This excellent text is a wonderful resource for college teachers in American Culture, American Art, or American Humanities. It brings together in one place dozens of images of African Americans as seen in American Art. Beautiful color plates with excellent text. The introductory essays are especially useful. Images include both negative stereotypes and positive images.

Guy C. McElroy's work should be a standard text in all High School History classes. Through the careful selection of art, from various periods in American history, McElroy skillfully demonstrates the use of caricature and placement in determining social vilification, acceptance, and strength in Black Americans. This volume is a MUST for anyone trying to understand the development and maintenance of racial stereotypes and how attitudes can be influenced by works of art.

This was one of the most enjoyable books that I've read this year. As Christians, we are often faced with questions that are very difficult to answer on our own. In this book the author provides real life simple explanations that helped redefined the word "Faith" and by making the simple decision to walk, talk and live the "faith life", God without a doubt you, will reward you. This inspirational book takes you through a journey of some of the trials and testings that this author/pastor faced, yet while at times wondering where God was leading him, his faith NEVER waver. His testimonies, throughout the book, confirmed that when you trust God he will use you, regardless of who you are. If you just demonstrate the smallest amount of faith, He will lead you and teach you to move the mountains that stand in your way. This book is very well written and easy for anyone to understand. As you read, you will not only be motivated to reach out and claim all things that God has promised you, but it will also reaffirm that our God is a faithful God; that when you seek Him, in all things, He insures that you receive the crown.

This book by Henry Fernandez is a motivational tool that will get anyone off there butts and do what they have been dreaming of doing there whole lives. He gives real life examples of how faith is the key to success in everyones life and your daily life in general. This book has given me that spark that has been missing, to get back into my field which I had went to school for and will be opening my business very soon. As well as motivating, it encourages you to focus on your goals in life that there is nothing to hard if you have faith in yourself as well as in God. Even though I had past failures he tells you to still keep the faith alive and keep believing that you can do all things if you have faith. I recommend this book to my family and friends and anyone who needs that spark to get back on there feet to do what they want in life.

This book had a life changing effect for me. I highly recommend this for anyone. I also recommend all of Townsend/Cloud's books. I have 5 of them and found all to be extremely helpful in many aspects of life and relationships.

This book is a great relief for many of us Christians who have been bogged down in all of the crazy things that other Christians say and expect. We all have problems, but some well-meaning Christians teach us that our problems are because we are not spiritual enough. Or they tell us that we just need to "give them to God." Or they say that we are selfish to get our needs met. Or they tell us just to leave the past behind. All of these cliches can be harmful and misleading.

This book would be especially refreshing for someone who has been involved in a very legalistic or spirit-filled church. It shows that Christianity is not a quick-fix for our lives. And it shows that if we are to be honest, respectable people, we need to deal with our issues instead of running from them or stuffing them under the pews.

Most enlightening. I was able to track my ancestors as they traveled thru Georgia and Alabama. With the aid of a good map, one can pinpoint their exact route. Highly recommend for anyone doing research on their family that settled in Georgia or Alabama.

Enlarged beyond its earlier incarnation as an article in "The Alabama Review", this work has emerged as a highly valuable resource for readers and researchers of early Alabama history. Utilizing maps and exhaustive primary and secondary sources, the authors present evidence of the profound impact of the Federal Road upon the Alabama in its formative years. Here, the reader will learn that antebellum Alabama was far from a unified state, but rather a politically polarized collection of sectional counties, interspersed with tribal lands of the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw. North Alabama, with a citizenry constituted largely of emigres of Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina, held political power from Alabama's Territorial period (1817-1818) and through early statehood (1819-1840). Entering Alabama at a point roughly near present-day Columbus, Georgia/Phenix City, Alabama, and proceeding southwesterly to New Orleans, the Federal Road accomodated the massive influx of settlers emanating from Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia. This book reveals how the surge in America's westward expansion affected the present-day formation of Alabama. With pent-up demand for land, and a sympathetic Andrew Jackson in the White House, the Federal Road became the venue through which the white combatants prevailed in the Creek War of 1836-37. The resultant final removal of Creek and Cherokee tribes to Oklahoma, caused such a rush of new settlers into South and Central Alabama that Alabama's political structure underwent a drastic and lasting transformation. The shift in legislative power to South Alabama and, particularly, the Black Belt of Central Alabama, resulted in the 1846 removal of the state capitol from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery. The rise of the "Bourbon Democrats" of this region was to shape the landscape of Alabama politics for over 140 years thereafter. The authors, through scholarly, annotated research, offer the reader an opportunity to attain a thorough understanding of the significance of the Federal Road as the single most important element in the formation of Alabama's geography, government, economy and sociology. This reviewer highly recommends this book as not only valuable, but essential for anyone seeking to attain a thorough understanding of Alabama history.

This book is truly a work of art. The plot, the characters, the similes, and the quotes are superb. The story is about Jay Gatsby,the man who did everything to achieve love. But he still failed. The theme is illusion. This is a great classic which reflects upon the lives of American people. It is not at all slow and boring. U will definitly enjoy this book. Mark my words

F.S. Fitzgerald had successfully depicted the glamorous lives of the American upper class during the 1920s. The story centers on Jay Gatsby, a millionaire, whose past is a mystery, but with his tremendous wealth, he is able to attract everyone into his life circle. However, his entire motive is to win back his old lover, Daisy; his loyalty of love eventually leads to his tragic ending.

Like the best works of writers like Terry Southern, William Burroughs, and Hunter S. Thompson, Fool's Mercy continues to simmer mutinously in the brain. If I'd never read it, no doubt I'd be a much happier human being, but what is happiness compared with the inside information offered by this skewed but brilliant author? For better or worse, Henry Allen's taut, lyrical and ultimately terrifying portrayal of what's really going on is destined to become a classic.

"This is a novel that has taken the art of shaping the reader's worldview and raised it to the level of physical intervention. By that I mean that Mr. Allen has discovered techniques of using English syntax to alter synaptic relationships within the brain itself, possibly permanently. He may have gone deeper, as well, functioning as the analog of a computer hacker as he cracks the DNA code and blithely rearranges the human genome with untold consequences for generations to come. Were this novel some outre exercise in modernist befuddlement, the danger would be minimal, but Mr. Allen's darkest motives are masked by a brisk yet poignant thriller populated with haunting personalities. As such, it may pose the severest test the First Amendment has faced since the founding of our republic -- a book that is what the law calls 'an attractive nuisance,' but a nuisance on the level of Jacob-Kreutzfeld syndrome, the human equivalent of "mad cow" disease. It should not only be banned, but all of its known readers should be rounded up like cattle and incarcerated pending central-nervous-system biopsies. Meanwhile, it remains available to an unwary citizenry from Dryad Books, of 15 Sherman Ave., Takoma Park, Md. 20912."

"Ford: The Men and the Machine" is the most definitive and complete book about the life and happenings of automotive's greatest man, Henry Ford. His accomplishments as cited cannot compare to any other single figure in automobile history (or even business itself).

The book is nothing short of epic: over 800 pages and 36 chapters, plus appendices. It starts off with the author's assessment of Ford's total contribution to life, starting at Dearborn Michigan in 1831. The details are all-inclusive and mind boggling, right down to Henry's Sister's comments about his early days repairing watches. The book moves slowly and steadily through Part One, "The Rise of Henry Ford" to Parts Two and Three, "Glory Days" and "Grass-Roots Hero." Here the reader is given the unbiased account of even the thoughts of young Henry, and how he became so fascinated with what was then the latest thing: the gasoline engine, which he saw in 1877 from a trip to Machinery Hall in Philadelphia. We are given the full story behind Ford's rise to power over other prominent automotive men of his time, such as the Duryea and the Dodge Bros., and particularly Henry Selden. I found it exciting to read about how Ford didn't give in to a greedy, money-hungry individual like Selden who had no real engineering talent, but wanted only to rake in the royalties from his so-called gasoline engine that he patented in 1895 (it didn't even work as illustrated in his diagram, and Selden didn't even have a working model in an automobile until 1904--it went five yards and died!). Ford held out through more than 10 years of court battles over the legal implications of the Selden patent, and won. After that, there was no doubt that Ford had firmly established himself as a "man for the people." The victory over the Selden patent allowed ALL automobile manufacturers to keep their prices affordable.

Part Four, "Henry and Edsel" describes the business relationship with his firstborn son, and their occasional public disputes over company policies and overall business strategies. Henry bitterly opposed automoible financing, for example, but Edsel was all for it. Edsel was right, too, it was the only way to sell cars to lower-income buyers. Of course, the whole story behind the biggest flop in automotive history, the Edsel car itself, is revealed. What happened? How much money was lost? What were the shortcomings of the Edsel that ultimately was its demise? "...The Men and the Machine" will tell you, without room for doubts.

In fact, as part of the research I'm doing for an automotive book of my own, I noticed at least three other authors in my bibliography that referenced this same book, perhaps Lacey's greatest achievement.

Parts 5 and 6, "Henry II" and "Henry and Lee" gradually move more away from the business side of the Ford Machine--but not altogether away--and gradually reveal personal aspects of later Ford generations and their family relationships. Discussed are the development and marketing plans of the Mustang and Pinto which, ironically, were diametrically opposed to each other as complete success and utter failure.

This book is worth double the money. Sometimes I am amazed at the length Lacey went to get his sources, over 50 pages of specific and varied references. I feel fortunate to have a copy that is in good shape. Every time I open the pages, I learn something new. Each page informs, educates and increases depth of thinking, in that sometimes what appears to be a single invention is only a hub to other spokes of development. "...the men and the Machine" actually helps me to think better overall. I can then apply the underlying techniques to all situations in life; consider that one thing leads to another, and if this happens, then it will affect that and that, and so on. If you have even the slightest interest in automotive development, automobile history, American Culture or the person of Henry Ford himself, do not be without this book. Buy it today. My highest recommendation for all readers over 14 (reading level).

For those who want the dish on one of the most dominant yet dysfunctional American family businesses, Robert Lacey's profile of the Ford Motor Company is a must. It's plot is pure Movie-Of-The-Week - a country boy inspired to build a cheap car for the masses, accrues wealth and fame, then has to deal with the giant he created. His lone son, the second generation gives his life for the company, a casualty of the tug of war between a patriarch and his ego. Just as the company is about to crash in corruption and incompetence, the grandson, Henry II enters and saves the day, building the infrastructure of a modern corporation. But, eventually Henry's hat changes from white to shades of grey - the pitfalls of arrogance from never ending riches and successes. It's 650 pages of American history and soap opera, and it was so interesting it could have been longer. A great book for those who appreciate American motoring history. - Leila Dunbar, Mobilia.com

I'm an earth science teacher and initially shied away from the mass market nature of this text, but I looked over a couple of pages at the pharmacy one afternoon and was hooked. A thorough and thoroughly engaging book about El Nino - everything you need to know. And believe me. YOU NEED TO KNOW.

Porter like Bob Dylan crafts a superb detailed synopsis of one of the strangest inexplicable events in recent history. Is the government behind this weather phenemenon? Chapter 4 is very well written, detailing all of the catastrphies in California. Check this out!!!

I've only read this book once so far. I must read it again, more intensely to be certain I am on the right track.
I am a poor man determined to find the path to true, long-run happiness and I think this man has found it. He did the rags-to-riches thing himself and I'm sure that only such a man can lead the way for the rest of us. It rings true to me because it doesn't require the aid of un-named others. The key is to examine his path for yourself. You won't regret it.

Philosophers often debate the merits of utilitarianism versus rights-based theories. Hazlitt brilliantly shows that, in fact, utilitarianism is compatible with rights-based theorizing. Hazlitt's conclusion is that ethical actions are those that promote social cooperation -- and that human beings are naturally predisposed to cooperate with each other. The most potent force working against such cooperation is the state. Hazlitt's prose is smooth, clear, and compelling. I think that no better book on ethics has ever been written.

Henry Kiyama created this terrific book in the 1930's, chronicling the lives of four young Japanese immigrants and their struggle to find work and acceptance in San Francisco at the turn of the century. It was unearthed and translated into English, giving us all the rare privelege of a glimpse into the immigrant experience of that era. Drawn in a simple and lighthearted style and told with insight and depth, Kiyama, along with the rising popularity of Japanese Anime and Manga, reinforces the notion that comics are not just for kids anymore. A great read for a comic lover, a hyphenated-American or anyone interested in the multihued experience of our country.

If you're not used to reading comics, this will seem rough and not particularly funny. Readers more familiar with the form will recognize that this book is more subtle and better crafted than your typical comic.

It's of special interest to Japanese Americans and others interested in the immigrant experience in the USA.