Texas, "born in strife and baptized in blood", has a military mystique more like a sovereign state than an ordinary American state. The iconic Alamo, the frontier and Civil War experience, Audie Murphy, the famous 36th Division; all contribute to a martial reputation which helps make Texas unique in the eyes of the world.
These and other elements of this enduring image of Texas are explored here in this highly readable collection of essays, reassessing the Texas Revolution, noting some neglected participants in Texas history, reviewing the Texas military experience in film and literature, and generally sorting out reality from the mythology. Highly recommended for the general reader, and especially for students of military history.

(The "score" rating is a feature of the page. This reviewer does not willingly "score" books.)

This is a great book about real estate practices in Texas. I have been sellng real estate for several years and recently picked up a copy of this book. It is very informative and easy to read. I strongly recommend it for all new Realtors or anybody interested in this field. I am going to make it available to all of my employees as a reference guide. Very well done.

Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, who was also known by his Snohomish name Hin-Mah-Too-Yah-Lahket, gave an interview to the North American Review in l879. This book is a reprint of Chief Joseph's account of the Nez Perce's dealings with their white brothers, the Nez Perce War of l877 which he tried so hard to avoid, and his people's imprisonment on reservations following his surrender. The final portion of the book consists of Joseph's plea that all people treat each other with respect and human decency and as equals. Hin-Mah-Too-Yah-Lahket expresses himself in nothing short of pure poetry. He is generally considered in the Northwestern United States (where he is a hero with a town, schools and numerous memorials named after him) to be one of the greatest Native American orators. This book is a must-read for 1) students of American history and 2) proponents of civil liberties. This edition does contain some strange spellings (e.g., Rutherford B. Hayes is here spelled "Rutherford Hays" and Hin-Mah-Too-Yah-Lahket is spelled "In-Mut-Too-Yah-Lat-Lat"). However, since Snohomish was an unwritten language, the spelling of Snohomish words and names is anybody's guess. I'm just glad that Mountain Meadow Press reprinted Chief Joseph's l879 article.

This book was a delightfully funny look at the 1920's and the society of the day. Also, it is great for fans of S.J. Perelman; it is his very early work starting about 1925. Some of the things in this book are even funnier than his later works!

Told with awesome humor & detail. Excellent Book!

I picked up this book on whim, having never heard Dr. Schwarcz's radio program or seen him on television. I spent the
next few days completely engrossed in his lively tales on the chemistry involved in our daily lives.

Discussed here is the science behind ice cream, aspartame, wheat, bagels, paprika, beer and yes, cookies. Schwarcz also chimes in on the controversies over dental fillings, botulin, lead paints, DNA manipulation and genetic engineering. He shares fascinating stories about some of history's greatest scientists (of particular interest is the inventor of Nylon, who ended up committing suicide, and the man behind chemical warfare, who also saved millions of lives with his fertilizer experiments). There is also a section devoted to debunking health scams and diffusing unnecessary paranoia.

While I didn't agree with all of Schwarcz's opinions (I think he may be a little naive in regards to the dangers of genetic modification), the breadth of his scientific knowledge is impressive and his enthusiasm for science infectious. "The Way the Cookie Crumbles" is an entertaining and informative read for both the scientifically minded and those just interested in learning how to get ink stains out of their clothes (try using limonene or amyl acetate).
GRADE: A-/B+

This was the best book of a group of books I chose to ready on the history of the middle east. It is hard to put down once you start, and if you are an American reading it, your stomach will turn as you begin to understand much better why our foreign policy is reviled by Arabs in the middle east and Palestinians in particular. I am just a "soccer mom" with no political party ties, but after 9/11 I felt that the middle east conflict was one of several threats to my country and this book helped me understand why there is so much justifiable hatred toward historical American foreign policy. The families written about in "Their Promised Land" are real, just like your neighbors, and you relate to what happens to them as if it had happened to your own family members. If you only have the time to read one book on the middle east, read this.

This is one of those books that falls out of print and causes mass panic in graduate student communities as we find ourselves hunting for copies with on-line rare book search engines with no hope for success. Can't find it used when no one will let go of it. Saints be praised, its back. Kaplan's essays 'demonstratives' and 'afterthoughts' are classics and need to be studied by anyone interested in the golden triangle of philosophy (phil. language, mind, and epistemology). Kit Fine's essay on de re modality is excellent, and with articles by Peacocke, Wettstein, Almog, and a host of other friends of Kaplan, no entry will fail to repay serious attention. Do not miss the opportunity to purchase this book.

Weaver's book is exceptionally well-written, with clear step-by-step explanations of each concept. It is a great teaching tool, and a great reference book. It is one of the few books in which I can quickly find the answer I need.

This book provides a useful corrective to some of the shortcomings of the so-called Austrian theory of Capital and the Business Cycle. Schumpeter, who studied under the great Austrian economists Bohm-Bawerk, was too much of an independent thinker to be part of an economic movement or school. The Theory of Economic Development is his declaration of independence from Austrian capital theory. In the book, he introduces a theory of development and the business cycle that shocked his more orthodox colleagues. Economic development, Schumpeter argues, involves transferring capital from old businesses using established methods of production to businesses using new, innovative methods. Schumpeter's special insight comes in trying to explain how the transfer of capital from the old to the new takes place. Schumpeter argued that it takes place through credit expansion. Through the fractional reserve system, banks are able to create credit, quite literally out of thin air. This money is lent to businesses specializing in new methods of production, who then bid up the price of production goods and consumer goods in their effort to pay for the production goods they require. Thus a form of inflationary spoliation takes place at the expense of established businesses and consumers. Although Schumpeter does not draw the spoliation inference from his theory, it is nonetheless there in the text for all who can see. Credit expansion is a form of spoliation, a form of robbery hardly distinguishable from counterfeiting. But what is unique about the capitalist engine of production is how it uses spoliation in the service of progress. And not merely spoliation through credit expansion, but spoliation through protectionism, stock manipulation, corporate welfare, cartels and monopolies, and outright fraud and manipulation. Schumpeter's book sheds light on just one aspect of this spoliation, and from this stems the book's vital importance to economic theory.