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Light (but intense) reading on a terribly important subject
O'Reilly's "Culture Warrior" is akin to the first shot at Bunker Hill.The book will not be the seminal battle of the war between the traditional and progressive camps, but it is an opening salvo that many will hear.O'Reilly's book reaches out to every citizen, taps them on the shoulder, and says: "pay attention".
Well documented
You can't lose with the facts.I think Bill is milder than in previous books but nontheless makes very good arguments as to why there is a largely unspoken culture war going on right under our noses.
Progressive Secularism versus Traditionalism

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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    2. Audiobooks    3. Conservatism    4. Essays    5. General    6. Mass media    7. Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism    8. Political Science    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Public Policy - Cultural Policy    11. Social aspects    12. Social values    13. U.S. - Contemporary Politics    14. United States    15. Political Science / General   

Reviews (2)

Excellent and Informative
Dr. Carson has done an excellent job covering the history and philosophy of the U.S. Government.
The most essential modern book on American government
Now out of print and available only as a series of audiotapes, � Basic American Government � was initially published as a massive 480-page volume, not counting the notes, glossary, index, and the 60 pages of firsthanddocuments such as the Declaration of Independence, The Federalist N�10 orthe Constitution itself. Its author, Clarence Carson, is the author of morethan 500 articles and about 15 fifteen books, including a six-volumehistory of the United States.Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Other    2. Audiobooks    3. Government - U.S. Government    4. History    5. Political science    6. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction   

Editorial Review

The life and times of Abraham Lincoln have been analyzed and dissected in countless books. Do we need another Lincoln biography? In Read more

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The Power of Patience
Lincoln has been the focus of seemingly endless analysis, yet Doris Kearns Goodwin offers a fresh and illuminating perspective.By focusing on the men around the president, Goodwin portrays Lincoln as a remarkable judge of human character, a consummate conciliator, and a man of remarkable wit.Goodwin obviously writes well, although her spotlight on so many players does confuse the reader a bit.She is a talented historian, and this is another solid piece of work.

Lincoln's strength in humility
Although at first I did not understand why writing about Lincoln's cabinet members was going to be revealing about Lincoln himself, I found myself pleasantly surprised.
WHEN THE MEN AND THE MOMENT MET
During this election cycle of 2006 I have been asking myself a question. When was the last time leftist could have unambiguously supported a Republican or Democratic Party candidate. As indicate below the clear choice is the Lincoln-Johnson ticket in 1864. By a happy coincidence Doris Kearn Goodwin's book under review here provides more than enough ammunition to confirm that opinion. Normally, my concerns as a fighter for socialism and hers as a fawning devotee of the New Deal, Fair Deal and New Frontier eras of the Democratic Party are miles apart. Here we can, at least for this moment, agree that Lincoln, as a man and politician was worthy of support by militants and those not so militant. Make no mistake Lincoln and his compatriots were big men who confronted big tasks. And did it. Underlining Goodwin's thesis is a belief that what passes for today's Republican leaders pale in contrast. Again we agree. Here's why.
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    2. Audio - Autobiography / Biography    3. Audiobooks    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. General    8. Historical - U.S.    9. Political    10. Presidents    11. Presidents & Heads of State    12. U.S. Political History    13. U.S. President    14. United States    15. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Editorial Review

Well timed to coincide with Ken Burns's documentary (on which the author served as a consultant), this new biography doesn't aim to displace the many massive tomes about America's third president that already weigh down bookshelves. Instead, as suggested by the subtitle--"The Character of Thomas Jefferson"--Ellis searches for the "living, breathing person" underneath the icon and tries to elucidate his actual beliefs. Jefferson's most ardent admirers may find this perspective too critical, but Ellis's portrait of a complex, sometimes devious man who both sought and abhorred power has the ring of truth. ... Read more

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Jefferson Non Scio Vos
"American Sphinx" is not the place to begin a study of the life of Thomas Jefferson. In the introduction, Joseph Ellis comments that before joining the plethora of published analyses and biographies of Jefferson, the historian had better be prepared to bring some new insights to the life of this most revered of the Founders. Ellis chose for his subtitle, "The Character of Thomas Jefferson", and it is Jefferson's character that Ellis explores, in snippets that leap forward from scene to scene in Jefferson's life, as if Ellis were a time-traveler checking in periodically on his subject while Jefferson the man moves through a life that is now considered hallowed history. Ellis assumes that his reader is already familiar with the larger moments of Jefferson's life, as well as the surrounding history, and so skips over these. The reader who is new to Jefferson, therefore, should start elsewhere.
A Unique look at Jefferson
Prior to his Pulitzer Prize winning examination of the revolutionary generation in "Founding Brothers," Joseph Ellis tackled the biography of probably the most difficult member, Thomas Jefferson, in "American Sphinx." As Ellis points out in the beginning of the book Jefferson remains one of the most popular founders as well as one that has been adopted across the political spectrum. Ellis sets off to discover what Jefferson's actual beliefs were and how they changed during the course of his life. Rather then presenting a regular biography of Jefferson, the readers are presented with "snapshots" of Jefferson at various times in his life - in 1776 as he is preparing to write the Declaration of Independence, in the 1780s as the first United States minister to France, in the mid-1790s when he returns to Monticello after retiring as Secretary of State, in 1801 at his first inaugural and in the 1810s during his famous correspondence with John Adams. Each "snapshot" is not limited to a specific year but gives a survey of Jefferson's life during the period and how his political thought was evolving.
Vintage
This truly is vintage Joseph Ellis. I've enjoyed all of his books, particularly his writing. The fact you are reading this is proof you are interested in Jefferson, so you ought to get this book. Highest recommendation.
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Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Historical - U.S.    4. Political    5. Presidents & Heads of State    6. Unabridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    7. United States - Revolutionary War   

Editorial Review

A consummate political operative, Ed Rollins has ridden high and ridden low. The political director of Ronald Reagan's White House in 1981, he enjoyed overwhelming success. But the weirdness of the Ross Perot campaign sent him reeling, and his stint running Christine Todd Whitman's gubernatorial campaign resulted in a grand jury investigation. Through it all, Rollins picked up a wealth of juicy and humorous material, which he is willing to share--holding nothing back. He calls Perot a "paranoid lunatic on an ego trip" and Arianna Huffington "ruthless and unscrupulous." An enjoyable and educational book from an outspoken insider who reveals the viciousness of modern politics. ... Read more

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Ed Rollins sets the record straight
In Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms: My Life in American Politics, Ed Rollins details his careers as a Political Operative learning the trade from California Democratic Speaker Jess Unruh, his philosophical transformation into a conservative Republican, alignment with the Reagan revolution and his time as a Senior White House Staffer and heavyweight Political Consultant.
The Real World
Being a political operative seems like a glamorous profession.While there certainly are perks -- there are an equal number of disadvantages to this career choice.Rollins' depiction of what it's like to be a campaign manager is the truest I've read.It's not always a glamorous lifestyle.Even the best campaigns are full of fast food, headaches and heartaches (now there's a title)! Rollins does a great job of telling "the real" story of being a campaign manager...the good, the bad, and the ugly...

ROTFLMAO!!!!
Warning: There's quite a bit of foul language in this book.
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Subjects:  1. 1989-1993    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Audiobooks    4. Biography    5. Political consultants    6. Politics and government    7. United States    8. History / General   

Editorial Review

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Friedman's history is great, but "Flat" has its drawbacks
Friedman's substantial, "The World Is Flat" is a summary of the dramatic changes in the economy of the world in the first few years of the 21st century.The book is full of great stories from all over the world that shows how, while the geography of our planet hasn't changed, that geography is becoming less and less an obstacle for business.The author shows, in a fairly amusing way, how certain dates in history (e.g. 11/9/89 - When the Walls Came Down and the Windows Went Up) represent major milestones in the progress to a flat world.These events, called flatteners, helped usher in the new globalization (version 3.0), which is exploding and resulting in a new world economy where India and China are on the same production and creative level as the United States.
The future is here, and it is starting to be evenly distributed
I have to admit I only read this book based on the fact it was topping all the best seller lists. I found it to be a worth while read. Even though I follow technology closely, I wasn't really aware of some of the points that the author made, so hopefully many will pick up something from this book. Many parts of the book I had difficulties relating to, but the new insights it provided were defently worth it.

How to destroy the United States 101 - What the book should be titled
It's a shame that US leaders have based a lot of its US policies on this book.It's like they want to make the US North Mexico or some Third World country. Really it's traitorous.
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    2. General    3. Globalization    4. International - General    5. Political Science    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    8. Social Science / General   

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Editorial Review

What do Russia, Zaire, Los Angeles, and--most likely--your community have in common? Each is woefully unprepared to deal with a major epidemic, whether it's caused by bioterrorism or by new or reemerging diseases resistant to antibiotics. After the publication of her critically acclaimed Read more

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Betrayal of Trust
I received what looked like a nicely preserved used copy.
promising start but poor finish
If horror writer Stephen King ever suffers from writer's block, he should read this book's opening chapter, where Pulitzer Prize winner Laurie Garrett describes traveling into the plague ravished Indian city of Surat. The description, which belongs more in the Book of Revelations than in a chronicle of modern day health care, is stomach churning. Irula tribesmen are paid to catch the plague carrying rats - and are encouraged to eat their prey. The rats, being the breeding grounds for all conceivable types of plagues and pestilences that they are, quickly turn the Irula predators into their prey. Even as the yesinia pestis bacterium and its bubonic plague cousin were devastating the city, Surat's Aids-racked prostitutes continued to ply their trade. Life goes on, even in the midst of death.
Betrayal of Trust
I really enjoyed reading this book, so much so that I assigned it as a text for a course in Issues in International Health. The writing is clear, and the topics addressed are timely and detailed. As a text, it would be better to have more and shorter chapters.As a source of information, it is excellent. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio - Nonfiction    2. Audio Adult: Books On Tape    3. Epidemiology    4. Medical policy    5. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    6. Popular works    7. Public Health    8. Public Policy - General    9. World health   

Editorial Review

Nearly a year after the presidential election of 2004, Al Franken is still checking facts, exposing lies, and trying to clear the record as he sees it. Sneering at President Bush's declaration of a mandate after a two-and-a-half percent victory, he deconstructs Bush's 2004 platform of "fear, smear, and queers," and explains how the president has done some flip-flopping of his own. He offers comment on well-known stories, including the Terri Schiavo case, and some more obscure, such as reports of forced prostitution, indentured servitude, and squalid conditions at clothing factories in Saipan (which is part of the American Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). Franken focuses on Tom DeLay's connection to the territory and his efforts to prevent bills from being passed that would have required Saipan to follow U.S. labor laws. Iraq, too, is discussed, from its planning stages to the huge sum of money currently unaccounted for, including $8.8 billion missing from the Coalition Provisional Authority's coffers.Read more

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So I went Franken on Franken and did a little checking of my own with a LexisNexis account
So I went Franken on Franken and did a little checking of my own with a LexisNexis account and I have to say that he is right almost all of the time.Good for Al to tell people the truth.I felt connected to Al in so many ways greater than just a reader.I felt as if I were sipping coffee with the man and listening to his political tirades and family anecdotes.
A call to action
I was a little disappointed with Franken's last book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them (A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right). I thought it was too jokey, too silly. There was plenty of important stuff in there, but it was wrapped in a marshmallow coating of humor that prevented some people from taking it seriously, and allowed others to dismiss it outright. Not this time.
A brilliant piece with a ray of hope for our hijacked nation
This was the first Al Franken book I had ever read. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect. I'd heard of him once or twice, but I'm just a teenager, so I thought he was just another political writer. This book changed all of that. I am an avid reader, and I tore through it in one night's read. When I was done, I thought about what I had read, and went back to read it again.
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Subjects:  1. Conservatism    2. Government - Executive Branch    3. Government - U.S. Government    4. Humor    5. Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism    6. Political aspects    7. Right and left (Political science)    8. Satire And Humor    9. Topic - Political    10. Truthfulness and falsehood    11. Unabridged Audio - Misc.Nonfiction    12. United States    13. Fiction / Humorous    14. Bargain   

Editorial Review

Henry Kissinger brought a near-obsessive sense of secrecy to the execution of his duties as secretary of state during the administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and took steps to ensure that this secrecy would continue even after he left office. Much of his paperwork is under seal at the Library of Congress, making use of a loophole in the Freedom of Information Act to keep the material away from prying researchers. Read more

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Very useful for digging into certain Cold War negotiations
When this book came out it caused a bit of a stir.However, as the editors note, a careful review of the material actual tends toward moderation.Supporters can see a bit to criticize and the critics can see things aren't quite as black as they had supposed.I found the transcripts to be fascinating because we get to read conversations that were the subject of much debate and speculation for the past several decades.
Fascinating
Although much of Burr's analysis leaves a lot to be desired, this book is a must have for a first hand look at Kissinger's diplomatic legacy. There is still much information that has not been declassified and therefore _The Kissinger Transcripts_ presents only a partial picture at best, but Burr's compilation is well worth the effort to see Kissinger's many different diplomatic faces show themselves as he deals with different characters such as Mao, Brezhnev, Zhou Enlai, Gromyko, Deng Xiaoping and others. It is truly fascinating to examine the different rhetorical tactics employeed by Kissinger to suit his particular audience. Incidentally, this bit of genius appears to be lost upon Burr, and others too, who view these many Kissinger faces with a seeming lack of understanding and even think of it as somewhat contradictory. The guiding theme when examined as a whole, however, is that Kissinger worked toward the improvement of the position of the United States in the world power structure. There is no doubt that the opening of China, coupled with Kissinger's deft Middle East diplomacy, did just that. These transcripts shed some much needed light on the operations of perhaps the United States' greatest executor of foreign policy.

Essential reading on Foreign Policy
The lengths to which Kissinger went to recruit the Chinese on the American side in the Cold War are instructive to those who believe that America played its cards well on the international arena in the Cold War. Much of the story that William Burr has pieced together--quite admirably in my opinion--is sad reading from the American point of view. Less so, of course, from the Chinese perspective. At points, it is easy to forget which of the parties was the superpower, and which the third world nation rising from internal turmoil, economic collapse and a severely hostile international situation. It is particularly instructive to read this book in context of the question of dealing with China, a problem which America has grappled with fitfully over the past two decades. The roots of Chinese suspicion of "peaceful evolution" and "engagement" lie in their recollection of the avid wooing of China in the 1970s. Read more

Subjects:  1. 1969-1974    2. 1974-1977    3. Abridged Audio - Misc. Nonfiction    4. Audio - Nonfiction    5. Audio Adult: Other    6. Audiobooks    7. Foreign relations    8. International Relations - General    9. Political History    10. Political Science    11. Sources    12. United States    13. United States - 20th Century   

Editorial Review

A Rhodes scholar with a healthy ego, the young idealist George Stephanopoulos thought he was ready for the obscure governor of Arkansas. But soon after he signed on as his presidential-campaign manager, the odds of Clinton's triumph soared, and so did the chance for calamity via Gennifer Flowers and other scandals. Stephanopoulos scrambled behind the scenes, squelching rumors, spinning major news organizations, artfully knifing Clinton rivals, and second-guessing public opinion--lessons that would serve him well when Clinton won.Read more

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George Stephanopoulos' version of CYA
First, my standard disclaimer: I am a political moderate and social conservative. This book is an average look at what happens in political inner circles, specifically the Clinton white house. I was a little disappointed that Stephanopoulos did not take more risks to write about subjects that the general public did not already know. It seemed that much of the reason for the book was for the author to exonerate himself from any wrongdoing.

St. George And The Dragon
George Stephanopoulos' memoir of working in the White House during Bill Clinton's first term in office makes you feel like a fly on the wall of the Oval Office. Written in that hypersmart, jargon-fluent style familiar to "West Wing" viewers, "All Too Human" is an engaging, candid companion to readers of any political stripe, in part an impassioned defense of one of America's most infuriatingly bipolar personalities, in part a cautionary tale of power trumping principle.