Reviews (72)

Ranking the pillars of our world
To sit down and attempt to devise a list that limits the billions of human beings that have lived to a mere 100 as the most influential is quite a Herculian Task. However, Michael Hart has essestially succeded where many a writer could have failed. There's no question that a list of this magnitude is open to debate and disagreement indeed I myself question the ranking of some the historical figures on this list. For example, Beethoven at #45, Oliver Cromwell at #41, and Michelangelo at #50, though certainly impressive and accomplished in their fields, should not (IMO) be ranked higher than Henry Ford #91, Joseph Stalin #66, or William the Conqueror #68 all whom have had a much more profound impact/influence on history and western civilation. Certainly many will question his decision to rank the Muhammad as the most influential person who ever lived. However, once one reads his reasons it begins to shed light on why a man who lived nearly 1500 years ago influences our lives even today.Hart's explanation and reasoning for ranking these historical figures where he does is sensible, thought provoking, and well written. This is book is terrific read for anyone interested in learning about the men and women( though only 2 appear on the list Queens Elizabeth and Isabella)who have influenced and continue to influence our lives.

A BOOK THAT SHOULD BE REPUBLISHED
The 100 has been a life-changing book for me.It has "unlocked" history for me - allowed me to relate to it and retain information - like no other book I've read.
Jesus Christ Was the Most Influential Person Who Ever Lived

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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. History: American    4. Reference    5. World - General    6. World History   

Reviews (2)

The ancient writer captivates the reader!
I have read many biographies of famous historical figures, written by modern scholars, but none had the immediacy, the thrilling emphasis to minor details and the power of words that Suetonius' work features. The Roman historian proves that he was a true child of the classical world, having the gift of telling his stories in a few but full of meaning sentences. I think that after reading Suetonius one has a powerful image of every emperor as a human being first and as a ruler second. Hats off to the ancient writers who are the top specialists to explain the inner secrets of their society and epoch!

On Ancient Gossip
When you need a break from memorizing the dates of the Punic Wars, are bored speculating over what kind of salt the Romans used to sow Carthaginian fields, have given up on finding Philippi on any modern map, and can't quite recall the names of the dramatis personae during the year of the three emperors, this book will re-stimulate your interest in history by gratifying the natural human desire to learn more about crime in high places. Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - Rome    2. Ancient Rome - History    3. Biography    4. Early works to 1800    5. Emperors    6. Flavians, 69-96    7. Historical - General    8. History    9. History - General History    10. History: World    11. Julio-Claudians, 30 B.C.-68 A.D    12. Reference    13. Rome    14. Ancient Rome    15. Biography: historical    16. Classical Studies | Ancient History | Roman    17. European history: BCE to c 500 CE    18. History / Ancient / Rome    19. Other prose: classical, early & medieval   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Dictionaries    5. Historical - U.S.    6. History - United States/General    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Presidents    9. Presidents & Heads of State    10. Reference    11. United States    12. Dictionaries of biography (Who's Who)    13. Political leaders & leadership    14. USA   

Reviews (4)

The old Wild west
I read this great book after visiting the wild horse sanctuary in South Dakota, what a blessing!I was traveling back from the Tetons, where my father(74 yrs old) and I had been working for the forestry service riding mustangs.What a great book to read after my experience in the wild.It must have been GREAT living back then.ENJOY the book, great read

Review of Pastures of Beyond
A wonderful collection of stories about the life of cowboys and indians during the 1930s, 40s and 50s.The author provides a look back at a period of time in the American West that is now gone.

Delightful Stories, Well Told
I don't know if you'd exactly call this a biography or not. It's a series of stories, loosely connected, ordered somewhat in a timeline. And fascinating stories they are. He lived in a time when the west, and indeed the world was changing. Then again, I guess it's always changing. I had dinner last night with a young man that seemed a lot like Hawk Hyde must have been 40 years ago. Forehead white as can be, the rest of his face well tanned. Not a dimestore cowboy. He even made the same comments about rodeos, he competes in the local ranch hand rodeos, but the big money circuit is not for working ranch hands.
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Subjects:  1. 1925-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Historical - General    7. Hyde, Dayton O.,    8. Oregon    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Ranch life    11. Ranchers    12. Reference    13. Regional Subjects - West    14. Yamsi    15. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (1)

Not quite as promising as appeared at first glance
The book is beautifully presented, with interesting illustrations, and the treatment of various famous Victorians seemed promising at the outset. Yet, overall, the book is not of the quality I had expected. Facts are not treated in sufficient depth, and are presented with a narrow perspective.
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Subjects:  1. 1800-1899 (19th century)    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Great Britain    6. Great Britain - History - 19th Century    7. History    8. Reference    9. Victoria, 1837-1901    10. Wilson, A.N. - Prose & Criticism   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Dictionaries    6. Encyclopedias    7. General    8. Juvenile literature    9. Reference   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Reference   

Reviews (13)

Wild rollercoaster ride!
From the minute I opened it, this book took me on a wild ride. What a great storyteller!!!
Good read!
Good read.I read on my flight to Alaska.Has a few discrepancies between this book and his brothers book but I would guess that can be due to being a long time ago and they weren't very old at the time.Would recommend it to anyone.

my grandfather
this book was very well detailed to the life of my grandfather . the storys that my dad told me about him and reading this book were very helpful into learning about the life of jimmy huntington,and what life was like on the yukon. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1915 or 16-1987    2. Alaska    3. Athapascan Indians    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Huntington, James,    9. Indians of North America    10. Mixed descent    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Pioneers    13. Reference    14. Travelers   

Reviews (1)

A wonderful dog stort
I have just finished reading this beautiful book with tears in my eyes.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Fiction - General    5. General    6. Reference    7. Dogs   

Reviews (1)

Splendid Biography of a Great Poet
Having read Paul Mariani's excellent biography of Hart Crane some years ago, I wasn't sure whether we needed another telling of the life story of the doomed poet whose fondness for alcohol and sailors contributed to his tragic suicide in his early 30s.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1899-1932    2. 20th century    3. American - General    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Crane, Hart,    9. Literary    10. Poets, American    11. Reference    12. Biography & Autobiography / Literary    13. Crane, Hart   

Reviews (4)

plato
please don't think this book has any value.I haven't bought or read it -- it just appeared in my Amazon.com recommendations list, but the underlying concept of it as being an introduction to philosophy is simply wrong.Read Plato as a starting point.He'll challenge you, and you'll take away more from the "socratic dialogs" than reading this type of book over and over again.

A good starting point and linker
Well, I can't pretend that I understood it. I didn't understand "Sophie's World" either. I prefer the format of this lay textbook over the device of the bizarre story of Sophie's World as a structure for didacticism though I admit the bizarre stuff was there to illustrate the philosophical points. I read "One Hundred Philosophers" quickly to see what was available in it but would need to study it with additional texts to go in- depth and attempt to understand the actual philosophy.
Very nice reference!
This book is a very nice quick reference, and should be used perhaps like a dictionary.Influences and influenced thinkers are clearly presented, along with each philosopher's main interests and quotes or sometimes "in a nutshell" summaries of the philosophy.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. History & Surveys - General    4. Philosophers    5. Philosophy    6. Reference    7. Philosophy / History, Criticism, Surveys   

Reviews (7)

A thoughtful, serious, expansive reference
Saints For Every Occasion: 101 Of Heaven's Most Powerful Patrons by Catholic commentator and author Thomas J. Craughwell tells the fascinating, compelling, and inspiring stories of Catholicism's patron saints, with special attention to their aspects and relevance today. Each canonized individual is presented with a brief but memorable summary of their lives, to aid those seeking the right words for prayer in the medley of problems faced in this complex world. Highly recommended for personal, seminary, and parish library reference collections, Saints For Every Occasion is a thoughtful, serious, expansive reference that makes for intent browsing in times of inner turmoil.

Saints are for Grown-Ups too
Most of us were introduced to the saints while we were children.As we grew up, our idea of saints has remained on immature level.Thomas Craughwell's book re-introduces us to the saints from an adult person's point of view.The result is refreshing.It is such a relief to know that these 101 saints were not statues in real life.I now feel that Thomas Aquinas is someone I would like to know in real life -- and that Aloysius Gonzaga would be a little scary for his intensity!I left the book by my bed and read two or three capsule biographies each night for over a month.Interestingly, the most moving lives were those of the young saints -- but seen from the adult vantage point of wanting to reach out and protect these youths from harm's way.At the end, I was sorry the book was over.Then on the last page I saw that there is the possibility of a sequel.Let it be!

Saints alive
I am definitely not religious, but I found this book to be so entertaining and enriching that I have to recommend it.It's full of history and culture, and the author's sly style (which sometimes made me laugh out loud) doesn't interfere with the nourishment he gently makes available through the stories of the saints he's selected.It's the kind of book you love to dip into from time to time, to learn something and be amused and maybe feel a bit better about the world. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Christian patron saints    6. Reference    7. Religious   

Reviews (1)

Review by Davey Porter, Editor of the "Mountain News"
"I Saw You in the Moon" an Engaging ReadRead more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Cancer    5. Healing - General    6. Patients    7. Personal Memoirs    8. Reference    9. Women's Health - General    10. Biography & Autobiography / General    11. Lonna Lisa Williams   

Subjects:  1. 1856-1894    2. Asian - General    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Fiction - General    6. General    7. Han, Bangqing,    8. Literature - Classics / Criticism    9. Reference    10. Translations into English    11. Literary Criticism & Collections / Asian   

Reviews (8)

fantastic
I loved Roya Hakakian's Journey from the Land of No, so I ordered this book since the topic is similar.I enjoyed Goldin's book just as much.Although Goldin's writing is not as polished and professional as Hakakian, she lived in a far more backwards region of Iran, thus the story was even more incredible.I felt as if I were transported back in time by Goldin.I recommend this book to everyone.
wonderful memoir
In what is possibly the first memoir by and Iranian Jewish woman and one of the few Mizrachi memoirs available in English, Goldin describes her girlhood in the ghetto of the Shiraz; family, religion and culture; and how she broke tradition by first studying math at Pahlavi University, then visiting the U.S. and marrying an American.Goldin pays special attention to the particularities ofwomen's lives.There are frank descriptions of first menstruation and first visit to the mikveh and the custom of adolescent marriage which persisted into her mother's generation (Goldin's mother was 15 when she gave birth to the author).By turns fiercely honest, subtle and lyrical, Wedding Song is an important addition to Jewish women's autobiographical literature. It is featured in the international bibliography of Jewish women's autobiography that I compiled with poet Irena Klepfisz and that is available on my website.

Wedding Song
Wow! I am married to an Persian Jew who emigrated here in 1979 to attend college.His family escaped Iran after the revolution. My mother in law(from Shiraz) recognizes Farideh's family from the photos. Her uncle's wife's mother is pictured in the book. This book tells a very real story about growing up female and Jewish in Iran. Descriptions of every day living, food, culture and history etc have been confirmed by my husband and his family as I asked questions while I read this book. It helped me to better understand their lives there and how they react and live in the U.S. today. This is a book that shouldbe read by first generation Persians(I am buying copies for my neices) in the U.S., as well as students here who want to understand life inside Iran, past and present; Very enlightening and well written. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Ethnic Cultures - General    5. Personal Memoirs    6. Reference    7. Women    8. Biography & Autobiography / General    9. Biography: general    10. Iran    11. Jewish studies   

Reviews (1)

Janson of psychoaesthetic art history
As Louise Bourgeois said, "Mai, c'est serieux!" Munro covers Cassatt through Kikki Smith using history rather than iconography and enlivens the telling with her many terrific interviews. Especially interesting was the difference between her experience interviewing women artists in the nineties versus interviewing them in the seventies. Munro found it extremely hard to reach these new celebrity artists who, like men, wouldn't share their fears or failures for history. A classic which happens to be about women. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Art, American    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. General    8. Reference    9. United States    10. Women artists    11. Art / General    12. Biography: general    13. Dictionaries of biography (Who's Who)   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. General    5. Reference    6. Biography & Autobiography / General    7. Biography: general   

Reviews (3)

A very dubious and "edited" time capsule
"Box 21" is an interesting package, but not something I'm likely to ever go through again. It's interesting only the first time 'round.
Just in time
Brought to us with care by a colloboration between the Andy Warhol Museum and a German museum, the Museum for Modern Kunst.
Boxing
Ok, we all know Andy Warhol kept everything, but how boring is that? Not so boring at all, as it turns out. Maybe the Warhol Museum picked the best time-capsule box, maybe they are all full of interesting goodies, but box number 21 is a doozey. And everything Andy packed away is there on the page ready to comb over, connect to paintings, make assumptions and check out like any well trained obsessive. For fans of Warhol this book is a must and the best of fun. Lots of pics, not too much elevated art talk and beautifully produced. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Artists, Architects, Photographers    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. History - Contemporary (1945- )    6. Individual Artist    7. Reference   

Subjects:  1. Bioenergetic psychotherapy    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Lowen, Alexander    6. Mental Health    7. Psychiatry - General    8. Psychology    9. Psychotherapists    10. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    11. Reference   

Reviews (2)

The True Heroes
"Last Man Out", by H. Robert Charles is a non fictional story about the author being captured in a prison camp in World War II. This book is the story about Robert Charles, who was a marine machine gunner aboard the USS Houston which was sunk by the Japanese in Sundra Strait, March 1, 1942.Robert swam nine hours until he was picked up off the coast of Java by the Japanese.He was held captured for forty three months in slave labor camps in Burma, Thailand, and Saigon.The Japanese had forced the prisoners(Americans, British, and Australians) to build a 262 mile stretch of railroad, from Burma south into Thailand, through some of the worst parts of the jungles. Through all of this torture, a doctor, Dr. Henri Hekking, saved the lives of more than 250 Americans, including the author. He saved them by the knowledge of herbs that grew wild in the jungle. Then something that will help these men survive happens. Not all true
The author tries to create the illusion that he knew my grandfather real well. In fact they only met on a few occasions.My grandfather, Henri Hekking, was a stickler for detail and was disturbed by the fact that theauthor "recalled" conversations between them that never occured. The "death railroad" was a very traumatic experience for alot ofpeople and the events should be exposed, but people who glorify themselveson others heroics are bothersome to me.Overall the stories are portrayedvery well but I feel they have been "over-enhanced" for betterbook sales. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Burma    4. Charles, H. Robert    5. Concentration camps    6. History - General History    7. Military - World War II    8. Personal narratives, American    9. Prisoners and prisons, Japanes    10. Prisoners and prisons, Japanese    11. Reference    12. World War, 1939-1945