David Potter's work has been rightly called "magisterial" by some historians. He examines whether "Southern Nationialism" truly existed prior to 1860, and whether a mere impassioned defense of slavery was solely capable of inciting some Southerners to contemplate exercising a revolutionary right (or as Southern constitutionalists saw it, immediate secession). This chapter, coupled with his thorough understanding of the political dimension of Nativism, is sufficient alone to recommend this book. This book (20 years to complete) is the product of serious reflection on the part of the author. Professor Potter's work is a testament to his skills as a historian and writer.

For those who studied history in the 1960's. David Potter's IMPENDING CRISES brings back memories of a time when political history dominatd the study of America's past. For students who grew up in the age of new social history, Potter's work is a unique opportunity to broaden their perspective and experience the genre of another generation. A synthesis and a commentary, the book analyzes political developments in the United States From the outbreak of the Mexican War to the firing on Fort Sumter, a period that Potter sees as vital to an understanding of the causation of the American Civil War.

The cast of characters is composed of white males, be their politicians or the electorate. Female names are virtually absent from the index. Other than Dred Scott, the only other individual black person mentioned is Frederick Douglass, and it seems that Potter stretches his research to include Douglass as opposed to giving him agench. Potter's work, completed after his death by friend and associate, Don E. Fehrenbacher, is the story of the interaction of white men who made political and sometimes moral decisions and how those decisions influenced the American people.

One of the significant aspects of the book is how Potter weaves the interralated events into the pattern of socail turmoil that culminated in the Civil War, often attempting to put the reader intothe mental framework of 19th century America. Stressing slavery as the most significant contribution to the tensions leading to the war, Potter de-emphasizes the significance of Nat Turner's Rebellion and John Brown's Raid. However, he demonstrates their importanc when viewed in combination with other events and thier impact on contemporary thought. As Potter points out, "Historians customarily write about past events as if each one occurred in isolation, neatly encapsulated in a sealed container, or chapter." (P. 177) A work such as Potter's brings the student who has done indepth readings on events such as John Brown's Raid or Nat Turner's Rebellion into the reality of the larger spectrum of events.

In telling his story, Potter goes about his task ina meticulous manner, particularly when one considers the voluminous footnotes. In several instances he offers revisionist interpretations of certain characters. He shows John Brown's Raid as a futile act, a publicity stunt by contemporary standars. He attempts to rehabilitate the image of President James Buchanan, a man most historians have not held in high regard. He demonstrates the hypocrisy of many abolitionists and how Republicans maniputlated their platforms to win over Know Nothing and nativist voters. Lincoln is shown as the practical politician that he was. Piercing homes in the myths that have evolved during Lincoln's early career and campaign the presidency.

In offering his revisionists views however, I believe that Potter goes too far in his attempt to ggive a seemingly unbiased view of Justice Roger B. Taney. This is especially true when he states that "Taney's valuable contributions to American constitutional development remained unrecognized because of the Dred Scott decision." (P. 290) Granted Taney severed longer than any chief Justice other than John Marshall. In addition, he made favavorable contributions to America's economic development by reaching decisions that favored emerging industries. However, his opinions in Groves v. Slaughter (1844), Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842) and Strader v. Graham (1850) were decidely proslavery, offering no protection to free blacks or the free states that opposed slavery.

Regarding the Dred Scott decision, Potter says "Probably no other major judicial decision in history affected the daily lives of so few people" (P. 290) While conceding in th next paragraph that the decision had indirect results, it is still difficult to understand Potter's view. Taney found that Blacks were not citizens and delineated bifurcated citizenship between federal and state government which would have significant ramifications in subsequent rulings of the court. For the first time, the Supreme Court found unconstitutional a major piece of fderal legislation. For the first time, every justice of the Supreme Court wrote an opinion on a case, a decision that takes up 248 pages of the Supreme Court Reports. Had it not been for the Civil War, the Dred Scott decision would have dictated federal policy on slavery in the territories until the nation was able to end slavery or amend the constitution and yet potter downplays its importance. The evidence is clearl that the adoption of the 14th Amendment was an attempt by Congress to overturn the Dred Scott decision, but yet Potter feels that it did not affect the daily lives of individuals.

However, the emphasis of the book is on the history of political events and not legal history. All in all every page of Potter's work is extremely worthwhile. The discussions of the development of both political parties is "worth the price of admission."

David Potter's masterwork addresses all the sticky questions about America's descent into civil war. He navigates the thicket of personalities, historical forces, and contemporary events without trying to shoehorn them into a Grand Unifying Theory.

Why did compromise fail? What was the role of slavery? How did the South think it could get away with it? Potter addresses all these and more in intensive detail, written in a fascinating, engrossing style. Potter delivers a convincing and fair account of events that is bound to complicate the opinions of those who read it. Potter will undermine the complacency of the reader, regardless of which "side" of the debate he or she thinks she's on.

_The Impending Crisis_ is a masterpiece of the historian's art, and should be required reading in any college class that includes the Civl War in its curriculum.

We enjoyed the book very much. Communities can come together and make a difference. My two daughters received so much out of the book. How the apricot and the silver liquid is Princess Shayna's insulin. How her parents had to n(not literally) give up a piece of lung and piece of heart to conceive her. So much unconditional love. We recommend this book to everyone.

Sheila Glazov's broad based knowledge of education, philosophy, creativity and creative problem solving combine beautifully to produce an enriching story for the whole family to read together. Children will experience an enchanting fairy tale; parents will find healthy role models and educators will discover layers of thought-provoking ideas to use in the classroom.

Your book was very interesting. The characters in the story were adventureous and loving. I learned everyone has unique praiseworthy gifts to share with each other. I learned everyone has to be a rainbow. I learned to except people for who they are, even it they are different from you. If everyone was the same, where would ber no one to share anything new with. I am glad that everyone is special in their own way. I learned I have precious praiseworthy gift of my own and I have to use them wisely and share them with my friends.

My daughter loves the colour and depth of this calender...looking forward to next years as well.

The pictures in this calendar are excellent! A must-have for the serious Harry Potter fanatic. It also comes with a few sheets of Harry Potter stickers that you can use to decorate your calendar. :) Great buy!

The Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets calander is really great for anyone of any age because it has plenty of room for writing events for everyday and there are cool stickers and pictures for everymonth! This is a great calander for kids who love Harry Potter and have busy scheduals! I hope you buy it and love it!

This book is just so neat! It can be used as a toy or decoration! The book opens to form a circle with a lot of the Hogwarts rooms featured in GREAT DETAIL. It's an interesting alternative to reading all about Harry Potter and Hogwarts School, you can actually see another visual representation of what J.K. Rowling invented. It would make a great/unique present for the Harry Potter fan in your life.

I have read these books and they are exciting for me.They are too good and I want to read the next book fast. I can't wait to read it.

Hello my name is nathalia. I love this movie and Im reading the books,I dont speak english soo im reading the book in espanich.Im going to buy the books are in english but I thing Harry Potter is a good book.My mother said this book is important because when the children read it the now what is the magic.I think is a good book because when I haved 6 years old(now I have 12)my mother said me all we do is magic ex:the rain is magic and when we are crying... and the magic is a part of our life.MY father is going to buy me
all the books of H.P I want to talk with daniel radcliffe because I want to ask him some questions about the movie and I want to now how is him.I think H.p is the best book in the world.good bye! thank for read this.

Alles, das ich über das Buch sagen kann, ist, daß ich es liebte, und ich glaube, daß es sehr wert Leseversuch es ist.

Chances are if your thinking on buying this book in German, you've probably already read the Englsih version, so I won't bog you down with any lengthy opinion on the story itself except to say it is a modern classic, full of mystery and suspense that can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

Foreign language versions of English novels are notoriously difficult to translate, largely due to the high number of English words which have no exact translation in say, German or French. But on the whole, this was an exceptionally translated peice, with no major blunders sticking out (the Spanish version is full of them) The most obvious chnage is of "Hermione" to "Hermine" Perhaps Hermione would feel strange to pronounce to a native German speaker, not sure on that one.

A lot of people will tell you Spanish and French are far easier to learn than German. I found German more fun to learn, most people who say it is a difficult, technical language do not know that English and German belong in the same group of languages (Germanic) French, Spanish and Italian are in a completely different group (Romantic) So to brush up on language skills, or just to have fun reading a novel in another language, HP is probably the most fun and easy to understand novel on the market.

This translation of Harry Potter pulled even this native speaker of English along almost as well as the original book, and I would recommend it for anyone who's had a couple of years of German as a skill and vocabulary builder. If you're struggling with Goethe or Thomas Mann, you need something that will show you that German can be fun to read, and this book will do the trick nicely. I suppose once could carp at a few things here and there, but this translation is so superior to the French translation that I wouldn't waste my time doing that, except to mention that Hermione's name has for some reason been changed to Hermine. If you get stuck, at least the trot's readily available!

Reading this book wasn't just fun, but it really helped me in my French. I learned more in reading it than I have in all of my classes combined. There are some little changes in it, but that is because of the language difference and my over-reading the English version led me to know its wording too well. Still, that only made it more fun. I'd recommend this to any French student.

I bought the French translation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for my son who began his first year of French this year in Middle School. It has been great fun and encouragement for him. His teacher found it fun as well, reading short excerpts from it to the French class. Everyone loves Harry!

I never really liked to read. It was just too boring. Reading all those pages that had no effect on me. Then I heard about Harry Potter. Everyone really liked it. I wanted to see what the big deal was. I read the first book. I thought to myself how imaginative it was. The creatures, the characters, and the plot. They were all like a puzzle fit perfectly together. It made my mind run wild. I had to read the second book. I went through that like a person going after 1 billion dollars. It was so amazing. The third book was next. That was better than the first and second books. Finally the forth. Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. That was the best of all. My favorite character is Ron. He reminds me of me. All except the looks. I look a lot better than him. This book is filled with creativity, mystery, fantasy, and love. All in one. Thats why I got hooked on all these things.

Then, Harry and the Weasley's go to the train station. Then they say goodbye to everyonne and get on the bus. They meet their new teacher and their best (not) friend, Malfred. Their is a special game instead of quidditch this year and only people over 18 years of age can enter to win. Three schools are coming to play but only 3 people, one from each school, can play. Harry plays. But he's not 18 so a lot of people get mad. I won't tell you what else happens, so get the book and read it!

I gave this a 5 'cause this is a grat book and it lets out your imagination!

This book is beautiful beyond belief. The photographs are beautiful and it's interesting to compare and contrast the different views of handpainting yarn and design sensibilities presented here. I also liked the insights provided into running small yarn companies coupled with the sense of craft in different parts of the US. The big pages can inspire dreams about knitting and the book is a great spur to the imagination.Some of the designs are not to my taste but there are many tastes presented here and I'm sure most readers would find plenty of things they like.
I would also recommend this book to people who handpaint their own yarn as I do - seeing the excellent photographs of many different styles of handpainted yarn was a real eye opener to me.
That said, I regret that it's hard to find out where to buy many of the yarns so tantalizingly presented here. I have been knitting for over thirty years and never follow a pattern exactly; I wouldn't recommend this book to neophytes.

As a handspinner, I'm always curious about what other spinners and dyers are doing. Handpaint Country was impossible to put down. The photos are beautiful and I was enchanted by the stories of the women who spin and dye in the book. Their yarns are gorgeous! i thought some of the projects in the book were a little odd, but other than that, it's a great book.

I am very fussy about my knitting books. Many of them have the same basic sweater patterns over and over (look at the schematics) the change in "look" of a sweater comprising of variations in guage, yarn used, or a different pattern stitch. An experienced knitter can figure most of this out by his/herself. Therefore I look for something new - something different - in a book of knitting patterns. Otherwise I pass on the purchase.

This book has lovely, creative designs and they are readily adaptable to substitution yarns, as most of the yarns featured are MUEY EXPENSIVO! (I don't know about you but I consider spending 3 - 500 dollars on yarn for a sweater I may not finish a bit steep!) I still buy the handpaints, but where a solid is shown, i will substitute a more basic yarn.

In any case, the patterns are beautiful and inventive - showcasing Top designers best work. The yarns are drool material, and the photography is exceptional, displaying these incredible handyed yarns in all their sensual beauty! This book goes far beyond a "coffee table" book, although it has the same size AND you really want to pick it up and look through it whether you knit or not. You will want to photocopy the patterns before you make them.

I love this book.

The concept rocks: write stories inspired by TV and movie heroes, but don't do it directly.

Much of the writing is equally good: obviously all these authors are excellent writers.

Some of the stories were compelling, some were mildly entertaining. None were awful.

However, this book is uneven. I have a hard time imagining that any one person would love all these stories. Some of the stories suffer from being so short, and others are just not that interesting.

I loved Moon Over Miranda and Mary Jo Putney's reworking of the King Arthur tale.

Five stars for concept and two of the stories. The other stories were all 3-star and 4-star in quality, so I'm averaging it all out to be four stars.

Get a copy of this anthology while you still can. You will NOT be a bit disappointed. Ten novellas from talented authors whose stories are inspired by TV and Movie heroes. What a kick! Regency, Western, Contemporary, Futuristic... They're all very well represented here. Stories and characters that will make you smile for days to come. Don't be put off by the mix of genres. This confirms that when written well, romance stories are timeless.

"In Our Dreams" is a unique collection of stories. While the authors use television/movie heroes as inspiration, they have managed to build on those images and make them uniquely their own. From Mary Jo Putney's twist on Arthurian legend to Courtney Henkes tongue-in-cheek take on mythic fantasy, I found myself eagerly turning the pages. This was a wonderful read with something to feed the romantic cravings of any reader. Whether your tastes run toward rugged Old West types or the cool elegance of the English Regency, there is something here for you.

In his book: Y2K: You Can Burn This Book!, Tom Potter has done an excellent job covering the basic elements all our communities should consider as the Year 2000 approaches. We've all spent many months and considerable resources reconfiguring our hardware and software so they will continue to support our businesses - now we need to look at our personal preparedness efforts and those of our employees. Potter devotes a chapter to each area of fundamental needs (water, heat, power, food, etc), explaining where disruptions might occur and then providing suggestions for different levels of planning. For a detailed resource that follows up on topics mentioned in many preparedness primers, this is just the book you need. ---Deben Tobias, Board of Directors; Business for Social Responsibility

Tom Potter's Y2K: You Can Burn This Book! is an excellent resource for anybody concerned with disaster preparedness. With an emphasis on personal and household preparation, he sets a positive but proactive tone for pursuing these preparation activities. Using his expertise in industrial energy use, he discusses the scope of neighborhood preparation that Boulder > is also concerned about, and offers a broad range of solutions. Potter's book is a great resource for taking that first step toward being informed - and ultimately being prepared. He's also been an excellent speaking resource for Boulder County Y2K meetings. > --K. Garcia, Community Coordinator, Boulder County Y2K Preparedness Group >

This book is thought provoking and droll. Ice storms and blizzards here in Canada make emergency preparations useful for everyone. Most of the information so delightfully presented here is of use in any of those situations. This book will be valuable even after the Y2k has passed.

This book is introspective without being maudlin, and I find
myself struggling for a better word than "wistful", but alas,
no cross-referenced OED at my fingertips.

Therefore: I can promise you this, there's not a happy ending in the book, and I found myself at first very disappointed in this growing trend. At some point in the third short story, I realized that he would supply no easy answers, and the converse might prove true: nothing but hard questions from here on.

Stories wrapped up neatly, even with the bad guy winning, aren't a possibility for Shepard. Life is like that sometimes, and the choices that lead you to a place you wish you hadn't visited. But, since you're there, take in the scenery and try to pass on a warning to others...

This is my first formal introduction to Lucius Shepard; it won't be my last meeting with his work, for sure.

The Jaguar Hunter is still the best introduction to the frustratingly inconsistent work of Lucius Shephard. Shephard is at his best in short stories and some of those in this collection show a real mastery of the form, telling often quite simple moral tales in settings packed dense with strange underpinning imagery and meaning.

The collection divides into several different overlapping types: traveller's tales, New England horror, Latin American magic realism, those dealing with the ongoing shadow cast by Nazism, fantasy etc. It is really a matter of taste which you prefer: my own favourites are the title story, which tingles with atmosphere and magical possibility; the two treatments of the legacy of the Third Reich - the terrifying 'Mengele', and the bizarre, menacing 'A Spanish Lesson'; and the magnificent 'R&R'. I like the New England-set tales less, but even they far outdo Stephen King.

Shephard's writing has never been better than is these early stories (and also in the underrated novel 'Life During Wartime'); lush but never bloated and often ironic but always moral. I just wish he would find his form again and stop writing yet more vampire novels!

Fourteen short stories, including a novella new to print, provide a fine collection of Lucius Shepard's skills in Jaguar Hunter, and outstanding anthology headed by a Nebula-winning title story. From a war of the future and wind spirits to a woman's end of life, this is filled with diverse plots.