A five-star political narrative history of the leading statesman of the nation after the passing of Henry Clay, but a four-star biography as it barely touches the subject's domestic life. However, the author has painstakingly accounted for almost every political act of Douglas, who the reader discovers was the only possible savior of the Union in 1860. His electoral failure was the failure of the nation to understand what the disastrous consequences would be - a total civil war willingly initiated by abolition and secession extremists. Although as racist and expansionist as most of his contemporaries, his political motives were of the purest democracy (as he understood it). His constant attempts to get the nation's attention away from slavery and back on nation-building were futile was were his attempts to find a compromise on the eve of war. His anguish at seeing his beloved nation and party fall apart brought on his untimely death which left a 25-year void in the leadership of the Democratic Party. A great read for antebellum political junkies!

Johannsen's work will stand forever, it seems, as the authoritative study of Stephen Arnold Douglas, the man who almost alone carried the Jacksonian banner of democracy and union through the decade of American disintegration leading up to the Civil War. The views of Jackson and Douglas, in broad strokes, still today inform political thought in this country and around the world as recognizable elements of their philosophy turn up in "The Third Way" movement of moderation and political pragmatism that is sweeping the globe. A critical figure in American history and present, Douglas receives fine treatment at the hands of Prof. Johannsen, and is seen as much more than the anti-Lincoln that so many ill-informed people believe him to be. Indeed, Lincoln was little more than a gadfly, an anomaly for much of his career. His election was a fluke. Douglas' entire life bespeaks his status as the everlasting statesman that he was and Johannsen is a master at showing this.

Having read this book, I find myself much less mystified by the sometimes-nonsensical operation of computer-like networks over telephone-system infrastructure. Dr. Walters does a superb job of explaining the fundamental thinking behind the 100-year-old telephone-technology evolution and how it contoured itself to meet the required level of service in an optimum fashion. He further explains the quality and type of service required for computer networking and how it significantly differs from that of telephony.

Steve laces the book with sufficient simple examples, humor, and genuine technical detail to make the book an enjoyable learning experience for just about anyone with an interest either telephony or global computer networking. This book is valuable for engineers and a must-read for investors.

Having read The New Telephony in great detail I conclude that this book is a useful, timely and comprehensive guide to the state of the art in the telephony industry. The author has a rare ability to translate complex problems and concepts into easy to understand descriptions that highlight the essence of the issues. He walks the reader through the key elements and developments of both traditional telephone networks and the Internet and builds on this to contrast the emerging "new" telephony with that of traditional "old" telephone networks and their operators. Refreshingly, this is not just a book about technical communication protocols and standards. The book also highlights the importance of operational issues, wiring, billing, regulatory, reliability, economics, inertia and competitive drivers. It provides the reader not only with an understanding of the key technologies but also with an appreciation of the drivers that motivate service providers to apply these technologies in their networks. The book then contrasts different views and scenarios on how the New Telephony may take shape in the market place. As the Foreword by Lucky concludes "It is rare that these [different] views come together in one book, but here they do, for all of us to ponder and appreciate".

I am prompted by Pete's review of The New Telephony to respond. This is not a novel nor is it meant to be exciting. It is a thoughtful technical book. I am happy to hear the 6th grade students in NSW Australia might find the ideas presented in this book as fitting to their level of education. If this were truly so it would shame our graduate students for they might have to struggle with some of the ideas and concepts included in this book. Dr. Walters does take pains to try and make these complex transmission concepts, standards and methods clear and understandable. He blends both the science and the engineering showing not only the how but the why it must be so. To summarize the current state of telephony is a difficult task because of the broad range of topics entering into every consideration. Dr. Walters develops the ideas and thoughts so that the current state of telephony makes sense...at least as to its reasons for being so.

This book, in my estimation is a must read for anyone currently concerned with almost any aspect of telephony.

David L. Favin

Ernest Fischer did an excellent job of blending information about the personal and political life of a largely overlooked Texas patriot. Fischer has managed to keep the book both intersting and factual from the standpoints of Potter's womanizing personal life and his firebrand political life in early Texas, using primary references. Like the other founders of the Republic of Texas, Potter's life had rough spots that many would see as flaws. After being kicked out of the U.S. House of Representatives for castrating two men suspected of dallying with his wife, and displaying other personal character flaws Potter went to Texas for a new start in life. Fischer details how much Potter contributed to the formation of the government of the new Republic and the organization of its Navy.

Fischer has provided the researcher in Texas Navy history with many little known but important facts not likely to be found in other published books. It is also very readable by both researcher and lay reader, written in an elegantly simple yet factual style.

I would rate this book with four and a half stars if it were possible. This book is a must-have for anyone researching the Texas Navy, or just looking for an interesting read on what life and politics were like in early Texas.

This book is really bad. Dry, long, small type, Don't buy it

"The Lincoln/Douglas Debates" is a collection of speeches and debates that two candidates for the U.S. Senate in Illinois, Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, held in the summer and fall of 1858. This edition is a fantastic anthology of transcribed debates that focused on the issues of slavery, popular government, and popular sovereignty. It is interseting to notice how Lincoln gains in prominence as the debates progress and the extent to which both of these men discuss important moral and constitutional issues in the setting of small towns in Illinois. This text is absolutely essential for understanding the Civil War as well as American history and politics.