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Very informative book
A Subject of Mutual InterestThis book tells of the enormous cost to the Russian people of building and maintaining their war industry for so many years, a militarized economy where people got second best. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, defense industry just about shut down, but civilian industry has not grown great enough to support the population. There are horrendous unemployment, and terrible health and social problems. There is some danger that the path of least resistance for Russia, if we neglect the situation, could be to re-start weapons production, for export at first.
In my opinion, the United States also, to a lesser degree, has neglected the manufacture of quality consumer goods, importing them instead, and has let its physical economy deteriorate, despite much activity in the financial sector. We, too, have been insufficiently careful of the environment. This book provides some idea of what these trends could lead to, if carried to extremes.
Perhaps the involvement of United States companies in Russia, could lead to more of a recognition here, of the importance of the physical economy. Hopefully, both countries could also work to put industry on a healthy environmental footing as well.
There is awareness of the problem of Russian defense conversion, at high levels of our government. I hope this book helps educate people and sustain that interest.
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Great Desk Resource
Comprehensive Textbook covering Corporate TaxThe book is written in an easy to understand manner, which follows the most important codes that are used in tax today. The only drawback of these books are the fact that since the tax codes are constantly changing, the books are updated about every year.
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Excellent Book
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Diseases of the Sinuses: Short Review
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Most informative..as is all other readings from these peoplei rate this book..and all others by this group so far that ive read..a "5" excellent material..and very true is one is awake..and can see over the blindness
sandra dorsey
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Interesting Read--1st Phase in Larger Research Project
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Firefighting Strategies and Tactics
Letters Reveal a Family Torn by Civil WarDavis and his wife, Hester, in time became unionists who feared the consequences of a Maryland secession for their state and family. "We may not like the present administration, nor endorse its acts-but-'we had better bear the ills we have than to fly to others that we know not of,'" wrote Hester to her daughter, Rebecca, late in May of 1861. "Let Maryland remain neutral and she may ride out safely this awful storm...I fear this secession element. It would be certain ruin to all our hopes as a family, in this world."
Their son, William Wilkins Davis, was a student at St. James College, a prestigious Episcopal boy's school near Hagerstown, in western Maryland. St. James had the misfortune to lie between opposing armies that tramped incessantly through the region and staged America's bloodiest day on a battlefield a mere seven miles distant, along Antietam Creek. The boys of St. James spent Sunday afternoons in the spring of 1861 not in the library but visiting nearby union and confederate camps. Fearful parents began withdrawing their sons as tensions grew. In the spring of 1861, with the bombardment of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor and Baltimoreans clashing with northern troops marching through their city, young Wilkins became an impassioned sympathizer for the southern cause. Letters heretofore about food, studies and illness became angry diatribes against Lincoln, Maryland Governor Thomas Hicks, and others perceived to have a foot on the jugular of southern state's rights. "I hereby announce myself, henceforth, a straight out 'Southern Rights' man, and want nothing to do with Lincoln, his party or anything connected with him, or it, unless it is to help thrash him," he wrote to sister Rebecca on May 21, 1861. "I can no longer support a man whose avowed intention is to subjugate the South...and our contemptible, cowardly, lying governor winks at every thing [he] does without the lest compunction." Such words remind us that 19th century political discourse could also be ugly and coarse.
Both young Wilkins and St. James fared poorly in the cauldron of conflict. The boy took ill early in the war and, despite periods of good health, he died in 1866. The college closed its doors in 1864, an educational casualty of war.
Hein's book captures the complexity of the Civil War in a state of abolitionists, pro-slavery unionists, anti-slavery southern sympathizers and non-slaveholding secessionists. We see a pivotal Maryland through the eyes of adults and children, and the consequences of war for familial relationships, religious values and educational institutions. Hein's crisp editorial commentary knits these letters chronologically, supplying time and place for the Davis family to tell of life in the tumultuous middle of the nineteenth century. We are in the debt of this slender volume, for reminding us that a history replete with leaders and battles is incomplete absent the insights of sons and daughters, and mothers and fathers.
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Alas, Shakespeare can be addictive!Most of the supporting cast is also wonderful. Hats off to the performances by Denzel Washington (Don Pedro), Richard Briers (Seigneur Leonato), Brian Blessed (Seigneur Antonio), Michael Keaton (Constable Dogberry), and a absolutely stunning performance by Kate Beckinsale (Hero). The exceptions in the casting are Keanu Reeves (Don John), Robert Sean Leonard (Claudio) and...yes...Kenneth Brannagh (Benedick). Fortunately Reeves' role is small. Leonard's performance seems too contrived, to the point of distraction. And even though this is Brannagh's baby, Brannagh himself portrays the role of Benedick with a smugness that is a bit nauseating. If you read the play, Benedick is not smug at all. Though I enjoy Brannagh's other work, he seems to use Shakespeare as a way to show superiority. I have seen this in other actors, and find such action reprehensible. Shakespeare wrote plays for people to enjoy and to indugle in escapism...not to give people an excuse to be a snob.
Having said that, this film is very enjoyable, and I've actually had friends become Shakespeare addicts after seeing this particular film. I, personally, particularly love the Tuscan locations, and the costuming is wonderful! No over-the-top lacey outfits in this film, but rather those that would be suited to the climate. This adds another depth of reality that pulls you into the story.
If you are a fan of Shakespeare, or any of the aforementioned actors, this movie is a must-see. It's actually one of the very few film versions of a Shakespeare play that I own. This particular interpretation allows the viewer to become comfortable with Shakespeare's style, thus creating an interest in his other work. Well worth the purchase. And yes, it's VERY funny!
An Exquisite Film!!!Kenneth Branaugh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, and Michael Keaton give excellent performances in this film that you wouldn't want to miss. Although the film is a period piece and the Shakespearean language is used, you will have no difficulty understanding it perfectly.
The scenery and landscape in this film are exquisite as well. I never thought there could be such a beautiful, untouched place like that on earth. I would suggest watching the film just for the beautiful landscape, but it's the performances and the story that you should really pay attention to.
Anyone who loves Shakespeare would absolutely love this film! Anyone who loves Kenneth Branaugh and what he has done for Shakespeare in the past 10 or 15 years will appreciate this film as well! There isn't one bad thing I can say about this film. Definitely watch it, you won't be disappointed!!!
Sigh no more, ladies...What he meant by the comment was, humour is most often a culture-specific thing. It is of a time, place, people, and situation--there is very little by way of universal humour in any language construction. Perhaps a pie in the face (or some variant thereof) does have some degree of cross-cultural appeal, but even that has less universality than we would often suppose.
Thus, when I suggested to him that we go see this film when it came out, he was not enthusiastic. He confessed to me afterward that he only did it because he had picked the last film, and intended to require the next two selections when this film turned out to be a bore. He also then confessed that he was wrong.
Brannagh managed in his way to carry much of the humour of this play into the twentieth century in an accessible way -- true, the audience was often silent at word-plays that might have had the Elizabethan audiences roaring, but there was enough in the action, the acting, the nuance and building up of situations to convey the same amount of humour to today's audience that Shakespeare most likely intended for his groups in the balconies and the pit.
The film stars Kenneth Brannagh (who also adapted the play for screen) and Emma Thompson as Benedict and Beatrice, the two central characters. They did their usual good job, with occasional flashes of excellence. Alas, I'll never see Michael Keaton as a Shakespearean actor, but he did a servicable job in the role of the constable (and I shall always remember that 'he is an ass') -- the use of his sidekick as the 'horse' who clomps around has to be a recollection of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, where their 'horses' are sidekicks clapping coconut shells together.
I'll also not see Keanu Reeves as a Shakespearean, yet he was perhaps too well known (type-cast, perhaps) in other ways to pull off the brief-appearing villian in this film.
Lavish sets and costumes accentuate the Italianate-yet-very-English feel of this play. This film succeeds in presenting an excellent but lesser-known Shakespeare work to the public in a way that the public can enjoy.
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Three Roads to the Alamo
AmazingThe parallel biography is an excellent vehicle for driving this story, especially, as Davis points out, since the three men in the story represent the three levels of civilization. You have Crockett, the trail blazer, Bowie, the speculator, and Travis, the settler. Each has his own unique qualities, and adds a dimension to this tale of Jacksonian America.
It is apparent that Davis was bound and determined to correct the myths around these three men, and for the most part he succeeds. He seems to come down unduly hard on Crockett, but then again, Crockett's image needed the most redressing. However, he does not totally undo the Crockett myth, with his much more heroic description of Davy at the Alamo. Bowie and Travis are also cut down, but to lesser degrees. In fact, Davis almost plays down Bowie's land schemes and he is obviously the author's favorite.
As for the book itself, it is very readable if somewhat long. But once you pick it up, you will not want to put it down as Davis brings these men alive, and in the end, you truly feel their loss. It is a unique story, because as it progresses, it seems these men are invincible--giants in their own age, but we all know how the story ends, and yet still find ourselves wishing something will happen and history will change. Not many books can accomplish that kind of involvement. "Three Roads to the Alamo" does.
History Defeats Myth AgainThe book constitutes three long, thick, thorough biographies of David Crockett, James Bowie, and William Barret Travis. Most Americans have heard of "Davy" Crockett and most have heard of the "Bowie Knife." All Texans have heard of James Bowie and William Travis. I live in Travis County, which contains Austin, the capital of Texas, and I live down the street from James Bowie High School. But other than knowing that Travis and Bowie were commanders at the Alamo, I knew very little about them, and most of what I "knew" about them turns out to be untrue myth, as convincingly demonstrated throughout Three Roads to the Alamo.
William C. Davis sticks to the facts in his narrative and disposes of myths in the footnotes, which are vital reading. The facts of Crockett's life are fairly well-known but still interesting. Davis shows Crockett as a Perot-esque plain speaker, trapped late in his career by his own mythology, tirelessly repeating his tired complaints against Andrew Jackson. Finally voted out of office, he goes to Texas and joins the small band of Texians defending the Alamo against Mexican invasion and is killed with the rest.
A prior reviewer gives this book only 2 stars for the sole reason that Davis rejects one version of Crockett's death, which appears in a Mexican soldier's diary, that has him surrendering and being bayonetted by Mexican soldiers. When this diary became publicized a few years ago, there was a small furor because surely the great Crockett would never have surrendered. The diary had to be a forgery or a lie. This furor demostrates the powerful hold that the Alamo myth has over Texans. Crockett HAD to go down fighting, not surrendering. Davis's book is refreshing because he looks at such things objectively, always putting forward provable facts over made-up myths. He convincingly shows that the diary is hearsay and that similar stories were told about Crockett and others, and ultimately concludes that it is impossible to tell how Crockett died from the sources. I find this honesty refreshing.
However, very little is actually about the Alamo. It is mostly about the interesting lives of Crockett, Bowie, and Travis. Bowie's tale in particular is fascinating. I wanted to strangle him throughout most of the book. This guy started out with an ingenious but disgusting slave-laudering scheme, smuggling slaves through Mexican-owned Texas. Then he blatantly and poorly forged hundreds of fake Spanish documents purporting to give him ownership and thousands of acres of Louisiana and Arkansas. The false claims screwed up title in both states for decades after Bowie died at the Alamo. He also obtained a fraudulent "debt" that the federal government supposedly owed $42,000 on. Bowie never acknowledged that the claims were false, instead trying to bully federal officials in the South and Washington into officially recognizing his claims. Even the Bowie Knife turns out to have been made by his brother and used by Bowie only once.
Crockett came to Texas to escape debt, abandoning his pregnant wife and daughter. He did not come to Texas because he had to kill a man for shaming his wife, as I had heard before. He was basically nothing but a coward.
But then the rogues end up fighting the Texas Revolution, and suddenly the hero in them comes out. I forgave all their faults.
Davis shows that the truth is stranger and more interesting than fictional myth. I drove by Bowie High School the other day before getting to the part where Bowie turns into a hero. I wanted to scream out my window for the school to change its name. Now that I have finished the book, I say let Bowie have his school. Maybe that just shows that I am impressionable. I don't know. All I know is that I loved this book.
"The Anatomy of Russian Defense Conversion" touches on many more subjects then just Russian Defense Industry. This is a very thorough, informative and important work that analyses the history of US and Russian Defense Industries, weapons exports and conversion, and possibilities of transformation from a militarized to a civilian economy in the new millenium.
The book also reflects on the current state of defense industries in the US and Russia, and "brain drain", or loss of intellectual capital in Russia and other countries after the Cold War.
I found reflections in Arkady Yarovsky's chapter "From the Culture of War to the Culture of Peace" very contemporary, especially in the light of recent events in the Middle East:
"Our time is unfortunately still characterized as "the culture of war." The culture of war is evident first and foremost in the hostilities between people and states, between nations and faiths, and in the inability to solve conflicts by peaceful means... Humanity has made it into the third millenium because the lust for power has been restrained by fear of nuclear war, but this restraint is not to be counted on permanently... The danger hidden in the separateness of people of different countries, unfortunately, remains a legacy for the next century... If humanity renounces the legacy of the culture of war, it can start down the road of cooperation, peaceful creation, and enlightenment. This is the only road leading to the culture of peace."