This book is very well writen. It tells a lot about the Persians and their culture, millitary, and leaders. All of this detail made it get a little boring. It would be better as a study material.

David Campbell's work is a much needed critical analysis of the making of the Gulf War. This brief but important work serves almost as a case study of Campbell's previous book, WRITING SECURITY. It also serves as a reminder that the politics of identity has always been and will remain to be a dimension of foreign and security policy-making. By choosing to look at such a recent crisis, Campbell successfully points to those policy decisions that were taken not in order to 'solve' the crisis, but reinscribe US identity as the only superpower in the post-Cold War era. After reading the book one cannot help but wonder how would an essay that adopted Campbell's approach to study the reinscription of Iraqi identity through foreign and security policy making during the Gulf War would look like.

This is without doubt the best book written on the Gulf War thus far. It is a detailed, factual account of the logistics of moving an army from one continent to another. The degree of detail will probably deter the general reader; for the historian, it makes it an invaluable source.

Every page is crammed with facts and figures and an endless parade of abbreviations. It comes to grip with the details, while sorting them out. This book moves focuses on the big picture, cataloging the details while never getting completely lost in them. Charts and diagrams are used to make this most complex of logistical endeavours comprehensible.

This book is highly analytical and does not shrink from harsh criticism of the greed of shippers and airlines who took the US government's money when times were good and welched when the going got tough.

For anyone instrested in a real understanding of the issues, I highly recommend this book.

An important and wide-ranging review of the political, economic, legal, and scientific challenges for environmental management in a very turbulent part of the world. The authors and the Environmental Law Institute deserve credit for bringing in scholars from a wide range of fields and from around the neighboring region (Israel, Jordan, Egypt, as well as Europeans and Americans).

Saddam Hussein has become one of the most well-known figures in the Arab world. Unfortunately for him, it's because he's notorious. This little 1990 book (268 pages with intro, bibliography, appendixes, etc.) was published as an inexpensive trade paperback before the world's campaign to remove Saddam Hussein from Kuwait (1991).

While the book is very dated (12 years ago as of 2002), the information regarding Saddam Hussein's rise to power and the history of Iraq from its' creation by the British is still very valid. While I find it a little difficult to read about some of the things that Saddam Hussein had done, I feel much better informed about him and will be ready with facts next time his name comes up at the lunch table at work.

The book is divided into 11 helpful chapters that cover just about anything someone would want to know about Iraq and the events that eventually led to Desert Storm. It is a well- supported novel with several appendixes with maps, bibliographies, a Human Rights report, and other useful information. The authors are from The New York Times newspaper and Harvard University so it would be a good assumption that they don't hesitate to criticize President Bush's 1990 US government. While they criticize the government, I don't think they overdo it and I don't think they would upset a genuine US patriot.

Another good novel to read, in this vein, is "Saddam Hussein: A Political Biography" by Efraim Karsh.

CONCLUSION:

A great inexpensive novel to learn more about Saddam Hussein and Iraq. Recommended.

The only guide in print for sea kayaking the Baja. The author does a good job of providing an overview of this vast subject. The book is geared towards people planning independent trips, and provides descriptions of about 15 areas, along with maps (non-nautical), put in points, trip difficulty, hazards, and colorful descriptions of each area including personal remembrances. If you're thinking of kayaking in the Baja (even in a tour group) this is a good reference.

The book is exactly as it's title states, it is a 'simple guide'. Having said that, it is a good introduction to understanding basic etiquette and helped build a better picture for someone who has never been to the middle east. This book would certainly be a useful 'pocket guide', however I was left wanting for more information.

A well written book that depicts the "standard issue" life of the common marine during Desert Storm and in our present day military. No big battles, guts or glory. Just reality. Highly recommended for anybody wanting to get the "true" picture of military life.

What set this book apart from most of its type was how Sean opened the door to his insides and allowed us to see what was really going on with him, regardless if he thought it would make good storytelling.

A strong first showing for Mr. Caughlin.

A very good read. Mr. Forty gives details on armored combat that you don't get any where else. I've not read non fictional narratives with this detail very often. You might see one such narrative in a book concerning larger scale engagements...but Mr. Forty provides many separate narratives. Worth every penny I paid.

This short book provides a fascinating historical background to America's relationship with China. It examines the origins of China's trade with the West, beginning in the early eighteenth century. The United States began its trade in February 1784 when the clipper ship "Empress of China" sailed from New York City to Whampoa. Within a few years 28 ships has sailed from the East Coast ports and by the years 1818-19 there were 47 American clipper ships at the Whampoa anchorage.

This was a business for adventurous American entrepreneurs, who risked their lives and fortunes in pursuit of profit. The traders included some famous fanilies: the Forbes, Derbys, Astors, and Delanos.

This is an informative and lively book, well worth reading. The author was the daughter of the U.S. Minister to China in the 1920's and she herself lived for many years in China. This is an informative and lively book and I found it well worth reading. It's of particular interest now in light of President Clinton's recent trip to China.