Triumph Reviews

The authors have got their premise correct, but in my opinion miss the point in their conclusion. Many of the chapters (especially the one on Bangalore) do not really come to grips with the point of the argument. The title is about the triumph of "Capital" and the betrayal of "Work", a tantalizing title and a true statement in this age. They failed to expand their argument and prove their point.

This book takes economics out of abstract textbook equations and applies it to government, culture,etc.The book makes good use of statistics,for things like concentration of wealth among different income levels and the average wage increases through the years of all kinds of education levels.It is explained why cultural differences can make one country more competitive in one area than another, and other ways in which culture impacts economics and vice versa.For example, Indians are credited with drawing corporations with their close family ties:there's usually someone to watch over the kids while Mommy or Daddy takes another shift, and there's no day-care expenses or parents taking time off to be with a sick child. Finally,it's not too technical and it's a whole lot more interesting than some economic material I've digested.

A great primer on the post-coldwar economy where the balance of power has shifted dramatically in favor of capital over labor. Wolman and Colamosca contend that the mobility of capital (in contrast to labor), has lead to a shifting of the balance of power between capital and labor. The "average worker", including many of our best and brightest, will continue to see their plight worsen as the nation as a whole prospers. A very readable if not distressing account of the consequences of our world view where the market-gods reign supreme.

After reading the novel A House Divided, a positive personal conclusion was made. Although the introduction of the novel was confusing and somewhat misleading, the intricate details of the plot seemed to overcome the first negative impression. The intense drama of the book was compelling in itself for it kept the reader interested. The young love story of Katrina and Dmitri was intricately woven around the wherabouts of her maidservant Anna, and her brother Sergei. Written by Michael Philips and Judith Pello, A House Divided takes place in the harsh yet romantic setting of Russia. Although chaos of war is going on around them, the characters somehow find a greater inner peace. The novel emits a sorrowful feeling in the beginning of the book, for Paul's decision to desert his family and friends for the pride of his country, he joins the war. When Sergei joins Paul's patriotic decision of joining the war, Anna is forced to face the emotion of devastation. Once again, Anna has to but her own interests and concerns aside so she is able to comfort her master, Katrina. While Anna and Katrina's loves are away defending their freedom and safety, Katrina and Anna developed a relationship. At the beginning of the novel, Katrina is self-centered and prideful towards Anna. Katrina degrades Anna by calling her just a servant girl, and denies her of any friendship. However, when her pride was set aside and kindness concurred, the two young women developed a friendship that proved true to the end. When the war was over, Katrina and Dmitri married. Anna and Sergei wondered if their love would ever enable them also, to be joined in the lifelong commitment of marriage. A House Divided was a well-written, well-enjoyed novel. A recommendation for another reader to embark apon this adventure is high.

It has lots of history of pre-revolutionary Russia and tells a great story of a peasant family's life. It shows God working through their life through all their ups and downs. I thought it was great and it was a very fast read(even though it was 5 books!!) God Bless

I believe that Judith Pella, and Michael Phillips have created a wonderful story of love, loss, courage, and strength. The charaters are so real to life that I felt sad when I came to the end of the last book. It felt like I was losing some of my closest friends. I didn't want to stop reading any of the stories, at any point. The story is great, and the history surprisingly well written and accurate. Everyone should read this collection of books.

I read this book for a class to get an understanding of Lenin's influence on the Russian Revolution. This book is very detailed and not for someone who doesn't understand what the Bolsheviks were rebelling against. Little background is given on the Tsar's reign and the problems associated with autocratic rule. The story is never presented from the Tsar's side. What the reader does receive is a detailed account of Lenin's private and political life. Lenin was full of contradictions and paradoxes that were reflected in Communism. It was almost as though his influence was so powerful that the political culture reflected his egnimatic personality. In addition to being a fine intellectual biography of the man, Ulam's text details all the political movements that competed with Lenin in addition to highlighting the beginnings of the Stalin era.

Ulam writes well and is interesting to read. As a lay reader I found all the details sometimes overwhelming, and I had to do additional research to understand the issues that the Bolsheviks were responding to. As a non-scholar, I found this book readable and memorable.

Anyone interested in a good biography of Lenin written from a non-Communist slant should pick this up. Its amazing that this book, written in the '60s, required no revisions upon being re-published in 1998.

This book is a critical look at the life and career of V.I. Lenin. It is not entirely one-sided, however, and the author generally does a good job of putting events in their proper perspective. Those considering buying the more well-known Lenin biography written by Dimitri Volkogonov would do well to read this instead. It is far superior in every respect.

Haykal's book on the Gulf War is written from admittedly biased source. While it is useful and contains backround information not found elsewhere, Haykal either deliberately lies or exaggerates in a number of instances. He also alludes to sources that cannot be disclosed for safety purposes.

Interesting reading but take it with a peck of salt.

An excellent book, written by an Arab intellectual. It gives accurate account of the modern history of the Middle East. This account uncovers all the distorted images. It bravely states the real motives behind the Gulf war. It is a highly recommended book for those who wish to know the truth.

This book provides, in the usual Osprey Battles format, a nice overview of the first great battle fought by the BEF in WWI. There are plenty of black and white photos, as well as color drawings featuring uniforms, armament, and so on.

If you are a modeler, you could add Osprey's THE OLD CONTEMPTIBLES for a more complete vision of the BEF, and THE GERMAN ARMY 1914-1918 for an "other-side-of-the-trenches" view.

This book recounts the truly amazing Battle of Mons in 1914, of the heroic British rearguard actions against the German invasion of Belgium and of the devastating effectiveness of the British "fifteen rounds a minute" rapid fire, which was mistaken for machine guns by the Germans.
Although it was seen as a defeat on the BEF's (the "Old Contemptibles") part, because in the end they have to evacuate the area and pull back, it was a tactical victory for the British, for they have checked the German advance and had bought enough time for many Belgian troops to regroup and to fortify their defences.
Written in an understandable way, the book is illustrated with excellent colour battlescenes painted by Ed Dovey.
This is a highly reccommended book that should be bought by anyone interested in the early (and mobile) phase of the Great War.

This just-published book contains rules for the *1998* season, not the 1999 season. It's in a small, stiff size and is NFL-imprimatur official, but doesn't have supplemental rulings, and quickly finding rules that have changed is nearly impossible. But rules are rules -- if you want them, this is your book.

Although this is one of the best books that I have ever read, I amdisturbed that next year it will not be worth a darn. They need topublish an NFL rulebook with rules for the next ten years....

Thechapter on the 2 minute fumble rule was exciting.

As stated, in this book Frank Blake, the GRANDSON of Whip Holt, gets his day in the sun, becoming the main focal point for the rest of the series.

This novel does a fine job illustrating the rise of socialist ideals in the 1890's, showing how Frank Blake could easily be turned by socialist thought into rejecting his upbringng, and then showing his folly in doing so.

The brother on brother conflict was wondefully done and this book is far better then could be expectted.

Recommended, especially for those who are interested in the history of socialism in America.

I haven't finished the book yet, but just had to respond to the first synopsis you have printed, which is the same as on the back of the book itself. Frank Blake is NOT the great-grandson of Whip Holt! He is the GRAND son period. Frank's mother is Cindy Holt Blake who is the daughter of Whip Holt -- right? That makes Frank her son the grand son of the whipster. How in the world could something this simple get past the final editing process? There are lots of inconsistancies in the Holt books -- the Wagons West and Holt Dynasty series, both. Like on the family tree printed in the front of some of the books it shows Claudia as having two husbands -- wrong. She was a widow when she married Sam Brentwood. Then came Sam and then Mr. Locke. The stories are very enjoyable, but come on editors remember who did what to whom and when.

"Stalin's War" is a strange yet in the end charming book about the Soviet Union during WW2. This book is an easy read and there aren't any pesky notes to bog down the reader. Its kind of like if your crazy war-buff neighbor down the street told you his version of what Stalin was thinking during WW2. As the book goes on you can see the conflict between hero-worship and demonization coming to life in the pages. In the end I think this book is actually fairer than most current popular history because try as he might to avoid it the triumph and might of Stalin and the Red Army can't help but show through. Stalin bravely stayed in Moscow when the Germans were 30 miles away- we're reminded over and over. Stalin outfoxed the "naive" Americans and the conniving Churchill over and over again. We learn what the dead John Reed would have thought of Stalin from his crypt in the Kremlin wall. In the end this book can't help itself and the logic of Stalin's war is revealed- anyone who thinks that the Americans were going to enter Berlin first is delusional; does anyone really think we would have gone up against the Red Army with its blood up? Does anyone really think Stalin or any other Russian leader could have allowed a "free" eastern Europe after the impotence of Poland and the Czechs and the collaborationist hijinks of the Hungarians, Rumanians and Bulgarians? Thankfully in this whole book there is but one reference to R. Conquest the propagandist refering to Stalin's "dark and deadly" nature. In a way the nature of the Cold War and its beginnings are impressionistically sketched but the feel of those times seems to come through better than in many mainstream "histories" out there. Strange and maybe even true!

Stalin's War: Tragedy And Triumph 1941-1945 by military historian and author Edwin P. Hoyt is a resolute examination of Communist dictator Josef Stalin's role in World War II, ranging from his ill-advised nonaggression pact with Hitler; to the deadly cost of the war itself; to the postwar creation of Communist puppet governments in Eastern Europe. An inset section of black-and-white photographs enhances this profoundly informative and highly recommended history of Stalin's influence in the World War II European Theatre and Post-War European political developments.

Franklin in Paris arranging for French help in the Revolution is an inherently fascinating topic. Davis Schoenbrun gave it a good thorough treatment. However, Schoenbrun is a plain writer, without any noticeable style, wit, insight. He does not manage to create any feeling of "triumph." Ths frustrations of his mission, however, are evident.

This is an amazing story that traces the later years of Franklins life. It opens with Franklin sailing in the Atlantic. he has resigned his job as Postmaster general of the colonies because of the revolution. He is looking for evidence of the gulf stream. This shows the dual quality of this quintisential American. He was both a scientist and a devoted American.

This wonderful fulfilling read goes on to explain the great exploits of this old and dying man.
1) He is sent to France to broker an alliance
2) In france he gains support for the American cause.
3) Appointed to the treaty commission after Yorktown he helps gain America the right to expand across the Mississippi thus ensuring us the prsent size and importance of our nation.

THis is a wonderful book that brings the man Franklin to life and makes one appreciate an often overlooked patriot.

I found Very Special People when I was browsing through a book store.....I had to stop and pick it up to look at it. Low and behold one of my ancestors was listed in the book!!!!! What we knew about Matthew Buchinger, was that he was my Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great (yes 6 greats) Grandfather, was that he was born without arms, was an excellent draftsman, had a coat of arms, had a daughter named Anne ( who married John Poole), that he was called the 'little man without arms' and that he lived and in Ireland, and died in 1739. Very Special People has a picture of a drawing of Matthew Buchinger on the seventh page from the end of the picture section. It says the he was also legless! (he was called the little man!), married four times and that he had 11 children! I need to learn more about Matthew Buchinger! Where can I find more information? Please e-mail me If you know where or how I could search to locate more.

For all its faults, Very Special People is still a very readable, personable book. Cloyingly sentimental, it still has its charming moments. A good book for youngsters, but able to appeal to adults as well.