The authors have created an absolutely perfect and delightful work on Nabokov's butterflies and all the resulting interfaces. Nabokov has always preoccupied me and, fortunately, I also have a deep interest in nature - particularly in butterflies and birds. Thus, this book, which develops everything from Nabokov's biography and literary use of butterfly and other nature motifs to their place in modern science and today's biodiversity crisis, was wonderfully eye-opening and informative. It's my bet that few people appreciate how big a story Nabokov's science actually is. It is not only a major part of his biography, previously untold, but also a linkage of his life's scientific work to major questions confronting scientists today. As with his literature, Nabokov turns out to have been a pioneer. It is only a pity that Nabokov did not have two lifetimes, one for literature and one for science.

What is intriguing about this book is that it has taken an entire volume of previously untapped material-- Nabokov's scientific work and the stories of and from the scientists who have studied and completed Nabokov's pioneering work in science and woven an entirely new story about a personage who might have been considered previously well-known. Who would have known this story was around? It reminds of Sobel's Galileo's Daughter which also uses the same tack-- takes the correspondence with his daughter, previously untapped, and weaves a whole new story about Galileo! The authors of Nabokov's Blues have extra luck in that, since they are demonstrating for the first time Nabokov's acumen in two very different fields, science and literature, they can take the opportunity to interweave these two worlds, which they do in a fascinating and intriguing way. What is so compelling about this book is that its story has just not been told before. Just when you thought you knew something about Nabokov, here comes his science! and, with gusto. A great book.

I had heard about this book before its release and I was not disappointed. The authors seem to have an uncanny sense about Nabokov's oeuvre. I have long had an interest in Nabokov's writing but was fascinated by the prospect of a book that would finally tell the story of his work, and its importance, in science. What is great about this book is that it reads with a plot, from the beginning-- which tells Nabokov's story as a scientist before his fame in literature-- to its end, which tells the story of the scientists who completed Nabokov's work nearly 50 years later. The latter includes exciting treks across remote areas of Latin America in search of Nabokov's Blues. The authors also tell us about Nabokov's fascination with butterflies within his own literature and, at the end of their book, provide what appears to be the first major assessment of Nabokov the scientist. In their opinion his contribution was far more important than ever previously appreciated. A great book.

I was surprised and delighted to see the content in this book! Easy to understand diagrams using rotary cutting for patterns I hadn't even thought about using it for. It's like a primer for quilting though, with lots of personal tips for organizing and storing materials/notions too. Excellent book.

This is the best purchase I've made learning to quilt. The tips have allowed me to do fairly complex blocks as a beginner. She covers all the basic tools and how to use them, not only how to pin but what to look for a pin. She covers how to press correctly not to distort a block. The formulas for calculating and cutting shapes for blocks me greatly when I designed my own quilts. I also like the projects the book. Quilting classes are hard to come by where I live. This book is wonderful for the "self taught", best I've found and it improved my quilting. It is also a great reference book to have on hand for trouble shooting. It also makes a great design aid for you if you want to design your own quilt using more than just rectangles. I highly recommend it.

I just began piecing quilts a month ago. I took one beginning class and read this book cover to cover. I have since pieced several wall hanging sized tops, all of which look so good my husband wants me to make each into full bed sized quilts. The instructions are thorough and well illustrated. It gives truly "fool proof" methods for cutting pieces for your own designs in simple to follow steps. I tend to use only proven patterns in all of my crafts (I'm afraid of disaster with my own designs), but with Rotary Magic's help I designed my first project and it came out beautifully. Thank you for such a wonderful addition to my craft library and the beginning of what will now be many years of happy quilting.

I would like to congratulate the authors of three volumes on Building, Implementing and Domain specific application frameworks on an extremely well done job. I found the three volumes to be an invaluable and comprehensive source on application frameworks. These volumes cover all aspects pertaining to frameworks including models of development, key technical and business issues surrounding building of frameworks, experiences, lessons learned and successful practices to mention a few.

In my opinion the three volumes are a must read for any software engineer who has been using or developing frameworks and as essential for software designers who want to be introduced and train in this area. The building volume is in particular attractive as a textbook for an advanced course on application frameworks.

An almost indispensable 3-volume reading to understand the success of framework technologies in today's software systems. The books include most of the top
articles on the subject, providing a thorough insight in both design and implementation issues regarding frameworks, also complemented with practical experience
about framework usage. Although the work is mainly concentrated on technical aspects, the articles are comprehensible enough to be taken as reference material by
a broad community, for example, software engineers, programmers, or technology managers. The books are useful for anybody planning to include
framework-based techniques in software development processes or planning to improve current object-oriented practices. It is also an excellent source for graduate
courses.

Volume 1 lays the fundamental concepts supporting object-oriented frameworks, and describes the problems and challenges that this
technology raises in software development. The book covers topics such as domain analysis, development concepts and approaches,
documentation, and management, among others. Of course, the compilation of articles makes some parts little redundant, but this is a minor detail compared with the
fruitful contributions made by the book. In particular, the articles on reusing hooks, hot-spot-driven development, composing modeling frameworks in Catalysis, and
composition problems, causes and solutions, are a sample of the outstanding level of this work. Each chapter adds at the end a number of related questions and
student projects aiming to reinforce concepts and promote further investigation. As a comment, novice readers should take the sections concerning hooks and
hot-spots carefully because these topics are presented in a slightly confusing way.

Volume 2 focuses on specific framework implementations, dealing with existing frameworks for different application domains, such as businesses, multi-agent
systems, languages and system software. In this book, the readers will find a level of detail much closer to specific implementations issues than in the previous
volume. Nonetheless, the writing style remains mostly clear and accessible for a quite broad audience. The case-studies and experience reports described by the
articles show an attractive industrial perspective of the framework approach, and more important, they go an step forward in the road of a more mature discipline for
software development. In addition, a
CD-Rom with concrete examples of these applications is included with the book.

Volume 3 completes this series with a number of domain-specific application frameworks developed by industry, showing how to apply the concepts and ideas of
the previous books in software products. In this line, it includes very interesting frameworks for manufacturing systems and distributed systems, among others. It also
goes through concrete software scenarios, illustrating the benefits of combining domain knowledge and object-orientation expertise. Although the level of the articles
is rather odd, the volume certainly provides the readers a realistic picture of the problems of building and adapting frameworks by learning from others' experience.
A CD-Rom is also included with this book.

Overall, these framework books collect the state-of-the-art on framework development, offering a comprehensive and
easy-to-understand guide for both academics and practitioners in the field. It is clear that framework technologies will not solve all the problems (perhaps they rise
more challenges than current approaches), however, taking advantage of the framework possibilities can make your development process more repeatable,
productive, and also less painful. The gains of this retrain are no doubt a good investment.

This book in conjunction with the books "Building Applicaton Frameworks: Object-Oriented Foundations of Framework Design" and "Implementing Application Frameworks: Object-Oriented Frameworks at Work" are a series of three books that constitute a complete and necessary guide for the design and implementation of application frameworks. They are based on multiple academic and industrial contributors experience building a wide range of domain-specific application framework. These books are very easy to read and understand and you can learn from them not only what a framework and an application framework are, but also how to apply this technology to real world domains, like manufacturing, health care, distributed computing, real-time systems, simulation environments, ...

First book, "Building Application Frameworks: Object-Oriented Foundations of Framework Design" introduces application frameworks, their benefits and problems. It addresses all the fundamental concepts behind OO application frameworks and provides guidelines for OO application framework development. It is organized in eight parts. Part one provides a complete overview of OO application framework technology describing what is an application framework, what are the problems and benefits of application frameworks and how to use, develop and evaluate an application framework. Part Two presents some historical application frameworks and discusses some general guidelines to increase the reusability of application frameworks. Part Three describes how to build a framework analysing a concrete domain. The rest of the book provides all the necessary information to completely build an application framework. It presents all the concepts managed in framework development, which are the different development approaches, how to test the resulting frameworks, the problems derived from integration and a question sometimes forgotten but very important, the framework documentation.

This book, "Domain-Specific Application Frameworks: Frameworks Experience by Industry" is focused in the experience of industrial and academic contributors in the development of OO application framework in different domains. Each chapter covers step by step the complete development of an application framework in manufacturing, distributed systems, real-time systems, telecommunication, multimedia, chemistry and data visualization domains. It includes the motivation developers founded to choose application framework technology, the problems they had to solve and the final solutions they developed.

Third book, "Implementing Application Frameworks: Object-Oriented Frameworks at Work", shows step by step how to implement application frameworks in different domains. It is organized in six parts covering examples about i) Business Frameworks with different examples in sales and administrative domains, ii) Artificial Intelligence, iii) Agent Application Frameworks, presenting interesting frameworks for speech recognition, neural networks and agents. iv) Specialized tool frameworks, v) Language Specific Frameworks, vi) System Application Frameworks, which present and analyse the application of OO frameworks in combination with other methodologies as component-oriented programming, language constructs or constraint programming and vi) Experiences in Application Frameworks. This last section is very useful because analyse the lessons learned using the application framework technology.

This book explores the "proper" method to raise a child who is self-confident and respectful. I know there is no "right" way to raise a child but I feel the more informed I am the better my decisions will be. This book employs a philisophy the author terms RIE (pronounce WRY)-Resources for Infant Educarers. RIE adheres to the following principles:

* Basic trust in the child to be an initiator, an explorer, and a self-learner

* Time for uninterrupted play

* An environmnet for the child that is physically safe, cognitively challenging, and emotionally nurturing

* Involvement of the child in all caregiving activities to allow it to become an active participant rather than a passive recipient

* Sensitive observation of the child in order to understand her needs

* Consistency and clearly defined limits and expectations to develop discipline

A couple of examples given in the book covers getting your child to sleep and communication. RIE recommends that you always put your child to bed awake. Why? Babies are aware of their surroundings. If a baby is lying in the living room and wakes up in a bed, it is confusing for the child. Another example is talking to your child. When you are going to change a diaper, it's recommended that you communicate this to your child and ask for her cooperation. This allows the child the opportunity to process this information and prepare for the activity as well as enable them to become a participant rather than a recipient.

I finished this book and found it extremely illuminating. For me, the things that stood out (i.e., things I didn't think about while around babies) are:

* Talk to the Baby, not about it

* Treat the Baby as a person not as an object. They have feelings and those feelings should be respected. If you want to do something to the baby, ask first. By asking, you are able to establish a routine (an area where children thrive) and they know exactly what to expect.

* Crying is Okay! Babies can't talk so they must cry to communicate. Instead of "hushing" or "quieting" a crying baby, let the baby cry and try to observe what is wrong with it. By immediately picking up the child, you are telling the child that what is really wrong (e.g., you are grumpy) is not important and being quiet is.

I am sure that some will disagree with this book and some will agree. I found this book right on in its approach and have decided to employ this philosophy with our first child. Gerber writes in a converstaional tone with easy-to-understand wording and structure. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in parenting!

I read this book when my son was 14 months old and began implementing Magda Gerber's philosphy of respect for infants and toddler's. It is amazing to my husband and myself how easy it was to gain the cooperation of our little boy just by explaining what we would be doing and giving him time to participate in his own care.

Primary times for interacting with your child are diapering, feeding and bathing. These times are no longer tasks to be hurried through, but moments of communication and interaction that set the stage for a lifetime of relating.

The book also addresses the needs of parents. It is the first book I have read that truly deals with the family as a unit. Realizing that parents also have needs and are better at parenting when these needs for rest and time apart from the infant are met was very helpful.

Also helpful were the ideas around creating safe areas for Noah to play in ... both indoors and out as a way for him to have space and time alone.

Allowing Noah to have his feelings when something comes up that doesn't suit him was another area that the book deals with. It is ok to be mad or upset or uncomfortable...and as a parent not to distract my son from being upset, which seems to be a knee-jerk response at times. It never occurred to me that just acknowleging Noah's feelings was enough. I didn't have to give in to all the demands to keep peace in the house. In fact, our home is very peaceful since implementing Gerber's ideas.

This is more than just a parenting book. It has helped me be more present with my son.

I only wish I would have discovered this book before we had our son so that I could have done some of the things she suggests earlier in Noah's life.

It is a book that I enthusiastically recommend.

It is often said, "When you don't know what to do, you do what you know." Without the RIE approach, I would have repeated many of the very serious mistakes my mother made.

This book so articulately describes the "how to's" and "why's" of child-rearing. There are very few unanswered questions. It is a wonderful guide book not only for raising children, but for relating to people of all ages. Magda Gerber reminds us that frustration, anxiety, fear and other stresses are normal experiences for parents and children. Even with the struggles life dishes out, one can realistically build a life-long relationship with your infant by modeling respect.

One of the many of the messages I came away with from reading this book is that aside from the obvious fact that parenting is hard work, it also can be fun and we have the right to relax and enjoy it. Magda Gerber presents guidelines that really work because they are so logical. The experiental aspects of the RIE approach in raising an infant are described in a clear, understandable and applicable way. I wish it were required reading for all parents.

This book is now the gift I give to all my friends who are parents or soon-to-be parents. My only criticizm is that the book ended.

Wendy Kronick - Los Angeles, CA.

As a Mother and Pagan I found this book very helpfull and fun. In fact it is great for anyone no matter what age you are. Perfect for teaching your children about your respect and love for them and Mother Earth.

..For the whole family!

I was looking for a book the whole family would enjoy, no matter what religion you are. Pagan, Wiccan, Christian, Jewish...This book is it!

Wonderful ideas for celebrating Nature and life all around us. All the items needed for the crafts are easy to find, or cheap to buy. Nothing complicated in the book.

Great family projects you will soon make a tradition every Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall in your home!

This is a wonderful book for any earth loving parent who would like ideas for celebrating the seasons and respecting the earth with their family. It includes many crafts and activities to do with children of all ages, and would even make a great read if you are not a parent.

My husband and I are thinking about trying to conceive soon, and we thought this would be a great humorous view of the whole process. And, it is! As always Dave Barry brings such true humor to the process. I especially love the recounts of conversations he's had with his child, espeically the ones that revolve around the word "Why?".... (e.g., "That's a goat." "Why?") My only gripe is that there isn't more to this book, a lot of page space is dedicated to only mildly amusing pictures.

Overall though, a fun read which you can finish in one or two sittings.

My wife got me this as a gift, and my only complaint is that my youngest is now eight, and I could have used this a long time ago. Dave Barry hits the nail right on the head with this book.

In this book, Barry puts a very serious subject in a humorous tone, but he still speaks the truth. Yes, this book is intended as humor, but his reasoning and descriptions are pretty dead on true. I seriously could relate to a lot of the situations he described. This book was hysterical.

Jerry O'Brien's illustrations are hilarious, and, as always, the perfect compliment to Barry's book. For any new parents or expected parents, this book is definately for you. Not only will this book not pull any punches, and tell it like it is, but it is very enjoyable reading, and will help ease some of the axieties that you may already have. Yeah, it might add a few as well, but hey, at least you'll laugh so hard, you'll forget about labor pains.

Dave Barry is easily the king of comedy, and this short book even illustrates this even more. You won't be disappointed.

When I first read this, before I had (or even considered having) children, I assumed that it was intended as humor, and I laughed (a lot) at what I imagined were its comic exaggerations. Now that I have a child, I realize that this is in fact a no-nonsense, completely serious and accurate description of pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing.

While other baby books mislead you with emotional descriptions of the joy and wonder your "little one" will bring, Dave Barry pulls no punches in his hard-hitting, gritty portrayal of baby behavior. There is a quiz early on whose purpose is to deter prospective parents who may be weak of heart or stomach, with questions such as "How many diapers will an average baby go through before it is toilet-trained?" or "What is the most repulsive thing a baby would put in its mouth?" Those of you who are parents will know the answers. Those of you who are not, be warned: you may think Dave Barry's answers are too outrageous to be true, but you're wrong!

Anyway, this book is an excellent source of information for anyone who is considering having children, or who is considering not having children. It is also useful for those who already have children, as it will reassure them that they are not alone -- though they may wish they had read (and heeded) it sooner.

Short and sweet and a very, very easy read, this book is the kind of book that just makes you think "how nice". It is the kind of book that makes you feel good, the kind of book that, if your in a bit of a down mood or stuck in a rut, could be just what you need to re-energize your life.

If you are not an avid motivational or spiritual reader, only occasionaly reading material of this nature, this book is IDEAL. It has just enough content to make you think about your actions and your place in the scheme of things, without getting overly deep or philosophical. If everyone read this book and really thought about and made an effort to apply it's priciples, the world would be a really fabulous place.

I didn't rate the book 5 stars only because I prefer books with more content and insite and none of the ideas presented were new. It was just too simple for my taste... but hey... READ IT ANYWAY! It is definitely worth the very short investment of time it takes to do so!

A compelling book of hope, of comfort, of action -- a clear voice of reason in a confusing and sometimes frightening world. This book presents simple principles that are powerful enough to not only affect the way you view life experiences, but change your life if you apply them. The only person over whom you can hope to have any control is your own self. This book helps you see the possibilities of taking that control, no matter what else happens around you. Read the book, then apply the principles. You'll be happily surprised by the result.

Kent M. Keith, has done the world a great service in writing this new book. The Paradoxical Commandments is a compendium of valuable insight relating to life. Overall the book conveys why one should adopt a philosophy of doing what is right and good and true, knowing a paradox may occur, but doing it anyway. The principles and philosophy and morals discussed provide the reader with a 10 item outline of how to achieve inner happiness even when facing bad things. Call the Paradoxical Commandments 10 reasons why one should on a personal level always choose to bring forth the best in ourselves in spite of being met by the worst from the world. All 10 of the Paradoxical Commandments are good reasons to take the high moral road on life's great journey. The book is a quick read and a guide to a short road to personal happiness. My advice is to buy this book, read it, take it to heart and pass it on to a friend.

We bought this on vacation for my five year old daughter, and it turned out to be the perfect gift. The pictures are clear--not just diagrams with arrows, but pictures of the hands, showing every little step. The string is included--an important point, since they fuse the ends of the string rather than tying them, making it much easier for little hands. Jesse was better at learning by doing than reading the diagrams, but she was able to use them to figure out what she was doing wrong once she had it more or less right.

The book contains five string patterns: Cup and Saucer, Eiffel Tower, Witch's Broom, Cat's Cradle, and Jacob's Ladder; though in fact Cup and Saucer is a stage on the way to Eiffel Tower. We found that Jesse could do Cup and Saucer and Witch's Broom just fine, though Eiffel Tower was a little trickier. Cat's Cradle was doable with some coaching--made a bit harder by the fact that it's a two person figure. Jacob's Ladder, however, is much more complicated, and will take an adult quite a few minutes to master.

Most of us, myself included, have done some string figures as children, usually Cat's Cradle, and I have to say I got as much fun out of this as Jesse. But Jesse had fun too--the string is brightly coloured and the string figures are good, strong simple shapes. It was days before she stopped showing off her "Cup and Saucer" to us!

This is a good book for young children, it is clearly illustrated. The hardest message to convey in string games is the "how to", this book does this welll. The binding allow the book to stay open while you are trying the technique described, unfortunately the figure shoe one move per page and the pages need to be turned... hopefully by another person. The figures are very basic and easy.

This is a fabulous book with bright colors and fun artwork. The directions are easy to follow and everyone can be successful when trying these string games. I have used this book to teach large groups of people how to play string games and they loved it. This is a good book for anyone interested in learning basic string games. The book came with a string to make the designs, so you don't have to make one.

Every family has stories to tell. We hear them most from those older and wiser than us. Stories of the past, of their lives and the lives of loved ones before them. Often we hear these stories so many times we fail to pay attention after a while. We roll our eyes thinking, not this again or how many times have I heard this story but we must stop and wonder have we ever really listened to the truth inside the story?

Carolyn Howard-Johnson's second novel, "Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered," will make you ask yourself that very question. "Harkening" is not your average book of short stories. Designed to be read at leisure, each story with the ability to stand on its own, it has been carefully arranged to take you through a time line of life. Mrs. Johnson shares with us from her own memory stories told to her by members of her family about her family spanning over many generations.

In a distinct writing style that only Carolyn Howard-Johnson possesses, the characters of "Harkening" are skillfully described in such a way that you can almost hear them telling the story in their own voice rather than reading it second hand. Each story is a beautifully crafted piece of "creative nonfiction," as termed by Mrs. Johnson, leaving you with an overwhelming sense of truth and the realization that maybe you should pay closer attention to those stories you've heard so many times in the past by your own family.

This beautifully written book by Carolyn Howard-Johnson not only shares her own intimate memories of family and growing up but will stir similar stories of your own childhood. It's a poignant portrayal of family secrets and generational tales woven together exquisitely and eloquently.

'Harkening' has all the familiar family dysfunctions we know firsthand with our own families. The chapters intertwine with each other and flow together poetically and with strength. Each chapter blends and bonds like the stronghold that keeps family together. But as with any good writer, each chapter is a story unto itself told in vivid color and description that arouses strong emotion.

Carolyn breathes life into the pages with great imagery taking you along with her to a place and time only she can retell. The Utah setting and family members come alive and still linger long after you've put the book down. They are not only her own recollections but Carolyn writes about the stories handed down to her as all our past generations have done and continue to do. They connect us and help us find a place to belong.

If you've ever been teased, made fun of, laughed at, or made to feel less than who you really are, you will feel akin to Carolyn as you listen to her harkening. But don't be mislead. As much as these stories will trudge up your own dark memories there are also the warm-hearted stories she shares that will bring a smile on even the darkest day.

'Harkening' is written with honesty, love and understanding that helps to heal your own wounds. It's a literary treasure that will dig up your own buried recollections. I highly recommend 'Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered' and give it top rating.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson's inspiring new book of short stories, HARKENING, reminds us all to harken back to our beginnings, our very core. The stories of a childhood, nurtured and devastated in Utah, are like marzipan, leaving a sweet taste of family in one's mouth. The author herself readily admits in her prologue that "there are certain exigencies required to mold a tale into something...a reader would want to read." But isn't all memory colored by place and time? Just like Ms. Johnson's previous novel, THIS IS THE PLACE, the characters are finely drawn. Gram Lucretia, Mom-Bertie and Aunt Nina are women of a different time, a different etiquette, but their pluck and verve paves the way for generations of women to come. This is a book that will magically transport the reader not only back to Ms. Johnson's memories, but to their own as well.

This is truly an astounding book. Now, years later, we finally know the truth: Lyndon B. Johnson was not merely a tragic president who stuck to his guns and fought a war he mistakenly believed he could win (with various political restrictions on the military).
He was, this book proves beyond a shadow of a doubt in its lively transcripts of his secretly taped phone conversations, a tragic president who stuck to his guns and fought a war he firmly believed would be LOST no matter WHAT.
He didn't want to lose, but he didn't want to be the one to pull out, so he got in deeper and deeper, losing sleep and agonizing all the way -- and the consequences to his administration and the country were catastrophic.
There are a slew of reasons why you should read (or gift) this amazing book.
The main one: true, it does give you perhaps more than you wanted to know about LBJ (but I don't care WHAT some reviewers have said: I LOVE the sections where he is flirting with Jackie Kennedy)...but if you read it you get a clear idea of how a president operated -- and many parts of this book are so dramatic and gripping, they read like a movie script. In fact, I can see the Oliver Stone movie now..
Historian Michael Beschloss makes it seem easy when you read it, but transcribing and annotating (so you know through footnotes what LBJ is referring to when he talks and get some historical context..and know when LBJ is spinning) these conversations taped between 1974 and 1965 could not have been easy. Yet, he gives you the meat and you get to "know" how LBJ thinks and, politically, works.
It shows Johnson, warts and all, as a man who could have been one of the very best presidents because of his skills, will and sincere desire to serve. But it shows a highly conflicted, contradictory, at times paranoid and highly depressed man. On the night of his monster landslide 1964 election he is angry and "down," steaming over Bobby Kennedy's influence and possible future machinations. As he presses and manipulates to get his Great Society legislation passed, he's leaking info on election opponent Barry Goldwater, keeping the lid on information regarding his number one aide's role in a sex scandal. He talks of victory in Vietnam, but repeatedly tells politicos and his wife that there is absolutely no way the U.S. can ever win, and he is tormented by his terrible choice and unwanted role. He wants to help the poor and the blacks, but will talk a little more "southern" if he has to while talking to someone who doesn't quite agree with him to make them think he's on their wavelength.
The famous Gulf of Tonkin resolution? Even Johnson believed it may not have happened. But he took the resolution in Congress and ran with it -- using it to justify the war he knew he the U.S. could not win.
In Feb. 1965 he told a Senator "a man can fight if he can see daylight down the road somewhere. But there ain't no daylight in Vietnam. Not a bit."
If you went back and contrasted his public pronouncements with what he was saying privately, it would be shocking indeed: pep talks to the country (and troops) to the contrary, he never felt we could win. Meanwhile, he kissed J. Edgar Hoover's you-know-what to keep hoover on his side (actually, they had been neighbors in Washington and Johnson had carefully kept Hoover on his side for years) in his battle against Goldwater, Kennedy and others.
Not all of the book is about the sad, deceitful slide into Vietnam. Many of the transcripts deal with his election campaign, domestic legislation...but by the end of the volume Vietnam is devouring LBJ alive as it did the country and the innocence and joy of the early 60s.
I read this book rather quickly. It was an INCREDIBLE experience. Read it and you're a fly on the wall in the White House.

This is truly an astounding, superbly compiled, book. Now, years later, we finally know the truth: Lyndon B. Johnson was not merely a tragic president who stuck to his guns and fought a war he mistakenly believed he could win (with various political restrictions on the military).

He was, this book proves beyond a shadow of a doubt in its lively transcripts of his secretly taped phone conversations, a tragic president who stuck to his guns and fought a war he firmly believed would be LOST no matter WHAT.

He didn't want to lose, but he didn't want to be the one to pull out, so he got in deeper and deeper, losing sleep and agonizing all the way -- and the consequences to his administration and the country were catastrophic.

There are a slew of reasons why you should read (or gift) this amazing book.

The main one: true, it does give you perhaps more than you wanted to know about LBJ (but I don't care WHAT some reviewers have said: I LOVE the many sections where he is flirting with and flattering Jackie Kennedy!)...but if you read it you get a clear idea of how a president operated -- and many parts of this book are so dramatic and gripping, they read like a movie script. In fact, I can see the Oliver Stone movie now.....

Historian Michael Beschloss makes it seem easy when you read it, but transcribing and annotating (so you know through footnotes what LBJ is referring to when he talks and get some historical context..and know when LBJ is spinning) these conversations taped between 1964 and 1965 could not have been easy. Yet, he gives you the meat and you get to "know" how LBJ thinks and, politically, works.

It shows Johnson, warts and all, as a man who could have been one of the top presidents because of his skills, will and sincere desire to serve. But it also shows a highly conflicted, contradictory, at times paranoid and highly depressed man. On the night of his monster landslide 1964 election he is angry and "down," steaming over Bobby Kennedy's influence, lack of political deference and possible future machinations. As he presses and manipulates to get his Great Society legislation passed, he's secretly leaking negative info on election opponent Barry Goldwater, keeping the lid on information regarding his number one aide's role in a sex scandal. He talks of victory in Vietnam, but repeatedly tells politicos and his wife that there is absolutely no way the U.S. can ever win, and he is tormented by his terrible choice and unwanted role. He wants to help the poor and the blacks, but will talk a little more "southern" if he has to while talking to someone who doesn't quite agree with him to make them think he's on their wavelength.

The famous Gulf of Tonkin resolution? Even Johnson believed it may not have happened. But he took the resolution in Congress and ran with it -- using it to justify the war he knew he the U.S. could not win.

In Feb. 1965 he told a Senator "a man can fight if he can see daylight down the road somewhere. But there ain't no daylight in Vietnam. Not a bit."

If you went back and contrasted his public pronouncements with what he was saying privately, it would be shocking: pep talks to the country (and troops) to the contrary, he never felt we could win. Meanwhile, he kissed J. Edgar Hoover's you-know-what to keep Hoover on his side (actually, they had been neighbors in Washington and Johnson had carefully wooed Hoover for years) in his battle against Goldwater, Kennedy and others.

Not all of the book is about the sad, deceitful slide into Vietnam. Many of the transcripts deal with his election campaign, domestic legislation etc....but by the end of this fast-moving volume Vietnam is devouring LBJ alive as it did the country -- and the innocence and joy of the early 1960s.

I read this book rather quickly. It was an INCREDIBLE experience. Read it and you'll be a very sad fly on the wall in the White House.

Reaching for Glory is a terrific book, Lyndon Johnson and his times in his own words. The book has two things going for it. First, it gives the reader the ultimate behind the scenes look at the Presidency - and don't forget the critical time portrayed, the aftermath of the assasination of a President, the struggle for civil rights, and the descent into Vietnam. Second, it has been expertly edited by crack Presidential historian Michael Beschloss. Beschloss has done a masterful job of giving helpful information and context is footnotes that never distract the reader. The big revelation in this book is the inner conflict that Johnson felt about escalating U.S. involvement in Vietnam. He knew the U.S. couldn't win; but he couldn't find a way to leave Vietnam while our troop levels still were low, without leaving himself exposed on the domestic political right. Think what you like about LBJ, and even discount what's on the tapes in case you think he was preening for posterity, the fact of the matter is that he was the victim of a cruel and ironic tragedy. I can't recommend this book enough to anyone who is interested in history.