Adam

I have bought many books and I have to admit that this is one of the few that I could have done without. There was some valuable information, but much of it was a combination of information that most with a basic understanding of history already know, and detail that few would find relevant.

I have bought many books and I have to admit that this is one of the few that I could have done without. There was some valuable information, but much of it was a combination of information that most with a basic understanding of history already know, and detail that few would find relevant. Unfortunately much of the book consisted of mind numbing detail that I really didn't care for. The length could have been reduced by 80% and still have been too much.

I have bought many books and I have to admit that this is one of the few that I could have done without. There was some valuable information, but much of it was a combination of information that most with a basic understanding of history already know, and detail that few would find relevant. Unfortunately much of the book consisted of detail that I really didn't care for.

I didn't expect such a short book to be so informative, but it was. This has to be one of my favorite books, since its discussion of sociopaths also explains the nature of human emotion in everyone else. It doesn't just describe this from the standpoint of psychology and neurobiology but even brain structure. It seems that most psychology/sociology books describe an author's own niche view that often isn't widely held, and so these books are usually not that good. This book was an exception. I can't really think of any complaints about it, other than that I wish it was longer.

I thought that this book was very good and I highly recommend it. It is a very thick read, and even though I know a lot about world history, this book still took a while to digest. Unlike most books that cover world history, this book doesn't have a Euro-centric bias (at least not until about the 17th century). Another thing I liked about the book is that it offers a window into the (author's) world of the early 1920s, since you can often discern the pure history from the lens through which the author tells it (such as his tendency to see proto-communistic tendencies in various past events). My only complaint (and the only thing that prevents me from giving the book five stars) is that the author's own ideological biases become apparent, especially near the end of the book. I would also warn other readers that western understanding of Indian and Chinese history has come a long way since this book was written, and so its discussion of Indian and Chinese history is a bit dated. Overall though, the book was very good.

Overall this was a very good book and I highly recommend it. The discussion of MacArthur's father provides the core of a side discussion on the generation of military leaders that preceded MacArthur, and I thought that this was especially valuable. I also thought this book did a good job of de-mythologizing MacArthur and showing how he was truly perceived in his own day, which was different than how we perceive him today. In addition, the book does a good job of explaining an important sub-theater of WW2 and the Korean War.

Overall the book was good. I especially liked the earlier part of the book that discussed the history of the region. I would have liked the book to have included more on the military (tactical and strategic) component and less on the diplomatic component, though this might be asking too much from a book on the Vietnam War. I definitely recommend this, as it may be one of the best books on the Vietnam War.

This is a very good and informative book. Even though I already knew a lot about Lincoln and the Civil War, I still learned a lot from this book. One thing in particular I liked was the amount of time the author devoted to his life before his presidency. Often books on important people focus too much attention on the events you already know, which made them so famous. These often minimize their life before that important event, which means that you won't be able to learn what really made them tick. This book doesn't do that, nor does it focus too much on the battle history of the Civil War. On the Civil War, it focuses (like it should) on Lincoln's role, and describes how his views changed and what led up to important decisions like his issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation. I highly recommend this book.

This book is well written and tells you a lot about the Adamses in general, and John in particular. John and Abigail (and John Quincy for that matter) left behind so many letters and writings that scholars still haven't been able to go through them all. This book also shines a light on daily life in their day, which we can only see because the Adamses left behind so many writings. I highly recommend this book.

I have read so much on John Adams that I didn't think this book would contain much information that I didn't already know, but it does. It is well written and tells you a lot about the Adamses in general, and their marriage in particular. John and Abigail (and John Quincy for that matter) left behind so many letters and writings that scholars still haven't been able to go through them all. Because of this, there is so much information about them that one or two books about them doesn't tell you even many of the basics. This book also shines a light on daily life in their day, which we can only see because the Adamses left behind so many writings. I highly recommend this book, along with the John Adams biography by David McCullough, the Abigail biography by Woody Holton, and the John Quincy biography by Paul Nagel. I have gone through all of these and they all contained a lot of information that I hadn't known before.