ERA Reviews

I like his photos 'cause he's able to thriller me!

I like his photos because he's able to thriller me.

What a great book! All the people I'm familiar with and thousands I'm not. A fascinating look at the marvelous talent of the silent era! A great reference book and more.

This is another book that is indispensable for anyone writing on the subject of silents. Has birth dates and death dates for players, as well as cause of death and other info where available. Highly recommended; fascinating!

Your Child and the New Age is the first book I read on the subject of New Age thoughts and beliefs. It was a real eye-opener for me! The author explains the spiritual dangers of New Age influences on Christian children and families. Many people I talked to had not realized that the New Age was a "religion." I was able to understand it and explain it much better after reading this book. The New Age thoughts and concepts are more prevalent in our society than most people realize. Some television shows, popular children's books, toys, and even some school curriculum promote New Age thought. I was not able to discern these concepts until I had read this book by Berit Kjos (Choce). This book helped me discern that what my fourth grade son was learning about the environment in school was actually EARTH WORSHIP. I recommend this book highly to anyone interested in this or other spiritual issues, as the author has Biblical knowledge that is very helpful.

The book is well researched and should be a part of every Christian parents' library.

This book finds a connection between the McCarthy witchhunts of the early 1950s and the decline of American philosophy in the second half of the 20th century. McCumber argues that accusations about communist sympathies drove many American philosophy professors into analytic philosophy and away from metaphysical questions. In the years following the McCarthy witchhunts, American philosophy drifted apart from European philosophy, while at the same time American philosophy departments shrank. Philosophy in America had less and less to do with the practical considerations of everyday life. In the latter half of the book, Professor McCumber reviews the course of western philosophy through the entire 20th century and lays out a program for a revival of philosophy in America that will restore it not only to a central position in academia but to a vital role in the life of the republic. I strongly recommend this book to anybody interested in 20th-century American thought.

In search of histories of recent (analytic) philosophy I came on this book, which pursues the alarming thesis that McCarthyism and analytic philosophy are somehow circumstantially evidenced, a thesis that left me non-plussed, and muttering, 'must be something to Marx's charges'. One often has the feeling one is crossing a desert in this branch of philosophy, but then the same has been said of reading Kant's critiques. But philosophers need not apologize for being bedouins, and this work actually spiked my interest here, not only because it raises the toughest of questions, echoing since the days of the Left Hegelian charges against Hegel with his 'absolute science'.
Interesting, and somewhat unnerving book.

Al Santoli's book, To Bear Any Burden, is a narrative of stories told by 47 Americans, Vietnamese (both North and South), and Cambodians regarding their experiences before the US involvement, during the US war, and the war's aftermath (after the departure of US troops). Each tale (from two to 10 pages in length) is riveting in itself. The book moves in relative chronilogical order beginning in 1954 and concludes with the present (circa 1985). Each tale is successfully interwoven with the next story such that there is a cohesiveness and a logical flow to the story telling timeline.

Some of the stories are quite stunning: from the description of US soldiers being called baby-killers and spat on after they returned to the US [difficult to comprehend in this patriotic post 9/11 world] to the horror stories of the Communist regimes in Cambodia and in North/South Vietnam after the fall of Saigon [after reading theses stories, one should question why the US would want to establish ties to Vietnam].

This "straight from the hip" narrative is recommended to anyone wishing to learn more about the scenes from a participant's point of view.

I first read To Bear Any Burden when it was originally released in 1985. This has been a 'must-read' classic of American involvement in Southeast Asia since it was published. For it, Santoli interviewed, in depth, 47 individuals representative of that involvement from 1945 into the 1980s--Americans, Viet-Namese (communists and anti-communists), Cambodians and Laotians. The book is so artfully compiled as to flow like a single narration; yet the 'cast of characters' are separate in time, space, culture and social rank--an entire spectrum from ambassadors to villagers, soldiers to politicians, in one volume. No ones education about the Viet-Nam War is complete unless they've read this book.

Well, not all of the literature, but this book is by far the best encapsulation of all of the literature of the period in one place. Other works, such as those by Charlesworth, present the actual writings but I have not encountered a work that summarizes thematically the various beliefs of the period so concisely.

Kugel's book delves into the Pentateuch primarily, dealing with various themes from these books. But from here come multitudes of other themes shooting off from these main themes, taken us on a journey through the massive amounts of writings of this time.

This volume is a hefty price but if you like footnotes and references and other sorts of bibliographic material, it's a dream come true and worth the investment as you can revisit it at your convenience. This version also contains sections following each particular theme called 'Other Readings' which contains elaborations on the main theme thus broadening the scope (and thus embracing even more of this literature) of understanding.

This information is vital to understanding the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity out of the milieu of Second Temple Judaism and neither can truly be understood without this valuable information. Such things as fallen angels, resurrection and life after death, the Messiah/Savior/Son of Man and other such themes all underwent great development during this period of turmoil and the unfolding of their development can be found in this literature.

Kugel does not so much as explain in scholarly fashion the details of this development but highlights the ideas and themes and presents the particular verses chronologically by quoting the various writings.

In the index are all of the writings with a brief history of them and their importance in the history of each faith. This book contains The Bible As It Was and then some. In my opinion, as I've become hooked on the incredible diversity of exegesis (and some flights of fancy) from the Pentateuch, the difference in price is worth it (my only complaint would be that, whereas The Bible As It Was can be obtained relatively inexpensively through various outlets, this one still commands top dollar).

All in all, this is a tremendous and vital resource for anyone seeking to really understand the origins of the split between Judaism and Christianity, the historical development of the beliefs of what became Christianity and Rabbinical Judaism and anyone interested in the historical underpinnings of theological ideas that ultimately affect our worldviews.

This is an expanded addition of Kugel's excellent work "The Bible As It Was." It contains the same introductory material and the discussion of all the "exegetical motifs" from the smaller version plus a lot more. The question for all potential buyers is whether the addtions are worth the price. With "Traditions of the Bible" you will get about 50% more material for about three times the price. The full list of motifs is available in the lenthy table of contents on the Amazon page. Thus, readers can examine the list to decide if the extra material is what they need and, therefore, worth the price. Beyond the pure fascination of encountering the ways in which ancient interpreters addressed the exegetical difficulties of the Torah, both volumes serve, in the long term, as reference works. Anyone working on specific texts from the Torah will not want to be without all of the resources that Kugel has pulled together in these books. For some, these resources will be ample for the task. For other, they will be a great starting point for further research. If the text you are working on is not in "The Bible As It Was," that can be frustrating. If your intent is to have a reference work in your library to use for years to come while working on a wide variety of passages from the Torah, then "Traditions" may be a good buy on a cost-per-use basis. Certainly, any library will want to purchase the larger volume.

Space 1889 was not the greatest game ever produced. The marketing of the game seemed weak. And, to be perfectly frank (pun intended), many of the illustrations were terrible! But, inspite of that and the demise of GDW (a tragedy in my not-so-humble opinion), the game lives on in the small enclaves here and there, joined by the internet.

I think that really says the ideas behind the game mechanics were brilliant. And I'm grateful to those who produced the game.

Transactions was a great fanzine. It, too, had an ignominious end. Now, with these compilations, it lives again. And better, far better than before!

This compilation has accounts of two miniatures games, which lend a great deal to the playing of the game.

If you enjoy movies like "Zulu", "Rogues March", "Beau Geste", "Four Feathers" and "the Light That Failed", you'll love this book.

I loved the first volume that Mark and Matt put together, and the second was even better. Being a post-GDW-collapse convert to Space: 1889, I didn't even realize that there had been a "Transactions" fanzine. I think that the new format does more justice to the efforts of Mark and the varied authors to improve upon the basic game materials than the fanzine. I think that the second volume would be more useful to those who are looking for more general information on Victorian Era Gaming and not just for Space: 1889. Loved it! Eagerly awaiting the 3rd Volume.

This is one of the most insightful books you can find about one of the wisest American political leaders of the last century, in great part because Henry A. Wallace (like his father, Henry C.) was never really a politician as much as an agrarian activist, writer and organizer -- all of which stemmed from his interest in plants as a scientist.

Biographer Russell Lord gets inside the workings of Wallace's Department of Agriculture and his other Washington venues as Vice President during the FDR years with brilliant inclusion of comments by both Franklin and Eleanor as well, recognizing Wallace as a pragmatic, thoughtful scientist rather than the red-baited 1948 Progressive Party presidential candidate he is seemingly only remembered by in history. Lord's review of the fateful 1944 Democratic National Convention, and Wallace's stirring speech on equal rights and equal pay in quite moving.

Mr. Lord also delves deep into the family roots of this fascinating progressive thinker who proved to be so many decades ahead of his time, detailing the early symbiotic relationship he shared with fellow scientist George Washington Carver, whom Wallace credited for his own remarkable scientific achievements in hybridizing sweet corn, etc. Mr. Lord also clearly maintains an objectivity which makes this, in my opinion, one of the best written political biographies (about any politician) in critically analyzing Wallace within the context of his times and challenges.

Henry A. Wallace has been so scouraged by his ill-fated 1948 run as an independent candidate for the United States presidency that he is often forgotten for his key role in many, many other greater causes and efforts. The McCarthy era which decimated so many other careers may have been the great undoing of Vice President Wallace, but Russell Lord does a great job in getting inside the history and lives of the three generations of Wallaces in Iowa -- with a beautiful inset story of George Washington Carver's time with them -- while remaining remarkably objective in the days, perhaps, of a more honorable vintage of insider journalism. There is probably not a better life history of the intriguing young inventor of hybred seed corn as we know it today.

It is amazing that the US survived this conflict. The author's clear depiction of the politics and generalship (or lack thereof)leaves you wondering how the US ever made it out of this conflict relatively intact. This work is taken from Henry Adams great history that was originally published around 1890. The chapters relevant to the war of 1812 have been compiled to form a fine and detailed account of the war with Britain and Canada.

My only request for improvement would be the addition of an introduction that gives a clearer picture of the reasons for the conflict.

In the introduction to this superb volume, Col John Elting, who has written his own version of the military history of this forgotten war, which is also a must have, states 'If you read only one history of that war, it still should be Adams!'

As a definite Elting fan, that is enough for me to buy, read, and use the book. It should also be enough for any historian/reader to buy this volume.

An extract of the much larger A History of the United States during the Administrations of Jefferson and Madison published almost a century ago, this history of a war the United States almost lost was originally published by the Infantry Journal at Fort Benning, GA. It was, and still is, the best one volume history of that war.

Adams had access to US Government papers and spent almost three years in European archives, many of those references now unfortunately lost because of two world wars. What he gives you is both the military and diplomatic side, and also some interesting views of the events interaction with the larger 'disagreement' going on at the time in Europe centering around Napoleon, Emperor of the French.

What you see is what you get. It is a great story, boldly and accurately told that has stood the test of time. It is highly recommended, and the introduction by Col Elting neatly says it all. The best purely military history is Col Elting's Amateurs! To Arms. Taken together they are incredible-two books you will never forget and will read and reread.

a must read if you are a real baseball fan, even if you only heard about most of these players from your father ...

This is the perfect baseball book for all seasons, but especially now with the World Series over, and spring training still months away. It also seems appropriate to me that this book is set during one of the "Golden Ages" of baseball between 1947 and 1964, a time when the only stats that mattered reflected exploits on the field, rather than tallies of bank accounts off the diamond, as we have heard so much about in the past few seasons.

So sit back, curl up in front of the fire, and dip in and out of this massive volume, which is edited and organized in a way that allows just such delights. Packed with stories about the game's greats, and not-so-greats, it offers wonderful insights into how the men who delighted in playing a boy's game actually felt, thought and acted, as told in their own words. There are baseball heroics here aplenty, but also some bitter truths and some all-too human behavior that just serves to make these men all the more real, and fascinating.

Editor and author Danny Peary obviously loves the game, and isn't tainted with the sort of "celebrity awe" that characterizes so much of today's sports' coverage, and its cynical flip-side. Of course, he does pay homage to the greats of this era, but he also rekindles a thousand memories for those of us old enough to remember some of the less celebrated, but nonetheless extraordinary characters who once inhabited the game. Hopefully, younger readers will also delight in meeting these men as well, who had wondrous names such as Vic Power, Minnie Minoso and Pumpsie Green. Need I say more?