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Content by Frank
Commentateur n° : 6,739
Votes Utiles:
11
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Reviews Written by
Frank (Stockton CA)
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Ghostway
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de Hillerman
Édition : Mass Market Paperback |
| Price: CDN$ 9.89 |
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| Availability: Usually ships in 2 to 4 weeks |
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Great book!, Feb 11 2004
This is one of the better books in Hillerman's series. We learn more about Jim Chee's life progress in the context of a murder mystery, which is neither too complex, nor too simplistic. Hillerman throws in the Navajo history, lore and lifestyle without preaching, or assuming knowledge on the part of the reader. In a neat touch, we learn an awful lot about Mary Landon without her actually appearing here as character: she's there in Jim's memory, in phone calls, and in a letter she sends Jim.Well worth reading!
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A Brief Guide to Ideas
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de William Raeper
Édition : Paperback |
| Price: CDN$ 19.19 |
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| Availability: Usually ships in 3 to 5 weeks |
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Very poor book, Feb 11 2004
This book lost all credibility when I read the authors' attack on fundamentalism. I am a former fundamentalist, so I might be expected to have an apostate's bias against fundamentalism, but these authors are not only inaccurate but almost comically biased. The authors claim that the fundamentalists' belief in the truth of the Bible is "borders on idolatry," that fundamentalists are "often parasitic" and define themselves not by belief in their scriptures or truth, but by their opposition to "other approaches." Instead of examining the mainstream Christian fundamentalist beliefs, the authors simply define all fundamentists as having "a totally closed world view," and damn all fundamentalists by guilt through supposed association with the Ayatollah Khomeini, David Koresh and the Taliban.
Lastly, the title is misleading, especially when sold in secular stores, as mine was. The title would more accurately be, _A Liberal Christian Response to Philosophy_, instead of the current title.
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Fantastic book on the WWII infantry soldier, Nov 30 2003
This book focuses on the World War II infantry soldier. McManus does a great job of balancing facts, context, and individual soldiers' memories of the war, including excellent presentations on soldiers' food, equipment, weapons, fighting conditions, attitudes, leadership, and motivation -- not to mention a detailed refutation of a "scholarly" study of how most soldiers avoided combat.
Now, as one reviewer said, if you've read 100 books on World War II, everything you read on the same subject has some repetition to it. But if you've only read 20 or 25 books, like me -- or if this is going to be your first book on World War II -- this book will be well worth reading.
McManus especially manages to convey that American soldiers were effective and proud, while staying away from the "American soldiers do no wrong and defeat every enemy" fallacy, and avoiding portraying combat as something glorious.
The passages on fatalism were well-done, as soldiers realized that the probable outcomes for them consisted of getting killed, wounded, or captured. Wounding was preferable. One soldier writes, "My glove was blown off and a big spurt of blood reddened the white snow.... I could not believe this had happened to me. I was not meant to be shot. Acceptance came slowly as two medics worked on me. My thoughts turned to good thoughts. I was still alive. I should have been killed. I was OK and I was getting out of this frozen hell." And another soldier reports, "Sgt Glisch came walking by me, heading rearward. There was a hole in his helmet and blood running down his face -- a face that was covered with a boyish grin. That million dollar wound! I felt left out, and wished I had a bullet through an arm or a leg."
If you're interested in human nature, US history, psychology, conflict, armed conflict, warfare, and/or World War II, this is a great book!
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Better than I expected !!, Nov 3 2003
I wasn't that impressed with Stupid White Men -- most of the book was just a rant -- but after I heard Michael Moore speak I bought this book. It is much more fair and balanced -- if that isn't an insult nowadays -- than Stupid White Men.
This book is loaded with well-cited facts supporting Moore's arguments and suggestions, including some pretty flattering comments about conservatives. Moore nicely ties together humor and preaching, including a great chapter written by "God." Anyone who calls this book a "rant" hasn't read it.
I won't repeat all the substantive stuff you'll see in the other reviews; I'll just say that if you're concerned about the future of this country, READ THIS BOOK !!
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Well-written tale, Oct 9 2003
This is a well-written book, deftly bringing the reader into the complex world of horse racing and writing a book with scarcely less information and emotion than if the protagonists themselves had written the book.
Although the author does offer a glimpse of the underside of horse racing, she keeps her rose-colored glasses on as she affirms that everything is wonderful, the horses run because they love to run, and everyone is either happy, or at least brave; why, even the prostitutes are glad to join the party scene. Yet in the background, horses are injured, jockeys suffer severe injuries while racing with no medical help, and even Seabiscuit's jockey needs to hide the fact that he's blind in one eye. Jockeys ruin their bodies while drastically reducing to ridiculous weights (right before engaging in a demanding and dangerous sport) because that's what's allowed by the racing rules, and the Racing Commission ruins lives by making tyrannical and unappealable decisions.
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Fascinating book on a sad aspect of US history and politics, Sep 29 2003
I have the 1957 edition of the book, and so can't comment on the new chapter.
This is a fascinating book which should be read by anyone interested in racial issues, US history, or US politics.
The major surprise to me is Woodward's description, complete with many contemporary quotes, of a time in the late 1800's post-Reconstruction South where African Americans were treated largely equally with regard to public accomodations and voting. Segregation, then, was considered to be a "lower-class white attitude."
It wasn't until approximately 1900 that a very segregationist attitude came about in the South, largely as the result of the interplay of Republican, Democratic, and Progressive politics.
This is course gives the lie to assertion through much of the 1900's that de jure racial segregation was a time-honored part of Southern life, and there was no possible alternative.
Woodward then goes on to describe the depths to which Jim Crow legislation sank, describing the effect of African American migration within the country, World War II, how our segregationist policies hurt the US image abroad, and on to the beginnings of the civil rights movement, ending shortly after _Brown v. Board of Education_, well before the major civil rights events and legislation.
Fairly quick read, and a great book!
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Lethal Measures
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de Leonard Goldberg
Édition : Paperback |
| Availability: Currently unavailable |
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#5 in this poor series, Jun 29 2003
Lethal Measures -- revised version --
by Leonard Goldberg
= #5 in the Lethally Poor Joanna Blalock/Jake Sinclair series
Reviewer: Frank from Los Altos
*spoilers*
This 2000 book follows the typical "action" book where an evil greedy doctor causes havoc until he's caught, with far-right religious fanatics thrown in for laughs.
In this story, after a large bomb explosion in Los Angeles home with sixteen dead and twenty-eight injured, the FBI demands that all the injured be treated at our heroine's hospital, Memorial Hospital, AND that the incredibly brilliant, beautiful and desirable Joanna perform all the autopsies herself -- autopsies which largely involve examining small body parts.
Of course, as always, Joanna is perfection itself: her supervisor can't "believe someone so young and pretty could have that much brains." And her sometimes-boyfriend Jake? Joanna says, "He was so damn good-looking." Lest we miss the point, ten pages later we read, "Jake was so damn good-looking."
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The title is a lie, Jun 28 2003
As to the PJ's (Air Force Pararescue Jumpers) being "real life heroes of the perfect storm," the book only mentions ONE rescue attempt during the Perfect Storm by the PJ's. That attempt failed. In fact, the Coast Guard ship had to come out and rescue THEM. Yes, you can be a hero for an attempt, but let's not go overboard in naming our book after one rescue attempt in a much bigger event, where other agencies have a much better claim of being "the real life heroes."
The book focuses on "a PJ," coincidentally the author, not PJ's in general. The Perfect Storm part takes 30 pages, IF you include the soap opera parts about the wives calling each other for news. A pararescue helicopter and tanker was dispatched during the Perfect Storm to rescue a sailor doing a solo trip around the world. The rescue was aborted due to heavy seas, and the rescue helicopter itself ditched on the way back to base, with the loss of one airman. The helicopter ditched because it was unable to refuel with the existing drogue design. The author, in charge at the base, grounded rescue attempts of this airman due to his orders and impossible conditions. Because his men were angry at him for this, they made life hell for him: They stole his jacket, and snuck a bottle of booze into his luggage as he was about to fly into a Muslim country, which if discovered would have gotten Jack in enormous trouble. There's so much talk of the PJ "teamwork" ethos in the book -- but where did "teamwork" go when his men acted in petty ways, and caused Jack to have to leave command of the unit?
Parts of the book are interesting. Jack, of course, makes almost no mistakes, and his wife is a perfect angel. She understands when he says, "yes, I went to the strip bar, but that's where the debriefing session was held."
The unexamined assumption that OF COURSE men who work hard have to relax by drinking all night, having bar fights, and visiting strip joints is overdone.
The book does provide information about a little-understood group of airmen who put their lives on the line to rescue others in what can be very difficult situations, much like the Coast Guard rescue jumpers. Their main purpose is to rescue downed pilots and personnel in need of medical help, on land or sea, but they're also available to help civilians when civilian rescue agencies don't have the resources available.
There is some understanding of the mentality of repeatedly putting your life on the line -- you might as well die doing something you love, while helping others.
Although the author reports many accounts of mission failure and limitation due to a poor drogue design, making it difficult to for helicopters to refuel from tankers during rough weather, the author doesn't argue for a better, heavier, longer, wider (or whatever) fueling drogue design.
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Worthwhile book on retail design, Jun 21 2003
It's interesting that Underhill's group was the one that advised Subway Sandwiches to print specific nutritional comparisons to other brand-name fast food items on their napkins. This was genius!
After reading this book, you will never enter a store or restaurant without examining its design and displays. Underhill describes the "zones" of a store or restaurant.
There's a time or two when Underhill gives contradictory opinions. One time, he says that computers should be displayed set up with their peripherals, ready to work, so that customers can try them out. But, another time, Underhill says customers want to see all similar $300 printers lined up together for comparison.
There are several things Underhill doesn't mention which are major sales inhibitors. Stores may have the best designed signage displaying the menu items or identifying aisles, and then put up large advertising banners a few feet in front of those signs, so that customers can't read the original signs without getting right under them. Many fast food outlets also neglect clearing and wiping tables. Yes, customers are expected to clear their own tables, but if they don't, the staff should promptly do so. Otherwise, the company spends millions in advertising to get customers into a restaurant, and the negligence of a manager chases the customer out. Many a time fast food customers will find napkins, straws and utensils stuffed into dispensers so tightly that it's near impossible to retrieve them.
Likewise, Underhill barely mentions the effects of employees' broken promises and faulty information. How many of us have shopped at a Orchard Supply-type hardware store, to have an employee promise to send someone to help you and never return? Or have an employee tell you they don't sell such an item in the store, and it turns out later they do? Frequently the reverse happens, when the employee swears the item can be found waaay across the store in aisle 3, where it doesn't exist.
Underhill says video stores should play movies suitable to all audiences, but it's often the case, especially later in the evening, that customers will have to shop under blaring rock music. In some stores, such as a mall Radio Shack I visited recently, the teen employees were engaged in such an animated conversation among themselves that customers didn't feel welcome to interrupt them, for the purposes of getting help or ringing up a purchase.
This book is worth reading. In reading the book, you'll see that some stores have incorporated his suggestions in the four years since publication.
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Amazing book on US involvement in Vietnam, Jun 21 2003
I have read a number of books on the US involvement in Vietnam, some of them quite good. This is the best, the ONE book you should read if you're limited to one book. Other recommended books are _To Bear Any Burden: The Vietnam War and Its Aftermath in the Words of Forty-Seven Americans and Southeast Asians_ by Al Santoli, and _Our Vietnam/Nuoc Viet Ta: A History of the War 1954-1975_ by A. J. Langguth.
With first-hand knowledge -- not just reading from second-hand sources or going through one general's papers -- George Allen describes what happened in Vietnam from before Dien Bien Phu through the fall of Saigon. He has detailed information on the US side, and informed accounts of what the North Vietnamese strategy was. He introduces us to the personalities and events so important to the way Vietnam happened, all in a very engaging and readable style.
One of the most fascinating parts of the book is the listing of the many times the US took action without a full examination of the complete situation. Allen writes, "In foreign affairs and national security matters, there is no substitute for thorough, conscientious, and objective analysis of all the factors bearing on a decision, of alternative courses of action, and of a weighing of the consequences -- domestic as well as foreign -- of all the options available." This was rarely done in Vietnam. Among the hasty decisions the US made were to consider the northern Vietnamese as part of a monolithic Communist threat, to aid the French in maintaining their empire, to take over the French role in Vietnam, to give the green light to the Diem coup, to not realize the problems the lack of post-Diem leadership would create, to not encourage South Vietnam to develop an effective political message and a stable appealing government, to appear to favor Thieu as a candidate (by proclaiming neutrality), by failing to build an effective intelligence system in south Vietnam, by US in-country personnel repeatedly lying to their superiors by exaggerating US success and minimizing enemy strength (thus depriving themselves of the needed resources to meet the real threat), by the false "light at the end of the tunnel" PR campaign (setting the government up for an even bigger fall when Tet '68 came), by giving South Vietnam false assurances of our post-withdrawal support, etc. etc.
These just touch the surface. Allen explains how even minor decisions like insisting ARVN units included artillery support, and not replacing ONE incompetent colonel, possibly had very significant bad effects. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Vietnam, recent American history, or politics. It should be required reading for US policy-makers.
Hopefully someday we'll have someone the caliber of George Allen tell the true story of 9/11, Afghanistan and Iraq.
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