The author provides a "narrative of the numerous plots and rebellions that persistently rocked American slave society for over two centuries" (p.367). In so doing he hopes to dispel the generally accepted notion that the response of the American Negro to his bondage "was one of passivity and docility" (p.374). Behind this notion of docility lies the belief that African-American slaves were well treated by their masters, generally contented with their lot, and inferior to whites. Jefferson Davis asserted this notion of docility on January 10, 1861 in the United States Senate in "Declaring that he found the speculations as to whether 'our servants' would rebel or not 'exceedingly offensive' he went on to assert: 'Governments have tampered with slaves; bad men have gone among the ignorant and credulous people, and incited them to murder and arson; but of themselves - moving by themselves - I say history does not chronicle a case of Negro insurrection. (p.105)."

Herbert Aptheker's meticulous documentation of hundreds of cases of slave resistance, which often resulted in the death or grisly punishment of the slaves, easily refutes statements denying African-American discontent and rebelliousness. His collection of materials is quite remarkable, for slave state newspapers censored most accounts of insurrections. "The particulars, we are constrained to observe, must be withheld for the present, from motives of precaution (p.158)" typically wrote one Virginia newspaper. To achieve his narrative, Aptheker drew upon "government archives, personal letters (sometimes published in distant newspapers), journals, diaries, and court records (p.159)." The Aptheker book should be a standard reference work for anyone exploring this topic.

In arranging his materials, the author first discusses slave insurrection according to major themes, and then he describes the insurrections in chronological order. This reader sometimes felt overwhelmed with example after example of insurrection, especially when they were treated chronologically.

The thematic chapters on: "The Fear of Rebellion", "The Machinery of Control", and "Exaggeration, Distortion, Censorship" were particularly rich in materials that highlighted the American slave society's predicament. Many slave owners had valiantly fought in the Revolutionary war and championed republican principles. Yet, slave ownership was driving them away from these same principles by requiring them to place increasing limitations on free assembly, free speech, a free press and jury trials. Slave society began to live in a general siege atmosphere, especially after the Haitian revolution. Aptheker quotes one Virginian on the possibility of a slave insurrection; "I wish I could maintain, with truth ... that it was a small danger, but it is a great danger, it is a danger which has increased, is increasing, and must be diminished, or it must come to its regular catastrophe (p. 49)". In such a growing atmosphere of fear, the white inhabitants of the slave society felt themselves increasingly threatened and moved to curtail civil liberties. Abolitionist ideas could be "infectious" and possessing an abolitionist document was a crime. Free Negroes could not travel to other states without losing their right to return home, and they could not possess weapons. Vigilance committees began to replace the police and court systems. Slavery was no longer a topic that could be openly discussed by citizens. It would appear that removing the topic from discussion had the unfortunate consequence of undermining the republican institutions necessary for managing social change.

Aptheker's narrative is replete with fascinating historical tidbits. He carefully documents how religious instruction was aimed "to inculcate meekness and docility" in slaves (pp. 56-59) and quotes from a white preacher's sermon to slaves on why whippings, called "corrections", should be suffered patiently. The preacher goes to great lengths to demonstrate how any whipping is merited and concludes: "But suppose that even this was not the case - a case hardly to be imagined - and that you have by no means, known or unknown, deserved the correction you suffered; there is great comfort in it, that if you bear it patiently, and leave your case in the hands of God, He will reward you for it in heaven, and the punishment you suffered unjustly here shall turn to your exceeding glory hereafter. (p.57)". Another item describes John C. Calhoun's concerns about the loyalty of federal troops if they are called upon to suppress a slave revolt. The Secretaries of the Navy and Army were required to report on the numbers of Negroes, free or slave, in the U.S. military. Here it was reported that a regulation "forbade over one-twentieth of a ship's crew to be Negro (p.68)."

Woven throughout Aptheker's narrative are numerous references to maroons, or fugitive slaves who live in relatively inaccessible, generally swampy, areas and periodically prey on local residents. "Reports, no doubt greatly exaggerated, were current that two or three thousand Negroes were hiding in the Great Dismal Swamp ... (pp.307-308)." I suspect that assessing the relative prevalence of maroon activity is problematical and to his credit Aptheker carefully avoids such speculation. Aptheker simply cites maroon activity as further evidence of general slave discontent. I found less convincing Aptheker's attempt to identify periods of greater or lesser slave insurrectional activity, but this analysis is not crucial to the book's narrative. For example, while Aptheker uses this analysis to establish a causal link between increasing insurrectional activity and periods of economic stress, common sense might do just as well.

This reader admits to having approached this book with some reservations and a bias. Herbert Aptheker was an active member of the US Communist Party for a number of years. Quite a few years ago I completed a serious graduate school course in Marxist-Leninist thought, which required me to read all of the important original documents of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Mao. I find it difficult to imagine that an intelligent person can read these materials and still become a Marxist-Leninist. I would like to think Dr. Aptheker was too busy doing his path breaking historical research to read all of the Communist classics. His American Negro Slave Revolts contains none of the turgid prose and convoluted theorizing that I associate with Marxist historians. We're spared discourses on the labor theory of value, class struggle, increasing concentration of capital, etc. As for its accuracy, I confess that I didn't check his footnotes. Curiously, I don't see this work widely cited. I wonder how many American historians are afraid to cite a Communist work, even when it's good research.

I've been working about slavery for years, and that made me read lots of books that can be called an "ecologic murder". This book is the best that you can find about slave revolts in the United States. It fulfills two purposes, the first one, tell the truth about a subject that've been full of lies for more than 200 years. Second, make people think why this subject' been full of lies for more than 200 years. An accurate bibliogrpahy helps to understand all things that matter about slavery in the states.

While this book does devote a small section to setup and maintenance of an aquarium, this book works best as a reference guide for species info. Hundreds and hundreds of very nice pictures are augmented with good information on each species' water and food requirements, temperament, maximum size, and miscellaneous background information. I've found a few species missing from this book, but even with over 870 species there are bound to be a few left out.
I highly recommend this for anyone looking for good, consolodated information on hundreds of fish. It's also good for those trips to the fish store when you don't trust the teenage attendant to give you accurate information about that one fish you really like.

If you have the money, and own an aquarium, buy this book. Dr. Axelrod is THE world's authority on aquriumsm, and his books show this. The book has thousands of color photos of countless fish species, and thorough descriptions of them, as well. Even if you don't own an aquarium, you should still at least look at this book for its splendid pictures.

Unlike Dune, this series has been out of print for some time. Shame! No one does it better than Herbert but Dune-Mania has left too much of his best work unread and unknown. Dune was a masterpiece, no question. But the series devolved into action novels - the work of creating his universe did not have to be re-done so the rest was just what happens next (and as Brian continues the series, what happened before). The Voidship series is different. Beginning with Destination: Void, which establishes the premise, each novel must reestablish the world in which it is set. Each set of characters has very new hurdles and new forms of intelligent life(? at least self-awareness) to deal with, each with their own world view. A good marketing bet would be to reintroduce these novels in paperback, capitalizing on the popularity of the Dune series. Let the new generation of sf readers discover the other worlds of Frank Herbert. This review refers to the series - Destination: Void, The Jesus Incident, The Lazarus Effect, and The Ascension Factor

This is not a story of empire, such as in his great classic series, "Dune; but rather, Herbert and Ransom tell the story of an ill-fated interstellar colonial expedition gone horribly wrong. I am looking for a hard copy of this work because I believe that the general theme of the mega-hit Strategy software game, "Alpha Centauri" is inspired by some of the vicious alien creatures described in Herbert's story of the adaptation of humanity to a brutal alien world. Characterization is a lot deeper than most sci-fi, and the "run around the fortress" scene is something I've remembered for more than two decades since I last read the book. In our world of animated feature films, this would make an incredible movie.

The Audi TT story is one of inspiration and fascination. The book gives the reader a look at the creativity and innovation that went in the design and production of the TT.

I particularly enjoyed the wonderful technical detail, which is so eloquently described and an important part in understanding the TT. The TT Book was wonderfully written and adorned with some of the best automotive photography ever published. I give it my highest rating!

It's interesting to see the gestation of any successful design project. How it was made; what inspired it; what didn't make it; who was behind the scenes. "The TT Book" is fantastic look at evolution of a design concept, and concisely tells how a small focused team of designers and technicians can turn a great concept into a great reality.

The best feature of the book by far is the photography. Included are several shots of the early prototypes and the show cars, as well as the final coupe and roadster production models. And the final section of the book is a series of promotional photos taken in Iceland. Putting a striking car like the TT in that otherworldly environment was truly a masterstroke.

On the flipside, the book does bog down somewhat in the technical details. But, as a "biography" of the TT concept, it does make "The TT Book" a truly complete work.

The mathematics described in the book "A=B" lead to the awarding of a Steele Prize by the American Mathematical Society to Herbert Wilf and Doron Zeilberger. What the authors have done is to discover a way of using computer algebra and some mathematical ideas they and others had earlier to make it possible to find the sum of most of the hypergeometric and basic hypergeometric series which can be summed. This method also leads to recurrence relations when polynomial series cannot be summed. It does not work for all series, but most of the time it does work. This book and the ideas in it should be part of the working knowledge of anyone who uses special functions of hypergeometric or basic hypergeometric type.

Marko Petkovsek may be the first of a new generation of writers who bring life to a dry stle of instructional materials.

A non stop thriller of statistacal information.

A MUST READ.

I own Anderson's entire Family Living in Pastoral Perspective series (Leaving Home, Becoming Married, Regarding Children, Promising Again, and Living Alone), and I refer to them frequently.

Each book focuses on a different transitional event and the family tasks that event brings into focus. Anderson and his co-authors deal sensitively with the pastoral issues involved.

The books are well-written and easy to read--no convoluted prose to parse here. The works have added texture from the many personal examples shared by the authors (both their own and examples others have shared with them).

Every book in the series deserves an honored place on any religious professional's shelf. Except, you may find them so valuable they rarely make it back to your shelf.

Herbert Anderson has some great approaches to pastoral ministry to those who intend on marrying! I am engaged and have learned so much about what it means to become married. I have given a copy to my pastor, and also to my mother! It is a book all should read. Anderson has some great pastoral excercises for pre-marriage work all pastors should read. It is a quick, easy to understand read!

I have tried identifying birds with other books before, and I usually gave up in frustration because there'd be, like, 20 birds that mine could possibly be related to, but no exact match. These were mainly books that covered all of North America, or all of the Pacific states.

With "Birds of Los Angeles," I have actually identified several birds! The pictures are big and colorful, the information (habits, habitat, etc.) enough to tell you what you casually want to know. Its dimensions are compact but it is a little heavy, because of the weight of the glossy paper, but not impossible to take along backpacking.

20 years ago Los Angeles had over one hundred bad quality days (smoggy days). During 1997 only three bad quality days were called.

I suppose the birds never left the place, but now they are more beautiful then ever, and it is a pleasure to go outside to see them.

This book is a wonderful illustrated identification tool, it will augment your enjoyment of birding through this magnificent region.

Brief Synopsis: Spider is such a good speller that his teacherwants him to be in the school's spelling bee. Spider's afraid to bein the spelling bee, because he'd have to stand onstage with lots of people watching. His family tells him that they've been scared to do certain thing, but that he must learn to be brave. He decides to be in the spelling bee. He is not afraid in the end and is a second place winner in the contest.

Note to Teachers: This is a wonderful book for fourth through eighth graders. Even adults would enjoy this book. It is the story of an Indian boy and his family. This book would be a good way to show respect for cultural diversity. Students who participate in the spelling bee would enjoy this book.

There are hundreds of children's books that are about Native Americans, but most of them are folktales and legends - books set in the past. Rarely do we find a top notch picture book about a modern day family. That is exactly what this book is - top notch! Teachers can use it to help their children understand that Native Americans are not exotic, and are not extinct, but living in today's United States. Today, Native people's lives include a blend of elements of their cultural traditions with today's lifestyles.

This is a spellbinding story of a young man recalling his past, and the person who changed his life. This was absolutely heartbreaking, and I really enjoyed. Being translated straight from french, the writing style is a little odd, but before you know it, you're into the story. This is really good book report material. I read this book when I was twelve but I'd recommend it for anyone over thirteen.

This book was the absolute best book I've ever read. It is a story of a boy who travels to Paris but retells his childhood. I found it hard to understand at first, but as I read on, I understood every word of it. I think this is a great book for all students who are my age, 12. It is an excellent read. A mixture of tragedy and romance and will touch your heart.

I just wore out my Canon A2 and am in the process of replacing my camera. I am moving up in price and wanted to check out the Canon 1V. When I went to buy the manual on the 1V, they did not have it, so I bought the 1N to see how it rated. I actually found that my A2 (although not as rugged) has some important features that the 1N doesn't have. I shoot a lot of action photography, and the A2 shoots faster. The only advantage (besides the rugged bodystyle) is that you can fine tune it to 1/3 stops up to +/- 3 stops. However, the 1N is more than double the price for the A2. So at this point, would rather seek the EOS 3 or 1V. (Will decide after I read their manuals). The manual is very extensive and a very good resource if you own the camera, and I am sure that anyone that owns this camera is still smiling, because overall is still a great piece of equipment.

Precisely written manual offering tips and procedures for the Canon EOS-1n not given clearly in the manufacturer's manual. I found this manual logically written and easily digested; the last few chapters offer tips on accessories dedicated to the camera and a few words on the RS model.