Product Description
In late September 2005, Robert Polidori traveled to New Orleans to record the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina and by the city’s broken levees. He found the streets deserted, and, without electricity, eerily dark. The next day he began to photograph, house by house: "All the places I went in, the doors were just open. They had been opened by what I collectively call ‘the army,’ of maybe 20 National Guards from New Hampshire, 15 policemen from Minneapolis, 20 firefighters from New York... On maybe half of them or a third of them that I went in, I think that the occupants had been there prior. And some of them did leave certain funeral-like mementos before they left. Maybe right after the waters receded they had the chance to just--to go back to their place and just see, and realize there’s nothing worth saving." Amidst all this, Polidori has found something worth saving, has created mementos for those who could not return, documenting the paradoxically beautiful wreckage. In classical terms, he has found ruins. The abandoned houses he recorded were still waterlogged as he entered and as he learned (by trial and error, a process that including finding a dead body) the language of signs and codes in which rescue workers had spray-painted each house’s siding. He sees the resulting photographs as the work of a psychological witness, mapping the lives of the absent and deceased through what remains of their belongings and their homes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Robert Polidori: After the Flood
Visually stunning, An epic catalog of destruction. The publication is vacant of people, the landscape broken and void of faces...but humanity and the stories of life are aparent on every page. Beautifully rich photos that capture soft light and harsh contrasting structure alike. The weight of paper and binding compliment the weight of this event. Amazing.

Beautiful Photography
I bought this book as a gift for my sister-in-law.The book is beautiful!The photography exquisite...I am so happy I bought this book for her.

Awesome But Errie Pictures!
I purchased this book for my husband for Christmas.He grew up in the 9th Ward.This book of pictures captures the essence of the damage in the New Orleans area caused by the flood following Hurricane Katrina.The pictures are so real that you can just feel the erriness they capture.They make me think of haunted houses from a movie.But they are real.Real peoples lives and homes.

Katrina as Art
Silt has rendered a wonderous, pale beauty to the interior carnage of New Orlean's homes. Polidoris's project, a subsequentc 'invasion' of these domains, places on public record their devastation. It's a case of supreme technical skill, enshrining an ephemeral disaster. The denizens have hastily evacuated, leaving Polidori to rut in the trough of the city's ruin. Here, in one haunting page after another, the tidal muds that have rudely piled cars beneath houses in tragically asymmetrical congress, are made warm and close. It's relentless. You can almost handle the poignant detritus. We're led first through the haunting streets of uprooted poles, trees and weathereboards, of twisted metal. Then the rooms, the hearts and minds of individual suffering. Not snap-happy journalistic sensationalism, but hypnotically constructed images whose frozen testimonies have more permanence than the rented edifices they record. Polidori knows where to stand amidst the wreckage: his camera an unerring eye delving near and distantly with disturbing clarity. It is the very silence that entrances with singular eloquence and gravity. The wind and tide have subsided, but the havock endures in sulphurous washes and surreal configuration which 1000 installation artists would greet as a great funereal statement that transcends collective imagination. In a word, awesome, the currency of the Sublime. Polidori has wrested art from tragedy. Any of its 200 plus large format pages can be poured over for aesthetic reward, the more to dwell on vagabond Nature. Brilliant! For more on art visit>rodmoss.com

Photography as a "process of revelation"
"After the Flood", the latest book by French Canadian Photographer, Robert Polidori, about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is also his largest and most powerful. It is as if his books on Havana and Chernobyl were mere foretastes to this exceptional and moving work, and certainly anyone who has seen these two books came away with a feeling of the power and storytelling that Polidori's images can convey. Polidori has the gift of the detailed eye that can simultaneously give the viewer images of beauty and revulsion in objects and textures. These alone tell the stories. There are no images of people necessary. It is as if he is capturing the tracks and shadows that humanity has left behind. He was able to show this in the urban decay of Havana and of the horrors of the rapid evacuation and subsequent reclamation of nature in Chernobyl. In "After the Flood", he presents us with an almost encyclopedic presentation of the aftermath of the hurricane, flooding, wind, water and mud damage showing the fragility of our cities and the power of nature.

The book contains at least 400 images, which have been carefully arranged. The first images show parts of the city still under water and the receding water. The next group shows the destruction caused by water inside the houses. Furniture has been picked up by the flood and re-arranged and we see the effects of water on different materials and soon notice the tell-tale brown lines on the walls, sometimes over six feet high, showing the high water mark. Succeeding groups of images show the effects of mud, water and wind on buildings and cars that have been tossed around at random like toys. Sometimes cars rest against houses in bizarre angles and sometimes the houses are laying on top of the cars. Several pages show smaller images of streets where every house was damaged and abandoned. The last set of images shows the clean up. Mounds of refuse in front of houses, temporary trailers, houses being cleaned and repaired. The effect is very powerful as we see how the lives of hundreds of thousands were affected and how many must have lost everything.

The book can only give a taste of the incredible detail the images contain. In a recent exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art they could be seen as the original prints, each at about 40" by 54". They were taken with a large camera and according to Polidori with no lighting, as there was no electricity available at the time the shots were taken and lighting would have been to cumbersome in cramped and sometimes dangerous conditions. Only time exposures could show the incredible detail, which Polidori refers to as the "process of revelation". He call his work "a constant learning process", and anyone who looks at this book will not only learn, but will also ask questions as to how a disaster of this magnitude was possible, and to our place on this earth and our future here.

Review by Walter O. Koenig ... Read more

Product Description
The official novels of the award-winning Xbox game!This set contains The Fall of Reach, First Strike, and The Flood -- the complete chronicles of the bloody Human-Covenant War on Halo.

The Fall of Reach
As the bloody Human-Covenant War rages on Halo, the fate of humankind may rest with one warrior, the lone SPARTAN survivor of another legendary battle . . . the desperate, take-no-prisoners struggle that led humanity to Halo--the fall of the planet Reach. Now, brought to life for the first time, here is the full story of that glorious, doomed conflict.

First Strike
The Human-Covenant war rages on as the alien juggernaut sweeps inexorably toward its final goal: destruction of all human life!

The Flood
The Human-Covenant War, a desperate struggle for humankind’s very survival, has reached its boiling point on the mysterious, ring world called Halo. But the fierce Covenant warriors, the mightiest alien military force known, are not the only peril lying in wait.

Bungie, Halo, Xbox, and the Xbox Logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Used under license. (c) 2001-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved ... Read more

Customer Reviews (150)

Halo:First Strike
America's Galactic Foreign Legion: Book 1: Feeling Lucky (Volume 1)

All these "Halo" books are great military science fiction.

My son's Halo collection!!! Grows...........
Halo collection, once again..... My eleven year olds collection of all things Halo continues to grow thanks to AMAZON.com... There is sooooooooooo much more to come.

Just buy The Fall of Reach.
Just buy the Fall of Reach. It's a fun read while the other two are big ol' stinky turds.

Good, not great.
If you're like me and play the HALO games for the story, then these books are a must. They nicely expand on the very interesting "universe" created by the first HALO game, "Combat Evolved." So these aren't War and Peace, but they are a good summer read.

The Fall of Reach has the best plot, It provides a very detailed, engaging story of the birth and early history of the SPARTAN program. It dovetails nicely with the story in the game.

The Flood is more than just a retelling of the game. It adds tremendous detail and good "story behind the story" that complements the game's plot well. There's a second story here as well, which is very good, but ends anti-climactically (it almost ruins the entire book).

First Strike is a good action story. Not a lot of detail here, but it does move along very well. I feel the character development is also the best of the three in this one.

The other complaint for all of the books is the poor editing. There are grammar and spelling errors throughout, to an almost embarrassing extent.

Great books
Good start, just like the games, these books are good 1-3 then get iffy from there other than Onyx which is prolly the best book of the series ... Read more

Product Description

The Floods may bury relatives in their backyard, grow cobwebs in every room, and eat slugs for breakfast, but this loving family of wizards and witches is a delight to have next door...unlike their neighbors the Dents—a mean, nasty family that shatters the calm of the whole block.

Customer Reviews (2)

Horrid! Dysfunctionally Absurd Ideas & Opinions!
If you truly like Harry Potter then the only thing this book might have in common is that Hogwarts might can use it to burn for fuel! Truly! I can't believe this book was mentioned in the same sentence as Harry Potter. The footnotes are obviously a flashback of the author & his twisted sense of what he thinks makes the world go round.

I mean for real, it mentions a child who is repeatedly slapped by his mother in a store so he will scream and divert attention so his mother can then steal cigarrettes while the child is screaming. Then the footnotes blame this incident on the mother being hit & abused as a child and makes the point that if you were abused as a child you'll abuse your own children and THAT IS NOT TRUE!

There are more twisted ideas & opinions of this author pulled out throughout this book so it's not really a good read at all. According to this tale there are 2 ways to make babies and I'd rather my children learn that from me and not this style of sick prose.

It's not really written in story form either and it's more a they were, they did, it was , and I don't think I have ever came across such illwritten literature targeted to a young audience.

From J. Kaye's Book Blog
If you mixed the Munsters with the Addams family, the end result might be the Floods family. They aren't your typical neighbors. For one, they eat bugs and eyes - all kinds of eyes, frog's especially. They are a family of wizards and witches and the neighborhood is afraid of them. In reality, they are actually kind.

Now meet the Dents. They are the new family who moved in. Although they look normal, compared to the Floods, the Dent are horrible neighbors. Now the Floods will have to figure out a way to get rid of the Dents once and for all.

The book is cool, but in a gross way. I plan to continue on reading this series. The next book is The Floods #2: School Plot. ... Read more

Product Description

For the Floods, school includes classes in howling, burglary, and invisibility. They attend Quicklime College—the ultimate school for wizards and witches. And if their homework sounds like more fun than yours, that's because it is!

Customer Reviews (1)

whole family loved it
i am in my late 30'd love all of colin thompson's books geared towards kids but letme tell you they are great for all ages. ... Read more

Product Description

Over the millennia, the legend of a great deluge has endured in the biblical story of Noah and in such Middle Eastern myths as the epic of Gilgamesh. Now two distinguished geophysicists have discovered a catastrophic event that changed history, a gigantic flood 7,600 years ago in what is today the Black Sea.

Using sound waves and coring devices to probe the sea floor, William Ryan and Walter Pitman revealed clear evidence that this inland body of water had once been a vast freshwater lake lying hundreds of feet below the level of the world's rising oceans. Sophisticated dating techniques confirmed that 7,600 years ago the mounting seas had burst through the narrow Bosporus valley, and the salt water of the Mediterranean had poured into the lake with unimaginable force, racing over beaches and up rivers, destroying or chasing all life before it. The rim of the lake, which had served as an oasis, a Garden of Eden for farms and villages in a vast region of semi-desert, became a sea of death. The people fled, dispersing their languages, genes, and memories.Amazon.com Review
The Deluge of Noah has long been one of the points of tensionbetween geology and Christianity. Scientific diluvianism--the theorythat the earth's history was shaped by a universal flood--collapsed inthe early 19th century, well before Charles Darwin wrote The Origin ofSpecies. Since that time, scientists and historians haveassumed that the flood story derived from local events inMesopotamia.

In 1997, geologists Walter Pitman and William Ryan proposed the firsttruly novel interpretation of the flood in over 150 years. Theirstudies of sediments in the Black Sea convinced them that the body hadbeen a freshwater lake until about 5600 B.C. When the rising waters ofthe Mediterranean broke through the Bosporus, "ten cubic miles ofwater poured through each day, two hundred times what flows overNiagara Falls."

With great intellectual daring, Pitman and Ryan have moved outside oftheir academic niche to suggest that this event had enormousconsequences for human history. They marshal evidence from archeology,mythology, linguistics, and agriculture to describe a flood-drivendiaspora of early farmers. Subsets of these people became (variously)proto-Indo-Europeans, Sumerians, Beaker People, Vincas,Tocharians--the founders of the early cultures of Europe and westernAsia. --Mary Ellen Curtin ... Read more

Customer Reviews (79)

The Birth of Nations
Dr's Ryan and Pitman have presented us with an extensively researched book in support of their theory concerning the creation of the Black Sea in it's present form. They have, as marine geologists produced a perfectly acceptable, well reasoned theory to account for the existence of the Black Sea. This was, they say the result of rising sea levels in the Mediterranean causing the overflow of the Aegean Sea across the northern end of the Bosporus Straits, following the refilling of the Mediterranean, as late as the end of the last glacial maximum, some 7000 years BP. In my book "Rammi's Children" it is suggested that the equalization of the sea levels in both cases could equally be the result of earth- quake activity, since this whole area sits on top of a subduction zone between two tectonic plates. The failure to explore this possibility is a pity, as too is the suggested routes out of the flood zone by the original people of the various cultures that arose as a result of the isolation of these cultures from a unified source. A hypothesis that it is not possible to prove.

Apart from these minor quibbles, which will not alter the outcome to any great extent,this is a massively researched and well written book that it was pleasure to read, The detective story par excellence

Wonderful story telling!
This is one of my all-time favorite books. The negative reviews I have read about it reveal more about the reviewers than the book, most coming from either Biblical literalists, but a few coming from the bizarre fringe (such as those who believe that all the original "gods" were space aliens).

The complaint that there is too much about the researchers have apparently not read many of the "just the facts" books. I have, when I can stomach them. A dull recitation of facts followed by a conclusion does not make for a good read. I am a scientist, and they bore *me* silly. This is told primarily as an adventure, but also a mystery, partly from the point of view of the affected peoples, but also from the point of view of the many researchers who filled in pieces of the puzzle, whether they were linguists, archaeologists, geologists, physicians (studying DNA to investigate ancient migrations), or climatologists.

I am rewarded each time I pick up this and re-read it.

Paper nerd
This was a response to another's review which I completely disagreed with who claimed this book was sensationalist! I give it 5 stars. Here was my reply to the other reviewer, H:

Actually, I am also Anthropology (sub-discipline archaeology with BA in Art History, as many North American Archaeologists are still subsumed under Anthropology, as at Columbia with its founding by Franz Boas) and the authors did an incredible job of tying disparate lines of evidence together. Me thinks "the other reviewer" was in over his head attacking only a small bit of hypotheses from a whole gamut -- and not very convincingly at that. Oral history has been very strong in many areas and I seem to recall that most initial "texts" were inventories and such; specialists as story tellers are found later and no definitive arisal of story-telling specialists can be deduced as H's deduction is as much story-telling as he claims the authors' to be. One can only extrapolate back from protohistoric and historic peoples (if there is text, its historic).

I cannot remember her name off-hand, a Canadian archaeologist who taught at Harvard for a bit (geomorph among other skills, does paleoindian stuff and first peopling) mentioned that a few big geologic events seem still to be in memory/myths of North Americans from @ 10k rcybp. So, 7000 years is very believable. Things stay in memory quite a bit. Also, myths are differentiated among many NA groups as stories or history. Some "history" myths seem to go along with geologic events (big ones). Thus, I did not find the interpretations of the authors even a bit sensational; in fact, they were lucid and cautious. And the science? It was SSOOOOOOO exciting and dang good! I mean, coring in the Med and Black Sea and just the way sedimentary profiles are formed... too exciting. I just loved this book. Nor can one even compare this work to the fallen Fell--not even close (which the reviewer I am disagreeing with claimed).

H... , I think your understanding of geology, art history, and anthropology much less archaeology, needs some boning up. As an archaeologist, we are more liable to interpret with less scientific intensity than geologists or marine biologists. Archaeology isn't that hard (the airhead archaeologists, and there are many, are the ones who are really bad at math, science, and economics, thus physical anthropology, especially paleoanthropolgy). Anthropological theory, the schools that still pound it in our heads, anyway, is darn good and extensive (but is on a generational not geologic scale, and, of course we incorporate all that other stuff too, e.g., sediment and pollen analysis and the like). Nor is Art History that hard. Nor linguistics. Nor ... Just takes time to learn, and what we read as graduate students is open in any research library to anyone else who cares to take it all in (and none of us would without having had to pay tuition and go through the programs to get our RPA designation and degrees).

So, I completely disagree with H. Noah's Flood was just so fun and fantastic and dead on with the science and one of the most exciting books I have ever read! I consider the book to be 5 stars! Materialistic and using the falsifiability methodology of science along with softer social science disciplines such as Anthropology, and even more soft such as Art History. All the data is presented, and well, in a clear chronology of the unfolding of their research interwoven with other lines of research and evidence which they understand just fine.

My Mom (such a wiz and mother thing) and step-dad (beau-pere!) had given me the book when it first came out. I immediatley bought 3 more and sent them out to friends.

it was GREAT!!! Although older, Imbrie and Imbrie's 1979 Ice Age is another good one. Stphen J. Gould wrote a book that helps differentiate between historical and ahistorical events, which would help in this case.

just a great book.

3.5 Stars for Important Initial Science, Unfortunately Used for the Fulmillment of an Eurocentered Theory
Published in 1998, the authors primarily recount a science cruise on the Black Sea in 1993, but also mention others in the 1960s and also on the Glomar Challenger in the Mediterranean in 1970. The maps could be a bit more exhaustive, yet the one provided for the latter cruise is much better than the one in its own book, The Mediterranean Was a Desert: A Voyage of the Glomar Challenger, which postulates the very same finding: Whereas the Strait of Gibraltar rebroke some 5.3 million years ago, causing a gigantic (prehuman) flood, the Strait of Istanbul (new name for Bosphorus) broke around 5,600 B.C., causing a quite similar event. That other book clearly served as a role model for this one, above all the style of writing as a travelogue, which is digressing from the topic a bit too much for my personal taste. (Both books were written by different scientists on board the 1970 cruise.) Yet, I could take all the dispensable information better than some other readers. Still, it is one thing to let us participate in a scientific crime story and another to indulge in personal diary information, completely unrelated to the issue. I am reading A LOT of non-fiction books, yet it was the first time, I came across a book with quite extensive footnotes neither numbered nor even marked in the regular text pages. What else to do than to check the back of the book at the end of each chapter and read the potential surplus information page wise - i.e. not when it would have been advisable. I am very sorry, a subtraction of half a star is definitely due now at the latest for the book's style.

On the one hand, the sediment drillings and corresponding conclusions come across very convincingly. An updated edition of this book is advisable by now (ten years later, when human knowledge in general has quadrupled) and cross checks with other scientists would have been nice. Yet, the overall direction of the flood premise seems to be very much correct. A 2004 update is (one chapter in) Mystery of the Ancient Seafarers: Ancient Maritime Civilzation.

On the other hand, the scientists leave their field of expertise for an in principle laudable more holistic picture. Yet the book becomes less convincing. I am open minded and will consider the Black Sea flood as the source or one of the sources for the Biblical flood. The theory works at least. However, I have come across other theories, which merit at least as much attention for a potential source of Noah's Flood. These include: Uriel's Machine: Uncovering the Secrets of Stonehenge, Noah's Flood and the Dawn of Civilization which suggests two cometary impact events as the source, more convincingly connecting it to the Bible, even though more unorthodox, particularly to Enoch, who features a bit more in some socalled apocrypha. A more pure science approach on comet impacts is Rain of Iron & Ice (Helix Books). Voyages of the Pyramid Builders: The True Origins of the Pyramids from Lost Egypt to Ancient America avers a cometary and/or other flooding in Sundaland (South East Asian island nation world, which was once all mainland) causing a much bigger, much more immediate, more necessary and more watery mass migration. Then of course, there are the Mediterranean Valley culture(s) theorists. Unfortunately, the three books I have read on this issue tend to be more yellow press to various degrees. In order of getting worse: Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory (still acceptable), Ancient Traces, Technology of the Gods: The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients. If you are interested in cartographic evidence of civilization before the flood, I highly recommend the 1960s science classic Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings: Evidence of Advanced Civilization in the Ice Age.

I am certain, the Black Sea Flood has happened. Maybe this book hasn't found the reason, though (comet) and/or ALL the similar floodings of that sea/lake. Comet strikes surely produce more global, more catastrophic floods. As in deadly. Sure, the people(s) had to migrate. That is the point: They lived to be able to do that as the death toll would have been rather limited to the initial break through tsunami, caused by suddenly displaced rocks. Curiously, this book doesn't even get such an idea. But after that tsunami, the steady rise would have been gigantic in the end result, but as the authors say at a daily rate of half a foot in height (some 15 cm) or a quarter of a mile (some 400 meters) without getting wet feet. It must have been exhausting over a rather long period of time to move entire villages including cattle, yet probably nobody would have had to run after the initial fresh water tsunami. And I am not exactly sure, why an arch would have had to be build... Even more curiously that this book quotes the Sumerian Flood Story of Atrahasis in connection with the flood: "The darkness was total, there was no sun." That sounds like a comet strike, not an earth wall break through. The title and thesis of a connection with Noah's Flood caused much more attention, controversy, and ultimately commercial success. At least, if the number of reviews on amazon for the two books on the quasi identical topics about adjacent water bodies are any measure: 1 for "The Mediterranean was a Desert", 73 for "Noah's Flood" (before my reviews).

As a postscript, I want to remark that I find it most amusing to add YET ANOTHER Eurocentric theory of why the Egyptians supposedly were really Europeans: Their pre-dynastic basis represents the diaspora of Indo-European (once called Indo-Germanian) flood migrants. Like what: Across the Anatolian mountains, etc. completely disregarding the natural human expansion from the Ethiopian region? Couldn't there at least have been an assimilation of European catastrophy asylum seekers into Egyptian society? Not to mention that the idea that the Bible stories derive from Indo-Europeans is a bit unorthodox Eurocentered to begin with.

Flight of a Fanciful Imagination
Here is a shining example of how an idea can be woven into a complex tapistry and sound so academic, that the unsuspecting casual observer may be led down intoa geologic box canyon, and left there permanantly off track.

Here are a couple of academics hoping against hope to score the big one; if only they can sound erudite enough. The simple fact that they simply fail to perceive the massive, gargantuan amount of evidence of a world wide flood, establishes only their ignorance. If a vast body of scientific data exists which can only be explained by a catastrophic flood, and one chooses to ignore that data, then one is by definition ignorant.
I adjure any and all not to go down this trail. Life is too short to be wasted machinating fanciful things...but thenpractically the entire world has done and is doing precisely that contemplating the so called deathly hallows, have they not. Off hand, that is an even more sinister box canyon.At the very least another egregious waste of time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Biography of a Powerful Member of Congress
This excellently researched and written book begins with examples of how Dan Flood reacted during a crisis, and what differences resulted from his actions.Flood, a member of Congress, learned that heavy hurricane rains caused floods up to 15 feet in his northeast Pennsylvania district, destroying 20,000 homes, 150 factories, and 2,728 businesses for over one billion dollars in damages.Rep. Flood used his years of friendship with Defense Secretary Melvin Loan to borrow a helicopter.He also convinced Laird to place the military reserves of general alerts.Flood set up an office on the Naval Reserve Center (which had been built from his legislation) and declared "this is going to be one flood against another."Flood helped secure 40 helicopters to rescue flood victims, arranged for a Coast Guard Fireboat to be flown from New Jersey to fight a fire, and saw to it that 1,500 National Guard troops guarded against looters.Flood's ability to state he was the Defense Appropriations Committee Subcommittee Chairman cut through a lto of military and bureaucratic red tape.Flood even went beyond legal authority in obtaining help.He even managed to have National Guard troops rerouted from a training program, over the objection of their Civil Defense leader, to help with the flooding crisis.

Rep. Flood and Rep. Joseph McDade, from a neighboring district, helped create what was then the largest Federal disaster assistance program, the Agnes Recovery Act.This gave Small Business Administration Disaster loans with $5,000 forgiveness and 1% interest rates to hospitals, colleges, bridge rebuildings, and creation of a master plan against future floods that would prevent the river from overflowing again.

Flood was an actor who continued to wear capes, top hates, white suits, and white ties while in Congress.He grew up in his coal mine centered district, went to law school, acted off Broadway, and went into politics.In getting elected, he lied about attending a youth military academy and about athletic accomplishments.

Flood helped President Johnson get many of his Great Society proposals passed through Congress.He also supported greater involvement in the Viet Nam War.Yet, he was also known for asking strong questions of Defense Department leaders concerning their budget requests.

Flood's district had no major road leading to it.The nearest hospital was over 100 miles away.Unemployment in his district when he was elected was 19%.Flood sought to attract diverse businesses to develop within his district.He realized the dangers of an area being reliant upon one business, who had been coal mining.

Pennsylvania Rep. John Snyder, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, died in 1945.West Virginia Rep. Matthew Neely was a likely replacement for Snyder.The Pennsylvania delegation wanted the vacancy filled by another Pennsylvanian.Speaker Rayburn increased the membership of the Appropriations Committee from 43 to 45 and named both Neely and Flood to the committee.

Flood argued that the high unemployment of Luzerne County represented surplus workers ready for military production.A mortar ammunition company was placed in Luzerne County as a result, followed by subsequent military contracts awarded to local manufacturers.Within two months in Congress, Flood had created over a thousand new jobs within his district.

Flood had to battle a fellow Democratic representative, John Murphy, for Federal projects. It is believed President Truman offered that one of the two could be a Federal and the other would have a hospital located within his district.Murphy got the judgeship and Flood got the hospital.

The New York Daily News reported Flood received 109 airline trips from Colonial Airlines, a violation of House rules, especially since he has argued against hiring more aviation enforcement officers.He was then accused of hiring his wife for a no show job, which he denied while insisting she did work.

Flood attracted more controversy.Flood pushed for selling more anthracite coal, which was mined in his district, to Europe.He turned it into a national interest as something that helped increase the Gross National Product.

Flood was committed to fighting poverty.He saw that Appalachia was included in the Area Redevelopment Act and he fought for Model Cities programs.He also saw that his district got funds, even if it meant expanding the definition of Appalachia so it reached into his district.Wilkes Barre also was the first city to receive Model Cities money to replace slums with new construction.

One of Floods' most impassioned speeches was for legislation to provide occupational disease compensation to black lung patients who worked din coal mines.His speech contained coughing and wheezing as he acted as if he was a sufferer.Rep. Tip O'Neill noted "ordinarily, speeches don't change votes, but this one did.It was one of the two or three most impressive speeches I've ever heard."

Flood's philosophy was "government is to do for the people that which they cannot do for themselves."

Flood was pro-military yet warned that the Vietnam War was too costly.He saw many social programs could better sue the money that the war took.Flood publicly supported the war but he became more critical in hearings of how military funds were spent.

Flood had initially been very hawkish on Vietnam.In 1955, when Catholices were persecuted in North Vietnam, Flood declared "if the Communists try to take over, I say used nuclear weapons."Yet Flood became concerned when military budgets were fuel of deceitful projects and overspending.

Flood successfully fought to keep the Tobyhanna Army Base open.It was northeast Pennsylvania's largest employer at 3,000 employee, 40% of whom lived in Flood's district even though the base was outside his district.The Defense Department wanted to move all of Tobyhanna's operations 130 miles away to the Letterkenny Depot and reduce 500 jobs. Flood's objections helped convinced the Defense Department to not only save Tobyhanna but to hire 600 more people at Tobyhanna.

Flood suffered from esophageal cancer in 1962.He had a few other health problem which pained him.Some of Flood's staff believed that he hired Stephen Elko onto his staff under threat that Elko would otherwise expose Flood's abuse of alcohol and pharmaceuticals.Elko cultivated relationships with lobbyists. Elko asked for monetary assistance in getting government grants.The contributors believed Elko would divide the funds between Elko, Flood, and sometimes another member of Congress.Flood was not supervising Elko well.Among the bribes Elko collected was $5,000 to get a technical school its accreditation.Elko signed Flood's name to a letter requesting this.

Elko continued accepting funds for Congressional influence. He took $1,500 from a company seeking to build prefabricated homes in the flood recovery area.Fred Peters of this company later gave an envloved with $5,000 in it directly to Flood, who accepted it.

Flood helped Medico Industries receive military contracts in 1967 and 1974.He did so despite 1958 U.S. Senate hearings that alleged that company's leader, William Medico, had organized crime ties.

E. Wharton Shober, President of Hahnemann Hospital, sought public funds for hospital expansion.Elko had Shober give him $8,500.Elko then arranged for a fee sharing arrangement over new hospital profits.Flood helped Hahnemann receive $14.5 million, an unusually high amount for a hospital.

A House Ethics Committee investigation made Elko resign in 1976.The committee had declined to investigate for two years until a rare request from the Senate opened an investigation on Elko.Elko went through Flood's files, destroying some and removing others.Elko was then indicted.Elko was hired for several jobs by friends of Flood's, causing Federal investigators to suspect Flood was try9ing to pay Elko not to implicate Flood.

The investigation made Flood's health worsen.He took several medications and became addicted to some. His legal bills created financial hardships.Flood's trial resulted in a mistrial when the jury could not reach an agreement.11 of the 12 jurors were willing to convict Flood on at least some of the counts.

Flood was hospitalized with gall bladder and intestinal problems, among others, before his second trial.Doctors found him depressed and senile.The trial was postponed four times.Congress announced they were opening an investigation into Flood.Flood's attorney sought a plea bargain.Flood had to resign from Congress as part of the plea agreement.

Flood died in 1994 at age 90. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (13)

Would This Be a Book if this Flood Had Happened in Omaha?
To answer my own question, I doubt it.But Paris is Paris, so a flood that did a lot of individual damage and received widespread press a century ago is now recounted in over 200 pages of pretty numbing detail.Professor Jackson does his educational homework and draws on many contemporary sources for a number of individual stories, but not a whole lot of analysis or overview.Why does this flood matter more than others?What lessons were learned from it?What is the context?While there is a belated and half-hearted effort to address those questions in the final chapter, Paris Under Water misses the forest and gives us a lot of individual trees of people complaining about the amount of compensation they received for their losses or being plucked from the water by boats.At the end of the book it's even unclear how many people, if any, died as a direct result of the flood.Professor Jackson says he first learned about the flood while touring through the Paris sewers in 2005.There's a reason for that -- as floods go, this one was middling.Just as -- as books go -- this one is competent, but not compelling.

Amazing Story !!
Paris Under Water: How the City of Light Survived the Great Flood of 1910 was one of the most interesting, best researched, and just plain fascinating books I have read in a long time.I was hooked from the very beginning when the author explained that although the flood was a serious event in the history of Paris it was virtually unknown today. I realized at this point that this was not going to be one of your run of the mill disaster books.In fact, it turned out to be a real page turner.Professor Jackson organizes his material chronologically; however, it is the geographical and social variety that makes the book so interesting and easy to read.The geographic locus is very broad.The author examines the cause as well as the impact of the flood on the neighborhoods of Paris and its suburbs, as well as the small cities and towns outside of Paris.

For me, the most fascinating aspect of the book was the variety of sources upon which the author draws to give a full and complete picture of how people managed during this disaster.There are reports from journalists, French of course, but also British and American.There are diaries from people who experienced the flood, newspaper reports, official documents and records of decision makers, both political and administrative.One of the most fascinating of the latter is Police Prefect Louis Lepine who is beyond a doubt the hero of the story. As the senior civilian administrator he is everywhere gathering information and comforting people as well as being involved in most of the important decisions. From the point of view of one who teaches leadership the Police Prefect is an interestingstudy.

Constantly on display is the author's extensive knowledge of French history, culture, language, and best of all his familiarity with Paris, its monuments, buildings, infrastructure and people.A wonderful example of this is when the author describes the scene of the poet Guillaume Apollinaire departing after visiting a shelter that had been established in the Church of Saint-Sulspice.The author notes, "... Apollinaire might have looked up at the enormous Eugene Delacroix painting of Jacob trying to wrestle his blessing from an angel, a fitting metaphor for a city still struggling for its salvation."This is a wonderful story of destruction and resilience, frustration and patience, solidarity and selfishness that leaves one with the feeling that Parisians of that era were a hardy lot.

Smart, entertaining, and informative book
I loved this book!The writing flows smoother than the Seine -- you learn all sorts of telling details about life in Paris in the early twentieth century, and the book is full of vivid descriptions of the flood, making you feel like you're living through it yourself.There are well-done, telling profiles of both important figures and ordinary people upon whom the flood has an impact.Maybe best of all, it uses this extraordinary event to illustrate the political, social, and urban planning issues that Parisians faced in the era before World War One.Even an expert on French history would probably learn a lot from this book, but it's a great read for anyone who enjoys narrative non-fiction.Kudos to Jeffrey Jackson.

If ever a book needed an editor
This book reads like a dissertation, with abundant quotes from "primary sources", numerous footnotes and sentences that make the mind reel.For example, "No stranger to the city, as a child Gibbons had visited Paris many times with her family, and shortly after marrying, she and her husband moved there in 1909."Parse that!

It is amazing how one never notices or credits good prose; one only notices writing when it is bad.

Anyway, the story is interesting, and the book is well researched.If only the author were a better story teller.

Before New Orleans
Seeing this book in the History section of the bookstore, I did a double take because I never knew that Paris had flooded 100 years ago. My own personal introduction to flooding came not from Katrina and its aftermath, but from the Great Chicago Flood which was the result of a misplaced pylon being driven into one of the branches of the deep tunnel system in Chicago.
Society never seems to be immune to disasters, but as time wears on the memories seem to fade or even become obliterated. In the case of the Paris flood, flooding was not exactly an unknown or unexpected phenomenom. As winter snow gradually melted there was usually a rise in the water level of the Seine which was the main artery of commerce into and out of the city. It was a public concern and city officials knew there was a real possibility of flooding of major proportion. However, at the time when their worst scenarios were realized, nothing effective was in place to handle the flooding. As the river breached its banks, the Metro was compromised and released a torrent of water into the area of the right bank. Complicating matters was recorded torrential rainfall. The city was facing all sorts of problems from a general lack of sanitation to a shortage of food. According to the author, parisians were often at odds with one another over a variety of things. There was rampant distrust of the military following the Dreyfus trial. There was serious concern that there might be civil unrest and that people would not come together to improve matters. However, for the most part, small and large acts on behalf of the city itself by its citizens saved Paris. Boats were put into use to ferry people around the city, there were acts of heroism to save lives, ordinary citizens restrained looters, funds were authorized to obtain food supplies, sanitation crews and municipal workers set about the tasks of sandbagging and cleaning the city. Through solid research and interesting vintage photographs the author reconstructed the flood of 1910. This was a very interesting book. Thoughtful, detailed and well-written, it provides insight into a somewhat forgotten disaster. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

This book is better than you think.
This is one of the few books on this subject that i have read on this subject that brought out some critical information with the regard to the falsehood of the glaciation theory of North America.When looking objectively at the data presented, one easily realizes that the theory is definately flawed, and the idea of a world wide flood makes much more sense.This is a must read for anyone who is interested in earth origin.This is also a book that non-christian readers will enjoy because it is well steeped in data presentation, and has plently of examples that are used to back up each of the points that he makes.

It was worth the price.

Alfred Rehwinkel - A Short Bio
Alfred Rehwinkel was born in a log cabin June 25 1887 in Merrill Wisconsin into a German Lutheran pastor's family.He received his ministerial degree from Concordia Lutheran Seminary, St. Louis in 1910. Rehwinkel began his career in Canada when he was called to Trinity Lutheran Church in Pincher Creek (1910 - 1914) and then to St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Edmonton (1914 - 1922).He furthered his education by attending the University of Alberta, receiving a B.A. in 1916, an M.A. in 1918 and a B.D. in 1919.He also attend the St. Stephens College of Theology 1916 - 1917.

He was the President of the Alberta and British Columbia Conference of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod from 1912 - 1918 and promoted the idea of establishing a college in Canada..As a member of the School Board of the Alberta British ColumbiaDistrict of Lutheran Church Missouri Synod he was instrumental in founding Concordia College.He became the chairman, secretary and treasurer of the Board of Control of Concordia College during 1920 through 1922.Rehwinkel was also the first full Professor on the College staff and held theHistory chair from 1922 - 1928. Besides history, professor Rehwinkel also taught classes in sciences, geography and German.

Dr. Rehwinkel took an active role within the community of Edmonton.He was the founder and president of the Edmonton Zoological Society (1921 - 1928), a member of the Board of Directors of the Edmonton Arts Association, served on the Edmonton Library Board, was a member of the Canadian National Diamond Jubilee Committee (1927) and encouraged by the Canadian German National Association, ran for Edmonton alderman.

His concern for the treatment of German immigrants residing in Canada after the first world war resulted in his forming the Canadian German National Association. The purpose of the group was to counteract anti-German prejudice and discrimination which had shown itself during the war years. He translated O Canada into German which was sung all over the Dominion until the second world war. At this point Germans were encouraged to speak English at most gatherings.

Due to the ill health of his wife, Dr. Bessie,Dr. Rehwinkel reluctantly gave up his residence in the Canada which he loved and returned to the United States as President of St. John's College, Winfield, Kansas.His next call was to Concordia Seminary, St. Louis where he continued to take special interest in the Canadian students enrolled at the Seminary, helping and encouraging them with their studies.


His most important literary work is his very popular book The Flood: In the Light of the Bible, Geology, and Archaeology. Though written in the 1950's this text is still a fundamental work that is a standard in many conservative Bible Colleges and Seminaries. This work is still in print and is available on the world wide web.

Written in the 1950's, still a relevant, timely book
In the search for resources dealing with the great flood of scripture, I've found this book to be an excellent resource. Although written in the 50's, the content is still surprisingly up to date, well reasoned, well presented, and well documented. Mr. Rehwinkle deals with pre and post flood material as well. Concordia Publishing House is still publishing this book in paperback almost half a century later for good reason. If you're interested in the topics of the deluge, pre or antediluvian man, or just want to read a book that provides overwhelming evidence of a worldwide flood, this belongs on your bookshelf.

Myth, Legend or Fact?
While you may ask why anyone would want to read a book about "The Flood," to me the possibility of one day actually being able to see the remains of the ark for myself has always intrigued me.

Some believe the event to be a myth or legend. Alfred M. Rehwinkel explains how nearly every nation and tribe in the entire human race has a flood myth. The peoples of Egypt, Mexico, America, India, Pacific Islands, Asia, Australia and Africa all have a story to tell. It seems to deny the existence of a flood rejects the most ancient and most sacred traditions of universal humanity.

One of the most fascinating discoveries is also recorded in this book. The great Gilgamesh Epic was found in the ruins of the Assurbanipal library in Nineveh. The narrative bears a striking resemblance to the writings of Moses in Genesis. It was in fact written centuries before.

According to the author, there are many reasons modern man has rejected the possibility of a flood. Many scholars do however believe it to be the greatest catastrophe in the history of the earth.

Alfred M. Rehwinkel goes into great detail and shows how the ark was in fact quite capable of holding a great number of animals. He explains how many of the animals at the time could be found in the vicinity and that the climate, animal and plant life, where vastly different in Noah's time.

He answers the following questions in detail:

1. Where did all the water come from? 2. When did "The Flood" begin? 3. What was the population of the earth before "The Flood." 4. Why was there a flood and why was Noah saved?

He also goes on to show how the earth would have in fact been a virtual paradise with a warm climate and food for all. In his opinion, the earth was rich with resources and most likely sustained a great number of people. He also believes they had reached a high level of civilized culture. He basis his opinions on archeological discoveries.

A diagram on page 10 also explains how if the earth was perpendicular to the plane of its orbit, there would have been no change in the seasons. The seasons may in fact be a result of the earth tilting 23 1/2 degrees at the time of the flood.

If you are interested in archeology, you will enjoy reading about the fossil remains and how many different species were found all in one location in mass graves. This goes against modern geology, which is based on a system of biological evolution. (Oh, by the way, I have a Trilobite fossil my father brought me from Russia.)

This book does in fact succeed in bringing to our attention, the most outstanding evidence for a universal flood from a geological and archaeological standpoint. The most fascinating part of this intellectual work was the story of a Russian aviator named Mr. Vladimar Roskivitsky. He actually claims to have seen the remains of Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat in 1942.

~The Rebecca Review

=)
Hullo, I had to read this book b/c my mom forced me to. But I ended up enjoying it. My mom took care of the Aurthor until he died. He left his bible to my mom. He was a great guy and i reccomend the book to anyone. ... Read more

Product Description
Abe Pittenger, a young man holed up in a decrepit trailer in tiny Lockers Creek, Arkansas, considers himself a failure. He has bad knees, flat tires, a dying cat, and no plans. As incessant rain becomes a brutal storm and a flood claims the countryside, Abe meets a fierce young woman trying to start a new life. Together they're forced to reconsider their pasts—confronting secrets they'd rather not disturb. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Very Well Written
Our family loved The Mysterious Benedict Society.When we found out that Trenton Lee Stewart had previously written a novel for adults, I bought it for my husband for Christmas.He finished it and told me that I had to read it.We were both drawn in and actually found ourselves holding our breath while reading parts of the book.

This was a thought-provoking, page turning book.It's refreshing to find a piece of modern fiction that is this satisfying!

Wow!Southern Literature that isn't gothic.
Excellent character development and realistic dialogue.A terrific read.
My kids (age 9 and 11) devoured the Mysterious Benedict Society as well.

Outstanding
Flood Summer was terrific. Mr. Stewart is a writer of the first order. His character development is impeccable. This is not the type of novel with some definite plot that needs to be resolved in the end. It is a finely written story of characters who struggle to understand themselves as they stumble through life. The prose is subtle yet deeply meaningful. This is the best and most memorable novel I have read in 3 years.

Coping with setbacks (4.25 *s)
Set in small town Arkansas in the mid-90s, this book is replete with rain, mud, even a prodigious flood, snakes, nasty rednecks, trailers, and Southern bimbos. The author's intent is not to disparage rural Southern life. He creates two very sympathetic characters who are attempting to find themselves in this environment and the debris of their experiences.

Twenty-something Abe, working as a roofer, is a thoughtful type who didn't adjust well to college and now lives alone in a trailer with his books and cats. However, it is a devastating summer flood in which he nearly drowns attempting to save another that disturbs his uncomplicated life. On the other hand, twenty-year-old Marie was literally abandoned at age ten by her drug running mother because she was late for a delivery. Marie returns to her hometown after essentially being on the run for all those years to assist her father in a bookstore, but maintains an impenetrable toughness that belies her striking beauty.

A chance meeting with Marie's childhood friend Lainey results in her meeting Abe at a local swimming hole. The attraction is immediate, but Marie's wariness is a constant issue. The book is basically an observant examination of two tentative people feeling their way to some point that neither really can define. In addition, both Abe and Marie must cope with their families - fathers mostly. The author has a great talent for the dialog of those trying to understand their lives and connections to others. The Southern vernacular and way of life is a constant backdrop, captured most perfectly by the character Lainey. The ending is perhaps not all that could be expected, but there seems to be promise.

A Five-Star First
Unable to put Trenton Lee Stewart's feast of a debut novel down, I devoured it in three sittings.Rather than summarize Flood Summer's menu of events, I'd like to rave about the book impressionistically.

During its initial chapters, in a scene inside a neck-deep flooded house in the country, the image of a poisonous water moccasin swimming toward the main male character Abe, with its head raised like a frog's, is just one of Stewart's dozens of creepy forget-me-nots.The sheer length and audacity of Stewart's suspenseful description of Abe's swimming, slipping, and sliding around, trying to avoid snakes and free his best friend's mother from where she's wedged, drowning between her car and a tree -- this section is absolutely spellbinding.Afterward of course the novel must go on.But Flood Summer refuses to "dry up," thanks in large part to Abe, a larger than life yet one-hundred-percent three-dimensional Arkansan.Bookish, a lone wolf, he lends the novel Biblical/Lincolnian stature.

In his Appalachian Gothic thriller-cum-love story Stewart gives us Abe's parents and working-crew buddies all rendered with the sculptor Duane Hanson's tough loving care.Then, too, there's the dark, exotic newcomer in Hot Springs, Marie, equally sculpted, complete with her train of characters, including the unforgettable waitress/newlywed Laine.I was especially taken with Stewart's portrait of Marie's "single" mother, also named Marie, who has now disappeared but was once totally under the thumb of a sleazy drug dealer who had set both mother and daughter on a wild car trip to pick up moonshine from a blind treacherous redneck, "Uncle Brady."Given "chick lit" and the preponderance of strong female characters in this decade, Stewart's portrait of Mama Marie as a vulnerable woman is extraordinary.She is one of the most enigmatic, disturbing loose cannons I've encountered in current American fiction.As a lost "damsel in distress" minus the sappy connotations, she represents a negative capability her hard-as-nails orphan daughter must find and understand before committing herself to her own true love Abe.

Thankfully, Stewart avoids an obvious sappy ending, with Abe and Marie tying the knot.Yet the novel's end is exhilarating, with its suggestion that a flood of feelings will eventually sweep all characters upstream.

The only serious current American writer who can match Stewart in the Nail-biting Suspense Department is Donna Tarrt in The Little Friend, which gives us chapter after chapter of controlled plot-driven mayhem.All the while we know what's ultimately going to happen, but moment by moment Stewart and Tarrt pull wondrous wool over our eyes.

Five cheers to Trent Stewart!Flood Summer is a first-rate first novel, the best thing that happened to Arkansas -- and to this reviewer -- since Noah rained Bill Clinton down on our heads! ... Read more

Product Description
Glacial Lake Missoula and Its Humongous Floods tells the tale of a huge Ice Age lake that, when it suddenly drained, unleashed more then ten times the combined flow of all the modern rivers of the world. The book follows the path of the floodwaters as they raged from western Montana across the Idaho Panhandle, then scoured eastern Washington and rushed down the Columbia Gorge to the Pacific Ocean. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Classic Good David Alt writing
David Alt, like no other geologist I know of, can take technical, complex, and controversial geological history and write it in a way that is engaging and enjoyable by the average reader.To truly enjoy his books, though, I think you have to have an interest and either a familiarity or be visiting the areas he is talking about (Eastern Washington, especially the area between Vantage and Grand Coulee Dam near Moses Coulee, Grand Coulee, Ephrata, etc.).In this book he takes the reader through the history of the giant floods caused by ice dams breaking during the last ice age and letting unbelievable amounts of water cascade through Eastern Washington forming a unique landscape of coulees and scablands.Quickly you see the clear evidence for this flood and realize how unique this area is.It is a book to help you appreciate the details.

This is a great book to take along during a drive, camping trip, or boat trip in Eastern Washington and to read perhaps while watching your fishing pole on one of the Sun Lakes.David Alt in this book, like all of his books, takes the reader through the story with ample illustrations, maps, and photos to not only help you understand what happened but why and how it relates to other geology in the area.It is a great addition to his more general book on Pacific Northwest geology Northwest Exposures: A Geologic Study of the Northwest.On the other hand, if you are looking for a more human story of J Harlen Bretz, the geologist who took a lifetime to convince the geology community that catastrophic floods caused this landscape, you might check out Bretz's Flood: The Remarkable Story of a Rebel Geologist and the World's Greatest Flood.Or read both and be the guy who really "knows the landscape" when you are wakeboarding at Crescent Bar.

Glacial Lake Missoula
A geological mystery solved. A thrilling geological hunt for the answer to a puzzling area called the Scablands.
This area covers almost three states-Montana, Idaho, and Oregon.The answer was due to the ice age. This is amazing. Geologists argued over the cause of this very unusual place for many years.

Since this occured about 12,000 years ago, it is possible that humans might have seen the enormous floods.
This is a very interesting book about a geological mystery that was finally solved by a determined geologist. There is a very unusual formation covering three states, Oregon, Montana and Idaho. It is named the Scablands. There are eroded walls and huge potholes. It stretched for miles and was puzzling to all except one geologist. He knew what this was but no one believed him.
Finally after much experimentation, it was determined that this enormous landscape was caused by the melting and freezing of an enormous glacier near Missoula, Montana from 12,000 years ago and the collapse of its ice dam. There were many alternative thousands of years of freezing and thaws. This is a very interesting book and I highly recommend it.
Sara Howard, author of "Something Funny Happened on The Way to The Moon" and "The Biggest Explosions in The Universe".

Glacial Lake Missoula and its Humongous Flood
This suits someone with sort of off beat interests. Describes the events leading up to the floods nicely and then follows up with the floods themselves. Not a technical tome. Lots of little maps. It would be 5 star if a large scale overall map were included to piece everything together.

GLACIAL LAKE MISSOULAAND ITS HUMONGOUS FLOODS
This was the most readable/believable presentation yet. It was easy tofollow all the way to the Pacific Ocean. A suggestion: have detailed area maps handy. You will use them...

From a Time of Myth:The Great Deluge
A flow of water greater than that of all the rivers of the world- combined, measured in cubic *miles* of water/hour.A waterfall three miles wide, five times the width of Niagara.Water 1,000 feet high, coming down to a measly 500 feet by the time the roaring torrent reached Portland.These are but a few of the stories of earth and water you'll be entertained with in this book.

While this book will only be of interest to those fascinated by alluvial geology or geology of the Northwest, for that select few, the book is a much have.Thus it is helpful to have a minimal background in geology in order to fully appreciate the book.David Alt provides more than you'd ever want to know about Lake Missoula and it's aftereffects, scouring the lands of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.As a result the flood left it's mark on Eastern Washington, creating the endemic Channeled Scablands, a geology found nowhere else on Earth (though there is a good possibility for similarities on Mars). I read this in preparation for my trip to the Scablands and Dry Falls, and I now feel adequately prepared to fully appreciate the enormity of the geology before me.Nowhere else is the entire story in one place.

Beneath the primary characters of Lake, Flood, Glacier, and Basalt, there is an interesting subplot involving those short-lived humans, principly J Bretz, who first proposed the existence of gigantic catastrophic floods in the Northwest, much to the dismay of his colleagues.At a time when catastrophism was denied, and only gradualism allowed, Bretz's proposals were, as Alt states, pure heresy.And in the midst of this is a cautionary tale for those on both sides of scientific controversies today.

Many of Bretz's colleagues didn't like the idea of a giant catastrophic flood because it smacked a little too much of The Flood- the one with Noah and Genesis.This was a form of thinking that scientists have worked too long to demonstrate there was no evidence for.Scientists had worked too long to insist that we believe events only when there's evidence for their existence.Then lesson from the Missoula Flood controversy is the temptation to reject scientific evidence, just because it may support ideas that are held by a particularly religious persuasion.On the other side, Bretz had all of the evidence, and the geologists of his day refused to see it. They were too ingrained in their ways and beliefs. And thus there is a reminder to Literal Creationists and followers of Intelligent Design, that beliefs don't make the argument:science dictates the trashing of those beliefs- no matter how sacrosanct- when the evidence becomes overwhelming.And clearly this evidence was a proverbial torrent. ... Read more

Product Description
Behind the humor of these pieces, readers will see Twain's serious thoughts on the relationship between God and Man, biblical inconsistencies, Darwinism, science, and the impact of technology on religious beliefs. "A fascinating panoply of wit, satire, farce, fantasy, lyricism, heresy, the sardonic, and the controversial."--Patricia Hassler, Booklist. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

The quintessential Twain on religion.
This book is a long needed source for the views that Mark Twain held on religion.It would be best though if you read his 'Letters From the Earth' book before reading this one.You will get the full dose of 'Twain' humor before you delve into his insights and background work for those stories.'Letters From the Earth' was also published long after Twain's death, around 1962.This book contains a large amount of 'new' material from the Twain Project library at the Univ of Cal Berkeley, and really is a must have book.You will not be disappointed at all, surprised occasionally, but never disappointed.

Great American Read...!
Truth and Humor equals no more Misdirection, and so we have a Fuller, Much Better Quality of of this time called Life...!

One window into Twain's religion.
I've read in full only a few things by Twain, including some remarks of his ridiculing Mary Baker Eddy and her "Christian Science," his essay defending the quality of President Grant's memoirs against an unfavorable British review, and some of his other essays. Complete irreligion was still relatively rare in Twain's day, and his essay on "Saint Joan of Arc" (see another work available on Amazon, his complete essays republished recently in paperback) suggests that he had the good sense to appreciate the Saints, if not the spiritual healers. In fact he would probably have qualified well as an ethical humanist, but also as a closet mystic of idiosyncratic bent (a careful reading of Felix Adler's "Life and Destiny" would reveal that the founder of the Ethical Culture movement was also a mystic, his mysticism was merely not placed by him on the front cover of his appeals to humanity). Twain presumably belonged to no organized church, and these essays of his on the Biible should probably be compared to the critical (or even condemnatory) writings of Tom Paine on the Bible and Christianity ("The Age of Reason" if I recall the title correctly). But Twain's rave about Saint Joan, derived from his personal reading of the transcripts of her ecclesiastical trial for witchcraft and heresy, blew away any thoughts of mine that he might be regarded as a mere atheist or irreligious fanatic.

Where credit's due!
Let's give credit where credit's due.Mark Twain would give it to Robert Green Ingersoll, America's great agnostic.Read Colonel Bob's many lectures and you'll see what I mean.

More textbook, then "light reading"
This "compilation" is more for a STUDENT of MT, then for someone casually reading his finer, posthumously-published works. If you are in a college literature class, then this is probably a textbook in it. If not, it's probably TOO "academic" to be digested in one sitting. ... Read more

Product Description
On the island of Saipan, in the South Pacific, the second world war is a distant idea. The Japanese have governed the island for twenty-five years and they mix regularly with the native islanders. Though no one questions who holds power, the two peoples coexist peacefully.

Joseph has known Japanese occupation for his entire life. One of the only islanders accepted by the Japanese and allowed into their school, Joseph nevertheless is the son of the Chamorro chief and proud of his heritage. He seeks to fight against the oppressors, as his warrior ancestors had, and openly defies restrictions. A greater war approaches the island, however, and the Japanese impress the indigenous men into labor camps. Before he leaves, Joseph’s father takes him to the caves that their family has used to defend itself for thousands of years. On his solo journey home, Joseph’s responsibility to his family becomes uncomfortably palpable. He tries to hide from his obligation, but when his father dies through the labor camps, Joseph’s fantasy becomes impossible. As Joseph buries his father at sea and risks his own life, he begins to learn the true practices of a warrior. Equally difficult is taking his family to the caves, where want of food and water threatens starvation. American and Japanese troops approach the island, beginning to fight what will become one of the largest battles of the war. The stress forces Joseph to take responsibility not only for his family, but for his people as well. In this debut historical novel, Nancy Bo Flood creates a company of clear-voiced characters who move convincingly through a story of war and mounting pressure. Her experience as a resident of and teacher in Saipan inform an intimacy that quickly presents the texture of the island, its history, and its culture. Readers will feel Joseph’s strain as they read about this little-known chapter of American history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Gripping...
As a Chamorro born and raised on Saipan, whose grandparents experienced many of the same tragic and poignant moments retold in this book, I could not put it down.As mentioned by another reviewer, this book should be turned into a Hollywood movie.Should I ever teach English again, I will definitely assign this book.

Thank you Nancy Bo Flood for investing your soul yet again into fully understanding, appreciating, and articulating the spirit of the Marianas and broader Micronesia.Your book is undoubtedly one bright candle in the darkness, illuminating our past, present, and future.

Most enjoyable
I sat down thinking I would read just a few chapters and was taken by the characters and imagery of the story.I ended up putting it down only after I read the last chapter.It's a fascinating window into the South Pacific island culture during a turning point of WWII.The descriptions of native life and their ordeal during the battle for their island are vivid and compelling.

for all ages
This book is marketed as a "young adult" book, but it's a great read for all ages.Anyone who enjoys a gripping story, wonderful characters, and an entirely new (and invaluable) perspective on World War II should grab this book.Be prepared to purchase a couple of copies-you'll want to give this to your friends (young and old), but you'll also want to keep a copy for yourself.

A gripping saga and touching memorial
During World War II, the island of Saipan was occupied by the Japanese military until US warships and jet fighters arrived in the spring of 1944. Bombing raids erupted and a ferocious battle ensued which nearly wiped out the entire country. This is the tale of two best friends and cousins, Joseph and Kento. The 13-year old boys hunted turtles and pretended they were Samurai warriors until the war came to their tiny island. From then on their warrior mission grew up because they had to rescue their land and its gentle people from extinction.

In Joseph and Kento, Nancy Bo Flood has created two highly likeable characters to be our guides into a flourishing island paradise and eventually through one of the most horrific battles in the Pacific during World War II. To view war's destruction through the eyes of an indigenous people caught in the crossfire is haunting. However the remarkable story of Joseph and Kento's leadership and bravery shines through the darkness of their plight. Flood has done an admirable job of portraying a difficult event in history. "Warriors in the Crossfire" is both a gripping saga and a touching memorial to the native people of Saipan.

Powerful, captivating
This is an interesting and great read even for adults.This book does a wonderful job of taking the reader to a little known island in the Pacific on the eve of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.I was drawn in right away.The character Joseph represents a perspective of war that is not often told - a young island native caught up in Japan's final efforts against the US towards the end of WWII.As another reviewer mentions, the characters are real, caught up in events that feel authentic - both the inner journey of growing up and the outward experiences of war.Enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description
This book provides a much-needed thematic and historical introduction to Hinduism, the religion of the majority of people in India. Dr. Flood traces the development of Hindu traditions from ancient origins and the major deities to the modern world. Hinduism as both a global religion and a form of nationalism are discussed. Emphasis is given to the tantric traditions, which have been so influential; to Hindu ritual, more fundamental than belief or doctrine; and to Dravidian influences. It introduces some debates within contemporary scholarship. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Hapless G. Flood drops the ball ... again.
If you are looking for an introduction to hinduism, look up Dr. David Frawley and Stephen Knapp. Look for "The True Religion and History of India", "Dancing with Siva", "The Rig Veda and the History of India", "Gods, Sages, and Kings", "Wisdom of the Ancient Seers", "The Heart of Hinduism", "Vedic Culture: The Difference it Can Make in Your Life", "The Secret Teachings of the Vedas", "The Power of the Dharma", "Proof of Vedic Culture's Global Existence", "History of Ancient India: A New Version", "The Secret of the Veda", and "What is Hinduism?".

Gavin Flood, God bless him, just doesn't have the mind power to grasp what hinduism is. Hinduism is the scattered remnants of massive, ancient, advanced civilization that has existed for millions of years.

Dry, dry, dry
I am not an expert so I cannot comment on the Prof. Flood's scholarship which may be excellent, but I can say that this was one of the most dry, boring books I have ever read.I would suggest that readers try David M. Knipe's Hinduism instead.Its somewhat shorter than Flood, but much more interesting.

Well-Written and Authorative
I recommend this book for the reader who has some knowledge of Hinduism and would like to delve a little deeper into the subject.

The book is clearly written, and every chapter is loaded with information. Flood knows this area very well, and he expertly guides the reader through the bewildering, and often contradictory world of Hindu philosophy and theology.

I feel that this book would work best if read along with a book that focused more on Hindu religious practice. As Flood concentrates more on the thematic trends and concepts within Hinduism, rather than on the practical, everyday rituals and rites of passage that make the religion so vibrant and alive. His book sets the picture, it gives the reader a framework from which to start painting one's own conceptual view.

I would suggest then also reading such books as "Darshan" by Eck, and "Samskara: Rites of a Dead Man" by Murthy, in conjunction with this in order to get a more holistic and in-depth understanding of a complex subject.

Excellent Introduction
Having read several similar titles I would say that this highly readable book is perhaps the best I have come across. Flood brings the important strands together in easily manageable chapters, and includes much imortant recent scholarship.
To link this book or its author to an 'orientalist' agenda (as an earlier reviewer appears to) is frankly ridiculous.

Not Too Shabby
Flood's writing is very dry, but he certainly knows what he is talking about.This book is not so much an introduction for people looking to learn something new, but a great reference for those hoping to learn more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Best day trip guide for the Missoula Floods I've read.
If you have interest in geology, catastrophies, and particularly in the Missoula Floods, this is one of the best books to read.

It provides an overview of the geology and effects of these massive floods of 15,000 years ago, but even more, it provides driving directions, lodging and fuel suggestions, and fantastic day and multi-day trips to view the current day results of the Floods.

I've been to many of the areas covered by the book, and it still pointed out many things I had failed to see and understand.

If you are going to be traveling anywhere in Eastern Washington, the Columbia River Gorge, Northern Idaho, or around Missoula Montana--buy the book.It's a very entertaining read and a wonderful way to open your eyes to what has happened to create the extraordinary formations in the inland Northwest.

Fascinating read for the amateur geologist/hiker
Growing up in Oregon's Willamette Valley, basalt cliffs have watched over my life. More flood basalt and Rocky mountain gravels and mud are under my feet, and for most of my life I've lived within the shores of glacial lake Allison. When I go the rugged Pacific coast I look at beautiful haystack rocks and headlands where the same lava streams flowed, or I climb volcanic peaks just inland. Flood-wrenched lavas greet me in my travels up the Columbia and Snake Rivers, through the gorge, coulees and hills and through the valley of the Grande Ronde to overlook the Snake River canyon, over a mile deep. Fossils lie beneath similar formations in John Day country.

Fire, Faults & Floods bring the processes that created this to life. It would be useful and handy enough as a guidebook for traveling to various places and interpreting them with short hikes and drives. However, it goes way beyond this, interesting enough to hold your attention as you turn each page, filling in more and more details and drawing them into a cohesive whole.

If you have money and interest left after this book, for a more historically-oriented story of Harlan Bretz, and additional local details, pick up a companion book "Cataclysms on the Columbia" byAllen, Burns, Sargent, and Sargent.

When Imagination Falters!
This book tells of events so implausible that even your imagination will have difficulty comprehending them.If I have any complaint about the book it is that it fails to sufficiently emphasize how amazing it is, forexample, that molten lava once upon a time ran nearly 400 miles beforecoming to its stopping place.The authors seem to almost be afraid that ifthey point up the apparent absurdity of it all, the reader would decide thewhole book was a well written hoax! It was not a hoax, though, and thestory of what happened in the Pacific Northwest once upon a time is welltold.It is of greatest interest, obviously, to those of us who live herein the midst of the results of fire, fault and flood, but, for thoseelsewhere with vividimaginations, it is a cracking good book.This isone time when what actually happened is more exciting than anything one'simgination can possibly conjure up!

Overlooked Beauty
I really enjoyed this book. But I may be different that you.I like rocks, massive basalt cliffs, immense coulees, and the beauty of arid lands.These and much more can be found in this wonderful book by Marge and Ted Mueller.If you're excited about these things then this may be abook you'd enjoy also, especially if you live in the Pacific Northwest ofthe United States.This book is really more than just a basic,easy-to-read geological primer of the Columbia River Basin.It is atrip-planner with detailed instructions on how to go and see the stuff foryourself.I've already been to a couple of the locations and have anothershort trip planned for this fall. This book is exactly what I hoped itwould be when I bought it from Amazon.com.I've never found another bookquite like it.Enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

The great Biblical flood so described in Genesis has long been a subject of fascination and speculation. In the 19th century the English archbishop James Ussher established it as having happened in the year 2348 B.C., calculating what was then taken as the age of the earth and working backward through the entire series of Biblical "begats." Proof of the flood, which is an element of so many creation myths, began in earnest when archaeology started connecting physical evidence with Biblical story. The dream of proving the Bible as literal truth has proven irresistible, producing both spurious claims and serious scholarship.

As best-selling historian Ian Wilson reveals in this fascinating new book, evidence of a catastrophic event has been building steadily, culminating in the work of William Ryan and Walter Pitman. Several years ago Ryan and Pitman had posited that around 5600 BC there had an inundation in the Black Sea of such proportions that it turned the freshwater lake into a saltwater lake by connecting it to the Mediterranean. Were that true, they estimated that there would be signs of civilization 300 feet below the surface of the Black Sea. In September 2000, using his famous underwater equipment, Robert Ballard (of SS Titanic fame) explored parts of the Black Sea near the Turkish shore and found the remains of wood houses. There had been a flood, and whether God's wrath or not it had destroyed everything around it for hundreds of miles, killing tens of thousands of people.

Exploring all the archeological evidence, Wilson explains how the Black Sea flood and the Biblical flood have to be connected. In particular, Wilson argues, learnedly and persuasively, that the center of the civilized world was further to the West than previously thought-not in Egypt or Mesopotamia but in what is today Northern Turkey.

The earliest, antediluvian civilizations may have migrated east into those places we have come to call the cradles of civilization, forced by the Black Sea flood to create new settlements.

Scrupulous in its details and compelling in its sweep, Before the Flood is narrative detective history at its most provocative, contributing a vital new chapter to the debate about the Bible and origins of the modern world.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

No, ah, ther really was a flood
Wilson, building on the earlier work of Ryan and Pittman, presents more recently developed, largely archeological evidence to support the flooding of the Black Sea as the basis of not only the Old Testament flood, but the other, pervasive, flood myths of our culture.While not, perhaps, as scholarly as Ryan and Pittman, Wilson is a far easier, and arguably a more enjoyable read.

Ken Hodosy, B.A.(Classics), MLS

B"ark"ing up the wrong tree
Before the Flood is a well-written elaboration on a theory put forth by William Ryan and Walter Pitman entitled Noah's Flood.In it, the author supports the idea that the Biblical Flood of Noah has its historical roots in a real event...the innundation of the Black Sea around 5600 BC.Prior to this event, the Black Sea was a smaller, freshwater lake supporting numerous advanced cultural communities along its periphery.As a result of the melting ice waters from the previous Ice Age, a third great flood occured rising sea levels substantially...including the salt-water Mediterranean.This eventually led to the salty sea water breaking through the Bosphorous and flooding out the freshwater Black Sea. People long making their living along these shores were forced elsewhere...an event recorded for posterity throughout much of the Eurasian continent as Noah's Flood.
While the historical accuracy of such an event appears quite real, marrying it directly to the flood of Noah is not so easy a task.The evidence is circumstantial at best but nonetheless intriguing. A freshwater lake the size of the one near the Black Sea would clearly have been inviting to early peoples, we see advanced cultures like Catal Huyuk teeming on the edge of civilization in the area, and the sudden appearance of the mysterious Sumerians could all be rationalized by just such an event.Yet there are problems that are in need of explanation.
One argument made by Wilson is that the wide geographic distribution of the flood myth is the fanning out of the people living in and around the Black Sea.Yet many of the details shared in common throughout Eurasia include events that occurred after the flood...i.e. after the people would have dispersed.If their recollection of the flood is similar that's fine but their recollection of sacrifices and birds and alcohol...events after the flood, then we must assume a common source and this then would mean these details emerged after people dispersed...a detail contrary to Wilson's proposal.Secondly, what are we to make of pre-Columbian American flood myths?Especially those that contain these very same details and are recorded in Mayan Codex' that long pre-date Columbus.

It is my belief that the Americas provide the key to answering the origin of these flood myths and that they reside in astronomy. The flood is simply a metaphor for astronomical occurrences put in earthly terms summed up best by the Biblical phrase..."on earth as it is in heaven".

Good book, flawed thesis, good argument, flawed conclusion. The real answer to the flood of Noah (and its worldwide presence) is likely one whose basis can be found in astronomy.

Bad Rationalizations but Good Facts To Back Up the Bible
LikeExcavating Jesus, this book, ironically, contains facts that support the Bible as being historically accurate, yet the author ignores that fact and pushes for a conclusion which hasbeen disproved (look up Black Sea flood on a search engine.)

Here are some examples of stereotypes and bias against Christians in this book:

"Scientists have shown convincingly enough for the great majority of individuals (including myself), that the earth began around 4.5 billion years ago... The biblical idea [of the flood]... is patently absurd as it is true."

Notice Ian implies that there are no Christian scientists let alone ones who advocate creationism, which despite what evolutionists claim, do utilize the scientific method AND other scientific methods (there isn't just one, that's a myth.)

At times he attempts to persuade the reader by mere emotionalism and sometimes with sarcasm which is ironic because he's trying to use it to persuade his readers that SCIENCE (there's more then one science by the way) has shown the Bible to be wrong (or at least about flood account). If I said, "The Bible flood story is silly because science says so" isn't evidence and it sure isn't proof, it's a misleading insult.

More:

"the fact is that historians and archaeologists lack the means of providing truly firm chronological pegs for any events of the ancient past prior to the 7th century B.C."

That's wrong as a chapter in the book As Wise as Serpents as Peaceful as Doves shows. He doesn't even explain why there can't be any firm dates. Instead see [...] there are plenty of ways to get a firm date.

The moron editors of amazon keep deleting links to sites which are not in competition with them but which show evidence as to what I'm referring to. Obviously some Christian bashers enjoy bashing evidence and so report the links as spam (wow how scientific of you).

The Biblical Flood
The entire book is devoted to a list of places and people who at some time in the past have had a flood. It hardly even discusses the biblical flood and appears to just put it into the broad catagory of just another flood.Boring to read

The real origin of civilization?
This fascinating book investigates a lost culture that thrived in northern Turkey before an inundation in 5600BC turned a freshwater lake into what is now the Black Sea by connecting it to the Mediterranean. Such a cataclysmic event must have caused major destruction and caused the death of thousands of people. It would also not have been restricted to the area under consideration.

By looking at the archaeological evidence brought to light by Robert Ballard's submarine explorations and by comparing the flood myths of the world, Wilson connects this disaster with the Biblical account of the Great Flood. He demonstrates that the Biblical account is composed of two different texts that were integrated, texts that he calls J and P. The opening part of original separate strands are displayed side by side. I found this very interesting; each of them is coherent in its own right but has a different emphasis. Both are in fact more coherent on their own than integrated as in the Bible.

Wilson suggests that Turkey and the Black Sea area may be the real cradle of civilization. It was the first Post Ice Age civilization and it flourished until about 6000BC. The metropolis of this culture was what is today called Çatal Hüyük, a city that was abandoned around this time, most probably because of climate change. It gets really interesting when he looks at the diaspora caused by these natural disasters; Wilson points out shared characteristics of the Minoan culture and the megaliths on the islands of Malta and Gozo. This includes the worship of bulls and the prevalence of the Mother Goddess which is found over an even larger geographic area.

There are far flung cultures displaying similarities to traits found at Çatal Hüyük, including in Egypt and Sumeria. I found his discussion of loan words in Sumerian very enlightening. Although Wilson is not a linguist, I would have liked a deeper exploration of historical linguistics to cast more light on the matter. He does look at the work of Indo-Europeanists Marija Gimbutas and Colin Renfrew. According to the consensus, the original Indo-European language is considered to have broken up into daughter languages between about 5000 and 4000BC.

Another puzzle is why the Indo-European and Semitic parent languages share so many common vocabulary items. Looking at the bigger picture of the Nostratic (or Eurasiatic according to Joseph Greenberg) language family, one finds that there is a great structural similarity between Indo-European, Uralic-Yukagir and even Eskimo, but relatively few shared vocabulary items, the fewer the further North and Northwest you from the Black Sea/Caucasus area. Semitic (a member of the large Afro-Asiatic family) and Indo-European display fundamental structural differences, but share certain phenomena that are clearly linked across their family lines, including key words for concepts like"full, horn, ear, eye, bull, earth."

Wilson refers extensively to the work of Dr James Mellaart, the excavator of Çatal Hüyük. This theory of an original civilization in the Anatolian/Black Sea area before Egypt and before Sumeria is highly original and very plausible. Wilson is just scratching the surface and further investigation would no doubt lead to more remarkable discoveries. According to the Good Book, there is no end to many books. In this case, the more the merrier.

This is a bold direction and needs an interdisciplinary approach. It would be of great value if the author incorporates the work of linguists like Greenberg and Merritt Ruhlen in his further writings. The book concludes with notes & references, a bibliography, an appendix of some key documents and an index. The text is illumed by some really gripping maps and illustrations. I would not classify Before The Flood as "alternative history" - rather the cutting edge of historical research, already underpinned by significant archaeological discoveries. ... Read more

Product Description

Looks can be deceiving. . . .

Betty Flood looks normal, she attends a normal school, and she does normal homework. She comes from a family of wizards and witches, though, and that means she is anything but normal.

Betty's new best friend, Ffiona Hulbert, however, is a completely ordinary girl from a regular family. She even has normal problems—like school-yard bullies. When Betty decides to use the Floods' magic to help Ffiona and her family, you can bet that even they won't be normal for long!

Product Description
After the 1969 season, the St. Louis Cardinals traded their star center fielder, Curt Flood, to the Philadelphia Phillies, setting off a chain of events that would change professional sports forever. At the time there were no free agents, no no-trade clauses. When a player was traded, he had to report to his new team or retire. Unwilling to leave St. Louis and influenced by the civil rights movement, Flood chose to sue Major League Baseball for his freedom. His case reached the Supreme Court, where Flood ultimately lost. But by challenging the system, he created an atmosphere in which, just three years later, free agency became a reality. Flood’s decision cost him his career, but as this dramatic chronicle makes clear, his influence on sports history puts him in a league with Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Great book on Curt Flood's battle against the reserve cause in baseball
This was a well-written, well-researched book.His description of Flood's legal battles are very accessible to people like me, who are not familiar with the legal profession.He also gives good background information on previous battles players had with the reserve clause.Snyder also does a good job providing history about Flood and the indignities he suffered playing baseball during racially tense times here in the U.S.He is honest about Flood's flaws, but respectful of Flood's courageous efforts to end the reserve clause. I do have one complaint about the book.Snyder claimed that Jackie Robinson had a chip on his shoulder. I disagree.Robinson was committed to gaining equality for African Americans.

Fascinating account
Older title I just recently got to, but well worth it at any time. Flood was a fascinating, complex man with principles and stubbornness that fed into each other and a couple of generations of professional athletes have much for which to thank his legacy. The story of vividly told, well documented and a captivating read.

The Patron Saint Of The Pro Athlete
Every professional athlete who ever took their $200,000 Maybach Coupe off the dealership curb at 120mph would do well to spend some time with Curt Flood - familiarizing themselves with the man who single-handedly made their bling, their "ride" and their brain dead self-involvement not only possible but, with a nod to the school of unintended consequences, the mother's milk of SportsCenter, MTV and countless police blotters.

Unfortunately, the only thing you might hear over the drone of 350 horses is... "Curt Who?"

Under the exceptionally detailed eye of author Brad Snyder, Curt Flood emerges as the Meridian between sports eras - the pre-Flood reliance on the innocence of gee-wiz heroism (Mantle, Unitas) juxtaposed against the new school emphasis on superstar "brand management" and the unbridled, zero-sum economics that feeds the "Moneyball" mind-set of Personal Seat Licenses, $15 Heinekens and PPV revenue schemes.... Lease Me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jack!

Flood risked (and ultimately lost everything) to challenge Major League Baseball's "reserve clause" in order to void his trade from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1970, attempting to abolish a rule that had effectively bound a player to the same team for life since the 1920's.

A well-paid, better-than-average outfielder, Flood had nothing to gain by taking on Baseball, and some would argue, none of theclassic attributes normally associated with leaders of movements - except for his gut that kept telling him the "clause" was fundamentally wrong. In retrospect, can you really blame anyone for not wanting to move to Philadelphia!?

Flood's story is not only a profile in courage but a cautionary tale about an (extra) ordinary individual who ignites a chain of events that quickly spiral beyond his control.

What is so fascinating about the story is the inside game - an initially reluctant Marvin Miller (former head of the MLB players union) the hostility of his fellow ballplayers who simply didn't want to rock the boat and the petty machinations of then Commissioner Bowie Kuhn who tried to kill Flood's baby in the crib. In one court challenge after another, Flood was turned away and ultimately lost in a last-stand challenge to the Supreme Court.

As an aside, Flood's hiring of former Supreme Court Justice, Arthur Goldberg to argue the case before his former colleagues is especially horrifying as Goldberg's preoccupation and distraction with his own political ambitions undermined his preparation and ultimately doomed Flood's last chance at legal redemption.

In the aftermath of his "defeat", Flood's life is one long tailspin. After one listless stint with the Washington Senators in 1971 (his frosty relationship with Ted Williams Washington's legendary manager, turned frozen entrée, is a tasty sidebar.) Flood's baseball career expires, leaving him to drift between Europe and the US with financial and marital ruin following in his wake.

Only towards the end of his life did he fully comprehend that MLB's near-death experience at his hands paved the way for the abolition of the Reserve Clause in 1975 - ultimately re-proving the age-old adage that a principle is not really a principle until it costs you something. A must read for Scott Boras, A-Rod - and anyone else in MLB's current firmament who believes it's all about them.

Shattering Baseball's Status-Quo
Forty years have passed since Curt Flood refused to accept a trade to play baseball in another city.A man of immense pride and integrity, Flood vowed never to let the baseball establishment invoke its arbitrary practice of shuffling players around like pawns in a chess game; or as Flood described it---being treated as nothing more than a slave; albeit a well-paid slave.

Money wasn't the issue with Flood; it was a matter of principle for the iconoclastic centerfielder of St Louis, who had vowed to never again suffer the indignity of allowing any team to arbitrarily move him from one destination to another.

Brad Snyder's compelling story of Curt Flood's battle with baseball's reserve clause is historic, and on Flood's part, quite heroic.His legal battle, which went all the way to the Supreme Court, put the wheels in motion for what is now a player-friendly free-agent system, which handsomely rewards players with limited abilities the opportunity to become a millionaire---in just one season.

Ironically, most of today's players who have reaped such huge benefits from Flood's sacrifice know nothing about his efforts.Most of them weren't even born when all this happened.

The game has undergone an enormous change in the past four decades; Curt Flood was the catalyst, and this story is historic & extremely riveting for any fan of the game, especially baseball historians.

A legal history of baseball's reserve clause
Written by a former Washington, D.C. law partner, this recounting of Curt Flood's landmark Supreme Court challenge to baseball's reserve clause is as much an examination of the sport's bizarre legal and commercial history as a biography of the man himself. Although occasionally discursive, Snyder's account of this often-overlooked but critically important moment in American sports should hold a particular interest for any legal-minded fan, or anyone who thinks today's pro athletes make too much money. ... Read more

Product Description
Beginning on Easter Sunday, March 23, 1913, torrential rains across the Midwest dropped a record three months of rainfall in four days. Floodwaters funneled down Ohio's Miami Valley into the heart of the vibrant industrial city of Dayton. Levees burst, houses were swept away, and downtown was gutted by fires blazing from broken gas mains. At the end of Easter week, nearly 100 Daytonians had perished, and tens of thousands more were left homeless and destitute--a tragedy that made banner headlines in newspapers nationwide. Out of Dayton's ashes and mud rose fierce public resolve never again to suffer such destruction. The Great Dayton Flood of 1913 reproduces some 200 astounding photographs from the collections of the Dayton Metro Library and the Miami Conservancy District and the archives of the National Cash Register Company at Dayton History. They portray the terrifying flood, monumental destruction, heroic rescues, and compassionate leadership that occurred during the disaster and its immediate aftermath, as well as the pioneering flood-control engineering that has kept Dayton safe ever since. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Oh, my!
This is a well written tribute to the spirit of the people that lost so much and yet prevailed over tragedy, rebuilding their lives, while building a system to prevent "the great flood" from happening ever again.I had heard the stories from my grandparents but this book magnifies the tenacity of an entire city to overcome the catastrophic consequences of this event.

The Dayton Flood
Located in southwest Ohio, the city of Dayton has several claims to fame.The city hosted the Dayton accords, ending the war in Bosnia.It was the home of the Wright brothers and of their friend, the African American poet, Paul Lawrence Dunbar (1872- 1906). Dunbar was born and died in Dayton.He eloquently described his city in his poem "Toast to Dayton." This poem captures much of the spirit that the community would later display in response to the flood discussed in this review.

"Love of home, sublimest passion
That the human heart can know!
Changeless still, through fate and fashion
Rise and fall and ebb and flow,
To the glory of our nation,
To the welfare of our state,
Let us all with veneration
Every effort consecrate.

And our city, shall we fail her?
Or desert her gracious cause?
Nay - with loyalty we hail her
And revere her righteous laws.
She shall ever claim our duty,
For she shines - the brightest gem
That has ever decked with beauty
Dear Ohio's diadem."

Dayton is also remembered for the great flood that took place just after Easter, in March, 1913. Up to its time, this flood was part of what was the greatest natural disaster in United States's history until eclipsed by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and, in our own day, by Hurricane Katrina.Author Trudy E. Bell offers a history and pictorial account of the Great Dayton Flood in her recent book for the Images of America series. Bell has written earlier books about meteorology as well as works about bicycling in New York City.

Dayton is located in the floodplain of the Great Miami, Stillwater, and Mad Rivers together with a creek, known as Wolf CreekIn early 1913, due to many factors, the soil around Dayton and the inflowing rivers became saturated. During Easter Week, wind and ice storms cut off most of Dayton's communications. This was followed by torrential rains which the riverbeds were unable to handle. The levees protecting Dayton were breached on Tuesday, March 24.Much of the city was quickly submerged under nearly 30 feet of water. Fires broke out.The flood receded later in the week, leaving nearly 100 dead in the city and untold destruction in its wake.In 1913, local disasters were not considered within the purview of the Federal government. The administration provided medical and military personnel and surplus food.But no money was appropriated and no program developed to deal with the catastrophe. The local community and its business and political leaders responded to the flood with great resilience and energy.

The Dayton Flood and its aftermath were amply documented in surprisingly good photographs. Bell has assembled many of them in this 128-page, six-chapter book to tell a compelling story. In the process, she offers an excellent photographic portrait of a city in mid-America in the early 20th Century. The opening chapter of the book covers the destruction caused by the flood as it submerged much of Dayton. She follows this description with the rescue efforts which featured the use of flat-bottom boats to navigate the flood and rescue many stranded people. A primary hero of the book is John Patterson, the President of Dayton's National Cash Register Company. Convicted at the time of criminal violations of the antitrust laws (the conviction was later reversed on appeal), Patterson spearheaded the relief effort by the construction of the flatboats and by opening the extensive facilities of NCR, located on high ground, to refuges from the flood. The destruction wrought by the flood, and by the attendant fires, is documented graphically in the third chapter of the book.In chapter 4, Bell shows the relief efforts subsequent to the flood. While voluntary contributions poured in from throughout the United States, Bell emphasizes the local character of the effort.And she properly points out that many of the photographs show people smiling and ready to begin anew in the face of great and mostly uninsurable losses. The fifth chapter of the book shows the clean-up and rebuilding efforts that began almost immediately after the disaster as most of the community showed grit and a determination to bounce back. The final chapter of the book describes how the effected community funded and developed the Miami Conservancy District which sponsored the construction of five massive earthen dams to prevent a similar catastrophe from occurring again.The Miami Conservancy District remains in existence.The series of dams have withstood over 1500 possible flood conditions over the years, including conditions in 1937 and 1982 which might, if left uncontrolled, have resulted in an experience similar to that of 1913.

The rare photographs and the commentary of this book tell of an important historical event.More importantly the book suggests how a sprit of community, strong leadership, and fortitude can help overcome situations that appear desperate indeed. This book is an excellent addition to the Images of America series of photographic local histories.

Robin Friedman
... Read more

Product Description
The story of the Deluge - or the Global Flood of Noah - permeates nearly every culture in the world in some way, shape, or form. While details vary between the different cultures, the same basic element, occur in all versions. In Flood Legends you will discover:

Detailed analysis of myth, legend, and historical details that are clues for a common, global event

Unique research from a comparative study supporting the biblical history

Despite the striking similarities of these accounts, some mythologists have looked at the minor differences in the stories and declared: "This never happened!"

There is another alternative - to accept that the different versions all refer to the same event - passed on from generation to generation, through various developing cultures. Through these legends, this epic event has remained woven into the tapestry of cultural history - sharing not just the story of survival, but the power of obedience, and the fulfillment of God's enduring promise.

Take an informative and revealing journey across the globe as you explore legends from: Africa, Australia, Babylon, British Columbia, Burma, China, Europe, Greece, India, Indonesia, New Guinea, North America, South America, & more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Enjoyable and educational.
This book simply goes through 3 major flood myths and juxtaposes them. While there are other flood myths that he cites, the core of the book revolves around 3 specific ones. Very interesting and worth the read.

Investigates the seemingly common coincidence of stories of a great flood in many disconnected societies
The flood of Noah is the flood of many other men. "Flood Legends: Global Clues of a Common Event" investigates the seemingly common coincidence of stories of a great flood in many disconnected societies throughout the ancient world. All six of the populated continents have a flood legend of some sort, and Charles Martin looks deeper to find the bigger historical significance of this shared trait. "Flood Legends: Global Clues of a Common Event" is of wonder to any with a love for ancient history and mythology's roots.

Short simple introduction to the global (in more ways than one) Flood Legends
Flood Legends by Charles Martin

In a short 120 pages (and appendices with translations of flood legends), Charles Martin introduces his readers to interpreting mythology.Can myths be true?If they are, how would you know?Focusing on three accounts of a global flood taken from cultures around the world, Charles Martin compares the similarities and differences.Did the legends, and dozens like them, have a common origin?The comparable details indicate not only that the legends are derived from the same story, but that the tale is a common memory of an actual event.Which versions are most likely to be accurate, and why?

On page 119, the author states his reason for investing time in research, translation, and writing Flood Legends: "Contrary to what many may believe upon reading this work, this is not about `proving' a global flood.It reaches deeper, asking us to abandon preconceived ideas and to think.We should be willing to look for connections - not only those connections that dwell in metaphor, but also the kind that dwell in history."By taking the case of the flood legends, so universal in traditional lore across humanity, he demonstrates the prospects that come when we take stories at face value, first testing the possibility of truth before disregarding them as imaginative inventions.

I appreciate the immense effort and talent of the researcher, Charles Martin, whose passion led to this book.Though he was repetitive at times, he made some important points in a simple, straightforward way.The true value of this book to me is the intriguing sample of flood legends found in the appendices.

To God be all glory,
Lisa of Longbourn ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (21)

Just Right!
I personally found this book to be very well written, with a few point making stories thrown in for interest, and good photography of the finished projects.

While looking at this book to purchase, I had 3 other couples with us.I had the women look at the patterns and they mentioned that the patterns were nice, but that was about it.I then showed it to the men and they all agreed, they were items they would wear without hesitation (except the fingerless gloves, they looked kinda funny at that one).Result?We women DO want to dress our men differently than they want to dress!Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but if you have a conservative man that likes to grab the same jeans and shirt to wear then he will probably like at least 1 items in here.I can pretty much guarantee it will be the cap.It is a classic that men look for and when you are done knitting, it looks very similar to what he might pick up to buy in a store.Men (generally) don't like to wear things that obviously look hand made.

I LOVE the versatility of this book.Too many times I have picked up a yarn thinking I would love to knit a sweater from it, but don't have a pattern for this gauge and how much of a pain it will be to find a pattern or do the math to make the gauge work with my yarn.Yes, I have been knitting for over 20 years, but don't have the slightest desire to design my own pattern.Why should I?There are so many other people out there that are so much better than I am!

This book is a great resource for knitting for our men.

My favorite knitting book for men
I have 3 other men's knitting books and this one is the best, by far. My brother wanted a few things out of it immediately. My husband, whom never looks through books like this, does more than grunt when I show him projects.

I wanted to make him a hat last night so I went through a few books, patterns and looked online. After spending an hour perusing, I finally opened this book and started the watch cap. It does the pattern in different st/in so you can use whatever yarn you have handy. It works great.

If you knit for a man, this should be in your library.

Finally---knits for real guys, not fashion models.
I love this book and will be using it constantly. It is next to impossible to find good, basic, attractive sweater patterns for men in large sizes. This book does it. The patterns are versatile and come in a variety of sizes. I really like the fact that each pattern includes a chart so that you can choose from different gauges of yarn and not have to try to figure out the equivalents yourself.The main loved one I knit for is my husband. He is a big guy and in the past I have had to try to adapt patterns for 2XL and 3XL sizing. I'm never that confident that it will work and that the armholes and shoulders will still fit when I have adjusted a pattern for a much smaller man. It is such a relief to finally find patterns written with real men in mind. These are sweaters my husband will actually wear and appreciate. Thank you, Bruce!

Bruce Weinstein Gets It!!!
I have brought home countless books from the library with titles like "Knits Men Will Actually Wear" only to have my husband laugh himself silly over the patterns. Bruce Weinstein actually gets what men really want in handknit clothing - simple styles, no frou-frou cables or bobbles and yes, plain colors. Think sage green, navy, beige, gray. Do NOT think Kelly green, lapis, pink or bright red.

On the drive home from my local yarn shop, I couldn't resist reading bits of the book outloud - my husband Frank agreed heartily with everything Bruce wrote and even admired some of the patterns. My first project from the book will be the thick and warm socks - I asked him if he wanted me to make the left and right toes different, and - just as Bruce predicts in the book - Frank said, no, he had a pair like that once and it was too much trouble to keep them straight! He also wants me to make him a sweater, and he picked out the basic one over the other two, slighly fancier styles.

Bruce's directions are clear and easy-to-understand for even the novice knitter. I especially like the fact that he explains how to do a gauge swatch when you are knitting something in the round - I had to take a knitting class to learn that technique.

This is simply a superb book. Five stars!

Can't Wait!
My friend has this book and it is wonderful.A lot of patterns that I know my hubby will love.I have placed my order and can't wait to begin my Christmas projects! ... Read more