Amazon.com
As a scientist, Albert Einstein is undoubtedly the most epic among 20th-century thinkers. Albert Einstein as a man, however, has been a much harder portrait to paint, and what we know of him as a husband, father, and friend is fragmentary at best. With Einstein: His Life and Universe, Walter Isaacson (author of the bestselling biographies Benjamin Franklin and Kissinger) brings Einstein's experience of life, love, and intellectual discovery into brilliant focus. The book is the first biography to tackle Einstein's enormous volume of personal correspondence that heretofore had been sealed from the public, and it's hard to imagine another book that could do such a richly textured and complicated life as Einstein's the same thoughtful justice. Isaacson is a master of the form and this latest opus is at once arresting and wonderfully revelatory. --Anne Bartholomew
Read "The Light-Beam Rider," the first chapter of Walter Isaacson's Einstein: His Life and Universe.
Five Questions for Walter Isaacson
Amazon.com: What kind of scientific education did you have to give yourself to be able to understand and explain Einstein's ideas?
Isaacson: I've always loved science, and I had a group of great physicists--such as Brian Greene, Lawrence Krauss, and Murray Gell-Mann--who tutored me, helped me learn the physics, and checked various versions of my book. I also learned the tensor calculus underlying general relativity, but tried to avoid spending too much time on it in the book. I wanted to capture the imaginative beauty of Einstein's scientific leaps, but I hope folks who want to delve more deeply into the science will read Einstein books by such scientists as Abraham Pais, Jeremy Bernstein, Brian Greene, and others.
Amazon.com: That Einstein was a clerk in the Swiss Patent Office when he revolutionized our understanding of the physical world has often been treated as ironic or even absurd. But you argue that in many ways his time there fostered his discoveries. Could you explain?
Isaacson: I think he was lucky to be at the patent office rather than serving as an acolyte in the academy trying to please senior professors and teach the conventional wisdom. As a patent examiner, he got to visualize the physical realities underlying scientific concepts. He had a boss who told him to question every premise and assumption. And as Peter Galison shows in Einstein's Clocks, Poincare's Maps, many of the patent applications involved synchronizing clocks using signals that traveled at the speed of light. So with his office-mate Michele Besso as a sounding board, he was primed to make the leap to special relativity.
Amazon.com: That time in the patent office makes him sound far more like a practical scientist and tinkerer than the usual image of the wild-haired professor, and more like your previous biographical subject, the multitalented but eminently earthly Benjamin Franklin. Did you see connections between them?
Isaacson: I like writing about creativity, and that's what Franklin and Einstein shared. They also had great curiosity and imagination. But Franklin was a more practical man who was not very theoretical, and Einstein was the opposite in that regard.
Amazon.com: Of the many legends that have accumulated around Einstein, what did you find to be least true? Most true?
Isaacson: The least true legend is that he failed math as a schoolboy. He was actually great in math, because he could visualize equations. He knew they were nature's brushstrokes for painting her wonders. For example, he could look at Maxwell's equations and marvel at what it would be like to ride alongside a light wave, and he could look at Max Planck's equations about radiation and realize that Planck's constant meant that light was a particle as well as a wave. The most true legend is how rebellious and defiant of authority he was. You see it in his politics, his personal life, and his science.
Amazon.com: At Time and CNN and the Aspen Institute, you've worked with many of the leading thinkers and leaders of the day. Now that you've had the chance to get to know Einstein so well, did he remind you of anyone from our day who shares at least some of his remarkable qualities?
Isaacson: There are many creative scientists, most notably Stephen Hawking, who wrote the essay on Einstein as "Person of the Century" when I was editor of Time. In the world of technology, Steve Jobs has the same creative imagination and ability to think differently that distinguished Einstein, and Bill Gates has the same intellectual intensity. I wish I knew politicians who had the creativity and human instincts of Einstein, or for that matter the wise feel for our common values of Benjamin Franklin.
More to Explore
Book Description
By the author of the acclaimed bestseller Benjamin Franklin, this is the first full biography of Albert Einstein since all of his papers have become available.
How did his mind work? What made him a genius? Isaacson's biography shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. His fascinating story is a testament to the connection between creativity and freedom.
Based on newly released personal letters of Einstein, this book explores how an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk -- a struggling father in a difficult marriage who couldn't get a teaching job or a doctorate -- became the mind reader of the creator of the cosmos, the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom and the universe. His success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marveling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a morality and politics based on respect for free minds, free spirits, and free individuals.
These traits are just as vital for this new century of globalization, in which our success will depend on our creativity, as they were for the beginning of the last century, when Einstein helped usher in the modern age.
Customer Reviews:
A well orchestrated mix of personal history and revolutionary scientific discovery.......2007-10-09
A story of amazing power of reason in Einstein's early years but in the later years a sad story of his reason being foiled by of all things, scientific observations ("spooky" ones to be sure). When he died Einstein was still struggling with the idea that..."The reasonable thing just doesn't work.".
Excellent!.......2007-10-09
Excellently written and researched book. Very fascinating and engaging.
Even the scientific discussions were easy to understand.
I highly recommend this book.
A Must Read.......2007-10-07
A wonderful book which gives full and equal weight to both the man and the ideas which made him great, as well as the lasting place of those ideas in the history of scientific thought, if not of human thought itself. And on that latter point, the reader's debt to Isaacson is undoubtedly primarily for his continuing emphasis on Einstein's modus operandi: thought experiments, by which through the exercise merely of pure thought and a perspective unhampered by received wisdoms, a man was able to change millennia-old views of how we viewed the universe, and by extension, changed the universe itself. Whose thinking could remain uninfluenced by such a display of the power of thought?
Absolutely Fantastic.......2007-10-03
This biography reads like a story, creating suspense and other emotions that you experince while reading fiction. Einstein provides great insight into Einstein's mind and life. Highly recommended.
Greatest Book Ever on Einstein.......2007-10-03
I am 75 years old and have read over a dozen books on Einstein and his work, including his own. This is the best book ever on the personal life and tribulations of a great scientist as he trys to get his work done. With all the flaws and worts of a human the scientist struggles on.
Average customer rating:
- Planet Earth.
- Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before
- A Great Coffee Table Book
- magnificent
- Glorious
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Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before
Alastair Fothergill
Manufacturer: University of California Press
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Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series
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![Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series [HD DVD]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000MRAAJW.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Planet Earth - The Complete BBC Series [HD DVD]
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Ocean
ASIN: 0520250540 |
Book Description
A visual odyssey that will change the way we see our planet, this remarkable book, companion to the acclaimed Discovery Channel/ BBC series, is an enduring and awe-inspiring record of one of the most ambitious natural history projects ever undertaken. Using the latest aerial surveillance, state-of-the-art cameras, and high definition technology, the creators of Planet Earth have assembled more than 400 stunning photographs of wondrous natural landscapes from around the globe, including incredible footage of the rarely spotted, almost mythical creatures that live in these habitats. Many of the images reveal inaccessible places that few have seen and record animal behavior that has never been filmed or photographed before. With the help of this highly advanced technology and the world's premier wildlife photographers, the book takes us on a spectacular journey from the world's greatest rivers and impressive gorges, to its mightiest mountains, hidden caves and caverns, and vast deserts. Planet Earth captures breathtaking sequences of predators and their prey, lush vistas of forests viewed from the tops of towering trees, the oceans and their mysterious creatures viewed from beneath the surface, and much more--in a magnificent adventure that brings unknown wonders of the natural world into our living rooms.
Copub: BBC Worldwide Americas
Customer Reviews:
Planet Earth........2007-08-14
Wow!!! my 8 year old loves this DVD. Very interesting to watch. Does have some parts that my 8 year old has a trouble watching, this is the section of life and death in the food chain. Otherwise highly recommended, in HD DVD is Awesome....
Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before.......2007-08-10
I have not had a chance to even break the seal on this new book as yet. I skimmed this book at a bookstore, and then decided to buy it. If you saw the mini-series on Discovery or Animal Planet, you will be impressed with this book as well. For those with children, this book is a must.
A Great Coffee Table Book.......2007-08-04
A great companion book to the dvd series.
magnificent.......2007-07-30
Amazing photos and wonderous facts regarding everything imaginable to the unusual. Our family has enjoyed this educational and spellbinding photography.
Glorious.......2007-07-27
Beautifully photographed and informational, this book should be on every nature lover's shelf. The "Planet Earth" series, which I watch weekly on Animal Planet, is even more jaw-dropping. I thank the generous and unbelievably courageous people who have the cojones to make this possible!
Julie Townsend
Metairie, LA
Book Description
The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban's backyard
Anyone who despairs of the individual's power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan's treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools—especially for girls—that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson's quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.
Customer Reviews:
Wow.......2007-10-07
Simply the most moving story I have ever read. This will renew your faith in humanity.
This is a life changing book.......2007-10-06
I have recommended (and given) this book to many of my friends and all three of my book clubs. Some people found the beginning a little tedious but I did not. I enjoyed the background material and have decided that, when I grow up (I'm already 52), I want to be Greg Mortenson. I admire him and think his wife must be a saint. I learned a lot, and more importantly, felt a lot while reading this book. It is very inspiring. As Americans, we have so much to learn before we offer to help.
Pass it on!.......2007-10-05
Three Cups of Tea is an outstanding and inspiring story. It is the true story of a mountain climber who finds a village in Pakistan and sets out to create positive change in one of the most remote areas of the world. Helping poor communities build self sufficient schools is the peaceful way to fight terrorism in our world today. Read this book and be inspired.
hope for this earth.......2007-10-05
I hope that people around the world will read this book and realize what one person can do to help create more educated and hopefully more peaceful citizens. If Americans support this educational effort now, I believe our grandchildren will reap great rewards. This book has made a difference in my focus.
A must read - for parents and teachers!.......2007-10-05
I was skeptical at first, but I could hardly put this book down. I was sneaking in pages at every chance I got. I finished the book in just a few days. It is powerful and motivating book. It makes me value what I have and at the same time strive to serve a part of the world I had practically ignored. I am buying copies for my friends.
My only critique is that I wish it came with a map, with dots at all the schools. The author wrote about this school map in his head - and it helped him feel less alone.
Book Description
“Thousands of people have written to tell me that I am wrong not to believe in God. The most hostile of these communications have come from Christians. This is ironic, as Christians generally imagine that no faith imparts the virtues of love and forgiveness more effectively than their own. The truth is that many who claim to be transformed by Christ’s love are deeply, even murderously, intolerant of criticism. While we may want to ascribe this to human nature, it is clear that such hatred draws considerable support from the Bible. How do I know this? The most disturbed of my correspondents always cite chapter and verse.”
So begins Letter to a Christian Nation…
www.samharris.org
Customer Reviews:
thin volume that should be required reading.......2007-10-10
The author doesn't belabor any points - but rather is concise and crisp. I wish I had written it.
Concise, articulate and enlightening.......2007-10-09
Bravo to Mr. Harris. This is a must-read for anyone with children who might consider placing them in religious schools. Mr Harris makes the point that religion is propagating fairy tales (at best) and training our children to be scientifically illiterate (at worse). Personally, I couldn't agree more. Between my graduation from a Christian high school to my PhD in Neuroscience, I had to overcome all the illusions taught in my Christian high school and learn how to think critically. Critical thought has led me on a slow but steady journey away from Christian indoctrination and on to free-thinking athesism. Where I have at times struggled to articulate my doubts, questions, rationale and reasons to 'true-believers' (or my parents for that matter) this book does so in remarkable clarity and brevity. Similar to Dawkins "The God Delusion", this book provides excellent tools to fend off the specious arguments of religious people, but it does so with a bit more tact and grace. While I absolutely loved the God Delusion, I would not recommend it to a Christian, as it is certain to offend their sensibilities from the start. Harris's book may actually get through to them (one can hope!).
Quality.......2007-10-08
This is a good, concise response to the many outlandish complaints against the member of society who have no interest in fabricating a diety to explain away their problems. Some points could have used flushing out, but then it wouldn't have been very concise. I recommend this book.
A solid overview of the problems caused by religion and faith.......2007-10-06
Sam Harris' Letter to a Christian Nation is an excellent overview of some of the major reasons why religion (he talks about Christianity for the most part) is negatively impacting American society. People of all faiths I believe will enjoy this terse review of the problems religion causes on all levels of practice, whether you be an extremist or moderate or not a believer at all. Harris does a good job getting to the point and making concepts easy to understand so that even a six year old might be able to follow - it's even comical at times.
I would recommend this book be read by anyone interested in religion or philosophy in any degree, whether you want to just get a preview of some of the topics being thrown around today between religious peoples and atheists, or as a primer that will prepare you for more in-depth books on religion such as Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion.
letter to a christian nation.......2007-10-05
It was so good that I refused to read more than a few pages a night
because I wanted it to last as long as possible.
I only wish it were longer.
Average customer rating:
- "First with the Head and Then With the Heart..."
- growing strong
- A powerful story of courage and change
- Great Novel - but CONDENSED
- A Masterpiece
|
The Power of One (Young Reader's Edition)
Bryce Courtenay
Manufacturer: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0385732546
Release Date: 2005-09-13 |
Book Description
In 1939, hatred took root in South Africa, where the seeds of apartheid were newly sown. There a boy called Peekay was born. He spoke the wrong language–English. He was nursed by a woman of the wrong color–black. His childhood was marked by humiliation and abandonment. Yet he vowed to survive–he would become welterweight champion of the world, he would dream heroic dreams.
But his dreams were nothing compared to what awaited him. For he embarked on an epic journey, where he would learn the power of words, the power to transform lives, and the mystical power that would sustain him even when it appeared that villainy would rule the world: The Power of One.
Customer Reviews:
"First with the Head and Then With the Heart...".......2006-11-08
There are two versions of Bryce Courtney's "The Power of One"; the original version and this, the junior novelisation. The two are quite different so make sure that you double-check what publication you're getting before you order. I would suggest the older version for most readers, since this basically tells the same story in simplified form. However, in Australia and New Zealand, "The Power of One" has reached almost cult-status in terms of popularity, and some younger readers will leap at the chance to familiarise themselves with the story before they are ready to tackle the more complex and violent subject matter of the original. Furthermore, it is a perfect choice for school libraries and/or compulsory reading in classrooms.
Like the adult version, the junior novelisation is concerned with the life of Peekay, a young boy living in 1930's South Africa, coping with racism, tension between the various social groups of the time (the Boers, the English and the Africans) and the growing threat of World War II. This younger version begins in the same place as the adult one, with Peekay being sent to a boarding school in which he is urinated on by his fellow students - a clear sign that Courtney is not prepared to soften the harshness and cruelty of the original book for the benefit of a younger audience. In comparison this story ends after the famous concert at the prison, the moment in which the adult novel really begins.
The junior novel follows Peekay's journey from childhood into earlier adolescence and the beginnings of the adult world, told in significantly less detail and in more simplified language than the first "Power of One". On the way, he makes friends from every race and class, learning the most important truth of his life: to think with his head and then with his heart. In particular, he finds work in a jail, inventing an ingenious way to help the convicts communicate with their families on the outside, and discovers the sport of boxing along with the remarkable idea that you do not have to be the biggest in order to be the best.
Courtney's gift comes from finding the grey areas in each situation, showing us clearly that one race, one country, one ideology is never wholly righteous; goodness can only come from an individual. Near the beginning of the book Peekay is persecuted by Nazi-supporters; later a dear friend of his unfairly is jailed for being a German. Humanity's overwhelming desire to classify and then judge people based on these classifications is never more frustrating than it is here, and it is a lesson well worth learning.
Although this is a more-than-adequate introductory book for younger readers eager to tackle "The Power of One", I would recommend to anyone else over the age of twelve (or any confident reader under that age) that they simply pick up the first (and best) adult version.
growing strong.......2006-02-25
how you can feel with a little boy's hardship in a boarding school and how you hope for his stamina and how you love his intense friendships that bring him on his way.
You really live with that life and that is best a book can do.
A powerful story of courage and change.......2006-01-14
If Bryce Courtenay's The Power Of One sounds familiar, it's because this represents a young reader's condensed edition of a prior hard-hitter which became both an adult classic and an acclaimed movie of the same name. It's great to see such a powerful novel condensed with youth in mind: grades 8-12 will find compelling the story of 1930s South Africa and a boy who faces apartheid and prejudice in a country where his childhood is marked by loneliness and dreams of changing lives. A powerful story of courage and change evolves.
Great Novel - but CONDENSED.......2006-01-07
I have read the Power of One, the unedited version and it is brilliant, inspiring, and brutal - one of the best books I've read. However, this edition that is being sold here, is the Young Reader's edition, which isn't immediately obvious from Amazon's description or the picture. It does say so on the cover, but it's very small unless you enlarge the picture. So, my review gives it a 2 as it may be an unpleasant surprise for those who want to read the actual novel.
A Masterpiece.......2005-12-24
I read this book before the crap movie was ever released, and it's a good thing, too. Whoever says the novel is dead needs to take a look at this. Courtenay has written a brilliant bildungsroman that you literally can't put down. You might even end up re-reading certain passages over and over, such as the boxing match between the protagonist and a Goliath-like opponent. If you have a bright pre-teen, give him this, and I bet he'll enjoy it.
Book Description
From one of the most beloved and bestselling authors in the English language, a vivid, nostalgic, and utterly hilarious memoir of growing up in the 1950s
Bill Bryson was born in the middle of the American century—1951—in the middle of the United States—Des Moines, Iowa—in the middle of the largest generation in American history—the baby boomers. As one of the best and funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat memoir gold. Like millions of his generational peers, Bill Bryson grew up with a rich fantasy life as a superhero. In his case, he ran around his house and neighborhood with an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons)—in his head—as "The Thunderbolt Kid."
Using this persona as a springboard, Bill Bryson re-creates the life of his family and his native city in the 1950s in all its transcendent normality—a life at once completely familiar to us all and as far away and unreachable as another galaxy. It was, he reminds us, a happy time, when automobiles and televisions and appliances (not to mention nuclear weapons) grew larger and more numerous with each passing year, and DDT, cigarettes, and the fallout from atmospheric testing were considered harmless or even good for you. He brings us into the life of his loving but eccentric family, including affectionate portraits of his father, a gifted sportswriter for the local paper and dedicated practitioner of isometric exercises, and OF his mother, whose job as the home furnishing editor for the same paper left her little time for practicing the domestic arts at home. The many readers of Bill Bryson’s earlier classic, A Walk in the Woods, will greet the reappearance in these pages of the immortal Stephen Katz, seen hijacking literally boxcar loads of beer. He is joined in the Bryson gallery of immortal characters by the demonically clever Willoughby brothers, who apply their scientific skills and can-do attitude to gleefully destructive ends.
Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, and full of his inimitable, pitch-perfect observations, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is as wondrous a book as Bill Bryson has ever written. It will enchant anyone who has ever been young.
Customer Reviews:
We laughed so hard we almost drove off the road........2007-10-07
My husband and I listened to this book on cd while on a long car trip. It was great. We laughed so much, I had to keep turning it off so we didn't crash the car. A must read for anyone who grew up in the mid-west in the 1950's. We didn't and stiil loved it. Bryson has a great delivery and makes it so real. My favorite Bryson book, so far. We gave our copy to a friend and bought another for a co-worker.
reminicent of "The Christmas Story", very enjoyable and funny.......2007-10-03
I read this specifically for the historic recollections of the 50's era, and the fact that the jacket reviews indicated "snort-root-beer-out-your-nose funny". I don't often laugh out loud while reading, and I did several times through this book. It reminds me of a print version of "The Christmas Story" movie, without the BB gun and with a lot more detail. Bryson's command of language is engaging and quite intelligent, the book was an easy read and wasn't boring. This is surprising given Bryson's admission that he wasn't a great student. My only complaint was that I wanted more. I plan to read his other works asap.
Not Bill Bryson's best.......2007-09-24
I am a Bryson fan and have been since his first book. This one is good, mind you -- funny, well written - but NOT as good as his some of his others. I was a tad disappointed, but still think the book is worth buying. So, buy it.
Deserves a Read.......2007-09-09
For a child of the 40s and 50s, this book will serve to recall better times. Bryson gets a little 60s' preachy in spots, but they are not overwhelming. When you put this book down, you are left with a slightly sad feeling that life as experienced in the 50s will not be seen again and that today's kids are missing a lot.
Bill Bryson doesn't disappoint.......2007-09-03
Any book by Bill Bryson is a treat, and this one is no exception. It explains a lot about the origins of his strangely skewed viewpoint, and being of approximately the same vintage, I enjoyed revisiting the 50's with him. Of particular interest to me was the account of his beginning friendship with the unlikely character Stephen Katz (from "A Walk in the Woods"). The only problem I have with Bryson's books is that I have to read them at home. Can't take them with me to read in, for instance, the doctor's office because I laugh so long and so loud that it creates too much of a public spectacle, and consternation in onlookers.
Book Description
Bishop John Shelby Spong has been on a life–long quest to rescue the church from irrelevancy. In FREEING JESUS FROM RELIGION'S PRISON, he takes aim at the church's core belief: who is Jesus. He first strips the superstitious barnacles that have attached themselves to this incredible person: such as that Jesus was born of a virgin in Bethlehem, that his father was Joseph, that he did miracles, that he had twelve disciples, and especially that he physically rose from the dead. Next Spong explains how these traditions arose by the early disciples seeing all he did through the lens of the Hebrew Scriptures. With these new revelations, we are then able to see the true Jesus, a heroic figure who revealed divinity through his humanness and can still guide us today. In short, Spong breaks Jesus free from the idol religion has created and restores for us a revolutionary and life–giving figure we all need to meet.
Customer Reviews:
Jesus for the non-Religious.......2007-09-28
This is a great book for those who do not take the Bible as literal words. It will cause you to think and help answer some of the questions that a scientific mind would struggle with. Yet the greatness of Jesus is always present.
The Ultimate Big Surprise.......2007-09-18
This man SPONG is a liar; a modern example of Christ's 2000 year old Warning to those who would be better off with a millstone around their neck at the bottom of the sea than to be leading unwary Souls astray with their books and speeches of elegant lies.
I have not read this book. The reviews tell me all I need to know about it. I have browsed other books like this one in libraries and at The Remainder Tables in bookstores. All such books are strange brews of self-absorbed spiritualism and humanistic poppycock; admixtures of scientific and spiritual jargon formulated to tickle the itching ears of New Age Devotees. The words of Audrey Hepburn's Liza Doolittle apply here: "Just you wait 'Enry 'Iggins, just you wait."
The truth about Jesus.......2007-09-02
I have not gone to church for the past 50 years becuse I cannot believe what they say about the Bible and Jesus. I feel anyone with any sense of history could not accept what churches want their members to believe. Bishop Spong (who has researched the bible extensively) corrects and explains the passages in the bible so one can easily understand his way of thinking
excellent .......2007-09-01
The merchanidze is absolutely in perfect condition and the delivery was also prompt. will call this company again. Thank you for your excellent service.
Who's Authority Are You Under?.......2007-08-31
I can't help but notice all the "21st Century Christians" phrases throughout the reviews and even the book summary. Why is this made relevant to the bible? Why do people think that, we have to change and adapt as time goes on? God does not change.
What happened to 2 Timothy 3:16? "All scripture is breathed out by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness."
What does scripture say? Is it the truth? Is it God breathed? If it is, then it's the perfect foundation to lay your faith on, because it will never fail you. If it isn't, than you can't just pick and choose parts of the bible that seem fitting, because they are still all man made. All you are left with is experience, and experience should NEVER validate truth.
Read John MacArthur!
Book Description
An unprecedented account of life in Baghdad’s Green Zone, a walled-off enclave of towering plants, posh villas, and sparkling swimming pools that was the headquarters for the American occupation of Iraq.
The Washington Post’s former Baghdad bureau chief Rajiv Chandrasekaran takes us with him into the Zone: into a bubble, cut off from wartime realities, where the task of reconstructing a devastated nation competed with the distractions of a Little America—a half-dozen bars stocked with cold beer, a disco where women showed up in hot pants, a movie theater that screened shoot-’em-up films, an all-you-could-eat buffet piled high with pork, a shopping mall that sold pornographic movies, a parking lot filled with shiny new SUVs, and a snappy dry-cleaning service—much of it run by Halliburton. Most Iraqis were barred from entering the Emerald City for fear they would blow it up.
Drawing on hundreds of interviews and internal documents, Chandrasekaran tells the story of the people and ideas that inhabited the Green Zone during the occupation, from the imperial viceroy L. Paul Bremer III to the fleet of twentysomethings hired to implement the idea that Americans could build a Jeffersonian democracy in an embattled Middle Eastern country.
In the vacuum of postwar planning, Bremer ignores what Iraqis tell him they want or need and instead pursues irrelevant neoconservative solutions—a flat tax, a sell-off of Iraqi government assets, and an end to food rationing. His underlings spend their days drawing up pie-in-the-sky policies, among them a new traffic code and a law protecting microchip designs, instead of rebuilding looted buildings and restoring electricity production. His almost comic initiatives anger the locals and help fuel the insurgency.
Chandrasekaran details Bernard Kerik’s ludicrous attempt to train the Iraqi police and brings to light lesser known but typical travesties: the case of the twenty-four-year-old who had never worked in finance put in charge of reestablishing Baghdad’s stock exchange; a contractor with no previous experience paid millions to guard a closed airport; a State Department employee forced to bribe Americans to enlist their help in preventing Iraqi weapons scientists from defecting to Iran; Americans willing to serve in Iraq screened by White House officials for their views on Roe v. Wade; people with prior expertise in the Middle East excluded in favor of lesser-qualified Republican Party loyalists. Finally, he describes Bremer’s ignominious departure in 2004, fleeing secretly in a helicopter two days ahead of schedule.
This is a startling portrait of an Oz-like place where a vital aspect of our government’s folly in Iraq played out. It is a book certain to be talked about for years to come.
Customer Reviews:
Pretty close to the truth...sorry to say.......2007-10-09
I was working at the CPA during the time the author covers in his book. I think I may have been at some of the meetings he describes. He captures the sense of the CPA, a bunch of well-intentioned, hard-working people without much of a clue about how to run an occupation in an Arab country. These were heady times and we believed we were birthing a new democracy. Few of us were equipped to pull it off and the split between DoD and the rest of the US and coalition governments doomed us from the start.
I was there!.......2007-10-06
I did a tour at the American Embassy in 2006, after the events recorded in "Imperial Life." It was fun being able to read about details of the Republican Palace, then go to that particular feature and see it for myself. More importantly, I could put what I read into context, both in the Embassy and in Iraq itself. Even though the CPA no longer occupies the Green Zone, the isolation of the military and state department staff from events occurring around us was similar to what happened to the CPA in "Imperial Life." Most staff (military included) rarely leave the the Green Zone making the average non-Iraqi resident unaware of what goes on beyond the walls. If you want to understand what living in the Green Zone is like, and why progress is slow in Iraq read this book.
Timely information.......2007-09-23
"Imperial Life" is honest, first hand, information. The author has a good grasp of the subject, of the surroundings and above all, of reality. He is able to pick up the essentials and deal with them without exaggerating his importance or his role. He is a well informed man, as he should be. The book is very well put together, and a pleasure to read. It is above all, timely. This means, regretably, that its importance shall pass, as the events he decribe will give in time place to "new improved" versions. The importance for historians to come and to serious readers will not be diminished.
Worse than a civil war; because most civil wars include some ethics........2007-09-18
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the reasons we are involved in Iraq. It is a personal account from a journalist who travels out of the green zone to get an inside look. The critical message I got from this book is that we shouldn't dictate how the people of Iraq should run their government. Rajiv Chandrasekaran with the Washington Post reports on the life of people involved with the CPA and their attempts to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure. His book outlines a critical perspective and helps to answer many questions. "Iraqi's needed help (good advice and ample resources) from a support of corps of well meaning foreigners, not a full scale occupation with imperial Americans cloistered in a palace of the tyrant, eating bacon and drinking beer, surrounded by Gurkhas and blast walls." Why should Americans be so concerned about Iraq being a democracy? Where the officials are debating over western ideas to propegate the policies of modernizing Iraq; In the shadow of a war torn country without the bare necessities for survival. The CPA who (couldn't produce anything) poisoned Iraq's politics and had big ideas of rebuilding Iraq, but couldn't provide essentials like: Safety for the Iraqi people, electricity, water, and adequate health care. You could argue both sides of this issue, but I think this book paints a very good portrait of life in the green zone.
POV from up close and personal on war.......2007-09-14
Chandrasekaran was Baghdad bureau chief for the Washington Post when the American troops invaded Iraq. Imperial Life in the Emerald City chronicles life in the Green Zone based on his experiences and what he gleaned from his countless interviews. The time period covered is roughly from the first days of the U.S. invasion to Bremer's departure in 2004.
It is a tale of cronyism, hubris, myopia, incompetence, and well-intentioned people not having the appropriate resources (training, information, human or material resources) to perform their duties. It is about inter-governmental in-fighting, and about how political loyalty trumped experience (often with disastrous results). It is a story of how disconnected those leading the rebuilding effort in Iraq were with the Iraqi people and how imposing their ideals in Iraq resulted in greater unrest. It is a paradigm example of how failing to plan resulted in planning to fail.
The book would have been hilarious, except that the stories - as incredible as they are - are true! Knowing that this work is non-fiction makes it sad. Rick (Fiasco), Stewart (The Prince of the Marshes), Packer (Assassin's Gate), Woodward (State of Denial) and others seem to concur that the U.S. government has grossly mishandled the efforts in Iraq. Unfortunately, the price has been lives (both American and Iraqi, both civilian and military) as well as Iraqi and U.S. national resources.
Chandrasekran writes in the first person, and his writing style is easy, straight forward and engaging. Interspersed between chapters are vignettes on life within the Emerald City (a.k.a. Green Zone, "Imperial Life" refers to life under Bremer's rule). Chandrasekaran does not pass judgment; he merely reports what he saw and learned from his interviews.
Examples of ignorance, ineptitude, and denial litter the pages that at times I could not bear to read any more. It was difficult for me not to get appalled and angry at the egregious decisions that were made. After reading this book, most readers would agree with the Iraqi leader Chandrasekran quotes as saying "The biggest mistake of the occupation was the occupation itself, pg. 290."
Armchair Interviews says: First-hand reporting well done in this book.
Book Description
In this provocative book, author, consultant, and church leadership developer Reggie McNeal debunks these and other old assumptions and provides an overall strategy to help church leaders move forward in an entirely different and much more effective way. In The Present Future, McNeal identifies the six most important realities that church leaders must address including: recapturing the spirit of Christianity and replacing "church growth" with a wider vision of kingdom growth; developing disciples instead of church members; fostering the rise of a new apostolic leadership; focusing on spiritual formation rather than church programs; and shifting from prediction and planning to preparation for the challenges of an uncertain world. McNeal contends that by changing the questions church leaders ask themselves about their congregations and their plans, they can frame the core issues and approach the future with new eyes, new purpose, and new ideas.
Also available: The Present Future DVD Collection (978-0-7879-8673-5), Reggie McNeal's DVD presentation of the ideas and insights featured in his best-selling book.
Customer Reviews:
The New Church.......2007-09-11
Excellent book which speaks to the problems the modern church faces. Gives specific information and direction to deal with current issues. I have found this work tremendously useful in advocating change for the church I serve as pastor.
One that must be read........2007-07-25
This book explores the emergent church culture. The book's focus is on missional living within a ever changing culture. The books deals with the changing paradigm of modernism to postmodernism. Some church leaders would consider this book radical, but this book is helpful in providing a proper perspective on reaching out in faith. It is a plea to change churchianity into Christianity. Because of the influence of mega-church culture, we have been seduced into selling Christianity like a product on the open market, the book presents a way to authentically change the community for Christ.
Church Transformation.......2007-05-24
While many will be turned off by the author's strong language and seeming 'over stating' of the case; most of what McNeal says and recommends rings true. The church in North America is dying and dying rather fast as seem by the exodus of members and churches from the major denominations. If you are a leader - and especially a pastor - in a church you need to study this book (preferable with the rest of your team) and seriously consider what and how you are going to respond to the new world order. Unlike the Boomer Generation who have `grown up' and for the most part taken their responsible position in leadership in the ministries of the church, this current last generation (Millenniest or Matrix) are not likely to do that. They are looking for something better and God may indeed pass by the North American Church to accomplish His purpose in reaching the entire world with the Love of Jesus for the Glory of God.
The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church.......2007-05-15
Excellent book! SO HELPFUL!
Thought Provoking.......2007-05-13
This book will challenge you as it unfolds the truth of many churches in North America. At times you will want to stop reading and toss it to the side. Other times you find yourself in total agreement. Reggie demonstrates great courage as he asks questions most Christians don't want to ask about their church. The DVD series is even better as it presents the same tough questions through the caring style of Reggie McNeal.
Average customer rating:
- Left in limbo by The Places in Between
- The Places In Between
- Highly recommend - a Bold look at a slice of Afghanistan
- Excellent book
- Beyond good!
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The Places In Between
Rory Stewart
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
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ASIN: 0156031566 |
Book Description
In January 2002 Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan-surviving by his wits, his knowledge of Persian dialects and Muslim customs, and the kindness of strangers. By day he passed through mountains covered in nine feet of snow, hamlets burned and emptied by the Taliban, and communities thriving amid the remains of medieval civilizations. By night he slept on villagers' floors, shared their meals, and listened to their stories of the recent and ancient past. Along the way Stewart met heroes and rogues, tribal elders and teenage soldiers, Taliban commanders and foreign-aid workers. He was also adopted by an unexpected companion-a retired fighting mastiff he named Babur in honor of Afghanistan's first Mughal emperor, in whose footsteps the pair was following.
Through these encounters-by turns touching, con-founding, surprising, and funny-Stewart makes tangible the forces of tradition, ideology, and allegiance that shape life in the map's countless places in between.
Customer Reviews:
Left in limbo by The Places in Between.......2007-10-01
If you are into a lot of facts about history and culture, then this might be the book for you. As for myself, I felt like I was reading college history and sociology textbooks. So many facts, with little or no human connection to Rory Stewart, or the people who accompany him on his trek across Afghanistan. Stewart writes early on in the book, "I feel like I have been preparing for this all my life". To me that is a powerful statement, which in my opinion Stewart never really expounded on, and in the end could have made this book a little more interesting.
The Places In Between.......2007-09-28
Well written and exciting journey that a brave man wrote about. Very good reference to the differences between villiages and provinces encompassed by the overarching history of the country.
Highly recommend - a Bold look at a slice of Afghanistan.......2007-09-08
This book is a fascinating and easy read for anyone looking to learn about Afghanistan.
The audacity of what Rory Stewart does in this book is amazing. Walking from Herat to Kabul across central Afghanistan relying on the hospitality of the local in each village he passes through. It is not a comprehensive look at Afghanistan but a first hand micro level look at life in a select few Afghan villages. At the same time, he throws in larger historical and research perspectives. Like all books that I've read about the country, there is a pointient sadness to what these people have been through.
Excellent book.......2007-09-05
I recommend to anyone who has a burning desire to know what Afghanistan is really like... My husband was deployed to Afghanistan in 2005. He doesn't talk much about it so I started looking for a book to help me understand how the local people live, and if they really are as barbaric as the news and media leads on. This was it...
Beyond good!.......2007-08-13
If you really want to understand something basic about Afghanistan, read this book. I have read columns by Rory Stewart in the NYT and thought he was a very clear thinker, so I bought this book. This man is an amazingly accute observer of his environment and brings a great deal of wisdom to bear on his subject.
But don't think this book will be chore to read! It is a real page turner.
One of the best books I have read in a year.
Read it!
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