Book Description
“The rule of thumb in any White House is that nobody is indispensable except the president,” said The New York Times, “but Karen Hughes has come as close to that description as any recent presidential aide.” Karen Hughes has worked beside President George W. Bush since, as she says, “the motorcade was only one car and he was sometimes the one driving it.” As counselor to the president, she brought the working momÂ's perspective to the White House, often asking of President BushÂ's policies, “What does this mean for the average person?”
Yet the move from Texas to Washington was hard on her family, and in a controversial, headline-making decision that reverberated across America, she chose to place family first and quit the nationÂ's capital to return to Austin. There, Hughes continues to advise the president, where the kitchen wall calendar marks the State of the Union message side by side with her sonÂ's orthodontist appointments.
In this disarmingly down-to-earth, warm, often funny, and frank book, Hughes looks at her unique career in George W. BushÂ's inner circle and the universal concerns of balancing work and family. Ten Minutes from Normal—the title comes from the campaign trailÂ-Â-is a remarkable blend of the story of a “normal” woman who rose to great heights and an insightful look at American politics and AmericaÂ's forty-third president.
This is a book for the legions of women and men everywhere who are seeking new inspiration for how to remember their priorities and achieve balance in their lives. Most important, in a post-9/11 world, Hughes redefines the very notion of what is “normal” as something special and precious, never to be taken for granted in America again.
Download Description
"Counselor to the President. Wife and mother. The woman who left the White House to put family first, and moved back to Texas. Karen Hughes has been described as "the most powerful woman ever to serve in the White House" (Dallas Morning News) and President George W. Bush's "most essential advisor" (ABC News). "The rule of thumb in any White House is that nobody is indispensable except the president," said The New York Times, "But Karen Hughes has come as close to that description as any recent presidential aide." Ten Minutes from Normal is her often humorous, disarmingly down-to-earth and politically fascinating journey of her time in President Bush's inner circle. As Counselor to The President for his first eighteen months in the White House and as his communications director since he first ran for Governor of Texas in 1994, Hughes has been a crucial influence. When he first moved to Washington, President Bush told members of the White House staff that he wanted Karen in the room whenever any major decisions were made.
Customer Reviews:
An Inside Look.......2007-06-12
I really enjoyed reading this book! It is like having an inside look into the life of our president and some of the people who work closely with him. It is easy reading and very interesting. It is also very inspiring.
Happy Reading!!!
Excellent!.......2007-04-03
This is a very well written and absorbing insight into the lives and goings-on of our government. I could hardly put it down.
187 used & new from $0.02 .......2005-11-09
No one should let this book escape perusal, especially at this reasonable price! You've heard that Karl Rove is "Bush's brain?" Well, Ms. Hughes is "Bush's brain on drugs (with a side of bacon)!"
To read her describe Dubya's mind as "laser-like" leaves no doubt in my own mind that when she worked for Reagan, she was a conduit for Dubya on the "Star Wars - Strategic Defense Initiative" project. I don't remember if that was his pre-cocaine or post-cocaine years, but it all makes so much sense now.
I'm happy that after a lifetime of one political success after another, she took time off from her busy schedule for a sabbatical to bake brownies for her young, hungry son. I wonder if perchance, she has a recipe for a cake with a file in it?
Now that she's back on the team with her traveling road-show thumping America's generosity and love for the rest of the world, I suppose her son will go hungry, but at least America will be safe from those naughty terrorists! Praise da lard!
drivel.......2005-11-08
What absolute useless drivel, why anyone would waste time writing this book is beyond me. There is nothing at ALL worthwhile or interesting anywhere to be found in the book.
If you want to know about the weather or the scenery on any day you might be interested.
If you want to know all the pinch me monuments she had you might be interested.
If you want to know how her teenage son was always hunger you might be interested.
If you want to know how supportive her husband, family, friends, the dog, the mouse in the garage were, you might be interested.
A complete waste of time. I had to give it one star because that's as low as the rating go or it would be negative.
To think this women was counsel to the president is truly scary! If she is representative of others giving counsel to the president, is it any wonder that the administration's message is so incoherent and confused.
The only good thing about this book is that when you put it down you won't pick it up again.
Know Thine Enemy!.......2005-10-05
Bush's Dominatrix Hughes is a consumate liar and expert at intellectual abuse and manipulation. The ONLY reason anyone should read this book is to "know thine enemies"!
The very idea that my tax dollars pay her salary let alone some moron publisher thought he/she could cash in on the ignorance of the average American is infuriating beyond belief. They KILLED TREES for this bimbo?
This dumbed down treatise on her nauseating reveling in her personal arrogance and hubris is a perfect example of why this nation has become so detested around the world.
Book Description
Gershon Shafir challenges the heroic myths about the foundation of the State of Israel by investigating the struggle to control land and labor during the early Zionist enterprise. He argues that it was not the imported Zionist ideas that were responsible for the character of the Israeli state, but the particular conditions of the local conflict between the European "settlers" and the Palestinian Arab population.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting history, but still lacks something.......2004-04-19
Gershon Shafir published this book in 1996 through University of California Press. Certainly it is a major contribution to undersatnding the fundamental problems of any attempt at a settlemen in Israel/Palestine. Working in the same vein as Benny Morris, Tom Segev, Ilan Pape, and other "new" historians (the name is used in both praise and derision), Shafir crafted an impressive work that attempted to cut through Zionist and Palestinian myths and examine what truly happened from 1882-1914. However, after all his impressive research, readers feel like there may be more to the story than written.
After a comparison and contrast of different styles of colonialism (he asserts that Zionism can best be understood as a form of colonialism), he reviews Zionist land policies. For Shafir, agriculture and the land is the root of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While this is certainly a hugely important issue, he neglects the urban roots of conflict in favor of his agricultural theories. Ironically, this only furthers the myth of Israelis returning to the land, whereas most future Israelis lived in cities. Without examining the urban aspects of the conflict, he only tells part of the story. Also, his work is Ashkenazi-centric (European Jewish). True, the leaders of Zionism were mostly Central/Eastern European during this period, but he virtually marginalizes the story of other Zionists.
Nevertheless, Shafir's contribution to the academic literature as it offers a glimpse into the agricultural roots that contributed to the modern conflict.
Excellent treatment.......1998-07-03
This is an excellent examination of the economic forces that have shaped the conflict in Palestine/Israel.
Outstanding economic explanation of the conflict.......1998-03-09
This is an example of a revisionist argument at its best. Gershon Shafir uses the same primary sources the major Middle-East historians have used for decades and offers up an economic, non-religious, and elegantly simple explanation of the conflict as it exists today.
Book Description
The Israeli novelist David Grossmans impassioned account of what he observed on the West Bank in early 1987not only the misery of the Palestinian refugees and their deep-seated hatred of the Israelis but also the cost of occupation for both occupier and occupiedis an intimate and urgent moral report on one of the great tragedies of our time. The Yellow Wind is essential reading for anyone who seeks a deeper understanding of Israel today.
Customer Reviews:
I'd Hoped for More Clarity.......2004-11-11
"The Yellow Wind" is outdated - already. Also, I was expecting a more objective presentation about the lives of the current generation of Palestinians, as it seemed this would be. I was interested in the book because an Israeli wrote it, reviews said he was patriotic yet sympathetic and that the stories were the human side of Palestinian life -- at least that was my impression and what I'd hoped to read.
Grossman spent time living with Palestinians. I think he feels he did put aside his own preconceptions to learn about Palestian life from Palestinians. At first I, too, felt he succeeded. The first few chapters--each chapter is a sort of short narrative of its own--were well-crafted and combined history with in-the-moment accounts.
As I continued to read on, I couldn't help but feel Grossman's own view and anger come through. His anger wasn't, to me, generalized frustration, but patriotic and with a "pro-" and "anti-" feel to it. He writes of Palestinians that they've been taught for generations, that it's so ingrained as to be nearly inescapable, to feel and express hatred. So, too, I felt, Grossman couldn't see past his own bias. He could for certain individuals, but the deeper I read the more bias I sensed. This isn't inherently negative. What is negative about this portrait is that he proclaims non-partisanship, and seems to believe he is a neutral voice, but ultimately he isn't.
"The Yellow Wind" isn't bad, not horrible, and it's readable. It's worthwhile. But distinguishing lines between fact, fiction, humanity and nationalism became a bit too difficult -- such that I questioned, for example, his factual presentation of history or even observations at times. Given this less-than-required objectivity in order to render the book what it is, and that it is somewhat dated, I'd say it's not necessary reading. I realize I disagree with the other reviews. Perhaps due to the current time in history, it takes on a different feel, and I'm certainly open to feeling differently about Grossman's work in the future. But I felt it could have offered so much more, given how it came about--Grossman, an Israeli, living with Palestinians for awhile--but perhaps that, too, is inherent to the deep-rooted emotions between Israelis and Palestinians.
A very talented writer and very poor moralist .......2004-10-20
I remember the sensation this work made when it was first published. The Israeli left , the post- modern anti- Zionist elite waved this work as a flag against Israeli ordinary citizens, soldiers and political leaders.
Grossman is a highly skilled writer. His effort to look into ' West- Bank reality' in a supposedly even- handed way is however a thinly disguised anti- Jewish and pro- Palestinian rant. It is simplistic and it time and again is guilty of taking Arab propaganda ( even when delivered by individuals in interviews) at their word. At some point it almost becomes laughable. This is when Grossman dutifully uncritically records an old ( and therefore to Grossman necessarily wise) Arab who predicts( really threatens) the Jews with destruction if they do not leave the Holy Land to the Arabs.
So skeptical, so critical so seemingly sophisticated in its relation to Jews, and so simply gullible in relation to Arabs this work marks yet another watershed in the lemming - like march of the Israeli left to the sea.
Worth reading.......2003-11-10
This is a good book providing good insight into the human dimension of the conflict. Well worth reading. I found two chapters particularly striking. First one is about a Palestinian village divided in two after a Jordanian and Israeli border agreement, and how members of the same family could grow differing identities (and even come to be not so fond of each other) due to such cruel separation for years. Second one is about a terrorist's father. Grossman gives this poor man's account as he told him, without adding his own commentary. Briefly, the son, who was grown up and living in another town away from the father's home, got involved in a terrorist act that took innocent Israeli lives. The father was subsequently picked up from work by the Israeli authorities, and pressured to disclose whereabouts of his son, which he maintained he didn't know (of the son's whereabouts and his alleged terrorist act). Torture and all sorts of humiliation were used, including threats of rape of his wife and daughters. His house was bulldozed to ground on fifteen minute's notice. He lost his work permit, and reduced to wander as a beggar from one village to another, avoiding his own out of shame. He and his family ended up living in one bedroom at a neighbor's house, without kitchen or bathroom. The son was found and killed eventually without the help of any of this effort on the father. After telling this story, Grossman says something like (paraphrasing), "of course, one's heart doesn't go out to this man's suffering and pain" vis-a-vis, I guess, the pain suffered by the Israeli victims of the son's act. And he continues (still paraphrasing), "but I guess, it is such instances where we have to be more rational and measured." Well, maybe this was all my misreading Grossman, but why wouldn't one's heart go out to this man? Mine did. And I thought modern states and tribes would have to differ a bit in such law enforcement and crime investigation matters. What is new about this? Maybe this (i.e., Grossman's slip, as I see it) too is an indication of how tough and convoluted the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has become. Actually, throughout the book, Grossman seems to respect and listen more to those Palestinians who manage to maintain their honor and dignity no matter what, and who therefore arouse curiosity and would impress anyone. Those who are truly wretched seem to barely touch him, if they do at all. I guess such condition of theirs is their own fault, or their parents' or sons' and daughters'. In any event, the book is free from preaching; it's not like the author's value judgments will get in the way of your reading. By all accounts, Grossman did a commendable job, and my little critique is, well, mine only.
About Peopleýs Feelings--Not About Politics or Agreements.......2003-10-21
This book is more important today than when it was orginally written, in 1988. It contains a new afterward by the author. The author, a journalist, gives his impressions, and relates various converstaions, as he travels all over the West Bank, and through parts of both Israel and Palestine.
He presents views from both sides of the issue very well. The book is not about politics, or various peace agreements. It is about individual people's feelings. I have read many books on this topic, and this is one of the BEST. I feel that I understand MUCH better why all the peace agreements come to nothing. To sum it up in a nutshell, the extremists on both sides will EACH never accept less than ALL of the land-that is why nothing works.
A Great Contribution to Historiography.......2003-05-06
An excellent read, and certainly the least biased book on the subject I've ever read. I was introduced to this book while reading a passage in THE OTHER ISRAEL written by Assaf Oron, a Sergeant Major in the Israeli Defense Force Reserves. Assaf is one of the reservists who has refused to serve in the occupied territories after years of serving there.
In THE OTHER ISRAEL, Assaf wrote, "A copy of THE YELLOW WIND..., which had just come out, crossed my path. I read it, and suddenly it hit me. I finally understood what I had done over there [in the occupied territories]. What I had BEEN over there."
This powerful passage taken in context moved me to buy and read the book that moved a soldier to completely change his outlook on the conflict, and I am so fortunate I did.
Grossman's book is written from a uniquely humanist point of view in regard to what life is like for both Palestinians and Israeli citizens since 1967.
He spent 7 weeks in the occupied territories, both in the camps and in the settlements to make a genuine attempt to see the immediate world around him through the Palestinian and Gush Emunim settlers' eyes.
This book does not bog down with the intricacies and interpretations of various peace agreements, nor does it bother to delve into the well-known positions held by political leaders on both sides as so many other books on the subject do. Rather, Grossman focusses entirely on those who are most affected by the situation in the region: the people.
The book was written originally in 1988, and has an afterward by the author written in April 2002. As Grossman says in his afterward, "Nothing has changed." This book is as fresh and revealing today as it was 15 years ago. I really gained a lot by reading this book. You will too.
Book Description
It happens every year, in the spring. After months of living on the open sea, far away from land, puffins return to the rocky coast of Maine. These colorful birds come back to shore for only a short time, to mate and to raise their young.
Not too long ago, the arrival of spring brought fewer and fewer puffins back to Maine. So many birds had been hunted for their meat and feathers that the puffin was in danger of dying out.
In 1969, scientists from the National Audubon Society worked out a plan they hoped would insure the survival of Maine's puffin population. No one was certain the plan would work. It would involve many people and many puffins, and it would be years before anyone could say for sure if the project had been successful.
Today it seems clear that the plan has worked very well. Every year more and more puffins return to Maine in the spring. There's great excitement in the air when the call goes out -- The puffins are back!
Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children 1991 (NSTA/CBC)
Customer Reviews:
best introduction to Puffins I've seen!.......1999-11-09
This is how I teach my 1st. graders. They love it
Average customer rating:
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The Atlantic Puffin
David Boag , and
Mike Alexander
Manufacturer: Blandford Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Birdwatching
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
Ornithology
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0713717343 |
Average customer rating:
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Atlantic Puffin
Kristin Domm
Manufacturer: Nimbus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Fiction
| Birds
| Animals
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Fiction
| Marine Life
| Animals
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1551095181 |
Book Description
he Atlantic Puffin is a familiar symbol of the Atlantic region, earning it the nickname “Little Brother of the North.†This wonderful story is told from the point of view of a puffin, drawing the reader effortlessly into the natural habitat of a puffin’s world. Accompanied with beautiful illustrations, Atlantic Puffin details habitat, breeding cycles, eating and nesting habits, and more, about the life of this fascinating animal
Book Description
Here are more than 40 creative, hands-on activities: art projects, role-playing, wildlife observations, science demonstrations, running games, and more. The guide is organized into seven major themes, including seabird adaptations, the marine ecosystem, human impact on the environment, people making a difference for wildlife, and more. Includes annotated bibliographies and Internet resources.
Customer Reviews:
A great teaching resource for school or home.......2003-07-17
I had the immense pleasure of meeting both Pete Salmansohn and Steven Cress this summer at the Audubon camp on Hog Island, Maine. They are both dedicated naturalists and educators. They realize the future of the birds, and nature in general, lies with the youth of today. Although this book is geared towards grades 3 - 6, I teach honors zoology to juniors and seniors in high school. I find the activities are highly adaptable. I learned so much myself just by reading the teacher's background information. I highly recommend this book and the companion book "Project Puffin: How We Brought Puffins Back to Egg Rock" byt the same authors. And, if you are lucky enough, get the video "Fish out of Water" which shows the actual Puffin restoration process.
Customer Reviews:
Failure in the glorious English tradition, rowing the Atlantic.......2005-09-30
It was almost as though this adventure was doomed to failure from the start, a peripetitic adventurer, an untried and incomplete vessel, and poorly planned adventure - all contributed, with the help of a hurricane, to the failure of the attempt to row the Atlantic. And yet, as with anything, there are lessons to be gained from this.
These days Chay Blyth runs the Trans-atlantic rowning race which goes from Europe to the Bahamas. Just about anyone can do now, but only 40 years ago no one had tried it - and the race was on, between David Johnstone and John Hoare in Puffin, and Ridgeway with Blyth planning a separate attempt.
Both these attempts were started from America, making use of the Gulf Stream. But Johnstone, probably unduly influenced in wanting to be the first to row the Atlantic, pushed his timetable forward 2 weeks in order to win the 'race' in doing so he made a series of blunders which were to exacerbate the already disastrous design of his boat, Puffin.
He launched from the wrong place, choosing Chesapeake Bay with its vicous rotary currents, which kept them close to shore for 10 extra days. Not fully fitting out the boat, not fully testing their gear and the delays meant they did not even have eough food.
Merton Naydlar, who knew Johnstone, writes a crucial introduction to this book, and opening chapters which describe the lead up to the start of the voyage. He then lets Johnstone's log book speak for him. The final parts are the reports from the coroners etc, and also very good diagrams of the performance of the Puffin, using references to the log to support the claims made.
Overall this is an excellently researched peice. Had Johnstone succeeded he would have been a hero, but in failure he gained a type of glory - and a few hard lessons for others. He might have continued and survived, but he was unprepared for a disaster and the design of his boat meant certain death when Hurricane Faith passed directly overhead.
A salient lesson in this - adventure is not for the faint hearted - you might survive, but good preparation certainly increases your odds of coming back alive.
Good reading.
Book Description
With their large, colorful beaks, their upright posture, and their big, dark eyes, it's easy to see why puffins are popular all over the world. But for the past hundred years, puffins along the coast of Maine have been threatened with local extinction. Biologist Stephen Kress decided to try to bring puffins back to Maine with an experiment that had never been attempted before. Stunning color photographs on every page capture each step of this wildlife success story. As you learn about The Puffin Project, you'll also learn all about puffins how they are so wonderfully adapted to their ocean environment, how they catch fish, socialize, nest in burrows, and raise their young.
Customer Reviews:
A delightful book.......2006-06-07
This is a delightful book, which shows that there IS help for some species via the conservation efforts of dedicated environmentalists. And FYI, the efforts continue today. You can find out more (and view the PUFFIN CAM during the summer - morning viewing is best) on the web site for the project run by Dr. Kress and his staff - projectpuffin.org
one of my favorite childrens' books.......2001-08-06
this was one of my favorite books when i was little. i checked it out at the library almost every week. the photographs are beautiful and lucid and the writing is informative (but tells a compelling story). this is a really great book for kids who like to learn about rare animals. another book, slightly longer but on a similar subject, is _The Wheel on the School_. It's about storks and has pencil illustrations rather than great photographs, but i think people who like this book would also like that one.
project puffin.......2000-12-11
Hello. My name is Anna and I'm 8 years old. I think that Project Puffin is a very inspiring book and that the baby puffins are the cutest thing in the world. I am glad they got the puffins and other sea birds back to Egg Rock and other places. If you are cruel enough to think that wearing feathers on hats is a good idea, you will not like this book. People, like myself, who are concerned about nature will like this book a lot.
A very moving account of the puffin project.......1999-09-06
I was very interested in this book and its account of the project since I was involved in its 3 year attempt to bring the puffins back Easter Egg Rock while attending the Audubon Camp on Hogs' Island. I'm so pleased that Stephen Kress has recorded his enthusiasm and experiment so that it can be shared with others. It will be a birthday gift to my great-niece. Alexandra de Grandpré
Average customer rating:
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Puffin
Michael Philip Harris
Manufacturer: T. & A. D. Poyser Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Birdwatching
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
Ornithology
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0856610380 |
Books:
- The Age of Anxiety: McCarthyism to Terrorism
- The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness: A True Story
- The Burn Journals
- The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty
- The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant
- The Pursuit of Victory: The Life And Achievement of Horatio Nelson
- The Real Jimmy Carter: How Our Worst Ex-President Undermines American Foreign Policy, Coddles Dictators and Created the Party of Clinton and Kerry
- The Skills to Pay the Bills: The Story of the Beastie Boys
- The Tender Land: A Family Love Story
- The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood
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