Book Description
The appearance, more than sixty years after the Spanish Civil War ended, of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Franco’s death squads finally broke what Spaniards call “the pact of forgetting”—the unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around the country and through its history to discover why some of Europe’s most voluble people have kept silent so long.
Ghosts of Spain is the fascinating result of that journey. In elegant and passionate prose, Tremlett unveils the tinderbox of disagreements that mark the country today. Delving into such emotional questions as who caused the Civil War, why Basque terrorists kill, why Catalans hate Madrid, and whether the Islamist bombers who killed 190 people in 2004 dreamed of a return to Spain’s Moorish past, Tremlett finds the ghosts of the past everywhere. At the same time, he offers trenchant observations on more quotidian aspects of Spanish life today: the reasons, for example, Spaniards dislike authority figures, but are cowed by a doctor’s white coat, and how women have embraced feminism without men noticing.
Drawing on the author’s twenty years of experience living in Spain, Ghosts of Spain is a revelatory book about one of Europe’s most exciting countries.
Customer Reviews:
An outsider's insight.......2007-05-28
A British journalist who has lived 20 years in Spain, married and raising his 2 children in Madrid, the author investigates, reveals and muses upon Spanish culture, history and the forces of the "two Spains" as they come together, or rub against each other, in forming the modern Spanish world. A fascinating look at Spain, its subcultures from the Basques to the Catalans to flamenco to the Galicians, to drug culture to tourism and the very difficult and delicate process of choosing to forget the differences of the Spanish Civil War and Franco's regime in order to move forward in a country that was once the most powerful on earth.
I like Spain and its history. This is one of the very best insights into modern Spain. Highly recommended.
A Pale Secret.......2007-05-22
A liberal British newspaper reporter's hit and miss attempt at a book explaining Spain (his nearly adopted country) to us outsiders. Some hits (like how modern Spain handles the dark legacy of Franco) are offset by a number of misses.
Historical facts, or guesses as to historical facts, get thrown in as space fillers; events that catch Mr. Tremlett's fancy are highlighted, whether reflective of the whole Spanish society or not; the level of writing is often barely above that of a talented reporter on deadline. The final meandering chapter entitled "Moderns and Ruins", especially, cries out for editing.
Great book about a fascinating country.......2007-05-19
This is a great journalistic account of the social and political changes that have transformed Spain up to the present day. Tremlett discusses the country's past and present in fairly equal measure. He begins by looking at the legacies of the Spanish Civil War, discussing how only in the past decade has the full scale of the atrocities that took place come to light. He discusses how Spaniards whose relatives were killed by the Francoists have pushed in recent years for their relatives to be given decent burials. He also writes an interesting chapter on Franco's overall legacy, arguing that after his death and the country's transition to democracy he has been largely purged from public discourse. Despite this collective amnesia that he identifies, Tremlett points out that the same left-right cleavage that drove the war still lurks below the surface of Spanish society. The book also contains chapters on the Basque, Catalan, and Galician regions. Tremlett provides very insightful analysis of the origins of and main forces behind Basque and Catalan nationalism, while his chapter on Galicia details that region's emergence as a conduit for Columbian cocaine. One of my favorite chapters looked at gender relations in Spain, in which Tremlett provides some very amusing anecdotes that reveal contrasts between Spain and his native Britain. This chapter also discusses Tremlett's quest to understand the paradox of how a country can be so awash in brothels (which, he reports, 1/4 of Spanish men visited) yet relatively conservative in terms of the sexual mores of its people.
Other subjects covered here include Spain's emergence as a global tourism magnet (and the corruption that has often emerged alongside it) and the 2004 Madrid train bombing, which indirectly led to the defeat of the ruling party in the elections several days later. This was an interesting chapter, in which Tramlett looked at the ways in which the main parties tried to capitalize on this tragedy for political gain. Overall, I found Tremlett to be a very keen analyst of social and political relations, and there weren't really any weak chapters. For instance, I considered skipping a chapter on flamenco music, not being particularly interested in the musical form itself, but the chapter ended up including a fascinating discussion of the social history of Spain's gypsies.
Overall, I would heartily recommend this book to anybody interested in Spanish history, culture, and/or politics. I would NOT recommend it to those expecting more of a travel guide type of book; although Tremlett does visit and write evocatively about numerous regions, such descriptions are not the main substance of this book. If I had to make one minor criticism, it is that the chapters themselves were often not tightly organized. For example, the chapter on the Basques jumps from past to present and does not really follow any sort of structure. This wasn't really a problem for me, because Tremlett writes well and never bored me, but it might be a problem to some. Another minor complaint is that the book doesn't include a map, which might have been useful for readers like me who aren't intimately familiar with Spain's geography. Overall, though, I think that this is social and political journalism at its finest, and anybody wishing to learn more about this fascinating country could do worse than to start here!
Spain's a Fun Country to Visit.......2007-04-29
The first time tht I went to Spain the country was still under Franco. When getting off the plane, every arriving passenger was photographed. This set a tone that made you never forget where you were. Now going to Spain is like going to any other country. There is no problem going from one city to another. The people are friendly to Americans. The food, trains, hotels, highways are all good.
This book looks underneath these obvious outward trappings to the held over anguish from the Franco time. He also looks further backwards to the regional conflicts with Basque seperatists, and more recently to the Islamist bombers who killed 190 people using bomb attacks in 2004.
Spain remains a little bit different than the rest of Western Europe. Mr. Tremlett has lived in Spain for twenty years and has done an excellent job of bringing together the history and the current situation to explain the current country that is Spain.
The Real Spain.......2007-04-15
Giles Tremlett has written a highly readable, incisive portrait of Spain today--its problems and its pleasures. His presentation of the manner in which Spain has chosen to deal with the aftermath of Francisco Franco's death is particularly well written and revealing. He examines how the decades of dictatorship and brutal repression have been swept under the rug of collective consciousness by Spaniards choosing not to confront it or attempt to reconcile themselves with this difficult episode in their nation's history. The author's years of closely observing Spain, and reporting on its politics and culture for Britain's most respected newspaper, The Guardian, have given him a wonderful sense of both the large picture and the quotidian details, which do so much to bring this book to life.
Anyone wanting a sense of what today's Spain is all about will find it in these pages.
Book Description
Evan Thomas takes us inside the naval war of 1941-1945 in the South Pacific in a way that blends the best of military and cultural history and riveting narrative drama. He follows four men throughout: Admiral William ("Bull") Halsey, the macho, gallant, racist American fleet commander; Admiral Takeo Kurita, the Japanese battleship commander charged with making what was, in essence, a suicidal fleet attack against the American invasion of the Philippines; Admiral Matome Ugaki, a self-styled samurai who was the commander of all kamikazes and himself the last kamikaze of the war; and Commander Ernest Evans, a Cherokee Indian and Annapolis graduate who led his destroyer on the last great charge in the last great naval battle in history.
Sea of Thunder climaxes with the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the biggest naval battle ever fought, over four bloody and harrowing days in October 1944. We see Halsey make an epic blunder just as he reaches for true glory; we see the Japanese navy literally sailing in circles, torn between the desire to die heroically and the exhausted, unacceptable realization that death is futile; we sail with Commander Evans and the men of the USS Johnston into the jaws of the Japanese fleet and exult and suffer with them as they torpedo a cruiser, bluff and confuse the enemy -- and then, their ship sunk, endure fifty horrific hours in shark-infested water.
Thomas, a journalist and historian, traveled to Japan, where he interviewed veterans of the Imperial Japanese Navy who survived the Battle of Leyte Gulf and friends and family of the two Japanese admirals. From new documents and interviews, he was able to piece together and answer mysteries about the Battle of Leyte Gulf that have puzzled historians for decades. He writes with a knowing feel for the clash of cultures.
Sea of Thunder is a taut, fast-paced, suspenseful narrative of the last great naval war, an important contribution to the history of the Second World War.
Customer Reviews:
No Bull..........2007-09-29
It's no wonder were in the mess we are, when myoptic vision clouds reason.
This was not a hit on Halsey..Duoh! This was a very good read. Maybe Ken burns took some info here?
I see a lot of whinners(on other forums) saying the Japanese never had a plan to sue for peace if they took Hawaii..(?)
Any way Good book.
Thanks, Mr Evans
Non-Fiction Thriller.......2007-09-12
A non-fiction historical work of serious scholarship that can compete with any thriller. An absolute page turner that's hard to put down. When Thomas finds the time to do this kind of research with his TV panelist and news magazine gigs is a mystery. He is an absolutely first rate writer and story teller, and Sea of Thunder is not to be missed.
Good Read, but............2007-08-06
I got this book on Friday and finished it Saturday night. A decent book over all but as other reviewers have stated I find the revisionist aspect a bit much. I think the 'slam' on Halsey tended to be over-kill. The author even goes as far as mentioning the two occasions where Halsey sailed into typhoons to further his knocks on Halsey. Interesting, but not in the scope of the book. The author does point out the reasons behind Halsey's choice to go after Ozawa but only in passing. I found the study of Japanese vs. American admirals a bit slanted in the Japanese admiral's favor. As far as the 'racist' aspect of Halsey's statements "Kill Japs, Kill Japs. Kill more Japs" & etc. We only need to look at quotes by other Admirals and Generals to understand the purpose behind these statements. I gave it three stars only because it was a page-turner, I think what kept me reading was to see if the author was going to go into a more in-depth study of the choices made by the admirals and why they made them. I was left with the impression that the Japanese admirals made the choices they made mostly because of the training received at Eta Jima and the choices made by American admirals were due to some personal flaw as in Halsey's 'need' to get the Japanese carriers at all costs. What I wasn't left with was the stunning victory by the Americans and how important it was in shortening the war. I am just starting to read 'The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors' by James D. Hornfischer so I can compare two different author's views on the Leyte Gulf naval battles.
CORRECTION to Thomas' text.......2007-07-27
Evan Thomas incorrectly states that Admrial Spruance's son married Admiral Halsey's daughter. In fact, Margaret Halsey married Preston Lea Spruance who was only distantly related to Admiral Spruance.
- Halsey Spruance, a decendant of Margaret Halsey and Preston Lea Spruance
A good story.......2007-07-11
I did not know as much about the battle before this book. Thomas gives an excellent perspective of all sides of the battle. I felt I was a bit oversold on the book and it did not live completely up to expectations which is why I only give it 4 out of 5.
Book Description
The definitive and rollicking story of one of the best, and one of the wackiest, teams of all time, during one of the most vital eras in baseball.
With The Gashouse Gang, John Heidenry delivers the definitive account of one the greatest and most colorful baseball teams of all times, the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals, filled with larger-than-life baseball personalities like Branch Rickey, Leo Durocher, Pepper Martin, Casey Stengel, Satchel Paige, Frankie Frisch, and--especially--the eccentric good ol' boy and great pitcher Dizzy Dean and his brother Paul.
The year 1934 marked the lowest point of the Great Depression, when the U.S. went off the gold standard, banks collapsed by the score, and millions of Americans were out of work. Epic baseball feats offered welcome relief from the hardships of daily life. The Gashouse Gang, the brilliant culmination of a dream by its general manager, Branch Rickey, the first to envision a farm system that would acquire and "educate" young players in the art of baseball, was adored by the nation, who saw itself--scruffy, proud, and unbeatable--in the Gang.
Based on original research and told in entertaining narrative style, The Gashouse Gang brings a bygone era and a cast full of vivid personalities to life and unearths a treasure trove of baseball lore that will delight any fan of the great American pastime.
Customer Reviews:
Baseball lover's only!.......2007-09-23
Baseball in times long passed was a very different game, but like today there were some really wild characters to mke the game all the more interesting. The 1934 Cardinals, "The Gashouse Gang" were an exciting, odd collection of great ball payers who played for the love of the game in a way we wish today's players did.
If you love baseball you won't be able to put this down, and even if you don't it will be too intriquing to stop reading once you start. Well written, well researched and as entertaining as anything I've read this season. Highly reccommended!
The Gashouse Gang Personalities.......2007-09-15
This book climbs to the top wrung of my baseball ladder. Rather than a statistical or play-by-play book so common in baseball pages, this features personality development of some of the wackiest players of all time. Learn that Ducky Joe should have been Mean Joe, that Leo the Lip couldn't handle relationships, or that Dizzy Dean was really Jerome or Jay or Hanna or Herman, maybe that he was from Arkansas or Oklahoma or Texas -- well, you get it.
This book captures the thrill of a season and the joy of a team effort. It really makes you think of the Oakland Athletics of the Catfish days.
Just one observation: John Heidenry missed the point of the moniker, "Gashouse Gang." He can't figure out where it came from. He even ponders how "Gas Tank" became "Gashouse." During that day, electricity was provided by manufactured gas plants, sometimes called "witch's brew." The main structure was known as the "gashouse." The working class fellows who toiled away in those dirty gashouses were known as "the gashouse gangs." They cursed, they played dirty and hilarious tricks on each other, they had great and sour dispositions -- necessary to get through the tough days, and yes, their clothes were always filthy. Sound like the beloved Gashouse Gang?
Snag this book, and you will enjoy several hours of quiet time, if you can block out your own laughter.
Me 'n' Paul.......2007-09-02
In baseball, 1934 was a year to remember, a year in which the Saint Louis Cardinals, a scruffy team of misfits and malcontents, came from almost the graveyard to win the National League pennant, and then the World Series. While we learn a tremendous amount about the Cardinals, and especially the Dean brothers, Dizzy and Paul, there are others about whom we receive thumbnail biographies. Most importantly, Branch Rickey is focused upon for much of the early part of the book, and just reading about this remarkable man is sufficient reason to study this book. Other famous players make cameo appearances: Babe Ruth, Mel Otto, Mickey Cochrane, Leo Durocher, and Pie Traynor, with whom I was once priviledged to have an extensive conversation about baseball when I was in college. I also remember listening to Dizzy on the television announcing(?) games and talking about all kinds of extraneous subjects other than the game he was supposed to be calling. Of course, Dizzy is the centerpiece of this book, and he strides through it like a colossus. He did things then that would not be tolerated by a basseball organization today, and perhaps we are the pooorer for not having men such as him (and Curt Flood)to challenge what is considered the "right" way to act as a porfessional ball player. He's gone, and so are all of those famous old-timers, and the world misses them!
Great Father's Day gift.......2007-07-12
I gave this book to my 60 year old father for Father's Day. He hasn't read a book in years but is a huge baseball fan. He loved the book and stayed up late into the night reading it. Great for a Cardinals or baseball fan!
RICK SHAQ GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "73 YEARS AFTER WINNING THE WORLD SERIES "THE GASHOUSE GANG" ST LOUIS CARDINALS HAVE A BOOK!".......2007-06-13
Before I give you the details of this book, let me save some people their valuable time, by telling you who this book would appeal to! Old School Baseball fanatics, "Baseball Historians", Saint Louis Cardinal fans. If you think the designated hitter rule is good for baseball this book isn't for you.
73 years after the famous (To the above listed people.) Saint Louis Cardinals, hereafter known as "The Gashouse Gang", won the World Series, they have had an excellent book released on their exploits and accomplishments. As a self-acclaimed baseball fanatic, some of the statistics, and idiosyncrasies, I discovered in this book about famous old time players that I already knew about, were both interesting and amusing. The author's writing style is not anything you'll remember as out of the ordinary, since so much of the meat of the book, you can tell is repeated from old newspaper articles. But the detailed, meticulous, research should be applauded. As I've mentioned in my earlier reviews, I've read literally hundreds of baseball books, and memorized half the "Encyclopedia Of Baseball" when I was 10 years old, yet I learned even more details and amusing personality "quirks" of some of the old-time stars. I of course already knew that Dizzy Dean was a great pitcher, in the Hall Of Fame, and the last National League pitcher to win 30 games. What I didn't know, but learned here, was the absolute bottom of the barrel poverty he came from in the historically famous "dust bowl"! I knew he was a "wacky" character, but I didn't know, it went to the extent of him literally being the Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali, of the baseball world in the 1930's, before there was an Ali. I didn't know that Dizzy held out and boycotted games, in a demand for an increased contract, in the middle of the season. I also got to learn much more about the great Ducky Medwick, (The last National League Player to win the Triple Crown 70 years ago.) who was one of my dear departed Mother's favorite players, when he later played on the Brooklyn Dodgers. I never knew he was such a New Jersey, street fighting, chip on the shoulder, ready to fight anyone, including his own teammates, type of guy! I learned more than I ever had known about what led up to one of the biggest name trades in baseball history, Rogers Hornsby for Frankie Frisch. The detailed background on Branch Rickey, before his famous relationship with Jackie Robinson, was also expertly detailed. The almost blow by blow reporting on the 1934 World Series between the Gashouse Gang and the star studded Detroit Tigers makes you feel like you were there. I could go on and on, but like I said in my opening sentences, these facts, that are exciting and educational to me, would only be exciting to the type of people I described in my opening.
Book Description
Respected scholar William Bennett reacquaints America with its heritage in the second volume of
America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II). This engaging narrative slices through the cobwebs of time, memory, and prevailing cynicism to reinvigorate America with an informed patriotism.
Customer Reviews:
Enjoyable, refreshing and insightful. A good, but conservative refresher on American History 102........2007-10-10
If you're considering reading William Bennett's, "America: The Last Best Hope, Volume II," then you are likely already familiar with Bennett's work in Volume I.
I enjoyed both books although one should not expect the author to hold himself to the same "standards" of balance that we expect, but rarely observe of our journalists. Authors of most books make no commitment to maintain unbiased writing, how could they honestly and why should we expect it?
Bennett is unabashedly partisan, he makes no apologies top the fact that this once Democrat has long since become a Republican, with all the implications that come with such a change. Readers will find that Bennett rides his own laurels as he is indeed a part of this latter history of the United States he has written.
Bennett also derides the polarizing matter of abortion throughout the latter chapters of the book. As a staunch pro-lifer, he stays firm to his assertion that the unborn deserve a level of protection that the Supreme Court has seen fit to remove. Regardless of anyone's opinion of abortion, it is fair to say that no one, "pro-life" or "pro-choice" is truly "pro-abortion." I'm not so sure Bennett sees it that way. The most militant pro-choicer would certainly rather the practice be ultimately unnecessary in the first place than an alternative to pregnancy or motherhood.
As United States Secretary of Education under the Reagan Administration, Bennett is anything but removed from the events and individuals that closed out the final years of the Cold War, which end the book. Some will consider this book an American History as good Republicans should see it, others will not even bother to read beyond the flap of the dust jacket.
Bennett is keen to point out though, that his analysis, especially of the history since the period where this book leaves off, (Dec. 7, 1988) is still too vivid for the lens of history to properly evaluate. Indeed much of the history of the Cold War is still being written and analyzed.
Conservatives will, no doubt, cheer Bennett's right-leaning notations and periodic political jabs, liberals will just as frequently roll their eyes at Bennett's sniping of left-wing policy failures and gaffes of the last 100 years or so. The intelligent reader will sift this aspect out for what it is and not be distracted from history's fundamentals Bennett has put forth.
Without a doubt, any post 9/11 book on U.S. History will be subjected to many faceted criticisms for its partisanship, as much as any pre 9/11 history of America is so severely lacking in its modern context.
Ultimately, "America: The Last Best Hope, Volume II, From A World War to the Triumph of Freedom," is a good book that's a pleasure to read. If you've taken it upon yourself to learn about American History, there is no shame in taking a look at Bennett's book.
READ IT, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY: REVIEW IT! AND IF YOU DISAGREE, VALIDATE IT IN YOUR REVIEW, OR COMMENT ON MY OWN. BOOKS WILL GET BETTER AS WE READERS SHARE OUR OPINIONS.
History Comes Alive.......2007-09-01
The book was of special interest to me as I have lived through the major portion of this period of history and recall much that is written but also learn much more. The author's coverage of most of the 20th century included the American presidents as well as other national leaders. The book will probably be considered politically incorrect by many due to his casual reference to the specific prayers of several presidents. He touched on subjects other than government including books and music. Some events receiving extensive attention were World War l, the Depression, World War ll, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Cold War. . I believe for the most part he was very objective although he appeared to have a negative bias toward Presidents Wilson and Nixon and a very positive bias toward President Franklin Roosevelt. He wrote with first hand knowledge of President Reagan and the first President Bush. History becomes very interesting under this author's pen.
A superb history of the United States of America.......2007-08-23
The first volume of "America: The Last Best Hope" is, in my opinion, the finest contemporary history of the United States yet written. It is an honest telling of the nation's history, warts and all, a far cry than the America hating nonsense that is unfortunately being taught to our children.
The second volume isn't as good. Still superior to anything else on the subject I've read, but I felt that there should have been two volumes, not one. The first covering 1914 to about 1945 and the second from roughly 1945 through the Reagan years.
Why? Because I felt that Dr. Bennett had crammed too much into this single volume and, as a result, been forced to omit illuminating detail. More time and space, for example, should have been spent on examining how Democrats in Congress perpetuated racial discrimination for almost a century and fought demonically until the last to prevent passage of the Civil Rights Act.
Instead, many historically significant episodes are reduced to a few sentences. Still illuminating, but leaving the already knowledgeable reader panting for more. Dr. Bennett and, I presume, his research team have been more than diligent in teasing obscure sources out of the archives and provide new information even to someone like me who has been an avid consumer of American histories for more than five decades.
The book is not perfect. There are small, but disturbing errors, such as the misspelling of Messerschmitt, a WWII German aircraft manufacturer.
On the whole though, this remains a marvelous history of America, faults and all. It would make a wonderful gift, I think, for any intelligent high-school or older student from a giver who wants the recipient to know just how fortunate they are to live in this magnificient nation.
Jerry
America: The Last Best Hope.......2007-08-10
I hated history as a youngster, but if I'd had this master writing the courses, I might have become an historian. This is a fantastic book, and should be required reading for all Americans.
Review: America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II).......2007-07-27
I gave this book 5 Stars because I think the author did exactly what he set out to do: present a light, airy, easy to read narrative of American history covering the period from WWI to the end of the Cold War. Because this is not a text book and is limited in size and scope constraints likely placed on it by the publisher (530 pages), it necessarily raises as many questions as it answers. Considering those constraints, I found the presentation to be fast, fair, fun, educational, interesting, and accurate.
Amazon.com
Daniel Yergin's first prize-winning book, Shattered Peace, was a history of the Cold War. Afterwards the young academic star joined the energy project of the Harvard Business School and wrote the best-seller Energy Future. Following on from there,
The Prize, winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction, is a comprehensive history of one of the commodities that powers the world--oil. Founded in the 19th century, the oil industry began producing kerosene for lamps and progressed to gasoline. Huge personal fortunes arose from it, and whole nations sprung out of the power politics of the oil wells. Yergin's fascinating account sweeps from early robber barons like John D. Rockefeller, to the oil crisis of the 1970s, through to the Gulf War.
Book Description
Pulitzer Prize Winner -- and Now an Epic PBS Series
The Prize recounts the panoramic history of oil -- and the struggle for wealth power that has always surrounded oil. This struggle has shaken the world economy, dictated the outcome of wars, and transformed the destiny of men and nations. The Prize is as much a history of the twentieth century as of the oil industry itself. The canvas of this history is enormous -- from the drilling of the first well in Pennsylvania through two great world wars to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and Operation Desert Storm.
The cast extends from wildcatters and rogues to oil tycoons, and from Winston Churchill and Ibn Saud to George Bush and Saddam Hussein. The definitive work on the subject of oil and a major contribution to understanding our century, The Prize is a book of extraordinary breadth, riveting excitement -- and great importance.
Customer Reviews:
First to cover the topic, but still a facile book.......2007-09-17
Yergen gets kudos for being the first to cover this topic, but his account (perhaps because it's now outdated) is facile and pro-oil company. Every time the oil companies are thwarted he seems to blame straw men for it: tree huggers, the people that hounded poor misunderstood Tricky Dick Nixon, the Saudi sheiks (best friends of Bush, Cheney, et al). He never turns his gaze on the corruption of the oil companies themselves. We hit peak oil in the U.S. in the 1960s. The oil companies suppressed any attempts since then to find alternative fuels. Now we are up the creek, so to speak, with the Oil Men running the Show. Some "Prize". I'd say it's the booby prize. The best overview of our current fix is Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower.
The Age of Oil.......2007-07-04
We are living in the Age of oil.
World and human civilization have experienced different "ages" such as the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Gilded Age, and so on. The 20th and 21st Centuries are indeed, the "Oil Age." We are living in it. This book is one of the most informative and relevant books published in recent years, In my opinion. This work by Daniel Yergin was and still is prescient today, in 2007. "The Prize" tells the story of where we are today, and how we got here. It also latently foresees where we're going in the future. The book doesn't tell us - we just know. We're human. This book is so comprehensive and has so much information only a small portion of it can be noted. Below relates to WWII, and former Iranian leader Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh.
"The Prize" proceeds chronologically. And within the chapters there are numerous mini-subtitles for sub-chapters that connect the big picture. The bibliography and index are excellent and can be used to tie in different figures and historical occurrences. The 'history of oil' is actually the history of the world: humankind, business, innovations, globalization, war, and geo-political power-plays. The very survival of a nation-state is based upon oil.
"The Prize" begins with tiny puddles of black, sticky, goo, in Pennsylvania in the mid 1800s. Locals collected this goo and realized its many uses. In 1859 oil was struck. Almost immediately, the wealth and power amassed from possession and control of oil was realized. The initial trust acts in the U.S. are related to the oil industry, in which Barons quickly gained gargantuan amounts of wealth and political power.
Enter WWII:
The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor because of oil. Japanese conquests throughout South-East Asia and the Pacific were motivated not only by the quest for dominance but for securing oil and keeping their oil (fuel) supply lines open. Without supply lines of oil, the war machine would completely break down, as it later did (Chapter 8).
The Americans sacrificed a lot, but Japan in large part lost WWII because of its lack of fuel for planes, ships, and ground forces. Domestically, the Japanese economy collapsed because of its inability to import oil. The Kamikazes were brought into existence after the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Philippines, in 1944. Lack of oil meant lack of fighter plane fuel. Fuel supplies became so low they actually stopped training Japanese pilots at all. Pilots were ordered to "follow the leader" to the attack site because they didn't even have navigation training.
There was even an "Oil Czar" In the U.S. during World War II in PAW, the Petroleum Administration for War. The Oil Czar was Harold Ickes.
In the European Theater's Eastern Front Germany invaded Russia with Operation Barbarossa mostly to get the oil in the Caucuses (In addition to "lebensraum" and "untermensch" beliefs). In addition, a needed land-route to Iron Ore in Scandinavia via the Baltic SSR Republics was a factor. Hitler also began making synthetic oil because without enough of it Germany's war machine, domestic economy, and arms production were doomed. These synthetic oil factories were top targets in Allied bombing missions.
Oil and the Cold War World:
The Soviets dominated Eastern Europe and exerted its influence after WWII for 45 years because the Allies ran out of gasoline. When the British 3rd Army and U.S. 1st Army were advancing eastward toward Berlin chasing demoralized, retreating, and broken German troops in disarray. But because of the lack of gasoline for the Allied Armies, a million people ended up losing their lives and war was prolonged because the Germans were able to retreat and re-organize (page 388).
If someone says "it's not about the oil" today in 2007, tell them to read this book. Oil encompasses almost all things in our daily lives, whether we are are conscious of it, or not.
Oil, Military, and Economic Interests:
Democratically elected governments are overthrown by foreign governments because of oil. In 1953 Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh was democratically elected in Iran. He was an anti-communist. He didn't like the 93% to 7% profit sharing split with a British Oil company operating inside Iran. He changed it to 50-50. The CIA sponsored a coup to overthrow him. Americans were repeatedly told by the U.S. media that Mossadegh was a communist and communist sympathizer, although factually untrue. The American public believed this propaganda, according to poll results. Gullible? Mossadegh was ousted and the Shah was placed in power. Democracy has never been supported in the Middle East and it isn't now by the U.S. government. Also see the Carter Doctrine of 1980.
Most of us as individual consumers literally need oil to function. Dependence upon oil is for the continuation of the nation-state, its military machines, and domestic economy. More critical today, is that nation-states need a *sufficient* supply of it.
This is a positive book. It's a history book.
We're in the heart of the "Oil Age."
Amaze.......2007-06-19
This book is the better form to say what means the oil in the world. The history is well clear end real. There are many important information and who is curious or needs to know the subject this is a perfect one.
It's interesting to know the past to forecast the future..........2007-06-14
I really appreciated Daniel YERGIN's book.
The history of oil is crucial to try to solve the huge demand for future oil. History tells us that oil is limitless in virgin deserts...
The Prize : The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power.......2007-06-12
Excellent, well chronicled book showing the inside of the oil world history. Amazon shipment was a slick execution which makes the book more valuable..This book is a must-have for oil and gas pros.
Book Description
A sweeping and dramatic history of the last half century of conflict in the Middle East from an award-winning journalist who has covered the region for over thirty years, The Great War for Civilisation unflinchingly chronicles the tragedy of the region from the Algerian Civil War to the Iranian Revolution; from the American hostage crisis in Beirut to the Iran-Iraq War; from the 1991 Gulf War to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. A book of searing drama as well as lucid, incisive analysis, The Great War for Civilisation is a work of major importance for today's world.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful, honest and shocking.......2007-10-07
The book "The great war for civilisation", by Robert Fisk, is wonderful, mostly for its vivid and honest telling of the history the author has lived in thr last 40 years.
Even not having finished its reading (it's a 1,100 pages book!), I can see the author does not leaves "stone on stone" (translated from a Portuguese sentence). He show how ignorant people of developed countries can be (to make a monument in Vincennes, indiana, USA, to USS Vincennes, which blowed up a civil plane, killing 290 people, is terrible!), and how dishonest governments like Reagan's and Thatcher's were. Please, divulge this book!
A Great Book for Civilisation.......2007-10-06
It's hard to exaggerate when trying to accord sufficient praise for this great book. As a pure work of journalistic reportage it seems impossible to beat, let alone come near to its level of sincerity, humanity and scope. I don't know how Mr. Fisk was able to collate and make such sense of so much material, and survive the ordeal.
Whatever one's own proclivities may be in the world of politics and religion, I don't think anyone could quarrel with the author's many observations, which are so clearly animated by an overriding sense of outrage at the callous and sensless brutality which he has so often witnessed in person in the countries where he has been a reporter.
He tries his best to be impartial, and indeed it is virtually impossible to know where the truth lies in a world of spin and manipulation. However, he clearly shows a penchant for the Muslim argument in the Middle East, and certainly there must be a lot to be said in his favour, even if he is not always wholly convincing.
This, however, is but a quibble compared with the might and majesty of this splendid book, which I would recommend anyone who is in any way concerned with the Arab world to read, and learn from.
Detailed and well-written account.......2007-10-03
Fisk's narrative pulls no punches, and does a superb job of recounting events ranging from the Iran-Iraq War to the Armenian genocide the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to the Palestinian Israeli conflict to the current War in Iraq -- as well as many other events relevant to the contemporary Middle East (and U.S. foreign policy in the region).
I found the account to be depressing at times, but for those who are looking for a thought-provoking, and engaging narrative this is a great place to start. No easy answers, and plenty of information to digest. The best kind of reading.
A Must Read.......2007-09-02
I read every word in this book. At first I was skeptical that it could all be true, but on completion I believe it is. I highly recommend this book to all.
It is an excellent way to learn just how big a mistake was made by the US and GB in trying to overthrow the goverment in Iraq and establish a puppet democracy.
grat book, must read if u wanna learn about the middle east.......2007-08-29
here is a writer who lived in the middle east, who walked the streets and breathed the air, who talked to all the big heads and saw all the battles...he is not your typical expert who appear on CNN/Fox News... he has in-depth knowledge, i wish alan dershowitz can learn from him
read this and pitty the nation
Book Description
In this groundbreaking new history, Adam Tooze provides the clearest picture to date of the Nazi war machine and its undoing. There was no aspect of Nazi power untouched by economics—it was HitlerÂ's obsession and the reason the Nazis came to power in the first place. The Second World War was fought, in HitlerÂ's view, to create a European empire strong enough to take on the United States. But as The Wages of Destruction makes clear, HitlerÂ's armies were never powerful enough to beat either Britain or the Soviet Union—and Hitler never had a serious plan as to how he might defeat the United States. The Wages of Destruction is an eye-opening and controversial account that will challenge conventional interpretations of the period and will find an enthusiastic readership among fans of Ian Kershaw and Richard Evans. BACKCOVER:
Advance praise for The Wages of Destruction:
“One of the most important and original books to be published about the Third Reich in the past twenty years. A tour de force.”
—Niall Ferguson, author of Colossus
“Unputdownable epic history . . . Transforms not only our reading of HitlerÂ's sordid regime, but the history of the twentieth century itself. Brilliantly written, its original scholarship is telling and lightly borne on every page.”
—John Cornwell, author of HitlerÂ's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII
Customer Reviews:
An enlightening analysis of economic factors behind the Third Reich.......2007-10-08
Tooze occasionally mentions in passing how companies or individuals benefited from fueling the Third Reich's war effort, but his real topics are far broader and more interesting: showing how economic factors drove Hitler's war goals and timing and how the continual feedback between industrial needs and war goals drove war strategy.
Tooze starts by describing the quandary which faced Germany in the late 1920's. Germany was not self sufficient in either food or raw materials and needed to be able to export in order to finance essential imports. Germany also needed to be able to sell its exports in order to obtain hard currency to pay the reparation demands from the World War I victors. Despite these difficulties, the German finance ministry was managing to navigate Germany through a slow and painful recovery from WWI. Then disaster struck with the Great Depression. First there was an inevitable shrinking in export markets and then, much more seriously, there were conscious protectionist decisions in America, Britain, and France to block German exports in order to protect home employment.
Before reading The Wages of Destruction, I had loosely understood how the Great Depression had been a key factor in Hitler's rise to power, especially due to widespread unemployment. But Tooze clarifies that Germany was facing a much deeper strategic dilemma than a simple economic depression. Germany was dependent on the goodwill of other powers for its export markets and for its essential food and material imports, but those powers were demonstrating that in a crisis they would look entirely to their own interests and would quite cheerfully close their markets and let Germany suffer. Given this behavior, the long-term economic and political future for Germany looked extremely grim. Hitler offered a radical solution to this problem: Germany needed to expand to the East and become self sufficient in resources in the same way as the British Empire or America. Given the depth of Germany's problem, it becomes easier to understand why many thinking Germans either enthusiastically or reluctantly accepted Hitler's solution.
In succeeding chapters, Tooze describes how Hitler rapidly switched the Germany economy to focus on rearmament. He argues that while the Nazi propaganda machine emphasized efforts to increase employment and visionary projects such as the autobahn system, this was really mere window dressing and the regime was massively focused on military preparations for war. More interestingly, he also highlights how the continual shortages of hard currency (and thus of key materials) continually constrained and shaped rearmament. By 1938 lack of currency and other economic constraints were limiting further military expansion. Hitler was thus faced with a situation where Germany could see its own military abilities peaking and simultaneously see other powers starting to accelerate their own rearmament, weakening Germany's relative advantage. Hitler being Hitler, this drove an impatience for war, while Germany had its best relative position. As the war progresses, Tooze revisits this theme from several angles. Hitler was continually faced with situations where enemy military production would quickly eclipse Germany's and he reacted by trying to knock particular opponents out of the war quickly.
Tooze's major focus is on the operations and outputs of the German wartime economy. Overall, he shows us an economy that was reasonably well run and efficient but where production was dominated by shortages of key resources, especially steel and skilled manpower. By making high-level decisions about reallocations of these resources the Reich leadership could cause major leaps (or declines) in production in target sectors such as aircraft or tanks or munitions. Typically these resources shifts would take about six months to work through the system. The lucky Nazi bureaucrat who happened to be in charge of a target sector at the end of the six months would then happily boast of his productivity miracle as his sector suddenly produced startling jumps in output.
Tooze does not shy away from describing and condemning the many darker aspects of the Third Reich's war economy. A major aim of the expansion to the East was to improve Germany's food supplies. But that land was already inhabited and that food was already being consumed. So the Nazi solution was the "Hunger Plan" which quite casually assumed that food would be diverted from Poland and the Western USSR to Germany and that many millions would be deliberately starved. Tooze argues that this appalling plan was widely circulated, understood and accepted among the German political and military leadership in 1941. Thankfully, it proved difficult to execute and while there was widespread suffering, the East avoided the systematic mass starvation called for in the plan. However, in subsequent years the same desire to remove what were seen as "useless mouths" and free up food supplies was one of the many input factors towards the holocaust. In parallel, Germany manpower shortages led to large drafts of forced labor from occupied countries to German factories. Tooze illustrates both the appalling conditions of the laborers and the folly of a regime that for ideological reasons oppressed and starved the very labor it was trying to exploit.
Overall, I found this book a very enlightening read. Tooze's thorough analysis of the details of exports, imports, and production constraints provides a convincing base for his explanation of how the constraints and limits of the German economy drove high level German economic and military planning.
A PROFOUND AND FAR-REACHING STUDY.......2007-09-17
I certainly agree with other reviewers who give "Wages of Destruction" highest praise. The only wonder is why it took so long to get the story out. We've been reading histories of the war for more than sixty years, and yet I cannot recall reading anything that lays out the economic choices and consequences as well as Adam Tooze has done here. My only criticisms in this regard would be that Tooze tends to look through a lens of economic determinism, as though weight of resources would inevitably result in Germany's defeat, no matter who was in charge. What Tooze does not delineate with any degree of specificity is Hitler's confidence in the risk aversiveness, if not downright cowardice, of the Western democracies. That was certainly the case with France, which went to war profoundly divided, and whose failure of leadership echos to this day. Great Britain under Nevelle Chamberlain was hardly better. As late as May, 1940, members of the Cabinet were still debating whether to try to cut a deal with Hitler. As for the Soviet Union, the idea that Germany could defeat the Red Army in the field and expect to hold onto captured territory was wishful thinking at its worst; even if Moscow had been captured, which Napoleon did in 1812, Hitler had to know that in Stalin he faced a man as ruthless as himself. The idea that he could repeat the German Imperial Army's success against Russia in 1917, and then confront the Western Allies, throws all rational calculation to the wind. The only other comment I would make about Wages of Destruction would be that Tooze tends to summarize the events between the Summer of 1943 and May, 1945, as though that 18 month period simply followed on what had been in the pipeline before.
Profound Analysis of Nazi Germany's Economic Situation.......2007-09-11
Recently, there has been a spate of excellent books arguing that Germany was a much weaker state than it has generally been thought to be, and that the tactical brilliance of its military obscured economic inadequacies and strategic incompetence. Isabel Hull's "Absolute Destruction," Ian Kershaw's "Fatal Decisions," and now Adam Tooze's "Wages of Destruction" all make a similar point in their very different ways. They also suggest something very interesting -- that given the insane premises that Germany should be a hegemonic power and that war and conquest were the means to attain that power, Germany's military decisions in World Wars I and II made sense.
Tooze points out in convincing fashion that not only was Germany an economic basket case compared to the United States (capable of produing perhaps 1,000 warplanes at the same time the United States could produce perhaps 50,000), but that even if it were matched against the British Empire alone, its long-run prospects were little better than 50-50.
Tooze goes on to show that after France fell and Britain would not make a separate peace, Hitler faced an economic and strategic dilemma. The United States was not likely to stay out of the war indefinitely; when it inevitably entered the war on the allied side, Germany would be grossly outnumbered and outproduced.
The only possible answer was Russia, either as an ally or as a colony. As an ally, the Soviet Union was unreliable, opportunistic, and probably treacherous. Moreover, Germany would have to bend a great deal to Stalin's wishes to keep the Soviet Union happy. As a prostrate colony, Russia might just provide the material to resist Britain and the United States. So, Tooze suggests, Hitler was not so irrational when he invaded Russia (provided, of course, one does not ask the question "If Hitler faced such a daunting situation even after France was unexpected defeated, how could he ever have figured on winning the war while France was still in the allied camp"?)
If anything, Tooze suggests, Germany got lucky -- it had no business being as successful as it was by June 1941. Even at that, so many things had to go right for Germany to come out of the war in any decent shape that total victory was an impossibility. Could he successfully invade England? Little or no chance. Could he starve England out? Not with the United States on Engalnd's side. Even if he had conquered Russia where would he be -- Facing the United States across a narrow strait with his army streched from the Bering Sea to the English Channel. This was not a winning hand.
Tooze presents plenty of evidence to show that the Nazis ran a miserable war economy; that it had no idea how to put together a coherent economic or military strategy; that its solutions were ad hoc, duplicative, inefficient, and ultimately monstrous. The famous "German efficiency" takes a terrible hit, at least on the strategic level. In sum, Tooze concludes, absent a complete collapse of allied will, Germany never had a chance. But given the fact that it never had a chance and chose to take one anyway, its seemingly irrational moves made a certain kind of mad sense.
Wages is Scholarly Blut Dull.......2007-07-21
Adam Tooze has made a great contribution to the history of Germany under Nazi party rule, breaking into territory trod by few hisorians. His scholarship is superior. Few have found a way to enliven economic history and Toonze has failed to break that barrier. This along keeps the book from a five star rating.
great book.......2007-07-07
Germany lost the Second World War was because the allies out-produced them. I've known that for a long time -- but until I read The Wages of Destruction I never really understood what that statement meant, and all that it entailed. The Wages of Destruction explains, in gripping, readable detail, how the Nazi war machine worked, how it failed, and how it shaped the strategy and some of the worst crimes of the Third Reich.
So let me add to the chorus of five-star reviews. I consider The Wages of Destruction required reading if you want to understand Nazi Germany, particularly if you have an interest in economics or business. Also, if you have read Albert Speer's Inside the Third Reich, you'll be interested in this book for the counterpoint it provides.
Book Description
A master spy's memoir of playing the game in the most strategically influential country in 1960s Africa.
Larry Devlin arrived as the new chief of station for the CIA in the Congo five days after the country had declared its independence, the army had mutinied, and governmental authority had collapsed. As he crossed the Congo River in an almost empty ferry boat, all he could see were lines of people trying to travel the other way--out of the Congo. Within his first two weeks he found himself on the wrong end of a revolver as militiamen played Russian-roulette, Congo style, with him.
During his first year, the charismatic and reckless political leader, Patrice Lumumba, was murdered and Devlin was widely thought to have been entrusted with (he was) and to have carried out (he didn't) the assassination. Then he saved the life of Joseph Desire Mobutu, who carried out the military coup that presaged his own rise to political power. Devlin found himself at the heart of Africa, fighting for the future of perhaps the most strategically influential country on the continent, its borders shared with eight other nations. He met every significant political figure, from presidents to mercenaries, as he took the Cold War to one of the world's hottest zones. This is a classic political memoir from a master spy who lived in wildly dramatic times.
Customer Reviews:
CoS Congo.......2007-08-09
An excellent biography, discusses what happened during the Cold War in the Congo from his point of view. I found it an enjoyable read.
Exciting times.......2007-07-05
A good book giving an overall flavor of the Congo in the early 60's. It would be nice if Devlin had filled in more details however perhaps this is proscribed in his publishing agreement (I presume that he had to run this through the CIA before publishing it). You do get an idea of just what a CIA COS does to try to guide events to follow US policy. He's rather blase about the physical risks of operating in an unstable environment although maybe this is because he survived to tell the tale. I don't think that I would have my family at my side in such an environment.
Charts his many encounters and is a top pick.......2007-06-17
Author Larry Devlin arrived as the new chief of station for the CIA in the Congo five days after the country declared its independence, the army mutinied, and the government had collapsed: as he entered the country, streams of residents were fleeing. During his first year he was accused of murdering a charismatic political leader, saved the life of the man who carried out the military coup, and found himself confronting unheard-of challenges in Africa. CHIEF OF STATION, CONGO charts his many encounters and is a top pick especially recommended for college-level and military holdings strong in African culture and history.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
-.......2007-06-12
A little too general, very maddening that he left out so many details. But a necessary read for those interested in the Congo in the 60's
History Lessons.......2007-06-07
This book rewards its readers with good deal of information on a variety of subjects. It undoubtedly provides a very accurate account of the struggle of the former Belgium Congo to become a variable nation state. In the course of doing this, its author provides a plausible description of the chaotic condition of an imploding nation state and its leading political players of the period, including the controversial Patrice Lumumba and the man who turned out to be his chief rival Sese Seko Mobutu. Finally the book opens a window on how the U.S -Soviet Union Clod War rivalry played out in an newly independent African state like the Congo.
On a rather different level, Larry Devlin provides a good explanation of what a pro-active CIA Station Chief (COS) of 1960 did to earn his keep. One can carry away a good deal of information about good `tradecraft', the use of non-official cover (NOC) agents, and the vital need for a close relationship between the COS and the U.S. Ambassador. For a long period Devlin was not only COS Kinshasa (Leopoldville), but also the only CIA representative in the Congo. As a result, he discloses quite a bit about the art and craft of recruiting and maintaining `agents' in the field. Although virtually all memoirs written by former intelligence folks tend to be somewhat self-serving, from this book it is clear that Devlin really was good at his job and did his best to protect the national security interests of U.S. and equally important to help the Congolese build a viable and independent nation state. That in the end the Congo continues to be a near failed state was due to factors well beyond Devlin's control.
The problem then as now of course is that a really good CIA operative like Devlin and a really poor operatives are treated pretty much the same way by CIA. The system is really designed to homogenize everyone into the same bland blend. Also it is clear that CIA of 2007 would never allow a COS the kind of freedom of action that Devlin had in 1960.
Anyone with an interest in Africa or the CIA or both ought to find this well written and informative book fascinating.
Book Description
Since the Holocaust, it has been almost impossible to hide large-scale crimes against humanity. In our communicative world, few modern catastrophes are concealed from the public eye. And yet, Ilan Pappe unveils, one such crime has been erased from the global public memory: the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in 1948. But why is it denied, and by whom? The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine offers an investigation of this mystery.
Customer Reviews:
Yet ANOTHER CASE of JEWISH SAVAGERY and HUMILIATION towards the"PALESTINIAN HOLOCAUST.".......2007-10-02
You will have to stop reading at times to wipe the tears coming from your eyes like Niagara Falls. Get a huge box of tissues for this gut-wrenching story of the daily brutal, humiliating and savage treatment against the women and children of Palestine. I started reading about the fate of the Palestinians with Carters book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. Carter's book is a great and objective overview of the Palestinians Holocaust. Bush, Rice and Cheney will be rightfully humiliated in History books and in posterity for turning their backs and 'allowing' these atrocities to go on and on and on.... Right now as you read this review, The Palestinian Holocaust is in full terror. I'm 'not' giving up on the idea, that America will soon be "Good 'ole America again." Read this book.
What the U.S. Press Refuses to Show.......2007-09-30
A clear and concise view of the Palestinian holocaust, a view that the American media refuses to show.
Unspeakable evil finally expressed in words.......2007-09-26
The unspeakable evil that has been committed against the Palestinian people in 1948, and the unspeakable evil that is still being committed against the Palestinian people, has at last been expressed in words.
Amidst the vast zionist propaganda machine created to cover up horrendous atrocities, at last we have a book that gives us the truth. This book, with all its shocking details, is the best book I have read on the Palestine/Israel conflict, though it made very grim and painful reading. Ilan Pappe has given the world a wonderful gift in the writing of this book, one that could play a major role in bringing world peace, once all the facts that Pappe presents are known. His sources include the Israeli Archives and Ben Gurion's diaries, as well as eye witness accounts of what happened in 1948, and is continuing today.
If anyone wants to know what the conflict in the Middle East is all about, just read this book; every member of Congress, and every member of the general public should know how our billions of tax dollars that we send to Israel each year are being spent.
History you Must Know.......2007-09-15
If you have not read ETHNIC CLEANSING OF PALESTINE you do not know the history of Palestine, nor can you understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As part of a new group of Israeli historians, Ilan Pappe reveals previously secret Israeli documents. The cleansing of Palestine of its Arab inhabitants began long before 1948, and continues today. Step by step the plans to cleanse the land, and the entire infrastructure with the cleansing details -- 1927 land surveys, The Red House, the Consultancy, Plan Dalet, Plan D -- is spelled out by Pappe. This is a painful read, but a necessary one to understand the Middle East.
Honest & Excellent.......2007-09-14
Very excellent book that shows part of the sufferings of Palestinians written by a very honest person
Book Description
The Breakers, the Waldorf, the Biltmore, the Sherry, the Pierre—these landmark hotels are synonymous with grand luxury and style. When they were built, in the 1920s, their refined elegance and grandeur set the bar for hotels and resorts the world over. Responsible for creating these and countless other hotels throughout the United States, were the partners of a single architectural firm: Schultze & Weaver. Together, this duo—an architect and an engineer—virtually invented the glamorous lifestyle made famous in films like Grand Hotel. Catering to the social elite of which they were themselves a part, Schultze & Weaver synthesized the Old World style of Renaissance Italy, Moorish Spain, and Georgian England with all of the modern amenities that made hotel living luxurious.
This book presents portfolios of fifteen of the firm’s most spectacular hotels, culminating in the Art Moderne masterpiece of the Waldorf-Astoria. Over two hundred period photographs and hand-colored architectural renderings chart the ascent of the American hotel in all its glory and glamour, before the Great Depression forever changed the lifestyles of America's rich and famous. Essays address the cultural and technological developments that underpin the creation of resort and residential hotels, including the elemental role played by Schultze & Weaver.
This book is published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Wolfsonian-Florida International University, Miami, held in celebration of their tenth anniversary.
Customer Reviews:
Jazzed.......2006-01-21
This book is a wonderful tribute to the gradeur of an amazing time in American History. These hotels are just spectacular, they really just don't have the masons or the desire quite frankly, to build buildings like this anymore. The black and white images in this book are simply breath taking, they are so crisp and elegant. The reader really gets a feel for what the hotels looked like at their inseption, at the time they where inspired. The Jazz Age was an era of unbelieveble wealth for a lucky few and they enjoyed spending it and expected only the best, there was a real sence of America starting her accendency to greatness and the affluent wanted to show that the best of America could rival anything in Europe, this was the catalist for these sumptuous hotels. The Jazz Age is of course long gone, but we have examples, like these grand hotels, to remind of an era of opulent wealth..and no income tax.
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The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
The New Spaniards, 2nd Edition
Iberia
Paris: The Secret History
Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life
