Book reviews for "Albright,_Thomas" sorted by average review score:
21st Century Blueprint
Published in Hardcover by 21st Century Company (January, 1994)
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National Affairs and great 21st Century Programs
The book covers national affairs and analyzes our Constitution with violation areas. It describes 21st Century programs on peaceful-environmental world trade, stable employment, new educational methods, mass transportation, and only 7 cabinet departments for a reorganized federal government.
Art in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1945-1980: An Illustrated History
Published in Hardcover by University of California Press (June, 1985)
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A Durable Tribute to a Fine Art Critic
ART IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA 1945 - 1980 is the last written document by the highly regarded, departed writer and critic Thomas Albright. Always an elegant writer, even when his message was quircky, Albright has left us with the definitve volume on the important art of San Francisco in the peak of its heyday. The chapters each represent a lecture presented by Albright and include indepth studies of Clyfford Still and the Explosion of Abstract Expressionism, Before the Storm: The Modernist Foundation, The Watershed: Funk, Pop, and Formalism, "Back to Nature": The Bay Area Figurative School, Conceptualism, Photorealism, etc. The written word is well illustrated with selected examples, but therein lies the only weakness of this book. In an overview this solid it would be so much finer were there double the number of examples of the artists being discussed. Still in all this is a magnificent volume and should be a part of every art library.
Madeleine Albright and the New American Diplomacy
Published in Hardcover by Westview Press (July, 2000)
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Balanced & Insightful
Lippman's biography is balanced, fair and an enjoyable read. You'll come away with a clear sense of Albright's strengths and special qualities as well as her weaknesses as a leader. You'll learn how her style differs from that of Christopher and Powell. I would have liked a little more clarity and depth on how she justified women's issues as a foreign policy imperative. Her comments about enslavement of women and the likelihood of war under women political leaders hinted at her views. I suspect, however, there's more to her arguments than the book covered. Albright's perspective and the national security establishment's reaction to it may color our relations with Arab allies, the Chinese and other important global players. I also would have liked to explore more how her personal history influenced her views on the Middle East. Lippman kept mentioning that Albright showed unusually little compassion for Palestinians yet I never learned why.
A Lippmanese Nutshell of Albright's Diplomatic Challenges
"Madeleine Albright and the New American Diplomacy" is a seasoned reporter's lensview of "classic Albright" and the political, cultural and diverse complexities involved in the politiking of American diplomacy at the beginning of the 21st century. This book is the first up-front and up-close skillfully crafted exposé of the unyielding and seemingly overwhelming intricacies of the first Information Age secretary of state's practice of diplomacy. This book details from an American reporter's point of view the articulation of, and the simultaneous architecturing of Albright's personal and public political art and science of what I call "real-time" international human relations. This highly timely and acutely valuable book, which is an engaging read on American diplomatic practice in the Information Age, commences what will be a long series of critical evaluations of this period. This book merits an attentive reading for a variety of reasons. First, it provides a multi-dimensional insider's view of the behind the scenes collaborative (and at times coercive) "maneuvering" from all the respective domains, i.e., State Department, press, White House, Congress, foreign diplomats etc., which induced the outcomes of this new diplomacy. Second, it is the first book on the new diplomacy to provide a discerning profile of Madeleine Albright, the diplomat, as the reengineering diplomatic practitioner she has had to become in assuming the role of an information age secretary of state-a position the job description of which is just beginning to formulate its definition. Notwithstanding, it would have chartered its own course, Lippman in a lucid and vivid writing style demonstrates how Secretary Albright decisively sets Post-Cold War diplomacy on a new course. Third, this book educates us to some degree on the extreme difficulty in selling real-time civic-humanitarian (RTC) diplomacy convincingly to the American people-even though this era will demand more of global citizens than has traditional diplomacy. Fourth, Lippman details the critical relationship-building skills which are, and will continue to be, crucial as this revolution in American diplomatic affairs continues to chart its course. Fifth, Lippman does not foreclose, but aptly demonstrates, the intensity of plural flexibility which is required of new civic and governmental diplomats. Sixth, in as much as Madeleine Albright is the central figure around whom this book is written, this book is as much about the inevitable funeral of traditional diplomacy the world once knew and the birth of a civic revolution in American diplomatic affairs, as it is the inevitability of the emergence of creative and diverse meanings of the term "diplomacy' bringing new and diverse forms of diplomatic practice, i.e., website/Internet diplomacy, OP-Ed diplomacy, NGO-host diplomacy, public forum diplomacy, red-eye diplomacy, media diplomacy, etc. In the end Lippman's book demonstrates the unpredictable nature of RTC diplomacy in our new world even when you have the best resources, a steel will, the strategic means and noble motives as well as the most highly skilled and well intentioned of diplomats. Seventh, this book gives us a realistic look at who Madeleine Albright is and what she is about while at the same time demanding that diplomacy be broadly redefined "as whatever it takes in the context of ethical international human relations to reach the high ground of the, or some, moral excellence of peace." Eighth, this book provides one American male journalist's story of how an American diplomat has courageously role modeled for American citizens their own respective ownership of the American diplomatic process. Ninth, Lippman allows us to learn from Secretary Albright that American diplomacy for the cause of peace is something we must fight for-it is not a passive American past time in which American citizens have no investment-but that American diplomacy is an enterprise which the American people have an intimate role and responsibility to direct the future of, and to support-this message could not have come at a more appropriate time than during this UN proclaimed International Year of the Culture of Peace; Ten, this book is as much about the coming of [information] age of the press and the field of journalism as it is of the diplomats and diplomatic correspondents who are the moves and shakers of this RTC diplomacy. This book reflects the adjustment the media has had to make in reaction to, and commensurate with, the new demands of RTC diplomatic practice. Notwithstanding these commendable accomplishments the book is not without its flaws. The book being the first of many diplomatic affairs Information Age-time piece publications is understandably more concerned with recording the multitudinous diplomatic actions Madeleine Albright executed during her term rather than focusing on an academic impact study of the high technology information age revolution on her practice of diplomacy-- this comes through only as a backdrop to her diplomatic maneuvers. In other words, those criteria which make "the new diplomacy" new are so intricately woven into the fabric of Albright's "management of world affairs" that any study of the impact of her diplomacy on their outcome is expectedly obscured by the diplomatic war to overcome them. Third, being the fresh, first book of its kind this book subjects itself to the very scrutiny to which its main character is also subject-that of being a trail blazer with no previous model on which to depend-this is both a positive and negative factor. For the most part, this factor makes it more difficult to measure the merit of this type of book. If this book, through the active parlance of diplomacy of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, is designed to speak to and warn the diplomats of today and tomorrow, man or woman, governmental or nongovernmental of the intensity of, as well as the types of battles, confrontations, frustrations, criticisms and crises, both at home and abroad, they will continue to face in an unpredictable world of real-time civic humanitarian diplomacy of the 21st century it does just that. Finaly, Lippman accomplishes this while emphasizing the necessity to fully engage Americans in the role of incorporating "America" into the public enterprise and the international domains of American diplomacy.
Orbital Interactions Chemistry
Published in Hardcover by John Wiley & Sons (15 June, 2002)
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THE must-have book for understanding MOT
Yes, this book is out-of-date, if you say. But the whole diagrams and symbols are already placed itself as the canon of this field. If you are an undergraduate chemistry major, you can see much ados about MO in recent texts are truly indebted to this book. You can also feel Hoffmann's friendly approaches. Hwangbo, et al are direct succesor of the spirit of Hoffmann school!
The gold standard
This book is an indispensible source of straightforward description of qualitative MO theory for any organic, organometallic, coordination, or materials chemist who uses MO theory. As a professor, I use it for my graduate class in inorganic chemistry regularly.
Accounting: Information for Decisions
Published in Paperback by South-Western College/West (15 February, 2001)
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Information for Decisions
My stereotype of accounting texts before taking an accounting class and using this book was they were all focused on the mechanics of accounting, which are dull to most students. This textbook, on the other hand, emphasizes the usefulness of accounting in the real world before delving into all the rules and regimentation. Therefore, some subjects, like debts and credits, receive less attention than they might deserve, especially for serious accounting students. The textbook's diagrams are quite colorful and useful, and its language is simple enough for your average student to understand. Hence, I recommend the book to any introductory-level business student, but I think that more serious accounting students might prefer a more advanced or in-depth textbook.
Financial Accounting: Information for Decisions
Published in Hardcover by South-Western College/West (April, 2003)
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Just an ordinary accounting book
The book is overall quite good as an introductory text for accounting, but there are other books out there, equally good, that come a lot cheaper.
Madam Secretary: A Biography of Madeleine Albright
Published in Paperback by St. Martin's Press (December, 1997)
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one-dimensional writing
I work "inside the beltway" and Mr. Blood's book should be praised for its attempt to put Secretary Albright on a pedastal. The media today takes great pleasure in tearing down the character of politicians, atheletes, etc. But this book cannot be taken seriously; it is too one-sided in its portrayal of Ms. Albright and the issues Mr. Blood writes about are too "cut and dried" by his account. Shame on him - with his experiences in Washington he should know such issues are imbued with plots, subplots, and unknown factors. Mr. Blood's experience as a lobbyist comes through in his writing, as he could no doubt convince Americans that Washington DC has cool, dry summers. I wish Mr. Blood better luck in his future attempts.
The book was biased and bland.
I was really dissapointed by this book. Maybe if the author could have been able to get past his admiration for Albright, the book would have been a little bit more focused and not so gushy. Albright could do no wrong in this book. She was made to look flawless; to me, she was not credible. I really respect Madeline Albright, but this book was just so jaded with flattery and soft liberal overtones. I would recommend Ann Blackman's Season of Her Life; it is a little bit better.
refreshingly positive
Political biographies have more than there share of critics .Everyone thinks they could do a better job than that of the person holding office. Blood did a good job of showing the history of Madeline Albright and what she was bringing to the table. It was refreshing to 'not see' the usual bashing of a Washington Woman who Blood himself called "tough-as-nails." The only biographies most people think are "balanced' are those that tear apart the subjects accomplishments. After reading this book I felt positive and hopeful for other women in politics and passed it along to my daughter, a political science major at Harvard.(she also enjoyed it.)
Madam Secretary: The Biography of Madeleine Albright
Published in Paperback by Griffin Trade Paperback (June, 1999)
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Wished I'd returned the book
I agree with the other reviewers. I, too, was looking forward to a critical and well-argued review of Albright's career. Instead, this book is page upon page of thin fawning and simplistic worship. Just for fun, I tried to find one single paragraph critical of Albright in the chapter on her relationship with Powell. I couldn't find one.
Where was the editor when this book was being written? Why was this author chosen to write this biography? Surely there must be credible authors able to recount a far more analytical and balanced story than Thomas Blood.
A biographical catastrophe with no intellectual merit!
The fact that this book even got published makes my head smart with incredulity; there is no political objectivity or critical analysis to be found anywhere on the printed pages nor is there any scholarly, in-depth research on the life of our country's first woman Secretary of State. In the author's eyes, if one can call him that, Madeline Albright is the goddess of the State Department, and that's that. This book is astounding in that it is so terrible; it is nothing but shoddy work -- a meandering diatribe that resembles a poorly written fifth grade book report. To say more would be a waste of space and time...
Zero objectivity and could be better written
Very disapointing. I picked up this book to find out about how Secretary Albright became what she is now. I was looking forward to reading about her upbringing, college years, and her climb up the diplomatic ranks. Instead, I read pages upon pages of flattering, completely subjective, congratulatory material that to me, seemed to serve only one purpose -- to show why Albright is the best Secretary of State American people have ever had and will ever have. The author is entitled to his own opinion, of course, but I would expect a more academic, probing, and interesting analysis of a great stateswoman's career in a definitive biography. Every sentence in this book is permeated with utter love and enthusiasm for the Clinton Administration and Secretary Albright, with a very little layer of objective examination of the subject at hand. I think I'll pick up a different biography of Madelaine Albright next time.
21st Century Turfs, Powers, Solutions
Published in Hardcover by 21st Century Company (September, 1996)
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Financial Accounting: Information for Decisions, 3E: Accounting: Information for Decisions Chapters 1-13: Powernotes and Forms
Published in Paperback by Southwestern Pub Co (January, 1998)
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