Book Description
For more than twenty-five years, After the Fact has provided a time-tested, innovative approach to guiding students through American history and the methods used to study it. In dramatic episodes that move chronologically through American history, this best-selling book examines a broad variety of topics like oral evidence, photographs, ecological data, films and television programs, church and town records, census data, and novels. Whether for the introductory survey or for a historical methods course, After the Fact is the ideal text for any instructor who wants to introduce his or her students to what it is that historians actually do when studying American history.
Customer Reviews:
History, After the Fact.......2006-03-02
Davidson and Lytle's book is a study in historiography dealing with the interpretation and analysis of the sources used to report history. The authors concentrate on the several types of sources and the drawbacks of each, specifically biases. Examples include written, oral, video, psycho, cultural, economic and political history. This version includes an investigative CD which enhances the lessons in the book. After the Fact is a good companion to Richard Evans' In Defense of History, David Fischer's Historians' Fallacies, and Mark Gilderhus' History and Historians.
Book Description
Are you a CEO, company president, or front-line financial manager recently involved in a merger or acquisition? After the Merger, long hailed as the indispensable reference source for anyone entering the M&A marketplace, is your bible for keeping costly post-merger surprises to a minimum. This classic text, first published in the heady days of 1985 and now revised to reflect new realities in today's rapidly-changing business world, is packed with fascinating case histories and examples involving TWA, Wells Fargo, and others. After the Merger shows you how to roll up your sleeves and combine two separate, highly distinct companies into one solid organization. Look here for details on ways to defuse the cultural time bombs that threaten to destroy international mergers; the 6 errors that managers make again and again, and how you can avoid them; best practices for handling the 4 major categories of merger, everything from "rescue" to "raid"; and time-saving checklists for executives on both sides of the acquisition. Whether you are in the middle of a merger or acquisition or just considering the possibility — no matter what your side — you need the completely updated and revised After the Merger to guarantee long-lasting, post-merger success.
Customer Reviews:
Highly Reccomended!.......2001-02-17
Despite the breathless headlines about the latest billion-dollar merger, most mergers don't work. In fact, more than half of all mergers fail, derailed by a common set of pitfalls. Companies merge without considering how they'll integrate after the deal; they don't communicate properly with their employees, and executives don't make decisions quickly enough to placate frightened workers. The executives who navigate mergers effectively are those who communicate well, deal with ambiguity and make decisions in times of instability. Author Price Pritchett offers an easily digested primer on the hazards of mergers, and lists hints for avoiding common problems. The authors provide plenty of concrete examples showing how such companies as Sony, Wells Fargo and the Chicago Sun-Times suffered from the dilemmas that accompany mergers. We ... recommend this comprehensive guide for managers on both sides of a business marriage. Caution: Read After the Merger before you merge.
Good Starting Place.......2000-11-14
As a project manager who picked up integrating a merger as one of his projects, I found this book to be very helpful. Mergers bring out confusion, tension and stress to all sides. This book focused on how to bridge these gaps through effective communication and project management.
Particularly, I found chapter 10 (General Guidelines for Merger/Acquisition Management) insightful and I used the checklists in this chapter in portions of our integration effort. What I felt this book missed were templates designed to immediately pick up and use in my everyday life.
I found the book is a quick read-I read it on one airplane trip. Many of the comments are very simple and fall into the category of common sense. However, in much of this common sense many of the problems of integrating two companies exist.
"The Authoritative Guide"? Give me a break!.......1999-12-30
This book should have been an short magazine article. The authors basically dissect one concept over and over and over: change is disruptive. There is very little useful information in this book. It points out all of the obvious and frequently-stated problems that come with change - productivity suffers, commitment is lost, etc., etc., etc., but gives no insight in how to fix the problems (unless you count these golden nuggets- "Keep your eye on the ball" and "Provide direction"). The one chapter that I hoped would shed some light on tactics - "Integration Project Management" - was pure fluff. It offered such pearls of wisdom as "It is helpful to look at the integration process as a logical sequence of steps designed to help bring the two organizations together." Not only is this a "Duh" statement, but it shows up in chapter 8! I would expect to read something like that in the introduction. And chapters 5 and 6 state that you should evaluate key talent in the aquired firm - but no where in these chapters does it tell you how to do it! I guess you have call up Pritchett & Associates (and fork over big $$) for the details. My only guess is that the authors kept the book generic on purpose so that companies would call and ask about their consulting services. My advice: save your money for a real book, and just call up Pritchett & Associates for their marketing literature.
Book Description
The story of Reconstruction is not simply about the rebuilding of the South after the Civil War. Instead, the late nineteenth century defined modern America, as Southerners, Northerners, and Westerners gradually hammered out a national identity that united three regions into a country that could become a world power. Ultimately, the story of Reconstruction is about how a middle class formed in America and how its members defined what the nation would stand for, both at home and abroad, for the next century and beyond.
A sweeping history of the United States from the era of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, this engaging book stretches the boundaries of our understanding of Reconstruction. Historian Heather Cox Richardson ties the North and West into the post–Civil War story that usually focuses narrowly on the South, encompassing the significant people and events of this profoundly important era.
By weaving together the experiences of real individuals—from a plantation mistress, a Native American warrior, and a labor organizer to Andrew Carnegie, Julia Ward Howe, Booker T. Washington, and Sitting Bull—who lived during the decades following the Civil War and who left records in their own words, Richardson tells a story about the creation of modern America.
Customer Reviews:
wonderful addition to the literature.......2007-10-02
I am not going to say much because I agree with all the positive comments made by the other reviewers... after reading this excellent book I had a much better understanding of present day history and how it unfolded after the Civil War.
Reconstruction.......2007-09-27
Heather Cox Rrichardson conludes her book, "West From Appomattox," with the statement, "Ultimately, the story of reconstruction is about how a middle class formed in America and how its members define what a nation would stand for." The book is not an easy read but it outlines clearly how this middle class was formed and how its influence grew. Since we are, most of us, members of the middle class it is important to understand the process and its implications. The book's focus is on the period of reconstruction following the Civil War with emphasis on western expansion. It is recommended that the reader first read Owen Wister's book, "The Virginian" as the author alludes to it often. Richardson's book is chuck full of food for thought and should be studied as well as read. Much contained therein suggests an intimate understanding of today's events. The book is for the serious student of American history and the rewards for time spent are great.
Well researched and very thoughtful.......2007-08-24
Ms. Richardson's breadth of knowledge is truly impressive, and a history of this era written from a woman's eyes is unique.
She is, in fact, quite a good writer, in that she is able to encapsulate some unusual concepts in prose that is easy to understand. Her writing is not for those who to be spoonfed, however. But then, I suspect that was not her goal.
Good review of Reconstruction and westward expansion.......2007-07-01
Heather Cox Richardson's West from Appomattox covers a period of history that has been seemingly rather ignored by contemporary historians, namely the Reconstruction period and westward expansion in the mid to late 1800s. Cox synthesizes much history and puts it into its broader context quite well. Much of her writing is academic in nature and not of the narrative form many readers of recent historical accounts have come to expect. Specifically, Richardson studied under the master of this period, David Herbert Donald. While the breadth of her research and knowledge is as impressive as any, her ability to convey the information in a way that brings in any person with even a passing interest in the topic is not her strength. I think she has much to say and, should she want to write history in a form other than a graduate text level, she would be well served to read how David Kennedy, David Herbert Donald, James McPherson or even Doris Kearns Goodwin actually write. That said, those who would like to really bone up on what changes the United States went through from 1865 to 1900, predominately politically and somewhat economically, would be well advised to read this book.
Thought provoking and unique.......2007-04-19
Conventional history teaches that Reconstruction failed due to racism and apathy, while viewing it as a Southern issue. Heather Cox Richardson moves Reconstruction into mainstream America, viewing it not as a Southern issue but as part of national development and westward expansion. Doing this transforms the thin gruel of reconstruction history into a complex, layered dish full of unexpected and very new treats. Reconstruction changes from a fight between President and Congress, to an issue that challenges America's ideals and is national in scope.
This book links Reconstruction, westward expansion, questions on suffrage, controlling business, tariffs and the development of the middle class into one coherent movement. This is modern inclusive history, as it should be written! Nat Love, child of ex-slaves, cowboy and Pullman porter, Samuel Gompers, Andrew Carnegie, Julia Ward Howe, Wade Hampton, Buffalo Bill, Sitting Bull and many others populate the book. They are included not to be inclusive but because they have something to say. In every case, they help with the narration by personalizing history and making the national problem a personal one. The result is a fuller richer picture of America and the development of American ideals from 1865 to 1901.
The author, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts, is not the conservative member of the university staff. Her politics show up as sympathy for the labor movement, African Americans and/or Native Americans. For the most part, this is neither excessive nor detracts from the fairness of the narration. The exception is in the Epilogue where she attacks the policies of Presidents Regan and Bush. If you share her liberal politics, this will be the highpoint of the book for you. If you do not, stop reading when you reach the Epilogue and close the book. You will have read a very thought provoking history presenting a detailed and unique view of America and Reconstruction.
Amazon.com
Morality, according to Alasdair MacIntyre, is not what it used to be. In the Aristotelian tradition of ancient Greece and medieval Europe, morality enabled the transformation from untutored human nature as it happened to be to human nature as it could be if it realized its telos (fundamental goal). Eventually, belief in Aristotelian teleology waned, leaving the idea of imperfect human nature in conflict with the perfectionist aims of morality. The conflict dooms to failure any attempt to justify the claims of morality, whether based on emotion, such as Hume's was, or on reason, as in the case of Kant. The result is that moral discourse and practice in the contemporary world is hollow: although the language and appearance of morality remains, the substance is no longer there. Disagreements on moral matters appeal to incommensurable values and so are interminable; the only use of moral language is manipulative.
The claims presented in After Virtue are certainly audacious, but the historical erudition and philosophical acuity behind MacIntyre's powerful critique of modern moral philosophy cannot be disregarded. Moreover, independently of its principal claims, the book, first published in 1981, helped to stimulate philosophical work on the virtues, to reinvigorate traditionalist and communitarian thought, and to provoke valuable discussion in the history of moral philosophy. It was so widely discussed that MacIntyre added another chapter to the second edition in order to reply to his critics. After Virtue continues to deserve attention from philosophers, historians, and anyone interested in moral philosophy and its history. --Glenn Branch
Book Description
"[I]t is something to have a book, devoted to certain quite central technical philosophical questions, which is likely to produce so passionate a response." —New York Review of Books
"A remarkable synthesis . . . ." —Richard Rorty
"A stunning new study of ethics. . . ." —Newsweek
"The best book of philosophy in years." —John Gardner
"To call this a good book is to be patronizing; it is an important book, one that will have to be followed up or answered. It may be a great one, as are all turning points in a tide of drama whose protagonists have thought their courses inexorable." —Choice, February 1982
When After Virtue first appeared in 1981, it was recognized at once as a significant and potentially controversial critique of contemporary moral philosophy. Now, in a new chapter, Alasdair MacIntyre responds to the questions and considerations raised by the many admirers and critics who made After Virtue such a widely read and discussed work of philosophy. Taking into account the dialogue generated by his book over the past three years, he elaborates his position on the relationship of philosophy to history, the virtues and the issue of relativism, and the relationship of moral philosophy to theology. In doing so, MacIntyre sustains the claims of his central conclusions to rational justification and demonstrates further the accountability of philosophy to the world and times it seeks to describe.
Customer Reviews:
Philosophy and History.......2006-07-23
MacIntyre's book is very clear and well written. Without for a moment slipping into the contemporary trap of "relativism" he explores how an understanding of context is necessary to understanding a philosophers work. This necessary link between history and philosophy forces an acceptance that the development of new philosophical ideas may indicate and/or cause the loss of certain societal characteristics. The title gives this away...
A feeble effort to justify feudal aristocracy.......2005-12-18
Continuing in the line of communitarian know-it-all savants like Karl Marx, who is better at describing a problem than solving it, MacIntyre displays a dazzling grasp of the short comings of the Western liberal tradition that brought us such things as the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. However, once he tries to introduce his alternative, his "traditionalism project" quickly degenerates into logical absurdities and ridiculous posturing.
He should be embarrassed to claim the "good watch" example of clerical logic. Not only is his logic purely instrumental and manipulative, but when he tries to extend it to a "good farmer" he begins to incorporate extraneous standards of value. To say that a good farmer wins lots of prizes at agricultural shows is simply to defer to another judicial body - the ag show judges. To say that a good farmer has the best soil renewal program is the beg the question, "who decides what a good soil renewal program is?" (A soil renewal program could have different levels of effectiveness depending on whether the proposed crop was grapes or tobacco.) Even worse, by the "good watch" instrumental logic, a "good woman" would be, take your pick, (1) the one who has the most babies, (2) the one who has intercourse with the most men, etc.
MacIntyre's implied assertion that Athens had a rational basis for moral analysis flies in the face of "The Trial of Socrates" and the dramas of Sophocles ("Antigone," for example). The truth is that pagan "classical" societies were just as turbulent and roiled as current society.
MacIntyre's pretense at philosophical objectivity based on Aristotelian ethics is thin and transparent. It is clear that MacIntyre's real quarrel would be more honestly directed at Luther, Calvin, Milton and the Protestant Reformation. Like Osama Ben Laden, who raves about the tragedy of Andalucia (where Islam was driven out of Western Europe in the 1490s) MacIntyre secretly longs for a return to the days before Galileo, when the Roman church was the final arbiter of all things - mandating an image of earth as the center of concentric crystaline spheres which separate mankind from heaven.
MacIntyre has a pathetic longing for a life governed by well defined instrumental virtues of inherited social position set in a feudal aristocratic social order. It's too bad that this inclination leads one to spend one's life in a fruitless effort to justify the dark ages of Europe. This book will sell best to readers who prefer a rigid social hierarchy based on a a chicken yard pecking order of physical strength. Following that model for society, it wouldn't be long before we returned of world of warlords, whose violent and vicious sycophants would prowl around in large pickup trucks on which would be mounted 50 caliber machine guns. These vehicles were known as "technicals" in Somalia in 1992 - which I guess is the ideal world of Alasdair MacIntyre.
A Must-Read Groundbreaking Treatise of Our Civilization's Thought.......2005-07-20
Alasdair MacIntyre effectively illustrates the greatest moral problems facing our culture today-- problems hundreds of years in the making and with roots beyond mere partisan debate. Written in relatively clear, necessarily precise philosophical language, one can easily understand MacIntyre's arguments and in so doing will understand why the western world has become what it is today and why it must change. Read it.
a moral thriller.......2005-03-22
I read this book conflicted. On the one hand the book contained sentences, frequent sentences, of such numbing bodilessness as "For beside rights and utility, among the central moral fictions of the age we have to place the peculiarly managerial fiction embodied in the claim to possess systematic effectiveness in controlling certain aspects of social reality." On the other hand the book was so fascinating I could scarcely put it down at points. It felt like masochism.
All this to say: MacIntyre writes a moral thriller of great drama and urgency. He writes it with a tactic used by more conventional suspense novelists like Ruth Rendell: give the end at the beginning, then explain how such a bizarre and catastrophic end came to be. Our moral language assumes a universality we do not believe, he argues at the beginning. How have our moral beliefs become so ruptured from (and so much smaller than) the language we use to describe them? That rupture is the history he traces. The setting is the Western world; the characters are philosophers; the plot is the murder of Aristotle. Who killed him? Was it Hume in the Enlightenment with the candlestick? Was it Machiavelli in the Renaissance? Was it Kierkegaard the Dane with a book: Enten-Eller? Was it the Bloomsbury group with their emotivist approach to ethics? Was it, after all has been said and done, Nietzsche?
And, can Aristotle (and his teleological view of morality) be brought back to life?
MacIntyre's style is that of a perfectly trustworthy guide. He fends off more counter-arguments than I could have generated for him in a lifetime. "How is he going to get out of this scrape he's just identified?" I asked myself, and rested in peace that he would. He manages to tie literature, scientific results, case studies and metaphorical examples to his abstractions, rendering his work not only readable but practical.
The narrative structure of the book (its movement through time) is intricate. For perhaps the first time in my (limited) exposure to philosophy, I found myself in suspense. Knowing what happened, I wanted to know, had to know, why--because it is my story, and yours, and the crux of the plot has been reached, but the end has not yet been written.
It comes down to Aristotle or Nietsche.......2004-01-01
Writing polemics in support of virtue became something of a cottage industry in the '90's. This is one of the texts that drove that trend. Fortunately, its tone is not polemical in the slightest. MacIntyre's argument is measured and well-reasoned, and he gives several useful concepts for addressing moral issues, e.g., institutional *practices* that provide internal rather than external goods, and narratives and stories as constitutive of human existence.
It's an involved argument, and at least partly relies upon a reading of intellectual history for its strength. For MacIntyre, upon investigation there are only two consistent moral viewpoints: one associated with Aristotle that views morality as objectively valid and rational because it's based on a natural teleology and sees that morality exercised through the development of virtues and intricately entwined with them, another, based upon Nietsche, which sees morality only as a mask for irrational power.
Lucid and well-written. Highly recommended.
Amazon.com
The facts speak for themselves. In 1857, the Central America, a sidewheel steamer ferrying passengers fresh from the gold rush of California to New York and laden with 21 tons of California gold, encountered a severe storm off the Carolina coast and sank, carrying more than 400 passengers and all her cargo down with her. She then sat for 132 years, 200 miles offshore and almost two miles below the ocean's surface--a depth at which she was assumed to be unrecoverable--until 1989, when a deep-water research vessel sailed into the harbor at Norfolk, Virginia, fat with salvaged gold coins and bullion estimated to be worth one billion dollars.
Author Gary Kinder wisely lets the story of the Columbus-America Discovery Group, led by maverick scientist and entrepreneur Tommy Thompson, unfold without hyperbole. Kinder interweaves the tale of the Central America and her passengers and crew with Thompson's own story of growing up landlocked in Ohio, an irrepressible tinkerer and explorer even in his childhood days, and his progress to adulthood as a young man who always had "7 to 14" projects on the table or spinning in his head at any given moment. One of those projects would become the preposterous recovery of the stricken steamer, and the resourcefulness and later urgency with which the project would proceed is contrasted poignantly with the Central America's doomed battle in 1857 to stay afloat.
Thompson, who spent nearly a decade planning and organizing his recovery effort, emerges as one of the great unsung adventurers of these times (the technical innovations alone required for such a task produced a windfall for the scientific community and defined a new state of the art for deep-sea explorers and treasure hunters), and the story of the steamer's sinking is compelling enough to make any reader wonder why the Central America sinking isn't synonymous with shipwreck in this Titanic-happy age. --Tjames Madison
Book Description
"White knuckle reading...with generous portions of adventure, intrigue, heroism, and high technology interwoven."
--Los Angeles Times Book Review
This enthralling true story of maritime tragedy and visionary science begins with a disaster to rival the sinking of the Titanic.
In September 1857, the S.S. Central America, a side-wheel steamer carrying passengers returning from the gold fields of California, went down during a hurricane off the Carolina coast. More than 400 men--and 21 tons of gold--were lost. In the 1980s, a maverick engineer named Tommy Thompson set out to find the wreck and salvage its treasure from the ocean floor.
With knuckle-biting suspense, Gary Kinder reconstructs the terror of the Central America's last days, when passengers bailed freezing water from the hold, then chopped the ship's timbers to use as impromptu liferafts. He goes on to chronicle Thompson's epic quest for the lost vessel, an endeavor that drew on the latest strides in oceanography, information theory, and underwater robotics, and that pitted Thompson against hair-raising weather, bloodthirsty sharks, and unscrupulous rivals.
Ship of Gold is a magnificent adventure, filled with heroism, ingenuity, and perseverance.
Customer Reviews:
What an Adventure !.......2007-09-21
This is an appealing book on many levels. 19th century sea adventure, heroes, tradegies, great survival stories, heart stopping excitement, 20th century high tech recovery adventures, interlopers and bottom feeding lawyers and insurance companies, it's got it all. Why 4 stars rather than 5 ? I found it a tad long after they found the boat and began that part of the story. But, that is a small point. Well worth the reader's time.
Ship of Gold is a good story with excellent details about the recovery of the gold........2007-08-28
Ship of Gold is a good story with excellent details about the recovery of the gold.
In my next recovery book I will look for more diving experience. The ROV's do not have the same adventure value as the human diving experience we have on the North Sea but then again the North Sea is maximum 40 meters deep. We don't need ROV's at these depths.
I liked the sonar specialist story and the systematical scanning of the area's with the best values in the probability matrix.
Hands down one of the best book ever! .......2007-08-20
This is by far the best book ever. I have purchased more copies then I can count and I have given it to all of my family members and most of my friends. All of them loved it. Even my mom told it was one of the best books she had ever read. Being she reads a book every two weeks that's a pretty good compliment.
This is a short book, but it takes a long time to read. It's not that it's a hard read; it's just that it's so good you will take your time to read it. Almost like savoring a great wine.
I don't recommend many books, but this one should be on the top of your reading pile. Once you read it you will understand why and I'm willing to bet you will recommend it to all of your friends.
Good modern day treasure hunt.......2007-07-04
I liked the way the author took the reader back and forth from the past to the present. It was interesting to see how much planning and inguenuity it took to accomplish the recovery of the gold. Once the treasure was found, I have to admit to having a mild case of 'gold fever' due to the vivid descriptions provided by G. Kinder. The only reason I didn't give it the full 5 is because of the Tommy (the technical mastermind of the recovery) praising!!!! Alright already, he certainly must walk on water, and if he doesn't, he'll surely invent a way to. Inspite of the Tommy factor, this is a good book.
Also recommended: In the Heart of the Sea
Fantastic Nonfiction.......2006-12-28
When the Central America sank in 1857 she took 21 tons of gold and more than 400 souls to the bottom of the sea, including one of my ancestors. Kinder's incredible book weaves the tale of the shipwreck together with the story of the thrilling recovery more than 130 years later.
Ship of Gold is a fantastic book from historic and scientific perspectives. If you read this book, you will gain new insights about the Gold Rush and 19th-century sea travel; better yet, you will be amazed by the technological and biological advancements which were a direct consequence of Tommy Thompson's recovery.
I read Ship of Gold to fill in the details of an old family legend. I was pleased to discover a truly amazing work of nonfiction.
Book Description
A fully updated and revised edition of the classic album-by-album, song-by-song study of the Beatles.
A unique combination of musical analysis and cultural history, Tell Me Why stands alone among Beatles books with its single-minded focus on the most important aspect of the band: its music. Riley offers a new, deeper understanding of the Beatles by closely considering each song and album they recorded in an exploration as rigorous as it is soulful. He tirelessly sifts through the Beatles discography, making clear that the legendary four were more than mere teen idols: they were brilliant innovators who mastered an extremely detailed art. Since the first publication of Tell Me Why in 1988, new primary source material has appeared--Paul McCartney's authorized biography, the Anthology CDs and videos, the complete Parlophone-sequenced albums on CD, the Live at the BBC sessions, and the global smash 1. Riley incorporates all the new material in an update that makes this a crucial book for Beatles fans.
Customer Reviews:
Getting the Beat out of the Beatles.......2007-05-03
I did not like the Beatles when I first heard them in high school, but by the time Sgt. Pepper came out, I had matured enough to discover that they were a very special phenomenon. Now there are so many books about them that it is hard to know what to read to get the best sense of their contribution to music. I recommend Tim Riley's book for that purpose. The best thing about this book is that it will increase your sensitivity to the Beatles creative art as you listen to their songs. If you pay attention, you will be able to hear the way Paul brings the bass in to support the lead guitar or to counter the drums. You can hear how Ringo changes the beat in accord with what the song is trying to convey, and you have a better sense of how the words and music work together.
As other reviewers have noted, it does require some knowledge of music, notably chord theory, to understand some of the details, I do not think it is entirely necessary. I know just enough about chords to understand major and minor changes and what they mean to the music, but I get lost when he goes into descriptions of the tonic and dominant. You will also need to know a lot about percussion, because he refers not generally to Ringo's drumming, but to what he is using (high hats, tom-toms, snare, etc.). It is clear from this book that Ringo contributed more to the group than he is usually credited with doing. He is the one, according to Riley, who was able to subdue his ego and try to keep everything together with his beat and ability to complement everyone else.
Riley likes John Lennon the best and tends to favor whatever Lennon did, albeit not uncritically. He gives Paul a rougher time, putting down any song that lacks an edge or an angle as another "silly love song" unless it rises to the level of a standard such as "Yesterday." Unlike other reviewers, I did not find his analysis of George Harrison's contribution to be all that insulting, but I do think he understated Harrison's contributions as a forward looking instrumentalist. Riley has a low opinion of the vocal abilities of both Starr and Harrison, but it is true that both (and a lot of other singers) suffer in comparison to both Lennon and McCartney, whose vocalizing was overshadowed by their composing talent.
You also need to understand that he is writing his opinions of the meanings of the lyrics and the reasons the Beatles did certain things musically. His bias shows clearly. He admires the group and his disappoint over some of their less than stellar creations is palpable. It is a very high standard that they set for themselves and, although Riley acknowledges the timeless nature of their best work, he is scathing in his criticism of their more mediocre efforts. Bruce Greenfield's review is correct in saying that Riley pontificates a bit too much. I also found it irritating that he claims to know exactly what the lads were trying to do with each note and word. Again, these are only Riley's opinions. Another problem I had with that is that he goes into great detail on the songs he likes and admires, but if a song does not measure up to that, he will give it a sentence or two, dismissively.
I found value in the book from his ability to explain some of the innovations the Beatles developed from the very beginning of their career. A few of these are almost common knowledge to rock fans, such as the use of feedback at the start of "I Feel Fine" to George Harrison's introduction of the sitahr. There are some very good insights that never occurred to me, though. Riley points out that the lyrics to "She Loves You" break new ground in that although it is sung in the first person, the singer is speaking to a friend rather than to the listener. Their music conveys a sense of excitement and joy in carrying this good news. Another example is from McCartney's bridge in "Day in the Life," which is marked by a quicker sharper beat from Ringo. Riley notes that this beat evokes the "corporate precision" of every day life, but notes that while this may seem like waking from Lennon's nightmare verses, it becomes hard to tell who is singing about the real nightmare.
You really have to listen to the song while reading the book and even then, it is often hard to hear what Riley is writing about. He devotes a lot of words to explaining how different sounds come from the right, left or center in stereo, but I found it hard to detect these even after numerous playing. Perhaps, as others have pointed out, it is very hard to hear without the 1982 masters.
Riley uses the albums that were originally issued on Parlophone and neither the US Capitol releases (which were a greedy manipulation of the buying public while sacrificing the art of the Beatles created in sequencing the songs) nor CDs. Younger readers will have difficulty relating to his idea of endings and beginnings of vinyl sides, which CDs have rendered meaningless.
In the second edition, Riley gives a bow to Mark Lewisohn's book "The Beatles Recording Sessions," which is a description based on Lewisohn's hearing of all of the Beatle's master tapes. This book has its own insights and I would recommend it as a less harsh book than this one. Riley did not have the use of Lewisohn's book in writing "Tell Me Why," and it is clear that he would have benefited from it. The two authors disagree on a number of points so it would is useful to have the balance of their opposing views.
A Celebration of The Beatles' Music........2007-04-05
I loved this book. I don't know why so many people seemed to have a problem with it. Tim Riley is a knowledgable music critic,schooled in musical theory and an expert on classical music. He also absolutely adores the Beatles' music. With very few exceptions,he loves everything they ever did and tells,in great detail exactly what it was musically,that made them so special. Each and every song from Love Me Do to Let it Be,just like the title says,album by album, song by song. Actually,my love of the Beatles' music is a viceral thing. From the moment I first heard the opening chords of I Want to Hold Your Hand,this music seemed to enter my blood stream. I still get the same feeling whenever I listen to certain favorite songs,or hear their voices in harmony. But I never understood it in musical theory terms. The chord progressions, changes from major to minor chords in the same song, this had never been done before in pop music, only classical,until the Beatles. This is what excited everybody about their music but only other musicians can describe it accurately. Us lay people just think, "that song makes me cry" or "wow, I've never heard anything like this before". Riley dissects each song,practically note by note,every guitar lick,bass line, and drum fill. He particularly loves Rubber Soul and Revolver sighting them as two of the greatest albums of all time. He also loves Please Please Me, With the Beatles, and A Hard Day's Night. So he doesn't just give their later music a lot of acclaim,which would have been annoying. He feels that all of these albums were important, along with Abbey Road and the White Album. He describes them in a way that makes you think of them as little works of art. Each one pivotal and ground breaking in their own unique way. He also describes why each Beatle was wonderful and essential to the greatness of each song and album. He never lets you forget that they were an ensemble. He worships John and Paul's singing, calling McCartney's voice, "peerless". He details their songwriting and George's. He talks about how BOTH Lennon and McCartney were melodists, not only McCartney. He points out Paul's melodic,inventive bass lines,George and John's brilliant guitar work (not just George's like other books have). And he loves Ringo,calling his drumming underrated, because it was. He goes into so much detail about Ringo's drumming that it made me sit up and take notice of it also. Listen to 'Rain' and 'Ticket to Ride' and Ringo's live drumming, which he also loves. He dissects the Live at the BBC cds, and after reading that long section,I've begun to listen to all the things he hears on them. I see what a great live band they were. This book made me listen to their music from a fresh perspective, and I realize that I never really HEARD their music until now. There is so much going on, on their records. So much to listen to. While reading this book you need to have a cd player handy and a good pair of head phones with a bass booster. You need to be able to hear what he's talking about. In this new edition there is a section added which details the 3 Antology CDs, Live at the BBC,and others that have been released since the first edition of this book came out, in 1988.There is also a section on the solo records. You don't have to be a musician to enjoy this book either. You just have to be a fan of Beatle music.
Beatle Theory.......2007-02-13
I love this book. The author's trenchant, insightful analysis of the Beatles' music is nothing short of scholarly. He brilliantly discusses what the Beatles used to create their own unique sound. Fans will no doubt love and appreciate the Beatles all the more.
Tim Riley's research into the background of each Beatle is accurate and well done. He piques readers' interest in the group all the more by making them more aware of the influences that led them to create the songs they did.
This book is one musicians, guitarists in particular will love. Readers are treated to discussions of chord progressions so as to play Beatle songs the Beatles' way.
Very Enjoyable Book.......2006-09-22
I enjoyed this book immensely. I appreciated the song-by-song analysis from someone who obviously is a true scholar of music -- his articulation of what were the ingredients that went into making the Beatles' music so great truly enhanced my appreciation of them.
His knowledge of biographical and historical information -- such priceless vignettes as John's gleeful enjoyment of an obscure, chaotic Side B by a one-hit wonder group -- puts their music in a wider context, further deepening our understanding of how their music developed.
I dabble in music theory so I did appreciate the technical aspects of the book, such as getting into chord progression and such. I read this book many times -- it has provided me with many enjoyable hours.
Not for the Casual Fan or Non-Musician.......2005-12-31
"Tell Me Why" is a good look at the Beatles for what they are remembered for: the music. Long after all the gossip and backbiting and innuendos are forgotten, that is all that remains. And if you are a casual fan and only have "Tell Me Why" to guide you, I wish you the best luck in the world.
Tim Riley is a professional music critic, which means apparently that he thinks his audience will understand every musical notation cited in the text. If you really love discussing the difference between G chords and A chords, this will make your day. But for the rest of us, it's a bit much at times.
To be fair, though, if you get through the musician-speak without beating your head against the wall, you'll find that the book does a fairly fantastic job of getting at the heart of the music. By eschewing flowery discussions of the Beatles' history and concentrating on the music itself, Riley ends up creating a look at the creative process rarely dissected with such skill.
Riley has his opinions and isn't afraid to state them, especially in regards to what he considers the "fallow" period of late 1967 (after the release of the much-hyped Sgt. Pepper). Riley also pulls no punches in holding Paul McCartney's feet to the fire for his abandonment of the risk-taking that characterized his partnership with Lennon, instead becoming the pop-song behemoth that we all love to hate. The portrait that emerges of the Beatles as a group is that of a multitalented band with endless streams of talent on which to draw, with even their lesser efforts (Magical Mystery Tour, Let It Be, etc) having some worth not found in other music from the era.
Mark Hertsgaard's masterful "A Day In The Life" is probably a better selection for those who are casual or half-hearted fans, because it covers much of the same territory with little of the dedication to music-speak that colors some of the best passages in this book. But for a simple, nuts-and-bolts look at what made the Beatles' music special, and as a discussion of each and every song they ever recorded, "Tell Me Why" is hard to beat.
In the end, there is just the music. And it is a body of music worthy of such discussion as to have countless books written about it. But "Tell Me Why" is a nice one-book source for much of the motivation behind each song the Fab Four committed to vinyl, even if it's overboard with the musical composition language. If you can overcome that, you might find a good book about why the Beatles matter long after their last performance together.
Book Description
A National Public Radio reporter covering the last stand of the Taliban in their home base of Kandahar in Afghanistan's southern borderland, Sarah Chayes became deeply immersed in the unfolding drama of the attempt to rebuild a broken nation at the crossroads of the world's destiny. Her NPR tour up in early 2002, she left reporting to help turn the country's fortunes, accepting a job running a nonprofit founded by President Hamid Karzai's brother. With remarkable access to leading players in the postwar government, Chayes witnessed a tragic story unfold-the perverse turn of events whereby the U.S. government and armed forces allowed and abetted the return to power of corrupt militia commanders to the country, as well as the reinfiltration of bands of Taliban forces supported by U.S. ally Pakistan. In this gripping and dramatic account of her four years on the ground, working with Afghanis in the battle to restore their country to order and establish democracy, Chayes opens Americans' eyes to the sobering realities of this vital front in the war on terror.
She forged unparalleled relationships with the Karzai family, tribal leaders, U.S. military and diplomatic brass, and such leading figures in the Kandahar government as the imposing and highly effective chief of police-an incorruptible supporter of the Karzai regime whose brutal assassination in June 2005 serves as the opening of the book. Chayes lived in an Afghan home, gaining rich insights into the country's culture and politics and researching the history of Afghanistan's legendary resistance to foreign interference. She takes us into meetings with Hamid Karzai and the corrupt Kandahar governor, Gul Agha Shirzai, into the homes of tribal elders and onto the U.S. military base. Unveiling the complexities and traumas of Afghanistan's postwar struggles, she reveals how the tribal strongmen who have regained power-after years of being displaced by the Taliban-have visited a renewed plague of corruption and violence on the Afghan people, under the complicit eyes of U.S. forces and officials.
The story Chayes tells is a powerful, disturbing revelation of misguided U.S. policy and of the deeply entrenched traditions of tribal warlordism that have ruled Afghanistan through the centuries.
Customer Reviews:
Former NPR reporter discovers how the world works.......2007-10-04
In this book, Sarah Chayes travels to Afghanistan after 9/11 and stays there for several years. She begins as a reporter and ends up working in the non-government sector as a minor political player.
This book is written as her personal and professional journey in Afghanistan. She learns there that people are not what they seem. Different agencies of the US government and their allies work at cross purposes. Stupid bureaucratic rules lead to bad policy. Some people don't want to know the truth, or even worse, they know the truth but choose ignore its implications. Or they may even know the truth and want to cover it up.
My first reaction to all this was, "Duh." Anyone who studies foreign policy knows that this is how the world works; Chayes' own story simply provides details from a new place. My second, and more troubling reaction was, "Why is Chayes surprised by this?"
I was repeatedly stunned by her lack of knowledge and naivete. She studied Arabic in college, along with medieval Islamic history. She has a BA and MA from Harvard in these fields. Yet she apparently had no idea how tribal politics or patron-client political systems work. She's surprised that the US Army, US Special Forces, and US Agency for International Development might be supporting different players in Afghan politics. Heck, in Vietnam US forces supporting different players ended up shooting at each other. I'm sure the Soviets had similar experiences around the world.
Her great virtue, and I want to emphasize how impressive it is, is her courage. She is willing to put herself on the line. She returns to Afghanistan when she doesn't have to. She lives in residential areas, not in foreigner compounds. She leaves an attractive career at NPR to head an NGO in Afghanistan on a shoestring budget. She stays in place after receiving multiple death threats (and after investigating their credibility). She has a close friend, and many acquaintances, die. Her courage and her personal commitments as a liberal do-gooder shine through the book.
As a first-hand report of how Afghanistan works today, and how the foreigners in it live, this is an interesting book. However, it's written as a personal journey, which makes it two or three times longer than it need be - - we find out how Chayes learned things, not just what she learned. If you like these journeys, you'll like the book. I found those parts a bit tedious because of the naivete with which she began.
Some early chapters of the book also provide amusing anecdotes on how National Public Radio and other media outlets work. Apparently, they send reporters to foreign countries in order to write up stories consistent with the editors' preconceived notions. They are also supposed to write on the same subjects that other reporters have written on. Of course, we all know this, too, but it's nice to have the confirmation.
So, all in all, a mixed review.
How we are losing Afghanistan........2007-09-10
The author Chayes details how the United States is losing Afghanistan after our brillant success in toppling the Taliban. The main reason is due to support of narrow based warlords who are pillaging the country. Due to supporting the wrong people, we are tarnishing our options as the population is coming to view NATO/U.S. as one and the same with the warlords. Everybody has focused on the fighting in Iraq and how we are losing there, but Chayes book details how both the military and civilian authorities have turned over Afghanistan to the same people that ran it into the ground prior to the Taliban. In her neck of the woods at Kandahar, the US has supported a warlord named Gul rather than better representatives in the Pashtun tribes.
I liked Sarah's book and give her high marks for her journals in Afghanistan. I would point out that Westerners have to be careful of how to tell Third World nationals on how to run their countries. Both is Iraq and Afghanistan, we face situations where people are coming to the forefront in the government. For us to tell them how to run their country smacks of colonialism. However, Chayes is right on the mark in staying that the U.S. made many mistakes in how they occupied this country.
Intelligent, fascinating, revealing. An exceptional assessment of post 9/11 Afghanistan!.......2007-08-07
If your thinking about buying this book, do yourself a favor, BUY IT! Regardless of your motives, this book is worth reading.
Sarah Chayes has produced a revealing and intelligent Occidental glimpse into post 9/11 Afghanistan.
Chayes experiences reporting for NPR and her experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco has given her the deft to negotiate the notoriously suspicious and misogynistic culture that permeates the Middle East. She is an observant and adept diplomat who does not mince words or appear to be beholden to any government agency or Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).
Afghanistan, Chayes observes, is "an entire nation comprised of generations suffering the effects of PTSD." I had never considered such a possibility and if Americans realized this concept, perhaps we could be a bit more productive in our re-construction and social efforts.
For the military, Chayes's analysis of the county's centuries old "yaghistan reflex," which has salvaged generations of Afghans from raiding empires is both brilliant and of important note. Chayes also reveals the not-so-subtle influences of Pakistan on Afghan political and social instability.
This is all wound around the story of Chayes's experiences and her brief but telling assessment of Afghan history.
Chayes includes a perceptive and frank quote by one of her associates, Ayse Yildiz, that could surmise the situation there at least as much as the book's title, "Here we are, a bunch of kids from dysfunctional families, working at a dysfunctional organization, trying to fix a dysfunctional country."
REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ.
An Outstanding Piece of Analusis.......2007-05-07
Sarah Chayes gives a view of Afganistan which goes far beyond what we get in the usual media. She is a skilled detective and finds answers which the military and the State Department cannot.
Captivating and Insightful Account of Afghanistan.......2007-04-03
This is one of the most insightful and captivating books written on Afghanistan since 2001. Ms. Chayes skillfully intersperses first-hand anecdotes, historical context, and current events into a non-fiction page-turner. This book does a wonderful job of giving the reader a good understanding of what is really happening in Afghanistan and why we can't ignore its problems.
Amazon.com
Desire of the Everlasting Hills is another present from the pen of Thomas Cahill, author of How the Irish Saved Civilization and The Gifts of the Jews. In this third volume of the bestselling Hinges of History series, he knits together history, politics, sociology, and faith with contemporary insights that yield remarkable results.
After painting with broad brush strokes an entertaining picture of the Greek, Jewish, and Roman world, Cahill focuses on Jesus. With illuminating deductions and clever speculation, Jesus is seen though the eyes of his biographers in their Gospel accounts. Each of these authors' lives is reconstructed in such a way that the richness of their writing and their subject matter is wonderfully enhanced.
The section on Paul, detailing how his life and letters shaped the early church, should be required reading for every student of the Bible. From his beginnings in the cosmopolitan city known as Tarsus through his calling, like the patriarchs and prophets before him, he becomes "the perfect vehicle for this moment in the development of the Jesus Movement." His mix of Greek reasoning with rabbinical training casts the stories of the early church into a thoughtful theology. He is seen here as the earliest egalitarian who not only impacted the early church but all of western civilization.
Cahill challenges many traditional religious ideas while also taking on some of the more radical contemporary interpreters of biblical literature. As with the other volumes in this series, the marginal notes are filled with a wealth of interesting information. Combining his own fresh translation of many New Testament highlights with respect and humor, Thomas Cahill's book is for the believer and nonbeliever alike. --Tracy Danz
Book Description
From the bestselling author of
How the Irish Saved Civilization and
The Gifts of the Jews, his most compelling historical narrative yet.
How did an obscure rabbi from a backwater of the Roman Empire come to be the central figure in Western Civilization? Did his influence in fact change the world? These are the questions Thomas Cahill addresses in his subtle and engaging investigation into the life and times of Jesus.
Cahill shows us Jesus from his birth to his execution through the eyes of those who knew him and in the context of his time—a time when the Jews were struggling to maintain their beliefs under overlords who imposed their worldview on their subjects. Here is Jesus the loving friend, itinerate preacher, and quiet revolutionary, whose words and actions inspired his followers to journey throughout the Roman world and speak the truth he instilled—in the face of the greatest defeat: Jesus' crucifixion as a common criminal. Daring, provocative, and stunningly original, Cahill's interpretation will both delight and surprise.
Download Description
In Desire of the Everlasting Hills, Thomas Cahill takes up his most daring and provocative subject yet: Jesus of Nazareth, the central figure of Western civilization.
Customer Reviews:
Didn't read it.......2007-05-13
Though I might read this but as it turned out, I didn't...it is still around here somewhere....
beautiful portrait of my savior... .......2007-04-19
I loved this book because it challenged the picture I had of Jesus in my head but didn't challenge my beliefs of Jesus. It added a deepening and understanding of the divinity of Jesus. I love Cahill's books and not just because I'm Irish and we saved western civilization.
Desire of the Everlasting Hills: The World Before and After Jesus .......2007-03-09
This book is not up to the quality of How the Irish Saved Civilization. Too much of his writing is merely quoting sources. Actually it is rather boring.
Magical.......2007-01-05
I have read all of Mr. Cahill's books and consider this to be the finest. He answers and ambitious question -- "Did Jesus Matter?" By comparing the expectations of the civilized world before and after Jesus in a wonderfully entertaining fashion, he provides fresh insights and makes a compelling case. Whether you are a Christian or not, you can appreciate this captivating perspective and Mr. Cahill's lively writing.
The Gospel according to Cahill.......2006-12-08
Thomas Cahill's "Desire of the Everlasting Hills" is an engaging but somewhat disappointing work. In short, Cahill's discussion of the "world before" Jesus is more carefully considered than that of the "world after," with the author's treatment of the person of Jesus himself being an equivocation. Was Jesus merely human or was he both human and divine? I wouldn't have minded a clear argument for either position, but Cahill's narrative seems to hedge between the two. "Desire" sees Jesus as a radical visionary, to be sure, but does not have the courage to either affirm or deny the element of transcendence in the Gospel accounts. Ultimately, though hints of possible transcendence abound, the person of Jesus is reduced to what nearly everyone can affirm (that Jesus was a "great moral teacher"), and when I finished the middle chapters of the book I found myself asking "is that all?" It is true that during Cahill's later discussion of the "world after" Jesus, Paul is described as someone who unquestionably viewed Jesus as divine, but here Cahill fails to make a definitive connection between Paul's theology and the historical figure of Jesus. And the further the book proceeds into the "world after," the more selective Cahill's scholarly sources become, a selection seeming to support a mostly negative bias regarding the institutional Church. This is especially apparent in his discussion of John's Gospel, which is impugned as being anti-Semitic, and is posited to be the primary inspiration for later anti-Semitism in the history of Christianity.
Still, there is much to admire in this work. As I have said, I found the book to be engaging. Even when I disagreed or became frustrated with him, I never doubted the author's sincerity; Cahill seems to have a genuine desire to understand the impact Jesus has had on history. The discussion of the "world before" Jesus was excellent; I especially appreciated the way the description of Alexander the Great set the reader up for the inevitable contrast with the description of Jesus later in the book. And though I did not agree with many of the author's conclusions concerning the synoptic Gospels or the Pauline epistles, I was surprised to find such a thought-provoking and positive treatment of these topics. I recommend this book to those who are familiar with the New Testament from scholarly and/or devotional reading, and who are at least somewhat familiar with the history of Christianity; others might find it to be confusing or even misleading.
Book Description
In the 50 years since Sputnik's historic orbit kickstarted a race to the stars, spaceflight has moved from a speculative and experimental science to a staple of contemporary life. Space exploration has changed the way we look at our universe, our planet, and even the people around us.
AFTER SPUTNIK will explore the first 50 years of achievements in space with a guided tour of the artifacts in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum. This is the premier collection of space artifacts in the world, and includes most US artifacts; major Russian artifacts on loan; and most recently, Burt Rutan's Space Ship One. In addition, the museum's popular culture collection and an art collection include objects such as a 1930s Buck Rogers stopwatch, and Norman Rockwell's famous painting, Suiting Up.
Using a selection of 180 to 200 objects, this book will tell the artifact stories to convey a sense of what it was like to be there when the object was in use, accompanied by dramatic photographs. The artifacts will range from the famous, such as John Glenn's Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft and the Mars Pathfinder lander and Sojourner rover, to the equally rare, but less well–known, such as the Surveyor 3 camera returned from the Moon and Gordon Cooper's space boots. No other book can offer this breadth and depth of artifacts.
Customer Reviews:
Seldom Seen Artifacts from the Space Age.......2007-04-15
Another great book from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
The book has many color photos and some black and white of each artifact and a one page detail of each item , starting with Robert Goddard's Liquid Oxygen Flask and the Carrier and goes forward with Rockets and V-2, Satellites, and Guidence systems and many unusal items such as the Bell Rocket Belt No 2. Pressure Suits, Russian stamp of Gagarin flight, lunch box, sample of Soviet Green Cabbage Soup, a pack of Apollo and Soyuz cigarettes and it also has Sally Ride's flight suite Mercury, Gemini and Apollo Capsules,Apollo 16 Commander Checklist, Gemini V mission patch that was never used and the Soyuz spacecraft and many other in glorious color .And the book ends with SpaceShip One ( the first Private spaceship to enter outer space) This book will entertain you and your children and will teach you about the space race through the many different items on display, it the next best thing to being at the Air and Space Museum.
Amazon.com
If you've ever wondered what crashed into the desert near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, this book will give you some startling answers. While the first version was published in hardcover in 1997, Corso provides new evidence for the presence of alien intruders in this pocket paperback edition. Whether or not you believe his contention, the sheer weight of governmental sources and documentation presented by the former Army intelligence officer is not easily dismissed. Once you understand the historical context (in the midst of the Cold War soon after World War II, with Orson Welles having recently inspired panic in citizens with his fictional War of the Worlds radio broadcast), the military deciding to cover up a real-life alien ship becomes more credible. Corso also gives a convincing explanation of why reports were so multi-various and conflicting. Even if you believe the book is utter fiction, it's still a compelling read. --Randall Cohan
Book Description
A landmark expose firmly grounded in fact, The Day After Roswell ends the decades-old controversy surrounding the mysterious crash of an unidentified aircraft at Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. Backed by documents newly declassified through the Freedom of Information Act, Colonel Philip J. Corso (Ret.), a member of President Eisenhower's National Security Council and former head of the Foreign Technology Desk at the U.S. Army's Research & Development department, has come forward to reveal his personal stewardship of alien artifacts from the Roswell crash. He tells us how he spearheaded the Army's reverse-engineering project that led to today's:
- Integrated circuit chips
- Fiber optics
- Lasers
- Super-tenacity fibers
and "seeded" the Roswell alien technology to giants of American industry.
Laying bare the U.S. government's shocking role in the Roswell incident -- what was found, the cover-up, and how they used alien artifacts to change the course of twentieth-century history -- The Day After Roswell is an extraordinary memoir that not only forces us to reconsider the past, but also our role in the universe.
Download Description
A landmark expose firmly grounded in fact, The Day After Roswell puts a fifty-year-old controversy to rest. Since 1947, the mysterious crash of an unidentified aircraft at Roswell, New Mexico, has fueled a firestorm of speculation and controversy with no conclusive evidence of its extraterrestrial origin - until now. Colonel Philip J. Corso (Ret.), a member of President Eisenhower's National Security Council and former head of the Foreign Technology Desk at the U.S. Army's Research & Development department, has come forward to tell the whole explosive story. Backed by documents newly declassified through the Freedom of Information Act, Colonel Corso reveals for the first time his personal stewardship of alien artifacts from the crash, and discloses the U.S. government's astonishing role in the Roswell incident: what was found, the cover-up, and how these alien artifacts changed the course of twentieth-century history.
Customer Reviews:
Adolescent fantasy that would only fool the educationally-challenged.......2007-10-04
I wouldn't waste a lot of time on this run-of-the-mill alien fantasy, since anyone with a basic familiarity with the history of science will recognize the howling inconsistencies in Corso's claims that he "inserted" advanced alien technology into the R&D mainstream .. and nobody noticed, anywhere. Since the long & tedious history of microchip technology, lasers, masers, fiberoptics, and the rest of Corso's "alien" technology is well-documented in thousands of places, for anyone to study if they wish, this amateurish little book will only fool the scientifically illiterate and the conspiracy groupies who lack the .perseverance to actually take science courses. Unfortunately, there are a lot of those out there ....
An internet search will also reveal Corso's other wild-eyed claims, such as his claims to have met and telepathically communicated with aliens in the desert, or his claims to have seen -- and touched -- flying saucers that appear and disappear magically. Corso's fans don't like to talk about those interviews, but a rational person will consider them along with Corso's other claims.
His purported military experiences don't survive the smell test well, either, for anyone with a fair amount of military experience, especially in the intel or R&D fields. Certainly he held some responsible positions, as many majors and lieutenant colonels, but that doesn't prevent any individual from becoming a fruitcake later in life, or just manufacturing "experiences" to make up for his relative obscurity after he left the military. Some of his claims -- for example, that his foreign technology office was "dissolved" when he & Trudeau left -- are just silly. There were foreign technology offices that exploited captured materiel long after he left, notably at Wright-Pat AFB and other less-known places. I personally sent materiel there as recently as the 80s. I probably don't need to add that the number of people involved in these efforts over the years make the likelihood of Corso's tales nearly zero. Hundreds, probably thousands, of people would have first-hand knowledge of all the "alien" technology, and you can guess the likelihood of this "secret" being kept this long, by that many...not even counting Corso's claims that many other countries & governments had similar "Roswell-type" recoveries and exploitation programs.
One can't help feeling sorry for poor Corso, and wondering just how bleak his later years must have become for him to have found this Great Conspiracy necessary to his emotional well-being. You also can't help liking the guy, and wishing he had found more satisfaction in the really important and valuable work he REALLY did. I salute his service ... but I don't believe a bit of his UFO pipedreams.
Not an interesting read.......2007-09-26
I was so looking forward to this book, but never made it completely though the book. There is so much in the book that is not related to the subject. A lot of background of the author and what he was doing at the time, or what the military or political situation was at the time. I found it boring. A male might find it more interesting, because war stuff is a subject they like.
Cosmic Ego At-Large.......2007-08-07
wow. A new history of the world based on Philip Corso. Just happens to be at the right place at the right time to pry open a crate that contains the remains of an ET? Claims that basically nothing was accomplished with the remnants of a recovered space craft held by the USAF until he was given the "nut file" some 10 years after the crash at Roswell. Only then were scientists and industry leaders organized in a meaningful manner. Wow. Claims that the reason why the USA and USSR possessed 10 times the number of nuclear weapons to destroy the earth was to threaten aliens from thinking they could take over a portion of the planet. And this was a mutually agreed upon decision by the countries. Wow. No discussion of the nuclear fallout that would basically contaminate the entire planet from such a massive detonation?? Claims that he was the real protagonist is pushing JFK to act forcefully against the Soviets in Cuba through a planned leak in the Boston Globe while JFK was in Massachusetts. Wow. Admits that ET's have the technology to travel 4000+ miles per hour in spacecrafts that can stop immediately, move to the front and back of all earthly crafts but somehow now we are on "equal footing" with them because we have military satelites that can destroy their space vehicles, just because Corso says so!! Explain to me how a satelite can somehow outmanuever a craft that can do what Corso and military "experts" claim the UFO's can accomplish?? Wouldn't ALL satelites be super easy targets for such interplanetary space vehicles based on the capabilities that Corso himself describes???? Here is a man who had decided to risk reputation, pension, and life to make a "full disclosure" but didn't take the time to copy one single photo of an ET?? Not one single copy photo of a TOP TOP SECRET REPORT of a EBE or UFO with all the necessary markings of an official military document to corroborate EVEN a part of his incredible claims??? All the while claiming that he had unlimited access to such things for years!!! What did he have to lose by obtaining something, anything for the public to trust him. Instead, he provides us with some sort of intelligence estimate about the possibility of creating a moon based facility. What is so amazing about that considering the fact that we were putting men on the moon????? I can go on and on. Mr. Corso's ego is the real UFO in this story.
A highly credible, retired government official's personal testimony.......2007-08-05
You might have read any of the multitude of books and seen any of the dozens of cable TV specials perporting to present you with the most accurate account of the July 1947 events in New Mexico. Virtually all of them have been written and/or produced by a variety of persons who approached the subject from an outside investigator's point of view.
But that is exactly what makes this amazing book so unique. Indeed, it was written by a man so highly credible as a person of impeccable standing and as one of those who would doubtlessly know the facts behind the legend, that those who remain adamantly fantatical in their disbelief of the events described in great detail herein after reading this man's testimony are left to comfort themselves with the imagined thought that he must surely have been only joking.
Starts off great, then rambles off into............2007-03-06
First of all, let me state, "I belive...in UFOs and alien beings". That being said, I greatly enjoyed the first part of Corso's book; but was greatly disappointed and bored with the second half of the book. The first half of the book details the crash of the UFO at Roswell - the story of the extraterrestials that were found at the site; the autopsies of the beings; how the craft supposedly worked; the debris found at the site. All great reading for the first third/half of the book. He writes very convincingly and well that a craft really did crash. Then, the book takes a turn to describe how much of our technology was developed in part from debris found at the crash site. I'm not so sure about that.
He describes how much of the weapons we have today (anti-missile missles, Star Wars, the circuit chip, for example) were developed by our scientists, and the armed forces based directly from alien technology. But, he also states, that we were already working on some of these items when the craft was found. Corso writes about 20 pages each to describe these developments (therefore, about 120 extra pages!). I found myself wondering what all this has to do with an alien crash at Roswell? He talks about how General MacArthur wanted to develop a moon base for the Army to protect the US against the Russians. Really? It never happened so why spend so much time writing about it. In all the books I've read about MacArthur, I never read that!
I think the only part of Corso's book that made sense was his description of the laser and its use by the aliens regarding cattle mutilation. I have always believed that and his story made sense to me. But, to say that all of the previously described technology was finally developed as preventive weaponry against an alien attack? Hardly.
Unfortunately, it was Corso's rambling about the political scenes and the infighting to get these weapons developed that lost me. I kept thinking, who cares about Nikola Tesla' youth, his writings and experiments; who cares about the development of Star Wars. I thought this book was about Roswell!
Books:
- Alcoholic Thinking: Language, Culture, and Belief in Alcoholics Anonymous
- An Introduction to Native North America, Second Edition
- B.P.R.D. Volume 1: Hollow Earth & Other Stories
- Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
- Cambodian for Beginners
- Chief of Station, Congo: Fighting the Cold War in a Hot Zone
- Chief of Station, Congo: Fighting the Cold War in a Hot Zone
- China and Southeast Asia's Ethnic Chinese: State and Diaspora in Contemporary Asia
- Columbus's Outpost among the Taínos: Spain and America at La Isabela, 1493-1498
- Control of Religious Printing in Early Stuart England (Studies in Modern British Religious History)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- History: Fiction or Science
- 500 Teapots: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Design
- The Lees of Virginia: Seven Generations of an American Family
- The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic
- The Phantom of the Opera - piano vocal Selections
- A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana
- Whiskey River
- Your Old Wiring
- The History, Development, Purpose, and Function of the Certified Public Adjuster and Certified Publi
- Thomas Food & Beverage Market Place, 2001-2002
General
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Liberty, Equality, and Power: A History of the American People (with CD-ROM)
The Methods and Skills of History: A Practical Guide
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself (The Bedford Series in History and Culture)
Miracle At Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention May - September 1787
After the Fact, Volume II, with Primary Source Investigator CD
