You'll never learn so much in such a small book, 28 Jan 2007
This book is a work of genius for the whole, exquisitely written it offers wisdom on most pages and nonsense on the others. It's been a very long time since I learnt such a large amount, the language has a poetic beauty to it and anybody interested in governance should read this. The thesis of the book is well known (as it indeed should be) but there are some startling facts about the author. Rousseau was serial child abandoner; he seems to have left five children in foundling hospitals and when attacked by his critic, a certain Voltaire, his defence was that the he would have been a poor father and his children would fair better in a foundling hospital. A slightly implausible fact given the high mortality rate at the founding hospital. Still, we judge him for his ideas, not his actions so this book receives a resounding five stars.

socialist precurser, 22 Mar 2006
this book is not, as other readers claim, endorsing dictatorship, but rather is criticising bad democracy. surprisingly persuasive and well written, as a blueprint to later socialist theories eg Marx, it is fascinating.

A Warning From History, 19 May 2004
This is an important book, perhaps one of the most influential ever written. Unfortunately its influence has been wholly pernicious in the extreme - the blueprint for totalitarian regimes the world over. Rousseau was a psychotic and self obsessed individual who elaborated a theory of human civilization at odds with the basic principles of common sense and reason. From the French Revolutionary terror to the Soviet Gulags - the hallmarks of Rousseau's absurd doctrines can be found. But a willfull disregard for reality seems to be the prerequisite for so called enlightened thinkers and those that provided the ideological bedrock for revolutionaries from the french revolution onwards. The most recent example of an attempt to throw off the 'shackles' of civilization occured in Cambodia - Pol Pot - a true disciple of Rousseau, nurtured in the intellectual salons of the Left Bank. Savage indeed, but noble? In the fevered dreams of Marxist intellectuals were the ovens and gulags first delineated - Rousseau was their precursor, an important document, handle with care.

Rousseau, we love ya!, 06 Mar 2001
It's coherent. It's valid. It's informed. One must make up one's own mind about the 'general will', however. Buy, read, then dismiss. Or buy, read, then love. If you can find it in your soul to love a piece of political theory, that is.

You'll never learn so much in such a small book, 28 Jan 2007
This book is a work of genius for the whole, exquisitely written it offers wisdom on most pages and nonsense on the others. It's been a very long time since I learnt such a large amount, the language has a poetic beauty to it and anybody interested in governance should read this. The thesis of the book is well known (as it indeed should be) but there are some startling facts about the author. Rousseau was serial child abandoner; he seems to have left five children in foundling hospitals and when attacked by his critic, a certain Voltaire, his defence was that the he would have been a poor father and his children would fair better in a foundling hospital. A slightly implausible fact given the high mortality rate at the founding hospital. Still, we judge him for his ideas, not his actions so this book receives a resounding five stars.

socialist precurser, 22 Mar 2006
this book is not, as other readers claim, endorsing dictatorship, but rather is criticising bad democracy. surprisingly persuasive and well written, as a blueprint to later socialist theories eg Marx, it is fascinating.

A Warning From History, 19 May 2004
This is an important book, perhaps one of the most influential ever written. Unfortunately its influence has been wholly pernicious in the extreme - the blueprint for totalitarian regimes the world over. Rousseau was a psychotic and self obsessed individual who elaborated a theory of human civilization at odds with the basic principles of common sense and reason. From the French Revolutionary terror to the Soviet Gulags - the hallmarks of Rousseau's absurd doctrines can be found. But a willfull disregard for reality seems to be the prerequisite for so called enlightened thinkers and those that provided the ideological bedrock for revolutionaries from the french revolution onwards. The most recent example of an attempt to throw off the 'shackles' of civilization occured in Cambodia - Pol Pot - a true disciple of Rousseau, nurtured in the intellectual salons of the Left Bank. Savage indeed, but noble? In the fevered dreams of Marxist intellectuals were the ovens and gulags first delineated - Rousseau was their precursor, an important document, handle with care.

Rousseau, we love ya!, 06 Mar 2001
It's coherent. It's valid. It's informed. One must make up one's own mind about the 'general will', however. Buy, read, then dismiss. Or buy, read, then love. If you can find it in your soul to love a piece of political theory, that is.

Brilliant!, 09 Apr 2008
Being A 15Year Old Teen I Loved This Book So Much I Finished It On A Flight To Greece N Was Finished 4Hours Later When We Arrived.
This Book Was Filled With Good Times And Horrific Times..I Got A Few Weird Looks From The Air Stewards And A Few " Are You Ok?" When Some Parts Of The Book Left Me With Tears Rolling Down My Face =[
Over All This Is A Wonderfull Book And I Would Reccomend This To Anyone!
xx

lottielou, 06 Apr 2008
This book is by far my favourite book. It is gripping and tells of one womens love for her daughter and plight to escape from her abusive husband and his family. Fabulous...

Fantasic gripping book!, 13 Oct 2007
I absolutely could not put this book down! my daughter and mother were also hooked. This book is an amazing insight into life in Iran in the 1980's, the way of life for women in Iran and an eye opener to the huge cultural difference between the West and this Islamic country. It is an exiting story which left me wanting to understand more about Iran and it's history and life for women there.

Very hard to put down., 02 Oct 2007
This was one of those books that when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about reading it...

It was exceptionally well written in that it was very descriptive without being overbearing. The pace moved on quite quickly throughout the book which ensured that it was captivating.

Betty and her daughter were exceptionally lucky to have escaped alive... All in all an excellent, highly recommended read.

misleading cover, 01 Jun 2007
A note about the cover: It's misleading and unfair to Iranians. In no part of Iran do woman wear a full niqab like that, with only the eyes visible. That's a Gulf Arab you see on the cover.

Iranians are not Arabs. Sheesh.

You'll never learn so much in such a small book, 28 Jan 2007
This book is a work of genius for the whole, exquisitely written it offers wisdom on most pages and nonsense on the others. It's been a very long time since I learnt such a large amount, the language has a poetic beauty to it and anybody interested in governance should read this. The thesis of the book is well known (as it indeed should be) but there are some startling facts about the author. Rousseau was serial child abandoner; he seems to have left five children in foundling hospitals and when attacked by his critic, a certain Voltaire, his defence was that the he would have been a poor father and his children would fair better in a foundling hospital. A slightly implausible fact given the high mortality rate at the founding hospital. Still, we judge him for his ideas, not his actions so this book receives a resounding five stars.

socialist precurser, 22 Mar 2006
this book is not, as other readers claim, endorsing dictatorship, but rather is criticising bad democracy. surprisingly persuasive and well written, as a blueprint to later socialist theories eg Marx, it is fascinating.

A Warning From History, 19 May 2004
This is an important book, perhaps one of the most influential ever written. Unfortunately its influence has been wholly pernicious in the extreme - the blueprint for totalitarian regimes the world over. Rousseau was a psychotic and self obsessed individual who elaborated a theory of human civilization at odds with the basic principles of common sense and reason. From the French Revolutionary terror to the Soviet Gulags - the hallmarks of Rousseau's absurd doctrines can be found. But a willfull disregard for reality seems to be the prerequisite for so called enlightened thinkers and those that provided the ideological bedrock for revolutionaries from the french revolution onwards. The most recent example of an attempt to throw off the 'shackles' of civilization occured in Cambodia - Pol Pot - a true disciple of Rousseau, nurtured in the intellectual salons of the Left Bank. Savage indeed, but noble? In the fevered dreams of Marxist intellectuals were the ovens and gulags first delineated - Rousseau was their precursor, an important document, handle with care.

Rousseau, we love ya!, 06 Mar 2001
It's coherent. It's valid. It's informed. One must make up one's own mind about the 'general will', however. Buy, read, then dismiss. Or buy, read, then love. If you can find it in your soul to love a piece of political theory, that is.

Brilliant!, 09 Apr 2008
Being A 15Year Old Teen I Loved This Book So Much I Finished It On A Flight To Greece N Was Finished 4Hours Later When We Arrived.
This Book Was Filled With Good Times And Horrific Times..I Got A Few Weird Looks From The Air Stewards And A Few " Are You Ok?" When Some Parts Of The Book Left Me With Tears Rolling Down My Face =[
Over All This Is A Wonderfull Book And I Would Reccomend This To Anyone!
xx

lottielou, 06 Apr 2008
This book is by far my favourite book. It is gripping and tells of one womens love for her daughter and plight to escape from her abusive husband and his family. Fabulous...

Fantasic gripping book!, 13 Oct 2007
I absolutely could not put this book down! my daughter and mother were also hooked. This book is an amazing insight into life in Iran in the 1980's, the way of life for women in Iran and an eye opener to the huge cultural difference between the West and this Islamic country. It is an exiting story which left me wanting to understand more about Iran and it's history and life for women there.

Very hard to put down., 02 Oct 2007
This was one of those books that when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about reading it...

It was exceptionally well written in that it was very descriptive without being overbearing. The pace moved on quite quickly throughout the book which ensured that it was captivating.

Betty and her daughter were exceptionally lucky to have escaped alive... All in all an excellent, highly recommended read.

misleading cover, 01 Jun 2007
A note about the cover: It's misleading and unfair to Iranians. In no part of Iran do woman wear a full niqab like that, with only the eyes visible. That's a Gulf Arab you see on the cover.

Iranians are not Arabs. Sheesh.

An Excellent Version of a Classic Work, 23 Jan 2001
I bought this book over a year ago and it is a joy to read. The introduction by Michael Foot is informative and concise and helps set up the book in the correct historical context. Common Sense is one of the most important and under-rated tracts in history, influencing as it did the American revolution and therefore the French revolution and The Rights of Man is an eloquent argument against authoritarian rule and a call for democracy which was way ahead of its time and still extremely relevent. I urge you to buy it.

CONTINUING TO DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF HUMANITY TODAY, 05 Jul 1999
The Rights of Man is a riposte to Edmund Burke's criticism of the French Revolution. Its message is the superiority of reason, in the form of Republican government armed with the Declaration of the Rights of Man, over despotism which holds populations in ignorance. With the American and French revolutions fresh in his mind, Paine was writing in a world on the threshold of freedom and that comes through in his forceful and forthright style. That said, and most important for the reader to appreciate, much of what he has to say still applies today. Paine in scathing in his critique of hereditary monarchy and privilege. He says "the idea of hereditary legislation is.......as absurd as an hereditary mathematician, or an hereditary wise man." He rejects the notion of government laws being justified by tradition and therefore irrevocable. His argument against Burke's defence of the 1688 revolution in England is perhaps the best in the book. Paine argues that the only thing that is truly hereditary is the Rights of Man : "The Rights of men in society, are neither devisable, nor transferrable, nor annihilable, but descendable only." The book is a superb polemic when both understood in its historical context and applied to world politics today. His arguments for reform of the House of Lords strike a particularly pertinent note. He expresses liberal doctrines that many people take for granted but in our own genocidal times Paine reminds us that many of the topics that impassioned him should continue to impassion everyone with an interest in humanity. The style of the writing may put off a few as many themes disappear and reappear throughout the book instead of being dealt with in a coherant whole. The fact that it was written in two parts and that he is one of the greatest pamphleteers of modern times should compensate for this minor irritation.

You'll never learn so much in such a small book, 28 Jan 2007
This book is a work of genius for the whole, exquisitely written it offers wisdom on most pages and nonsense on the others. It's been a very long time since I learnt such a large amount, the language has a poetic beauty to it and anybody interested in governance should read this. The thesis of the book is well known (as it indeed should be) but there are some startling facts about the author. Rousseau was serial child abandoner; he seems to have left five children in foundling hospitals and when attacked by his critic, a certain Voltaire, his defence was that the he would have been a poor father and his children would fair better in a foundling hospital. A slightly implausible fact given the high mortality rate at the founding hospital. Still, we judge him for his ideas, not his actions so this book receives a resounding five stars.

socialist precurser, 22 Mar 2006
this book is not, as other readers claim, endorsing dictatorship, but rather is criticising bad democracy. surprisingly persuasive and well written, as a blueprint to later socialist theories eg Marx, it is fascinating.

A Warning From History, 19 May 2004
This is an important book, perhaps one of the most influential ever written. Unfortunately its influence has been wholly pernicious in the extreme - the blueprint for totalitarian regimes the world over. Rousseau was a psychotic and self obsessed individual who elaborated a theory of human civilization at odds with the basic principles of common sense and reason. From the French Revolutionary terror to the Soviet Gulags - the hallmarks of Rousseau's absurd doctrines can be found. But a willfull disregard for reality seems to be the prerequisite for so called enlightened thinkers and those that provided the ideological bedrock for revolutionaries from the french revolution onwards. The most recent example of an attempt to throw off the 'shackles' of civilization occured in Cambodia - Pol Pot - a true disciple of Rousseau, nurtured in the intellectual salons of the Left Bank. Savage indeed, but noble? In the fevered dreams of Marxist intellectuals were the ovens and gulags first delineated - Rousseau was their precursor, an important document, handle with care.

Rousseau, we love ya!, 06 Mar 2001
It's coherent. It's valid. It's informed. One must make up one's own mind about the 'general will', however. Buy, read, then dismiss. Or buy, read, then love. If you can find it in your soul to love a piece of political theory, that is.

Brilliant!, 09 Apr 2008
Being A 15Year Old Teen I Loved This Book So Much I Finished It On A Flight To Greece N Was Finished 4Hours Later When We Arrived.
This Book Was Filled With Good Times And Horrific Times..I Got A Few Weird Looks From The Air Stewards And A Few " Are You Ok?" When Some Parts Of The Book Left Me With Tears Rolling Down My Face =[
Over All This Is A Wonderfull Book And I Would Reccomend This To Anyone!
xx

lottielou, 06 Apr 2008
This book is by far my favourite book. It is gripping and tells of one womens love for her daughter and plight to escape from her abusive husband and his family. Fabulous...

Fantasic gripping book!, 13 Oct 2007
I absolutely could not put this book down! my daughter and mother were also hooked. This book is an amazing insight into life in Iran in the 1980's, the way of life for women in Iran and an eye opener to the huge cultural difference between the West and this Islamic country. It is an exiting story which left me wanting to understand more about Iran and it's history and life for women there.

Very hard to put down., 02 Oct 2007
This was one of those books that when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about reading it...

It was exceptionally well written in that it was very descriptive without being overbearing. The pace moved on quite quickly throughout the book which ensured that it was captivating.

Betty and her daughter were exceptionally lucky to have escaped alive... All in all an excellent, highly recommended read.

misleading cover, 01 Jun 2007
A note about the cover: It's misleading and unfair to Iranians. In no part of Iran do woman wear a full niqab like that, with only the eyes visible. That's a Gulf Arab you see on the cover.

Iranians are not Arabs. Sheesh.

An Excellent Version of a Classic Work, 23 Jan 2001
I bought this book over a year ago and it is a joy to read. The introduction by Michael Foot is informative and concise and helps set up the book in the correct historical context. Common Sense is one of the most important and under-rated tracts in history, influencing as it did the American revolution and therefore the French revolution and The Rights of Man is an eloquent argument against authoritarian rule and a call for democracy which was way ahead of its time and still extremely relevent. I urge you to buy it.

CONTINUING TO DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF HUMANITY TODAY, 05 Jul 1999
The Rights of Man is a riposte to Edmund Burke's criticism of the French Revolution. Its message is the superiority of reason, in the form of Republican government armed with the Declaration of the Rights of Man, over despotism which holds populations in ignorance. With the American and French revolutions fresh in his mind, Paine was writing in a world on the threshold of freedom and that comes through in his forceful and forthright style. That said, and most important for the reader to appreciate, much of what he has to say still applies today. Paine in scathing in his critique of hereditary monarchy and privilege. He says "the idea of hereditary legislation is.......as absurd as an hereditary mathematician, or an hereditary wise man." He rejects the notion of government laws being justified by tradition and therefore irrevocable. His argument against Burke's defence of the 1688 revolution in England is perhaps the best in the book. Paine argues that the only thing that is truly hereditary is the Rights of Man : "The Rights of men in society, are neither devisable, nor transferrable, nor annihilable, but descendable only." The book is a superb polemic when both understood in its historical context and applied to world politics today. His arguments for reform of the House of Lords strike a particularly pertinent note. He expresses liberal doctrines that many people take for granted but in our own genocidal times Paine reminds us that many of the topics that impassioned him should continue to impassion everyone with an interest in humanity. The style of the writing may put off a few as many themes disappear and reappear throughout the book instead of being dealt with in a coherant whole. The fact that it was written in two parts and that he is one of the greatest pamphleteers of modern times should compensate for this minor irritation.

marcus garvey writings review, 15 Dec 2008
Does what it says on the front of the book!
very nice collection of Marcus Garvey speeches and writings.

The unique thing about this book is that the writer reviews all other
books on Marcus Garvey up to this point giving a balanced and fair opinion of each of the other books.

The content is lifted straight from Marcus's manuscripts, with no author edits.

Excellent

You'll never learn so much in such a small book, 28 Jan 2007
This book is a work of genius for the whole, exquisitely written it offers wisdom on most pages and nonsense on the others. It's been a very long time since I learnt such a large amount, the language has a poetic beauty to it and anybody interested in governance should read this. The thesis of the book is well known (as it indeed should be) but there are some startling facts about the author. Rousseau was serial child abandoner; he seems to have left five children in foundling hospitals and when attacked by his critic, a certain Voltaire, his defence was that the he would have been a poor father and his children would fair better in a foundling hospital. A slightly implausible fact given the high mortality rate at the founding hospital. Still, we judge him for his ideas, not his actions so this book receives a resounding five stars.

socialist precurser, 22 Mar 2006
this book is not, as other readers claim, endorsing dictatorship, but rather is criticising bad democracy. surprisingly persuasive and well written, as a blueprint to later socialist theories eg Marx, it is fascinating.

A Warning From History, 19 May 2004
This is an important book, perhaps one of the most influential ever written. Unfortunately its influence has been wholly pernicious in the extreme - the blueprint for totalitarian regimes the world over. Rousseau was a psychotic and self obsessed individual who elaborated a theory of human civilization at odds with the basic principles of common sense and reason. From the French Revolutionary terror to the Soviet Gulags - the hallmarks of Rousseau's absurd doctrines can be found. But a willfull disregard for reality seems to be the prerequisite for so called enlightened thinkers and those that provided the ideological bedrock for revolutionaries from the french revolution onwards. The most recent example of an attempt to throw off the 'shackles' of civilization occured in Cambodia - Pol Pot - a true disciple of Rousseau, nurtured in the intellectual salons of the Left Bank. Savage indeed, but noble? In the fevered dreams of Marxist intellectuals were the ovens and gulags first delineated - Rousseau was their precursor, an important document, handle with care.

Rousseau, we love ya!, 06 Mar 2001
It's coherent. It's valid. It's informed. One must make up one's own mind about the 'general will', however. Buy, read, then dismiss. Or buy, read, then love. If you can find it in your soul to love a piece of political theory, that is.

Brilliant!, 09 Apr 2008
Being A 15Year Old Teen I Loved This Book So Much I Finished It On A Flight To Greece N Was Finished 4Hours Later When We Arrived.
This Book Was Filled With Good Times And Horrific Times..I Got A Few Weird Looks From The Air Stewards And A Few " Are You Ok?" When Some Parts Of The Book Left Me With Tears Rolling Down My Face =[
Over All This Is A Wonderfull Book And I Would Reccomend This To Anyone!
xx

lottielou, 06 Apr 2008
This book is by far my favourite book. It is gripping and tells of one womens love for her daughter and plight to escape from her abusive husband and his family. Fabulous...

Fantasic gripping book!, 13 Oct 2007
I absolutely could not put this book down! my daughter and mother were also hooked. This book is an amazing insight into life in Iran in the 1980's, the way of life for women in Iran and an eye opener to the huge cultural difference between the West and this Islamic country. It is an exiting story which left me wanting to understand more about Iran and it's history and life for women there.

Very hard to put down., 02 Oct 2007
This was one of those books that when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about reading it...

It was exceptionally well written in that it was very descriptive without being overbearing. The pace moved on quite quickly throughout the book which ensured that it was captivating.

Betty and her daughter were exceptionally lucky to have escaped alive... All in all an excellent, highly recommended read.

misleading cover, 01 Jun 2007
A note about the cover: It's misleading and unfair to Iranians. In no part of Iran do woman wear a full niqab like that, with only the eyes visible. That's a Gulf Arab you see on the cover.

Iranians are not Arabs. Sheesh.

An Excellent Version of a Classic Work, 23 Jan 2001
I bought this book over a year ago and it is a joy to read. The introduction by Michael Foot is informative and concise and helps set up the book in the correct historical context. Common Sense is one of the most important and under-rated tracts in history, influencing as it did the American revolution and therefore the French revolution and The Rights of Man is an eloquent argument against authoritarian rule and a call for democracy which was way ahead of its time and still extremely relevent. I urge you to buy it.

CONTINUING TO DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF HUMANITY TODAY, 05 Jul 1999
The Rights of Man is a riposte to Edmund Burke's criticism of the French Revolution. Its message is the superiority of reason, in the form of Republican government armed with the Declaration of the Rights of Man, over despotism which holds populations in ignorance. With the American and French revolutions fresh in his mind, Paine was writing in a world on the threshold of freedom and that comes through in his forceful and forthright style. That said, and most important for the reader to appreciate, much of what he has to say still applies today. Paine in scathing in his critique of hereditary monarchy and privilege. He says "the idea of hereditary legislation is.......as absurd as an hereditary mathematician, or an hereditary wise man." He rejects the notion of government laws being justified by tradition and therefore irrevocable. His argument against Burke's defence of the 1688 revolution in England is perhaps the best in the book. Paine argues that the only thing that is truly hereditary is the Rights of Man : "The Rights of men in society, are neither devisable, nor transferrable, nor annihilable, but descendable only." The book is a superb polemic when both understood in its historical context and applied to world politics today. His arguments for reform of the House of Lords strike a particularly pertinent note. He expresses liberal doctrines that many people take for granted but in our own genocidal times Paine reminds us that many of the topics that impassioned him should continue to impassion everyone with an interest in humanity. The style of the writing may put off a few as many themes disappear and reappear throughout the book instead of being dealt with in a coherant whole. The fact that it was written in two parts and that he is one of the greatest pamphleteers of modern times should compensate for this minor irritation.

marcus garvey writings review, 15 Dec 2008
Does what it says on the front of the book!
very nice collection of Marcus Garvey speeches and writings.

The unique thing about this book is that the writer reviews all other
books on Marcus Garvey up to this point giving a balanced and fair opinion of each of the other books.

The content is lifted straight from Marcus's manuscripts, with no author edits.

Excellent

Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the apex of power, 23 Nov 2008
I would highly recommend this book to everyone. I looked forward to the release of this book with great anticipation and began reading it as soon as I received my copy. This book gives great detail about Jackson's ancestry and early life of hardship; including the loss of everyone close to him. Meacham does a wonderful job telling the story of how Jackson improved himself by studying law, his rough journey west to Tennessee, his difficulties of life on the frontier in the late 18th and early 19th century, his military career, and of course his presidency, which was pivotal in American history and helped define a new age of American politics. The section on Jackson's post-Presidential years seemed to be glossed over a bit, probably for the purpose of keeping the book under 600 pages, but nonetheless was very good.

For a book of philosophy I would highly recommend Understanding: Train of Thought.

You'll never learn so much in such a small book, 28 Jan 2007
This book is a work of genius for the whole, exquisitely written it offers wisdom on most pages and nonsense on the others. It's been a very long time since I learnt such a large amount, the language has a poetic beauty to it and anybody interested in governance should read this. The thesis of the book is well known (as it indeed should be) but there are some startling facts about the author. Rousseau was serial child abandoner; he seems to have left five children in foundling hospitals and when attacked by his critic, a certain Voltaire, his defence was that the he would have been a poor father and his children would fair better in a foundling hospital. A slightly implausible fact given the high mortality rate at the founding hospital. Still, we judge him for his ideas, not his actions so this book receives a resounding five stars.

socialist precurser, 22 Mar 2006
this book is not, as other readers claim, endorsing dictatorship, but rather is criticising bad democracy. surprisingly persuasive and well written, as a blueprint to later socialist theories eg Marx, it is fascinating.

A Warning From History, 19 May 2004
This is an important book, perhaps one of the most influential ever written. Unfortunately its influence has been wholly pernicious in the extreme - the blueprint for totalitarian regimes the world over. Rousseau was a psychotic and self obsessed individual who elaborated a theory of human civilization at odds with the basic principles of common sense and reason. From the French Revolutionary terror to the Soviet Gulags - the hallmarks of Rousseau's absurd doctrines can be found. But a willfull disregard for reality seems to be the prerequisite for so called enlightened thinkers and those that provided the ideological bedrock for revolutionaries from the french revolution onwards. The most recent example of an attempt to throw off the 'shackles' of civilization occured in Cambodia - Pol Pot - a true disciple of Rousseau, nurtured in the intellectual salons of the Left Bank. Savage indeed, but noble? In the fevered dreams of Marxist intellectuals were the ovens and gulags first delineated - Rousseau was their precursor, an important document, handle with care.

Rousseau, we love ya!, 06 Mar 2001
It's coherent. It's valid. It's informed. One must make up one's own mind about the 'general will', however. Buy, read, then dismiss. Or buy, read, then love. If you can find it in your soul to love a piece of political theory, that is.

Brilliant!, 09 Apr 2008
Being A 15Year Old Teen I Loved This Book So Much I Finished It On A Flight To Greece N Was Finished 4Hours Later When We Arrived.
This Book Was Filled With Good Times And Horrific Times..I Got A Few Weird Looks From The Air Stewards And A Few " Are You Ok?" When Some Parts Of The Book Left Me With Tears Rolling Down My Face =[
Over All This Is A Wonderfull Book And I Would Reccomend This To Anyone!
xx

lottielou, 06 Apr 2008
This book is by far my favourite book. It is gripping and tells of one womens love for her daughter and plight to escape from her abusive husband and his family. Fabulous...

Fantasic gripping book!, 13 Oct 2007
I absolutely could not put this book down! my daughter and mother were also hooked. This book is an amazing insight into life in Iran in the 1980's, the way of life for women in Iran and an eye opener to the huge cultural difference between the West and this Islamic country. It is an exiting story which left me wanting to understand more about Iran and it's history and life for women there.

Very hard to put down., 02 Oct 2007
This was one of those books that when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about reading it...

It was exceptionally well written in that it was very descriptive without being overbearing. The pace moved on quite quickly throughout the book which ensured that it was captivating.

Betty and her daughter were exceptionally lucky to have escaped alive... All in all an excellent, highly recommended read.

misleading cover, 01 Jun 2007
A note about the cover: It's misleading and unfair to Iranians. In no part of Iran do woman wear a full niqab like that, with only the eyes visible. That's a Gulf Arab you see on the cover.

Iranians are not Arabs. Sheesh.

An Excellent Version of a Classic Work, 23 Jan 2001
I bought this book over a year ago and it is a joy to read. The introduction by Michael Foot is informative and concise and helps set up the book in the correct historical context. Common Sense is one of the most important and under-rated tracts in history, influencing as it did the American revolution and therefore the French revolution and The Rights of Man is an eloquent argument against authoritarian rule and a call for democracy which was way ahead of its time and still extremely relevent. I urge you to buy it.

CONTINUING TO DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF HUMANITY TODAY, 05 Jul 1999
The Rights of Man is a riposte to Edmund Burke's criticism of the French Revolution. Its message is the superiority of reason, in the form of Republican government armed with the Declaration of the Rights of Man, over despotism which holds populations in ignorance. With the American and French revolutions fresh in his mind, Paine was writing in a world on the threshold of freedom and that comes through in his forceful and forthright style. That said, and most important for the reader to appreciate, much of what he has to say still applies today. Paine in scathing in his critique of hereditary monarchy and privilege. He says "the idea of hereditary legislation is.......as absurd as an hereditary mathematician, or an hereditary wise man." He rejects the notion of government laws being justified by tradition and therefore irrevocable. His argument against Burke's defence of the 1688 revolution in England is perhaps the best in the book. Paine argues that the only thing that is truly hereditary is the Rights of Man : "The Rights of men in society, are neither devisable, nor transferrable, nor annihilable, but descendable only." The book is a superb polemic when both understood in its historical context and applied to world politics today. His arguments for reform of the House of Lords strike a particularly pertinent note. He expresses liberal doctrines that many people take for granted but in our own genocidal times Paine reminds us that many of the topics that impassioned him should continue to impassion everyone with an interest in humanity. The style of the writing may put off a few as many themes disappear and reappear throughout the book instead of being dealt with in a coherant whole. The fact that it was written in two parts and that he is one of the greatest pamphleteers of modern times should compensate for this minor irritation.

marcus garvey writings review, 15 Dec 2008
Does what it says on the front of the book!
very nice collection of Marcus Garvey speeches and writings.

The unique thing about this book is that the writer reviews all other
books on Marcus Garvey up to this point giving a balanced and fair opinion of each of the other books.

The content is lifted straight from Marcus's manuscripts, with no author edits.

Excellent

Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the apex of power, 23 Nov 2008
I would highly recommend this book to everyone. I looked forward to the release of this book with great anticipation and began reading it as soon as I received my copy. This book gives great detail about Jackson's ancestry and early life of hardship; including the loss of everyone close to him. Meacham does a wonderful job telling the story of how Jackson improved himself by studying law, his rough journey west to Tennessee, his difficulties of life on the frontier in the late 18th and early 19th century, his military career, and of course his presidency, which was pivotal in American history and helped define a new age of American politics. The section on Jackson's post-Presidential years seemed to be glossed over a bit, probably for the purpose of keeping the book under 600 pages, but nonetheless was very good.

For a book of philosophy I would highly recommend Understanding: Train of Thought.


Pretty sound, 10 Dec 2003
its well written but does tend to be somewhat un exciting. but a good book with loads crammed in and easy to read.

Superb!!, 25 Apr 2003
Faircloughs book offers a suberb discourse on the struggle for equaltity that blacks underwent in 20th century America following the events of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The accounts of black leaders and organisations are very interesting and authoritative, and extremely useful to anyone interested in this particular historical topic. The only qualm I would have with this book is that the title says 1890-2000, but there is little information supplied on the situtaion of blacks in America after 1970.

You'll never learn so much in such a small book, 28 Jan 2007
This book is a work of genius for the whole, exquisitely written it offers wisdom on most pages and nonsense on the others. It's been a very long time since I learnt such a large amount, the language has a poetic beauty to it and anybody interested in governance should read this. The thesis of the book is well known (as it indeed should be) but there are some startling facts about the author. Rousseau was serial child abandoner; he seems to have left five children in foundling hospitals and when attacked by his critic, a certain Voltaire, his defence was that the he would have been a poor father and his children would fair better in a foundling hospital. A slightly implausible fact given the high mortality rate at the founding hospital. Still, we judge him for his ideas, not his actions so this book receives a resounding five stars.

socialist precurser, 22 Mar 2006
this book is not, as other readers claim, endorsing dictatorship, but rather is criticising bad democracy. surprisingly persuasive and well written, as a blueprint to later socialist theories eg Marx, it is fascinating.

A Warning From History, 19 May 2004
This is an important book, perhaps one of the most influential ever written. Unfortunately its influence has been wholly pernicious in the extreme - the blueprint for totalitarian regimes the world over. Rousseau was a psychotic and self obsessed individual who elaborated a theory of human civilization at odds with the basic principles of common sense and reason. From the French Revolutionary terror to the Soviet Gulags - the hallmarks of Rousseau's absurd doctrines can be found. But a willfull disregard for reality seems to be the prerequisite for so called enlightened thinkers and those that provided the ideological bedrock for revolutionaries from the french revolution onwards. The most recent example of an attempt to throw off the 'shackles' of civilization occured in Cambodia - Pol Pot - a true disciple of Rousseau, nurtured in the intellectual salons of the Left Bank. Savage indeed, but noble? In the fevered dreams of Marxist intellectuals were the ovens and gulags first delineated - Rousseau was their precursor, an important document, handle with care.

Rousseau, we love ya!, 06 Mar 2001
It's coherent. It's valid. It's informed. One must make up one's own mind about the 'general will', however. Buy, read, then dismiss. Or buy, read, then love. If you can find it in your soul to love a piece of political theory, that is.

Brilliant!, 09 Apr 2008
Being A 15Year Old Teen I Loved This Book So Much I Finished It On A Flight To Greece N Was Finished 4Hours Later When We Arrived.
This Book Was Filled With Good Times And Horrific Times..I Got A Few Weird Looks From The Air Stewards And A Few " Are You Ok?" When Some Parts Of The Book Left Me With Tears Rolling Down My Face =[
Over All This Is A Wonderfull Book And I Would Reccomend This To Anyone!
xx

lottielou, 06 Apr 2008
This book is by far my favourite book. It is gripping and tells of one womens love for her daughter and plight to escape from her abusive husband and his family. Fabulous...

Fantasic gripping book!, 13 Oct 2007
I absolutely could not put this book down! my daughter and mother were also hooked. This book is an amazing insight into life in Iran in the 1980's, the way of life for women in Iran and an eye opener to the huge cultural difference between the West and this Islamic country. It is an exiting story which left me wanting to understand more about Iran and it's history and life for women there.

Very hard to put down., 02 Oct 2007
This was one of those books that when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about reading it...

It was exceptionally well written in that it was very descriptive without being overbearing. The pace moved on quite quickly throughout the book which ensured that it was captivating.

Betty and her daughter were exceptionally lucky to have escaped alive... All in all an excellent, highly recommended read.

misleading cover, 01 Jun 2007
A note about the cover: It's misleading and unfair to Iranians. In no part of Iran do woman wear a full niqab like that, with only the eyes visible. That's a Gulf Arab you see on the cover.

Iranians are not Arabs. Sheesh.

An Excellent Version of a Classic Work, 23 Jan 2001
I bought this book over a year ago and it is a joy to read. The introduction by Michael Foot is informative and concise and helps set up the book in the correct historical context. Common Sense is one of the most important and under-rated tracts in history, influencing as it did the American revolution and therefore the French revolution and The Rights of Man is an eloquent argument against authoritarian rule and a call for democracy which was way ahead of its time and still extremely relevent. I urge you to buy it.

CONTINUING TO DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF HUMANITY TODAY, 05 Jul 1999
The Rights of Man is a riposte to Edmund Burke's criticism of the French Revolution. Its message is the superiority of reason, in the form of Republican government armed with the Declaration of the Rights of Man, over despotism which holds populations in ignorance. With the American and French revolutions fresh in his mind, Paine was writing in a world on the threshold of freedom and that comes through in his forceful and forthright style. That said, and most important for the reader to appreciate, much of what he has to say still applies today. Paine in scathing in his critique of hereditary monarchy and privilege. He says "the idea of hereditary legislation is.......as absurd as an hereditary mathematician, or an hereditary wise man." He rejects the notion of government laws being justified by tradition and therefore irrevocable. His argument against Burke's defence of the 1688 revolution in England is perhaps the best in the book. Paine argues that the only thing that is truly hereditary is the Rights of Man : "The Rights of men in society, are neither devisable, nor transferrable, nor annihilable, but descendable only." The book is a superb polemic when both understood in its historical context and applied to world politics today. His arguments for reform of the House of Lords strike a particularly pertinent note. He expresses liberal doctrines that many people take for granted but in our own genocidal times Paine reminds us that many of the topics that impassioned him should continue to impassion everyone with an interest in humanity. The style of the writing may put off a few as many themes disappear and reappear throughout the book instead of being dealt with in a coherant whole. The fact that it was written in two parts and that he is one of the greatest pamphleteers of modern times should compensate for this minor irritation.

marcus garvey writings review, 15 Dec 2008
Does what it says on the front of the book!
very nice collection of Marcus Garvey speeches and writings.

The unique thing about this book is that the writer reviews all other
books on Marcus Garvey up to this point giving a balanced and fair opinion of each of the other books.

The content is lifted straight from Marcus's manuscripts, with no author edits.

Excellent

Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the apex of power, 23 Nov 2008
I would highly recommend this book to everyone. I looked forward to the release of this book with great anticipation and began reading it as soon as I received my copy. This book gives great detail about Jackson's ancestry and early life of hardship; including the loss of everyone close to him. Meacham does a wonderful job telling the story of how Jackson improved himself by studying law, his rough journey west to Tennessee, his difficulties of life on the frontier in the late 18th and early 19th century, his military career, and of course his presidency, which was pivotal in American history and helped define a new age of American politics. The section on Jackson's post-Presidential years seemed to be glossed over a bit, probably for the purpose of keeping the book under 600 pages, but nonetheless was very good.

For a book of philosophy I would highly recommend Understanding: Train of Thought.


Pretty sound, 10 Dec 2003
its well written but does tend to be somewhat un exciting. but a good book with loads crammed in and easy to read.

Superb!!, 25 Apr 2003
Faircloughs book offers a suberb discourse on the struggle for equaltity that blacks underwent in 20th century America following the events of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The accounts of black leaders and organisations are very interesting and authoritative, and extremely useful to anyone interested in this particular historical topic. The only qualm I would have with this book is that the title says 1890-2000, but there is little information supplied on the situtaion of blacks in America after 1970.

Excellent book, relevant topic., 10 Dec 2008
I am only 1/3 of the way through this book, and it is utterly fascinating. The book does dwell and over obsess on 9/11 to some degree, but I suppose you need to understand the lapses that allowed 9/11 to happen, in order to better understand the surveillance society we live in.

The more and more you read, the more fascinated you become by the NSA. Of particular note is Bamford's facts and figures, which help provide an idea of what we are dealing with.

Buy this book, it is possibly more relevant than any other book you will buy.

Don't Read This Review, The NSA Might Be Snooping, 01 Nov 2008
If you think I'm being paranoid, I'm not. It is highly likely that this review & anyone who reads it online have been swept up into the data vacuum cleaner of the NSA for analysis. Though this book is largely about the US's National Security Agency, that eavesdrops on the world's electronic communications, it is as equally relevant to the UK with GCHQ (our NSA) being intimately involved with American eavesdropping.

Be aware, that in parts, this book can be quite technical, as the NSA use the world's most powerful supercomputers to sort through all the billions of e-mails & phone calls from around the world. You'll find out what a petaflop is! It also might make people who are supporters of George Bush hot under the collar as Bamford is clearly anti-Bush. However, it is a fascinating & frightening read about what they are already capable of doing & what they will soon be capable of- nothing less than the systematic profiling of the whole US population based on their web searches, telephone conversations, credit card purchases, etc. The NSA have developed an artificial intelligence that can basically tell how people think through these activities.

The NSA has too long been shrouded in secrecy; this is a timely drawing back of the curtain that updates into Bamford's back catalogue of books about the NSA. It is clear the NSA has a vital mission in fighting terrorism & espionage, but at what price to freedom & democracy?

I just wonder how long it is before there's a knock on the door....

You'll never learn so much in such a small book, 28 Jan 2007
This book is a work of genius for the whole, exquisitely written it offers wisdom on most pages and nonsense on the others. It's been a very long time since I learnt such a large amount, the language has a poetic beauty to it and anybody interested in governance should read this. The thesis of the book is well known (as it indeed should be) but there are some startling facts about the author. Rousseau was serial child abandoner; he seems to have left five children in foundling hospitals and when attacked by his critic, a certain Voltaire, his defence was that the he would have been a poor father and his children would fair better in a foundling hospital. A slightly implausible fact given the high mortality rate at the founding hospital. Still, we judge him for his ideas, not his actions so this book receives a resounding five stars.

socialist precurser, 22 Mar 2006
this book is not, as other readers claim, endorsing dictatorship, but rather is criticising bad democracy. surprisingly persuasive and well written, as a blueprint to later socialist theories eg Marx, it is fascinating.

A Warning From History, 19 May 2004
This is an important book, perhaps one of the most influential ever written. Unfortunately its influence has been wholly pernicious in the extreme - the blueprint for totalitarian regimes the world over. Rousseau was a psychotic and self obsessed individual who elaborated a theory of human civilization at odds with the basic principles of common sense and reason. From the French Revolutionary terror to the Soviet Gulags - the hallmarks of Rousseau's absurd doctrines can be found. But a willfull disregard for reality seems to be the prerequisite for so called enlightened thinkers and those that provided the ideological bedrock for revolutionaries from the french revolution onwards. The most recent example of an attempt to throw off the 'shackles' of civilization occured in Cambodia - Pol Pot - a true disciple of Rousseau, nurtured in the intellectual salons of the Left Bank. Savage indeed, but noble? In the fevered dreams of Marxist intellectuals were the ovens and gulags first delineated - Rousseau was their precursor, an important document, handle with care.

Rousseau, we love ya!, 06 Mar 2001
It's coherent. It's valid. It's informed. One must make up one's own mind about the 'general will', however. Buy, read, then dismiss. Or buy, read, then love. If you can find it in your soul to love a piece of political theory, that is.

Brilliant!, 09 Apr 2008
Being A 15Year Old Teen I Loved This Book So Much I Finished It On A Flight To Greece N Was Finished 4Hours Later When We Arrived.
This Book Was Filled With Good Times And Horrific Times..I Got A Few Weird Looks From The Air Stewards And A Few " Are You Ok?" When Some Parts Of The Book Left Me With Tears Rolling Down My Face =[
Over All This Is A Wonderfull Book And I Would Reccomend This To Anyone!
xx

lottielou, 06 Apr 2008
This book is by far my favourite book. It is gripping and tells of one womens love for her daughter and plight to escape from her abusive husband and his family. Fabulous...

Fantasic gripping book!, 13 Oct 2007
I absolutely could not put this book down! my daughter and mother were also hooked. This book is an amazing insight into life in Iran in the 1980's, the way of life for women in Iran and an eye opener to the huge cultural difference between the West and this Islamic country. It is an exiting story which left me wanting to understand more about Iran and it's history and life for women there.

Very hard to put down., 02 Oct 2007
This was one of those books that when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about reading it...

It was exceptionally well written in that it was very descriptive without being overbearing. The pace moved on quite quickly throughout the book which ensured that it was captivating.

Betty and her daughter were exceptionally lucky to have escaped alive... All in all an excellent, highly recommended read.

misleading cover, 01 Jun 2007
A note about the cover: It's misleading and unfair to Iranians. In no part of Iran do woman wear a full niqab like that, with only the eyes visible. That's a Gulf Arab you see on the cover.

Iranians are not Arabs. Sheesh.

An Excellent Version of a Classic Work, 23 Jan 2001
I bought this book over a year ago and it is a joy to read. The introduction by Michael Foot is informative and concise and helps set up the book in the correct historical context. Common Sense is one of the most important and under-rated tracts in history, influencing as it did the American revolution and therefore the French revolution and The Rights of Man is an eloquent argument against authoritarian rule and a call for democracy which was way ahead of its time and still extremely relevent. I urge you to buy it.

CONTINUING TO DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF HUMANITY TODAY, 05 Jul 1999
The Rights of Man is a riposte to Edmund Burke's criticism of the French Revolution. Its message is the superiority of reason, in the form of Republican government armed with the Declaration of the Rights of Man, over despotism which holds populations in ignorance. With the American and French revolutions fresh in his mind, Paine was writing in a world on the threshold of freedom and that comes through in his forceful and forthright style. That said, and most important for the reader to appreciate, much of what he has to say still applies today. Paine in scathing in his critique of hereditary monarchy and privilege. He says "the idea of hereditary legislation is.......as absurd as an hereditary mathematician, or an hereditary wise man." He rejects the notion of government laws being justified by tradition and therefore irrevocable. His argument against Burke's defence of the 1688 revolution in England is perhaps the best in the book. Paine argues that the only thing that is truly hereditary is the Rights of Man : "The Rights of men in society, are neither devisable, nor transferrable, nor annihilable, but descendable only." The book is a superb polemic when both understood in its historical context and applied to world politics today. His arguments for reform of the House of Lords strike a particularly pertinent note. He expresses liberal doctrines that many people take for granted but in our own genocidal times Paine reminds us that many of the topics that impassioned him should continue to impassion everyone with an interest in humanity. The style of the writing may put off a few as many themes disappear and reappear throughout the book instead of being dealt with in a coherant whole. The fact that it was written in two parts and that he is one of the greatest pamphleteers of modern times should compensate for this minor irritation.

marcus garvey writings review, 15 Dec 2008
Does what it says on the front of the book!
very nice collection of Marcus Garvey speeches and writings.

The unique thing about this book is that the writer reviews all other
books on Marcus Garvey up to this point giving a balanced and fair opinion of each of the other books.

The content is lifted straight from Marcus's manuscripts, with no author edits.

Excellent

Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the apex of power, 23 Nov 2008
I would highly recommend this book to everyone. I looked forward to the release of this book with great anticipation and began reading it as soon as I received my copy. This book gives great detail about Jackson's ancestry and early life of hardship; including the loss of everyone close to him. Meacham does a wonderful job telling the story of how Jackson improved himself by studying law, his rough journey west to Tennessee, his difficulties of life on the frontier in the late 18th and early 19th century, his military career, and of course his presidency, which was pivotal in American history and helped define a new age of American politics. The section on Jackson's post-Presidential years seemed to be glossed over a bit, probably for the purpose of keeping the book under 600 pages, but nonetheless was very good.

For a book of philosophy I would highly recommend Understanding: Train of Thought.


Pretty sound, 10 Dec 2003
its well written but does tend to be somewhat un exciting. but a good book with loads crammed in and easy to read.

Superb!!, 25 Apr 2003
Faircloughs book offers a suberb discourse on the struggle for equaltity that blacks underwent in 20th century America following the events of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The accounts of black leaders and organisations are very interesting and authoritative, and extremely useful to anyone interested in this particular historical topic. The only qualm I would have with this book is that the title says 1890-2000, but there is little information supplied on the situtaion of blacks in America after 1970.

Excellent book, relevant topic., 10 Dec 2008
I am only 1/3 of the way through this book, and it is utterly fascinating. The book does dwell and over obsess on 9/11 to some degree, but I suppose you need to understand the lapses that allowed 9/11 to happen, in order to better understand the surveillance society we live in.

The more and more you read, the more fascinated you become by the NSA. Of particular note is Bamford's facts and figures, which help provide an idea of what we are dealing with.

Buy this book, it is possibly more relevant than any other book you will buy.

Don't Read This Review, The NSA Might Be Snooping, 01 Nov 2008
If you think I'm being paranoid, I'm not. It is highly likely that this review & anyone who reads it online have been swept up into the data vacuum cleaner of the NSA for analysis. Though this book is largely about the US's National Security Agency, that eavesdrops on the world's electronic communications, it is as equally relevant to the UK with GCHQ (our NSA) being intimately involved with American eavesdropping.

Be aware, that in parts, this book can be quite technical, as the NSA use the world's most powerful supercomputers to sort through all the billions of e-mails & phone calls from around the world. You'll find out what a petaflop is! It also might make people who are supporters of George Bush hot under the collar as Bamford is clearly anti-Bush. However, it is a fascinating & frightening read about what they are already capable of doing & what they will soon be capable of- nothing less than the systematic profiling of the whole US population based on their web searches, telephone conversations, credit card purchases, etc. The NSA have developed an artificial intelligence that can basically tell how people think through these activities.

The NSA has too long been shrouded in secrecy; this is a timely drawing back of the curtain that updates into Bamford's back catalogue of books about the NSA. It is clear the NSA has a vital mission in fighting terrorism & espionage, but at what price to freedom & democracy?

I just wonder how long it is before there's a knock on the door....


Excellent, 30 May 2008
This book is excellent. Superbly written in language which everyone can understand, it offers real insight into the inner workings of the supreme court, and the relationships between the Justices. This book should be read by everyone, not just people who have an interest in the judicial system due to the way it demonstrates how the decisions of the justices have a real impact on the life.

Jeffrey Toobin is a brilliant author and first-rate legal analyst who deserves to be more widely known outside of the US, if only because he opens up the workings of the top level of the Judicial branch of the US government for all to see.

Highly recommended.


Will Precedent Rule in a Supreme Court Led by Public Opinion?, 12 Nov 2007
When The Brethren came out in 1979, it was a blockbuster for two reasons: Previously those who had worked at the Supreme Court kept mum about what had gone on there, and we learned that the justices didn't think very much of Chief Justice Warren Burger. Instead of seeing court opinions as fine works of excellent legal minds, those opinions now began to look more like "opinions" of those with differing philosophies. Since then, we have been blessed with many back-stage looks at the Supreme Court.

In The Nine, Jeffrey Toobin finishes undressing the Supreme Court so that we see it as an extension of political partisanship, rather than as the guardian of the Constitution and liberty against the tyranny of government. What's changed? It's pretty simple: Presidents have gotten good at finding nominees who will continue to adhere to the president's philosophy after joining the court. Previously, conservatives turned into liberals and vice versa. That won't happen in the future.

To me, two parts of the book were most revealing: the political partisanship among Republican Supreme Court justices involved in Bush v. Gore in wanting to make President's Bush's first election look as free of taint as possible (now, that's a good trick if you can do it), and the willingness of the Roberts-led court to reverse earlier decisions without even bothering to observe that they are doing so.

If you want certain kinds of precedents that control behavior (on abortion, minority rights, school prayer, and executions), just vote for a president who has the same views . . . and keep that president in office for 8 years so that he or she can appoint a majority that agrees with you.

It's a tawdry end to what was once an important branch of government.

Mr. Toobin is to be commended for being able to attract so many people to interview with him. It's a lot of work to gather so many details about the personalities, backgrounds, and decisions of the Supreme Court in recent years (mostly focusing on the time during which the same nine justices served without change until the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist).

I have had enough interaction with one of the justices reported on to be able to say that Mr. Toobin's account of that justice's characteristics seems right on. I'm assuming that the others are equally accurate from having seen how well this one was done.

The book does have a weakness: I thought that Mr. Toobin was a little too narrow in his assessments of the impact of past decisions. For instance, in Bush v. Gore, Mr. Toobin accurately points out that even if Gore had prevailed in the case the Florida election had already been certified. I think that's too narrow a view: With a Gore win (if accompanied by a win in the recount), I believe that the legal process would have found a way to reverse the certification and bring Al Gore to the White House. Otherwise, it would be clear that justice wasn't being done.

You'll never learn so much in such a small book, 28 Jan 2007
This book is a work of genius for the whole, exquisitely written it offers wisdom on most pages and nonsense on the others. It's been a very long time since I learnt such a large amount, the language has a poetic beauty to it and anybody interested in governance should read this. The thesis of the book is well known (as it indeed should be) but there are some startling facts about the author. Rousseau was serial child abandoner; he seems to have left five children in foundling hospitals and when attacked by his critic, a certain Voltaire, his defence was that the he would have been a poor father and his children would fair better in a foundling hospital. A slightly implausible fact given the high mortality rate at the founding hospital. Still, we judge him for his ideas, not his actions so this book receives a resounding five stars.

socialist precurser, 22 Mar 2006
this book is not, as other readers claim, endorsing dictatorship, but rather is criticising bad democracy. surprisingly persuasive and well written, as a blueprint to later socialist theories eg Marx, it is fascinating.

A Warning From History, 19 May 2004
This is an important book, perhaps one of the most influential ever written. Unfortunately its influence has been wholly pernicious in the extreme - the blueprint for totalitarian regimes the world over. Rousseau was a psychotic and self obsessed individual who elaborated a theory of human civilization at odds with the basic principles of common sense and reason. From the French Revolutionary terror to the Soviet Gulags - the hallmarks of Rousseau's absurd doctrines can be found. But a willfull disregard for reality seems to be the prerequisite for so called enlightened thinkers and those that provided the ideological bedrock for revolutionaries from the french revolution onwards. The most recent example of an attempt to throw off the 'shackles' of civilization occured in Cambodia - Pol Pot - a true disciple of Rousseau, nurtured in the intellectual salons of the Left Bank. Savage indeed, but noble? In the fevered dreams of Marxist intellectuals were the ovens and gulags first delineated - Rousseau was their precursor, an important document, handle with care.

Rousseau, we love ya!, 06 Mar 2001
It's coherent. It's valid. It's informed. One must make up one's own mind about the 'general will', however. Buy, read, then dismiss. Or buy, read, then love. If you can find it in your soul to love a piece of political theory, that is.

Brilliant!, 09 Apr 2008
Being A 15Year Old Teen I Loved This Book So Much I Finished It On A Flight To Greece N Was Finished 4Hours Later When We Arrived.
This Book Was Filled With Good Times And Horrific Times..I Got A Few Weird Looks From The Air Stewards And A Few " Are You Ok?" When Some Parts Of The Book Left Me With Tears Rolling Down My Face =[
Over All This Is A Wonderfull Book And I Would Reccomend This To Anyone!
xx

lottielou, 06 Apr 2008
This book is by far my favourite book. It is gripping and tells of one womens love for her daughter and plight to escape from her abusive husband and his family. Fabulous...

Fantasic gripping book!, 13 Oct 2007
I absolutely could not put this book down! my daughter and mother were also hooked. This book is an amazing insight into life in Iran in the 1980's, the way of life for women in Iran and an eye opener to the huge cultural difference between the West and this Islamic country. It is an exiting story which left me wanting to understand more about Iran and it's history and life for women there.

Very hard to put down., 02 Oct 2007
This was one of those books that when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about reading it...

It was exceptionally well written in that it was very descriptive without being overbearing. The pace moved on quite quickly throughout the book which ensured that it was captivating.

Betty and her daughter were exceptionally lucky to have escaped alive... All in all an excellent, highly recommended read.

misleading cover, 01 Jun 2007
A note about the cover: It's misleading and unfair to Iranians. In no part of Iran do woman wear a full niqab like that, with only the eyes visible. That's a Gulf Arab you see on the cover.

Iranians are not Arabs. Sheesh.

An Excellent Version of a Classic Work, 23 Jan 2001
I bought this book over a year ago and it is a joy to read. The introduction by Michael Foot is informative and concise and helps set up the book in the correct historical context. Common Sense is one of the most important and under-rated tracts in history, influencing as it did the American revolution and therefore the French revolution and The Rights of Man is an eloquent argument against authoritarian rule and a call for democracy which was way ahead of its time and still extremely relevent. I urge you to buy it.

CONTINUING TO DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF HUMANITY TODAY, 05 Jul 1999
The Rights of Man is a riposte to Edmund Burke's criticism of the French Revolution. Its message is the superiority of reason, in the form of Republican government armed with the Declaration of the Rights of Man, over despotism which holds populations in ignorance. With the American and French revolutions fresh in his mind, Paine was writing in a world on the threshold of freedom and that comes through in his forceful and forthright style. That said, and most important for the reader to appreciate, much of what he has to say still applies today. Paine in scathing in his critique of hereditary monarchy and privilege. He says "the idea of hereditary legislation is.......as absurd as an hereditary mathematician, or an hereditary wise man." He rejects the notion of government laws being justified by tradition and therefore irrevocable. His argument against Burke's defence of the 1688 revolution in England is perhaps the best in the book. Paine argues that the only thing that is truly hereditary is the Rights of Man : "The Rights of men in society, are neither devisable, nor transferrable, nor annihilable, but descendable only." The book is a superb polemic when both understood in its historical context and applied to world politics today. His arguments for reform of the House of Lords strike a particularly pertinent note. He expresses liberal doctrines that many people take for granted but in our own genocidal times Paine reminds us that many of the topics that impassioned him should continue to impassion everyone with an interest in humanity. The style of the writing may put off a few as many themes disappear and reappear throughout the book instead of being dealt with in a coherant whole. The fact that it was written in two parts and that he is one of the greatest pamphleteers of modern times should compensate for this minor irritation.

marcus garvey writings review, 15 Dec 2008
Does what it says on the front of the book!
very nice collection of Marcus Garvey speeches and writings.

The unique thing about this book is that the writer reviews all other
books on Marcus Garvey up to this point giving a balanced and fair opinion of each of the other books.

The content is lifted straight from Marcus's manuscripts, with no author edits.

Excellent

Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the apex of power, 23 Nov 2008
I would highly recommend this book to everyone. I looked forward to the release of this book with great anticipation and began reading it as soon as I received my copy. This book gives great detail about Jackson's ancestry and early life of hardship; including the loss of everyone close to him. Meacham does a wonderful job telling the story of how Jackson improved himself by studying law, his rough journey west to Tennessee, his difficulties of life on the frontier in the late 18th and early 19th century, his military career, and of course his presidency, which was pivotal in American history and helped define a new age of American politics. The section on Jackson's post-Presidential years seemed to be glossed over a bit, probably for the purpose of keeping the book under 600 pages, but nonetheless was very good.

For a book of philosophy I would highly recommend Understanding: Train of Thought.


Pretty sound, 10 Dec 2003
its well written but does tend to be somewhat un exciting. but a good book with loads crammed in and easy to read.

Superb!!, 25 Apr 2003
Faircloughs book offers a suberb discourse on the struggle for equaltity that blacks underwent in 20th century America following the events of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The accounts of black leaders and organisations are very interesting and authoritative, and extremely useful to anyone interested in this particular historical topic. The only qualm I would have with this book is that the title says 1890-2000, but there is little information supplied on the situtaion of blacks in America after 1970.

Excellent book, relevant topic., 10 Dec 2008
I am only 1/3 of the way through this book, and it is utterly fascinating. The book does dwell and over obsess on 9/11 to some degree, but I suppose you need to understand the lapses that allowed 9/11 to happen, in order to better understand the surveillance society we live in.

The more and more you read, the more fascinated you become by the NSA. Of particular note is Bamford's facts and figures, which help provide an idea of what we are dealing with.

Buy this book, it is possibly more relevant than any other book you will buy.

Don't Read This Review, The NSA Might Be Snooping, 01 Nov 2008
If you think I'm being paranoid, I'm not. It is highly likely that this review & anyone who reads it online have been swept up into the data vacuum cleaner of the NSA for analysis. Though this book is largely about the US's National Security Agency, that eavesdrops on the world's electronic communications, it is as equally relevant to the UK with GCHQ (our NSA) being intimately involved with American eavesdropping.

Be aware, that in parts, this book can be quite technical, as the NSA use the world's most powerful supercomputers to sort through all the billions of e-mails & phone calls from around the world. You'll find out what a petaflop is! It also might make people who are supporters of George Bush hot under the collar as Bamford is clearly anti-Bush. However, it is a fascinating & frightening read about what they are already capable of doing & what they will soon be capable of- nothing less than the systematic profiling of the whole US population based on their web searches, telephone conversations, credit card purchases, etc. The NSA have developed an artificial intelligence that can basically tell how people think through these activities.

The NSA has too long been shrouded in secrecy; this is a timely drawing back of the curtain that updates into Bamford's back catalogue of books about the NSA. It is clear the NSA has a vital mission in fighting terrorism & espionage, but at what price to freedom & democracy?

I just wonder how long it is before there's a knock on the door....


Excellent, 30 May 2008
This book is excellent. Superbly written in language which everyone can understand, it offers real insight into the inner workings of the supreme court, and the relationships between the Justices. This book should be read by everyone, not just people who have an interest in the judicial system due to the way it demonstrates how the decisions of the justices have a real impact on the life.

Jeffrey Toobin is a brilliant author and first-rate legal analyst who deserves to be more widely known outside of the US, if only because he opens up the workings of the top level of the Judicial branch of the US government for all to see.

Highly recommended.


Will Precedent Rule in a Supreme Court Led by Public Opinion?, 12 Nov 2007
When The Brethren came out in 1979, it was a blockbuster for two reasons: Previously those who had worked at the Supreme Court kept mum about what had gone on there, and we learned that the justices didn't think very much of Chief Justice Warren Burger. Instead of seeing court opinions as fine works of excellent legal minds, those opinions now began to look more like "opinions" of those with differing philosophies. Since then, we have been blessed with many back-stage looks at the Supreme Court.

In The Nine, Jeffrey Toobin finishes undressing the Supreme Court so that we see it as an extension of political partisanship, rather than as the guardian of the Constitution and liberty against the tyranny of government. What's changed? It's pretty simple: Presidents have gotten good at finding nominees who will continue to adhere to the president's philosophy after joining the court. Previously, conservatives turned into liberals and vice versa. That won't happen in the future.

To me, two parts of the book were most revealing: the political partisanship among Republican Supreme Court justices involved in Bush v. Gore in wanting to make President's Bush's first election look as free of taint as possible (now, that's a good trick if you can do it), and the willingness of the Roberts-led court to reverse earlier decisions without even bothering to observe that they are doing so.

If you want certain kinds of precedents that control behavior (on abortion, minority rights, school prayer, and executions), just vote for a president who has the same views . . . and keep that president in office for 8 years so that he or she can appoint a majority that agrees with you.

It's a tawdry end to what was once an important branch of government.

Mr. Toobin is to be commended for being able to attract so many people to interview with him. It's a lot of work to gather so many details about the personalities, backgrounds, and decisions of the Supreme Court in recent years (mostly focusing on the time during which the same nine justices served without change until the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist).

I have had enough interaction with one of the justices reported on to be able to say that Mr. Toobin's account of that justice's characteristics seems right on. I'm assuming that the others are equally accurate from having seen how well this one was done.

The book does have a weakness: I thought that Mr. Toobin was a little too narrow in his assessments of the impact of past decisions. For instance, in Bush v. Gore, Mr. Toobin accurately points out that even if Gore had prevailed in the case the Florida election had already been certified. I think that's too narrow a view: With a Gore win (if accompanied by a win in the recount), I believe that the legal process would have found a way to reverse the certification and bring Al Gore to the White House. Otherwise, it would be clear that justice wasn't being done.


The extraordinary story of black loyalists and indefatigable abolitionists, 14 Nov 2008
Simon Schama is not only one of Britain's leading historians but a story-teller par excellence. And he is not a historian with a political agenda; his compassion for the oppressed and the voiceless of history shines through every page of his writing. In this unashamedly populist account of the thousands of black slaves who chose to fight on the British side in the American War of Independence, he has fabulously rich subject matter. It is a tale of incalculable suffering, brutality, degradation and betrayal on one hand and of integrity, dedication, altruism and hope on the other. And it is not always straightforward. We learn of white men who risked their lives in the abolitionist cause and black men who became slavers when the opportunity arose.
Although we have been taught not to fall into the trap of judging past historical events with the values and concepts of the modern era I soon learnt that far from being universally accepted as a legitimate mode of commerce, there was a large body of individuals in England in the eighteenth century who were outraged by the obscenity of the transatlantic slave trade. Many of these were the celebrities of the day: man of letters Dr Johnson, actor David Garrick, pottery magnate Josiah Wedgewood and Darwin's botanist Joseph Banks. But Schama as ever concentrates on the unsung heroes and the hidden villains of history. He gives voice to many of the vocal, articulate blacks who, though understandably always reticent in trusting their white persecutors, nevertheless never lose faith either in British justice or in their abolitionist friends: Thomas Peters, Boston King, David George, Olaudah Equiano and the charismatic Frederick Douglass, even as many of them are buffeted between the Virginian and Carolinan plantations, freezing Nova Scotia and disease-ridden Sierra Leone.
Early in Rough Crossings we are introduced to obsessive abolitionist Granville Sharp who successfully defends in court James Somerset, one of London's thousands of black men who had escaped slavery in the colonies but who constantly faced the horror of recapture. The milestone decision of the court - that once a slave sets foot on English soil he becomes a free man - was to reverberate throughout the slave world. Concerned with the wretched plight of London's blacks Sharp then sets about resettling them voluntarily in a small community in Sierra Leone in West Africa, Sharp Town, the first such experiment but which faced monolithic political, social and environmental barriers to success. In spite of Sharp's best efforts, black-white hatred and suspicion constant bubbled beneath the surface.
Meanwhile, in America the result of the Somerset case had signalled to slaves there that British justice was honourable and fair and offered them their only hope of freedom. Consequently, thousands of them opted to abandon their masters and fight as loyalists on the side of the crown during the American War of Independence. Many of them joined the British Black Pioneers. They were encouraged by the struggling British government who had promised them land in return for military service. Of course, there were the usual disasters and betrayals, including one terrible incident when hundreds of blacks and their families weakened by smallpox were abandoned to die on the beach of the Virginian coast.
When the war ended in defeat for the British the black loyalists, far from being settled on arable plots of land to feed their families as they had hoped, instead found themselves freezing on a barren, rock-strewn wilderness in Nova Scotia maltreated and humiliated by the loyalist whites among whom they lived. Enter British naval officer and indefatigable abolitionist John Clarkson, brother of like-minded Thomas, incensed by the humiliation of the ex-slaves in the Canadian wasteland, most of whom were now servants or indentured labourers, shunned and maltreated by their white neighbours, little more than slaves again. Like Sharp, Clarkson felt that the only hope for them was a return to the warmth and cultural familiarity of West Africa and so the moribund Sharp Town community in Sierra Leone was kick-started again by a new influx of free black men. Much of the second half of the book describes the almost insurmountable problems faced by Clarkson as he prepares the voyage and resettlement of hundreds of black loyalists and the increasing number of white hangers-on; and then the hunger, disease, storms, squabbles, sabotage and treachery that constantly threatens to derail the project. We read of the unsteady growth of the beleaguered