This is an excellent book providing an interesting alternative viewpoint of historical events that have been reviewed extensively. The author writes with an engaging style which maintains the readers interest throughout the text. The only fault in this excellent book is the number of typographical errors in the text in one case leading to a small factual error. The Dauphine Estates General met at the town of Vizille not Virille as shown in the text.

But still a very enjoyable book!

Russell Weigley, long established as the premier American military historian, has written a work that illustrates the necessity for the field commander to pursue complete victory over an adversary. This has long been a dream of military commanders, yet not until Gustavus Adolphus and his attempt to destroy his opponents at Breitenfeld, and his failure to move forward to Vienna, has the proverbial defeat been snatched from the jaws of victory. Weigley analyzes the failures, successes, and overall planning that became an essential part of post medieval warfare. His choice of particular battles and campaigns were carefully chosen to offer the greatest examples of military leaders opting for total, in lieu of negotiated partial victory. It is a necessary book for any student of military or political history, and it offers insights which may be compared to recent conflicts such as the Gulf War.

"One wife can be all things to a man," spoke Marcian, the Roman centurion-turned-Christian (played by Jeff Chandler) in the 1955 film, "Sign of the Pagan." Ironically, he said it to perhaps the foremost polygamous pagan of them all, Attila the Hun (portrayed by Jack Palance). Attila's calm but disarming response carried a paradoxical logic: "How can a man know which wife is best, unless he can choose from among many?"

The underlying concept corresponds to the content of this fascinating book by Frank Thompson: it places before us a powder-horn of plenty, from which pour details and keen observations that enable us to feast on a banquet of enlightening historical tidbids and informational delicacies.

The second part of Chapter 1 is very fittingly sub-titled, "The Shifting Face of the Alamo - a Visual Essay." A real value of this section is that it encapsulates the evolution of the visual depictions of the Alamo throughout the decades. Though relatively short, the section offers a chronological series of illustrations of the shrine. Among them is the historic 1849 daguerreotype, the first known photographic image made in Texas and the only known such photo of the Alamo without its now-defining campanulate roof, added by the U.S. Army not long after that daguerreotype was made. One of the book's more illuminating gems is that the author informs us of artist and Alamo historian Craig Covner's conjectural but very plausible theory, about which particular European structure might have influenced the design and prompted the shape of the Alamo's operatively now world-recognized façade.

The book would appeal to both the scholar and the general audience, for there's much in it that would interest both. It's infinitely more readable and enjoyable than the traditional dry academic dissertation, while offering us glimpses into the past and even insights into historical events and the people who took part in them. Without claiming clairvoyance, one could say that the most avid fan of a book like this would be the intelligent and astute reader who has any interest in the Alamo and its sub-categories. What's more, it could easily prompt and intensify a regard for the subject from others whose interest might be only peripheral to begin with.

By their own procedural history, the actions of some are entirely predictable. "The quintessential professor straightening out the errant student" is a perceptive remark, laden with insight, by historian Bill Groneman, which will exemplify the kind of reaction and objections from some academics to Thompson's volume. We can easily foresee academic hard-liners trying to trivialize this book because it doesn't suit their own scholastic purposes and follow the traditionally expected collegiate formulas for presenting historical source material. We should be mindful, however, that this isn't the aim and purpose of Thompson's book. Its very title is aptly descriptive but shouldn't be taken literally, for although the book does indeed present a cultural history, it also offers a sensible and well-reasoned historical account. After all, culture is part of our history as much as history is part of our culture. The account in this book is one with which some hard-of-reading academics might still take issue in some of its details - but from which many of Thompson's readers could learn, and of which many authors would be proud. The content and tone of negative criticism usually reveals far more about the critic - where he's coming from and where he's going - than about the work on which he's commenting. In academe, one's behavior in reporting on another's book can speak volumes.

Photos abound in this book. One is from the film "The Man From The Alamo" (1953), in which a young, pre-"Wyatt Earp" Hugh O'Brian (who portrays Lt. Tom Lamar in the film) is seen walking, in buckskins, hot on the heels of Glenn Ford. Also pictured are some of the "new" Alamos - structures built to resemble the Shrine of Texas Liberty, including a copy center in Cypress, Texas, and a ballroom & convention center in El Paso. Some might call these buildings as pretentious and prosaic as the "fooferai" worn by some of the characters in Alamo-related films; others would view these structures as being visually pleasing, entertaining curiosities and rather enjoyable and even fascinating to see. In context, a fine song can be just as gratifying as a fine symphony.

Among the book's wealth of illustrations are photos of four of the actors who over the years have portrayed on film the man who was operatively responsible for what became perhaps the greatest single traumatic event in southwestern American history during the first half of the nineteenth century, and whose revealing sense of modesty prompted him to call himself "The Napoleon of the West": His Excellency, El Presidente y Generalissimo Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna y Peréz de Lebrón. Debatably the most visually convincing cinematic Santa Anna might have been J. Carrol Naish, who portrayed the Mexican general in "The Last Command" (1955), and who brought a subdued but very real kind of palpable humanity to the role that's rare in such portrayals. Photographic images of the real subject indicate a remarkable visual likeness between the two men. In character, Naish bears an almost uncanny resemblance to the historical Santa Anna. While they're not actual "clones," the features and facial structures correspond, making Naish persuasively credible in the role. Parenthetically, the same can be said of actor David Keith's arrestingly believable portrayal of James Bowie in James Michener's "Texas."

One of this book's many advantages is that it offers particulars that would be unavailable elsewhere in a single volume. It would impress readers as a rather thorough compendium of both factual details and conceptual notions about the history and popular culture of the Alamo. Does this book by Frank Thompson contribute to our fascination with and our enjoyment and knowledge of the Alamo in virtually all its incarnations? "It do."

...

From the perspective of the common man, I can say that I know more about the historical Alamo than ever.

This book offers a broad review of the Alamo and it's place in our history as well as it's impact on our culture. I was very impressed with this book. I picked it up only to paw through and look at the numerous pictures and movie stills and found it to be thoroughly informative and entertaining.

Mr. Thompson may offer some information that distorts or contradicts what you thought you knew about the Alamo, but it's worth the exposure to his insights and opinions.

This book gives interesting stories with a moral at the end of each story and has illustrations on each page. The stories vary in length but can be read quickly due to the author's writing style. While different from "Oz" books, these stories are still a lot of fun.

This book, written by Lyman Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz and many other Oz books is possibly his greatest work ever. Everyone should read this classic book of American fairy tales

This is a good book for American or "recent" slag. It was informative, especially with the recent pricings in the back.

Outstanding book on slag glass. Any one thats in slag glass will find this very helpful. Excellent pictures, tells the year it was manufacture, and tells what its worth than and now.

Ride around with Thubron in the last years of the crumbling Soviet Union. He takes you into the apartment buildings to find some of the most interesting -- and heartening -- testaments to human color ever encountered in travel writing.

There are some truly jaw-dropping observations made by our driver as he stumbles upon people who are dealing with oppression in ways that "westerners" have never had to imagine.
Through the vodka, through the endlessly repeating housing blocs, Thubron takes us to a deeper, more personal understanding of life under the Soviets. On the way, he introduces us to individuals (yes, strong individuals) that are not easy to forget.

Written by someone who somehow managed to drive a clunker with UK plates through the Iron Curtain between West and East Germany and all the way to Moscow. Thubron then motors all the way to present day Azerbaijan and St.Petersburg. It is a snapshot not of present day Russia but of 1980 Soviet Union.

The faint glimmers of hope that these people held on to and their continual amazement at the fact the author would explain the West was afraid of them are an excellent historical reference. Told that we are the threat to the Soviet Union a lot of the people were both in awe and afraid of the author.

The amazing fact that he camped his way around a closed country is a great read of how they perceived us as much as a straight travelogue.

Well recommended

It provides a precise and to the point review of what is required for the USMLE !

I used several prep. test books for the test and this one most closely matched the content of the exam. It covers many of the topics and it's explanations are perfectly detailed. It's a great tutor. It needs better diagrams and the version I read had an insulting degree of editing errors--the publisher informs me the edition currently for sale is corrected. Even with the errors, this was the best collections of printed tests I used. Good luck!

Dobie has a wonderful way of weaving stories about the gold hunters as if you were sitting around a campfire and eating up every word. Some stories are based on legends that may never be verified, others are meticulously chased down and exposed for what they really are. In any reader's hand it's a "fast" read!

I was introduced to Dobie as a small child, and still love his work. This book is classic dobie: Lost mines and American Indian tresure. The first half, regarding the Lost Adams Mine, is particularly enjoyable. I read this book and begin to plan my trip to find the object of the story. Truly, the stories are tresure enogh. Anyone who has ever dreamed of finding welth, or who enjoys south-western folklore will love this book

Browning's journeys through the world of apples are exhaustive, lyric and compelling. If you like NPR, or the old New Yorker, you'll love this book on the fruit of English Yeoman, Thomas Jefferson, French Nobelmen and Johnny Appleseed. You will never look at a grocery store Red Delicious the same again.

Frank Browning perpetuates my belief that journalists are writing the best gardening and plant books. Gardeners are not typically interesting writers and there is such a proliferation of mediocre gardening books on the market. "Apples" is a delightful book. Anyone who wants to grow apples or simply go to the grocery store and buy apples would be enlightened by Frank Browning's book.

Last semester i had taken a visual arts course at my college, Artforms was the text that we use and that the school still uses. If you are wanting to familiarize yourself with past and modern works of art from all cultures then this is a complete introduction to the reasoning behind specific artforms. After reading it you will get an overall gist of what art was in societies before ours and how it continues to live on and how it is viewed in present day societies.

This book deserves to be in any person's library. It tells you the different thecnics of painting, the differents colors, how they divide, how to recognize the paintings. If you are studiying art or just like it, you must get this book.

The beauty of this book is its simplicity. Unlike some Bible atlases, this one does not have a great deal of text to sift through; just nice, easy-to-read maps.

There are also captioned pictures which relate to whichever map is on the page. The captions are simple and the photos are interesting.

Towards the end of the book, there are a few helpful charts, such as a Time Chart of Bible History, one on the Kings of Judah and Israel, The House of the Maccabees and Hasmoneans, as well as the family tree of the herodic dynasty.

This book would serve a new student of the Bible (or a younger student...grade school through high school) very well. It gives you a fair amount to information in a non-stifling style. It's easily well worth the affordable price.

For the price this atlas out ranks the others by far. Most of the time it provides the exact map/information I need for my study. I have several others that I have picked up through seminary and later but this is the one I still turn to. It is a classic that is worth every penny.