I think this book is excellent in drawing the picture about how much this South American means. More than a hero, and resemblance to George Washington is an inspirational character for children. Javier Florez (Newark, NJ)

"The George Washington of South America". Such comparisons are usually not pertinent. This one, and with this book, it is. It is, because Simon Bolivar would have liked it himself. He carried with him, always, until his last moment, the Yorktown medal of George Washington, with his miniature picture and a lock of his hair, given to him by Mrs. Washington via the General / Marquis Lafayette, the French hero of the American War of Independence. So this marvelous book brings Simon Bolivar to the hands and imagination of USA children and some adults! The man that with the help of Britain, personified in the mostly Irish British Legion, liberated six nations of South America. The man that conceived the union of the American Sub-Continents. With exquisite drawings, not always accurate but always kind and nice to look at, this beautiful book is a great homage to diversity in the Americas, and to the fact that success flows in both directions.

The stories of America's struggle for independence and the European wars against Napoleon's empire are well known, but the campaigns of Bolivar, San Martin and O'Higgins in South America have not been studied to the same extent in the English-speaking world and have rarely provided background for historical novels in English. Patrick Wilson Gore is breaking new ground, therefore, with this look at the role that Americans and Europeans played in Bolivar's campaigns. Bolivar's Right Hand is a fast-paced book, well-written by someone who knows his military history. Jack Hardhammer is a hero cut from the same cloth as Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe.

Salvador de Madariaga's book, originally publised in 1952, is still hands down one the best and most comprehensive biographies of one of Latin America's greatest men. De Madariaga not only gives us the typical detailed biography of Simon Bolivar, the man, but also delves into the psychological forces that drove his character. The text is filled with commentaries by Bolivar's contemoraries as well as sections of the Libertador's own writings and speeches. Any serious student of Latin American history should consider reading this text as a background not only to Simon Bolivar, but also to the driving forces of the mestizo culture in the 19th century

"He Wouldn't be King: The Story of Simon Bolivar," by Nina Brown Baker is a delightful...very easy to read book..that should be required reading in every American High School. Certainly, every High School student across the United States is well aware of the importance of George Washington but what about Simon Bolivar? Or Jose de San Martin for that matter? These men are great Western Hemisphere military generals responsible for freeing most of South America from strict colonial rule?

Bolivar, often affectionately called the Liberator, freed Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia from Spanish oppression. San Martin freed Argentina and Chile. To this end, Bolivar had a boyish hero worship of Washington and regularly drew inspiration from the North American revolution. An added bonus of this book is that the author does an excellent job describing Bolivar's critical relationships with other dynamic Generals, particularly Antonio Jose de Sucre, Francisco de Paula Santander and Jose Antonio Paez. The narrative also documents the enormous importance of British and Irish volunteers who joined Bolivar and the struggle against Spanish rule.

The narrative starts with Bolivar's privileged childhood, his intellectual growth and finally his decision to lead his people to liberty. Bolivar is a great man, who frees the black man from slavery 46 years before Abraham Lincoln's 1862 Emancipation Proclamation. He also refused to be King and chose instead to be his nation's first President...like he beloved George Washington.

Baker downplays his many romances and the tuberculosis that eventually killed him. Nevertheless, the text is meticulously researched, well-written and objective. Although this book was published in 1941, it is still very relevant today and would be an excellent choice for a High School history book report or detailed term paper. The text is also complete with many beautiful black and white illustrations. Highly recommended.

Bert Ruiz

The book is an important tool to understand the cuban santeria.

I read this book in 7th grade. If you like biographies you will love this one.This man was a brave man who led many revolutions.He was born in 1783 in Caracas,Venezuela on July 24.He declared independence for Venezuela in 1811.He died near Santa Marta in 1830.

Pay very close attention: "Cult Branding" and "The Seven Golden Rules" are going to make it into the vocabulary of marketers and business owners.

Although the book seems to be geared towards small to mid-sized business owners, I suspect that even huge brands like Sears and IBM are going to want to build loyal followings around specific product offerings by applying the concepts and ideas spelled out in this book.

I was at my college bookstore and at first, the title left me a bit perplexed: The Power of CULT Branding. It sounded negative to me, so it piqued my interest. I bought it after skimming through the pages. This relatively small book is deep; it made me think really hard.

This book is groundbreaking in that it dares to go where other marketing books haven't: by drawing a parallel between loyalty exhibited by cult members to their cult and fans of successful brands to their brand. That took some daring on the part of the authors. When you read it, you'll see the brilliance behind the idea.

After reading it, I discovered that it's not at all negative. On the contrary. All of the brands featured in the book facilitate people getting together so they can go and be with their "own kind." At these events, customers of these brands can form extended families that share in the same value system as they do.

It's a practical guide to how a company can help and reward their loyal customers by supporting them, by helping the customer to achieve fullfilment in their lives. Take Harley, for example, they host bike week events and support bike clubs; Vans Shoes, they build skate parks; Jimmy Buffet, he does music that strikes a chord with people of many different backgrounds and they form groups who support and help each other.

Power of Cult Branding is required reading if you've ever read any of the Guerilla Marketing books. Why? Simple. Because this one takes it a step deeper: it doesn't just talk about marketing techniques and ideas, it talks about taking it to the next level and speaking to the deepest needs of the customers so they'll rally around your brand.

The book also offers some real fascinating insights into how the brands profiled in the book achieved their stardom. I gained a new appreciation and respect for the founders and teams that built these brands. It requires some serious effort to grow a business, but the advice contained in this book will make it that much easier for a business to achieve its goals of winning and keeping customers.

Being a Marketing major, I'm recommending this book to my professors and peers.

It was a pleasure to read such a refreshing book... on Marketing.
As a small business owner I got plenty of new ideas to bring to reallity the dream of an entrepeneur: create a cult out of a brand.
Congratulations to Ragas and Bueno, for giving us a wonderful book.

This is a book that will bring to your hands the modern marketing, giving you easy rules that will transform business into a miracle cult with followers that will promote your brand like a lifestyle. The human being needs to be part of a group and when you create a cult brand, you are giving people the opportunity... yes, the opportunity of being in a social group... all those things and more and more you will find it in this book. On top is very easy to read. After you start you won't stop untill you finish it.
My best wishes to Ragas and Bueno.

First there was "The Stainless Steel Rat", our introduction to Slippery Jim DiGriz, aka the Stainless Steel Rat, a high-tech, futuristic conman and thief, who is caught after a long and successful career by the galactic special corps, and recruited to join them because it takes a thief to catch a thief. Then followed four more books in chronological order, "The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge", "The Stainless Steel Rat Saves The World", "The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You", and "The Stainless Steel Rat For President". Then, apparently growing bored with the direction his stories were taking, Harrison retreated to the beginning and wrote the prequel, "A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born". This book is the sequel to that one, and is in turn followed by "The Stainless Steel Rat Sings The Blues".

There are dangers to writing prequels that were unplanned at the time the original story was written; this book mostly avoids them. It is necessary to make it plausible that the character/s have had these experiences prior to the later stories, and that their characters have developed from these experiences into the character/s they are at the beginning of the original. It is easy to see how the Jim DiGriz from this book became the Jim DiGriz at the beginning of the original. It is also necessary, and much more difficult, to make a story that is interesting, but yet have it remain plausible that the events in it are not referred back to in the chronologically later, but earlier written, stories. Surprisingly, that too is managed well in this book.

What that leaves us with is a book which succeeds well at what it sets out to do: to be a fun romp, action-packed, plot-driven, not to be taken any more seriously than it takes itself, which is not very, but enjoyable brain-candy. The dialogue is a bit stilted, the characters are somewhat two-dimensional, the "philosophy" propounded by the members of the alien culture is downright silly, and Harrison never lets a little thing like consistent characterization get in the way of keeping the plot lively; DiGriz is supposed to be brilliant, but he makes enough stupid mistakes to keep himself in one exciting crisis after another. This isn't anything like great art, but it IS fun, and sometimes that's all you want. For those times, this is a perfectly enjoyable light read.

When I first starting reading Harry Harrison, I thought that he was an average writer. Later, however, I realized that he is far from average,. His earlier Stainless Steel Rat were not as good, but I think he was just getting used to the Slippery Jim diGriz character. "Stailess Steel Rat Gets Drafted" was not his best but definetly one of them.I would tell anyone to read this, in a second. Thanks for taking the time to read this review.

This is the book that got me started on the whole Rat series. This book is great! It is exciting, and humorous. I recomend it to everyone.

Master novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez comes through again with another winner with his portrayl of a dying Simon Bolivar. The story is comprised of reflections and anecdotal information on the liberators life, going back and forth in time ,shifting decades with memories of times past and how Bolivar sees the end days approaching. As he travels down the Magdalena River ( a sort of farewell tour) the ghosts of his past surface, including the many loves, his enemies, his allies, his fading dream of unification and those who betrayed him. His memories assault his journey making death nearly a desired relief for the sick and shadow of the great man of vision for Latin America. When reading a historical novel like this one the question arises as to whether the information is factual or purely imagination. I finished reading this book wanting to believe some of the memories of Simon Bolivar were true and accurate to his life. In the end Marquez clarifies this point saying he was not concerned about the accuracies of the final days since those with him left no written record of the final days. However, Marquez does go on to say that he did considerable research(2 years) revealing often contradictory information filled with inaccuaracies while he labored through voliminous documentation. He also consulted with various historians, from several different countries, who are experts on the life of Simon Bolivar to further enrich the exactitude of the novel. Many changes were made from the original manuscript. That said, there are things to be learned from this novel that only the simplicity of historical novels can provide. For furthe exploration of the life of Simon Bolivar it is suggested to read Eugenio Gutierrez Celys "Bolivar Day by Day " or the work of Bolivar biographer Vinicio Romero Martinez. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the writtings of Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the life of Simon Bolivar and his dream for Latin America.

One of my good friends is the person whose opinion I trust most when it comes to books and literature. And, I'm happy to say, we usually agree on what's good and what's not so good. Although my friend loves Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "The General in His Labyrinth," however, is one book my friend didn't like and I did.

"The General in His Labyrinth" tells the story of the melancholy and sad final journey of General Simon Bolivar, fondly known as "The Liberator" in many South American countries. Bolivar is the man who drove the Spanish from the northern part of South America during 1811-1824, even though the local aristocracy chose to fight against him. In the end, he became a sad and defeated man, old before his time and burdened with the knowledge that his dream of a unified South America would not be realized during his lifetime.

Although Bolivar is revered in much of South America (and the world in general), his final days were quite unhappy. In this book, Garcia Marquez takes us along with Bolivar on his final cruise along the Magdalena River from Colombia to the sea. Bolivar was sad, disillusioned, in shock from the after effects of an assassination attempt and suffering from an unspecified illness; in short, this mythic man had become old at the very young age of forty-six.

After Bolivar had been denied the presidency of Colombia he decided to spend his final days in Europe, far away from political strife of any kind. But Bolivar wouldn't have been Bolivar had he not given his life to the people. His dreams of living in peace in Europe were dashed when the government that replaced him failed.

It didn't take years of history to make Bolivar larger than life. He was larger then life to those who knew him intimately as well as to those who knew him only by reputation. And no wonder...he possessed a terrible temper, a extraordinarily passionate nature and his political and leadership abilities were virtually unsurpassed. Everyone paled next to Bolivar, in life just as (almost) everyone pales next to him in this book. (His enemy, Santander, and his commander, Sucre, are two notable exceptions. His lover, Manuela Saenz is also a well drawn character, but Bolivar's valet, Jose Palacios lets us know that, other than saving Bolivar from assassination, she was really nothing special, just one more lover among very many.)

I read, in a interview with Garcia Marquez, that the voyage along the Magdalena was chosen to be fictionalized since this was a little-known episode in a very publicly-lived life. Personally, I think it was a wonderful choice. The voyage was one that was no doubt filled with melancholy and nostalgia and no one writes of melancholy and nostalgia, especially South American melancholy and nostalgia, as well as does Garcia Marquez. This is a book in which real memories become confused with the hallucinations of delirium, a confusion that is only enhanced by the descriptions of the steamy jungle interior. The floods, the oppressive heat, the epidemics that Bolivar and his weary band of supporters encounter only serve to enhance "The Liberator's" own physical decline.

I also think that showing us Bolivar, not at the height of his glory, but at what was no doubt one of the lowest points of his life, was also a wonderful choice. Bolivar was, apparently, a man of contradictions. He was flamboyant and mythic, yet ultimately tragic; he could be elegant in public matters yet coarse in private; he was obviously a genius at strategy, yet his last days were filled with the incoherence of illness. And, all along the way, through this maze of contradictions, Garcia Marquez never loses sight of the one driving force in Simon Bolivar's life: his desire for a unified South America.

I also love the way Garcia Marquez twists and folds the narrative of this book until the reader isn't quite sure what's real and what's fevered hallucination; what really happened and what didn't. Of course, Garcia Marquez is a master at just this sort of narrative and he really outdoes himself in this book.

In the end, Bolivar, himself, decides that South America is ungovernable; it is, he declared, a land that will inevitably fall into the hands of tyrants, both large and small. Sadly, Bolivar's prophecy seems to be, at least in part, true. And, even more sadly still, although the world has come to love and rever "The Liberator," "The Liberator," himself, died a sad and defeated man.

"The General in His Labyrinth" is a fictionalized account of the last seven months of the life of Simon Bolivar (1783-1830), the liberator of Gran Colombia (Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador) from Spanish rule. Bolivar's goal was to unite South America into a single great country, but there was constant conflict with separatists and political and military rivals, and in the last year of his life he was expelled from the presidency. He left Bogota with an entourage of close friends, relatives, and servants, and his final months were spent in a journey down the River Magdalena, ostensibly to leave the country. A terminal illness (consumption? tuberculosis? his bedsheets are burned and eating utensils are buried after he uses them for fear of contagion) causes him fits of feverish delirium, in which he recalls glorious episodes in his life.

I once read one of Garcia Marquez's earlier short stories, "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," and that story and this novel seem to share a theme. They are both about an important or extraordinary figure (in the story, the title character; in this novel, Bolivar) who falls from a state of grace, comes into contact with common people, and must suffer their treatment, be it awe or indifference. I knew almost nothing about Bolivar and the history of South America, but the fact that this fascinating novel made me want to learn more about the subject is a testament to Garcia Marquez's great skill as a writer.

The crime scenerios are very creative in this book. Character development is sacrificed somewhat by the breivity of the story. It is a very quick read and is pretty action packed and humourous. Enjoy!

Normally I am not a fan of sci-fi. Most of the sci-fi I have read takes itself wayyy too seriously and requires readers to be absolutely fascinated with technology, technology, technology. For those of us, however, who are more interested in people, personalities and motivations, and who appreciate a snappy, clever writing style, The Stainless Steel Rat makes a surprisingly good read. The main character, Slippery Jim DiGriz, is one of those "likeable bandit"-type characters whom you want to root for even though they are technically breaking the law. I am thinking of, for example, Butch Cassidy (played on screen by Paul Newman in 1972), "The Grey Fox" (played by Richard Farnsworth around 1982), and the George Clooney character in the 1998 movie "Out of Sight." These characters, like Slippery Jim, are daring, sassy and iconoclastic in their lawbreaking careers, and all of them revel in a justifiably high opinion of their own professional competence at what they do. Yet they also have a lot of warmth and personal charm and happen to place a high value on human life. They are thieves, not murderers. I really like that. What makes the Stainless Steel rat book particularly entertaining, for me, is Harrison's witty, lively writing style (although he does have a habit of misusing commas--this is why I give the book 4 stars instead of 5), and most of all, the philosophical questions that are (inadvertantly?) posed now and then by the story. For example: Jim changes his identity several times by altering his physical appearance and making up a new bogus personality and personal history to go along with it. Yet his inner self remains the same at all times, which we (the readers) know because he shares his true inner thoughts with us. (As a narrator, Jim is 100% reliable--he levels with us always, even when he is lying to others.) So his identity-changes beg the question--what makes up a person's "true" identity, anyway? If we are not our names, jobs, values, personalities, and personal histories, then what makes us "ourselves"? It is fascinating to me that he maintains such a clear sense, for himself, of who he really is underneath all the changes. In short: I love The Stainless Steel Rat for its innovative main character, its psychological insight, its lively writing, and the intellectual substance I find in the story--even though it is sci-fi, which I don't usually like.

Rather like the old 'Batman' television series, veteran sci-fi writer Harrison's 'Stainless Steel Rat' books work as both entertaining pulpy adventure stories, and tongue-in-cheek parodies of themselves. Featuring a hero who is more resourceful than McGuyver, the books spanned the 60's and 70's before being revived quite recently with 'The Stainless Steel Rat goes to Hell'. 'For President' and 'Saves the World' were the high spots - the series eventually met with dimishing returns, and started to repeat itself. The original 'Stainless Steel Rat' was a short story - after repeating it in mildly-edited form as a 'prologue', the book follows our hero (James Bolivar DiGriz, aka Slippery Jim, aka the Stainless Steel Rat) through a short adventure through space in pursuit of a stolen battleship. With the first part of the book given over to an introduction of the main character, it seems more rushed than the later books (many of which are, annoyingly, out-of-print). It's less obviously comedic, too, and the vision of the future is sketched with enough vagueness that it hasn't dated too badly, either.