"Compadre, I entreat you to do me the favor of taking my son, Antonio, among your troops, that when he is old he may have a tale to tell." This was a request of a certain Escobedo asking Alonso (the younger) de León to allow his son to join the anticipated entrada into Texas in 1689. Although the expedition was intended as a punative military campaign against the French incursion into Spanish domains, the elder Escobedo sensed its historic nature and wished his son to participate in it. Escobedo was right, for this expedition had historic consequences. The 1689 entrada not only opened up a gateway into Texas, but left its mark by giving landmarks and rivers names that are still in use today, and allowed the establishment of missions, presidios and settlements that firmly secured Texas as a Spanish dominion.

Juan Bautista Chapa, native of Albisola, near Genoa, participated in this entrada and chronicled it among other events in his Historia del Reino de León which traces the history and colonization of northeastern Mexico and Texas in rich detail for the period between 1650-1690. Chapa intended his history to be a follow-on to Alonso (the elder) de León's Discourses which detailed the history of this region prior to 1650. Chapa's Historia demonstrates the author's literary acumen through a mournful poem written as a memorial to the dead French encountered in 1689 at La Salle's settlement. This history has become the key contemporary work from which any historical study of this region must begin.

This volume is the first widely accessible and accurate English translation of Chapa's Historia. Elegantly translated by Ned F. Brierley and annotated by William C. Foster, who is becoming known for his welcomed efforts in bringing to the English-speaking world the chronicles of other Spanish expeditions into Texas, this book is a valuable addition to the historiography of colonial Mexico and Texas. Foster provides a cogent and insightful introduction in which he details the history of Chapa's manuscript and an analysis of the history and puts it in context with De León's Discourses. Foster has added De León's previously unpublished revised diary of his 1690 expedition into Texas as well as a listing of the 80 Indian tribes identified in this book. This book is essential reading for all students and scholars of Mexico's far north frontier and Texas. Additionally, the descriptions of the Indians, vegetation, wildlife, and climate in seventeenth-century Texas, will be of interest to ethnographers, anthropologists, and biogeographers. Genealogists of northeastern Mexico and south Texas will also benefit because the book contains some muster listing of the expeditioners-whose many descendants presently carry their names throughout the region and beyond. So names in genealogical trees and pedigrees get fleshed-out and placed in historical context.

What makes this book interesting is that it was written between the murders and the trial. Huie knew who the murderers were, how they did it, and never expected a guilty verdict.

The book introduces you in detail to Michael (Mickey) Schwerener and all the details leading up to his murder. This detail will help you understand exactly why and how these murders took place.

This latest edition includes updates by the author to compare his early speculation against the results of the trial.

As a descendant of one of the heroes of 65th Infantry, I was intrigued on how one of their former Commanding Officers would portray them. General Harris (then Colonel) did not wish to command this outfit and he resented his appointment, then unfairly known as a laid back, disorganized, backwater posting. He tells us how these men changed his outlook from day one of assuming command. These brave men, although barely two platoons strong when he assumed command, held off the best Division that the U.S. Army had to offer on training maneuvers, and the best the North Koreans and the Chinese had during the Korean War. When asked point blank if the puertorricans would fight when the time came, Colonel Harris' answer was just as direct: "My puertorricans will fight anyone, anywhere." They did not dissapoint their CO, becoming the most decorated Batallion of the Korean War. One can only wonder why this Batallion was rarely ever used during World War II.

The book has a few historical errors, all of them regarding Puerto Rico and its culture, and the narrative is sometimes repetitive. That is why I did not rate it as a 5 star book. But overall, it is an excellent military history narrative on one of the most decorated fighting units in the U.S. Army and the only Batallion to be transferred from the U.S. Army onto a National Guard when the time came to deactivate it. These men, along with every other war time hero, deserve our eternal thanks and our admiration for sacrificing their youth in order to preserve Freedom and Democracy.

This is a great book about an outstanding unit. As a "Boricua" i am proud of the deeds of the 65th, they demonstrated what they were made off and never let us down.
On another note the 65th was not a battalion but a Regiment composed of serveral battalions(just a correction to a previous review).

This book exemplifies the spirit of the Puerto Rican soldier. Always willing to give their biggest effort in order to get the job done. It showed the valor and courage of this men. Is a book that every Puerto Rican serving in the Armed Forces should read and feel proud of the men before them.

In "This Far By Faith" Juan Williams and Quinton Dixie illustrate the chronological progression and variations of faith practiced by African Americans from the Middle Passage voyage to the 21st century. The authors wonderfully explain various religions in a non-bias manner. The term "cult" is never used to describe less popular or extreme faiths. Every practiced faith is given equal validation for its worth.

"This Far By Faith" focuses on how blacks have used faith to overcome hardship and become triumphant. The most compelling aspect of the book is the leaders and their supporters. Repeatedly throughout history, religious leaders have used faith to promote unity, separatism, prosperity, education, nationalism, equality, humanity, etc among their followers and in attempts to sway others toward the truth.

"This Far By Faith" Timeline:
·Religious tribal practices
·Slave masters reinforcing slavery through Christianity
·Slaves acclimating to Christianity then forming black Protestant churches, e.g. AME, so blacks would not be subservient worshippers in the house of God
·The role that education played in further developing the black church. The over-emphasis placed on the education lead to the founding of COGIC
·The start and end to several short-lived Christian-based followings.
·As people began to migrate north, new religious figures with (believed) ties to Africa began to emerge. The rise of the Moors and Muslims caused many blacks to rethink how Christianity was introduced to them during Slavery
·The birth and rise of the Nation of Islam
·The role that black churches and the Nation of Islam played during the civil rights movement.
·The movement or freedom for blacks to practice "alternative" religions such as Hinduism or Buddhism
·Modern day black church impact on today's 18 - 34 year old worshippers.
· How the recent surfacing of the 5 percenters aim to explain the state of people in society and faith

The progression is explored through short stories (each chapter ~25 pages). Within the chapter there are gray page stories or inserts to offset specific events, biographies and less familiar religions. At times these mini stories were disruptive to the chapters because they either spanned too many pages or didn't clearly relate to the chapter.

Each chapter shows how individuals truly wanted faith to promote social unity and growth within their own community. The positive intentions to bring people closer to God or Allah and make their secular life better resulted in further division among people. The history of faith and social division are illustrated through the stories explaining why society will never have one agreed upon religion and why there will always be racial division among the same denomination within each denomination.

My only complaint about "This Far By Faith" is how the timeline is rushed or less researched after the height of the Civil Rights movement. The authors provide extensive detail (maybe too much) on the Nation of Islam, black churches, and specific activists during this era but no detail is given to either faith's role in shaping the community or its followers in the '70s and beyond. Black people's faith in God or Allah did not stop with the Civil Rights movement! Subsequent chapters briefly discuss other religions and excessively discuss Kirk Franklin's role in promoting faith among young adults. The authors introduce the reader to the 5 percenters but fall short on clearly identifying the appearance in society - maybe their existence is too short.

Overall, good book to easily understand and learn the history of the various faiths practiced among African Americans.

If you have ever wondered how people who lived during slavery survived, THIS FAR BY FAITH is the book you need to read. It is about how religious faith inspired one of the greatest movements in American history, the U.S. Civil Rights movement. With stories told regarding politics, tent revivals and ministers leading rebellions against slavery, you see how in the most trying of times the faith in God and church can prevail. There are numerous pictures of some of our most prominent black leaders, some you know and some you may not know. There are also pictures of sit-ins, voting, lynching and blacks attending church. We learn of William J. Seymour who started the American Pentecostal movement, Charles Price Jones who founded the Church of God in Christ (Holiness) and Charles H. Mason who started the Church of God in Christ, among many other ministers and political leaders.

THIS FAR BY FAITH is an indepth book about African American History. In this day and age you can't really imagine being in slavery or being told where you can sit, eat or drink. You realize how strong we are as a people to overcome and endure such demeaning treatment. And how our faith in God pulled us through then, and can pull us through now. This is a MUST HAVE for every African American household.

Reviewed by Eraina B. Tinnin
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Learning more about the depth of religious experience in America was a pleasure. I recommend this book both for the perhaps obvious reason--the history of the African-American Church in the United States--but even more for the history of non-Christian religious life which is growing and thriving yet probably is less understood. I await with anticipation William's next project, whatever that chances to be.

The book reads smoothly and contains unique ethnographic information. The book follows a chronological order of events in the civil rights movement. Readers who are interested in an eye witness account of the movement between 1954 and 1965 should purchase this book. It would be appropriate for a high school educational setting.

Most of the stories in this book were familiar to me. But I still found them interesting. The author focuses on some of the lesser known participants to bring some fresh perspective to the stories. Seems hard to believe that the events are only 35 years ago.

Great book ! I was born in 1957 so I wanted to learn about the Civil Rights Movement as it was when I was growing up. This is not only an excellent history, but an incredibly interesting story, and a shocking testament to the injustices the Black people have suffered in America. I learned a lot and gained some insight into this issue.

Thurgood Marshall needs a better book than this one, but in the absence of a more comprehensive, analytical volume, that would be alot longer & cover his thought and his life, this work will have to do. Juan Williams is a very good writer, the prose is "breezy" and the book is a fast read laden with interesting characters & interesting gossip. It shows Marshall's central place in 20th century, indeed US historical, civil rights in various arenas, not just racial justice. He is a very appealing person as well ... someone any reader probably would enjoy having known. I noticed in the forward that Williams was prevented from talking to some of the people closest to Marshall, which is most unfortunate. The book is not an expose but a very favorable view of the man. Marshall's relatives should be kicking themselves for not having shared their views & experiences with Williams. The next biographer will almost certainly be a more critical writer than Williams. Where the book falls down is in its exposition of Marshall's thought & some of the details of his legal work. So we come away, unfortunately, not understanding that Marshall was an intellectual giant, not just a legal-oriented civil rights leader. I enjoyed this book very much but gave it only 3 stars because it is almost entirely missing Marshall's intellectual life.

I (like many people, I bet) usually think of the civil rights struggle mostly in terms of Martin Luther King and bus boycots. This book tells the story of the legal battles that were mainly lead by Thurgood Marshall leading up to and including Brown vs Board of Ed that ended "separate but equal" and the cases after. The book follows Marshall's life to his appointment to a judgeship, the Solicitor General in LBJ's administration to his time on the Supreme Court. However, I found the time period from post WWII to the 60's as the most interesting. The importance of these legal battles is often forgotten. I guess it took MLK to really turn the nation's hearts, but Thurgood was the one who changed the laws. Williams does not deify Marshall and discusses his shortcomings - he was a heavy drinker, cheated on his wives and he his behaviour would be considered sexual harassment today. I am very glad that I expanded my knowledge of the history of the civil rights struggle by reading this book

This is one of the most wonderful books I ever read. Thurgood Marshall is one of the most dynamic figures of the Civil Rights Movement. Williams not only gives an excellent and engaging account of Marshall's life, he represents the time in a manner that easily imagined. I was not alive during this period of time, but reading Williams' book made me feel as though I had experienced it. So often, when an author truly likes and admires his subject, the work that results is biased and not well-rounded. You can tell when you are reading something that is one-sided and too tributory to be accurate. Williams' admiration for this great man shines through in his book; however, it is by no means a song to Marshall. Williams' is fair in his dedication to not only Marshall's courage and brilliance, but also his fallibility and humanity. This is what brings the history to life. When you finish reading this book, you will feel as though you know Thurgood Marshall.

The premise is cute and, oddly enough, believable within the text of the book. However, the book is much too short. The reader is left with the feeling that the author wrote a great beginning and a dynamite ending but didn't know what to put in between. Still worth reading if the high hardback price doesn't daunt you.

This book is awful! I know the fundamentals of programming in Flash and ASP.NET so regardless, if you are advanced or know the basics this book is still AWFUL!!! Trust me do not buy it! The Poll in the first chapter does not even work. I went to peachpress to find the updates for the book and the Poll sill will not work. The book constantly points to the CD and the CD is missing the files the chapter is pointing to. The Poll.XML on the CD does not match that in the book, I mean come on! This was all before I even got through the 1st chapter! ...

... I am sure that some of these examples worked, but only in the head of the author who authored the chapter. I am so upset about this one; ...

I couldn't agree more with the reviews that have already been posted. This book assumes WAY too much knowledge and leaves large chunks unexplained (like the #include .as files that don't even get a mention...)

The layout is sloppy and poorly thought out - eg they have 2 pages of code and THEN they describe what is happening in the previous 2 pages, requiring you to be costantly flicking back and forth. Simply repeating each line of code with its explanation would have made it so much easier to read (authors should check out "OOP with Actionscript" to see how it SHOULD be done).

The code that is included is full of stuff like

gotoAndPlay("whatever");//used to be gotoAndStop

making it obvious that the author hasn't even bothered to clean up their code before slapping it in the book. When covering a complicated topic like this, having comments that reveal the "mistakes" that the author made along the way is confusing, annoying and inexcusable (not to mention very revealing about the amount of effort [or lack thereof] that went into this book).

Save your money

cheers

I came into reading this book with very little Flash experience. All I'd done was simple timeline based flash movies. I chose to read this book to help get an understanding of Flash's capabilities and how to further the skills I had, enabling me to create dynamic content in my Flash movies.

I thought this book was unique in that it didn't get into the hows and whats of Flash, but straight into some very interesting example code. It also doesn't focus purely on Flash, but integrating flash with web application server products like ColdFusion and ASP.

While I'd never be able to create any of these examples on my own, it was quite cool being able to walk through each code example and see how everything works. Some of the Flash code was a bit hairy to follow, but they did attempt to explain it. Rather than learning what the code meant, I just read the comments stating what the code does and moved on. Unless you're experienced in flash, you won't be able to follow the code line for line. However, wading in example apps above your capabilities is a great place to learn.

Each chapter is a different example application, focusing on a dynamic backend. Some use ASP, some use ColdFusion, etc. So you can pick your middleware of choice and they'll be an example here for you where you can view both the Flash code, as well as the code it interfaces with to achieve dynamic content.

I wouldn't recommend this book as your soul source of Flash instruction, but it is a unique book rich with very usable example code. I didn't learn much Flash actionscript from this book, but I did come out of it with a good understanding of how Flash can be dynamic, using XML to communicate back and forth to your scripting language of choice. If that's what you're after, this might be a good book for you.