Towns of the Sandia Mountains  (NM)  (Images of America)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Engrossing!
  • Changed how I look at my hometown
Towns of the Sandia Mountains (NM) (Images of America)
Mike Smith
Manufacturer: Arcadia Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0738548529
Release Date: 2006-10-30

Book Description

Despite their seemingly impenetrable western facade, the Sandia Mountains of central New Mexico have been home to humankind for millennia. Ancient cultures ventured into these peaks for the creeks, game, and shelter. The Spanish established protective outposts along the canyons and intermarried with local tribes. Civil War soldiers passed through en route to their infamous battle at Glorieta Pass. Navajos marched around the mountains' southern end after the confinement that ended their Long Walk. Anglo settlers cleared the hilly land and built cabins. And tuberculosis patients moved up into primitive resorts, hoping that the mountains' abundant sunshine and fresh air would help them heal. Today the tiny resorts and traditional hamlets of the Sandias are established villages and communities-Carnuel, Tijeras, San Antonio, Cedar Crest, Sandia Park, San Antonito, Placitas, and others-and the rough dirt roads that once saw the passing of ox carts are highways and even an interstate. The area's history lives on, however, in crumbling adobe walls, bits of rust, fading memories, and in this photographic retrospective.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Engrossing!.......2007-04-10

It's hard to stop reading, engrossing, hard to stop reading!

My wife and are enjoying this book immensely, well written and the details of the areas of the places around us here in Tijeras are fantastic. This book brings the rich history to light in an enjoyable read. The photographs are amazing, to see the places as they were and are now.

Mike Smith, the author is extremely accessible for any questions or comments about his book, the region and the history.

Definitely a five star book, run now to get yours!

5 out of 5 stars Changed how I look at my hometown.......2006-11-22

Growing up in one of the towns of the Sandia Mountains, I can ashamedly say that I really didn't do much digging into the history of the place. I don't know why really, I guess I figured it was just there and left it at that. Then comes along this little dandy of a history book wherein the unique history of the place I grew up in is laid before you through non-run of the mill descriptions, quirky photos, and some fantastic quotes from the people who have made up and make these towns.
This book is published through Arcadia, which has about, I don't know how many, of these history/photo style books. I have read a few books from Arcadia and maybe it's because this is one that specifically talks about the place I grew up in, but Towns of the Sandia Mountains seems to sit a few levels above the others Arcadia has out there.
This book reads like a dreamy ride through the past on an old desert road. Starting on Route 66 in Albuquerque and lazily winding it's way up into the mountain towns, past the towns, higher into the mountian, down a back pass, to the front of mountian and back into Albuquerque, picking up the towns of Carnuel, Tijeras, Hobbies, San Antonio, Cedar Crest, Canoncito, San Antonito, Sandia Park, and Placitas along the way, as well as a brief concluding chapter on Albuquerque touching on its growth into the mountain. Some of the pictures in this book are completely astounding to see. There are amazing photos of areas with just a few cattle grazing around that now have freeways and strip malls running through them. Pictures of places, if you know that area, you would never recognize. Pictures of Hippies and TB patients alike escaping into the mountains. People who made this town that you never knew who now you can know.
This book does away with the dull page after page of random portraits of people with boring captions style of history writing and brings new life to history.
If you live in the Sandia, used to, or are just interested in a unique area then I would say this is a good little read for you. Eight thumbs up!
Vicksburg: The Campaign That Opened the Mississippi (Civil War America)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • A popular history
  • A good start to an important history
  • Honest and sincere account of an inmensely important campaign
  • Excellent book on the key Civil War Battle of Vicksburg
  • Good Book for the Libary of a Civil War Buff
Vicksburg: The Campaign That Opened the Mississippi (Civil War America)
Michael B. Ballard
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:
  1. Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for Vicksburg Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for Vicksburg
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ASIN: 0807828939
Release Date: 2003-10-31

Book Description

When Confederate troops surrendered Vicksburg on July 4, 1863--the day after the Union victory at Gettysburg--a crucial port and rail depot for the South was lost. The Union gained control of the Mississippi River, and the Confederate territory was split in two. In a thorough yet concise study of the longest single military campaign of the Civil War, Michael B. Ballard brings new depth to our understanding of the Vicksburg campaign by considering its human as well as its military aspects.

Ballard examines soldier attitudes, guerrilla warfare, and the effects of the campaign and siege on civilians in and around Vicksburg. He also analyzes the leadership and interaction of such key figures as U.S. Grant, William T. Sherman, John Pemberton, and Joseph E. Johnston, among others. Blending strategy and tactics with the human element, Ballard reminds us that while Gettysburg has become the focal point of the history and memory of the Civil War, the outcome at Vicksburg was met with as much celebration and relief in the North as was the Gettysburg victory, and he argues that it should be viewed as equally important today.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars A popular history.......2007-01-11

Mr.Ballard's book is another popular history,it contains little if any new information excepting a defense/excuse of the CS commander Gen. Pemberton.

US Gen.Grant is given considerable credit and deservedly so. The various Union naval commanders; Farragut, Porter etc get much attention also. Mr. Ballard does do a fair job of placing credit on both side's better commanders and lambasts CS Gen. Joe Johnston constantly. He lists the manuevering and prior failures of Union forces throughout the Mississippi region but successfully does so without losing the reader.

However, detail is lacking and the writing style itself is tepid and uninspiring. Contrary to some of the other reviewers, I found the maps poorly drawn and overly cluttered. Done in one color, roads and streams litter the maps; competing with arrows listing advances and retreats and unit markers do not differ between CS/US, infantry or cavalry...an attempt to clarify this on this small maps lists various brigade/division unit commanders but without listing what side is what. Numerous misspellings imply either poor editors or poor research. He consistently describes units as "crack" outfits to the point of the reader wondering, were there any "normal" units present? Any force smaller than a battalion or regiment is listed as a patrol or roadblock. His handling of first person history, the best aspect of recent military writings, is slipshod and often generalised. Few regiments are listed and in general, brigades get the most mention in combat descriptions.

A bright spot was the emphasis on the various naval movements in and about the Vicksburg area. Union naval ability and the Confederate lack of, gets serious and well deserved attention.

Mr. Ballard's theme of the Western Theater being the war winner is well supported by many other current works. Overall, this book is no masterpiece nor is Ballard a Pfanz as a writer. Well read students of this theater will not be well served by purchase of the book but it is a fair one for general or new readers to the subject.

5 out of 5 stars A good start to an important history.......2006-12-14

The newer research on the Civil War suggests that it was won in the west and that the action in the east is not what caused the end of the war. Vicksburg was the crucial campaign in the west and while this book can get bogged down in details it does a very good job of providing information. The challenge of taking this city on a hill and the importance of the navy are all well explained here. A look at what happened to the south as the war progressed is not readily apparent but if read in between the lines it is easy to see what happened. The analysis about the importance of opening up the Mississippi to union forces is very good and brings new light on a subject that needs a lot more exploring and debate.

5 out of 5 stars Honest and sincere account of an inmensely important campaign.......2005-07-14

I like this book for several reasons.Number one, Mr Ballard is very sincere and called everything by its name.When it comes to describing generals and soldiers on either side of the conflict,he tells it like it is.Number two, the way Mr Ballard describes the military campaign in all its details it's terrific which helped me understand the imporatnce of every battle and the strategies involved.The only flaw in the book is really a minor one which is that sometimes the author gives too many details in things that i dont think are not that important.BUt ,in general, it's a very good book!

4 out of 5 stars Excellent book on the key Civil War Battle of Vicksburg.......2005-06-24

Dr, Michael Ballard has written an excellent book on the Vicksburg Campaign. Ballard has had good mentors in his study of the Mississippi River City which fell to US Grant in July, 1863
He is has been guided by Terry Wenschel the National Park Chief Historian; read the massive three volume work by Mr. Civil
War Ed Bearss on the campaign and is a lifelong native of Mississipi who has visited Vicksburg since his youth.
Vicksburg was a complex campaign pitting the inept Northern Born Confederate General John Pemberton against the aggressive and brilliant US Grant. Grant's Union Army worked well as a team.
Even though Grant did not like McClernand he used him well in launching the blue horde against the city on the bluffs. Grant
worked well with Sherman and McPherson, Logan and others as they tried many ideas to conquer Vicksburg. Grant and David Dixon Porter worked well on coordinating army-navy operations.
Grant succeeded when his forces crossed the Mississippi to
Bruinsburg, Ms. Union victories at Port Gibson, Jackson and
most importantly Champion Hill (May 16, 1863) led to a 47 day
siege of Vicksburg which fell to Federal forces on July 4, 1863
Vicksburge the key to victory in the Western Theatre was then
put into Mr. Lincoln's pocket. The fate of the Western Confederacy was sealed.
I am surprised how little many Civil War buffs seem to know little about the Western Theatre of the War. Those whose approach has been "Virginia-centric" will find much to explore as they gaze at the Western Theatre.
Grant emerges as a tough, imaginative, never say never commander while the Confederates Pemberton and Joe Johnston wee weak and indecisive leaders. Grant's star rose in the West as Lincoln discovered the man who could beat Lee and win the war!
Ballard's book is well illustrated; the maps are clear and
easy to follow. Ballard has done his homework as the many pages of bibliography attest to his acumen. While dealing with the battles he also quotes the thoughts of civilians of Vicksburg and Misssippi who saw their society rent asunder by the blue
hordes from the north.
Ed Bearss is still the dean of Vicksburg scholars but Michael Ballard has also contributed greatly to our understanding of this vital, complex, too often overlooked campaign. This book
can be read by the buff or the neophyte with equal pleasure. Thank you Dr. Ballard for your work!

4 out of 5 stars Good Book for the Libary of a Civil War Buff.......2005-02-18

This is a good book for anyone interested in studying on the Civil War. As the author mentions, this campaign to capture Vicksburg is a rather unknown period of the war and this is a good book on this campaign. It has its plusses and its minuses. On the positive side, it covers the campaign in detail with a number of human interest stories. The experiences of the citizens and soldiers who lived in Vicksburg, e.g. living in caves, the casualties, the experiences of soldiers in the hospitals (for example, he goes through the procedure that a doctor used to remove a leg - interesting although somewhat gruesome but it highlights the suffering). He is an apparent fan of Pemberton (although he recognizes his mistakes well) and not a fan of Joe Johnston (but I haven't found a Civil War writer who is...). He covers them well and also the top Union generals: Grant, Sherman and McClernand, including Grant's supposed bouts with alcohol and the feud between McClernand and Grant. This is a balanced coverage. On the minuses side, I found myself getting confused at times about what was really happening. For example, the coverage of the battles including the maps which are very confusing, which ramble about this unit and that unit going this way and that. The early book with this Confederate general and that Confederate general doing this and that is also confusing and may cause you to get you to get frustrated with the book, but stick with it. At one point, he has Pemberton in Vicksburg and needing to go to Vicksburg in the same paragraph. So, I read it again, and... huh. But then the story picks up when Grant tries one approach versus another to reach Vicksburg and decides on approaching it from the South. This is very interesting showing the chess moves between Grant, Pemberton and Johnston which Grant ultimately won. This is a good book, on a period that should be covered more. It may be confusing because unlike Gettysburg, where each writer can read the other books and build on them, there are few sources. So, I recommend it.
Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Africa: From Slavery Days to Rwandan Genocide (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Africa: From Slavery Days to Rwandan Genocide (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series)

    Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

    GeneralGeneral | Africa | History | Subjects | Books
    RwandaRwanda | Africa | History | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 0313335400

    Book Description

    In most accounts of warfare, civilians suffer cruelties and make sacrifices silently and anonymously. Finally, historians turn their attention to those who are usually caught up in events beyond their control or understanding. This volume details the dismal impact war has had on the African people over the past five hundred years, from slavery days, the Zulu War, World Wars I and II, to the horrific civil wars following decolonization and the genocide in Rwanda. Chapters provide a representative range of civilian experiences during wartime in Africa extending from the late eighteenth century to the present, representing every region of Africa except North Africa. Timelines, glossaries, suggested further readings and maps are included, and the work is fully indexed. The book begins with Paul E. Lovejoy's study of the ubiquitous experience of African slavery which has so profoundly affected the development of the continent and the lives of its people. John Laband then examines the rise of the Zulu kingdom in the early nineteenth century and its subsequent conquest by Britain, thus charting the fate of civilians during the formation of an African kingdom and their experiences during colonial conquest. The Anglo-Boer War is situated at a crucial crossroads between colonial and modern warfare, and the concentration camps the British set up for Boer and African civilians pioneered a new form of modern savagery. Bill Nasson examines this war's complex effects on various categories of non-combatants in South Africa. Because it was under colonial rule, Africa was dragged into the two World Wars. Tim Stapleton shows in the fourth chapter that while the African civilian response to the war of 1914-1918 was often contradictory and ranged from collaboration to revolt, the effect of the conflict was only to confirm colonial rule. In the following chapter, David Killingray explains how and why the impact of the Second World War on African civilians was rather different from that of the First in that it undid colonial rule, and paved the way for the future independence of Africa under modernized African leadership. The Portuguese held on to their African empire long after the other colonial empires had relinquished theirs in the 1960s. Angola, the subject of Chapter six, passed seamlessly out of an independence struggle against Portuguese rule into civil war that soon involved Cold War rivalries and interventions. Inge Brinkman describes the dismal sufferings and displacement of Angolan civilians during four decades of interminable fighting. Liberia and Sierra Leone declined from relative stability and prosperity into horrific civil war, and in Chapter seven Lansana Gberie traces the deadly consequences for civilians and the efforts to stabilize society once peace was tentatively restored. The Sudan has suffered decades of ethnic and religious strife between the government and the people of the southern and western periphery, and in Chapter eight Jane Kani Edward and Amir Idris analyze what this has meant, and still means, for the myriad civilian victims. Chapter nine concludes the book with the most horrific single episode of recent African history: the Rwandan genocide. Alhaji Bah explains its genesis and canvasses the subsequent search for reconciliation. The chapter ends with his discussion of African mechanisms that should - and even might - be put in place to ensure effective peacekeeping in Africa, and so save civilians in future from the swarm of war's horrors.
    The Long Silence: Civilian Life under the German Occupation of Northern France, 1914-1918
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      The Long Silence: Civilian Life under the German Occupation of Northern France, 1914-1918
      Helen McPhail
      Manufacturer: I. B. Tauris
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

      World War IWorld War I | Military | History | Subjects | Books
      GeneralGeneral | World | History | Subjects | Books
      GeneralGeneral | France | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
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      ASIN: 1860646530

      Book Description

      This account, based on original sources including diaries, memoirs, family records, secret diaries written during the war, vivid memories, and official records, shows how the rich agricultural and industrial areas of northern France were invaded, occupied, and exploited between the summer of 1914 and the Armistice in November 1918. Factories were stripped, household furniture and fittings requisitioned, food supplies taken, the population maltreated and malnourished, and even taken to forced labor camps: The population lived in terror. Starvation loomed and contact with the outside world vanished until Herbert Hoover set up his scheme of aid that kept the population alive during the war.
      Relatos-Diccionario del diablo/Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (In the Midst of Life) Can Such Things Be? The Devil's Dictionary (Letras Universales / Universal Writings)
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        Relatos-Diccionario del diablo/Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (In the Midst of Life) Can Such Things Be? The Devil's Dictionary (Letras Universales / Universal Writings)
        Ambrose Bierce
        Manufacturer: Ediciones Catedra S.A.
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback

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        ASIN: 843761760X
        Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Asia: From the Taiping Rebellion to the Vietnam War (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series)
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Asia: From the Taiping Rebellion to the Vietnam War (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series)

          Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Hardcover

          GeneralGeneral | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
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          ASIN: 0313336849

          Book Description

          This volume begins with R.G. Tiedemann's account of life in China in the mid-nineteenth century, during the Taiping and Nian Rebellions. Tiedemann examines social practices imposed on the civilians by the Taiping, life in the cities and country, women, and the militarization of society. Bernardita Reyes Churchill examines how civilians in the Philippines struggled for freedom under the imperial reign Spain and the United States at the turn of the twentieth century. Stewart Lone looks at how Meiji Japan's wars on the Asian continent affected the lives and routines of men, women, and children, urban and rural. He also explains how the media played a role during the wars, as well as how people were able to spend leisure time and even make wartime humor. Di Wang uses the public space of the teahouse and its culture as a microcosm of daily life in China during tumultuous years of civil and world war, 1937-1949. Simon Partner explores Japanese daily life during World War II, investigating youth culture, the ways people came together, and how the government took control of their lives by rationing food, clothing, and other resources. Shigeru Sato continues by examining the harshness of life in Indonesia during World War II and its aftermath. Korean life from 1950-1953 is looked at by Andrei Lankov, who takes a look at the heart-rending lives of refugees. Finally, Lone surveys life in South Vietnam from 1965-1975, from school children to youth protests to how propaganda affected civilians. This volume offers students and general readers a glimpse into the lives of those often forgotten.
          The Pay, Promotion, and Retention of High-Quality Civil Service Workers in the Department of Defense
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            The Pay, Promotion, and Retention of High-Quality Civil Service Workers in the Department of Defense
            Beth J. Asch
            Manufacturer: RAND Corporation
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Paperback

            GeneralGeneral | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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            ASIN: 0833029886

            Book Description

            This report uses data on the promotion, pay, and retention profiles of civil service workers in the Department of Defense (DoD) to evaluate whether high-quality workers are promoted faster, paid more and stay longer in civil service than other workers. Th
            Professionalism Under Stress: Lessons for Professionalism, Stress, and Gunfighting in Military and Civilian Life
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              Professionalism Under Stress: Lessons for Professionalism, Stress, and Gunfighting in Military and Civilian Life
              Stretch Dunn; David Dyson
              Manufacturer: Leave A Legacy Publishing
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback
              ASIN: 0871210142
              Release Date: 2005-01-15

              Product Description

              Professionalism Under Stress: Lessons for Professionalism, Stress, and Gunfighting, by Col. Stretch Dunn (Retired) and Dr. David Dyson, presents compressed lessons applicable to serious students, cadets, and professionals. The authors present seven lessons for each area--professionalism, stress, gunfighting, and gunfighting leadership--in an organized, compressed style that helps you turn the lessons into action. Further, you can adopt the material as your own strategy and use the book as a resource for coaching and training.
              The Space Tourist's Handbook: Where to Go, What to See, and How to Prepare for the Ride of Your Life
              Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
              • Good Book, Utilization Should Go Up in 2007
              • Another high quality offering from the folks at Quirk Books (highly recommended for student science enthusiasts!)
              • Fun to read and educational, I couldn't put it down until I finished
              • Your Trip Into Space
              The Space Tourist's Handbook: Where to Go, What to See, and How to Prepare for the Ride of Your Life
              Eric C. Anderson , and Joshua Piven
              Manufacturer: Quirk Books
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

              GeneralGeneral | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
              Aeronautics & AstronauticsAeronautics & Astronautics | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books
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              Tourist Destinations & MuseumsTourist Destinations & Museums | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books
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              Similar Items:
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              2. The Hazards of Space Travel: A Tourist's Guide The Hazards of Space Travel: A Tourist's Guide
              3. Making Space Happen: Private Space Efforts and the People Behind Them Making Space Happen: Private Space Efforts and the People Behind Them
              4. Space Tourism: Do You Want to Go?: Apogee Books Space Series 49 (Apogee Books Space Series) Space Tourism: Do You Want to Go?: Apogee Books Space Series 49 (Apogee Books Space Series)
              5. Space: The Free-Market Frontier Space: The Free-Market Frontier

              ASIN: 1594740666

              Book Description

              In May 2001, billionaire Dennis Tito made history as the first "space tourist" he's the guy who paid $20 million to travel to the International Space Station. Since that landmark voyage, many others have followed in his footsteps all courtesy of Space Adventures, the first travel agency devoted exclusively to outer space.

              But before you can blast off, there's plenty to learn. In this illustrated handbook, Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson gives would-be space tourists the exact same training program that he gives to the billionaires. Here are step-by-step instructions for liftoff, sleeping in weightless environments, using the "vacuum toilet" on the spacecraft, living in zero gravity, and much more. It's all so informative, the instructors at Space Adventures are already integrating this handbook into their lesson plans.

              With more than 25 illustrations (and a special full-color section showing popular vacation "destinations"), The Space Tourist's Handbook is fascinating reading for amateur astronauts of all ages.

              Customer Reviews:

              4 out of 5 stars Good Book, Utilization Should Go Up in 2007.......2007-01-07

              While the significant focus of the book is on orbital space toruism at $20 to $21 million a pop blast-off, (w/o spacewalk), Eric Anderson's book should become more relevant in late 2007 as testing of the commercial piloted suborbital vehicles will be tested above the Karmen Line. I enjoyed the book and commend it for reading by any one have the slightest interest in space affairs. The author should consider a new edition to be more inclusive of the more reasonably priced suborbital flights that hundreds, if not thousands, will purchase tickets to fly as the first decade ofthe 21st Century ends. The new FAA regulations effective in Februray should be reviewed and incorporated into the book and comparative analysis as to what regulations will be imposed in Singepore and the UAE as those commercial spaceports open on non-US regulated soil. But in all, I enjoyed the book, and cite it from time to time in research work writing in this area. It is effective and timely.

              4 out of 5 stars Another high quality offering from the folks at Quirk Books (highly recommended for student science enthusiasts!).......2006-08-27

              The Space Tourist's Handbook is another educational, spunky offering from the folks over at Quirk Books (publishers of The Worst Case Scenario Handbook). It provides a decent treatment of the history of space travel, including overviews of edge-of-space aircraft and sub-orbital and orbital vehicles. Potential space tourism destinations, from space stations to the Moon, are also covered. The meat of the book discusses training for space flight, recommended packing, the logistics of launch and space travel, and, finally, life in space. Like any good travel guide, space travel options are ranked by relative cost, training effort required, and mission time. It also offers a comprehensive index for quick reference purposes.

              Any engineer is going to know the majority of the information presented in this handbook, and anyone without an interest in space is going to be bored by it. The prime audience is students (and armchair enthusiasts) with an interest in science and engineering, who will no doubt glean both scientific facts and a healthy enthusiasm for the space industry.

              5 out of 5 stars Fun to read and educational, I couldn't put it down until I finished.......2005-11-24

              In one of the most unique formats for such a book, the author has produced a highly educational and yet entertaining book on space travel. Written in a tourist handbook style, it starts with a series of vacation postcard style pictures including space pictures, vehicles, and training. From there you turn to the various potential space destinations. This section includes Spaceports you might leave from and destinations you might go to such as a space station or the moon. Now that you have picked your destination you have to choose how to get there. The next section of the book covers space vehicles and systems you might use, what to do when you get there and the approximate price. This section includes information on zero-gravity flights, sub-orbital flights, space shuttle flights, Soyuz flights, and even trans-lunar cruises. For each of them it shows the approximate cost range, training time, and mission time. Of course it includes a section on space flight training including the various exams you will have to pass, equipment training, physical training, etc. Typical of most foreign tourism books it even includes a section on space travel dos and don'ts, personal items to bring along, and even how to approach and dock with a space station. The section on life on the spacecraft includes how to do the common tasks you take for granted here on earth including how to sleep in zero gravity, how to spacewalk, eating, drinking, bathing, and even using the toilet. And, when you are done with the trip the tourist handbook ends with a section on the voyage home. This section includes information on things like reentry and landing. An innovative way to learn about the space industry and what an astronaut goes through, or what you will go through to become a space tourist, this is brilliantly done and a fascinating read. Scattered throughout the book are some tongue-in-cheek comments that just make it all the more entertaining. The Space Tourist's Handbook is highly entertaining and educational and as such a highly recommended read.

              4 out of 5 stars Your Trip Into Space.......2005-11-01

              One of my favorite volumes in my collection of space-related books is a library discard titled "Your Trip Into Space."

              The book by Lynn Poole -- "Producer of The Johns Hopkins TV Science Review," the title page proudly proclaims -- was published in 1953, four years before the beep heard 'round the world ushered in the space age, and eight years before anyone would actually take their own trip into space.

              It's a fascinating piece both for what it got right, years before the U.S. would being serious work on putting a man into space, and for what it got wrong. Practically on the eve of Sputnik and then Gagarin, the book boldly pronounces, "No one can give you the precise time and exact date for departure. We are willing to take a chance on predicting that man will fly out into space within your lifetime, at least within fifty years." Emphasis theirs.

              Looking back from a little more than that half-century later, "Your Trip Into Space" really isn't of much use if you're actually planning your trip into space. But it is a captivating snapshot of the state of spaceflight -- and public perception thereof -- at that moment in time.

              Fast-forward now to the present, and a new book with a title that echoes the spirit of that half-century-old library discard, "The Space Tourist's Handbook." This book's bona fides are equally impressive, with the name on the spine belonging to Eric Anderson, president of tourism company Space Adventures. (The author credit beneath Anderson's name adds, "And Joshua Piven, co-author of The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook.")

              To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the book when I first heard about it, and Piven's author credit did little to allay that. The success of his above-listed work has spawned a variety of imitators, how-to guides that promise the reader everything up to and including, literally, superpowers. I feared a book that might have some interesting information, but, in living up to its title, would fall as flat as those would-be Supermen. On the flip side, there was also the possibility that it would go the other way, serving as nothing more than a 192-page brochure for Space Adventures.

              The book's similarity to its spiritual forebear was pleasantly surprising. Like the earlier book, "The Space Tourist's Handbook" uses the conceit of preparing you for "your trip into space" to present a surprisingly complete picture of the state of human spaceflight at this particular moment in time. From the space shuttle to Soyuz to SpaceShipOne to Shenzhou (and many other things that don't start with S), the book provides an overview of all the major elements of spaceflight in 2005. A person who knew nothing about current events in space could pick up the book and in a couple of hours be relatively conversant about what's going on today. And for the reader taking the book off the shelf as far into the future as "Your Trip Into Space" is into the past would get an excellent idea of what was going on in this moment in history.

              There are times when that spaceflight overview is shoehorned into the book's space tourism approach. The book notes the prospect of the space shuttle being used for tourism may be "tantalizing," and, while it notes that there is "no indication" that the government plans for it to be put to such use, to say that's an understatement would be an understatement. The book also notes that a spacewalk is "space tourism's ultimate walk on the wild side--the outer-space equivalent of bungee-jumping, parasailing, and skydiving all rolled into one amazing rush." And that description may be true, but overlooks the fact that while EVA may be "just a single step outside your door," that's one giant leap that no space tourist will be taking any time soon. (The space tourism bias also shows up in such ways as when it promises that "you will be an official astronaut upon completion of your sub-orbital flight." That's "official" according to whom, exactly?)

              Those issues aside, the amazing thing about "The Space Tourist's Handbook" is that, in addition to providing an overview of the state of modern spaceflight, it actually lives up to its name. Unlike Poole's book, a person could actually read this book as preparation for their own trip into space. Granted, that's more because of the difference in the age than the difference in authors -- though, to be sure, Anderson has done his part to bring the change about -- but it adds a level of excitement knowing that chapters that still read almost like science fiction are, in fact, rooted in fact.

              Even if the $20 million price tag for a Soyuz ticket is slightly out of your budget, the space tourism hints can be fascinating reading while you're waiting for suborbital costs to fall -- the book shares everything from how to prepare for a spaceflight medical exam to how to pass the psychological exam (though one wonders if the tips for seeming sane were actually left over form one Piven's other projects) to what to expect during cosmonaut training to why not to play chess in space (I suggest a new strategy -- let the Russkie win.)

              To top it off, furthering its idea that the era of spaceflight for the average man is upon us, a card in the back of the book offers you a chance to enter to win a free suborbital spaceflight.

              So when will we actually see someone use this book as preparation for a ride as a passenger on a suborbital spaceflight? I am willing to take a chance on predicting that man will fly out into space on commercial flights within your lifetime, at least within fifty years."

              And probably a lot sooner.
              Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Modern America: From the Indian Wars to the Vietnam War (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series)
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                Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Modern America: From the Indian Wars to the Vietnam War (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series)

                Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Hardcover

                GeneralGeneral | 20th Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
                GeneralGeneral | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
                GeneralGeneral | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
                GeneralGeneral | Military | History | Subjects | Books
                GeneralGeneral | Vietnam | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
                Social HistorySocial History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
                All TitlesAll Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
                ASIN: 0313335346

                Book Description

                In post-Civil War America, civilians were ordinarily far-removed from the actual fighting. War brought about tremendous and far-reaching changes to America's society, politics, and economy nonetheless. Readers are offered detailed glimpses into the lives of ordinary folk struggling with the privations, shortages, and anxieties brought on by U.S. entry into war. They are also shown how they strove to turn changing times to their advantage, especially civically and economically, as minorities pressed for political inclusion and traders profited from government contracts and women took on well-paying skilled jobs in large numbers for the first time. Susan Badger Doyle's chapter on the Indian Wars in the American West shows how for whites the migration westward was the path to a land of opportunity, for Native Americans migration it was a disastrous epoch that led to their near-extermination. Michael Neiberg's piece on World War I highlights how America's entry into the war on the Allied side was far from universally popular or supported because of large German and Irish immigrant communities, and how this tepid support led to the creation of some of the harshest censorship and curtailment of civil rights in U.S. history. Judy Litoff's chapter on the home front during World War II focuses on the exceptional changes brought on by total mobilization for the war effort, African-Americans' push for expanded civil rights, to women entering the workforce in large numbers, to the public's acceptance, even expectation, of centralized planning and government intervention in economic and social matters. Jon Timothy Kelly's essay on the Cold War provides a look at how the country quickly returned to a state of readiness when the end of World War II ushered in the Cold War and the immanent threat of nuclear annihilation, even as a booming economy brought undreamt of material prosperity to huge numbers of Americans. Finally, James Landers describes how American involvement in Vietnam, the first televised war, profoundly changed American attitudes about war even as this particular conflict touched few Americans, but divided them like few previous events have.

                Books:

                1. U.S. Army Ranger Handbook SH 21-76 (April 2000)
                2. U.S. Marine Corps Scout/Sniper Training Manual
                3. Under His Very Windows: The Vatican and the Holocaust in Italy
                4. Unix Network Programming, Vol. 1: The Sockets Networking API, Third Edition
                5. Untold Valor: Forgotten Stories of American Bomber Crews over Europe in World War II
                6. Vampire : The Masquerade (Revised Edition)
                7. Visions of Infamy: The Untold Story of How Journalist Hector C. Bywater Devised the Plans That Led to Pearl Harbor
                8. When My Name Was Keoko
                9. Winning My Wings: A Woman Airforce Service Pilot in World War II
                10. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

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