Curso a Distancia de Reiki

Book Description

Karl von Clausewitz's study On War was described by the American strategic thinker Bernard Brodie as 'not simply the greatest, but the only great book about war'. It is hard to disagree. Even though he wrote his only major work at a time when the range of firearms was fifty yards, much of what he had to say remains relevant today. Michael Howard explains Clausewitz's ideas in terms both of his experiences as a professional soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, and of the intellectual background of his time.

Customer Reviews:

Condensed Clausewitz.......2006-04-23

Years ago, I read a book entitled "On Strategy: a Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War." The author, Col. Harry Sumner, relied heavily on Clausewitz in critiquing the US effort in that war. Having been led by other military historians to believe that Clausewitz was more or less clueless about strategy, I was somewhat taken aback by Sumner's heavy reliance on Clausewitz.

Then came Desert Storm, and even my untutored eye could see that the US military had taken the teachings of "On Strategy" to heart. One could say that the US victory in Desert Storm was essentially "Clausewitzian". Maybe Clausewitz had been getting some undeserved bad press.

"Clausewitz: a Very Short Introduction" rehabilitates the Prussian officer's reputation, giving his biography and distilling his thought into a manageable amount of reading. Clausewitz was no armchair theoretician. He was a professional soldier who saw extensive combat during the Napoleonic Wars, and he knew what he was talking about. He may even be the first author to recognize Murphy's Law. He called it "friction," and he wrote that it plagued every sort of military endeavor.

For those of us who are unwilling to grapple with the unabridged Clausewitz, this little book is just what the general ordered.

Succinct, lucid, a good beginning........2005-04-27

Clausewitz is notoriously difficult to understand, according to Prof. Howard, because so much of what he wrote was not intended for publication. As Clausewitz himself stated, he wrote a "collection of materials from which a theory of war was to have been distilled." Professor Howard, the co-author of the standard English translation of Clausewitz, begins that distillation process in these few pages.

He first places Clausewitz in context, with a review of his family origins and military experience. He was commissioned as an officer in the Prussian Army at the age of 12, fought in his first campaign in 1793 at the age of 13 against the forces of Revolutionary France on the Rhine and then in the Vosges. In 1806 he was captured following the French defeat of Prussian forces at Auerstadt, a subsidiary of Napoleon's great victory over the Prussians at Jena. He then spent two years in captivity as a prisoner of war in France. When later the Prussian king allied himself with Napoleon, Clausewitz resigned from the Prussian Army and joined the Russian Army, where he participated in the Russian victory over Napoleon at Borodino. When the Prussian King, Frederick William III, eventually joined the Alliance against Napoleon in 1813, Clausewitz became an advisor to General Blucher during the Leipzig campaign, though still in Russian uniform. After being allowed by the King to rejoin the Prussian Army he became chief of staff to the Prussian III Corps, which acted as a blocking force at Waterloo. He then spent 12 years at the Prussian Army War College, where he spent much of his time writing his most famous work, On War. He died in 1831, at the age of 51, in a cholera epidemic in Breslau, where he had been sent to institute a cordon sanitaire to prevent the disease from spreading.

Clausewitz' ideas were formed in the cauldron of the transition from formalized 18th century warfare to the total war of the French Revolution and Napoleonic era. The successive Prussian defeats had a profound effect on him, stimulating a rethinking of the theory of warfare as it evolved in his lifetime. There is much debate about how much of his work applies only to the particular circumstances of his era and how much is applicable to warfare in general.

He is frequently contradictory and ambiguous, which is not surprising, given the extreme complexity of the human social phenomenon he is attempting to analyze. These are a few of his better-known concepts:

- the FRICTION of war (now often called the "FOG of war")
- successful warfare always involves a FIGHT, although paradoxically, an "unfought fight", such as the nuclear exchange that didn't happen during the Cold War, can have as much effect as an actual fight
- the necessity of attacking the enemy's CENTER
- the power of the DEFENSE
- the necessity of SUPERIOR FORCE for VICTORY
- the importance of MORALE
- the concept of WAR AS AN EXTENSION OF POLITICS

Prof. Howard provides a good summary of the way Clausewitz influenced the ideas and operations of the great wars of the 20th century - WWI, WWII, and the Cold War - and gives guidance for further study. He recommends in particular three books:

Peter Paret - "Clausewitz and the State"
Azar Gat - "The Origins of Military Thought from the
Enlightenment to Clausewitz"
Raymond Aron - "Penser la guerre, Clausewitz"

There is as yet no complete English translation of Clausewitz' works.

Highly recommended as an introduction to the study of history's foremost philosopher of warfare.

Cliff Notes to Clausewitz.......2000-08-11

Clausewitz is notoriously difficult for the novice to master -- some would argue that no one has ever entirely "mastered" Clausewitz. Be that as it may, a legion of frustrated amateur strategists can attest to the difficulty of picking up Clausewitz's "On War" and trying to read it through without a guide. In the "Clausewitz" volume in the Past Masters series, the novice as well as the experienced strategist can gain an introduction to the master's life, experiences, and writings that will make the first reading intelligible and that will serve as a quick review of Clausewitz's main concepts in a format that can easily be read in an evening.

This is a book that should stand next to "On War" in every strategist's library.

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Clausewitz: a Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
Michael Howard
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKE318

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspectives (Understanding Ancient Civilizations Series)

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Absurdly overpriced for unoriginal research

Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspectives (Understanding Ancient Civilizations Series)
Jane McIntosh
Manufacturer: ABC-CLIO
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1576079651
Release Date: 2005-07-18

Customer Reviews:

Absurdly overpriced for unoriginal research.......2007-03-30

Can anyone remember when the law was passed allowing textbook publishers legally to rape consumers? Anyone??

Seventy-five dollars, folks! Seventy-five dollars for a serviceable text consisting entirely of summarization from other works of both primary and secondary research, of citations from on-line encyclopedias (!?), and of graphics mainly drawn from the "Land of the Bible Picture Archive" and from an 1894 "History of the World".

Again, that's "seventy-five dollars".

Caveat, it should go without saying, emptor. Go to your local library and borrow a copy.

Mesopotamian Magic: Textual, Historical, and Interpretative Perspectives (Studies in Ancient Magic and Divination, 1)

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Mesopotamian Magic: Textual, Historical, and Interpretative Perspectives (Studies in Ancient Magic and Divination, 1)
Karel Van Der Toorn , and Tzvi Abusch
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Mexican Birds

Disappointingly Incomplete

agree with other reviewer that this book is useless

Close to useless

Pages are falling out! This is a Field Guide???!!!

A Field Guide to Mexican Birds: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador (Peterson Field Guides(R))
Edward L. Chalif
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America

A Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Adjacent Areas: Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador, Third Edition (Corrie Herring Hooks)

Birds of Mexico and Central America (Princeton Illustrated Checklists)

A Bird-Finding Guide to Mexico (Comstock Books)

Maya Nature : An Introduction to the Ecosystems, Plants and Animals of the Mayan World

ASIN: 039597514X

Book Description

With more than 700 color paintings arranged by families for quick comparison of similar species, and with detailed information on range, habitat, size, and voice, this field guide describes and illustrates 1,038 species of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and El Salvador.

Customer Reviews:

Mexican Birds.......2007-05-13

As someone new to birdwatching I needed to find some good field guides at several points on my recent World Cruise and I bought Peterson's Mexican Birds to use for my visit to two points in Mexico. I found this a quite impressive book, considering the fact that it covers over 1000 species in such a small book, but it is perhaps too concise. The illustrations are good, with arrows showing distinguishing points to look for with closely related species. But all illustrations are in a separate section from the main desctiption and many show only the bird's head. Many birds are not shown and the reader needs to look in one of Peterson's other (US) guides Also, there are no maps, just short defintions of the ranges.
It is not a full field guide and does not give details of habitat but it can be used for identification. (I already had Western Birds which filled the gaps for me.)
As Mexico has so many bird species I suspect that this is the best that can be produced in a book of pocket size. I would recommend it as a handy pocket guide to take in the field. For longer use in Mexico the reader may need a supplementary source of fuller details. It is certainly excellent value for money.

Disappointingly Incomplete.......2007-04-03

Having loved and used Peterson's excellent Texas guide for years (my first copy having disintegrated years ago, the cover now coming off the second), I found this book woefully disappointing. The back cover states that 1038 species are described and illustrated -- not true! While the illustrations the book does contain are quite wonderful in their usual way, most of the birds already found in Peterson's other North American guides offer only a cursory two or three line description, and no illustration at all -- only the letters E, W, and/or T, which means, simply, go look it up in one of the other books!

Unfortunately for me, I found this book at the last minute at my local public library just before a plane trip to Mexico and only learned about its limitations as I was reading the chapter on "How to Use this Book" after I was already in the air. I am glad I didn't BUY the book. I just wish I had at least brought my Texas guide with me, but I didn't realize I needed it.

The book would have been more appropriately titled, "A Field Guide to the Mexican Birds that We Didn't Already Cover" or "Mexican Birds You Didn't Already Know". Unless you are an expert birder and already know most North American birds by sight, this book is only good as a supplement. Although I had been birding for over 30 years, I found this book to be completely useless as a stand-alone field guide.

agree with other reviewer that this book is useless.......2007-03-08

As below, this book does not include birds in the other peterson guides. Far better books are out there.

Close to useless.......2007-02-17

This book does not include plates of birds that are included in Peterson Field Guides from Western North America, Eastern North America or Texas. So, unless you have their guide books memorized for these locations, the Mexico guide book is basically useless. Alternatively, you could buy all four books (Eastern NA, Western NA, Texas, and Mexico) and carry them all with you. Or you could just purchase a different, stand-alone guide book with plates of the most or all of the birds in the region.

Pages are falling out! This is a Field Guide???!!!.......2006-08-01

Attention, publisher and smart shoppers: Can we all agree that even paperback reference books should be securely bound to support repeated, long-term use? A BIRD BOOK should be bound like a Sherman tank because it ought to withstand being tossed into a backpack and perused in the swampy jungle. My copy of Roger Tory Peterson's "Mexican Birds" is almost new and I've opened it just a couple dozen times inside our air-conditioned home in Ixtapa. Yet this morning, as I was trying to determine whether the yellow-bellied bird in the Parota tree outside our window was a Great Kiskadee or a Boat-billed Flycatcher, I set the open book down on my desk and eight of the color plates separated from the binding! What Lesser Yellow-Headed Vulture engineered the binding of this book? (made in U.S.) I own Penguin paperback detective novels that hold together better than this, even though I don't need them to do so. So to the publishers, I must quote the purported cry of the extinct Do-Do Bird, "DUH!" To my fellow birders, I say, come to Mexico! We have woodpeckers and Egrets galore, White-Throated Magpie Jays (who have twice hovered a few feet in front of our faces, yodelling softly while they watch us back!), Yellow-Winged Caciques (who gather together in trees by the hundreds at bedtime and whoosh out in a long, musical procession at dawn) and much more! (I list only birds we see DAILY in our Club de Golf, Ixtapa neighborhood!) But when you come, bring a field guide with a better binding than this one. Happy birding!

Mexican birds: Field marks of all species found in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and El Salvador (Roger Tory Peterson field guides)

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Mexican birds: Field marks of all species found in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and El Salvador (Roger Tory Peterson field guides)
Roger Tory Peterson
Manufacturer: Easton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006YS3H2

FIELD GUIDE TO MEXICAN BIRDS, A, Field Marks of All Species Found in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize (British Honduras), El Salvador

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FIELD GUIDE TO MEXICAN BIRDS, A, Field Marks of All Species Found in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize (British Honduras), El Salvador
Roger T. And Edward L. Chalif Peterson
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VBPEZE

A FIELD GUIDE TO MEXICAN BIRDS. MEXICO, GUATEMALA, BELIZE, EL SALVADOR [G2]

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A FIELD GUIDE TO MEXICAN BIRDS. MEXICO, GUATEMALA, BELIZE, EL SALVADOR [G2]
R. & E. Chalif Peterson
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WQ96GQ

A Field Guide to Mexican Birds: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador (Peterson Field Guide Series)

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A Field Guide to Mexican Birds: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador (Peterson Field Guide Series)

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000FP23QE

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