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by Shirley P. Barnes
ISBN: 0970688407
Binding/Media: Paperback - 328 pages
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Copy in a very good condition with light reading wear, but has an inscription/ writing on the first page.
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Customer Reviews
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The Bloomsburg Review- Nancy Stohlman Yoho
Rating  (5)
Date: 2005-10-05
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
If ever there was a time to learn from history, that time is now. And if ever there was a book to vividly and compassionately walk us through a piece of history, that book is The War Cradle. Americans may remember Operation Babylift-the impassioned attempt to rescue Amerasian children (those fathered by American GIs) and Vietnamese orphans in the final weeks before Saigon fell to communism in April 1975. Shirley Peck-Barnes writes from her experience as head of the Continental Care Center in Denver, Colorado, the site chosen by Friends of the Children of Vietnam (FCVN) to house and transfer orphans to their new families. Edward J. Daly, president of World Airways,
set the precedent for what would become known as Operation Babylift. Defying military orders and red tape, using his own money,and risking all to fly orphans from war-ravaged South Vietnam. But Peck-Barnes doesn't distinguish between national heroes like Daly and those like Ross Meador, a 19 year old FCVN volunteer. Barnes says in her prologue: "Not all warriors carry guns. Some fight and equally fierce battle without them. This book is about that kind of valor It's about silent heroes. The kind we see every day yet do not recognize since they're not the stuff of legend, art, and adventure." Babylift had its critics, but in defense Barnes gently reminds readers
that one cannot look at Operation Babylift solely as an act of
humanitarianism toward a war-ravaged country, but suggests that especially in the case of the Amerasians, the U.S. had a moral responsibility to these children. The War Cradle will appeal to history lovers, readers of nonfiction, and military buffs, but this is an important book for all. Peck-Barnes' words, in the last pages, already have an eerie air of prophecy. "Books often come into existence to fill a need for awareness and more importantly, to provide answers. The War Cradle is an attempt to open the door on a subject that to date has had minimal exposure...What happened to the children of Vietnam will be forgotten unless the injustice is reverberated and the lessons learned. Sacrifice is wasted if nobody notices. It may be too late already in light of more recent tragedies involving the children of Bosnia, Romania, Somalia and other countries where chaos overtakes reasoning. Undeniably, history is repeating itself before our very eyes."
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Shirley's response to "Proud Vietnamese"
Rating  (3)
Date: 2005-08-08
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Please take a minute to read the "Proud Vietnamese" review of The War Cradle on
Amazon.com. This review has set the adoptee's cause back thirty years. For shame, when so much effort has gone into your story being the "voice" for the children of war TODAY. The writer is obviously someone who has either been on the trip or was not selected. The number on the manifest was set by World...I only did what was requested of me and am sorry that
this has reached a public posting level. I want to express my thanks for those of you who took the time to come and speak to me during those exciting/busy few days of "Homeward Bound," and appreciate my part in its conception.... and more importantly, for those who sent me a note afterwards.
I am not discouraged by the writer of "Proud Vietnamese" and will continue my efforts in speaking for the children of war. I have but one question for such critics...."Where is your book?"
Had they read The War Cradle, it was revealed that I spent several years in that part of the world during Korea and have first-hand knowledge of war and children.
It is a common fact that most non-fiction writers have not been through the
experience of which they write...but are objective to bring the facts and story to light.
To the writer of "Proud Vietnamese," you have my utmost sympathy regarding your slanting
views and have discredited your comarades by revealing yourself in such a public venue.
Maturity would have dictated that you take your issues to me personally, whatever they are. If you a were on the trip, a simple "thank you" would have been enough and would have recognized it for what it was....a gift of a lifetime . I am sorry it was not placed in that perspective and that you felt it necessary to discredit me publically.
As for the monetary gains, there are none. I have never been paid a royalty and have given more books away than sold....Until now, I thought it was all worth it. You have placed another perspective on my thirty years invovlement and now place the question that perhaps it was all for " naught." I think not...and hopefully, your counterparts will agree.
Thanks to those who have been supportive. Pocks to those who have not.
Best regards, Shirley
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Not True But Not False
Rating  (1)
Date: 2005-07-19
1 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
I am a Vietnamese Adoptee, and have no doubt that Ms. Peck-Barnes story of what took place in Denver at the Continental Care Center is accurate. However, how can a woman who never stepped foot in Vietnam until 2005 know what happened over there. Her sources at best are shaky and some of the people who are mentioned in her book are not alive to defend themselves or lend their opinions to her. [...] Read the book if you must then investigate all of the other people who cared for us in Vietnam, then talk to us see how we feel.
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#1 Writer's Digest Published Book Award
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-02-29
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
One of my top choices, this book was fascinating, well-researched,
very well organized, well-plotted, and very well written. The subject is
compelling and heartwarming. The author did a lovely job of really making me fall
in love with the characters, and then bringing them through this incredible,
important endeavor. I thought the interviews in the "Aftermath" section were
quite compelling-hearing things in the character's own words added a new
depth to the story. I wish the author had some more great blurbs and
endorsements to help sell this book-it really needs to be taken seriously.
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The War Cradle
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-02-21
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book is a "must read" for those seeking answers to the Vietnam
era. "The War Cradle" opens a much sought-after window to the past for
those adoptees in search of their roots. Barnes fulfills expectations of providing
a better understanding of the circumstances, events and people involved in
Operation Babylift. This book is a gift to all children of war and to history
itself
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by Tariq Ali
ISBN: 0394509218
Binding/Media: Paperback - 173 pages
Condition: Collectible: Very Good
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Library copy. Stated as First American Edition, 1980. Pages are yellowing due to age. Very good condition with no tears, marks, or highlighting.
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Customer Reviews
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Humorous yet informative
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-10-24
This book is a great starting point for Trotsky and at the same time a friendly introduction to the often confusing political situation in Russia during the period of the Alexander II's death and the Bolshevik revolution until Stalin. It integrates primary sources from contemporaries, including Bolsheviks and Trotsky himself, and some secondary source from historians that are particularly informative.
The book weaves through humorous and brief summaries of some stages of Trotsky's life (particularly his early life and conversion to Marxism) yet this is redeemed by its concise and very useful segments on complex issues such as Marxist ideology, the role of the Comintern, the various congresses of the Soviets/Communist party and united frontism. I found that the illustrations were actually quite useful and not simply humorous in many cases, such as the 'hear no evil, etc.' monkeys in the section on the power struggle.
However, it is after all a beginner's guide and the sections on Trotsky's role in the 1917 insurrection was lacking, as well as the Civil War. Nevertheless, I still recommend this book to high school students studying Trotsky and general Soviet history as an introductory text, and Trotsky enthusiasts regardless of their level of education as both an informative text and ultimately an entertaining read.
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History as a smart cartoon.
Rating (5)
Date: 2001-10-28
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
My favorite page of this book is page 84, which has some small print at the bottom of the page, "Lenin sees Trotsky's position as attractive but too risky." The illustration shows a three-way argument among the leaders of the Bolshevik Central Committee on how to get an immediate armistice with Germany in World War One, for which Trotsky had been sent to Brest-Litovsk to negotiate peace at the end of November 1917. Somehow, page 82 reported, "The Allied Powers are desperately against Russia signing a separate peace with Germany." Trotsky's position in the argument on page 84 nicely avoided the possibility of conflict with the Allied Powers, "Prolong the negotiations. No war - No Peace - till the German workers revolt!" According to page 83, "The peace delegation at Brest-Litovsk distributed pamphlets to the German soldiers." The cartoon shows a soldier looking at a page and exclaiming, "It says - shoot your officers!!" The Germans might not have been used to reading that kind of thing, but there is a historical Who's Who on pages 168 to 173 which shows how much support there was for this when someone's idea of justice supported it. The Who's Who contains anarchist activists like Vera Zasulich, a Narodnik militant who "Shot and wounded the Governor of St. Petersburg, General Tepov" [which might not be spelled correctly] because a Narodnik student "was flogged for failing to remove his hat in Trepov's presence. Her trial and acquittal by the jury caused a sensation and was popularly supported." (p. 173). Back on page 76, following a cartoon that looks a lot like some famous painting of the last supper, there is even a picture of Joseph Stalin, who praised Trotsky in Pravda for the "practical organisation of the insurrection" (The October Revolution) only 84 years ago in November 1917, but the picture is saying, "I said that? No - you must be thinking of some other Stalin!" The humor of history is perfect for a cartoon book like this, which is history at a level which everybody ought to be able to understand. Unfortunately for the Soviets, they were probably not aware of the work of the young Karl Kraus in Vienna during this period, who observed, "Satires which the censor understands are rightly prohibited." This book is too true to be considered satire in a thoroughly comic society like our own.
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A good introduction to Trotsky's thought
Rating (5)
Date: 2001-04-16
4 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
Lev Davydovich Bronstein A.K.A. Leon Trotsky was certainly a very complicated figure as this book shows. Early on he opposed Lenin's conception of the hierarchal, tightly centralized working class party and was very active in the Petersburg Soviet of 1905. Lenin accepted Trotsky's view of "permenant revolution" after the February 1917 revolution and Trotsky joined forces with him to oppose the liberals and leftists in the workers and soldiers soviet who supported handing over power to the liberal bourgeoisie, in the case of the leftists apparently because they thought the bourgeoisie should have their revolution first. The Bolsheviks won overwhelming majorities in the soviets accros the nation. They seized power from the liberals and then proceeded to liquidate their opposition which seemed to be excused by Trotsky on the ground of centralising power in order to fight the Whites and the imperialist invaders and the especially brutal "war communism" was instituted. Trotsky directed the violent repression of the workers and sailors at Kronstadt in 1921. He pretty much played the good solider, occasionally making noises about the suppression of democratic debate and the growing power of the bueracracy until Stalin consolidated his power after Lenin's death in 1924. He unwaveringly opposed Stalin who finally expelled him from the country in 1929. He was murdered under Stalin's orders in Mexico in 1940. Trotsky once in exile gave full flower to his best thinking. The bueracracy in the Soviet Union owned everything (the means of production,etc.) and would not give up power but perpetuate itself as dictatorships tend to do. Trotsky advocated destroying the bueracracy, reinstitue free debate and, according to Mr. Ali, wanted to "restore the Soviets." What this last means, I don't quite know. Does it mean he wanted to restore to them the power they held in 1917-18, as they were conceived to function during the revolution of 1905, perhaps even as the narodniks conceived them? Very interesting. Ali also points out that Trotsky saw clearly the menace of Hitlerism before just about everybody else did and advocated that the communists and social democrats join forces in a "united front" to try to stop Hitler which earned him even more violent abuse from Moscow and their sattelites in Germany. He vigorously attacked the "United Front" concept adopted at the seventh congress of the communist international in 1935 which called for Communists accross the world to join forces with social democrats and liberals in "popular fronts," effectively maintainging the status quo, which had such disasterous results in Spain during the civil war. I thought Phil Evans's illustrations were entertaining.
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Trotsky For Begginers
Rating  (4)
Date: 2000-02-09
5 out of 6 customers found this reveiw helpful
An excellent introduction to some very complex and confusing history. This biography of Leon Trotsky, also explores some very complex marxist theory. Historically, it covers not only Trotsky's life and idea's, but the Russian Revolution, the Russian civil war, and the usurpation of power of the fledgling workers democracy by Joseph Stalin and his co-conspiritors from the democratically elected politburo. This book is much more entertaining then the new "For Begginers" series, as it has much more artistic diversity, then the mostly cartoon, drawing style of the new books. It contains colages, and many photos of historical figures and events. Overall a great introduction to history, that is not taught in school.
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by Taras Kuzio, Andrew Wilson (Foreword: Norman Stone)
ISBN: 0333579992
Binding/Media: Hardcover - 274 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Gently read copy in like new condition. No reading/ shelf wear.
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by H. W. Brands
ISBN: 0521639689
Binding/Media: Paperback - 348 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Gently read copy in like new condition. No reading/ shelf wear.
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A Solid Effort!
Rating (3)
Date: 2001-06-02
3 out of 6 customers found this reveiw helpful
H. W. Brands provides an excellent historical review of the complexities of United States foreign policy. He analyzes all major foreign policy positions from the intellectual ground staked out by the major political writers of each period. This book is an invaluable tool for anyone who wishes to develop or supplement knowledge on the subject, up through the Reagan years. The reader must be prepared to invest time and effort to maximize the benefits from reading this book. However, it is worth the effort. We [...] recommend this book to anyone interested in United States foreign policy, and in relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.
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by Terry Wilfong
ISBN: 0472066129
Binding/Media: Paperback - 224 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. No publisher marks, no shelf wear.
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A useful and much needed addition to women's studies
Rating (4)
Date: 2003-07-09
5 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is a well-written book about women in Egypt from the late Byzantine to the early Arab rule of Egypt, or 6th-8th centuries AD. The book is based on the author's research using textual, archaeological and iconographic documentation excavated from the ruins of a Christian-Egyptian, Coptic, village, called Jeme. The primary audience of this book would include students and researchers of Egyptology, Coptology and Women `s studies, however the book would be of interest to a wider circle of readers. This book is a good addition to several previously published books about women in Egypt e.g. Gay Robbins about women in ancient Egypt, Sarah Pomeroy and Jane Rowlandson about women in Hellenic and Roman Egypt. It extends the study of women in Egypt to late antiquity.
The prevailing culture of ancient Egypt accorded women an equal status with men, with major emphasis on the family. Records from ancient Egyptian mythology and history include many independent and highly-respected women e.g. Isis an ancient Egyptian goddess whose worship expanded beyond Egypt to major cities in the Roman empire, and several capable rulers including Nitocris, Nefertiti, Hatshepsut and Cleopatra. Ordinary women were no less independent or capable. They engaged in trade, farming, and various crafts. They owned property and were full partners to their husbands in religious and social lives. The ancient Egyptian legal system recognized the equality of men and women. Though Greeks and Romans considered the status of women in ancient Egyptian to have been somewhat strange, women in Egypt continued to enjoy equality in the Hellenic and Roman eras. It is interesting to note that women, including those from Hellenic and/or Roman origin, preferred Egyptian courts, as they were culturally attuned to equality between men and women. But whereas a woman could represent herself in an Egyptian court, she needed a male representative "Kirios" to represent her in a Roman court.
The book shows that many Coptic women in Jeme took advantage of the relative mobility and independence available to them and acted outside the family and home as well as in it. Women were deeply involved in the economic, social and religious life of the town. However omens of a much diminished status for women after the Arabs conquest were on the horizon, as women shied away from pursuing legal proceedings in courts presided by Arab rulers or their assistants, and preferred instead to resort to proceedings in their local Coptic communities.
The book reviewed writing by one of the local bishops Pisentius 599-632 AD to illustrate what the expectations and ideals may have been for women's lives in that time. Pisentius writing emphasizes chastity, marriage and avoidance of divorce. Pisentius's writing led the author to conclude that the bishop and like-minded writers may have considered women as secondary derivations from men and hence inferior. This conclusion in our view may not be justified. Pesentius exhortations in the 6th century AD are not that much different from Protestant and Catholic preachers exhortations in the 21ist century. Contemporary American preachers also exhort men and women to pursue a life of virtue, get married, raise families and be responsible parents. This is not considered to delegate women to a secondary or inferior status. The book however indicates that Coptic women seemed to occupy a strikingly visible and active position in Jeme documentation was in contrast to the rather vague notions the author had about women's status after the coming of Christianity. The author further adds that these vague notions are hardly accurate.
The book' s review for the lives of women in Jeme further focuses its intensive scrutiny on a few well-documented individuals to enable the assessment of broader trends in that era. The book reconstructs the lives of several women such as Elizabeth and her niece Abigaia, and Koloje who took a very active role in the economic life of Jeme and environs.
The author concludes her book by exploring how did Jeme come to an end. After 785 AD the documentation breaks off abruptly and the inhabitants of Jeme disappear. One plausible explanation given for the disappearance of Jeme may have been the struggle for power between the Arabic Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties.
This is a well-written book that aficionados of Egyptology, Coptology and women's studies would find to be both informative and entertaining.
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