Let Every Nation Know: John F. Kennedy in His Own Words

Book Description

Let Every Nation Know is the first book of its kind-a historical biography in Kennedy's own words. Combining a remarkable audio CD with the insights of two of America's preeminent historians, the result is a unique look at the world-changing words and presidency of John F. Kennedy.

In the thousand days of his presidency, John F. Kennedy spoke about many of the enduring concerns of our union. His optimism, personal strength and far-reaching vision helped guide the nation through crisis, spoke to the dreams of its people and for a too brief moment guided America into the future.

From the author of the #1 bestselling biography An Unfinished Life, Robert Dallek, and the author of Washington's General, Terry Golway, Let Every Nation Know, is a book unlike any other. With an audio CD that includes 32 speeches, debates and interviews that forge a fresh portrait of John F. Kennedy and his presidency, this is a singular experience.

Customer Reviews:

Eloquent, But Hard to Comprehend.......2007-09-24

Robert Dallak and Terry Goldway bring to life masterfully in Kennedy's own words a portrait of an age with a president that was young but gifted politician. From the "Ask Not" Speech to the speech of the Berlin Wall, Kennedy's voice enhances the masterful biography of all Kennedy's charm, love of words, and deep, moral conscience. To me, it brings back the era when the world was on nuclear hair-trigger alert, the press was oppressing, and CIA secrets were gossip for the public. However, I do not think middle school students should read this book because the words of kennedy are still to deep to grasp at this age. The words of Kennedy cut deep into this nation's very soul, and continues to do so.

Perhaps the best of all the books on JFK.......2007-07-18

This was the kind of book that once I started reading I couldn't put down. I finished it very quickly.

I was five years old when he was killed. He was the first President I remember first hand. I remember that in Kindergarden we were told that President George Washington was the Father of our country. In my five year old mind, I thought JFK was the Father of our country, because he too was President like George Washington. This book gave me a chance to hear in his own words what was going on in a time I barely remember as a young child.

His words still speak to us today. This book for me was what I needed to read at this time to remind me of what is important. We as a country have moved so far away from the vision of JFK and it has inspired me to get back to my roots and to get back on track and to try and get our country back on track.

Let Every Nation Know. JFK in his own words........2007-01-15

A must have book for all age groups interested in the life and times of JFK. To hear the actual speeches of JFK on CD are inspirational and even in this day and age very moving. The book and CD transported me back to that era even though I was 8 at the time and brought back many memories.
An excellent book.Highly recommended.

A political biography honed from John F. Kennedy's own words .......2006-08-19

Here's a unique coverage: a political biography honed from John F. Kennedy's own words blending an audio CD with the insights of two notable historians. From issues ranging from Peace Corps politics to Kennedy's debates before his Presidency and his preparations for war, LET EVERY NATION KNOW proves far more compelling - and provides far more insights - than most.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

A Better Time.......2006-08-17

Listening to the accompaning CD is both stimulating and depressing. The literacy and restraint of Kennedy's language so starkly contrasts to what we hear from the current administration. There is much irony as well. In the clip from the debates, Nixon tells the voters that as president he will be a role model for the nation's youth, just as Ike had been. But most depressing is the way this book and CD demonstrate the change in what voters now find persuasive. These are not sound bits or simple messages. These are intelligent and sophisticated speeches. These speeches suggest that Kennedy assumed that the voters were intelligent and that he respected their intelligence. Compare that to the current, simplistic messages that accuse opponents of being in league with al Qaeda. While Nixon was no stranger to the simplistic attack, it is striking to listen to his language and compare it to the current Republican leadership. To suggest that an early time was better is almost a cliche, but when you read and listen to these speeches the evidence seems overwhelming. This was a time when many of our leaders spoke with eloquence and addressed complex issues (Stevenson, Dirkson, Mansfield, Nelson Rockefeller, Robert Kennedy, and many others). More importantly, the voters seemed to actually listen to these speeches. There are great lessons in this modest volume.

Terry Jones's War on the War on Terror: Observations and Denunciations by a Founding Member of Monty Python (Nation Books)

Average customer rating:

Leave INFORMED political satire to a master
Avoid this book, not funny
Devastatingly funny account of Bush/Blair fiasco
Political satire in the best Swiftian tradition
Shamefull

Terry Jones's War on the War on Terror: Observations and Denunciations by a Founding Member of Monty Python (Nation Books)
Terry Jones
Manufacturer: Nation Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Terry Jones' Medieval Lives
The Greedy Bastard Diary : A Comic Tour of America
Terry Jones' Barbarians: An Alternative Roman History
Who Murdered Chaucer?: A Medieval Mystery
A Liar's Autobiography Volume VI

ASIN: 1560256532

Book Description

Terry Jones is known the world over as one of the beloved creators of the legendary Monty Python. But independent of the Python team, Jones has been writing columns targeting the Anglo-American response to September 11. His wit and venom are particularly focused on the messianic vernacular of Bush and Blair and the semantics of the “war on terror.” As Jones writes, “What really alarms me about President Bush’s ‘War on Terrorism’ is the grammar. How do you wage war on an abstract noun? ... How is ‘Terrorism’ going to surrender? It’s well known, in philological circles, that it’s very hard for abstract nouns to surrender.” Terry Jones’s War on the War on Terror proves that in times of high political anxiety, humor and irony are most potent antidotes to the spin emanating from the White House and Downing Street.

Customer Reviews:

Leave INFORMED political satire to a master.......2006-12-15

Jones has the kind of cheek to make almost anything medieval seem fresh and exciting - however, for truly incisive, biting and dead-on accurate contemporary political and cultural commentary read Christopher Hitchens. If we could find a way to weaponize Hitchen's intellectual and verbal firepower within a missile system there would be no more to fear from Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Quaeda, the Baathists, Syrian and Iranian insurgents, or any other group only too happy to strap bombs onto their children and send them into a crowd of civilians.

Read Hitchens, period, literally for anything!

Avoid this book, not funny.......2006-10-06

Ordinarily, I would not take the time to write a review, but if I could get my money and time back for having purchased and read this book, I would. I love Terry Jones' work, along with the rest of the Pythons, and I was excited when the book arrived. I expected something entertaining, and at least insightful, but what I got was one rant, retold a dozen slightly different ways. It's all based on one web site spelling out some possible right wing conspiracy, and the fact that one web site is cited again and again...and again makes me wonder what the publishers thought they had to work with? At the very least, *do not* pay full retail price for this turkey, buy it used or check it at the library.

Devastatingly funny account of Bush/Blair fiasco.......2006-08-29

Terry Jones, of Monty Python fame, prolific writer of fiction and non-fiction, has written a very funny book on current affairs, composed of articles he wrote for the Guardian and the Observer from 2001 to 2004.

He shows the real reason for the attack on Iraq quoting the Project for the New American Century's `Rebuilding America's Defenses 2000': "The United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security. While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein."

The same report admits, "adversaries like Iran, Iraq, and North Korea are rushing to develop ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons as a deterrent to American intervention in regions they seek to dominate." So they want nukes to deter American aggression - sounds reasonable.

Terry is not very nice to Mr Bush. He cites an undersecretary in Bush's administration as saying, "George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the U.S. [That bit's right, anyway!] He was appointed by God."

So was it God who wanted to take health insurance off four million Americans, and jobs off two million? Did God want to withdraw benefits from working families earning less than $35,000 a year, by cutting Medicaid, supplemental health insurance, nutrition assistance and welfare? CNN reports, "Half of all Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck - effectively one paycheck away from poverty." But then he (He?) balanced all this by generously awarding tax breaks worth $50,000 per person to America's richest one per cent.

It's only fair that Bush's crony Blair gets some stick too. In `Grading Tony's latest essay', Terry writes, "Tony's uncritical acceptance of information supplied by the U.S. reveals a naivety that would be surprising in any sixth-form pupil, let alone one who has hopes of going on to university and then government, as I know Tony does." He ends, "To be quite candid, Mr. and Mrs. Blair, it's lucky that your son is not in a position of power; otherwise his lack of insight and his crass ignorance would place us all in appalling peril." Other classics include, `I'm losing patience with my neighbors, Mr. Bush' and `It really isn't torture'.

Political satire in the best Swiftian tradition.......2006-04-15

This is just what you'd expect from a member of the extraordinarily literate and politically aware Monty Python. Jones shows that the years have not dulled his wit, skewering Bush, Blair and their minions with a thousand razor-sharp barbs, and showing up many of their absurdities by extending them to everyday life. Whether he is debating killing his neighbors because he suspects that they are up to no good or "justifying" the chaining of his son to a radiator because, after all, his _intention_ was to obtain information, not to torture, he makes us unsure whether to laugh or groan at the fact that this _is_ the real world of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al.

Not all of these columns (which they were originally published as) are classics, but they are always informative and most of them take a different perspective on issues that are all too often portrayed by the mainstream media with a mind-numbing sameness. Since they were published at sometimes widely-spaced intervals and of necessity repeat a lot of information, I would recommend not reading the book straight through, but picking it up and reading a chapter or two at a time.

Highly recommended chapters: 1) The Grammar of the War on Terror; 3) A Bag Over the Head is Worth Two for George W. Bush; 10) I'm Losing Patience With My Neighbors, Mr. Bush; 11) How To Bomb and Save Money; 20) If Fish Feel Pain...; 28) The War of Words in Iraq; and 32) It Really Isn't Torture.

Shamefull.......2006-01-20

Why does gifted comedians, actors and music stars think they are automatically gifted with political wisdom?
That TJ was funny in the Monty Python context doesn't a priori give him clout in political thinking, does it?
The left wing raging about Bush and Blair tells me more of Bush and Blair doing things right then the wisdom of a comedian.
The writing might be cloaked in "satire" (aka lefties way of getting away with nonsense) but it's none the less just hate propaganda.
Shame on TJ.

The Affirmative Action Empire: Nations and Nationalism in the Soviet Union, 1923-1939 (Wilder House Series in Politics, History, and Culture)

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Soviet Multiculturalism
An absolutely seminal work on the subject

The Affirmative Action Empire: Nations and Nationalism in the Soviet Union, 1923-1939 (Wilder House Series in Politics, History, and Culture)
Terry Martin
Manufacturer: Cornell University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Empire of Nations: Ethnographic Knowledge and the Making of the Soviet Union (Culture and Society After Socialism)
A State of Nations: Empire and Nation-Making in the Age of Lenin and Stalin
Veiled Empire: Gender and Power in Stalinist Central Asia
Making Sense of War: The Second World War and the Fate of the Bolshevik Revolution
Magnetic Mountain: Stalinism as a Civilization

ASIN: 0801486777

Customer Reviews:

Soviet Multiculturalism.......2006-06-02

This book underscores the importance of ideology in historical development. The Soviet Union was a communist entity, and the often bizarre vagaries of communist ideology as they pertained to the Soviet Union's multi-ethnic make-up are the centrepiece of this important and original investigation. According to Terry Martin, the Soviet Union was not, at least in its pre-war manifestation, a chauvinistic entity, despite the evident suffering meted out to sundry ethnic groups in opposition to the implementation of Bolshevik policies. Indeed, Martin demonstrates that the Soviets embodied a qualified cosmopolitan tendency. Soviet authorities, although divided on the wisdom of this course of action, sought to undermine certain ("negative") aspects of nationalism or ethnic particularism by promoting other ("positive") aspects of the same phenomenon. They were, for a time, national internationalists. Russian nationalism, long excoriated and denigrated by the Party, did eventually emerge supreme after World War Two, for reasons outlined by Martin, but multiculturalism was not entirely eschewed. Martin's research is a seminal contribution to the field of Russian and Soviet studies. His book does, however, lack a certain fluency in composition and does seem quite cumbersome, if not repetitive, in certain places.

An absolutely seminal work on the subject.......2002-03-05

This is a difficult book, but everyone must make the effort to read it. It is based on dozen of archives and several pages (in tiny print) of contemporary Soviet sources. It details a very important question. In recent years the "totalitarian" paradigm has returned, with a vengeance, to the study of Soviet history. And what could be a greater symbol of the "equivalence" of Stalinism and Nazism, than their mass use of ethnic cleansing? German atrocities need no introduction. But one can still be stunned by the brutalities involved in the acquistion of the other fourteen Soviet republics, the savage famine of 1932-33 that ravaged Ukraine and Kazhakstan, the mass deportations from the Baltic countries, and the manifold ethnic cleansing of Germans, Poles, Koreans and Chechyeans, among many others. The vital importance of this book is that whatever one might say about these cruelties, they emerged in a context radically different from that of Nazism, they had a different logic, and in the end radically different consequences.

The Soviet Union was always dominated by the Soviet Communist Party. The nominal independence of the 15 republics was an illusion until just before the end. But the desire to encourage the national consciousness of every group within the Union, that was not an illusion, that was not a lie. Indeed, far from being destroyed by the primordial nationality that it so viciously repressed, the Soviet Union did much to foster nationalities in the first place. Not only did it create the 15 republics, but it created dozens upon dozens of autonomous republics and national soviets all throughout the Soviet Union. For dozens of tribes and languages it created written scripts and then set about translating each others books into each others languages. In every corner of the Soviet Union it sought to increase the representation of the dominant nationality in the local branch of the party. It is often forgotten that in much of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the now dominant nationality was a minority in the cities. Prague was once a German city. Kiev and Minsk were dominated by Jews and Russians. Tiblisi, the capital of Georgia, once had an Armenian majority, while many times during its history Armenia's capital had a Muslim majority. Ensuring the demographic triumph of the dominant nationality was another Soviet policy.

The origins of this eccentric and vigorously pursued policy came from Stalin and Lenin who believed that encouraging national consciousness would limit local opposition to any "Russian" movement. Martin details the development of this policy from 1923 to 1939 where it modified in several important ways. In 1939 the Soviet Union no longer castigated Russian chauvinism as the most pernicious of evils. The other nationalities were expected to have some basic knowledge of Russia and its culture, and no longer would the tiniest of nationalities would be given its own soviet. The active opposition to allowing members of other nationalities to becoming Russian was dropped. However, the affirmative action programs would be continued, and indeed the beneficiaries would be the core of many post-Soviet regimes.

Martin writes important chapters on the especially complicated situation in the Far east, where the Soviet government had to deal with 99 separate nationalities. He discusses the efforts to encourage Ukrainization in Ukraine. Much to their disappointment, and contrary to what one might expect from Ukrainian nationalist historigoraphy, their support for a unilingual Ukrainian culture in the cities met with very limited success. The people there actually preferred a bilingual Russian-Ukrainian culture. Martin also provides a subtle account of the 1932-33 famine. This was not a famine designed against the Ukraine, but against grain "surplus" regions. However, a deadly "national interpretation" of the famine developed in Soviet ideology as the famine progressed. Martin is also useful on the Great purges later in the decades. Contrary to what one might think, nationalities like Ukrainians and Jews were not overrepresented. The one that were consisted of the "diasopora" ones, such as Poles, Germans, Koreans and other bordering countries that might be potential threats.

Finally there is the chapter on ethnic cleansing. Martin reminds us of the ideological and security origins of the cleansing. In certain situations even Russians could find themselves ethnically cleansed (such as former Russian workers on the Manchurian railroads). He reminds us of the broader context of ethnic cleansing, such as the extermination of the Armenians, the mass deportations following the Balkan Wars and the Greek-Turkish war, and the wartime deporation of 800,000 Jews from the Russian Front. He also reminds us of the local ethnic and popular hatreds that would have existed regardless of the Soviet Union's existence, such as in Kazhakstan and the North Caucasus. He also reminds us that the Soviet leadership understandly wanted to encourage ethnic concentration in order to form more viable national units. In the end most nationalities have claimed to be specially victimized by the former Soviet Union. And while this is true for some groups, like the Chechens, it should be remembered that for the Russians, Ukrainians, Jews, Georgians, Kazhaks, and many other groups, the Soviet Union was not the prisonhouse of nations. It did not kill countries, only people.

Doctor Who - The Scripts, Tom Baker 1974-5
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Not just the scripts, but plenty of additional information

Beyond Definitive...

Read what was mean't to be seen...

Doctor Who - The Scripts, Tom Baker 1974-5
Terrance Dicks , Robert Holmes , Bob Baker , Dave Martin , Terry Nation , and Gerry Davis
Manufacturer: BBC Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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Doctor Who - The Sontaran Experiment (Episode 77)

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ASIN: 0563538155

Customer Reviews:

Not just the scripts, but plenty of additional information.......2002-02-02

This is a collection of the scripts from Season 12 of Doctor Who, Tom Baker's first season. When one encounters this sort of material, it's worthwhile to see how much value-added there is. Is this just a simple reproduction of the scripts, or is there a significant amount of additional material? I am pleased to report that there is. For starters, the scripts themselves indicate the changes between the camera scripts and what actually made it on the air. But besides that, there is a season overview that discusses the casting of Tom Baker, the addition of Harry Sullivan as a character, and how the season was planned.

Then, with the individual scripts, the book provides background along the lines of the DWM Archive features, covering the development of the scripts, the production team, the production details, and a brief critique.

There are also numerous footnotes associated with the scripts, and my chief complaint with the book is that these are stuck at the end of each episode rather than at the bottom of individual pages, necessitating either a lot of flipping back and forth or a good memory if you choose to wait until after reading the episode to see what the footnotes say.

However, that's basically a quibble on what is an excellent book and a significant addition to my Doctor Who collection.

Beyond Definitive..........2002-01-22

Not so much another retelling of a year of "Doctor Who" as the ultimate reference guide to Season 12 of the series, "Doctor Who: The Scripts, Tom Baker 1974/5" tells virtually everything you could want to know about the production and execution of "Doctor Who" in the first year of Tom Baker's tenure as the Doctor. Included here are the scripts (complete with changes made during shooting) for all 20 episodes across the 5 stories of the year, story histories, production notes, casting choices, transmission information, music notes, prop histories and inventories, scene sketches and maps, reproductions of newspaper clippings, notes on potential but unmade stories, changes made for American TV, audience reaction polls, and a ton of footnoting for just about every reason imaginable.

More than any other behind-the-scenes science fiction book I've read, this one really tells you what tough choices and concessions had to be made, why they chose person A over person B, what got cut for budgetary reasons (a common problem with Doctor Who) and what concessions (or lack thereof) were made for continuity. This book is a massive undertaking, and, indeed, authorship is spread between numerous people. If there is a question you want answered about Season 12 of Doctor Who, the odds are really good it's in here somewhere.

While I find it hard to recommend this book to the casual Doctor Who fan, it's invaluable to the die-hard Whovian or the student of film or TV production. This is simply the finest production book I've read and I dearly hope to see them tackle other seasons in the same way in the future.

Read what was mean't to be seen..........2001-12-27

Alot of people ask "why a script book?" I wondered myself until I got it.
It includes the complete shooting scripts including dialog & scenarios not used in the finished product.
It also gives behind the scenes insight to the filming of Tom Baker (Doctor #4's) First Season as the Doctor.
If you are a fan of the show, I would highly recommend it to you!

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Australia (Modern World Nations)
Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov
Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0791076091

A State of Nations: Empire and Nation-Making in the Age of Lenin and Stalin

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For the Soviet Scholar

A State of Nations: Empire and Nation-Making in the Age of Lenin and Stalin

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Affirmative Action Empire: Nations and Nationalism in the Soviet Union, 1923-1939 (Wilder House Series in Politics, History, and Culture)
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The Russian Empire: A Multi-Ethnic History

ASIN: 0195144236

Book Description

This collected volume, edited by Ron Suny and Terry Martin, shows how the Soviet state managed to create a multiethnic empire in its early years, from the end of the Russian Revolution to the end of World War II. Bringing together the newest research on a wide geographic range, from Russia to Central Asia, this volume is essential reading for students and scholars of Soviet history and politics.

Customer Reviews:

For the Soviet Scholar.......2006-06-30

A State of Nations: Empire and Nation-Making in the age of Lenin and Stalin is a compilation of scholarly articles from Russian professors, and edited by two distinguished Russian scholars Ronald Suny and Terry Martin who provide keen opening introductions. The work concentrates on non-Russian influence during the revolution, the transfer of Russia from an empire to a nation, the largely neglected area of multi-ethinicity during the revolution and Civil War, and transformation of society in the Lenin and Russian years. Suny and Martin divide this work into four sections - with the first two sections concentrating on topics such as national Identity, imperialism, fraternity, and Jadidism while the latter sections emphasize the importance of local politics, nationalizing Russian backwardness, nativization, Nation-building and Russification. In essence, each contributor or author gives a novel thesis, or at least expands a previously accepted scholarly premise, from the time shortly before the revolution to the age of Stalin.

Suny convincingly concludes in his introduction that "tsarist Russia failed to develop a strong, coherent, widely accepted national identify, autonomous from religious dynastic, or state identifications." (8) This premise sets the stage for the rest of the work, as Martin parallels Suny argument by spotlighting the Bolsheviks and their pursuit of national power. Martin's Affirmative Action argument refers "not only to programs on behalf of members of a given ethnic group but primarily to Soviet State support for the national territories, languages, elites, and identities of those ethnic groups." (78) This complex, and sometimes arduous argument, provides new insight into the diverse effects that ethnic groups and the Soviet State had with one another.

With a narrower focus, section two begins with a comprehensive study of family and fraternity, by Joshua Sanborn, who introduces an argument on the "multiethnic" nation. The key to Sanborn's argument is the role of soldiers, as he contends that "not only did the strongest and most consistent efforts to build the multiethnic nation come from the military, but it was also the military that latched upon family and fraternity as effective techniques to do so." (105) Expanding on this thesis - Peter Holquist takes a closer look at violence from the revolution to the age of Stalin. Holquist contends that the use of this coercion "discerns not a regime zig-zagging from on unrelated repression to the next [but] rather [that] sees a state continually seeking to sculpt and mold its population according to an applied science of society." (133) This "science" is also part of the revolution in Central Asia, as section two ends, Adeed Khalid, with a well-written essay about the nationalization of the revolution, illustrates the Bolshevik scheme for gaining Muslim nationalism from Central Asia. With a focus on Turks and Jadidists, Khalid convincingly argues that "naturalization of the revolution benefited from the alliance of the nationalists with the Bolsheviks." (159)

In section three, Daniel Schafer skillfully introduces Bashkortostan, a republic that was formed after the Russian revolution. In essence, Schafer argues that Bashkortostan is an example of a border and a republic negotiation. "Only in this way could the notion of national autonomy be coordinated with other imperatives of the day. (183). Doug Northrop expands this border argument to the actions of "the east," especially the ones which had conflicting meanings as he surmises that "the conflicting logic of constructing nationality and backwardness through the same symbol" meant distinct things to different audiences. (213) Northrop uses the wearing of veils by Uzbeks in his example, as the Soviets saw there use as "deviant," whereas the Uzbek's saw it as a national "identity" issue for their country.

In the final section, Matt Payne, correctly emphasizes the importance of nationalization in the Soviet regime. Essentially, Payne uses the Turksib to illustrate the "formation of social identities, class or ethnic, is the product of a complex and nuanced interaction among the state, social formations, and the individual." (242) Breaking down this new expansion even more, Peter Blitstein, concentrates on nation building and Russification. For instance, the school system in Russia becomes a major political issue. "The centralization and standardization of Russian instructors as far as possible was an important goal of officials." (266) As Russifying the school system became more important, so did the issue of nationalism. In the final essay David Bradenberger successfully explores the development of Russian nationalism (1941-1945), as a major priority in the Russian society. From party ideologies to war time propaganda, Bradenberger concludes that the "fading imperative of non-Russian propaganda and the heavy atmosphere of wartime Russocentrism meant that, by 1944, the position advanced by Pankratova [lead scholar of Russocentric ideology] and her allies lapsed into obsolescence." (288)

In conclusion, this work provides keen, and sometimes novel, insight into non-Russian influence during the revolution, Russia's transformation of nationalism and ideologies, and transmogrification of society in the Lenin and Russian years, and multi-ethinicity during the revolution and Civil War. Varying in their degree of reading fluidity, writing styles, and scholarly attributes; overall, the authors provide clear insights into Russia's struggle for national identity, their sometimes subtle, but always pertinent relations and developments with non-Russians such as Uzbeks and Turks, and their keen interpretations and insights into Russification and Russocentrism. Suny and Martin, skillfully lead, a thoughtful and well-researched, work which adds to the rich history of Russia. As the back cover notes, this work "is essential reading for students and scholars of Soviet history and politics, as well as those who study nationalism, comparative ethnicity, and imperialism."

Sovereign Nations or Reservations? Indian Economies : An Economic History of American Indians

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Sovereign Nations or Reservations? Indian Economies : An Economic History of American Indians
Terry L. Anderson
Manufacturer: Pacific Research Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Self-Determination: The Other Path for Native Americans

ASIN: 0936488816

Book Description

How the U.S. governments policies and romanticisms of Indians shape our perception and therefore their history.

Average customer rating:

A rare gem in the post-apocalyptic blandness
Back to the basics
Survivors: When Society, Culture & Technology Collapse
A Classic
The struggle to survive a global disaster!

Survivors
Terry Nation
Manufacturer: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0698106644

Customer Reviews:

A rare gem in the post-apocalyptic blandness.......2007-01-28

Title: Survivors
Author: Terry Nation

The Plot: A mutated form of the Bubonic Plague spreads across the globe, hastened by easy air travel. In Britain, the plague brings civilization to a halt in a matter of a few weeks. In the aftermath, a handful of survivors come together and try to form a community where they can resurrect agrarian life. The small numbers of survivors and their lack of expertise makes for a very difficult first winter.

The survivors go on to try to strike a balance between scavenging from the wreckage of civilization and building a sustainable way of life. Along the way, they deal with raiders, authoritarian feudalists, and the inevitable accidents that become so much more threatening in a world lacking societal safety nets.

Eventually, they must make a decision to either accept the primitive limitations of living in a small agrarian community, join with other groups, or attempt to migrate to a warmer and easier climate.

The Writing: The writing is competent but unadorned. There are a handful of annoying editing errors. Although the plot takes place in Britain, there are few uniquely British terms, making the writing easily accessible to Americans.

Details on the Volume Reviewed: Published by Coward, McCann, and Geoghegan, Inc. 1976, first edition. Hard cover. 254 pages in a medium font.

Opinions on the Plot: I find this to be a hugely enjoyable book; a breath of fresh air in the post-apocalypse genre. Rather than focusing on weaponry and grim, pointless battles over the scraps of civilization, Survivors focuses more on the every day difficulties of becoming entirely self-sufficient. While Survivors has its share of armed conflict, this is merely one of the challenges faced by the characters.

Survivors was originally a three season BBC television series, shown only in the UK. I, like many American readers, was introduced to Survivors by this book, which was published in the US. (In fact, I did not have the good fortune to learn about the television show until almost 25 years after the publishing of the book.) The book roughly covers the first season of Survivors, although the plot takes a decidedly different (and in my opinion, more interesting) turn about three quarters through the events covered in the first television season.

Back to the basics.......2006-01-25

This story is very interesting in light of the ever threatening bird flu pandemic. Although written in the 70's before computers and cell phones became basic gear, this story is very plausible. Here in an area of southern England survivors of a pandemic flu like plague that wipes out 99 percent of the world population try to survive day to day, season to season. Abby, the main character is a woman who is searching for her teen age son who may have survived the plague. In the course of her search she falls in with a group of people who try to survive by creating a farm and scavenging off modern societies leavings and dealing with other friendly and not so friendly groups. Many things I never thought of were brought up like learning how to farm correctly or even making candles and all the simple things us modern people have forgotten how to do. Could any of us really survive? This story ends with on a tragic note but it is sure an eye opener and ever more relevant today. A quick but great read. Makes you look at yourself and wonder, "Could I do it??"

Survivors: When Society, Culture & Technology Collapse.......2005-09-01

I own the entire 38 episodes of the BBC TV series Survivors and recently read the book upon which it was based. A foreboding tale, with a prescient quality regarding the fragility of humankind and the social edifices we have constructed, I must confess to prefering the TV series somewhat more. The reader is subliminally enjoined to be one of the Survivors, after an apparent biotech accident wipes out virtually the entire human race. Pared back to basics, with only the remnants of technology and our modern way of life to cling to, the monumental task of those who have not been killed by the sickness, is simply to go on living. Terry Nation cleverly helps us imagine the mechanics of a back to zero world and the tenuous human interactions therein. 'Survivors' is compelling and daunting, with a definite feel of future reality to it. Though not in my opinion as phenomenal a work as the TV series, it receives 5 stars from me as an adjunct and outline to a simply masterful piece of story telling by Terry Nation. NOTE: A sequel exists written by John Eyers called "Survivors Genesis of a Hero," a surprisingly convincing continuation of the Survivors saga.

A Classic.......2001-06-12

I recently bought a used copy - it was the most I have ever paid for a book in my entire life, but worth every penny! I should mention that I veiwed the TV series many years ago and got hooked, but I never realized there was a novel that the series was based on until I was browsing through the many used books websites. If you ever are lucky enough to run across a copy, I highly recommend it! You may even want to check out your local public library. Enjoy!

The struggle to survive a global disaster!.......2000-09-26

Survivors - Terry Nation, the creator of Dr Who and Blake's Seven.

Recent apocalyptic stories have been of the "asteroid hits earth, tidal waves and earthquakes everywhere" variety. But this is a more traditional "virus destroys 99.99% of the population" type, and is as a result far more interesting and satisfying. After all, everything is left standing, all the machines and cities, but there are too few people to make anything work.

A new strain of influenza spreads by means of air travel. One person infects ten, they each infect more, soon the virus has spread throughout the world, travelling by jet. Just a 'flu at first, but the mortality rate is almost total. Within a month, almost everyone on earth is infected and dying. Everything stops, as everyone is sick or dead. No transport, no electricity, no hospitals, no government, nothing.

In our society, everyone is just a small part of a larger process, everyone is specialised. Imagine waking up to a world where all of the knowledge, ability and expertise had just died along with the vast bulk of the population - you and I probably know less than a stone age man as far as living in a world like that is concerned! And that's what this book is all about - the struggle to survive when you have no idea what to do, and no-one is going to come and help you.

The heroine of the story is Abby, who gets sick, but lives. As she recovers, the world is suddenly an empty and lonely place. She looks for others, and eventually joins a small community trying to rediscover how to farm, build and live with diminishing technology. Resources are scarce and getting scarcer - petrol is more valuable than useless gold - but some bands of survivors are happier to steal from others than to work to rebuild the world. Abby is our eyes and ears in this harsh world, as we follow her in her search for her son whom she hopes also survived. Abby eventually has to make a hard choice whether to keep her search alive, leading to a tragic finale.

When I read this book as a teenager, I was amazed at the incredible detail of the story, how Terry Nation portrayed all of the consequences, big and small, of a world so devastated by disease, as well as the scope of the disaster that befell the world. In this story ALL of civilisation come to an end in the matter of a month or two, and the plausibility of the story is frightening! But in addition to a fabulous story, well told, there is the human drama, played out against a backdrop of hardship and desperation.

Book Description

This book provides an extended analysis of how changing social dynamics, organized particularly around race, class, and gender relations, have shaped the life chances and conditions for Aboriginal people within the structure of Canadian society and its major institutional forms. The authors conclude that prospects for First Nations and Aboriginal people remain uncertain insofar as they are grounded in contradictory social, economic, cultural and political realities.

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