If you're not a Civil War buff, this book may seem pretty dry. For example, a lot of space is devoted to evaluating the various claims of how many military prisoners there were. While this is important historical data, it made my eyes glaze over and prompted me to skim several sections of the book.

Given the post-9/11 discussions of military tribunals and other curtailments of the Bill of Rights, this book is more relevant than ever.

A must-read for anyone interested in the Civil War or Abraham Lincoln. Neely also writes in a clear prose that clearly explains his points and allows the reader to understand what he is talking about even without having an extensive knowledge of Lincoln or the Civil War.

As I've grown older, I've been less able to stomach theology because of its over- emphasis on and substandard usage of metaphysics. A.J. Heschel's style of theology avoids such errors; thus, I can read him in order to ponder my life's meaning instead of my logic's implication.

The book is a collection of essays, not a few of which found their greatest impact in the late 50's and early 60's. Still, some of his observations on race and nationalism are such that they bear directly on us today. His sort of outside-America view of our problems allows us to see ourselves from a new perspective. This method of seeing a culture from a new (and unexamined) perspective works with individuals as well: this is who you think you are; this is how others have outlined you, but here is what's really at issue.

The great thing about Heschel is that he can usually sniff out the most subtle but important issues in both national cultures and individual lifestyles. He is theologian qua psychologist and theologian qua sociologist. Yet I'm satisfied when he exercises either of these roles. I think you will be as well.

The book is not a heavy hitter. (He has other ones, however, which are as deep as one might want about the meaning of life in a world in which God exists and subtly interacts with humanity.) But it touches on many of the themes most important to Heschel personally. If you've never read any of Heschel, and you want a good sampler of what guided his thinking, this is a fine book with which to start. There's discussion on Maimonides, the founding of the modern nation of Israel, and humanity's position in a God-designed Cosmos. The book is a quick read, and broken into manageable, one-sitting chapters, so it would be easy to read nightly for a month or so, with profit to the soul, or at least to the brain.

Vol 1. The Arab Israeli Conflicts 1973-1989. Vol 2. The Iran-Iraq war. Vol 3. The Falklands and Afghanistan. Vol 4. The Gulf war.

These books provide an in depth analysis of the various forces engaged in the conflicts and the losses sustained by both sides. The authors have studied the weapons systems employed and the tactics used, and from these have drawn their conclusions on what was the route cause of success or failure in these modern military conflicts.

The authors conclusions are hardly mind shattering but they are sensible. Based on what happened and without an agenda.

Aside from errors concerning the Blowpipe missile (which manages to make an appearance in nearly all the wars) and its vulnerability to flares, (it isn't vulnerable at all) and the failure of this type of missile against crossing targets. (The operator's not the system itself) The books are quite accurate and thoroughly researched.

These series of books are a valuable tool for any student of modern conflict.

But, as it turns out, Donald's iconoclasm is a bit false. He reexamines Lincoln's more controversial points, and casts his verdict with the purveyors of the Lincoln legend. Did Lincoln imprison thousands of people without charges or trial? He did, but they deserved it. Did Lincoln destroy the Constitution by starting a war without the approval of Congress? Yes, but he had to abrogate the Constitution in order to save it.

Donald starts out bravely but in the end, cops out in favor of sentimental Lincolnism. I thought it a bit disappointing.