This book contains very well topics as input and output analysis, verification and validation, random number generation etc. I strongly recommend this book as an introduction of theoric simulation.

Banks revised his great book with updated simulation package and information. Several new issues, such as, tools/softwares, random-variable generation, simulation termination, how to use Simulation to analysis and design computer system, many downloadable examples. Sufficient theories, to understand Simulation, are given, for instance, the Statistics and Queueing theories. Two chapters are dedicated for random-number generation. One chapter is dedicated for verification and validation of simulation models. Although it's only one chapter, several references are given for further study. IE or logistic practioner will enjoy since one chapter is for manufacturing and material handling system (wow!). Very good reference and practice.

This book brings a very complete explanation about what Discrete Event System Simulation is. From the very beginning, they introduce what Simulation is by means of simple examples that you can manage by hand. They also give a comprehensive explanation about how to determine the apropiate distribution functions to use in the simulation. And how to statistically analyze the simulation results. The book also include a comprehensive brochure of different simulation languages.

Ever wonder how the field of economics could produce such disparate voices, from interventionists such as John Maynard Keynes to the classical liberalism of Milton Friedman? Those looking for insights will do well to read Economics as Religion: From Samuelson to Chicago and Beyond by Robert H. Nelson, an economist at the University of Maryland.

As the book's subtitle suggests, Nelson takes the reader on tour of modern economic thought. Here he's done commendable job, providing a highly readable account of the major personalities. This book will appeal to historians as well as the informed non-specialist. Nelson ranges far and wide in his effort to explore the often unstated philosophical assumptions behind supposedly objective economic analysis. Of particular interest is Nelson's treatment of the rift between economists and environmentalists. He places the debate squarely (and rightly in my opinion) in religious terms. While this is not particularly original, he does a service by reinforcing the deep religious roots of modern American environmentalism.

Finally, in an increasingly small world, Nelson again hammers home a vital point regarding economic opportunity provided by free markets: Economic progress requires the creation of a "civil society" and the rule of law. Social and human capital must be both nurtured and sustained. Laws must reflect these norms and governments must enforce them fairly. Without these, human rights and the environment suffer.

In environments of rampant corruption and political instability, value creating institutions aren't sustained. Success comes when people are rewarded for creating value, not for transferring wealth via force or fraud. Political plunderers, not the market process, keeps countries poor.

This is a desperately important message at a time when many equivocate and ring their hands about the spread of Western democracy as, "a hegemonic discourse of Western cultural imperialism".

Pete Geddes is Program Director of the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment (FREE) and Gallatin Writers. Both are based in Bozeman, Montana.

This is a remarkable book... erudite, opinionated, original, and addressing a crucially important subject matter. Prof. Nelson covers a wide swath of recent economic thinking (that survey alone makes the book worthwhile), and contends that while economics wears the cloak of authority of science, it can more accurately be viewed as a secular religion. I had read one of his 1980s articles, and picked up the book on that basis - and became thoroughly engaged. If one measures success in terms of underlined sections, exclamation points and scribbled notes in the margins, then this one more than passes. I'm not an economist (or a theologian), but nonetheless found this to be a tremendously interesting read. I wanted more, and hope that his next book follows up on his closing point, about the cutting edge role of libertarians and environmentalists.

Prof. Robert Nelson argues that economics has become the modern religion, complete with a priesthood (economists), a sacred text (Samuelson's "Economics") and a plan of salvation, (material progress will solve the problem of mankind, including the problem of sin.) Over the top, you say? He makes a great case. Read this book and find out for yourself.
I am a professional economist myself. Nelson's arguments ring true in my experience in the profession. He argues that many of the controversies over economic policy are really controversies over views of the world. These world views are so fundamental, and deeply held, that they are unlikely to be dislodged by technique and data, no matter how rigorous. Nelson thinks we would have more fruitful policy discussions if we would quit pretending to be scientists, and face up to these fundamental questions. I have to agree with him.
I wish he had pointed out that economics is not doing a very good job being a religion. Material progress can not solve all the problems of the human race. We would all be better off, if we would admit that.

This is a good book on several fronts. Lynn Elwell Sparrow writes very clearly, layman to layman. She also approaches the work (and/or "Readings") of Edgar Cayce from the spiritual viewpoint of the Fundamentalist Christian. A new event, to my knowledge. This particular perspective was helpful to me, as my spiritual awakening originated in a Fundamentalist church. I imagine it will help others of the same inclination, as well.

The purpose of this book was to give relief and freedom to the Fundamentalist (or conservative) Christian that has found himself "caught between a rock and a hard place," in that they believe certain dogma and doctrine, but feel innately that there is more to it...more to be had, found, enjoyed and passed on.

Much of the author's book was spent validating Cayce's Readings relating to reincarnation. Ms. Elwell Sparrow was effective, in my opinion, in concretely defending the Reincarnationist's ability to exist without guilt within a Fundamentalist's world. It was refreshing. I know her words will be freeing to many.

I found one thing curious, however; a personal observation, nothing more. At one point in my exploration of cover to cover, I found myself sad (and a little frustrated) that the author was so bound up by conservativism and Fundamentalist dogma. Though I believe the Fundamentalist faith was (and is?) based on absolute uncontestable truths, I believe the movement in general has strayed a great deal from the purpose and mission of Christ. The more I read Ms. Elwell Sparrow, the more I wondered if she was in fact restricted in her own enlightenment by her unwillingness to let go of strident and outmoted theology.

Why must believers who have a more esoteric bent so fervently try to defend the mystical and the unexplainable by utilizing the semi one-dimensional wording contained in the Bible? That is not to say that the Bible is lacking, but let's all remember that it is a HISTORICAL TRUTH that the Bible was in fact edited at great length, sanitized, interpreted, cut and remade. The discoveries at Nag Hammadi attest to as much. Irrespective, it is a sad, frustrating truth that most Fundamentalists will only debate the Mysteries of God if the opposing viewpoint is rooted in Scripture only. For that reason alone this book is a positive source and a good read.

I first read this book (in its old edition) back in 1986 or 87. It was a significant moment for me, and helped put me on a path toward a more conscious, growth-filled, and expansive appropriation of my Christian faith. I wrote a fan letter to the author, who sent a very kind reply. Some of her advice still remains with me, well over a decade later. I was delighted to see this new edition, which I think will appeal to an even broader spectrum of Christian (and non-Christian) readers who are exploring the work of Edgar Cayce.

For years I have struggled the spiritual battle inside myself of finding "Where do I belong". Feeling unfulfilled in what I had learned all my years in attending church and the people I came to know there. Finding a church where I belonged. I have long admired what I had read on Edgar Cayce. I could not understand why such mean spirited statements were made against him. And where did that leave me in what felt so right deep inside. Wisdom is Proven by the thing it does is what it says in the bible. Finally I found this book by Ms. Sparrow and I read thoughts and feelings that had crossed my mind hundreds of times. If you can relate to any of this you will want to read this book! For some time now I have been non-committed and frozen in fear of what I felt inside was wrong. I figured for years I am not alone but where were people like me? Well one of them has written a deeply moving book proclaiming love of God & Christianity and what that can be. I wish we had more literature from people like Ms. Sparrow that share their faith in this way. It touched my soul and is definitely a rare find in todays books.

I rate Fast, Fun and Fabulous Quilts an 8 only because of the applique projects of which I'm not a big fan. The instructions are clear and takes the guesswork out of determing fabric yardage. Each project has tips to make the cutting and piecing more efficient. If you like stars, hearts, houses and teddy bears, get this book but it has lots more.

This book is the best quilting/patchwork/appique book I have ever seen! As soon as I bought it I just had to start a project from it, and now I'm starting another one. I've looked through it a million times already, it's very inspiring! Beautiful colour photos, and clear instructions. Also has alot of tips on how you can change the overall look with different fabrics etc.

I own a lot of quilting books and this is one of my best. Eye-catching patterns and originality abound. I love the stars the most. You just feel good looking through this book! I am going to make one of these quilts one day!!

I found this textbook to include a large amount of concisely presented material on all aspects of aircraft stability and control and feedback control system design. It covers everything from the atmosphere, to development of forces and moments and equations of motion, to estimation of stability derivatives, analysis of dynamics and modes of motion, and handy reduced degrees of freedom. It also includes many examples of designing autopilots and stability augmentation systems. I really liked the examples which included both classical and state variable methods. Each chapter also has several interesting example problems. I would recommend this text for anyone in the field of aircraft or missile flight controls. The only dissappointing aspect of the text is what I consider an excessive number of typographical errors. I would caution anyone not to use the equations or formulas without first checking the derivation. The derivations are clear and concise enough that the reader should be able to find these errors.

This is an excellent book for the modern fundamentals of aircraft control design. Most subjects are clearly treated with just the right amount of illustrations and examples. The author makes good effort of explaining procedures without resorting to function calls from some software package. The last of the book devotes relatively little space to modern control theory. I would hope this talented writer would create something more advanced in the future that would expand on his treatment of the state observer and the use of the cost function.

The best aspect of this book is the simplicity in the exposition of ideas and concepts while giving more than enough information for an introductory book. Fully worked out examples are frequent throughout the chapters and helps even further in getting good grasp of new materials. If the reader has taken introductory courses in Vibration and/or Feedback Control, the book should be an easy read. The book is roughly divided into two parts: The flight dynamics part and control part. In the flight dynamics part, the explanation smoothly leads the reader from equation of motion to the concept of stability derivatives and how they relate to dynamic stability. The derivatives are very well explained and then summarized in tables for a quick reference. In the control part, the author starts from the classic linear feed back control and proceeds to the modern state space method and introduces optimal control design using linear quadratic regulator. The control part is an amazing time saver. I have never seen a more efficient introduction to optimal control as applied to aircraft dynamics. If the reader wants a full fledged treatment of optimal control of aircraft, the materials presented here are far from enough, but as an introductory book, this is an excellent exposition that lets the reader get to pace quickly and have straight forward perspective on the subject. Although there were some blatant typos, it is an excellent work and I highly recommend the book.

As a descendant of William L. Manly, and as an avid reader of history, the book appealed to me. It is a tale of raw survival and heroism, as well as a testament to the pioneering spirit of people from our American past. It is also a book of human triumph over one of Mother nature's most trying environments on Earth. The easy-going narration of the events in William L. Manly's life draw you into the scenery, the essence of the beautiful, yet enigmatic desert which lures yet imposes such harsh demands on the body and soul. It seemed that the nearly intolerable conditions that William and his fellow pioneers endured were a kind of "Offering" to the desert, which is one of Mother nature's testing grounds of the human spirit.

First hand account of pioneers crossing the American west in 1849. Epic and heroic in scope, Manly describes hardships and an America nearly lost to history. Where it survives is in the deserts and wastelands of Utah, Nevada and California. One will never be able to travel these regions without thinking of Manly, Rogers and the Bennet-Arcane party.

Jean and I edited the Heyday Books edition of Manly's monumental work. This edition has foreward by Dr. Limerick and Jean and I added a preface, 400 notes, an epilogue, and an index. We, of course, are biased and think this is the best edition of his book. Needless to say, the original edition is the best. We hope you enjoy Manly's words and our additions.

This book captured me from start to finish. The huge amount of history and knowledge leads to euphoria to the history lover.

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If all you read in this book is "The Audacious Cruise of the Speedy", you will have gotten your money's worth.

If the only stories you read are the two chapters from the Nagle Journel, "For the Good of My Soul, 1795," and "Mad Dickey's Amusement, 1798-1800", you will have gotten your money's worth.

But you get more than this. You get a total of 22 stories picked from many to capture the history and character of the times.

If you like Patrick O'Brien, and C.S. Forester, you will enjoy the history that gave seed to these stories. You will recognize the events of Lucky Jack Aubrey's fiirst cruise in the cruise of the Speedy, and be amazed.

Index of stories:

1. In the King's Service, 1793-1794

2. Commence the Work of Destruction: The Glorious First of June, 1794

3. The Noted Pimp of Lisbon and an Unwanted Promotion in Bull Bay, 1794

4. For the Good of My Own Soul, 1795

5. The Would as Soon Have Faced the Devil Himself as Nelson, 1796

6. The Battle of Cape St. Vincent, 1797

7. Mad Diskey's Amusement, 1798-1800

8. The Fortune of War, 1799

9. The Audacious Cruise of the Speedy, 1800-1801

10. Bermuda in the Peace, 1802-1803

11. The Battle of Trafalgar, 1805

12. The Death of Lord Nelson, 1805

13. An Unequal Match, 1807-1808

14. With Stopford in the Basque Roads, 1808-1809

15. When I Beheld These Men Spring from the Ground, 1809

16. "Damn'em, Jackson, They've Spoilt My Dancing," 1809-1812

17. The Woodwind Is Mightier than the Sword, 1809-1812

18. HMS Macedonian vs. USS United States, 1812

19. An Unjustifiable and Outrageous Pursuit, 1812-1813

20. A Yankee Cruiser in the South Pacific, 1813

21. Showdown at Valparaiso, 1814

22. We Discussed a Bottle of Chateau Margot Together, 1812-1815

Having been in the navy and loving life at sea(though I'm a long way from it now), I always look for books that make me feel like I'm still there. What better book, then, than one written by people who WERE there? This volume collects some of the best first-hand accounts of life at sea in the Royal Navy during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Probably the best of all are admiral Lord Cochrane's telling of his first command, the tiny sloop Speedy, and the experiences of sailors on the gun deck in the heat of battle. Better by far than even the best Hornblower novels(no offense, I love them too). Don't miss this one!

Desparate people hiding behind normal lives populate Nelson's seven stories and a novella. Although her eye for details makes the stories vivid, false notes too often ruin her work. In "The Ocean", a terrified housewife hides in the bathroom with her baby while a robber, real or imagined, prowls the house. A terrific premise, but we never believe the central conceit---that a robber sees someone inside a house, but still breaks in during broad daylight? And why doesn't the thought of calling '911' even cross the woman's mind? Similary, in "The Written Word", a brother decides to kidnap his half-sister and use the ransom to get back to his real father. An engaging idea, but how the brother came up with this twisted scheme is never satisfactorily explored. Other bizzare relationships will rouse reader's interests: a woman has an affair with her stepson; a man dates his brother's ex. But the stories never get beyond the purely sensationalistic.

The Written Word, one of the stories in this collection, is one of my favorite short stories ever. I'd say it's about being a young kid in a family with real if ill-defined problems, and coming up with the sort of solution only a young imaginative kid would. His reaction to some pictures his mother hid feels so right and yet is very funny. These stories have heart. Dirty Words was another story that jumped out at me; I loved the Marxist coffeehouse line. But don't worry, I won't give any of the best moments away.

In "Family Terrorists," her third collection of short fiction, Antonya Nelson proves that her title, though apt, is by no means an oxymoron. The eponymous terrorists wreak mundane, unsensationalistic havoc (except in the eerily timely "The Written Word" where a little brother's prank diverts a jet and thwarts a longed-for escape.) These provocative acts include invitations to family occasions, ("Family Terrorists") giving birth, ("Dirty Words") uninvited help, ("Crybaby") or simply imparting unwanted knowledge, ("Loaded Gun"). Nelson seeds her prose with trenchant observation: "Her mother refused to understand tone, as if she were reading conversations instead of having them." "Bette's problem was that she merely missed drinking, like a hilarious friend who had moved away..." The stories unsettle by exposing the ironies inherent in our complacency. In "Naked Ladies" a painter divines his wife's infidelity from an array of ineptly rendered nudes. A woman sees how truly precarious her happiness is ("The Ocean"). A wife finally freed from her husband's obsessive ex-girlfriend misses being stalked ("Her Secret Life"). Antonya Nelson's gifts--deft characterization, gentle humor, supple language--entice us to marvel at the permutations of intimate sabotage.

The book is tight, however, it is an overwhelming barage of self-interest and personal agrandizment within the discipline. In contrast to other ethonographies, Fingure is more of a venue ethnography; Nelson uses the book to further her own persona, beliefs and character in the true postmodern spirit. Between the brash jokes (although they relflect reality) and impressive vocabulary emerges a theme of ethnographer as "superwoman". This theme made me wonder if Nelson was being extreme with intent to show me that she could transcend ideological gender boundaries that exist within anthropology. Although Nelson effectively provides deep insight into Guatemala and indigenous affairs there, she interjected to much "I" into the work. Those looking for a postmodernist view of Guatemalan idigenous affairs would enjoy this book. Those searching for an objective view should refer to another piece.

In A Finger in the Wound: Body Politics in Quincentennial Guatemala, anthropologist Diane M. Nelson provides an analysis and ethnography of the Guatemalan State that is not only rich in its theoretical scope and in its empirical breadth, but that also brings to life the challenges of political struggle and everyday politics in Guatemala. This book contains information about Guatemalan political and government entities and events, such as the Academy of Mayan Languages, the ratification of ILO Convention 169, Guatemalan government actors and ministries, the Maya cultural rights movement, and the effects of the 36-year-long civil war, while simultaneously conveying incisive analysis of both actual actors in these struggles and the manner in which popular imagery, fantasies, fears, and stereotypes play into the struggles for self-representation of people in these different groups. While Nelson takes the Maya cultural rights movement and nation-state identity as her focus, because she focuses on the relations that constitute particular identities rather than on just the identities themselves, she provides an integrative analysis of how different identities-Maya, Ladino, gringo, "the State", "non-State actors", males and females, and others- constitute each other. The result is a book that offers insight not just into the Maya cultural rights movement in relation with the Guatemalan state and into the political context in the aftermath of the civil war, but also into how gender identities shape the roles and positions of women and men in relation with ethnic identities and the nationalist ladino discourse of the state. Using jokes, metaphor, and extensive ethnographic accounts from years of fieldwork, Nelson offers an analysis of Guatemala's recent political and social context, and the wider global context, that is both intellectually and politically provocative. She dares to make the connections that raise difficult questions; [i]f the subject of feminism, for example, does not exist as woman but is instead the effect of institutions and practices that produce the category of 'woman' (and then never as a fixed identity), then how does one fight women's oppression?" (71). Nelson explores such questions through developing the concept of fluidarity as " a practice of necessarily partial knowledge-in both the sense of taking the side of, and of being incomplete, vulnerable, and never completely fixed (Clifford 1986). This neologism plays with the idea of solidarity in an attempt to keep its vitally important transnational relations open and at the same time question its tendency toward rigidity, its reliance on solid, unchanging identifications, and its often unconscious hierarchizing (42) ". The concept of fluidarity challenges readers to place themselves in relation with Guatemala's political and social context by acknowledging that all identity is mutually constitutive and by making connections with the wider global and transnational context within which Guatemala is located. A Finger in the Wound suggests that it is the inherent instability of identity that makes apparently solid identities possible; "[i]t is precisely at the sites of struggle and of production-the state, the school, and the family-that identifications are both reiterated and appropriated . . . . Fluidarity looks to these spaces and relations, rather than to any solid identity positions, in order to discern and support democratizing work" (70). Fluidarity does not suggest that solid identity positions are not also vital to struggles for democracy, but rather that every solid identity is itself a relation, constituted through multiple identifications with others, and often able to change as these identifications and spaces change. Nelson is careful to point out that every group is heterogeneous and mutually self-constituting with multiple others. She reminds us that while the Maya Movement challenges the binary in which the Guatemalan state leans on indigenous culture in order to define itself as modern, literate, urban, the Maya Movement in turn leans on Mayan women; Mayan men's reluctance to support Mayan women's participation in the Maya cultural rights movement "suggests their dependence on the mujer maya as prosthetic, the need for her to act as a legitimizing link to the land, to the past, and to tradition" (275). Nelson also uses the metaphor of the body and prosthetics to talk about the productiveness of political and social struggles as always articulatory processes of identity production that make the structured relations between people with different historic investments open to transformation as these interactions also transform the people involved in struggle. In her discussion about the relation of struggles over identity with hegemonic attempts to create a national identity in Guatemala she tells the following joke: "[t]he calls for national unity over ethnic difference turn us to Benedict Anderson's 'imagined community', with 'a deep horizontal comradeship' (Anderson 1983, 16), [and] clear borders with unproblematized state sovereignty,' . . . (40). Perhaps we can imagine this ideal 'modern nation' as a piece of clothing meant to cover all its inhabitants. And thus the goal of Guatemala's national project would be to stitch together the various materials-Mayan, ladino, criollo, Garifuna, German, and Chinese-to form a suitable outfit that would clothe and protect the 'Guatemalan' as well as fashion (in the sense of define or represent) 'Guatemalan-ness.' If the clothes make the man, however, then this ideal nationalism may fit Guatemala like the camel hair suit of the joke: 'A man has a camel hair suit made for him but the next day goes back to the tailor and says, 'The sleeve's too short.' The tailor replies, 'You can't recut a camel hair suit, but just hold your arm like this [over-extended] and no one will notice.' The man goes out with his arm like that, but the next day returns to say the right leg is too long. The tailor tells him to hold his leg like this [bent up] and no one will notice. Well, this goes on until the guy is walking around with his limbs every which way. A couple see him, and the woman exclaims, 'Look at the poor deformed man!' And her husband says, 'Yeah, but doesn't his camel hair suit fit great!'" (Nelson 1999: 178-179). Nelson uses this joke to comment on the disjuncture between the warm comfort and promise of pleasure offered by an ideal of a national identity that can resolve the deep wounds of centuries of violent colonization, of highly unequal economic relations and of the recent civil war, and the fact that the only way such a "suit" of national identity could fit is through painful contortions that these different wounded subjects are pushed to make to fit such a suit. But, as Nelson suggests throughout the book, the "camel suit of national identity" can itself be thought to consist of the interactions between the different subjects-body parts-of Guatemala's body politic. While nationalist ladino discourse may attempt to pressure the different constituencies and their antagonisms to fit into a national united identity, similar to how the Maya cultural rights movement may pressure Mayan women to fit into a homogenous and united political Mayan identity, instead of these different people-Mayans as well as ladinos, gringos, and others- only getting pressured and constricted by this suit of collective identity, they are also using it in ways that transform the suit; they are not just getting shaped by its attempts to mold them into an uncomfortable fit with the rest of the nation, but are actively shaping "the suit" through using the different spaces and mechanisms opened up in this discourse to fight for self-definition and representation. This book is an invaluable tool not just for people who are interested in Guatemala, but also for anyone interested in the subjects of identity politics, nation-state formation, the relations between ethnicity and gender, for political activists who are concerned with the difficult contradictions and challenges of social struggle, and for any student of anthropology.

Diane Nelson's extraordinary "ethnography of the state (3)" takes its title from a metaphor often used by Guatemalans to describe the indigenous cultural rights activism that has emerged in the wake of the Guatemalan war, a constant reminder to Guatemalans of the racial divisions that have structured national history and identity. A Finger in the Wound is an enormously rich and complex work, one that defies easy description or summation of its arguments. Nelson's stated aim is to examine the post-war emergence of Maya cultural activism; her integrative approach and subtle analysis, however, has produced a much more ambitious work. Through the prism of the state institutions, non-governmental organizations, cultural rights groups, popular culture, jokes (the appendix listing Rigoberta Menchú jokes is worth the price of the book alone), and global relations of production, Nelson examines the formation of Guatemala's racialized nationalism. Nelson's analysis deftly combines poststructural, gender, marxist, and psychoanalytic theory to argue for the articulated, relational nature of Ladino and Maya identity: "ethnic, gender, and nation-state identities are mutually constitutive, meaning that they do not exist outside their relation to each other, and at this historical moment the Guatemalan state is an important matrix through which these relations occur (7)." Unlike previous studies of Guatemala that dismiss the state as inherently illegitimate, Nelson takes the state seriously. Capacity to repress, while important, cannot alone explain its tenacity: "The state . . . is not a clear-cut set of interests that gets what it wants through repressive apparatuses. In Guatemala it has been and is still extraordinarily repressive-that is why there is so much attention to wounded bodies in this book. But it is also, and simultaneously, a set of relations: a structure of domination, yes, but one which in turns forms the conditions of possibility for all political work (28)." Nelson work demonstrates that these structures of domination often have unintended effects. One such effect is the space that has opened up in the wake of the war within state institutions for Maya activism. A Finger in the Wound examines the hostile reaction by many Ladinos, including Leftists, to this organizing. Nelson points out that while indigenous identity is an indispensable component of Guatemalan nationalism, Maya activists, by assuming what is considered a "western" lifestyle, threatens the binary assumptions -- particular/universal; past/future; female/male; etc. -- that underwrite racial, gender, and national identity. Importantly, Nelson's is the first study to examine critically the role gender ideologies and relations play in the development of the pan-Maya movement. Nelson admits to suffering from postmodern doubt: "In working on this book . . . I have found 'the people' to be rather more heterogeneous, 'the state' less clearly bounded . . . than I had acknowledged. As I became involved . . . in passionate internal divisions within the pueblo . . . as I witnessed the state becoming a site of struggle rather than an enemy to be smashed . . . I have had to confront the instability of my previous solid representations (46)." By not ignoring contradictions and ambiguities, Nelson reminds readers that the best way to understand the complexities of culture and history is through a dialectical approach. Aside from the force of its arguments, the relevance of A Finger in the Wound lies in its ability to situate an examination of unstable identities within a larger analysis of domination and rule, while simultaneously understanding how each informs and changes the other. This work represents the best of new cultural and social scholarship; it provides historians and anthropologists of Central America with an integrative theoretical framework for understanding the inseparable relationship between ethnic identity, capitalism, and state formation. --excerpt from forthcoming review in Hispanic American Historical Review

I have a problem with those he chose. He left out some of the greatest generals of all time. Grant????? Please! What about Phillip of Macedonia? His little boy Alexander would have been just another hot-headed babe if not for his incredible father.

And Jeb Stuart, the Confederate General that Grant could never hold a candle to??? Perhaps this generals are great but the author seemed to deem "great" those generals to whom history has given us more inforation in our history books instead of those who were truly great.

There were also some other great generals in the past. They just couldn't finish their military duty because their commanders or should I say superiors forbade them to do something very spectacular that would have changed the world history. The Author seriously left out alot of great generals. What about George Washington? George S. Patton? McArthur? These three alone would really have changed the world alot more if their stupid superiors, who were concerned more about their personal lives than the war itself. If They just stepped aside and let them did their job then I think that the world would be alot more fascinating today!

Having read the same author's I, Caesar which was brilliant - a great introduction to the Roman Empire - I thought I'd give this book a try too. It's not normally my area of interest but the stories are gripping. And, as a woman, I, of course, found men such as Alexander the Great fascinating to read about. Beautifully written and nicely illustrated, I enjoyed the book so much I even bothered to spread the word on the internet!!