Even though I do not agree with everything Armstrong says, this is one of the most important and succesful attempts to reflect philosophically about emotions in art (my own research field) from a contemporary theory perpective (critical theory, poststructuralism, feminism).

She may not be the first one to make the oppositions between emotions and cognition as well as subject and object collapse, but because she is so conscious of the dialectical implications, this is a pure pleasure to read. She is a brilliant writer, personal and objective at the same time, rethorically following the theoretical idea.

Her ultimate goal is to save the field of the aesthetics in a historical situation where the anti-aesthetic (the reduction of art to something else) is the dominating paradigm. She does that by advancing theory rather than by restoring an old view on art, and I love her for it!

When I first got wind of the existence of this book I just tought that it was too good to be true. However, reality turned out to be even better. Written by a former member of the US Army military intelligence, this book is a lenghty and in-depth analisys of the life and deeds of the Soviet commander who leaded the six Guard Tank Armies: Katukov (1st GTA), Bogdanov (2nd GTA), Rybalko (the "Soviet Patton", 3rd GTA), Leylushenko (4th GTA), Rotmistrov (commanding the 5th GTA at Prokorovkha!) and Kravchenko (6th GTA).

Except for Rotmistrov (thanks to his involvement in the culminating point of Zitadelle) all the other names are probably unfamiliar to all but few people, even among those interested in the history of the Russo-German war of 1941-45. Recently the situation has somewhat improved, but even today is difficult to dispel the myth that only the Nazi Army had "real" generals, their Soviet counterparts being skilled only at the very top of the military structure (thus the focus on the "usual" Zhukov, Koniev and Rokossovsky), while at the operational and tactical level the Red Army was lead by faceless robots alway following orders, and more inclined in launchhing costly human wave attacks than dealing seriously with the art of war.

Of course, this was not (at least, not always!) the case, and "Red Army Tank Commanders" explains superbly why. All the six personalities are analized using a large array of documents, and at the end each commander is judged in the bigger context of the Soviet military evolution in the conflict.

What does emerge is that not only these people where as able and proficient as their German or Western "colleagues", but that they faced and overcame in huge variety of tasks and difficulties, nearly always displayng a great deal of flexibility and ingenuity (not the kind of thing you could expect from your stereotypical "soviet-leader-pushed-on-by-a-pistol-welding-political-commissar"). So, Rybalko and Katukov emerged as true masters of battlefield stamina (the later being almost reckless at times!) while Rotmistrov (a well learned and perceptive theoretician) tended to fight "by the book". Bogdanov was impulsive, adept on taking decisions in a snap second and commanding always "on the lead", a la Guderian. Kravchenko was the most conservative and cautious of the lot, with a strong sense of the past military tradition of the Russian army, and an meticoulos planner. Leylushenko excelled on flexibility and improvisation (something he shared with Rybalko) and often reorganized plans and disposition literally on the move.

All of them faced - very often - incredible hardships and risks. Being a commander in the Red Army wasn't easy - fighting a though, powerful and ruthless enemy, and under pressure from an High Command that rarely forgave failure. In this sense their career was quite unique in the context of WWII - a darwinian selection where only those learning from battlefield reality could hope for survival. Armstrong does a great job analysing each commander performance during the major operation in which the Red Tank Force was involved. Not always thing went well (like Rybalko's bloody failure during the Third Battle for Karkhov), but each commander learned from previous failures, and their performance invariably improved as the war progressed. The exception to this seems to be Rotmistrov, who was sacked after 5th GTA less-than-perfect performance during Operation Bagration - to be "kicked upstairs" and become the Deputy (later overall) Commander Of The Red Army Armoured and Mechanised Forces. Anyway Armstrong seems uneasy to decide if he losed his battlefield touch or was the victim of a clash of personalities with his superiors. After mature consideration, I incline for the latter version

It's always wrong to make comparision in the tricky business of warfare history (and even more so in the slippery arena of Eastern Front history!), but it's human to be tempted to compare these general with more famous names like Rommel, Hoth or Manteuffel (or, why not, Patton!). My take is that in their own way these men where all as good as commanders as those well known armour specialists - and if we take in account the difficulties they had to deal with, I suspect they could have been even better. This book could explain you why.

Just for the record, I've some complain. The first is that the writing is not always as good as the content. The most curious thing is the translation of the dialogues (nearly always taken from Soviet sources). They are all written in a very "wooden" english, the variety you learn from at school, and the sintax is - at least - a bit stilted.

The second critique is on the lack of a decent pictorial support (a minor sin), and the lack of decent maps. What we have in exchange are bare-boned diagrams that seems to have been made with Powerpoint. Well, could be a good excuse for a major reworking in a future second edition.

The bottom line? Buy it! It's one of a kind stuff - hope it will be reprinted sometimes in the future...

Reprint of an 1864 book detailing the service of the fictional 210th Pennsylvania, a nine-month regiment which charges on Marye's Heights at Fredericksburg and is heavily engaged at Chancellorsville just days before the expiration of their enlistment. Originally published anonymously under the guise of fiction, Mr. Arner's commentary demonstrates the connections to actual people and events in the 129th Pennsylvania (3rd Division, Fifth Corps). Offers a particularly interesting picture of the division commander, Andrew A. Humphreys.

An extremely well-written introduction into monopoly regulation both in theory and in practice. Armstrong et al. explain the relevant concepts without making use of mathematical models.

Excellent stuff. I really learnt an enormous amount about the feminist movement, but especially about ways to energize our movement today. The introduction of the category 'organization' into the discussion helps me to get out of the swamp of identity politics. Wonderful theory. Congratulations!

This is a very well written, touching, age appropriate book - one of the best children's grief books I've read. It is written for young children regarding the thoughts and feelings surrounding the death of an infant sibling. It speaks from the child's point of view; what he likes and doesn't like about the experience. What a blessing this is for children who are grieving, also for their parents, other family members and friends, caregivers, etc. This should be in the library of all people involved in helping parents who have experienced the death of baby.

A very good book about roman catholicism. One of the very few evanglical books including a chapter about modern catholic theology. Worth reading, a must for everyone who is interested in the subject.

Mr. Custer tells a very bare bones version of his great-great uncle's life. It is startling how much is cleared away when only basic facts are discussed. The author cuts through hype, politics, revisionism, and decades of venomous build up to paint a simple, sympathetic view of Custer's life and death. He makes a compelling case against those who have crucified the general for fun and profit, not to mention political and social motives. I liked this cleaned up story.

This is a very good book to discuss many safty concerns without the lecture style that kids usually tune out. I feel much more secure about my children's safty since we went through this book togeher. One liked it so much that we went through it twice. The book is divided into seven chapters: At Home, At School and on the Way, At play, Out and About, First Aid, Just for Fun, and Pages for Parents. Each chapter has 12 to 15 sections which cover a specific issue such as "How to Dial 911". The section has one page that has an illustration and a one paragraph description of a situation. Read the paragraph and ask the child what they would do. The child then responds. This is a great way to get to know your child's maturity level, reasoning skills, and common sence. On the second page of the section there is a good discussion of the ideal response to the situation posed on the preceding page. My five year old had no trouble comprehending this and my 11 year old also seemed to be learning some things. AN IMPORTANT NOTE: My five year old didn't sleep well after we did the section titled "Prowler". She had just never thought of such a thing before and it seemed to unnerve her. Also, I liked the common sence response in the "Gun in the House" section. No hysterical political B.S., just leave the area and tell an adult.

Francisco is famous for the ways that he reconsidered doctrine with respect to the world and the way we should live in it and APPRECIATE it. This book describes certain aspects of his new viewpoint, and compares it, as the title says, to nature mysticism, but it actually goes beyond that - and tries to understand in exactly what manner Francis really viewed the natural world. And it does this in a very organized and thoughtful way - and very well.