Customer Reviews:
A Truly Moving Story.......2007-08-24
I found out about Captain James Riley's story one night when I was watching the history channel. I was so moved by the documentary about Captain Riley's story that I wanted actually read it for myself. I chose this book since it is simply Captain James Riley's words of what happened. He uses extremely descriptive language in laying out the situations he and his crew experienced throughout their ordeal of being stranding and later sold into slavery in West and North Africa. He spares no detail in the account, and it is truly a blessing that he and some of his crew survived. I found myself hoping for his success as I read, even though I knew how the story would end. I found myself wondering if I would have survived such an ordeal. This was possible by simply reading Cpt. Riley's account without additional things thrown in. After reading this I gave it to my mother I was so moved. It would have been nice if there were some maps included to give the reader and idea of where exactly the events took place, but never the less an awe inspiring book.
Desperate Saharan survival despite horribly tortuous treatment.......2007-05-21
The author of the book, Captain James Riley, bravely wrote and acknowledged his role in his ship's disaster of wrecking off the North African coast back in 1815. This is an incredible tale of survival under the most brutal and pain-racking conditions one can imagine. The American brig, Commerce, hit a storm off the North African coast and was wrecked. The crew manages to reach the beach in their boats and collapse with exhaustion. However, the wreck and chance of plunder attracts an Arab nomad band to the scene. It is at this point that the captain and crew get a taste of the welcome they that will be met with from natives who are as merciless and unforgiving as the Sahara desert they live in.
Although they manage to avoid capture and probable execution on their first encounter with the Arab nomads, the second encounter finds them starved, hopeless, and without water for several days running. So, they are enslaved and stripped naked by their captors. Their skin sizzles and blisters horribly under the ferocious Saharan sun while they walk barefooted and bloody over the sharp, rocky desert floor for many days - each day weaker with the spark of life slowly ebbing from their eyes. Then their band encounters their personal savior, Abdallah, who is an Arab merchant crossing the Sahara along with his brother. He buys the captain and most of the crew at Riley's repeated emotional entreaties, planning to sell them back to the English consul, Mr. Willshire, in far away Mogadore (for a profit, of course).
Yet despite their new master and his profit motive, their continued survival is highly tentative as starvation, thirst, fatigue, continual danger of brigands, and even Abdallah's own brother conspire to steal these forsaken, hapless captives. And even though Riley must have suffered immeasurably he still managed to sear his inconceivable experiences into his memory and learned to speak some Arabic as well. Their thirst was often so remorseless that they routinely drank camel urine and subsisted on the most meager food imaginable.
This is a remarkable true story and one which vividly portrays the unspeakable sufferings by the unprepared and unwary stranded in the deserts of North Africa. Read the book, skip the visit!
Sufferings in Africa...........2007-05-07
Being an ardent reader of autobiographical accounts of travel and the tribulations encountered, I found this to be a fascinating and horrifying memoir about an infrequently described area of Africa some two centuries ago. However, at the outset, mention is made of drawings and maps - none of which are included. A shame !
Take Another Look at Slavery.......2007-04-03
I read this book with great interest and pleasure as James Riley is an ancestor of mine. Makes a great family gift. Those who enjoy historical reading will certainly enjoy this.
Sufferings in Africa.......2007-01-29
It was amazing how the author could retain the readers interest in such a monotonous environment. Captain Riley never lost his faith in God and in the end it shows how God works in mysterious ways and never abandons those who trust in Him. An incredible story.!!!
Book Description
A classic story of adventure and survival.
Customer Reviews:
Desperate Saharan survival despite horribly tortuous treatment.......2006-10-31
The author of the book, Captain James Riley, bravely wrote and acknowledged his role in his ship's disaster of wrecking off the North African coast back in 1815. This is an incredible tale of survival under the most brutal and pain-racking conditions one can imagine. The American brig, Commerce, hit a storm off the North African coast and was wrecked. The crew manages to reach the beach in their boats and collapse with exhaustion. However, the wreck and chance of plunder attracts an Arab nomad band to the scene. It is at this point that the captain and crew get a taste of the welcome they that will be met with from natives who are as merciless and unforgiving as the Sahara desert they live in.
Although they manage to avoid capture and probable execution on their first encounter with the Arab nomads, the second encounter finds them starved, hopeless, and without water for several days running. So, they are enslaved and stripped naked by their captors. Their skin sizzles and blisters horribly under the ferocious Saharan sun while they walk barefooted and bloody over the sharp, rocky desert floor for many days - each day weaker with the spark of life slowly ebbing from their eyes. Then their band encounters their personal savior, Abdallah, who is an Arab merchant crossing the Sahara along with his brother. He buys the captain and most of the crew at Riley's repeated emotional entreaties, planning to sell them back to the English consul, Mr. Willshire, in far away Mogadore (for a profit, of course).
Yet despite their new master and his profit motive, their continued survival is highly tentative as starvation, thirst, fatigue, continual danger of brigands, and even Abdallah's own brother conspire to steal these forsaken, hapless captives. And even though Riley must have suffered immeasurably he still managed to sear his inconceivable experiences into his memory and learned to speak some Arabic as well. Their thirst was often so remorseless that they routinely drank camel urine and subsisted on the most meager food imaginable.
This is a remarkable true story and one which vividly portrays the unspeakable sufferings by the unprepared and unwary stranded in the deserts of North Africa. Read the book, skip the visit!
Fascinating.......2005-09-13
Considering that this book was written in the early 1800's and is a true story, I am totally impressed. The whole concept of slavery and how it applied to white and black people in the early 19th century in Africa before it even became an issue! Extraordinary accounting of true life at it's most extreme.
Abolitionists' bible.......2005-04-11
After the war of 1812, Captain James Riley was employed as master and supercargo of the brig Commerce from Hartford, Connecticut. He shipped a crew of George Williams, chief mate, Aaron Savage, second mate, William Porter, Archibald Robbins, Thomas Burns and several others. He sailed for New Orleans in May 1815, passed the Bahamas and Florida Keys, (not without incident: the ship ran aground, before Riley freed her) and, in early August, reached Gibraltar. While headed for Cape de Verds, Riley ran the Commerce off course, and was shipwrecked in breakers off the Sahara.
One man was slaughtered on the beach.
Conditions for the rest were pure hell. Captain Riley and those remaining were forced to sell themselves into slavery in order to survive. The party was then divided. Some men were never seen again, and were presumed to have spent the duration of their days in privation and servitude.
Riley and four others were saved in November 1815; in late September, Riley had convinced an Arab merchant to buy himself and those companions, transport them across the desert to Mogadore, and there to ransom them to the British embassy. He tells in great detail the sufferings the men endured during their slavery and travel through the desert. Nineteen months afterwards, Archibald Robbins was ransomed as well. Subsequently, he wrote at length on his own experiences in slavery. During the 19th century, a volume including both this book and Robbins' tale became a bestseller. Today, a copy of Robbins' account is hard to come by.
The conditions endured by the infidel slaves is almost unbelievable. This book, reprinted dozens of times in its day, sold millions of copies and influenced abolitionists of Riley's time. The book was of the works that the young Abraham Lincoln read by firelight in Illinois, and strongly influenced his thinking about slavery, as did a visit to the slave market in New Orleans.
Mogadore was once a flourishing city, Riley observed, but when he became a freed man there, he observed that "superstition, fanaticism, and tyranny bear sway...[and] have swept away, with their pernicious breath, the whole wealth of its once industrious and highly favored inhabitants;--have driven the foreigner from their shores, and it seems as if the curse of Heaven had fallen on the whole land...."
--Alyssa A. Lappen
Brig Commerce.......2004-01-14
We should all be grateful that his book was reissued. It is truly a remarkable account of the danger of seafaring merchants during the early 19th C. Written in the style and the variable spelling of that period, the book prompted me to search out a map of northwestern Africa so I could follow the plight of Riley and his crew. Given that this narration was one of the few books owned by the young Abe Lincoln, one can already see the seeds of the abolition movement after the slavery tables were turned (English speaking whites being enslaved by Africans). One detail not in the book is that a cousin, Justus Riley, from Weathersfield, Connecticut, owned the brig Commerce along with his partners, the Savages of Hartford. Ship insurance would have paid the owners for the loss of the ship, but not the master of the ship, in this case James Riley. It is fortunate James wrote his account as it permitted him to move to Ohio during the US western expansion. Anyone who loves the O'Brien books will love this book -- I keep hoping it will be made into a screenplay.
Before Shackleton, there was Riley.......2003-10-23
This is a fine entry into the literature of true adventure stories and the literature of suffering. The jacket notes indicate this volume was very popular in the early 19th century and influenced a young Abraham Lincoln. I am surprised that this book does not enjoy wider fame.
Book Description
The Second World War's destructive impact on the continent of Europe probably exceeds that of any previous disaster in the modern era. This volume is concerned with a brief six-year period. Wright, having mastered a vast amount of diffuse literature on WWII, has put his own stimulating interpretations on a difficult and complicated subject. The book goes far beyond the usual military chronicle. It is a splendid synthesis of a tragic phase of recent European history.
Customer Reviews:
Ounce for ounce, one of the most compact WWII strategic summaries.......2005-11-23
This book was hard to put down once started. I have read many WWII histories covering various aspects of that time period, and this book ranks among the best, being tightly packed with fact-backed hypotheses and conclusions. The chapters on "German Rule in Europe" and "Economic Dimensions" are alone worth the price of the book, in my opinion.
I will be the first to admit that I only rated the book 4 stars because of Wright's blatant England-most-important bias, and his misfortune to have published in 1968. In 1968, I will also admit (in hindsight) that Wright's conclusions would be strongly colored by the events of the '60's, and I suppose most historians at that time wound up doing the same. I was amused to see his matter-of-fact appraisals of the US wartime contributions as nevertheless extremely crucial. Maybe it was just the lesser amount of detail said! The reader will find in the "Economic Dimension" chapter the almost hidden admission that US wartime output was better per capita than the British. Capitalism always seems to outproduce any other economic strategy, but the gentleman (and he definitely was) can be forgiven for living through the Depression era.
There is not much detail about military campaigns at the tactical level, but there are many other books which will have this kind of material. In reading "Ordeal of Total War" you will be rewarded, though, with having dozens of fresh perspectives on the strategic aspect of the WWII period. You will indeed think, and you will enjoy.
Excellent Book on the Entire European-Theater of WWII.......2004-04-05
This book gives an outstanding overview of all aspects of the war in Europe. Those elements combined into modern "total war" of unprecedented destruction and suffering, and tens of millions of deaths.
For a single-volume book on the European-theater, it's hard to beat. Required reading for students of World War II.
Not read yest..........2000-06-27
I am a WW2 buff. Reasons? Plenty. But perhaps the strongest one one. I was there. I am currently reading 'A War to be Won' written by two outstanding scholars in the field and their two highest recommendations are 'The ordeal of total war' by Gordon Wright and 'A world at war: A global history of World War II' by Gerhard Weinberg. I was so interested in 'A War to be Won' that I can't wait to get my hands on the next two ones mentioned above...
Fantastic Introduction to the European Theater of World War.......2000-06-27
If you're looking for an introduction to World War II concerning the European theater you would do well to pick up _The Ordeal of Total War_. Gordon Wright goes beyond the stadard military/political description of war as is so often the case and delves into the social, economic, and psychological impact of modern or "total war". In regards to economics the UK, USA, USSR and German economic policies are examined, evaluated and compared for their effectiveness in dealing with the demands for total war. Something very necessary in understanding what total war is all about.
Although the campaigns and individual battles of the war aren't greatly detailed they are covered sufficiently to provide a good introduction. Particularily useful are the chapters dealing with German rule in occupied Europe (and German resettlement polcies), the scientifid dimensions of warfare and the resistance movements (and competing resistance movements).
Gordon Wright doesn't end his book with the German surrender in 1945. He continues to explain the post-war situation, how World War II shaped the post 1945 Europe, and how the "Big Three" begins to unravel how the seeds of the Cold War are planted. I think Gordon's contention that the war time alliance of the Allies had no validity after the destruction of the Third Reich is right on target.
Final Word: Broad in scope yet compact; good reading even for the more familiar student of World War II.
Fantastic Introduction to the European Theater of World War.......2000-06-27
If you're looking for an introduction to World War II concerning the European theater you would do well to pick up _The Ordeal of Total War_. Gordon Wright goes beyond the stadard military/political description of war as is so often the case and delves into the social, economic, and psychological impact of modern or "total war". In regards to economics the UK, USA, USSR and German economic policies are examined, evaluated and compared for their effectiveness in dealing with the demands for total war. Something very necessary in understanding what total war is all about.
Although the campaigns and individual battles of the war aren't greatly detailed they are covered sufficiently to provide a good introduction. Particularily useful are the chapters dealing with German rule in occupied Europe (and German resettlement polcies), the scientifid dimensions of warfare and the resistance movements (and competing resistance movements).
Gordon Wright doesn't end his book with the German surrender in 1945. He continues to explain the post-war situation, how World War II shaped the post 1945 Europe, and how the "Big Three" begins to unravel how the seeds of the Cold War are planted. I think Gordon's contention that the war time alliance of the Allies had no validity after the destruction of the Third Reich is right on target.
Final Word: Broad in scope yet compact; good reading even for the more familiar student of World War II.
Book Description
For most of the twentieth century, considered opinion in the United States regarding Palestine has favored the inherent right of Jews to exist in the Holy Land. That Palestinians, as a native population, could claim the same right has been largely ignored. Kathleen Christison's controversial new book shows how the endurance of such assumptions, along with America's singular focus on Israel and general ignorance of the Palestinian point of view, has impeded a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Christison begins with the derogatory images of Arabs purveyed by Western travelers to the Middle East in the nineteenth century, including Mark Twain, who wrote that Palestine's inhabitants were "abject beggars by nature, instinct, and education." She demonstrates other elements that have influenced U.S. policymakers: American religious attitudes toward the Holy Land that legitimize the Jewish presence; sympathy for Jews derived from the Holocaust; a sense of cultural identity wherein Israelis are "like us" and Arabs distant aliens. She makes a forceful case that decades of negative portrayals of Palestinians have distorted U.S. policy, making it virtually impossible to promote resolutions based on equality and reciprocity between Palestinians and Israelis.
Christison also challenges prevalent media images and emphasizes the importance of terminology: Two examples are the designation of who is a "terrorist" and the imposition of place names (which can pass judgment on ownership).
Christison's thoughtful book raises a final disturbing question: If a broader frame of reference on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict had been employed, allowing a less warped public discourse, might not years of warfare have been avoided and steps toward peace achieved much earlier?
Customer Reviews:
Why pay for Arab propaganda when you can get it for free?.......2006-03-31
I am sick and tired to read recycled Arab propaganda that has nothing to do with reality. If you can still cope with it - buy the book.
Excellent.. and yes, the truth hurts.......2004-07-15
To those who call it anti-semitic, Arabs are semitic too, so drop it.. it's getting old. Everytime a book shows the truth about Israeli aggression against Palestinians it is called anti-semitic, untrue, and bias. Go there and see for yourself.
The only way to peace in the Middle East is through peace between Palestinians and Israelis and this book shows a side that no one wants to hear.
More anti-semitic drivel from an anti-Israel wacko.......2003-09-17
The Palestinian crusade against Israel is fueled by deception, anti-Semitism, Islamic terrorism and the unapologetic rewriting of Middle East history. The pages of this book clearly show this and prove to us why the Palestinians are doing so bad in the PR game.
Aside from the obvious bias attitude of the author (she is married to an anti-Israel writer) this book is simply revisionist history, in which the true story is not good enough to tell their children, so they decide to rewrite it to their liking. This book is propaganda filled with lies and ridiculously false statistics, don't waste your time or money with this junk.
Garbage ..........2002-12-14
There is nothing objective about this book. The author subscribes to one-sided, conspiratorial views on events in the Middle East. According to author, the failure to achieve peace in the Middle East only has to do with some behind the scenes machinations by "Zionist Lobby", This is the same old, recycled garbage continuously put forth in the Middle East by the Arabs and in the West by the likes of various radicals - from National Alliance to Noam Chomsky and Co.
The author completely ignores the facts of constant war and terrorism that's been imposed by the Arabs on Israel from its very day of inception. The author also ignores the refusal by most Arab world to recognize the right of Israel to exist. The author refuses to admit that it is the Arabs' militant, intolerant attitude towards Israel that is at least partially responsible for the continuation of this conflict and not the other way around.
Powerful, and probably very true.......2002-06-13
Christison's book on how the Palestinians have virtually been ignored by the United States throughout the Arab-Israeli conflict is a first-rate analysis of American foreign policy at its worst. She details the ways in which each president has been oblivious to the existence of a rich Palestinian culture and history. It is amazing how even the presidents we associate with being supportive of the Palestinian cause (Jimmy Carter) still suffered, to a certain degree, from this cross-cultural ignorance.
Perceptions of Palestine is highly effective in forcing the reader to sit back and reflect on their own views. It made me question to validity and objectivity of the information I receive every day on the middle east. I highly recommend this book as there are not many out there with such a unique and important argument.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ), published by Association of Arab-American University Graduates and Institute of Arab Studies on September 22, 2000. The length of the article is 2348 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy.(Review) (book review)
Author: Husam Mohamad
Publication:
Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ) (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2000
Publisher: Association of Arab-American University Graduates and Institute of Arab Studies
Volume: 22
Issue: 4
Page: 111
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Middle East Policy, published by Middle East Policy Council on October 1, 1999. The length of the article is 2160 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy.(Review) (book reviews)
Author: Philip C. Jr. Wilcox
Publication:
Middle East Policy (Refereed)
Date: October 1, 1999
Publisher: Middle East Policy Council
Volume: 7
Issue: 1
Page: 192
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
good background on the road to peace.......2005-09-10
How does one pursue peace in the middle east when there are Israelis who deny the existance of Palestinians and claim they have no right to live as equals in their own homes? That they should just be dumped in some other country in the region. What do you do with people so twisted up by hate that they can't even say the word "Palestinian"?
The article goes over the truth of the situation in the middle east. Gaza, the west bank and the Golan Heights are occupied territory. Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem has no international validity whatsoever. And that the final status of all the occupied territories can only be decided by negotiation and international recognition.
The article further deals with the negative consequences for both the US and Israel of the US vetos of UN resolutions against Israel. The damage is done to Israel when the resolution comes up for a vote. The US veto effectively does nothing but make a few manaics in Israel feel better and make the US look horrible in the rest of the world.
I think unfortunately that while Wilcox's message is needed, there will be few people who want to listen. There is no peace short of giving the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank independence and political rights. Bold solutions like transfer are not going to happen because the price would be destroying the Israeli economy and turning the country into an isolated backwater shunned by almost everyone. Further, given the situation in Iraq, the united states isn't going to be listening to the voices who want to re-make the governments of the middle east by force again anytime soon.
As the peace process now resumes, the content of this article provides a helpful background to what has gone before. The Israeli government and the united states now both recognize the mistake of abandoning the peace process for several years.
Useless propaganda.......2005-09-09
How does one argue that it is right for Middle Eastern Arabs to oppress Middle Eastern Jews? Especially when the Arabs have 5.5 million square miles in which Jews are not particularly welcome, while Jews are confined to less than 11,000 square miles in Israel, the Golan, and the West Bank?
The recent argument has been that there is a Special Levantine Arab people. And that if Jews live in the region, that Violates the Rights of this People!
This article praises Kathleen Christison for playing along with this argument. The author says that Christison is right to say that East Jerusalem is "occupied territory." Wilcox also agrees with Christison in deploring American vetoes of absurd and ridiculous one-sided United Nations resolutions against Israel.
What we need is truth. That is the true boldness and creativity that is required for there to be peace and prosperity in the region. One-sided propaganda such as Christison's is unhelpful. And so is Wilcox's praise of it.
This propaganda, which was written in 1999, is part of the problem. Propaganda such as this led the United States to make serious errors in trying to help the people of the Levant achieve peace.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from American Jewish History, published by American Jewish Historical Society on December 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1204 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy.
Author: Bernard Reich
Publication:
American Jewish History (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2001
Publisher: American Jewish Historical Society
Volume: 89
Issue: 4
Page: 473(5)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
An anthology of appoximately 40 recent environmental articles from current magazines and science journals. Each article has a summary of ideas presented, and questions at the end to help readers focus on the main points of the discussion. An excellent source of information for readers.
Books:
- Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation: A History of Literary Paris in the Twenties and Thirties
- Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero
- The Alexiad (Penguin Classics)
- The Anna Strong Chronicles: The Becoming (Book 1)
- The Big Sea: An Autobiography (American Century Series)
- The Book of Margery Kempe (Penguin Classics)
- The Groucho Letters, Letters To and From...
- The Last Days of Henry VIII: Conspiracies, Treason and Heresy at the Court of the Dying Tyrant
- The Last Time I Wore A Dress
- The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Rabbit Ears Treasury of Heroines: Annie Oakley, Song of Sacajawea, Finn McCoul, Princess Scargo and
- Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear
- In the Shadow of the Law: A Novel
- Heart Trouble
- Henri Cartier-Bresson
- History: Fiction or Science
- In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of an Unknown Teaching
- The Legacy of Mark Rothko
- Field and Laboratory Methods for General Ecology
- The genus Habenaria in North America
General
| Historical
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival
Sufferings in Africa: The Incredible True Story of a Shipwreck, Enslavement, and Survival on the Sahara
As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me
The Jungle is Neutral: A Soldier's Two-Year Escape from the Japanese Army
Arabists: The Romance of an American Elite
