Written by a soldier who fought in the Cuban revolution, Victor Dreke's From The Escambray To The Congo is a personal memoir and first-hand testimony of the end of the Batista dictatorship and the attempts to create a better government in its place. An insert of black-and-white photographs adds a visual touch to the gripping experiences both on and off the battlefield described in this memorable, gut-wrenching, up close and personal account of the modern history of a nation. From The Escambray To The Congo is a welcome and much appreciated addition to the growing library of personal memoirs and eye-witness accounts of the Cuban Revolution and its aftermath.

In New Zealand, politicians, government agencies, and many businesses like to crow about how much they oppose discrimination of any kind. However, most working people who come up against racist practices know there is big gap between what these institutions say and do when it comes to dealing with instances of racism.

"From the Escambray to the Congo" is a powerfully account of how after the 1959 victory of Fidel Castro's 26 July movement over the Batista dictatorship in Cuba, the new revolutionary government set out close to gap between the word and the deed.

How the Cuban government went about eradicating Jim Crow type racism, is told through the words of Victor Dreke, a leading participant of Cuba's revolutionary movement for half a century. The capitalist foundations that propped up racism in Cuba collapsed under the weight of the hundreds of thousand workers, peasants and young people - both black and white - coming to the realisation that racism was incompatible with the new society they were fighting to transform.

As a young teenager Dreke was advised by his father to "Study and get an education and don't mess with strikes or any of that; it won't get you anywhere. Besides, that stuff's not for blacks." Fortunately Dreke did not follow his fathers advice and threw himself into revolutionary activity. Beginning as a high school activist, then Rebel Army fighter. He was a commander in the fight to root out the counterrevolutionary bands operating in central Cuba and has been an internationalist combatant and representative of the Cuban revolution in Africa.

What comes across strongly for me is how the Cuba's determination to end racism in it's own country was inextricably linked to the liberation of the Africa continent from imperialist exploitation

For the millions of young Victor Dreke's - male or female - in the mines, factories and on the high school and university campuses around the world - this book is for you.

Read this small book for a series of snapshots of what it was like to be a participant in the Cuban revolution that triumphed in January 1959. From a high school activist under the Batista dictatorship, Victor Dreke joined the Rebel Army and fought in many campaigns. The Escambray mountains in central Cuba were the scene of a bloody five-year-long attempt by Washington-organized groups to undermine the new regime. Like the Contras in Nicaragua 20 years later, these 'Bandidos' murdered literacy volunteers, health workers, and peasants who backed the revolutionary government. Dreke was a leader in the military and militia campaigns that wiped them out. His description of the Cuban mid-1960s contingent to aid revolutionary fighters in the Congo complements Che Guevara's own recently published account of this. Dreke notes how the Congo campaign, though not a success at the time, paved the way for critically important Cuban efforts to aid African liberation struggles, such as the decisive victory at Cuito Cuanavale, Angola, against South African forces in 1988. As with all Pathfinder titles, the well-thought-out maps, footnotes and glossary in this book help the reader with unfamiliar names and events. Numerous photos bring Dreke's story even more to life.

A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul

By Melody Beattie, Bob Greene, Edgar Guest,
Harvey Mackay, Pat Riley, and many more

Stories, motivational excerpts

Chicken Soup for the Soul is a fantastic, true book with hundreds of stories inside all about people's real live experiences. The sections covered in here are about love, kindness, parents and parenting, teaching and learning, death and dying, matter of perspective, overcoming obstacles, and elective wisdom. Everyone and anyone who reads this book can find stories that they can relate to, while enjoying them. Happiness and sorrow is merely a speck of all the emotions felt throughout this amazing book. When reading this you are able to learn the different kinds of situations there are and the everyday people who go through them. This book is extraordinary and unique; how it slams real life into your face and shows exactly how unpredictable life can be. It also shows us how we should value those around us, for we do not know when it is anyone's time to go.
All of the characters are real people who have gone through an event and have decided to share it with us. Each story has a beginning, middle, and end to it; just like life. Their stories are there to help others or to send a powerful message across that has once touched them. Each and every story is unique, interesting, and 100% true. So be prepared for any kind of emotions, because in real life you don't always know what the outcome will be.
The stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul are all directly from those who experienced the story. They are all easy to understand and follow. The voice in each story is so strong that it actually feels as though the person is right there telling you their story; it's unbelievable! Though not all stories may be your type or make you feel comfortable, just skip them and move on to those that interest you more. There is something for everyone in this original book. After reading Chicken Soup for the Soul you will be able to truly see how precious life really is.

I have read several of the Chicken Soup books and love them all. A five star rating is not high enough, it should be ten! I recommend all of the ones that I've read to all of my friends and even give out the Chicken Soup Calendars as gifts. I want them to experience the feelings that I have when I read the books. (My favorite story is the one about adoption when a child says that an adopted child is one that grows in her mommy's heart instead of her belly.)

I had read all three of the Chicken Soup books until 5 days ago when I recieved book 4 for my 11th birthday. There was one story that I read that made me realize what beautiful really is. That story was called "Beautiful on the Inside". It was about a little girl who when told she was beautiful, replied boredly, "Yes, I know!". Then her mother explained to her how to be beautiful on the inside. Then two years after, the child's friend's mother had died and they went to visit her grave. The little girl showed great care and love and sorrow to her friend. Then, after the child's friend left, she asked her mother,"Mommy, was I beautiful on the inside?"

The key concept of this book is that every organization could evolve trough several status. There is no a suggested preeferred status. Winning organisations are those which could find the right 'alignment' between market needs and behaviours and the internal organization. The evolution of the organization is only driven by the market change. The book focus on transitions between these different stages, analysing the impact of these changes through the entire Value Chain. Invented Here is a milestone for those people which needs to manage transition also in a turbulent environment. It helps managers to think about the actual company positioning and to build a framework helping to identify market changes and relevant organizational needed impact. Simply great!

The importance of organization design on the success of a business, be it that of a service company or a product supplier, is often underestimated. Strategy alone is not enough.

The great value of this book lies in 3 areas :

i) Use of illustrating failure as well as success - better to learn from someone else's mistakes so that you can, hopefully, avoid them.

ii) Identifying in meaningful terms where to position your organisation for your product/service e.g. if you need a great mass production machine, that is how you should organize; when your customers need more, don't hide from it - just do it well.

iii) The style is refreshingly alive. You feel you can relate to real people solving real problems. Too often, books like this feel like they belong only in libraries - this one offers genuinely practical insight. It's up to you to apply it.

If I have one (minor) criticism, it is the title. Don't let it mislead you. This book is a very helpful guide to many aspects of organizational design and a better title, in my opinion, would be something like:- "Optimizing Your Organization For Your Customers"

This book reveals how to use knowledge residing in the company to transform organization and manage growth. It presents a model of organizational learning and development with four steps: craft, mass production, process enhancement, and mass customization. It explores the leveraging of four associated types of knowledge and presents a learning system for developing organizational knowledge. Provides important insights the learning organization.

This book was given to me by a student at Santa Rosa Junior College in California. I am a Spanish tutor. I must admit that I do not read a lot. But when I began to read this particular book I was hooked. I now spend my free time picking up where I left off. Its is seriously an addicting read and a very intruiging one. I highly recommended Lluvia De Oro for anyone who wants to learn about the people of Mexico and the country's history. I must say it is a rare book that encompasses everything about Mexican culture and brings history to real life right before your very eyes! I think it should be a required textbook for any Culture and Mexican-American Studies class at Colleges all over the United States!

Before i read this book i wasn't very aware of what our ancestors had had to go through back in the days of the revolution. It was a real eye opener for me and educating. You get caught up in all the situations and emotions in the book that you feel how the characters themselves are feeling. After reading the book a sense of pride is installed in you by seeing how despite all the obstacles placed before us we were, and still are, able to overcome all obstacles placed before us no matter how big. Asi es El Mexicano, always giving 100% in everything. I recommend this book to ALL individuals of Mexican descent and those who don't understand us. Satisfaction is guaranteed.

Everyone should read this book, it is the best that I have read

After finishing this book in the wee hours of this morning I've come to the conclusion that Cale must be appreciated for his solitary genius in the fields of art and expression but also must be taken with a grain of salt. The entire book seems to be a thinly veiled attack at Lou Reed whom Cale seems overwhelmingly jealous of (thou others would tend to disgree) Plus it shows him as a very difficult individual to get along with (ie his many wives, his broken colaborative relationships with Reed and Brian Eno) I also found it amusing how he brought it other commentators only to attack Reed and make Cale out to be a saint. Overall this is a very well written book filled with sardonic wit and dry humor with an excellent view into the VU, The Factory days, and the progression of one man's struggles through himself and art. Cale is not blameless in his trangressions but I think he sees this...

I just recently bought this book. I love it. Great stories, and nice pictures. Sometimes it is painfull honest. It is so nice to read about the start of the Velvet Underground.

Also the pictures are wonderful.

Bettina

I devoured this book about my top music hero and pronounce it good! It's not perfect though, I would have liked more background on some of the albums (people involved in the recording, events etc) especially his work with e.g. Nick Drake, and the editing is really sloppy: in one place early in the text, the title of a newspaper has just been left out, and Cale's collaboration with Bob Neuwerth is called Last NIGHT On Earth (it is DAY). It provides valuable insights into his personal life and artistic development, and early reflections on Andy Warhol and The Factory. Great photographs and illustrations too make for a very pleasing design. Certainly worthy of the man and his achievements.

David Pecora's Between The Raindrops blends his keen insights and cogent observations to present an autobiographically oriented history of the twentieth century including key personalities and events in a sweeping survey of war and peace, politics and science, philosophy and economics. Through his own personal experiences, Pecora reveals the impact of love and hate, success and failure, which shaped the panorama of a century on a broader stage, -- and what we might expect in the opening decades of the new millennium. Between The Raindrops is offers engaging, well written, descriptive commentary that is enhanced with a section of period photography and highly recommended reading for the non-specialist general reader with an interest in World War II and twentieth century studies through the perspective of one who lived through "interesting times".

I am really enjoying dipping into the book. I like the way the autobiography is set against events which are going on worldwide; this format is particularly effective during the second world war. Then when the author gets to Ireland romance is brought into the story.

I like the title of the book, "Between the Raindrops", and to sum up, I am finding it interesting reading, though as a layman, I am more taken with the account of the writer's war service than his description of surgical procedures. I hope the book sells well enough to warrant a second edition.

I treasure this book and intend to circulate it among my friends with my heartfelt endorsement. I was first impressed by the the unique style of rapid fire delivery. The author gets more mileage per page of clear succinct coverage of a variety of items than I have ever witnessed. He is a student of history and can convey medical research in a way to capture my attention though I know nothing about medicine beyond a head cold and aspirin. Psychologically the author's own obserbvations and feelings are clear and organized.

The writer holds to high moral values and ethical standards. His impressions reflected some of my own recollections. I am 84 years old and have warm reflections of the 20's and 40's from the depression through WWII. These reflections are more positive than negative and are that way to this day. Hard times seemed to end in positive results.

My wife and I found difficulty putting the book down. It is facinating.

This is such a great book-i would reccomend it to anyone! It is uplifting and after reading it you'll want to read it over and over again!

This book is a definite "feel good" book that I have passed along. It's a book made of love. Many stories helped me to remind me of the power of Christ.

I laughed, I cried, and then I cried some more! All in a good feeling sort of way. I would recommend this book to anyone, no matter what their belief system is. It definitely will impact them in many different ways. There are memories that come flooding back as they relate to the stories told. It makes you want to make sure you take advantage of all that is good and positive that we miss day to day by being to caught up in ourselves! I loved the book.

There are just about 100 stories of fun, sadness, family, love, hope, and courage. I stayed up way too late reading and it's just a book you can't put down. My fav one was on friendship. just because you're ugly or disabled doesn't mean you're not loved. and the ones who stick up for you are the real ones. you really have to think. It's not the movies or a game, It's real life.

I liked this book very much because some day, I'll know I'll be in that situation or need to help a friend or family or stranger through it. This book teaches me that it's my own life and no-one can boss. And to listen to your parents and GOD

I reccomend the book, Chicken Soup for the Kids Soul by Jack Canfield(ed.) It is a good book with 101 stories of Courage, Hope, and Laughter. I thought it was a fun and exciting book to read. One of the good things about this book is that you can read a few stories, stop, skip around, and read somemore. I think that any kid that likes to read a good, fun book would enjoy this very much.

This wonder book brings Chinese wisdom to the reader, who has no prior knowledge of Chinese history, through delightful, inspiring stories. The stories (there are more than a hundred in the book) may be well-known in China, but not in the West. Most of them I read for the first time and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've learned a lot from this precious volume. I'm going to apply some in my life.

China has long presented the Western world with stories of folklore and proverbs; this contains stories relevant to business success, retelling Chinese tales to fit the business model. No prior knowledge of Chinese history and folklore is required in order to appreciate these fine tales of wisdom.

This is a unique book for those who seek wisdom from Chinese classics to apply in their career and life. A one-stop shopping for quintessential Chinese wisdom conveyed through more than a hundred of delightful stories by a remarkable author. For a lay person like me, no prior knowledge of Chinese history is required. I love the book's beautiful design and elegant calligraphy. Nichloas Kristof of New York Times sums it up better than I can when he says: "Treat this as a story book, and you will be entertained; treat this as a history book, and you will learn the richness of Asia's past; treat this as a book of wisdom, and you will be inspired."

In Del-Del, Kelleher evokes powerful images and emotions that even after 1 year still send shivers up my spine, and put a lump in my throat. Intriguing, powerful and fasinating.

This book is thrilling and a great read for anyone from ages 10 and up. Kelleher is a great Australian writer of pre-teen novels, for your science fiction audience. This book is wonderfully writen. The story is about this young boy who thinks he is possed by Del-Del, it is shows his interaction with his family as the character of Del-Del, develops. Definately not a book that one can drop until it is finished

This book is one of the spookiest I have ever read. Reading it as a adult I don't know if I could have coped with it as a child, although my son and daughter did. They enjoyed it so much they insisted that Mum and Dad read it too, so we did. Although written and set in Australian it is absolutely universal and could have been set anywhere there are children with grief to deal with. A totally outstanding piece of work that I had to read in one sitting. Please read this book!