The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell

Book Description

“Part treatise, part miscellany, unfailingly entertaining.”
–The New York Times

“A small pearl of a book . . . a great tale of the growth of a modern city as seen through the rise and fall of the lowly oyster.”
–Rocky Mountain News

Award-winning author Mark Kurlansky tells the remarkable story of New York by following the trajectory of one of its most fascinating inhabitants–the oyster.
For centuries New York was famous for this particular shellfish, which until the early 1900s played such a dominant a role in the city’s life that the abundant bivalves were Gotham’s most celebrated export, a staple food for all classes, and a natural filtration system for the city’s congested waterways.

Filled with cultural, historical, and culinary insight–along with historic recipes, maps, drawings, and photos–this dynamic narrative sweeps readers from the seventeenth-century founding of New York to the death of its oyster beds and the rise of America’s environmentalist movement, from the oyster cellars of the rough-and-tumble Five Points slums to Manhattan’s Gilded Age dining chambers. With The Big Oyster, Mark Kurlansky serves up history at its most engrossing, entertaining, and delicious.

“Suffused with [Kurlansky’s] pleasure in exploring the city across ground that hasn’t already been covered with other writers’ footprints.”
–Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Fascinating stuff . . . [Kurlansky] has a keen eye for odd facts and natural detail.”
–The Wall Street Journal

“Kurlansky packs his breezy book with terrific anecdotes.”
–Entertainment Weekly

“Magnificent . . . a towering accomplishment.”
–Associated Press

Customer Reviews:

Who knew?.......2007-09-27

First off, I am a chef...so my five-star rating might be taken with a grain of sea salt. Also, I am a chef from New York City...who still opens a couple of hundred oysters a week.

I learned bunches from Mark's book. I was able to justify a long held stance about storing oysters in the face of superstition from my twenty-something rock-star staff.

I owned a restaurant in Telluride, Colorado back in the 70's. We dug around in the basement and found menus from the 1890's that featured fresh New York City oysters.....long before refrigeration. The book reveals how this worked, and consequently saved me a few hundred dollars every week. Five stars indeed1

Meanwhile, Mark gives an in-depth sociological, geographic and gastronomical account of how the oyster affected life in New York and America. In many ways the oyster is the canary in the coal mine of our inland waterways. If the oyster is happy with the water....you are probably OK with the water. No oyster.....don't even think about jumping in. Oysters kept New York City harbor water clean for millenia....until overwhelmed by chemical pollution.

Just this morning I picked up Mother Jones, and read an article about the largest oil spill in American history: in Newtown Creek between Queens and Brooklyn. Having read Mark's book....I already knew the history of Newtown Creek...once the source of millions of oysters and the support of an entire social structure.

Oysters had started a comeback there in 1997. Ooops. Back to the drawing board.

Buy the book. Learn something.

An Entertaining and Fun Voyage of Discovery!.......2007-09-23

Who would have thought it possible that anyone could produce a great book on the humble oyster? Intrigued by the cover, I picked up Mark Kurlansky's "The Big Oyster" and embarked on an entertaining and fun voyage of discovery!

I learned that mankind is obsessed with the oyster and has been consuming them for thousands of years. Americans are among the world's biggest producers and consumers of oysters, which played a huge role in the growth of New York city and the young republic.

I found "The Big Oyster" so well written and enthralling that I read it cover to cover, and then went out and bought every book written by Mark Kurlansky. As a voracious consumer of books, it was a wise decision!

I highly recommend this excellent book to anyone searching for a great read!

How can anyone not love this book?.......2007-07-24

I'm not sure what kind of person would buy this book. It's not 100% history, not 100% science, not 100% recipe, it's a little of everything. After reading this book, I'd say this book is for someone who's not afraid to try something different, some who likes oysters and a little history to go with their oysters. So what is this book about?

1) It's a little bit oysters. The science: such as scientific names, reproduction, anatomy, etc. Just a little, not too much to bore the casual reader, but not enough to interest the casual scientist. I tried to find more about oysters online but there's not a lot of info, I suppose I should go read a book on it.

2) It's a lot about the early to mid-1800's history of New York City. As I like history, I really liked this part.

3) It's a little about oyster recipes. Sprinkled throughout this book are recipes, many from old books and from famous cooks and restaurants. That's a gem. It must have take some effort to collect the recipes and whether you like them or not they are interesting, at least for their historical aspect.

4) It's a little about the history of the oyster trade. This is a very good part of the book as I don't think you could find much written on it anywhere else.

5) New York society in the old days. Talked about the who's who and where they would eat. Interesting reading.

6) New York slums and the inhabitants, also interesting reading.

So to summarize, this book is about oysters, the eating of oysters, the oyster trade and New York city. You can't pidgeonhole this book because it's not history, not gastronomy, but a little of everything. It's quite well written and very easy to read. I enjoyed reading it, a break from my regular diet of thrillers. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I'm going to get Cod and Salt, two other books by this author that got mixed reviews. But I think the author deserves my custom after this book.

As usual - easy read.......2007-06-27

Another book by MK. Nice and easy read and somewhat entertaining. Plenty of historical references but true historians could have plenty od reservations about it as well. Overall C to B-.

Quick and Interesting Read.......2007-06-09

I bought this book halfway as a joke for some oyster-loving friends, but it turned out the be a great page turner -- finished it in about 3 sittings. It's a great light read with some excellent information about oysters and a surprisingly fascinating history of NYC.

The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth

Average customer rating:

Grand Slam Baseball Bio
Good Bio of the Sultan of Swat
Well Written
The Big Bam Makes My Team
The Babe

The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth
Leigh Montville
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Baseball | Biographies | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Baseball | Sports | Subjects | Books

History | Baseball | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books

Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero
Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports
Johnny U: The Life and Times of John Unitas
Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer (P.S.)

ASIN: 0385514379
Release Date: 2006-05-02

Book Description

He was the Sultan of Swat. The Caliph of Clout. The Wizard of Whack. The Bambino. And simply, to his teammates, the Big Bam. From the award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller Ted Williams comes the thoroughly original, definitively ambitious, and exhilaratingly colorful biography of the largest legend ever to loom in baseball—and in the history of organized sports.

“[Montville is] one of America’s best sportswriters.” —Chicago Tribune

Babe Ruth was more than baseball’s original superstar. For eighty-five years, he has remained the sport’s reigning titan. He has been named Athlete of the Century . . . more than once. But who was this large, loud, enigmatic man? Why is so little known about his childhood, his private life, and his inner thoughts? In The Big Bam, Leigh Montville, whose recent New York Times bestselling biography of Ted Williams garnered glowing reviews and offered an exceptionally intimate look at Williams’s life, brings his trademark touch to this groundbreaking, revelatory portrait of the Babe.

Based on newly discovered documents and interviews—including pages from Ruth’s personal scrapbooks —The Big Bam traces Ruth’s life from his bleak childhood in Baltimore to his brash entrance into professional baseball, from Boston to New York and into the record books as the world’s most explosive slugger and cultural luminary. Montville explores every aspect of the man, paying particular attention to the myths that have always surrounded him. Did he really hit the “called shot” homer in the 1932 World Series? Were his home runs really “the farthest balls ever hit” in countless ballparks around the country? Was he really part black—making him the first African American professional baseball superstar? And was Ruth the high-octane, womanizing, heavy-drinking “fatso” of legend . . . or just a boyish, rudderless quasi-orphan who did, in fact, take his training and personal conditioning quite seriously?

At a time when modern baseball is grappling with hyper-inflated salaries, free agency, and assorted controversies, The Big Bam brings back the pure glory days of the game. Leigh Montville operates at the peak of his abilities, exploring Babe Ruth in a way that intimately, and poignantly, illuminates a most remarkable figure.

Customer Reviews:

Grand Slam Baseball Bio.......2007-09-07

The main difference between this book and last year's biography of Lou Gehrig (Luckiest Man) is that "Big Bam" is an entertaining look at one of the most entertaining figures in sports history, while 'Luckiest Man' is an informative look at one of the least entertaining sports figures from history.

Both books are good, but this book is FUN! It captures the era of Ruth, and details his amazing career in an entertaining Sea Biscuit like way.

Highly, highly, highly, recommended.

Good Bio of the Sultan of Swat.......2007-09-03

This is a riveting biography of the life of Babe Ruth, the Sultan of Swat, the Big Bam (one nom de guerre that I had never heard before). The author uses notes from a series of researchers, a number of whom wrote their own biographies of Babe Ruth. Hence, he appears to have a rich vein of material from which to mine nuggets on the life of Babe Ruth.

The focus of the book (page 5): "This book is an attempt to tell the story again for the Sports Center generation. . . . The approach is not so much to tear down the myths that grew around George Herman Ruth as to explain how and why they developed in the time in which he lived."
One metaphor used throughout the volume is "fog," representing those portions of Ruth's life where there is simply little information available. Much of his early childhood is enveloped in the fog. The story of how he moved from "St. Mary's Industrial School for Orphans, Delinquent, Incorrigible, and Wayward Boys to the Baltimore Orioles emerges from the fog and makes for good reading.

The book traces Ruth's rise from such humble and inauspicious beginnings to the minor leagues to the Boston Red Sox, where he became a great pitcher and promising hitter, to his purchase by the New York Yankees. The chapters recording his career speak of high points--and low points--and the awesome statistics that he compiled. More interesting, though, is the depiction of his very flawed life.

He may have had ADHD, if Montville is correct, but that is of no great moment. The point is that he had a hard time disciplining himself. Only after a wretched year and an as yet to be diagnosed malady that cost him a whole year did he begin to take care of himself.

The book does a nice job of recalling his career, his run in with his managers, his up and down relationships with teammates (the retelling of his ties to Lou Gehrig are quite interesting), his off field excesses (whether with food, drink, or women), his almost childlike behavior (the authors equated him to a 15 year old boy), his running through his salary. It also tells the tale of his attempting to take control of his life (with his second wide playing a key role, although their time together was hardly idyllic). The book concludes with Ruth's almost pathetic effort to become a manager while major league owners used and abused him in the process.

A nice biography indeed. Montville sometimes appears to venture into terra incognita where the evidentiary bases of his reflections are open to question (e.g., the ADHD diagnosis). But his is a candid biography, showing Ruth off--warts and accomplishments alike.

Well Written.......2007-09-02

Many of the reviewers here don't have the intelligence to realize that Montville used the 'fog' and question marks to indicate that a lot of Ruth's early life is unknown and lost to history.

So be it.

Montville has done a terrific job. Ruth was a great player. His shortcoming, like that of present day fielder, Johnny Damon, was not being smart enough to stay with the World Champion BOSTON RED SOX.

Also by Leigh Montville, and also essential reading, "Ted Williams, The Biography of An American Hero." Ted Williams was, of course, the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived.

The Big Bam Makes My Team.......2007-04-12

Author Leigh Montville's goal in the "The Big Bam" (one of the Babe's more obscure nicknames) is to portray the hidden Babe Ruth. In fact, trying to see through the fog of his life to get at the truth of his origins and life is a constant theme. For such a visible character in American history, there are huge gaps of understanding of aspects of Ruth such as his parents, childhood, first marriage, and illnesses. Montville has a tough act to follow because Robert Creamer wrote the definitive Ruth biography back in the seventies. The question in my mind was if it would be worth the time to read a new version. The answer is "Yes" because Montville does offer new insights on Ruth's life and what made him tick as we learn about a boy of seemingly limited prospects who turned out to have an innate athleticism that could blossom in the modern world with its widening entertainment and media establishment to become one of America's icons.

The subtitle of the book is the "Life and Times" of Babe Ruth and the reader does get an excellent view of the Babe in the context of the times and his wild ride through fame. Besides his life as a major league ballplayer, there is a lot of interesting information such as Ruth's off season activities, post-season barnstorming tours, speculation that he had a disorder such as ADD, the marketing of a superstar in his era, foreign travel, and of course, women and more women. Ruth's post-player life was very disappointing (as is the case with many athletes) as he tried to find a place for himself in the world. His post-career life was by no means pathetic, but his best days were obviously behind him. Most galling to him was that no major league team would fulfill his ambition to become a Manager and the book winds down with the anti-climactic last years of his life that ended in cancer at the age of fifty-three. For a reader's first biography of Babe Ruth I recommend Creamer's book, but "The Big Bam" is an excellent choice for a second look.

The Babe.......2007-04-10

This biography of Babe Ruth is a welcome addition to the plethora of literature written about him. All baseball fans should check this out.

Average customer rating:

Politically Correct Revisionist History
Loved it!
A perfect biography
An ideal introduction for young readers

The New Big Book Of U.S. Presidents
Todd Davis , and Marc Frey
Manufacturer: Courage Bks.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

United States | History | Bargain Books | Stores | Books

General | Literature & Fiction | Bargain Books | Stores | Books

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

Ask Me Anything About the Presidents (Avon Camelot Books)
The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents--6th Edition: Includes Material through 2005 (Complete Book of Us Presidents)
Presidential Trivia
The Presidents Fact Book: A Comprehensive Handbook to the Achievements, Events, People, Triumphs, and Tragedies of Every President from George Washington to George W. Bush
Our Country's Presidents: Completely Revised and Expanded

ASIN: 0762420294
Release Date: 2005-02-01

Book Description

Our original Big Book of U.S. Presidents has sold more than 200,000 copies! It was also a Scholastic Book Club Selection, and continues to be a perennial favorite in the $9.98 Courage Children's line. This updated edition features a revised profile of George W. Bush, plus a look ahead to our next president. In fact, it will be published less than 3 months after the 2004 election, close to inauguration, and will be one of the first books to feature a profile of the newest president. This fascinating introduction to U.S. government includes famous quotes, achievements, and a detailed timeline for quick reference to historical eras and events, plus more than 50 illustrations.

Full-color illustrations

Customer Reviews:

Politically Correct Revisionist History.......2007-01-14

This book, and it's companion, The New Big Book of America, are written from an extremely liberal and politically correct point of view. The authors bend over backwards to make the white colonists and Presidents appear as arrogant, indifferent, and overbearing in regards to everyone who is not a white male. Each President's page is around 50% about the President's actual achievements, and around 50% about the current Native American, Women's suffrage, and Civil Rights issues of the day.

These authors have an agenda, and it comes across very clear. If you want your child influenced by this politically correct revisionist history, then be sure to pick this one up.

Loved it!.......2007-01-11

This book is fantastic for students who like to have a nice overview and not be bogged down in too many details. I liked that there was a picture of each and every president (perfect for visual learners), a nice timeline throughout the book, and some other pictures of related events. I also liked how it was so up-to-date and not missing any major events in recent history. My 80+ grandmother, my 58 year old father, and I all found it very interesting. It is a book that you could pick up and learn something in just a few minutes. I bought it for my young children. I think it will be perfect for reports and helping them get a general understanding of American History and Government. I wish I would've had a book like this when I was in 4th grade learning about all the presidents for the first time.

A perfect biography.......2005-03-16

This book was great! I am a person who truly enjoyed this book. This book gives facts in an easy -to- find way. A person of any age- from a child to an adult would be able to read and enjoy this book. This book interested me to read more biographies on U.S. presidents. I, being a child when I read this, recommend it to everyone who likes non-fiction books.

An ideal introduction for young readers .......2005-03-04

President's Day is the annual holiday in which we honor all the men who have served in the highest political office our country has -- the Presidency of the United States of America. Now in a fully revised and updated edition to include George W. Bush, and with new artwork to enhance an informative text identifying each president in our country's history, young readers will encounter fun facts such as Thomas Jefferson's personal library of approximately 6,000 books was donated by him to create the Library of Congress. Ulysses S. Grant once received a speeding ticket on his horse! Rutherford B. Hayes' wife was the first "First Lady" to graduate from college. Franklin Roosevelt was the first president to appoint a woman (Frances Perkins) to serve in the cabinet. Featuring a timeline detailing the great inventions, literature, wars, and other historical contributions that shaped the lives and offices of these men, The New Big Book Of U.S. Presidents is an ideal introduction for young readers to the lives and accomplishments of these great men.

Uncle Sam's Plantation: How Big Government Enslaves America's Poor and What We Can Do About It

Average customer rating:

Are these reviews for real? Here's a clue.
The truth will make you free
A True Eyeopener
Solid examination of race and poverty issues
A Book Black America Needs To Read

Uncle Sam's Plantation: How Big Government Enslaves America's Poor and What We Can Do About It
Star Parker
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

U.S. | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Pimps, Whores and Welfare Brats: From Welfare Cheat to Conservative Messenger
White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay
It's OK to Leave the Plantation : The New Underground Railroad
The Ten Things You Can't Say In America, Revised Edition
From Rage to Responsibility: Black Conservative Jesse Lee Peterson and America Today

ASIN: 0785262199

Book Description

America has two economic systems: capitalism for the rich and socialism for the poor. This double-minded approach seems to keep the poor enslaved to poverty while the rich get richer. Let's face it, despite its $400 billion price tag, welfare isn't working.

The solution, asserts Star Parker, is a faith-based, not state-sponsored, plan. In Uncle Sam's Plantation, she offers five simple yet profound steps that will allow the nation's poor to go from entitlement and slavery to empowerment and freedom. Parker shares her own amazing journey up from the lower rungs of the economic system and addresses the importance of extending the free market system to this neglected group of people. Emphasizing personal initiative, faith, and responsibility, she walks readers toward releasing the hold poverty has over their lives.

Customer Reviews:

Are these reviews for real? Here's a clue........2006-02-13

If a reviewer has only the one review seen here when you click "see all my reviews," they are likely just trying to skew the star rating. Don't trust them!

The truth will make you free.......2005-11-24

Yes, I have read this book and am recommending it to all on both sides of the debate. In fact this is my Christmas list for 2005. Ms. Paker left no stone unturned and didn't let anyone off the hook. This book doesn't blame folks, it corrects them. It's about turning a bad pass into a bright future, about less government and more faith. This book calls it like it is, it names names and places shame where it belongs, on the greatest slave masters Uncle Sam and his little mouth pieces who call themselves activist. Read this book and learn the truth about affrimative action, multiculturalism, the faith base initiative, school choice, the importance of the family unit, social security, the Supreme Court, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and anything else that you may thing of that makes up the life of the poor. There is hope for the poor and this book is a great start for answers. Copies of this book should be in every community center and school (fat chance). I'm proud to be African-America and of a conservative mind set. Thanks Ms. Parker you're a real "Star".

A True Eyeopener.......2005-09-28

Thank God that someone is able to stand up in this nation and address the problems that are facing African American people. It is a shame that AA people cannot face the truth about their plights. I too was once a welfare mother. I did not abuse or misuse the welfare system but I did find that I was growing lazy after a period of time. Most of my problem was a lack of confidence and a personal embarassment to have to receive a hand-out (even temporarily) from the government, especially when I knew I was a working person. But bad things do happen to good people--even loss of employment. The one thing I did discover though, was that I didn't have to keep receiving a government handout. When I realized what my situation was doing to my daughter--and with the help of the Lord--I pulled myself up and out. I took advantage of the many services that were offered to me to help me regain my self-esteem, my confidence, and my since of self-worth as a person, and went back to work (these are "some" of the things that being on welfare will help to strip you of). I was so very glad when welfare was no longer a part of my life.

Welfare is no life at all. You always have somebody breathing down your neck, in your business because they feel they have a right to be, and controlling what you do, what you have and what you get. I have been off of welfare for a number of years now and I'm very happy about it. I applaud Miss Parker for telling her story, and telling it truthfully and honestly. Welfare--and any government handout that enslaves a person--is not the answer for any people. It is only supposed to be a temporary means of assistance until a person can get back on their feet, regroup, and get back to being independent and self-sufficient again. There is absolutely no advancement of life, no change of life, no improving the qualilty of one's life, on welfare. I truly believe it was never designed to be.

To all the liberals (especially some Democrats) who believe big government and government handouts is the answer to help impoverished, disenfranchised people, my word to you is you are wrong, dead wrong. All you want to do is keep yourselves in the spotlight as the "poor people's self-proclaimed saviors" when all you're doing is keeping poor people poor and enslaved. You are promoters and proponents of poverty, hatred and racism. Why? Because it brings you fame and the people look up to you all as some sort of god. Many of you are nothing more than pimps, as Miss Parker's first book states ("Pimps, Whores and Welfare Brats"), and glorified opportunists. You act as if you've come to help when you've really come to get media coverage and fame for your own selfish agendas, at the expense of a very needy, less-fortunate group of people. May God have mercy on your souls.

Thank you, Miss Parker, for your candor and truth. Keep speaking out to a people who need to hear what you have to say. Hopefully, enough will hear and heed, and seek to make the necessary changes in their lives--for themselves and their children. I pray for the cycle of poverty and welfare to be broken off the people of this nation--especially African American people.

Solid examination of race and poverty issues.......2005-09-28

Star Parker is an outspoken advocate of individual freedom. She knows that government poverty programs are oppressive because she was one of the oppressed. I would have liked to have learned more about her story and her Christian witness. But this book should be eye-opening for anyone who believes government is the answer to poverty.

A Book Black America Needs To Read.......2005-09-09

Star Parker opens the door to subjects we, Americans of African descent, need to critically consider. Why are we still debating issues that the Liberals have promised they would fix - for years. Why are out-of-wedlock births epidemic in the communities of color? When did being conservative mean you had to abandon intellectual honesty for liberalism? Why do we have these media appointed "black leaders" that have no connection to our daily lives? Why does the title "Reverend" have the power to cloud the minds of black folk and bestow upon them omnipresent knowledge?

I have needed to read this book for a long, long time. For all us, Americans of African descent, take heart someone speaks the truth if you would just consider.

U.S.A.: The 42nd Parallel / 1919 / The Big Money (Library of America)

Average customer rating:

Post WWI, Literary Modernism, and History in American Society
Pessimistic and plotless....
Words like old newsreels, 1920's here we come!!!
The real history of America
Excellent social inquiry, mediocre work of literature

U.S.A.: The 42nd Parallel / 1919 / The Big Money (Library of America)
John Dos Passos
Manufacturer: Library of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

An American Tragedy (Signet Classics)
Novels, 1920-1925: One Man's Initiation: 1917, Three Soldiers, Manhattan Transfer (The Library of America)
John Dos Passos: Travel Books and Other Writings 1916-1941 (Library of America)
James T Farrell: Studs Lonigan a Trilogy (Library of America)
Saul Bellow: Novels 1956-1964: Seize the Day, Henderson the Rain King, Herzog (Library of America)

ASIN: 1883011140

Book Description

Unique for its epic scale and panoramic social sweep, Dos Passos' masterpiece comprises three novels--"The 42nd Parallel," "1919," and "The Big Money"--which create an unforgettable collective portrait of modern America. This one-volume edition includes detailed notes and a chronicle of the world events which serve as a backdrop.

Customer Reviews:

Post WWI, Literary Modernism, and History in American Society.......2005-09-26

What does history mean to you? For every college student who has taken an American literature class that covers the early twentieth century, they will come across excerpts of THE USA TRILOGY: 42nd Parallel, 1919, and BIG MONEY. Through out the reading of John Dos Passos' THE USA TRILOGY, this question may penetrate through the mind of each reader that encounters these three books, which were quite innovative during the time in which they were published. This three-volume publication is rich with historical references that pertain to the Civil War, WWI, Industrial Age, and the Russian Revolution. This may be a travel log through Post Modern twentieth century history when writers spontaneously wrote about every bit of observation and engraved them in large volumes of text. Dos Passos was one of those novelists that evolved during the post-WWI age.

Dos Passos wrote about the ever-changing American landscape after World War I that affected the politics as well as the social structure that occurred as a result of the inclusion and exclusion of immigrants that erupted with much nationalistic and xenophobic fervor as well as paranoia. Historians may consider this period in history as the first wave of the Cold War. However, his topics concentrate on the build up of urban development and union formation in the city versus break down of rural and small town constructs of the country. From New York to the coastline of Hampton Roads, Dos Passos covers a wide terrain.

With its experimental poetry and newsreel and newspaper headline layout, the book reads like countless interruptions or intermissions between the narratives. Dos Passos creates a tremendous amount of vivid images that may create a mental picture of the words conveyed in the book. There are splashes of imagery and symbolism that represent the atmosphere in which Dos Passos experienced, which resembles a biographical and bibliographical array of experiences that influenced what he wrote. Therefore, the reading of this fine text takes both an objective and subjective point of view because of its creative nonfiction slant.

Dos Passos' work may be critiqued by literary academics, but speaking from a historical perspective, this set of novels have the history of the early twentieth century in the form of snapshots of the period from narratives that resemble oral histories to commentaries of US history that span from regions divided by the war of the states to the upheaval of the Great Depression. This book is recommended for those who are enticed with US history in the form of a novel. It may take months or a summer to seriously read, but it will be worth the read.

Pessimistic and plotless...........2005-09-07

USA is billed as a trilogy, but I defy anyone to read The 42nd Parallel, 1919, or The Big Money as a stand-alone book and come away satisfied that they've read a story. Indeed, it's difficult to milk a plot out of the combination. Dos Passos presents a steady stream of characters throughout the "trilogy" whose paths occasionally cross. But, the interaction of characters doesn't ensure a plotline and USA singularly fails to develop one. What there is instead are sequential experiences of men and women in the early 20th century either battling it out with the evils of capitalism or, far less frequently, riding high upon it's rising tide.

Dos Passos wrote these books while in total thrall with socialism and, not surprisingly, somewhat taken with the communists. Accordingly, he offers a gritty, pessimistic, cynical rendition of America that is more artifice than actual. Indeed, one is hard-pressed to find a Dos Passos character making something as mundane as a wise decision. All too often, his creations choose the path that is destined to end in personal tragedy. As the reader, I often felt I was privy to a 1920's version of Jerry Springer with the never ending supply of relentless drunks, STD sufferers, deserters, suicides, serial adulterers, batterers, and child molesters. Interwoven within these character "studies" are abbreviated newreel clips (largely obscure), real-life contemporary bios (well done), and autobiographical stream of consciousness bits that work on some levels, but not on most.

Though there's no doubt that many industrial labor practices of the early 1900's were abhorrent by any reasonable standard, Dos Passos might have preferred our progress thereafter to Solzhenitsyn's gulags. Far less sanguine about the prospects of communism, he undoubtedly would have created a less cynical American novel. Indeed, by 1964 Dos Passos had completed an ideological 180 with his support of Barry Goldwater. Though some may think this a pendulum swing too far, such political nimbleness might explain the strong whiff of subjectivity emanating from his earlier social commentary. 3 stars.

Words like old newsreels, 1920's here we come!!!.......2003-08-10

John Dos Passos wrote three novels that are encapsulated by the title: "USA."

These novels are beautiful and sublime in their composition. While reading of some sad stories as well as some humorous ones, the readers is taken on a journey through the 1920's in America. We get a sense of what it was like then. His chapters begin and often end in a "NEWSREEL" imitation. In an age where we as readers have so much "bit" information flashed before our eyes, this mode works well at getting the snapshot ideas he is alluding to in the novels.

Dos Passos is a genius of words-- I recommend taking this one to the beach, especially if you are an American city history buff.

The real history of America.......2002-09-07

I read this book first in 1967 while in high school, given to me by a teacher who wanted me to understand the real American History. When he told me an American general marched on World War One veterans in Washington, DC after WW I and killed many who were looking for veterans benefits I knew this book would be special. It delivers history in a most compelling and unique way, unlike any other book I've read. Americans don't know the whole truth of US History. These three books pick a period and educate, entertain, horrify and overwhelm you with our culture, our past, our politics. It is a must read for anyone remotely interested in US history. One of my favorite books of all time.

Excellent social inquiry, mediocre work of literature.......2002-08-08

Long heralded as a monumental portrait of American society in the early decades of the 20th century, John Dos Passos' U.S.A. trilogy is, if nothing else, an amazing display of intellectual endurance. Few novels that I have come across are more ambitious or broader in scope. In 1240 pages, Dos Passos attempts to characterize a vast, growing nation in one of its most dynamic periods in history. While he gloriously succeeds as a sociological study, it is unfortunately at the expense of producing a mediocre work of literature.

It is important to point out that while the three installments of this trilogy were written several years apart from each other, this is most definitely one book, not three. The first and second books, The 42nd Parallel and 1919, have no proper conclusion, and The Big Money, the trilogy's final installment, is a logical progression in terms of style and chronology, if not plot. So reading any of these books on their own, or reading them all out of sequence, would be a thoroughly unsatisfying experience.

It is clear from early on that Dos Passos has bitten off more than he can chew, at least from a literary perspective. His goal is to capture the essence of an America caught in the throws of industrialization and fervent capitalism, and the inevitable wealth gap and social class struggle that result from this economic expansion. He also tackles the difficult task of explaining this country's painful ambivolence towards the war in Europe and the sense of euphoria in the years following it's conclusion. But these themes are vast and unwieldy, far bigger than any one character in the novel, and as a result, the characters themselves become forgettable and quickly get lost. In a sense, there is only one main character in this novel, and it is America herself.

But America is not a person, it is a country and society, and as such the U.S.A. trilogy at times takes on the feel of a social inquiry more than a work of fiction. The other characters, through whose experiences we study the social landscape and fabric of early 20th century America, lack depth and dimension. They are mere stereotypes chosen by Dos Passos to represent various segments of society. There is the down-and-out vagabond, wandering the country and living hand-to-mouth, bitterly condemning the economic wealth all around him from which he is excluded. You have the quintessential rags-to-riches success story, the boy who started with little more than a dollar in his pocket and a whole lot of ambition, and amassed an economic fortune, but at the expense of his humanity and health. We also find the New York socialites, the Communist activists, the labor union organizers, the proud and rowdy GI soldier. But there are no real people, as such characters would not serve the greater purpose of defining American society in the way that Dos Passos sees it. And as a result, the experiences and interactions among these characters are also stereotypical.

Despite its shortcomings, the U.S.A. trilogy is worth reading, as it constitutes an important contribution to the understanding of our nation and its history. And in many ways, the great ambition of this novel encouraged other writers to strive to create works of fiction that were not just of literary merit, but also of important social significance. However, for a far more satisfying literary experience, Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy accomplishes on a micro-level what Dos Passos attempted to achieve on a broader scale. But unlike the U.S.A. trilogy, Dreiser's work is a true pleasure to read.

Carry a Big Stick: The Uncommon Heroism of Theodore Roosevelt (Leaders in Action Series)
Average customer rating:

A Must-Read for the U.S. History Student!

Biased -- Better Stuff Available

Carry A Big Stick

Errors galore in this Conservative Christian propaganda!

My, wasn't that just bully!

Carry a Big Stick: The Uncommon Heroism of Theodore Roosevelt (Leaders in Action Series)
George Grant
Manufacturer: Cumberland House Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1888952202

Customer Reviews:

A Must-Read for the U.S. History Student!.......2006-03-09

What a wonderful book! Teddy Roosevelt was brilliantly ressurected for us by George Grant in this comprehensive, yet easy-to-read work (because of the chapter lengths). Section 1 is a biography of his life; Section 2 contains short chapters on his character, and many sides to his life; Section 3 deals with his legacy.

This book gives the reader a good look a life in the U.S. during the last half of the 19th century, as well as one of the period's most beloved of heroes.

Biased -- Better Stuff Available.......2005-06-08

I just wanted a simple biography on Theodore Roosevelt, but this was pretty openly and obviously a book with an agenda. True, the basics about Theodore Roosevelt are here, but the emphasis is on spiritual faith and values. Since I read this book, I read Roosevlet's autobiography and came to realize that he is much more complex than this book suggests.

Carry A Big Stick.......2003-08-29

This is an incredible book, that truly gives you the insight of one of the greatest men that ever lived. Filled with many incredible principles to live by, you WILL enjoy this book and the excitement it brings to your life!

Errors galore in this Conservative Christian propaganda!.......2003-04-22

I've read 40+ plus books by or about TR and this is the worst, one-sided view of this complex, multi-facted man. This is as bad as the radical-left "Howard Zinn-ism" revisionist history of TR's foreign policies.

There are too many "blatant" errors to list in this mini-review, but just for starters:

1). TR did not, as the author claims, visit his mother's Georgia plantation "10 or more times". It is well documented that TR only visited Bulloch Hall twice -once as president and once post-White House. He did not have a very high opinion of most Southerners, despite the author's claims to the contrary. His wife abhorred most Southerners.

2). TR did not force his children, particulary Alice, to attend church every Sunday. Edith was the religious task master of the family and in her quiet manner usually rounded up all kids, except for Alice. Alice was a well-known, open atheist from her teen years until she died. TR and Edith had accepted the teenager's refusal to be confirmed in the Episcopal church or any other church. Their son Archie also grew up to be an agnostic.

3). TR most certainly did NOT shower Edith with flowers and jewels. He never even remembered her birthday (though he never forgot the date of their engagement and wedding anniversay). Edith hated receiving extravagent gifts from anyone, especially her husband. They did have a very happy marriage and home life but he also known for taking off on 3-month hunting trips soon after Edith would deliver another baby.

4). TR most certainly did like to attend parties and was a professional social butterfly because he knew he would probably end up as the main attraction - just what his ego needed. The author paints TR as a man who shunned social gatherings to be with his family 24/7. Definitely not true. He LOVED being around people of all and any type, though his wife certainly like to stoke the home fires more than making the social rounds.

5). TR never made any speeches about abortion. Abortion was not on the radar screen in his time. The author uses quotes that TR said about women not wanting to get married and raise families to make it seem as though TR were speaking direcly on the subject of abortion.

6). TR believed in and preached on the separation of Church and State. He wanted to remove "In God We Trust" from the US coinnage and even pushed one of the leading artists of that time, Grant LaFarge, to create a new design. The "religious right" of his time went ballistic over this decision and he later backed down. He made many speeches proclaiming that the Church stay out of the affairs of the State. Indeed, he was a strong, "old school" Christian who did preach to the citizens the value of religion, a happy home life, and following the morals one teaches to his/her children. However, he also thought a country would head down the dangerous path if a certain religion or belief were forced upon its citizens.

I would not recommend this book on TR to ANYONE.

My, wasn't that just bully!.......2003-04-20

George Grant has written a delightful book about a delightful man.

Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservativism Brought Down the Republican Revolution

Average customer rating:

The Title Says It All
GOP goes astray
It opened my eyes
The looming battle for the soul of the Republican Party
Essential for any college-level political science discussion of modern American trends.

Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservativism Brought Down the Republican Revolution
Michael D. Tanner
Manufacturer: Cato Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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The Elephant in the Room: Evangelicals, Libertarians and the Battle to Control the Republican Party
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The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945

ASIN: 1933995009

Book Description

Despite an ostensibly conservative Republican president and republican control of Congress, government is bigger and more intrusive than ever. That is not by accident; it is the conscious aim of a new brand of conservatism that seeks, not to reduce the size of government, but to use big government for conservative ends. This book shows how the Bush administration, Congress, and large parts of the Republican Party and the conservative movement have abandoned traditional conservative ideals and embraced the idea of big government.

Customer Reviews:

The Title Says It All.......2007-04-19

Indeed it does. In case anyone has not noticed, the Republican controlled Congress and Executive have turned the federal government into a power-grabbing, free-spending machine. It is the complete opposite of Goldwater's conscience and Reagan's government-the problem. The book dryly lists the endless details that bear testament to this claim. After recovering from your nap while reading this, you will find yourself longing for someone to write an interesting book telling how in the heavens this came about. By what right does this corrupt generation of politicians call themselves conservatives? Can this dysfunctional government be fixed?

GOP goes astray.......2007-04-18

Republicans have traditionally favored seeking state, local, or private sector solutions to problems, while Democrats tended to favor a larger role for the federal government. Despite considerable growth in federal programs over time, voters were at least offered a lower taxes/ less government alternative.

In recent years, elements of the Republican Party (neoconservatives, religious right, supply siders, etc.) have adopted a more expansive view of what the federal government should be doing. This goes a long way towards explaining why federal spending has grown faster (real annual growth of 4.9% per year) on George W. Bush's watch than under any president since Lyndon B. Johnson. Tanner decries the emergence of big-government (or compassionate) conservatism from several standpoints.

* However well meaning some of the new initiatives may be, such as a prescription drug benefit for Medicare and the "no child left behind" program, they are also wasteful if not counterproductive. Worse, the government's "entitlement" programs (principally Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid) are unsustainable, and no efforts are being made to put these programs on a sounder footing. Some people may find Tanner's proposals for cutting back on the goodies unpalatable, but they are specific, well supported, and deserving of careful consideration.

*The Republican Party lost Congress in 2006 at least partly due to fiscal laxity, and it will not regain traction without returning to its small government principles. "If [the American people] come to believe that the choice is between liberal Democrats who will give them lots of things and big-government conservatives who will give them a little bit less," says Tanner, "they will choose the liberal Democrats."

*Although the banner of fiscal conservatism could be taken up by a third party, Tanner does not see this happening. Even "if the Libertarian Party - or another third party - were to develop a credible small-government platform, campaign finance laws and ballot access barriers make it virtually impossible for a third party to be competitive."

Which leaves us with these questions: Can the Republicans find themselves again? If not, who will speak against the endless and ultimately ruinous growth in government spending?

It opened my eyes.......2007-03-21

Mr. Tanner's book makes so much sense. A lot has changed in our country and it is really refreshing to have writing of this clarity about what has been going on. He was able to identify trends within Republican Party policy that have resulted in some pretty strange legislation. I recommend this book. It helped me understand initiatives that have been put in place that came from the Right while espousing views traditionally held by the Left!

The looming battle for the soul of the Republican Party.......2007-03-10

"Leviathan on The Right" is the opening salvo in the internecine battle within the Republican Party. For believers of limited government who have wondered where the GOP went wrong, Michael D. Tanner chronicles how the vision of the likes of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan have been usurped by segments of the GOP have insisted on expanding government. Why? Tanner outlines the various strains of conservative thought (In perhaps the best way I have ever seen the differences explained by any other author who has touched on this theme) that have influenced the GOP that a small government, budget-cutting agenda is not just politically unpalatable, but counterproductive to cementing political power. Neoconservatives, "national greatness" conservatives, the religious right and others have become the dominant voice during the Bush administration and by doing so have set us on the road to a fiscal nightmare that will leave our country poorer and limit our personal liberties.

Tanner's book does not touch on foreign policy but focuses on the rise in domestic spending on ever expanding entitlement programs (The disgraceful Medicare Prescription Benefit rightfully gets lambasted), educational mandates (No Child Left Behind effectively created a national school board), corporate welfare, farm subsidies and slabs of unnecessary pork. By highlighting the abandonment of federalism and the enumerated powers set in our Constitution, can anyone doubt that the policies best left to state and local governments are sapping our ability to effectively fund the protection of our country from those that mean to do us harm?

As a Cato Institute scholar, you can expect that Tanner's solutions to many problems have a libertarian bent that seeks to maximize personal liberty, employ free market solutions and eventually deregulate, decentralize and put a sizeable dent in the scope of the federal government. Many of Tanner's suggestions, particularly those concerning entitlement programs, are not only good approaches to solving the crisis, but may very well be the only way to solve them. His approach to healthcare, however, is one topic in which his viewpoint I find to be lacking. For example, although individual mandates requiring people to purchase health insurance is nearly impossible to enforce at best and unconstitutional at worst, it may be the only sensible way to start alleviating the cost we are all burdened with as the number of the uninsured creeps ever higher.

Ultimately, the Revolution of 1994 started to collapse as soon as Congressional Republicans started believing big government should suit conservative ends, regardless of how intrusive, expensive or dubious the proposition. If the 2006 election is any indication, the Republican Party severely needs some soul searching. 2008 may not be any better. But as Mr. Tanner reminds us, Barry Goldwater's loss in 1964 was the harbinger of a once great movement. Perhaps a similiar fate will allow for the resurrection of it.

Essential for any college-level political science discussion of modern American trends........2007-03-06

Conservatives in the Republican Party have lots to debate these days: they've lost control of Congress and their platforms are being called into question. Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservatism Brought Down the Republican Revolution analyzes the concept and origins of big-government conservatism and its growth over the decades, offering a critique of its foundations and policies and gathering evidence to support the convention that conservatives need to return to their small-government roots. Essential for any college-level political science discussion of modern American trends.

Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government--and How We Take It Back

Average customer rating:

Great seller!
Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government --And How We Take It Back
Good, But Biased
Give them as Gifts
Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government--and How We Take It Back

Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government--and How We Take It Back
David Sirota
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

U.S. | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans--Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild
How Would a Patriot Act? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok
Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class - And What We Can Do about It (BK Currents)
Conservatives Without Conscience
American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21stCentury

ASIN: 0307237346
Release Date: 2006-05-02

Book Description

Do you ever wonder if there’s a connection between the corruption scandals in the news and the steady decline in the quality of life for millions of Americans?

Do you ever wonder what corporations get for the millions of dollars they pour into the American political system?

Do you ever think the government has been hijacked by forces hostile to average Americans?

Do you ever want to fight back?

Millions of Americans lack health care and millions more struggle to afford it. Politicians claim they care, then pass legislation that just sends more cash to the HMOs. Wages have been stagnant for thirty years, even as corporate profits skyrocket. Politicians say they want to fix the problem and then pass bills written by lobbyists that drive wages even lower and punish those crushed by debt. Jobs are being shipped overseas, pensions are being cut, and energy is becoming unaffordable. And our government, more concerned about maintaining its corporate sponsorship than protecting its citizens, does nothing about it.

In Hostile Takeover, David Sirota, a major new voice in American politics, seeks to open the eyes of ordinary Americans to the fact that corporate interests have undermined democracy, aided and abetted by their lackeys in our allegedly representative government. At a time when more and more of America’s major political leaders are being indicted or investigated for corruption, Sirota takes readers on a journey that shows how all of this nefarious behavior happened right under our noses—and how the high-profile scandals are merely one product of a political system and debate wholly owned by Big Money interests. Sirota considers major public issues that feel intractable—like spiraling health care costs, the outsourcing of jobs, the inequities of the tax code, and out-of-control energy prices—and shows how in each case workable solutions are buried under the lies of lobbyists, the influence of campaign cash, and the ubiquitous spin machine financed by Big Business.

With fiery passion, pinpoint wit, and lucid analysis, Hostile Takeover reveals the true enemies of reform and their increasingly sophisticated—and hostile—tactics. It’s an essential guidebook for those of us tired of the government selling us out—and determined to take our country back.

Also available as an eBook

Customer Reviews:

Great seller!.......2007-08-08

The book was in excellent condition as promised, it was well packed and delivery was prompt. Great buying experience; highly recommended!!!

Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government --And How We Take It Back.......2007-07-31

I am not sure how I can say I love this book when what it is saying makes me so angry that I can only read it for a short period of time before I have to take a break from it. It/he speaks truth to power---a very ugly and perverted power. I fear that no politician is free from the corruption; and, I wonder how we can ever take back our government.

Good, But Biased.......2007-07-24

"Hostile Takeover" was an excellent book showcasing just how tight Corporate America and the US government are when it comes to domestic issues. It is highly recommended for everyone to read. I found a few flaws in it however. One was that it did not focus on the hostile takeover of US foreign policy for big business interests. However, this subject could be a different book entirely, which is the job of Noam Chomsky. It is good he doesnt focus on the same subject as Chomsky and many others, but I felt he could have at least mentioned some of the issues of foreign policy. Another problem for me was that the author had no problem calling out think tanks and institutes as conservative, but never labeled others that he supported as liberal, instead constantly calling them "nonpartisan". I am a libertarian, but I enjoyed this book. He is most certainly a liberal but he does have some pretty good ideas to the solve problems of the hostile takeover and I continually found myself agreeing with him. Recommended for any thoughtful person concerned with our counry's future.

Give them as Gifts.......2007-02-23

I got this book from the library and read it over a month. It took me that long because every night I read it, I was sick to my stomach. It is so chock full of facts that I want the paperback when it comes out just so I can use it as a reference tool when I argue with my conservative friends about politics. Come to think of it, I'd like to buy copies for anyone that still feels free trade is a good idea, that CEO's really deserve the pay they are getting, and it would be a good idea to privatize social security.

Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government--and How We Take It Back.......2007-01-09

goood

Losing Our Democracy: How Bush, the Far Right and Big Business Are Betraying Americans For Power and Profit

Average customer rating:

this is the state of the union
Good Summary!
Giving up essential freedom, is it really for security?
Losing our Democracy leads to Gaining real Insight

Losing Our Democracy: How Bush, the Far Right and Big Business Are Betraying Americans For Power and Profit
Mark Green
Manufacturer: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Democracy | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History & Theory | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

U.S. | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans--Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild
Conservatives Without Conscience
Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government--And How We Take It Back
Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class - And What We Can Do about It (BK Currents)
Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic (American Empire Project)

ASIN: 1402207018

Book Description

Mark Green is coauthor with Eric Alterman of the recent New York Times bestseller The Book on Bush: How George W. (Mis)Leads America. In Losing Our Democracy he takes on a larger subject, revealing in chilling detail how the far and religious right, a coalition of big business and, most shockingly, President Bush and his White House are in the process of sabotaging our democracy.

With careful reasoning and brilliant style, the author provides anecdotes and extensive evidence demonstrating that our liberty is under attack.

This is not, however, just another Bush-bashing book, this is a call-to-arms to all the people in America who cherish our freedom and who are sick and tired of seeing rich, born-again, politicians line their pockets so that special interests can have whatever they want at the America people's expense. Subjects include voter suppression, religious, corporate, and legislative tyranny, so-called tort reform, the problem of purchased politicians and the far right's Stone-Age approach to race and civil rights.

Customer Reviews:

this is the state of the union.......2007-01-25

our new government
by the lobbist
for the special interest

everything is cheaper than it looks,
don't get to close

Good Summary!.......2006-08-27

"Losing Our Democracy" begins with a wry observation: "Much has been written about Bush's war for democracy abroad, but what about his war on democracy at home?" Green goes on to observe that while Bushites may question evolutionary Darwinism, they love Social Darwinism. But because of imperfect information, oligopoly power, corruption, deception, laissez isn't always fair.

Republicans have been brilliant in marketing their brand. Per Thomas Frank: "Vote to stop abortion; receive a rollback in capital gains taxes. Vote to make our country strong again; receive deindustrialization. Vote to stand tall against terrorists; receive Social Security privatization." How do the Republicans do it? Serial manipulation of information has confused and misled millions of Americans. Then there's the disproportionate influence of corporate dollars (1% give move campaign dollars than the other 99% and receive 40% of all recent tax cuts). Another distortion is created by the fact that 45% of Americans (eg. low population Red states such as Wyoming) elect 55% of our Senators.

Gerrymandering (plus enhanced fundraising ability) results in 98% of House members being re-elected. Other abuses include the Republicans running Congress basically without Democrat input, threatening Republican members with primary opposition and lack of funding if they vote against the President (House members do so 84% of the time), holding votes without allowing members time to read the proposed bill, and totally rewriting bills in conference committee with little member input.

Green then goes on to list abuses in other areas. The 2005 "Consume Fairness Act" moved class actions from state to federal courts, resulting in them being much more likely to be thrown out as "unmanageable." Then there is corporate accounting fraud (Enron), grossly biased stock evaluators (Henry Blodget)

Giving up essential freedom, is it really for security?.......2006-08-20

Mark Green touches upon how Bush is condemning the true notion of democracy in its birthplace while hypocritically proclaiming of his efforts to spread democracy to the rest of the world. The book is eloquently written and allows the readers to logically follow through Mark Green's reasoning of how Bush had sabotaged people's freedom in the US. Losing our democracy must be read if you want to know the current situation of our government and how it had led to the prevalence of cronyism in our country.

Losing our Democracy leads to Gaining real Insight.......2006-08-16

By reading Losing our Democracy, you really get a sense of where our current administration is leading us; and it isn't pretty. Mark Green does a great job of showing us what needs to be done to put this country back on track.

Average customer rating:

For the Neal fans, a great read; for others don't bother
An Interesting Perspective on Stephenson's Roots
The Big Start to the Big Career
Don't know why it was out of print
Fast Times at Boston University

The Big U
Neal Stephenson
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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The Cobweb
Interface
Zodiac
In the Beginning...was the Command Line
The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (Bantam Spectra Book)

ASIN: 0380816032
Release Date: 2001-02-05

Book Description

The New York Times Book Review called Neal Stephenson's most recent novel "electrifying" and "hilarious". but if you want to know Stephenson was doing twenty years before he wrote the epic Cryptonomicon, it's back-to-school time. Back to The Big U, that is, a hilarious send-up of American college life starring after years our of print, The Big U is required reading for anyone interested in the early work of this singular writer.

Customer Reviews:

For the Neal fans, a great read; for others don't bother.......2007-09-07

This book was clearly a sophomore attempt, OK, pun intended, and I generally wouldn't recommend it for anybody not familiar with Neal Stephenson. Most people will find the story line disjointed, the humor too scattershot, the characters 2-dimensional, and the entire book too dependent on obscure knowledge, particularly one book by Julian Jaynes (a cardinal sin for authors is to presuppose obscure knowledge on part of the readership); all aspects Neal has tightened up since then.

But having read most of Neal's others as well as Jaynes' book, I thought that within the abovementioned caveats - and others - the book was enjoyable in places, and was a great example of a mind furiously churning out ideas.

And that was the pleasure in this novel. Neal belongs to the same generation that has deified 'cult heroes' such as Pynchon, Burroughs, and the idea of a novel existing in such an incomplete, fragmented form was actually racy and exciting to a certain group then - or at least didn't put us all off. So that may be part of why the "Big U" turned out the way it did.

So perhaps Neal wanted to just get his concepts together in one place and didn't bother to work through them thoroughly, in the 80s this was more an acceptable thing, and to let the general public go to he77. Like one other reviewer I can't help but compliment those who actually helped 'discover' this young talent and get him published.

So this is sort of a "diamond in the rough" by a fella who has since turned out to be a very entertaining and brilliant American writer. If you haven't read him before, you should start with either "Snow Crash" or "Diamond Age," both of which continue some of the threads of idea started here, but more refined and coherent.

An Interesting Perspective on Stephenson's Roots.......2007-05-17

Although the writing tends to be a bit undisciplined and even unrestrained, I greatly enjoyed this book. It's little more than a funny story, but a funny story it is (at least from the point of view of a college junior). It provides a view of college that is exaggerated in a most comical way. It's a great read for anyone in college or anyone who has been to an American university.

It's also an interesting read that provides a look at Stephenson's early roots. I'm a huge Stephenson fan, and this novel is a good deal different from this later writer. It does, however, provide a look at some of his early ideas, especially ones that came out in his groundbreaking novel "Snow Crash". Many reviewers have made the obvious computer/technology connections, but I was much more surprised by the discussion of Julian Jaynes' "The Origin of Conciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" that was found in "The Big U". Fans of "Snow Crash" will know that Jaynes' work is a fundamental part of "Snow Crash", and it's interesting to see Stephenson talk about the research in "The Big U", if only on a much smaller scale than in "Snow Crash". Many of Stephenson's later ideas are touched upon in "The Big U", although it's clear that in 1984 he wasn't as adept at weaving them into a coherent, compelling story. Still, "The Big U" is worth reading for both entertainment and historical reasons.

The Big Start to the Big Career.......2007-05-10

What's really fascinating about The Big U is how early Neal Stephenson hit upon so many of the themes that he follows through so much of his more recent fiction. Others have commented about the interest in computers, programming, and worms--these come in as plot points here, but Stephenson hadn't figured out how to use them in detail without losing the reader, as he did later in Cryptonomicon. The fascinating blend between absolutely ludicrous plot twists, believable detail, and weird, geeky heros is here already. And I noticed some more incidental ideas germinating here; I was struck by how the decaying University, once the epitome of higher education, resembled the decaying palace of Louis XIV, complete with bats and rats and crumbling ceilings and walls. Also, the dumping of cement into the hole occupied by the "B-men" in the Big U was surely a forerunner of two scenes in Cryptonomicon--if you haven't read it, I don't want to spoil it for you here. We are missing a red-headed immortal, but Stephenson was just getting warmed up. Fans should not miss this; but if you haven't gotten bitten by the Stephenson bug, you might want to start elsewhere.

Don't know why it was out of print.......2005-10-13

What a great book! I don't know about 80s college parody or whatever, but Stephenson writes some great characters and the style of narration is great. This book is great because of the exaggeration and because while I was reading it, Stephenson made the extreme stuff make sense. It's like watching a movie where the acting is so good you don't even go "She's a great actor" because the performance has got you. He sets the tone of the craziness right from the start, establishing the rules where this book takes place. Sure college kids can relate to this book but that's not what makes it great. Actually I read this book and didn't think about college too much at all and I was in a FRAT! hohoho. I definitely liked this more than his later books the whole Baroque Cycle, I barely got through cryptonomicon. I like his sense of humor so Zodiac, Snowcrash, and some of Diamond Age was more my style, along with the big U. So anyways check this book out especially if you liked snowcrash. It's pretty solid.

Fast Times at Boston University.......2005-06-01

Not his best, but a darn good read. Neal Stephenson, Boston U class of '81, made the most of his time at B.U. by writing his first partly sci fi novel. University life starts out as ordered chaos and gradually builds to a wild crescendo of open warfare in the lunatic asylum. Nothing is held sacred, well except for the Big Wheel Oil sign, in reality the Citgo sign in Kenmore square. Interestingly, it was actually turned off from 1979 to 1983, by Governor Ed King to save electricity. The book is full of gems such as an attempt to pie President Krupp (John Silber?), a brilliant computer nerd battling it out with an immortal computer virus, dungeons and dragons played in the sewers under B.U. infested with giant rats, and an incredibly bizarre method to raise money for the University (Silber again?). Laced with humor, some scares, but never a dull moment.

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