Smith is not an Indian, although he claims to be. If you know anything about him, you'll know that he might be about 3 % or less Choctaw, but that has not even been documented. Yet he continues to make a huge deal out of it, as if it somehow makes him informed enough to write a book about Indians. The worst thing about this book is that is is told mostly from the white point of view. What is told from the Indian point of view (and there is precious little of that) suffers from Smith's fixation on the Noble Indian idea. Smith includes art from all these white artists who also had fixations on the Savage/Noble Indian...this is the kind of book that white readers will like, because it's not going to make them too uncomfortable. I suggest that Smith lose his white sources and read up on history written by those who were the most affected by the Removal: Native Americans. And get some humility: just because you might have a tiny bit of Indian blood does not make you qualified to write a book about the most humiliating chapter in American Indian history.

"THE CHEROKEE LOTTERY [is] a magnificent sequence that celebrates the Indians of the famous Trail of Tears....This is as fine in its way as similar poems by Robert Penn Warren, and it is an appropriate poem to have been written by a former Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress." --World Literature Today
"Smith accomplishes a remarkable poetry of fact and documentation..." --Publishers Weekly
"The richness of these poems makes the multi-layered task of memory a luxurious task." --Real Change
"William Jay Smith has been one of our best poets for more than sixty years, and THE CHEROKEE LOTTERY is his masterwork: taut, harrowing, eloquent, and profoundly memorable." --Harold Bloom

William Jay Smith was unknown to me as a poet or author before I picked this book up in a local library. "Cherokee Lottery" is an exceptional and refreshing book of poetry, a real pleasure to read. There is nothing tedious and overwrought here. The book begins with an invocation, and obviously the muse served the writer well. Each poem presents a chapter of historical fact and allows the reader to digest it without dipping into excessive negative pathos. The reader is brought to a new awareness of just what the plight of the southeastern Indians was. William Jay Smith has a great feel for language and how it sounds. In many ways I think this is the book of poetry I have been waiting to read for years. Now I want to read everything else he has written.

I will start by saying Liddel Hart is my favorite military historian/author and I own half a dozen books by him, and regard them as gospel. However I felt that Liddel Hart was not as well versed in this area as he is in European History. He lets his ingrained contrariness run away with him. He wants to create a "great captain" where there is none. He also, I believe, wants to convince the reader of the genius of the "inderect approach" which he expounds in his excellent book "Strategy". However I think considering Sherman's campaign as indirect is like calling D-Day indirect because the allies invaded Normandy as opposed to Calais. ( I must admit that I am biased because I am a Lee fan) Like every other book by Liddel hart though, it is a very quick and pleasant read. I would recommend his book on Scipio as a great intro to his work.

Sherman was both the most original genius of the Civil War, and "the typical American". His career provides lessons to the modern world and to modern warfare. It was his conscious exploitation of the economic and psychological factors of war in his "March through Georgia" which helped to end the Civil War. The long and expensive battles in Northern Virginia were replayed on the battlefields of France in the Great War.

The Union attempted to take Richmond by the shortest and most direct route; but this way was blocked with natural obstacles. If the Confederates fell back they would be closer to their reserves, supplies, and reinforcements. These facts favored the entrenched defenders.

The western campaign ended in the capture of Vicksburg and control of the Mississippi from St. Louis to New Orleans. Liddell Hart contrasts the maneuvers here to the stalemate back east. But the conditions, or politics, did not allow a wide flanking invasion through West Virginia or North Carolina. The threat to Richmond kept Confederate troops there. Longstreet proposed an invasion of Kentucky, a far flanking attack, but was turned down by Lee.

It explains how Sherman out-maneuvered Johnston from Chattanooga to Atlanta. By threatening to outflank Johnston, the Confederates fell back. His replacement by Hood did not prevent the capture of Atlanta. This revived the hope of victory for the North, and helped to re-elect Lincoln.

Sherman then abandoned his supply and communication lines (vulnerable to attack) and marched on to Savannah and the ocean. His army lived off the land. This enabled his army to be resupplied by the Navy. He then marched north, seeming to attack other cities, but passed between and continued to destroy railroads and bridges.

The end came soon after this, as other armies invaded the South. Sherman designed an armistice and amnesty where the Confederates would be disbanded, and their arms turned over to the states. The latter would allow repression of bandits and guerillas. He was criticized for this.

Sherman was a man of modest habits. When admirers raised [money]to buy him a house, he refused to accept unless he received bonds that would pay the taxes! He lived within his means. The resisting power of a state depends more on the strength of popular will than on the strength of its armies, and this depends on economic and social security (p.429).

Liddell Hart gave preference to contemporaneous correspondence rather than Official Reports (which are written for history to justify a policy). Some of the ideas in this 72-year old book may not coincide with more recent history.

Dispite reading most of major accounts of the American Civil War, I had not fully understood the central role played by Sherman until reading Hart's book. Hart makes it clear that Sherman's appreciation of the futility of attacking entrenched positions and his consequently developed strategy and tactics turned the tide for the North, saved the 1864 election for Lincoln, and saved perhaps tens of thousands of Union and Rebel lives. He also points out that the same insight accounts for most of Lee's success, i.e., Lee won battles in which he entised the North to attack entrenched positions (e.g. Fredricksburg) and lost when he attacked entrenched positions himself (e.g. Gettysburg). Hart fully disposes of the long held prejudice that Sherman's approach to war was more inhumane than the alternative of massive blood letting being practiced by virtually every other Civil War general. It is rare to find a historical account containing so much insight.

This is really a good book for Java Developers who wish to develop XML based applications. Couple of chapters have good examples and explains concepts in a very clear format. Also the book is upto date with all the latest concepts in XML world.

I have been working with XML for a while now, and this book offered a great coverage of most aspects of what XML application developers need to know. I am not able to keep up with everything happening in this very broad part of the industry - and this book provided enough coverage of the areas I'm not able to focus on on a regular basis to help me stay current. I'd recommend it for anyone who's working with specific areas within XML and want to stay current with the broader scope of what is going on. I'd also recommend it for anyone who is new to XML and wants to know the various Java APIs out there.

This is surely one of the Best Books availale in Market for Java Developers. I have been waiting to read a Book which covers all the latest XML API and how use them using latest Java Tools. Thanks to Wrox Publications for bringing this book to us. It covers how to do XML programming using all the latest Java API line I/O Sockets, Developing Presentation Logic, Developing Configuration and Deployment logic, Using XML in B2B applications. In short no other book in Market provides such a clear understanding of how to develop Java Based XML Applications.

Also it clearly explains how to use the latest Java Based XML Parsers like Xerces, Xalan and more. Friends if you need to get upto date with all the latest Java Based Parsers and different XML API, then this Book is really the Best one.

First off - Irene wasn't in the series yet. She wouldn't show up until the third book (Homework Machine.) It may well be that's why this and Desert Island were first, to get them out of the way.

According to my parents, space flight did indeed seem a hundred years away in 1956. I'll have to take their word on that. But all the same, the way they got the ship to fly doesn't seem all that outlandish (though like Star Trek-style beaming, it would require a LOT of energy) particularly for when it was written.

And like most of the rest of the series (read my review for Smallifying Machine) it did a wonderful job of explaining basic science to its audience. I still remember (my mother had the original hardback from her childhood) the illustration of the ship over Mars - looking at its surface, with Phobos a jagged rock in orbit above it, and being awed by that and other things out in space.

You can forgive the bang-up ending - the authors would get better with time on that. It may be a bit dated now but it offers an interesting perspective.

Few stories, much less story series, can be remembered as vividly over the years as can the Danny Dunn books - a tribute to the authors and their product. In this story Danny and the usual cast (less Irene, who no doubt was absent due to morality standards of the day) are inadvertently launched into space through the an accident with the wondrous anti-gravity paint. Despite the initial mishap, all seems to be going well until the spacefarers discover that they cannot activate the switch that will return them to Earth! Once again Danny must rise to the occasion and save the day before it is too late.

As with all the Danny Dunn books, readers are painlessly introduced to science concepts while reading an absorbing tale. Although some of the ideas in the story seem a bit dated now, the plot development and characters make this story an excellent selection.

Danny Dunn! One of the best children's book serieses of all time. I guess I'll review all of them that I can remember. They are indeed Hard To Find these days. But I recommend them all, if you can find 'em.

This one is about a trip to space via Anti-Gravity Paint, with Professor Bullfinch, Danny, Joe, and the irascible Dr. Grimes. You sort of feel the lack of Irene to complete the chemistry, but oh well. I love this stuff.

... the reviews for King Henry VIII by William Shakespeare (and all their other books as far as I can tell) as if different editions have the same content - obviously in the case of classics that is far from true.

... 3 editions of Henry VIII at this time: (1) Hardback edited by Gordon McMullar published in November 2000 (2) Paperback edited by Jay L. Halio published in September 2000 (3) Paperback edited by R. A. Foakes published in February 1998

Their editorial reviews describe ALL 3 of these editions as "This is the first fully annotated modern-spelling edition of King Henry VIII to appear for over a decade and includes up-to-date scholarship on all aspects of the play, including dating authorship, printing, sources and stage history." I don't think so! The reader reviews don't distinguish the editions but they are the same reviews posted for the different books. I wish I could contribute the answer but I am still trying to figure it out -- in the meantime, purchase cautiously or you may be disappointed.

Shakespeare managed to describe the later life of King Henry the eight, with much intelligence and gracefulness. This play, written centuries before, has captured my attention unlike any present-day play or novel. King Henry VIII was based on the life of the notoriously known King Henry the eight of England. To my dismay, only two of King Henry's wives were mentioned. This play showed how King Henry's life was never truly complete: he couldn't trust anyone, he was unfaithful to the Lord, his wives and his country, and he was never blessed with a son, to be heir to his throne. For myself, the climax of the play was viewing how the king dealt with the change of wives and the birth of his daughter, Elizabeth. The play King Henry VIII by William Shakespeare is a wonderful recommendation for anyone who wishes to understand the tidings of King Henry the eight from a fictitious, historical, personal point of view, rather than from historical facts.

This was an appropriate conclusion to Shakespeare's career. Not only are the characters such as Henry VIII, Cranmer, and Wolsey convincing, but the poetry and images are beautiful. In addition, through the fall of several characters such as Wolsey, we can see reflections of Shakespeare himself as he wrote his 37th and final play. It is also poetically appropriate that one of the greatest writers England ever knew ended his career by writing a play about one of the greatest kings that England ever knew! I DO NOT believe that Shakespeare only wrote parts of this play as many people do. With the beautiful images, poetry, and captivating characters, I am very confident in the belief that this play was written entirely by the one and only William Shakespeare.

Smith's Collected Nonsense is a cute book, and I'm sure children love it, as well as those of us adults who like light and nonsensical verse. It's well worth the money and the time. But Smith isn't one of the heavyweights like Shel Silverstein or Dr. Seuss, or X.J. Kennedy, or even a Nancy Willard. There were many pieces that weren't funny or that Smith missed the punchline or the poem just fizzled out. And a few are there to show how clever Smith is. Still many of the pieces were enjoyable as were most of the illustrations. I say if you are buying for a child, pick it up. If you are buying for an adult, go with one of those listed above.

Highly recomendable book of silly verse, light and fun. I have sent copies as gifts - a sure cheerer-upper!

This is an excellent book for beginners in accounting or business who need to understand how accounting works and what the basic principles of accounting are about. It is an extremely easy book to read ( I tell people it takes less than 50 minutes to read the entire book), yet very informative. If you want the basics of accounting, this is a good, quick book. If you are looking for depth of theory and practice, get a more thorough book.

This is the first book I remember reading as a child. It was great and encouraged me to a lifetime of reading. The adventures of Danny Dunn swept me away to an exciting adventure with every page. I can't wait for my boys to read it.

Danny, Joe, Professor Bullfinch, and, yes, everyone's favorite, Dr. Grimes, are stranded on an island when their plans go wrong--their plans to be stranded on separate islands! Old-school storyline, new Danny twists. And plenty of great Joe lines, as I recall.

Shakespeare fans are in for a great surprise. I was enthralled at the idea of listing down analogies from Shakespeare's works onto organisational management concepts. And not exactly in a humorous sense. The book was great reading for a one-flight journey. Some analogies like the one about Murphy's Law seemed contrived but you have to give it to Jay for equating Shakespeare with the likes of Scot Adams and other pioneers of economics and management concepts... Also serves as a fairly complete reference guide to own, for those who read parts of Shakespeare and said "Oh even in that era, the business fundamentals were the same, and Shakespeare sure appreciated them"!