Many readers--not just history buffs--will find The Golden Ghetto: The American Commercial Community at Canton and the Shaping of American China Policy, 1784-1844 fascinating and enlightening. Jacques M. Downs' comprehensive study of American merchants involved in the China trade during the first sixty years of U.S.-China relations, published in 1997 after a lifetime of exhaustive research, is now the definitive work on this topic. The Golden Ghetto is divided into three sections: (1)an account of the American community at Canton [or Guangzhou] under the restrictive Canton System established by Chinese officialdom to buffer the Central Kingdom from the potential harm of foreign activity and influence; (2) a detailed study of American firms and some 200 merchants involved in the China trade over six decades; and (3) an exploration of the path to the first Sino-American treaty--the 1844 Treaty of Wanghsia [Wangxia] negotiated by lawyer, politician, and diplomat Caleb Cushing after the Opium War (1839-42). Focusing on individual actions and attitudes--which Downs has culled from a wealth of sources including letters, diaries, and company histories--his presentation takes on a personal tone, occasionally reading more like a novel than a work of history. At the heart of his account is American trade in tea and silk, and increasingly in opium in the early 19th century. Downs does not mince words in condemning opium traders regardless of their nationality and the deleterious effects of the opium enterprise, but at the same time he explains how opium trade profits came to form the financial bedrock of the foreign community at Canton. He argues persuasively that American merchants with direct personal experience in China, and to a lesser extent missionaries, had a significant influence on official U.S. China policy. Readers familiar with U.S.-China relations in the 20th and early 21st centuries, and in particular with the proliferation of American business interests in China in the past two decades and with the political implications thereof, will find that Downs' study resonates with contemporary as well as historical relevance.

Although i never visited West View Park myself, i had heard lots about it and i wanted to read up on it. Jacques' work is the best! His other books are great, too.

During the Age of Discovery, ships sailed uncharted waters with sextant, luck, an artist and a scientist. Those ships fortunate enough to return to tell their tale did so with drawn and painted pictures, specimens of plants, animals and, sometimes, humans. In this well written and illustrated coffee-table sized book, the reader is taken around the world and back in time. Large maps show the routes sailed, labelled with dates and explorer. Each page includes copies of original art and map work made during the voyage. This offers more than a glimpse of the way the world looked prior to European expansion. The scientific illustrations depict native peoples, flora and fauna accurately. Included are also illustrations made for the popular press of the times. These add a touch of humor in their truly "Eurocentric" editorial perspectives. Yet the contrasts of cultures and the contact made between peoples is exciting to see and to read, and Brosse's choice of anecdote and illustration challenge the reader to see the differences in experience betweem those who experience the adventure and cultural contact first hand, and those who by necessity must experience the event though the media of popular culture. Kudos to the author for presenting the information, visual and textual, and leaving the reader to realize the connections with our media mediated experiences of the present day. The scope and presentation of the work is impressive, and the reader will delight in the destinations. Sailors experience the tropical climates and the warm arms of the welcoming women, and the hardships of sailing into the arctic to explore the northernmost and southernmost climes. If death were not so common a companion on these voyages, one could begin to imagine men who withstand the ravages of these long voyages to be a special breed of super-men.

A five star rating, a long and fascinating read, and a glimpse of a world that now exists as it was then only at some locations at the north and south poles. O! h, for a time machine! Then again, this bookserves that pupose well.

That I would have Nancy Jacques' new book, A Heartcore Alternative in hand and be reading it shortly after the events of September 11, 2001, was at once mind-boggling and fortuitous. The one reality that struck me more than any other as I grieved for the events of that day was that we MUST find a new way of doing things. There is no way, militarily, to protect ourselves from such violence. More, an overcrowded world can no longer afford the luxury of outdated 20th century solutions.

Jacques is not only adament that we must have a new way of doing things, but she offers rational debate for a total reordering of our approaches, priorities and the very motives that guide them. It is not enough just to wish the environment or other nations well and even to try to work toward that end, we must reorder our priorities, our motives, our very way of looking at friends, family, community, state, nation and world, and most particularly those with whom we disagree. We must look closely at personal decisions and weigh them in new and different ways.

Jacques' approach is not meant for a fast read--this is a book that needs pondering and contemplation--but it is rationally and scientifically presented and beautifully written. But this is more than a well-reason book; it is a book that reflects one woman's passion for the natural world and those with whom she shares it. It is a book that, through that passion and vision, offers new solutions and a journey through the pages of her book, and the years of her life's experiences, that will fascinate and show a new way of learning to live.

What's that? You're interested in learning about Hersheypark's past and present? Well, this book has it all! Jam packed with photos and descriptions of rides, landscape, and people, this book will keep you entertained for hours! Do yourself a favor, buy this book! You will not regret it!

Another object book with content that matches the originality of the design. Herzog & De Meuron, the Basel-based architects, are best known for their art museums, but also for creating buildings that are works of art--even when the program is as mundane as a railroad signal box. This companion to the recent CCA exhibition is an anthology of interviews, stimulating essays by artists and clients, and pictures of objects that have inspired them, in addition to an illustrated catalogue of their 200 buildings and projects. (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

Dr. Rogozinski, Through vigorous and expeditious interpretation of the defined economic material, he stealthily synthesizes the significance of privitization in Mexico. Considering myself as a great conoisseur of his work, a High Price for Change is a masterpiece of all macroeconomic rhetorics. He determines the aggregate value of consideration through sectional interpretation of Mexico, not simply as a third world country of extreme potential growth, but as a site for a huge international economic market of export through limited resources.

As a final word, the material is concise, accurate, and to the point. Rogozinski follows up his stunning string of economic policy books with an equally powerful performance. This is a must-read for any economics enthusiast....

This review is necesary for understand the History Teory, it's more importand for thaformation of de Historian

A classic biography detailing the careers of three "old time" style goalies (Terry Sawchuk, Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante). Also features a selection of photos and illustrations. Book is long out of print and has become quite a sought after reference work by hockey memorabilia collector's.

Book is an excellent analysis of the role of Christianity in American politics. Although this book was written awhile ago, it ended up being very prophetic with respect ot the rise of the religious right. Book is written from a pro-Christian perspective, but would be interesting to secular people as well.