In this edition, Morton Borden has updated his earlier work, "American's ten greatest presidents." Borden acts as the editor while each president is covered by a separate historian. Presumably both the historians and the presidents have been selected by Borden. At times certain historians may seem to ramble, but overall the writing flows well and doesn't vary too widely from chapter to chapter. Nothing new seems to have been put into the original ten chapters/presidents, and the work's sole addition is a chapter on Truman written by Richard Kirkendall. Other presidents covered are Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Jackson, Polk, Lincoln, Cleveland, T. Roosevelt, Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt.

Overall this work, and the early edition, serve as worthwhile overviews of the presidencies and presidents covered. But this book is NOT a factual reserve to be used for heavy-duty reference. It's much more aptly considered as an INTRODUCTION to eleven US presidents. I used it, along with other titles, to study for the AP US History exam. For that goal it is useful, and thus I gave it 3 stars (3 stars is "useful"; I am a 'hard grader'). I haven't read many other books like it, though, and cannot compare it to other like-minded titles-- so there may well be a more modern resource better suited to an individual's scholarly needs. You'd have to browse around on Amazon.com and check that out.

Sidenote: I liked the initial three chapters on Washington, Adams, and Jefferson. Since they all served in a row (1888-1808), the three chapters read in a row really convey a sense of the period (which may be lacking as the book later skips ahead 20 or 30 years to reach the new president). I especially remember the efforts to which all three presidents went to keep us out of foreign entanglements. Great presidents indeed.

According to a survey of Presidential historians by the Chicago Tribune, the top five Presidents were:

1)Abraham Lincoln
2)Franklin D. Roosevelt
3)George Washington
4)Theodore Roosevelt
5)Thomas Jefferson

Another national study I read found the same results, except with FDR and Washington switching places.

I disagree with the premise that Grover Cleveland and Harry S. Truman deserve to be ranked with these great Presidents. You can also make a case for ranking Adams, Jackson, and Wilson below other presidents.

I do think they rank above the mixed records of the most recent Presidents of Jimmy Carter (peacemaker but troubled economy and Iran), Ronald Reagan (cold war warrior but massive budget deficits for handouts to top 1%), George Bush (successful coalition against Iraq but massive budget deficits and no direction), and Bill Clinton (balanced budget and strong economic policy but sex and pardon scandals).

James K. Polk belongs ranked below them all.

I loved Scott Morton's book on Japan. The China book, however, was difficult to get through. I think part of the reason is that China is too big. I've tried other books on Chinese history and they all seem to have the same problem. There is so much going on its hard to get a feel for each time period. To get a more intimate look China's history would probably have to be studied by region (or by periods).

I think the resons I gave it 4 stars is because in some parts it was confusing but in the most it was good. See I had a repport to write and the book realy stared me of with info.It was realy innteresting though.

Helpful? Maybe, but I can't praise it.

It's clear the item is a CD; it's not clear that it's only readable as PDFs. Sure, it's reasonable to argue this format is suitable for web designers. However, type "Web Design" in the www.Amazon.com search engine and links to 2,644 books appear. Nearly all web design books I've purchased come with a CD. It's not an outrageous assumption to expect both.

I may be old school, but 400+ pages of PDFs leave me cold and visually impaired. Even if production costs are considered, I expect CDs of this kind and cost to be somewhat more interactive than just staring at a radiating screen. When CD-ROMs my children find in their cereal boxes allow them to direct the action on their computer, CD costs can't be that high.

In addition, we're told we're saving [money] because we agree to buy the four-file set. Save more of your money and buy a discount art history book dealing with Italian Renaissance masters. If you have trouble deciphering the figures, get a dictionary of symbols, buy a couple of Carl Jung (Man and His Symbols) or Joseph Campbell (Hero with a Thousand Faces) books, or just read glossy magazines. Also, the other 13 books listed on www.Amazon.com dealing with web color are [not very expensive].

I will use it, but its format and cost leave me with remorse.

I am just six months old in this color/designing world. After purchasing Color Voodoo books*, I feel so confident that now I am doing all the design work of this firm from web to print. And I personally feel that you deserve a lot of credit for making an amateur into an expert within no time. * Color Voodoo for Web Site Design.
A.Masood

I felt as well as several of my fellow nursing students that this book was very difficult to read.
It is very extensive information wise, almost overwhelming.

Hudak, et al., does a wonderful job on making difficult concepts easy to read and understand. I recommend this book to all of the nursing students who need an eye opening view of critical care nursing.

This small book is a decent introduction to dreams and dream interpretation, particularly for those who want a more Christian slant as opposed to New Age. Kelsey pulls heavily from Carl Jung and the Bible to support his ideas. The only drawback was that it left me wanting him to expound more on the subject.

I began reading Morton Kelsey's books in 1975 after experiencing a very powerful dream on death and dying. Before exploring my dreams, I was terrified of dying. Becoming more aware of my dreams, I realized that God was communicating to me in a way that was not threatening. At first I was a little apprehensive, to give dreams a priority in my spiritual life but I learned more and more to trust this wonderful gift that God has given me. God has always given me the interpretation of these dreams, it is not difficult once you learn to communicate with God in this fashion. Why would God give you dreams without the interpretations, it does'nt make sense. I have read many Morton Kelsey and John Sanford books which introduced me to Carl Jung. I especially like Jung's biography " Memories,Dreams and Reflections". This book enabled me to understand many life changes that I experienced in the '70's. I continue to regard my dreams as the most effective way to communicate with my deeper self. Dreams have given me many challenges. They have helped me to overcome obstacles and they have put me back on the right track when I wander. I would recommend these 3 powerful authors if you are searching for answers in your life.

"Essential Cross-Country Skier" is a good handbook for beginner skiers. It is an easy read and probably what you want to get you started.

Intermediate level to elite skiers could take issue with many of the technical explainations, for then I would suggest "Ski "Skating with Champions" or "Tao of Skiing" but the then, the book "Essential Cross-Country Skier" was written by someone who obviously loves the sport and will be enjoyed by those who want to take it up.

I'm a beginning cross-country skier and former Valley Girl with no downhill experience and found this book to be helpful. The book covers choosing equipment, getting started and gives good tips on technique. I haven't purchased any other books on cross-country skiing but this one seems to be a valuable resource.

This book was very useful for my Introduction to Literature class. (Naturally) Contains works from many of the great authors.

I am VERY,VERY disapointed in the overall quality of the book. DON'T BUY THE PAPER BACK EDITION. Get it in hard back if you can. With my copy of this book, as well as, the copies that belonged to several other members of my Lit. class, the binding broke and the book fell apart. Now I can't resell it.

Currently a college student who is currently using this book for the third (last year) quarter of english. This is what i would consider a great anthology filled with many literature. How this differs from other books is that it contains a ton of plays, drama, rather then just short stories found in other anthologies. For mostly short stories divided into major sections, i recommend a book called An Introduction to Literature by author, ABACARION. It has poems, short stories, plays, and essays divided into major topics including "culture and identity, conformity and rebellion, and innocense to experience which are major topics covered in college."

I'll pay Walter and Miriam Schneir a compliment and assume they were sincere when they wrote this book. It's one of the few compliments I can pay them.

The Schneirs wanted to believe that the Rosenbergs were innocent, framed by the U.S. Govt. They wrote a book that 'proved' their case -- if you didn't know enough about the Rosenberg affair to make an independent judgement, and didn't think well enough to see through their predjudices and pre-conceptions.

The Schneirs basic method is twofold: One: when presented with a complex case, select only the evidence that supports the story you're pushing; Two: when nothing to help you is available, make it up. Examples: an exchange that goes on for several pages in the trial transcript, involving the judge, two lawyers, and a witness, that ends with the judge ruling against the defense but saying that the defense lawyers can bring up the subject again tomorrow, when they have the transcript of that day's proceedings [something the defense chose not to do], is reduced to ONE sentence, designed to show a prejudice by the judge that isn't there; when trying to explain how the investigation of the Rosenbergs started, they claim, on no evidence, that Hoover believed in Soviet atomic espionage because he thought the Russians were too stupid to build the bomb on their own (actually, it was because decrypted messages proved the former USSR [oh! how I love to type "former USSR"!] had spies in the Manhattan Project, but those messages were the U.S. Govt.'s biggest 'secret', known only to the FBI, NSA, and KGB).

In the seventies, the FBI released its files on the Rosenbergs, allowing anyone with the will to see that they'd been guilty. The Schneirs refused to see. In the Nineties, the National Security Agency declassified the Venona files . The Schneirs finally threw in the towel and admitted what had been obvious for decades: Julius Rosenberg spied for the Soviet Union.

If you are writing the history of a controversial subject, I recommend this book as an example of how to go wrong. If you're interested in what really happened in the Rosenberg Case, get THE ROSENBERG FILE by Ronald Radosh and Joyce Milton, in print and available.

Walter and Miriam Schneir's book "Invitation to an Inquest" remains the best book on the Rosenberg case. The authors have researched the topic exhaustively, and they acknowledge that the Rosenberg case is incredibly complex. At the same time, this is not a "Charlie Brown" fence- straddling study. The authors ultimately argue, convincingly, that the Rosenberg's were likely innocent of the charges. A must-read that sheds light on the most important trial of the postwar era.

I was very disappointed with John Morton Blum's biography on Theodore Roosevelt. I found it to be poorly written and some chapters were rather ambiguous and confusing.

The first few chapters were good but the book steadily went downhill from there. Theodore Roosevelt was such a lively, exciting character and Blum's book did not bring out any of that excitement. I found the book informative but very boring and dull.

I read this book over twenty years ago and remember it as very well written and particularly illuminating on Theodore Roosevelt's patrician approach to Progressivism. The offers an exciting and concise view of the how Roosevelt established an important, if limited, role for government in American economic life.

It shows how much difference one man can make to both his political party and to his nation. The book was written at a time when the legacy of Teddy Roosevelt was very much in the shadow of FDRoosevelt's new deal. It provides an intense contrast with the current, sorry state of the Republican party and national politics, in general.

This book is a fresh take on Henry Stanley and well worth the read. However, the book ends right after his second exploration, quite literally. For a book that poured over Stanley's early years, many pages to his 7- and under years, the paragraph (literally) that sums up his knighthood, authoring of more books, marriage and subsequent adventures is pretty disconcerting. It is like the author died and someone else tacked on an ending and called it done.

Really enjoyed this one. The research was thorough, the writing was crisp, and the insights into the tormented Stanley intriguing. Of all the Stanley biographies out there, this is the most thorough, scholarly and objective.