scholarly work, telling of the life of Catherine II of Russia in one relatively short volume. The author covers court intrigues and domestic and foreign policy in an economic, yet informative style. He leaves the examination of the more sensationalist stories surrounding Catherine for the final chapter, attempting to debunk the weirder myths.

The most interesting parts of the book were the ones in which Alexander concentrates on the nature of government in eighteenth century Russia: Catherine's hold on power was never really sure -there was constant rivalry from her own family, from courtiers and the armed forces. Indeed, Catherine achieved power via a coup against her own husband, Peter III.

It's also a study of "enlightened despotism" - Alexander portrays Catherine as being relatively progressive (at least in intent), and gives her credit for reforms. Yet Russia was light years removed from anything which might be termed liberal in the modern sense. Rule was the prerogative of a small social class. The French Revolution came as a considerable shock, yet Russia was not immune from class turmoil: the Pugachov uprising being the main one. Perhaps this highlighted how Russia and other states depended on coercion and disempowerment of the mass of their own people for social stability. I felt that the author could have examined this in more depth than he did.

An interesting, balanced and serious study.

G Rodgers

Good but not Great.......2001-12-04

This is a good book to read to get a handle on the reign of Catherine the Great and late 18th C. Russia. Alexander covers the court intrigues, the attempts at reform, the complexities of foreign policy. He also avoids treating Catherine's personal life in a sensationalistic way.

So if you read this book, you will learn a lot. On the other hand, the book doesn't really come to life in the way Massie's "Peter the Great" or Avrich's "Russian Rebels" did. It is recommended only to those with a serious interest in the time of Catherine, such as students, and not the casual reader.

The book wasn't great!.......2000-09-03

I have read several books on the history of Russia, like Peter the Great, and the Romanovs, but this book frankly bored me. The author definetly knows his stuff about Catherine, but I got so tired of reading about all the political stuff in this book. I wanted to know more about her personal life, more details about her comings and goings, not about how she ruled her Russian cabinet officers. Also the use of vocabulary was way over my head, so it made it hard to enjoy reading because many times I needed to get the dictionary, and I feel I have a fairly good vocabulary. I would not recommend this book unless you want to know about Russian administration in her time.

Catherine the Great: Rent the Movie.......2000-07-04

I have read history books more interesting than this book. When i purchased the book i thought that it would be an interesting work. The book started off interesting. Then, as it progressed it got worse. Rent the movie. It would be much better. Trust me.

The Best Biography of Catherine II I've Seen.......1999-01-09

Alexander does a marvelous job retelling history without sensationalizing it. Many past biographers undertaking the job of writing about Catherine the Great have often focused too much on her sexuality, rather than her political prowess. John T. Alexander, however, thoroughly examines the political and cultural context of her life, and refuses to insult the reader's intelligence by dishing gossip or repeating long-held opinions. Having read four other biographies of Catherine the Great, I can assure you this one is probably the best. Impartial, informative, and interesting.

Average customer rating:

Catherine the Great: Life and Legend.

Manufacturer: 0
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IBEGLU

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Catherine the Great: Life and Legend
John T. Alexander
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GPLQ5C

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Catherine the Great - Life and Legend
John Alexander
Manufacturer: Folio Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KDFE4E

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Catherine the Great: Life and Legend
John T. Alexander
Manufacturer: Oxford
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NZR834

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CATHERINE THE GREAT : LIFE & LEGEND.
John T. Alexander
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKBEBK

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Catherine The Great Life and Legend
Alexander John T.
Manufacturer: The Folio Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UIQB2I

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Catherine the Great: Life and Legend
John T. Alexander
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OK2BVM

Average customer rating:

Catherine the Great: Life and Legend.
John T. Alexander
Manufacturer: [Catherine II] Alexander, John T. Catherine the Great: Life and Legend. Oxford University Press, 1989. (Book of the Month Club) Hardcover. 418pp. VG+ / VG+ dj.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SJJQO4

Book Description

In a journey across four continents, acclaimed science writer Steve Olson traces the origins of modern humans and the migrations of our ancestors throughout the world over the past 150,000 years. Like Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel, Mapping Human History is a groundbreaking synthesis of science and history. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including the latest genetic research, linguistic evidence, and archaeological findings, Olson reveals the surprising unity among modern humans and "demonstrates just how naive some of our ideas about our human ancestry have been" (Discover).Olson offers a genealogy of all humanity, explaining, for instance, why everyone can claim Julius Caesar and Confucius as forebears. Olson also provides startling new perspectives on the invention of agriculture, the peopling of the Americas, the origins of language, the history of the Jews, and more. An engaging and lucid account, Mapping Human History will forever change how we think about ourselves and our relations with others.

Customer Reviews:

science versus political correctness.......2007-10-14

On the science front, this book is very superficial. There are many other ones that are much better and more detailed. About 80% of the book is a political correctness diatribe. If this book represents what passes for scholarship in today's academic environment, our society is in deep trouble.

very good.......2007-06-18

Some critics below carp about political correctness, but the author makes as good a case as any layman's book I've read. He is merely pointing out that human populations converge before they can evolve any important divergent phenotypes, and that all the phenotypes that separate people, which are commonly defined as "race", are pretty much insignificant. He also describes well how the biology works behind the differences in physiognomy that we perceive between the "races".

Human population on this planet is soaring, and we all have to live together more harmoniously, because there's no room left for malcontents to go off and start their own societies anymore. Just like in the remote past, when glaciers and desertification pushed different populations together and compelled their interaction by necessity, all the nations and ethnicities of the world are again bumping up against each other. The realization that we have a common genetic past, and future, is the first step to achieving more international harmony.

Where did we come from.......2007-03-27

Mapping Human History discusses how the use of mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosomal DNA can be used to trace the common origins of humans. Steve builds a case for how humans appeared as a distinct group about 150,000 to 200,000 years ago based on genetic variation we see in people today. By using genetics and the study of haplotypes and haplogroups, it believed that one can trace our ancestry back to a common "Mitochondrial Eve" or an "Adam" neither of which may have lived at the same time. He covers the encounters with other species such as Neanterthal, emergence of agriculture and the development of ethnicity.

Steve covers most of the globe in this quest for common origins: Africa, Middle East, Asia, Australia, and Europe and finally the Americas. The evidence tends to support an African origin. I found the discussion of the settlement of the Americas interesting. The ultimate conclusion of all of this is the commonality of the human species. A case is made for the irrelevance of race; this seems to be a prominent theme throughout the book.

One thing that I found interesting was the fact that written language goes back only to about 3400 BCE. This tends to support the Bible chronology of humans being created only about 6000 years ago (you can't have written history that predates humans), but then this would be in conflict with the genetic findings.

I also read the book The Journey of Man by Spencer Wells which also discusses the genetic history of man. Neither book really discussed, to my satisfaction, exactly how one gets from the genetic variations to the time periods for the existence of humans being promulgated. It would be of value to have more input in this regard.

Too politically correct to be correct.......2006-09-01

Some evidences, but rarely relevant; many deductions, yet mostly illogical; big conclusions, consequently, you know what they can be. This is what Olson's book showed me on and between the lines.

Olson obviously tried to give a final verdict on this otherwise interesting topic `No more arguments and that is it!' I am surprised to realize that this is what he really tried to do. This book has nothing to do with science, because it shows no respect to science and no spirit of science.

Here we see political purposes overrule science and political correctness suffocates science. I will tackle 2 of Olson's main claims.

1) `No significant difference was found in genes belong to different races, thus races do not exist.' Actually the studies on human genes has just started and in its very beginning period. There are too many unknowns to conclude. Let us see a big mistake in our history. When Copernicus and Galileo suggested the Earth be moving around the Sun rather than the other way around, one of their criticisms was that if that was true then we should be able to see the difference on view angles when we observe stars in different seasons. Since no such difference was found, Copernicus and Galileo must be wrong. The argument was as strong and logical as Olson's, but it was completely wrong. No difference on view angles was only because the stars were too far from us and the precision of the observation was too low then. 2 hundred years later, the differences were indeed found and Copernicus and Galileo were proven right. Roman Catholic Inquisition Court used the seemingly credible criticism to incriminate the Copernicus theory supporters; the court even burned Bruno, a fearless supporter of the Copernicus theory, to death in Roman Flower square. 500 hundred years later, not long ago, Roman Catholic apologized for what they did then. Do we need to repeat such mistake today? That no significant difference was found does not mean no significant difference exist. According to the recent study, the difference between human and ape is only 3%. If 3% can make such big difference, what some `insignificant difference' can do?

2) `All the people in the world are descendents of one woman.' This claim is less absurd than the logic from which Olson deducted to his claim. This can only be true if all human were all related. This is the conclusion that Olson tried to prove, but he used it as condition from which he `proved' it as conclusion. Let us see an example. We sometimes see a spam e-mail that asks, with seduction or threaten, you to send, say, 5 people whom you know. Which such original e-mail reached every one on the Earth? If isolation and independency cannot be ruled out, such claim cannot stand. Only from limited results of the gene researches cannot reach such claim. This is why Olson needed to use the conclusion as condition to `prove' the conclusion. According to Olson, the evolution in Africa suddenly popped out one common mother and another common father, thus formed a race, human, then such evolution suddenly stopped.

The hasty with which Olson jumped to his verdict is strikingly obvious. Only with other motivation other than science could explain the behavior. No truth can be revealed if political purposes over rule science conscience. Jumping to the conclusion from such little evidences with such hasty is the recipe to mistake.

Olson also made many contradicting arguments. While he claims no difference between races, he enthusiastically wrote new races were formed from different environment for lions and other animals. I often scratch my head to try to understand where his logic was. He seemed to write with the Bible stories in mind, but in a much faster and in greater scale. When there was a pass of Red Sea, Olson made human pass Red Sea and Berlin Straight. In a very short time, 20,000 years (that is 7,200,000 days), certain human beings out from Africa changed their physique and look. But Olson made sure, even with such a great speed, no more new races formed.

A weak imitation.......2006-08-12

It is conventional wisdom that good books are written by good writers, and that understanding of the subject is of secondary importance. This book is a disproof of that conventional wisdom.

Mr. Olson is a fine writer, but he is not a scientist. Within the first 50 pages he has spent 2 pages on an incorrect explanation of an important genetic concept.

Give me instead the real McCoy: Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza is a scientist with true insight. His book, "Genes, Peoples, and Languages" is beautifully inspired. He truly understands what he is writing about; and the most interesting elements of Mr. Olson's book are better handled in (if not derived from) Dr. Cavalli-Sforza's book.

Mr. Olson, by contrast, is a layman who doesn't quite comprehend that about which he writes. He is the blind leading the blind; and most of his readers don't know the difference, apparently including the nominating committee for the National Book Award.

MAPPING HUMAN HISTORY Genes, Race, and Our Common Origin

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MAPPING HUMAN HISTORY Genes, Race, and Our Common Origin
Steve Olson
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JV7RGA

Book Description

A trenchant analysis of the attempts to mediate the transition from oppression to freedom, and a warning of the potentially disastrous challenges that face burgeoning democracies. With the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, many proclaimed the triumph of liberal democracy as they watched democratization sweep through formerly authoritarian countries in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and East Asia. Yet the 1990s turned out to be a decade marked by chronic nationalist conflict, and the sense of democratic triumph turned to frustration. In From Voting to Violence, Jack Snyder shows how democratization can actually exacerbate nationalist fervor and ethnic conflict if the conditions permitting a successful transition are not in place. Arguing that international organizations can cause conflict rather than averting it in their rush to establish democratic governments and punish outgoing leaders, he prescribes policies that will make transitions less dangerous and allow fledgling democracies to flourish. In the light of such tragic examples as Weimar Germany and contemporary Bosnia--each drawn into a spiral of ethnic hatred and civil war by political leaders manipulating nationalist sentiments--From Voting to Violence questions the sometimes rash optimism of liberal democracy that would rush to democracy at the cost of freedom.

Customer Reviews:

democracy isn't a panacea!.......2007-06-10

synder's book breaks down the fallacies of imposing democracy as the cure-all to violent ethnic conflict. the book is quite easy to read, even for folks with no political science background. snyder is particularly effective at laying down a systematic framework as to why emerging democratization often leads to violence, and then provides case studies that illustrate his points clearly. snyder isn't anti-democratization, but he is very wary when the process is started without certain institutions and conditions in place. if the bush administration read this book prior to invading iraq, we might have been able to avoid that catastrophe entirely.

Provocative, but a mess.......2004-03-29

The book has its moments, but the conclusions are never compelling. His core mistake is that he never defines democratization. First, he conflates democratization and liberalization, which are two very different processes. As part of this, we never know when democratization begins or ends. Apparently German was democratizing for 45 years and Serbia for a century. Third, ethnic conflict has more to do with how authoritarian regimes governed than the fact that they disappeared, which would be clearer if he examined why so many ethnically diverse democratizing states have no significant rise in ethnic violence. Finally, many his policy presciptions go in the opposite direction of what a broad reading of the evidence would indicate.

Excellent.......2003-07-13

What makes this a great political science book is not merely the provocative counterintuitive claim regarding democratization (specifically partial democractization) offered by the author, but the solid, systematic and CLEAR (!) theoretical and empirical cases offer in support. A pleasure to read and a valuable contribution to scholarship and policy-making alike.

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