W. E. B. Du Bois, 1868-1919: Biography of a Race (Owl Books)

Book Description

This monumental biography--eight years in the research and writing--treats the early and middle phases of a long and intense career: a crucial fifty-year period that demonstrates how Du Bois changed forever the way Americans think about themselves.

Customer Reviews:

Not a Gloss.......2001-03-05

What most impressed me about this very detailed biography was the complete treatment that was given to Du Bois' Communist connections. With the end the the Cold War we have learned conclusively that the Communist Party USA was not the possibly misguided, but good-hearted progressive folks of conventional wisdom. Instead, the CPUSA was a conscious and dedicated tool of Soviet foreign policy.

No one can doubt that Du Bois was a brillant scholar and a careful researcher, at least in his early works. It was a tragedy that the unjust treatment of his race lead him to renounce America just as the Civil Rights movement was about to change it. Ironically, Du Bois exiled himself to newly-independent Ghana - - a country that became a one-party state, then a dictatorship (which Du Bois did not renounce) finally ended by a military coup.

For all Du Bois' claimed affiliation with the masses, reading this biography one cannot but get the feeling that what really bothered Du Bois was not the rejection of his people, but rather of himself.

A Magisterial Study of the Struggles of a Man and His Race.......2001-03-03

Prior to reading volume one of David Lewis' "W.E.B. Du Bois:Biography of a Race" I was somewhat puzzled by the subtitle. But the significance of the subtitle becomes clear as one progresses through the book because Lewis does a wonderful job of tying Du Bois' life, thought, personality, and political activity to the evolving fortunes of African Americans as a people. Like all great biographies this one places Du Bois squarely in his social and historical environment. The result is that one gains deep insight into the plight of African America in the Age of Jim Crow as well as the various divisions within that community over strategies for dealing with the greater society.

This magisterial work is not a book for the casual reader who wants little more than a few facts about the life of W.E.B. Du Bois. It is a complex tapestry of a troubled man who saw himself as "the avatar of a race whose troubled fate he was predestined to interpret and direct." Lewis clearly wishes to show how Du Bois was "the incomparable mediator of the wounded souls of black people." This is a very rich and full biography. There are many asides and digressions as Lewis takes the reader into the troubled world of the educated African American at the end of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth. The conflicts and turmoil among Du Bois' "Talented Tenth" are vividly brought to the fore as the struggle between the Tuskegee Machine of Booker Washington and the more "radical" Du Bois faction takes center stage.

Du Bois' development and personal history are thoroughly covered as are all his important writings. He is shown to be a high-energy, brilliant man who was terribly frustrated and somewhat warped by the lack of intellectual and professional respect afforded him by the dominant white society. Du Bois is revealed to be a very human, if rather arrogant, and at times, hypocritical individual. He never outgrew, for instance, the racial stereotyping he learned at the German universities. Throughout his life he retained a deep ambivalence about Western civilization, almost a love-hate relationship that eventually fed his Afro-centrist delusions. Beneath it all one senses a degree of racial self-hatred at work. At times Du Bois waxes between practical political proposals for the United States and a quite utopian or mystical view of the possibilities of the colored people around the world. Along the way the reader is introduced to an amazing number of fascinating people involved in philanthropy and the early civil rights movement. John and Lugenia Hope, the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, early founders of the N.A.A.C.P. like Oswald Villard, Joel Spingarn, and Mary Ovington, and the irrepressible William Monroe Trotter are just a few of the individuals who rightly have their lives celebrated in this eye-opening account.

Lewis is especially strong in depicting the limitations of the viewpoint and the activity of the white philanthropists and the developing conflicts between white organized labor and the poor black migrants moving to the northern cities during the "Great Migration." Throughout Lewis demonstrates total command of the material as well as a comprehension of philosophy, history, and the issues of the day. Overall, this is a marvelous look at the life of an important and complicated man as well as the evolving fortunes of the African American community. Lewis has given us a balanced and fair assessment of Du Bois the man and scholar. And, along the way, he provides a ringing indictment of much of American life in the one hundred years following the Civil War. This Pulitzer Prize winning work is a book for the patient and learned reader, but a book that returns great rewards. There are few, if any, books that so thoroughly document the struggle for civil rights in this country from the perspective of America's educated black community.

thoroughly researched, great subject, but dull reading.......2001-01-01

I wanted to learn about W.E. B. Dubois and I did --the book is thoroughly researched --but at times there is too much detail; as an example, sometimes DuBois the man seemed hidden in digressions which covered his writings in what seemed to me excessive detail. I admired the work and analysis required to reach this level of specificity but regretted that there was relatively little about his day to day life and that there was not tighter editing and crisper prose.

What A Brillant Man.......2000-02-27

i was floored upon finishing this book.this Man was a pure GENIUS.his IDeas&Structures were Years ahead of the pack.his words were Forerunners for the same problems we face today that he faced back when he was Growing up.his Challenges&Debates were Legendairy.his vision of the world far exceeded any President then or now.his only SIn was his SKin.were if he were WHite he WOuld on a Dollar Bill.his Impact on the world will last till the end of time.

It was really boring.......1999-07-22

I read this book to suppliment a biographical sketch I was doing on DuBois. This was although one of the most helpful, one of the dryest and most boring books I've ever read. If your going to read this, make sure it's totally of your own free will.

W.E.B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race : 1868-1919 (Web Dubois Biography of a Race)

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W.E.B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race : 1868-1919 (Web Dubois Biography of a Race)
David L. Lewis
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0805026215

Amazon.com

W.E.B. Du Bois--the first African-American to earn a doctorate at Harvard, one of the founders of the NAACP, visionary Pan-Africanist intellectual, and author of the seminal text The Souls of Black Folks--has not received due honor in his own country because of his radicalism in later life. Du Bois, hounded during the McCarthy era for his left wing beliefs, eventually gave up his American citizenship. But as a revered leader of black people worldwide, Du Bois merited a state funeral in Ghana when he died there in 1963. This first volume in Lewis's biography, winner of the 1994 Pulitzer Prize, details Du Bois' early life and work, up to the landmark Pan-African Congress following World War I, which brought "black liberation" to world attention.

W. E. B. DU BOIS BIOGRAPHY OF A RACE 1868 - 1919

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W. E. B. DU BOIS BIOGRAPHY OF A RACE 1868 - 1919

Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H3A7CQ

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W.E.B. Du Bois; Biography of a Race, 1868-1919
David Levering LEWIS
Manufacturer: See notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UXBM6S

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W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868-1919
David Levering Lewis
Manufacturer: John MacRae Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N79ILW

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W.E.B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race : 1868-1919 (Web Dubois Biography of a Race)
David L. Lewis
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UBX0ZG

Book Description

Their distinguished World War I record featured the longest front line service of any American regiment, with not a soldier captured or a foot of ground lost. They were the first Allied unit to reach the Rhine River. Their distinguished Private Henry Johnson was awarded France's prestigious Croix de Guerre, for singlehandedly knocking out a platoon of twenty-eight German troops—yet Johnson is today still denied America's Medal of Honor. While the French government honored the 369th's battlefield exploits, the French people fell in love with its regimental band's hot jazz. This saga of soldiers whose struggle to reach the front lines was shadowed by racism begins with debates among black leaders over whether African-Americans should withhold support for the war until steps toward equality were made, then follows the harrowing path of the 15th Regiment of Colored Infantry's formation which, lacking a proper armory, drilled in the streets of Harlem and a local dance hall. The 15th was ready to fight by 1917, but was forbidden from serving under U.S. command by General John J. Pershing, who handed over the re-named 369th to the French Army. This rousing story of arms and a band—led by jazz pioneer Lieutenant James Reese Europe—that toured Europe's hospitals, villages, and cities, is a thrilling portrait of the soldiers whose return to U.S. soil, complete with a spectacular parade up Fifth Avenue, helped fuel the Harlem Renaissance. It is also the story of the 369th's contributions in the Pacific during World War II, and in Iraq during the Gulf War. It is a story of pride and accomplishment, not only of the Harlem Hellfighters, but of other black military heroes who have followed in their footsteps. 8 pages of black-and-white photographs are also featured, celebrating the military valor and musical splendor of the U.S. Army's most famous all-black regiment.

Customer Reviews:

Slapdash treatment of an important subject.......2002-12-05

While Bill Harris should be thanked for writing about this topic, the treatment he affords it is weak at best. The whole story of the 15th NYNG (later 369th Infantry) as told here is riddled with factual errors, ranging from the date of the creation of the regiment confused with its actual implementation, to having Colonel Hayward associated with it 3 years before he actually assumed command. References to other events are also wrong, most noticeably, the Houston Riot of 1917 which happened in the 24th Infantry, not the 8th Illinois. Harris wrongly refers to the 69th New York as a division named the "Rainbow Division" (the 69th was a regiment in the 42nd Division which was, and still is the "Rainbow Division")and also states that the 15th NY (369th) was not allowed to participate in the parade with the 69th. Many other white New York regiments (7th, 12th etc.) did not parade with the 69 as they were not chosen to represent New York in the 42nd Division, and
Harris is wrong when he refers to the 369th as being formerly the 15th New York. The 369th was not designated as such until after they were in France, at the time of the parade they were still the 15th New York. They were never a part of the 42nd division, although they had hoped to be included in it. Perhaps one of the most egregious errors is the continuation of the myth that Henry Johnson was buried in an unmarked potters field in Albany when in fact he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Conspicious by their abscence are any reference to primary source documents which exist both in this country and France, nor are any of the standard published works on African Americans in The First World War cited. Little's "From Harlem to the Rhine" is used, as is Scott's "History of the Negro in the World War", but no other works on this period appear in the bibliography, and the former was written over 30 years ago and the latter at the conclusion of the war. There has been much scholarly work done since then. His overview of the African American experience in the US military is equally thin and again his bibliography omits many scholarly studies of this subject, focusing instead on unit histories or personal narratives.
This book takes an important theme and does a poorly researched rush job to make it to press in time for the holidays. For a factual book on this subject one should still refer to Arthur Barbeau's "The Unknown Soldiers" or Bernard Nalty's "Strength for the Fight". The experience of African Americans in World War 1 and in the US Military is a crucial theme in American history, to which this book does not do justice. We can only hope that someone else produces a beter work on it in the near future than Bill Harris has done with this.

The Right to Fight: A History of African Americans in the Military

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A couple of remarks
Definitive work on an area that has been grossly overlooked

The Right to Fight: A History of African Americans in the Military
Gerald Astor
Manufacturer: Da Capo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 030681031X

Book Description

First time in paperback: An all-encompassing chronicle of African Americans' in the armed forces of the United States.

From the birth of the United States, African American men and women have fought and died in defense of a nation that has often denied them many fundamental rights of citizenship. Now Gerald Astor has chronicled their efforts and accomplishments in this critically acclaimed survey. From Crispus Attucks, first casualty of the American Revolution, to fighters on both sides of the Civil War, Astor moves to the postwar Indian campaigns and the infamous Brownsville riot. He also documents the prejudices and grievous wrongs that have kept African Americans from service-and finally traces their ascent to the highest levels. The Right to Fight is a groundbreaking contribution to American history.

Customer Reviews:

A couple of remarks.......2007-02-15

This is a readable and graphic history, mostly from the vantage point of the common soldier. Politics in the larger sense are frequently neglected. A glaring example of this neglect is the brief and flippant coverage of President Harry Truman's actual order to desegregate the US Armed Forces, the Executive Order 9981, issued in July of 1948. This seems to me to have been the single most important event in the entire saga, yet the author dismisses Truman in three pages, mostly quoting old letters which demonstrate, surprise! that GiveEmHell Harry used coarse language (in private) when talking about racial demographics, as he did when talking about everything else (in private). Readers who are looking for an account of what led up to this decision, which Truman knew could lose the Deep South in the tight upcoming election * will need to look elsewhere. The book "Foxholes and color lines : desegregrating the U.S. Armed Forces", by Sherie Mershon and Steven Schlossman (John Hopkins, 1998) has an entire chapter on this decision which so infuriated the white South and proved to be so important in the Civil Rights era.
Another deficiency, unfortunately not unusual these days, is the complete lack of notes. There is a bibliography, but who knows where a particular fact may have come from?
A good resource, but far from comprehensive.

* he did lose the Deep South; four states to a fellow who, though he was sworn to uphold the rule of law, was known to invite adversaries in public debate out onto the street to settle their differences, and, though not officially taking an oath to do so, loudly proclaimed that he would fight with all his might against "mixing", as it was then called, forbidden interaction that could ultimately lead to miscegenation. As it happened, the wowser who gained South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi (plus an anomalous single Electoral Vote in Tennessee) but, to history's gratitude, lost the United States, had himself been guilty of miscegenation. With progeny to prove it.

Definitive work on an area that has been grossly overlooked.......1998-11-21

The subject that Gerald Astor has chosen to write about, depicts the continuing saga of a group of people that has been the subject of more studies then any other group in America. In a methodical and comprehensive manner the author gives us a chronological history of Black American and historic accomplishments of the black soldier. From the American Revolution to the Persian Gulf Astor paints a picture through interview and analysis that cuts away the bias that has been the hall mark of the manner that this subject has heretofore been treated. His anecdotal passages add a sense of the social and cultural times that are germain to the periods of history he writes about. The story of the first American Hero, Sgt Henry Johnson of Albany NY in WWI and the Montford Point Marines in WWII are of exceptional importance in this work. All to often these men and their significant contribution that helps to keep the fabric of America strong are grossly overlooked! This book is a must for African American HIstory, Military History and American History buff's in general.

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The Right to Fight, A History of African Americans in the Military
Gerald ASTOR
Manufacturer: Presidio Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OPBGGS

Right to Fight: African American Marines in World War II (Marines in World War II Commemorative Series)

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Right to Fight: African American Marines in World War II (Marines in World War II Commemorative Series)
Bernard C. Nalty
Manufacturer: Diane Books Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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.

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Good concepts, bad writing
Answer keys are a little bit questionable.
Excellent graduate level textbook
Excellent introductory text: it's as technical as you want

Game Theory for Political Scientists
James D. Morrow
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0691034303

Book Description

Game theory is the mathematical analysis of strategic interaction. In the fifty years since the appearance of von Neumann and Morgenstern's classic Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (Princeton, 1944), game theory has been widely applied to problems in economics. Until recently, however, its usefulness in political science has been underappreciated, in part because of the technical difficulty of the methods developed by economists. James Morrow's book is the first to provide a standard text adapting contemporary game theory to political analysis. It uses a minimum of mathematics to teach the essentials of game theory and contains problems and their solutions suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in all branches of political science.

Morrow begins with classical utility and game theory and ends with current research on repeated games and games of incomplete information. The book focuses on noncooperative game theory and its application to international relations, political economy, and American and comparative politics. Special attention is given to models of four topics: bargaining, legislative voting rules, voting in mass elections, and deterrence. An appendix reviews relevant mathematical techniques. Brief bibliographic essays at the end of each chapter suggest further readings, graded according to difficulty. This rigorous but accessible introduction to game theory will be of use not only to political scientists but also to psychologists, sociologists, and others in the social sciences.

Customer Reviews:

Good concepts, bad writing.......2004-11-06

I am currently using this book as a text for a graduate level game theory course for political scientists. Although Morrow does a good job covering the important concepts, the writing is wordy, awkward, and confusing. It makes it difficult to follow some of the more complicated problems, especially when learning the ideas for the first time. I would only recommend this book for people who already have a grasp of the ideas and want to learn more and see examples -- not so useful for first-time game theorists.

Answer keys are a little bit questionable........2003-01-23

There are apparently two versions floating around (from the same edition and same printing) with different answer keys in the back for some of the more difficult problems.

Otherwise, this is the standard textbook for game theory for political science. I'm inspired to read Schelling!

Excellent graduate level textbook.......2000-08-29

This book is an excellent introduction to game theory for the political science graduate student. Although some prior knowledge of economics and game theory would certainly help, the early chapters in the book are excellent in familiarizing the reader with basic formal concepts.

A few comments by the previous reviewer may be misunderstood by some readers. This is NOT a "general concepts" book - in other words this is NOT game theory for poets - not that I hold anything against poets. This book does require some undergraduate level mathematics, mainly differential and integral calculus. Those looking for rigorous formal proofs of all theorems will be disappointed, but this is a technical book with an emphasis on demonstrating the application of formal tools to common problems in political science. Some of the material such as the chapter on perfect and sequential equilibria can be quite challenging.

If you merely wish to get a sense of what formal political science is all about and do not intend to actually fire up the old calculator, I suggest Robert Axelrod's excellent book "The Evolution of Cooperation".

Excellent introductory text: it's as technical as you want.......2000-05-16

One of the nice things about this book is it can be as technical or mathematical as you want. If you just want the concepts, you won't be jarred by lots of equations. But if you like the technical aspects, they're all there, especially in the appendix.

Great simple treatment of everything from basic Nash Equilibrium to more sophisticated concepts such as Bayesian information analysis.

Book Description

When John Nash won the Nobel prize in economics in 1994, many people were surprised to learn that he was alive and well. Since then, Sylvia Nasar's celebrated biography A Beautiful Mind, the basis of a new major motion picture, has revealed the man. The Essential John Nash reveals his work--in his own words. This book presents, for the first time, the full range of Nash's diverse contributions not only to game theory, for which he received the Nobel, but to pure mathematics--from Riemannian geometry and partial differential equations--in which he commands even greater acclaim among academics. Included are nine of Nash's most influential papers, most of them written over the decade beginning in 1949.

From 1959 until his astonishing remission three decades later, the man behind the concepts "Nash equilibrium" and "Nash bargaining"--concepts that today pervade not only economics but nuclear strategy and contract talks in major league sports--had lived in the shadow of a condition diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia. In the introduction to this book, Nasar recounts how Nash had, by the age of thirty, gone from being a wunderkind at Princeton and a rising mathematical star at MIT to the depths of mental illness.

In his preface, Harold Kuhn offers personal insights on his longtime friend and colleague; and in introductions to several of Nash's papers, he provides scholarly context. In an afterword, Nash describes his current work, and he discusses an error in one of his papers. A photo essay chronicles Nash's career from his student days in Princeton to the present. Also included are Nash's Nobel citation and autobiography.

The Essential John Nash makes it plain why one of Nash's colleagues termed his style of intellectual inquiry as "like lightning striking." All those inspired by Nash's dazzling ideas will welcome this unprecedented opportunity to trace these ideas back to the exceptional mind they came from.

Customer Reviews:

Undiluted math.......2007-09-13

If you have an interest in John Nash AND know mathematics, this is an interesting collection. The main body of the book consists of eight papers in mathematics and his Phd Thesis in uncut form, accompanied by a small introduction. Apart from that there is a general introduction from his friend Kuhn, a short biography from his biographer Nasar, a 7-page autobiography, the statement of the Nobel-prize committee, a collection of photos of Nash in various phases of his career, and a short explanation to the game of Hex that Nash invented when he arrived in Princeton.

Being an economist I was only interested in the thesis with the existence proof of the Nash equilibrium, and I am sure I would not have understood an alpha of any of the other papers. You really need to be a mathematician to appreciate this bundle. For those who want to know about Nash the man, I would recommend his autobiography "A beautiful mind" or the film with the same title.

An essential reading !.......2007-01-06

In case you have been captivated by "A beautiful mind", and be disposed to know more about the controversial existence of John Nash, pick up this book, that surely will catch your entire attention.

Good Collection of Nash Writings!.......2004-06-26

I only rate books that I really enjoy reading. While this one has some techy chapters, readers without a strong math background can still enjoy it.

Professor Nash's story was brought to life by the movie, this book shows why. One day his manifold theory will rule! ;)

excellent.......2003-10-12

Personally, I found this book to be very interestring. The proofs and ideas are presented in clear and non-rigomorphic fashion. One is able to read the works of Nash in the way he himself presented them, and hopefully appropriate some mental strategies used by this genius. There is much that goes on behind the scene of creation of proofs. I think mathematicians of today would greatly benefit from availability of larger number of books which would contain the mathematical works in the way they were originally presented. This is certainly a major step in that direction.

A Most Welcome Mathematical Banquet.......2003-08-06

I can't begin to express how deeply satisfying it was to peruse these papers by John Nash. You almost felt you were right there at his side, as he penned them.

There is even something in the book for non-mathematical types: Sylvia Nasar's Introduction and the autobiographical essay (Chapter Two). But for me the greatest interest resided in the remaining chapters: 4-11.

Of these, I particularly enjoyed reading the original presentation of Nash's Thesis on 'Non-Cooperative Games' (Chapter 6), and was fascinated not only with the air-tight logic of his proofs, but the use of hand written-in symbols.

Of course, Chapter 7 is just the re-hashing of Ch. 6, but in proper type-set form, rather than Nash's original script. But - give me the former any day! Reading the original form and format almost made me feel like Nash's Thesis aupervisor, including the same excitement of a new discovery!

Chapter 8 'Two person Cooperative Games' nicely extends the mathematical basis to cover this species of interaction.(And in many ways, people will find the cooperative game model easier to understand than the non-cooperative).

Chapter 9 is important because it delves into the issue of parallel control, and logical functions such as used in high speed digital computers. This chapter was of much interest to me since particular aspects of parallel control figured in my own model of consciousness - recently presented in Chapter Five of my book, 'The Atheist's Handbook to Modern Materialism'. Astute readers who read both books will quickly see the analog between the Schematic of Logical Unit Function (p. 122) and my own Figure 5-13 ('Development of Neural Assemblies', p. 156).

I enjoyed Chapter 10, 'Real Algebraic Manifolds' because of my ongoing interest in Algebraic Topology, and especially homology and homotopy theory. In his chapter, Nash presents a cornucopia of methods for representation, which I am still playing with for different manifolds.

Chapter 11, 'The Imbedding Problem for Riemannian Manifolds', is a delight for anyone familiar with Einstein's General Relativity, or even differential geometry. When you read through this chapter, you also will understand why Nash is still very interested (and involved) in research to do with general relativity and cosmology. Particularly fun for me was his section on 'Smoothing of Tensors' (p. 163) and 'Derivative Size Concept for Tensors' (p. 164).

Chapter 12, 'Continuity of Solutions of Parabolic and Elliptic Equations' is like 'dessert' for anyone who is intensely interested (as I am) in modular functions, which themselves are related intimately to elliptic equations.

In short, I think this book has something for both mathematicians and non-math types alike. Obviously, the former are likely to get more out of it, so the question the latter group must ask is whether the purchase is worth satiating their curiosity about Nash.

I know how I would answer, even if I couldn't tell a derivative from a differential. However, this book can be read on all kinds of levels, and that's the beauty of it.

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Game Theory for Political Scientists (ISBN: 0691034303)
James D. Morrow
Manufacturer: Princeton Univ. Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000P1BN1E

Product Description

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