Time and Chance

Book Description

This book is an attempt to get to the bottom of an acute and perennial tension between our best scientific pictures of the fundamental physical structure of the world and our everyday empirical experience of it. The trouble is about the direction of time. The situation (very briefly) is that it is a consequence of almost every one of those fundamental scientific pictures--and that it is at the same time radically at odds with our common sense--that whatever can happen can just as naturally happen backwards.

Albert provides an unprecedentedly clear, lively, and systematic new account--in the context of a Newtonian-Mechanical picture of the world--of the ultimate origins of the statistical regularities we see around us, of the temporal irreversibility of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, of the asymmetries in our epistemic access to the past and the future, and of our conviction that by acting now we can affect the future but not the past. Then, in the final section of the book, he generalizes the Newtonian picture to the quantum-mechanical case and (most interestingly) suggests a very deep potential connection between the problem of the direction of time and the quantum-mechanical measurement problem.

The book aims to be both an original contribution to the present scientific and philosophical understanding of these matters at the most advanced level, and something in the nature of an elementary textbook on the subject accessible to interested high-school students.

Customer Reviews:

This book is one of the best on the subject........2007-05-09

I couldn't stand to see this book with such poor user reviews. One can see the academic reviews are stellar. This is the best book on time that I have ever read. It is not pop-science, it is an academic work on the foundations of physics and time. As such, it is not an easy book to read, despite the fact that it is well-written and anyone should be able to follow it if their mind has not atrophied. It is not easy because it presents in almost full glory all the problems most physicists ignore with respect to questions concerning the role of time in modern physics. I gave this book four stars because I thought it was missing (2) things. One - epistemic motivation for the past hypothesis, Two - Convincing arguments that QCD time-reversal symmetry breaking doesn't really matter for the questions discussed. Anyone who thinks this is a poorly written book should survey the other literature on the topic for comparison. Dr. Albert has tackled a difficult subject with a degree of intellectual integrity and honesty uncommon in physics so don't complain if you have to think because that is the purpose of the book. I have read this book repeatedly and learn something new almost everytime I open the book. I thouroughly disagree with his attempted resolution of time-reversal invariance and entropy increase through the past hypothesis, in particular since the epistemic motivation for the past hypothesis admits necessarily of no non-circular verification. I still maintain he has done an excellent job in writing this book and the poor user reviews should not prevent anyone from reading it. Expect to read it slowly at least twice and to have to think and you will know more about time than most physics PhD's.

Don't take a chance with your time on this book.......2005-03-26

The title is aptly chosen. Time and chance. You'll loose out of both on this book. Try the book The Direction of Time. It is a much better written book. It is amazing that Alberts actually earned his degree in anything. The man simply cannot write worth a damn, try as hard as he does to convey what often are simple concepts.

Not THAT bad..........2004-03-10

I, and anyone who has read Albert's previous QM book, can readily agree with the other reviewers that his style is as queer as a four dollar bill, as off-putting as it is annoying. And yet, as I kept returning to Albert--this book in particular--all the while my outside reading on the subjects giving me a firmer rudimentary comprehension of the problems, I came to find that, slowly but surely, his work grew on me.
But as that's only my experience, I'll make sure prospective readers all understand just exactly what it is they're going to get themselves into with Albert:
1) Again, the style. He repeats phrases and words (e.g. "patently") often many times in the same sentence, which latter often read like Kant: a front clause and end clause that relate pretty obviously, but a whole middle ground that is prolix and confusing in providing the rationale for the relation. As I said, for me, the style grew on me, much as Kant's did, but it is challenging and perhaps needlessly difficult.
2) This is "patently" NOT a book for beginner's. On the other hand, it is patently not a book solely for experts either. I am no expert--not even close---and I would say I'm about one tier above begginer level, basically familiar with the relevant issues and concepts, but with no math and no formal training. The drawback of this is, of course, that issues presented much more clearly and gracefully elsewhere show up here as being complicated beyond belief. The "punchline" is (as Albert often says), that this IS complicated material, that it really isn't as simple as it's often presented, and Albert aims to give you the whole-hog, not an ice cream sundae version of it. With persistence and patience, you will get it, I swear. And just to re-iterate, you DO NOT need the math to get it, at least for this book. Most of the math is relegated to footnotes and for those who care about seeing demonstrations and proofs, which even without full understanding can be grasped from Albert's presentations of them.
3) He is repetitive, but I find this a good thing. Kant too was repetitive, but that actually helps me stay inside the frame and not get lost in the swift progress of the tour of these issues Albert is taking us through. You might hate it, so beware.
4) On the issues, Albert is fantastic, in my opinion. But when it comes to his own suggestions, and the last few chapters on QM, things get too obscure and presuppose too much on the reader's behalf (like having read his previous book). He tries, but he fails here. The good thing is, these last chapters are just icing. You'll get everything up to there, seriously, with patience and effort (although you may lose all patience, I don't deny).

I just say give it a shot. It's at least worth that much, and if you do "get it," you will be all the wiser. Good luck!

Fascinating Subject But Horribly Unintelligible Writing.......2002-06-04

Formally trained in academia as a physicist, David Albert made the switch over to philosophy to address foundational issues in physics, most notably those dealing with time and an outstanding problem in quantum mechanics known as the measurement problem. Although the endeavors of Albert are noble and worthwhile, I am afraid that he is lacking in competency as a writer to communicate his ideas in any sensible, intelligible fashion. As a former student of his, I can personally attest to how frustrating his writing and teaching style, kindly referred to by some as "unique," can be. Needlessly obtuse, ever obscure, Albert writes in such a manner that his prose can truly serve as a wonderful negative example of how not to write. Virtually every conceivable error in basic grammar and syntax is committed. Endlessly long sentences, riddled with comma splices and run on sentences, are grossly accompanied by a monstrous convolution of nestled subordinate clauses, which topple over one another and collapse any unifying logic.

Adding to this confusion, Albert repeatedly makes distracting use of parentheses in numerous attempts to develop main ideas instead of correctly using parentheses to make brief, nonessential comments. This semantic nightmare, however, does not end here, as Albert, in page after page, then incorporates numerous, ridiculously long footnotes, which like his "parenthetical" comments are also used to develop main ideas and are so needlessly complicated as to loose any cohesive significance. The net effect of all of this is to drown whatever semblance of order or meaning Albert is attempting to convey under a cacophony of jangled ideas, which chaotically crash into one another instead of logically and succinctly flowing orderly and soundly from one notion to the other. The reader senses there is some overarching unifying thread, in which all the disparate ideas Albert greatly belabors in developing will come together. This intimation, then, pushes the reader on with a very taxed patience for that moment of a great enlightenment. The anticipation of that arrival, however, proves anticlimactic, as chapter after chapter ends as it begins: in a dissolution of fragmentary, Byzantine ideas and lost meanings. Indeed, there has not been such a level of impenetrable perplexity in literature since T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land.

The most intelligible portion of this book, ironically, is to be found-not in the book itself per se-but in the description of the book on the inside of the jacket cover. Essentially, this book serves to bring an awareness to what is a fascinating problem in physics: the attempt to reconcile the temporal invariance of physical laws with our perennial everyday sense of a unidirectional nature of time. In Newtonian dynamics, for example, the governing equations of motion equally apply to both the past and the future. There is nothing in Newton's equations (or indeed in other equations that describe other physical phenomena such as electromagnetism or quantum mechanics) that specifies a direction of time. The past, in otherworlds, is just as likely to be a so-called "arrow of time" as the future is. Yet we know that there is one direction to time. In particular, the Second Law of Thermodynamics shows that we live in a universe in which entropy is ever increasing. We age and never grow younger; dropped eggs, which then crack, never spontaneous reassemble; smoke fills a room and never flows toward a point; we recall the past and not the future; and we can affect the future but not the past. Despite these common, everyday understandings of the way the universe operates, physical law makes no such distinctions of the past and future. We are as likely to become younger as we are to age; broken eggs can suddenly reassemble; smoke can converge toward a point; we should be able to recall the future as well as the past; and we can affect the past as well as the future. This is the subject that Albert is attempting to present to his readers.

Moreover, Albert offers a solution to the above problem: the so-called Past-Hypothesis, which is at the heart of this book. The Past-Hypothesis posits that the universe began in a Big Bang, low-entropy state, in which the random nature of particle motion (later argued by Albert to be possibly quantum mechanical in origin) then guarantees that the universe will evolve toward ever growing entropy, thus specifying an "arrow" of time and accounting for the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Albert argues that the Past-Hypothesis is a basic facet of physical law, irreducible to nothing else or anything more basic. This view, however, is by no means universally accepted. There are many competing theories to this problem of time, including a very interesting one by Julian Barbour, who argues in The End of Time for a fascinating possibility that there is an underlying time-less structure to the universe.

Other than stating the problem well on the book jacket (which you can view and read here on Amazon.com), I am afraid that Time and Chance really has no other merit, which would make it a book worth purchasing. I truly hope that if Dr. Albert is reading this he will understand just how difficult it is to comprehend his book, in which the difficulty lies not in the subject matter but in his writing. There were many very bright and capable people in his class who often times simply had no idea (myself included) what it was he was trying to convey. The book is in dire need of heavy revision, and I hope that this is undertaken in the future. As it stands, the book is simply too poorly written to be worth the read other than if you are one of the unfortunate students enrolled in his Direction of Time course, in which case your grade depends on you desperately trying to elucidate and understand this book.

Definitely not for the layperson.......2001-10-12

I was interested in this book because of its glowing review in Science magazine. While this may be an excellent book, I certainly couldn't tell after the first 45 pages. Major portions of the text consists of illegible footnotes. In spite of its folksy style, the author is obscure and impenetrable. It makes me wonder why, if he really has something to say, he can't explain it in a sensible fashion. While there might be people who get something from this book, a casual reader should expect some very tough going.

Time and Chance (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Average customer rating:

Good book, but drags a bit at times
More great work from Penman
Royal unstoppable force meets ecclesiastical immovable object
Lackluster depiction of Henry and Eleanor
Romantic rather than Historical

Time and Chance (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
Sharon Kay Penman
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Popular Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0345396723
Release Date: 2003-02-04

Amazon.com

The Sunne in Splendour confirmed Sharon Kay Penman's place in the upper echelons of historical fiction, combining a breathtaking panoply of the past with an acute psychological observation of her characters. Time and Chance is the second part of her planned trilogy about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, beginning in the glory years of their reign. Penman conjures for us an astonishing era in which Henry battles with the Welsh and the French king, appoints Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury, and, by taking a mistress, makes a bitter enemy of his wife.

Readers know the scalpel-like precision of Penman's character building from her earlier work, and the emotional lives of Henry and the troubled Eleanor are powerfully realized. As in the first book of the sequence, When Christ and His Saints Slept, conflict is ever the driving force. Henry and Eleanor's remarkable partnership was proving highly fecund, both politically, and physically, as Eleanor gave birth to five sons and three daughters, laying to rest her reputation as a barren queen and founding a dynasty that was to last three centuries. But auguries of trouble ahead were apparent: war with the Welsh; acrimonious battles with Eleanor's first husband, King Louis VII of France. But the truly destabilizing factor was Henry's decision to appoint his friend and confidant Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry had assumed that the worldly, ambitious Becket would be the perfect ally, and was devastated when the new archbishop cast off his own worldly past as he embraced his role as Defender of the Faith, swapping dissolution for piety.

As Penman vividly demonstrates, Henry saw Becket's action as a humiliating betrayal. One of the most famous murders in history followed, with further conflict in the kingdom caused by Henry's liaison with the daughter of a baron. In bedding Rosamund Clifford, Henry put his marriage and even his kingship at risk. As always, Penman handles her research lightly; the personal drama is the engine of her narrative, with each fresh scandal and intrigue delivered with a beguiling combination of relish and restraint. She is assured in her detailing of the political and ecclesiastical clashes of the court, but it is Henry II who strides her novel like a colossus--just as he did the kingdom he ruled. --Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk

Book Description

In When Christ and His Saints Slept, acclaimed historical novelist Sharon Kay Penman portrayed all the deceit, danger, and drama of Henry II’s ascension to the throne. Now, in Time and Chance, she continues the ever-more-captivating tale.

It was medieval England’s immortal marriage—Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, bound by passion and ambition, certain to leave a legacy of greatness. But while lust would divide them, it was friendship—and ultimately faith—that brought bloodshed into their midst. It began with Thomas Becket, Henry’s closest confidant, and his elevation to be Archbishop of Canterbury. It ended with a perceived betrayal that made a royal murder seem inevitable. Along the way were enough scheming, seductions, and scandals to topple any kingdom but their own. . . .

Only Sharon Kay Penman can re-create this truly tumultuous time—and capture the couple who loved power as much as each other . . . and a man who loved God most of all.

Customer Reviews:

Good book, but drags a bit at times.......2006-09-04

Another enjoyable book from SKP, but I didn't find this quite as interesting as her others, and a bit slower than When Christ and His Saints Slept. It's probably just me, but I didn't find the whole Thomas Becket saga all that fascinating, albeit it is an important part of English history. I did like the fact that the author continued with the Welsh side of the story, as so many authors of English history paint the Welsh as pagen barbarians.

I am anxiously awaiting the publishing of the last in this series, The Devil's Brood, which I suspect will be the most fascinating, as it covers the period when the animosity between Henry and Eleanor heats up and the power plays for her sons. I read on the author's website that she's had health issues that have slowed down completion of the book, hopefully out in 2008.

More great work from Penman.......2006-03-31

Picks up where "When Christ and His Saints Slept" left off, after Empress Maude is (sort of) vindicated by having her son, Henry II, crowned King of England. The wily Henry has expanded his Angevin Empire (which includes most of France as well as England) by marrying the wilier Eleanor of Aquitaine.

I was a little disappointed that more attention wasn't paid to what, exactly, drove Henry and Eleanor apart. Yes, Rosamund Clifford, blah blah. But Henry's mistress barely puts in an appearance at all, and Henry's feelings for her garner even less attention. We're given one confrontation between Rosamund and Eleanor, and it's such a non-event - and so unlike Eleanor - that it sheds absolutely no light on the antagonism between them. She's Eleanor of freakin' Aquitaine! Couldn't we at least get a decent catfight? Instead we get sulks and martyrdom and the silent treatment.

Let's face it, the real lover's quarrel here is between Henry and Thomas Becket. Henry, like confused wives everywhere, is stunned when he ropes Tom into commitment by handing him an archbishop's miter and is then blown off and shown zero gratitude. Becket, who thought things were fine just the way they were when he was Henry's chancellor, quickly turns from amusing playmate to aloof and condescending wet blanket, ordering Henry around and asking him to fold his socks and make his dinner. OK, not that last part. But you get the idea. Henry mopes around, whining, "I thought he loved me! Why did he have to change?" and Becket shrugs and says, "I told you how it was going to be before you appointed me. Now fetch my slippers." And then poor scorned Henry has him killed. You know it's coming, but by the time it actually does the real shock is that the two hadn't killed each other years ago.

Ranulf, Penman's entirely fictional secondary character, is put to even more use here. He's essentially our window into Wales, and frankly these sections are even more interesting, if only because it's certainly less trod-upon ground. The competition between the sons of Owain for the crown of North Wales is fascinating, and Hywel, the poet-prince, was my favorite character in the entire book.

I love that Penman's historical novels manage to be fresh and interesting without being sensational or anachronistic. I liked this one slightly less than "Christ and His Saints", but I think only because I already know more about the whole Eleanor/Henry/Becket ménage than I did about Maude and Stephen. Still, for anyone interested in the period, you can't do much better than Penman's novels.

Royal unstoppable force meets ecclesiastical immovable object.......2006-02-14

"What miserable drones and traitors I have nourished and promoted in my household, who let their lord be mocked so shamefully by a lowborn clerk!"

Thus, in TIME AND CHANCE, is author Sharon Kay Penman's version of the angry words that compelled four of Henry II's knights to commit one of the most famous assassinations in Western European history, that of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury.

The second in an ostensible series of three works of historical fiction - the last has yet to appear - about the first Plantagenet King of England and his consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine, this volume spans the period 1156 - 1171. Woven into the plot are the four pivotal events (for historians, novelists and screenwriters, at least) of that period: Henry's subjugation of the Welsh king, Owain Gwynedd, Henry's taking of Rosamund Clifford as his mistress, Henry's disastrous relationship with Becket, and the crowning of Henry's oldest son, Young Henry, as Ol' Dad's heir apparent.

Judging from Penman's other novels, she has a fascination with medieval Wales. Here, she fleshes out much of the Owain Gwynedd subplot through a completely fictional character, Ranulf Fitz Roy, carried over from the first book in the series, WHEN CHRIST AND HIS SAINTS SLEPT, which dealt with that period of English civil war before Henry II's accession when his mother Maude, the daughter of Henry I, fought to dethrone the then English monarch, Stephen. As Sharon would have it, Ranulf was an illegitimate son of Henry I by a Welsh mistress, and therefore half-brother to Maude and half-uncle to Henry II. In any case, I accepted his presence in the first book because the main player in the series, Henry II, had yet to take center stage. Now, with the fully developed characters of Henry II, Eleanor and Becket, Ranulf's presence doesn't do much more than pad the novel to an unnecessary length and, for that reason, I'm reluctantly knocking off a star. Henry Plantagenet and Eleanor are, for me, the two most interesting individuals in history, and their dysfunctional family life provides more than enough entertainment without the introduction of a make-believe ringer.

For English history buffs, TIME AND CHANCE provides a gripping perspective on the calamitous collision between the King and the Archbishop of Canterbury, especially as the dialogues that occurred between the two men in the book, as well as the circumstances of Becket's murder, are, according to Penman, transcribed from numerous eyewitness accounts.

I've been looking forward to the release of the third book in the trilogy for quite some time, and I wish Penman would get on with it.

Lackluster depiction of Henry and Eleanor .......2005-10-08

I love this author, but I have to say I was disappointed with this novel. Eleanor of Aquitane is such a popular historical figure - however, in this novel her character is extremely flat. After reading this novel, wondering why author started mystery series based on Eleanor? Maybe I will understand when the last novel of this trilogy comes out. Hopefully her character will be more fleshed out next time.

This novel centered way too much on the battle between Henry and Becket - was somewhat tedious - would have rather Henry/Eleanor storyline had been the center focus - especially since she did not explain Thomas's behavior/point of view.

I will definately read the last novel when it comes out, hoping will portray Eleanor and Henry's relationship in more detail.

Romantic rather than Historical.......2005-05-02

I picked up this book to read about intriguing English history. But I found the matter too sketchy. The thick book talks mainly about relationships using historical developments as a mere backdrop.

It did build a few characters including that of King - Henry Fitz Empress - quite impressively, but the rest characters appeared more like fillers.

It was sketchy and the episodes not tied well.

All in all - not worth the time I put into it!

Succeeding: How to Choose the Right Goals and Increase Your Chances of Achieving Them

Average customer rating:

Excellent book

Succeeding: How to Choose the Right Goals and Increase Your Chances of Achieving Them
John T. Reed
Manufacturer: John T. Reed
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0939224569

Product Description

High goals are fine. Author John T. Reed reached several high goals in his life like making a million dollars, getting degrees from West Point and Harvard, being listed in Whos Who in America, appearing on TV shows like 60 Minutes, writing over two dozen well-received books, as well as celebrating a 30-year marriage and raising three fine sons. His experience has also been varied from being the son of an alcoholic father to living in the country, suburbs, and big city to serving a tour in Vietnam to working for a large corporation to successful self-employment and extended bachelorhood. He also failed significantly in various pursuits and thereby learned many important lessons. Succeeding will tell you how to achieve high success, but it will constantly remind you to go for enough, not more; and to pursue what suits you, not just some goal chosen solely based on how much you think it will impress others. Strategies, tactics, tips, and tricks on how to succeed. Lessons learned by one man in his 50 plus years. The book focuses on choosing the right spouse and career. Unlike most success books that encourage you to choose whatever extremely high goals your heart desires, this book emphasizes the importance of choosing the right goals. If you choose your goals carefully, you are far more likely to achieve them and far more likely to be happy when you do.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book.......2007-03-02

Mr. Reed recommends you read this one first. The reason is sound. One should be clear on one's objectives, capabilities, ethics and character before starting on a demanding project with large financial risk if not executed with skill and diligence. Reed describes his life and how his views on several things including real estate developed. At one time he overreached because of unclearly understood objectives (what is enough) only to get wiped out by the Texas meltdown and the 1986 tax changes that dropped income property values by about 25% overnight. He recovered, and did so without cheating anybody or running a shady series of infomercials with deceptive and deceptively priced products.

Average customer rating:

Not a rating - further information on this title and contributors

Radiation Laboratory Series

Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000F0G09U

Customer Reviews:

Not a rating - further information on this title and contributors.......2007-01-10

This volume is the 20th in a massive twenty-eight volume series published by the MIT Radiation Laboratory at the end of World War II. In many cases, the series provided the first detailed publication of work in physics, electrical engineering and electronics that had been secret as part of the British and American war effort. It served as both textbook and reference for many new engineers in the decade after 1946.

Frederic C. Williams (whose given name ends with an extraneous "K" on the title page) is better known as the creator -- along with Tom Kilburn -- of the "Williams tube" and also for his work with Alan Turing on the ACE. Williams began working on this first random-access electronic storage device after returning to England from his second Boston editorial visit. While at MIT he had learned of plans afoot both there and at the Moore School in the University of Pennsylvania (which he visited in June 1946) to develop CRTs as storage devices.

Please see our Amapedia entry (link below) for editor affiliations, a list of contributors, table of contents, and publication history.

Time to Remeber/Betrayed by Love - DDu#6 (Deadly Duos, #6)

Average customer rating:

Time to Remeber/Betrayed by Love - DDu#6 (Deadly Duos, #6)

Manufacturer: Hard Shell Word Factory
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0759908052

Product Description

Time to Remember: Amy Bennet knew she was different from other little girls the day she levitated the cat. She was five. Twenty years later Amy uses her abilities to investigate paranormal events. When she visits the haunted Dunmore mansion seeking information about the Dunmore curse Amy discovers she has lived, loved and died tragically in two previous lifetimes. Her fate is entwined with the mansion's present owner Robert Dunmore, and she must find a way to end the curse so she and Robert can find love and fulfillment in this lifetime. Betrayed by Love: The man Josie had loved her whole life, her husband, Paul, left her without a word of explanation the day after their 1st anniversary. Years later, Josie's made a comfortable, uncomplicated life for herself, and a success of her bookstore, INK. She's well-liked and respected...and more than a little attracted to her best friend's brother, Marsh. And it's going well...until Paul turns up like proverbial bad penny. Only this time, he's brought with him his supermodel wife, Angelique. When Josie's accused of murdering Angelique, it's up to Marsh to uncover the truth.

Average customer rating:

Last Chance for Magic
Ruth Chew
Manufacturer: Little Apple
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0590602101

Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment With History

Average customer rating:

Restoring Honesty
Focus on Ford's appointment with history
One Of The Greatest Presidents We Ever Had...
A masterful retelling of 2/3 of the story
Great Book

Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment With History
James Cannon
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Political | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Presidents & Heads of State | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

State & Local Government | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0472084828

Book Description

Gerald Ford came to the presidency at the time of one of our nation's greatest constitutional crises, the downfall of President Richard M. Nixon in the aftermath of the Watergate affair. His service as president concluded a distinguished career in the House of Representatives during which he served as leader of the Republican Party in the House. With unrestricted access to Gerald Ford's papers, James M. Cannon tells the story of Ford's rise and Nixon's ruin, providing new insights into this troubling period of our history and Ford's role in guiding the nation through it. Cannon tells the story of Ford's difficult early life and the beginnings of his career in politics in the period immediately after World War II. He tells the story of Ford's rise to prominence in the House of Representatives during the 1950s and 1960s, giving us a fascinating picture of the Congress. In addition, in telling us about the personal life of Gerald Ford, he gives us a sense of the price Ford paid for his success.

"James Cannon, formerly national affairs editor at Newsweek and Ford's domestic policy advisor, has written a superbly provocative and arresting biography that traces Ford's life from his July 4, 1913, birth in Omaha, Nebraska, to his September 8,1974, decision to pardon Nixon of the Watergate conspiracy." --Washington Post Book World

James M. Cannon is a journalist and was Domestic Policy Adviser to President Ford and Chief of Staff to Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker.

Customer Reviews:

Restoring Honesty.......2007-03-09

I consider this book a very well written because in simple words the author goes straight to the point:giving the audience a deep sense of what honesty and integrity are for this great man who did not want to be Vice President, much less President of the United States of America. I do not know much about politics, but since I read this book I have more respect for most of the elected officials. But, for late President Gerald
Ford this book has given me a great respect and admiration. We should have many more elected officials like him.

Focus on Ford's appointment with history.......2006-10-21

Cannon provides a fascinating account of how Gerald Ford went from planning in 1972 to retire from politics at the end of Nixon's term to becoming president of the United States. He covers Ford's childhood and life in the Navy and as a US representative in about 100 pages and spends most of the rest of the book discussing in amazing detail how he became vice-president and then president. The final chapter is a brief summary of Ford's presidential administration but nothing of life after politics.

The book is well-written and well-researched and remarkably free of bias, given that Cannon was a senior advisor in the Ford administration. Ford's decent and humble character is one of the themes of the book, as well as the idea that these traits are what led him to become president. His naivete is also evident.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the glaring weakness of the book is its brief coverage of Ford's administration, except for the issue of pardoning Nixon, which is covered in great detail.

I recommend the book as a tool for understanding Ford the man, for its careful analyis of the Watergate mess, and for describing how such a decent man could prosper in the cutthroat world of American politics. However, if you want to understand the policies of the Ford administration, you should look elsewhere.

One Of The Greatest Presidents We Ever Had..........2006-01-24

We as a country were extremely lucky and benefited greatly from the presidency of Gerald Ford. When he took over the presidency, this country was torn apart. Rather than appealing to the worst in American politics by pitting Americans against each other,(as has been done recently)he methodically and expertly began to bring us together.

The Republican Party that I belonged to during those times and under President Ford's leadership was largely free of radical fundamentalism and extreme right-wing positions. There were no Rush Limbaughs or Michael Savages. There were no nationally known ministers claiming natural disasters were the wrath of God visited on an apostate nation. The Ford presidency and the Republican Party of that time actually had concern for social issues and was quite progressive.

President Ford led by steady, common sense and a humble heart. I remember being so saddened by his loss to Jimmy Carter, knowing that we, as a nation, would lose such an able leader. After Carter's election, the Republican party decided to appeal to the fears, rather than the hopes and aspirations of America. Since that time there has never been an election where the American people were not thoroughly divided. Our political dialogue is absurdly partisan, and 'attack and spin' meisters are the order of the day on any news station. More than anything, I fondly wish we could return to civility and decency both in religion and politics.

Get this book and read about a very able, and thoroughly decent man who was there to serve his country when he was most needed. The details are fascinating.

A masterful retelling of 2/3 of the story.......2005-11-28

Over the last several years, I've read more than 35 presidential biographies. I've used Amazon reviewers as very reliable guides to help me pick the best available biography. Time and Chance is highly recommended with one gigantic reservation. Reeves' book is tightly written in an almost breezy style. More than half of the book is a retelling of Watergate, and it is the most balanced and readable version of Watergate I've read.

Ford's difficult early childhood is covered as is his development into the all-American boy. His romance with a top model and his marriage to Betty are sympathetically explained. His service in World War II is well told, and we are given almost enough information about his years in the House of Representatives; however, I would have preferred more about Ford's responses to the many social issues that dominated the sixties.

Ford comes off as the ultimate straight-arrow, average kind of guy. Completely decent, unimaginative, pretty boring, and not altogether courageous in terms of dealing with people.

OK the failing. Except for Ford's decision to pardon Nixon which is described thoroughly, the rest of his presidency is given something like 25 pages. This is simply not enough. While Watergate and Ford's role in Nixon's resignation will be more remembered than Ford's actual presidency, I would have liked at least a more detailed synopsis of his challenges while he was president (in this respect Nagel`s excellent biography of John Quincy Adams has precisely the same problem). Up until now I've avoided the presidential books that only covered the presidential years, but for Gerald Ford probably a combination of Time and Chance and an overview of his presidency would be the best way to go.

Great Book.......2004-01-18

Very well written. Great background of the key players involved in Watergate. Wished that it had discussed more about Ford's term as president and less about Nixon and the so called "coverup". It shows Ford as a very honest, hard working public servant.

Jose Maria de Jesus Carvajal: The Life and Times of a Mexican Revolutionary

Average customer rating:

Jose Maria de Jesus Carvajal: The Life and Times of a Mexican Revolutionary
Joseph E. Chance
Manufacturer: Trinity University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Biographies | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1595340203

Book Description

Both a biography of the titular Mexican reformer and a study of the events that shaped the Mexican-U.S. border, this book examines the challenges faced by Carvajal during the turbulent decades of the early to mid-19th century. A key figure in the violent struggle against the conservative factions that controlled Mexico, Carvajal also played significant roles in the fight for Texas's independence and the ill-fated Republic of the Rio Grande. Carvajal’s life and exploits have been largely overlooked — here, he is restored to his rightful place among the visionaries who shaped modern Texas.

Rosa Takes a Chance: Mexican Immigrants in the Dust Bowl Years (1935) (Sisters in Time #21)

Average customer rating:

Rosa Takes a Chance: Mexican Immigrants in the Dust Bowl Years (1935) (Sisters in Time #21)
Susan Martins Miller
Manufacturer: Barbour Publishing, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Bedtime & Dreaming | Baby-3 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1597890650
Release Date: 2006-04-15

Book Description

Rosa Sanchez's parents took a chance on their future by emigrating from Mexico to the United States. Now, the ten-year-old takes a chance of her own. She wants to go to school! That's not easy for an immigrant girl in the Texas Panhandle of 1935-and it's even more challenging when the terrible, black-clouded storms of the "Dust Bowl" strike. Can Rosa hold to her God-given dream of a good education while her family battles for survival on the windswept plains? This novel for eight- to twelve-year-old girls features historical events to teach compelling lessons in American history and the Christian faith.

But Time and Chance: The Story of Padre Martinez of Taos, 1793-1867

Average customer rating:

But Time and Chance: The Story of Padre Martinez of Taos, 1793-1867
Fray Angelico Chavez , and Angelico Chavez
Manufacturer: Sunstone Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Religious | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Book Description

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong . . . but time and chance happenethto them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11With these words, the epitaph Padre Martnez chose for himself, the reader is drawn into a stirring and provocative biography recounted by a master storyteller.Fray Angelico Chavez, articulate and well-versed in New Mexicana, vividly records the life of the controversial Padre of Taos so that the reader gains full measure of his surroundings and o the times.Martnez was continually at the forefront of the public and political forums . . . a master of jurisprudence and canon law . . . a champion of the underdog. With the advent of Bishop Lamy, public attention became focused on these two dynamic personalities. Their philosophic differences ultimately led to Martnez suspension and excommunication.Chavez was a curious and indefatigable researcher and he used these talents well while delving into the facts and legends surrounding Padre Martinez most poignant and colorful life-drama . . . a personality to be reckoned with, whether as hero or villain, or both.Readers will, at once, share with Chavez his absorption in this man and, also wonder . . . how such a phenomenon could have sprouted and bloomed under the most adverse circumstances of time and place.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books