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Book reviews for "Richards,_John" sorted by average review score:

Maneuver Warfare: An Anthology
Published in Paperback by Berkley Pub Group (1994)
Authors: Richard D., Jr. Hooker and John R. Galvin
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overview of maneuver war
This book is a gold mine of the nuances of the on-going development of maneuver war doctrine. Read it if you want to see the future of combat on the battlefield.

This book is prophetic
Though written in 1993, the Anthology still stands especially when you read Col Bolger's warning that maneuverism will not work against a defense-in-depth and LTC Grossman's study on the psychology of war. The other chapters express the desire to collapse enemies with maneuver rather than try to attrit/wipe them out. What we need today is a sequel where we explain 4th generation war, how we need both forces that can collapse enemies with Air-Mech 3-D maneuver AND 2-D firepower/mechanical advantage to overcome enemies in cities; combining Bolger with the other authors into a stronger whole.

These authors are the best thinkers in the U.S. military today and it would be great to see them unite again with some of the new military theorists for a sequel.

Airborne!

Must read for combat arms officers
This is a must read book for combat arms officers. It explores many of the fundamental concepts involved in maneuver warfare, and why small, agile armies usually beat bigger, slower enemies. The arrangement of various topics covered by several authors results in an interesting and intriguing read. Far superion to Leonhards similar maneuver book. The only books that explore this important topic as well are "Maneuver Warfare Handbook" by Bill Lind, and the superb "Warfighting" by Hayden. If you are an Army officer or Marine officer this needs to be on your shelf.


Medea and Other Plays
Published in Paperback by Penguin USA (Paper) (29 April, 2003)
Authors: Euripides, Richard Rutherford, and John Davie
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Disturbing View of the Irrational
Euripides is the dramatist of the irrational. His greatest work, The Bacchae, Medea, Hippolytus, depicts a world in which irrational passions are a powerful and destructive force. In contrast to Aeschylus, whose greatest work - The House of Atreus trilogy - describes the harnessing of irrational forces into civic fabric of the polis and rationalistic worship of the Olympian pantheon, Euripides sees the passions as uncontrollable. Some of the gods, such as Dionysius in The Bacchae and Aphrodite in Hippolytus, appear as the personfication of destructive passions. Many of the human figures in Euripides plays appear unable not only to face the force of these passions, but also unable to recognize the danger represented by the passions. Euripides view is dark but powerful and his works are compelling but dispiriting. The Penguin series of his plays includes translations by Phillip Vellacott. Though most of these translations were produced decades ago, they retain their freshness and immediacy. This set of inexpensive books is an excellent way to experience Euripides.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?
Is Medea's response merely another example of "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned", or are there other factors which make her response unique? Was she "insane" to have killed her children or was it legitimate within the scope of her response? What is so primal, so horrible about a mother killing her children? What role do the gods play in Medea's situation? Is she being punished for her earlier betrayal of her family? Did the Sun God's appearance with Medea at the end of the play indicate that she was vindicated and had divine support in her program of revenge? If the action cannot be satisfactorily explained in terms of the characters of a play in which fate and destiny are present, then the matter is left up to these divine powers. Where does that situate us in our Existential dilemna? The, audience is free to purge its feelings because the gods are controlling the course of the action. How important are the different social values and responses exhibited in the play? Does the play's action turn on cultural differences or more fundamental aspects? Lastly, if it is a "Greek tragedy", is it only Jason's tragedy? Let us not forget his role in all this. It is tragic in that his life ends in despair. What about "bad karma"? Although Jason married a second wife, we saw no indication that he dad any romantic passion for her. It seems to echo his withdrawal of feeling from Medea. The more withdrawn he became, the more passionate was Medea's response. If Jason had exhibited more passion, it might have improved Medea's attitude. His coldness did not justify her actions but made them more understandable. Is it simply greek soap opera or are current soap operas a reflection of passions past and still present. Nothing could justify the actions of Medea but certainly a lot can explain it, or can it?

Terrific translations and commentaries on four plays.
Vellacott has provided excellent translations and commentaries on four of the plays of Euripedes, including his classic "Medea." They should be required reading of any college student. "Medea" is a study in how unbridled passion can overcome reason and lead to tragedy. This may be particularly pertinent with respect to the ongoing war between Athens and Sparta at the time the play was first presented. Medea, who had helped Jason in his quest, become his wife, and given him two sons, feels betrayed since he is marrying the daughter of the ruler of Corinth. With horrible vengence, she kills the bride and the king and then her two sons. "Hecabe" is a play about the wife of Priam, King of Troy, and the mother of Hector, Paris, Cassandra, and others. At the start of this play, the war between the Greeks and Troy is over and Hecabe is now a slave of Agamemnon. The ghost of Achilles had appeared and demanded a sacrifice over his tomb before the Greeks can set sail for home. They vote to sacrifice Polyxena, Hecabe's young daughter, despite the tears and entreaties of Hecabe. After Polyxena's noble death, Hecabe learns that her last child Polydorus had been murdered by the King of Thrace, Polymestor, to whom Polydorus had been sent for safekeeping. This finally drives Hecabe mad and she seeks vengence for Polydorus's death. Euripedes shows in this play the effects of war and vengence on innocent lives and how cruel men at war can be. "Electra" is another retelling of the vengence story of Electra and Orestes. In this version, they are less heroic and more realistic then the way they are portrayed by Aeschylus and Sophocles. Interestingly, the one true noble and honest character in the play is the peasant husband of Electra, who refuses to tough her because he is beneath her station. Was Euripedes making a social comment about the upper classes of Athens of his time? The final play is "Heracles." In this play, the wife of Heracles, his three young sons, and Heracles' father Amphitryon are in danger of being killed by the usurping king of Thebes, Lycus. Lycus wishes them dead since he had killed Megara's father, King Creon, and taken his throne and Lycus doesn't want the three sons to grow up to avenge the death of their grandfather. Heracles is believed by many to be dead. But, he returns in time to thwart and kill Lycus. Unfortunately, the goddess Hera, who has always had a hatred of Heracles, sends the minor goddess Madness down to drive Heracles temporarily insane. In his fits, he kills his wife and sons. When sanity returns to him, he realizes what he has done and how immoral the gods are. The Greek gods are not an acceptable standard for moral behavior. Man can serve as a standard, and this is exemplified in the play by Theseus, ruler of Athens.


Never the Sinner: The Leopold and Loeb Story
Published in Paperback by Penguin USA (Paper) (1999)
Author: John Logan
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Never, but Always
In John Logan's moving yet horrifying "Never the Sinner" we meet two infamous killers, and the mystic, mythic figure that chose to defend these two.

Set in the 1920s, Logan spins the story of Leopold and Loeb, two rich, handsome teenagers that, due to the mixing of their personalities and dangerous philosophies (Nietzche gone bad) decide to kill someone for the experience of it. After this henious act, Clarence Darrow rides in, not to wipe the guilt from their souls, but merely defend them from going to the gallows.

There are several moving aspects to this play which Logan has brilliantly captured in small scenes. The courtship and love between Leopold and Loeb is explored fully. Some ficiton and non-fiction written about these two shy away from the possible homosexual connection, but not Logan. Their actions are horrendous, their self-centered thinking abhorrant, but the relationship between the two powers this play and is intriguing. You want the union of these two not to result in murder, but in love.

The other passionate part of the play comes with the introduction of Clarence Darrow in the second act. He rides in and becomes a fierce adversary of the death penalty, and brilliant argues against the ultimate punishment. However, his courtroom bravado is tempered by scenes with the boys, when he tries desparately to understand the actions of these two. And due to his efforts, Leopold and Loeb begin to struggle with the consequences of their actions, and become more human (which, upon my understanding of the actual story, never really happened).

John Logan has given us a play that reads very well, is very passionate and compelling, and a true classic of theater today.

A stunning stage piece
John Logan contructs a masterful picture of the times and people involved in the first "crime of the century." This is a dazzling piece of work that could only exist on the stage. Suspenseful, involing, emotive, compassionate and above all amazingly theatrical, this work stands not only as a terrific documentary play of an important time, but as an engrossing example of how powerful a medium the theatre can be.

Amazing cinematic depth - "Reads" like a great movie!!
When it comes to Leopold and Loeb, John Logan is the best story-teller. His use of a time manipulation and powerful language makes this play as full of suspense as one can. I have visited Chicago and "haunted" the sites mentioned in this book and, after talking to people about this true story and completing the research I intended to, I came to the realization that this book WAS as much an obsession with Mr. Logan as it is with me now. He portrays the brutal truth along side the unfortunate morals and ideals these two young murderers were plagued with. Clarence Darrow, in his closing summations for the defense of these boys, stated, "I may very well hate the sin in all the world, but never the sinner." I think, as John Logan certainly did, that this statement characterizes the time and mood (as does this book) of the early 1920s and the Leopold and Loeb - Crime of the Century.


One Church, Many Tribes : Following Jesus the Way God Made You
Published in Paperback by Regal Books (2000)
Authors: Richard Twiss and John Dawson
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Wonderful thought-provoker...
One Church Many Tribes is a deeply spiritual book that helps "white bread" readers like me to understand some of the greater universalities of our Christian faith. I strongly recommend this book for readers everywhere, and especially for those who live in areas with a Native American population.

For More Than Just First Nations Believers
This book is half exploration of the Native experience with the Church, and half examination of how a Christian life should manifest itself in particular cultures. Twiss gives a good general introduction to the spectacularly poor manner in which First Nations peoples have been treated as not merely targets of evangelization, but as believers who did not find the alleged brotherhood of the faith either very brotherly or faithful. It is a sad, disgusting tale, made personal by the account of Chief Spokane Garry.

It is the rest of the book, however, where the hope shines through. Here, Twiss asks the darn good question: Why shouldn't First Nations persons use their own instruments, music, dress, and dance to honor God? Yes, why not? He expands the argument to include aboriginal peoples all around the world, and it is actually applicable to any culture that wonders why it's being fed the Western way as the alleged way things are to be done. He developes a careful, Biblically sensitive mindset on how to think through these issues, such that one can disassociate cultural items from an original context that may not have been consonant with Biblical values, and give them new life in the Christian worldview. It is a great vision of Christ transforming culture. When this type of thinking catches on around the world, the kingdom will grow in leaps and bounds. For anyone who feels their culture, or subculture, has been stepped on by middle-class Western values that someone has tried to hide in God's mouth, this book will help set you free to drum, create, dance, and dress in ways that both make sense to your people and honor your God.

You might be surprised...
...at how balanced this work is. Twiss does an admirable job of presenting a coherent and sensitive biblical viewpoint on the cultural influences on both Scripture - which he obviously holds in high regard - and our theologizing. This allows the reader to have a greater understanding of how cultural blind spots exist in our theological and religious thinking. At the same time, the author explores both the possibility and desireability of cultural awareness, sensitivity and incorporation into our theology and church's (or messianic synagogue's) life.


Sources of Chinese Tradition
Published in Paperback by Columbia University Press (15 March, 2001)
Authors: Wm. Theodore De Bary, William Theodore de Bary, and Richard John Lufrano
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Absolutely essential
I'll make this short...For anyone interested in Chinese history, literature, or culture, this volume is an absolutely essential collection of primary sources, and includes prefaces and explanations by China scholars. There is no one better than de Bary, and this new edition includes everything from the 1960 edition up through the Jiang Zemin era.

all the classics and essentials
I've read a little of this and that about Chinese history and religion, and I needed a book to fill in the basics and the details. This was perfect.

First, the selections included excerpts of almost everything I'd ever heard of: Shang Oracle Bones, the Analects of Confucius and the Confucian classics including the I Ching; Mozi; the Tao Te Ching; Zhuangzi (who famously dreamed that he was a butterfly); Mencius; Xunzi; the Zuozhuan; Sun Tzu's art of war; all kinds of stuff about Chinese schools of Buddhism including the Lotus Sutra and the Flower Garden Sutra and the history of Guanyin and Wutai Shan; Li Po (Li Bo) and Tu Fu (Du Fu); and neo-Confucianism (which was so influential in Korea). In short, this is really, practically the "Eatern Canon" and the selections are deserving of such a label. I was in turns morally and intellectually challenged, uplifted, informed and surprised; but rarely bored and never disappointed.

Second, the introductory essays were exactly what I wanted to know: who might have written it, and when, and who read, and what it meant to them. For all that information, they were still brief and the bibliography was sufficient to help me chase the points that left me curious. An important thing these essays did was to cover the political, historical and social backgrounds (and foregrounds) of the texts, so I learned about Chinese history as well as literature and religion. If that is what you want to do, this book will serve you well.

The binding is excellent, and while the price might look steep I have to say it's a bargain considering what you get.

I didn't read Volume Two, and so I don't know if it is as good. It is certainly a lot smaller!

An impressively updated, indispensable reference.
This second edition of a classic provides an update on a reference recommended for college-level collections specializing in Chinese literature. Sources of Chinese Tradition has been recognized already as a scholarly staple: in its new form Sources of Chinese Tradition has been extended to include the Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin eras of China and includes invaluable source readings on history and literature of the times, from the 18th-century Qing civilization onward.


Windows 95 Multimedia & Odbc Api Bible
Published in Paperback by Waite Group Pr (1996)
Authors: Richard J. Simon, Tony Davis, John Eaton, and R. Murray Goertz
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Windows 95 Multimedia & Odbc Api Bible
This book, is the best result of the masterminds of the state of art, and I Suggest as a read for everyone that work with this technology.

It's great in any language!
I do not read Japanese but the only available edition of this book when I needed it was the Japanese edition. I still found the book to give me all the information I needed to do what I needed to do, write an audio recording app without knowing anything about Multi-Media beforehand. I also liked that it used mostly lower level coding so that it would not be so at risk from Microsofts whims.

Simon gets it right again!!
I can honestly say that I have never been disappointed by any Robert Simon book and this is no exception. Rather than read this book from cover to cover I use it as a reference. It is a fairly complete guide to multimedia and ODBC API calls and it is presented in a way that anyone can understand. Good job Mr. Simon!!


Zap Science: A Scientific Playground in a Book
Published in Spiral-bound by Klutz, Inc (1997)
Authors: John Cassidy, Paul Doherty, Pat Murphy, Richard Becker, and Exploratorium (Organization)
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A great book for kids
This book will keep kids intrested for houres! It has pages of hands on activities. The book has tons of very intertaning activities. The book makes learning fun. The book comes with 3d glasses and a Zap Pack that when you snap a butten the pack goes from liquid to solid and heats up. This book is a great learning took that is a great buy for houres of entertainment!

It is my little brother's and my favourite book
This book is way cool! It has 3D paages including 3D glasses, some sort of pack that changes from boiling hot to freezing cold, a hundred of info, some illusions... It's like my own Science Museum !

Agreat book for klutz lovers.
Zap! Science is a great hands-on book. With many expirements, this book makes science fun.


Aegis Handbook
Published in Paperback by Eden Studios, Inc. (05 December, 1997)
Authors: Eden Studios, Charles "Will" Borrall, Steve Bryant, Richard Dakan, Jason Felix, C. Brent Ferguson, M. Alexander Jurkat, B. C. Trombley, Heather McKinney, and John Nadeau
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My work on this book!
Hello,
My name is Scott Neely and I liked the spot illustrations that I drew for this book. It has an X-Files feel to it and is a great supplement to the role-playing game. Enjoy!
Scott

Under the Aegis
The Conspiracy X rpg is one of the coolest around, and the Aegis organisation definitely needed a source book of its own. And here it is. It has loads more stuff on Aegis, including some cool new skils 'n professions. The stuff on Aegis rocks, and the advice on operations and tactics has helped my players get further into character. All in all, an invaluable addition to any Con X player's/GM's library.


After Auschwitz: History, Theology, and Contemporary Judaism (Johns Hopkins Jewish Studies)
Published in Paperback by Johns Hopkins Univ Pr (1992)
Author: Richard L. Rubenstein
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"After "After Auschwitz"
To say that this text is one of the most influential works of theology in general, and on Judaism in particular, is no understatement. With the publication of this book's first edition in 1966, the author single handedly created the discipline of "holocaust theology" and began a debate among Jews and Christians about the causes of this catastrophe and it's processes, that continues to this day.

The most widely commented and controversial assertion in the book was that the Holocaust proved that "God is Dead" or more accurately that the traditional notion of God as a loving, caring protector of the Jewish people, was in the light of the catastrophe, no longer tenable. This idea, eventually lead the author to experiment with and praise Buddhism, for it's notion of God as "empty", an idea which is also found in Jewish mysticism, known as the Kabbalah.

The author demonstrates great personal and theological courage in articulating the true issues concerning the Holocaust, and also in revising his original text a generation later, with the issuance of this superb second edition. This book covers all the developments in Israel, the U.S. and Europe between 1966-92 that the first edition could not foresee, and provides the "theological jumping off point" for those theologians, such as this writer who followed him.

That "jumping off point" is his assertion, that the Holocaust is only comprehensible in dumstruck silence as a mystery. or as traditional Jewish theology would have it, as a punishment. He finds the first course preferable to the second, since he states he would be unable to believe in a God who would punish millions of innocent Jews so horribly, for a cause he cannot or does not identify.

However, for this writer Rubenstein's inability to answer the dilemna he raises, is a critical issue, for answering this question well, and articulating it properly, are at the heart of whether it is possible to remain a Jew in this day and age. For my part, I was able to identify culpable Jewish behavior, words, thoughts and actions which could very well, from a mystical standpoint, have precipitated the Shoah as it is known in Hebrew.

My discussions of these issues occurs in my recent book, "Jewish History and Divine Providence: Theodicy and the Oddyssey" available here on Amazon.com. However, if all this writer did was to answer Rubenstein's conundrum, "Jewish History" would have only been half finished. I also work to explain the processes of divine providence which operate behind Jewish history, and how the Jewish poeple can avoid the pitfalls which lead to such massive destruction.

Rubenstein's 1992 edition of After Auschwitz is first rate popular and academic scholarship, but essentially it ends with a question. Post-Holocaust writers such as this reviewer, are as much if not more content, with answers than more questions.

Frightening--and therefore a must-read.
In this (much) revised edition of the original After Auschwitz, Rubenstein provides not only some of the theological and social implications of the legacy of the Holocaust, but also looks to the future of Jewish theology.

Most memorable--and certainly one of the best ways to approach reading this book is to use this as a starting point--is Rubenstein's radical reconsideration of covenant. In this, Rubenstein's revised work still stands among the Death-of-God theologians of the mid- and late-sixties (Altizer, etc.) in its rejection of "that" God who either could not or would not, but certainly did not save the victims of the Holocaust. And while his more-or-less continued rejection of the status of the Nazi's mass-murdered victims as martyrs is questionable and certainly uncomfortable, this is entirely in keeping with the theological position of the work. Also keeping with his theological position as it has developed is Rubenstein's suggestion that Jews will either assimilate or reaffirm traditional perspectives on covenant--if only because no other theological resources exist in the classical Jewish texts.

Still chilling--and a must-read for anyone interested in post-trauma theologies--is the chapter discussing Rubenstein's meeting with Dean Gruber.

My only problem with the book has little to do with the quality thought or consistency--it is an astounding combination of methodological rigor and very profound theological reflection. I do think, though, that the continued emphasis on process theology and the yet-unrejected Death-of-God thought as it is reflected in Rubenstein's personal theological statements (particularly the extended discussion of the Ground-of-being) is not sufficient for a religious community. However, Rubenstein admits as much, and it is unfair to disparage him for his obviously very well thought out opinions.

Excellent and, for individuals who believe or do not believe, a necessary work for comprehending the implications of the Holocaust.


The Algiers Motel Incident
Published in Hardcover by Random House (1968)
Author: John Richard, Hersey
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Detroit Racism Comes Alive
John Hersey needs no raves from me. At chronicalling the major events of the 20th century in living prose he has absolutely no peer. In this book he focuses in on the entire racist system acting in one chilling incident of the Detroit Riot of 1967, in which the police, trapping several people of mixed ethnicity tortured some of them, murdered others, and could not be brought to justice.

The book told the untold truth about what happen that night!
I am the niece of Carl Cooper, and I am glad that John wrote the book! I was told that John may have been killed over the book. The book told the truth about white cops in those days. My grandmother (Carl Cooper's Mother) has never been the same since my uncle's death. When he died it took apart of her that she will never beable to regain.


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