Book Description
“This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can.”
With these words, Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland addressed the crew of the destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts on the morning of October 25, 1944, off the Philippine Island of Samar. On the horizon loomed the mightiest ships of the Japanese navy, a massive fleet that represented the last hope of a staggering empire. All that stood between it and Douglas MacArthur’s vulnerable invasion force were the Roberts and the other small ships of a tiny American flotilla poised to charge into history.
In the tradition of the #1 New York Times bestseller
Flags of Our Fathers, James D. Hornfischer paints an unprecedented portrait of the Battle of Samar, a naval engagement unlike any other in U.S. history—and captures with unforgettable intensity the men, the strategies, and the sacrifices that turned certain defeat into a legendary victory.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
An extraordinary well done history.......2007-09-27
It is often said that teaching and learning in high school is a mile wide and an inch deep. All I ever heard and read in high school about WWII and the naval battles against the Japanese Navy in the Pacific is that the United States won the war! This book capably presents the truth that it was never quite a certainty as the battles unfolded. It is a wonderful thing to have a talented writer and researcher as Hornfischer dedicate his extraordinary talent in presenting this excellent well written definitive history of the US and Japanese naval battles near the Phillipines in October of 1944. This book is very highly recommended as an excellent and thought provoking history as well as a true testimonial to the bravery of U.S Navy personnel in battle.
Learned A Lot That Is New.......2007-09-16
I'm about two-thirds of the way through the book. Even at this point, I've learned a lot that I hadn't really appreciated before.
First of all, sometime back I read a book about the naval battle of Guadalcanal. In that battle, it seems as if all the Japanese had to do to sink one of our ships was to get just one hit on it. By the time of the Battle Off Samar, American ship building must have radically improved. Even the American ships that went down were hit literally dozens of times before finally succumbing to the inevitable. And lots of other American ships were hit but kept fighting and were still fighting at the end of the war.
Another realization was the awful damage 16-inch naval guns do to the human body when they hit a ship and explode. The mental picture I used to have of WW II naval warfare was antiseptic. Yes, guys died -- but I saw it as ever so much cleaner than the awfulness of land warfare. The author of the book has descriptions of what the results were. Naval guns were far bigger than anything in land warfare. The biggest shell for field artillery was about the size of a football. In the Navy, the plentiful six- and eight-inch guns had shells as big as a five footballs. And the 16" (or 18" for two of the Japanese Navy's "super" battleships") were as big as a garbage can and weighed as much as a Volkswagen. When they exploded, huge chunks of the sides of ships would be opened up like a tuna can even though it was inch-thick steel. The effect on the human body was even more devastating. Guys were literally ripped apart and sometimes whole compartments of guys were ripped apart so badly that one guy couldn't be identified from another. It was, literally, like an explosion in a meat locker. Never again will I think that naval warfare was antiseptic. (This is also something of a warning that if you read the book you're going to get all those descriptions too. If you don't think you can stomach it, then you'll either have to skip over those sections or skip the book.)
The book also follows the survivors of the ships that went down as they bobbed in the water waiting for rescue. Their time in the water was made more troubling by the fact that they were constantly being circled by sharks. It was their "good fortune" to be covered with bunker oil from the sunken ships that apparently acted both as a shark repellent and a sun block. But, unlike every other book I've read or movie I've seen, the whole story of a naval battle isn't over when the shooting stops. And, it isn't easy to spot guys in the water with a whole ocean to look at. It was also interesting how, despite the desperate situation they were all in, they all worked to help the wounded among them first. (Unlike the movie warriors who are all fight, the tenderness displayed to the worse off among them is remarkable.)
This is a great book for anyone wanting to know what World War II naval warfare was really like.
Also, there are a lot of maps that help to follow ship movements.
Great book, but..........2007-09-14
I enjoyed the book and the heroism of the sailors and airmen who fought the battle has seldom been equaled. However, the whole reason they were in this terrible position to begin with was poor decision making and poor communication from the higher levels, esp Halsey. I found that after a while that fact made the book a bit depressing for me. It seems obvious that such a powerful Japanese fleet should have been given more respect (watched closely, etc.) since Halsey knew it was in the area.
Gene's review of Tin Can Sailors.......2007-09-13
A very good narrative with human interest about an important naval engagement of the WWII. How the US Navy reacted to an almost impossible situation that seemed hopeless. Read his other book about the sailors of the USS Houston who sank and survived to help build the highway in the jungle which included the Bridge over the River Quai. He is a very good author!
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors.......2007-09-13
Having served on 3 destroyers (Tin Cans) 1952-1965, two of the Fletchers, this book brought back many memories, both good and bad, of those years of service and sailing on those ships. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found it difficlut to put down. There are so many heroic stories to be told that have not been revealed, and so many more that will never be told, but I thank this author for telling this one.
Kenneth E. Irons
Book Description
On the morning of June 25, 1876, soldiers of the elite U.S. Seventh Cavalry led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer attacked a large Indian encampment on the banks of the Little Bighorn River. By day's end, Custer and more than two hundred of his men lay dead. It was a shocking defeat--or magnificent victory, depending on your point of view--and more than a century later it is still the object of controversy, debate, and fascination.
What really happened on that fateful day? Now, thanks to the work of Herman J. Viola, Curator Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution, we are much closer to answering that question. Dr. Viola, a leader in the preservation of Native American culture and history, has collected here dozens of dramatic, never-before-published accounts by Indians who participated in the battle--accounts that have been handed down to the present day, often secretly and accompanied by oaths of silence, from one generation to the next. These remarkable eyewitness recollections provide a direct link to that day's events; together they constitute an unprecedented oral history of the battle from the Native American point of view and the most comprehensive eyewitness description of Little Bighorn we have ever had.
Here are the dramatic stories of the Cheyenne and Lakota warriors who rode into battle against Custer, the yellow-haired Son of the Morning Star, an adversary whose valor they admired--but who became a mortal enemy after breaking his peace-pipe oath, a scene described vividly in these pages. Here in their own words are the stories of the Crow scouts, allies of Custer, who advised against attacking Sitting Bull's village on the Little Bighorn. Here are tales of valor told by the Arikara scouts who fought side by side with Custer's men against the Lakota and Cheyenne; although the Great Father in Washington rewarded their heroism with silence, it is celebrated to this day in tribal stories and songs that come to us from beyond the grave with hair-raising immediacy and power.
Lavishly illustrated with more than two hundred maps, photographs, reproductions, and drawings, this remarkable book also includes:
An account of the battle, including startling descriptions of Custer's conduct, collected from the Crow scouts by the famed photographer Edward S. Curtis in 1908. Curtis never published this report--President Theodore Roosevelt advised him not to--and it remained a secret until his ninety-year-old son recently gave the material to the Smithsonian.
New archaeological evidence from the battlefield that casts fresh light on the Seventh Cavalry's movements, along with discoveries from the site of Sitting Bull's village--including the complete skeleton of a cavalry horse with its rider's well-
preserved saddlebags and personal items.
A series of illustrations made soon after the battle by Red Horse, a remarkable tableau that is reproduced here in its entirety for the first time.
Three letters written by Lieutenant William Van Wyck Reily just days before he died at Little Bighorn that provide key and potentially controversial insights into the conduct of the cavalry under Custer's command.
In short, this landmark book takes us much closer to knowing what really happened on that June day in 1876 when Custer died and a legend was born.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting, but. . ........2007-01-18
I wished I had known (should have read the reviews!) that this is a coffee table attempt to deal with an extremely complicated subject. The pretty pictures and artwork were fine, but the book claims to have important historical information from the Crow scouts. When I read (reread and reread) the accounts, I was no closer to understanding what happened. Indeed, one descendant of the Crow scouts admitted that the versions of the events told to him by the scouts were not the same.
The book's strength is in its modern work at the site. The articles about what items were found at both sites with metal detectors (a whole horse!) was fascinating and worth the purchase price. For instance, that bullets with the same rifling were found all over the Custer battle site is fascinating. I hope more metal detector search can be done.
The best book I've ever read!!.......2004-05-01
This book is so ground-breaking and thorough and clever that I'll read it again as soon as I get time. The narratives and recollections of native Americans combined with the most up-to-date scholarship make this book a small masterpiece. Our view of the battle was so slanted and biased, generally without intention, because of an overemphasis on the records of European participants, etc. This book gives another view, and thus B-A-L-A-N-C-E.!!
A major work........2001-05-28
In general I'm not really big on modern history (my notion of "modern" being everything after 1200 BC!), but Viola's book "Little Bighorn Remembered," featured as it was as the "untold Indian story of Custer's last stand," intrigued me. I have to admit to having had to take a second run at it before I really got into the subject. It isn't that the work is poorly written; it isn't. I think that the up front and in your face brutality of the 19th Century US government in dealing with the Native American population was just hard to deal with for me. It`s not that I am myself Native American; I just have a strong sense of fairness and fairness had no part in it. When I finally did settle into the material, however, it read rapidly. In fact it probably classifies highly with some of those I-couldn't-put-it-down novels over which people burn the midnight oil. (In my case I should have been getting a quick nap between patients while I was on-call for the OR on a night shift).
The first two chapters of the book concern the antecedents leading up to the Indian confrontation with Custer and the 7th Cavalry. These included Custer's own pre-dawn attack on a sleeping Cheyenne village under the leadership of Chief Black Kettle on the Washita River in 1868 and an earlier similar attack on Plains Tribes camping at Sand Creek in 1864. In both instances dozens of men, women, and children were hunted down and shot and their bodies butchered. In the 1868 attack even the Cheyenne pony herd, some 900 animals, was also killed, severely crippling the people's ability to pursue their traditional lifestyle. The narrative of these two chapters is filled with unfulfilled promises and broken treaties with Native Americans in the furtherance of US territorial expansion during the 19th Century. Certainly anyone familiar with the attitudes of Europeans toward technologically less advanced populations world wide in areas they wished to exploit will recognize the pattern.
The remainder of the book is divided into chapters each dealing with various perspectives on the battle of the Little Bighorn. Here is where the book rises above others on the subject, for Viola makes use of very diverse sources in his effort to thoroughly and fairly cover the subject .
Included are the oral histories passed on by the Indian participants, stories from the Cheyenne and the Dakota on one side and from the Crow and Arikara scouts with Custer on the other. Probably the most interesting part of this material is the fact that not all Plains Indians felt the same about the coming of the army into the area. In fact the imperialism of the US government was actually superimposed upon on-going events among traditional enemies within the community of local people. The long standing enmity of certain groups actually facilitated the ultimate defeat of the Plains Indians. Even allies weren't necessarily of one mind and still are not. A popular saying among the modern Cheyenne is that "The Sioux got the glory, the Crows got the land, but the Cheyennes did the fighting(p. 27)."
Also among the narratives are notes left by Edward S. Curtis who undertook the mission of creating a photographic preservation of Native American Indian lifestyles before they disappeared. During the pursuit of this work Curtis took the opportunity of covering the battle site in the company of three of Custer's Crow scouts. From information about events provided by these individuals he came to the conclusion that the battle had not proceeded as recorded thirty years previously. His intent to publish his conclusions in his project was discouraged by President Theodore Roosevelt, primarily because the latter was concerned that pro-Custer factions would ruin Curtis. The information was preserved and given over to the National Museum of American History by his son Harold just prior to Harold's death at the age of 95 in 1988.
Among the "documents" preserving the Battle at Little Bighorn are the Indian drawings of the event of which Viola includes illustrations of many. Though simple line drawings they give every bit as clear an image of the violence and carnage of the battle field as do the photo images of the Civil War. Included are drawings by the Dakota, Red Horse, and some etched drawings by an unknown artists on flattened metal from trade kettles. Also presented, many for the first time, are some of the victory memorabilia collected from the battlefield and preserved by family members of the Indian participants through the generations.
A fire across the battlefield in 1983 made an archaeological examination of the site possible and almost imperative. Application of modern techniques to the charting, recovery and analysis of the material remains on the site by professionals and trained volunteers in the decade between 1985 and 1995 have allowed a reinterpretation of what occurred and an external verification of the stories of various participants. (For a more in-depth account of which see my review of "They Died With Custer : Soldiers' Bones from the Battle of the Little Bighorn.")
Among the most amazing reports of the battle and its events is that of the contribution of suicide to the death toll. Apparently the notion of torture at the hands of Indian combatants, fostered in part by the tradition of post mortem mutilation of enemy bodies (to prevent their full enjoyment of the afterlife) produced a "save the last bullet for yourself" mentality that led to a far higher mortality than might have occurred. One Indian witness reported having seen a man "murder" a compatriot and than shoot himself. Apparently he was not the only individual to have seen this puzzling behavior either.
Probably the most arresting facets of Viola's book, and certainly the ones I found most enjoyable, were the many rotogravure/tintype portraits of the various American Indian personalities involved in the drama of the Plains. The faces are filled with dignity, composure, and intelligence. It leaves the viewer with a sense of compassion and loss. One wonders what the country might have been like had the two worlds learned to coexist more peacefully and to learn from one another.
Crow accounts are valuable.......2000-03-04
I found this book to be fascinating pictorially and in its presentation of Indian viewpoints of Little Bighorn.
Some other reviewers have criticized Herman Viola's inclusion of the accounts of Custer's Crow scouts, as if Viola is somehow doing a disservice to scholarship. However, I don't think he is necessarily presenting these accounts as gospel. Viola acknowledges the inconsistencies between witnesses' stories, but he gives the Crow a chance to speak for themselves, which seems like a good thing to me.
Perhaps by publishing these little-known testimonies, Viola will encourage other Indian sources to share their knowledge of Little Bighorn while that knowledge still exists.
A Pretty book but flawed.......2000-02-19
Read without knowledge of the other Indian based accounts available; this is an interesting book. There are other books available also which are based on Indian accounts and seem more coherent. This book is pretty and interesting but adds very little to a serious student of the event. Some of the vignettes are interesting when compared with other indian accounts and blended with them. The story of Custer sitting around at Weir point while Reno's battalion was being routed is not well placed in time or detail. In short, the book is a quick and easy read. It is an interesting contrast to the "old" accounts of the Little Big Horn saga. In light of other recent works on the subject; it is a lightweight.
Book Description
The death of George Armstrong Custer, and over half of his 7th Cavalry Regiment in the valley of the Little Big Horn on 25 July 1876, has become the most celebrated battle of the Indian wars. It was the greatest, and the last, victory of the Native Americans over the United States military. Disobeying orders, Custer followed a trail to a large encampment of Indians and, without determining the numbers he faced split his command into three groups and attacked. In the resulting chaos Custer and more than half the troops under his command were killed.
Customer Reviews:
Very Well Done.......2007-09-07
This is a series book from a collection outlining famous battles through history. Little Big Horn 1876...by Peter Panzeri delivers a thorough, well illustrated and tight description of what was known as Custer's Last Stand (before the PC police got a hold of this piece of the American experience).
This book was written after wildfires burned the brush at Little Big Horn National Military Park. This is important to understand because the denudation of the landscape led to the exposure of many battle-era artifacts. The resulting archaeological work led to a better understanding of the battle and troop movements and dispositions. This book takes advantage of the new information.
The author lays out very concisely the campaign plan, battle movements and likely (based on evidence) final disposition of Custer's troopers on and in the vicinity of Last Stand Hill. The full battle is portrayed with equal relevance given to the Reno/Benteen fight and defense five miles away from Custer. The splitting of Benteen and Reno's troopers as well as personality conflicts and vignettes on the major players on both the Indian and Cavalry sides are provided. The Indian side is well covered and I learned a lot about how and why the tribes gathered there as well as their war fighting tactics and practices that gave me a much fuller understanding of the battle than I had before.
The 3-D maps showing troop movements are very well rendered. Having visited the battlefield, the 3-D presentation is important to understanding the battlefield. It is a very hilly area with major views obscured at many points and battle sounds cordoned off by hills and obstructions. The geography had a major impact on the fighting and outcome of this battle.
This is a thin book, but well worth the cost. Its value is in a thorough rendering and illustration of the essentials of the battle. A great start to understanding "Custer's Last Stand."
Excellent review of the Little Big Horn.......2005-07-22
The maps, narrative and pictures provide a concise outline of the battle. It does not provide much detail, however, as to how the authors reached the conclusions they did regarding the movements of and how the battle unfolded for the regiments that were completely wiped out (ie. it does not address battlefield archeology to any degree). Nonetheless, it is an excellent overview and should be read in conjunction with books that do address the archeology.
Condensed but Accurate History But Maps Are Killer: 3-D.......2003-12-14
I spotted Panzieri's book while on a tour of the Little Big Horn in the hands of a tour attendee and I had to have a copy. The best and most unique thing about this book are the maps. Large color overall campaign maps in several stages but the ultimate are the 3 dimensional maps of different phases of the Little Big Horn battle. These color topographical maps not only give you positions of the combatants with time interval notations but the terrain features are excellent. If you have never been there, you will now appreciate the difficulty of the terrian, the high bluffs, the coulees (large drainages) Weir Point etc. which contributed to the difficulty in communications, the effects it had on visualizing the village and the advantages it gave the Native Americans. You can hold the several 2 page maps in your hands at the battlefield and have one of the best guides literally in hand. Also, the condensed history is excellent with a wealth of pictures and it pretty much follows Fox's theory as well as heavy contribution apparently by Gray's time sequence estimates. Fox's theory that Custer was still in the offensive mode which was why his battalion was split with one wing waiting for Benteen when all hell breaks loose does make sense. This is the best condensed version of the campaign but it's all about the maps, they are the best, particularly the 3-D battle maps. The maps alone are worth the purchase.
A Fine Overview.......2003-09-14
Peter Panzeri's "Little Big Horn 1876 " presents a good solid portrayal of Custer's Last Stand. There are several high points to the author's work: The background to that fateful day is ably drawn indeed. We know why both sides met in Southeast Montana when they did. The replay of troop movements on both sides is presented well without losing the reader in detail. There are several good photos of the main characters, personalizing them. Most significantly, the MAPS are excellent. So many military books pay little or no heed to them. The maps here are of first rate full color quality. They are so good that LBH warrants 5 stars on this aspect alone! If LBH has a weak spot, it lies in the absence of any after the battle analysis. A chapter of Monday morning quarterbacking would have been the perfect complement to Mr. Panzeri's efforts. Since we now know that there were survivors from this battle, at least from Major Reno's and Captain Benteen's commands, opinions must abound on the engagement. This omission is insufficient to lowering the ranking of LBH. The maps save the day! REVIEWER'S NOTE: Since submitting this review to amazon, I have gone to Montana and visited the scene. It's impressive! The key point is to underscore the sheer size of the battle area.It's big!! One can quickly appreciate how hard it could have been for Benteen and Reno to come to Custer's aide. With the rolling hills,maybe they did not even see him. In any event the site is right off I 90 and close to the pleasant town of Billings, MT. Now I'm searching for another Custer story. A visit to LBH definitely enhances the printed word!
Good Overview of the Little Big Horn Campaign.......2002-08-02
Little Big Horn 1876: Custer's Last Stand by Peter F. Panzeri is a good overview of the Little Big Horn Campaign. It is written in the traditional Osprey style and in addition has excellent maps showing the troop movements.
The theme of the book appears to be the multiple mistakes made by Custer and his men, espically Major Reno, that led to the destruction of his cammand. The chief among these was over confidence. In this vien, the book is very good. This is a worthwhile read for one who wants to know the basics of an American battle where it is often times difficult to seperate fact from folklore.
Book Description
On the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles in 1965 and 1966, an electrifying scene appeared out of nowhere, exploded into creativity, and then suddenly vanished. From the moment The Byrds debuted at Ciro's in March of '65 - with Dylan joining them onstage - up to the demonstrations of 1966, clubs on the Strip nurtured and broke The Doors, Love, Buffalo Springfield, The Standells, The Mamas and The Papas, and many others. This book captures the excitement of this great artistic awakening and explains its tragic disappearance.
Customer Reviews:
Re-live the fabulous hey days of the Sunset Strip.......2007-09-24
This book is a great in-depth tribute to the people,places and atmosphere
that made the Sunset Strip the 'place to see and be seen' Great photos..and tid-bits about all the clubs..who played there and how the local Government felt and acted upon the whole scene..also provides a list of all the clubs and their addresses..Don't pass this book up!
Rock 'n' Roll's Last Stand?.......2007-09-12
Priore's book on the Strip isn't bad at all. Highly entertaining in fact. As long as you're on board with his agenda of everything from L.A. in the mid '60s was brilliant and everything from San Francisco was crapola then you're in for a treat as his research was extensive. The garage rock chapter unearthed tons 'O bands I'd never heard of and even if he doesn't really tell you anything you didn't already know about The Beach Boys, Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Doors, etc he still puts you right in the center of all the action in Hollywood circa '66-'67. Rock 'n' roll may not have died after that but he convinces you that his rock 'n' roll did.
Great Read, Coulda Been Shorter.......2007-09-10
I loved this book because of the way it put me right on the Sunset Strip in the mid 60s, making me feel like I was sitting at Canter's Deli with Gene Clark and then dancing to The Byrds at Ciro's later that same evening. I also love the argument it makes about San Francisco's elitist attitude about its own 60s bands, versus those of L.A. Ask me to choose between The Grateful Dead and Love, between Moby Grape and The Byrds, between any SF garage band and The Seeds or The Music Machine, and I'm going with the Hollywood "cream puff" act every time. The book also makes you feel the tragedy of the collapse of the Sunset Strip nightclub scene, after the police effectively shut it down because some influential people in town didn't like the idea of the Strip being a place for teenagers to hang out and dance to groovy music. You get to know what a magical time and place the Strip was in 65-66, and it makes you want to be there. The only complaint I have is that at times Priore is too expansive, too exhaustive - it's hard to care after a while when he gives you countless details about every band who happened to be around the Strip through the mid-60s. That's a minor quibble, though, because if you don't want to read all that detail, you can skip over those sections. Otherwise, this is a great book which definitely and delightfully puts you in a cool time and place. And I love the Sunset Strip mid-60s street map at the beginning of the book.
Great book.......2007-08-08
A few mistakes in the photo captions but the author's heart is in the right place and the text is scholarly and quite engaging. Loved it!
The cover is deceiving. If you were a teen in 1965, you need to see this book!.......2007-07-30
It's amazing how many music styles melded on one stretch of road in one city during just a two-year period! This is not an ordinary road but the main one - Sunset Strip (actually Sunset Boulvard) - and not just any city. It's HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA!
Sure there were hard rock bands - the image you get from both the title and the cover photo of this fascinating book - but there were also the Beach Boys, The Mamas and Papas, Petula Clark and lots of small comedy and folk clubs. This was the music I gravitated to during 1965 and 1966 and I found lots to reminisce about on as I read and looked through this book. Of particular interest to me was the section on Teen TV shows which emanated from the LA scene. Though, growing up in the Philadelphia area, I was more of an American Bandstand viewer, we did get Lloyd Thaxton in the afternoon and, of course, Shindig! in the evening. Then there was the T.A.M.I. Show film - which still has never been legitimately been released on home video - and it was filmed there. Fiore devotes a large section to this and I learned things we "kids" on the East Coast never knew. Just looking at the picture, and reading the captions, was an experience.
I can certainly recommend this - as a memory jogger - to anyone who was a teen in 1965-66 and it'll definitely be a must for anyone who watch Rock and Roll television in Southern California in the 1960s.
Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"
Book Description
Last Stand takes readers from the tallgrass prairies of Kansas to the Arctic tundra of Alaska to the deserts of the Southwest and bears passionate witness to our last wildernesses, reminding us why they must be preserved.
Dedicated conservationist and acclaimed novelist Barbara Kingsolver teams with National Geographic photographer Annie Griffiths Belt to capture the essence of America's endangered virgin lands. In her moving introduction and int he essays opening each chapter, Kingsolver deftly explores the ways of the wilderness, the threats against it, and what it needs to survive. Griffiths Belt's accompanying hand-tinted infrared photographs breathtakingly evoke the spirit and beauty of these diverse bioregions.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant, brilliant, the only word BRILLIANT.......2005-03-17
I have had the pleasure of reading every Barbara Kingsolver book printed. I have shared them all with the one's I love. This book, Last Stand, is the last one of Kinsolver's works that I purchased. It is the most magnificent coffee table style book I have ever seen.
I loved the photos,the artwork,the amazingness of the American wilderness and the commentary attached to each section.
I am an Australian, living in Australia. If Barbara Kingsolver could only describe our historic landscape in such a beautiful way. We have vast tracts of open spaces equally beautiful but never portrayed in such a wonderful way,for the world to see.
Reading this book,looking at the pictures, actually bought tears to my eyes. Following on from Prodigal Summer,and Poisonwood Bible, as I have done, this lady touches one's soul. I have read a few reviews, some liked this,some didn't like that. Well I loved the whole glorious thing.
This book is a bargain at $1000, so if you can buy it for 40 dollars,it is way beyond a bargain,it is a priceless gem. it will be the best $40 you can ever spend.
I have shared this with so many people and all are in total awe.(maybe we Australians see the world differently to you Yanks).
Again I say BRILLIANT, Barbara Kingsolver and Annie Griffiths Belt have earned their place in Heaven with this magnificent, worldly creation. Congratulations to both of them for a magnificent job,truly done well.
I presented a copy of this book to the love of my life. I wrote inside the front cover. "Dear Rosy, we have enjoyed so many great Kingsolver books. This one is truly spectacular, I hope you enjoy it,Enjoy,Enjoy, love Andrew" and I hope that if you purchase it, you too will derive the same immense pleasure that I have.
Andrew Alstin. Hamilton Victoria Australia
The photo images reminded me of the great impressionists.......2004-04-25
When you open up National Geographic's coffee table photo album entitled LAST STAND: AMERICA'S VIRGIN ISLANDS you immediately are aware of very unusual photographic techniques. A fast glance to the back of the book succinctly explains:
"The photographs appearing in this book represent two types of work. Roughly half were shot on color transparency film. The rest were shot on black-and-white infrared negative film and the prints then hand-colored by photographer Annie Griffiths Belt. The borders were specially created by designer Jen Christiansen. Captions for photographs were deliberately kept vague as to location to discourage visitation to these fragile natural sights."
With this above information firmly implanted in my brain I slowly re-inspected the brilliant photo images and concurred with the creators of this book that it is best not to advertise the locations of these intensely poetic photographic masterpieces.
You may ask why? The reply is simply that many of these photo images tell a story of America's Virgin Lands, their wildlife and habitats which at all costs need to be preserved. It is in fact the "Last Stand" and the photos serve as a strong invitation to contemplate the earth, trees, seasons and oceans and what it would mean if we continue to destroy these marvels of nature.
The book is a compilation of highly sensitive images illustrating the infinite mysterious faces of nature. Moreover, we are exposed to the fine sense of observation and perfect technical skills of Annie Griffiths Belt's photography.
Flipping through the pages of this photo album we invariably can't help but admire the richness of the foliage of the live oaks of South Carolina, the haunting Georgia Barrier Island, the whisper of the winds in the trees of Northern Florida, and the mystique of the North Cascades Forest of Northern Washington. These and many more infinite faces of nature are displayed within the five sections of the book that are divided as follows: wetlands, woodlands, coasts, grasslands and dry lands. Each section reaffirms the delicate power of Belt's photography and inspires us to share her emotions.
After savouring the photos illustrated in this book, I would have to concede that I felt there was a kind of impressionistic quality attached to these images that reminded me of the masterpieces of such great artists such as Degas, Monet, and Pissaro.
Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures.com
beautiful color photograpy.......2004-02-13
"Last Stand" is primarily a collection of nature photography with chapter introductions written by Barbara Kingsolver. This is an environmental work in that the aim of the book is to educate about some of the beautiful regions of our country and to tell that there is a significant human threat to the environment. Kingsolver writes passionately about how the human settlement and human wastefulness is cause further destruction of the environment. The photography in this book is broken up not into regions of the country, but types of ecological regions: wetlands, forest areas, etc.
The photography by Annie Griffith Belt is absolutely beautiful. There are two types of photography. The first type is black and white infrared photography that has been hand colored. These pictures look like paintings, and while pretty, I was not as interested in these pictures. The photographs that I found to be stunning were the simple color pictures. We get to see beautiful landscapes that would make a very nice postcard. These are images that make a strong case that these are places we need to preserve.
I should state that I do not know anything about photography, so I cannot speak for the craft of taking pictures and how well the photographs come out as technical pieces. I just enjoyed the photography.
My suggestion is that one should look at this book for the beautiful photography and not for Kingsolver's section introductions. However, if someone is interested in reading that these are beautiful places that are being ruined by a human cause, by all means, read the text in this book. Barbara Kingsolver is a wonderful writer, but when she has a cause and is writing non-fiction, she is not nearly as interesting as she is in her fiction. This book is worth looking at for the color photography.
Product Description
Swords at Sunset is the final book in Michael Bradley's bestselling trilogy on Holy Grail adventures in North America from 1398 to 1571, completing the saga related in Holy Grail Across the Atlantic and Grail Knights of North America (the author's research skills were also put to good use in the movie The Da Vinci Code). In Swords at Sunset, Bradley draws on evidence from The Book of Mormon, plus newly discovered artefacts from Lake Memphremagog and the Niagara region. Bradley offers a convincing argument that communities of Grail refugees - who had fled the Inquisition in Europe - were established in Niagara and Vermont before being defeated by Native tribes in 1571. Swords at Sunset also examines the origins of man and the concept of the Holy Grail, offering a new and different perspective of the Western religious history that has shaped so much of the entire world's history. Swords at Sunset presents a thought-provoking interpretation that will astonish and intrigue.
Customer Reviews:
Swords at Sunset and Madalene Mandala absolutely superb.......2007-05-18
Now here's a great combo: On author Michael Bradley's The Magdalene Mandala page, his bestselling novel has been paired with his non-fiction masterpiece, Swords at Sunset for a low package rate provided by amazon. I adore both books and it's wonderful they're paired.
This package offering is superb. I picked up both books and could not put either of them down until I reached the back cover. Amazing!
Swords at Sunset is the true story of Bradley's efforts tracing the Holy Grail to Canada and the United States. It's all supported by archeological evidence from digs in Vermont, Quebec, Niagara, Ontario and elsewhere. He raises many fascinating possibilities in this well argued book that left me wondering if descendents of Jesus Christ's bloodline now walk among us.
The Magdalene Mandala is a fast-paced thriller that's a bit like James Bond meeting the Da Vinci Code (author Bradley was a researcher for the Da Vinci Code movie and is a recognized Holy Grail expert). No wonder Bradley's prior two novels were major bestsellers: This book combines an exciting, action-filled story with meticulous research on the Grail. Well done!
I highly recommend both books. Each is absiolutely terrific and they do indeed make a great pair. The Magdalene Mandala
Swords at Sunset traces Holy Grail to North America.......2007-04-17
Much like his bestselling novel The Magdalene Mandala author Michael Bradley has again tapped into his Holy Grail expert credentials (he's written many books on the Grail and was a researcher for The Da Vinci Code movie).
But unlike The Magdalene Mandala, Bradley's Swords at Sunset is a nonfiction work that utilizes archeological evidence to support his well argued contention that the Holy Grail - the carriers of the Jesus bloodline - were smuggled into North America by the Knights Templar centuries before Columbus set foot here.
This is an absolutely fascinating book by a true expert on the Holy Grail. Highly recommended.
Swords at Sunset absolutely superb.......2006-12-20
Swords at Sunset traces the Holy Grail to Canada and the United States centuries ago, long before Columbus discovered either country.
Author Michael Bradley, who served as a researcher for The Da Vinci Code movie put his research skills to work on Swords, using evidence to support his theory that Grail knights were wiped out by North American natives.
That in itself makes this well written book a highly recommended terrific read. But Swords goes well beyond this to explore the origins of man.
I first picked this book up because one reviewer had compared it to Hitler's Mein Kampf and my curiosity got the better of me. However, anyone hoping to find a lot of anti-jewish nonsense will be gravely disappointed as there really isn't anything of the sort: Bradley traces not just Jews, but other major religious groups back to Neanderthal Man. However, he also notes Neanderthal's were large-brained (true) and highly intelligent. It's interesting that scientists today are only now catching up with Bradley's findings on Neanderthals and the origins and composition of Modern Humans. I found Bradley raised many interesting views and really made me think. I also found he jumped to some fantastic conclusions and expressed some viewpoints - such as White people in general having a predisposition to violence - that I cannot agree with. That said, it's well worth spending the time to travel through this author's mind and share his amazing discoveries even if you don't agree with all of his end conclusions. This is an education ride - and getting there is half the fun. Highly recommended.
Ego at Sunset.......2006-10-17
This book is horrible. Never mind the simplistic genetic philosophy straight out of Himmler. Jews are Cro Magnon and your basic Aryan is Neandethal, or is the other way around? Like the first reviewer said every other sentence is plugging his other two books which I actually enjoyed. In this he had no rational editor to filter the racist egotistical element out and keep his interesting material in. I think the author would benefit or perhaps pass out, if he read Norma Goodrich's book on the Holy Grail where she discusses the theory that Chretien De Troyes the first medieval author to mention the Grail was a converted Jew and perceived the Grail as a the Jewish Passover plate! Avoid this book unless you like reading 'Mein Kampf' on breezy summer day!
Something Totally New in the Grail Vain.......2006-09-12
I have not read the two book previously written before this one. But I might. This book carries on from the first two about the Grail coming to America with Sinclair (from Rosslyn). This book had some interesting discussion about the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon Gene pool of the time before Christ. I have not seen this before. The author does make some controversial statements related to 'Jews' so beware.
I dont think he needed to repeat his previous books' titles in every sentence. I kind of got the idea very quickly that he had written more than one book. The Epilogue is very interesting. More on the Cro-magnon, Neanderthal discussion.
Customer Reviews:
Masada---Been there.......2007-06-15
This is an excellent book about the "dig" at Masada and the history of that dominant piece of rock in the Judean desert. I have been there and "kicked the tires" in May 2007 and was interested in expanding my knowledge of what has transpired there over the centuries. Excellent historical, archaeological narrative and pictures and as the Israeli Soldiers say when taking their oath on the rock..."Never Again".
History at its best.......2005-10-04
If you are at all interested in bibical history, then this book is for you. Mr Yadin writes extremely well and there are innumerable pictures to support the text
MASADA Herod's Fortress and the Zealots' Last Stand.......2000-03-13
Yigael Yadin is a gifted author who narrates history with captivating excitement. I have read several books and articles on the subject of Masada over the past several years and would recommend this as the most informative and understandable of them all. The before, during and after, excavation photos are amazing and contribute volumes in giving the reader the "Masada Experience." This book is valuable for both the novice and the scholar. It's an excellent introduction to what Masada is all about for the novice. The scholar will find Yadin's love of history details and his awesome photo illustrations compelling and helpful for instruction as well as understanding.
Average customer rating:
- A great amount of exhibits and primary sources - very valuable book
- Hard Hitting Account of the LBH: Reno and Benteen Skinned
|
Abcs of Custer's Last Stand: Arrogance, Betrayal and Cowardice
Arthur C. Unger
Manufacturer: Upton & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Reconstruction
| 19th Century
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0912783389 |
Customer Reviews:
A great amount of exhibits and primary sources - very valuable book.......2006-04-25
First of all, the author is one of the biggest Custeriana collector in the world. The book is full of exhibits (Maguire's first map ever drawn, original orders, original maps) and pictures of the men of the 7th cavalry you probably have never seen. The cover is also a great artwork.
This book is a deep, serious Inquiry about the battle full of primary sources. The result is a fascinating collect of evidences against Captain Benteen and Major Reno and the whole army, which built a big cover-up to hide the betrayal. The amount of testimonies, papers, orders by Native Americans and Americans about the battle and the responsabilities of the disaster make this book one of the best ever written on Custer's Last Stand.
You won't be disapointed!
Hard Hitting Account of the LBH: Reno and Benteen Skinned .......2005-01-04
This is a blunt straightforward account of the Little Big Horn with no holds bared. It reminds me a great deal of Graham's great work the "Custer Myth" which provided a ton or resource material from all sides of view, Indian, scout and military participants. But Unger uses more recently discovered material such as the famous Maguire (Gibbon's engineer) map that apparently was altered many times at the time of the Reno trial, new documents written by Benteen only discovered in the 1950's and many accounts of participants both Indian and military to show what happened on the day that a 1/3 of the 7th cavalry met their death. Utilizing Walter Camps extensive references, comments and map by Philo Clark the great Indian interpreter, the Reno trial transcripts, and various Indian testimonies, Unger makes one of the strongest cases that Reno and Benteen failed Custer and left his battalion to fight the Indians alone. Includes several new perspectives and questions such as Daniel Kanipe, the next to last messenger or deserter? Was Reno drunk during the battle? Did General Merritt allow the Reno trial to be a whitewash? Why did the pack train commander not know of Kanipe's mission? Why did companies
C and I wait on the ridges behind Custer's attacking column? Were they holding for Benteen who was given the last message? Unger makers a strong case that Custer did actually attack at Medicine Trail Coulee and that it was not a feint or just a change of mind to utilize a ford further down. Unger does an impressive chronology indicating where all Custer's units were at any one time and although suggesting that Custer was on the attack when he moved north as Fox suggests, he disagrees with Fox by stating that Custer was under great pressure from the start particularly when Reno abandoned the field. Unger even speculates on whom the Officer was that Indians say was shot at Medicine Trail Coulee's ford and he provides insight into what happened to several missing Officers' bodies. Unger gives you the whole campaign perspective including Crooks abandonment of the campaign and failure to notify his superiors timely, Sheridan's failure to notify the columns of numbers of Indians leaving the reservations timely, Reno's failure to hold his position or move to Custer after Benteen's arrival, Benteen's failure go to follow Custer's orders and his deference to Reno for convenience, Reno and Benteen's claim on not hearing Custer's firing and on. No one involved with the debacle is left out that may have had a contributing part. Unger even covers the details of cavalry organization, unit size, missing officers and who the survivors were and he speculates why and how they were not with Custer. The chapters on each subject are short, very direct and loaded with evidence and testimony. The book also has a large number of photocopied exhibits from a variety of sources. My only question is that Unger credits Reno's battalion with firing a lot of ammunition but some eyewitnesses indicated that Reno's battalion took few shells when the packs arrived. Also, the Nathan Short story of the escaping trooper has not had much recent support. The only negative is that I wish I could have read the maps a bit better as they are reprinted with no additional detail and its hard to find some of the lettering that references the fords
This book is a delight to read, full of information and points of view (even challenges Fox and Scotts' archeology digs). Any LBH historian will enjoy this book since all the primary participants are highlighted and detailed probably better than any other LBH book.
Customer Reviews:
By Far the Best Account of the North Carolina Finale.......2006-08-14
Of several accounts I have read about this March 1865 battle, this is definitely the most complete study of the battle to date. Finally a battle narrative with enough detailed maps to follow the action. Unlike many battle studies that toss in a map every hundred pages, Mark L. Bradley includes military movement or troop disposition maps anytime there is a significant movement of troops. At times there are maps every other page.
Bentonville was, in many ways, the Confederacy's "Battle of the Bulge." Southern General Joseph E. Johnston was reinstated to command of scattered Confederate forces in the Carolinas during the last months of the Civil War. That he was able to weld together an army at this late stage is a miracle in itself. Fully realizing that there was no way to stop the inevitable, Johnston and his generals snapped back at Sherman's advancing columns to buy time for the Confederacy.
The Bentonville Battle is not one of the more familiar accounts from the War Between the States. Indeed, many sources summarize or bypass the battle as if it were a mere skirmish. In my case, I knew little more about the battle other than there were one or two highway signs on Interstate 95 for the exit to reach this battlefield. In 1986, while spending several weeks at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, I used one of my free weekends to visit the site. At the time, a majority of the battlefield was located on various private properties. After a trip to the visitor center and some blatant historical trespass through a cornfield or two, I realized that this battle was much bigger than I realized. At the time, the only book available on the subject from Fayetteville's Cross Creek Mall bookstore was a volume titled SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE CAROLINAS. Fortunately a good portion of SHERMAN'S MARCH was devoted to Bentonville.
At the time, my only regret (one that has been repeated at other historic sites) was that I read the book after I visited the battlefield and then moved on to another military assignment in a different state.
As fate would have it, fifteen years later I found that I would be back in the neighborhood of Bentonville and began ordering additional books on the subject. Mark L. Bradley's book was one of them. I only wish that his book had been available way back in 1986. The book has a lot of detail, yet it is enjoyable to read. The volume is so meticulously researched that a full 150 pages are devoted to tables of organization, endnotes and indexing.
On the other hand, this is not a book to attempt to read the night before you plan to visit Bentonville. The four hundred plus pages and maps will keep you busy a couple days before you reach the last page. If you are looking for an overview of the battle, this is not the book for you.
However, if you thirst for the detailed events leading up to and including the Bentonville Battle, I recommend you add this book to your collection.
An Awesome Book on a Little-known Battle.......2004-03-27
I must admit, before I read this book, all I knew about the Battle of Bentonville was that it was fought in North Carolina by Joseph E. Johnston and William T. Sherman. But this great book has opened my eyes on a little-known campaign and filled an empty hole on my book shelf.
Bradley's accounts of the battles at Monroe's Crossroads, Averasboro, and Bentonville are priceless. His writing is quick-paced, yet easy to follow. Another great part of this book are the maps, which are some of the best I have ever had the pleasure to see. Lastly, Appendix A of the book, which contains pictures of the battlefields (Averasboro and Bentonville) today, with captions. I recommend purchasing this book with Mark Moore's guide to the battlefield, which I did.
It is my opinion that no Civil War buff's library is cpmplete without this book. Get it!
Excellent Study on a Forgotten Battle!.......2003-03-12
Bradley's book on the last major (and often overlooked) battle in the Civil War is a gem. Although, I am somewhat biased since I am a North Carolinian, the book has an engaging writing style and is full of superb maps.
Some Civil War books I have read were difficult to follow due to either/or the lack of maps or quality of maps depicting troop movements and the theater of operations. Not so with this title! The maps are numerous and easily clarify troop movements and the flow of battle.
Bradley also does an excellent job of describing the little known battles of Averasboro (General Hardee did a commendable job of delaying Sherman's advance) and Monroe's Crossroads (Kilpatrick was almost captured and his force ambushed).
The next time I visit the battlefields I will certainly have Bradley's book with me to serve as the ultimate guide. Bradley's writing style is technical in describing troop movements and engaging in supplying ample anecdotes on the campaign's participants. Overall, a nice balance of not being too technical (and dry) and not too basic.
The book will always be special to me since I spent my early years in Eastern North Carolina close to the battlefields. Visiting these battlefields as a little boy sparked a life-long interest in the Civil War.
Bravo, excellent job! May more such studies be written on other battles!
Yet Another CW Clone.......2002-03-17
Maybe I've read too many of these histories now but it just seems that these guys are using the same book of phrases to get to the required number of pages. It's boring. So many sound the same that if you took the author's name off the cover of a dozen books I bet most of us couldn't match them up with their works. Mr Bearss may find it a "barnburner" but I had trouble finishing it.
The Definitive Book on the Campaign of the Carolinas.......2000-11-06
Finally the Battle of bentonville and the Campaign of the Carolinas gets the attention it deserves. Bradley has found that outstanding mix of personal ancedotes and move by move documentation of the Battle of Bentonville. Bradley takes the reader from the last organized skirmish against Sherman's army in South Carolina(Cheraw) to the climatic battle at Bentonville. In between Bradley also talks in detail of the battle of Averasboro and Monroe's Crossroads.
But the finest aspect of the book is its almost minute by minute depiction of the Battle of Bentonville. For those who do not know, Bentonville was literally the last gasp of the Confederacy to stop Major General William T. Sherman's march through the Carolinas. For nearly a day, a rag tag, mottled army of Confederates from every corner of the Confederacy had the previously unchallenged army of Sherman "on the ropes". However as the book describes so vividly, the stand of a few Federal divisions and reinforcements saves the day for the Federals. In between the vivid descriptions of the fighting, Bradley masterfully throws in personal recollections and human interest stories that are unmatched by any books on the Campaign. You will literally feel like you are rising and falling in emotion with those Johnny's and Yanks on the pages in front of you.You will literally feel like the Rebel Yell is screaming in your ears and imagine the crackle of musketry. An outstanding photo section shows the battlefield from many views and a good sized assortment of photo's of the participants. Also most importantly, the book is devoid of prejudice for either side. You will be hardpressed to find a more objective piece.. even for a subject that brings out as much emotion as Sherman's march.
Most people have read virtually nothing on the Campaign of the Carolinas. If you only read one book on this campaign... READ THIS ONE. You will not be disappointed.
Book Description
The Last Stand is a compelling American saga of greed gone wild and a small town divided over a precious natural resource.
For three generations, the Murphy family ran the Pacific Lumber Company with a tradition of both sustainable forestry and a concern for employee well-being. Their Headwaters Forest in Northern California contained three-quarters of the world's old-growth redwoods in 1985, the year in which a Texas-based conglomerate engineered a hostile takeover of PLC. The new owners quickly increased the harvest of redwoods by 300 percent, gutted the employee pension plan, and began clear-cutting acre upon acre of virgin forest.
Local environmentalists took up the fight to reverse the takeover and save the redwoods. The conflict between conservation efforts and fears of unemployment came to a head at the end of "Redwood Summer," when protesters from across the country came into town and were greeted by residents shouting insults and slinging eggs and tomatoes.
Moving from the paneled boardrooms overlooking Wall Street to the banks of the Eel River, this engrossing account chronicles the ongoing battle between environmentalists and business over irreplaceable natural resources.
Customer Reviews:
This is a great read..........2007-07-31
The Last Stand is a fascinating story and a well written one at that. Couldn't put the book down. My God Charles Hurwitz is a corrupt individual. He should be serving a life sentence in stead of living high off the hog in Houston Texas. Anyone interested in the environmental movement and the destructive practices of modern day clear cutting should read this book.
A little boring.......1999-10-10
very drawn out and boring. does get interesting at times
Fascinating example of the 80s....but.......1997-09-28
It should have been soo much more. Running in the same gamet as Alston Chase's "In a Dark Wood" David Harris goes into some of the same territory. The 'good' lumber company taken over by Wall Street and turned into the mirror of its former self, this book is at it most fascinating describing the moves between PALCO and Charles Hurwitz. The arrival of a hurrican alows him to suceed in his takeover but the company is taken over by the resultant costs both to its people and the enviroment. The final point is well taken.....if you lumber in oblivion there can be no winners. Only with sustained yield can the enviroment, employees and shareholders come out ahead. The only winnter with Palco was Charles Hurwitz.
Books:
- The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom
- The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else
- The Next World War: What Prophecy Reveals About Extreme Islam and the West
- The Origins of the Cold War, 1941 - 1949, Third Edition
- The Origins of Zionism
- The Revenge of Gaia: Earth's Climate Crisis and the Fate of Humanity
- The Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing
- The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero
- The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America
- The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness (Newly Expanded Paperback Edition)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Working for Yourself: Law & Taxes for Independent Contractors, Freelancers & Consultants
- The Elephant's Secret Sense: The Hidden Life of the Wild Herds of Africa
- Mama Was My Teacher: Growing Up In A Small Southern Town
- Plan of Attack
- Now Face to Face
- The Four Adventures of Richard Hannay: The Thirty-Nine Steps/Greenmantle/Mr. Standfast/the Three Hos
- Poodlena
- Resumes for Former Military Personnel, 3rd edition
- Mexico Motor Insurance Report 2002
- Major Companies of the Far East and Australasia 2000: Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea
Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of her Survivors
Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue
Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Clash of The Carriers: The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot of World War II
Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign 1941-1945
