Book Description
Part One Of Two PartsMacArthur was not only a lean, chiseled military genius and master of strategy; he also suffered unexplained lapses. For example, he knew of the Pearl Harbor attack but neglected to deploy his Philippine air force, a failure which resulted in its total destruction. And the success of his Inchon invasion was all but undone by the Chinese hordes that later swarmed across the Yalu--a response easily predicted, disastrously ignored."AMERICAN CAESAR is gracefully written, impeccably researched and scrupulous in every way...a thrilling and profoundly ponderable piece of work." (Newsweek)
Customer Reviews:
A True American Hero & The Last Shogun of Japan.......2007-09-21
I could not put the book down... Douglas MacArthur's life from beginning to end was so interesting... His life had meaning... Say anything you wish about his personality but his accomplishments during his life will never be out done... Well written book.. and well worth reading...
ON BEING "DUGOUT DOUG".......2007-05-23
General Douglas MacArthur is one of the few military figures in American history who, even today, evokes heated partisan responses. The title of the headline for this piece clearly tells where this writer is on the partisan divide. The nickname "Dugout Doug" goes back to the days when after the Japanese invasion of the Philippines General MacArthur got himself out of harm's way, with a due fanfare, while his subordinates and the troops for the most part got left behind to face the brunt of the Japanese forces. It was not pretty. This story and many others are detailed in the late journalist William Manchester's biography of the general.
The history of the United States has produced a few military figures who were flamboyant. It has also produced a fair number with some military skills. It is, however, unusual to have the two come together as they did in the self-advertised grandeur of MacArthur. Europe has had some familiarity with the `man on horse back'. One thinks of France, in particular. In America that notion, at least publicly, has not been presented by military leaders while in uniform. MacArthur was an exception. Manchester is not incorrect to see that if there were such a candidate for the role of Caesar (or its modern variant, Bonaparte) in the United States MacArthur by skill, élan and appetite fit the bill. That thread runs through the whole story line here.
No one can question that MacArthur had exceptional military skill in both World Wars, especially his role in the Pacific in World War II. One, however, should note, and note carefully his role in dispersing the Bonus Army in Washington, D.C. in the early 1930's. That might provide a taste of what the American Caesar had in store if he ever took power. Furthermore, one should note that MacArthur was well out of his element when he faced essentially `unconventional' armies in Korea. Call it `limited warfare' if you will but he totally underestimated his North Korean and Chinese opposites in the age of new `warfare'. Later American generals faced, and are today facing, similar conditions. And making the same wrong estimation. That MacArthur's reputation has mainly survived his Korea debacle owes more to hubris, including his own, than reality. In any case, read this book to get a flavor of the old American Army and its most well known general.
must be read, an american treasure.......2007-01-18
william manchester & his work are a national treasure. i picked this up after being blown away by manchester's 3-volume churchhill series.
few historians can produce a work like this that's both painstakingly researched & scholarly and so well-written and absorbing. be it churchhill or maccarthur, manchester always takes the long view in terms of how his subject fits in the pantheon of great leaders.
this volume about america's greatest general of the last century provides both a great history of the time period (wwi-korea) as well as a colorful & in-depth look at one of the great personalities of american history. as with churchhill, macarthur is complex, courageous, brilliant and flawed.
Well Researched & Written.......2006-03-05
This is perhaps the best biography of an American ever written. Manchester juxtaposes the good MacArthur (the military genius and patriotic family man) with the bad MacArthur (the megalomaniacal general whose lapse led to his entire air force being destoryed on the ground at Leyte; not even his wife called him "Douglas"). MacArthur is still one of the most polarizing figures in American history; I have spoken to WW2 and Korean veterans who either love him or hate him. This book is a study of greatness. No matter your opinion of MacArthur, one cannot deny the fact that he graduated from West Point with one of the highest averages ever, or how his post-war control of Japan shaped that nation's history. An excellent look into the life of an American Hero/Villain.
history or prophecy.......2006-02-01
I bow to my colleagues who have observed Manchester's acquired taste for the MacArthurian mystique and the apparent failures of historians (not just Willam M.) on getting it right regarding The General's ego and its fallout in combat. Yes this stuff is significant, but all this overlooks one outstanding reality, that Manchester includes but does give the proper emphasis: Doug MacArthur wanted to be president, very, very badly. He truly saw himself as a caesar-like figure in history and positioned himself in returning to the Philipines, administering post-war Japan, and taking the baton in Korea (at the age of 70) for a return to the US in "triumph." Instead he bowed out after being fired by Truman, who had nothing to lose by relieving him.
This book is an enormous achievement, necessary for a student of modern history, but Manchester misses a golden opportunity to build a dramatic effect when giving the account of the final years of MacArthur's public life by passing over these events and not leaning on their true meaning.
Customer Reviews:
Highly readable bio of the enigmatic/self-assured general.......2007-07-23
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Manchester's biography of the great General. Manchester writes in great detail about Mac's early history of West Point and his great successes in WWI. He covers Mac's early marriage to his first wife and how he tried to hide his affairs from his mother. Very interesting.
Then, we are treated to his great island-hopping tactics in the Pacific during WWII, and then it's on to Korea.
I enjoyed the book even though many consider it too praise-worthy of Mac. That was one of things I enjoyed...that it was praise-worthy of the general, but that it did cover some interesting points (some not so good) about the general...like his hero-worship of his mother; his obstinancy at wanting to do this his way (his arrogance...but that it most always seemed to work out); his infighting with President Truman and more. With respect to the Korean conflict, Manchester did not go into specific details with respect to the war itself, but dealt more with Mac's fighting with Truman and some of his disrepect for his civilian boss.
I think it unfortunate that we do not have more generals of his caliber. This book makes you appreciate the generals we did have that brought us through a terrible global conflict. His comments about Vietnam and fighting wars to win are most appropriate even today, especially considering the threat we have from terrorists today.
An excellent book and worthy as an addition to any library.
Very well done........2007-02-26
One of the first Military leader bio's I read - back in high school - and still one of the finest.
A Great Biography.......2006-10-10
William Manchester is one of the greatest biographers to have put pen to paper, and his portrait of Douglas MacArthur is another fine example. The Second World War was replete with genius, many were said to have it; Churchill, Roosevelt, Patton, Marshall, Rommel, Eisenhower, the list goes on. William Manchester has written biographies of the two most unique men from amongst the many that period produced, Douglas MacArthur being one, and his more well known two-volume work on Churchill.
It is still debated today, was MacArthur the real deal, or some kind of media hype? Manchester ably fills in the blanks, from MacArthur's service in WW I, to his time at West Point, the Philippines, and on from Australia through to his stewardship of occupied Japan, and later the Korean War. Manchester leaves no doubt that MacArthur was the real deal, he was of all commanders during the Second World War the most economic in terms of casualties. Rather than go straight at 'em like Patton, MacArthur out-maneuvered and flanked his opponents in the Pacific, utilizing combinations of amphibious and aerial tactics that others soon copied. As successful as the Normandy invasion turned out to be, several military historians instead cite MacArthur's amphibious assault on Inchon to be the finest of its kind, as an assault on a fortified harbor was reckoned impossible after Dieppe. Like many great men MacArthur had his flaws, but it is notable how many who were under his command also rose to greatness, Eisenhower amongst them. Many of the innovations that MacArthur introduced are still in use today, the Katusa program in Korea (Korean augmentee to the US Army) or the physical education program at West Point. There is no more thorough or readable account of one of the most interesting American military leaders.
Unflinching look at our greatest soldier.......2006-09-17
William Manchester mentioned in the acknowledgements that Jean MacArthur was a contributor, but did not see the manuscript before publication. There was a good reason for this: he didn't want people to think she agreed with his criticisms of General MacArthur, her husband. The book, as a matter of fact, was equally unflinching in its criticisms of the great general as it was in its praise of his outstanding work as probably our greatest soldier ever.
Here was a man that was much bigger than life. He was always on stage, completely fearless, a military genius, winner of almost a dozen medals including the Medal of Honor, and an entrancing speaker with the poetic style and the presence of the great actor John Barrymore. (By the way, he and his father are the only father/son to win Medals of Honor. His father won his at age 18 in the Civil War.) He was all but worshipped in Japan as he led their astonishing reconstruction after WWII, and earlier in the Philippines as he freed them from Japanese occupation. In fact, even today in the Philippines, some barracks still call his name for roll call and he is declared as 'present in spirit'. His conduct of the Pacific War in WWII was nothing short of amazing, as he dazzled with his daring courage, speed, and knowledge of the terrain. But after 14 years abroad, he was relieved of command because of battles with the Truman Administration over the scope and goals of the Korean War; the Administration was understandably alarmed at his proposals of starting a nuclear war, or of utilizing nuclear waste as a line of defense, with the Communist Chinese. On his return to the US, he was lionized everywhere as he took his victory lap and millions lined the streets just to get a glimpse of him.
It's hard to get know the real MacArthur, but you can't help admiring the man despite his gigantic ego. He was one of a kind in American history, and maybe even world history. This book does a great job of giving you the straight, unflinching dope on him, both good and bad.
Flawed genius or brillant fool?.......2006-08-01
This is a very well written and highly readable biography of a phenomenon of a man. Maybe the most brillant military leader of all times, despite some failures in a long career, and despite competition from big names (Napoleon? Caesar?).
It is also a very recommendable short history of WWII in the Pacific Theater, the Japanese aftermath, and the Korean War. Focus on the Philippines exit and re-entry, the Japan reconstruction, the Korea desaster, of course. Just the coverage of the Philippines makes it worth reading, if you are interested in that part of the world. Specially the thoughts on collaboration by the elite with the occupation forces.
The chapter on Japan is very intense and gives a very good insight in the situation after the war. It is however a little short on actual biographical material from that time.
And it contains a short para that puzzles me a lot: Manchester says that Japan, contrary to Germany, changed in reaction to the disclosures of their war crimes. Now that comes as a surprise. I would have thought it was the other way around, with Japan still largely in denial even today, while Germany has been doing their best to repent.
The Korean war part is of course high drama, not just for the war, but mainly for the fights between DMA and the administration of Truman.
It is not a definite biography anyway, because it is just too short. That may be hard to believe with a 850 pages book, but consider that the first 60 years of the man are covered by just about 20% of the book. I am not at all critical of these first 60 years' coverage, they are very well covered, but clearly not with the intention of a full biography. There are so many open questions about MacArthur's Mexican adventures before WWI, then about his WWI heroics, his West Point leadership, his Olympics Sidestep (Amsterdam 28), his years as Chief of Staff, even his pre-war years in the Philippines.
The failure to react adequately to Pearl Harbour is maybe not lending itself to deeper analysis. It was what it was, a failure to grasp a new situation. Still, it remains an amazing black out for a military genius.
Considering that the man might have made it to the presidency, as Ike did, leaves me with a feeling of relief: thanks God, he failed. Despite his apparent political wisdom in handling Japan, he does not appear to be a real political animal.
His negative personal traits are scary: the inability to admit mistakes, the tendency to lie if the truth does not please (e.g. when denying during the Korean War that he had 10 years earlier welcomed the Soviet entry into the war against Japan), the majestic immodesty. Continuous insubordination, a major theme in the story of this life, is not so much a negative trait, as a puzzling aspect of this bit of history. Surprising that he got away with it for so long.
I do not at all want to indicate that I see MacArthur all negative, absolutely not. But it seems to me that we were lucky with "little man" Harry Truman, who managed not to blow the world to pieces when he could have done that easily, and when MacArthur might have.
Muddling through is not exactly satisfying, but can have better results than the direttissima.
Average customer rating:
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American Caesar (Part B): Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964: Library Edition
William Manchester
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audiobooks
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- An Excellent Guide to Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg!
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The U.S. Army War College Guide to the Battles of Chancellorsville & Fredericksburg
Manufacturer: Harpercollins
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Customer Reviews:
An Excellent Guide to Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg!.......2004-07-05
In my humble opinion, Luvaas and Nelson have written an important and helpful guide anyone who wants to know more about the Battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.
The chapters' format are as follows:
1. Detailed driving directions to the site.
2. What happened at the particular site during the battle.
3. An account of the action by an actual participant.
4. Map(s) showing troop dispositions during the action.
I have referred to the title during some of my many visits to both battlefields and have gained a greater appreciation for the challenges facing commanders and other participants.
The only complaint is the maps - too few and not detailed enough.
Complaint aside, I highly recommend the book as a valuable guide.
Read and enjoy!
Book Description
The battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, 1862-63, were remarkable in several respects. Both revealed the problems of mounting a serious attack at night and provided the first examples of the now-familiar trench warfare. Fredericksburg featured street fighting and river crossings under fire. Chancellorsville was marked by Stonewall Jackson's death and the rare instance of mounted cavalry attacking infantry. In addition, the latter battle also demonstrated in striking fashion the profound influence of the commander on the battle. The Union committed more soldiers, supplies, money, and better equipment than did the Confederacy, and yet Lee won.
Eyewitness accounts by battle participants make these guides an invaluable resource for travelers and nontravelers who want a greater understanding of five of the most devastating yet influential years in our nation's history. Explicit directions to points of interest and maps--illustrating the action and showing the detail of troop position, roads, rivers, elevations, and tree lines as they were 130 years ago--help bring the battles to life. In the field, these guides can be used to recreate each battle's setting and proportions, giving the reader a sense of the tension and fear each soldier must have felt as he faced his enemy.
This book is part of the U.S. Army War College Guides to Civil War Battles series.
Customer Reviews:
ACW Battlefield Tour Bibles.......1998-08-24
These series of books are the best available resource for conducting ACW battlefield tours - assuming that your purpose in touring battlefields is to study and understand the applicable tactics, strategy and terrain and to develop an appreciation for the objectives and efforts of the participants. If you go to ACW battlefields to gawk and gossip as an everyday tourist then you do not need to study these guides. If you have an active interest in ACW history, military history in general or fascinating chapters in human history, then these guides are remarkable values, "Best Buys". Thorough but not intimidating, insightful and objective, with no deficiencies noted.
Book Description
Created in 1951 to ensure an embattled Israel's future, the Mossad has been responsible for the most audacious and thrilling feats of espionage, counterterrorism, and assassination ever ventured. Gordon Thomas's 1999 publication of Gideon's Spies, resulting from closed-door interviews with Mossad agents, informants, and spymasters, and drawing from classified documents and top-secret sources, revealed previously untold truths about the Israeli intelligence agency. And now, in this fourth edition, Thomas updates his classic text and shows a Mossad as it has historically been: brilliant, ruthless, and flawed, but ultimately awesome. Six all-new chapters and updated appendices and glossaries examine: *The London bombings: the untold full story of Mossad's involvement*Mossad's key role in the G8 Summit in Scotland*How Mossad discovered that by June 2005 Al Qaeda had acquired fissionable material from Pakistan and former Soviet Union Islamic Republics*Secret phone calls to Washington that led to Tony Blair changing his position over war with Iraq *WMD and Libya, North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, China, and the House of Saud*The mega spy in the Bush and Clinton administrations*The PLO, Fatah, and Hamas* The technology wars, and North Korea's bird-flu war games and 'ethnic bombs'*The Chinese involvement in the Los Alamos fiasco
Customer Reviews:
Mossad's reach.......2007-10-17
What I found most interesting in this book is the reach of the Mossad. Because Jews can be found in most of the countries of the world, the Mossad has friends in place who can assist Mossad's agents. No other intelligence service in the world has this sort of assistance. And it is because Jews are bound by something more than nationalism. Their bond trancends loyalty to country, and it is even more so since the Holocaust. In part it is survival in a hostile world.
As flawed as the earlier editions.......2007-09-10
This is a heavily embroidered mish mash of anecdotes, the majority told elsewhere with more style. Lots of fascinating and entertaining stuff, no question, but Gordon Thomas is a myth-maker, so accuracy takes a back seat to speculation and romanticized conspiracy theorizing at every turn. If the guy can't get something simple like Sayaret Matkal right (Sayanet Maktal?!), as one of numerous examples, he's also just plain careless. The update doesn't really add a whole lot of new information. I'd recommend The Volunteer by Michael Ross -- a Mossad officer talks about the real-life functioning and actions of ha'misrad in the 1990's and the relationship with our CIA -- along with The Mossad, and Israel's Secret Wars.
Excellent Read!!!.......2007-08-25
This book is amazing. You will find some real pearls in here. The Princess Diana story was quite telling. The book is shocking in some parts, hard core in others, but the book is so well written, it is difficult to put it down.
Arguably, the Most Reliable, Accurate Book on the Subject.......2007-04-09
Books about the history and activities of espionage organizations (both gathering intelligence and covert operation) are by nature subject to be taken with a grain of salt, since the nature of the business is secrecy.
Gordon Thomas does a good job unveiling that secrecy through his various sources, some named, some not, some within the Mossad organization itself, and many from without. He explicitly names these sources on an "acknowledgment page," citing his sources within Israel and Elsewhere. One can only judge the credibility of the information by comparing it to other accounts of the same operations, and asking oneself if it is believable based upon consistency with factual events.
Thomas pulls no punches in portraying the Mossad as arguably the most effective intelligence service in the world. He reveals their various tactics including psychological warfare, their legendary human intelligence capabilities, their worldwide presence (Thomas claims the Mossad has a mole in the White House, which the FBI has been searching for for years), and their covert assassination teams (known as kidons), and their ruthlessness in getting the job done in the defense of the State
Thomas excels at this, especially with this new, updated 2007 edition that covers the role Mossad plays and continues to play in the Iraq War, and probably an upcoming pre-emptive war with Israel's arch foe, Iran. He reveals tidbits of information, such as the unconfirmed "fact" that Israel possesses three nuclear missile armed submarines, currently in the Persian Gulf, off the coast of Iran, completing its triad of nuclear umbrella cover. This, as an example, is something that Israel would probably never really officially confirm or deny. But it passes the "does it make sense?" test with flying colors. Israel's land based nuclear facilities at Dimona (in the Negev Desert) is probably the worst kept military "secret" in the world." Nuclear payloads can be delivered by missile, aircraft, or seaborne vessels. Bombing Iran by air would not be practical due to the long ranges involved, so it does indeed make sense that it would need a third, seaborne leg of its nuclear capabilities.
Other accounts conflict to varying degrees with other sources. Since covert agents routinely use aliases, this is not unexpected; however, Thomas identifies the famous "man who captured Eichman" as the long term Israeli spymaster Rafi Eitan. Others, including Peter (Zvi) Malkin wrote a book on the subject some years ago, in which he takes credit for making the first physical contact with Eichman on that audacious mission in 1960.
There are several useful resources included in the book, including a comprehensive index, a list of the Directors-General of Mossad, along with their years of service from 1951 through the present, a general glossary, and an additional brief glossary of Arabic terms, and of course a bibliography and acknowledgment of sources and credits.
My only criticism is that the time line of events recounted is not linear, sometimes making it difficult to follow. But the more you know about Israeli history, the easier it is to overcome this. Also, the sheer length of the book (587 pages, not including addenda), makes for a long, but fascinating read. The newly released 2007 version of this came out just in time - a lot has happened since the original version.
This book should appeal to anyone interested in Israeli defense, politics, and especially espionage. Highly recommended for serious students of Israel..
Amazon.com
The Mossad was formed in 1951 to coordinate the intelligence-gathering efforts of the still-young nation of Israel. In the nearly half century since, it has become a force to be reckoned with, boasting an impressive track record of counterterrorist actions and assassinations. Gideon's Spies is loaded with anecdotes of their greatest exploits (and a few colossal blunders). Among the most interesting sections are the suggestions that Mossad agents killed media tycoon Robert Maxwell in 1991, that the agency's attempted recruitment of Henri Paul, the driver of Princess Diana's car that fateful night, may have caused sufficient emotional distress to be a contributing factor in the accident, and that Mossad operatives in America had tapes of the phone-sex conversations between President Bill Clinton and his lover Monica Lewinsky. There's also some extensive material on the links between the Israelis and the Vatican, including the Mossad's role in the investigation into the attempted 1981 assassination of Pope John Paul II and the agency's constant battles against the PLO. An interesting nonfiction read for fans of international spy thrillers.
Book Description
Created in 1951 to ensure the future of an embattled Israel, the Mossad has been responsible for the most audacious and thrilling feats of espionage, counterterrorism, and assassination ever ventured. Gordon Thomas's 1999 publication of Gideon's Spies, resulting from closed-door interviews with Mossad agents, informants, and spymasters as well as from classified documents and top-secret sources, revealed previously untold truths about the Israeli intelligence agency. And now, in this edition, Thomas updates his classic text and shows the Mossad as it truly is: brilliant, ruthless, and flawed, but ultimately awesome.Three all-new chapters cover topics including:- How the Mossad planned to assassinate Saddam Hussein- Saddam's food-testing ritual, and the surprising "source" within his government- China's U.S.-based front-companies, and its relationship with bin Laden- Mossad's untold role in the events before and after 9/11- Mossad and revelations about Princess Diana's death- The disappearance of the millions transferred from the Vatican Bank to the Polish Solidarity movement- How extremists recruit suicide bombers, including women- Mossad's untold role in the Iraq war and the hunts for Saddam and bin Laden- Saddam's plans for trial
Customer Reviews:
Read the book and annoy your friends daily with the astonishing stories........2007-07-12
It is very difficult not to call this book astonishing, but, as with any book on intelligence services, it earns itself a caveat. The problem with reading anything but an academic book on intelligence is that there is no way to verify any of the stories and separate fact from fiction, or more appropriately, myth. The stories in 'Gidion's Spies' could just as easily have been drawn out a script from James Bond as real life intelligence work. But the fact remains that we just don't know what goes on in the shadows of international relations. Having said that the detail and sources in the book gives these stories a frightening plausibility.
It is a macabre history of the 'self-proclaimed' most feared intelligence agency in the world. For sheer entertainment value 'Gideon's Spies' is highly recommendable and it will have you annoying your friends and colleagues on a daily basis with last nights 20 pages before you nodded off. That's if you can put the book down in the first place.
informing.......2006-07-24
I liked this book. I saw it some time ago in B&N and could not put it down. It does go into the give and take involved in espionage and shows that there is a gray line of right and wrong in fighting for your country. I myself both liked and disliked what was done by mossad. I do not know what history will say about the mossad but they have served a purpose. If you like stories about spying and what goes on behind the scenes then buy this book. It is clear, interesting and fun.
Interesting, but could be better........2006-05-31
Gordon Thomas's " Gideon's Spies : The Secret History of the Mossad " is a must read for anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of Israel's intelligence service agency Mossad, and its working. I found the details and engrossing descriptions of the events to be extremely enlightening. Mossad, (formed in 1949 by the then prime minister of Israel - David Ben-Gurion) proved that it could go to any length in saving the interests of Israel. Events described in this book go from killing of Princess Dianna to attempted assassination of Pope. Because the events described in the book are from all over the globe, sometimes it makes you think that the book has nothing to do with Mossad. At the same time, those incidents are somewhere related (even remotely) with Mossad.
That being said, this is a very readable book. It's not light reading, but once you start, make a pot of coffee because you won't want to put it down, not before finishing it.
For me, this was a can't-put-it-down read.
A "Grassy Knoll" approach to history.......2006-02-21
I purchased Thomas' book with high hopes that it would be a reasoned, intelligent review of the history of Mossad, one of the world's most effective intelligence services, along the lines of Israel's Secret War's.
Sadly, such was not the case. Thomas is a conspiracy theorist who relies on innuendo and rumor to justify mindless theories and meaningless concepts, all in lieu of research and facts to tell what is an incredible story on its own. From little things, like referring to the Echelon surveillance system operated by the National Security Agency as monitoring every conversation between every individual virtually anywhere in the world (Echelon monitors electronic conversations, not every possible conversation) to secondhand references to the late William Casey, the then-director of the CIA, as suggesting that Mossad supplied arms to Hezbollah in the early 1980's when Israel invaded Lebanon, Thomas studiously avoids anything approaching professionalism or reasoned analysis.
Mossad is a rich topic for investigation, and there are excellent treatments on the subject. Thomas, unfortunately, is an unprofessional, sloppy and pathetic writer whose book demeans its subject.
Random bits of information.......2006-01-27
This book reminds me of the ramblings of a conspiracy theorist. Mr Thomas has a terrible tendancy of starting stories showing operatives in the present (which is totally uninteresting) then flashing back to the past. Often the flashbacks never revert to the present, or have another flashback within a flashback.
I am no expert on Israeli intelligence activities, but when an author falsly reports a simple fact "Israel has developed its own over-the-horizon accuracy for three German-build nuclear-powered submarines it had bought" (Germany doesn't have nuclear powered submarines, and Israel certainly doesn't have them) I begin to question his more controvertial theories and "facts."
Average customer rating:
- Great -- if you live in South Africa!
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Beating About the Bush: The Idiot's Guide to Birdwatching
Kenneth Newman
Manufacturer: Southern Book Pub of South Africa
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Customer Reviews:
Great -- if you live in South Africa!.......1999-07-11
This is a clever witty introduction to birding, with some good advice on binoculars, telescopes, etc. The main drawback for most people will be that it focuses exclusively on Southern Africa. Newman has written the definitive field guide to South African birds, and Beating About the Bush is keyed to that guide. More than half the book is devoted to particular identification problems in South African birds, and a large part of the first section deescribes what kinds of birds to look for in various South African habitats. While there are tips which can be useful to any birder -- beginner or otherwise -- and while the cartoons by "Dr. Jack" are delightful, birders who plan on doing their looking outside South Africa might be well advised to get a different introduction to birding.
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