First, I must confess an incredibly strong bias-- I reached teenage-hood in 90, and I have always thanked God that I was not a teenager in the 80's. For me, everything about that decade was horrible: the hair, the clothes, the (mainstream) music, the government, and most of all, the yuppies and the greed. After reading Bradford Martin's The Other Eighties, however, I realized that all of the role models I had and all of the things I learned about social justice, protest and active citizenship I actually learned during the 80's.

Each chapter of this book is concise, complete and devoted to a particular "movement" occuring during the decade of glam rock and Wall Street (starting with the nuclear freeze movement, seguing to apartheid and opposition to secret wars in South and central America, and finishing with culture wars and issues like race and poverty in America or the spread of AIDS). Along the way, what becomes clear is a marked shift in America's thinking-- the Reagan years seem to have resulted in an America that has little empathy for our own people's suffering (often denying such suffering is possible/undeserved), but which takes tremendous pride in and responsibility for "alleviating" the suffering of other people. In addition, he draws interesting and thought-provoking connections between the 80's protests and the radical/revolutionary movements emerging under the current president, Barack Obama.

For a change in perspective alone, for a shift in thinking from the "oh so commercial" 80's to one of self sacrifice, risk and principle, The Other Eighties is definitely worth reading. It is a testimonial to the power of the American voice and little people and surprised me greatly.

WithThe Sugar Barons Matthew Parker has given us both an authoritative and insightful history of post-Columbus West Indies and an interesting read full of little known tidbits about the early American colonies and government. It is chock-full of detail without being overwhelming, and Parker's use of the major personalities as overarching framework works as well as it does for David Halberstam.

The only criticism I have of this book is that in concentrating on the military/political history and major actors and influential leaders of places like Barbados, Jamaica, Antigua and Guyana, Parker ignores what actual life was like for the regular person. He makes it clear that the hardships of slavery, indenturement, poverty and disease are dominant for the majority of islanders, but the reader is left knowing much more about what life was like for the island nobility than the island common man and slave (the most common man).

This turned out to be a major disappointment for me. I thought, in the beginning, I was going to like it very much, but I gave up just 60 pages short of finishing. It is beautifully written but I couldn't develop any attachment to the characters. When I realized I didn't care about what happened to them I just stopped reading.

What an odd subject, made fascinating and illuminating by the author's inquisitive mind and sturdy, deceptively simple, prose style. By historically tracking the physical remains of the man who's skeptical approach led to "cognito ergo sum," the author traces how the West has dealt with the mind/body conundrum since the 17th century to now. Not only that but his parting words, on how the path of the heart has embodied western unitive wisdom from earliest times till now, and will continue to even as the mind/brain debate throws up more heat than light, shows the author's deep knowledge of western culture. Well worth reading for almost anyone who is interested in what it means to be human.

When faced with an impossible task, it must be hard to gird up one's loins and wade in. But Noll has done just that in this book. These Oxford guides are handy introductions, but some of the topics they wrestle with in 150 pages are so vast that the mind is sorely tempted to loose hold. Noll safely keeps his and the readers' minds grasping, but not gasping. For though he packs in a plausible survey, he evades the challenge of making it exciting or thought-provoking. Plus, by leaving out relevant economic, sociological and psychological points, the human context sometimes blurs into a recitation of facts. But since this was an impossible task... how could it really have been any better?

This is a naughty review.

It is a naughty review because it is not a review of the books stated, which the reviewer has also read, and which is a cursory, though charming, anthology of some of Nichol's more terse bon mots. Rather, the book that is really being reviewed, "Merry Hall," is so old it lacks an ISBN#, and therefore can not be chosen to review. But Nichols would have appreciated the spectacle of human outwitting machine and number, and so this naughtiness can perhaps be forgiven.

Now, after the naughtiness, lets get the nastiness over with. Nichols the narrator of this tale, fits most 21st century definitions of a aesthetic snob, a fop and a misogynist. Ugggh, right? Actually no. Nichols, for all these faults, writes a charming, enjoyable, informative, engaging book. He does this partially because he has 2 gifts, the gift of love and the gift of attention. Throw in witty Brit self-depreciation, the knowledge that he had suffered through WW II, and the fact that, like most of us, he is a creatures of his time and place. Still, if you are a stickler for PC, let me warn you off now. But you will miss a lot.

 

The gift of love shows through in the very narrative arc of the book. He falls in love with a house he cannot afford, or rather a badly desecrated Regency mansion with acres of degraded garden. He buys it, he renovates it, he loves it. His love is not snobby -- a lily calls it forth as readily as a mansion. And where his love goes his attention follows. He possesses a sensitivity to the beautiful that, coupled with an equally felicitous prose style, adroitly communicates joy and delight. All this makes him a wonderful writer, or rather companion, as he takes you on a tour of moments in his life.

U-Boat Adventures explains the excitement, fear, terror, and hopelessness of Germany’s once dreaded and deadly submarine fleet which at the end of World War Two saw only 1 of 7 subs return from attack-and-destroy missions. The book is a collection of short autobiographies from U-boat commanders and sailors fifty years after the war. A major drawback is that men in their nineties have memories and stories that may not be the same if taken right after the war in the mid-1940’s.There is an overview of how technological advances, both Allied and Axis, had a huge impact on naval warfare. The book supplies rare and vivid stories from a tiny survivors’ group under very stressful circumstances: trying to sink the enemy before he sinks you. A Better bet: Iron Coffins: A Personal Account of the German U-boat Battles of World War II, by Herbert A. Werner. Iron Coffins reads like a novel but is an autobiography written shortly after the war, it's more detailed, vivid, accurate.

The History of the Ancient World is a sweeping and comprehensive compilation of everything we know about the early history of the world, from the very first recorded writings and letters to the splintering of the Roman Empire. Although it is an enormous undertaking, Wise Bauer is able enough to do more than skim the surface of world history and in fact provides tightly linked, in-depth reporting and analysis of each country, its development and its rulers/leaders. More importantly, the layout of the book and the multitude of maps enable the reader to clearly understand each subject's position-- geographically, socially and culturally.

Wise Bauer's History is an excellent launching point for any exploration of the ancient world, and the attention she devotes to each age and culture provides a solid foundation for further investigation. Her writing style is casual and flows like conversation, making what could be a dry textbook an engaging and fast-paced read.

With Empires in World History: Power and the Politics of Difference Jane Burbank and Frederick Cooper have made an enormous and essential contribution not just to world history, but also to modern political philosophy. A graduate level work, the book analyzes the major archetypal empires of the world and how they used the concept of "other" to manipulate their peoples, expand their domains, and control their worlds. The authors elucidate striking similarities in the governance and philosophy of empires like the Mongol and Ottoman or Stalin Russia and Qin/Zhou China, but also fully illustrate the different results of their strategies for dealing with "other," for example, the Ottoman or Mongol strategy as opposed to the Stalinist Russian or Qin Chinese strategy. As a whole, the book could be considered a foundation for a new discussion of the issues facing the American Empire today.

If you're like me, then you spend a lot of time wondering why our American world is so very "us vs them." You might also spend a lot of time wondering if the echoes and corelations with the fall of the Roman Empire are real and if the American Empire really is in its final stages. Empires in World History does not answer those questions, but it does serve as a starting point for exploration and more than fully explains the many ways that Empires and governments have used power and the politics of difference to further their interests and control their populations, to both good and ill effect.

If you have any interest at all in the history of WWII, then you are probably familiar with Ian Kershaw and his tremendous scholarship. You've probably also, at some point, considered the end of the war and the absolute fight to the death engaged in by not only the German soldiers, but even their citizenry and wondered what in the world they were thinking. While no one person can answer that question definitively, Kershaw provides enough evidence and context to make some educated suppositions and provide a way to get your head around the end of the Nazi struggle for world dominance.

I absolutely do not recommend this book to the casual reader or anyone who wants a clear-cut "this is why WWII in Europe ended thusly." If, however, you are a person interested in the details of WWII-- the why's and the conditions out of which such monstrosity could occur-- then The End: The Defiance and Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1944-1945 is an absolute must read.

Let's Play White is a stunning collection of short fiction by newly published author Chesya Burke. For me, short stories are on the same level as poetry-- every word counts and each story must be woven as tightly as a wicker basket. Chesya Burke displays sheer mastery over language and, through her ordering of the included works, is also able to keep the reader on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and suspense while tackling the onerously heavy topics of race and gender.

From the first gut-wrenching story about a man reaching the end of his wits after an interminably long period of unemployment, to a "lighter" interlude in 20's Harlem, to the painfully allegorical final novella, Burke discourses on and poses important questions about race, gender, history and America. While there are no explicit answers offered, the stories stay with you, the meanings and echoes grow, evolve and broaden, and eventually, you start to see possible avenues to a better future. For example, when I finished the final novella, I felt disappointed and was thinking that she had ended on an entirely false note (compared to the rest of the book). An hour or so later, however, I realized suddenly that the "false" note I was reacting to was that of hope, and that the optimism implicit in the resolution in fact changed the meaning of every single story I had read. Which meant I had to read them again, of course.

I cannot rate Chesya Burke's abilities highly enough, nor I can I recommend this collection strongly enough. Whether for personal enjoyment, literary analysis, book club discussion, or sheer time-killing, you will be hard-pressed to find a more engrossing or worthwhile read.

An uncommon read which is witty, economical, inscrutable, and by turns brash, unforgettable and utterly delightful. The ending will cause you to exclaim, "Oh, Snap!" Because Her Majesty is like that. If you didn't know that before starting this gem of a read, you will most assuredly come to that realization by the time you reach the all-too quickly arrived at fini.

Applying the determination, persistance, and creativity people will apply to game-playing to the resolution of real life crises and issues will most likely solve those problems in short order, according to Jane McGonigal. Put another way, if the experts, politicians, and world leaders had the same attitude that gamers bring to their games, the world would be a much cleaner, safer, and better place. She lists real life examples of this in Part III such as "The Lost Ring" for the purpose of involving more of the world population in the World Olympics and "Evoke" for the purpose of resolving broad issues and concerns on the African continent.See http://olympics.wikibruce.com/home and www.urgentevoke.com respectfully. McGonigal postulates that the social media site Foursquare is in reality a life-management game. Something to think about. And that's why I loved this book, it was wide-eyed inspirational and really sparked the imagination.

Short essays, quips, charts, and line drawings try to capture the droll, understated, quirky humor of Demetri Martin. "Surveys show that 1 out of every 1 person are you." If you've never listened to Martin's monologues, this book will give you a flat, 2-dimensional intro to his super-silly, very smart material. If you have heard Martin's material before, let his voice, his cadence, and his timing play through your head as you read and enjoy. A very good literary start for a man most appreciated when heard.

A personable, conversational, immediate discussion on every aspect of space travel from getting off the ground, getting out of the atmosphere, getting into orbit, getting to various destinations ( space station, moon base, mars colony) and back to the ground securely and safely. Liberally sprinkled with history, insider knowledge about the politics and finances along the way, considering public opinion, public perception, and public relations.All with just enough technical data to make things convincing and interesting. A very fun read presenting the current thinking in the space industry from a unique and very successful perspective.

This book contains the germ of an excellent project: a comparision between 12-step programs and self-help books based on the premises of positive happiness psychology. However, the author also includes a great deal of unstructured thoughts on positive psychology and spiritual growth, their similarities, differences and strengths. A better editing job or rewrite would have focused these sections into a more coherent, and therefore, more interesting, read.

This is a stirring telling of the the lives of 12 Christians, some very well known (such as Jesus,) some less so, who told the truth of God's love to a world that did not want to hear it. These twelve are such well-developed induviduals, and from such different cultures, that it is hard the think of them agreeing about anything. But they did all agree about the basic tenents of Christianity, and the way each expressed this agreement through their lives makes for a good read.

This is a big fat book (but easy and pleasant to read,) about a man who had a big fat influence(so large as to be hard to define) on our big fat world (though mostly America.) Actually, it is all a bit more complicated than that, but then, it usually is.

Olmsted, the son of a 19th century Conneticut merchant, was a man who tried many things before finding his way into an American profession that was equally late a-borning: landscape architecture. Finding himself unemployed, but with the right friends at the right time, Olmsted, along with his frequent partner, Calvert Vaux, designed and installed the first great park in America, New York's Central Park. As such, their taste, which pretty much runs in a straight line from the English poets Wordsworth and Coleridge to the American sage Emerson to the Hudson Valley painters to American architect Downing with whom Vaux apprenticed, has perhaps had some unconscious influence on many, if not most, of the people who have lived in Manhatten since the Civil War. Add in a few of Olmsted's other works: Boston's Emerald Necklace, the Biltmore estate and its effect on forestry in America, Chicago's White City, the grounds of the Capitol in D.C., the beginnings of the preservation of the Yosemite Valley, the campus of Stanford Univ. -- plus, lots more, and we might be talking about one of America's least well known, farseeing, truly great, unacknowledged legislators.

He seems to have not been an easy person, but, not a corrupt nor bad one either. More than likely bipolar, and with a lot more mental baggage than just that, he had a superb visual imagination coupled with great inventive insights-- plus, complete confidience in these abilities. Though opinionated, cranky and sometimes insensitive, he was also honest, outgoing, curious, hardworking and unusually dutiful with his family; a great deal of his behavior depended on his mood and health. The author, Martin, handles this man's contadictions well, presenting evidience, letting the reader judge. This could have easily been a three volume bio., credit Martin with the ability to write a nonsketchy-feeling story in about 400 pages. Highly rec.

Where do I start with this one. First, I should disclaim that I watched the movie, Precious, based on the prequel to this book, as such I do not have a literary backdrop to compare the two books. However, that does not retract from my distaste of this book.

The Kid is based on the prequel, Push, about a young woman faced with many obstacles in the home and outside the home and eventually catches HIV most likely from her father who she bears her first and second child with. This book is based on Precious's second child, Abdul Jones. Of course, I expected vulgarity, poverty and abuse, however the amount of sexual abuse within the book just became a bit too much for me. I will not spoil the novel, however, Abdul was sexuallyl molested continually by several people. After the 3rd or 4th abuser, I felt as if it had been completely overdone and made the story seem extrordinarily vulgar. Although I had no desire to finish the book, I forced myself to complete the novel and was not terribly ecstatic about the ending. Overall, it did not meet my expectations.

This novel is a signature Buchi Emecheta novel focusing on African woman identity within political or social turmoil. The main character Ogbanje Ojebeta is sold into slavery by her older brother after her village is wrecked with disease and tragedy. Ogbanje and her sibling are left as orphans. Ogbanje is forced to denounce her own culture and identity and assume that of her slave owners. Although provided a nice life as a slave, Ogbanje is verbally and sexually abused and struggles with identity issues. In the end Ogbanje must choose her own way out thus forcing her to create her own identity and make her own choices.