The collaborative effort of Dusan Skvarna, Julius Bartl, Viliam Cicaj, Maria Kohutova, Robert Letz, and Vladimir Seges, Slovak History: Chronology & Lexicon is a highly methodical presentation of Slovak history, ranging from primeval times to 2000 A.D., while highlighting and summarizing key historical events throughout the descending centuries. Also included is a concisely written and plainly presented lexicon of historical figures and terms key to Slovakia. Enhanced with appendices providing genealogies and leadership lists for ruling royal dynasties and republican regimes, Slovak History is a masterpiece of scholarship. Deftly translated into English by David Daniel and prepared for an American readership by English Language Editor Albert Devine, Slovak History is a tautly written reference excellent for basic research and quick lookup of facts.

Widely acclaimed in academic circles when it first appeared, to read it again is an intellectual pleasure. A masterpiece of scholarship, it craftfully couples in-depth knowledge of the subject with most insightful theoretical schemae.

Even though it's dated, Domes' clear and concise work is still relevant as we try to understand the transitions now occurring in China's economy. Domes explains the origins of collectivization, communes, and other programs implemented by the CCP.

For such a short book, a reader will come away with a solid understanding of not just the policies, but how they affected the Chinese peasants on a grassroots level.

Sosa's determination, hard work and gratitude make for a great journey and a great read. Buy this for any young boys especially. They'll be out practicing (whatever sport or activity they happen to do) as soon as they put the book down.

The photographs in this book are excellent. All the birds are in good light with plumage variations evident. Where needed, colored drawings supplement the photos. A map of the distribution is on the facing page, and the text describes habitat, behavior, and plumage characteristics of the species. Size is given in centimeters.

By the Very Reverend Dr. Hewlett Johnson, Dean of Canterbury.
Dr. Johnson was not only one of the great religious personalities of the time but was also known as a political observer of surpassing authority. Based on his first-hand experiences, the Dean's long journeys from Moscow northward to Leningrad, southward to Stalingrad, still farther southward to the Republics of Armenia and Georgia, and then still farther eastward to Asiatic Tashkent and Samarkand. Dr. Johnson set down, not just opinion, but every fact that might throw a revealing light on his basic belief that "if it is Russia's responsibility to understand us, it is our responsibility to understand Russia."
...this text refers to the 1974 Hardcover Edition published by Boni & Gaer, NY.

This is not an easy book to read, but it well deserves the praise given by Paul Preston on the back cover. It is indeed the best book written on the Spanish Republic during the Civil war. Graham's book is a complex analytical account which makes two major points. First, one cannot understand the history of the Spanish Civil war without recognizing the origins of the divisions among the Spanish Left and the material and ideological background among them. Second, one must not ignore the impact of the war and in particular how the Republic was slowly crushed by superior Axis aid and the hypocrisy of "non-intervention." Anglo-Americans have often looked dimly on the Spanish Republic. Whether they are conservatives, liberals, Social Democrats, Anarchist or Trotskyists, they have warmed to George Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia." Orwell presented a compelling portrait of a genuine revolutionary movement that was diluted and betrayed by moderate liberals and by the Spanish Communist Party. The climax was the infamous "May Days," in which the anarchists and quasi-Trotskyist POUM were provoked into a fighting a battle they lost, then persecuted and often murdered. The Left Socialist prime minister Largo Caballero was replaced by a right Socialist, Negrin. Orwell's account stops here, but after that Negrin became a tool for the communists and the Soviet Union as they unsuccessfully sought to turn Spain into a Russian satellite.

What makes Graham's book so important is that it shows that this story is not true. It is not entirely untrue, as we will see. But most important, Negrin was not a Communist. He was not a puppet, he was not a stooge, and he was not a weakling. He was fundamentally a liberal who sought to encourage political pluralism and a market economy. At the beginning of the war he sought, at great personal risk to himself, to prevent the nightly "patrols" from randomly killing suspected rebels. He tried to restore freedom of worship in Spain, after revolutionaries had burned many churches and slaughtered much of the clergy. He opposed proposals to amalgamate the Socialist and Communist parties at a time when many Socialists, who would later denounce him as a Communist puppet, favored the idea. Contra much received opinion his ascension to power was not a Communist plot. Originally the Communists simply wanted Largo Caballero to give up the war ministry, where he showed precious little imagination or vigor or competence. When Largo Caballero left, it was because of the united opposition of the Communists, Right Socialists and Liberal Republicans. It is true that the Communists murdered Andreas Nin, the head of the POUM, and that Negrin had little choice but to accept this. And it is also true that security services and military tribunals arrested people arbitrarily or shot soldiers for desertion. But this was not the realization of the Republic's "totalitarian" or "Stalinist" essence, but the desperate struggle of a Republic trying to stay alive at any cost. Although the POUM was made a scapegoat, the anarchists, liberals, regionalists and anti-Negrin Socialists existed to the end, destroyed not by the Soviet Union, but by the Falange.

This leads to a larger problem. The various forces that made up the Republican government, Socialists, Anarchists, Liberals, Catalan and Basque nationalists and autonomists, Trotskyist and Communists all had vociferous constituencies. What they did not have was mass mobilization that could successfully prepare the grounds for a fully modern polity or fight a total war. What political activities they did conduct were marred by clientalism and factionalism. Largo Caballero had spent much of the thirties posturing and preening as the fighter for revolution. But when the moment of truth arose, both in 1934 and 1936 he botched it. Yet he actively prevented more moderate Socialists from working a compromise with liberals that might have strengthened the Spanish Republic. (We also learn that POUM was not the pure martyr of libertarian communism, but a coalition of moderate and radical left-wingers.)

Although Graham is often very critical of how the Negrin cabinet sought to centralize the government at the expense of regional autonomy, or how the attempt to reverse collectivization often made things worse, she reminds us that there was no real alternative to his proposals. When the Basques were overwhelmed by Franco, their relatively conservative leadership let Basque industry fall into Falangist hands instead of destroying it. Collectivization was sometimes popular, but it was also sometimes very unpopular. It had tendencies to autarky and could not provide the food the Republic so desperately needed, especially since much of the collectivized land had never produced that much food in the first place. And most important, there is the discussion of the final months of the war. The Republic not only faced imminent defeat, but the slaughter of many of it supporters by the vengeful and cruel Falange. Negrin's strategy was to fight on, to hope that if they fought on long enough, Britain and France would recognize the need for anti-Fascist unity and try to help them or broker a ceasefire. As that hope slowly and painfully died, Negrin realized that continued resistance was the only card he had against Franco's vengeance. But facing imminent defeat many Loyalists believed that if they gave up and sacrificed the Communists they would get a kinder peace. In this they were painfully wrong. Once they helped overthrow Negrin and replace him with the military man Casado, Franco demanded, and got, their surrender. Many of the Casadoists would then be shot by the Caudillo. At the beginning of the war the British navy on its own initiative rescued many of the wealthy and prosperous inconvenienced by the Nationalist coup. At the end the British government would not lift a finger to help evacuate people fighting for values that the British Conservative Party thinks it had a monopoly on. There is a grim power in the final pages as we see the Republic garrotted to death.

Spies and Commandos is a great book for anyone interested in SOG's exploits in SEA. This book is well researched and goes into great detail about the missions executed throughout N.Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Conboy is a great author and any of his works are well recommended for those who seek an unbiased account of covert operations in SEA. A book of simular content was written by Dr. Schutlz but simply does not compare to this. My personal favorite subject discussed in this book is the developemnt, exploitation, and operations of the "EARTH ANGEL" teams(1969-1971) which were turncoat NVA soldiers who were advised/trained by experienced CIA and US Special Forces personel to gather intell in Cambodia. Truly an educational and exciting piece of work. Another interesting subject is how the ARVN Special Operations units fought in the 1972 and final 1975 NVA offensives. BUY IT. You will not be dissapointed.

This book gives you a complete rap up of Dikembe's life. You feel as if you are there with him. You will never know a sports star better than this!

I found this strategy guide to be particularly useful. There were several levels that I just couldn't beat until I looked in this guide and found some tips and information that helped me overcome the obstacles that had previously beaten me. Among other things, the guide also has information concerning the multi-player games, some codes and cheats, an interview with the game's creators, and a giant pull out poster of a Republican Fighter Tank (TX-130). It is true that much of the information found in the book can be found on the net. However, this strategy guide collects all that useful info into one place and prevents a person from having to keep going back and forth between the net and their game. Experienced gamers may not find this book useful, but for the novice, beginner, or average gamer this is something I highly reccommend.