Amazon.com
In Men at Work, political pundit George Will breaks baseball down, parsing it into essential tasks: hitting, fielding, pitching, and managing. Why do some succeed grandly while others are more apt to whiff? By analyzing the way Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken, Orel Hershiser, and Tony LaRussa approach the game and do what they do, he finds striking similarities in intelligence, dedication, drive, and desire.
Book Description
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning political commentator and longtime baseball fanatic George F. Will--the #1 bestselling ultimate insider's look at the exacting craft of baseball
Customer Reviews:
behind the scenes..........2007-04-12
George Will's passions for America's great pastime is evident in every story. He goes behind the scenes for the details and strategy that is involved in every pitch. His look at the manager, pitcher, hitter and fielder will add insight to the game and garner a deeper appreciation of the game within the game. A great baseball book!
Give me a break!.......2006-03-05
If you're looking for a good baseball read, look further. The absolute twerpiness of George Will comes across in this book. It's clear that when he was a youngster, he was the nerdy kid in the schoolyard. This is the typical example of a pinheaded intellectual trying to sound like an average Joe by writing about sports. Give me a break George Will!
Excellent.......2006-02-27
This is a fascinating journey into the national pastime. George Will writes economically and wisely not only about what the game is, but also what it once was. The evolution of the sport - although that is certainly not the focus of the book - is illuminating for anyone who is interested in how institutions come to change. Will brings a deep explanation to the chief facets of the game - managing, pitching, hitting and defense. Ultimately they groove together to form a gorgeous tapestry of understanding. There's a word for this kind of non-fiction work: indispensable.
Excellent! I read it over and over and never tire of it.......2006-02-16
If you enjoy the sport of baseball, you gotta read this book. George Will provides insights into the details of baseball by examining the game from the perspective of the Manager, the Batter, the Pitcher and the Fielder. It's wonderful the descriptions of the minute aspects that make the difference between a regular player and someone with the skills like future Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. I've read this book many times, and I never tire of the stories of how this game is meant to be played. You will enjoy the game even more after reading this book.
It's OK at times, I suppose.......2004-08-19
I agree with the reviewer who said this reduced baseball to a tech manual, removing the passion. I got the impression that Will enjoys baseball because it allows him to feel sophisticated. I enjoy baseball because it's a thinking man's game, but half of that equation is GAME, with competition, passion and celebration for the winners. At best, Will captures some of that passion in his book. But more often than not, it makes it seem more of an engineered factory product.
There are occasions when I really enjoyed the book. I love baseball, and I do love the minutia. It's fun getting behind the scenes to watch Tony LaRussa's coaches work together, and to see the pure hitting mechanics from a master like Gwynn. But I suppose the simplest way to put it is--it's too much of a good thing at times, it becomes mundane, repetitive and boring way too often. I think my baseball education--via the Yankee radio announcers and ESPN to start, and now sites like Hardball Times and Baseball Prospectus--has been sufficient, and a lot more fun than this. Check out any of Halberstam's books, or John Updike's essay about Ted Williams' last game titled "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu," if you want pure literary baseball magic.
One last thing--consider these two baseball titles. "Men at Work" versus "The Boys of Summer." Interesting the different images they bring to mind. I prefer the latter.
Amazon.com
"Bunts," explains peripatetic political commentator and baseball rhapsodist George Will, "are modest and often useful things." So is his latest, fittingly titled foray into the National Pastime. Unlike his splendid Men at Work, which offered long, detailed exegeses on the way Tony Gwynn, Orel Hershiser, Cal Ripken, Jr., and Tony La Russa sweat the details of mastering specific aspects of the game, Bunts is a less unified, but wider ranging collection of Will's shorter baseball journalism--columns, essays, and book reviews--assembled chronologically from 1974 through the 1997 season. Each piece may be brief, but taken individually or as a whole, the collection is certainly useful, and like a good outfielder, it covers plenty of territory.
Will, to be sure, is an elegant writer, a little verbose at times, but dependably knowledgeable, stirringly erudite, thoughtfully opinionated, and, here and there, delightfully personal--as in the volume's leadoff hitter in which he traces his own conservative principles to growing up a Cub fan. His lineup continues with a breezy ode to Louisville Sluggers; encomiums to Casey Stengel, Camden Yards, Ripken, Gwynn, and Curt Flood; a startling about-face on the DH; an early homage to statsmeister Bill James; and indictments on the selfishness of Ted Williams, the callousness of the owners in labor- and fan-relations, and the sordid personalities of Pete Rose and Billy Martin. The volume ends with a pair of doubles in the form of larger essays on Jon Miller and the distinctive craft of broadcasting, and a concluding one on the state of the game.
"Baseball," Will observes, "is a habit. The slowly rising crescendo of each game, the rhythm of the long season--these are the essentials and they are remarkably unchanged over nearly a century and a half. Of how many American institutions can that be said?" The answer, of course, is not many, which is why Bunts provides a necessary and pleasing public service. --Jeff Silverman
Book Description
At the beginning of the 1990s, a political columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator set out, in his words, to write an antiromantic book about a subject that had been romanticized in print for one hundred years. The subject was baseball, the columnist George Will, and the book Men at Work. His antiromantic love letter was warmly received by those who love baseball. Critics called it "an excellent book about excellence" (Barbara Grizzuti Harrison), "a classic [that] may even stand up as the best baseball book of the 1990s" (Jerome Holtzman), "a hit -- a triple off the center field wall" (Roger Angell), and by readers who kept it at the top of bestseller lists for more than five months.
He's back.
George Will returns to baseball with more than seventy finely honed pieces about the sometimes recondite, sometimes frustrating, always passionately felt National Pastime. Here are Will's eulogy for the late Curt Flood ("Dred Scott in Spikes"), Will on Ted Williams ("When Ted Williams retired in 1960, a sportswriter said that Boston knew how Britain felt when it lost India. Indeed. Britain felt diminished, but also a bit relieved"), and on his own baseball career ("I was a very late draft choice of the Mittendorf Funeral Home Panthers. Our color was black"). Here are subjects ranging from the author's 1977 purchase of a single share of stock in the Chicago Cubs, a purchase brokered by Warren Buffett ("a St. Louis Cardinal fan, but not otherwise sinister"), to the collision between Pete Rose and Bart Giamatti, to the building of Camden Yards in Baltimore, to the dismantling of the 1997 World Series Champion Florida Martins.
With new material, including an essay on the art of baseball broadcasting, featuring ESPN play-by-play man Jon Miller, and incorporating more than seventy photos, Bunts is certain to be for 1998 what Men at Work was for 1990 -- "inquisitive and extraordinarily nimble-minded ... this season's baseball book of choice" (The Wall Street Journal).
Customer Reviews:
As good as any baseball book I have read, and I have read a lot of them.......2006-11-24
While George Will's political opinions are often subject to my snorts of derision, his feelings about baseball are beyond reproach. An unrepentant Cubs fan who once responded to the statement made on a national news show in 1984, "The Cubs winning the division title is not exactly a momentous event in the history of Western Civilization" by saying, "Sez who?", his writing about baseball is absolutely the best. He truly loves the game and he demonstrates it in every sentence. His honesty about what has been right about the game and the great wrongs that were committed is a history of American society as well as the sport of baseball.
The American society is changing, as it has always done. Baseball has changed dramatically since, as Will so aptly puts it, "The serfs were set free." This refers to the overthrow of the reserve clause, which essentially made baseball players the property of a team. An anachronism at best and an atrocity at worst, it was likely the last legal form of slavery that still existed in the Western World. Since that time, baseball has expanded to incredible heights, the salaries of the players have skyrocketed and so has attendance. Despite many actions that have damaged the game (DH, multi-use parks and the wild card), baseball continues to thrive. Will describes all of what he sees that is good and bad in the game. I have read many baseball books in my life, but there are none better than this one and his previous book, "Men At Work: The Craft of Baseball." Every fan should read them both.
Intelligent look at Baseball .......2006-01-30
George Will brings his flowing if slightly verbose style to the issue of baseball. The book is a collection of newspaper columns and some essays concerning the state of baseball during the 1980's-1990's. As a Chicago Cub fan, Will focuses largely and perhaps a bit too heavily on that team plus the Baltimore Orioles, who are near his job in Washington D.C. There's also coverage of baseball labor issues, sociology, politics, trends in attendance and style of play, even some mention of oft-ignored teams like the White Sox. Of particular note is the author's controversial but correct view that since millions of fans pay to see the players (and not the owners), the players are both labor and product, and thus entitled to large salaries in this multi-billion dollar industry. One need not always agree with the author's opinions to see that he writes about this sport with heart and compassion. Will doesn't quite get a home run with this book, but score it a line-drive double.
Not a Homerun, But a Solid Hit.......2004-08-23
This book contains more than 70 articles written about baseball by George Will between 1974 and 1997. Many of the essays are from the week of opening days or a post script of a season that just ended and these essays all have a similar tone and information, but all of them are well written and contain numerous facts, opinions and insights. The book also covers significant events in the history of baseball--the banning of Pete Rose, the strike of 1994, the fight for free agency and of course the yearly collapse of the Chicago Cubs, which is the team for which Will is a lifelong fanatic. This is not the best book of baseball stories I've read, but it is entertaining and thought provoking, so it deserves to be read by baseball fans and should be picked up by sports fans who want to learn why baseball is the most elegant sport and why it has so many diehard fans.
Bow-Tie Reflections on Baseball.......2002-09-23
Those who have read Will's "Men at Work" already are aware of the author's knowledge of the game as well as his talent to put it into words. This is a compilation of the author's articles on Baseball that have appeared primarily in his newspaper columns over the years. Mr. Will, a spokesman for the political right, discards his politics for these excursions into his passion. Indeed, one is surprized by how often Mr. Will sides with the players in the labor/management diputes that litter modern Baseball. The author shares his nostalgia for the past and his appreciation of the heros of the present. If he seems a bit caught up in his Cubs and Orioles, he can be forgiven because the reader has his/her own favorites. We know the frustration and joy of the same loyalties he shares with us.
I read the first two thirds of the book one "column" at a time between other books. I did so because I had read "The Best of Jim Murray" some years ago and did so over the course of several days. By the mid-point of that book, I came to the realization that Mr. Murray had written the same column for decades. It was just a matter of changing the name of the subject. You don't catch on to that reading two or three columns a week. Well, I read the last third of the book in the course of several hours. I did not get the same reaction that I got to Murray's book. However, I lost track of the number of times the total season attendance of the 1935 St. Louis Browns (80,922) was compared to the Opening Day attendance of the 1993 Colorado Rockies (80,227). There were other such repetitions of facts and figures that were noticeable when the book is read cover to cover. I suggest you savor the articles and let the book entertain you throughout the course of a summer or a year. However you choose to read it, don't miss this intellectual appreciation of what was once known as "America's Pasttime".
Bunts Hit A Homerun With Me!.......2002-08-10
Bunts by George F. Will is a collection of works written by Will between the years 1974 and 1997. Throughout this book, Will discusses the major changes in baseball, such as the designated hitter rule, unionization, recent franchise additions, free agency, and more. A long-suffering Chicago Cubs fan, Will, in several funny articles, describes what it is like to be a fan of a tema that hasn't won a pennant since World War II. A skilled political columnist, we are drawn into the argument over free agency and designated hitting. I love baseball, but sometimes find books about the sport to be tedious and overly stuffed with statistics. While this book does contain statistics (Will knows a great deal about the sport he loves), you're not smothered by them. It was a pleasurable read. The only part of the book I disliked was the rehashing (several times) of the strike disputes and how many times Will felt it necessary to prove that the owners were wrong about free agency. But believe me, you can get through that. Besides, this is a compilation of works - it's not like he intentionally meant to repeat himself. Will's reflections on baseball are remarkable considering that the man never played the sport professionally and is just an avid fan - so much of a fan in fact that he once owned stock in the Cubs franchise! The pictures are great, and the things I learned from this book. I thought I knew alot about baseball, but George F. Will proved me wrong in a way that I found to be interesting and alot of fun!
Average customer rating:
- Here's a book worth the very penny it costs
- A political thinker to rival the founders, must read!
- Respect for Government, Properly Understood
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Restoration: Congress, Term Limits and the Recovery of Deliberative Democracy
George F. Will
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Customer Reviews:
Here's a book worth the very penny it costs.......2007-04-22
Congress is rotten and this book offers the perfect cure for the evils of the federal government -- elect Republicans!
It's the ultimate conservative solution to the woes of contemporary life: Let's go back to the good ol' days. Will puts politicians such as Thomas Jefferson on a pedestal, completely ignoring the bitter criticism that conservatives directed at Jefferson in his day.
On a more recent basis, he says modern politicians should be like Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater who he says was "enticed" into politics in 1952 and quipped at the time, "It ain't for life and it might be fun." He ignores that Goldwater got into politics in 1946 as a prime backer of a state law that prevented veterans from returning to their pre-war jobs. For Goldwater, politics was his only lifetime occupation.
This book isn't an objective analysis of federal politics; it's a blatant recital of the Republican party positions of 1991. It's pure nostalgia, completely oblivious to the "greedy old party" lobbyists such as Jack Abranoff and the stench of corruption surrounding the flood of new lobbyists who flocked to Washington after George Bush was elected in 2000.
It's a disappointing book, because it ignores the basic problem of limiting power in an extraordinarily rich society. The corruption of wealth and power has afflicted every great society since time began; the secret deals that made Enron a major architect of today's energy policies is typical of great power run amok. The basic issue Will ignores is honesty; as Malcolm Gladwell points out in 'The Tipping Point', honesty is governed more by one's associates than by abstract principles. If he's ever serious about "restoration" values, he needs to examine the corruption of Republicans who gained power in the 1990s.
The sheer incompetence of the Bush administration refutes Will's idea that inexperience and ideology trumps age, knowledge and wisdom. He ignores the great unanswered question in politics -- how to blend the enthusiasm and energy of new ideas with the wisdom of experience. In other words, how to curb leftist irrationality while implementing and enhancing the best liberal ideas. However, such thinking relates more to good government than to electing Republicans.
It's a great book for nostalgia buffs, an eloquent reminder of just how good conditions were before the fresh-faced Republican amateurs took control of the White House, Congress and Supreme Court.
But, don't let me deter anyone. Used copies are available for a penny, and it's surely worth at least that. As proven by events of the past four years, it's vivid proof that incompetence is not the sole quality of one party or political author.
A political thinker to rival the founders, must read!.......2003-07-29
RESTORATION
In this book George Will has proven himself to be one of the great political thinkers of our times. His wisdom, although presented in 1992 in Restoration over a decade ago, is still vitally relevant to today and tomarrow and to the future of the American Republic as when he wrote it.
I have spent decades as have many other average Americans, being frustrated, over the sorry state of affairs in our nation and especially in our government institutions.
Many of us have had a nagging feeling that something was causing our nation to slowly slide into the hands of unconstitutional, unpatriotic, unethical, immoral, greedy, power hungry, elitist who pretend to care about "WE the People." But really care only about padding their own nest, enriching themselves and their families with material and monetary things, and to ensure their political longevity.
They seek only to acquire unwarranted influence and with it manipulate the mob and sheepish unenlightened among us for their deviant personal near-treasonous self-gratification.
Communism, socialism, mob rule democracy (dispised by our founders)or life-term representative encumbancy, it makes no difference to them, as long as they are on the top of the social aristocracy, and the rest of us are on the bottom. Nepotism and narcissism runs rampant in their ranks and this shows each and every day whether they are conducting business in the House or Senate, or during elections and reelection campaigns.
They will, as Bill and Hillary have so eloquently demonstrated, do, say and support anything that will help them get and stay in power, as members of that society of disgusting ladies and gentlemen, known as the 20th and 21st century politician...
George will brings all these [] tactics, the senseless selfish unprofessional conduct, the sickening behavior in direct violation of their sacred charges and honor to light. He highlights their failure to respect their sworn oaths and their duty.
He explains how and why our political process, our political representatives and our judiciaries have failed us.
The devils or evils of our destruction if you will are incumbency, redistricting, subsidies, excessive pay for public service and a retirement system that breeds contempt for the constitution. Do away with these and the world and the nation would begin to heal and we would have a chance of returning to a true patriotically moral public servant like representative democratic-republic.
This is a great book, one of the best I have ever read and Mr. Will would get my vote as the man who could help us heal our nations. A must read for one who can stomach the truth of just how bad things have gotten in Washington...
Respect for Government, Properly Understood.......2000-10-17
Will's case rests on a few suppositions. First, he provides examples of daily life in Congress which show that, first, the ideas of representation and deliberation have been replaced by servitude. Legislators are slaves who bring pork to their districts. Second, he argues that this servitude has institutionalized career politicians, thus making it nearly impossible to defeat an incumbent given his resources, and thus turning the job of legislator into a career, rather than the temporary position it was originally intended to be. Both of these have driven Congress out of balance, its power disproportionate to other branches of government. As it has invaded more into private life and taken over more responsibilities in society, it has become more corrupt and less respected. So the argument isn't one of punishment but of restoration -- a means of strengthening Congress by returning it to its original, limited function. For Will, this means reviving two vital concepts: deliberative democracy and classical republicanism.
Without going into too many details, I will say only that I am persuaded by Will's case for term limits, made first in early 1990s. The last time it was seriously considered was when Newt Gingrich, as speaker, brought the matter to a vote on the floor of the House as a part of his Contract With America. It was one of the few Contract issues to be defeated.
Most of George Will's books are compilations of previously published columns. In Restoration, he takes the time to look at in issue -- representation -- in depth. People of all political stripes will benefit from the results, though what they read will not necessarily make them happy. It is one of the most intellectually serious arguments for reform that I've heard. It is also readable and re-readable, making it a valuable, brief look at some of the ideas upon which America was founded. That is no small task.
Book Description
Some of the most significant figures in evangelical theology explore the traditional view of the doctrine of salvation and its impact on evangelism in this age. Beginning with the doctrine of God as the author of salvation, pressing issues such as the exclusivity of the gospel and modern evangelism strategies, are examined. It's a forceful, clear presentation of how to stay true to biblical doctrines and faithful to the Great Commission in postmodern times.
Customer Reviews:
Evangelicals Who Believe In Calvinism!!!!!!!!!!.......2000-08-26
Given the present theological dynamics surrounding queries into the nature of God and human destiny, it saddens me to encounter Christian thinkers who are determined (no pun intended)to retreat into the fetid bowels of a tired, stale Reformed Weltanschauung instead of bravely engaging the challenges presented to dogmatics and hermeneutics as we approach the new century. What is lacking in these essays is the belief in a personal deity who can transcend our expectations (cf. Deut. 23 and Isaiah 56) - even our expectations regarding the extent of God's saving activity - and whose mercy can defeat our most entrenched theological prognostications! Viva la grace!
Evangelicals Who Believe in God!.......2000-01-23
Edited by a long-respected OT theologian and a rising-star young theologian, this volume is a welcome tool for pastors and laypersons perplexed by the growing horde of "evangelicals" seeking to redefine the doctrines of God and salvation. The contributors (Carl Henry, R. Albert Mohler, D. A. Carson, et al) are unabashed in their commitment to a biblically-robust classical evangelical theology. Thornbury's concluding article contributes much to this discussion by joining his critique of "post-conservative" evangelicalism with a self-critical analysis of the theological reductionism found in some sectors of traditionalist evangelicalism. The shelf of every evangelical pastor and church leader should make room for this volume.
Book Description
In 1960, Barry Goldwater set forth his brief manifesto in The Conscience of a Conservative. Written at the height of the Cold War and in the wake of America's greatest experiment with big government, the New Deal, Goldwater's message was not only remarkable, but radical. He argued for the value and importance of conservative principles--freedom, foremost among them--in contemporary political life. Using the principles he espoused in this concise but powerful book, Goldwater fundamentally altered the political landscape of his day--and ours.
Customer Reviews:
Why the barking moonbat RFK Jr??.......2007-08-29
I was going to add a newer addition to my library, as my earlier edition is pretty worn. I'll find an earlier edition in good condition rather than buy this one. Why the forward by RFK Jr, I'll never know...
Perfect book until the new Afterword by RFK Jr. CC Goldwater what were you thinking?.......2007-08-25
Mr. Conservative explains what the job of the Federal Government was originally intended to do. It was Not created to make Pyramid schemes like Social Security, not for health care, not for Education, not for creating jobs, not for creating bureaucracy after bureaucracy, not giving over our sovereignty to the United Nations etcetera etcetera. I was so satisfied reading this book up until the end. How can CC Goldwater let a Left Wing Hack Job like RFK Jr. write the Afterword? He is for all of the Government intrusion/handing over sovereignty to the U.N. that Barry Goldwater was completely against. And then he puts words in this great man's mouth! The audacity! RFK Jr. only gets a forum to speak because of his father, he is a LOSER!! Using the Afterword Forum to rail against modern day Republicans that he despises is pathetic. Hey RFK JR., I'm still waiting for you to agree to have windmills installed by your place in Nantucket...you private jet flying HYPOCRITE!!
The Essense Revisited.......2007-08-22
This is a great statement of true Conservatism. What was the point of an afterword by a Socialist Loser. That's the only reason I didn't rate this a 5 star. I would buy an earlier edition if I had it to do over again.
All Political Leaders Need to Read This Book.......2007-06-28
Given the horrible state of politics in our nation and federal infringement on state rights and the constitution, now more than ever all leaders especially conservatives need to read this book. And most importantly after reading it, they need to apply it in how they govern and formulate policy.
Excellent.......2007-03-16
A truly enlightened book. Written by a brilliant man. It is sad that it took 16 years for his votes to be counted when Reagan one the 1980 election. A must read for all Conservative and Patriotic intellectuals.
Customer Reviews:
Compelling and provactive.......2000-03-27
A compilation of articles from reknowned conservative commentator George F. Will. Will presents us with plethera of political and social issues of the 80's agrued eloquently and presuasively. A must read for anyone who wants to understand the social and political melieu of the 1980's. A true classic.
Fascinating.......1998-01-16
Whatever your views, this book should make you think about what they are and why you hold them.
His discussions relating to abortion (especially of the permanently disabled) is particularly poignant, since his son has Down's syndrome. He becomes particularly vocal where his son is concerned (what father wouldn't?) and makes a undeniable case against abortion.
A must read for any politically aware person.
Customer Reviews:
Moral Clarity for the Modern Conservative........2004-09-15
You listened to the President emphasize at the RNC that Government should be a tool, a facilitator to help people better themselves. He didn't mention eliminating goverment. George Will wrote this book about 10 years ago, yet his message can be so pertinent to the modern conservative. There was a lot of discussion recently about how in 2008, different types of so-defined conservatives will be competing for the Republican mantle to carry in the upcoming decades. It raises the question: since the role of the conservative today is no longer to be anti-communist (since the end of the Cold War), nor to eliminate government, nor to even battle deficits, what is the conservative's ideology today? George Will already had the answers with his great foresight. The book really helps a self-defined conservative re-think why we identify with a conservative and what conservatism really is. He articulates concepts that can be difficult to otherwise sort through. Mr. Will in this book makes numerous references to philosophers/writers whom he apparently has been well-guided by such as Edmund Burke, Disraeli, Aristotle, etc.
George Will in this book challenges the notion that conservatism should be defined strictly around an economic principle (capitalism). He gives conservatism greater purpose than just facilitating economic fulfillment through limited government intervention in the market. He resoundingly sends his message in this book that the conservative's mindset shouldn't be to detest government but to improve it and structure it so it is better able to empower and encourage citizenry to uphold its moral responsibilities as well as its economic ones.
I would recommend this book to be included in curricula for graduate-level public-administration programs. In courses that put an emphasis on Hobbes, Machiavelli, Locke and Jeffersonian themes, this book would be an useful refutal to compliment such readings.
Brilliant Insights into What Makes Nations Great.......2003-02-28
Although George Will can be an extremist in some of his views, he has a good mind and is gifted as an author and orator. This is nowhere more evident than in this collection of 20th century essays, where he focuses on "statecraft as soulcraft." Thomas Jefferson understood that an educated citizenry was a Nation's best defense, and the Vietnamese have clearly demonstrated that a nation with a strong strategic culture can defeat the United States when it practices the American way of war (lots of technology, little public support for the war). Today we are beginning to understand that the moral aspects of national character are 3-5 times more important than the physical and economic and technical aspects. Michele Borba's new book, Building Moral Intelligence, together with George Will's dated but still powerfully relevant book, comprise the urgently needed elementary education for all adults who would be responsibile citizens--or leaders of citizens.
A Neoconservative's View of The State.......2002-02-06
Will, a neoconservative often mistaken for a conservative of the old mold, presents his case for the Leviathan state. To Will, if government is good, then more government is better. He sees the state as the rightful architect of society, trusting politicians and bureaucrats to steer the proles along the path to greatness, meaning Empire. I regard neoconservatives as Judas goats; Will is a prime example. This is the man who, a few years ago, said that it is time America repealed "the embarrassing Second Amendment."
Will provides an intellectual history of modern conservatism.......1998-09-17
In this volume, George Will examines the historical roots of conservatism as a way of governing. Drawing on examples from the direct ancestors of American Founding Fathers (the English), Will provides a compelling case for policies that are conservative in intent, as well as in effect. He also shows what strategy should be properly regarded as conservative.
Average customer rating:
- Interesting even when you disagree
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Suddenly the American Idea Abroad and at Home 1986 to 1990
George F. Will
Manufacturer: Free Press
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ASIN: 0029344352 |
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Interesting even when you disagree.......2007-01-07
This interesting collection of 1986-1990 columns by George Will clarifies the times - Glasnost, Gobarchev, Reagan, Bush Sr., the fall of the Berlin Wall, baseball, politics, etc. Will informs, educates, and makes valid points, even though he occasionally veers rightward with foolhardly blather. Still, unlike many conservative commentators, Will is no tawdry mouthpiece. He sometimes criticize allies (and praises opponents), and Will refuses to twist facts, invent statistics, or slander the faith and patriotism of those that dissent. Can we say likewise about screeching fools like Coulter, Limbaugh, and others that demand goose-stepping adherence?
Thinking people will both agree and disagree with Will, depending on the column. Still, you can learn something from his crisply informative writing.
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Corn among the Indians of the Upper Missouri
George F. Will , and
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ASIN: 0803298269 |
Book Description
Corn occupied an important place in the lives of many Native communities that lived along the Upper Missouri River. In this landmark book, George F. Will and George E. Hyde introduce readers to some fifty varieties of native corn discovered in the Missouri Valley. Equally important, they provide an indispensable overview of Indian agricultural techniques there, including methods of harvesting and storing the crop, the preparation of corn for food, and the role of the crop in intertribal and Indian-white trade. Corn was not only grown, traded, and eaten, it also had spiritual significance. A final contribution of this book is a discussion of the presence and value of corn in American Indian myth, religion, and ritual.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting book.......2007-06-04
If you are a gardener, are interested in Native American culture, and especially if you are both, you may value this as highly as I do. Through interviews with surviving women who remembered the details of their tribes' agricultural methods, and the way of life/religion that went with them, the authors have made an important contribution in an area that was undervalued at the time (the early 1900's). But thank goodness they had the foresight to put this information to paper. The book describes tools, varieties, planting methods, and agricultural customs of the Upper Missouri tribes. Thanks to the authors' preservation work, and the work of others, some of the varieties mentioned can still be found. If you are interested, google up the Seed Saver's Exchange in Iowa, and add a new dimension to your gardening.
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