Shop online for Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism American Intellectual Culture

Author : Ronald J Pestritto
Total Page : 296
Publisher : Rowman Littlefield Publishers Inc
Publication Date : 2005 01 20

Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism American Intellectual Culture
>> Truly shocking expose
Really a magnificent work It is a well documented well constructed scholarly work describing Wilson s perspective and influence using his own words This is not a he said she said interpretation but rather the author goes right to the source Philosophy of History by Hegel The State Constitutional Government lecture notes and other writings of Wilson

I started highlighting and dog earing every bombshell surprise and Oh My God I came across and while still in the introduction I realized I would be dog earing nearly every page It s not easy reading but for someone who knows and understands the Constitution this book reads like a Stephen King nightmare Here s a couple of the biggest shockers teasers not spoilers

Through historicism Wilson concluded that the Constitution must be unbolted from the unalienable rights of the Declaration of Independence it embodies and have it basically float in context through history The Constitution should mean whateverthehell we want it to mean today He felt that the Constitution should not be anchored in its old antiquated 18th century connotation and should be modernized and updated After all slavery is a term of revulsion today Not so in the 18th century So we can expect a term like freedom to mean something different as well

THAT is a bombshell

Here s another Wilson believed and wrote about how we as a society have evolved beyond the need to be wary of government power He offers no proof no explanation just classic trust me assumptions Concerns about too much centralized power are shrugged off as antiquated thinking With the government tied closely to the people so that they the people can more intimately communicate the will of the people to the president and with an educated president answerable to the people the citizenry need not fear government The sophomoric naivety of such a powerful man who rose to the presidency is incredible Lord Acton Power corrupts And absolute power corrupts absolutely might disagree with Wilson This idea that government can be a POSITIVE force that it is a tool to give the people what they want has some of its origins and most of its empowerment with Wilson This idea is alive and well today and is clearly the source of many problems with government

What I found most disturbing is the parallels I could easily draw between Wilson s writings and today s political rhetoric We are most definitely NOT out of the Progressive Era We are smack in the middle of it

This is more than enlightening More than educational It is important It should be wide read and common knowledge It s the kind of book you should give to a friend to read after you re done
>> 100 bucks for 300 pages
Woodrow Wilson was possibly the most damaging presidency in our history And thanks to Amazon I can know less about him then I should That s ok the book would be preaching to choir at this point anyway Just sit back relax and watch the country fall

We should put ol Woody on the 1 dollar bill That way we can see his face burn as we light piles of the junk paper just to keep warm
>> A Very Different Viewpoint
In this book Pestritto delves into the education and political ideologies of Woodrow Wilson He uses many of Wilson s writings during his education to show the historicist nature of his political upbringing and throughout the work Pestritto supports his idea that Wilson s thinking differed substantially from the political thinking of the founders Pestritto also uses the writings to show Wilson s praise and support of foreign governments such as the British parliamentary system Pestritto presents a radical new vision for these modern times I have heard and read many things about Woodrow Wilson but this is the first piece that offers a truly critical view of Wilson s political ideology
Pestritto delivers his argument masterfully with in depth evidence from Wilson s scholarly writings and firsthand accounts Nearly all of his evidence comes from Wilson s literary works such as Constitutional Government and The State among others The Analysis of Wilson s thought is thorough well organized and planned straight to the point Pestritto does not beat around the bush in this book which should receive high praise especially during these modern times when politics are aiming to misguide and deceive the people of their true intentions This book is not accompanied by graphics or visual aids but rather is a straight up read which may get extremely dry at times One strategy that Pestritto uses that I find extremely helpful is that he writes down all of his sources and side notes at the end of each chapter including the introduction and conclusion I would say that although this book is fairly straight forward and well developed it may be confusing to less experienced readers
Personally I think that Pestritto presents a very convincing argument that has changed my views of Woodrow Wilson Before I hadn t heard much in depth thinking of Wilson and had assumed all the praise given to him was a worthy justification But now I see Wilson for what he represented and can only wonder how an extreme radical could gain so much power and influence over the people I applaud Pestritto for his work though I was quite bored and confused at times because it shows the side of Wilson that was beforehand ignored whether it was unintentional or deliberate Not only has this book given me insight on one of the greatest political minds of the early twentieth century but it has revealed why some aspects of the modern political realm have become so skewed from that of the Constitution and of the founding thought I strongly advise anyone and everyone to read this book whether or not it changes your view of Woodrow Wilson I believe that this book could be a cornerstone to present political thought because it reveals so much about the thinking behind progressivism

Note This critique was written as a homework assignment Any feedback is greatly appreciated

Fast Shipping Ishmael Turtleback School Library Binding Edition is the best

Author : Daniel Quinn
Total Page : 263
Publisher : Turtleback
Publication Date : 1995 06 01

Ishmael Turtleback School Library Binding Edition
>> opens the mind
For those who truly want to explore how we got to where we are this is the best book around In order to grasp Ishmael s teaching it is necessary to set aside preconceived ideas about dogma and organized religion Anyone who cares about the planet we live on the way we treat all species including ourselves can learn much from this book Since the publication I ve read Ishmael at least a dozen times Every time I pick it up I learn something new a different way to look at events an approach to change I had not thought of
>> Should have been written in a non fiction format
An Environmentalist Antarctic Traveler Lovable Wacko gave the book to me 13 years ago I just saw it on my shelf last week and thought might as well read this so I can get rid of it During the fist half hour of reading it I almost dumped it in the trash several times but because of my respect for the Lovable Wacko I kept reading it She d told me your neuronal firing patterns are going to be changed by the time you finish the book
Damn it She was right I stuck it out despite the extremely irritating dialogue The adolescent banter between the gorilla and the ignorant student grated so completely upon me that I simply couldn t wait to finish the book and get it out of my house
However despite his horrible writing Quinn gives us several nuggets to take away to weave into our current understanding of the world I m certainly in agreement with his take that overpopulation is the number one problem facing humanity He gives us Taker and Leaver societies I am suspect whenever someone breaks down the world into two kinds which is a way of looking at how humankind has gotten itself into this pickle running out of fossil fuel losing the ability to feed itself filling the atmosphere with CO2 and filling the waters and land with pernicious pollutants In some of the other reviews we see that perhaps Quinn s precision of facts is not always accurate I say that it doesn t matter His concept that there are innate Laws of Life in the same way as there are Laws of Aerodynamics is a good one and it does me well to delve into that further I am not too keen on his veneration of the native American culture been there done that but Quinn s premise that they were a Leaver society should be scientifically examined There s another fact of Quinn s that I d like to look into further did the Hohokam simply walk away from their canals and waterworks I don t know that we can know that based on the archeological evidence They disappeared but did they disown their way of life and walk into the sunset
The book has given me food for thought and leads me to books of greater scientific substance I was offended by the way Quinn talked down to us and I wish he had written in the direct style of an Al Gore or a Neil DeGrasse Tyson because his ideas will lead us to deeper thoughts
In the end I found myself missing the gorilla but I m still getting rid of the book
>> For people who have never bothered to think about the world
I do not want to be too mean to this book because I believe its intentions are the best but really this is a form or elite theory on how to manage the world

Ishmael postulates that people are a cancer and then the only logical solution is removal of this cancer However this is always something that comes from the developed world directed at the developing world so it seems that the book is arguing for some kind of sterilization program for those in the developing world which frankly is racist and elitist among other things

The book also does not address why so many people exist in the manner they do Why do people go on about their lives with little to no care about the environment This is because many of the poorer people in the world again something I think the book is aiming at as the source of the earth s woes life is an everyday struggle to live and to provide for one s family Population control and the environment do not figure into this Also I believe that when people of any class or country attempt to provide the best for their family best home best schools best vehicles best standard of living which is understandable they have an environmental impact thereby

This book then provides no real thought out solutions to any of the Earth s woes People should conserve and should try not to have an impact on the environment but blaming overpopulation in poorer nations as the problem is frankly wrong And further the book is arrogant because it assumes we should believe everything it has to say because it comes from an old talking gorilla

Best price on Autobiography

Author : Benjamin Franklin

Autobiography
>> Tough Read
I LOVE history but the way they spoke/wrote back then make this a really tough read
>> Very interesting but superlative
I had heard grandiose things about this book as in one of the greatest autobiographies in existence etc Well I read it and it was good But I wonder how great people would say it was were it not for the historical color it adds to the landscape I mean the writing skill is fine in my opinion not great As a few other reviewers have said it also falls far short of being definitive It s almost like Franklin thought Let me write a skeletal account for an autobiography then I ll fill in all the details and put meat on them bones But he never seemed to get around to adding the meat

So okay I liked the book but it didn t appear to me to be one of the best ever I believe Franklin was a much greater man than we see portrayed here
>> Nice
The book arrived quickly and in perfect condition VERY pleased with everything including the price

Best price on Killing Pablo is the best

Author : Mark Bowden
Publisher : Simon Schuster Audio
Publication Date : 2001 04 01

Killing Pablo
>> The other side of the story
Ok so herre we go so i havnt read this book but i did see that Matthew F Borwn said that this book bashes Mr Pablo Well this is crude I believe that if your going to tell a part of the story dont be that much of a retard to tell the other part of the story IF your gonna meantion the bad parts of his life mention the good things he did Pablo was not all a bad guy so what he sold drugs and murdered people he also did it in a perfective manor he was smart enough to cover his own ass until the end his i mean he used his brother as his own acountant come on thats genius use your own family so you know you can trust em and his brother owned ran and had in his own possesion a bicycle shop COVER UP but all in all pablo was a good man who covered his ass in the bad things he did i mean hitler was a bad dude did alot of bad things but he was a hell of a leader so again if your gonna tell a story about someones life hit both sides not just one angle
>> READ THE ACCOUNTANTS STORY
Ok I havent read this book YET but I surmise from the reviews and whatnot it bashes Pablo Please read The Accountants Story it tells the whole story straight from Roberto Escobar Pablo s brother and accountant who was with Pablo through it all Pablo killed to protect himself and his family He knew what he was doing was wrong so he had a plan to get out Become the president of Columbia Had he been granted that opportunity we would know him not for the alleged murders but for his constant good deeds to the poor of his country which he was known for even though his money was dirty Pablo cared so much for his fellow Columbians and its a shame to hear him bashed and not credited for what he was doing good and his good intentions
>> Fascinating subject so so story telling
great book incredible subject
My only hang up is the author s story telling style Bowden does a much better job of telling a story in a logical easier to follow timeline in Blackhawk Down but in this book he jumps all over the place and doesn t do the best of jobs in keeping the reader aware of the timeline of events Bowden s fact finding in regards to covert operations is incredible he certainly has access to information that no other author has and for that alone this book is well worth a 5 star rating But the telling of the story itself in this book is much less than it could be A good example of an excellently told story with similar subject matter is the book Inside Delta Force by Eric Haney Bowden s story telling skills pale in comparison to Haney s And for that reason alone I have to give the book 3 5 stars

Cheapest price on 29 Gifts How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life

Author : Cami Walker
Total Page : 256
Publisher : Da Capo Lifelong Books
Publication Date : 2009 10 06

29 Gifts How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life
>> An inspirational personal story
NOTE I received a free copy of this book to review for the web site Metapsychology Online Reviews you can read a more detailed version of my review on that web site

At the age of 33 just one month after her wedding day Cami Walker was diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder multiple sclerosis MS Two years later in the midst of a MS flare up and in a state of despair Walker calls her friend and spiritual mentor Mbali Creazzo To Walker s shock Creazzo gently chides her for spending all of her time thinking only of herself Creazzo suggests a prescription to help Walker dig herself out of this black hole of self pity give away 29 gifts in 29 days She explains that the gifts don t need to be material things as the act of giving itself is merely the taking of positive action that has the potential to shift energy in one s life

Eventually Walker decides to follow Creazzo s uncommon advice Her 29 days of giving make up the heart of the book with each chapter representing one day or one gift Walker starts simply a phone call to a friend and fellow MS sufferer and is surprised to find that on the very same day she receives a gift in return an offer for a consulting job Walker soon discovers what Creazzo had likely intended her to see from the beginning that giving and receiving are irreparably intertwined By giving with intention day after day Walker finds herself more open to abundance in all areas of her life Truly inspired by the giving concept Walker decides to recruit others to join her She sets up the web site a 29giffs dot org web site encouraging friends and family to post their own giving stories The book concludes with some additional selections from this community which has expanded to close to 5000 nine stories from nine different individuals about their own unique and meaningful giving experiences

The idea that it is better to give than to receive is certainly not a new concept Set against the backdrop of her health issues however Walker offers the suggestion that giving can be both healing and transformational As such her own story is moving and inspirational this book is likely to appeal to those striving to live a life of gratitude
>> Inspriring quick read
The new agey stuff was an eye roller but overall inspiring and a good read I m going to join the movement
>> Original Idea
This book would be difficult for me to read since I wrote the same premise as a screenplay for a master s course at National University in 2005 Sick woman African American wise woman instead of 30 days the good deeds she had to do three a month for a year Same story I guess a few changes makes it an original idea though We were told not to talk about our work or others works outside of class

Save price on American Lion Andrew Jackson in the White House New York Times Notable Books order it now

Author : Jon Meacham
Total Page : 512
Publisher : Random House Trade Paperbacks
Publication Date : 2009 04 30

American Lion Andrew Jackson in the White House New York Times Notable Books
>> Never received my refund
I received an e mail stating that my order had been shipped Several days later I received another e mail saying the book was out of stock and that I would get my full refund within 10 business days It has been 30 days and still no refund I tried to contact the seller and have yet to hear back from them I will be reporting the seller to amazon
>> American Lion
Now I wish I had known the author was the editor to Newsweek and NY times guy While I must admit that the book does contain well written fascinating details about an American icon I wish I had read who the author was before buying it I got to page 132 and realized that I was reading a far left Liberal s interpretation of this larger than life figure I was becoming angry because after having read Franklin s Washington s Lincoln s S Adam s biographies I had set myself up thinking I was about to read a non bias fact based book about Jackson Wrong was I Yes some times the author manages to make you wonder and believe he is speaking objectively until he gets to certain issues and topics Then his Liberal tendencies start running a muck Sorta killed it for me after a while I would suggest a different book I got it cause it was cheap and on sale at Costco Would ve paid more though to have read a biography from someone who wrote it from a historical objective point of view Ruined the experience
>> The first progressive President
Jon Meacham s well written American Lion provides a highly detailed insight into the goings on in Andrew Jackson s White House It seems the Jackson presidency was characterised by an intricate intertwining between politics and family affairs and in that respect the narrative makes some of the most fascinating reading of any biography I have read Unfortunately and far less unique the author s present day views of past rights and wrongs tend to inflitrate his subject matter skewering what could have been an objective review of this important chapter of US history Thus for instance the author repeats the fallacy or at the very least the oversimplification that the preservation of slavery was the cause of the Civil War He agrees that the Tariff of Abomination was just that to the southern States and calls the South s opposition to it legitimate but stops short of saying that the South had cause to mistrust the North s motives and machinations which would eventually lead to the South s secession Northern machinations well before 1860 included so called internal improvements as well as the moneyed interests behind them that Jackson actively fought while the author correctly states that these most benefited the western and middle States in fact they also enriched the North at the expense of Southern taxpayers who disproportionately paid for them while being denied the benefits Mr Meacham is bending over backwards to avoid giving any hint of credit to the Southern cause Another irksome detail is that he decries slavery in the usual terms but decidedly glosses over the unsavory aspects were there any other of the Indian removal that John Ehle s Trail of Tears so harrowingly chronicles Mr Meacham likes Andrew Jackson because he favored both the notion of dominant indivisible Union as well as limited government We know how that turned out the first was bought at the cost of 600 000 American lives not counting civilians and on the second we can at least all agree that it s a thing of the past in America just like in Europe The author of this powerful biography casts Jackson as a progressive in the Roosevelt Wilson FDR tradition If true it is a sad epitaph for this remarkable if not uncontroversial President

Best price for The New New Thing is the best

Author : Lewis Michael
Publisher : W W Norton Company
Publication Date : 2000 01 01

The New New Thing
>> Another great book by Michael Lewis
I read this book because I am a fan of Michael Lewis and I enjoyed reading Liar s Poker and Moneyball This book is about Jim Clark and Silicon Valley Clark was an unsuccessful college professor who founded three billion dollar companies Silicon Graphics Netscape and Healtheon I personally liked the part about Silicon Valley I found it very educational to learn how an idea can be taken from scratch and at the end sold in the public markets through an IPO After reading this book people who are constantly chasing the next hot IPOs may wake up and realize that most of the money has already been made by the founders venture capitalists and investment bankers before leftovers are served for the public

Mariusz Skonieczny author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market Learn how to invest your money how to pick stocks and how to make money in the stock market
>> Not a bad read although nothing spectacular
One has to remember that this book was written during the burst of the Internet bubble At that time the general view is that the Internet bubble were purely speculative and would not have any lasting impact Michael Lewis went against the conventional wisdom at the time and described in a series of tales the transformational powers of the web still being played out The stories did not quite make a coherent whole However the observations were relevant

In terms of writing this book does not compare favorably to the master piece Liar s Poker Therefore I give it a 3 star
>> The Boat
It s all about the boat Here Michael Lewis follows the career of Jim Clark founder of Silicon Graphics now SGI Netscape now well something else and then Healtheon something else again Along the way Clark makes a zillion dollars and gets investment money as easily as turning on a tap Although this book is quite old now in terms of Internet years the same basic lessons seem to be applicable in today s well until 2008s crash anyway environment That is a suffer from ADD or is it ADHD and know when to spin the message way beyond hyperbole Clark comes across as a super intelligent hyperactive child Had he been 15 years old he d have been put on a cocktail of drugs and told to sit in the corner and be quiet Instead he s given hundreds of millions of dollars of investors money on business plans and ideas written on what feels like restaurant napkins Lewis the writer seems to be dragged along for the ride hanging on for dear life
Reading it now after the IT crash of 2001 and the General Collapse of 2008 I have no pity for how any of those people might be suffering now They had the very very high life Clark however doesn t forget the small people who have helped him along the way and makes sure that stock options are given out to those slaving over the hot keyboards
All through the book though Clark s dream of owning the biggest sail boat ever holds the story together and act as a message of the size of the plans Clark has And how no matter how big Clark sees or wants something there are still physical laws that limit him One thinks that if Clark could rewrite the laws of the universe he would Or at least start a company with investors money to try and do it float it on the NASDAQ then live off the profits Until the next New New Thing comes along