This was an excellent book on relationships. The book discussed the differences between men and women and what each one expects from the other in the context of their relationship. The book goes back to the beginning of time and tells about God's intentions for each of us and what our duties are to one another in a relatioship. An intersting and enlightening look at relationships in a time when most of our loving relationships are falling apart. A Good weekend read!

Students of any historical subject are constantly faced with the risk of falling victum of the conventional wisdom of the subject matter at hand. This is especially true when the subject happens to be the second world war. After all does history favor the victors and is it not the victors who earn the privilige to write the history? Indeed it is unfortunate that historians tend to paint events with a broad brush. Perhaps readers do feel more comfortable seeing events in black and white. Wilfried Strik-Strikfelds autobiographical narrative, "Against Stalin & Hitler 1941-1945" is an attempt to question such conventional wisdom. Its author was an officer in the German Army Propaganda department assigned the task of creating one of the greatest, but now forgotten myths of the war, that of the so called Russian Liberation Army. This was in fact a non-existant army created for propaganda purposes during the war. Though it existed only on paper, it did have a leader in the name of General Andrei Vlasov.This book details the authors involvment in the Russian Liberation Movement and his friendship with the said general. Vlaslov was a high ranking Officer in the Soviet Army who after valient resistance, fell prisoner to the Germans while defending Moscow in July of 1942. He later became figurehead of the so called ROA, but more importantly, was the idealogical leader of the estimated 800 millian russians whose opposition to Stalins reign of terror forced them to collaborate with the Nazi Germans. As the book's title implies, the russians found themselves in a particular dilema, can one serve one tyrant to fight another. Throughout the text, Strik-Strikfeldt makes it clear that the russians, mostly prisoners of war, are in truth fighting a war on two fronts, one against Stalin, but still another against the Nazi hierarchy who holds them as racially inferior. In spite of these obsticles, Vlasov and his russians make their objectives clear, that they are woirking for a free and democratic Russia; o! ne opposed to Nazi or Bolshivik tyrany.

I found this book to be exceptional. It gave me an additional view of Russian history albeit based upon the author. My only complaint was of the writer, who seemed to need to impress me with his use of big words that completely and constantly interupted my thought processes during the absorbton of the information that enlightened me greatly. Towards the end of the book I was getting angry at the author for ruining such a good read. I recommend buying the book anyway. Excellent.

Jimmy

This is a fine book on the history of the FAT -- Mexico's oldest independent union federation. The book is well researched with interesting insights into how a truly movement-oriented unionism functions on the ground, definitely worth reading.

John Sweeney through David Kusnet have given us a new motivation to believe that Labor unions can make a difference in the quality of life for America's working class. The greed of corporations and individuls must be controled. As long as this greed is the driving force of our economy America will never be as great as it could be. America Needs a Raise is not just a title. It is the solution to most of the problems in our working class neighborhoods. John Sweeney's book, America Needs a Raise is full of facts and figurers, but is easy to read and understand. By understanding the value of workers acting collectively to acheive a goal through collective barginning, labor unions are shown to be the solution to the need for a more equal distribution of the wealth of our nation.

It was a rough day at the bookstore, on that August day in 1993. I had... burning a hole in my pocket, enough for one read, and I was having trouble making a choice.

On the one hand, I held "Portnoy's Complaint." Critically acclaimed, but likely to be puerile in view of my hoi polloi tastes. (A subsequent trip to the library proved me correct on this point!)

On the other hand, I held this little-known gem, "The American labor movement : hearing before the Subcommittee on Employment and Productivity of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Second Congress, second session, on examining a fundamental change in society that... progress and opportunity in our nation--the decline of labor union membership, December 9, 1992." I took a cursory glance through the pages, and I was hooked INSTANTLY. Think Oliver Twist, late 20th century. Yes its that good!

I made the choice and I have never looked back. Are you as bold as I? Can you do it? PLEASE read "The American labor movement : hearing before the Subcommittee on Employment and Productivity of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Second Congress, second session, on examining a fundamental change in society that... progress and opportunity in our nation--the decline of labor union membership, December 9, 1992," you won't regret it!

"American War Plans: 1945-1950" by Steven T. Ross is a detailed look at the planning that the United States undertook in the period from the end of World War II to the beginning of the Korean War in order to meet the rising Soviet threat, with a strong emphasis on the word "plan". If you are looking for a book on early Cold War politics, or even a look at U.S. grand strategy in the post-war era, this is not what you are looking for. Ross concerns himself exclusively with the military's contingency planning for open war with the U.S.S.R., and given the hypothetical nature of that planning, and the vastly reduced role in policy formulation the military enjoyed post 1945, these plans are exercises in threat evaluation, and generally speaking, not power politics.

Ross' work opens with perhaps one of the great ironies of the Cold War: by 1946 the U.S. military, arguably the most powerful armed force in history at the end of WWII, and certainly the most well rounded, had been gutted to the point that it was not only incapable of defending Western Europe, it was largely incapable of even slowing the U.S.S.R. down. At the same time, there is the puzzling dichotomy of a military forced to rely on atomic weapons to compensate for a lack of conventional forces, at the same time that they have no idea how many weapons are available, and only a dim view of their battlefield utility. Thus, the first plans Ross discusses, are defined by a complete withdrawal from Western Europe, and a WWIII fought from the Middle East. The initial phases of such a conflict would entail an evacuation of continental Western Europe, a reinforcement of Great Britain, and securing the Mediterranean theater of operations. At the same time, atomic attacks would attempt to pound the U.S.S.R. and its satellites into submission. In the final phases of this scenario, the Allies would drive into the Soviet Union from the south, through the Caucuses. This final element is interesting in that it draws far more on the maneuver theory so prevalent today, than do the latter iterations of the plan, which presage the defense in depth of later decades.

It would excessive to give an overview of each additional scenario, but there are a few developments in the following years that often define the remainder of the Cold War era. The first is that the arms race is defined at a very early date; aside from the use of atomic weapons, Ross repeatedly mentions contingency planning for the development, and presumable use, of chemical and biological weapons. Along those same lines, the direction of nuclear war was pretty much set by 1948, as the first target of atomic bombs became the enemy's atomic bombs. Thus, in the span of three years, atomic bombs went from being a decisive weapon, to a non-factor (although it wasn't recognized yet) as all battlefield utility (e.g. counterforce) had largely been removed from their employment. This likewise dovetails into the internecine strife that often characterized the service branch turf wars of the Cold War. In particular, the Air Force/Navy battles become apparent as the Air Force argues that atomic war is the primary task in any future war, rather than one of many. In addition, although it is never explicit, the refusal to mount a first strike becomes implicit in U.S. military planning at this point. Finally, Ross' discussion of the fears for terrorism and subversion in the U.S., including the use of unconventional weapons by Soviet agents strongly echoes the fears of a post 9/11 world.

Ultimately, the need to shore up European allies in the newly formed NATO brings planning full circle, as the Joint Chiefs are forced by political requirements to plan for the defense of Europe. This, when combined with the Korean War, finally begins the process of funding that will allow the U.S. to have at least a reasonable chance of defending Europe. Thus, in five years another full circle is achieved as the military is gutted to achieve a political expedient, only to be rebuilt in order to achieve a different one.

In the end, Ross has done an excellent job of compiling numerous primary sources into a through, cogent and readable volume. His considerations of budget constraints versus planning necessities serve as a constant grounding for the work, and his exploration of the challenges of atomic planning is both interesting in and of itself, and critical to understanding the development of America strategy. This is a must read for any student of the Cold War.

Jake Mohlman

Graves was the American Major General in charge of 5,000 US Army troops sent to Vladivostok in August, 1918. The book is a detailed history of the events leading up to and during the 18 months these soldiers spent in Siberia. Graves apparently took some unjustified criticism for the eventual total collapse of the Japanese-supported Kolchak regime, with it's bloodthirsty Cossack enforcers. (Graves notes that at the time, he had very little information on the more violent American actions around Archangel- a couple thousand miles away.)

Recall that in November 1918, the Kerensky government was unseated, and the Bolsheviks were proceeding with discussion of a "separate peace" with Germany at Brest-Litovsk. Quite upsetting the Allies...

Much of the book focuses on the conflicts between the Allies who had pledged "non-intervention" in Russian politics as a precondition to "rescuing" the 8,000 or so Czech soldiers cut off from the war against Germany and Austria. What Graves found was that the Czechs needed no rescuing, and had in fact taken the Trans-Siberian railroad and many whole towns along it, chasing off any local revolutionaries who objected. Japanese and hired Cossacks (Semeonoff and Kalmikoff), prodded by the Brits and French (who had few troops in the region)were enthusiastically murdering, raping and pillaging any and all Siberians who did not support Kolchak, the last vestige of the Czar's rule.

There was little Bolshevik military activity in Siberia when Graves arrived. He spread the US troops around to guard several hundred miles of railroad, supposedly against the Bolshies. Instead, he soon and continually found the Japanese, Brits, and then even US diplomatic types (including the Consul General) attempting to get the Americans into Bolshevik hunting parties. Many examples of Japanese-staged provocations and manipulations, including shooting of Americans, are catalogued.

Graves stuck to his orders, and refused to be drawn into the war on the Soviets. Really hacked off the Brits, who called for his replacement. The Canadians fully agreed with him, and were likewise appalled at the idiocy and duplicity of the Allied support for Admiral Kolchak. When the Americans finally left on April 1, 1920, Graves estimated that over 90% of the population fully supported the Soviets, largely due to the brutalities and corruption of Kolchak and company. Graves succinctly discusses the difficulties in justifying American participation in this "non-" intervention, particularly the (to him) obvious negative perception of the Allied activities by all Russians. "...the various Governments taking part in the intervention take very little pride in this venture. Who can blame them?"

Had the Allied diplomats and politicians listened to General Graves instead of their ill-informed and ill-intentioned fellow ideologues, the vicious and near-permanent Bolshevik hostility might not have developed. Of course, the same can be said of Ed Lansdale and the idiotic French and American war managers in Viet Nam.

Mr. Phillips has writen an excellent campaign history on a theater of conflict largely ignored. The two "bookend" battles of Flodden and Pinkie are often alluded to in histories of the British Isles during the 16th century. What this book does is place them in context of a prolonged struggle, and demonstrates how "little war" alters the outcome of famous battles. The book begins with a defense of campaign history, which I happen to fully agree with. "One damn battle after another" is the basic stuff of military history, and without it, nothing else can be understood: econoomic and social aspects are secondary to the need to fight as best one can. The author then reviews the makeup of the respective forces, and shows that the British Isles were not a stagnant backwater, but participated in all the current trends in warfare, to the best of their ability. The heart of the book is its chronological history, putting the two famous battles in context of various sieges, raids, ambushes and the like. These little struggles explain why, despite the great English victories at both Flodden and Pinkie, Scotland survived intact. The maps are easily read and clear (adequate maps are a necessity in military history). It is not inexpensive, but well worth the money if you are interested in this era.

An excellent real life love story set in the backdrop of russian revolution. Beautiful and touching- a must read!