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1.Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War": How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World by: Patrick J. Buchanan May 27, 2008
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $29.95 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $19.77 You Save: $10.18 (34%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $14.99
Buchanan draws a distinct line between history as a science and politicians manipulation of historical facts in order to serve their aims.

2.The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Vintage) by: Lawrence Wright August 21, 2007
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $15.95 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $10.85 You Save: $5.10 (32%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $7.18
It is easy to see how the author won the Pulitzer for this book. It is the definitive account of Al Qaeda's genesis leading up to 9/11. The book is both detailed but also concise and extremely readable. The author has a talent to make these events of non-fiction read like the best thriller novel. For those that want to understand our enemy and how we got to 9/11, this is essential reading. Highly recommended.

3.The Prize : The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power by: Daniel Yergin January 01, 1993
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $22.00 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $14.96 You Save: $7.04 (32%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $7.14
Kind librarians should consider filing The Prize in the "Reference" section as a clear warning to readers. Yergin's book is a laboriously impressive volume of forgettable details by one of the oil industry's most gifted analysts. It is not a light bedtime or commuter train friend! - The storyline lacks a cohesive theme - There are no main characters (including the oil companies!) tying the narrative together - Personalities appear and dissolve forever in rapid-fire succession, leaving little imprint on the storyline - The chronology often spirals confusingly in time, digressing into analyses which exhibit all the charm of a workplace memo Yergin has written an exhaustive business history using the wrong medium. I suggest chopping The Prize up into bite-sized pieces and ... Read More

4.The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by: Alex Ross October 16, 2007
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $30.00 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $19.80 You Save: $10.20 (34%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $16.98
This is an exhilirating intellectual tour de force. Ross is the best "describer" of music I've ever read. Music resists being put into words -- they are two very different media. But Ross has the ability to do this -- his descriptions of works I am familiar with is always both precise and exciting. He makes the reader hear or at least want to hear the music. But his major contribution is to fuse 20th century music with the many political and social forces that shaped it. His description of the sufferings of Prokofiev and Shostakovitch under the malign rule of Stalin is tremendously moving. Ross does not make the mistake of glorifying composers just because they were musical geniuses. Richard Strauss, Shostakovitch, Alban Berg, Copland, Schoenberg, Britten all emerge as flawed individuals who happened to have ... Read More

5.The Guns of August by: Barbara W. Tuchman August 03, 2004
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First, I really enjoyed this book. I believe Tuchman did a masterful job of giving life to the people and events that led to WWI. This book is well worth reading, but only for what it is: half-history, half-literature. This is not the place to start if you want to understand what led to WWI. The author does have a distinct anti-German bias that glosses over most of the complexities that influenced Germany's actions. Given when the book was written, this bias is understandable, but it does affect its historical value. Moreover, Serbia and the Hapsburgs are essentially footnotes in this book when in reality, they are essential for understanding the causes of the war. When you ignore Serbia and Austro-Hungary, well, all you're left with is Germany acting like a belligerent punk under the hand of the man-child ... Read More

6.Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal by: Ben Macintyre August 12, 2008
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Ah, the story of Eddie Chapman; long awaited and finally produced (actually two of them on the same day, but the thrust of "Zigzag" by Booth ruled it out for me.) I had read Masterman's "The Double-Cross System in the War from 1939 to 1945" which gave Chapman six pages, seen the movie "Triple-Cross", and wondered what the story really was. The movie bore no resemblance to the truth as usual, but finding out the truth in spy stories is always a realm where educated guess and conjecture must fill in the frustrating blanks. Chapman's story rings true in every respect and well worth the read over the 2-4 nights it provides. Earlier reviewers have exalted or condemned Chapman, so allow me to state that essentially all spies/agents have a screw loose and a yen for danger, excitement and feeling special. They ... Read More

7.The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America's Finest Hour by: Andrei Cherny April 17, 2008
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Reading this book is an emotional and stirring event on many different levels. It offers one of the clearest and most succient histories of the period just after the Second World War. The book also does an excellent job of providing balance between the outsized personalities who helped shape the airlift and the amazing achievement that the airlife in itself was. One of the most touching aspects however is the human aspect of the story. Besides telling the story of the candy bomber which has already been told many times before, the book gives a great history of how the German people were shown the light and turned their backs on a totalitarian form of government towards one that the democracy that exists today. All in all this is an epic read from an epic time. The subtitle captures it best when it says ... Read More

8.The Places In Between by: Rory Stewart May 08, 2006
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Wow!!! I don't have a great attention span but this book kept me glued to its pages. While Rory's adventure to walk from Herat to Kabul in the footsteps of the Emperor Babur is an audacious one, he provides excellent insights into the cultural diversity that Afghanistan is, and the rich heritage that the country has. His walk, following those in India, Nepal and Iran is made difficult by the route he chooses to follow in the height of winter, through the central highlands of the province of Ghor which all conquering armies for the last 2,000 years have chosen to avoid. Yet, this land once became the seat of power in Afghanistan with its capital at the Turquoise Mountain. He provides an excellent account of the changing political landscape of the country by vividly providing accounts of the various people he met and dealt with, from feudal ... Read More

9.The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by: Samuel P. Huntington January 28, 1998
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As an Arab-Canadian, I'm pretty much at the forefront of this so-called "clash of civilizations", and the way I see things as it stands, it seems as though there is indeed a 'clash' materializing. However, that is only a superficial gut feeling, the same feeling the respect Dr. Sam Huntington subscribed to when writing this book. My interest in this issue started when I read John Esposito's book, Political Islam - truly a masterpiece - which picked stripped the religion of Islam bare, down to its origins, and described its evolution over time, spanning the Muhammedian era up till 9/11. He also dedicated chapters to specific issues such as the Jamaat-e-Islami group in Pakistan, the Iranian revolution and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt - all these were discussed in a political and religious context. In the afterword, ... Read More

10.Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives by: Jim Sheeler May 01, 2008
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As a former Marine Corps Casualty Assistance Officer (CACO) from 1968 to 1970 in Los Angeles, this book was very difficult for me to read as it brought back memories of nearly 40 years ago. During this period of time, it was my duty to notify over 75 families of their loss from combat actions in Vietnam. As the book was read, I could vividly recall the reactions of family members as I spoke with them and the book very accurately presents their wide range of emotions. Through this book, I can clearly recall each and every notification and funeral service during those years. A noted difference between notifications then and now is in the acceptance of the CACO as a family member. As a young captain making these notifications, my emotions were held in check as I was performing a service for a fellow Marine. Now, as a grandfather of 4 boys, ... Read More

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