Far Tortuga is one of the finest works of fiction I have ever read. Had this book been written a hundred years ago, we wouldn't be comparing Matthiessen to Conrad today (as happens often), because Matthiessen's writing is so much better. This book's prose is mytho-poetical, gorgeous, and shorn of everything that is not necessary (unlike Conrad's heavy-handedness). Even though we (ironically) live in an age of some fine writing, the frenzy of life and the vulgarity of taste of most people is such that a book like Far Tortuga comes along, gains some readers, gets some good reviews, and is forgotten. It's not Matthiessen's fault; it's just that anything today of real quality is noticed by fewer and fewer people. Far Tortuga is a dream. Please read it, you won't be disappointed.

Any other writer might use an entire paragraph to describe a sunrise in the opening passages of a novel, but in "Far Tortuga" Peter Matthiessen does it with just one word: "Daybreak." Matthiessen boils down the physical descriptions of the novel's settings to short present tense sentences. Opening up the book the reader almost feels he or she is looking at a screenplay minus the technical directions. Example: "Shade trees, a small waterfront of green and pink pastels. Soft air of sunrise. Birdsong and bicycle bell. Sweet rot, tin roofs, bougainvilleaea. Cock Crow. Three walking figures and a dog." Despite this minimilist approach, indeed because of it, Far Tortuga succeeds in evoking the look and feel of a location far better than with a more conventional writing style.

Far Tortuga tells the story of a handfull of superstitious turtle fisherman from Grand Cayman as they begin a voyage late in the hunting season of 1968. Not only do they fight the rising seas, but fight among themselves with results that range from comic to tragic. They encounter rival turtlemen, a frightening white object that hovers just beneath the ocean waves (dead whale?), a mysterious man in a blue boat that speaks not a word, and the desolate island of Far Tortuga.

Most of the story is told through the spoken words of the characters, written in Carribean islander dialect that would do Mark Twain proud: "I thinkin dat dese old rocks was ballast. Call dem kellecks, huh?" "Prob'ly de back-time people not speak English good as we do, Speedy, so dey say kellecks."

However, the printed word is only a part of the story. The simplistic illustrations of Kenneth Miyamoto suggest sunrises, sunsets, night skys, storms and ocean horizons. They compliment the text perfectly and serve as unique dividers between chapters and subchapters. One cannot imagine the book without them.

For the most unusual and gratifying reading experience of a lifetime, pick up a copy of Far Tortuga.

This book is truly a masterpiece. There is nothing else like it: where are "Heart of Darkness" or "The Old Man and the Sea" in comparison to it? I've been reading it for 15 or 20 years, and I find it intensely moving and fresh every time I pick it up. I consider it one of the best 6 or 8 novels (in English, certainly) of the passing century. READ THIS BOOK!!!!!

Matthiessen is a poet, even in didactic nonfiction like "Wildife in America". Tell me, is there a better or more beautiful image anywhere than the sinking turtle which Speedy releases at the end of "Far Tortuga"?

For too many years Matthiessen has been an international treasure, a writer of enormous breadth and incomparable depth, without the recognition he deserves for a lifetime of work. Isn't it time he received a Nobel Prize?????

This map, along with the others they publish, is the one thing you must have before travelling to Cancun. It will make your trip so much more enjoyable, because you will never be lost.

If you've ever gone to a strange city and tried to find your way around, you know how frustrating it can be. With this map, you can fly into Cancun International Airport and know where your hotel is right off the bat, from having studied at home before leaving. You'll know where the restaurants are, too, leaving more time to enjoy your vacation and less time spent trying to find your way around. There is info on taxi zones and costs, local bus info, even shows a bike path along the hotel zone. I've been to Cancun several times, and still use the map to find places. Its not an American Express Card, but don't leave home without this map, either.

This is my BIBLE when I go to Cancun. So much care and detail has gone into this map. I learn and find new things all the time using it. It is VERY easy to use and read. If there is one reference you buy before your trip - this should be the one!!!

Not only has Ms. Rosenburg done a spectacular gob in writing an extremely readable book, she provides her audience vivid decriptions using a very personal approach that employs the use of specific people, their experiences and dilemmas. She also provides her audience with the neccessary historical and enviromental (social, politial and economic) information to put these personal and organizational accouts into the cotexts neccessary for reader to truely appriecate the psychology of the forces driving these extaordinary historical events.

Moreover, Ms. Rosenburg provides the reader with six different cases from six differnet countries. From Escobar's Medellin to Argentina's "Dirty War", she examines and analyzes different types of violence motivated by unique sets of circumstances.

I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN; A MUST READ FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN LATIN AMERICA!

This is the second book by Tina Rosenberg I have read. The first one was Haunted Land about Eastern Europe after the fall of communism, which I also highly recommend. I'm so pleased with Rosenberg's style that I'm after her book on South Africa as well.

For almost a decade Rosenberg traveled through Latin America not shying away from really messy situations trying to make sense of a history of violence and very little respect for human rights. Tina experienced many of the situations herself such as being soaked with diluted acid by the police in the streets of Santiago, Chile, during marches against Pinochet or taking a nightmarish truck bed trip through guerrilla infested Peru. The Latin American economic, political and military elites also had their points of view captured by Rosenberg resulting, as far as I can tell, in a very well balanced collection of personal perspectives on the problem - violence in Latin America - intermingled with background historical information.

Rosenberg is very competent in summarizing the recent history and the roots of violence in Latin America. The author brings the historical review to life by interviewing perpetrators and victims. Violence in Latin America as viewed by Rosenberg emanates from a history of inequality. The native populations and the unwillingly imported black slaves and their descendants have been for five centuries exploited and victimized by greedy white Europeans. The resulting instable societies in turn fall prey of guerrilla groups, organized crime, drug lords, or the old fashioned military economic and political elites. The victimized population looses faith in the state and became passive or takes matters on their own hands solving social problems or even threatening or overthrowing governments. To tip the balance back the oligarchies can inevitably count on the CIA for supposedly counter insurgency help.

It's a chilling book with no solution on sight and Rosenberg didn't even include some remarkable facets of violence in Latin America such as domestic violence in a notably sexist society and the petit and not so petit common crime. Colombia is the first market worldwide for bulletproof cars - Brazil is the second.

It's an important book mainly for American readers since it shows the impact of American interference. Sadly it offers no solution - maybe there isn't.

Leonardo Alves - Tucson, Arizona - June 2002

This is the best book on Latin America I've ever read--it is extremely accessible for people who know nothing about Latin America, and for those who do, it is a major contribution to our understanding of the region. Rosenberg's vinnettes and explanations of the violence seemingly endemic to Latin America are brilliantly written and compelling. She captures the essense of the countries she writes about, and deftly explains their histories so that we understand the reasons for the violence. We can no longer just hear about the violence plaging Latin America and see it as irrational, wondering where it came from. Wonderful portraits of the perpetrators of violence, marking Rosenberg as different from the throngs of writers--journalists and others--who have focused on the victims of violence, on the corpses and grewsome stories. More attention needs to be given to the perpetrators and also those who live with such violence, who watch it and become numb to it, including ourselves. A major contribution to Latin American studies and the study of violence.

What a fantastic idea to bring all the latin american countries together for Christmas. One learns what each country's customs and rituals are during this special time of the year. I mostly enjoyed the CD which comes with the book because the music warms you all over. I especially enjoyed the the colorful illustrations of Mr. Fernando Reinoso which gives the book a touch of spirituality. I definitely will be giving this book as a Christmas present to friends and relatives. Enjoy!

My family and I really enjoyed this Christmas book. It contained very good music and illustraions with a latin touch. I recommend this book for the die-hard Christmas fan.

Navidad Latinoamerica is a classic in its own right. It is so comprehensive in its collection of Latin American cultural stories, that it will no doubt be used as a historical reference or source for its subject matter in the future. Navidad Latinoamerica is more valuable because it is written in its native tongue, Spanish, and conveniently has the English translation of the Christmas stories beside it. Most valuable of all is the artwork, each page of which can stand on its own, which makes the flow of the stories so real. The depiction of the Christmas story with a Latin American flavor is beautifully accomplished. I cannot express how valuable such a book is in today's world where cultures meld from border to border. Every home and public library should have such a valuable book on its shelf.

I tend to prefer a good nonfiction survival story, and this was one of the best I have ever read. Most people in survival situations are there without choice, Armando Validares along with a segment of Cuban society were imprisoned because they valued their freedom of thought in a Cuban society intolerant of dissent. These political prisoners have only to accept the garb of a common prisoner or attend political re-education classes to receive better treatment. The author and fellow prisoners endured inhumane tortures because of their belief and values. The prisoners have maintained their courage, defiance, and solidarity for years while undergoing all that Castro's regime can bear upon them to make them yield. It is truly heroic. During many of the beatings the prisoners would still manage to yell an anti-communist slogan or quote a Bible verse to the enraged guards. This book demonstrates the willpower a human being has to value an idea or goal above life itself. The ordeal, while completed by the author is continuing for many of his comrades and fellow citizens. Other interesting aspects of this book show a wider view of the struggle such as, the inner workings of the Castro regime, and highlights the deception of his political statements denying the existence of political prisoners. It also shows the force of world opinion and organizations such as the UN and Amnesty International upon Totalitarian governments. All in all, the main effect of this book was a deep admiration for these prisoners holding to a principle while enduring all that a modern totalitarian government can bring to bear upon them. These men routinely have the basics of life withheld, clothing, warmth, food, water, and sleep, but still they endure and refuse to buckle under. They remain true to their conscience. Common criminals and civilians employed in the prisons routinely are touched enough to help these political prisoners because their condition is so pathetic. The Castro Regime's answer to this is to have these prisoners isolated and tended to by militant party members only. Still threads of news managed to reach the outside world to inform it of the existence of these political prisoners and their actions. The fact that this has gone on and is continuing close to American shores really hits home. This book is now my standard for judging all other survival books. I give it the highest rating. Very well done. It is a story that had to be told. World notoriety made it very unlikely that the author could quietly die in a Cuban prison and world appeals to release him finally made Castro relent. This is his story of twenty-two years in the Cuban penal system.

When I read this book I had to put it down at least seven different times; the barbaric cruelty of the jailers was that upsetting. For little more than a token show of distaste for Marxism, Valladares was imprisoned under the harshest conditions imaginable. The mind numbing sadism goes on chapter after chapter until you can't imagine how a man could put up with it. Valladares, thru sheer faith and belief that he'll survive, finds a way to survive the drawer cells, the white room, the extended solitary confinement in total darkness, the sleep deprivation, the horrible food, the immersion in a lake of human excrement, the brutal beatings and having to witness fellow prisoners maimed and killed.

His health, particularly his lung tissue, was permanently damaged. The description of his injury and its aftermath in the wake of his attempt to escape made me wince repeatedly. Having been on crutches 15 times myself I could feel his pain. God bless Amnesty International for helping to spring this guy.

When I read about the excoriation that Ron Radosh and David Horowitz endure from their former communist comrades I want to suggest that the complinants go live in Cuba and ply their demogoguery there. Then they can do time in Castro's jails and give us their opinion about his glorious revolution.

Read "Guerilla Prince" by Geyer as a compliment to this book; it's the story of Castro's life. Fidel, whatta guy. Valladares adds to the extensive record of what a horrifying sadist we have ruling an island prison 90 miles from our shores. All American communists-progressives-socialists should read this book, for perspective if nothing else.

In this autobiographical narrative of his twenty-two years as a Cuban political prisoner, Valladares graphically recounts the executions, beatings and sadistic tortures that became commonplace in Cuba's prisons. During his "travels" within the vast Cuban prison complex, Valladares crosses paths with the "Plantados," the brave men and women who refused "reeducation" inside Castro's jails, and who paid a terrible price as a result. More than a recounting of the horrors of Cuba's gulag, this book is an inspiring testimonial to the capacity of faith and love to overcome hatred and extreme cruelty. Sixteen years after its original publication, Against All Hope remains the authoritative English-language account of the worst abuses committed by the Castro regime. It adds yet another devastating chapter to the growing body of documentation on the crimes of totalitarianism in the 20th century. No one who reads this book will ever again see Fidel Castro and his revolution in the same light.

AT THE HANDS OF PERSONS UNKNOWN will change your view of American history and race relations.

Mr. Dray's book is awesome. I have read more books on African-American history (Jim Crow, civil rights etc.) than I can count. Mr. Dray's book is simply the best.

Be prepared to be shocked and have your emotions touched. Mr. Dray describes the most horrible shameful acts in graphic details. He destroys the all the popular myths such as:lynchings were isolated acts by fringe elements such as the KKK, lynchings were the result of rapes or murders and that guilty "men" were simply "hanged".

The reality is much more gruesome, to the point that it makes one sick with shame. (Imagine the movie ROSEWOOD, intensified by 10X) Thousands of African-Americans (men, women and children) were tortured, mutilated, burned to death in the most sadistic ways a normal person in 2003 could not imagine. For many decades these lynchings did take place in the shadows by the KKK, but in picnic-like style in town squares in front of men, women and children!

Southern politians defended lynching as a way to "protect the southern way of life" against the "black brutes". AT THE HANDS OF PERSONS UNKNOWN leaves know doubt as to who the real brutes were.

Mr. Dray also includes the stories of many heroes such as Walter White, Ida B Wells and others who fought to expose lynching.

One closing comment- if you are a non-African-American, PLEASE read this book.

Dray notes that he knew very little about lynchings when he began his research for this book; I knew very little about this subject until after I read his book. Perhaps I am not unique in that much of what I think I know and understand about U.S. history has depended to a significant extent on films and television programs. ... Many of the lynchings described in Dray's book would be deemed today as "unsuitable for viewing" by the general public and thus would never be fully portrayed in a film or television program. And yet, for reasons Dray explains, many of the lynchings attracted large and enthusiastic crowds (which included women and small children) and were scheduled to accommodate as many people as possible. Several hangings were preceded by dismemberment and burning.

...

Dray's book is not primarily about such situations, although he traces lynching back to the American Revolution when Charles Lynch literally took the law into his own hands and hanged Tories who had stolen from him. A local court then exonerated his behavior. Dray explains that before the Civil War, more whites than blacks were lynched; that is, hanged without due process. It was only during the decades after the war ended that lynching became inextricably bound with racial strife as blacks were hanged in a progressively greater number and higher percentage than whites. Dray's extensive research of this period (roughly 1865-1900) provides some of the most interesting material in the book and his analysis of it is both rigorous and revealing. In many instances, the identities of those who conducted lynchings were concealed by white sheets or masks. Later, it was common to place a hood over the heads of those executed (after due process) by military, federal, or state officials.

I view Dray as both an historian and an anthropologist. He tries hard to understand (and to help his reader to understand) why human beings throughout U.S. history grabbed a rope and hanged another human being. (For a period of time, multiple hangings were not uncommon.) Obviously, some of the lynchers who ignored due process were absolutely convinced that they were agents of justice; the motives of others are also understandable, perhaps, but nonetheless contemptible. I am grateful to Dray for the extensive research he completed and even more for his analysis of what that research revealed. Some readers may quarrel with some of his conclusions. (I am unqualified to do so.) However, I think almost all readers will view this book as an important contribution to our understanding of a recurrent pattern of behavior which, until now (at least for me), has been neglected, ignored, or worse yet denied.

This book is easily the best book I have read so far this year. Dray explains how otherwise model citizens could murder, in the most brutal manners imaginable, Black (usually) Americans for imagined to minor transgressions (True, doubtless some of the lynched were guilty of the crimes they were accused of....Readers will be tempted to justify mob justice this way. Dray won't let you do this...the retribution is always excessive and driven by hate and fear, and completely devoid of anything resembling civilized justice). Coming from the South, I have taken classes on lynching before, so the pages Dray dedicated to explaining the origins of lynching were not nearly as compelling as his historical and legal analyses. Often one reads history books and still has trouble putting the events into context. Not so with this book. Dray captures the mood and hysteria of the times perfectly.

Dray also does a wonderful job of showing that lynching was not merely an aberration of Southern justice inflicted on Black men. Instead, lynching is described as a national sickness, with Black men, women, and children, White civil rights sympathizers, and Jewish people being the victims of the mob violence, both in the North and the South. Dray shows how the international image of the United States was tarnished during a time when it was supposed to be the vangaurd of democracy, opposed to a German facism that was cruelly mimicked on its own soil. He also pays tribute to the men and women of the NAACP and other like-minded organizations who had the gall to oppose mob murder. The ultimate failure of any federal anti-lynching law is a startling example of how ingrained lynching was in the national (especially the Southern) psyche.

This narration forced me to reexamine my own education about lynching. Before college (I'm from Georgia), I had never heard of Leo Frank, the 1906 Atlanta race riots, or Sam Hose. But I certainly had heard more than enough about the Salem witch trials. For these reasons it is required reading for Americans in general, and especially Southerners.

(warning: obviously, some of this book is difficult to read, as recountings of the lynchings are appropriately graphic and monstrous)

The Inhabited Woman is a beautifully written story. It takes place in an unspecified Central American country. Briefly, it intertwines the story of a modern-day young woman with a woman warrior fighting the Spanish Conquistadores. The spirit of the warrior grows into an orange tree in the woman's yard, and eventually enters her body to share her experience. The story blends romance, revolution, history and spirituality, exploring the role of women in each. One of the most enjoyable books I have read of late

The Inhabited Woman is a thought-provoking book that takes you on an adventure you won't want to end. Lavinia is a Nicaraguan architect "inhabited" by the spirit of Itza, an indigenous warrior killed centuries ago while fighting for her country. With Itza in her blood, Lavinia finds herself torn between her "normal" upper-class existence and her sense of social responsibility, which, together with her love for the revolutionary Felipe, sends her into a new world of danger and heroism. Analysing and challenging social norms of class and gender, The Inhabited Woman is an excellent combination of theory and story that entraps you so that you won't want to put it down.

Gioconda Belli is one of Nicaragua's most highly regarded writers. Her poetry and fiction have been published in Spain, Mexico, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Finland, Greece and Turkey. She currently lives in Los Angeles. THE INHABITED WOMAN was awarded "Best Literary Work of the Year" by the Union of German Publishers and Editors.

"[It] is a passionate story of love, courage, solidarity and death, where reality and legend blend harmoniously. The lives of the characters are intertwined with the destiny of a country and the struggle of a people for dignity. There is so much truth in this book, that it is impossible for the reader to remain indifferent. This is a story that needed to be told and Belli does it with talent." --Isabel Allende

"THE INHABITED WOMAN is engrossing, reading like an action adventure...[it] opens on a stunning, magical note..." --The Daily News

"THE INHABITED WOMAN revitalizes two literary genres that in recent years seemed to have lost their grips on the imagination of new writers and, as a matter of course, readers-magic realism and social realism." --The Hartford Courant

I found Mr. McCullough's book about the building of the Panama Canal to be well written, extra-well researched, and highly entertaining! I would recommend this book to anyone who truly wants to know what it took to build such an engineering marvel. Having lived in Panama twice and visited on many occasions, I can attest to the fact Mr. McCullough's book is THE SOURCE for accurate information on the canal and it's builders (both French and American efforts). I would also recommend purchasing the NOVA video, which Mr. McCullough narrates, called "A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama". He even quotes out of his own book on screen! I've never read a book so intricately and fastidiously researched. MUST READING for the true Canal enthusiast.

So riveting is David McCullough's account of the construction of the Panama Canal, that it is one of the few works of nonfiction outside of the sciences that I have read twice. He chrnoicles a mesmerizing saga of despair and triumph, starting with Ferdinand de Lesseps disastrous attempt at building a sea level canal through the disease-infested jungles of Panama. The second half covers the American effort at building the Panama Canal, a project as grandiose as developing the atomic bomb or landing men on the moon. McCullough describes the groundbreaking work of Dr. Gorgas' team of doctors and nurses in combatting malaria and yellow fever; their success made possible the canal's eventual completion by U. S. Army engineer George Goethals. While McCullough does a splendid job in providing facts and figures with his graceful prose, he also excels in recounting the lives of many of the prominent figures associated with the Panama Canal's construction. For example, McCullough describes General Goethals' substantial role after the United States' entry into World War I and his subsequent work as the first chief engineer of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Indeed, if there is a hero in this saga, it most certainly has to be General Goethals. Along with McCullough's history of the Brooklyn Bridge's construction, this has to rank as one of the most spellbinding tales written about American technological ingenuity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

I hold a personal interest in the Canal as I have just visited it and am a direct descendant of Col. David Gaillard one of the American engineers of the Canal, and all everyone in Panama told me was to read Mr. McCullough's account of its creation. As a history major in school, I read many great and many bland histories; this book ranks in as one of the most captivating books I have read, fiction or non-fiction. Even if one does not have any previous interest in the Canal, after the first pages you will become hooked. McCullough writes with such elegant prose and interesting humor, that the story unfolds like a Victorian novel. From the incredible cast of characters (from Ferdinand de Lessups to Teddy Roosevelt), the intrigue, the conspiracies, the romance, the quest for one of Man's greatest achievements explodes into an incredible book that will keep the reader thinking about the Canal for years to come...and will compel the same reader to venture to this tropical country and view the incredible "8th Wonder of the World" himself.

When shelley gill came to our school she was cool and funny. I liked this book because I liked the colors and the fog woman

I liked The Last Amercain Rainforest because,it has beautiful pictures and creative writing.I love your book because,it's amazing and,I want to buy it.I liked the Wind and the Raven in your story,because,the Raven and the Wind are beautiful. Shelley Gill came to Ashley River .

I like it when you came to our shcool.I like dogs, too.The books you read were good.We are happy that you came here.The Last American Rainforest was a good book because I like that book.I like the rain and the forest.I like It a lot.I have to go now.Have a good day.Bye!

"Democracy in America", published in two parts (the first in 1835, the second in 1840), is the great work of Alexis de Tocqueville, a young, aristocratic Frenchman, who traveled through most of the Eastern, Southern, and Midwestern United States during a 9 month period in 1832. Tocqueville had originally set out to study the U.S. prison system but what he saw inspired him to write about much, much more.

The foresight he had for such a young man is really impressive to read 160 years later. What he saw in the morals, work ethic and government structure of the United States led him to accurately predict many of the ways in which the U.S. would lead and has led the world. At the same time Tocqueville was not oblivious to many of the ills in the America he saw. He very wisely writes of the cancer that the institution of slavery was to not only all black Americans, but to the white, Southern farmers and workers as well.

I hate having to give these books "stars" for ratings because in many cases it takes away from the ultimate importance and classic status of a book like this one. Tocqueville does tend to jump around and venture off into different topics that don't fit with the rest of their chapter, which could be attributed to his youth. Also, a few of his predictions, naturally, were way off. A native Texan, I had a good laugh at his view that "the province of Texas is still part of the Mexican dominions, but it will soon contain no Mexicans." But overall Tocqueville's view of America was honest, accurate, and the perfect explanation of why, on a daily basis, people continue to risk their lives to gain the freedom that only the United States of America offers.

De Tocqueville was an amazing man who posessed amazing insight into the workings (and not-workings) of American society. One only laments the fact that he was not a middle caste American politician arguing amongst great minds during the Constitutional conventions. Then again, we are equally lucky of the fact that he was a curious Frenchman of the leisure class who happened to be passing through. This is what gives de Tocqueville the ability to refrain from emotionalism and give us an outsiders view of what makes America good, bad and just plain different.

See, de tocqueville recognizes, as did our founders, that liberty and democracy are key ingredients to a healthy society. On the other hand, he points out that too much freedom or democracy lead to lazy, public-opinion driven conformity, over-emphasis on materialism and restlessness. Another contradiction de tocqueville points out is that although self-government is generally a good idea, there are times when an all powerful aristocracy is just more efficient. He can see all sides.
The best part then is that de Tocqueville doesn't come to any final conclusion. He just observes and reports on America's inner workings as seen by an aristocratic Frenchman.

A few reccomendations to the de tocqueville virgins. First, as this is the unabridged, it may be advised to read the first book, pause to read something else, then read the second book. I read it straight through and found that not only would I have benefited from reflection, but much of the second book is a rehash the first. Second, keep in mind during the second book that the word 'democracy' is also de tocqueville's word for 'capitalism'. The word 'capitalism' would be introduced only years later by one Karl Marx. So when de tocqueville says that democracy increases industriousness, what the reader should hear is that capitalism increases industriousness. This in itself is a brilliant observation by de tocqueville. Democracy and capitalism really are the same thing, different scale. The producer, like the political candidate, cater to the consumer or the voter. Both systems allow the individual to choose the goods and services he wants and reject those he doesn't. This is why one may also want to read 'Wealth of Nations' with this book.

The only other thing I can tell the reader before he or she embarks on a fascinating reading adventure is to keep in mind why de tocqueville wrote the book. He intended it to be read by the french who were not familiar with or had misconceptions about America. Of course, it provides contemporary America with an amazing historical survey. Like the introductory exclamation to MTV's 'Diary' show says, "You think you know, but you have no idea".

The specific edition I am reviewing is the Heffner addition which is a 300 page abridgement. I also own an unabridged edition but I have only read Heffner cover to cover. What is amazing about de Toqueville is how uncanny many of his observations are over a century and a half later. He accurately predicted in 1844 that the world's two great powers would be the United States and Russia. He aptly pointed out that Americans are a people who join associations and he is so right 156 years later. Although there are both religious extremists on both ends, ie fundamentalists and atheists, he was dead on that, as a whole, we are a religious society but that our religious views are moderate. De Toqueville shows how American characteristics evolved from democracy as opposed to the highly class structered societies of Europe. From de Tocqueville, it could have been predicted that pop culture, such as rock music etc, would develop in America because the lack of an aristocracy causes a less cultured taste in the arts. In a thousand and one different ways, I found myself marveling at how dead on de Toqueville was. Most controversially, those who argue that we have lost our liberties to a welfare state might well find support in de Toqueville. Here, 100 years before the New Deal, he forsaw that a strong central government would take away our liberties but in a manner much more benign than in a totalitarian government. There are certain liberties that Americans would willingly sacrifice for the common good. Critics of 20th century liberalism in the US might well point to this as an uncanny observation. By reading "Democracy in America," the reader understands what makes Americans tick. De Toquville was an astute observer of who we are as a people and should be read by all educated Americans.

I want to note that there are several editions of this great work and in deciding which to buy, be aware that each has a different translator. I feel Heffner's translation is slightly stilted but, he did such a wonderful job in editing this abridgement that it, nontheless, deserves 5 stars.