I am also amazed at how little reviewed (and read?-I hope not!) this book has been. As a Spaniard with close knowledge of the events, I can say Jackson has done the best job to date of tracing the political and social developments that led to the conflict, and of describing the uprising itself and the conduct of the military and propaganda operations. Infinitely better than Hugh Thomas' and every other account. By the way, if you'd rather read a first-hand narrative, Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia" is much better than Hemingway's.

I am astounded that no one has yet reviewed this book. Originally published in 1965, it remains the classic center-left interpretation of the Republic and Civil War. It is balanced, well researched and comprehensive. For those looking for a more conservative treatment of this period, see Stanley Payne's "Spain's First Democracy."

This is an excellent, accessible collection of well-written essays on the intersection of sport, celebrity, and culture. In particular, the essays on "Gretzky Nation," "Global Hingis," and Michael Jordan were thought-provoking and did more than just glamourise the world of celebrity athletes. Highly recommended to anyone interested in seeing the cultural relavance of sporting figures in everyday global culture.

Great book. Complete, and thought provoking. I especially enjoyed the chapter on "Global Hingis"!

This catalog provides a wealth of information for collectors of comic books. It can be overwhelming for a novice (me) to absorb, but what fun I will have while I learn. Definitely a worthwhile investment.

This thing is a monster. It has details on nearly every comic published, through to September 2001 or so. Besides the usual pricing information, if also includes circulation info (for some titles) and CGC info (how many copies have been CGC'd, and what the highest grade is). Many titles have a short series synopsis included, with information on storylines, creators, and anything else that might be interesting about a title.

To come to this review, you are obviously interested in either the work that Stephen Hawking does or are interested in Stephen Hawking the man. As such you are already somewhat familiar with the theories of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics and understand the physical handicap that afflicts the body of this great mind. The "Complete Works Of Stephen Hawking", The Cambridge Unabridged Edition, consists of seven lectures on four audio tapes read by the author himself using a voice synthesizer machine which must be used to overcome the limitations that ALS has put upon his speech. It is ironic that this great mind is sinking within the event horizon of a communication black hole due to the disease. Despite this fact, Stephen is able to deliver a masterful presentation of his life's work in astrophysics, cosmology, and astronomy. His presentation is personal as well as informative and is peppered throughout with philosophy, academic humor, and personal insights. It does take some time to get used to the sound of his synthesized voice. Often it sounds robotic, alien, staccato, and certain phrases have a haunting Gregorian chant rhythm to them. I noticed that in a "Brief History Of Time", the words of the text are read by the famous British radio talk personality Michael Jackson. This is definitely a work that needs to be played over and over again stopping to study it along the way. I first listened to it on my 1 hour 1 way car trips to work but plan to listen to it again this summer under the stars at the campgrounds near the glow of an open fire. The tape consists of the following seven lectures (1) Ideas About the History of the Universe, (2) The Big Bang, (3) Black Holes , (4) Quantum Mechanics, (5) Origin of the Universe, (6) The Past and the Future, and (7) The Unified Theory . Now techies that should really wet your whistle! The tapes are a great value at the price. If you are a student of the subjects covered, have a philosophical interest in finding where science and God meet face to face, or just want to enjoy the triumph of human spirit over adversity, then these tapes are a must hear for you. In summary, I believe that after experiencing these tapes you'll come to the same conclusion that I made that Stephen Hawking is an example of how the glory of God and His majestic works can be made manifest in the form of one of His weakest vessels.

This is quite a phenominal book. Prof. Hawking really translates all that mathematical stuff to something even the layman can understand. Its was hard to put down. However some of the lectors have are the same things as a few of the chapters in his other book A brief history of time.

I thought it was a very good book. I would recommend it to everybody that likes the Civil War. It does deserve five stars because the Civil War was neat. There is lots of suspense in the book.

Excellent. I learned so much about Jackson, and felt so sad when he died at the end of the book. He was a big hero for the Confederacy. But what was strange is that he sucked lemons. Cool.

Generals such as Patton and Rommel were drawn to study Jackson's Valley Campaign because of the successful use of mobility and concentration of force in local engagements to overcome theater area force inferiority. "Stonewall in the Valley" is an incredible story, fundamental to an understanding of the ACW for amateur and professional historians alike. A testament to Mr. Tanner's zeal for history and accuracy was his willingness to go back and undertake a major revision, twenty years after initial publication of the original classic. It is rare that one can point to a signal source of this type as an undisputed, authoritative classic - Hennessy's "Return to Bull Run" and Coddington's "Gettysburg Campaign" are two other examples. Mr. Tanner's work is a success at every level. Whether discussing national politics or the effect of local roads on soldiers' shoes, the commentary is thoroughly researched and rendered with an understandable authority. He is equally adept at identifying and explaining causes and effects and debunking many of the popular myths that have arisen over the years. This is not another contribution to the plethora of Stonewall legend making compilations - this is a serious historical work which examines exactly what happened, the when and the how, the why and why not. There is a most enlightening addition in this revision which discusses the operational art of war - actions which translate overall theater strategy to local area tactics - in the context of Stonewall's Valley Campaign. Mr. Tanner bucks the trend in giving Joe Johnston some credit and in rendering just criticism of the mighty Stonewall where appropriate (more often and harsher than expected). If only we were so lucky as to have a treatment such as this for every other ACW campaign - we can only hope.

Probably the most detailed analysis of Jackson's Valley Campaign I have ever read. Tanner has gone to great length to document every detail of the classic campaign fought in the Shenandoah Valley in 1862. New evidence and extensive analysis are presented in an effort to explain some of the controversies of the campaign. Tanner's conclusions differ in some respects from the traditional explanations of some of Jackson's actions but he backs them up well in light of new evidence. The book will make for rather dry reading for those not interested in military history but for the Civil War buff and Jackson admirer it is the best account I have read of Jackson's career as an independent army commander.

I found myself reading this book through in two sittings. If you like history, personal stories, diaries or the like, you will enjoy this book. I compare it to Jimmy Carter's An Hour Before Daylight in that it gives a picture of rural life in the early part of the century. It is human, candid, and lean in its verbage. It captures all of the emotions and leaves you with mental images that will last a lifetime. Try it.

In an era of urban sprawl and corporate farming, this is a gentle reminder of a world of small towns and kind people. Jackie's experiences growing up on the dairy farm range from laugh-out-loud humorous to tears rolling. "The Round Barn" illustrates what family values truly were before the demogogues got hold of the term: integrity, caring and principles put before profit. The Dougans were--and are--intelligent, hard-working people who have a tremendous joy in living.

The stories are brief enough to read aloud---and deep enough to read again and again with pleasure.

This is a great book. I've read some neat interesting facts from it. It's short enough that you can find what you're looking for, but it still has so many great illistrations and details. The charts in this book are the greatest; easy to read and understand. Many pictures and stories from around the world. I would highly reccommend this book!

Storms and Hurricanes Summary: Another winner in the usborne understanding geography! Teachers and students alike, GET this series. What a wonderful tool for assisting in thematic units dealing with storms and locations. It tells why lightening is jagged, where hurricanes come from, and what happens inside the storm. It covers everything from thunderstorms to cyclones. It even shows you ways to introduce monitoring storms, predicting and tracking, forecasting, and even outlines how the pros do it! Anyone, young or old that is fascinated by storms or storm patterns will want this book for your own!

The book and calendar are wonderful. The book does a great job of depicting the Christmas story and coordinating it with the Advent calendar. I grew up with this book and it was exciting to not only read about Jesus' birth but to open up the coordinating window on the calendar. I highly recommend it for anyone preparing for Christmas.

This book is a wondersful story of Advent. With the corresponding claendar, it makes for a nice family event every evening.

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

On November 19, 1863 from an excerpt of his famous address at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania then President Abraham Lincoln, spoke the following words: "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here". Further Lincoln gave this tribute, "...that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Now nearly 140 years later, Rex Jackson continues fulfilling Lincoln's prophesy once again and takes the reader on a compassionate and tactile journey of "these honored dead" of the Civil War aboard the Sultana steamboat. Jackson comments, "And, even though the circumstances surrounding the loss of the Sultana and its many victims would, for some strange unsympathetic reason, cause it to become a mere footnote in American history, it would nevertheless continue to whisper its ghastly experience of this human drama" (p.38). Jackson remembers these almost forgotten heroes, having escaped the hells of the Civil War and the ravages of "putrid conditions" (p.18) of prison camps, survived only to face yet more tragedy.

As boilers exploded on the Sultana, unsuspecting passengers, including about 1800 weary war veterans, were violently shaken at 2:00 A.M. into an unwelcome battle for their lives. Jackson describes the scene: "By dawn's early morning light, the once grand side wheel steamer Sultana, now a fiery furnace of human cremation, slipped under the surface of the mighty Mississippi River just north of Mound City, Arkansas, and disappeared from sight". (p.44).

Fate was lurking. Just as that night in 1912 aboard the Titanic, no one could fathom the unthinkable events about to unfold on the Sultana. This book will captivate your attention and interest all the way. With a punch of comparison to the Titanic tragedy, I could experience the historic events developing, as Jackson graphically detailed this long overdue homage to those honored dead of "The Sultana Saga: The Titanic of the Mississippi."

Because of its historical value, I truly hope to see this book take its place with other honored Civil War memorabilia and also on the shelves of school, university, and public libraries. This book screams for an adaptation onto film.

This is a breathtaking and vivid account of the disaster that took more lives than even the Titanic but received far less attention. The author highlights this injustice to our nation's service men. For example, he notes that "people came from near and far to pay homage" to a passenger of the Titanic "while the Sultana's victims, who were veterans of war, were unheralded" (p. 51). The author's realism is unrelenting. The book is full of eye witness accounts of Civil War prison camps and the sinking of other ships and riverboats. After reading this book I came away with not just a better understanding of the incident itself (what it would have been like) but of the historical context in which it occurred. There is even a timeline that enables you to follow along with the historical events as they occurred, not to mention corrections to the historical account and pictures/illustrations. I highly recommend this book to historians and lay people a like.