The Poisonwood Bible (Oprah's Book Club)

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Oprah Book Club® Selection, June 2000: As any reader of The Mosquito Coast knows, men who drag their families to far-off climes in pursuit of an Idea seldom come to any good, while those familiar with At Play in the Fields of the Lord or Kalimantaan understand that the minute a missionary sets foot on the fictional stage, all hell is about to break loose. So when Barbara Kingsolver sends missionary Nathan Price along with his wife and four daughters off to Africa in The Poisonwood Bible, you can be sure that salvation is the one thing they're not likely to find. The year is 1959 and the place is the Belgian Congo. Nathan, a Baptist preacher, has come to spread the Word in a remote village reachable only by airplane. To say that he and his family are woefully unprepared would be an understatement: "We came from Bethlehem, Georgia, bearing Betty Crocker cake mixes into the jungle," says Leah, one of Nathan's daughters. But of course it isn't long before they discover that the tremendous humidity has rendered the mixes unusable, their clothes are unsuitable, and they've arrived in the middle of political upheaval as the Congolese seek to wrest independence from Belgium. In addition to poisonous snakes, dangerous animals, and the hostility of the villagers to Nathan's fiery take-no-prisoners brand of Christianity, there are also rebels in the jungle and the threat of war in the air. Could things get any worse?

In fact they can and they do. The first part of The Poisonwood Bible revolves around Nathan's intransigent, bullying personality and his effect on both his family and the village they have come to. As political instability grows in the Congo, so does the local witch doctor's animus toward the Prices, and both seem to converge with tragic consequences about halfway through the novel. From that point on, the family is dispersed and the novel follows each member's fortune across a span of more than 30 years.

The Poisonwood Bible is arguably Barbara Kingsolver's most ambitious work, and it reveals both her great strengths and her weaknesses. As Nathan Price's wife and daughters tell their stories in alternating chapters, Kingsolver does a good job of differentiating the voices. But at times they can grate--teenage Rachel's tendency towards precious malapropisms is particularly annoying (students practice their "French congregations"; Nathan's refusal to take his family home is a "tapestry of justice"). More problematic is Kingsolver's tendency to wear her politics on her sleeve; this is particularly evident in the second half of the novel, in which she uses her characters as mouthpieces to explicate the complicated and tragic history of the Belgian Congo.

Despite these weaknesses, Kingsolver's fully realized, three-dimensional characters make The Poisonwood Bible compelling, especially in the first half, when Nathan Price is still at the center of the action. And in her treatment of Africa and the Africans she is at her best, exhibiting the acute perception, moral engagement, and lyrical prose that have made her previous novels so successful. --Alix Wilber

Book Description

In 1959, Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist, takes his four young daughters, his wife, and his mission to the Belgian Congo -- a place, he is sure, where he can save needy souls. But the seeds they plant bloom in tragic ways within this complex culture. Set against one of the most dramatic political events of the twentieth century -- the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium and its devastating consequences -- here is New York Times-bestselling author Barbara Kingslover's beautiful, heartbreaking, and unforgettable epic that chronicles the disintegration of family and a nation.

Customer Reviews:

Cut the last 100 pages & it's a masterpiece!.......2007-10-15

This is a fantastic book. More than anything else, Barbara Kingsolver's characterization is amazing. At first, I wasn't sure how effective her multiple first-person point-of-view account would be, but her characterization was so unique, detailed, and consistent that the characters felt like real people.

Kingsolver does a great job developing the plot, and really illustrating the culture clash between the Americans and the Congolese. She also does a great job developing the internal conflicts of the Price family. As time passes in the novel, the characters grow, change, and adapt, maintaining credibility.

I had only two real problems with this book:

1 - I felt like the novel truly ended when the Price women left Africa. The last hundred or so pages were tedious and unnecessary, and added nothing to the overall plot or message of the story. In fact, it seemed to undermine the story by sending the characters and the plotlines off in a ton of different directions.

2 - It grew too political at times. It didn't seem at the beginning this was Kingsolver's intention, but by those last few hundred pages, the writing was about 97% blatant political propaganda and 3% novel.

Other than that, a page-turning, enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book, as well as Kingsolver's other novels.

Blew me away!.......2007-10-09

This is one of the handful of contempory fiction books that makes it to my top 10 list. I avoided this book for a while because the premise -- a missionary family from Georgia in the Belgian Congo -- just didn't appeal to me. I don't know what compelled me to pick the book up and give it a try, but I am so happy that I did. Once I picked this novel up I could barely put it down. This family's story is fascinating, tragic, and beautiful. If you are at all on the fence about this book I highly recommend you give it a chance!

Poisonwood Bible.......2007-10-07

An excellent book that grips you from the start.As I am not religious I had a few reservations about reading it when I saw it was about missionaries, but the story is essentially about their family life in the Congo and the dangers they faced. It is written from the point of first the mother then each of her four daughters and is very skilfully done. I love this author and this is one of her best. It is entirely different from anything else she has written.

One of my favorites..........2007-10-03

The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel (P.S.)
I've read this at least half a dozen times in the last several years & ALWAYS find nuances and plot points that are new. Kingsolver provides seamless transitions between the voices of the characters while managing to hold each one accountable for her own actions and the way their impact magnifies as it ripples outward through the family and into the community. I especially enjoyed Adah's biting wit & sarcasm from the perspective of her "diagnosis" and is a character I'd really like to meet in real life.

Thank you Barbara........2007-09-27

What can I say, Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favorite writers. She's witty, inventive, and lyrical, to say the least. Just blew my mind with this one. It's amazing how every sentence is so poetic and so fascinating from start to finish. Great story. Beautifully written. A masterpiece.

Evolution of New York City Subways: An Illustrated History of New York City's Transit Cars, 1867-1997

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NYC Subway Fan's Delight!!!

Evolution of New York City Subways: An Illustrated History of New York City's Transit Cars, 1867-1997
Gene Sansone
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Subway Style: 100 Years of Architecture & Design in the New York City Subway

ASIN: 0801868866

Book Description

A collaborative labor of love by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the New York Transit Museum, Gene Sansone's Evolution of New York City Subways: An Illustrated History of New York City's Transit Cars, 1867-1997 -- now available from the Johns Hopkins University Press with a new foreword by Clifton Hood -- offers an extensive array of photographs, line drawings, and stories about the city's most treasured railcars. Subway buffs, railfans, students of New York City history, and specialists in the history of technology will appreciate this authoritative account. MTA New York City Transit and Sansone provide a record of the rolling stock that helped make New York City one of the great cities of the world.

Customer Reviews:

NYC Subway Fan's Delight!!!.......2003-04-03

I'm a native New Yorker, born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, so the NYC subway system means a great deal to me. I'm also a railfan, so my interests in the inner workings of the IND, BMT, and IRT run very deep as well. That's why I can say that Evolution of New York City Subways truly is a subway fan's delight. Gene Sansone has written an incredibly fact-filled, engaging chronicle of the rolling stock of the MTA and its predecessors, as only an insider can. The comprehensive text is accompanied by excellent interior and exterior photos, plus detailed diagrams and specifications. I predict that this book will soon become the reference standard on this subject. I sincerely urge all subway fans to get a copy immediately: they won't be able to put it down!

A Priest Forever: The Life of Father Eugene Hamilton

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Great read!
Fr. Eugene Hamilton - An Inspiratoin Forever!
fantastic book
heart wrenching
Moved to pray,

A Priest Forever: The Life of Father Eugene Hamilton
Benedict Groeschel
Manufacturer: Our Sunday Visitor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0879739444

Customer Reviews:

Great read!.......2005-12-21

I loved this book. However, it would be a little difficult for the non-Catholic to understand with all the talk of feast days, rituals, etc. Father Eugene was a wonderful man who accomplished more in his 25 years than many accomplish in their lifetime. I would encourage anyone who can handle a very sad story to read this book. It will strengthen your faith incredibly!

Fr. Eugene Hamilton - An Inspiratoin Forever!.......2003-08-06

I just finished reading the book... WOW!!!! What an amazing accounting of Fr. Gene; I was really moved by this and INSPIRED more than I could have ever been before reading this, the words of the Holy Father sent to Fr. Gene in hopes of his recovery, "Tell him I LOVE him with my whole heart - in toto corde" that is the true priesthood, embodied in one word, 'LOVE', it couldn't possibly be described any other way - Fr. Gene chose to use Cardinal Cooke's definition - a priest is: a Servant, a Victim, a Brother, a Listener, a Friend. I am very greatful for this story and will never be able to thank my Priest enough for giving me this book.

fantastic book.......2003-02-20

this was a very moving fantastic book. This guys faith is awesome. I got many copies of this book and sent them to my friends. I highly recommend this.

heart wrenching.......2002-09-24

I have read and re-read this book several times and I only bought it two weeks ago!

The story of Father Eugene Hamilton is an inspiration to all Christians every where and I still shed many, many tears while absorbing the incredible testimony of faith by this Godly young man.

This is a book worth treasuring and reading over and over again and even though it merits 5 stars all the way, I only wish there were more testaments from people who knew him...to make the book longer!!

This is perfection in every way......like Father Eugene....who should be canonized!! This man was truly a saint of GOD! That's why God called him home just as his life and vocation was beginning.

Don't miss this one!!

Moved to pray,.......2001-01-21

I felt uplifted to know that as a worshipper at Saint Patrick's I had once prayed for the healing of this young priest at Mass. I feel like in a minute way, I've participated in the story of a saintly soul and a spiritual flower. As Cardinal O'Connor once put it, being a saint meant doing THE best that you can. It is not lost on me that Fr. Hamilton was truly a gifted and happy young man who desperately lovingly wanted to do the will of Jesus by becoming a priest and offered his very self in the process. His story reminded me of St. Therese, for his life seemed to consist of doing little things with great love, including his seminarian studies day by day. How I wish I could have had him as a parish priest or a friend. God bless his memory and spread his story of abandonment to Providence.. .

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People Yearbook 1997 (People Yearbook)
N. Y.) People Magazine (New York
Manufacturer: Time-Life Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1883013100

The Legacy of Isaiah Berlin (New York Review Books Collections)

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Writing about Isaiah Berlin is not the writing of Isaiah Berlin
A Tribute to a Great Thinker and Pluralist!
Mark Lilla and Ronald Dworkin together???

The Legacy of Isaiah Berlin (New York Review Books Collections)

Manufacturer: New York Review of Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0940322595

Book Description

In the fall of 1998, one year after the death of Isaiah Berlin, the New York Institute for the Humanities organized a conference to consider his intellectual legacy. The scholars who participated devoted much of their attention to the question of pluralism, which for Berlin was central to liberal values. His belief in pluralism was at the core of his philosophical writings as well as his studies of contemporary politics and the history of ideas. The papers given at the conference and collected in this volume concentrate on three aspects of Berlin's concept of pluralism. Aileen Kelly, Mark Lilla, and Steven Lukes trace the development and consequences of his distinction between "hedgehogs," thinkers who have a single, unified theory of human action and history, and "foxes," who believe in multiplicity and resist the impulse to subject humanity to a universal vision. Ronald Dworkin, Bernard Williams, Thomas Nagel, and Charles Taylor examine how liberalism can be sustained in the face of Berlin's insight that equally legitimate values, such as liberty and equality, may come into irreconcilable conflict. Avishai Margalit, Richard Wollheim, Michael Walzer, and Robert Silvers take up Berlin's advocacy for the State of Israel and his hopes for it as a place where the often contrary values of liberalism and nationalism might find harmonious resolution. The Legacy of Isaiah Berlin includes not only the panelists' contributions but also transcripts of the lively exchanges among themselves and with audience members following each session. The two days of discussion preserved here demonstrate the continuing vitality and relevance of Isaiah Berlin's thought in today's social and political debates.

Customer Reviews:

Writing about Isaiah Berlin is not the writing of Isaiah Berlin.......2006-04-28

One of the distinctive elements of the writing of Isaiah Berlin is that he made intellectual history exciting for the reader. His writing has a flair, a sweep a rhythm and way of connecting the story of a thinker with his ideas which keep the reader thinking and awake.
The essays here are more bland material. And even if in the consideration of Berlin's objective- value-pluralism they do raise 'hard questions' they seem far more 'academic' than Berlin himself was.
As for the section on Israel and nationalism I am not sure that they underline sufficiently how devoted a Zionist Berlin was.

A Tribute to a Great Thinker and Pluralist!.......2004-03-06

This book, which was published from a conference dedicated to discussing aspects of Berlin's emphasis on value pluralism, is divided into three sections. The first focuses on his pluralism as he saw it within history. The second takes his pluralism and speaks of it in relation to moral theory. The third discusses that pluralism as relating to the question of Israel and nationalism. Obligatory disclosure: I skipped section three as Israel is not a question that interests me, so my review is on the first two sections.

Now, anyone who's read Berlin knows that he is notoriously hard to pin down. He is to historical to be a philosopher yet to philosophical to be a historian. As one who wrote more historical studies than philosophical essays (in the proper sense) Berlin's thought is hard to synthesize. This book, though, does a good service by focusing on Berlin's central theme: the plurality of values and their connection to history and philosophy. See, for Berlin, no one system could account for our moral lives. Values, ends, means, these all conflict inter- and intra-personally. No system, said he, will resolve these so that they all line up and 'hang together'. Abstractions, too, like Liberty, are meaningless without a concrete context; liberty of what according to who's view? That pluralism is what this book discusses: the first part on its affect on Berlin's historical study, the second on his philosophy.

There is a great group of thinkers here: Mark Lilla, Michael Walzer, Ronald Dworkin, Thomas Nagel, Charles Taylor - on and on. The essays, more-or-less, form a consensus and largely find Berlin's pluralism unproblematic as far as its truth goes (the only article that takes issue is Dworkin's). Each thinker, though, has a different take on what accepting pluralism means and whether, if conflicting values is 'inevitable', how far we should go to TRY and reconcile them. That's where the fun is; in these small differences. I should mention to that each section ends with a 20-or-so page 'discussion' section that must have been transcribed during the seminar. We see a lot of good interchange here between the panelists.

All in all, this is a book that should not be missed by those that find value (or question) in Berlinian pluralism.

Mark Lilla and Ronald Dworkin together???.......2001-03-26

Can't wait to see this one. Lilla and Dworkin is like a collaboration between Ken Vandermark and Wynton Marsalis.

Courting Justice: From New York Yankees vs. Major League Baseball to Bush vs. Gore, 1997-2000

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Teacher's kid
One of the greatest legal minds of his time
A good read, but what is missing is David Boies
A good read in need of a good editor
For everyone, not just lawyers

Courting Justice: From New York Yankees vs. Major League Baseball to Bush vs. Gore, 1997-2000
David Boies
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Letters To A Young Lawyer (Art of Mentoring)

ASIN: 0786868384
Release Date: 2004-10-13

Amazon.com

David Boies's memoir should be a bestseller for two simple reasons. First, his spectacular legal career, representing clients as diverse as Al Gore, George Steinbrenner, the U.S. Justice Department, and Calvin Klein, provides ample material for a compelling exploration of the practice of law in its most high-profile glory. And secondly, the book seems bound to sell well simply because most enterprises Boies gets himself involved with, from lawsuits to Las Vegas gambling, tend to pay off big. In Courting Justice, Boies traces the intricacies of numerous cases, such as Bush v. Gore in the hotly contested 2000 Florida recount, Steinbrenner's action against Major League Baseball, and the U.S. Government's antitrust litigation against Microsoft. At the same time he sheds light on the legal profession itself, exploring the politics of the profession and the power plays endemic to it. As though presenting his cases to a jury, Boies lays out the framework and issues of each case in a patient, step-by-step manner that illuminates the nature of the litigation and Boies's strategy while also supporting the narrative arc of the story he's trying to tell. As with many top lawyers, there is more than a dollop of ego and pride in Boies's accounts. Throughout Courting Justice Boies portrays himself as the voice of reason, possessed of a shrewd sagacity that his rivals and peers can only admire with slack-jawed amazement. Then again, when you look at the numerous legal triumphs and precedent-setting cases he was involved in, especially during the late 1990s, his arrogance is perhaps well earned. Regardless, it lends confidence to his outstanding ability to turn a phrase and tell a story, which, combined with the numerous stories he has to tell, makes David Boies's latest effort a success once again. --John Moe

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

Teacher's kid.......2007-02-23

Trial, like a battle, is a zero-sum game. I thought the author could walk on water until Bush v. Gore. David Boies likes dice throwing, and compares it to litigation. Actually, he feels that analogies to war are overdone.

Deposing Bill Gates in United States v. Microsoft was an opportunity to use the e-mail of the CEO and others in the company against the defendant. The trial of Microsoft had been dubbed the trial of the decade. After the Microsoft trial, Boies embarked upon a suit against Roche, BASF, Rhone-Polenc and others for price-fixing in the vitamin market. The case settled for more than the estimated overcharges.

The auction house business used to be cozy. In 1983 Alfred Taubman purchased Sotheby's. In the late 1990's price-fixing resulted in law suits against Christie's and Sotheby's. There was a run of class-action law suits and, in a bidding processs devised by the court, Boies and his firm became the lead attorneys. The cases settled. It is claimed that litigation may resemble the game Bridge, but negotiation to settle resembles Poker.

When Boies entered the Bush v. Gore matter, Warren Christopher was in charge. A number of days were spent in Florida and the Florida courts. Initially there was jubilation because a recount of the undercounting state-wide was to be commenced. Then Boies learned that the U.S. Supreme Court had stopped the count from going on just prior to the scheduled December 11th hearing before it. The Court failed to show the restraint it had for two hundred years in Bush v. Gore. Justices Kennedy and O'Connor discovered a problem with the Florida procedure on Equal Protection grounds.

Boies's recital of some of the notable cases in his career is never dull.

One of the greatest legal minds of his time.......2006-08-27

In sorting out the various element that contributed to Boeis's distinguished career as a lawyer who gave pride and grace to his profession, I could come up with few, based on his narration of and his broadcasted trials:

1- As a middle class young student, growing up in a racist society in the 1960, he sensed the common suffering as a young parent of two kids, with little resources, with those that confront black Americans. Poverty knows no skin color. Yet, his white skin enabled him to secure modest residence in Chicago after verifying that his wife was also not of the colored race. "Does it matter?" he never got an answer to his question from the nosy residential agent who decided his fate, then. The mere instinct of asking such a question in 1959 when racism was the norm in the American society, shows how liberal young Boeis was for his generation.

2- His financial struggle to raise family and go to school had ruined his first marriage and left him a wounded man. The woman who helped him succeed left him with his two kids. That loss seemed to throw him into a forbidden love with the wife of his evidence professor, which ended by his transfer from Chicago to Yale. His second marriage led him to work in New York, after graduation from law school. Yet, for the same reason of occupational dedication, it ended and a third marriage emerged in Washington DC. It was clear that he learned by mixing with ordinary people and shared their suffering and struggle for survival. His personal struggle went along with his developing clarity, simplicity, and accuracy in his legal reasoning.

3- His adventurous ordeal with the Guatemalan millionaire's ransom sheds more light on his rigorous calculating mind. His two divorces, growing up poor, gambling interests, and mixing with rich and diverse cultures in major American cities and institutions, were all put in action in his playful and foxy litigation with dangerous, arrogant, and powerful opponent, in foreign and lawless country. Though Boeis admits his mistakes in indulging in a lawsuit that burdened his relationship with his family, his profession, and his employer, yet his mind was unsettled. Whether enough justice could be bought by everyone? Or standing to those who subvert justice at the expense of indigent citizens is worth fighting for? He opted to deliver justice and would repeat the same "mistake" in US v. Microsoft and Bush v. Gore. His recognition that lawyers to parties should not act as judges did not quench his zeal for out-of-reach justice.

4- Boies' Guatemalan adventure also demonstrates his stubborn steadfastness that accompanied him since youth and cost him two marriages, yet let to successful profession. His empathy with Mary and her two kids let him overlook the notorious deeds of her callous ex-husband. After trapping a criminal into a federal prison, Boeis ventured into freeing him despite his long and heinous mischiefs. Boies went on to praise the courage of the FBI, criticize few corrupt judges and lawyers, yet forgot his own indulgence in releasing a criminal to freedom for the sake of his millions. The son and daughter of Joey would have better life without his psychotic influence, Mr. Boies!

5- Almost every legal argument he confronted has been approached as a mathematical problem. Boies outlines all possible options to which his arguments could lead to, along with all feasible approaches to each option. That basic logical organization enables him to prepare for fights he never fought and win fights by virtue of his convincing reasoning. His unique and individual stand on principals distinguishes him over the majority of lawyers. Boies acts as an activist for reform and democracy when many lawyers aimed for secure financial winning. He confesses that had not he been a lawyer, he might have been a teacher of History. Making history was his drive to regulate software industry, health care cost, and democratic representation of powerless voters.

6- The simplicity of his reasoning could not be attributed to study alone. In many of his arguments, he adapts to unpredictable responses and arrives to his ultimate goal. In the asbestos case against Grace, he admits that both the court and his opponent failed to catch him leading during direct examination. He had unintentionally improvised his leading questioning to get his witness to open up against his reservation. In the US v. Microsoft, Boeis shows brilliant technical skills unexpected from a non-technical professional. While Gates accused him by being unable to pass high school physics, Boeis quashed the tricks of the top experts of Microsoft when they attempted to fool the court by claiming that Windows and IE are inseparable. The arrogance and shallow mindedness of the software gurus led them to underestimate the diverse interests and skills of an uncanny lawyer.

7- In addition to his growing up among common people and sharing their struggle for making ends meet, his gambling and travel hobbies have enriched his quick problem solving ability. Associating with people at the top of their professional careers, combined with his keen ability to listen and observe, has contributed to priming his deftness. He does not shy from describing himself as an "experienced examiner", which he is.

8- His ultimate secret may be his ability to clearly discern the basic logical blocs of an argument and tie them quickly and neatly within larger frameworks. Few times, he admits exhaustion after examining hard-to-admit witnesses. Yet, he realizes that those tough fighters always admit to more information after embarrassment than they set off to do. On the quality of justice and judges, Boies presents a realistic narration of corrupt as well as honest judges. Consistently, he claims that judges always attempt to be fair even when they sometimes act with exaggerated toughness.

Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training

A good read, but what is missing is David Boies.......2005-12-27

David Boies is a true legal superstar and deservedly so. He is probably best known for arguing the losing side in Bush v. Gore to the U.S. Supreme Court. The book is a cross section of what the author believes to be some of his most interesting cases and many of them are. The book is readily accessible to the lay reader. Boies goes out of his way to explain even the simplest and most obvious points of law so that no one need be left behind. His rise to stardom is all the more extraordinary considering he was dyslexic. He glosses over his two failed marriages and we get to meet all the members of his extended family. But what I found curiously missing is David Boies, the man. He is very careful to hide his feelings about virtually everything except for a couple of lawyers. He is an observor of his actions, rather than a participant. His eye is incisive and he misses nothing. But where is he? He never tells you how he feels (sad, angry, happy). It's as if he left a holographic David Boies for you to look at to fool you into thinking it is the real thing. Surely the book is a fascinating look inside one of our great legal minds and well worth reading, but when I finished, I had no idea of what David Boies is really like.

A good read in need of a good editor.......2005-08-05

It's hard to imagine that a non-lawyer might enjoy reading about a conspiracy to fix the price of vitamins or the fees charged by auction houses, but I certainly did. Boise is able to distill complicated legal issues into easily understandable terms. The cases range from the above antitrust issues to the more famous Microsoft case to a horrific custody battle to the Bush v. Gore recount fiasco. Boise approaches all with a sense of humor and a clarity of prose.

That having been said, I really felt this book needed some basic editing help. Boise uses footnotes incessantly for things that could and should be included in the text. He also references cases that aren't discussed in the book and then alludes to them in the afterward. Someone should have told him to take those references out --- they make the book a little confusing.

Finally, Boise's ego certainly isn't small. He thinks much of himself, and he probably is entitled to. The first couple of chapters, however, about his rise through the ranks of lawyers to the star he is today, can sometimes be a little much.

I would say perhaps the best reason to read this book is for an inside look at Bush v. Gore. Boies doesn't talk much about hanging chads. He does look carefully at the legal issues -- rather than the more catchy but ill-defined issue of "fairness" -- involved in the Florida recount, and coherently explains why the Gore campaign and the legal team proceeded as they did. Frankly, I wish Boies had written a whole book on this -- it is clearly the best section.

For everyone, not just lawyers.......2005-06-14

I was impressed by David Boies during the 2000 Election crisis, especially after reading a Time magazine article on him. When I saw this book, I was immediately interested, but I was apprehensive since I am not a lawyer and I was afraid it would be bogged down in legalese and I wouldn't understand the book. I decided to take a chance, especially because there was a chapter on the Yankees versus Major League Baseball. It turns out that I understood everything Boies wrote. That's because Boies writes very clearly and for everyone, not just lawyers. He explains the details in the cases that are important to understand, the fundamental arguments of both sides, not just the side he was representing, all in an enjoyable way. I found myself even enjoying the chapters on cases I wasn't immediately drawn to, such as "Fixing the Price of Health" (on price fixing in vitamins), and "The Auction House Scandal". Boies also recounts two of his most famous cases: the Microsoft case and Bush vs Gore. I definitely recommend this book.

Governing the Economy: The Politics of State Intervention in Britain and France (Europe and the International Order (New York, N.Y.).)

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Governing the Economy: The Politics of State Intervention in Britain and France (Europe and the International Order (New York, N.Y.).)

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Policy & Current Events | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0195205308

Book Description

For over one hundred years, the British economy has been in decline relative to other industrialized countries. This book explores the origins of Britain's economic problems and develops a striking new argument about the sources of decline. It goes on to analyze the evolution of economic policy in postwar Britain from the development of Keynesianism to the rise of monetarism under Margaret Thatcher. France, by contrast, experienced an economic miracle in the postwar period. Hall argues that the French state transformed itself and then its society through an extensive system of state intervention. In the recent period, however, the French system has encountered many difficulties, and the book locates their sources in the complex interaction between state and society in France culminating in the socialist experiment of Francois Mitterrand. Through his insightful, comparative examination of policy-making in Britain and France, Hall develops a new approach to state-society relations that emphasizes the crucial role of institutional structures.

From Transition to Power Alternation: Democracy in South Korea, 1987-1997 (East Asia (New York, N.Y.).)

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From Transition to Power Alternation: Democracy in South Korea, 1987-1997 (East Asia (New York, N.Y.).)
Saxer
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Democracy | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0415933935

Book Description

In 1987 South Korea began a democratic transition after almost three decades of significant economic development under authoritarian rule. Increased civil unrest caused by dissatisfaction resulted in the regime agreeing to constitutional changes in the summer of 1987. By 1992 the first president without a military background was elected and during his tenure a further deepening of democracy took place. These reforms were instrumental in making it possible that in 1997 for the first time in South Korean history an opposition candidate was elected president. This book examines the initial transition and later attempts at consolidating democracy in South Korea, and argues that although significant progress had been made and a power alternation achieved by late 1997, South Korea could not, by the end of that decade (1987-97), be considered a consolidated democracy.

Theatre World, 1997-1998, Vol. 54 (Theatre World)

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Theatre World, 1997-1998, Vol. 54 (Theatre World)
John Willis
Manufacturer: Applause Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Theatre World Volume 58 - 2001-2002: Hardcover (Theatre World)
Theatre World Volume 57 - 2000-2001: Special Tony Honor Edition Hardcover (Theatre World)
Theatre World Volume 59 - 2002-2003: Hardcover (Theatre World)
Theatre World Volume 60: 2003-2004 (Theatre World)
Theatre World 1996-1997, Vol. 53 (Theatre World)

ASIN: 1557834091

Book Description

Theatre World, the statistical and pictorial record of the Broadway and off-Broadway season, touring companies, and professional regional companies throughout the United States, has become a classic in its field. The book is complete with cast listings, replacement producers, directors, authors, composers, opening and closing dates, song titles, and much, much more. There are special sections with biographical data, obituary information, listings of annual Shakespeare festivals and major drama awards.

From the Free Academy to Cuny: Illustrating Public Higher Education in NYC, 1847-1997

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From the Free Academy to Cuny: Illustrating Public Higher Education in NYC, 1847-1997
Sandra Roff , and Anthony Cucchiara
Manufacturer: Fordham University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

From the Free Academy to CUNY provides the first generally accessible narrative of the development of the City University of New York from its inception in 1847 as the Free Academy to its present status as the largest urban university in the country. The book includes an extensive bibliography of books, articles, dissertations and major policy documents, as well as chapter notes and an index. The Free Academy was born in controversy and today the City University of New York is again in the midst of controversial changes. This book provides the background necessary to understand how the municipal college system emerged, developed and became a university. Over 120 annotated illustrations dramatize the 150 years in which it has been facing the challenge of educating “the children of the whole people.” This book tells the story of an institution that, directly and indirectly has influenced the lives of innumerable New Yorkers, their families and New York City.

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