The story of Lewis and Clark is fascinating ' one of the original legendary American expeditions with extraordinary implications. The historical record and the many books available to us that interpret this journey into the unknown let us relive the excitement of exploration of the American frontier. However, until Or Perish in the Attempt by Dr. David Peck was written and published, only half of the legendary story of Lewis and Clark has been told. Now you can experience the 'rest of the story' through the eyes of an articulate, practicing modern physician who unveils the medical threat that the Corps of Discovery was under during the few years it took them to get to the Pacific northwest and back. Dr. Peck sets the foundation by first explaining the prevailing medical philosophy of the times by leading physicians, including Dr. B. Rush ' a leading advocate of blood letting. Then, we follow Lewis as he gets his guidance in person from Dr. Rush for the perceived medical threat and heads off up the Missouri with Clark and all their men, materials and supplies into the heart of darkness. While the Corps of Discovery went about their business meeting their basic survival and occasional life enhancement needs, Dr. Peck takes the story to a much deeper and scarier level. While Lewis and Clark and their men worried about Indians, snakes, bears around the bend, the medical threat loomed all around them in the form of mosquitoes carrying deadly malaria and all sorts of bugs and germs that the men ingested from drinking river water and eating inordinate amounts of meat from all kinds of critters that were available to them for life sustaining food. Dr. Peck shows that these guys were very rough and tough. However, they got sick and were often very sick along the way and didn't have an emergency room to run to for help. Everyone turned to Lewis for help as he handed out the Thunder Clappers and other drugs from his supplies. Dr. Peck takes these complex ideas and concepts from the medical world and breaks them down so we can understand them thoroughly. In so doing, the story of Lewis and Clark becomes more real than ever before. As a result, the reader comes away with a serious education about health care and the awesome power of the human body to heal itself ' if things are done correct. The ending of Or Perish in the Attempt was the high point of the book because Dr. Peck clearly shows why Lewis died shortly after returning from the expedition. That explanation alone is worth the price of admission. So, if you want to take a ride, then get in line for your E-Ticket on the Or Perish in the Attempt roller coaster ride by Dr. David Peck. This is a must read for anyone who thinks they already know the story of Lewis and Clark or for anyone who might think they know how to take care of themselves in the wilderness or their own backyard.

Dr. Peck has rewarded us all with his thorough research and clear explanations. Since first reading Ambrose's book, Undaunted Courage, two years ago, I have steadily digested everything that I could get my hands on that dealt with the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Last year, I remarked to a friend that someone needed to write a book that filled in the gaps that Dr. Chuinard left regarding the medical aspects of the journey. Fortunately, Dr. Peck has saved someone the toil.
I have only three criticisms of the book. First, some of the expressions may be a little too ecclectic for a non-medical person or the person who reads the book 100 years from now. Examples are the referring to phlebotomists as "vampires" and his reference to Pompey being born at 3 or 4 AM. Second, I am curious as to why Peck did not cover the Lewis & Clark's medical study done during the winter spent near St. Louis. Dr. Chuinard covered this extensively, but Dr. Peck does not mention it. Third, I disagree with the conclusion that Lewis committed suicide. Perhaps it is a matter of denial, but there are too many suspicious factors for me to conclude that Lewis killed himself.
When I picked this book up, my most pressing question about the author was regarding the way in which he dealt with Dr. Benjamin Rush. I have found (in 20 years of medical experience) that it is hard to judge the quality of care rendered a few years ago, and that 200 years is a nearly impossible breach of time. Dr. Peck has dealt with Dr. Rush honestly, and does not judge him by today's standard of care. Dr. Chuinard was too critical of Dr. Rush, and Dr. Peck has helped clear Dr. Rush's reputation: Dr. Rush was one of the soundest physicians that America would know before 1900. Dr. Rush helped bring the dawn from the "Dark Ages" of medicine.
Ambrose and Peck are the authors that every student of the Corps of Discovery should start with. Thank you, Dr. Peck.

Never having been a history buff, I nonetheless began reading "Or Perish In The Attempt" upon the recommendation of friend. I absolutely loved it! It is a great adventure story which focuses not only on the medicine of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, but on the quirkly, fascinating characters of the Corps of Discovery. Peck highlights the exciting and dangerous experiences these men (one woman, and a baby) had during the Expedition, keeping us on the edge of our seats much of the time. This story is a very good read and is an inspiration to anyone who has ever had to do something difficult or dangerous and thought they would never succeed. In addition, the author, David Peck, has a dry wit which he infuses into the narration by way of some humorous, offbeat stories about his experiences as a contemporary, suburban doctor. This book is fascinating, motivational, and educational all at the same time.

Using sources ranging from official documents and ship's logs to personal letters and the Farragut family bible, Lewis presents the fascinating true story of David Glasgow Farragut. An officer in the U.S. Navy at the age of 11, he was prizemaster of a captured British whaling ship (and required to put down a mutiny by her former Captain) at age 12! Described by his Commanding Officer as "Seven pounds of uniform and seventy pounds of fight!", he travels the world, learns several languages and grows to be the officer who is arguably the best American Naval Officer ever, later to become our first Admiral . His life is an example of heroism and bravery told with amazing detail and wonderfully dramatic action. It is compelling and edifying reading. His epic Civil War battles are to be read in Volume II.

An excellent review of an excellent man. Historically accurate and using sources ranging from offical records and ships logs to personal letters and the Farragut family Bible. The first of a two volume set, this volume depicts the life of Farragut from birth to the beginning of the Civil War. A Naval Officer at the age of 11, his Commanding Officer remarked that he was seven pounds of uniform and seventy pounds of fight. He was made a prizemaster of a captured whaling ship, in the war of 1812, at the age of twelve. This is not dry historical subject, but a fascinating account of a truly heroic man. Read this book! The examples of character and heroism in Farragut's life can give us all standards, stories, and examples to live up to.

Using sources ranging from official documents and ship's logs to personal letters and the Farragut family bible, Lewis presents the fascinating true story of David Glasgow Farragut. An officer in the U.S. Navy at the age of 11, he was prizemaster of a captured British whaling ship (and required to put down a mutiny by her former Captain) at age 12! Described by his Commanding Officer as "Seven pounds of uniform and seventy pounds of fight!", he travels the world, learns several languages and grows to be the officer who is arguably the best American Naval Officer ever, later to become our first Admiral . His life is an example of heroism and bravery told with amazing detail and wonderfully dramatic action. It is compelling and edifying reading. His epic Civil War battles are to be read in Volume II.

For anyone who has a modist size Zeppelin collection of live recordings this book is a must, It has an incredible breakdown of hundreds of shows including track lists and commentary on the play quality as well as remarks on Robert Plants witty comentary between songs. I found myself going back and listening to many of my bootlegs to see how the author's opinion of concerts compared to mine. It was also nice because It helped straighten out some of the songs from the compelation discs I have, correcting the perpatraitors generally incorrect slipsheets and liner notes.

Dave Lewis and Simon Pallett have provided readers with a treasure: a look at every known live performance of the world's greatest rock band, Led Zeppelin. The book is full of reports of what, where, and when the band played, how good the concert was, concert facts, and many samples of the wisdom of Robert Plant. They even recommend the best bootlegs, perfect for us die-hard Zepp fans. The authors also include innumerable concert photos, many of which don't appear in other books. Any Zeppelin collection is incomplete without this book.

This book is a dream come true for any Zep fan. The set lists and descriptions of every Led Zeppelin performance are great. If you are not sure exactly when or where you saw that Zep concert, this book has the information you need. Loads of pictures of the band, venue posters, backstage passes and more. Looks great on the coffee table too.

The cornell architecture journal is really coming to maturity with its sixth issue. A school which has for a long time relied on its superb theoretical foundations presents here an intersection of theory with practice, a subject that must be adressed by more architects before the chasm between architects who use theory, and those who do not become too big to traverse. Buy this journal if you are an architect, and make Mark Pasnik's "Who's afraid of Architectural Theory" The first article in it you read.

The latest installment in the series of Cornell's journals of architecture raises the bar on student architectural work. Not only does this well put together journal wonderfully display student theses, its articles are well written and very relavent to the practice/study of the profession of Architecture.

I found this book to be both interesting and informative. The section writen by Jason Tapia was not only enlightning but extremely well written. As a Dean of Freshman, for a small college, I focus my attention on acedemic journals that are thought provoking and original!! I must say I was very impressed by the content of this journal!!

Before reading Foundations of Corporate Empire I was not aware of the other book Birth of the Multinational: 2000 Years of Ancient Business History--From Ashur to Augustus, now I still think do I have to buy that one too? For me it is a fascinating book which is the outcome of a detailed investigation and work.

By the way, I would be pleased if they put more stress on the Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire and also South East Asia, Inkas, Azteks etc.

But I can recommend this book as a guideline of historical evolution of the modern business organizations and cultures.

From the Report on Business, Globe and Mail Newspaper, Canada's National Newspaper
By BRIAN MILNER
Friday, December 28, 2001 - Print Edition, Page 91FOUNDATIONS OF CORPORATE EMPIRE: Is History Repeating Itself? by Karl Moore and David Lewis (Financial Times/Prentice Hall, $...) Foundations of Corporate Empire is a dreary title for a business book that turns out to be anything but. It is in fact a sweeping, yet remarkably readable, history of globalization that marshals impressive evidence to prove something we should have learned by now: There is simply nothing new under the sun, and anyone who thinks business just discovered the joys of free trade and global markets yesterday has a lot to learn.Doing the teaching here are two Canadian academics: Karl Moore, a professor of strategic management at McGill University, and David Lewis, a historian with a wide range of interests, including ancient Mesopotamia. That, in fact, is where the authors start, tracing the development of business cultures from the Bronze Age and the "first recorded multinational"--a family trading business in Assyria nearly 4,000 years ago--up to the internet age and America's globe-spanning technology giants.Unfortunately, this book was finished before the tech bubble burst, making some of its conclusions as obsolete as those Assyrian traders. But this does nothing to detract from its main points--that today's economic and corporate structures are the product of generations of evolution and that each nation favours the model best suited to its own culture, institutions and history."Many of today's economic structures existed in prototype form several thousand years ago," the authors note early on, and then set out to prove it. They make connections between the business leaders of Mesopotamia and modern German corporations, between classical Athens and Britain at its height, between ancient and modern China, and between the mighty Roman and even mightier American empires. Some of the links are obvious, such as the mass production and technological developments stemming from the military requirements of both ancient Rome and the United States. Others seem more of a stretch.What is particularly refreshing is that this is no apologia for the current wave of globalization or its apparent American character. The authors make a convincing case that merely because the American model has been overwhelmingly dominant, it does not mean every country will inevitably have to fall into line. Any attempt to impose the American way "in its entirety...is bound not only to fail but also to generate a very unpleasant backlash."

A novel and intriguing look at the history of modern civilization and the corporate underpinnings that have pervaded throughout. Somewhat general but nonetheless both accurate and interesting. Original and entertaining. Great Book

If you want to try your luck in investing in Common Stock, this book will provide the knowledge you need. It will help you avoid the pitfalls commonly made, even those made by so called experts. Selecting a profitable stock is tricky at best. This book will guide you through the many obstacles to ensure you make a sound choice. It will also explain the role of the broker, how stock is evaluated and the risks associated with ownership. This book is worth the read and will give you the understanding you need to procede with your investments.

What is a stock? What is a stock market? What do brokers do and how do they do it? Market makers, specialists, pit bosses - wass'up wid dat? Mr. Scott explains it all without the usual BS of Wade Cook-ish advanced strategies for people who don't have a fundamental understanding of the market. Mr. Scott tells you how the market operates - not how to play it. It's like the owners manual for a car. He tells you what makes the car work but leaves it up to you as to how fast you want to drive. I bought this book a year or so before I started investing over three years ago. It was a favorite of mine along with Mr. Scott's other books on personal finance, mutual funds, and the stock market in general. I am an aggressive growth investor spending over 20 hours a week on the market. A value investor who buys and forgets about a stock for 20 years will get the same benefit as I did from this book. Knowing how the market and investment vehicles work takes a lot of the old "Did I do the right thing with my money" worries away. This book is a very big step in the direction any investor needs to go before turning over so much as one penny to a world of fantastic dreams and incredible pitfalls. The market is way more fun for those of us who understand it.

As a novice investor I found this book to be just what I was looking for. It explains stocks in a way even I can understand. I recommend this for people who are just getting started with the stock market.

Highly readable for an academic work. A deep and uniquely insightful perspective on one of the last century's most complex writers. Even casual readers of C. S. Lewis will find this book captivating.

Unlike most literary criticism this book is very rich, perceptive and readable. Anyone who likes C. S. Lewis should get their hands on this book. I look forward to more books by this author.

Tha author has read Lewis extensively, and reads the Space Trilogy in the light of Lewis the man. He sheds new light on the sources of inspiration, and comments on the criticism that has been raised against the trilogy. I have read the trilogy several times, and this study deepened my understanding of it. It is well written and highly readable. I could have wished for a deeper assessment of the "pagan" influences of the trilogy. However, the study is well worth reading for anyone who likes reading Lewis, esp. his fiction.

I found this book to be unutterably fascinating. It's the jewel of my library.

Have you ever felt that you could walk into a room without being noticed and leave and not be missed? Your inability to make your presence felt has probably made you frustrated on more than one occasion (as well as costing you $$$ in business matters). This book teaches you some of the secrets of the secret language of silent speech and body language. My, my, my, did this book ever open my eyes to what a profound impact that your body language makes on the impression that you leave with others. Mastering the use of body talk, or "Impression Management", will enable you to take control of almost any exchange, whether formal or informal, intimate or public.

Did you know that the size of your pupils varies according to our degree of interest and physical arousal? According to the psychological tests detailed in this book, of which the reader can take, when we meet someone attractive, our pupils get larger.

This book taught me that being a good listener is acutally a more effective way of making a good impression than being a gifted speaker. And before you can create any sort of impression it is, of course, essential to be noticed. But this book demonstrated to me that it's almost never efficient to attract attention with sledge-hammer tactics. Instead, projecting a successful self-image demands perception, confidence and the ability to control any strong emotions, such as anxiety or irritation. It means presenting yourself in a way that matches the desires and expectations of your audience. It requires the developement of what stage people call 'presence', that special sparkle which transforms a person into a personality. This book gives you some tips on how to have presence whenever you walk into a rooom.

Another great point that I found within one of the chapters within this book (the chapter on self-esteem and body language) is that you should try to match your level of esteem to that of the other person if you seek their cooperation. The chapter presents a couple of fabulous real world examples of how a person goes about that.

This wonderful book also offers tips on perfecting your posture in order to create a favorable impression.

Chapter 8, entitled "Anatomy of an Encounter" was a wonderful one. This chapter analyzes and examines the typical human encounter from acknowledgement (like the eyebrow flash), contact, all the way through to disengagement. Other downright fascinating pieces within this chapter is the explanation of the power of a gaze, how we view faces, and the meaning of smiles (classifications of smile: simple smile, upper smile, high intensity smile, etc). I gained precious knowledge of how people feel just from being aware of what kind of smile they exhibit.

Chapter 9 details where you should stand, either directly opposite or adjacent, in an encounter. It goes on to adduce where each gender prefers to interact. Again, fascinating information. This chapter also analyzes the handshake and the connotation attached to it's duration and style.

Chapter 13 was my favorite. It details power plays. How people can dominate via taking up as much space as physically possible. The chapter tells how one can counter power plays initiated by others towards you.

All in all, this book is one of the best books out there on body language. I am confident making this statement only after reading many other books on body language, none of which I believed to be as good (certainly not worthy enough to take time out to write even a poor review on) as this one.

By adding this book to your library, you'll gain a tremendous edge when communicating with others.

Let go of your preconceived notions, and your disbelief and run with it. Try a few of the suggestions and interpretations in this book, and you will be a believer. There are 3 instances in my career that jump to my mind where this book made a difference. Early in my career I was made a believer when I was able to discern the agitation in an otherwise cool-as-ice poker-faced manager. This book should be read by everyone looking for an edge in influencing others.

What do you suppose this book is about? If you guessed body language, hand shakes, eye movements, etc., you are correct. This book captures your interest and moves you to read the next page. Would you like to be able to tell if another person likes you in a matter of seconds? Wouldn't it be exciting to know that you could have the job you wanted, just by using body language? Read this book, see what I'm talking about.

This book sits rather oddly with others in the Institute of Economic Affairs Choice in Welfare Series. Whilst the sub-title 'Welfare before the Welfare State' suggests that this is an account of self-help swept away by the state the content is more contested arguing that the self-help which was available was confined to the skilled and semi-skilled working class rather than to all of the working classes at the time. This point of view is not particularly challenged, a fact which, given the genesis of the project, is surprising to say the least.

Before Beveridge is a welcome addition to the literature about welfare before the state intervened in Britain. Contrary to the establishment history books which used to argue that the benevolent state stepped into a welfare vacuum, a number of studies have challenged this claim with books and scholarly articles demonstrating that the working classes were more than capable of providing education and welfare for their families by themselves as individuals and in groups long before the administrative machine moved in.

In this slim volume it seems that the editor and the staff at the IEA Health and Welfare Unit have rather abdicated the case for individual enterprise in welfare provision to those authors who put forward the view that in reality this provision was available to a select number of the working classes and the unorganised and the poor were not able to avail themselves of the opportunity. The so-called liberals appear to stand aside in the face of the attack and do not attempt to join battle with those propositions. I find the papers of Whiteside, Harris, Vincent and Thane to be particularly well researched and argued as well as persuasive given the paucity of David Green's paper especially.

The weakness of the writers who suggest that there was indeed a need for the intervention of the state in bringing welfare provision to the neediest in British society is the determination to overlook the evidence that many of the disenfranchised working classes who did not belong to either friendly societies or trades unions were determined to provide education for their children regardless of their personal circumstances. The fact that individuals of limited means were capable of identifying, by themselves, often without any education of their own, options for the betterment of their children over the longer term and were prepared to forego current onsumption to pay for it speaks volumes which significantly undermines the position supporting the need for state involvement.

This is a very thought provoking book which adds substantially to the lierature and which colours the debate about welfare provision more vividly than before. I would heartily recommend the book to sixth form and college students of history and social policy as well as practitioners of the black arts of social policy and policy-makers in general.

This book sits rather oddly with others in the Institute of Economic Affairs Choice in Welfare Series. Whilst the sub-title 'Welfare before the Welfare State' suggests that this is an account of self-help swept away by the state the content is more contested arguing that the self-help which was available was confined to the skilled and semi-skilled working class rather than to all of the working classes at the time. This point of view is not particularly challenged, a fact which, given the genesis of the project, is surprising to say the least.

Before beveridge is a welcome addition to the literature about welfare before the state intervened in Britain. Contrary to the establishment history books which used to argue that the benevolent state stepped into a welfare vacuum, a number of studies have challenged this claim with books and scholarly articles demonstrating that the working classes were more than capable of providing education and welfare for their families by themselves as individuals and in groups long before the administrative machine moved in.

In this slim volume it seems that the editor and the staff at the IEA Health and Welfare Unit have rather abdicated the case for individual enterprise in welfare provision to those authors who put forward the view that in reality this provision was available to a select number of the working classes and the unorganised and the poor were not able to avail themselves of the opportunity. The so-called liberals appear to stand aside in the face of the attack and do not attempt to join battle with those propositions. I find the papers of Whiteside, Harris, Vincent and Thane to be particularly well researched and argued as well as persuasive given the paucity of David Green's paper especially.

The weakness of the writers who suggest that there was indeed a need for the intervention of the state in bringing welfare provision to the neediest in British society is the determination to overlook the evidence that many of the disenfranchised working classes who did not belong to either friendly societies or trades unions were determined to provide education for their children regardless of their personal circumstances. The fact that individuals of limited means were capable of identifying, by themselves, often without any education of their own, options for the betterment of their children over the longer term and were prepared to forego current onsumption to pay for it speaks volumes which significantly undermines the position supporting the need for state involvement.

This is a very thought provoking book which adds substantially to the lierature and which colours the debate about welfare provision more vividly than before. I would heartily recommend the book to sixth form and college students of history and social policy as well as practitioners of the black arts of social policy and policy-makers in general.

First off, contrary to earlier reviewers, this book has NOTHING to do with the Lewis and Clark expedition. Out of the 350 pages in the book, they might be mentioned a half dozen times and one might want to get Lavender's "The Way to the Western Sea," if interested on Meriweather and William's trip.
Instead, "Let me Be Free," is on the Nez Perce tribe which lived in Oregon's Wallowa Valley until it was forced from the land in the 1860's. This is a great book if the reader is interested in a century's worth of history about the tribe but I'd suggest something else if the intent on reading this is solely learning about Chief Joseph's tragic flight from the US military in 1877.
I originally got into Lavender's works after reading his fantastic book, "Bents' Fort" which is about the trading family of William Bent in SE Colorado. I had no interest in the subject but was recommended the book and I fell fully immersed into it because of Lavender's detailed writing-style and ability to create real identities to the historical characters instead of just giving names and dates. He has the same writing style in "Let Me Be Free," and will never shy from a unimportant but lighthearted side story. The writing is anything but dry.
The first half of LMBF is on how the tribe lived and existed, its neighbors, and its relations with the first whites to reach Oregon. Lavender has a contentious understanding of the western Native American tribes and writes in a fair and unbiased reader-friendly style and includes the correct names and terms the Nez Perce (Nimipu) used.
The last 100 pages cover Chief Joseph's (Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kehht's) flight and includes a fantastic map in the front for the reader to follow the tribe along on its failed march to freedom.
The book fails to get five stars from me because I was most interested in the Nez Perce march and it just took too long to finally reach that subject in the book. It reminded me of "Undaunted Courage," (Ambrose's book on Meriweather Lewis) where there is no much buildup to the expedition that once the reader finally reaches it in the book, it falls a bit flat. However, if anyone is interested on the Nez Perce tribe itself, you won't find a better book. Any Western Oregon historians would also immensely enjoy this work.

David Lavender just may have written the definitive history of the Lewis and Clark expedition. It is a wonderfully wrought narrative, capturing the full width and breadth of this incredible journey. Lavender's sardonic tongue deflates many of the myths surrounding the "voyage of discovery," noting that for the most part this was a well-trodden path. The only actual "discovery" was that of linking the Missouri to the Columbia. However, this makes it no less an adventure.

He downplays the significance of Sacagewea. For the most part she was little used on this voyage. Her one major contribution was helping to secure horses for the great fording of the Bitteroot Mountains. Still, Lavender lavishes much attention on her and her son, which it seems that William Clark did as well. Her presence seemed to secure safe passage during their final leg down the Columbia River, as it made the expedition team seem less war-like.

Lavender also provides the background for the voyage, detailing President Jefferson's dream to establish an American Northwest Passage, linking one ocean to another. Lavender probes the seemingly paternal relationship between Jefferson and Lewis, and how Jefferson was able to win Congress over to a third attempt to cross the continent, despite questions regarding Lewis' qualifications. Jefferson personally trained Lewis for the expedition and provided added tutelage in the form of the leading lights of American science. Like a devoted son, Lewis made every effort to carry out the mission, which Jefferson sponsored, even when it seemed foolhardy to do so.

For those who haven't travelled this route before, you will be in good hands with David Lavender. For those who have, I think you will marvel at how masterful a job Lavender does in recording the events, giving the best rounded version of the "voyage of discovery" that I have read.

Originally subtitled "the U.S. Army's War Against Seven Hundred Nez Perce Men,Women, and Children," this moving history documents the brutal persecution of a small Northwestern tribe. Western historian David lavender never hides his sympathy in this powerful chronicle of Chief Joseph's "flight toward freedom" in 1877 to avoid reservation life. This is a really sad story filled with overlooked possibilities for compromise, understanding, and tolerance. Lavender considers the Nex Perce War the final betrayal of a long and once-promising relationship between white explorers, fur trappers, Christian missionairies, and the tribe. Chief Old Joseph, father of the more famous Chief Joseph, even converted to Christianity for both spiritual and practical reasons. Peaceful coexistence and friendship with the new settlers was his policy. Greed, cultural intolerance, and racial hatred eventually doomed those possibilities for Nez Perce. Although Chief Joseph developed a reputation as an Indian Napeleon for his brilliant fighting tactics, Lavender emphasizes that Chief Joseph continually sought to avoid war. Chief Joseph's simple hope was to have a reservation that would allow his people to live in their traditional land and stay close to his father's grave in Wallowa Valley, Oregon. The United States military commanders of that time, however, demanded the tribe move. This compelling account of the Nez Perce's failed 1700 mile exodus to join Sitting Bull in Canada captures the cruelty, mindlessness, and viciousness of 19th century America's expansionist policies. Chief Joseph's eloquent words, especially when surrending after a blizzard just a few miles south of the Canadian border, accents the pain and injustice.