General Books - Page 9

How We Survived Communism & Even Laughed

Slavenka Drakulic

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A book for everyone ... would that it were read by everyone! 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 8 people found this review helpful.

A fascinating collection of poignant vignettes on being a woman in communist Yugoslavia (with stories of the author's friends and acquaintances in other Eastern European countries.) Ms. Drakulic shares with the West the reasons whereby 40-plus years of communist-engendered habits and viewpoints and tendencies cannot undergo an overnight "attitude adjustment". This book is a must for anyone who seeks to begin to sympathize and understand the thoughts and roots of people (especially women) who were born and raised in Eastern Europe. I bulldozed through it, and am now reading her "Cafe Europa". Eye-opening!

Essays on life in Communist Eastern Europe from a woman 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I have read Drakulic's later book Balken Express, and thought this book far better. Drakulic's book is a series of essays about the difficulty of life in Eastern Europe from a woman's perspective. Communism collasped because it could not satisfy the demands of the population. Drakulic details many of those shortcomings in her book. Not only did Communism produce poor paint and bad toilet paper, it did not even produce tampons or other products for women. That is why Communism failed. Few history books will detail this perspective, but from a humanistic point of view, it is true.
The other perspective Drakulic tries to point out is that of a journalist pointing to the failures of both Communist and Western society. Drakulic portrays the homeless of NYC with the fact that in Communist society everybody is poor but not homeless. These perspectives are needed as well, because some aspects of Communism were indeed noble.
A good book about the failure of Communism. This book was a short informative read about a doomed political system.

Editorial Review:

Hailed by feminists as one of the most important contributions to women's studies in the last decade, this gripping, beautifully written account describes the daily struggles of women under the Marxist regime in the former republic of Yugoslavia.

State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 247 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

        “The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities,” said Theodore Roosevelt. State of Emergency will demonstrate that this is exactly what is happening to America and may now be unstoppable.
          The United States of 1960 was a First World nation, 90% of whose people traced their ancestry to Europe, 97% of whom spoke English. We were one nation and one people.
          That America is dead and gone. The deconstruction of America—along the lines of culture and values, language and faith, allegiance and loyalty—has begun. By 2050, Americans of European descent will be a minority in the United States. One hundred million Hispanics with ties of language and loyalty to Mexico and Latin America will be living here, concentrated in the Southwest.
          It is the thesis of State of Emergency that the Melting Pot is broken beyond repair, that assimilation and Americanization are not taking place, and that only action to seal and secure America’s borders to halt the flow of over a million legal and illegal immigrants a year, and to begin the Americanization of the tens of millions of aliens in our midst can save America. State of Emergency will tell us who is doing this to us, why they are doing it, why this is our last chance, and how, if the will is there, we can yet save America.

The Worst Person In the World: And 202 Strong Contenders

Keith Olbermann

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Total reviews: 143 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The stinkers, the rascals, the reprobates. . . and the just plain dumb.

(Yes, Bill, he's talking about you.)

Geraldo Rivera. The Coca-Cola Company. Victoria Gotti. Tom Cruise. Various members of the Bush administration. All have earned the dishonor of "Worst Person in the World," awarded by MSNBC's witty and controversial reporter Keith Olbermann on his nightly MSNBC show Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Now, he brings all his bronze, silver, and gold medalists together in this wildly entertaining collection that reveals just how twisted people can be—and how much fun it is to call them out on it. Plus, he reveals the winner of the most coveted award of all: "Worst in Show."

From tongue-in-cheek observations to truly horrific accounts, Olbermann skewers both the mighty and the meek, the well-known and the anonymous for their misdeeds, including:

Ann Coulter, for, among other things, calling Muslims "ragheads" in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington

22-year-old Ronald MacDonald, who was accused of theft at his place of employment . . . Wendy's

Barbara Bush, for making a generous donation to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund earmarked exclusively for the purchase of computer software . . . software sold by her son, Neil

Selected Writings

Karl Marx

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Excellent 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 9 people found this review helpful.

I'm taking anthropology in College, and Marx has been a big influence in the studies. One of the required textbooks was this one. It was great. It goes deep into socilogical culture analysis, communism, and religion.

i would recommend this book to anyone!

let take a walk through social revolution 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 11 people found this review helpful.

Karl Marx is absolutely brilliant concerning his approach to peasant revolution. Such examples of his brilliance is China, Russia, Southeast Asia, and Cuba. Marx understood the importance of the proletarian's existence in the social order and food chain. In these selected writings, Marx discusses the manipulation of the proletarian by the bourgeois social class, the importance of a collectivist society, the failures of capitalism, the advantages of socialism, etc... Ultimately, Marx states that, with the exception of China, capitalism will evolve into perfect communism. He also states on page 175 10 characteristic of a capitalistic society evolving into communism: 1)abolition of land property and rent, 2)a progressive income tax, 3)abolition of all inheritance, 4)confiscation of property, 5)centralization of credit into the state, 6)centralization of communication, 7)state-owned businesses, 8)equal liability to all labor, 9)abolition of difference between town and country, and 10)free education in public schools. This book is an excellent edition to any student of political philosophy.

The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution

Bernard Bailyn

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Brilliant - for its time 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Bernard Bailyn's Ideological Origins of the American Revolution is a centerpiece in much, if not all, of contemporary historians' viewpoints and methodologies for understanding the philosophical constructs and ideological underpinnings of the American Revolution. It was, according to Bailyn and many learned historians, after this writing first appeared in 1967, a revolution of ideas. What Bailyn did was to read prodigious amounts of writings of the time, mostly in the form of pamphlets and synthesize the thoughts that were being discussed and written about at the time. Essentially, he put the revolution of ideas into the context of the time. That was, some forty years ago, revolutionary within of itself.

Many of today's more serious readers of the period have read much of Bailyn and Gordon Wood indirectly, if not directly reading their own work. Both have been that influential in the field. The "disappointment" in this book is caused by Bailyn's own success, ironically enough. It was his work, along with select others, who began to pay attention to history within its own context - that is what was occurring in life and politics at the time rather than a chronological and linear view of the time. More of an interdisciplinary viewpoint and, as such, more accessible to the reader. Since the time of its first publication, many others have emulated its style (a good idea) but made its rather seismic effects at the time, feel much less so today. Effectively so much hype over the years (deserved then and de rigor today) makes for more than a bit of a letdown for today's readers. That said, those truly interested in the ideas, the philosophies, and their interpretations and misinterpretations of the day are well served reading Bailyn. Others should approach the read with caution as it is fairly dense but filled with moments of sheer academic brilliance.

Editorial Review:

In this 25th anniversary edition, Bailyn has added a substantial essay, "Fulfillment", as a Postscript to the original text. In it he discusses the intense, nation-wide debate on the ratification of the constitution, stressing the continuities between that struggle over the foundations of the national government and the original principles of the Revolution. This study of the persistence of the nation's ideological origins adds a new dimension to the book and projects its meaning forward into vital present concerns. Bailyn is author of "The Ordeal of Thomas Hutchinson" which won the National Book Award and "Voyagers to the West" which won the Pulitzer Prize for History.

Exposing the Real Che Guevara: And the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him

Humberto Fontova

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Total reviews: 67 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The perfect conservative contrast to the upcoming movie about Che.

Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the mainstream media celebrate Ernesto “Che” Guevara as a saint, a sex symbol, and a selfless martyr. But their ideas about Che — whose face adorns countless T-shirts and posters — are based on the lies of Fidel Castro’s murderous dictatorship.

Che’s hipster fans are classic “useful idiots,” the name Stalin gave to foolish Westerners who parroted his lies about communism. And their numbers will only increase after a new biopic is released this fall, starring Benicio Del Toro.

But as Humberto Fontova reveals in this myth-shattering book, Che was actually a bloodthirsty executioner, a military bumbler, a coward, and a hypocrite. In fact, Che can be called the godfather of modern terrorism.

Fontova reveals:

• How he longed to destroy New York City with nuclear missiles.
• How he persecuted gays, blacks, and religious people.
• How he loved material wealth and private luxuries, despite his image as an ascetic.

Are Che fans like Angelina Jolie, Jesse Jackson, Carlos Santana, and Johnny Depp too ignorant to realize they’ve been duped? Or too anti-American to care?

None dare call it conspiracy

Gary Allen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Beware of "Socialism"! 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Differences between left and right totally dissolve when you get deeply into "conspiracy". At the beginning of this book Gary Allen describes the irrationality of believing in accidents and co- incidences; he contrasts the purposive/ conspiracist theory of history with accidentalist view. The accidental perspective explains historical change with reference to blind forces and historical tides, whereas the conspiracist believes that all of these hidden forces are of human agency; Allen refers to the "insider" dynasties of today, the Rothschilds, the Rockefellers, the Waburrgs and the Morgans and compares them to the power hungry elites of historical epochs, and men such as Julius Ceasar and Alexander the Great. He believes that the Anti Defamation League was set up just to protect the Rothschilds from criticism.

None Dare Call It Conspiracy was published in 1972. That the book was published at all is in itself quite surprising given Allen's theses. He believed then that the world was subject to a Communist/ Socialist conspiracy and rather surprisingly cites Nixon himself as an agent of this conspiracy. In Allen's view the protestors on the street were mere dupes, controlled by a ruling elite of "insiders" who were steadily moving politics to the left in order to consolidate their global ambitions. In my view Allen concentrates too much of his fire on "Socialism"; the "insiders" don't really care what the name of their system is as long as they are given free rein to exploit the masses and stifle awareness of political processes. Allen was one of the first to uncover the machinations of the Council on Foreign Relations a branch of the British Royal Institute of International Affairs which itself is a front for The Round Table Group, a New World Order group built on the fortune of Cecil Rhodes.

Allen details the way in which this hidden ruling elite buy off radicals and revolutionary governments bending them to their will. He gives an account of how in 1964, David Rockefeller "sacked" Nikita Krushchev. Hardly anything in the USSR was produced without US. patents and machinery. The USSR was sold American arms and components to kill US soldiers in Vietnam.

Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Political Issues

George McKenna, Stanley Feingold

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Editorial Review:

TAKING SIDES: CLASHING VIEWS ON POLITICAL ISSUES presents current controversial issues in a debate-style format designed to stimulate student interest and develop critical thinking skills. Each issue is thoughtfully framed with an issue summary, an issue introduction, and a postscript. An instructor�s manual with testing material is available for each volume. USING TAKING SIDES IN THE CLASSROOM is also an excellent instructor resource with practical suggestions on incorporating this effective approach in the classroom. Each TAKING SIDES reader features an annotated listing of selected World Wide Web sites and is supported by our student website, www.mhcls.com/online.

America at Odds

Edward I. Sidlow, Beth Henschen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Good intro text 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 7 people found this review helpful.

North Dakota State Univ uses this in its intro to American Gov't course. It is an easily readable text that covers everything that a government text should. Lots of links to the Internet are included as well, and the info is very up-to-date. Covers impeachment and everything else. I'll bet that the next edition includes the whole 2000 election fiasco. I only noticed one error, but that's probably due to the fact that I live in the state referenced.

Editorial Review:

Known for its provocative and engaging issues approach, AMERICA AT ODDS, 6e, now features a groundbreaking new magazine-style format that greatly enhances its visual appeal and readability while remaining affordable and convenient. This unique text provides a memorable and effective introduction to American government by focusing on the current and historical conflicts and controversies that define America as a nation. AMERICA AT ODDS combines compelling content, innovative design elements, and powerful teaching tools to help you discover and refine your opinions through active discussion and debate of essential topics in American government and politics.

Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal (7th Edition) (MySearchLab Series 15% off)

Terence Ball, Richard Dagger

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Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Poltical Ideologies as a textbook 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I am currently using this book in a Honors American Political Science course at Georgia State University. This book is very informative and does not add superfluous information like most textbooks do. However, there are some terms in the text that we as a class have found to be a bit contradictory; such as the term "individual conservative". This seems to be an oxymoron and my professor actually contacted Ball who just basically dodged the question...

Editorial Review:

The extensively revised new edition of this bestselling text continues to provide an accessible overview of the major political ideologies, their origins, and their development. In addition to examining the major "isms" -- liberalism, conservatism, socialism, and fascism -- the book offers readers the history, structure, supporting arguments, and internal complexities of these and recently emerging ideologies. The text utilizes a fourfold framework -- a definition of "ideology" in terms of the four functions ideologies perform -- within which to compare, contrast, and analyze the various ideologies. In addition, the book also shows how each ideology interprets "democracy" (which the authors characterize as an ideal rather than an ideology) and "freedom." In examining the latter notion, the authors analyze each ideology's view of freedom in terms of agent, obstacle, and goal.