Read this book, when I was too young to understand the real meaning... Then, after feeling nostalgic towards my childhood, I ran into it again. Changed (or maybe reminded me) some paradigms in life. Must read it to understand in a simple description: love, death, eternity, peace, friendship and inmensity. The small things that turn life into something whole.

This product features two audio tapes. One each on Johnson and Carter. Robert Dallek and Hendrik Hertzberg are the speakers. Their speeches from 1995 show great knowledge and insight into their respective Presidents.

Hendrik Hertzberg was a speech writer for President Carter during his last two years in office. Hertzberg is a good speaker and often used humor to describe Carter and his administration. Hendrik describes Carter well. He portrays him as a loner and someone opposed to pomp and glitter. He also stated that Carter was no idealogue. Rather he handled issues one by one as they arose. And he spread himself too thin. Hendrik descibes some of the major events of the Carter Administration. The Panama Canal Treaty, the Israeli/Egyptian peace talks and the failed Iranian hostage rescue mission. Hertzberg portrays Carter as a courageous moral leader. But he also shows that Carter was not a great political leader.

Robert Dallek is a successful author and he shows here that he is also a good speaker. Dallek studied Lyndon Johnson thoroughly and clearly understood him. He states accurately that Lyndon Johnson was a complex man with a seemingly contradictory personality. Dallek quotes several stories about Johnson to show his sense of humor and his temperament.

Dallek provides data about Johnson's popularity over the years. As President, his approval ratings were good. As an ex President he's less popular. Dallek gives three reasons why he thinks LBJ's popularity has fallen. His assessment is probably correct.

Dallek then proceeds to rate Johnson as a President. He gives LBJ high marks in the realms of vision, pragmatism and consensus building on domestic issues. And he states that Johnson was very successful in passing his bills through Congress. Dallek provides a whole list of good bills which Johnson pushed through. In summary, Robert Dallek's assessment of Lyndon Johnson and his Presidency is very accurate and well informed.

The 22nd Massachusetts Infantry was raised through the efforts of Republican senator Henry Wilson. It met its first trial by fire at Yorktown. Later, the regiment suffered tremendous casualties at Gaines' Mill. The regiment, part of the Fifth Corps, was engaged at Malvern Hill, Shepherdstown, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg, the 22nd Massachusetts and the 2nd Company Massachusetts Sharpshooters, which was attached to the regiment, were engaged in the wheatfield, near the Rose woods. In 1864, the regiment served in the Wilderness and Spotsylvania battles, losing a large portion of its rank and file. Due to its heavy losses throughout the war, the 22nd Massachusetts Infantry earned the distinction of being one of Fox's "Fighting 300" Union regiments. Included is information about the 2nd Company of Massachusetts Sharpshooters and the 3rd Light Battery, both of which were attached to the 22nd Massachusetts.

I can see Doug Carter is a fan. He has all the LPs. The problem is he's not a writer. A small book to begin with, Carter jumps from item to item without the least development, often repeating himself, never clarifying.
He doesn't delve into the music at all; he doesn't shed light on anything that has made Jackie such an enchanting mystery to this day. "Inteviews" with people who knew Jackie all sound monosyllabically the same.
I'm from Detroit, yet I saw Jackie only once. He means an awful lot to me. "Lonely Teardrops" is out of print so, despite the title (I find nothing in common between Jackie and Elvis), I thought I'd try Carter's book.
Now I've gone back and found "Teardrops" has just "limited availability." I'm trying to get it now...

This book is about 2 of my favorite artists - Jackie Wilson and Elvis Presley.As much as Jackie Wilson could be referred to as "The black Elvis",the reverse is also true.Both of these men loved and respected each other and really,were influenced by each other.The book is great.If you are a Jackie Wilson and/or Elvis fan,you will love it.

Author Doug Carter throws everything but the kitchen sink at you in this detailed account of the late, great Jackie Wilson. Carter navigates the reader through Jackie's youth
activities - ranging from street corner singing to Gold Gloves boxing champion - his first contract (with Billy Ward and The
Dominoes), his solo career with Brunswick and Nat Tarnopol, the failed marriages and endless affairs. Of the latter, one affair led to a shooting incident which nearly killed Jackie, while another led to the killing of Jackie's lady friend.

The author carefully recounts the story of a man who mixed too much play with work, too much escapism with his sorrow and too much naivete with trust. It was Wilson's naivete which led to his split with Barry Gordy. His trust in Nat Tarnopol would lead to eventual professional and personal decline.

Wilson is too frequently associated with the tragic onstage heart attack which ultimately left him comatose for 81/2 years. Likewise, his musical legacy should exceed the endless renditions of "Higher And Higher" and "Lonely Teardrops".

Wilson should be remembered for being one of music's true pioneers, the likes of which are a dying breed. Musicians like Aretha, Elvis, Van Morrison, Smokey,
Marvin Gaye, Springsteen, Pendergrass, and LaBelle have Jackie to thank for his stage presence, soaring vocal gymnastics, and crowd integration. Thanks to an author like
Doug Carter, Jackie's musical contribution is introduced (and reiterated) to legions of music fans everywhere. Must Read material!!

A Review from BLACK PEARL: The Journal of the College of Thelema (Vol. I, No. 71, March, 2000). Copyright 2000, College of Thelema (permission by editor granted Amazon Books to use). With its campy sci-fi cover featuring a leggy woman, a rocket ship, and the Enochian alphabet, the tone is set for this long overdue biography of Jack Parsons, the man at ground zero of what we now consider the modern "arts" of rocketry, science fiction, and magick. In this treatment by John Carter (pseudo-nym), Parsons comes across as a compulsive and restless spirit who, in his short lifetime, attempted to reconcile these seemingly strange bedfellows - with varying degrees of success. Seeming almost gossipy at times, the book reads with deceptive ease for a biography, due in large part to its lack of in-depth background information on Crowley and related occult theory. Though brief histo-ries of the O.T.O., Enochian magick, and the like are given, the reader is wisely referred to other sources, thereby avoiding what could easily become a massive and confusing tome where the import of Parsons' contributions would be lost. This makes Sex & Rockets a treat for those with a knowledge of Thelema and the esoteric. By the same token, this allows the casual reader to enjoy all the "good stuff," supplementing their knowledge as they see fit. Ultimately, I am inclined to agree with the author that, at the end of the day, Parsons' contributions to rocketry are vastly underrated and those to the occult overrated. However, I think that Parsons' approach to Thelema, and the occult in general, was highly subjective and, taking into account his own personal demons, his methods may gain merit as time goes by and may even become considered innovative. The book culminates in the chapter "Death and Beyond," a veritable avalanche of tangential relation-ships and events as diverse as UFOs and Beat Culture, leaving one with much food for thought. Knowledgeable, well researched, with great photos, and not a little scandalous, this book is seminal. - GREG FIORINI

John Parsons made some of the most important contributions to science in the 20th century, yet he had a dark fascination with the occult. This book reads very much like Hollywood Babylon -- lots of juicy and shocking details -- but essentially it skims the surface and doesn't explore Parsons' psychology. Why would a brilliant scientist involve himself with the fantasy world of the occult? I myself have read The Book of Lies by Crowley, and some of his other work, yet none of it has convinced me magick is a worthwhile pursuit. Parsons himself never really got any of these rites to work, so why did he faithfully continue on this path? In spite of this book's lack of depth (or an answer to this question), I found it to be an enjoyable read. Always fascinated by the hijinks of the church of Scientology (not yet formed when the events of this book took place), it was amusing to read the true account (as opposed to the Churh of Scientology's account) of L. Ron's affiliation with Parsons -- also bravely told in Bare-Faced Messiah, now sadly out of print but available on the net. The book contains a good selection of photographs, but could use more footnotes. Anyone interested in Parsons, Crowley or Hubbard should find this book interesting.

Sex And Rockets: The Occult World Of Jack Parsons is the engaging, highly recommended biography of John Whiteside (Jack) Parsons, a primary architect of modern rocket science and co-founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Parsons (who had a crater on the dark side of the moon named for him) had dark, secretive interests which overshadowed his outstanding public career for Parsons underwrote Aleister Crowley's "Book of the Law", held numerous soirees celebrating science fiction, and performed weird black magic rituals under the eyes of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. After being investigated by the FBI and become estranged with the United States government, Parsons met his death when a mysterious explosion leveled his home. Sex And Rockets is riveting reading, enhanced with Parson's never-before-printed writings and period photographs.

i felt this book had a false image of true indian life. it gave only negative images.

This is an excellent book. It captures the reality of life in an Indian village in Mexico during the 1950s and 1960s. The author spent considerable time in the highlands of Chiapas doing anthropological fieldwork, and his fictional work captures many of the aspects of ladino/Indian relations which continue to plague Mexico to this day. If you want a good, emotive background to the Zapatista rebellion, this is it! Also highly recommended: Wilson's fictional account of the Tzeltal uprising of the mid 18th century "A Green Tree and a Dry Tree"

I saw Wilson Goode give a speech around ten years ago during which he discussed both the details of governing a city and what he viewed the future role of cities to be in some detail. When asked by audience members about some of the more dramatic events during his mayoralty, he referred them to what was at the time his new book, IN GOODE FAITH. I've been meaning to read the book ever since but didn't get around to it until recently. I may be the only person in America with no connection to Philadelphia to read this book this year, but it was worth the wait and sure enough was a "goode" book.

Which is not to say that it was a great book. Unlike the speech I heard ten years ago, this book is light on the details of governance and the nuts and bolts of running a city. An unexpectedly large amount of space is devoted to Goode's life before becoming Mayor. This proves to be an interesting story, though it wasn't why I read the book. Goode is at his most optimistic describing his rise to prominence.

But too often Goode descends into finger pointing and blame passing. He does not hold back from criticizing anyone and just about everyone, including people who otherwise seem to be his allies. For instance, Goode is pretty harsh when describing former Mayor Bill Green, who shared his philosophy of governance and named Goode to the highest appointed post in the City's government. Goode later expresses his belief that his own campaign workers were "playing both sides" while helping him win elections. Virtually every appointee of his mentioned in the book, or candidate he endorsed for other offices, are depicted as incompetent, insubordinate, corrupt or otherwise suspect. Goode seems so ungrateful towards his own allies and subordinates than the overall impression is that the man had poor judgement at best.

Goode is also short on describing accomplishments as Mayor after about a year and a half in office. The largest sub-story of the book is the bizarre MOVE drama, which culminated in the police actually bombing a house, setting an entire neighborhood on fire. Goode seems genuinely upset about this event, but passes just about all the blame to lying, conniving subordinates. Goode actually describes himself as a "victim" in the same sentence with others who died during the incident.

Goode's post-MOVE mayoralty was marked, at least according to this book, by failure after failure. Others in politics with motives Goode has no respect for wielded the "real" power in Philadelphia, while Goode seems by his own description to be standing on the sidelines. He seems especially bitter that some of his reforms seem to have been implemented by some of his rivals after he left office. Finally, Goode does little boosting of his City. Philadelphia seems like more of a mountain for him to climb than a place he feels genuine affection for. Never does he explain what he likes about Philadelphia.

Despite Goode's negativism and lack of policy-orientation, the book moves along and is genuinely dramatic - even suspenseful - in parts. It's not a story I knew much about before reading the book, but it a worthwhile story to read. I'm still waiting to read more about Goode's vision of the future role of cities that he touched on in that speech ten years ago, but IN GOODE FAITH was an interesting diversion.