I was really encouaged and challenged by Gospel Trailblazer. It tells the life story of Howard O. Jones, who has been described as the "Jackie Robinson of evangelism." The book is incredibly well-written, and the anecdotes and stories reveal the real face of America -- warts and all -- during the 1930's through 1960's, before civil rights were given to African Americans. I highly recommend this book.

After some sixty to eighty years after they were first printed in the pages of the fabled pulp magazine "Adventure," these stirring tales by Harold Lamb of swordplay and strife in the wildest parts of medieval Asia are being re-issued. It has been too long. Congrats to the publisher for doing this. Now if we can only get the Khlit/Kirdy novels - White Falcon, Kirdy: the Way Out of the World and the Mighty Manslayer - out in print! Harold Lamb was one of the great early masters of historical fiction, his best single work is the novel "Durandal: A Crusader with the Horde" (Grant Books has printed part of this novel in two deluxe volumes - "Durandal" and "Sea of the Ravens," without completing the set). His "historical" non-fiction - Babur the Tiger, Nur Mahal, Omar Khayyam - is really good too!

This book is great! There are some very confusing times in the game and this book is perfect for them. I can't find this book anywhere to buy but here. So, when I saw it, I had to buy it. 5 stars all the way baby!

This guide is the one and only one you should get if you need help. It can ruin a lot of suprises, but if you beat the game, I suggest using this to go back and find all the secrets. Also, you'll never have more fun reading the storyline.

This book contains art and essays that advance an exciting new way to consider the contemporary visual arts, and the social world in which Americans in particular swim. White Americans swim in racial preference, though they usually don't know it, so like the fish in water, can't describe it (an imperfect metaphor, given the mental capacities of most fish, but it'll do). The essays included here, including one by leading whiteness studies scholar David Roediger, are very helpful in seeing how the budding area of critical whiteness studies can further enrich our appreciation of contemporary visual art. The reproductions are fabulous, and the works included intriguing in the ways they can stimulate viewers to ponder race, and class (and even sometimes gender and sexuality). Humorous at times, these works (and essays) do not uniformly seek to confront white America with its racist past and present.

This is a book that richly deserves wider distribution, beyond the museum giftshop.

Peter Bogdanovich has written a book that is for the movie enthusiast. I suspect the general reader may find some of the interviewees obscure, and the topics technical. I feel that is their loss. For the student of film or film history, this is a treasure trove of information, ideas, experiences, and feelings about films taken from interviews with some of the most distinguished directors in movie history. The author's selection is not encyclopedic, but the directors' experience spans from the earliest years of silent film to the present. These men are not just informative, but their strong and distinctive personalities show in each interview, giving the sense that one has actually met and understood many of them. Some of the interviews are brief, or even very idiosyncratic, but the best are delightfully personal. This is a long book, but affords many pleasant evenings of good conversation. It also makes one want to go back and see the films again!

This is an incredible book that contains Bogdanovich's various interviews with some of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers. These are not detailed biographies however, they are an in-depth conversation about the filmmaker's films and his own feelings about them. While some go into the individual's past it is just so you can get an idea of the personality of the filmmaker. This is a must-have book. A good way to look at it is to read it through once and become familiar with all of the directors, some of whom may be new to you. Then as you view their films go back and read what they have to say. Though sometimes their comments are very brief, it's one of the few sources you'll find where the film-maker makes direct reference back to a film. And I don't know what it is about Bogdanovich but he always brings out gems of truth from those he interviews.

You can spend years going to film school, or you can read this book! Bogdanovich does a great job with this collection of interviews of great film directors. Not only does the book give you a good inside view of the craft of cinema, but it also acts as a history book of the film industry.

This book would be good for the serious indie director who has bet his/her credit cards on their dream or even the special person in your life who stays up until 4am watching the Turner Classic Movie channel.

There is something here for everyone as there is a wide range of directors who work in a wide range of styles. There isn't a genre that isn't touched in this book - from Hitchcock on Horror to Chuck Jones on cartoons. What's great is that Bogdanovich captures insight into directors that are no longer with us (like Fritz Lang who directed Metropolis). Since the directors tell their own stories, you don't get the Hollywood hype filter.

If you had to buy one book on film this year, this would be it!

This book was excellent and informative. However, readers should know that it is written in a research style, almost like a text book (sometimes putting the reader to sleep-and the reason I am only rating it four stars), as opposed to being written by an investigative reporter (and reading like a thriller). The book is extremely well documented. The author was intimately involved with helping lawyer Gray (Rosa Parks' lawyer) prosecute the case against the federal government, by providing much of the documentation given in this book. He began work on the book while a student in Harvard's bioethics program in 1972, and only subsequently becoming involved with lawyer Gray.

The book is a complete history from the conception of the experiment, until its termination, including the viewpoints of ALL participants. In addition to learning about the experiment itself, I learned a lot about life in the rural American South, which I had not previously known, and a lot about the disease of syphilis that I hadn't known. Some examples: I didn't know that 30-40 percent of blacks in the rural South were infected, nor that the disease crosses the placental barrier, which caused a lot of syphilitic babies. The book includes pictures of syphilitic skin lesions, and discusses multiple complications of the late stages of the disease.

The book also delves into the moral and racial issues extensively. There is an updated chapter at the end comparing the syphilis crisis to the AIDS crisis, and discusses why so many blacks are distrustful of doctors and hospitals-this experiment simply being one of the most recent examples of how this segment of our society as lied to, and taken advantage of.

What was MOST shocking to me about this book was that I was born in 1955, and this experiment continued into the mid-1970's. The FIRST time it was questioned on moral grounds was about 1962, and throughout the 60's, most doctors did not even QUESTION the morality! The story was broken the same day as Sargent Shiver's having obtained psychiatric counseling-the latter story I heard about extensively, and the former not at all! Before buying this book, I had never even heard of this medical experiment, and I just can't believe things like this were taking place IN
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA until the mid-1970's!!!

Jones has written an outstanding book which will likely make all readers question the ethics of human experimentation and why doctors choose the patients they do. The book covers the history of the Tuskeegee experiment, a study of the effects of untreated syphilis, or "bad blood," on poor black men in the South, from the 1930's to the 1970's. All of the players in the story, from the doctors, to the nurses, to the patients themselves are discussed in outstanding detail.

The syphilis study was unquestioned when it began, as many doctors did not render treatment for syphilis, which could often be much worse than the cure. However, the experiment continued for almost forty years after the development of penicillin, which would have provided a ready cure for most of the subjects and not risk exposing their wives and children to infection. The experimenters took a great deal of trouble to ensure that their patients did not receive effective treatment for syphilis anywhere. The book's additional chilling reminder is that, on top of all the human suffering caused by this study, it had no scientific value whatsoever, as many of the subjects had been treated in some way, and there were other studies on the effects of syphilis.

The concluding chapter is newly written to detail the linkages between the Tuskeegee experiment and the current AIDS crisis. This chapter discusses the reasons why many American blacks think the virus is targeted towards their communities.

I loved the loving care with which this book was written. The horror of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study was that there truly was no evil intent on the part of the doctors involved, and all believed that the "patients" truly benefitted, receiving health care they otherwise would not have received for other ailments that they could not have afforded treatment for otherwise. In fact, the Tuskegee "patients" received health care for aches and pains that neither their neighbors nor even their wives and children were able to access, because of their "privileged" status as part of the "government study." Placing the story squarely in the context of its time, Jones does not excuse those who bear the responsibility for the choices they made regarding the men involved in the study, but attempts to explain to the best of his ability why those in authority made the decisions they made, even to the point of placing a black nurse in the pivotal position of overseeing the consistency of the study and maintaining contact with the study "subjects" while the doctors themselves were rotated every year as part of their own "educational" history. Even Tuskegee itself was run by black doctors who chose to look the other way when they knew, had to know, the detrimental decisions that were being made. That is how power works. That is how it worked then, and that is how it works today. Is it because of Tuskegee that the Public Health System lacks credibility? Or is it because of the ongoing and persistent ignorance and incompetence of the Public Health System itself? The system is infested with politics, funding fiascos and unethical practices. It didn't start with Tuskegee, and it certainly didn't end there. This is a very important part of the story, and should be mandated reading for anyone who wants to understand the controverted manipulations of the Public Health System. It is only the beginning, however. Don't stop there.

An interesting story on how a man came out of the projects and became a CEO of a company and took it to the top where it is today.

Howard Schultz saw promise in Star Bucks and wanted to expand nation wide, when he realized early on, they could make the artistry of espresso like the Italians did, as well as offering fresh roasted coffee beans. Over the next 10 years Howard, with a team of smart and experienced managers, reinvented Starbucks from a local business of 6 stores and 100 employees to a company with businesses of 1300 stores and 25,000 employees. Howard proved that a company could lead with its heart and soul and still make money. It also shows that a company can provide long-term value for its share holders and still treat their employees with respect and dignity, because they had a team of leaders who believed it was right and that it was and is, the way to do business.

I found this book very interesting because it showed for once that a company could get ahead without chopping people down in the process, and that any one can follow in Howard's footsteps and really focus on the long-term effect. A must read for the businessperson who wants to get ahead.

I was pleasantly surprised as that number of insights I picked up in Howard Schultz' tale. He and Dori Jones Yang really appeared to have connected in the writing of this book. There's an effortless flow in the telling that gives you a 'fly on the wall' insider's feel without getting bogged down in coffee arcania or management dribble.

Schultz walks you through some of the thought processes and actions that led to important advancements in Starbucks' success with their customers. And, he's not afraid to point out when he's been dead wrong. He's strong enough to admit being dead set against the Frappuccino & totally missing the boat on what ended up being a blowout product for the company.

One comment - it's hard for me to reconcile Schultz' recent fixation on the Internet, going so far as ruminating about buying Williams-Sonoma for its online potential, with the clear-headed thoughts expressed in this book. [Yes, let's see...I'll have a latte and this leather couch, thanks.] Throughout the book, Schultz shows a complete understanding of a company's need to please Wall Street via growing profits, and also is quite clear of having to evaluate each decision by asking "Will it strengthen or dilute the brand?"

Starbucks- the very name conjures up images of a brand not of coffee, but of passion , love, sincerity and superb customer service; that the coffee too is great (though expensive)is an added plus.. But here is a brand in the most common of products and having arrived to the top of the minds in less than a decade- how did it all happen? Pour Your Heart Into It is a fascinating saga of the Starbucks journey, written by the man -Howard Shultz- who made it happen! This is one of the best business biographies I have ever read for its storytelling of a person"s passion to his idea and then betting his life and much much more onto it.. While going through the book, I came across some very inspiring and meaningful quotes, either mentioned in the beginning of the chapter or as part of the narrative, here are some of them which have stayed with me even today months after I finished reading the book Highly recommended book for anybody who wants to live- and maybe die- by his or her BIG IDEA! Amazes me how in prime Mid Town Manhattan ;how a mere coffee store can have probably 8 shops in a 6 blocks radius - around 42nd and Madison but Starbucks is not coffee any more; I do not say now" Lets have coffee", we just say"Lets have a Starbucks"!

POUR YOUR HEART HEART INTO IT:

1. A HUNDRED TIMES EVERY DAY I REMIND MYSELF THAT MY INNER AND OUTER LIVES DEPENDED ON LABORS OF OTHER MEN,LIVING OR DEAD AND THAT I MUST EXERT MYSELF IN ORDER TO GIVE IN THE SAME MEASURE THAT I RECIEVED.....

2.IF IT CAPTURES YOUR IMAGINATION..IT WILL PROBABLY CAPTIVATE OTHERS TOO.

3.SOME MEN SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE AND SAY..WHY. I DREAM THINGS THAT NEVER WERE AND ASK..WHY NOT!

4.IF YOU SAY NEVER HAD A CHANCE,,PERHAPS YOU NEVER TOOK A CHANCE.

5.VISION IS WHAT THEY CALL IT WHEN YOU CAN SEE WHAT OTHERS CAN NOT SEE

6.WHENEVER YOU SEE A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS...SOMEBODY SOMEDAY MUST HAVE MADE A COURAGEOUS DECISION...

7.WE JUDGE OURSELVES BY WHAT WE FEEL CAPABLE OF DOING.. WHILE OTHERS JUDGE US BY WHAT WE HAVE ALREADY DONE...

8.SOMETIMES..SINCERITY SELLS BETTER THAN BUSINESS PLANS

9.THE ULTIMATE MEASURE OF A MAN IS NOT WHERE HE STANDS IN MOMENTS OF COMFORT AND CONVINIENCE ,BUT WHERE HE STAND AT TIMES OF CHALLENGE AND ADVERSITY...

10.EVERYTHING MATTERS

11.WHEN YOU SEE THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME..MOVE QUICKLY

12.A 100 STOREY BUILDING NEEDS A FIRM FOUNDATION

13.DO NOT BE THREATENED Y MEN SMARTER THAN YOU

14.THE BEST EXECUTIVE IS ONE WHO HAS GOOD SENSE TO PICK UP GOOD MEN TO DO WHAT HE WANTS DONE AND SELF RESTRAINT TO KEEP FROM MEDDLING WITH THEM WHILE THEY DO TI.

15.THE ONLY SACRED COW IN AN ORGANISATION SHOULD BE IT"S BASIC PHILOSPHY OF DOING BUSINESS..

16.TO STAY AHEAD,ALWAYS HAVE THE NEXT IDEA WAITING IN THE WINGS..

17.THE BEST WAY TO BUILD A BRAND IS ONE PERSON AT A TIME.

18.THE FUNDAMENTAL TASK IS TO ACHIEVE SMALLNESS WITHIN A LARGE ORGANISATION..

19.VALUES SHOULD NOT WHITHER AS SALES GROW.

What is the relation between the American Civil War and the Monroe Doctrine? Where's the connection between the Emancipation Proclamation and the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857? Did you know that one of the crucial battles of the Civil War was fought nowhere near the bloody fields of Virginia or Tennessee?

"Abraham Lincoln and a New Birth of Freedom" traces the events surrounding Lincoln's fight to keep the European Powers from intervening on the side of the Confederacy. Without help from abroad the Confederate cause was virtually doomed; the leadership in Richmond compared their fight with that of the Revolutionary War of 1776-81 and the importance then of the active intervention of France. The stumbling block for the leaders of Britain and France in 1862 was slavery in the Southern states. While the upper classes who led these European nations were sympathetic to the South, the middle and working classes were against slavery and thus for the North.

What makes this book interesting is that it goes beyond high school level history and shows the complexities of British politics and French imperial ambitions. What happened was neither straightforward nor obvious. The twists and turns of diplomacy are shown along with the mistakes of ambitious leaders and politicians in stark contrast with the stubborn, steadfast policy of Lincoln himself.

The book has flaws, luckily, not many. The most notable one is the style of the writing. I suspect that Howard Jones, a history professor, is used to writing for his professional colleagues rather than the general public. The result is a bit turgid and does not read easily.

I saw the movie, and it performed its function well: it piqued my interest. But, of course, being a dramatization, it was not bound by little things like facts; it took the basic story, and made it as interesting and dramatic as possible.

This caused me to develop an interest in the subject, and a curiosity as to what the actual truth of the story was, and this book served admirably to answer that question.

If you're interested in an entertaining story that has drama, characterization, and closure, see the movie. But if you're interested in historical facts, and literal truth rather than symbolic truth, read this book.

The book was great in explaining everything but things were too repetitive. The point could have gotten across through a much shorter version

Mutiny on the Amistad by Dr. Howard Jones is an exceptional piece of historical research. For the reader who wishes to read an exceptional historical treatise buy the book. One fully comprehends the the roles of Spain, England, the United States and the cruelty of the slave trade. After reading this book one can comprehend how race initially was and still is a significant factor in the cultural life and politics of the United States. Dr. Jones is to be congratulated for a balance historical presentation and insightful view of cultural history as well...if you are seriously interested in the events of the Amistad and the world that created this incident, you will greatly appreciate Dr. Jones' scholarship. I am grateful that a serious historian has given us such a fine account of the Amistad.