Professor Baker takes a subject so essential and yet so confusing and successfully opens it up to every-man. I am fortunate enough to have taken a Constitutional Law course taught by Professor Baker and I am among many who can vouch for his intense knowledge of and respect for this document. Do yourself a favor and read this book. The Constitution affects us all daily, why not understand it even better?

Nat Willis-- a man of his times, a man for our time? I loved this roguish tale! Baker has slavishly peeled away layer upon layer of this most American onion, this slice of the American pie, this antibellum antihero whose antics and excesses are still a hoot in our 'modern' society. Couldn't put it down. Expensive, though-- and too bad the pictures weren't bigger.

Soon after becoming secretary of state, George P. Shultz noted that ' unless you do something about it, in the job of secretary of state you will spend 100 percent of your time on the Middle East. ' 'Every Secretary of State becomes a Middle East expert very rapidly, whether he wants to or not,' he also stated. . These observations remain valid today, when Warren Christopher has virtually become Secretary of State for the Middle East. Baker had a similar experience. Page one of his memoirs tells of Saddam Husayn's invasion of Kuwait, the single most dangerous moment of Baker's three-years-plus as secretary of state. Of the book's thirty-four chapters, fully fifteen concentrate on the Middle East, primarily the Kuwait war and the Arab-Israeli peace process.

Famously discreet when in office, Baker unbuttons a bit in the retelling. He captures the atmosphere of his endless travels (he went to sleep on the eve of his Geneva meeting with Tariq 'Aziz, just before the outbreak of hostilities, as the 'chants from antiwar protesters echoed quietly up to our block of rooms') and the vagaries of dealing with Middle Eastern leaders (Asad treated his complaints about Syrian terrorism 'the way one might react to an eccentric uncle at family gatherings'as an unavoidable nuisance to be endured politely'). Baker also provides some new information; for example, in March 1991, he raised to Yitzhak Shamir the possibility of stationing U.S. troops on the Golan Heights.

Middle East Quarterly, June 1996

Baker's memoir is open and honest. He has put together an excellent narrative analysis of the foreign policy of the Bush administration. In years to come the usefulness of this book will probably decline as more scholarly work appears, but Baker's story continues to be charming and detailed.

If you are looking for a brief introduction to this intriguing figure in American history, _Cry Freedom_ could be it. It includes portions of most of the important literature regarding Turner, including the full text of his 'confession' to Thomas Gray. However, one must be careful. The book has attracted very little attention in the academic community. Moreover, there are several errors, and it fails to come to a proper conclusion. Use it as a 'spring-board' for further research, but if you want the definitive collection of documents on Turner's rebellion, obtain a copy of Henry Irving Tragle's _The Southampton Slave Revolt of 1831_.