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Book reviews for "East,_Charles" sorted by average review score:

Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa
Published in Hardcover by National Geographic (2002)
Author: Audrey Salkeld
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Col. Scott vividly relates his time as a hostage in Iran.
Col. Scott's book is, quite simply, one of the very best personal narratives I have ever read. He traces the entire hostage ordeal from its political roots in Iran, including the deposition of the Shan and its effect on everyday Iranians, to its overwhelming conclusion, over a year later. Col. Scott takes great pains to ensure that the reader fully understands what is happening at every point, and the depth and clarity of the actual writing is breathtaking.

Of interest to many readers will be the time Col. Scott takes to fully develop (in the mind of the reader) his relationship with his "benevolent terrorist", Akbar. He also gives a significant portion of the book to Akbar's history, and I really felt, at the end of the book, as if I had been right there in the midst of things, listening, feeling, and watching the story unfold. A fantastic read by an extraordinarily talented man.


Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Administrator's Companion
Published in Hardcover by Microsoft Press (23 April, 2003)
Authors: Charlie Russel, Sharon Crawford, and Jason Gerend
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brilliant translation
Wonderful translation, captured the essence, perfectly, of all of the works included. It is a beautiful thing to see these fine pieces translated into English for a larger audience to appreciate.

-Robert G


Religion and the One: Philosophies East and West
Published in Paperback by Continuum (2003)
Author: Frederick Charles Copleston
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Religion and the One.
This book which was given in a series of lectures contains some remarkable insights into the relationships between the world's great religions (Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) and the philosophies of the One. The author examines the understanding of the One in Taoism, Confucianism, the Advaita Vedanta, Islamic mysticism, and Western philosophy. In addition, the author examines the relationship between the Self and the One (dealing especially with the philosophies of Absolute Idealism of Fichte or Bradley, for example), the nature of mysticism and its relation to the One, and how the One is to be understood in terms of ethical and social ideals. The book concludes with a chapter on the succession of metaphysical systems and the truth and how this related back to the philosophy of the One. The author argues that metaphysics cannot be so readily dismissed as a mode of questioning, and that the One can be understood as having a special relationship to God and theistic philosophy in general. In sum, this book features many fascinating insights into the world's religions and philosophical insights into the nature of the One.


Exploring Nature's Uncultivated Garden
Published in Paperback by Havelin Communications (1989)
Authors: Deborah Lee and Michele Donnellan
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looking for another copy
i saw a copy of this book years ago, if you know where I can get a copy e-mail me at rajones8@yahoo.com. thanx


Tibet: Caught in Time (Caught in Time (Garnet Pub))
Published in Hardcover by Garnet Pub Ltd (1998)
Authors: John Clarke, John Claude White, and Sir Charles Bell
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Amazing photos of Tibet 80 years ago
I'm more into photography than anything else, which is why I read this book. The photos are fabulous -- Tibet is so complex and fascinating and funny! Not just monks and solemn things, also farmers having picnic lunches with beer, kids playing, markets, festivals, fabulous costumes and headdresses. Really, if you want to see how extraorinary and intricate Tibetan culture was (before the Chinese, at least!) this is the book to buy. Fab fab fab!


European Imperialism 1860-1914 (Studies in European History (Basingstoke, England).)
Published in Paperback by MacMillan Pub Ltd (1997)
Authors: Andrew Porter and Roy Porter
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"Vanishing Georgia" should be required text in schools.
An absolute excellent source of photography of past Georgia history. Each photo tells its own story. Some photos will sadden you, others will make you smile but none of them should be forgotten. Middle school and high school students in Georgia should have this book as required reading as too often our history is glossed over in television, motion pictures, etc.. This wonderful book shows the "non-Hollywood" version of life from the late 1800's through the early and middle 1900's. Anyone interested in Georgia history will be enchanted with this book.


Sermons in Stone
Published in Paperback by Birch Brook Pr (1999)
Author: Christopher Munford
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Great, an interesting read.
Well worth the time. I highly recommend this book


Women and the Political Process in Twentieth-Century Iran
Published in Paperback by Cambridge Univ Pr (Pap Txt) (1997)
Authors: Parvin Paidar and Charles Tripp
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This is worth reading for any one interested in Iran.
Dear Professor Paidar your thoughtful points of view in this book is obviously salient.Really it must have taken a long time for you to study so much sources and cite them with honesty. Indeed, I took a lot of advantages from this impartially written book, and I think that no other one can accuse you of favouring any government or political feature in your book. Dear Professor, Since I am writing my own Thesis regarding political participation of women in the process of Iranian Revolution, I see myself completely needy to your invaluable comments about my own ideas in this regard.I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.


Building Fireplace Mantels: Distinctive Projects for Any Style Home
Published in Paperback by Taunton Pr (2002)
Author: Mario Rodriguez
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"Survivor", for real!
I remember this as a news story in 1974; a Japanese soldier emerging from the jungles of the Philippines after finally realizing that WWII was over. I recall thinking 'he must be crazy'. NO SURRENDER shows it's not so. This is the true story of 2nd Lt Hiroo Onoda, who, on orders from his commanding officer retreated with a small band of men into the jungle to carry out guerilla attacks against returning American troops and the Filipinos. He was to stay alive and await reinforcements.

He didn't know when WWII ended and every attempt by Americans, locals, and even friends and familiy from Japan, to get him to come out was seen as a trap by Onoda. Only when his orders were specifically rescinded, did he emerge. Over the years his skills in evading and surviving were honed to a edge.

For humanists this is a positive message and a remarkable tale about the ability of the human spirit to endure great hardships for the sake of beliefs and duty. Less positive, from a mental health perspective, the book is a startling illustration of the power of the mind to program itself to shut out all messages and signals it does not wish to receive.

Great book about survival and duty
This is the first person account of the last Japanese soldier to fight in WWII. Lt. Onoda was under orders to "never surrender" unless ordered by competent authority. At the end of the war, his command structure was non-existent. He continued his mission to disrupt allied war efforts until the early 1970s. He was reduced to raiding Phillipine villages and destroying their rice crops to inflict damage on the enemies of Japan. His overwhelming sense of duty infuses every page. His description of daily existence in the jungle and mountains provides detailed advice for survival without outside resources. The fitting of known outside events into his paranoid world view is insightful commentary on the human mind. For example, when a shipment of war surplus from a shipwreck washed up on the beach of his island in the 1950s, he and his companions convinced themselves that it meant the Japanese were still transporting troops by ship in the area. All efforts, via loudspeaker and leaflets, to convince him that the war was over were likewise explained away as a subterfuge. Although this book is hard to get, it is a valuable addition to any survival or military library

Heartbreaking!
This book had some light moments, but it was really heartbreaking because every trial and tribulation that Onoda endured was completely unnecessary.

The style of the book is very prosaic, getting across the basic facts without (alas) many lengthy digressions from his main line of describing life in the jungle. Unfortunately, life after Lubang island was not described in the book. We certainly learn a lot about life in the jungle, though. Typical sentences begin like:

"Speaking of stings..."
"More troublesome than the rats were the ants..."
"Some years it would rain all through May..."

He endured all this for 30 years, for nothing. 30 years eating green bananas.

The psychology of it all is fascinating; he constructed a model of how the war was going on and examined all the evidence he had in light of this unshakeable belief. The Japanese soldier must have been fearsome indeed, if even a fraction of them had the strength of conviction that Onoda had.

Definitely worth a read.


A Terrible Revenge: The Ethnic Cleansing of the East European Germans, 1944-1950
Published in Paperback by St. Martin's Press (1994)
Authors: Alfred-Maurice De Zayas and Charles M. Barber
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The tragedy of the largest ethnic-cleansing event in history
Alfred-Maurice De Zayas' book recounts the events that unfolded during the first few-months of 1945 in Germany's historic eastern provinces. This tragedy, that was the extermination of an 800-year old civilization in Eastern Europe, is regrettably an event that still remains an unknown, even in modern western intellectual circles. De Zayas' book decribes the harrowing tale that the 13 million eastern Germans faced: the largest ethnic-cleansing of human beings, the largest maritime evacuation of civilians, and the most horrific naval disasters in history. The book is a monument to the great cruelty and depravity that mankind is capable of, and the little dignity that even moral powers can have for their victims. It is a dedication to the millions that suffered because of their ethnic origin and to the 2.5 million Germans that vanished. Today, the survivors and relatives of these expellees acount for 1/5 of the German population. This book will be intstrumental in understanding the future evolution of Polish-German and Czech-German affairs. A DEFINITE BUY! A+

Harrowing tales of forgotten victims
This book tells the tale of millions of ethnic Germans who were murdered, deported or otherwise ethnically cleansed from areas in eastern Europe towards the end of World War II and in the immediate years following the Third Reich's final defeat. This story has rarely been touched upon in books until now. The author recounts many first hand narratives of survivors of the violence that was doled out to anyone of German ancestry who found themselves in areas conquered by the Soviet army plus lists evidence gathered by the German Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau. Among the horrors the reader will encounter is the savagery dealt out to citizens of the German town of Nemmersdorf which included crucifictions of women and the mass murder of children. The reader will march along ethnic Germans being forced from their homes in eastern Europe and will witness the wholesale murders that befell many.

De Zayas proves that victims know no nationality. I recommend this book for all interested in World War II and the immediate aftermath.

A balanced review of an act of vengance
The book presents evidence of the explusion from territories their families had inhabited for centuries. The author does not gloss over nor excuses the crimes planned and executed by the Nazi government during WW2, and I found this to be very reassuring. After reading the book, I went and did more research, and found that there were other authors also writing books that present some of the facts that are contained in Mr. De Zayas' research (for example, John Sachs' book on Polish concentration camps for Germans). I even found books at Rutgers University library (from the 1950's)that detailed the Allied plans to resettle millions of expelled Germans from Poland and the (current) Czech republic within the four occupation zones of postwar Germany -- these details were negotiated by the victorius western powers and the Soviet Union.

I applaud this and other efforts to inform the public of the truth, regardless of ideology. It is a reminder that, after all, the blood we all spill is exactly the same shade of red ...


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