This is the first of Buckley's books that I have read and it was a real treat. This book is so good in a variety of ways that I think it deserves five stars. It is a combination of good story-telling, historical information, compelling characters (including those taken from real life), clear writing, and intrigue. These elements are combined smoothly into a very entertaining and easy to read tale. The book starts with the thoughts of President Kennedy and ends with Johnson in the Oval Office. The story provides a fascinating glimpse of Cuba in the 1960's, starring Castro and Guevara. There is plenty of suspense to keep the pages turning, but the pace and tone are very even - not a run of peaks and valleys. Even the dedication and acknowledgements were interesting. It was fun!

Buckley's Blackford Oakes novels seem to remain one of the best-kept secrets around. For the record: These novels are all based on historic events, but, unless Mr. Buckley has even more of an inside track than I believe he does, they weave a wonderfully complex--and witty!-- web of circustances surrounding them. In this novel, we get a two-fer: the Cuban missile crisis *and* the assassination of JFK. Didn't know that they were linked? Read the book to see how they (maybe) were. [This one ought to be included under the Cuban missile crisis heading.]

Although the project was supposed to last only a few months, Asahi shimbun were absolutely deluged with responses and they eventually printed 1,000 out of 4,000 letters received. Not only does the book give the reader a personal glimpse of what it was like to be a foot soldier, housewife, high school teacher, etc.,it is also organized in a way that details the events of the war from the first settlements in Manchuria to the occupation and even how people feel about their role today. It's a great way to get the full chronology of events as well as all the personal depictions.

I was shocked at how the footsoldiers were treated by the officers and was surprised to read tales of killing superiors in battle, much like "fragging" occurrences in the Vietnam war. Throughout the book there are gut-wrenching stories of combat, but there is also an underlying thread of humanity; officers finding ways to keep their soldiers alive, a vacationing zero pilot who convinces a group of admiring boys not to join the military, a young soldier who secretly puts some of the bones and ashes of other soldiers into the empty boxes so the families have something to pray to.

I sat down to read the first chapter at 6 pm but I couldn't put it down. I finished it at 2 am. My best friend teaches high school history and I'm going to copy off a few of the best stories for him to use in class. This is a must read... for anyone.

This book does a great service in helping us see the Japanese in WW2 as more than mindless fanatics.It is an compilation of letters written to the editors of one of Japans largest newspapers, the Asahi ("Morning Sun")Shimbun during the 50th anniversary commemorations of the end of World War 2.The stories are primarily from military participants or family members of military personnel and most are very frank and gut wrenching. I got the sense that many of the ex military men were trying to come to grips as to why they were fighting- and the answers are not what this American reader has come to expect. I have always thought that the Japanese were brain washed sub-human fanatics when it came to fighting, but many of the stories reveal compassion,caring and a full awareness of the situation they were in. They speak of heartless, cruel and inhuman superior officers who thought nothing of leading entire battalions to death in their quest for glory, but they also realize that these officers were just the products of a military system where cruel treatment of recruits was a tool to instill blind obedience to superior officers. I still don't think that this is a good excuse for the many atrocities that were committed by Japanese forces during the war, but it goes alot farther in helping me to understand how such atrocities,e.g., Rape of Nanking, Bataan death march, arose. The letters from family members are particularly poignant as they recall fathers, brothers, uncles and sons who were never seen again.I was very moved by several letters from family members who had childhood memories of the deceased soldiers that really drove the point home that war is such a terrible waste(hate to sound like a cliche). The Japanese lost more than 2 million people during the war, and it would be hard not to find a family that didn't face tragedy. I gave this book to several friends who said it completely opened up their minds about what they thought about the Japanese during World War 2.While we all agree that Japan was not right for its war of aggression and the pain and suffering it caused to millions of Asians, Americans, British,Dutch and Australians, we can now hear for the first time the voices of the Japanese participants and learn that they too cried and suffered and felt deep guilt for what they did.

This book is interesting and delightful, with the Valley of Romance, the King of Beavers, and our familiar Oz characters.

Two siblings travel through a television set to the world of Ev, and onto Conjo's Isle. To escape, they must get to the Emerald city and past Glinda's barrier of invisibility.

This is interesting and all Oz fans should read it. I love Oz and everyone in it, and if you are new to this world, I hope you will to!

"Shaggy Man" is one of the best books in the Oz series. As Snow himself hoped to do, he improved greatly on his previous Oz book, the highly enjoyable "The Magical Mimics in Oz." The book is clearly the creation of a true aficionado of L. Frank Baum's writing; like "Magical Mimics" it closely approximates Baum's plotting style, and the style of the prose itself, while close to Baum's, attains its own delightful distinctiveness. One noteworthy feature of this book is the highly dramatic endings to several of the chapters, beginning with the first one; these endings are cliffhangers which compel the reader to continue reading. "Shaggy Man" deserves classic status among the Oz series, and is recommended to Oz fans everywhere. (Note that "Shaggy Man" contains precisely one reference to a character from "Magical Mimics," and none whatsoever to characters or events from any of Thompson's or Neill's books (as is also true of "Magical Mimics"); thus "Shaggy Man" can be read and enjoyed by anyone who has read several of Baum's Oz books.)

If you have Nancy Wood's other volumes you already know what kind of a spell she can weave. She just keeps getting better with each collection. You can open to any page and find a line or two you want to remember always. Her thoughtful reflections on what is good in life remind us all ever so gently to be more mindful as we move through our days. Howell potrays our elders with the sanctity they deserve. This book, like her others, makes a great gift for all adults, young in age and young at heart.

I was given this book as a gift, and even just glancing through it the first time, i found myself drawn by it., There are many poems that will provide the basis for rituals throughout my life, and hte artwork has something special about it.

I usually avoid Westerns because its hard to find any that don't follow the Louis L'Amour/Zane Grey formula tripe.

This one is an exception. It is truly original and captivating from start to finish. You won't go wrong with this one.

This book is probably the best Western novel that I have ever read. Its only competitor in my experience is the "Ox-Bow Incident." However, Bergon's novel, which is based upon a real event, is still better.

The action, which is set around the Nevada town of Winnemucca in the year 1911, revolves around the pursuit of a Shoshone Indian family from Idaho accused of killing some white men. Told from the perspective of several major characters, including the Winnemucca Sheriff, a Basque immigrant, and the Shoshone Indians, this novel really shows the ugly underside of the West that never appears on the movie screen or in Louis L'amour's novels.

This is novel is not a celebration of the old West, but it is a page-turner and well worth adding to your library.

Headline April 10, 2002 !!
President Bush Urges Congress to Ban All Human Cloning What a timely story, The Shroud, comes along just as the President of the United States, decides that the brakes should be put on, as the enthusiastic scientific world attempts to open the door on yet another of man's insatiable drives to conquer new frontiers. Does the president have some knowledge on the possibility of another governmental cover up. Pierce Evans, and Frank DuPont created The Shroud, by assembling the voluminous technical facts. Even though the pious leaders haven't made any serious statements,that the Shroud is definitely the image of the crucified Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. This book carefully takes the reader on a roller coast ride of emotions that is unbelievable. The desire to race through the history of the shroud by the authors, to get to the possibility that cloning from a snippet of the shroud, could create the Savior of the world is obvious.
And before the mind can comprehend that possibility, the twist and turns that ensue leaves you with the need to keep reading, for now, your mind cannot comprehend the consequences of terror that the book portends. The Bible, in the book of Genesis, teaches that God made man in his own image.
Man in his never ending search and curiosity to clone a man in his own image, has used all of the science that humankind has compiled. Is he now God or Man? In God's creation there is good and evil. Can man isolate the genes, and choose only what elevates science, or does cloning open the door to terror unrealized.
Read, The Shroud, and be prepared to question your own preconceived ideas, about your own existence. Can you put this book down?........ I think you will be wishing for Evans and DuPont to clone another book. Did, I say, clone? God forgive me. We will have to wait for the movies versions with all the special effects to save your sanity. But it is a delicious treat to have your own imagination take you to the light at the end of your imagination, or does it?

This book is so contemporay, yet deals with the ancient time of Christ. Almost everyone has wondered what would happen if Christ were to be cloned and come back to our present day. This story offers one scenerio that you may not have considered.
While the first chapters develop a history of the Shroud and seem to be involved, the authors' use of this information in developing the story is unique. As the story develops, the reader finds he has an understanding of the history of the Shroud and appreciates the scientific use of that information.
The climax to the book is both unexpected and predictable. How, exactly, would YOU go about stopping a clone of Christ with all of His powers?

This is the best-looking coffee table book on Sinatra, with most of the first half based on an excellent essay by John Lahr. For a thorough look at the music, you want Will Friedwald's book, but this one is a classic photo tour of Sinatra's career from Hoboken to the world. I could spend a 1000 words on the pictures, but you can travel back to the 1950s with this one. The large format photos bring home the personality of the subjects, who include Nat Cole, Ava Gardner, Dean Martin, Count Basie and other music icons of the last century. Very enjoyable evening read, also.

Of the plethora of books on Frank Sinatra that have been fighting for space on the shelves since his death, this is the best.

A wonderful essay by John Lahr chronicles his life, from the tough streets of Hoboken to a room in Beverly Hills shortly before his 80th birthday. A now well chronicled life, but captured by Mr Lahr in all its complexity and contradiction.

At the heart of this life was his great gift - singing. At the very end, in the Beverly Hills room, surrounded by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan (what were they doing there?) Steve Lawrence and others, he insisted on singing the solo. It was his right then, as it had been his right throughout his life. And he was undeniable.

A beautifully designed and produced book, it is adorned with a perfect selection of photographs to complement the essay. Look at the faces on page 102, completely transfixed by "The Voice" and see what James Agee called "an erotic dream".

A must have for Sinatra fans, and anyone fascinated by popular culture.

Finally a book from a known publishing house about softswitch. The book is about the definition, need and scope of the softswitch from both a technical and economic perspective. The piece dealing with the current trend and the future market is particularly well written. Highly recommended to the newbies as well as to the know-it-all folks of softswitch world.

"FINALLY, someone has taken the time and effort to define softswitch and lay out the architecture for a VoIP replacement of the PSTN. Author Ohrtman goes into painstaking detail to overcome the usual objections to VoIP in general and softswitch in particular, that is: reliability ("five 9s"), scalability,
Quality of Service, features and applicaitons and signaling. Not only does this book lay out the technical details of this revolutionary/evolutionary technology, but the author also delves into the economics and politics of softswitch and VoIP. This book is both a snapshot of the telecom infrastructure of today as well as explaining how the PSTN will be replaced by an all-IP network. No serious telecommunications professional should be without this book!

What a wonderful story. I laughed, I cried. I could not wait to turn the next page. Mr. Pandozzi is an incredible storyteller. He understands what friendships should be. It was a book that I will read not once but twice or more.

This is a moving tale of an unlikely friendship. I couldn't put this book down. At every turn you want to know what happens to these friends on their travels. Guaranteed reading this book will be a moving experience and it may even give you a fresh look at friendship as the book did for me.

This is one of the few books systems designers must have on their shelf or off their shelf.

If you are an audioguy you need only two books. a) Sound System Engineering from Don and Carolyn Davis and b) This one. Dont ask, just get it.