5 comments about Faith of George W. Bush, The.

1. Should begin that I am fan of Bush. He is admirable and courageous man, with enormous pressures. In this fascinating book chronolicling his faith development and its subsequent playing itself out in his life as our two-term president, it is said that he felt freed by his faith to live as he believes God has called and led him.
   
   While my theology certainly doesn't match at all with what is here depicted of Bush, I certainly have respect for his faith and his principles which guide his life. Certainly one can appreciate the burden of his inheritance, and his own subsequent path through his beloved wife and friends who were major players in God's call into his current vocation.
   
   My only wish which led to four and not five stars, was that it centered more on his own theology, rather than this personal theology playing itself out in politics. It is not like he is leading a church body. He is leading a country, which is not a church. This is major difference likely in our theologies, but this is my review.
   
   Good and touching read of the real person, not the hyped up view the liberal media want to place upon him unjustly and untruly. I think he will go down in history as a man of conviction and purpose and drive, not just to be popular in his own time, driven by pollsters. While criticized severely now, history will vindicate, especially history of eternity.



2. This book is basically a biography of Bush's life from a more religious perspective. In it they compare how Bush's beliefs supposedly shaped his life.
   
   While the book seems truthful it leaves out alot of facts. It does not mention the scadals going on at the time or screw ups he had made.
   
   The other problem is that the book is dated as it was released pre his reelection. The author might be writing a totally different book about how religion screwed up his presidency with the scandal and blunders hes in now.
   
   In the end it was a decent read thoug for facts i would rather stick to a less biased source. As i said this author seemed very much like a buddy of Bush's putting a book out for him.



3. Hey everyone. I'd like to talk about how, as a Christian, I feel that I have been used by George Bush. It's not my place to say whether or not Bush is really a Christian or not. But the Bible does say that you will know a person by their fruits, that is, you will know whether a person is bad or good by the things that they do.
   
   The 2004 exit-polls showed that faith and religious beliefs were the sole winner determining factor in the election. Bush told everybody that he was a Christian and would be a Christian president and defend our beliefs and protect marriage but he hasn't done any of that really. Under his watch the Ten commandments were pulled out of a courthouse. Under his watch ga-ys and les-bians were married across the country. The only thing he has done in office was the War in Iraq and Afghanistan.
   
   Now the war on terror is very complicated. It would be wrong to say that if we just left Iraq that Muslims would become peace loving allies and everything would return to a utopia-like past that never really existed. Something has to be done. But the war in Iraq has made no sense form the beginning. If we are at war why aren't we fighting it like a war. Why are our soldiers over there standing around waiting to be blown up like sitting ducks?
   
   In the mean time it's politics as usual in our country as the Democrats and Republicans take any opportunity they can to bad mouth the other and say how perfect their party is. Bush alone isn't tearing America apart, all politicians are. They are all corrupt as far as I can see. When an all-powerful oligarchy has taken over the countries political system what hope does democracy have? When both candidates in an election are members in a strange fraternity organization, Skull and bones, who are we supposed to vote for? A third party candidate that is probably no better and has no chance of winning?
   
   This book was probably just another publicity campaign tool meant to make Christians think they should vote for Bush because he was on our side. But who were we supposed to vote for? John Kerry? Ha! Al Gore? Double Ha! In hindsight I would have to had voted for a third party candidate and thrown away my vote.
   
   Well, at least we know that whoever we vote for, we're going to get a lying crook.



4. Regardless of what you think about George W. Bush, in my humble opinion, Stephen Mansfield has written an insightful biography of the role of religion in the president's life. While some reviewers may indeed criticize some of Bush's actions, what right do they have to judge as to whether or not he truly has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?
   
   Mansfield, while appearing to be a Bush supporter, does not hesitate to describe Bush's struggles in his early years (rebellion, drinking, smoking, women, etc.) that ultimately led to his now famous walk with Reverand Billy Graham on a Maine beach shore that challenged him to redirect his life towards Jesus Christ.
   
   Mansfield also shows how the president's faith has led to his stances on various positions: abortion, 911, faith-based initiatives, etc. Whether or not you agree with the president, you cannot argue the obvious influence that faith has on his life.
   
   Anyone who reads this book, Bush supporter or not, will find this read to be very enlightening and transparent. Read and enjoy. Highly recommended!



5. I am so glad that other loving Christians have taken this book and one of our finest presidents to heart.
   Jesus may have said that we should turn the other cheek, but He certainly didn't mean that we should not seek revenge on the Saudis who bombed us on 9/11 by bombing Iraq and Afghanistan. Yes, thou shalt not kill, but only if someone else doesn't do it first. We are finally right in line with the teachings of Christ these days, thanks to compassionate religious men like G.W. Bush and Richard Cheney.
   Our nation's deeply held Christian values must be shared with the world, whether they like it or not. Sooner or later they will understand that there is only One God, and that He is Our God. When the Constitution talks about religious freedom, it means freedom to proselytize and keep military bases in almost every other country. It is clearly the will of God, and not the false prophets Allah or Buddha or Krishna, etc.
   Jesus would be so proud of our peaceful and loving Christian ways, and above all proud of His minion and faithful servant George W. Bush. Sure, he did a lot of cocaine but that was a long time ago, and he has been Forgiven, as he will soon forgive the millions who are in jail for the same crimes he was caught but never tried for. When your family is a little closer to God, good things can happen.
   While not quite as noble a President as Taft or Harding, GW will no doubt go down in history as a great man, a deep thinker committed to educating the world, and above all a committed Christian who has never lost sight of the compassion and love for ALL other people that Our Savior preached. If only Jesus would return before the end of Bush's term, He would confirm that our present foreign policy is not only deeply Christian but almost exactly what He had in mind when promoting peace, good will, and charity. Thank God Bush found Christ before he came into office; Lord only knows what a non-Christ-loving Bush would be up to.
   God Bless America, and George W. Bush. May his kind and loving Good Works continue to resonate in our markets and environment and national character long after he leaves office.
   Somewhere, Jesus is smiling at the picture of G.W. Bush on His heavenly desk.

No comments about David Copperfield; The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin; Caesar and Cleopatra; Selected Stories of Guy de Maupassant (The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written).

4 comments about I Think There's a Terrorist in My Soup: HOW TO SURVIVE PERSONAL AND WORLD PROBLEMS WITH LAUGHTER - SERIOUSLY.

1. I never buy books like this one but did this time. I enjoyed if very much. It had me laughing out loud as I read it and people would look at me funny.lol



2. Customers considering buying this book need to know that it should carry an "R" rating. Funny, yes, but definitely not for a "G" rated mind. Wish I had been warned.



3. Brenner is funny and insightful -- always has been -- and this book is a continuation of his previous memoir/humor books. I was stopped cold by his gushing over George W. Bush -- especially after he spends a considerable amount of time illustrating the President's extreme difficulty is making impromptu intelligent statements. It is uncharacteristic of Brenner to produce fawning praise over the President's ability to read a speechwriter's phrase. That aside, it is timely and funny.



4. David Brenner is a well-known comedian of course, but his
   book goes beyond quick humor. He also displays a formitable
   intelligence and the ability to honestly analyze our everyday
   situations, including our problems with national security,
   diversity, race relations, language, etc., all while having
   fun, and he is able to convey in his book both that intelligence and humor.
   Given his reputation as a quick-witted humorist on TV, and in
   clubs, his down-to-Earth ability to grasp our most basic concerns is both surprising and enlightening.
   Brenner does a first-class job of entertaining the reader with
   this book, while also addressing mundane concerns. He has
   a very funny book that nearly everyone will enjoy.

No comments about The Autobiography of Santa Claus, Its Better to Give.

5 comments about Crow Dog: Four Generations of Sioux Medicine Men.

1. Leonard Crow Dog tells his family history and the history of his nation with a love and power which can almost overpowers the reader.



2. Crow Dog is one of the best Native American books I've ever read. It is culturally rich and speaks clearly on the injustices done to the Native Americans. It talks not only about the injustices of the past but also the future, like the siege of Wounded Knee. Also this is one of the richest stories which covers the legacy of the Crow Dogs.
   
   One of the reasons this book is so affluent is its personal feel. The author, Leonard Crow Dog, can't write and so he spoke the entire book to an interpreter. This gives the entire book a slow but fluent feel which shadows the way many Native Americans talk, and so the book feels, sometimes, like a story. It makes you feel you are there in every event, and you are connected with the book in an uncanny way.
   
   This book goes in-depth in the religious aspects of Native Americans. The Crow Dog family has always been in the root of Lakota medicine men, and they are responsible for the continued practice of, and the creation of some, Native American rituals. Leonard Crow Dog, the author, was the first to bring back the banded Ghost Dance since the death of his Great-Grand Father. It happened at one of the most important sites in Native American history, Wounded Knee. However, this wouldn't be the last time Leonard Crow Dog would become history at Wounded Knee.
   
   The siege of Wounded Knee, which lasted seventy-two days, is one of the most intense events of the book. In that short time a band of Native Americans, from a rainbow of tribes, raised an independent nation, defended that nation, and fell to an enemy whom had, or maybe more has, no sense of a kept word. The siege of Wounded Knee wasn't actually a siege because the land was a part of a treaty which said it'd be Native American land, but naturally the white man didn't keep their word. It's been more than a decade since the last battle at Wounded Knee and it has been erased from most people's memory.
   
   Crow Dog seems to be more than just a book about the legacy of the Crow Dog family. It seems to be a story about the prevailing struggle that Native American have every day to keep hold of their identity, and to keep hold of their sanity as they are encircled everyday by people how've stolen their home. The important part of the book is not the continued signing and break of agreements with Native Americans, but their spirit to stand resolved and stand with the divine father.



3. Interesting contemporary information (i.e. 1950s on). Tells of Indian's on-going plight in poverty, alcoholism, disease and lack of employment and the feelings this engenders in them. Valuable history of past Holy Men (and women) and their values.
   Since I am very interested in Indian studies, both past and present, I enjoyed this book.



4. THE FIRST PART OF THE BOOK IS INCREDIBLE ENLIGHTNING GUIDANCE THROUGH THE RITES, CULTURE AND LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. THEN WE MOVE INTO RECENT HISTORY WITH THE CREATION OF AIM ITS STRUGGLE AND AMAZING VICTORIES; TO MOVE ON WITH PROSECUTION PERSECUTION TORTURE OF THE PEOPLE WHO FOUGHT AND DIE FOR THEIR CULTURE AND ARE STILL FIGHTING TODAY FOR THE RIGHT TO BE WHO THEY ARE. (RESPECT!)
   WHEN CROW DOG DESCRIBE HIS JAIL TIME IT IS SO REALISTIC AND SENSITIVE YOU FEEL YOU ARE THERE INSIDE HIM AND THE WALLS, BUT WHEN YOU SHARE HIS FINAL FEAR: YOU ARE BREATHLESS ABOUT TO CHOKE!
   ALL THIS HAD TO END UP IN A SUN DANCE.
   A WONDERFUL BOOK WHICH SHOULD BE INTO EVERY LIBRARY, BOOKSTORES AND MOST DEFINETELY ON YOUR BOOK SHELVES.
   1 HEART!
   C



5. The story of the Sioux leader Crow Dog. It also talks about his family and previous generations, as well as children. He has a co-writer to get all this down. This isn't too bad, and a reasonably interesting account if you are interested in that sort of history and such books as Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee.

5 comments about Edison: Library Edition.

1. I was given this book for a writing project and dutifully plowed through it over the Christmas holidays. Overall, I must say that it was an absolutely excellent holiday book as well as chock full of useful ideas for my scholarly purposes. This is an extremely difficult balance to strike and Israel has done it better than I thought possible - I was prepared for a long dry slog and instead found a great and exciting story.

   Edison, Israel argues, was not just a lone little-educated tinkerer of genius as he is often portrayed, but the creator of the prototype for the modern corporate research lab - he knew how to find talent, how to organize it to get the most out of people, and how to beat the competition by both speed and in the creation of entire new systems of technology. He also knew how to manipulate the media and build on his fame, creating a myth to which he had to live up. That being said, he had a pitch-perfect intuitive sense not only of potential new markets, but of how to create technical solutions to exploit them. He learned from his failures and strove to apply his less-successful inventions elsewhere, often to great effect. Taken together, this was true business genius and Israel explains it all succinctly, including the exposure of Edison's many weaknesses in management and his financial affairs and his many flops (such as the mining experiments that nearly bankrupted him). Furthermore, the basics of his major inventions - improvements to the telegraph and telephone, the light bulb, commerical electricity generation systems, to mention a few - are covered with competence, always with an eye to the management of it all and what it took, all of which are of great use. This adds up to a masterpiece of scholarship and popular writing in my view, crossing a plethora of disciplines in very readable prose and at a good pace of storytelling.

   However, there are many things that make this a challenging read and in some ways disappointing. Even though I know a lot about science and engineering from my own writing, I found the many passages explaining the nuts and bolts of his inventions hard to follow and ultimately rather dry. If the reader is not interested in these highly technical details, he can skim them without losing the narrative thread. Moreover, Edison as a person does not always come thru, though really he was his work and not much else. You also do not learn much about the fate of his enterprises or even his personal financial fortune after his death, which is also a part of his legacy that should be explored. Finally, Israel addresses somewhat rarified questions in the concluding chapter regarding whether Edison was a "scientist" and how industrial research was changing (developing specialties that required far more education than inventors of Edison's "heroic invention" epoch) to make the emergence of generalist, self-taught inventors like him far more difficult and with limited horizons; while I enjoyed this a great deal, it is of limited interest to those who were never steeped in "science policy."

   All in all, highest recommendation. It is a great achievement and will stand as one of the definitive biographies of this great and difficult man.




2. Reading this book has been an experience for me. I wanted to find out more about the life of one of America's most famous inventors, and this book has helped me along the way, so I give it credit for that. However, I have felt like I am trudging into a mighty windstorm, reaching deep into my soul to plunge each forward step as I slowly turn the pages in this book. There are pockets of enlightenment throughout the book, but it really is a relaying of facts about Edison's life, which is technically what a biography should do, but this book does not come alive in my hands like others have.
   
   To be fair, I did accomplish my goal of learning more about this great man. I learned that a lot his inventions were a result of not just great intellect, but of great work ethic and stick-to-it-iveness. Also, one of his greatest contributions was a corporate model for delegating work among his subordinates. The speed of the development of his inventions was the key, as several other inventors were working on similar ideas at the same time.
   
   Anyway, I recommend the book as a good introduction to the life of Tom, but I am sure that there is a book out there that will give you the same enlightenment without making you feel as though you've crawled on your hands and knees through the Sahara, with a canteen full of lukewarm water that leaks at a very slow rate.



3. I've always been interested in reading the biographies of famous inventors. Edison was one I knew little about, so I purchased this book. It is very interesting and takes you through his entire life. You see how Edison begins as a skilled telegraph operator. But he is not content with the status quo, he is always improving what he is working with. But he is also a businessman and gets his ideas patented, and forms partnerships and businesses to profit from them.
   
   The book also includes many pictures form different periods in his life. If you are interested in Edison, this is a great book.



4. This book is very authoritive and well researched, and even more important is that it provides end notes for the reader to verify the author's assertions. If you want a quick overview of Edison's life or just the highlights, this is not the book for you; but if you need to know the man, this is the best book I've read. Paul Israel presents Edison's achievments and failures, in inventions, human relationships and finances in a dispassionate manner.



5. I liked this book a great deal. You should consider that this is not a fictional story, and is the very essence of a research work.
   
   Great insights about his life, religious views, and his business of invention. Well treated subject and a great read.

5 comments about Do-Gooders: How Liberals Hurt Those They Claim to Help (and the Rest of Us).

1. It is always instructive whenever a far right "conservative"less-government-is-good-government apologist has the termerity to tell the rest of us why"liberalism"is "bad"..Mona Charen excuses the fact that there is a hugh gulf between the rich and the poor in this country by whining that ,in effect,it is not the government's job to be anything more than a turnstile for the rich and the corporations..Calvin Coolidge,one of best examples of what was and is wrong with "conservative"thinking,announced that"The business of America is business"and to that end made no effort to control the corporations of his time,had no safety net programs in place,penny-pinched at the expense of the poor while allowing the rich to live off the public dole,and much much more..Ronald Reagen,the most recent incarnation of the Coolidge do-nothing to help anyone who actually needs help philosophy of government,viewed Coolidge as a role model..Reagen's"Trickle down"economic program,historically,never trickled down,and during Reagen's eight years in office the gap between the rich and the poor became acute..Reagen,like most "conservative"thinkers views big government as only being too big when the tax dollars of the wealthy and the corporations are re-distributed,in the form of"entitlements"to the middle class and the poor..Reagan had no such reservations when "big government"bailed out corporations with tax dollars,and no president conservative or otherwise,since reagen,has had much trouble whenever corporations over-charge the government for goods or services..But these "conservatives"foam at the mouth whenever anyone suggests government financed universal healthcare.."BIG GOVERNMENT"these fakers scream,opting instead to see almost half the population of the nation either with minimal coverage or no coverage at all..These "conservatives" jump up and down over the notion that anyone no fortunate enough to have been born with a silver spoon in the mouth should be entitled to anything from the government...Thus Charon,and others like her ignore the real problems of the country mainly because,as far as they are concerned,"of the people,by the people and FOR THE PEOPLE"is an obsolete term or its application is limited to those who already own 90 per cent of this nation's wealth...



2. This is one of the best books I've ever read. It really shows what the subtitle says it does.



3. I can appreciate a person's view (and everyone has a right to free speech), but there are a few items I have read by Mona Charen that I question what her motivations are. She seems to not have much respect for anyone if they are not in total agreement with her views. In fact, she goes out of her way to skew and slant information to her viewpoints.
   
   Of some of the articles I have read from Mona Charen she seems very angry and unhappy. It seems that she is only happy attacking others. It should be okay for people to have viewpoints, but to go out of the way to be venumous in her writings is very unprofessional. It seems more and more commonplace for people to make others wrong, than to work together to make things go right.
   
   The key is we need to find ways to make things better, even if you don't agree 100% with someone's viewpoint, it is important to respect other's views, figure out how to work together, and focus on the good things in people in stead of the one thing that's bad. I can't say much about this book, but I wish Ms Charen the happiness she's looking for.



4. Ms Charen offers a well researched argument on how the left, regardless of thier good intentions are destroying America. She examines failed education, social welfare polices and the assualt on traditional values. She shows that liberalism is not compassionate and hurt those who liberals claim to help. A must read.



5. Descriptive but pedestrian account of how liberal ideas of the last 50 years have harmed citizens and society, focusing on crime, welfare and childcare issues.
   
   The descriptive is dead on, but the prescriptive is missing: Charen makes no attempt to define a way out of the mess.

No comments about Thomas Hardy.

5 comments about Warren Beatty: A Private Man.

1. I love and collect biographical books. This book was totally disappointing. The entire book was an effort to "elect" Warren to some future office. I had hoped to gain some insight to his personal life and was left entirely with mindless minutiae. A total disappointment for such a large book...little or no new information of any value.



2. It took me days to finish this book, and I'd say you get your money's worth by halfway through, and the rest is gravy. Oddly enough, however, the book feels a bit topheavy, so that the bulk of it is spent on Beatty's difficult period between meeting William Inge and making LILITH about four years later, and then all of a sudden the last 40 years are rushed through at a clippety clop.
   
   WB isn't quite as entertaining as Suzanne Finstad's previous biorgaphy, the sublime NATASHA, which really did bring Natalie Wood alive again for her fans; and it's likely that the parts of the present book with the most emotional resonance are the years Beatty spent with Natalie, trying to cheer her up after Wagner betrayed her. Finstad does an admirable job of showing us the psychological underpinnings of Beatty's affairs with Joan Collins (almost persuading us that Collins is a real person, not just a glitzy British sex bomb--almost, but not quite), Natalie Wood, Leslie Caron, and Julie Christie. But when she gets down the list to Michelle Phillips, her pretense at analysis ends. She doesn't even try. I wonder if the book wasn't originally twice as long, and she was asked to curtail the later years into a series of briefer chapters. I mean, she could have written 100s of pages on Mary Tyler Moore and Isabelle Adjani, but instead they're reduced to ciphers.
   
   As a boy, Beatty was enraptured by the original cast album of OKLAHOMA! by Rodgers and Hammerstein and Finstad successfully shows us that, subconsciously or not, Beatty succeeded again and again in replicating the Curly-Laurie romance in his own adult life.
   
   It does seem as though Beatty was propelled to stardom by a clutch of gay visionaries including Inge and Tennessee Williams, and crypto gay figures like Joshua Logan, who signed Beatty to a personal contract and had him screen tested kissing Jane Fonda from morning to night. Inge wrote not only SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS, but A LOSS OF ROSES and ALL FALL DOWN for Beatty, and apparently never asked him for a thing in return. The stage production of A LOSS OF ROSES turned out to be a true nightmare of conflicted egos and desperate desires, what with Barbara Baxley threatening to jump off the cliffs of Malibu if replaced by Carol Haney, and Shirley Booth quitting on opening night. Joey Heatherton, the one and only, was also fired, thus setting the scene for a long and poignant second act that never quite came.
   
   Would Joan Collins have been effective in the movie version of DH Lawrence's SONS AND LOVERS? Would Warren have succeeded playing Tony in WEST SIDE STORY? The book gives us crazy dreams of movies that might have been. Afdera Fonda, the former wife of Henry Fonda who dallied with Beatty briefly in 1963, said that he was "naughty, charming and playful. He smelled like honey, and he came and went like a shadow in the night."



3. Is an objective look, at the man who captivated audiences around the world. Beautifully written, honest and poignant, the book takes the reader deep into the lives and backgrounds of a family that spawned not only one star-but Two. Suzanne Finstad's "A Private Man" gives the reader perspective as it takes you through the inner workings of a boy's life as he grows up to be one of Hollywood's most charismatic and influential leading men. Gracefully structured and truly the definitive Warren Beatty biography...A Must Read! J.J. Gillock (Easy Company Productions)



4. Gets really boring at times. Jumps all over the place and keeps on repeating......... But otherwise informative.



5. Everything a great bio needs - a compelling subject, exhaustive research, good storytelling - is here. There are flaws, but they are largely outweighed in this excellent book that really made me think.
   
   True, it's a bit repetitive at times, and like so many chronological works, falls into the trap of being front-loaded. The biggest casualty here is Bening - a woman worth a more thorough treatment in the book in the context of what the relationship says about Beatty.
   
   In the end, I disagree with two of the author's main themes (one of the best things about this book is that it's thought provoking): first that Beatty was driven by a fear of failure. I simply can't believe that a man who has failed so spectacularly and so publicly so many times, in his relationships, his business ventures and his political causes, is afraid to fail. In fact, I think it's quite the opposite.
   
   I also don't think Beatty is any more "private" than most of us, and what appear to be the characteristics of a private person are in fact clues into what makes him so successful. Being elusive with the media is not necessarily about privacy - in fact I was surprised at the number of very personal statements cited from media interviews over the years - it's about control.
   
   He does what the most seductive people do so well - he makes every person he encounters, professional or personal, feel like they are special, a theme repeated throughout the book by the many people who have known him. His self-created image only furthers the seduction, as everyone he touches flatters themselves that "he's a very private man; I know him better than you do."
   
   He even achieves this illusion at a very public level by presenting a series of autobiographical films - leaving each person to decide if he's George Roundy or Jay Bulworth or John Reed or Bud Stamper or Joe Pendleton or Dick Tracy, or some complicated combination of all of them. That's not a private man - that's a man who knows how to manipulate his own image, and to get what he wants out of life in the long run, both personally and professionally.
   
   Loved the book, really made me think, will now read others by the same author on this basis.

No comments about Murder On Safari, By Elespeth Huxley, Unabridged 6 Cassettes, 8.25 Hours, Narrated By Jill Tanner.