Reviews (11)

Good explanation of a confusing subject
The book gives a good acccount of the various Islamic militant factions and their interactions. The opinions seemed a bit "armchair general" and opinionated at times, but they made several good points. I'd recommend the book although it had the following drawbacks for me:
PLACE IT IN A ZIPLOCK BAG AND PUT IT IN YOUR RUCKSACK!
First off, all John Poole's books should be read by the Secretary of Defense on down to the grunt in the field and more military outfits should go through his course. [...] Secondly, this particular book and his previous work Tactics of the Crescent Moon: Militant Muslim Combat Tactics should be MANDATORY READING for every soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan. If you're headed that way buy these books! Put them in a ziplock bag and place them in your rucksack. If you have a loved one who's deploying to these theaters of operation and they don't know about these books buy them these books! These books may very well save their lives!

The usual stupidity in high places
Pooles's books reminds me of "the Game Of Nations" by M. Copeland, which was published almost 50 years ago. In it Copeland quotes Nasser, the dictator of Egypt, as saying that originally he thought that US foreign policy was very subtle and devious, then he realized that it was simply very stupid.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Armed Forces    2. History    3. History - Military / War    4. Infantry drill and tactics    5. Military    6. Military - General    7. Military art and science    8. Military history    9. Political Science / Political Freedom & Security / Terrorism    10. Research    11. Technology / Military Science    12. Afghan War, 2001-    13. Afghanistan    14. Counterinsurgency    15. Insurgency    16. Iraq War, 2003    17. War on Terrorism, 2001-   

Editorial Review

Malcolm X's searing memoir belongs on the small shelf of great autobiographies. The reasons are many: the blistering honesty with which he recounts his transformation from a bitter, self-destructive petty criminal into an articulate political activist, the continued relevance of his militant analysis of white racism, and his emphasis on self-respect and self-help for African Americans. And there's the vividness with which he depicts black popular culture--try as he might to criticize those lindy hops at Boston's Roseland dance hall from the perspective of his Muslim faith, he can't help but make them sound pretty wonderful. These are but a few examples. Read more

Reviews (265)

eye opener
Mike Young obviously did not read the book.I read it 3 times and it changed my life forever.The book clearly states that it is the autobiography of Malcolm X AS TOLD to Alex Haley and if you had read the book yourself you would realize that Malcolm was simply telling the story to Alex Haley.He was too busy to sit down and write the book himself and predicted his own murder in the last pages.Maybe you, Mike Young, should take on the challenge of being a thinking human being and read it on your own with an objective mind and then come back and tell us your real thoughts.

People Can Change!
Simply, one of the most amazing stories of change ever told in the English language - and still one of the most mis-understood men in the 20th century.

A tribute to Black Manhood
Some books can change your perception, but only a few can wipe out age-old assumptions, and force you to rethink everything you thought you knew. The question of RACE is at the heart of the American society, and in this book, not only African-Americans, but Americans of all colors, black, white, red and yellow, will find themselves reassessing what racism entails, for Malcolm X life, is a poignant testimony of the black man's struggle against both individual and institutional racism.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Afro-Americans    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Black Muslims    7. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    8. Islam - General    9. People of Color    10. Political    11. Political Freedom & Security - Civil Rights    12. Biography & Autobiography / People of Color    13. Biography: political    14. Black studies    15. USA   

Editorial Review

"A spectre is haunting Europe," Karl Marx and Frederic Engels wrote in 1848, "the spectre of Communism." This new edition of Read more

Reviews (236)

Romanticism.
This book did not start it all, consider all the other communist publications of the time period. Also the artistic movement at the time, which was the romantic era. That has nothing to do with lovey duvey romance of today, and Karl Marx would have hated all the "dictators" that have enslaved so many people. If you cant see that obviously you havent read it, thats why it cannot work. Its too perfect of an overall view of people and the economy for equality. Romanticism.

PRESENT AT THE FOUNDATION OF MODERN COMMUNISM
If you are a revolutionary, a radical or merely a liberal activist you must come to terms with the theory outlined in the Communist Manifesto. Today's activists are obviously not the first political activists to face this challenge. Radicals, revolutionaries and liberals have had to come to terms with the Manifesto at least since 1848 when it was first published and that same necessity; perhaps surprisingly to some given the changes in the political landscape since then, is true today. Why surprisingly? On the face of it given the political situation today it would appear somewhat absurd to make such a claim about the necessity of coming to terms with the overriding need for the revolutionary overturn of the capitalist order outlined in the Manifesto. With the collapses of the Soviet Union and the Soviet-influenced Eastern European states about fifteen years ago, which were supposedly based on Marxist concepts, one would think that Marxism was a dead letter. But hear me out. Even the less far-sighted apologists for the international capitalist order are now worrying about the increasing gap between rich and poor, not only between the so-called first and third worlds but also within the imperialist metropolitican centers themselves. Nowhere is that more evident that in the United States where the gap has dramatically increased over the last thirty years. Thus, despite the carping of the `death of communism' theorists after the decisive capitulation of international Stalinism an objective criterion exists today to put the question of class struggle and of the validity of a materialist concept of history back on the front burner.
Hate Litterature
When I read this, I was not expecting to become a commie, but at least I was hoping for something more compelling than the pure hatred of people who have more than others and the racist concsipracy theories (especially re Jews) that the authors came up with.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Communism    2. Economic Conditions    3. History & Theory - Radical Thought    4. Philosophy    5. Political    6. Political Ideologies - Communism & Socialism    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Fiction / Classics   

Editorial Review

An absolutely brilliant analysis of the ways in which individuals and organizations of the media are influenced to shape the social agendas of knowledge and, therefore, belief. Contrary to the popular conception of members of the press as hard-bitten realists doggedly pursuing unpopular truths, Herman and Chomsky prove conclusively that the free-market economics model of media leads inevitably to normative and narrow reporting. Whether or not you've seen the eye-opening movie, buy this book, and you will be a far more knowledgeable person and much less prone to having your beliefs manipulated as easily as the press. ... Read more

Reviews (78)

More conspiracy theory propaganda
Wake up and understand who controls the media and who they vote for.Why would these Dem voting owners and employees possibly push a Republican Agenda?Can you possibly answer that?
ed herman's a genius
Ed Herman has often written quietly behind Chomsky's bigger name but he's no less important a messenger and translator of American media and foreign policy bias and hypocrisy. Manufacturing Consent is a withering analysis of these "inconvenient truths."Herman and Chomsky's important writings, both as collaborators and individuals, have been largely ignored by the mainstream press for the last 40 years, affirming, ironically, their very thesis. If you read this book undefensively, putting aside your biases, you will experience Kierkegaard's "fear and trembling." If you read Ed Herman's other books, you'll appreciate why he's not more widely known, but should be.

A very important book
In Manufacturing Consent, Hermann and Chomsky present a very powerful institutional analysis of the media.The authors put forth a "propaganda model" which outlines various ways in which the media filter information to serve the interest of the powerful elites.Although the propaganda model makes sense from a logical and theoretical standpoint (given the economic constraints faced in the news industry), the real power of the book are case studies that provide near bullet-proof support for the model.In fact, the model is introduced in the first chapter, while the remainder of the book is a series of case studies.Even the most skeptical reader (as I was) will be pretty hard pressed to poke holes in the model after the gauntlet of case studies it is put through.Because this book tells us so much about the objectivity of the news we receive from the agenda setting news sources, I honestly believe that Manufacturing Consent is one of the most important books ever written.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Current Affairs    2. Government - U.S. Government    3. Mass Communication Media And Politics    4. Mass Media    5. Mass media and propaganda    6. Media Studies    7. Ownership    8. Political Process - General    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Politics/International Relations    11. Propaganda    12. Current Events / Mass Media   

Editorial Review

The global power of soccer might be a little hard for Americans, living in a country that views the game with the same skepticism used for the metric system and the threat of killer bees, to grasp fully. But in Europe, South America, and elsewhere, soccer is not merely a pastime but often an expression of the social, economic, political, and racial composition of the communities that host both the teams and their throngs of enthusiastic fans. New Republic editor Franklin Foer, a lifelong devotee of soccer dating from his own inept youth playing days to an adulthood of obsessive fandom, examines soccer's role in various cultures as a means of examining the reach of globalization. Foer's approach is long on soccer reportage, providing extensive history and fascinating interviews on the Rangers-Celtic rivalry and the inner workings of AC Milan, and light on direct discussion of issues like world trade and the exportation of Western culture. But by creating such a compelling narrative of soccer around the planet, Foer draws the reader into these sport-mad societies, and subtly provides the explanations he promises in chapters with titles like "How Soccer Explains the New Oligarchs", "How Soccer Explains Islam's Hope", and "How Soccer Explains the Sentimental Hooligan." Foer's own passion for the game gives his book an infectious energy but still pales in comparison to the religious fervor of his subjects. His portraits of legendary hooligans in Serbia and Britain, in particular, make the most die-hard roughneck New York Yankees fan look like a choirboy in comparison. Beyond the thugs, Foer also profiles Nigerian players living in the Ukraine, Iranian women struggling against strict edicts to attend matches, and the parallel worlds of Brazilian soccer and politics from which Pele emerged and returned. Foer posits that globalization has eliminated neither local cultural identities nor violent hatred among fans of rival teams, and it has not washed out local businesses in a sea of corporate wealth nor has it quelled rampant local corruption. Readers with an interest in international economics are sure to like Read more

Reviews (59)

Please stay out of the field...!!!
This book is a bigotry masqueraded behind the veil of a "scholarly work." Every rule of rigorous work has been violated in this piece of work building on the darkest but forever smallest side of "soccer." Wasting this great opportunity to reveal the multi-dimensional power of the game the author invests his bitterness against the sport page-after-page. A sweet revenge for "soccer" rejecting him in his early age? Well... my advise to the author... keep on running away from the ball sir... and please stay away from it!!! You are RUINING THE GAME!!!

Insightful
This is a very insightful book. I have been a big soccer fan all my life and went to hundreds of games when I still lived in Europe, but this book contains many facts I had never heard of. Some chapters are better and more fascinating than others and the link of soccer to globalization seems to be artificial at times. I found the thoughts on soccer in the U.S. (last chapter) especially interesting.
Perhaps the appeal of soccer is that, for the moment, it exists in the happy realm between intelligence and pure fandom
Franklin Foer is a staff writer at the New Republic and his writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and many others...In his book, How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization: Soccer has become a favorite pastime of the American intellectual. What brought soccer to the smart set? Well, one could simply argue that soccer's time had come. But while much of soccer-love may come from nostalgia, a bit of it feels like it is self-styled. It's fair to assume that a great many of the new wave of soccer fans came to the sport in their teens and 20s--the lack of satellite TV and the Internet making the international game difficult to follow until then. Unlike those who had baseball thrust upon them since birth and never paused to adequately consider the implications, soccer fans were liable to ask themselves, What would being a soccer fan say about me? Well, it would say a lot of things, many of them flattering. Taking an interest in soccer indicates a certain cosmopolitanism; the game is an international one. A rooting interest in a British club like Arsenal might indicate Anglophilia, which never hurts in polite society. Soccer-love also says--and this is perhaps most important--that you reject the overweening hype and made-for-TV packaging that surrounds American sports for something that, in theory, approaches a purer experience. "If you're an intellectual, the kitsch that shrouds, say, football is almost intolerable," says Franklin Foer. "If you look at a European soccer crowd, all the shouting is coming organically from the crowd itself--that's so much more appealing." Soccer, largely divorced from shrieking announcers and Jumbotrons, feels more like an artistic endeavor than a television show. In a weak moment, the soccer intellectual might even admit that the sport's stars are aspirational male role models. Most soccer players are not human grotesqueries like NFL stars or attenuated beanpoles like NBA players. They're possessed of attainable physiques, strong and compact--the kind that might impress intellectuals and the women who love them. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Globalization    3. Popular Culture - General    4. Soccer    5. Sociology Of Sports    6. Sports    7. Sports & Recreation    8. Sports & Recreation / General   

Reviews (9)

The Great Turning
In The Great Turning, From Empire to Earth Community, author David Korten hits on the rarely discussed conflict facing Humankind in the 21st Century, the struggle between the forces of materialism and the forces of spirituality. Although David does not define it as such, he expresses it in his excellent analysis of the Five Orders of Human Consciousness.
"We are the ones we have been waiting for." ~ David Korten
Book Review:
Deep insight and direction for hope
David Korten has one of today's most experienced and compelling voices on the big picture: how we got ourselves into the current state of the world and how we must evolve and alter our frame of thinking to survive and thrive together on this planet. I couldn't wait to read the book and am just beginning a second read to absorb even more. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Globalization    2. International cooperation    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Social ethics    7. Sustainable development    8. International business    9. Political Science / Globalization   

Editorial Review

Bernard Lewis is the West's greatest historian and interpreter of theNear East. Books such as Read more

Reviews (250)

Please, America, read this book!
This book was recommended to me by a liberal historian. Since then I've noticed that the Bush administration sought Bernard Lewis's advice at one point. The reason everyone respects him is that this historian in his nineties who has been studying the Middle East since the 1940s knows things we all ought to know about Muslim civilizations. But we were not taught any of these things in school--not even college. Not even graduate school, for most of us. Answers to theconflict between the West and the Middle East will be hard to find, but if we don't even understand the context, things will just get worse and worse. So please read this great book, and then go on to read more books by Bernard Lewis!

Unobjective, cowardly, apologetics
There is no doubting Bernard Lewis is a capable scholar. However he is one of the pioneers of the wave of apologetic Historians who are rewriting history. Basicaly, history to Bernard Lewis is: Muslims good Christians bad, all things from the west are bad and all things eastern good, all the worlds wrongs are the wests fault. He seems to beleive that the islamic invasions were paeceful and did not involve mass forced conversions and slaughter of non muslims. He is a totally unobjective historian who is guily of putting forward a mythical and fantisical account concerning the birth and rise of islam. He is directly part responsible for legitmising the modern wave of Islamic terrorism agasinst all non muslims today. He never questions the islamic sources authencicty and disregards all other non muslim sources on the rise of Islam. He has thrown away any opportuntiy to fairly study Islamic and Arab history. Bsically a coward and an apologist.
What Went Wrong With the Writing of This Book?

Read more

Subjects:  1. 1517-    2. History    3. History & Theory - General    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Middle East    7. Middle East - General    8. History / Middle East    9. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (27)

Tip of the Spear
Gary Schroen was less that 3 months away from retirement from the CIA on 9/11. He'd had a successful career there in "Operations", the guys who do the actual spying (as opposed to "Analysis", the guys who try and figure out what everything means), mostly dealing with the Middle East, and had wound up a Deputy Division head. For 2 years in the early 90s he was the Station Chief in Kabul, Afghanistan, and later in the decade he'd flown into the Northern Alliance's territory and met Ahmed Shah Masoud, the charismatic leader of that group who was assassinated just before 9/11. He had extensive contacts with various friendly figures in Afghan politics, speaks at least one of the local languages, and of course has lots of experience. As a result, 15 days after 9/11, Schroen was flown into the Northern Alliance's Panshir Valley on a CIA helicopter along with a half dozen other CIA guys, various laptops, satellite phones, and radios, a crate of guns, and $3 million in cash. His orders were to find and kill Osama bin Laden, and topple the Taliban government. This book is his account of the mission, how it went, and the adventures they had along the way.
5-star op, 4-star account
This is a four-star account of a five-star operation. Schroen perpetuates a few errors, but (as an earlier reviewer on this site noted)in most instances it would take a committed Afghanophile to spot them. He largely dispels the miasma of Pakistan-fostered, western-perpetuated slander that has besmirched the reputation of the anti-Taliban resistance, the so-called Northern Alliance. He makes it clear the alliance, even after the 9/9/01 assassination of their charismatic leader Ahmad Shah Masood, were a responsibly and effectively led grassroots movement, heroic in their resistance to tyranny.
Superb book
This is an excellent book and story!Make sure you also read, JAWBREAKER, which is essentially Part II to FIRST IN.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Afghan War, 2001-    2. Central Intelligence Agency    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. Intelligence Operations    6. Military    7. Military - Intelligence/Espionage    8. Military - Persian Gulf War    9. Personal narratives, American    10. Political Freedom & Security - Intelligence    11. Secret service    12. United States    13. United States.    14. Afghanistan    15. Asian / Middle Eastern history: postwar, from c 1945 -    16. History / Military / Persian Gulf War    17. Terrorism, freedom fighters, armed struggle    18. USA   

Editorial Review

On December 9, 1979, smallpox, the most deadly human virus, ceased to exist in nature. After eradication, it was confined to freezers located in just two places on earth: the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and the Maximum Containment Laboratory in Siberia. But these final samples were not destroyed at that time, and now secret stockpiles of smallpox surely exist. For example, since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the subsequent end of its biological weapons program, a sizeable amount of the former Soviet Union's smallpox stockpile remains unaccounted for, leading to fears that the virus has fallen into the hands of nations or terrorist groups willing to use it as a weapon. Scarier yet, some may even be trying to develop a strain that is resistant to vaccines. This disturbing reality is the focus of this fascinating, terrifying, and important book.Read more

Features

• Bargain Price

Reviews (105)

Smallpox, Big Issue
Few writers have the talent to parlay a non-fiction work about viruses into a mass-market paperback, but Richard Preston has done it twice."The Demon in the Freezer" focuses on many scary aspects of smallpox, and delights in the details of our demise should we encounter our old foe.For us today, reading about the skin completely separating from the body due to a halo of pus is both repulsive and fascinating; but the world once had an everyday vocabulary for these symptoms.With little natural immunity left around the globe and the smallpox shot the most dangerous immunization you can take, "The Demon in the Freezer" points to a nasty vulnerability.
Just awful!
I was so excited to find this book after reading Richard Preston's other novel, The Hot Zone. I found this book to be written extremely inconsistently. While reading this book it seems as though Preston is changing from writing to a mature, educated audience to writing for an audience of five year-olds. He takes the time out to describe each new character in a bland way. His descriptions of these people consist solely of their hair and eye colors, stature, and way of speaking. WE DON'T CARE! I wish he had spent more time on the actual story instead of digressing. He also added random sections including one accusing Iraq of harboring weapons grade smallpox without proof. I was thoroughly disappointed in this novel! The only reason why I finished it was because I was too far into it to stop when I realized how much I truly hated it! If you liked The Hot Zone, don't read this, it's awful.

Truth CAN be scarier than fiction
In his frighting followup to his bestselling effort The Hot Zone, Richard Preston writes a chilling and honest examination of the history and the efforts to eradicate the smallpox virus.What makes this book work is the authors unflinching portrayal of the effects of the smallpox virus, it's resiliancy and the possible consequences of what could happen in the future if we are not careful or if the virus could fall into the wrong hands. Although not quite as chilling as The Hot Zone this is still a very effective bio-terror thriller. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bioterrorism    2. Chemical And Biological Warfare    3. Infectious Diseases    4. Life Sciences - Biochemistry    5. Life Sciences - Biology - Microbiology    6. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    7. Popular works    8. Prevention    9. Science    10. Science/Mathematics    11. Smallpox    12. Terrorism    13. Science / Biochemistry    14. Bargain   

Editorial Review

Read more

Reviews (215)

Outdated junk.
This book was relevant at the time it came out, if nothing for the fact it helped pump the patriotism and zeal to go to war.
A tame book that adds nothing of value
I work for a book summary company.One of the books selected for summary is this book.
Like Being a Fly on the Wall in the White House
Bush at War was the first book that I have read by Bob Woodward. Of course, I am somewhat familiar with Woodward's work and his reputation as one of the greatest living journalists. But, "current events" is not a subject that I normally look for when choosing literature. The idea behind Bush at War intrigued me though. Here we have a presidential administration obviously very fond of secrecy, but they are also willing to grant extensive interviews to Woodward -- one of the reporters that exposed the covert goings-on of another secretive White House. My curiosity was peaked.
Read more

Subjects:  1. (George Walker),    2. 1946-    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Bush, George W    5. Decision making    6. Government - U.S. Government    7. Military leadership    8. National security    9. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    10. Political Process - Leadership    11. Political Science    12. Politics / Current Events    13. September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001    14. U.S. Practical Politics    15. U.S. President    16. United States    17. United States - 21st Century    18. War on Terrorism, 2001-    19. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    20. Interviews    21. Political Science / Government / National    22. Political leaders & leadership    23. USA   

Reviews (12)

Recommendations were correct
After reading how many experienced facilitators recommended this book, I decided to give it a try.They were right; it is excellent.I am extremely pleased and expect to use this well planned and organized book as my first resource when looking for exercises for the groups I am facilitating.

My Core Facilitation Book
If you have only one facilitation book in your library, choose this one. Kaner and friends distill the fundamental issues of group facilitation, present it in clear language and bring it to life with simple, effective illustrations. I've used this book with colleagues who don't speak English using the images alone. I have bought and given it away countless times.

Ideal for teaching others how to facilitate a meeting
I've been facilitating meetings for years, and gained an intuitive wisdom about how to best do so.This book breaks down common practices in to useful tables, charts and definitions, making it easy to explain to others how and why I manage meetings the way I do.I also learned things from the book that will improve my own facilitation, so it has great info not only for beginners but also for veteran facilitators. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Business/Economics    3. Consensus (Social sciences)    4. Decision Making & Problem Solving    5. Employee participation    6. Group decision-making    7. Handbooks, manuals, etc    8. Management    9. Management - General    10. Management decision making    11. Political Science / General    12. Social, group or collective psychology    13. Group facilitation   

Reviews (10)

Awesome Book!!!
I was so moved by this book, this is truly one of the best books I have ever read!!!It was so encouraging to see these women getting through this horrific event by leaning on one another.This truly makes you appreciate your life and thankful for the little things each and everyday.
Inspirational
I was truly moved by this book. I initially wasn't going to purchase it as I thought it might be too depressing. Not at all! What a beautiful testimony to their spouses and to their friendship with each other. Makes you appreciate every girlfriend you have! GREAT BOOK!

Truly Inspired
I was truly inspired by this memoir.These women are solid.I can only hope to be as dignified and sincere as they have have proven to be in their moment of despair. Throughout reading the book I realized I want to and need to appreciate my husband and my life more fully.These women represent love and honor. Their husbands are surely proud of the women they married.I almost do not want to recognize this for fear that some kind of loss or tradgedy will strike me or my family.I cannot help myself.I am moved and must acknowledge it.Please update us to the new chapters in your lives.I will be anxious to hear aboutAnn's (husband Kevin?) and her beautiful kids. Julia's (possible child from china?) Claudia's great future with her sincere husband, John and Pattie's new house and sale of her old house in the Hampton's.Oh, Lola, too.Thank goodness for Lola.LYMI.Amy ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography And Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. New York    7. New York (State)    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Psychological aspects    10. September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001    11. Widows    12. Women    13. Family & Relationships / General   

Reviews (4)

Not For the Weak of Heart
Servant-Leadership is rapidly becoming a popularized term and a popular concept to bandy about in many circles.
A Challenging Read
If you are looking for a leadership book with a different approach from the usualleadership book, and one that is intellectually stimulating and thought-provoking, then you should definitely read this book of collected talks, essays, and articles from Robert K. Greenleaf.