This book is a very good ECONOMIC history of Colonial America, focusing on the Chesapeake Bay region. The "down-side" is that it reduces all the colorful, interesting, tragic events of that period (pirates, revolution, famine, slavery) down to their impact upon the economy (imports, exports, balance of trade, etc.) and could be very "dry" reading. The book tends to focus on maritime issues, simply because that was the major transportation mode at that time. If you are interested in Colonial America, particularly the Chesapeake Bay region, I recommend reading this book simply to give you an understanding of the economic forces that had so great a role in shaping this region.

This is one of the best books on the eastern seaboard from the earliest of times. Easy to read and terrific research. If you are writing anything about this time and place, this book is a necessity.

This book started out great and I was very excited about the information being presented. Then it seemed to get a little sidetracked on the story in Washington D.C. rather than what was going on in Guatemala, and I was slightly diasapointed overall. I have been researching the air war at the Bay of Pigs and have read many books on the subject. I found several minor errors in the book. For example, the photo on page 86 identifies the man as Jose "Pepe" San Ramon when in fact the man is Major Pedro Luis Diaz-Lanz. That does not overshadow the book, but it made me wonder what else was incorrect. Never the less, I do recommend the book to anyone wanting to get an overall sense of the errors made at the Bay of Pigs on a political as well as military sense. I did find it very interesting to read the follow up on some of the principle Guardsmen after the Bay of Pigs.

Collaboratively written by historians Warren Trest (USAF Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama) and Donald Dodd (Professor Emeritus of History, Auburn University, Montgomery, Alabama), Wings of Denial: The Alabama Air National Guard's Covert Role at the Bay of Pigs is a riveting expose of the ill-fated 1961 Bay of Pigs attempted invasion of Cuba. Four Alabama Air National Guardsmen perished in the invasion, and the body of one of them was frozen as a war trophy in Cuba until 1978. Meticulously researched, and enhanced with black-and-white photographs, Wings of Denial is a powerful and timely message in view of today's rapidly evolving international conflicts about the deadly cost of unrestrained national hubris.

Lewis Lapham has an acid wit and more cynicism than a George Carlin rant.This book is an unsentimental and disturbingly dead-on depiction of the mainstream media,the typical politician and the vast array of special interest lobbying groups as a conglomeration of two-bit sychophants,buffoons,money-grubbers and pleaders for the favors of the masters at the modern day Versailles court that is Washington,D.C..

Lapham argues that what we call Democracy today is little more than a sad joke,perpetuated on a public that is too busy watching inane television and consumed in its own self-absorbsion to really give a hoot one way or the other.Lapham cuts little slack for the little man he claims to favor so much.He fails to take into account the profound sense of powerlessness that many people feel when billions of dollars and international interests and bloated,tax gulping bureaucracies have effectively rendered the average man powerless.He doesn't touch on the explosion in drug abuse,alcoholism,hedonism,cynicism,depression and apathy that have become so prevalent in the last few decades,that is in no small part brought about by the helplessness so many feel towards comtemporary society and its seemingly inhuman,intractable tendencies,policies and bureaucracies.

Overall this is a fairly decent book that cuts through a lot of pretensions but is mostly an overlong,sour rant.

You will never look at Washington the same way once you've read The Wish for Kings. Mr. Lapham's wit is a sharp as ever in this clever and insightful look at how our country functions. I really enjoy Mr. Lapham's writing and choice of words. You'll learn a lot and enjoy yourself in the process.

Fairly good guide, but limited information.

Mmmm...this book was delicious!

The burgandy, easily recognizable cover earns a rating of 28, and I give the pages inside a 29.

The paper is perfectly palatable, chewy (though definitely not too tough) and not heavily salted like many other food guides. The paste was excellent.

Thanks, Zagats! Tasty as usual!

I used to love these books, but the latest one is disappointing.

Okay, maybe I'm bitter because I spent 3 hours filling in the survey and only got a fragment of a sentence in the book. In combining numerous quotations of one or two words with slick puns - "Naan-partisan" for lovers of Ajanta, an Indian restaurant in Berkeley, for example - the Zagats have created tight, clever, but ultimately not very useful capsules. These sound bites come off as precious, and fail to convey the best dishes, let alone the "soul" of the place.

If I were a frequent traveler looking for "safe" places that prove popular with the herd, I'd download Zagat into my Palm. But if I wanted to know the real scoop, the best and the most suited to my tastes....

Zagat is long known for its restaurant guides and has a wonderful knack of editing their customer opinions to reflect the "word on the streets" about a restaurant. This resource is must for anyone interested in dining in the Bay Area.

The 19 songs in this book/CD set comprise a wide selection of tunes for the intermediate to advanced Hammered Dulcimer player. Even if you do not plan to learn all 19, it is an excellent resource and should be in the library of all Hammered Dulcimer players.

Horn compares local societies in England and the colonial Chesapeake to support his argument that the social development of 17th century Virginia and Maryland cannot be fully understood unless it is placed within the broader context of the social development of the 17th century Anglophone world. Until nearly the end of the 1600s, the majority of colonists in the Chesapeake were born and raised in England. They brought with them not only English traditions and customs, but also news and attitudes that reflected the current social developments in England. The colonial societies were affected by these developments. For instance, the uprisings against proprietary rule in Maryland and Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia appear far less extraordinary when they are viewed together with the political upheavals occurring in England. This broader view of the colonial Chesapeake refutes claims that Virginia and Maryland were somehow abhorrent, rather they were preserving and adapting English traditions and customs to life on the Chesapeake while operating in an extended Anglophone world.

Julie is a native of the Skagit Valley and her recipes reflect the Skagit Valley's best foods. There are over 300 recipes which include breakfast goods and appetizers, desserts, and favorite recipes from restaurants in the area.

If you love seafood, you will find many, many recipes for Salmon, oysters, clams and crab. There is a recipes for Fresh Herb Chicken and Country Fried Chicken which looks delicious.

If you are looking for a way to use up that Rhubarb this summer, a recipe for Rhubarb Pie will show the way.

Many fun recipes and a great variety. Will delight cooks in the Northwest and those who love fresh seafood will also find many unique ideas.

This book brings back great memories of my visits to Mount Vernon and La Conner. If you are heading that way, lucky you...

I have seen Angel Island every time I have visited San Francisco, but I never knew that from 1910 to 1940 it was the location of an Immigration Station that was the main point of entry into the United States for tens of thousands of Asian immigrants. However, Larry Dane Brimner makes it clear in this juvenile history for the Cornerstones of Freedom series that Angel Island was not simply the west coast counterpart to Ellis Island. In fact, the goal was often to exclude Chinese immigrants rather than welcome them to the United States.

Ultimately, this volume is half about the facilities on Angel Island and how immigrants were processed, and half about the reasons for Chinese immigration in the 19th century and Japanese immigration in the 20th. What young readers will remember about this book are the key details, such as the poem carved by a Chinese immigrant into the wall of the dormitory where he was unfairly being held and the coaching book immigrants used to answer questions so they would end up being admitted.

Ironically, Angel Island closed not because the U.S. changed its policy towards Chinese immigration, but because the administration building was destroyed by a fire and it cost too much to rebuild it on the island. Angel Island went on to hold prisoners of war during World War II and then a defensive base of Nike missiles was installed for a while. Today the island is a State Park and the dormitory because a museum and was saved from destruction when the poems covering its walls were rediscovered. Young readers researching immigration topics will find this an informative little volume about an aspect of that issue that only gets touched upon in your standard American history textbook.

The pictures in this book are very colorful. The story is cute and my four year old enjoys listening to them.