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Lance Armstrong's War: One Man's Battle Against Fate, Fame, Love, Death, Scandal, and a Few Other Rivals on the Road to the Tour de France

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Review of Lance Armstrong's War
inside the 2004 Tour de France - makes the race real
Great read
I can't believe anyone recommends this book
HIstory in perspective

Lance Armstrong's War: One Man's Battle Against Fate, Fame, Love, Death, Scandal, and a Few Other Rivals on the Road to the Tour de France
Daniel Coyle
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060734973
Release Date: 2005-06-14

Book Description

Lance Armstrong's War is the extraordinary story of greatness pushed to its limits, a vivid, behind-the-scenes portrait of Armstrong—perhaps the most accomplished athlete of our time—as he faces his biggest test: a historic sixth straight victory in the Tour de France, the toughest sporting event on the planet.

Made newly vulnerable by age, fate, fame, doping allegations, and an unprecedented army of challengers, Armstrong fights on all fronts to do what he does like no one else: exert his will to win. That will, which has famously lifted him beyond his humble Texas roots, beyond cancer, and to unparalleled heights of success, is revealed by acclaimed journalist Daniel Coyle in new and startling dimensions.

We see how Armstrong rebuilds after his near-loss in the 2003 Tour, discovering new strategies to cope with his aging body. How he fills the holes in his life after his painful divorce from his wife, Kristin, and the ensuing time apart from his three young children. How he manages the exceedingly difficult trick of being Lance Armstrong—a combination of world-class athlete, celebrity, regular guy, and, for many Americans, secular saint.

But a saint's life it's not. To function at his peak, Armstrong requires what his friends artfully call "stimulus"—and if it's lacking, he won't hesitate to create some. We see Armstrong operating at the turbulent center of a fast-orbiting cast of swaggering Belgian tough guys, controversial Italian sports doctors, piranha-toothed lawyers, and jittery corporations, not to mention a certain female rock star. We see the subtle mind games he plays with himself and with rivals Tyler Hamilton, Jan Ullrich, and Iban Mayo. We see him through the eyes of his teammates, competitors, and friends, and explore his powerful relationship with his mother, Linda. We see what happens three weeks before the Tour, when he's faced with a double challenge: a blowout defeat in an important race and the release of a controversial book seeking to link him to performance-enhancing drugs. And finally we see it all culminate in the Tour de France, where Armstrong will rise to new and unexpected levels of domination.

Along the way, Lance Armstrong's War journeys through the little-known landscape of professional bike racing, a Darwinian world of unsurpassed beauty and brutality, a world teeming with underdogs, gurus, groupies, and wholly original characters, where athletes do not so much choose the sport as the sport chooses them.

Over the season, Armstrong and these characters collide in raw and sometimes violent theater. From the first training camps to the triumphal ride into Paris, Lance Armstrong's War provides a hugely insightful look into the often-inspiring, always surprising core of this remarkable man and the world that shapes him.

Download Description

Lance Armstrong's War is the extraordinary story of greatness pushed to its limits, a vivid, behind-the-scenes portrait of Armstrong -- perhaps the most accomplished athlete of our time -- as he faces his biggest test: a historic sixth straight victory in the Tour de France, the toughest sporting event on the planet.

We see how Armstrong rebuilds after his near-loss in the 2003 Tour, discovering new strategies to cope with his aging body. How he fills the holes in his life after his painful divorce from his wife, Kristin, and the ensuing time apart from his three young children. How he manages the exceedingly difficult trick of being Lance Armstrong -- a combination of world-class athlete, celebrity, regular guy, and, for many Americans, secular saint.

But a saint's life it's not. To function at his peak, Armstrong requires what his friends artfully call ""stimulus"" -- and if it's lacking, he won't hesitate to create some. We see Armstrong operating at the turbulent center of a fast-orbiting cast of swaggering Belgian tough guys, controversial Italian sports doctors, piranha-toothed lawyers, and jittery corporations, not to mention a certain female rock star. We see the subtle mind games he plays with himself and with rivals Tyler Hamilton, Jan Ullrich, and Iban Mayo. We see him through the eyes of his teammates, competitors, and friends, and explore his powerful relationship with his mother, Linda. We see what happens three weeks before the Tour, when he's faced with a double challenge: a blowout defeat in an important race and the release of a controversial book seeking to link him to performance-enhancing drugs. And finally we see it all culminate in the Tour de France, where Armstrong will rise to new and unexpected levels of domination.

Along the way, Lance Armstrong's War journeys through the little-known landscape of professional bike racing, a Darwinian world of unsurpassed beauty and brutality, a world teeming with underdogs, gurus, groupies, and wholly original characters, where athletes do not so much choose the sport as the sport chooses them.

Over the season, Armstrong and these characters collide in raw and sometimes violent theater. From the first training camps to the triumphal ride into Paris, Lance Armstrong's War provides a hugely insightful look into the often-inspiring, always surprising core of this remarkable man and the world that shapes him.

Customer Reviews:

Review of Lance Armstrong's War.......2007-06-19

I gave this book five starts because I could think of no reason not to do so. The book is non-fiction. It was very well written and accomplished what is set out to do.

If you are not a Lance Armstrong fan or a fan of professional cycling then this book will probably bore you. If you are looking for a book about the life of Lance with intimate details of his personal life, his family, etc. then you may want to read his other book IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE. This book is a behind the scenes look at the Tour de France and professional cycling in general. The book discusses the scientific methods of training, drug testing and many other interesting things that go on in the sport. The book also gives information about the lives of other notable professional cyclists such as Jan Ullrich, Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis just to name a few.

Some quick advice before you start reading the book: read the section in the back of the book entitled "notes on the sport" first. Especially if you are not a fan or not familiar with professional cycling. This section will give you a better understanding of the terminology used throughout the book.

A word of caution if you are a parent and trying to decide if you child should read this book or not: This book contains a moderate about of profanity. So keep this in consideration.

inside the 2004 Tour de France - makes the race real.......2007-02-13

I followed the 2004 Tour de France very closely, and read many of the online and print publications that covered the event. Nevertheless, reading this book gave me insight into the people and event that I did not have. Coyle writes with an energy that made the pages turn quickly, and he seems to capture some of the 'realness' of people.
This book centers around Lance Armstrong, but it is not all about him. If you want an anti-Lance book, there are plenty others to check out.

Great read.......2007-02-13

This is one of the best books about athletes I have ever read. What is so good about it is, the author is a great writer who really understands his craft (he tends to go a bit overboard at times, but I can forgive that, because the writing is so good). Also, he understands and details the complex dynamics between the cyclists. The way the athletes size each other up is like gunfighters or poker players looking at each other to discover some sign of weakness. I really liked the discussion of doping, too. The author explains how throughout the Tour de France, performance enhancers were used (the riders used to hold out handfulls of 'uppers' to show the press !). It really puts things in perspective (the author in no way says that doping is good, though). I really liked the way the author could get inside the heads of the riders, and he also explains their culture as it affected them. I liked the discussion of Jan Ullrich, who I have now more respect for. I think it a tiny bit of a misnomer to call Ullrich an "East German", 15 years after the wall fell. Ullrich probably no longer considers himself a "product" of the East German sports machine. But this is a very minor point. I also really liked the technical discussions surrounding Dr. Ferrari, Lance Armstrong's trainer, who breaks cycling performance down to the numbers, and analyzes the lactic acid threshold, etc. I learned a lot about pro cycling by reading this book. The fact that the athletes get sometimes horrific injuries makes this one of the great "macho" sports, too (I use that word in a positive way). Great read, on many levels. Not just for cycling fans, either.

I can't believe anyone recommends this book.......2007-02-07

For all the rave reviews - I thought this book was so much garbage. Lots of facts but no one seems to have taken any notice of the attitude and angles taken by the writer. The old 'subtly put down your subject matter, because if you can make them look bad, you can make yourself look intelligent' approach. This isn't even remotely an 'unbiased report' of the tour de france as presented.
Wish I could give this book no stars. Unfortunatly I had to give it one to do a review.
If you want a book on Lance, read his autobiographies, if you want a book on the tour, I'd recommend buying one from a writer who doesn't have so much to prove.

HIstory in perspective.......2007-01-19

Excelent book, gives you and idea of what it takes to write bycicling history and makes you want to go for a ride.

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The Old Indians, The Now Indians
Could have been much better
Highly recommended account of people, not stereotypes
Should Be Titled "Smug White Man Visits the Reservation"
read Sherman Alexie's review

On the Rez
Ian Frazier
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312278594

Amazon.com

Given that the Great Plains long functioned as a stomping ground for the Oglala Sioux, it was inevitable that Ian Frazier would cross paths with them when he wrote his 1989 chronicle of that sublime flatland. But the encounter between the self-confessed "chintzy middle-class white guy" and his Native American counterparts went so swimmingly that Crazy Horse assumed a starring role in the book. Now Frazier continues his cross-cultural romance in On the Rez. This account of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota is as touching, funny, and maniacally digressive as anything he's written. What's more, he manages to avoid most of the politically correct potholes along the way, producing a vivid, ambivalent (i.e., honest) portrait of a community where the very "landscape is dense with stories."

Much of On the Rez revolves around Le War Lance, whom Frazier first met in Great Plains. This yarn-spinning, beer-swilling figure serves the author as a kind of Native American Virgil, introducing him to the hard facts of reservation life. In fact, their friendship, with its accents of deep affection and dependency, anchors the entire narrative and elicits some typically top-drawer prose:

Le's eyes can be merry and flat as a smile button, or deep and glittering with malice or slyness or something he knows and I never will. He is fifty-seven years old. I have seen his hair, which is black streaked with gray, when it was over two feet long and held with beaded ponytail holders a foot or so apart, and I have seen it much shorter, after he had shaved his head in mourning for a friend who had died.

On the Rez delivers a history of the Oglala nation that spotlights our paleface population in some of its most shameful, backstabbing moments, as well as a quick tour through Indian America. The latter, to be honest, seems a little too conscientiously cooked up from primary sources and news clippings. But elsewhere Frazier is in superb form, reporting everything he sees and hears with enviable clarity and promptly pulling the rug out from under himself whenever he seems too omniscient. Few accounts of reservation life have been this comical; even fewer have moved beyond the poverty and pandemic drunk driving to discern actual, theological wickedness on the premises: "At such moments a sense of compound evil--the evil of the human heart, in league with the original darkness of this wild continent--curls around me like shoots of a fast-growing vine." In the hands of many a writer, the previous sentence might resemble a rhetorical firecracker. In Frazier's, it comes off as a statement of fact--which is only one of the reasons why every American, Native or not, should take a look at this sad, splendid, and surprisingly hopeful book. --James Marcus

Book Description

On the Rez is a sharp, unflinching account of the modern-day American Indian experience, especially that of the Oglala Sioux, who now live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the plains and badlands of the American West. Crazy Horse, perhaps the greatest Indian war leader of the 1800s, and Black Elk, the holy man whose teachings achieved worldwide renown, were Oglala; in these typically perceptive pages, Frazier seeks out their descendants on Pine Ridge-a/k/a "the rez"-which is one of the poorest places in America today. Along with his longtime friend Le War Lance (whom he first wrote about in his 1989 bestseller, Great Plains) and other Oglala companions, Frazier fully explores the rez as they visit friends and relatives, go to pow-wows and rodeos and package stores, and tinker with a variety of falling-apart cars. He takes us inside the world of the Sioux as few writers ever have, writing with much wit, compassion, and imagination. In the career of SuAnne Big Crow, for example, the most admired Oglala basketball player of all time, who died in a car accident in 1992, Frazier finds a contemporary reemergence of the death-defying, public-spirited Sioux hero who fights with grace and glory to save her followers. On the Rez vividly portrays the survival, through toughness and humor, of a great people whose culture has helped to shape the American identity.

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In Ian Frazier's bestselling Great Plains, he described meeting a man in New York City named Le War Lance, "an Oglala Sioux Indian from Oglala, South Dakota." In On the Rez, Frazier returns to the plains and focuses on a place at their center -- the Pine Ridge Reservation in the prairie and badlands of South Dakota, home of the Oglala Sioux. Frazier drives around "the rez" with Le War Lance and other Oglalas as they tell stories, visit relatives, go to powwows and rodeos and package stores, and try to find parts to fix one or another of their on-the-verge-of-working cars. On the Rez considers Indian ideas of freedom and community and equality that are basic to how we view ourselves, and discusses also the oppressions of history in a place where the per capita income is the nation's lowest. Most of all, he examines the Oglala idea of heroism -- its suffering and its pulse-quickening, public-spirited glory. On the Rez portrays the survival, through toughness and humor, of a great people whose culture has shaped our American identity.

Customer Reviews:

The Old Indians, The Now Indians.......2007-03-08

On the Rez by Ian Frazier is easily the most fascinating and readable history of the American Indian, as they existed in the past and how their past has shaped their present. At first their present seems dismal, as Ian Frazier spent several years on and off the Pine Ridge Reservation of South Dakota and shows us the poverty, drunknness and generally confirming every unfortunate stereotype we've come to know. Through the peculiar friendship with an Oglala Sioux named Le War Lance, Ian transports us into the then and now and we realize the absolute power behind what seems destitute poverty. Frazier shows us the wealth of their culture and reminds us how they came to be where they are. Should it be any surprise they have become what the white culture has made them? And yet there is no doubt that they remain who they've always been. Frazier easily weaves in the cultural and political history with the nomadic wanderings of his friend Le who floats in and out of jail, befriends movie stars as easily as buddies down at the bar and survives countless car crashes, only to live to view them as a kind of frighteningly mystical experience. The book is tough and funny -- exactly like the people it portrays.

Could have been much better.......2005-07-27

I first heard about life on the "rez" from some Indian friends in the Army. They told me crazy stories about car accidents, shootings, and drunken brawls that apparently characterized much of the life on the rez. The author, Ian Fraizer, writes a little about these things, so at least that part of it rings true as it confirms what my friends told me.

My complaint about the book is that it is simply boring. It's as if Frazier found the most dull Indians he possibly could and wrote about their everyday lives. My life is dull too, but no one seems to want to write a book about it. The only slightly interesting person is Frazier's so called "friend," Le War Dance, who is a BS artist and asks for a handout everytime the two meet. If one of my "friends" demanded money to be my "friend," I might think twice about having him for a friend, but not Frazier. He seems to enjoy taking up the white man's burden and dispensing cash to his "friends" as if he is single-handedly trying to atone for the way Indians were screwed by us palefaces. Does it ever occur to him that these people are his "friends" because he is a steady source of income? I get the feeling that when Frazier and his Indian "friends" leave each others' company, both of them laugh at the other behind their back thinking how they used them for their own personal gain - Frazier with his book material, and the Indians with some free "beer money."

Frazier's writing often gets bogged down in so many unnecessary details, that I felt like he was trying to extend the manuscript simply to make it book length. I used this technique myself when I was a child in grade school and had to write 100 word essays. I would inevitably use the word "very" to flesh out the paper to the required length - "I enjoy playing baseball very much. It is a very rewarding game to play, etc."

One thing I can't stand about books about Indians is the inevitable word "mystical" that is applied to their lives. They supposedly have this attachment to nature and the spirit world that the rest of us just can't seem to attain, which is a crock. Indians are no more mystical than I am. Whenever somebody dies on the rez, there always seems to have been premonitions or medicine man warnings that their time was up, but strangely, these mystical warnings never save the doomed person. Maybe because it's all lies just like all religions are?

Finally, the only other major story in this book is his adulation and bizarre obsession with a teenage Indian girl who was a popular kid and died young in a car accident. He foolishly believes everything her family and friends say about her and relates her story as fact when it is mostly just made up to make her seem larger than life. Every neighborhood has a popular kid who inspires others, so I don't see why this particular girl had such an impact on Frazier.

Ultimately, this book is not about Indians on the rez, it is about Frazier on the rez, which is not an exciting topic to read about.

Highly recommended account of people, not stereotypes.......2005-07-08

I can't say enough good things about this book. It was wonderful to read as well as haunting me for days afterward.

The "rez" of the title is the Pine Ridge Reservation of the Oglala Sioux. The book deals with the Oglala Sioux both on the rez and in scattered other places, as far away as New York and New Jersey. He includes some history and "historical" characters up through Russell Means and Dennis Banks.

There are two stars in the book: his friend Le War Lance, and the basketball star SuAnne Big Crow. Le is a lovable ne'er-do-well who serves as Frazier's (and our) guide to the Sioux and to Pine Ridge. Big Crow, whom Frazier never met, serves as a background hero and her story an unfolding tragedy.

More than anything, the book is about people and not about having any ideological axe to grind. Many of his acquaintances are alcoholics and/or unemployed. Frazier acknowledges what most people would call both "social forces" and "individual responsibility" in explaining these cliched problems. He also sees the "nobility" and "sense of freedom" that represent more positive cliches, but again he doesn't overemphasize them. In short, he neither whitewashes nor praises effusively, but he is at root simply interested in the experiences of the Oglala people both on and off the reservation. Frazier loves his friends on the reservation but finds some of them frustrating.

Some people might not like the results. For example, many of Frazier's acquaintances hit him up for money; as a result, he always loads up on twenties before visiting Pine Ridge. You might think this is a degrading detail, you might think that Frazier is a smug white man who wants everyone to know of his generosity, or perhaps you'd want him to turn down these requests so as not to compromise a writer's relationship with his subjects. Take your pick. But Frazier's matter-of-fact writing style lets you make up your own mind about him as well as his subjects.

For all its interest, this remains a book written by a white observer; if you'd like an excellent account of Pine Ridge by an insider, read Mary Crow Dog's "Lakota Woman."

Frazier is an very good observer of both detail and personality. Given the rich diversity of any community of people such as Pine Ridge, you feel as if you are riding along in his car, looking over his shoulder. Very highly recommended as a slice of America.

Should Be Titled "Smug White Man Visits the Reservation".......2005-06-08

This book invokes nearly as much disgust in me as the white harvesting crews in the 1980's who boasted of deftly disposing of their American Indian competition with bottles of cheap booze.

I didn't go into reading it with that expectation--Frazier skillfully drug it out of me over the course of a two day reading period, and I can only shake my head in wonderment at the reviewers--undoubtedly white--who give this glorified diary such high praise.

I kept awaiting Frazier to get past the egocentric slant that made nearly the entire book feel like a never-ending "Introduction" to some larger work. This is because Frazier tries to present himself as a benevolent and long suffering friend to a handful of Oglala Sioux; but his constant chronicling of every nickle he spent during the friendship--not to mention focusing on every drunken stagger, or boast; makes him come off as less a true friend than just another white man lookin' to make money off the reservation. (I also find his occasional "my bad" passages to be nothing more than self-serving attempts to deflect potential criticism.)

Where the real meat of the book lies, is in the chapters about SuAnne Big Crow. Frazier should have written a biography of her, instead of indulging himself in most of the other pages.

If you must purchase "On The Rez," might I suggest you check it out from your local library first?

read Sherman Alexie's review.......2005-03-21

I think those interested in understanding the issues this book addresses, or doesn't address, might want to read American Indian author Sherman Alexie's thought provoking review of this book on his website.

Tales of the Lance (AD&D 2nd Ed Fantasy Roleplaying, Dragonlance, World Book of Ansalon + 3 maps + Cutout booklet)

Average customer rating:

Great intro to Dragonlance!
An excellent supplement to AD&D

Tales of the Lance (AD&D 2nd Ed Fantasy Roleplaying, Dragonlance, World Book of Ansalon + 3 maps + Cutout booklet)
Harold Johnson , and John Terra
Manufacturer: TSR Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

Great intro to Dragonlance!.......1998-05-11

For someone who only read the novels, this was a good intro into the game. I borrowed my friends, and I think I'll by my own soon.

An excellent supplement to AD&D.......1997-07-16

Of all campaign settings I've ever played, I find the Dragon Lance setting the most intrigueing. If under the use of a good DM, it will, adventure after adventure help to produce some of the best roleplaying out there

Cover Up: What the Government Is Still Hiding About the War on Terror

Average customer rating:

A Chillingly Good Book
Excellent Work
Half a book.
Good information reagarding the 9/11 commission
Good research, interesting, but doesn't go far enough

Cover Up: What the Government Is Still Hiding About the War on Terror
Peter Lance
Manufacturer: Regan Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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First Strike: TWA Flight 800 and the Attack on America

ASIN: 0060795115
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Book Description

Alongside the bestselling 9/11 Commission Report is investigative journalist Peter Lance's expose of the government's decade long cover-up about al Qaeda, and how they're still hiding the truth today.

In the groundbreaking 1000 Years for Revenge, Peter Lance exposed the FBI's twelve-year record of negligence that led to the attacks of 9/11. Now, alongside the bestselling 9/11 Commission Report, Lance's Cover Up, proves that the government has been covering up its own counter-terror failures since the mid-1990s and continues to do so today.
Part I presents new major revelations about Ramzi Yousef, bin Laden's master bomber, and a plan to use his fellow prisoner, the convicted Mafioso Greg Scarpa Jr., to mine Yousef for information. In 1996, while Yousef was awaiting trial, the terrorist told Scarpa in detail how al Qaeda was planning to blow up an airliner in order to secure a mistrial. Yousef was even given access to an outside phone line so that the Feds could monitor his calls. But the plan backfired: Yousef reached his cohorts and TWA 800 was blown out of the sky. Yet the critical Scarpa intel was ultimately disregarded; if Scarpa were presented as a credible witness, it would have undermined a series of cases in which Scarpa had been rejected to protect a crooked FBI agent. The Feds threw away an opportunity to stop the biggest terror strike in the US before 9/11.
Part II reveals the government's continued cover up efforts, penetrating even the 9/11 Commission. Lance-who testified in private before the Commission-offers a minority report on the proceedings, revealing the many conflicts of interest among the commissioners and their personal motives for covering evidence and ignoring major parts of the story. Raising scores of unanswered questions, Cover Up proves one thing beyond a doubt: When it comes to understanding 9/11 we are as far from the truth as ever.

Customer Reviews:

A Chillingly Good Book.......2006-03-17

This is an extremely well-written and documented book. I especially liked the foot-noted references that allow the reader to check the facts for themselves. If the average citizen thinks the FBI and CIA are providing meaningful security to the USA, this book will make one think again. After reading this book, I also read "1000 Years for Revenge". That book finished filling in the blanks. I suggest they both be read to get the whole picture. There is no doubt in my mind that the US will be attacked again, and that government agencies have been put under so many constraints that they will never be able to stop it. Read these two books. Your hair will stand on end.

Excellent Work .......2006-02-06

Since 9/11, I have watched our leaders expend human and material resources in an obviously wasteful and non-productive manner. It is clear that they did not take adequate measures to insure our national security. We have and continue to pay a dear price for their negligence. Appropriate, necessary action can only be taken if we know the truth about what happened and who the players were and are. Official government channels have not been forthcoming with this information. We have been left misinformed and vulnerable. We must know the truth in order to plan intelligently. Peter Lance has provided us with a great resource. He has presented us with chilling new information in a well documented, dispationate, non-partisan manner. We are all in his debt. I urge you to read this book and become active in getting you elected leaders to do the same.

Half a book........2005-12-02

I agree with the reviewer who said that this is half a book. The first half of this book matters; the second half, not so much.

While the bad news is that you are getting half a book for the price of a full book, the good news is that the half a book that you are getting is a bomb - well worth the read. If what Lance reports is true - and Lance's story is documented well enough to believe it is true - the pre-9/11 failings of our government, especially the FBI, are abhorrent. Incompetence is one thing; cover-ups of painful truths are quite another.

Good information reagarding the 9/11 commission.......2005-09-17

I really like Peter Lance. I enjoy his writing style and he has researched his topics well. However, I thought 1000 Years for Revenge was better. He seemed a little stressed and frustrated while writing this book. However, I would still recommend Cover Up. Without this book and 1000 Years for Revenge I would have been clueless as to the flaws of the 9/11 Commission.

Good research, interesting, but doesn't go far enough.......2005-07-26

I read "Cover Up" because I heard the author (PL) on a very popular
nationally-syndicated radio show. He was part of a panel discussing
9-11, of course. I really couldn't decide whether PL thought that 9-11
was a govt. conspiracy, but he was very critical of a very "strident"
conspiracy radio host/film maker. PL claimed that he wrote only what
he could prove, and that the "powers that be" actually want people to
believe in vague, high-level conspiracies rather than getting at the "real"
facts. Having read many books on 9/11 that indeed point to a high-level
govt. conspiracy, I wanted to read "Cover Up" to get another point of
view about 9-11, this despite the scoffs from my friends!

I found "Cover Up" interesting for the most part, also quite
informative, as if a short primer on domestic terrorism (I will assume
that PL got his facts straight), though as I'll discuss below, I am still
not certain what PL really thinks about 9-11.

"Cover Up" depicts shocking, outrageous corruption, perhaps the most
egregious corruption is the FBI/Justice Dept.'s cover up of the relationship
between a fairly high-level agent and a Mafia hitman who killed many people
in a war among "families." While a large element of organized crime is
apparently eliminated, laws are broken at every turn, and when the FBI
man is prosecuted, he answers "I can't remember" 44 times, and is allowed
to retire on full pension, and to make sure the corruption is never revealed,
an honest cop's reputation is ruined, and he is stripped of his pension.

If you read "Cover Up," and I recommend that you do, you will get the
tie-in between the son of the Mafia hitman and Ramzi Yousef, whom PL
claims devised the bomb that killed a young engineer in the so-called
"Bojinka" plane bombing, which the author connects to the TWA 800 disaster,
in a convincing way. PL also connects all of this, along with incredible
negligence on the FBI's part, with terrorism and 9-11, and the details are
quite Interesting.

PL clearly spent a great deal of time interviewing the wives of the
9-11 victims, who pressed for a very long time before the govt. agreed to
have a commission, and he shows many aspects of blatant, deliberate
suppression of evidence by the commission, many members of which were very
compromised, and had much to lose by getting at the real truth.

Yet I found the book lacking in certain aspects of 9-11, esp.
the lack of a deeper analysis of what exactly happened on 9-11. PL asks
exactly the same questions that those who think that the govt. at the very
least knew in advance of the attacks, yet he makes no attempt to answer
them, and cites not one of the "conspiracy" books that do try to answer
the difficult questions.

A very key part of 9-11, as discussed in "Cover Up," is simply reported
and nothing more. Repeatedly we are told that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Yousef's
uncle, is the mastermind beind 9-11, yet I remember no evidence or further
details in the book, just a reference to PL's prior book on 9-11. Also KSM's
arrest and interrogation are kept secret, yet again we are not told anything
beyond this, and conspiracy researchers would obviously wonder what the real
story is?!

So what we get is an interesting read but I was left wondering if what
is presented in "Cover Up" is just a shadow of the deeper truth. Still, I
recommend reading the book.

Lincoln, Religion, and Romantic Cultural Politics

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Lincoln, Religion, and Romantic Cultural Politics
Stewart Lance Winger
Manufacturer: Northern Illinois University Press
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ASIN: 0875803008

The Sacred Fire of Liberty: James Madison and the Founding of the Federal Republic

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Lance Banning and the hermeneutics of generosity
Madison finally revealed
Repetative, yet excellent reinterpretation

The Sacred Fire of Liberty: James Madison and the Founding of the Federal Republic
Lance Banning
Manufacturer: Cornell University Press
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ASIN: 080148524X

Book Description

A Choice Magazine "Outstanding Academic Book for 1996"

Co-winner of the 1997 Merle Curti Award in American Intellectual History from the Organization of American Historians

"Brilliant and original. . . . The Sacred Fire of Liberty is a challenging book, bristling with ideas and filled with fine shades of emphasis and meaning. Yet there is . . . no jargon or academic obfuscation, and the attentive reader should have no trouble following the argument."--Evan Cornog, New York Times Book Review

"No one who has followed Banning's account of Madison's development . . . will read The Federalist or plot the trajectory of his career in quite the same way again. This is no small achievement."--Edmund S. Morgan, The New Republic

"Well researched and eloquently rendered. . . . An essential addition to the scholarship on the New Republic."--Library Journal

Customer Reviews:

Lance Banning and the hermeneutics of generosity.......2006-05-21

Lance Banning passed away on Jan. 31 of this year. When I learned this I decided to change the focus of my review a little.
First, what do I mean by the hermeneutics of generosity? By hermeneutics I mean a scheme or method of interpretation. An intellectual biographer who uses a hermeneutics of generosity starts off with certain assumptions. Everything people do they do for reasons. From the point of view of the biographical subject they are always good reasons.
If you believe your subject to be a person of exacting moral standards and exceptional intelligence, then you assume that everything they have done can be back up by compelling arguments that have been long considered.
This style of hermeneutics is obvious in two ways in Banning's work. Obviously, in the way he approaches Madison. But the first thing I want to talk about is the way Banning reacts to other scholars. His notes are extraordinary. Banning read everyone who had written on Madison and located his interpretations in relation to that of others. He not only carefully explains the differences between his interpretations and those of others (e.g., Martin Diamond, Gordon Woods, Paul Rahe and Jennifer Nedelsky among others) but he also points out the strengths of their alternatives. This was a man who knew how to listen to his sources and not just to one up them.
But it is really in regard to James Madison that Banning's approach shines through in all its humanity. Banning believes that there is a standard version of Madion's intellectual biography that is largely wrong. That standard version is based on the biographies of Irving Brant and Ralph Ketcham and the intellectual histories of Gordon Woods and Martin Diamond. In the standard version, James Madison (JM) started off as a strong nationalist in the early 1780s. He was part of the movement at that time to modify the Articles or to change them completely. JM's method of constitutional interpretation at that time is usually considered to have been expansive or willing to loosely construe the document so as to justify non-explicit central government powers (e.g., Morris' national bank).
JM's nationalistic period continued all the way through his work at the Constitutional Convention, the writing of The Federalist and his first year in the new Congress. However, when Hamilton's economic programs began to unfold during the second and third terms of Congress, JM began to backpedal on his nationalism and his expansive constructionism. By the mid-1790s, JM is usually seen as a strict constructionist and a states rights theorist who would remain so all his life. Thus the standard version gives us two Madisons, who can only be connected by various versions of the Madison as practical or conniving politician who changed his stripes due to the political winds of the moment.
Banning will have none of this. He believes the standard version misrepresents all aspects of JM's career. Banning believes that if we take JM's writings throughout his life seriously, then he clearly see a very consistent thinker whose whole career is centered around the dynamic problem of how to ground government on the people without being exposed to the inconveniences or "excesses" of democratic rule. I will limit my discussion of Banning's revisionism (his term) to his interpretation of two aspects of JM's career that are essential to his argument.
The first is JM's career in the Continental Congress of the early 1780s. The democratic excesses were showing up in the Confederation period in the behavior of the states.
Banning shows that in the early 1780s that JM was indeed a nationalist but a qualified one. JM read the national scene from the point of view of Virginia and from his understanding of revolutionary politics. Any national measure that wasn't good for Virginia was unlikely to be favored by JM. As for the Conferderation, the problem was the weakness of the federal Union. If the structural flaws of the Articles could be amended, the misbehavior of the states could be controlled. Thus, at this point in his career, Madison was not part of the movement that wanted to jettison the Articles. He merely wanted to amend them to make implicit powers explicit. That point is very important. Banning argues forcefully from JM's writings that even at this point, JM was a strict constructionist. So the standard version is wrong in two ways about the early Madison.
The other central moment in Banning's revision is the aftermath of the Constitutional Convention, especially, the writing of The Federalist. This is usually seen as one of the strongest arguments for the standard view. It is well known that Madison expressed dismay after the Convention about the prospects for the longevity of the new government should it be ratified. He was upset that his suggestion for a national veto of the laws of the individual states had not been written into the finished document. He also was dismayed that the representation in the Senate was equal for each state. He thought this repeated a fundamental flaw in the Articles.
And yet, within two months, JM was well into writing The Federalist where he explicitly agreed with both of these decisions by the Convention. Most readers, including myself, find this to be a little disingenuous on Madison's part. But for Banning, this was indicative of JM having changed his mind. According to Banning, during the course of reflecting on the work of the Convention and of writing The Federalist, JM must have realized that his opponents in the Convention had compelling reasons for doing what they did and he therefore changed his mind. Banning states that anyone who has written out a long argument is familiar with changing their mind during the course of the writing. Fair enough.
But this brings me to the two main issues that I had with Banning's whole thesis.
As proof that JM accepted the counterarguments against his idea of a national government veto, Banning claims that JM never tried to push that idea again after his writing of The Federalist. In this, I think he can be shown to be, at least, partially wrong. When JM first introduced his Bill of Rights proposal to the first Congress, his fifth Amendment stated "No state shall violate the equal rights of conscious, or the freedom of the press, or the trial by jury in criminal cases." It seems to me to be arguable that JM was trying to get through as much of a national veto as he thought possible. The theoretician was trimming his sails to the political winds. This is not a bad thing. Most any reasonable reformer will take what they can get.
But it speaks to one of the central tensions in JM's thought and Banning's revisionism. JM obviously believed that any government, to be legitimate, had to be founded on the people. But he did not trust the people to behave, to not become a "factious" majority willing to strip the rights
of some minority. As far as I can read, JM or Banning's version thereof never gives us a definition of what sets off a "factious" majority from a majority pursuing the true interests of the country. This is where Madison the politician enters. I often feel that JM, like Jefferson, was willing to take advantage of political changes and that they were more than willing to alter or bend their philosophies to do so. When they were out of power, it was easy to be consistent theorists. Once in power, it turned out that there were more things to deal with than dreamed of in their philosophies. Unlike Prof. Banning, I am okay with that. I do not feel that Banning succeeds in explaining away this tendency of JM's. I suggest that when you read this book that you keep a copy of the Library of America's edition of Madison's Writings near to hand. It contains most of the papers that JM wrote which Banning uses. Read each one before you read the corresponding section of Banning and see if you always agree with what Banning makes of that particular writing. I did not.
Have I learned from the reading of this book? Yes, yes, O my yes. This is an extraordinarily learned book written with a generous and respectful scholastic spirit. Banning has changed much of how I read Madison if not as much as he might have wished. But the real pleasures of this book have to do as much with spending time with Lance Banning's intellect and spirit as those of JM.
In fact, perhaps the highest compliment I can pay the author is that I think that James Madison would have found him a kindred spirit.
One final note: the Liberty Fund is publishing a volume this summer edited by David Womersley entitled Liberty and American Experience in the Eighteenth Century. It will contain what is probably Banning's last publication- an article entitle, "Federalism, Constitutionalism, and Republican Liberty: The First Constructions of the Constitution". I plan to be among the first to read it. Do I have my geek on or what?

Madison finally revealed.......2001-03-22

Lance Bannings book is excellent, and long ovedue. History has left us a view of Madison that suggested he was Jefferson's lieutenant, an apostate to his nationilistic views in the 1790's, one view even diminished him to a 'trimmer' of ideas. The average person knows little of the Father of the Constituion, and as Jack Rakove stated at Princeton this February passed, we are learning what Madison always knew. Most views of Madison are not the result of individual study and research, many opinions of Madison arise from previous treatments. Banning began with the exchanges of Madison and found the consistency Madison always claimed. The actual history of Madison reveals an enormously capacious, hard working force behind the Constituion, Bill of Rights,The Federalist Papers, 41 years of public service, and the workings and definition of goverment. Viewed by friend and political foes as, brilliant and ' one adept at committee work and reasoned argument, one who could be depended on to speak and write with precision and force what others could express but vauely and in part.' Banning has surpassed those before him in Madisonian scholarship, by ardously discovering The Real Madison. The attention to detail is excellent, and the scholarship is not self defending just revealing. As Madison's true nature unfolds the consistency is revealed, from lieutenant to an independent thinker, and finally to the proper position of one the key thinkers behind American government. Being one dependent on scholars for my view of history, and granting then occaisonally the keepers of arcanum a merit they do not deserve, it is refreshing to have Lance Bannings contribution not only to Madisonian scholarship, but also to American History. The ongoing efforts by Dave Mattern and the Papers of James Madison have brought enormous information to light in the last few years, and it appears the work of Banning may be the beginning of Madison taking his deserved place in our history and common parlance, a parlance altered by the independent and ardous study this book represents.

Repetative, yet excellent reinterpretation.......1998-08-24

Banning's book is a repetative, prolonged and far too lengthy an essay. He imaginatively and masterfully reinteprets Madison's ideas and actions as a member of several deliberative bodies that preceeded and followed the writing and ratification of the Constitution, finding him to be consistent throughout in his views on a central government and the powers of the states. The reading can be somewhat tedious for its redundancies, but worth the effort. Bannings scholarship is impecable, yet the book ought to be only an article in a scholarly journal.

Taken by Storm: The Media, Public Opinion, and U.S. Foreign Policy in the Gulf War (American Politics and Political Economy Series)

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Taken by Storm: The Media, Public Opinion, and U.S. Foreign Policy in the Gulf War (American Politics and Political Economy Series)

Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0226042596

Book Description

In the most comprehensive study of the media and foreign policy, twenty distinguished scholars and analysts explain the role played by the mass media and public opinion in the development of United States foreign policy in the Gulf War.

Tracing the flow of news, public opinion, and policy decisions from Sadam Hussein's rise to power in 1979, to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, through the outbreak and conclusion of the war, the contributors look at how the media have become key players in the foreign policy process. They examine the pre-war media debate, news coverage during and after the war, how the news-gathering process shaped the content of the coverage, and the media's effect on public opinion and decision makers. We see what goes on behind the scenes in the high tech world of political communication, and are confronted by troubling questions about the ways the government managed coverage of the war and captured journalists at their own news game.

Taken by Storm also examines more general patterns in post-Cold war journalism and foreign policy, particularly how contemporary journalistic practices determine whose voices and what views are heard in foreign policy coverage. At stake are the reactions of a vast media audience and the decision of government officials who see both the press and the public and key elements of the policy game.

The first book to fully integrate our understanding of the news business, public opinion, and government action, Taken by Storm transcends the limits of the Gulf War to illuminate the complex relationship between the media, the public, and U.S. foreign policy in the late twentieth century.

Into the Mouth of the Cat: The Story of Lance Sijan, Hero of Vietnam

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A very inspirational book
Inspiring
Conflicted:
Into the Mouth of the Cat
Worth Remembering

Into the Mouth of the Cat: The Story of Lance Sijan, Hero of Vietnam
Malcolm McConnell
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393325482

Book Description

Lance Sijan was always a special kind of person: as a kid growing up in the Midwest; as a cadet who made his mark in the Air Force Academy. But it took Vietnam to show how special he was—in an epic of jungle survival and prison-camp defiance. On the night of November 9, 1967, Sijan was ejected from his crippled fighter-bomber over the steep mountains of Laos. Although critically injured and virtually without supplies, he evaded capture in savage terrain for six weeks. Finally caught and placed in a holding camp, he overpowered his guards and escaped, only to be captured again. He resisted his interrogators to the end, and he died two weeks later in Hanoi. His courage was an inspiration to other American prisoners of war, and he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Customer Reviews:

A very inspirational book.......2007-05-16

While in the USAF, back in 1987, I had first read this book. This is the type of book, that, when you begin to read it, you cannot put it down until it is finished. The author writes in a very easy to read style, no "big" words, but, is very descriptive and detail orientated in his telling of Sijan's heroism. Although, this is a war "related" story, I feel that it is not a "War Story". Malcolm McConnell, through his attention to detail, chronicles the extremely brave and selfless actions of an otherwise ordinary man from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After I had originally read this, 1987, I was so overwhelmed by the author's accurate depiction of what had been "Folk Lore" in the Bay View area of Milwaukee. Because of this book, I have always thought of Sijan, and all that he had endured, whenever an obstacle or challenge is placed before me. This is a very inspirational book. As I was driving on Kinnickinnic Avenue in Bay View, I passed by a Flag that is displayed right next to the road, in a little ballpark that is named Lance Sijan Field. And, every time that I pass it, I instinctively Salute. But, this time, I also bought this book, actually, four, one for my Father, two for my Brothers, and, of course, one for myself. By the way, this time, again, I had also read it in one sitting!

Inspiring.......2006-01-06

I read this story years ago and remember being inspired by the courage of this young man. One reviewer stated that his plane was shot down, I thought that the bombs he was dropping detonated prematurely and caused the crash. Regardless, it's a great story about a guy who never gave up.

Conflicted:.......2005-02-01

While I am inclined to agree with the title of a previous review "great story, terrible book", I would not go so far as to say it was a "terrible" book. However, for some reason (I am just a reader) McConnells writing did not pull me in and hold me.
Further, while Sijan's story is incredible and moving, (crawling on his back in a severely injured condition for 45 days and some 5-6 miles to reach an enemy transport road) I still have not justified in my own mind why he persisted in tactics that ensured his death.
I did not want him to escape, I wanted him to survive (as did his fellow prisoners.) I can only consider that in his condition he was unable to think clearly/rationally. Which lends itself not so much to bravery as it does to insanity. i.e. he considered allowing capture by the enemy while still in the jungle in order to procure life sustaining food and water but decided against it for surely he would be killed. Yet, once captured (the first time) and given some care, he persisted in escaping before he was in any condition to do so with a reasonable chance of survival, even if he wasn't recaptured.

Into the Mouth of the Cat.......2004-07-15

I just re-read Into the Mouth of the Cat by the military historian, Malcolm McConnell. It is an undisputed classic--undisputed execpt for that jerk Amazon reviewer from Ft. Campbell, KY who stated, erroneously, in 2001 that Mcconnell "never served." He served as an Army enlistedman in 1957-58, but more importantly, he served as a civilian intelligence officer in the Congo in the 1960s and in Vietnam. I know because I was there with him. Unlike Ft. Campbell, McConnell knows what combat is. His book shows this.

Worth Remembering.......2004-06-30

The rules say: The President may award, and present in the name of Congress, a medel of honor of appropriate design, with ribbons and appurtenances, to a person who, while a member of the Army, Navy or Air Force, distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyone the call of duty.

They also say that the actions of the person receiving the award cannot be performed while he is acting under orders, he must have originated the action himself, and that if the recipient had not performed this action other people would not have thought less of him.

That's a pretty tall order. Lance Sijan won the medal in Viet Nam. What more can you really say of him that has any meaning?

Book Description

No soldier went off to the Civil War with quicker step than 17-year-old James Patrick Sullivan. A hired man on a farm in Juneau County, Wisconsin, he was among the first to anwer Lincoln's call for volunteers in 1861. Sullivan fought in a score of major battles, was wounded five times, and was te only soldier of his regiment to enlist on three separate occasions.

Am Irishman in the Iron Brigade is a collection of Sullivan's writings about his hard days in President Lincoln's Army. Using war diaries and letters, the Irish immigrant composed nearly a dozen revealing accounts about the battles of his brigage-Brawner Farm, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg as well as the fighting of 1864. Using his old camp name, "Mickey of Company K," Sullivan wrote not so much for family or for history, but to entertain his comrades of the old Iron Brigade. His stories-overlooked and forgotten for more than a century- are delightful accounts of rough-hewn "Western" soldiers in the Eastern Army of the Potomac. His Gettysburg account, for example, is one of the best recollections of that epic battle by a soldier in the ranks. He also left a from-the-ranks view of some of the Union's major soldiers such as George McClellan, Irvin McDowell, John Pope, and Ambrose Burnside.

An Irishman in the Iron Brigade is in part the story of the great veterans' movement which shaped the nation's politics before the turn-of-the-century. Troubled by economic hardship, advancing age, and old war injuries, Sullivan turned to old comrades, his memories, and writing, to put the great experiences of his life in perspective.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful resource.......2003-12-10

I must say I was thrilled to come across this book here. James Patrick Sullivan was my great-great grandfather and I knew little about my ancestors before. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a glimpse of a soldier's recollections of the War Between the States.

JP.......2003-10-23

This is a thoroughly enjoyable book for me, as I am the great-granddaughter of Mickey Sullivan, or "JP" as we Sullivans call him. I read this book before visiting Gettysburg and so was able to retrace his steps. Gettysburg has an surreal quality about it and still seems alive with the spirits of those who fought there. JP was fortunate to come home from that war. Books such as these that speak with the actual words of the soldiers help you to understand the times and the feelings of those who fought there.

Lance Herdegen brought my great-grandfather to life for me - an opportunity I would never have experienced if this book had not been written. I have also listened to Mr. Herdegen speak, telling stories about the Civil War, about the "Western" soldiers from Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Native Americans, who enlisted as "French-Canadians" since as native americans they were considered at that time to be "foreign" peoples...how incredible that seems to us now.

The Civil War will long hold interest and mystery. I think you will enjoy this book, as well as the others written by Lance Herdegen. He is a great authority on the Civil War

Dragonlance War Of The Lance (Dragonlance)
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Good Sourcebook

Must for War of the Lance Lovers.

Dragonlance at its best!

Good times

Dragonlance War Of The Lance (Dragonlance)
Margaret Weis , Tracy Hickman , and Jamie Chambers
Manufacturer: Sovereign Press Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Customer Reviews:

Good Sourcebook.......2006-11-10

This is an invaluable DM tool for planning a campaign in Krynn during everyone's favorite war. The maps are typically subpar. The best maps are available for free to download however.

Must for War of the Lance Lovers........2006-03-22

Anything that you want to know about the War of the Lance is in this book. From the way the armies moved, the size of the dragonarmies, to who controlled what land during what portion of the war. So not only is this a great must for gamers, but is also a must for those who loved the Chronicles.

Dragonlance at its best!.......2005-07-26

This book is a must for anyone gaming in the Dragonlance setting. It details the lands and atmosphere of Ansalon during the time of the War of the Lance. It also includes adventure ideas for DMs that want to add a little something to the War of the Lance. Buy yourself a copy or ten, you'll be glad you did.

Good times.......2005-01-01

This book is a great blast from the past. It contains some DL history during the Time of Troubles. Updates important characters to D20. Has new spells, and items. Many artifacts from the War of the Lance. Some PRCs. Talks about the lack of divine magic during the time. Has great art. Talks about what's going on with the nations at the time. This is a favorite time for fans in the DL setting. If you like DL, you must get this book.

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