The emperor has no clothes
590563
This is a far better book than most post-recession analyses that have been published.  Sheehan hammers Greenspan for hundreds of pages in Panderer to Power, yet the book stays exciting the whole way through. It's one silly statement by the "Maestro" after another. But this is more than a negative biography of Greenspan; numerous other characters are ripped to shreds in this polemic-Barney Frank and Ben Bernanke are just two more of many victims of Sheehan's caustic wit. (On Frank's defense of Fannie Mae: "Whatever Frank's qualifications for his post, reading a balance sheet was not one of them.") In fact, other than Lawrence Lindsey, no one comes out looking competent in Panderer to Power.  A must read.
4039310
Mr. Hitchens brings his extensive education and experience to bear, examining the hegemony of religion in the world, past and present.  A supremely articulate advocate of Reason, he has done humankind a great service in asking the questions which lead toward the emancipation of our civilizations from the tyranny of religious mystification.  Mr. Hitchens's is the consciousness which alerts us that "the Emperor has no clothes!"
2636371
Coat and vest look great, but there was no cravat in the package. Very disappointing and sad for a 10 year old ready to make a Hamilton presentation
3576983
The emperor has no clothes.  Someone had to say it, and more and more scientists are choosing science over the religion of Darwinian evolution.  Many of the books exposing macro-evolution as a fraud are written by scientists, and a bit over my head; James Perloff is a superb author, and puts matters clearly, with plenty of evidence from evolutionists.  Only a totally closed-minded person would fail to be disturbed at the problems with evolution and the lies our children are being fed.
2275124
If ever cinema produced the equivalent of the "Emperor's New Clothes", this is it.

It is a waste that doesn't rise to the level of crap, and confuses pretensions to decadence for wit.

Your father would cut his member off if he knew his off-spring was going to spend the life so given on crap this bad...

Instead of getting Dad a Father's Day card, do him a favor and don't watch this turd.
1734739
The coat was a bit large. It is not warm at all because the material of the coat and the lining are too thin.
4608551
Because this has none of the above.  How can he go from Darth Bane to this?
IT'S NOT PROGRESSIVE!  lmao
774776
Sadly, this work is only half as long as what it should be - the first half of AM's history went missing in Antiquity and such a loss is immeasurable. Given his skills as a historian, AM would surely have provided posterity with a badly needed overview of the Third Century Crisis; as things stands, we have to eke out what we can from the Historia Augusta (it only took some fifteen centuries to expose the fraud but the Nineteenth Century Germans were a sturdy lot), the last book of Cassius Dio, Herodian and the wretched epitomators of the late Fourth Century. Will we ever know who stabilised the Empire in the late 260s when the gigantic invasion of Goths was annihilated at Naissus?  Possibly not.  Even so, we should be grateful for what is extant.

AM provides immense detail re his own times, which covers the reigns of Constantius, Julian, Jovian, Valentinian and his brother, the ill-fated Valens. Above all, AM is a great storyteller. Serving with the Legions in the East, AM was caught up in the siege of Amida where a Roman archer on the walls made the mistake of killing the son of a Persian chieftain at long-range. Rather than bypassing the city, the Persians decided to convert it into a precursor of Warsaw, circa 1945. Being masters of siege-craft, this was duly organised. AM was lucky to escape with his life. Once read, this narrative is unforgettable. Equally memorable is Constantius' entry into Rome, accompanied by the dragon-pennants of the imperial cavalry: surely it bears resemblance in its marmoreal grandeur to the Second Inauguration of George W Bush. The History ends catastrophically with Adrianople, the battle which sounded the death-knell of the Empire in the West. Rather than wait for his nephew Gratian (the son of Valentinian and likewise an emperor) who was bringing reinforcements, the Emperor Valens foolishly decided to fight the Goths alone. Carnage ensued. His body was never found and the Goths nested themselves in the Danubian provinces like a succubus, never to be evicted.

Ammianus was a pagan himself. While he panegyrises Julian the Apostate, he is not unsympathetic to the cause of the `Afterworldsmen'.

All in all, this is a great read. For whatever reason, Penguin excised some thirty or so pages where AM muses on matter geographical but they are no great loss. May you live in interesting times, the Chinese sages stated: Ammianus Marcellinus bears testimony to this.
3378272
The book, whilst good, does paint a flattering image of Cixi. She was definately not the instigator of the modernisation of  China. She  did everything to maintain power initially rejecting the advice from the man that tried to modernise China. He was Timothy Richard, who battled with Chinese authorities and a corrupt government<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Tim-China/dp/B0085NISF8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Tim China</a>His story is contemporary to Cixi and is told in the book "Tim China". Timothy tried vainly to introduce railways, roads, telegraphs and modern medicine but was thwarted at each stage by Cixi who feared modernisation. She was still a feudal ruler, head of the Qing Dynasty. She only relented when faced with the inevitable desire of the masses for social improvement. They wanted a modern China and not an autocratic ruler who wanted to cut China off from the real world. Timothy Richard's lasting legacy stands in the form of Shansi University - the first western style university in China - still in existence today.day and does not attempt to make amy judgement on the cases
1075885
I read this book because of recently reading 'Sisi: Empress On Her Own', a modern look at this lady. While the newer book has a more novel style, and is written from the Empress's point of view, it contains all the same details so I expect that Count Corti's work will have been source material.

At the start the Count tells us that almost nothing has been published about Sisi, although copious written materials and witnesses exist. He sets out to build a portrait of this lady, one of the last Empresses. He thanks Bay Middleton and the Spencers in England, who helped him understand Sisi's foxhunting addiction and months spent among them. Most of Sisi's time was of course spent in Europe, amid her stifling Austrian court and the relative freedom of her home in Hungary with its stables.

Her cousin Ludwig was engaged to Sisi's younger sister, before being removed from his throne by his Council of Ministers as 'unfit to rule', meaning not of sound mind, for bankrupting his monarchy while supporting Wagner to write his Ring Cycle, while building extravagant palaces over the Rhine. At that time the topmost Royals were very limited in marriage prospects as they could only marry other nobles of their station and had to marry someone of the same religion, which removed Britain and Denmark from eligibility as far as the Austro-Hungarians were concerned. This intrusion by a Parliament into the rule of the Royals was shocking to someone of Sisi's stature. But Ludwig was later found drowned in an apparent suicide. His actions make him the antithesis of Sisi's husband Franz Joseph, a responsible, dedicated Emperor who did paperwork, kept informed about his nation and met foreign dignitaries constantly.

Europe was riddled with anarchists at this time, and nobles were resented so much that they were the target of assassination attempts, one such precipitating the First World War. A similar action took the life of Sisi while she was visiting Geneva. The author explains how it occurred and how the villain was captured, having tossed down his knife, which was recovered.

I love the pictures of the nobles. Sisi was a famous beauty and she is the frontispiece with her long hair embellished with jewels.

This book was written not too long after the First World War and rise of Communism, which swept away the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russian Empire, meaning the events would have been topical and fresh enough in the minds of witnesses.  As the author was a Count we can expect he would have had access to anyone and anything he needed for reference. I am reminded of Baroness Orczy writing about the return of Napoleon from Elba, and Waterloo, in the Bronze Eagle, as well as her novels of the French Revolution in the Scarlet Pimpernel series.
595118
Marcus Aurelius was the last of a group of "good" Roman Emperors.  His profile was raised most recently in the "Gladiator" film, where appears as a benevolent leader of an increasingly corrupt empire.  If his thoughts as outlined in this document are any indication, then the movie portrayal Marcus Aurelius is not far from the truth.  These thoughts appear piecemeal as epiphanies written by the Emperor between 170-180 AD.  Aurelius considered himself a philosopher, which was the equivalent of a dedicated scientist in his day.  He believed in a life of humble service and dedication to improving the world around him.  His view of world included the need to better understand and forgive others for their shortcomings.  It is a window into the Romans view of how to ideally conduct themselves in public and private life that is incredibly fascinating.

The content and tone of these writings belies the fact that Marcus Aurelius governed an area that reached from Britain to Egypt (most of modern Europe and the Middle East).  "Alone of the emperors," wrote the historian Herodian, "he gave proof of his learning not by mere words or knowledge of philosophical doctrines but by his blameless character and temperate way of life." (From Wikipedia).  There is a tone and tenor to his writings that aligns well the Christian doctrines that will soon transform Europe.  "If any man has done wrong, then the harm is his own" (location 1403-7, Kindle Edition).

So much of the modern western world owes its foundation to the Roman Republic and Empire.  If you wish to better understand the decline and fall of modern republics (and empires), then all roads still lead to Rome as the model for the demise of democratic governments.  The distance of nearly 2000 years melts away and you might find yourself wishing for an opportunity to meet the man who many consider the greatest Roman Emperor.
4384864
Former CBS News correspondent Bernard Goldberg has done the work of a brave and hardy soul: he has dared to announce that the emperor has no clothes at the risk of his own career and past connections. He documents the bias that permeates a media that puts cultural correctness over truthful analysis. He has been on the inside and what he documents is a bias that is utterly unprofessional. The professional journalist should provide facts wherever they may lead even if they offend the people they socialize with and admire. Fortunately, we live in a competitive and free market economy where alternate sources of analysis, taking advantage of new technology such as cable television and the internet, are undermining the monopoly power over information of the major television networks. Goldberg's exposure is an implicit endorsement of the value of a competitive economy that provides such alternatives.
3001566
Well, it's the Prince.  Not sure what you really want beyond that.  It is free, and it is the text.  No interactive links, no real fluff.  Just Machiavelli
4025721
A must read if you have extremely low intellect an enjoy fairy tales.  At a time when this country needs leadership he fails miserably.  He hides his ineptness as a leader under the facade of "Long Game " strategy.  Since he hasn't accomplished anything as a leader of the Senate why not write a book and cover your ass with a claim that it's a long game strategy.  Why not he's had plenty of time on his hands and can make some money on the side.
1527918
One star..coz it has ro have one
 PACKAGE SO TINY AND LIGHT.I REFUSED DELIVERY..I WENT BY THE U.S. MEASURENENTS.. WONT BUY ASIAN CLOTHING AGAIN. EVER!
2603886
It is an axiom of nature that for intimacy, impression, or insight that both a male prong and a female receptacle are necessary. Such technical utility is carried over into even our electric plugs and wall sockets for illumination.

Which is why poignant critical works and reviews of President George H.W. Bush's presidency are the more useful volumes to turn to, for Rebel-in-Chief: Inside the Bold and Controversial Presidency of George W. Bush pierces nothing. This is a flaccid, feeble, vapid work.

Rebel-in-Chief is of the orifice-pressed-firmly-to-the-sphincter class of hagiography, and fails both on its merits and its mission. Barnes holds himself out as a suburban Republican everyman intellectual of the not-too-deep variety. Perhaps this is the most telling dimension of the work, for if Barnes and his doppelgangers are either seeking to understand Bush's vision with this critical appraisal, or are his last wall of apologetic defence it is a sure sign of a failed Presidency. Everyone remembers from college that at the first siren of real trouble the smiling and backslapping Future-Salesman-of-America disappear leaving the trash and evidence pinned on the dim, the confused, and those who arrived late. When the centre does not hold, a rough beast indeed slouches toward Bethlehem to be born, and then it is brutes who must clean up the mess.
3003476
For Prince Teodor and Guy Erma, things keep getting curioser and curioser in Guy Erma and the Son of Empire, Book II, Hunter. In normal course of the Planet Freyne's events, Teodore should have succeeded to the throne when he was old enough and Guy should, by all rights, have had easy entry into the Dome Elite Junior Corps. The Dome Elite was the Planet Freyne's premier fighting force.

However, in the regicidal politics of Freyne, nothing is as it seems or should be. Instead of ruling, the Freyne, Teo finds himself, now, kidnapped and being held by, it turns out, Chart Segat, mayor of the Dome, Freyne's most important feature. Further, it also turns out that Segat is working with Teo's great-uncle Frederon, emperor of the 13 planets. Each has something to gain from Teo's kidnapping. Segat hopes to retain his power as leader of the Dome; the emperor hopes to force Teo's mother and regent, Sayginn into an arranged marriage. Frederon wants an heir and is determined to have Sayginn produce not one, but four. The four would assure Frederon of a direct heir and cut Teo out of the succession.

Into this carefully sculpted plot comes Karl Valvanchi, brother of the Zaracan ambassador to Freyne, Nikki. The Zaracans are interfering with Freyne's politics in a way that will advance their claims to Sas Darona where they have extensive mining operations. Karl meets and falls in love with Sayginn. He also begins the hunt for Sayginn's kidnapped son, Teo. Thus, Karl becomes the hunter.

Neither Segat nor the emperor counted on Karl's involvement  and later marriage  with Sayginn. It changes things in many ways they cannot account for. Neither had they accounted for Guy's involvement. Guy, the current champion of all blades fighters, finds himself armored while fighting an unarmored Teo in a rather rigged blades contest. Instead of carrying the fight to its ordered conclusion  Teo's death  Guy falters and then helps Teo escape; to be rescued by Karl.

If this seems a bit convoluted, it is. The funny thing is, though, that author Sally Ann Melia, who wrote the three-volume Guy Erma series for teens, never lets it become confusing. Her clear writing and excellent plotting skills and her ability to manage the many plots and subplots that she concocts on the way to Book III are first rate. With as many plots and subplots as she has written  Teo, the Dome, the Valvanchis, the emperor and more  Guy Erma could easily have become a confusing morass, but it is not. Each plotline works its way cleanly through the carefully written text. Though the plots intertwine, touch and then go off elsewhere only to intertwine again, they never become confusing as Melia is clearly the master of this work.

Sally Ann Melia has set off to write an action-packed space yarn that is supposed to and does keep you at the edge of your chair. The characters are fully developed. Each one seems real and is someone with whom you can empathize. Altogether this is an excellent bit of writing that, while advertised as a youth book, should appeal to any reader, no matter how old or young.