Customer Reviews:
The best book I have ever read for predicting stock trends.......2005-11-04
Harry Dent really made a spectacular call back in 1993 in this book about the tremendous rise in the Dow during the 90's. He even predicted the slump in 2002-2003. His ideas of why this happened are presented in a simple theme that I found very intuitive. This book is a gem.
As for other books by Mr. Dent, he decided to contradict himself and go for very unrealistic goals for the Dow. Read this book and ONLY this book. Too late to make a killing on the stock market but still time to get out of stocks before the coming slump.
An Update.......2003-10-21
An update on this 1992 book "The Great Boom Ahead" from the perspective of 2003. First, Harry Dent is the eternal optimist and this earlier book correctly predicted the bull market of the 90s, while Robert Prechter, Martin Weiss, Nick Guarino, etc. were all wrong (in their timing at least) in predicting a downturn and depression to occur. But wait....the 2000-2002 downturn that cost so many investors money has at least opened a few eyes. And on pages 16, 18 and 34-36 of this book Harry Dent himself predicts the "Mother of all Depressions" to arrive around 2010, when the baby boomers' spending spree is over and they begin to retire. So the eternal optimist Harry Dent AGREES with the eternal pessimists and "doom-n-gloomers" about the inevitable outcome. They just disagree on the timing. So somewhere between 2004 - 2010 we can expect the largest downturn in U.S. history since 1929-1932. Enjoy the rest of the boom !!
A Real Eye Opener.......2002-01-05
Well supported by fact and Examples. Just wish I had read it years earler as I could have saved many $. I just couldn't put it down. Now I wouldn't be without it.
Highly Recommended!.......2001-10-03
Harry S. Dent, Jr.'s book is remarkable both for the overall accuracy of its predictions and for the simplistic model upon which those predictions depend. Written in 1993, it claims a niche within the general family of "trend" books written by the likes of Alvin Toffler and John Naisbitt. The work anticipated our current era of super bullish markets, which it predicts will continue through 2007. The crystal ball drops a few items, given that a few years have passed since publication. Nonetheless, it offers a clear macroeconomic forecast and investment tool. If you sense the Fed just doesn't get the New Economy, this is the book for you. We [...] recommend this book to those seeking to understand the United States' era of record-breaking economic gains (and Japan's current hard times).
Where's Gen X or Silent Generation???.......2001-04-22
It was interesting book and having read it in 2001, I can see that many of his simple forecasts in the 90's are often on the mark. However there are many flaws that reflects his boomer navel-gazing. Why, I wonder, did Dent never chart the population surges of Silent Generation or Generation X? Moreover, where did all the immigrants disappeared to? Did they fell into the black hole after entering America? What about the inner-city blacks with unusally high crime-imprisoned rate? What about the endless resources from nanotech, biotech, and outer space? What about the cracking of welfare states now that communism is no longer a threat? I am sure that if Dent have charted all these information, the picture will look striking different.For example, many boomers prided themselves on being "largest generation". Based on simple birth rate, this is correct, but the picture is incomplete. The busters or Gen X may have smaller birth rate, but far higher immigrantion since the 60's, particulary after Vietnam War when many young people and children escaped dictatorships from Asia and Eastern Europe. Taken together, the Gen X is actually a far larger generation in simple numbers than so-called Boomers. At same time, it also have smaller capital to start business with and must struggle with crack-up of welfare state at same time. Yet, the Xers are more likely and more willing to start businesses and freelance than Boomers who must deal with downsizing from comfortable white and blue collar jobs that they were trained for all their lives.
So as far as I am concerned, there may be a big recession as the boomers retired (certainly, there will certainly be a death of welfare state by that time, and with it, the politics as the driving force of economy) but there will not be a great depression like or greater than that of the 1930's.
Book Description
UNLOCKING HARRY POTTER gives you five essential keys for understanding the HARRY POTTER series. Not just who will live or die in DEATHLY HOLLOWS, but how J.K. Rowling created the most successful books of our times. To understand the story behind the stories, John Granger, author of THE HIDDEN KEY TO HARRY POTTER and editor of WHO KILLED ALBUS DUMBLEDORE?, introduces the themes and patterns Rowling uses to write books that resonate with readers of all ages. This book is for "serious readers" but Granger writes in a very entertaining style. If you never understood the term "postmodernism" or how "literary alchemy" is used by great authors from Shakespeare to J.K. Rowling, then this is a fun way to learn. UNLOCKING HARRY POTTER is the only book to examine in depth the importance of what Rowling said in an interview from 1998, that "to invent this wizard world" she had to learn about alchemy "in order to set the parameters and establish the stories' internal logic." - . - . - . - . - Here's what other HARRY POTTER authors and experts have to say about UNLOCKING HARRY POTTER: - . - . - . - . - "I got so hooked I had to stop everything else and just read, read, read. I carried it around the house, read it while using the excercycle, I hid in rooms away from the action of daily life so I could take it all in. I haven't had that reaction to a book since, well, THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. A spectacular read for all serious fans of Rowling's works. Compelling, well-argued, fun and funny. Engaging. Thought provoking. Erudite." - Tom Morris, author of IF HARRY POTTER RAN GENERAL ELECTRIC and PHILOSOPHY FOR DUMMIES. - . - . - . - . - "John Granger peels back the layers of Rowling's stories and sees patterns the rest of us miss - and he never forgets to be a fan, engaging in fun speculation about what will come in the finale. Once more Granger has shown himself to be second to none among Potter commentators and literary sleuths. Some books are meant to be ingested quickly. Not this one. Serious fans of HARRY POTTER will relish it." - David Baggett, editor of HARRY POTTER AND PHILOSOPHY.
Customer Reviews:
Unsat.......2007-09-09
I purchased this for my grandson, who at 91/2 is an exceptionally bright boy.
Neither he nor his father were able to make heads or tails out of this purchase.
I'm a much more serious reader now.......2007-08-17
Very early in the book John Granger recalls Professor Moody's trunk with 7 locks. Each time Dumbledore inserts a key into a different lock the trunk opens and contains different items. This book is exactly like that trunk! I have read or listened to every Harry Potter book (except Phoenix) more times than I can count and yet each time that Granger brings out a new key my reaction was "I didn't know that that was in there!" I even understand now why I didn't enjoy re-reading Phoenix (the alchemical "black" stage of the series)as much as the other books.
I didn't read this book until after I had read Deathly Hallows and I still truly enjoyed reading Granger's predictions. Some of them were spot on, while others weren't, but the premises on which they were based were solid. I had to laugh at one point, when a reference was made to the sun/Sol and moon/Luna coming together as part of an alchemical wedding. It wasn't precisely a prediction, but in Deathly Hallows Luna certainly did arrive at the wedding wearing brilliant yellow, "sun colors."
The best part is that I can reread the entire Potter series one more time, with a new perspective, and be assured of appreciating details that I have missed before.
Unlocking Harry Potter: Five for the Serious Reader .......2007-08-14
I have seen the books' author on tv, I like the way he divided the book in 5 parts so you can understand about Harry Potter.
good read even AFTER finishing the HP series.......2007-07-28
If you've already finished "Deathly Hallows," and you think this book is now obsolete, think again! This author's take on how Rowling thought while writing the HP series is fascinating and highly educational. Granger could teach a college course on the post-modern literary aspects of Harry Potter, and students would have to go on a wait list just to sign up for the course. Though Granger, I think, would be an annoying prof. His narrative voice has an edge of sarcasm and snobbery - which is hilarious and incredibly irritating at the same time.
Throughout reading this book, I was also fascinated with how on-target were many of his predictions for the "Deathly Hallows" book. At times he is way off-base, and other times you think he must have had an advance copy because he is so precise in his insights about how Rowling will think in crafting the 7th book. I learned a lot about this fascinating series - why I was duped by Rowling in almost every single book, why the themes are so compelling across 3 generations of readers ... and I was left wondering if we will ever again see a book or series like Harry Potter in our lifetime.
COLLEGE LEVEL READ.......2007-07-23
This book is for those who are serious about literature. It is designed for college educated or those who read at the college level. I have a Master's Degree though not in literature. Parts of the book were a challenge to understand.
Book Description
Who was this man who could walk through brick walls and, with a snap of his fingers, vanish elephants? In these pages you will meet the astonishing Houdini—magician, ghost chaser, daredevil, pioneer aviator, and king of escape artists. No jail cell or straitjacket could hold him! He shucked off handcuffs as easily as gloves.
In this fresh, witty biography of the most famous bamboozler since Merlin, Sid Fleischman, a former professional magician, enriches his warm homage with insider information and unmaskings. Did Houdini really pick the jailhouse lock to let a fellow circus performer escape? Were his secrets really buried with him? Was he a bum magician, as some rivals claimed? How did he manage to be born in two cities, in two countries, on two continents at the same instant?
Here are the stories of how a knockabout kid named Ehrich Weiss, the son of an impoverished rabbi, presto-changoed himself into the legendary Harry Houdini. Here, too, are rare photographs never before seen by the general reader!
Customer Reviews:
Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini.......2007-08-06
Harry Houdini's showmanship made him a standout among magicians. Author Sid Fleischman uses the same technique to stand out in the crowded field of Houdini biographies. Escape! captures readers with its flamboyant vocabulary, humor, insider understanding, wonderful photographs with excellent captions and a clearly stated theme which shapes the details of an exciting life. Fleischman organizes this rags-to-riches tale around Houdini's shameless vanity that supported his "megaphone self-promotion" of his self-made legend: sharing that Houdini doctored facts and photographs. Fleischman analyzes Houdini's family relationships, evaluates his career and lasting fame, and explains them to youngsters as part human flaw, part the need to escape anti-Semitism, and part the drive to trump all competitors and fakes. The self-taught Houdini never had a magic lesson. Loyalty to fellow magicians keeps author-magician Fleischman from revealing Houdini's methods, although his bibliography includes books that tell all.
Hungarian Jewish immigrant Ehrich Weiss, searching for a way to financially aid his poor family, finds vaudeville and his stage name, The Great Houdini. Ironically, Houdini later unmasks his youthful idol and name inspiration, Robert-Houdin. This biography dramatically recounts what Houdini got out of: handcuffs, milk cans, straight jackets, jail cells, frozen rivers and coffins. It also spotlights what he got into: airplanes and first-flight records; entertaining troops during World War I; supporting the sons of rabbis, who like himself, performed on the stage; movies; the Encyclopaedia Britannica; the Library of Congress and a crusade bashing phony spiritualists.
Fleishman's rich, intimate account is possible from two special boosts to normal biographical research. He had access to material published privately for magicians and he knew Houdini's widow, Bess, who gave him information and photographs. From the clever table of contents to the sad postmortem, this book overflows with fun facts delivered by out of the ordinary colorful language proving reading can be magic. A treat for readers age 9 - adult.
Escape: The Story of the Great Houdini.......2007-05-31
The book was an interesting read. It showed how exciting Houdini actually was. It was well written and even though it's nonfiction, it was exciting. This information was well-done enough so I could use it for a sixth grade report.
Okay.......2007-05-05
This book wasn't my favorite biography, a couple of the photographs were kind of strange, like when a woman has ghost essence coming out of her ear and the "What-is-it?" monster. The story was pretty good, although I had to go back a couple of times and re-read the sentence to understand what it was really saying. I found out some interesting Houdini facts that I never had known before, such as his real name was Ehrich Weiss. He also didn't know his birth date. I might recommend this to others, although I don't really know.
For Magicians Of All Ages!.......2007-03-13
I bought this book for a Valentine's present for my husband, who has been doing magic tricks and illusions since he was a young boy. He has always been fascinated by the Great Houdini, so when I saw this book, I took a chance. We have both enjoyed this book tremendously. It is written in very nice, simple language, with large print, and wonderful never-seen before photos. I would highly recommend this little magical gem!
A 2007 Association of Jewish Libraries Notable Book for Older Readers.......2007-01-29
Biographies can be dull and plodding, but this one is just the opposite. Partly because of the nature of the subject - the fascinating magician, illusionist, and escape artist Harry Houdini - and partly because of the bright prose of the author, this biography is engaging, humorous, and a pleasure to read. It is full of colorful language like prestidigitator, bamboozler, razzmatazz, razzle-dazzle, ragamuffin, derring-do, braggadocio, boondocks, bunkum, and blunderbuss. It is also infused with the showman's Jewish side, recalling Houdini's birth as Ehrich Weiss to an impoverished but scholarly rabbi in a Budapest ghetto, his self-invention and brashness as an immigrant, the effects of anti-Semitism, and his lifelong love of learning. According to the author, Jews are significant in the history of magic. Along the way we get a history lesson in vaudeville and other popular entertainments in turn of the century America and Europe. We also see Houdini as quite the overachiever; in addition to his legendary feats, he was an author, editor, pilot, and collector of magician memorabilia. REVIEWED BY SUSAN BERSON (DENVER, CO)
Book Description
For over fifteen years, New York Times bestselling author Harry S. Dent, Jr., has been uncannily accurate in predicting the financial future. In his three previous works, Dent predicted the financial recession of the early nineties, the economic expansion of the mid-nineties, and the financial free-for-all of 1998-2000.
The Next Great Bubble Boom -- part crystal ball, part financial planner -- offers a comprehensive forecast for the next two decades, showing new models for predicting the future behavior of the economy, inflation, large- and small-cap stocks, bonds, key sectors, and so on. In taking a look at past booms and busts, Dent compares our current state to that of the crash of 1920-21, and the years ahead of us to the Roaring Twenties. Dent gives advice on everything from investment strategies to real estate cycles, and shows not only how bright our future will be but how best to profit from it.
Dent gives us all something to look forward to, including:
- The Dow hitting 40,000 by the end of the decade
- The Nasdaq advancing at least ten times from its October 2001 lows to around 13,500, and potentially as high as 20,000 by 2009
- Another strong advance in stocks in 2005, with a significant correction into around September/October 2006
- The Great Boom resurging into its final and strongest stage in 2007, and even more fully in 2008, lasting until late 2009 to early 2010
Dent's amazing ability to track and forecast our financial future is renowned, and here he takes that ability to the next level, showing not only what our economy will look like but also how it will affect us as individuals, as organizations, and as a culture. From the upcoming wealth revolution to the essential principles of entrepreneurial success, the book describes a new society where economic and philanthropic development go hand in hand.
In The Next Great Bubble Boom, Dent shows not only how the economic growth of the late 1990s was a prelude to the true great boom right around the corner but how all of us can reap its benefits.
Customer Reviews:
Next Great Bubble Boom, Revised Again.......2007-09-03
Hindsight tells us a lot of things. For the Next Great Bubble Boom, hindsight shows that Harry Dent's analysis of a 40,000 Dow and 20,000 Nasdaq are just as fanciful now as they were when he made the predictions in 2004. His latest revisions, which came out last year, show he has cut his original estimate in half, and that the predicted outcomes are much more within reason. The difficulty with accepting his predictions now is that the past ones ended so dismally. The seductive part of Dent's analysis is that it squares with historical and demographical cycles. The ridiculous part is the extrapolation into predictive behavior. It you want some really wild stuff, just look at what he says will happen from 2023 on. If anybody made any investment decisions based on this book, they're about due for a thorough reality check. His most powerful cycle, the 10-year cycle, seems the most likely one to come true. But the difficulty with predicting what will happen in each 10 year cycle is that Dent bases it strictly on stock market past behavior. And whenever that prediction fails, Dent finds some new cycle to explain his error. His latest cycle, the geopolitical cycle, supposedly explains the failure of the markets to rise in 2004-2005. What he failed to recognize early on was the impact of commodities, hedge funds, and Fed interest rate policy. Whenever the Fed raises rates, the stock market goes numb, because large institutional investors stay away. This time around, those investors put their billions into hedge funds, to get the promise of 40%+ returns. That alone explains the 2004-2005 doldrums. Add the spectacular housing boom/bust and you see why Dent's predictions went south. Now that the Fed has stopped raising rates and is apparently going to drop them, some of what Dent predicted still could come time. But notice that the title for the short book now says 2006-2010 rather than 2005-2010. The revisions just keep coming. I can't wait for the next one.
Is Dent Such A Big Liar or Just that Stupid?.......2007-06-26
I really do not know what to think. So many people write books based on a positive premise rather than reality because they know positivity sells. There's nothing wrong with positivity, but it should be reserved for motivational speakers not investments and economics. We are talking about people's retirement funds here!
Dent does not say much of anything new that he hasn't already said in his previous books. He is just trying to cash in on a rebound from the Internet bubble collapse. What kind of value is there in predicting a stretch of 4 years of great market returns? Regardless, we have yet to see this spectacular market performance. I'll tell you why he did this. Anyone with common sense knows that extremes in the market are followed by compensatory reversals which may or may not last. What this means is that Dent (like many others) expected a rebound from the lows in the market merely due to normal stock market behavior. The fact that he has restricted it to 2010 tells you where he thinks the market is really headed--down.
NEVER BUY A BOOK BY ANYONE WHO HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN a BULLISH STOCK MARKET (THOSE WHO WORK FOR MUTUAL FUNDS AND WALL STREET). ALSO NEVER BUY A BOOK BY ANYONE WORKING FOR A HEDGE FUND UNLESS YOU WANT TO HEAR THAT THE MARKET WILL GO DOWN. THESE GUYS ARE ALREADY TAKINGYOUR MONEY IN TEH MARKET AND NOW THEY WANNA TAKE YOUR MONEY BY SELLING YOU BOOKS FILLED WITH DREAMS THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.
Don't waste your money on this book. Instead get some books that talk about how bad the economy really is and how it is going to get worse for many years.
interesting read.......2007-04-11
interesting read. I am still waiting for his predictions to come true...
Dent in my wallet.......2007-04-07
If only I could express how much time and optimism I wasted after reading this book...
The fact is that the forecasts are wildly out of sync with reality, Dent's methods are proving to be nearly useless and market risks are actually on the INCREASE as I write this review.
Dent did not predict the real estate boom, he did not predict the commodity boom, he did not predict the 2000 bear market, he did not predict the dollar loss against the Euro... the list goes on. When he gets a prediction wrong, he just adds another "cycle" to his forecasts... the stock market turned to goo after 2000? "oh, well we discovered the 10 year stock cycle, and this PROVES that stocks should have gone down"... the Dow didn't go to 14,000 (as predicted in this book)? "Oh, we forgot about the commodity super-cycle". How many other 'cycles' does Dent not know about?
After reading this book a couple years ago, I'm sad to say I subscribed to his newsletter at around $400-500 /year, and while their knowledge of economic fundamentals was clearly solid, I can't say I made any money from his insights, or that his insights were any better than what I'd read on the Internet for free.
I'd recommend you take this book (along with everything else) with a grain of salt, and learn from a lesson that sinks in only after you've blown money... no one knows the future, especially Dent.
Wealth takes research.......2007-03-09
Harry Dent has another winner. Being the third in a series of books by Harry Dent, "The Greatest Boom in History: 2006-2010," tells us again how to save what wealth we have and increase it during the current economic and investment boom. Anyone with money to invest must read this book.
Book Description
A Harvard professor and former Dean of Harvard College offers his provocative analysis of how America's great universities are failing students and the nation
America's great research universities are the envy of the world-and none more so than Harvard. Never before has the competition for excellence been fiercer. But while striving to be unsurpassed in the quality of its faculty and students, Universities have forgotten that the fundamental purpose of undergraduate education is to turn young people into adults who will take responsibility for society.
In Excellence Without a Soul, Harry Lewis, a Harvard professor for more than thirty years and Dean of Harvard College for eight, draws from his experience to explain how our great universities have abandoned their mission. Harvard is unique; it is the richest, oldest, most powerful university in America, and so it has set many standards, for better or worse. Lewis evaluates the failures of this grand institution-from the hot button issue of grade inflation to the recent controversy over Harvard's handling of date rape cases-and makes an impassioned argument for change.
The loss of purpose in America's great colleges is not inconsequential. Harvard, Yale, Stanford-these places drive American education, on which so much of our future depends. It is time to ask whether they are doing the job we want them to do.
Customer Reviews:
The focus on future education.......2007-02-17
Dr. Young-Gil Kim, President of Handong Global University, Pohang, South Korea (www.handong.edu) and the author of "See the Invisible, Change the World" published in 2006 by Xulon Press in the USA.
"Excellence Without a Soul: How a Great University Forgot Education" by a former Dean of Harvard College and Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science for thirty-two year has greatly attracted me as the founding and incumbent university president trying to practice the whole-person education of a new revolutionary higher education with global perspective demanded in the 21st century. Dr. Lewis's book should be required reading for every college/university presidents academic deans, and professors, who want to find out the true meaning, purposes, and values of higher education. Professor Harry Lewis points out that "education is not the same thing as classroom teaching. ... The professors have become more and more narrow in expertise in order to secure tenure.... In recent years, university has had its head turned ever more by consumerism and by public relations imperatives, to the detriment of its educational priorities for its students. Money and prestige rule over principle and reason." He drew from his experience that how our great universities have abandoned their mission. While striving to be surpassed in the quality of its faculty and students, universities have forgotten that the fundamental purpose of undergraduate education is to turn young people into adults who will take responsibility for society.
I would like to expand on the concept of "society". We now describe the scale and scope of our society as "global". The internet and IT revolution have "connected" every aspect of our lives to an unprecedented fashion. World markets and currencies rise and fall not only on military conflicts, but now on simple climate to regulatory changes in local regions. Therefore the definition of leadership has also expanded from a local to a global scale, and it is imperative that the universities and education system equip the future leaders of the 21st century.
How do we equip these leaders? This has been the focus and mission of Handong Global University (HGU). The three important components of global leadership education are global communication ability, global character, and global professional capability. The global leadership education of combining the following: professional capability, character education, and global perspective education. On a final note, the global leadership education is not an "option" or "nice to have" education philosophy, but a "must" and "need to have" for the future leaders of the 21st century.
View from Inside a Cocoon.......2006-10-03
After a twenty year career as a college professor, I continue to read books that challenge the academic world.
This time I was reminded of the time I attended an academic conference in my field. The keynote panel focused on a task force charged with investigating "how to motivate top researchers to stay active throughout their careers." I wondered why the 300 or so audience members should care about half a dozen well-paid, tenured professors at top-tier schools.
And that's how I felt as I thumbed through this book. In a televised interview, Lewis claims he received supportive comments from colleagues at all sorts of universities. But much of this book has to be about Harvard or a clone. Grade inflation makes less sense when your university accepts a wide range of students. And Lewis's claim that professors are "volunteers" who could easily get another job should draw scornful laughter from professors all over the world. After ten years in the academy, many professors are unemployable elsewhere, and only the most exceptional tenured professors can move to other schools.
Ironically, this book about academia does not draw on academic scholarship. As a result, Lewis, a math teacher, comes across as what another reviewer calls a "cranky old man."
For example, Lewis reminds us, at one time teachers and scholars lived together. A woman could study Classics one-on-one with a male professor, finishing with a civilized glass of sherry.
These nostalgic observations should be discussed in the framework of cultural and social change. Trends related to privacy, compartmentalization of home and work and gender roles all account for these changes. Lewis barely notices that his own privileged career at Harvard would have been difficult (if not impossible) for a woman of equal merit.
Ultimately that lack of framework can lead readers to question Lewis's most earnest proposals. Why should professors seek to develop the moral lives of their students? Who cares if they're "good" people and if some of them are characterized by Lewis as "despicable?" In fact, who judges professors' moral character at all? Students choose a secular university precisely because they want to compartmentalize. They want to learn math, science and sociology, not morals. Those who seek goodness can choose faith-based alternatives or New Age options like Maharishi University.
It's also notoriously hard to evaluate teaching. Lewis himself disparages standard, widely-used student evaluations. But professors who sit in on classes often have political agendas. Early in my career I was warned that, at teaching schools, rewards depend on how much colleagues and administrators "like" you. I've found that's an accurate observation.
Perhaps the best section of the book comes in the chapter about athletic departments. As a professor, I often received notes from coaches asking me to report students who missed class or failed tests. I couldn't help wishing all students had access to the support athletes get: tutors, mentors, schedules and more. In her books, Lady Vols Coach Pat Summitt tells us she assigns upperclass players to play big-sister to the entering freshmen.
And I agree that the NCAA places ludicrous restrictions on players' earning power. As he says, an oboist can earn money in a summer orchestra but a basketball player has to sell socks in a sporting goods store. Ridiculous.
But Lewis goes on to note that recruiting committees ask coaches (but not professors), "What would you do if a student cries in your office?"
Except for the very best and/or highly motivated, students don't seek close ties to their professors, who see them a few times a week for a few months in specialized settings. Coaches see students almost every day for their entire four years, often in close locker room settings at odd times of day.
Like Lewis, I wish students would take more responsibility for themselves and lose the helicopter parents. I once got a call from a mom who explained her son would be "absent" for the first two classes of the term. The 25-year-old son would in my MBA class after finishing his stint as an officer in the US Navy.
I also agree that both men and women need to accept more responsibility for their own social conduct. Students who attend parties with alcohol need to recognize what may happen. Although nobody would condone date drugs and rape, I've seen first-hand how false accusations can destroy a career. And even when an accusation is true and the attacker gets justly punished, nobody wins.
Finally, both as student and teacher, I've always felt that administrators placed too much emphasis on formal curricula. Should students take course A or course B? And in what order? Often decisions boil down to politics Course A adds enrollment numbers to Department A, which translates to resource allotments and faculty positions.
A "history of medicine through the ages" might seem a poor substitute for European History 1200-1750. But as we learn about one corner of a subject, we might be motivated to keep going and get the bigger picture.
Perhaps the problem isn't with Lewis but with the topic. In my opinion, the best views of academia come not from essays but from memoirs, such as those by Jill Ker Conway and Patrick Allitt, where the authors adhere to the old maxim of "show, don't tell." Alternatively, a social science framework (even the Malcolm Gladwell lite version) might give us a unified coherent commentary.
Big surprise.......2006-09-07
My best friend from first grade went to Harvard College in 1971. Since the Ivy League at that time was still all-male, I went to Mount Holyoke College. We met again at Tufts, him in the Medical School and myself in the Dental School. Don said the hardest part of Harvard was getting in; no course he took in the pre-med department could hold a candle to the AP Chemistry course he took at our public high school. I feel he sold out his considerable abilities as a paper-pusher for an HMO, but he may disagree. But the fact remains that although he has an MD he doesn't see many patients. Classmates of mine who spent semesters at the Ivy League schools also commented on the easy courses and high grades.Granted, at MHC some students took the easy way out; our class valedictorian was a French major who was from France! And for that you paid what?This book doesn't tell other college grads anything they didn't already suspect. My daughter graduated from Quinnipiac, and my son is a sophomore at Centenary College in New Jersey. The only parents I met who wanted their son to go to Harvard weren't interested in what he wanted or if he belonged there.That's the trouble with being Harvard: so many people just want the name. Both my kids had interests and looked for the schools that had the programs they wanted.The book is well-written and a good read, and it will make you glad your kids didn't want to go to Harvard!
of course.......2006-07-07
Of course, we all know Harvard sucks. Take the entering first-year class, from the highest income brackets in the world, and still them in any situation, and they'll be fine. Harvard doesn't add any educational value - it just isn't messing the students up. Besides, the college exists to serve the needs of the professors, not the students. This book is a biting indictment of a meaningless and benign institution that does little to help the students who walk through its doors and adds little, if any, value to society.
A Call for Change.......2006-06-28
I have felt for some years that the big American universities have been short changing their students, especially their undergraduate students. While to a large extent the student will get out of the school what they put into it, the large research universities are concentrating so much on research that they seem to forget their basic role.
It is quite possible to go through any of these big schools and get an undergraduate degree without ever having a class taught by a professor. Instead they are taught by teaching assistents, with little, if any, teaching experience.
The smaller undergraduate only schools such as Dickinson (Carlisle, PA), Reed (Portland, OR) and of course many others provide an undergraduate program where the student meets real, honest to God professors, and even can work with them on things like their research. The student is even likely to get named on papers he writes. At the big schools, no way.
Of course what you get at Harvard and the others, is membership in an exclusive group. If your goal is Wall Street, Washington, or a big law firm, a Harvard degree gets you an introduction that can't be beat, regardless of how good an education you received.
It will be interesting to watch what happens to these schools in the coming years.
Average customer rating:
- Succeeds at What it Attempts.
- The NEVER Ending Story or Deja Vu all over again!- Part 2
- Good installment in alternative WWI series
- Amazing
- The Great War gets bogged down
|
Walk In Hell (The Great War, Book 2)
Harry Turtledove
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 General
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
World War I
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
War
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Alternate History
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Turtledove, Harry
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Paperback
| Turtledove, Harry
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside History Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
General
| United States
| Americas
| History
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
World War I
| Military
| History
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
War
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Turtledove, Harry
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Paperback
| Turtledove, Harry
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Alternate History
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Great War: Breakthroughs
-
American Front (The Great War, Book 1)
-
How Few Remain
-
American Empire: Blood & Iron
-
American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold (American Empire)
ASIN: 0345405625
Release Date: 2000-07-05 |
Amazon.com
Harry Turtledove marches on through history with The Great War: Walk in Hell. In his alternate timeline, the Confederate States of America won the Civil War, aided by Britain and France. In the 1880s (How Few Remain), Americans fought again after the CSA acquired parts of Mexico--and the CSA won again. When WWI begins with Archduke Ferdinand's assassination in 1914 (The Great War: American Front), the 34-state USA under Teddy Roosevelt allies with Imperial Germany and Austria against Britain, France, Russia, Japan, Canada, and Woodrow Wilson's CSA. Trenches divide Canada, fierce fighting rages from Tennessee and Kentucky into Pennsylvania, a Mormon uprising against the USA consumes Utah, and a black socialist rebellion distracts the CSA, where slavery has ended but blacks still await full citizenship.
Walk in Hell takes us from fall, 1915, through 1916. Soldiers, sailors, and airmen continue the fight, but much happens behind the lines too. Turtledove's characters include Jewish immigrants who are socialist and antiwar, a widow running a coffee house in CSA-occupied Washington, D.C., who passes information to the USA, and two Canadian farmers living under U.S. occupation in Quebec and Manitoba. He vividly conveys the human side of war. When Joe Hammerschmitt gets a shoulder wound in the Virginia trenches:
... pain warred with exultation on his long, thin face. Exultation won. 'Got me a hometowner, looks like,' he said happily. Half the men up there with him made sympathetic noises; the other half looked frankly jealous. Hammerschmitt was going to be out of the firing line for weeks, maybe months, to come, and they still risked not just death but horrible mutilation every day.
Some find Turtledove's cast too large, the story's action too slow. Others complain that Walk in Hell is too similar to his Worldwar series. Alternate history buffs, however, will marvel at his mastery of detail, enjoy following his logic as he pursues military and social developments onward in time, and find it hard to wait for the next in the series. --Nona Vero
Book Description
The year is 1915, and the world is convulsing. Though the Confederacy has defeated its northern enemy twice, this time the United States has allied with the Kaiser. In the South, the freed slaves, fueled by Marxist rhetoric and the bitterness of a racist nation, take up the weapons of the Red rebellion. Despite these advantages, the United States remains pinned between Canada and the Confederate States of America, so the bloody conflict continues and grows. Both presidents--Theodore Roosevelt of the Union and staunch Confederate Woodrow Wilson--are stubbornly determined to lead their nations to victory, at any cost. . .
Customer Reviews:
Succeeds at What it Attempts........2005-09-08
The scope is large: the entire theater of World War I on North American soil. This scale is typical Turtledove. The story here is more vast than a few carefully crafted characters could contain. As a novel reader, one is tempted to wish for a tighter focus. One may want to delve deeper into the tender psyches of several of the more interesting characters, such as Jonathan Moss the flying Ace, or Jake Featherston the artillery Sergeant, or Anne Colleton the Mistress of pillaged Mosslands Plantation, but the theater of WWI in America requires a broad cross-section of humanity; and as such, necessarily, we must be content with the briefest snippets of each character's adventure as part of the grander scheme of the entire drama. So, going beyond the perceived missing characterization, this novel succeeds at what it attempts. It purports to be an alternate history novel of WWI fought right here in America. Reading A Walk in Hell gives one a great feel for the war that never was. The mindsets of the principles are ably represented. The people may be shallow but they are realistic portrayals of early twentieth century people. We get to experience the war from the point of view of people on, and behind, many lines of battle, and on both sides of the conflict. The theme here is that people, though from many a varied background, are very much alike. The reader can empathize with most of the characters.
The entire affair has an air of plausibility due largely to the fact that Turtledove never deviates far from actual historical events. The war in Europe continues as before, and the technological advancements of the weapons of war progress at a pace coinciding with those of the real war. We see the first use of tanks to breakthrough the stalemate of trench warfare, and airplane advances promise to alter the war's outcome as planes become more than just aerial reconnaissance devices.
The characters, while necessarily stereotypes, are consistent with the period, with there racial biases, and vengeful tendencies toward the enemy. Our personal contemporary experiences, with the persistent prevailing animosity between the North and the South, lend credibility to the feelings the characters express toward such political antagonists as depicted in this book, the U.S. and the C.S.A., who have fought not just one civil war, but now are engaged in their third period of hot aggression.
A consistent theme throughout all of Turtledove's Great War books, and The Guns of the South for that matter, is unjustified racial discrimination. More often are whites depicted as people of dubious substance than are blacks. Turtledove does a commendable job of giving reasons for this discrimination in the minds of the white characters, both North and South, and some characters are seen to grow in their empathy for the plight of the Black man.
The experienced Turtledove reader will be immediately engaged in the scope of this novel, enjoying the shifting perspective between the various character vignettes that comprise the structure of the book. Turtledove unfolds his story chronologically even thought told through the eyes of many diverse characters. This chronological structure helps the reader keep track of the grand progress of the war throughout the novel despite following the action through many characters on many different fronts. This diffusion of focus can be unsettling unless one grasps the broader panorama of the world Turtledove is trying to convey. Once that broad panorama is understood the experience of letting it unveil before you is quite enjoyable.
This is a very plot driven novel despite the diffuse focus on many different characters, the plot being the slow plodding of a war. This book is recommended to those who can hold a complicated story firm in their heads while gaining only glimpses of the lives of characters.
The NEVER Ending Story or Deja Vu all over again!- Part 2.......2005-07-03
"Walk in Hell" is the second book of Harry Turtledove's "The Great War" trilogy. To recap where we are in this series: the trilogy is an outgrowth of a single book: "How Few Remain". And, the only character that "remained" from that book to move into the trilogy was General Custer. This book wrought the Great War trilogy: 1) American Front, 2) Walk in Hell, and 3) Breakthroughs. This second book solidifies what has become a truly never ending story of nasty Southerners, displaced Mexicans, incompetent Northern officers and feisty Canadians reappear who NEVER die! As with the first book, by the end of this one you will wish that the carnage had been more complete - you pray for the invention of the atomic bomb to end all of civilization but there are no more volumes to go.
It you are like me and want to make sure that you start at the beginning of an author's work and read through to the end, no matter how many volumes, this second volume is almost guaranteed to stifle your reading desires. I have read the entire trilogy and will review the last volume also, but I'll give you my bottom line here so you don't have to drive through all three of my reviews. Take this trilogy to the beach, mountains or lake and if you have a vacation of rain where you have to be indoors, this trilogy will fill those hours. If you don't finish the trilogy during your vacation, PLEASE leave them for the next humans to inhabit that vacation space.
This volume begins with George Enos and after 484 pages there is no resolution of this minor character's Confederate prison camp experience. Don't get me wrong, all the character story lines - and there are dozens to keep straight - are interesting. They just NEVER end. War is a study of death, destruction and tragedy. By the end of this second of the trilogy you are hoping for a few of these characters - especially the saccharine ones -been an untimely demise. I was drawn to the third volume because I really wanted them to meet their ends.
Good installment in alternative WWI series .......2004-08-02
In The Great War: Walk in Hell, Harry Turtledove continues his tale of an alternate world in which the United States and Confederate States fight the "war to end all wars." From the vantage point of the characters he introduced in the previous volume, American Front, the reader follows events from the fall of 1915 - with the sides deadlocked in a bloody stalemate and facing rebellions at home - to the end of 1916. His command of the period is excellent and, while some characters are better defined than others, the overall depictions are strong enough to sustain a reader's interest throughout the novel. Together their experiences convey the grinding misery of war, with the deaths of a couple of his main characters helping to underline the tragedy of the conflict. As a result, while suffering from some of the drag inherent in any middle novel of a series that seeks to sustain action without reaching conclusion, "Walk in Hell" is an entertaining read and a good addition to his developing tetralogy.
Amazing.......2004-01-21
I started this series expecting to be entertained, but only mildly. I was sept off my feet by all three of the books in this series. It is a great read for anyone into military, historical, or alternate history fiction novels
The Great War gets bogged down.......2004-01-10
Walk In Hell is the continuation of Turtledove's alternative history of WWI as fought on American soil. Walk In Hell continues the story exactly where American Front leaves off and focuses largely on the inability for either side to escape the horror of trench warfare. In the Confederacy the blacks rise up in communist insurrection taking advantage of the South's distraction with the war. With the fight stalled on most fronts Walk in Hell works to further develop the 12 or so characters Turtledove is following through the war.
Average customer rating:
- Great book, except for one thing...
- Yamabushi's mini reviews XXII
- Ok Book,But not one I would suggest to someone else
- a great story
- Interesting Facts From A Different Viewpoint.
|
American Front (The Great War, Book 1)
Harry Turtledove
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Alternate History
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
High Tech
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Turtledove, Harry
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Paperback
| Turtledove, Harry
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
General
| Turtledove, Harry
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Paperback
| Turtledove, Harry
| ( T )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Alternate History
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
High Tech
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Walk In Hell (The Great War, Book 2)
-
The Great War: Breakthroughs
-
How Few Remain
-
American Empire: Blood & Iron
-
American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold (American Empire)
ASIN: 0345405609
Release Date: 1999-05-01 |
Amazon.com
Harry Turtledove's second multivolume saga of 20th-century "alternative history," How Few Remain, takes place in a world in which the Confederate States win the Civil War and in 1914, allied with England and France, go to war against the United States once more. All the horrors of World War I, such as trench warfare and mustard gas, are present, only this time they're situated in a North American theater of operations where the U.S. fights enemies on both its northern and southern borders while Confederate blacks, studying up on left-wing radicals Karl Marx and Abe Lincoln, prepare for the revolution. As in Turtledove's earlier Worldwar series, the majority of attention is paid to an assortment of people at the battlefields and home fronts, their stories unfolding in gradual increments that, at least so far, only intermittently connect with each other. And there's not as much in the way of "real" historical figures popping up in this first volume of The Great War series, save for cameo appearances by U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt, Confederate president Woodrow Wilson, an aging General Custer, and a handful of others. It remains to be seen whether future entries in the series will feature such obvious candidates for inclusion as the young Ernest Hemingway, and how they'll appear in this strange new world. --Ron Hogan
Book Description
When the Great War engulfed Europe in 1914, the United States and the Confederate States of America, bitter enemies for five decades, entered the fray on opposite sides: the United States aligned with the newly strong Germany, while the Confederacy joined forces with their longtime allies, Britain and France. But it soon became clear to both sides that this fight would be different--that war itself would never be the same again. For this was to be a protracted, global conflict waged with new and chillingly efficient innovations--the machine gun, the airplane, poison gas, and trench warfare.
Across the Americas, the fighting raged like wildfire on multiple and far-flung fronts. As President Theodore Roosevelt rallied the diverse ethnic groups of the northern states--Irish and Italians, Mormons and Jews--Confederate President Woodrow Wilson struggled to hold together a Confederacy still beset by ignorance, prejudice, and class divisions. And as the war thundered on, southern blacks, oppressed for generations, found themselves fatefully drawn into a climactic confrontation . . .
Customer Reviews:
Great book, except for one thing..........2007-03-03
I haven't finished this book yet, but I must to say it's one of the best alternate history stories I've had the pleasure to read. However, there is one part of the book that I find a too hard to believe, and that is the Mormon Uprising that begins somewhat around the middle of the novel.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I know that we would not do such a thing as this. In fact, one of the basic tenets of our faith is being "subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."
I was greatly disturbed by some of the scenes in Utah, particularly those describing woman and children as young as eight fanatically attacking the U.S. troops, to the point that the Army essentially had to wipe out everyone in the town. To me, this is the behavior one would see in a cult, something that the LDS Church is not. Anyone wishing to challenge me on this point may feel free to do so, but privately and in a dignified manner.
[...].
As I said earlier, I've found this book to be an excellent read so far, and I'd recommend it to other alternate history fans as a good addition to their collection.
Yamabushi's mini reviews XXII.......2007-02-09
I could cut and paste my `Into the Darkness' review here, only American Front lacks either aliens or magic too make it the least bit interesting. There's more then a few vivid descriptions of a horse and wagon stuck in a muddy road in here, I think the plots in one of those wagons.
Ok Book,But not one I would suggest to someone else.......2006-10-15
The author had a alot of neat ideas for an alternative way the United States would have been if the civil war had been a draw.But the amount of characters that this book revolves around is unbelievable.It took me till I was 3/5 the way through this book before I would remember the next group of characters he would write about.And instead of hearing about just the yankee's up north,it was 95% of the time the "damnyankee's"(monotonous).Also about 50 pages from the end it starts becoming obvious that the story is not going to end with this book.It just doesn,t have good closure for some of the characters.Maybe it does with the next book.Overall if your into alternate history its not a bad book.But be prepared to be lost or keep notes through this book.
a great story.......2006-05-11
I can remember it like it was yesterday. My family and I had evacuated from hurricane Denis and were spending a couple of days in Jacksonville. We went to the mall to pass the time and I went into a Books a Million. As I was walking by the I happened to look down and see something interesting. It was the cover of a book with three WW1 solders waving a confederate flag with the capital building in front of them and an airplane in the sky. I remember thinking to myself "wait a minute, the south lost the civil war way before world war one." I just had to buy it. I wasn't disappointed. The Great War: American Front jumps from one point of view (POV) to another many times in one chapter. This gives you an idea of what is going on in all parts of the country at the same time. You get to see what its like for a pilot, a fisherman, a sailor, civilians in occupied territory, and many more. There is only one thing that I really hated. It was the socialist. America loves the American dream in witch people go out and earn a living for themselves and their families. The goal of a socialist society is to create a communist one, and we all know what history has to say about communism. And one more thing, all you red- necks out there who read this book and say "yeah youa'll that's the way it should be" you need to get your heads out of the ground and look at the big picture. In this alternate world North America has become like Europe wear wars are not all that uncommon, hatred reigns supreme and Americans kill each other over European wars. This is not how it should be, but a grim reminder of how it could have been. Please don't you ever say something that stupid again.
Interesting Facts From A Different Viewpoint........2005-09-02
Some people consider WWI as the "Great War" and, I'm sure, that those of who fought were correct at the time. This is an 'alternate' history of this war, meaning it is not the facts, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I've been meaning to get around to this book for a long time, but it took the movie, 'The Great Raid' to cause me to put this as priority.
I previously reviewed GHOST SOLDIERS on which the movie was made, and done well. It was so realistic that I had to cry (and I don't cry easily) because of the ferocity and lact of humanity the enemy showed. It was the same in WWI only our soldiers were not equipped to fight anyone that animalistic. I see now why Tennessean Alvin York went berserk and killed so many of the approaching enemy in this war, as he was cornered and was fighting for his life.
It's not always war where you have to defend you right to live in freedom. I had to use my elbows to get out of a difficult situation which I found myself in this past month. As in WWII, the enemy set out to engage and reduce the other side. This war engulfed Europe in 1914 and we came to their aid; now, in 2005, more than ninety years later, Europe has surpassed U.S.A. as the superpower of the world calling themselves the United State of Europe. Copycats! We should not jump the gun so quickly when the ally you fight for strives to surpass you in everyway. We thought we were helping England against Germany. Well, at least the Confederates who 'lost' the American Civil War took the cause of Britain and France, while the American Yankees took the side of Germany. It was another Civil War only on foreign ground this time.
The machine gun, poison gas, trench warfare and the airplane were used first in this war to beat all wars. "As President Teddy Roosevelt rallied the diverse ethnic groups of the nothern state (where he originated from) -- Italians, Mormons, Jews, and Irish -- Confederate President Woodrow Wilson struggled to hold together a nation still beset by ignorance, prejudice, and class divisions." The United States still has all of the listed attributes, especially two professors from other states who tore down one of the Southern Civil War heros with a book full of lies and no truth. That shows ignorance and prejudice is alive and well as the Northerners are still considering Tennessee a hillbilly state and everyone in it "white trash."
As in WWII, the aim was "don't surrender," and "never give up whatever the situation." The Americans were bound to give no information to the enemy when captured except name, rank, and serial number. Sometimes, in severe times of conflict, the soldiers and their leaders had to crawl like a snake to survive. Planes had a pivotal role in rescuing the POWs in the Phillippines and their flying low over the camp was the signal for the troops to move into position for the night maneuvers. It's true that war is hell; and nothing is really accomplished. When you defeat one dictator or generalisimo, there is another to take his place to start another war.
Turtledove has out a new book, END OF THE BEGINNING, which I am looking forward to reading and reviewing. He has a vast array of war books in his repetroie such as THE GUNS OF THE SOUTH, DAYS OF INFAMY (that was in one of Gen. MacArthur's speeches; I remember as he was my first hero and I had a little plaster statue of him), HOMEWARD BOUND, and DRIVE TO THE EAST. Let's rise up again and go there to show those Northerners that we can stand up for our beliefs.
Book Description
Although his cousin Sir Francis Drake is more famous, Sir John Hawkins (1532-1595) was a more successful seaman and played a pivotal role in the history of England and the emergence of the global slave trade. Born into a family of wealthy pirates, Hawkins became fascinated by tales of the riches of foreign lands. Early in his career he led an illegal expedition in which he captured three hundred slaves in Sierra Leone and transported them to the West Indies. There he traded them for pearls, hides, and sugar—thus giving birth to the British slave trade. His voyages were so lucrative that Queen Elizabeth herself sponsored subsequent missions.
Discouraged from his career as a pirate by a near-fatal encounter with angry Spanish troops, Hawkins spent much of his later life in England at the service of the queen. Although he committed treason, murder, and adultery at various points in his career, he was nonetheless knighted in 1588 for his role in defeating the Spanish Armada. In this riveting book, Harry Kelsey, biographer of Sir Francis Drake, tells the story of this extraordinary man.
Customer Reviews:
One of the Armada's Fab Four.......2004-09-08
Those of us raised on tales of the Armada, and the gallant defense of the English homeland, will immediately recognize Sir John Hawkins as one of the fabulous Four heroes who repelled the Spanish attacks (the other three being Howard, Drake and Frobisher). Less admirably, Hawkins is also notorious for his freebooting in the Carribean, wherein he sought to bust the Spanish monopoly on slave-trading. Like Sir Francis Drake, Hawkins was a master of staging a phony "raid" on local Spanish officials who were all too keen to buy the Englishman's wares - but needed to stage a token resistace to the interlopers in order to satisfy King Philip that the dreaded English had forced them to trade at gunpoint. Kelsey tells Hawkins's life story passably well, but the narrative is, for the most part, an unexciting one; for a character this infamous, one might have expected something more.
Average customer rating:
- Great, Excellent, Fantasic
- Fun Book
- Big disappointment
- I've lost count of how many times I've read this book
- One of My Old Favorites
|
The Hammer and the Cross
Harry Harrison , and
John Holm
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| African American
| Asian American
| Classics
| Collections & Readers
| Drama
| General
| Hispanic
| History & Criticism
| Humor
| Jewish American
| Letters & Correspondence
| Native American
| Poetry
| Short Stories
| Women Writers
Harrison, Harry
| ( H )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
One King's Way (Hammer and the Cross)
-
Mother of Kings
-
Deathworld
-
Return to Eden (West of Eden, Book 3)
-
viking: king's man
ASIN: 0312854390 |
Book Description
865 A.D. Warring kings rule over the British Isles, but the Church rules over the kings, threatening all who oppose them with damnation. Only the dreaded Vikings of Scandinavia do not fear the priests.Shef, the bastard son of a Norse raider and a captive English lady, is torn by divided loyalties and driven by strange visions that seem to come from Odin himself. A smith and warrior, he alone dares to imagine new weapons and tactics with which to carve out a kingdom--and launch an all-out war between......The Hammer and the Cross.
Customer Reviews:
Great, Excellent, Fantasic.......2005-01-20
I normally dislike alternate history. But this proved that people can pull this genre off. If you come to this book looking for stories about the Norse gods you won't find them. Instead, you find an Englishman who falls in among Viking raiders . He meets a Way-man(i.e. Asatruar) who tells him about the Asier and Vanir (Norse gods). His life from that point is then touched by his patron god (can't say who, it will spoil the book).
This is a grand story, filled with romance, action, adventure, mystery, and one suprise after another. I'm currently reading the sequel and so far it is proving to be just as impressive. You will not be disappointed if you buy this book.
Fun Book.......2004-11-16
This was a fun book-I enjoyed it so much that I slogged through the end of the series, which I thought was pretty crappy, because I liked this one so much.
It's sort of sad that people say 'It's great history' or 'It changed my life', though. It's not that hard to write a history that makes one people look evil and another saintly, especially if you use 'alternate history' to do it, and Harrison is far from an un-biased observer in matters of religion.
Big disappointment.......2003-03-17
This book was terrible. I stuck with it, always hoping it would get better. I didn't care an ounce about the main character. It was really just one battle scene after another, throwing in a new weapon each time. The story wasn't very interesting either. Good concept, but not enough was said about the gods and their roles.
I've lost count of how many times I've read this book.......2002-10-17
From the beginning you are caught up in the viking age, and the story of Shef, who changes the course of history through the help he recives from the Norse Gods in the form of visions. As an ametuer historian, I found this novel exceptional, and as someone who personally followes the old norse gods, I was not dissapointed. The Gods and Goddesses are portraied truly, I get the feeling the author has had experience with them himself, or at least the input of someone else who does.
This is a long book by itself, full of action. The two books which follow it only get better.
One of My Old Favorites.......2002-04-05
I love this trilogy, from the start of book one to the end of book three, the historical aspects are pointed out in a way that fits as part of the story and they don't overthrow the plot, lending the books a very authoritative tone. The Characters are great, (Brand is one of my favorites) and there's plenty of action. What I like best about these books is that Harrison really makes you feel inside the story, the way he handles the characters attitudes towards each other and their surroundings really makes you feel like you're right with them weather it's Anglo-Saxon England, Scandinavia, The Frankish Empire, Muslum Spain or what's left of Rome. As for character development, Harrison has a great way of using the third-person point of view in a way that can convey things unknown to the characters yet at the same time the tone of the narrative is flavored with the particular character's personality, culture and view of their surroundings, helping the reader understand more fully the motives and inhibitions of the people he describes. I read these back in high school and loved them then as much I still do now.
Amazon.com
Harry Middleton had to endure hardships to find the queen mother of all trout streams in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. He had to live through treacherous mountain roads, the cloud of airborne industrial toxins that shrouds the range for most of the year, an occasional blast of lightning, and, worst of all, a helping of rancid potato salad at a roadside diner. Like Norman MacLean in A River Runs Through It, Middleton makes fly-fishing a religion with its own vision of nirvana, and if it takes an occasional descent into the nether regions to attain it, the author isn't afraid to supply the grisly details. This graceful, funny memoir belongs in every angler's library.
Customer Reviews:
Smoky Mountain Treasure.......2004-01-10
I love the Smoky Mountains. This book captures the magic of these mountains perfectly. This is one of those books that I couldn't stop reading. I've hiked the Appalachian Trail through the Smoky Mountains and tasted the mountains intimately as Middleton did. His descriptions of the scenery are right on the money. The characters he meets and acquaints himself with are exactly the kind of people one meets while traversing the back country in the Smoky Mountains. I loved this book for the colorful characters Middleton describes. But, there is a whole lot more to the Smokies and it's all told. The geography, the invasive insects, toxic air, Cherokee Indians, founders of the park, and a whole lot more are part of his story, in addition to the subject of fly fishing. If you love the Smoky Mountains like I do you're going to love this book. If you have never been to the Smoky Mountains you're going to want to go after reading "On the Spine of Time". Also, if you like this book, and you enjoy the characters as much as I did, then I suggest you also read the book, "A Walk In the Woods", by Bill Bryson.
"I Am Haunted By Waters.".......1999-12-06
If you recognize with reverence this closing passage from Norman Maclean's classic "A River Runs Through It", you will equally treasure "On The Spine Of Time". It is a story of finding one's self in the beauty and solitude of the mountain streams of the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. The stories are as much about the history of the area as they are about the experiences of one man as he seeks retreat from the trauma of everyday life in the city. It is a book you will read over and over. In decades of reading outdoor stories I have only found two other books that are as beautiful as this one. The first and greatest has to be Maclean's masterpiece from which I stole the title for this review. The other is John Hersey's "Blues". I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.
Books:
- Great Tales from English History (Book 2): Joan of Arc, the Princes in the Tower, Bloody Mary, Oliver Cromwell, Sir Isaac Newton, and More
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)
- His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- International Marketing
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
- The Great Gilly Hopkins
- The Origins of the Cold War, 1941 - 1949, Third Edition
- Timothy Leary: Outside Looking In: Appreciations, Castigations, and Reminiscences by Ram Dass, Andre
- Atom-Photon Interactions: Basic Processes and Applications
- A Walk through the Heavens: A Guide to Stars and Constellations and their Legends
- Russia's Virtual Economy
- The Critical 2nd Phase of Your Professional Life: Keys to Success for Age 40 and Beyond
- The German Economy: Beyond the Social Market
The Sovereign Individual
At the Crest of the Tidal Wave: A Forecast for the Great Bear Market (Wiley Investment)
The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times And Ideas Of The Great Economic Thinkers
Unlimited Wealth: The Theory and Practice of Economic Alchemy
The Roaring 2000s: Building The Wealth And Lifestyle You Desire In The Greatest Boom In History
