If you want to learn about history it is best to read the reflections, diaries and memoirs of those who lived it. Samuel H. Sprott, 40th Alabama Infantry, Army of Tennessee, wrote his memoir 34 years after the War Between The States for a now defunct southern newspaper. This memoir was recently discovered tucked away in county probate records and probably not studied by historians for details about the W.B.T.S. in the deep South.
Sprott, tells the story of the 40th Alabama Infantry, Stone's Battalion and Ector's Brigade. I was especially interested in information about General Ector and his brigade as little is written about this unit especially at the battle of Chickamauga. He will educate you about the everyday life of the Confederate soldier in the Army of Tennessee. His and fellow comrade's trials and jubilations are all there.
The editors do a fine job coordinating Sprott's manuscript, filling in his thoughts and corroborating historical evidence.
Highly Recommended!

Any Civil War buff will find Dr. Louis Smith's "Cush" to be an outstanding addition to his/her personal library. It is an account that brings countless historical facts that will enrich that library in terms of the military engagements fought by Samuel Sprott and his men. But there is more to this work than the simple regurgitation of historical fact -- this is a book that reflects the struggles and privations of the everyday Civil War soldier as he endured the reality of his world: rotten weather, whizzing minnie balls, the deaths of his comrades. "Cush" is a look at the humanity behind the facts. It puts the reader in the Civil War -- fighting next to Sprott and his compatriots.

As a high school US History teacher, I have found that it is books such as "Cush" that makes history come alive to students. They can feel the emotion with which Sprott's story is told. And, because it is a primary source - straight from the "horse's mouth", it has much more credibility to it than the facts they can glean from their text books.

Dr. Smith has done a marvelous job of editing Sprott's papers. The work was no doubt tedious but at the same time must have been intensely rewarding when it was finished. After reading the book, I have come to feel like I knew Samuel Sprott on a personal basis!

This is an excellent primary source for a soldier's eye view of the daily experinece of the civil war. Unembelished with romantic bravado or the mythology of causes, Captain Samuel Sprott's journal of the experiences of the 40th Alabama regiment presents the reality of war for the common soldier- general bordome and petty detail alongside short episodes of battle, tragedy, and confusion. Smith and Quist do an excellent job of providing essential supporting information in the preface and appendix while avoiding the temptation to intrude upon Sprott's narrations. The book should be a hit in the classroom as a primary document that is brief, easy to read, and relatively inexpensive. For the same reasons it is recommended to the general reader.

Those who accept spirit possession usually think in terms of an "earthbound" spirit taking control of a human or at least influencing that person. However, the entity possession that the author of this book addresses is not quite the same thing. "Entities are not full human spirits who have lost their way and become attached to a living human being," Dr. Sagan explains. "If four weeks after the death of your aunt you happen to catch an entity that feels like her, it is just a fragment of her astral body, not her immortal soul trapped inside you." A graduate of the Paris 5 Faculty of Medicine, who also studied Sanskrit, Sagan now direct the Clairvision School in Sydney, Australia. There he helps clients dislodge themselves of these astral "parasites" through an expanded state of perception. The book contains many case studies in which clients are brought to focus on an entity and then to clear themselves of it. While apparently unique in Western parapsychology, such entity possession is, according to Sagan, well documented in Eastern esoteric sources. To help us understand it, Sagan first explains the four-fold nature of the human being. The lower complex is the physical body and the etheric body. The etheric is the life of the physical and apparently seen as the aura. The upper complex is the astral body and the Ego or Higher Self. Our thoughts and emotions are contained within the astral body, which is entangled like a spider web around the Ego and encased within the etheric body. At physical death, the upper complex separates from the lower, leaving the physical body to decay and the etheric body to dissolve in the ethers. However, as the etheric body dissolves, the shattering of the astral body begins. Sagan says that it is not uncommon for the astral fragments to retain their etheric parts with which they used to be connected. These fragments are imprinted with characteristics of the person, including cravings, addictions, emotions, and traits. If the person was an alcoholic, his astral fragments go wandering around in astral space looking for something to satisfy them. As like attracts like in the astral world, an alcoholic fragment will be attracted to living people who crave alcohol. The etheric body of living humans has its own defense mechanism. Therefore, it is usually in "high risk" situations, such as surgery, an accident, or intoxication, when the defense mechanism is down, that the astral parasites can attach themselves. While mainstream medicine no doubt looks askance at Sagan, he writes with authority and conviction. Most of it makes metaphysical sense, or at least as much sense as the alternative theories. It is an intriguing read.

Dr Sagan manages to normalise a phenomenom that is really quite mis-understood or not even seen in the world today.

Through concise documentatin of case studies he clearly outlines how to find them and what types of effects that result in ones energy and mind due to their intrusion. He also discusses the mechanisms by which they got there in the first place.

In his book, it appears that these little parasties of our body of energy are not easy to get, but once in there and observed, can be easily removed by a qualified entity clearer.

A fascinating read into the entity phenomenum....

Dr.Sagan's Entity Possession is written with a matter-of-fact tone that this subject matter deserves. A straight-forward scientific presentation of subtle energy influences without the mystical journey overtones. A must read for serious Energy Healers and anyoneone else that perceives subtle energies.

I concur with the other users of this site in my opinion of this book. You really can learn colloquial Japanese from this book. It is a bit dated - it was, I believe, originally written for American GI's and missionaries who found themselves in Japan after World War II and needed a good self teaching book which could be used on the ground, preferably with a native speaker to go through the material with you or at least to provide pointers on pronunciation. However, this doesn't mean that what you're learning is too basic. Virtually every feature of the spoken language is at least touched on, and best of all, there are a lot of illustrative sentences for every item covered. The whole book is split into only ten lessons, and each lesson seems to last forever, but when you actually start working with the book it is much easier than it initially appears.

There is another book by Martin out that includes copies of the dialogues from this book in written Japanese, if you really feel a need for that. While of course it is a nice idea to be able to work with the writing system immediately when learning a new language, with Japanese I don't really really believe that this is a good idea. All told, Japanese is probably the most difficult language in the world to learn to read and write correctly, more so than Chinese, so I would suggest to the would-be learner that she work with this book for a while and then start on the written language with other learning materials.

Of all the courses I have purchased, I keep returning to this one. It is thorough in its pedagogy, and provides enough practice material to really drive the grammar into your head.

I would like to see tapes for this book. It would really enhance its overall coursework.

This book is probably the single best book I have found for teaching yourself real conversational Japanese along with enough grammar neccessary to understand it and use it! It gets a nine because it could be better only with kana and kanji. If you want to learn Japanese, you will save much time with this book

A superb book on economics and philosophy

This is a polished, tasteful, grammatically precise rhetoric in the manner of Alexandrian Classicists. Work is accurate and logical. This book describes earlier attempts at workable banking and currency systems and then defines the only type which could work. A fine effort.

Dr. Sarri considers an ethical approach to evaluating the history of economic theory and puts forth a new approach that involves grouping similar countries and cultures in trading blocs with a single currency. In an era of International Free Trade Agreements and the monetary union of Europe, this seemingly radical approach gains credence as a possible solution to economic injustice.

I work in an Alternative HS and have found that my students who most would think the book looks "corney" have requested copies of the book after looking through it. I like the fact that it addresses issues of anger that the adolescent may have (or may not even realize they have) towards the deceased. I work with high-risk youth and the family dynamics are always so complex. I also like the fact that it addresses changes that the adolescent will have to make and doesn't "sugar coat" things. But, it pays respect to the deceased in a tasteful way, and it is way for the adolescent to write memories/stories he/she might forget.

My only complaint is that the book is pink. My guys who have been the ones who really have gotten a lot of use from this book (especially dealing with the death of a parent) are turned off at first from even looking at it.

This is a wonderful Journal for kids. On my first read through I felt it was geared a little more toward 9 to 13 year olds, rather than older teens. However, the content is excellent and the ideas and exercises will really help grieving teens work through the difficult grief process.

I ordered this journal for my two teen-aged daughters,both of whom were suffering greatly with the loss of my mother, their grandmother. The book is a wonderful aid in helping them express all the things they were afraid to vocalize. It allows them to write down their thoughts and feelings on such subjects as what they were doing when they found out the person had died, unresolved issues with the person who died and how they would like them to be resolved now, where they believe their loved one is now, and how the future will be without the person they love. It allows the teen to see that they are not alone in their grief, that others have the same thoughts as they do. I highly reccommend this book to ANYONE who is experiencing loss in their life. It leads you gently through the entire grieving process-I can't say enough about how it helped us through a very difficult time in our lives.

Although the Devita text is a good resource, it has important drawbacks. In every edition, including the latest one, too much information has been out of date even at the first day of publication. Several other major oncology texts somehow manage to avoid this problem much better. Also, since the text comes out every two years, information in the current edition is already at least 3 years old or older. Beyond this, the index is detailed but it still is hard to find specific information, i.e., the book is clumsily organized. Finally, the CD version has the worst search program that I have ever used. You can enter information with any degree of specificity and the search will retrieve (at best) a list of chapters and major chapter sections in which to look. You then have to read through miles of text to find the information that you wanted. Searchability is one of the main reasons for buying a CD and I consider the Devita CD virtually worthless.

As a resident, I use this book as a first resource for almost all Oncology reading. By your second year of residency you should be getting a lot of your data from the literature rather than texts, but it is still very useful to have a text summery to start from. Take prostate cancer as an example. You can read the DeVita chapter in a (long) afternoon and have an excellent base to expand from. Furthermore, the hundreds of references for each chapter are essentially a list of every landmark article on that topic. If you are an intern or MS4 and you are going to go Rad-Onc, Internal then Med-Onc, OB-Gyn Onc, or even Surgery or Dermatology then you simply need this book. There is nothing else that comes close. To be honest, if you are building any type of medical library whatsoever, you need this book. By the way, mine came with the CD-Rom version on the inside of the back cover for free! Check with your retailer to see if yours will, too. Best of luck, study hard- CURE CANCER!

this book is considered one of the text...that make the specialest so much satisfied by the quality and quantity of the information it contain and the it is discussed. but for us in middle east it is very [pricey]. you will understand that when you know that my monthly salary as an assesstent lecturer inradiation oncology dept.; Alazhar university, Cairo, Egypt;... a low price edition will be much helpful and very wise to prevent illegal copying of the book. thanks a lote

This multiplex, mind-scrambling narrative is (along with EINSTEIN INTERSECTION) Delany's best novel. Only about 100 pages, filled with dazzling, vivid images & fun characters -- it's fresh, funny, complicated & FAST -- a "space opera" of epic proportions ... in a tight space. U'll have a great time. Some of Delany's philosophical Deep Thots come across 2, but U won't mind. U'll B 2 busy having a great time. 2 bad this guy went on 2 write DAHLGREN, TRITON, etc....

A friend recommended this book to me saying, "As soon as you finish it, you'll want to read it again immediately." He wasn't kidding.

Samuel Delany's book "Empire Star" is basically a novella (about 100 pages). It recounts the life of a young man who is born and raised on a backward planet where thought rarely rises beyond the immediate "now". Nicknamed "Comet Jo" for his curious need to look up at the stars, the young man is given an important message to deliver to the Empire Star... unfortunately, he doesn't know what the message is. Neither does his eight-legged cat. Their adventure, and the reader's, is to unravel the mystery.

The novella is quite straightforward at first, but the reader will discover that everything that has occurred takes on additional meaning by the end of the book. The best way to describe the book is to say that it is the literary equivalent of an M.C. Escher print.

As one friend to another I, too, must recommend that you set aside some time to read the book and then immediately re-read it.

This is one of my all-time favorite science fiction novels. It contains the great concept listed in the title of this review (read the book to understand more!), and demonstrates multiplexity in the way it wraps around and around itself. A wonderful book, and a shame it's not still widely available. Whenever I find a used copy, I buy it, so I can give it away.

This book was a lot like "Fake, Fraud or Genuine" in terms of identification content. I was hoping for a book that would help me find out where some of the odd old things I have came from.

This book tells the reader how to recognize pieces that are truly old, and explains the differences between truly old furniture, new furniture made from pieces of old furniture, reproductions, and other categories of collectible pieces.

It also has vast sections on cataloging and documenting for insurance and other valuation purposes, and working with appraisers.

Well worth adding to your antiques library! Emyl Jenkins covers both antiques of today plus which items will become the antiques of tomorrow. Well written with good pictures.

This book does just what the title says. An excellent reference book for just about everything a person might come across in garage sales, collectible stores, auctions, and attics. Fun to read and indexed very well. Learned a great deal from it.

There have been 4,567 books written about Elvis, mostly by people who have never known him, but whose third cousin's sixth-removed niece might have once dated Elvis' former schoolteacher's third wife. Then there's "The Essential Elvis." What makes this book so different is that Samuel Roy and Tom Aspell trace Elvis' life and legacy through personal history as well as 112 of his most significant songs. The book doesn't proclaim to be an expose or definitive history (it's neither); what it is is a clear portrait of the Man Who Would Be King, told through behind-the-scenes knowledge that uncovers and pieces
together the story of a man, his times, talent and cultural influences. And the 20 photographs -- many of which have never been published --- add a nice touch.

This excellent book is about what was most important to Elvis and his fans: his songs and music. One of the most significant things the authors said about Elvis is the following words: «The first and best thing that can be done for Elvis Presley is to lessen the emphasis that has been placed on his later years and focus on the talent and genius that define the King.....one of the reasons for his demise was because he cared and felt too much...it got to the point that being Elvis Presley was one of the hardest jobs in the world». I agree completely with the authors and, as a fan, my only wish is that this book will make the people, who don't respect Elvis, see the light...

"The Essential Elvis" is an intelligent, thoughtful exploration of Presley's music from 1954 until his death in 1977. It's an important and much-needed book that concentrates solely on Presley's artistry. Authors Samuel Roy and Tom Aspell break free from the ill-informed mythology of most Elvis books by re-examining Presley's work in provocative, exciting ways. You may not agree with all of the writers' assessments, but it encourages you to track down the 112 Elvis recordings listed in their book. This publication is a valuable, long-overdue critical assessment of the King and his musical legacy.

Roy Morris's history of the 1876 election is a rousing work that brings to life the incredible politcs of America's Victorian Gilded Age. Despite how history has treated the politicians of this era, Morris explains well that both combatants, Ohio Gov. Rutherford B Hayes and New York Gov. Samuel Tilden, would have been worthy of the White House in any era. Morris's respect for Gilded Age politicians was the high point of the book for me. He shows us more than the non-entities history has treated them. Hayes, a real Civil War hero (as opposed to other CW Generals, like "General" Ben Harrison) who was a cagier politician than often given credit for. Tilden, a sickly and brilliant bachelor, a disciple of Martin Van Buren and maybe America's last Jacksonian, is shown as a methodical and brilliant reformer who blew up the Tweed Ring.

Morris also excells at looking at the real issues of the campiagn: government reform, fighting Grantism, and most of all----Reconstruction. The story of the this miserable election bears little resembles to the 2000 election. In 2000, the basic story was a bunch of old people did not vote right. Nobody did anything. In this election, you not only had contested states, but SOUTHERN states who 16 years before had left the union. Since then, carpetbag regimes had taken overm causing near strife across the south. One must remeber that Civil War seemed more imminent in 1876 than 1860. At the heart of this fight was the growing feeling in the North that continued occupation and negro rights was just not worth it anymore.

My one qualm with the book is Morris seems to be blinded by the consequences of blacks by this election. He seems to overlap his sympathy for Tilden to include the former confederate, white Democrats in the South. He minimizes the violence in an attempt to build a case against Hayes and the Republicans. I felt that Morris could have been more critical of the Bourbon southern democrats in this work. All in all, however, it is a wonderfull read. We find that America was robbed of two great men in this election. Tilden never entered the White House, and the talented Hayes was never able to execute his full potential due to the circumstances of his election. A fascinating book.

As the smoke cleared from Election Day 1876 the people of the United States found themselves with no clear winner. The Republican nominee, Rutherford B. Hayes at first was sure he had lost while at the same time the Democratic nominee Samuel Tilden was just as sure he had won. The Republican National Chairman was so sure of Tilden's victory that on election night he went to bed with a bottle of whisky for comfort. Enter Dan Sickles, yes the same Dan Sickles that shot down Philip Barton Key, the same Dan Sickles who had been the first American acquitted on a murder charge due to temporary insanity, and the same Dan Sickles who had gotten his corps chewed up at Gettysburg. There is little surprise that this man was possibly the father of the biggest election fraud in American history. It was Sickles who first wired the Republican governors of South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana that they should hold their states for Hayes at all cost. That they did.

What follows is a sad tale of corrupt state election boards, sneaky politicians, and various shenanigans by both campaigns. The difference in the final outcome seems to be the result of circumstances that have to remind the reader of a certain recent election. The Republican candidate seemed to exude confidence while Tilden acted like he had been hit in the face with a wet squirrel. Since Tilden didn't seem to know what to do that left his party wandering somewhat in the darkness. Tilden's friends tried but without central leadership, without one hand knowing what the other was doing, their whole effort was a confused jumble. Hayes on the other hand, seemed to be completely at ease. The Republican effort was smooth and effective and in the end everything was all decided in great part by the Supreme Court. Just like 2000. Of course there was also the little understanding that if the south let Hayes win, reconstruction would end in the three states where troops were still stationed. Hayes himself seems to have developed this idea while Tilden sat in his library and wrote legal briefs.

This book, by Roy Morris, Jr. is a very easy to read and engaging work. The author makes it easy to keep up with what is going on even though the action is spread from Louisiana to DC and from Florida to Oregon. Mr. Morris not only explains what happened but also speculates that President Grant had started reconstruction out the door, and that it was dead no matter who was President. He convincingly argues that white northerners were as tired of reconstruction as were white southerners and that Hayes in reality probably only shortened the occupation of the south by a few months. He did not therefore, sell out southern blacks as badly as some would have us believe. With the excellent research and scholarship to be found in this book, I highly recommend it

Most people, if they've heard of the infamous 1876 Presidential election at all, recall it only when comparisons were made to the confused aftermath of the 2000 campaign. There were many similarities in that the Democratic candidate ultimately failed to win the Presidency despite outpolling the Republican in the popular vote, and the final judgement was delayed long after the actual voting because of irregularities in Florida (among other states in 1876). But the most glaring thing the two elections have in common is that in both cases the will of the people was ultimately thwarted by that most undemocratic of Constitutional anachornisms: The Electoral College.

Author Roy Morris Jr. rescues the 1876 election from the dustbin of history with his diligent research and lively prose. He also does not hesitate to editorialize on the outcome, as the title of the book makes perfectly clear. It's not that Morris is unfair to former Civil War General Rutherford B. Hayes, who was ultimately declared the winner in an unbeleivably convoluted series of back room dealings, quite the contrary in fact. Morris instead lays outs the facts so that the reader can plainly see that New York Governor Samuel Tilden, despite being a less than perfect candidate, deserved a better fate.

The stakes were high in America's centenial year. Reconstruction was winding down (indeed, Hayes would ultimately end it), white southeners were reasserting their political muscle in a way that would ultimately lead to Jim Crow and the disenfranchisement of the former slaves and tensions between the parties were running high enough that a resumption of Civil War hostilities seemed a distinct possibility. The outgoing, scandal-plauged Grant administration burdoned Hayes, while Tilden was saddled with a Democratic party that had been the home of the Copperheads during the Civil War. Like 2000, the country was nearly evenly split politically, though unlike 2000, as Morris points out, the outcome did not dramatically effect the course of American history because Morris supposes that Tilden would have made many of the same decsions that were made by Hayes as President.

Overall, an extremely well-written and important work that will be enjoyed be history buffs and even by more general readers.