"The Presidency of George Washington" is exactly what its title implies. It is the story of the Washington Administration. It is not a biography of George Washington, nor is it even a book which revolves totally around George Washington. It is the story of the people, issues and events which made up the administration of George Washington.

The book starts out with an introduction into the United States of 1789. The regions and interests, as well as the political alignments, which supported and opposed the adoption of the Constitution are explained in some detail. The economy, trade, finance and the neighboring powers of Spain and England all laid the background for America's experiment with its new Constitution.

The first task facing Washington was the establishment of the National Government. While reading this book we come to understand just how little guidance he had from the Constitution. Many of the practices which we take for granted derive, not from the Constitution, but from precedents established by Washington and his successors. The title of address for the President and the role of the heads of the executive departments, which were to become the cabinet, were among the first issues to be addressed. The role of the Senate in granting "advice and consent" on foreign policy matters had to be defined. An early trial occurred when President Washington appeared in the Senate to present his proposals and ask for advise and consent. After this awkward exercise, the practice was established that the executive would formulate policies and negotiate treaties, which would then presented for advice and consent.

The power of removal of executive officers also had to be refined. It was presumed by some that any officer who required Senate confirmation for appointment, also required Senate consent for removal. It was the Washington Administration which established the principle that executive officers could be removed by the President without Congressional approval. This was an issue which was to be resurrected during the impeachment of Andrew Johnson.

Beyond organizational problems, the towering challenge facing the administration was that of finance. The debts of the Continental Congress and the states raised a myriad of issues. Should debts be paid? Should the debts be paid at par? Should payment be made to the bearer, who had often bought the bonds at a discount, or should some or all of the payment be made to the original lender? Should the national government assume the debts of the states? All of these issues had important consequences to the credit worthiness of the government. The assumption of state war debts had unequal impacts, depending on whether the individual state had serviced its debt or let it accumulate. Ultimately the Hamiltonian proposal to assume the war debt of the states and to pay the holders of the bonds was adopted, with the concession of the location of the national capitol in the South to win necessary support.

An issue which would remain controversial until the Administration of Andrew Jackson was the establishment of the Bank of the United States. One of the main reasons for the establishment of the bank was the dearth of banks in the country capable of handling federal deposits.

The domestic issues confronted by the administration introduced the spirit of party into the Administration. The differing views and personalties of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson brought contention into the administration. It was their personalties, particularly that of Hamilton, which came to be the heart of the Administration, even more than that of Washington himself.

The second term was to be dominated by foreign entanglements and a domestic insurrection. The advancement of the French Revolution and its wars with the powers of Europe brought European problems to America. The continuance or renunciation of America's treaty, made with Royalist France, was a hotly debated issue, as was the ratification of a later treaty with Britain. Acceptance of the Jay Treaty with Britain was, ultimately, decided in a reaction to alleged official corruption. In America's first encounter with Islamic Terrorism, raids against American shipping in the Mediterranean by Barbery Pirates, resulted in, again after heated debate, the establishment of the U.S. Navy.

1794 saw resistance to federal taxation on whiskey erupt into the Whiskey Rebellion. The assertion of Federal authority lead to the raising of the militia for the suppression of the rebellion. The declaration of the Rebellion and its suppression may have had more to do with Hamilton's desire to crush his political opponents and brand them as traitors than it did with any actual insurrection.

Washington's ultimate gift to the nation was his retirement and transfer of power to an elected successor at the conclusion of his second term.

This book is recommended to anyone desiring an understanding of the personalities who made up our first national administration, the challenges which confronted them, their responses to those challenges and their legacies to our country.

The general consensus is that the two greatest US presidents were George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. I firmly believe that and in my opinion, Washington was the greatest. Before he became president he did something very rare in the history of the human race. After the victory in the war of independence, his stature was such that he could have been "elected" king. However, his honor was such that he had to be persuaded to run for president and then re-persuaded to run for a second term. He then thoroughly rejected any thought of a third term.
The nation that he led was still very fragile and every action by Washington or congress that was not explicit in the constitution would establish a precedent. Furthermore, the world was still a dangerous place, with the French revolution and subsequent European war creating a dangerous environment for the new nation. His actions in building the new government and keeping it out of foreign entanglements fully justify the admiration that he receives.
This book kept my attention from the first page as the early years of the new government are described. For this is a book about the Washington administration rather than Washington the man. So many legends in the annals of history were there and setting the tone for over 200 years of continuous government. You also learn of the emergence of political parties, as Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson and Adams among others vie for power and influence. Alexander Hamilton is the most interesting of these giants, as he successfully creates the financial institutions that made the country fiscally sound.
The more I read about Washington and that period of history, the more I am impressed by him. I have no idea what would have happened if he had been different, but it is a sure bet that it would have been worse. It is unfortunate that we teach our children nonsensical myths like the one about the cherry tree. The truth is so much more inspiring, and he truly deserves the accolade of "the father of his country."

Forrest McDonald is an excellent writer. He produced a wonderful full length bio of Alexander Hamilton that I recommend to anyone interested learning about our government's start and the role played by the man second only to Washington in ensuring that these United States succeeded in laying a firm foundation for self government.

This book is one of McDonald's two contributions to the Univ. of KA's "Presidency Series." It is splendid.

McDonald concisely explores the challenges presenting themselves and issues demanding attention from our new and untested government. In just under two hundred pages, the author does an excellent job of boiling down the topics to their essentials and describing how the nascent government struggled to define its role, the meaning of it's constitutional structure, the balance of factions and America's relation to warring European giants.

His book accomplishes this with brevity, clear and concise writing and in an interesting manner. Along the way are fascinating tidbits. For example, neither Washington nor the Senate knew what "advise and consent" meant regarding treaties. About to send negotiators to several indian tribes, Washington walked down to the Senate to seek their advice on instructions for his agents. As the Senate sat dumbfounded, and then finally began to debate the seven points Washington sought advice on, it became clear how impractical legislative micro management of treaty making would be. Washington turned on his heels and left in disgust when it became obvious the Senate could not give him clear and definative advice. Thereafter, it was mutually agreed that the Senate's role would revolve mainly around "consent" and come when the President presented negotiatied treaties to that body for consideration and not before the treaty making in the form of advice. And thus has it been, evermore.

This is a very good book that will inform those interested in learning how our government got up and running and how important Washington and the players around him were in charting the course for our young government.

Thank you Sedgwick Tourison for shedding light on a group of South Vietnamese patriots I would have never otherwise known about. They truly paid a heavy price for their patriotism. I wish to God that some of their North Vietnamese captors could have been on the receiving end of the Geneva Convention.

Of course there are secret operations; every country and military has them. But guess what, US Military "Secret Operations" in Vietnam is an oxymoron just like the term "Military Intelligence". Screwed up from day one, the various hare-brained schemes of the ninty-day wonders and fast-rising young turks in Saigon swiftly became more and more silly, more compromised, and eventually, worthless. This book is well written, informative and gives those of us who were in Vietnam an insight into one more reason we were not able to win the war. If you have any interest in how military secret operations are done these days, read this book. They may have tried to do a "Operation Double Cross" like the British did so well in 1940, but internecine politics, inter-service rivalry, and just plain pig-headedness got in the way. Buy the book and read it, now! That's An Order, Soldier!

I really enjoyed this book. It was very informative.

A beautiful intimate story of a young girl growing up in rugged Idaho.This is not a story full of sweetness, but of the tough life small farmers and their family encoutered in their fight for survival. I loved it from beginning to end

Okay, so she's one of my best friends BUT EVEN SO, I never knew she could write this well. Her memory is sharp, her observations hard and clear, and her insights are not for the polite or faint of heart. Koskela's early life in the harsh world of Idaho farming country is told with wit and clarity. It may not be gracious but it is REAL and you will find yourself laughing, tsk, tsking and looking back with a new vision on your own childhood. I've known Alice for over 20 years--she's incapable of telling even the most innocent of white lies and so understandably she has written a book of truths. This will by MY Christmas gift this year!

I thoroughly enjoyed this graceful, sweet, honest and sometimes heart wrenching memoir. As the illustrator, I was honored to be a part of it.

I like this novel and I think it is a well developed and suspenseful murder mystery. When I thought I had narrowed down who the murderer might be, another element was added that made me re-think my position. I was immediately taken into the story; Chris has a way of writing that makes you want to know more about the characters and how they interact with each other. I especially wanted to know more about the main character (Angela). What was her driving motivation? Even after losing a job in Peoria for relying on one source--how she found the courage to dig deeper into this story when she was yet threaten with another dismissal. What had she experienced to make her such a determined person?" What happened in her earlier years that made her the person she had become? I feel the book was definitely worth the read and would definitely suggest others read it.

The female protagonist is a young journalist in D.C. plying and being plied by sources in a highly competitive environment. A suspicious death of an associate becomes the central theme of the book after several chapters of character development. That is typical of Chris Benson, it seems, in that he feeds elements of the plot to the reader at a measured pace. Almost all of the characters, including the heroine, have secrets and Benson divulges them in a manner well-timed to advance the story. By the end of the book, a whole raft of characters have become real people with multiple and intersecting agendas. The deceased character, in particular, is so full of life, yet beset with enigmas, that it is especially tragic that Benson kills her. But it is what makes for an excellent mystery.

The author is clearly familiar with "special interest" politics and journalism. The characters' dialogue is just right; the defense offered by the tobacco company PR person during the TV station roundtable interview is letter perfect. The author has a good ear for what makes a credible PR statement somewhere between artificially true and blatantly false. This is not the snappy patter of a Fletch novel or an exercise of the the "little grey cells" by Poirot, but professional people sounding professional.

All in all, an absorbing book.

An exciting 'spin' that keeps you on the edge of your seat till the unexpected, and shocking conclusion. I must say that Chris Benson has a way with women, as a writer that is. The depth he takes the protagonist, Angela, to---hits home with a woman's point-of-view. Finally, we are portrayed with sophistication and wit, without having to shed our clothes to get there. With that said, Benson certainly knows how to capture the sizzle, as well. I read another story this author wrote called 'Click' that I found in a recently released book, 'Brown Sugar: A Collection of Erotic Black Fiction, edited by Carol Taylor.' And, I must say that Benson adds just the right amount of 'brown sugar' to Angela's [Special Interest] character, flavoring the story with perfect taste'and pulsating passion....

This is not a flowery high-end literary treatment of the WWII tailgunner experience but is certainly an enjoyable story. I felt like I was listening to somebodys Dad do a good job of telling about their experiences in the big war.

Eddie Picardo represents thousands of prople who served our country in a time of need. Eddie has done a great service to all of his fellow veterans by recording his memories. The book covers some personal experiences prior to WWII as well as time he spent in the military and after. It is a good general review of the times.

The book tells it like it really was. No glossing over. Mr. Picardo's true feelings are felt thru out the book.

During the reading of this book, I couldn't put it down. It is very compeling. I wanted to stop the process of discovery by Nan on several occasions and also wanted to change the outcome on many occasions. However, it was interesting that I felt that the two women characterizing good and evil were both very likeable. In fact 'good' was a little icky at times and this turned me aside from her wishes. It is a very interesting book that takes some consideration and self-discovery. I liked it.

Arleen Lorrance has written a magnificently complex, spellbinding novel, set in our nation's capital, though nonpolitical. It has a main, moralistically challenging theme of good vs. evil, with several sub-themes, including the subtleties of relationships and how a political city responds to nonpolitically oriented events.
The author calls her work a spiritual thriller, focused on the unfolding conflict between two lifelong activist female friends, doing good deeds until rebellious Nan hears that their supposedly conservative minister has "gotten away" with at least one evil act committed against their female friend in the church.
This discovery incites Nan to start experimenting, doing evil acts (some illegal; others just anti-social) to see if she will be punished or get away with them like her minister. She also wants to know if evil is actually stronger than good, as embodied by her friend Martha. The latter is typically bewildered by her friend's negative acts which often target her, usually blocking Martha's efforts to continue doing good, plus straining their otherwise strong relationship.
The plot has a number of unexpected twists and turns at many levels, including the sub-themes involving other characters. The latter are brilliantly and intricately intertwined with the main theme and the two main characters, making it difficult to put the book down.
As a psychologically trained Marriage and Family Counselor, I was impressed also by the author's insights into the characters' development from childhood, including their complex motivations as manifested in the inner workings of their relationships.
To find out whether good or evil wins, plus how Nan and Martha's relationship struggle is resolved, not to mention discovering insights into your own moral structure and value, read The Two.
I give it my highest recommendation.

In her first novel, Arleen Lorrance takes on the theme of good and evil in a nonpolitical context, yet the story addresses the very dilemma in which the world is caught today. The title The Two apparently refers to good and evil, or so the powerful Escher drawing on the cover suggests. But it could also refer to the two main characters, ordinary women in their forties, best friends for a lifetime, who engage with the question of good and evil because of their dedication to matters spiritual.
Nan and Martha are both activists who have devoted their lives to bringing about good in the world around them. When they determine to penetrate the meaning of a phrase an Indian swami used-that good and evil are equal-they find themselves living out their exploration rather than just thinking about it.
The reader is caught up in the drama from the beginning, because these women are not by nature evil. Yet Nan determines to act out the evil polarity while her best friend Martha continues to embody the good. Is one more powerful than the other, or are good and evil truly equal in power? That is the question Nan and Martha live out, and it is the question the reader is compelled to ask self. Suspense is sustained to the end, even as the reader inevitably takes sides and hopes or prays that her side will win.
Perhaps what is most gripping about the story is that these women are ordinary, educated, upper middleclass, fine people. It is easy to identify with them. Yet as Nan pursues her quest, it is hard not to find yourself fighting with her, criticizing her, and in the end even hating her. As a reader wanting to stand on the side of good, it is easy to end up saying, "I could have killed Nan." Who is the pot and who is the kettle?
This book is hard to put down. It so gets hold of your emotions and calls all your naïve idealism into question that even after you finish the book you go on arguing with it. It is impossible to think about the central issue - are good and evil equal? - in purely theoretical terms. Instead, you will find yourself examining your own thoughts, feelings and actions, wondering, "which side am I really on," and "are there really two sides, or are the two actually one?"
The author calls this a spiritual novel. In fact, most people interested in living a "spiritual" life would probably prefer not to wrestle with such a fundamental question. Many new age spiritual movements make it a practice to focus only on the light and good, and to avoid the darkness and evil at all costs. The Two does not allow the reader that luxury. It presents a viewpoint more aligned with the Principle of Polarity taught by the ancient Hermetic philosophy, which says that apparent opposites are actually the same, differing only in degree. And perhaps it is in that principle that the reader, and the world citizen of this twenty-first century, can find hope. It declares that all truths are really half-truths and therefore the pairs of opposites may be reconciled by those who acknowledge that wholeness emerges when the two become one.
Read The Two and ask yourself if you are willing to embrace both good and evil in order to live in a world based on what is real rather than on half-truths.

. . . you'll probably loan it to someone and never get it back.
This falls squarely into the 'I'm curious about it but would never admit it' camp. Most people would be extremely curious to take a back of the curtains view of the porn industry. Recently, PBS scored some of its highest ratings ever during a insider's view at the smut film world in a documentary but no one (except me, maybe) would admit to watching it.
I highly recommend finding a good used copy of this. Better yet, buy two copies so you can loan one out and keep the other to revisit every once in a while.

Women photographed in pornographic magazines assume the same poses seen in she-baboons in estrus. This and hundreds of other fascinating comparisons make "Porn Row" a must read for the educated potential sex worker or sex-work consumer.

How could this text have fallen out of print? Surely a cultural oversight. Undercover as a clerk, Weatherford becomes a Malinowski of a dirty-book store. He non-judgementally analyzes the activities and means of the hustlers and marks he sees and works with, even participating in the culture as a supplier of drug-free urine.

I consider myself lucky to have found a copy in my local public library, and hope to see it reissued soon, perhaps with an introduction by Monica Lewinsky. I was hoping to find a copy to give as a christmas present to my cousin the sex worker, who will certainly be able to relate to the anthropological anecdote about the African villiage with thirty-seven married adult residents and eightyfour on-going love affairs, fourteen of which involve one very busy woman who has no husband of her own but supports herself and her children based on gifts from her lovers.

This book continues to delight me every time I read it. I first picked it up in high school when I worked part time in a bookstore. Since then, I cannot count the number of people this book has passed through. No one has ever thought that it is a waste of time.
If you want to read a detailed accounting of the underlying persona of American sexuality, this is it. This text reveals without judgment or titillation. It is an honest portrayal of all sides of sexuality. I recommend this book to anyone who will listen. It is a shame that it is out of print. Another book of Jack's worth owning is the hard to find 'Tribes on the Hill'.

I enjoyed the book a great deal. It was cool to see how the company grew from a minor player in to a major craft brewer.

A fun read for anyone interested in starting a small business. Though the subject is brewing, the struggles and challenges faced by the founders are not unique to the industry. Excellent source of information for anyone interested in learning about the rise of the American craft-brewing industry in the Pacific Northwest. Cheers and enjoy!

I enjoyed the book immensely. It of course helps that the beer has been a favorite since inception and that I'm from the area but I would think anyone interested in the beer industry, entrepreneurial pursuits, or a sense of humor would like the book. The players involved in the formation of Redhook represent some of the business icons of the Pacific Northwest. It really truly was a great read.

This is a great book for an island-by-island survey of what you can see and do in the San Juans. The authors point out in the intro that it is geared towards sail boaters. I was interested in paddling info and, despite the paddler on the front cover, I didn't find much specific info for this audience. It seems like a great guide for sail boating though, with specific tips like how to avoid various submerged rocks in quiet coves and inlets, and where to find dinghys and anchors.

This is a surprisingly good book. Full of details and information second (maybe) to that of a long time resident. Excellent historical points of interest and very good maps.

We use this book extensively whenever asail or on a bike in the San Juan Islands. It gives the level of knowledge that a local resident would have and gets you into interesting spots (like False Bay on San Juan Island) that many locals may not know. The diagrams in the book are very helpful.

It also has a number of references to guidebooks on local flora and fauna.

As a newcomer to Seattle, I have made good use of this book. When searching for a place to live, it really gave me a taste of each neighbourhood. The walks are fun and informative, with accurate maps, great layout, and something to interest everyone. So, if you are kean to learn the history of Seattle neighbourhoods, this book is a must.

as a recent transplant to seattle & a new dog owner, i love this book. it maps out about 10 walks to take in different neighborhoods- fremont, queen anne, the international district, etc. and lists the time each should take as well as a wealth of information. there are features on buildings you'll see, maps, suggested parking places, and more. it's much more interesting than your standard guidebook that just lists museums & stuff.

I AM NOT A RESIDENT OF SEATTLE, BUT I VISIT AS OFTEN AS I CAN. I HAVE READ THIS BOOK WITH GREAT ENJOYMENT. IT IS VERY INFORMATIVE AND EASY TO READ.