In 1877 the great robber barons of steel and rail-Vanderbilt, Fisk, Gould, and others-appeared to have consolidated their rule over land and labor in the post-Civil War period. In their quest for infinitely expanding wealth, they subjected the workers under their command to ever-increasing demands for more work and reduced their wages time and again to below starvation levels. As thousands were laid off in the economic downturn of the 1870s, protests developed among the workers, and police were mobilized to quell the disturbances.
It was not the greed and brutality of the capitalist overlords that provoked a mass rebellion. It was that they made life virtually impossible for the working people. The great strike was centered in rail and began in the summer of 1877 in response to yet another wage cut.
A group of bold rail workers in West Virginia walked off the job. With no union, no organization, and nothing but a desperate urge to reclaim their humanity, their initiative spread like wildfire to thousands of other rail workers from Baltimore to St. Louis in a rolling surge of strikes, mass mobilizations and confrontations with the armed minions of capital. Ultimately general strikes of all workers were precipitated in St. Louis, San Francisco and other cities.
The rail barons sought to put down the uprising with military force, mobilizing state militias, police and national guard troops, firing into the crowds, killing dozens. For them it was only a question of forcing the masses to do their bidding. They believed that they were the rulers, the workers were there to serve them.
This great labor battle awakened the true spirit of liberty and solidarity among the laboring masses. In their struggle against the tyranny of capital they became the one true embodiment of democracy and the only hope of progress for toiling humanity. They laid the foundation stone for the worker's movement in the U.S. It gave a huge impetus to the organization of labor unions as well as the beginnings of labor political action: the formation of a workers party.
Reading this book brings home the reality of the class struggle in the U.S. and helps us to understand how and why it developed as it did. It also helps us understand why this class struggle won't go away as long as capitalism exists. It helps us to appreciate the organized struggle of the workers as the only way forward for humanity in its quest for a truly livable planet.

1877: the naked face of capitalism in America. In the midst of a deep-going economic depression, bosses imposed massive layoffs and deep pay cuts, and workers responded. From Chicago to St. Louis to New York to Philadelphia, rail workers, iron workers, carpenters, meatpackers and others launched a wave of massive strikes and street protests. The bosses and their government mobilized all their forces against the workers: courts, the press, police, the national guard and federal troops. While the workers were eventually beaten in these battles, the lessons learned helped forge political class consciousness and lay the basis for further struggles.

Foner's book is an exciting history of these days. He quotes extensively from labor and capitalist press of the day, from speeches and declarations by workers' leaders, and from government reports and documents to give a real feel of the roots of the uprising and the conflicting interests that lay behind it. I particularly found useful the description of what different workers leaders did at the time-- from conservative trade union presidents to militant socialists. Also the challenge and experiences of native-born and immigrant workers fighting together against their common exploiters. There is a lot to learn from this book today!

While this book gives a rich detail of the day-to-day struggles in 1877, two others will help get a broader perspective on the key issues political posed: American Labor Struggles 1877-1934, by Samuel Yellen, and Revolutionary Continuity, Marxist Leadership in the U.S. 1948-1917, by Farrell Dobbs.

The great labor uprising of 1877 started when a strike by rail workers swept across the country and was joined by many thousand, including the unemployed. What this book clearly shows is how interconnected U.S. workers were-how mutually affected by economic disaster-and how willing to embark on massive and militant resistance. Are workers that different today? Are today's bosses-as they push for wage concessions and bailouts--that much different from the rail bosses of 1877? This book makes you think more seriously about the great events that could quickly develop out of today's economic downturn.

Hans Christian Andersen is one of the most famous writers of fairy tales. The Snow Queen is one of the longest tales and one of his best known. He would listen to folk and fairy tales as a child and when he grew up, he wrote some of these stories in his own words.

Anderson began writing The Snow Queen on December 5, 1844 and it was published sixteen days later in book form! His fairy tales made him famous and the stories have been translated into more than 100 languages and some have been made into films, like the Little Mermaid.

Nilesh Mistry is one of my favorite illustrators. He was born in Bombay and moved to London, England in 1975. His books include The Illustrated Book of Fairy Tales and Aladdin. I simply want to own every book he illustrates!

In the story of The Snow Queen, you will find illustrations and photography that shows the settings of the original book. This classic is again brought to life, yet never so beautifully as with Nilesh Mistry's art. Kai is whirled away by the icily beautiful Snow Queen. His playmate Gerda sets out to find him and encounters many adventures in his quest. This is a story I remember very well, yet I had to imagine the pictures in my own mind as a child.

In this book, she looks hauntingly similar to how I pictured her as a child. "The driver stood up, in a coat and hat of purest snow. She was a woman, tall and glittering. She was the Snow Queen."

The story begins with a story about the Devil who laughed at his own cleverness. He creates a mirror that sets people against one another by making people see the ugly side of things. If a splinter of glass from the mirror ever entered a person's eye, their heart would become a lump of solid ice. (quite a lesson there to be sure!)

When the "imps" decide to take the mirror up to the angels and try to make fun of them, it falls and shatteres into a hundred pieces. When "Kai" finds a grain of glass in his heart his entire attitude to life is changed. "Keep away from me!" he screeches at his friend Gerda.

Then one day he falls off his sled and sees the Snow Queen. She kisses him with her cold lips on his forehead and she takes him away through a cloud of darkness up into the sky. When Kai doesn't come home, Gerda goes looking for him. She sings to the river and drifts in a boat down a river to find Kai.

Gerda is a contrast to Kai and is loving and kind. Only when a spell is broken is evil defeated. After the story a page of where the event takes place helps make the story more interesting. Finally, we can explore the real and imaginary world of The Snow Queen.

Even as an adult, I am fascinated by fairy tales. They appeal to the child in us all and to something deep inside of us that knows, good will triumph over evil, in the end.

Family Classic Audio Books is a series of outstanding "theater of the mind" audiobook productions featuring a full cast performance. One of their latest offerings for young listeners (and their families) are Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairytale The Snow Queen adapted and with lyrics by Adrian Mitchell set to music by Richard Peaslee and wonderfully narrated by Jonathan Pryce. The Snow Queen follows young Gerda's quest (with help from some magical characters she meets en route) to rescue her friend Kai from the icy clutches of the Snow Queen.

The messages relating to lifes journey are wonderful. If you have never read this book as a child or as an adult, it is a must!

What a book. Good for you Lew. It goes to the depths and brings us up with a moving story of despair and hope and enormous effort.

Lewis uses the words, "...permanently transformed by the experience..." "...must endure against formidable odds." In this book, Lewis has told his story in a manner which will warm the hearts of survivors, AND help loved ones and caregivers understand. I will very highly recommend this book to my survivor friends. A remarkable autobiography!

This new work by Lewis Richmond is moving, touching beyond measure as the chronicle of his journey from a relatively healthy buddhist teacher turned businessman to falling deathly ill with a rare disease, to his slow, but sure recovery, not just of body, but of spirit and mind. I cried unashamedly as I read of his psychic pain and suffering, his rediscovered love for and by his wife, the openning of his heart. This is an inspiring story of the redemption of a psyche. The power of his experiences and the beauty and honesty with which he conveys them will have you crying, laughing, and moved beyond words. It did for me!

Just when it seemed there was nothing else to be said about southern cooking, Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock print this outrageously wonderful book. All your favorite Southern recipes and then some are here-- from pimento cheese to pigs' feet to pecan pie to pound cake. This book is far more than a collection of recipes, however. There are tips on everything from the best cornmeal to use for different cornbreads to the use of peanut oil versus homemade lard. Most importantly, this book is the story of a friendship that transcends generations and race and distance.

The color photographs by Christopher Hirsheimer are exquisite. Many of them approach art--particularly the photos of fruits and vegetables-- and should be enlarged and framed. This cookbook opens with the famous Scarlett O'Hara line: "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again." She would if she read this cookbook.

A great book to give to both those who cook and those who don't or to anyone interested in the rich heritage of Southern cooking.

Being from the south myself, I can truthfully state that this book is quinissential true southern cooking. No fluff, no fancy additions to simple pure dishes - this book includes straightforward and delicious earthy southern food recipes. The recipe for fried chicken alone is worth the price. Anyone who relishes hearty dishes dictated by the seasons and the harvest on the southern farm will be richly rewarded here. I own 30 or so cookbooks, but this one is by far my favorite. And the stories from the authors are wonderful.

This book is the best thing that has happened to me all summer. The book is a pleasure to read and all the recipes I've tried work. It's about the joy of preparing good, simple foods and the real gift of feeding people. Yummm.

After more than half a century, I remembered still the sonorous rhythms of the prelude to Evangeline. Much has changed since I first read the tale of Arcadian innocence torn apart on order of the heartless King, and Longfellow and his poetry have fallen on hard times and harder hearts in the interim

His allusions and images are strained; his words pathetically romantic and sentimental; and the story of Evangeline barely tracks the actual events of 1755. All of the charges are true, yet much of value remains in the poem. The poet recognized instantly a crime against humanity when he first heard the tale, and he had the talent, drive, and fortitude to create this vehicle to memorialize the sad story of star crossed lovers, families, and communities divided and exiled from their adored homeland.

That a heart could be committed to a lifetime of wandering in search of a lost love seems archaic to the sophisticates of the twenty-first century, but I believe it possible, even today.

I read the poem - aloud and silently - and the beat of the accents, like operatic arias, added to the the sorrow of the sentimental story. I recommend this poem to parents who love to read aloud to their children. I'm sure that Evangeline and her beloved Gabriel have the power still to stir the hearts of the young - and of the readers, too.

A very useful notes section offsets an overly wordy foreword. I found it easy to find and reference words and phrases no longer in common use.

Read it aloud to your early adolescent sons and daughters and to your love. You'll be happy you did.

I heard about this book from my mom a few weeks ago after I went to see the movie Serendipity. I told her about the plot of the two people in love searching for one another and just missing every time. She said it reminded her of another story, Evangeline. Since i attend an engineering school I am always very eager to read books with real meaning behind them, given that all my textbooks focus on is wastewater treatment, biological processes, etc... So given that I wasn't really expecting too much but a relief from textbooks when I picked up this book. Little did I know it was soon to become one of my favorites. I was pleasantly surprised by the Christian influences behind the poem and found myself crying a lot more than I expected. I highly recommend this to anyone who has a great appreciation for well written, romantic poetry and literature.

I am not going to sit here and claim to be the expert on English language poetic literature my 12th grade English teacher would like me to be. I have often fallen prey to the boredom of reading long poems and look upon poetry generally with some weariness.

When my father went to New Orleans, I asked him to bring me something back. He brought back a copy of this poem. It was required reading for my parents growing up - I had never heard of it.

I confess I was probably hesitant when I sat down to read it. But in no time I was hooked. The poetic language is perfectly styled to slowly tell the tale of two Acadian lovers doomed by the path of Acadian history to separate lives. Reading this poem is like suckling slowly on a sweet nectar under the gently rustling leaves of an oak on the side of a gently flowing river. If this sounds appealing to you, then you will enjoy this poem.

I was so pleased with this book that I felt compelled to encourage more people to read it. It offers the history of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race which is interesting enough, but more than that, it is the story of one man who gave everything he had to Alaska and dog mushers everywhere. If you are looking for an inspirational read, this is it!

As I read through this account of the roots of "The great race" I was all the while planning my next trip to Alaska. To be included in this was an attempt to me "The Man" so convinced was I that Joe would not only pull through his illness he would live for ever. I am now sure Joe will live for ever, not only in the hearts of the Dog sledding fraternity but amongst all who possess a sense of adventure. Read this book and live the greatest adventure race on this planet.

This book was an intense view into the life and times of the creator of the Iditarod. It takes you back years into the past for a view of what it was like to live in a time when living in the wilderness was rough and tough. This book helps to preserve the memories of days old and commemorate the legend who devoted his life to his dream of "The Last Great Race" - "The Iditarod Sled Dog Race"

The financial concepts are explained very nicely. Though it is my first finance book i can go through it without much difficulty or extra help. However there are still some drawbacks need to be noticed:

1. Need more charts and graphics to explain the concepts, ie: when explaining the DU PONT System, i think the pyramid structure can be illustrated so as to state a whole concept, not only fragments

2. Too many examples

3. This book is too detailed in both relevant and irrelevant matters

Still, I think it is a good book.

If possible, please tell me the difference between this book (Fundamentals of Corporate Finance by Richard Brealey) and Principles of Corporate Finance by Brealey and Myers. I currently own the 5th edition of Principles; having worn the book down with constant thumbing, I am looking for a replacement.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I and my friends(with no business background) are studying corporate finance by ourselves using this book and all of us are very satisfied with the book so far.

The concepts are explained very clearly(even kindly) and sample tests with complete solutions are very useful. The book also has solutions for selected end-of-the chapter problems and I enjoy mini cases which help me apply the concepts to the practice in detail.

I had tried other finance books before and most of them were not clear in explaining concepts and a bit difficult for me(my major was chemistry). I think that this book is probably the easiest and the best book to begin with for starters in finance.

The Green Guide to Herb Gardening is a very wonderful book that takes ten of the most popular herbs and explores them fully; from planting, care and nurturing of these plants to the harvesting, storage and culinary uses. There are some wonderful recipes for herbs here and I look forward to using some of them. This book covers it all. A must have primer for any beginner or anyone who who has never grown anything.
But what makes this book special is that it doesn't stop there. This book also covers the herb history, magic and folklore of these ten herbs, being basil, calendula, chamomile, chives, garlic, lemon balm, mint, oregano, parsley and thyme. Then Ms. Harding adds herbal teas, aromatic and ornamental uses and some simple magical uses. This now makes this book a very useful handbook worth owning by anyone.
Easy to read and follow, Ms. Harding explains everything fully and presents the material in a well organized and easy to follow format. This book is well researched, and a fountain of information on these herbs. I am hoping she plans to do another book on 10 more herbs, as I found this one a valuable aid to be used.

Author Deborah C Harding has written a winner in "The Green Guide to Herb Gardening." I can't decide what I like about this book the most, from picking the ten most Popular Herbs, Recipes, Remedies, Magickal Lore or even the format.

Ms Harding has taken the ten most popular herbs, and put together a sure fire way to propagate, prepare and to preserve. With the added history and lore, recipes and remedies, all together. For the first time we do not need 5 different books to learn of an herb. Its all in one. With easy step-by-step directions, wonderful mouth watering recipes, and over a hundred easy home remedies that can save the consumer a mint!

From the beginner gardener to the professional farmer, whether you only have room for two pots, or you have 100 acres. Whether you want to spice up a dish, decorate, beautify yourself or your home.This is the book for you(. . .)

Ms. Harding's book is clear, concise and easy to understand.She manages to present an informative and yet fascinating view intoten of the most common garden herbs--with all the information neededto get you started working with them. Ms. Harding is a multi-talentedauthor, and this book is worth every penny--I wholeheartedly recommendit...

I am an elementary teacher, and find this book very useful when we read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a class. Many of the worksheets that this guide provides are introspective and help the reader focus on the internal motivations of the characters. My class also enjoys trying "Turkish Delight" from the recipe that this guide provides. It helps me answer the professor's question about logic, "What are they teaching in schools?" (paraphrased).

Lucy, Susan, Edmond, and Peter while exploring there uncle's house discover a wardrobe that takes them to the magical enchanted land of Narnia. Lucy becomes the first one to go into Narnia from the four and later they all follow her. In this book you'll see how Edmond helped the terrible witch catch his brother and sisters, and the strange creatures they all met like Aslan, the centaurs, and the talking trees. You'll love this book like me and all my friends did! I recommend this book to anyway who love fiction stories of enchanted worlds. If you liked "the phantom tollbooth" all "Narnia" books "A wrinkle in time" and other stories similar to these, this is one book you'll always treasure!-------------Ahmed age 12

A must read. It's not boring at all. You will simply enjoy this book

Everyone needs to have a copy of this great comprehensive work on healing. I can assure you that everyone in the world has a loved one or has had a love one with an ailing illness, whether it is diabetes, sickle cell, cancer, etc. However, everyone in the world does not know about how that ailing love one can/could be totally healed of their illness. This book shows that positive confession is important. How to promote an atomsphere of healing instead of disease and much more. Everyone needs to read this book and receive the healing that they need.

This is a unique comprehensive user-friendly book covering every aspect for your healing. It's like everything you ever wanted to know, but didn't know who to ask. As a neurosurgeon, I am well aware that alternative medicine is attacking the medical profession to seek better answers for patients with chronic conditions, persistent pain from scarring and untreatable conditions. Jesus is the answer. The question is why wait any longer? The arrangement of the chapters, which may be your first primer on healing, will take you through an organized process especially if you're looking to get released from your sickness or disease. It works because it follows Biblical principles and takes away excuses that traditionally are hindrances to physical and even emotional healing. The scriptural stories will expand your belief system and your faith because your faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The healing power comes from the Word of God and this will open your mind as the truth is revealed to you with new revelations. The commentaries captured in boxes are scattered throughout the pages and are worth the price of the book. The total message is easy to understand with a comfortable print, quality paper and a catchy cover. If you take the knowledge presented, make an effort to understand it, you will gain wisdom into these spiritual principles and have the power to receive healing and walk in divine health. If you ever read the story of the Little Engine That Could (I think I can, I think I can) you don't require any further training than this before you begin to read Aaron D. Lewis' new book, Healing for the 21st Century. Phillip Goldfedder, M.D.

At last, a complete guide to spiritual and physical healing straight from God,our Creator Himself. Through Pastor Lewis, we gain knowledgeable insight to becoming healthy, happy and energized. We can RUN into our destinies without the hinderance of sickness, or the excuse of not knowing how to take care of ourselves. Anything you need to know to achieve total healing is in this book. Don't waste another moment...