A fine quality art book to be enjoyed by all the family. A must have!

The Diary of Gonda Redlich is an enlightening tale of life and death within Theresienstadt, the "resort" or "paradise" concentration camp of the Jewish Holocaust. Throughout the course of the diary, we see Theresienstadt from the first hand experiences of Gonda, the head of children's affairs and the transports. We learn of all of the great cultural activities of Theresienstadt, while we learn of the transports east to Auschwitz, the greatest death camp of all. The first hand experiences and writings of Gonda provide envaluable information to any serious historian of the Jewish Holocaust. Can any person read this book? Must you be a historian? No, I believe that this book can be read by anybody. It is a timeless tale of life (with the birth of Gonda's son and the activities in Theresienstadt) and death (Gonda eventually was sent to die in Auschwitz) in the final solution. It is first hand proof for the world of the horrors and sometimes joys in the Jewish Holocaust.

I'm a photographer not easily impressed. This book is simply the best rendering of this breathtaking, little known part of Texas that I've seen. The essay is well written and together with the photography makes for a classic.

Three-toed Sloths is out of print. People interested in number books might like Numerical Intrigue (formerly, Numerical Allusions), by Laurence Urdang.

I've read pretty much all of Connors' trading books and was not disappointed with this last one. Building on his VIX research, he has developed a good suite of strategies to help pinpoint changes in S&P trend. I have found success with the Connors VIX Reversal I-V strategies and can't wait to use the CVR 6-11 strategies I just learned. His backtests show that the CVR is nearly 70% correct! For those of you unfamiliar with the VIX, it is basically a measure of fear in the market, more specifically, it "reflects a market concensus estimate of future volatility based on at-the-money quotes of OEX options." Basically, when you have a high relative VIX reading (high volatility) then you can expect an imminent sell-off. When you have a low relative VIX reading (low volatility) then you can expect a quiet rising market. Check it out. It's short but sweet.

This book, The Traitor, is a fantastic book. I read it in two days and could not put it down. It's, in a nutshell, about a Chinese-American boy named Joseph Young who wants to be fully American.Joe's a miner who misses San Francisco, where he used to live before the immigration laws threw him and his father out. In the adjoining town of Rock Springs is a boy named Michael Purdy. Mike is shunned due to his not having a father. Michael and Joseph find sanctuary in Star Rock, their weekly meeting place. Meanwhile, Mike's town is a Chinese hating society, so they band together one day to kill all the Chinese out of spite. The book is based on actual events, and if you're like me, anything with to do with Chinese culture or historical fiction draws you in. Hope you like it!

This book is part of an excellent 5 book series dealing with democratization. In this particular tome, different perspectives are used to explain the transition from authoritarianism to democracy. The importance of international actors, bureaucracies, entrepreneurs, the military, and economic conditions are examined to explain how transitions take place. Although some perspectives are county specific, all of them can be expanded to explain many cases around the world. All of the authors are experts in the field and the essays are highly readable.

This book which is a collection of some writings edited by Guillermo O'Donnell, Philippe Schmitter, and Laurence Whitehead is published as the result of international meeting/conference titled 'Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Prospect of Democracy in Latin America and Southern Europe.' In fact, there are four books as the result of the conference. This book particularly took the Latin American case (Latin America's experience in democracy) as its main stress. By researching the differences of Latin America's domestic characterizations (either socio-political or historical) which, to some extent, opposed to Southern Europe's characterization, and the influence of international factors, some of the writers arrived at the same conclusion. The conclusion is that the prospect of political democracy in Latin America is not so bright, or at least worse than in Southern Europe. The differences are, first, the higher degree of military's interference in politics in Latin America than in Southern Europe. This fact made the transition projects more difficult, at least in two things, the possible existence of political revenge of the democratic regime to the former authoritarian regime and too many issues and institutions under military's control as the authoritarian regime was in power. Second, the comprehension of ideas of democracy is more ambiguous in Latin America than in Southern Europe. Political democracy is more understood as manifested in "left and populist parties" rather than in the accountably institutional order of representation and aggregation. Third, higher economic and educational inequality in Latin America, which is the heritage of the former authoritarian rule, than in Southern Europe. This fact marked the fragility of democratic regimes. If they fails to overcome this inequality, it is likely turning back to the authoritarian rule. Fourth, the absence of formally political pact in Latin American transition. This fact caused the inadequacy of cooperation among the political actors, which in turn brings about the deficiency of legitimacy of the democratic regimes. This Latin America's experience in democracy actually resembles the experience of other developing countries. Those factors mentioned above are also inherent in the developing countries. Thus, by reading this book we can, at least, get the picture of prospect of democracy in other developing countries.

This live performance recorded at the Mencken Concert Hall in New York City is extraordinary.
Laurence Houseman (1865-1959), was a prolific writer and wrote several plays centered around Queen Victoria. This is an adaptation of two of them, "Victoria and Albert" (1933), and "Victoria Regina" (1934), and it also includes private and public writings of the queen and her prince consort.

Queen Victoria was a strong, temperamental character, and few men could have withstood being her consort with as much grace as Prince Albert. Being a sober and temperate man, he was a good balance for her, and of course, it was a rare and wonderful affection that flowed between them for 22 years.

The incredible wit in these readings will have you howling with laughter. One of the funnier parts concerns her dislike for small children. Albert was a much better "mother" to their nine offspring, and her descriptions of an infant are hilarious !

Julie Harris and Richard Kiley are totally brilliant. I can't imagine a more perfect performance, capturing all the love, humor, and strength of these two remarkable, complex people who changed the course of history.
I've always been fascinated by Victoria and Albert...I feel there is much more substance to them than what seems to be the current "fashionable" opinion, and for anyone who shares that interest, this tape is an absolute must to listen to.

This is an excellent history of Germany during World War I, with particular emphasis on the social history of the people, especially the middle classes. The treatment goes beyond merely and the diplomatic and military history of the war