Product Description
The battle for control of America's greatest private art collection.

This is the story of how a fabled art foundation in a wealthy Main Line suburb of Philadelphia became captive to the roiling ethnic, racial, cultural, and political crosscurrents of a great American city.

The Barnes Foundation is home to the world's most important postimpressionist art collection (including more Cézannes than all of the museums of Paris combined). So rich is the collection that it is valued at more than $6 billion, yet today the Barnes is virtually broke. Its fate has been shaped by two men: Albert C. Barnes, who emerged from the Philadelphia slums to become a turn-of-the-century patent medicine king, and Richard Glanton, who escaped poverty in Georgia to become a wealthy and influential lawyer. Born almost a century apart, the two men stamped their distinct personalities on the foundation: Barnes as its iconoclastic founder, Glanton as its president during the turbulent decade of the nineties. 16 pages of illustrations, including color.Amazon.com Review
Art Held Hostage reveals the messy inside story about the most infamous world-class art museum that you’ve probably never heard of.The saga begins with the life and times of Albert C. Barnes, a Philadelphia business magnet who, after making his fortune during the Depression, becomes one of America’s most important collectors of impressionist and post-impressionist art.The collection includes famed paintings by such luminaries as Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, and Renoir. Barnes became well known for his harsh personality and instigated a problematic invitation-only policy to his museum, located in a Philadelphia suburb. Strangely, even after Barnes’ death the museum continued to become embroiled in financial, legal, and community disputes.The story gets uglier during the 1990s with a series of lawsuits for the foundation’s high-profile president, including a racial discrimination suit and eventually near-bankruptcy for the collection. Author John C. Anderson, a contributing editor of The American Lawyer magazine, spares no cynical detail in his investigation into this truly American tale of power, litigiousness, and boardroom antics. This is a book for those interested in the dark underbelly of the business side of the art world. -- J.P. Cohen ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Fascinating
I actually found this story fascinating.If you have ever been on a board of directors and dealt with controversy, your problems will pale in comparison to this.Unfortunately, the book is written before the saga has ended.

Race, politics and art do not make a good mix
Behind most great art collections are fools, poseurs and heroes.The emergence of Van Gogh,as the genius he was, depended on his courageous sister-in-law who took his paintings back home to Holland, protected them and marketed his genius. Gifts to a the National Gallery of Art and the Yale Center for British Art arose through the generosity of Andrew and Paul Mellon as detailed in David Cannadine's biography "Mellon." Calvin Tomkins, and others,have written well about the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its benefactors. Then, there are the fools and poseurs in John Anderson's excoriating expose "Art Held Hostage" which details the breach of trust to the Barnes Collection by the leaders of Lincoln University outside of Philadelphia. Add in the stench of Pennsylvania politics, the toxic brew of race and out comes a tragicomedy, a farce, until the adults mercifully remove the fabled collection from the kids' sandbox on Latches Lane in Lower Merion Township to Philadelphia where maturity reigns. Anderson does an admirable and thorough job in this short critique by holding the story line together amidst a welter of names, characters, quotes and counter-quotes and bizarre events occurring over a decade of tomfoolery committed by the stewards of Lincoln University. Paging through the exquisite catalogue accompanying the 1993 multi city international tour of the French Impressionists,it is so obvious that Lincoln University, bequeathed one of the great art treasures by the eccentric Albert Barnes, utterly failed in its responsibility to art, to its place as an educational institution of higher learning and to posterity. Anderson's book should be the starting point for the soon to be released movie called "The Art of the Steal," whose title in and of itself hints on which side of the debate it comes down upon.

Art as Pawn
...One of the most telling, not to mention amusing, lines in Art Held Hostage is uttered by Richard Glanton, the Barnes Foundation's former president and the litigious centerpiece of John Anderson's story.In an indignant letter to a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter, Glanton wrote:"If you intend to do what you have done in the past, endeavoring to besmirch my reputation and cast doubts and innuendoes about my leadership, you shall be held to the same standard you are held to when you write about other cultural institutions in Philadelphia."Glanton, neither an artist nor art professional, may have fancied himself a "cultural institution" - he once even said "I was the Barnes Foundation" - but he was hardly that.As even the snippet above reveals, Glanton, a lawyer, comes across as a bully, an egomaniac, a conniver, and a shameless self-promoter - someone charming to his friends and dangerous to his enemies.It is not even clear he was especially interested in art.But in John Anderson's detailed and engrossing account, Glanton, who also described himself as "the best politician you'll ever meet," was interested in power, and the Barnes as a means to that end.As Glanton himself stated when asked what the politicking at the Barnes was really about:"About who controls four-and-a-half billion dollars worth of art."

That, indeed, is the story of the Barnes even today, in the wake of Richard Glanton's departure:who will control the art, and where will it reside.While all this makes for terrific reading, it is also sad that some of the world's greatest art should become a pawn in what is, at bottom, a petty power struggle.

A Fascinating Read about An Amazing Collection
Anyone familiar with the Barnes Museum knows the inherent irony of the collection - some of the greatest works of art housed in what amounts to a converted residence, with no logic to the pattern of display other than a sheer "wow" factor over seeing Cezannes, Matisses and other masters shown matter-of-factly. This priceless assemblege, and the battles that have been waged over its ownership and rights of management make for one terrificly enjoyable read.
Outside of the art world, few people even knew of the Barnes's collection until the latter part of last century, when battles, both in court and in the news blew its cover. Struggling financially, and with management consisting of (overwhelmingly) less than capable minds, the foundation which owns and manages the collection approached bankruptcy and battles began over a touring show of the pieces. The very ugly underbelly of this battle made headline news for months, and spilled over into relations with neighbors of the museum, Philadelphia area politicians, art students and lovers, and the wishes of a very private man who appreciated art, but underappreciated the legacy he bequeathed a small minoirty college in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
John Anderson does a great job profiling the players in the battle (his take on Richard Glanton, a lawyer with political aspirations who was a key player in the battle) is dead on. Often times, the characters in this true story seem larger than the paintings and legacy they are battling over - Anderson gives the various egos at work here more than enough room, which makes the book both entertaining, and troubling (particularly when the reader considers that these people are battling over one of a kind masterpieces).
Its hard to imagine an art collection, a minority college, a strong willed educator and a power hungry lawyer, in a buccolic rural setting could make for such a great stroy - its a tribute to Anderson's writing skills that he captures the intensity of the parties, and their absolute believe in their position in the many legal battles that accompained the Barnes collection in such a breathtaking passion.
The collection is back in court again these days, and the emerging details (undisclosed audits, suburban vs. city politicians...) make clear that sequel material is being developed to this day - I hope Anderson is sitting in the courtroom and editing his notes nightly. ... Read more

Product Description

Based on a series of lectures for adult students, this lively and entertaining book proves that, far from being a dusty, dull subject, geometry is in fact full of beauty and fascination. The author's infectious enthusiasm is put to use in explaining many of the key concepts in the field, starting with the Golden Number and taking the reader on a geometrical journey via Shapes and Solids, through the Fourth Dimension, finishing up with Einstein's Theories of Relativity.

Aimed at a general readership, the text makes accessible complex subjects such as Chaos and Fractals. It includes a wealth of the author's own illustrations and features appendices on related topics.

Equally suitable as a gift for a youngster or as a nostalgic journey back into the world of mathematics for older readers, John Barnes' book is the perfect antidote for anyone whose maths lessons at school are a source of painful memories. Where once geometry was a source of confusion and frustration, Barnes brings enlightenment and entertainment.

Customer Reviews (1)

Gems is right word for this book
Gems of Geometry, eh?I tried the Search Inside feature here, and everything seemed pretty good, so I finally went and purchased a copy.

There is an astounding amount of great material in this book, all visually enticing, and mathematically deep.Well written explanations, and lots of good facts.

Looking through this, I get the idea that a much longer book was outlined first, and then the duller sections were pared away again and again, until a cohesive, exciting mathematical narrative remained, featuring all the best material of modern mathematics.

Try out the "Surprise Me" option in Search Inside.If you like those random pages, you'll like the whole book. ... Read more

Product Description
Who was John the Baptist? What was the relationship of Jesus to John? What message did John proclaim? Did Jesus repeat John's message or did he devise one of his own? These and other questions concerning the historical John the Baptist and Jesus are answered in this provocative and lucid book.

The Jesus Seminar has considered all the historical evidence related to John the Baptist found in the gospels, Josephus, the documents known as the Pseudo-Clementines, and the traces of the Baptist tradition preserved in Mandaeism, a baptizing sect that continues to exist in southern Iraq and neighboring Iran. This book contains a summary of the deliberations and votes of the Seminar, together with a concise sketch of the historical figure of John the Baptist. ... Read more

Product Description

American History is replete with rags-to-riches tales, but it is hard to think of one that compares with that of Ulysses S. Grant.In the spring of 1861, Grant was a modest clerk in his father's leather goods store.Within three years, he would become commander of all armies of the United States and go on to win the Civil War.Within eight, he would be elected president.His remarkable story is truly an inspiration to leaders from all walks of life.

Customer Reviews (2)

A must have for leaders and teachers
I usually approach these "on Leadership" series and most business biographies with a bit of skepticism, but I was really blown away by this book. Although I'm not a civil war buff, the author's narrative and vivid descriptions of Grant's triumphs and hardships kept me riveted and I couldn't put this book down once I started. The personal accounts of the challenges facing Grant and his tenacious ability to overcome them, are simply amazing. The author's contrasts of Grant vs. McClellan (the incompetent General which Grant replaced) lay the foundation for learning what not to do as well. Each chapter feels as if your grandfather is telling you these stories from firsthand experience, making them lessons you won't soon forget as you manage and lead in your business or organization. And in case you need a refresher, the author summarizes the leadership lessons at the end of each chapter. This is also a great book for teenagers who need a leadership training. It's easy to identify with Grant, and the way the author draws you into our history makes it even more valuable.

A few more comments
I had a few more comments on this book.

I think the author may be onto something here, something even more important than the idea of using Grant's life as a way to help business managers, perhaps.

I like history and have read my share of it, but I'd never been able to really get into the history of the Civil War, or even early American history in general, despite having had childhood friends who were into Civil War history, and even Civil war reenactments. The author's using an important figure of the time as a sympathetic character, a focus around which to build an interesting account of his contributions, also meant that he needed to present much of the historical context and discuss a lot of the actual history of the period. In the process he really wrote a mini-history of the events during this time that was much more engaging and absorbing than your typical history that I have read. As a result, I learned much more than I ever had before about this important phase of our history.

I think this approach would be equally applicable to other important figures and times. It might seem that this is just re-inventing the idea of a biography, but again, I've read my share of biographies too and this book was much more interesting the way Barnes did it. Much of that is because the author makes youfeel like you are right in the center of the action with Grant during this critical time as he makes many of these difficult, life-and-death decisions. So if we are to call it biography at all, Barnes's approach is a much more interesting way to do it.

I hope the author may do other books like this as I would be very interested in reading them, too. ... Read more

Product Description
Combining the suspense of the detective thriller with the awesome wonder of space/time adventure. Crux of Battle begins an epic tale of a war across one million alternate Earths.

"One of the most able and impressive of SF's rising stars!" The Washington PostAn exciting blend oftime travel, alien invasion, and chase/action from the criticallyhailed author of Mother of Storms, Kaleidoscope Century, and other novels published by Tor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Uneven
I love alternate history, especially when it involves time travel. So this series appeared to have all the ingredients I would need to find it enjoyable. Add to that that I had read some of John Barnes earlier works, and while they were nothing profound, I found them enjoyable. This book started out in fine fashion, but the moment the hero, Mark Strang, encounters the Crux agent, things seem to go off track for a while. His entrance into the alternate earth was poorly written, in my opinion. Barnes gets back on track shortly thereafter, but can't seem to sustain any stretch of good writing. The book bounces between periods of excellence and mediocrity. At one point, the protaganist Strang is in a car with electric windows, which have been disabled by gunfire. So he cranks the window down. Huh? I've never seen a car with both electric windows and a crank handle, have you? Well, it IS scifi. Late in the book, Strang makes the revelation that he became a bodyguard because he likes to hurt people. Charming. Also, off target. Throughout the book to this point I got the impression that, while Strang did resort to violence when necessary, it wasn't something he enjoyed.All in all, this book was very uneven in both its tempo and it writing style. I almost gave up on it about a third of the way through, but I muddled through and was glad I did. There was just enough there to make it possible that I will read the subsequent books in the series.

Man oh Man!!!
Very good repeats itself quite a bit but worth it!! You follow the adventures of a man who is looking to avenge his famies death (common enough plot) but what he finds will blow you away.If you love Alternate History it is a must buy!!!

Has some good points
Barnes does an excellent job of describing a Cosmos of infinite worlds where history is totally different.The concept was new, exciting and fascinating.Sadly, his slavish devotion to feminism and other Liberal political jabs really took some of the wind out the sails of this otherwise excellent work.All in all I do recommend it.

Good book but lots of repetition
Great and inventive story line, Kennedy commanding a submersable aircraft carrier was cool but (and this is true for the whole serise) it seemed to me that whenever the story was picking up steam Matt would have a flashback to the time whenBlade of the Most Merciful nlew up the car this really cut into the story.

Good book but lots of repetition
Great and inventive story line, Kennedy commanding a submersable aircraft carrier was cool but (and this is true for the whole serise) it seemed to me that whenever the story was picking up steam Matt would have a flashback to the time whenBlade of the Most Merciful nlew up the car this really cut into the story. ... Read more

Product Description
The ultimate guide to the characters and creatures from "Revenge of the Sith", the third and final film in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A LANDMARK PUBLICATION

That John James Audubon was America's foremost naturalist there can be no doubt.That John James Audubon: The Watercolors for the Birds of America, published by Villard Books in association with the New York Historical Society, is a landmark publication there should be no doubt.

A companion volume to a museum exhibition, this magnificent presentation of 470 color illustrations is a significant contribution to the worlds of art, nature and ornithology.In addition to the stunningly reproduced art, the volume contains four excellent articles: Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr. examines Audubon's artistic development; Annette Blaugrund discusses his skills as an entrepreneur; Amy Meyers presents Audubon as a naturalist; and Reba Fishman Snyder sheds light on the technical aspects of the watercolors.

John James Audubon: The Watercolors for the Birds of America is a superb representation of the works of an artist and naturalist who knows no peer.

- Gail Cooke ... Read more

Product Description
Shatter the line between fiction and fantasy...

The life of an award-winning novelist probably bears more resemblance to "normal" than most fans would want to believe. But every once in awhile, strange things are bound to erupt around those most equipped to document them... so imagine what renowned science fiction writer John Barnes might do when he finds himself in one of the wildest, most rollicking hard-SF adventures to hit print in years.

Barnes' college friend Travis Bismark always brought back plenty of great stories from his job as an industrial spy. This time, over a few beer- and coffee-fueled chat sessions, Travis unravels a tale about his current case too tall for even an SF author to believe: a Gaudeamus machine that bends physics in order to make possible both teleportation and time travel, and how it gets stolen--twice; a grad student-cum-prostitute who deals in telepathy-inducing drugs that let her "download" top-secret documents from her client's brains, a romp through Colorado and New Mexico during which each episode and character is more bizarre than the last; and the internet meme that seems to tie it all together.

Barnes' playful commentary on Travis' story and his own life as a SF writer and drama teacher, interspersed with their everyday interactions with a group of funny, compelling friends, is related in a surprising and non-traditional narrative that blurs the line between fact, fiction, and metafiction.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Unprofessional Writing
I've always liked John Barnes writing: Orbital Resonance, A Million Open Doors, PARTICULARLY The Man Who Pulled Down the Sky, just a long list of well-written books with excellent SF ideas. But about four years ago he ran into some sort of Block in his writing, and he's been doing brain candy for awhile. Gaudeamus, while having reasonably interesting dialog and at least one "indicated" character who is interesting (Travis), is so badly written that it's embarassing. By this I mean that it doesn't have any character development and the whole story is told by a hokey "reminiscence" trick, where Travis sits down and talks for an hour at a time, with all sorts of non-germane sidetracks. When the aliens show up, Travis and John (who is writing the adventure -- right?) are both drunk, which is supposed to explain any possible errors in the plot. The problem is that the "plot" just kind of passes by in a haze (...and then we saw the aliens land and they wanted to buy the Island of Manhattan! Ha, ha!) I hope John Barnes gets himself together again soon. I can't read this. (I skipped to the end to see what "happened": nothing.) Remember, I LIKE John Barnes, but some people reviewing this can't tell a non-plot when they see it and gave it a misleadingly high average rating.

Energetic, fun, weird
Gaudeamus is a very energetic, very fun, fairly weird novel. It is narrated by one "John Barnes", who is clearly very much like the author -- a writer, married to Kara Dalkey, teaching at a small Colorado university. An old college friend shows up on his doorstep, asking for a ride. It seems his friend, a private detective, is being chased by some bad guys. A series of narratives ensues -- mostly the friend Travis Bismarck, relating the stories of his latest investigation and the fallout, but also some Barnes relating his limited involvement in these events.

The story involves a web comic called "Gaudeamus"; something called the "Gaudeamus" effect: teleportation and lots more; a fabulous new drug, enhancing sexual experience and allowing telepathy, also called "Gaudeamus"; a reason all these things might be called the same name; aliens in flying saucers; a very sexy and very smart prostitute; defense contractors who actually turn out to be on the side of good; small liberal arts colleges; a really bad rock band; and the possible end of the world. Pretty much.

What can I say? It's lots of fun. Barnes is just a neat writer to read: he is one of those Kipling descendants who adopts a "knowing" attitude which gives his infodumps bite and interest and -- comfort? The novel keeps upping the ante (which Barnes acknowledges in a curious way in the text) -- mostly this works but possibly the final resolution is a bit too abrupt. So -- a very enjoyable read, not a great novel but fun.

The Box That Sold the World
The cover blurb for this book says "shatter the line between fiction and fantasy..." Well not quite, but this is a very funny and entertaining slab of experimental sci-fi. The fact that John Barnes inserted himself and his real-life friends into the story as characters is not really so innovative, but here he makes great use of irony and alternative storytelling techniques to poke fun at sci-fi stereotypes, and to make the reader wonder if the story should even be taken seriously. In short, Barnes' friend Travis appears and tells a wild story of an industrial espionage assignment, in which he uncovered a bodaciously wacky conspiracy of corporate goons, rednecks, hippies, drug pushers, an underground internet cartoon, and aliens who are trying to buy the world and liquidate the assets. All of this is built around a futuristic technology called Gaudeamus, which effortlessly powers all the advanced cultures of the galaxy, and which humanity is accidentally stumbling into as part of cultural evolution. A large cast of human and alien weirdos hold the fate of the Earth in their hands as they connive for control of the technology.

But since this is a second-hand story from Travis, the whole thing could be a whole lotta hooey, and everyone else in the book barely notices the doom-bringing drama. Barnes does a great job with this storytelling device, making fun of stock plot devices (such as the bad guy explaining his entire villainous scheme voluntary) while ironically using the same corny devices himself. Barnes also does a great job poking at the absurdity of trends in fandom and geekworld. At some points the plots and subplots in this book get a little too ambitious for their own good, and there are a few gaps and loose ends here and there. But this is a very funny novel built on upon a pretty offbeat premise, and it's one of the most creative uses of science fiction that you're likely to see for a while. [~doomsdayer520~]

What Does It All Mean???
Gaudeamus is a Latin phrase meaning, "let us rejoice." It is also a new technology, an interactive web cartoon, a machine that moves things about in time and space, a pill that makes sex incredibly good, and--oh yes--the title of this book. John Barnes is the author of the book, as well as the narrator and a leading, if passive character. John Barnes, the character, is a professor of drama at a small Colorado college, just minding his own business, when his old friend Travis Bismarck shows up.

As always Travis Bismarck needs a ride somewhere pronto, because he is involved in a scary adventure involving industrial espionage and much, much more. The plot degenerates from there, and involves sex, drugs, flying saucers, and possibly the end of the Earth as we know it. I won't spoil it for you--to find out how it ends you'll have to read it for yourself.

Now, here's the deal about this book. Author John Barnes is terribly clever and well read and knows all kinds of things about science and philosophy. According to his blurbs he is an outstanding author. I found the book seriously over-written, with pages and pages of cutesy dialog, obscure digressions, adolescent sexuality, confusing changes of perspective, and a seemingly endless list of characters. The book was hard for me to finish, but I finally did. But hey, you might like it. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

What this is, is a long shaggy-bar story....
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What this is, is a long shaggy-bar story, with a fictional version of the author as narrator. The protag is one Travis Bismarck, who appears to be a real-life friend of Barnes. The book opens with (literally) loopy scene-setting that circles around the actual start in amusingly recursive spirals, as Barnes old pal ficto-Travis, who is some sort of technical PI, relates his current case, and how it went weird.

Now, I'm assuming that Barnes's Real Life isn't too different (in its non-fantastic day-to-day details) than the fictional JB -- the broad outlines match, it isn't a very flattering portrait, and it's just easier to write what you know. I was pretty consistently entertained by Barnes "what is reality?" mind-games, but you might not be:

"I found that every now and then I'd be pulled out of the book by the character of John Barnes talking about being a science fiction writer. I couldn't help but wonder if he really thinks about SF conventions like that, or the fans, or the genre. Every time I came upon some Barnes POV stuff I'd get jerked out of the story. At times, reading the book was like peeking into someone's diary and wondering, would I get caught." -- Gayle Surrette, Google sfrevu.com

"Barnes has done a bang-up job creating a rich air of verisimilitude and a thickness of believable details. His self-portrait is unsparing and modest, even self-abasing, and the humility and skepticism of the narrator allow us easy entrance into the wacky doings described by Travis. Generous dollops of humor and satire-Barnes and Travis have a lot of wry opinions about academia, entertainment and other demented aspects of our culture-grease the telling as well." -- Paul Di Filippo at scifi.com, the best review I saw online.

Anyway, if you're in the mood for a cozy, clever, twisty, sexy, crackpot, meandering, recursive, wonderfully implausible piece of metafiction that's full of wisecracks and is just a whole lot of fun to read (plus, it's short!), go for GAUDEAMUS. A fine, semi-mindless read for a mental winter vacation. Caveat: if plot holes and logic-lapses offend you, Gaudeamus might not be for you. Then again, it moves so fast, you might not notice...

-- though few will miss the one where the Bad Guy is required [minor *SPOILER* WARNING] to overlook the *enormous* Rhodesian Ridgeback lurking inside the Good Guys' Range Rover...

Review copyright 2005 by Peter D. Tillman
... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

A repetitive, biased, mischaracterization of John Adams, both biography and man
John Henriksen's "JH" Reader's Companion to David McCullough's "DM" John Adams, a mere 59 pages in length, would be more appropriately titled, "The Faults of John Adams, Repeated Ad Nauseam without Footnotes." Henriksen mentions Adams' flaws excessively; of his appearance (p 12) "was comical rather than formidable, with his huge belly and small head" (p 13) "dumpy and bald" and (p 23) "short, fat, bald" of his personality (p 6) "wishy-washy and indecisive" (p 7) "anxious and unschooled in human nature" (p 9) "fretful" and (p 32) "excessive self-regard." Again, in his comments about Adams unsuccessful bid for a second term as president, he overemphasizes the negative (p 41), "Adams was the first incumbent president to lose in the history of America." He tends to revisit situations in which Adams makes poor choices. The fact that John Adams "JA" did not purchase government securities at the suggestion of his wife, Abigail, is mentioned thrice by JH (pp 12, 16, 31), while both his non-opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts (pp 7, 35, 36, 39, 41) and Adams' suggestion to address the president as "His Majesty" are mentioned a whopping five times (pp 7, 17, 19, 21, 33). He provides his own conclusions about Adams' actions as statements of fact, in some cases misrepresenting McCullough's handling of same, as in the case of farmer John Fries and two others who "appealed to the President for a pardon" having been "found guilty of treason and sentenced to hang" after an armed uprising (p 540). Henriksen refers to the case four times (pp 8, 9, 25, 37, 39) and proclaims (pp 8,9) that Adams pardoned Fries "on the official grounds that the insurrection had no calamitous consequences" noting the "real" reason as, "Fries had become a symbol of rural America" and "Adams hoped that a pardon would help heal the rift between urban power centers and the frontier regions." David McCullough said no such thing, but instead that when John Adams concluded his review of the case, he determined simply that Fries had, "led a riot, not an insurrection, and was therefore not guilty of treason." On the issue of compensation for government leaders, JH states that Adams believed that public officials should receive salaries (p 4) because, "the presidency was a job like any other and that it should be compensated accordingly, "while DM states (p 400) that Adams did not want the rich to monopolize the offices, "the poor and middling ranks would be excluded and an aristocratic despotism would immediately follow." Eventually (in paragraph two but not three of page 20) JH's account agrees with DM's. In Henriksen's discussion of the troubles of Adams' children (p 5) who "were responsible for giving him gray hair," he inexplicably fails to mention at all Thomas, who certainly contributed his share to the gray (DMp 634) "...son Thomas, who, having failed at the law, was drinking heavily..." Later, in providing a present day example of the feelings of betrayal felt by the Federalists upon learning that Adams had reversed his pro-war stance and chosen to send an envoy to France to work for peace (successfully achieved), JH seems to be saying that Republicans (as opposed to Democrats) are warmongers by stating (p 25), "We might imagine a similar scenario today if a Republican president heavily in favor of war with a country suddenly retreated and became a pacifist." Additionally, although he contends (p 17) that "John Adams is sometimes referred to as revisionist history" due to DM's negative portrayal of Benjamin Franklin, he fails to include in his Other Books of Interest section, one could support the "negative portrayal" contention, The First American by H.W. Brands, which portrays Franklin very favorably; yet includes The Jefferson Scandals: A Rebuttal by Virginius Dabney. In his many comparisons of Adams and Jefferson, he does not include the fact (DM p 648) that "John Adam's net worth at death was approximately $100,000...Jefferson, by sad contrast, had died with debts exceeding $100,000." Granted, the eloquent Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and granted, Adams was opposed to the inclusion of one of its most famous lines, "All men are created equal..." (although for reasons unrelated to slavery), but of the two, John Adams was arguably the better man, if for no other reason than that from the top of his (bald) head to the tips of his (undoubtedly unattractive) toes, he, DM (p 116)"abhorred" the idea of slavery "all his life." Lastly, of all of the information that Henriksen writes about John Adams, true, false, repetitive, negative or otherwise, not a single reference to David McCullough's John Adams by page number is provided. A wealth of information about John Adams, the book and the man, as well as David McCullough, the amazingly talented author who so skillfully brought him to life, can certainly be found on the world wide web, saving the reader the cost and disappointment of this sometimes incomplete, repetitive, overly-negative take on John Adams. ... Read more

Product Description
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.
The Age of Enlightenment profoundly enriched religious and philosophical understanding and continues to influence present-day thinking. Works collected here include masterpieces by David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as well as religious sermons and moral debates on the issues of the day, such as the slave trade. The Age of Reason saw conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism transformed into one between faith and logic -- a debate that continues in the twenty-first century.
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The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
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National Library of Wales

T225167

With a preface dated July 30 1764, by John Wesley.

Carmarthen : printed for and sold by the author at Pembroke; Mr. Palmer, in Bristol; and by all booksellers in Town and Country, 1764. [4],372p. ; obl.16° ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1915.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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Eva Peron's life is once more an obsession with the scheduled release of the movie version of Andrew Lloyd Weber's hit Broadway musical, Evita. Now the classic biography of her fascinating life--including 16 pages of photographs--is back in print. Whore, feminist, tyrant, and saint, Evita was the beautiful and legendary woman who rose from poverty to become First lady of Argentina. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Myopic View
I've been trying to put together a sort of a big picture view of the Perons, starting pretty much from scratch.This book offers a handful of useful insights but is clearly slanted and does not jibe with much of what I come up which is believable.

Getting any sort of a real read on the Perons is difficult and is not helped by the fact that most English language sources are filtered through several kinds of nearly impenetrable culture bias which are all irrelevant to the circumstances with which the Peron's had to deal.

As nearly as I can tell, they inherited a country which was economically advanced while politically primitive, and came within a half dozen ideas and three doses of HPV vaccine or one timely cancer operation of turning it into a model for the world.I am to the right of center for an American and find myself being forced to like the Perons.

Learn more about this fascinating persona
I fell in love last year.With Argentina.Having visited, I wanted to learn more and more.The musical Evita gave me a taste of the complexity of the fascinating story of one of Argentina's great figures.This book is a scholarly look at her life, her ups her downs, and includes many interesting photographs of Eva and Juan.I recommend it highly.

evita first lady
i enjoyed the book very much,i wanted to see the real person not the movie person.too bad she died so young,maybe she would have helped argentina more towards democracy.who knows? we never will. but i would have liked to have known her.

A hard myth to dissect
This is one biography that can tries to explain what made her tick. Close to 55 years since she died, Evita's mystery unravels slowly. Her childhood trauma is not enough to explain what drove her addictive need for power and bloodlust. If you admire powerful women, read this.

Evita First Lady : A Biography of Eva Peron
I am a biography buff. I prefer fact over fiction and read just about every autobiography and biography that I can get my hands on. Often I have found the need to read several biographies by various authors to get a clear picture and understanding of the subject's life and character. Not this time - Evita First Lady is an exquisitely written biography. It is not a bit of fluff but a riviting account of the life and times of one of history's most notorious first ladies.I highly recommend John Barnes' book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Interference and noise control techniques:a practical book
I believe this book has to be edited(actually published in 1987)and published again and published as an Economy Edition for the access of Electronic Designers at all levels from the beginner to a well experiencedengineer. This small book will always can be on the lab table if you do anyof the electronic design activities from Circuit level to PCBs andenclosures. The author's absolute practical experience is what we getin this small book. He had deviced a lot of tests to quantify noise,interference etc. which can be a guide line for a researcher in this field. ... Read more