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.Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
City Travel Guides > Books > History
by: Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin

January 30, 2007
I will only repeat what so many have said before me; this story is simply amazing and most of all, humbling. It reiterates a point made by so many people working in developing countries; education (especially of girls) is the key to eradicating terrorism, combating poverty and spreading peace throughout the volatile regions of the world.

It's incredible that one man can initiate so much positive change for some of the world's poorest. Incredible, I have not read something so inspiring since "Banker to the Poor". Simply, fantastic.
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.Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man
City Travel Guides > Books > History
by: Dalton Fury

October 06, 2008
"Kill Bin Laden" is an excellent book for those with anything from a slight interest in Special Forces to folks with a deeper interest in reading about these shadow warriors who are silent heroes, that operate out of the limelight, but guard our nation with incredible dedication, daring and bravery.

It is high on detail about the usual and various screwups and political blunderings, that have so absurdly hamstrung our special forces in their missions to do their jobs safeguarding us. One thing can be certain, if special forces prosecuted our wars strictly from their own strategic planning, things would get done much more quickly and efficiently.

The clueless bureaucracy above can always be counted on to ruin everything, ... Read More:
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.The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008
City Travel Guides > Books > History
by: Bob Woodward

September 08, 2008
It amazes me that a reporter would get an 8 year behind the scenes pass to the Bush administration, but Woodward did. No one has ever successfully challenged the quotations in his books which are absolutely stunning. "The War Within" shows a President disengaged from his own war, "outsourcing" it to National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, who apparently idolizes Bush. And retired General Jack Keane is disgraceful: he served as a back door for his protege' General Petraeus direct to the Vice President, bypassing the Pentagon.
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.The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
City Travel Guides > Books > History
by: Naomi Klein

June 24, 2008
Naomi Klein has exposed Milton Friedman and the "Chicago Boys" just as Ida Tarbell exposed John D. Rockefeller in an earlier time. In other words, beware of those who worship "markets"--usually such worshippers leave out the fact that the only capitalistic enterprises they worship are the ones they control. Any competing companies (or schools of thought) must be destroyed.

Is it any wonder that Friedman became a god at the University of Chicago, the House that Rockefeller built? Rockefeller destroyed the lives of his competitors, and was anything but a free market man. He and men like Carngegie didn't believe in capitalism for others--they were monopolists, and used government to protect their monopolies, just as the multinationals do today.
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.The Wordy Shipmates
City Travel Guides > Books > History
by: Sarah Vowell

October 07, 2008
Having grown up in New England with ancestry both from the Mayflower and native American, I was really interested in Sarah Vowell's c
coverage of the puritans who settled the Boston area. Who were these people?

One of the interesting things she pointed out is that most of us get our entire concept of the pilgrims from the sitcoms we watched as children. In retrospect - I agree. We also place a tremendous amount of importance upon Plymouth Colony (because of Thanksgiving) when the Boston colony was actually much more influential upon history.

Lucky for us, the shipmates "wordiness" refers to the facts that they were a highly literate bunch who wrote all the time. A little investigation tells us a lot about them. From their written diary entries, letters, ... Read More:
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.The Forever War
City Travel Guides > Books > History
by: Dexter Filkins

September 16, 2008
If you want to broaden and deepen your knowledge of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially regarding what is happening 'on the street', this book is an absolute must read.

Filkins reports on a wide range of viewpoints, having access to participants across the spectrum. He reports what he sees, talks to participants and tries to understand their motivations. (One of the things that fascinated me most was his take on Ahmed Chalabi.)

I've become a loyal reader of his current dispatches.




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.The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression
City Travel Guides > Books > History
by: Amity Shlaes

May 27, 2008
The author does a great job expounding her theory that World War II ended the great depression and FDR's New Deal only helped prolong it. With plenty of examples of flamboyant socialist policies, overzealous prosecutions, and the unconstitutional court packing plan, she certainly makes a good case. This work, however, is pretty dense and can be hard to get through at times. This book would make an excellent source for an Economics class, but could be a little much for the average reader looking for an overview of the time period.
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.Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency
City Travel Guides > Books > History
by: Barton Gellman

September 16, 2008
As is evident from the other reviews here on Amazon, this book provides a history of Vice President Cheney's vice presidency into the start of 2008. Gellman has excellent sources, and was therefore able to get impressive detail of some events not previously told - - most notably the Alberto Gonzalez hospital bed confrontation over domestic surveillance.

The overarching theme of the book is that Cheney was too clever by half. He was too uncompromising, or "principled," early on, and smart enough to get what he wanted much of the time. As a result, Cheney created a backlash against himself. By 2008, he was worse off than he would have been had he been more compromising early on. That theme emerges only gradually, however, and I would have liked to see it presented more forcefully throughout the book.
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.The Post-American World
City Travel Guides > Books > History
by: Fareed Zakaria

May 05, 2008
The Post-American World

I got a great price and excellent service on the delivery of this book. Zakaria's book is very provocative, and challenges most of the assumptions we have inherited about America from our parents. He gives us a sypathetic look at America from a world that is moving beyond the cold war, in many places faster than we are.
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.The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
City Travel Guides > Books > History
by: Thomas L. Friedman

July 24, 2007
This is a fantastic survey of modern globalization- its benefits, dangers, history, major players, affects for all the world's citizens.... mostly from an economic and social standpoint. Friedman covers the "Globalization 3.0" phenomenon, which, rooted in the Internet, now includes the individual as the major player instead of corporations (2.0) or nations (1.0). The effects of globalization on art and spirituality are not touched upon very much, but are arguably not the subject of this book and are certainly not Friedman's area of expertise. This book is written in a light hearted tone, with many interviews, stories from trips, and facts that support his theories well without being overbearing. He is a Pulitzer prize winning journalist and demonstrates his skills fully in this comprehensive look into what will be the backbone ... Read More:
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