I like this book and ilearned alot from it about collecting silverdollars and prices of coins. I also learned about errors and all the kinds of grading of coins and where they are made and stuff a must for coin collectors.

William Gibbs McAdoo had a fascinating life, and it seems odd that so many people no longer seem to know of him. He was born in Georgia in 1863, did not finish law school but was admitted to the bar, and after practicing in Chattanooga for a few years went to New York (all on his own, knowing no one there) and began practicing there. He had a role in completing tunnels under the Hudson River, and in 1912 played a key role at the Democratic Convention in Baltimore which nominated Woodrow Wilson on the 44th ballot (tho thru 43 ballots McAdoo's ballot was cast for Wilson's main opponent!). Then he became Secretary of the Treasury, and married Wilson's daughter, tho he was twice her age. As is usual in political or any kind of memoir, McAdoo is not overly modest, but he says a lot of wise things, and one cannot but be impressed at what he accomplished. So what he says cannot just be bombast. I found his account of running the railroads during World War One really interesting, and to me it seemed like a huge accomplishment. Unfortunately the book ends with 1918, even tho it was written in 1931. So we don't learn about the fantastic convention of 1924 where McAdoo led on 100 ballots, but failed to be nominated, nor of course is there anything about McAdoo's time in the U.S. Senate from 1933 to 1938, nor do we learn why in 1934 McAdoo and Wilson's daughter were divorced. Does anyone know? This book of course gives no hint as to any trouble between him and his second wife. The book is full of shrewd comments, e.g.: "I have found that a good listener is one who is thinking of something else." This book ranks with other great political memoirs I have read, such as My Quarter Century of American Politics, by Champ Clark, (read 25 Jan 1989), The Autobiography of William Allen White (read Nov 3, 1990), and Western Democrat, by Arthur F. Mullen (read 25 Jan 2001). I would like to read Thirty Years View, by Thomas Hart Benton; Twenty Years in Congress, by James G. Blaine (I remember this was in our high school library and I considered reading it many times, but unfortunately never did!), and Autobiography of Seventy Years by George F. Hoar

This is a focused book for the initiated. But a very complete compillation. Focuses on values.

Mediocre, with a few moments of good writing, but the entire theme is contrived. Spend your money on real environmental writing, for example Paul Shepard and Jerry Mander.

Although the contributors to this book are all Mormons the plea they make is universal. Our ties to God's creations are real. We derive emotional and spiritual strength from them. The earth is given to us as a stewardship from God, to use, but also to protect and "replenish". The contributors cite personal examples to explain their interpretation of this "stewardship." I recommend this book!

Unless you are very new to coin collecting, this book has very little to offer. It does have some good, basic descriptions or discussions about US coins and their history, but if you are looking for what to pay for that next coin purchase you make, I would caution against relying only on this "guide".

When I purchased this book, I was most interested in reading the "Value Trends", but was disappointed to find little in that area that was helpful. The back cover in part reads: "It is the only book that gives you: (among several items) 'Price-performance graphs visually tracking a 12-year history of every series of US coins'." No such graphs were in the edition I received.

I would send the book back for a refund if it was worth my time. I would think most people would be better off buying the latest issue of the Grey Sheets or better yet Blue Sheets, that are available on the internet.