Hank Williams said very little about his life outside of his haunting lyrics. Since he left so few interviews behind, there were plenty of people who were willing to fill in the gaps with their own self-serving myths. Bill Koon slices through all of these myths to find the truth of Hank Williams' life. Hank has been portrayed as a saint and a sinner, but Koon shows that Williams was somewhere in between. Overall, he was a troubled man with natural talent, and this well-written book clearly shows that. Hank Williams, So Lonesome, is a triumph, and Bill Koon should be applauded for doing such a fine job. I highly recommend it.

Theophane's writings of full of piercing insights into the human condition and the path to union with God. Theophane is a guide along the Bhakti path, pointing out it's pitfalls and the essentials needed for success. I have read this book over and over again and each new reading I glean many new insigts.

George Washington Williams was a nineteenth century black Christian, who wrote "from a love for the truth of history". Imbued with a sense of a Christian progression of history, Williams states that racism is "a sad commentary on American civilization," but did not view racism as a defining characteristic of American society. This view spawned the criticism of twentieth century black writers such as Garvey and Dubois.

Williams was born in 1849 of racially mixed parentage and was a Union Soldier, Baptist minister, and Ohio State legislator. In preparing the history, he "consulted over twelve thousand volumes and thousands of pamphlets" (1:vi). One thousand works are referred to in footnotes and its conceptualization and methodology are similar to the work of Robert Benjamin Lewis. This monumental epic divides the history into two segments. The first half is devoted to African origins, slavery in the colonies and the Negro during the revolution. The second volume focuses on the nineteenth century and deals with such topics as the Negro participation in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Social and cultural history are covered in each volume.

Williams declares this history is necessary because he "became convinced that a history of the colored people in America was required, because of the ample historically trustworthy material at hand; because the colored people themselves had been the most vexatious problem in North America, from the time of its discovery down to the present day; because that in every attempt upon the life of the nation, whether by foes from without or within, the colored people had always displayed a matchless patriotism and incomparable heroism in the cause of Americans, and because such a history would give the world more correct ideas of colored people, and incite the latter to greater effort in the struggle of citizenship and manhood". (1:iii-iv)

The work is moralistic in tone and contains a futuristic assessment of Africa as "taking its place among the modern nations of the world once it is Christianized."

Having come to the America and entering the Christian fold, blacks become shapers of their own history. They resisted slavery and became poets, scientists, soldiers and property owners. Williams concludes his history on this optimistic note: "Race prejudice is bound to give way before the potent influence of character, education and wealth" (2:551-52).

Captain George Kittredge's book is named for only a small part of his incredibly exciting life in the world of submarines. He served in WWII in both surface combat, then the submarine force. His time spent with the diplomatic corps is exciting and very humorous at times. The later years he spent designing and building midget submarines bring to light a whole different aspect of his underwater adventures and round out his underwater career.

In The Footsteps Of George Washington by William G. Clotworthy is combines a brief and unusual biography with a travel guide to some 300 publicly accessible sites associated with the life of America's first president. From his birthplace and childhood home, to sites associated with his business, military, and political achievements, In The Footsteps Of George Washington is a unique compendium which is especially appropriate for vacationers seeking to get in touch with the personalities, events, and places most closely associated with the founding and development of the American nation. Indeed, the travels of George Washington took him from a frontier settlement in the Potomac Valley where he worked as a surveyor, to his military battles up and down the Atlantic seaboard. George Washington visited more of what was the united States during the years of his presidency, than did any subsequent American president during the 19th century. It was only with the technological improvements in transportation that 20th century presidents would match the travel accomplishments of our Founding Father. Also very highly recommended is William Clotworthy's other book: Homes And Libraries Of The Presidents: Second Edition and Presidential Sites: A Directory Of Places Associated With Presidents Of The United States

This is one of the best UNIX books ever written. Period. It's too bad that New Riders never bothered to update it, as it is kind of dated nowadays. It is still very useful, and not a waste by any means, but an update would be nice. It hits on every major aspect of UNIX and has examples. I have found things in there that I didn't find even in the Nemeth books. This belongs on every UNIX Sysadmin's bookshelf. The next time I ask for some Unix and tech books at work, I will see if this or other used copies are still available and try to get them to buy it. I don't want to take mine to work because I don't want to damage it, and because it is just too big and bulky to carry back and forth.

Oh, and you have to love that cover art.....

This is the first person account of the founder of the Quakers (Society of Friends), George Fox, and it is the best resource for the life and testimonies of Quakers. It is an exciting read full of action, truth and common sense living.

This is a book that changed my life. Not many books can say that. My friends and family also consider it has a lot to answer for.

When a reader approaches a historical novel he does so frequently with some knowledge about the subject. In this case, the subject was Britain's youngest Prime Minister, Pitt the Younger; and the reader, yours truly, knew very little of the subject apart from, of course, what all good little Brits like me learn in school (something vague about youth, the French Revolution, and the fact that Pitt the Elder was a DIFFERENT person). I thought that was all there was to know (or care) about.

Boy, was I surprised.

In fact I was so surprised that I wanted to read more. And when a historical novel does something like that to a reader, then the primary goal of the novelist must have been attained. Some historical novels simper. This one roared. The good ones reach out to the reader. This one positively grabbed and didn't let go, either. The portrait of Pitt was so sympat

This book continues to influence my thinking about society more than any other I've read in the last ten years. Sakaiya's concept of "social subjectivity" as being one of the driving forces in societal evolatuion has provided a frame for thinking about why people behave the way they do, and has lao provided me witha potent pltfrom for fdeveloping my own brand of paradigmatic thinking. This is not an easy read. The first third of the book is an intricately detailed primer on Asian culture history. Sakiya uses this deep histiry to set up the epochal trends that he sees. To a Westerner not schooled in Asian history, it was a tough read because Sakaiya assumed familiarity with some of the historical figures and events that I didn't possess. Yet for me this history opened a lot of avenues in terms of seeing history unfold over a MUCH longer timeframe than the average Amerrcna is accustmoed to or comfortable with. Once Sakiya gets into the present and points to the future, however, the book fairly crackles with unique ideas about the types of fundamental processes and defintions that constitute a "knowledge value society". The core value or operator is nuance. The ability to create nuance, in fasbhion, music, art, or even terrminology, is the source of value in a knwoledge value society. The tools for aiding ion te creation of nuance, and the networks for conducinting nuance are likewise the core utilities in this kind of society.

The authors bravely explore the false dichotomies of much of thinking about change/transformation. In a short, very readable book, they touch on Leadership, Learning and WORKING THROUGH PEOPLE to achieve enduring change. A good place to start if you are tired of the endless fatuous and puerile books which glamourize and dramatise case examples of the same well-worn companies over and over again. They have humbly distilled the essence of what they believe very unselfconsciously into this great book.