My Father, Marconi (Picas Series)

Book Description

Merging both his scientific and personal lives into one compelling history, author Degna Marconi recalls the turbulent existence of her father, Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the radio. Unable to gain admittance to a university, child prodigy Marconi instead set up a laboratory in his father's attic. These boyhood experiments led to the development of the radio. Marconi transmitted the first transatlantic wireless message in 1902.

Customer Reviews:

My search for Marconi.......2007-10-10

For a long time, I have studied Marconi since I am an amateur radio operator. I have visited his two stations on Cape Cod and even wrote a short web article about the first message he sent from Cape Code to England. Yet I found much new information in this book. Some of the comments tied loose ends together for me. If you are interested in early radio or Marconi, I suggest you read this book. It is paperback book size, but has a vast amount of information and pictures written by someone who knew him well.

Degna Marconi: My Father, Marconi pub. Guernica.......2003-05-18

I was held captive by a book that is a generous tribute of a loving daughter to her Father, Guglielmo Marconi. Degna Marconi allows us an insight into a chapter in her family history, and introduces us to the science behind her Fathers' inventions, his passion, his single-mindedness, his genius.
Marconi grew up in Bologna, at the center of his Mother's world. Without formal schooling, bright and gifted Guglielmo was allowed to develop at his own pace. Inspired by a book on Benjamin Franklin, his imagination was fired up, and he started experimenting with electricity and passing signals across distances. Later as a young adult in Great Britain, Marconi together with a small group of dedicated and passionate men and scientists made his ideas a working reality. The rest is history, and we all are beneficiaries.
Last summer when I stayed at Cape Cod, I took a detour and a walk at South Wellfleet. Marconi Station is no longer there, but the display tells us of messages that were relayed for the first time over great distances, between Great Britain and America. One of the early demonstrations of importance of communicating over long distances was when the signals were received, informing the world of the tragedy of the maiden voyage of Titanic.
While most of us still grapple with understanding the way signals travel, the ideas and inventions of Guglielmo Marconi have become a life transforming reality. As a mother living in Melbourne, Australia, with a daughter in New York, and a daughter in London, I bow to the genius of Marconi. His work made it possible for us to remain close, it made the "tyranny of distance" more bearable.
This book is more interesting than any fiction. Degna Marconi writes with literary skill that is outstanding.
We are closer to understanding Guglielmo Marconi, the man, when we read his own words: "genius is gift of work continuously applied"
Recommended reading!

My father Marconi.......2002-12-08

Review: My father, Marconi

What magnificant reading this is! This book is a must for those who would agree that a good biography is incomparably more valuable than even a great work of fiction. Degna Marconi has succeeded in recording her father's life with both scrutiny and filial affection. She has maintained a very high level in every aspect: what she tells us about scientific evolution in its historical context is witty, precise and fascinating whereas her personal touch never errs on the side of biased family pride. She is as good an author as her father was a man of science!
This portrait of Marconi and his times at the beginning of the era of global communication is all the more interesing right now a hundres years after it all began.
"My father, Marconi" should be on the shelf of anyone who prefers reflection to mere consuption.

Susanne Regehr

Marconi's eldest daughter writes about her famous father........2002-04-23

If I had to pick the one book (and there are many out there) that best describes Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of wireless communication, this would definitely be it. This book, written by Marconi's eldest daughter, Degna, is one of the best biographies I have ever read, in part because of the enormous charisma of the subject and in equal part because of the obvious respect and affection with which he is treated by Degna Marconi.
With only a vague idea of who Marconi was and fearing a book filled with technical jargon I picked up this book with a little suspicion at first. What a wonderful surprise! Degna Marconi's story was engaging from the first few paragraphs and rivetting up until the end. I quickly became engrossed in this fascinating story of a young man who, instead of going to university, spends his days experimenting with sending radio signals across his parents' garden, using homemade equipment and information gathered from scientific magazines, and then his tireless struggle to improve and promote his inventions which takes him first to London, then Canada, and the U.S. Degna Marconi presents the historical and scientific facts in a clear and concise manner without sacrificing detail. The work is both rewarding for those interested in science as well as those of us after a good read. Indeed, the charm of this book is that it reads like a real page turning novel. Loads of little anecdotes and commentaries colour the story without obscuring it. The reader gets a wonderful insight into a world of wealth and luxury, cut-throat competition and scientific innovation.
The book describes the novelty and excitement of Marconi's first experiments and then moves on to describe Marconi's struggles to patent his inventions, circumvent his ever more numerous competitors and expand the range and use of his technology. In fact, Marconi emerges not only as a brilliant scientist but above all as an energetic and resourceful entrepreneur. This account of Marconi's work to establish radio as a practical and useful alternative to other more established technologies (such as the telephone) is thrilling to read and is as relevant today as it was 100 years ago. I especially enjoyed reading about the heroic radio operator who continued sending S.O.S. signals from the sinking Titanic and about Marconi's long, lonely and often frustrating struggle to establish radio contact across the Atlantic.
Marconi's private life was no less exciting and tumultuous. The book's description of Marconi's love of the beautiful Beatrice O'Brien, his efforts to win over the undecided Beatrice and their wedding is entertaining and often humorous. The strain of Marconi's ever increasing work and fame on his family, the tragic divorce that neither he nor Beatrice really wanted and Marconi's complicated relationship with his children, especially his son Giulio, are all described with subtle and touching insight. Degna Marconi is also able to convey Marconi's charm and subtle sense of humour. Highly recommended.

A look through the eyes of a daughter.......2002-03-19

This book by Mrs Marconi was extremely touching; we know so much about Marconi the inventor, the public figure but what makes this book so original is that it was so clearly written by someone who knew him well and loved him even more. Set side by side are descriptions of his scientific breakthroughs and very intimate glimpses of him as a person, many of them humorous and understanding.

The book is also very well written, interesting but at the same time readable and enjoyable. I have lent my copy of the book to many of my friends.

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My Father Marconi

Manufacturer: Easton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GQOC7K

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My Father, Marconi
Degna Marconi
Manufacturer: McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0000CLJR8

Average customer rating:
My Father, Marconi
Degna Marconi
Manufacturer: MCGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OKEX68

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My Father, Marconi
Degna Marconi
Manufacturer: Easton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: B000W2EUJS

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My Father, Marconi (LIBRARY OF GREAT LIVES)

Manufacturer: Easton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: B000BV4KWM

Book Description

For nearly 20 years, William Hubbs Rehnquist served as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. During these two decades, the Court issued major decisions involving federalism, abortion, affirmative action, civil rights, privacy, and the 2000 presidential election. Throughout his tenure, Justice Rehnquist was conventionally perceived as a conservative, partly for the anti-civil rights memos he had written earlier in his career. He became a lightning rod for controversy during his confirmation hearings for Associate Justice in 1972, and again in 1986 when he became Chief Justice. Hudson's balanced, nonpartisan examination of the Rehnquist Court and its personalities shows that, surprisingly, Rehnquist's conservatism is quite mild compared to that of the "ideological purity" of Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, and that Rehnquist did an admirable job of playing moderator as Chief Justice, exhibiting sensitivity toward his colleagues.

The Rehnquist Court and the Constitution

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Good but not great
excellent book
Unfortunate addition to Yarbrough's resume
Subliminally Biased, but well researched
Well written peek behind the Supreme Court bench

The Rehnquist Court and the Constitution
Tinsley E. Yarbrough
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195146034

Book Description

At the end of the 2000 presidential election, the nation saw firsthand the power of the Rehnquist Court when, for the first time in U.S. history, the Supreme Court took a definitive role in the election process. Now, Tinsley Yarbrough provides a comprehensive look at today's Supreme Court Justices and their record. An accomplished biographer, Yarbrough offers incisive portraits of the nine justices who now sit on the high bench, and tellingly reviews their nomination hearings. But the heart of the book is a systematic exploration of the Court's record in such areas as government power, economic regulation, and criminal justice. In decision after decision, the author discusses the various justices' opinions, arguments, and legal theories; he also offers his own analysis--including a sharp critique of the decision to allow the Paula Jones lawsuit to move forward. Thoughtful, wide-ranging, and intelligently written, this book will stand as the finest study of the Rehnquist Court for years to come.

Customer Reviews:

Good but not great.......2004-05-13

In this work Tinsley Yarbrough seeks to summarize the work of the Rehnquist Court (up until 2000) concerning the seven dominate issues of constitutional adjudication. Yarbrough examines subjects such as governmental power, freedom of expression and religion, criminal justice, and unenumerated rights. Begining with a description of the appointments of the justices who conservatives hoped would finally kill the last remnants of the liberal Warren Court era, Yarbrough examines each of the most important issues and concludes that the Rehnquist Court has failed, at least generally, to achieve this hope. Instead, it has walked something of a more moderate role, sometimes limiting precedent but often reaffirming the core principles of the liberal activism of old.

The work is good but it should not be your first introduction to the Supreme Court. It is densely packed with information and is probably best for a reference work to use when you reach a new area of coursework. My biggest problem with Yarbrough's work here is that it is great at synthesizing the many cases of the Rehnquist era but it is light on meaningful analysis and criticism of those cases. Description only goes so far and I think the book would have benefited from a stronger analytical view of the 14 years (then) of the Rehnquist Court.

excellent book.......2001-05-19

i think if you go through this book you would realise justice is not blind but very racialy prejudiced i would prefer straight shooter brilliant jusice scalia,excellent book

Unfortunate addition to Yarbrough's resume.......2000-10-05

Mr. Yarbrough has a fine reputation as a leading judicial biographer: his previous works on Hugo Black, and the two Justices Harlan were impressive, detailed and interesting. With "The Rehnquist Court" he pumps out a minor achievement and a heavily slanted analysis of recent Constitutional decisions. There's no denying the hostility toward conservative/strict-constructionist judges and viewpoints and this, as a previous poster noted, deeply taints the work overall. In addition, Yarbrough's style (which has always tended to the dry and tedious) is here especially mind-numbing: the interesting constitutional issues under debate are hidden amongst irrelevant facts and long-winded prose. As a whole, I found the book very disappointing and the steep price tag wholly unwarranted.

Subliminally Biased, but well researched.......2000-09-07

In terms of informational content and comprehensiveness, this text is quite good. Yarbrough cites many sources and gives the essence of most of the opinions on the cases he covers. That is to say that a given case may have three or four opinions, as justices can agree on the same verdict for different reasons, and Yarbrough does a fine job of explaining each on most of the decisions covered. My huge qualm with the work is the simple fact that Yarbrough commits one of the biggest sins possible in scholarly work: he sharply biases his work without seeming to. His language is subtly biased, and an unwary reader could easily be manipulated.

Well written peek behind the Supreme Court bench.......2000-06-22

The Rehnquist Court and the Constitution is not light reading, but for those who are interested in the high court, it is good reading. Yarbrough provides a concise examination of each Justice, including his or her background, confirmation hearing, and the political climate of that hearing. He captures the essence of each Justice as both jurist and human being. He then allows the reader to infer the interaction of those philosophies, personalities and egos on the direction that he perceives for significant constitutional issues. He does this without much, if any, editorial comment, though at times his own constitutional philosophy appears to peek out just a bit. Although this book is a bit heavy for anyone other than a constitutional scholar, it is well worth reading. Any student, teacher, judge, lawyer or just plain "court watcher" will appreciate this glimpse into the most secret and perhaps most powerful branch of our government.

Brennan Vs. Rehnquist: The Battle for the Constitution

Average customer rating:

A Good Book for Newcomers to Constitutional Law
Great premise, but fails to deliver insight
A Struggle for the Constitution

Brennan Vs. Rehnquist: The Battle for the Constitution
Peter Irons
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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War Powers: How the Imperial Presidency Hijacked the Constitution

ASIN: 0679424369
Release Date: 1994-10-04

Customer Reviews:

A Good Book for Newcomers to Constitutional Law.......2001-05-13

This book may be a good starting point for those who are new to the study of American Constitutional law. It is obvious from the beginning that Irons prefers the Brennan "living Constitution" approach to Constitutional law. Although I also share this view and mostly disagree with Rehnquist's opinions, I found myself wishing that Irons had given this topic more even-handed treatment. It seems that whenever Irons writes about Rehnquist, he is taking shots at him and his method of Constitutional jurisprudence. In addition, this book does not give much additional insight to those who have a good understanding of the methods of analysis used by the Court in areas such as Equal Protection or Substantive Due Process. This book may be an excellent introduction to students who are studying Constitutional law for the first time and want more background information on these two Justices as well as learning more about what informs their decisions. However, for someone who has more experience in Constitutional jurisprudence, the book does not offer much additional insight than you might receive in a law school Constitutional law course.

Great premise, but fails to deliver insight.......1999-05-24

In the 1970's and 1980's, an epic battle took place in the United States of America. Although it was not often recognized, the ideological disputes between the judicial conversatives of the Supreme Court (led by Justice William Rehnquist)and the judicial activists (led by William Brennan) profoundly shaped American society. In retrospect, the Brennan camp did a healthy job of holding off the conservatives for a number of years. Individual liberties expanded at the expense of governmental control. Professor Irons does a good job of setting forth the battleground and tallying the score for each camp. What he fails to do, however, is provide the reader with any insight to the nuances of the battle. I would have been happier with this book if it would have attempted to provide some additional legal analysis that described how the Brennan v. Rehnquist battle established new ways of thinking about Constitututional law.

A Struggle for the Constitution.......1997-10-13

Brennan vs. Rehnquist is a very interesting study into the careers of two justices who, for the eighteen years during which they each served on the Supreme Court, presenting two very differing views of the Constitution, battled over the meaning of that most essential document. Peter Irons, at the start, admits his preference for the Brennan approach. Despite this, he does a fairly good job at presenting both sides fairly evenhandedly. The reading of this book does convey an understanding of two approaches to the interpretation of the Constitution which underlie many of the cases which we see reported in the press. Irons' writing style bridges the gap between the needs of the lawyer and those of the layman. While presenting the arguments with sufficient depth to interest the lawyer, he avoids the technical jargon which could bore the lay reader.

Justice Rehnquist and the Constitution: The Quest for a New Federalism

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Justice Rehnquist and the Constitution: The Quest for a New Federalism
Sue Davis
Manufacturer: Princeton Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0691078009

Original Intent: Chief Justice Rehnquist and the Course of American Church-State Relations

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Original Intent: Chief Justice Rehnquist and the Course of American Church-State Relations
Derek Davis
Manufacturer: Prometheus Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0879756497

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The Rehnquist Court and the Constitution.
TINSLEY E.: YARBROUGH
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UD45RQ

Rehnquist Justice: Understanding the Court Dynamic

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Rehnquist Justice: Understanding the Court Dynamic

Manufacturer: University Press of Kansas
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

With seven of its justices appointed by Republican presidents, today's Supreme Court has significantly altered America's legal landscape since 1986 by tilting constitutional jurisprudence to the right. That was the goal of Presidents Reagan and Bush in filling court vacancies and has been felt in cases related to federalism, economic rights, and affirmative action. However, liberal issues such as abortion have moved only marginally to the right, while rulings by the Court on school prayer and gay rights have moved constitutional doctrine slightly to the left.

Here prominent constitutional scholars are joined by new voices from the cutting edge of academia to show that the Rehnquist Court's conservatism is less extreme than many have supposed. Reflecting views across the political spectrum, the contributors help readers understand the Court dynamic, its constrained conservatism, and the forces that shape constitutional law in general.

As these authors show, the overall pattern of decision-making in the Rehnquist era cannot be attributed to any single, unified approach to constitutional analysis. Instead, it can only be understood as the product of a complex interaction among individual justices, each with an idiosyncratic view of the proper interpretation of the Constitution and the role of the Court in the American political system.

These essays provide insight into this interaction by focusing on each member of the bench. From the staunch conservatism of Clarence Thomas, to the accommodationismof Sandra Day O'Connor, to the liberal constitutionalism of David Souter, the essays analyze the unique approach of each justice to interpreting the Constitution. They also show that the current justices are the product of a nomination and confirmation process that has undergone a major transformation--one which now favors experienced, often unknown jurists over high-profile public servants.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Trial, published by Association of Trial Lawyers of America on September 1, 2000. The length of the article is 645 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Rehnquist Court and the Constitution.(Review) (book review) (book review)
Author: Erwin Chemerinsky
Publication: Trial (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2000
Publisher: Association of Trial Lawyers of America
Volume: 36 Issue: 9 Page: 84

Article Type: Book Review

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THE REHNQUIST COURT AND THE CONSTITUTION.(Review) (book review): An article from: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life

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THE REHNQUIST COURT AND THE CONSTITUTION.(Review) (book review): An article from: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life
Steven D. Smith
Manufacturer: Institute on Religion and Public Life
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, published by Institute on Religion and Public Life on November 1, 2000. The length of the article is 5229 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: THE REHNQUIST COURT AND THE CONSTITUTION.(Review) (book review)
Author: Steven D. Smith
Publication: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life (Refereed)
Date: November 1, 2000
Publisher: Institute on Religion and Public Life
Page: 32

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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The Rehnquist Court and the Constitution
Tinsley E. Yarbrough
Manufacturer: Oxford Univ. Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NQM5GI

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