Ever wonder who was the chair of the "establishment" for a good part of the 20th Century. It was clearly John McCloy. Here's a short bio: grew up poor; graduated from Harvard Law School; became a partner at Cravath; was Under-Secretary of Defense (under Stimson) for FDR -- basically the number two guy (and the go-to-guy) in the War Department in WWII; was behind many good and bad decisions like internment of the Japanese (supported) and dropping of the atom bomb (opposed); became the allied ruler of Germany after the war (and was responsible for the democratization of the country); Chairman of the World Bank; Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations; Chairman and CEO of Chase; Chair of President's Disarmament Committee; helped negotiate the Cuban Missile Crisis; served on the Warren Commission; knew every President personally from FDR to Bush. He is a complicated person who made many good and bad decisions -- Read this book.

As a lawyer, it's gratifying to see that a fellow lawyer, John McCloy, had such a key role in putting together post-WW II Europe, and it challenges my anti-FDR leanings to read this book, since McCloy was mainly a tool of FDR. Even though he was a Republican. Mr. Bird chronicles McCloy's life starting from humble New York beginnings, and establishes that you must understand the New York investment houses, the law firms they fed and controlled, and the European investments of those New Yorkers, to understand Mc Cloy. By the end of the book, we do.

Bird has the gift of not saying too much, but telling you a lot. McCloy's dad dies, then his mom (hairdresser to the rich) keeps him in contact with Rockefellers and the like, and thru lots of hard work and sacrifice, she sees that John makes it into the exclusive schools with the same upper-crust people. He then becomes a lawyer, and does the dirty work for the unscrupulous bond salesmen who use the public's unsecured money to pay back the priority lenders to doomed projects, mainly railroads, before those same creditors send in the lawyers to repo the assets, and sell them to contolled companies which sell them again. This is all pre-New Deal, pre-SEC. Mc Cloy gets good at it and his skill at tennis leads him to play hard-ball on the tennis courts, as well as in the law courts, with big money NY types, which makes McCloy attractive to the law firms feeding off of the investment houses. At this point, a useful companion book to read would be Robert Sobel's history of the Dillon, Read investment house, which goes into more detail.

McCloy ends up being detailed to the federal gov't during WW I and becomes an intelligence expert, and then has a key part in forming what becomes the CIA. He stays connected with the CIA for the rest of his life, while pinging and ponging out of the gov't, mainly on "commissions" and "panels" and he also gets tied up with the Council on Foreign Relations, which Bird convincingly describes as very powerful in its day.

McCloy's career peaks when FDR appoints him to be high commissioner for post-WW II Germany, with plenary, Caesar-like powers, which McCloy exercises tactfully and with restraint. While also playing lots of tennis. This section of the book is very gripping, as Bird unwinds the CIA's role in funding anti-Soviet left-wing intellectuals to counter Soviet propaganda, and to make sure Germany does not intrepidly rush to unify too soon--before the die-hard old Nazi's of Germany's industrial establishment are neutralized by the passage of a generation.

The European Community is also convincingly penetrated, below the acronyms and meetings which symbolize it for most contemporary students. Bird details how McCloy dealt with the treaties forming the EC, and how insuring Germany's non-reunification fit with putting other countries intot he coal and steel industries which Germany would need to becomea credible threat again.

In this reading, the awfulness of Germany, and the threat of revanchement, is what drove the cold war, not just anti-Soviet inexorabilities of history. In leading the effort at such a key time, McCloy's sportsmanship, learning, connections, and toughness were all needed. Bird suggests where and how McCloy developed each of these qualities, and how the old "Establishment" in America operated through these high quality servants of the amassed wealth of the Eastern types who then utilized WW II to launch America as the ruler of the economic world for the next 50 years. Quite an achievement, considering they could have just sat around Bar Harbor instead, wasting the talents of the acolyte class of McCloys on sailboat lessons and hair-do's for their wives and children.

Leaving us with the issue of what type of Americans will be called on to get us through whatever convulsions are left, now that George H.W. Bush and James Baker III steered us through the definitive collapse of Russian Communism. In this light, should we be glad or sad that the Arkansas contingent looks like they will miss the coming convulsion of Chinese communism?

I started reading this book for my job, which means I didn't have any expectations. Boy, was I in for a surprise. Linda Johns' writing is a perfect winter read since her lyrical prose is like a warm blanket. She invites you into her world of rural simplicity without any presumptions and introduces you to her feathered family of roosters, pigeons, quails, robins, blue jays and who ever else happens to fly in and out of those pages. Yet Johns doesn't concentrate solely on the birds in her life, she also speaks of the harmonious connection she has with the lanscape around her and the significance of time and seasons. Her life and writing is like a magical dream and she has the rare talent on offering that feeling to her readers. I know this book is great since I would rather sit with a cup of hot apple cider and read than watch any prime-time television shows.

Linda Jones is an accomplished painter and sculptor who lives in a woodland studio and became widely known as the "Bird Lady" because of her work in rescuing and caring for birds and other wildlife. She began by tending the occasional wounded or orphaned bird that came her way and today shares her home with an ever-shifting population of birds and other creatures -- some of whom having moved in to stay! In A Feathered Family: Nature Notes From A Woodland Studio, Linda Johns writes lyrically and engagingly about the natural world around her studio and the feathered characters who visit her and who share her home. With a natural talent for storytelling, Johns regales the reader with funny, affectionate stories enhanced with her drawings of avian house mates. A Feathered Family is enthusiastically recommended and entertaining reading for all bird and wildlife enthusiasts.

Despite the pitfalls of trying to accurately and completely represent a bird species using just one or two photographs, the original 3-volume Audubon Master Guide was a ground-breaking resource for intermediate to advanced birding, with information on many rare and/or hard-to-identify species. Unfortunately, the guide is really showing its age. I used to use it on every birding trip, but so many new species have been recorded, so many names have changed, and so many new resources have become available that the Master Guide has been collecting dust on my bookshelf for several years now. I now rely on such specialty guides as A Field Guide to Advanced Birding, A Guide to the Identification and Natural History of Sparrows of the United States and Canada, A Photographic Guide to North American Raptors, and A Field Guide to Warblers. I'm also anxiously awaiting the release this year of the Audubon Master Guide by David Sibley (which despite its name will bear very little resemblance to this 3-volume set) and the forthcoming "back-to-basics" field guide by Ken Kaufman.

Every serious birder should have the Master Guide. Unforntunately it is out of print and until the publisher decides to release it again so that one can have the complete set of all three volumes, it will leave a void in one's birding library. It might be out of date (1983), but the photographs for the most part as well as the text are extremely helpful when used in conjunction with other field guides. Sometimes it is the guide that will finally answer the question of what bird was that when the other guides have left you guessing. Here's hoping the publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, will release all three volumes again real soon! stormpetrel@msn.com

I looked for a long time for the best book with photos not someones idea what the birds look like. Also it gives excellent data on identification, breeding, habitat and comparisons

Shirley Streshinsky, the author of "Audubon," makes several mistakes common to authors, especially authors of biographies. A good editor at The University of Georgia Press could have and should have helped the author overcome these problems.

The book--over 400 pages--is over-written. It would have been far more interesting and readable if the manuscript had been trimmed by a third. The author, having done extensive research to gather hard-won facts, succumbed to the comon temptation of using facts because she had them.

The result is that what should be the theme and focus of the book is often buried in tedious and repetitious detail about travel plans, for example.

Here is a man of amazing genius. Able to things with his pastels and paints and pens that no one has ever been able to match. A facinating, driven man. Arrogant. Egotistical. Tireless. Obsessed. Willing to suffer every hardship, and sacrifice himself, his wife and sons, financial security, friendships his comfort and health--everything to achieve the single-minded purpose of producing the best, most complete pictures and words about America's birds.

All of this is covered in this book, but it is often buried under a so much minutia that the reader may lose focus of this brilliant man who accomplished so much with so little.

Another mistake the author and publisher make is to assume the reader has knowledge which the average reader may or may not have. Much of the book is about Audubon's extensive travels in the U.S. and Europe to sell subscriptions. But as near as I can tell from my careful reading, we are never told exactly what it is Audubon is selling subscriptions to.

We are told repeatedly about double-elephant folios, apparetly an over-sized paper for presenting Audubons's illustrations, but nowhere is a double-elephant filio described or defined.

Same goes for subscriptions to "the new octavo edition." What exactly is an octavo edition?

There is lots of discussion of the work of engravers, colorists, lithographers. But specifically what are these craftsmen doing? We are never told exactly. Whatever it is it apparently involves dozens of craftsmen working full time for years. Are they copying by hand Audubon's drawings onto metal plates? If so, how much of what we see is the faithful work of Audubon, and how much the art of engravers, colorists, lithographers?

You had better have a good memory for names as you read this book, or else makes notes as each of the dozens of new characters in the story are introduced. People brought into the story early often appear later with no reminders of who it is being talked about. The author remembers; the readers may not.

There is a section of illustrations in the book, all in black and white, all but one of people and places. Amazingly there is only one example of Audubon's brilliant artwork--a black and white sketch, unquestionably originally in color, of "A Robin Perched on a Mossy Stone." How can a book be presented about Audubon without including color examples of his brilliant work?

I was seriously disappointed by this book.

I agree that this book is indeed over-written and reads at time like a class assignment; the author simply ticking off facts without much coherent thesis. However, this recital does bring off a charming story interesting enough to hold the attention of the casual historian with only a passing interest in wildlife. For anyone wishing to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the American wilderness and the struggles of the early settlers, it is a pleasure. Just skip over the boring bits!

For latest on ornithology- see her 8 page article in Apr. 2001 American Heritage Magazine...Shirley visited birds on Midway Island,now a refuge in Pacific. On the Wings of Victory..also memorial to sea battle won by US Navy.

This nice collection of birds ...a biginner, this is not the best place to get your feet wet. Some of the models I found frustrating. After a bit of practise on some basic models I found on the internet, I returned and found it easier going. This one makes a nice 2nd or 3rd purchase.

The Eagle and the Seagull are the neatest models here. The inclusion of both the Crane and the Flapping Bird would have made this a 5-star book. Still, for the price, its a good value.

This is actually a good collection of Montroll's birds. I find folding Montroll's birds a good break from some of the more complicated models and the book's price can't be beat. There are 15 models of birds consisting of a Duck, Swan, Goose, Flamingo, Pelican, Heron, Pheasant, Seagull, Hummingbird, Cardinal, Cormorant, Stork, Eagle, Canary, and Parrot. Although if you are looking for a book to get you started in Origami I would suggest "Teach Yourself Origami" which is a great book to work your way into Origami and Montroll's models.

I bought three books lately and this is my favorite. It only cost about three bucks so you can't beat the price and the models are great. I particularly like the Parrot, Eagle and Humming bird. The most complicated bird is the Pheasant because of step 26, but it's probably just me. Get this book you will not regret it!

The major drawback is that the drawings of the birds described in the book are poor so that it is often difficult to use them for identification. The text is fine. However, it is the only book available, so you have no choice.

Ridgely's guide is the best - and really the only - available field guide covering all the species of birds in the nation of Panama. While it is useful and serves most purposes, it has been over a decade since the second edition was released, and it is more than due for an overhaul and expansion. The most necessary would be the addition of range maps, that would make the book infinitely more useful in planning a trip. At the very least, there should be a single, detailed map of Panama, indicating the locations mentioned in the range descriptions! Also, it would be better to limit the scope of the book entirely to Panama, as Costa Rica and other areas to the north are covered by other guides, and the pertinent information for those areas in this book are scant, at best. Then, the isolated plates in the back need to be intergrated, as do the plates of Darien specialties, etc. Many species have been recently added to the Panama list, or split, etc, and those species need to be added. But, all this aside, this book should enable the identification of most Panama birds, and remains an indispensible resource for any birder traveling to that country.

A nicely done guide. Well-illustrated, easy to use. Worked for me in Costa Rica...

With it's tipped in plates and beautiful end papers I think this book is a bibliophile's dream. Being a big fan of Cornell's work I was very impressed and pleased with the overall packaging, which I find to be quite lovely, and the quality of the writing. Finally I was really impressed when I found out that the editor put it all together while he was still in college. I think this is a great book for fans of Joseph Cornell's boxes.

I received this book from an old friend who I hadn't seen in nearly twenty years--she showed up unannounced, spent a few hours sitting in the sun, and then disappeared just as unexpectedly. I still don't know if she meant to leave the book behind, but I've decided that I won't give it up. Cornell's boxes have a strange beauty that seems to attract strange birds--deceptively simple, at first you barely realize how quickly you can slip into these lost, overlooked, forgotten worlds that seem hum along according to an amusingly skewed logic. Many of the stories and poems show writers who've successfully crossed over and have sent back postcards filled with the fresh and unfamiliar voices of travellers far from home.

IÂ'm a huge Joseph Cornell fan, and own every book that has anything to do with him. This is the best! Not only are the images beautiful and plentiful (and many new to me), but the stories and poems are so unbelievably entertaining and different from one another. IÂ've never seen a book quite like this one, and IÂ'm going to give a copy to everyone I know!

This book is just so full of shallow characters. Their agendas are shallow, their motivations are shallow,the artwork is terrible, and DC over-prices the book. For a book that is supposed to be so good, it comes up short in every department.

I admit, in this tradepaperback it can get a little confusing, (hence the 4 out of 5 stars) since they compile a few storylines together and sometimes they end one section and start another without a full explanation. But it's all worth the last section where Black Canary teams up with the Huntress and Catwoman and aggravate poor Oracle to no end. That alone (plus the art work is excellent) is worth the price of this book.

BIRDS OF PREY trade paperback explains just how different, yet similar both the Black Canary and Oracle are. Seperate, they are formidable. Together, they are deadly. I have the MANHUNT mini-series and the REVOLUTION saga, so I just enjoyed the origin of the partnership between the two and the extra story with Lois Lane. Just so you know, I collect the monthly comic as well. These two characters have something special and they compliment each other well. For all action junkies looking for something different, this is your book. After all, it's not everyday that two beautifully drawn women take center stage to save the world and kick butt until their ankles are sore. Maybe it should be.

It is a nice book but my only complaint is that the birds in it are limited. It did not have indigo buntings and rose breasted grosbeaks, etc.
Also, some of the descriptions do not seem accurate, eg differences between a yellow fronted canary and a yellow eye canary are not highlighted, and the female distinguishing markings are also not covered. The description on the song is also not accurate. I was disappointed with the book because I expected a lot more for the price I paid.

Overall, a good reference to the finches and sparrows of the world. However, those interested chiefly in the sparrows of the New World are advised to look elsewhere, as only the sparrows of the Old World genuses Passer, etc. are included in this work. I repeat: THERE ARE NO NEW WORLD SPARROWS (or towhees, buntings, juncos, etc.) IN THIS BOOK.

Also, I am not sure that all of the munias and mannikins of the genus Lonchura are included, as this book lists only 34, while another book specifically on that subject claims 41. Taxonomic hair-splitting or an omission by the authors of this book?

The Galapagos finches are omitted as well.

Buyer beware.

I am a breeder and distributor of different finches and this book has been the best resource I have been able to find. The picture plates are finely detailed including many sub-species of each type of finch. It even covers some finches that are too rare to be covered in any other book. There is detailed information on each species including, but not limited to, regional location (including migration and breeding maps), identification, differences between sub-species, availability, habitat requirements, food eaten, and scientific and local names. I really want someone to make a book as well done covering Weavers, Whydas, and Buntings. If you are looking to identify species and sub-species of finches then this is probably the only book you will need--period.