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- One Person Making a Worldwide Difference
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Rescuing the World: The Life and Times of Leo Cherne
Andrew F. Smith
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0791453790 |
Book Description
A biography of one of America's leading humanitarians who, as an advisor to nine presidents, also had a lasting effect on American foreign policy.
Customer Reviews:
One Person Making a Worldwide Difference.......2002-08-29
The name Leo Cherne is not universally known, but though he was never elected to public office, the man was enormously influential. His work can be found all through American endeavors in the last century; he was an advisor to nine presidents. He did remarkable humanitarian work for refugees with his International Rescue Committee. He died in 1999, and his life story reads like a history of the Cold War. His first biography is now out, _Rescuing the World: The Life and Times of Leo Cherne_ (State University of New York Press) by Andrew F. Smith. Smith first met Cherne the year before he died, because Cherne supposedly needed advice about writing his autobiography. Cherne was an accomplished writer, and had started the autobiography a few times. He certainly had plenty of material. But it never happened; "In the end I concluded that the apparently gregarious, outgoing Leo Cherne simply could not write a book about himself because it was unseemly for him to do so." This is a biography of his public life; Cherne refused to discuss stories others told of his private life, so subjects such as his marriage are barely mentioned, and will have to be included in the inevitable future biographies. Cherne was sufficiently busy in the public sphere to make this first attempt a valuable chronicle.
Cherne was born in 1912 of first generation Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. In high school, after a hurricane devastated Puerto Rico, Cherne appointed himself the head of a "Hurricane Committee," addressed a special student assembly on the issue, and started collecting the food and money that poured in afterwards. It was a model for future years: "... quick intervention in seizing the public platform, altruistic motives, positive responses of others, and record-breaking results." After law school, he began advising businessmen on taxes and governmental issues, and became a consultant to companies and to Congress. He advised business how to gear up for war, and gear up for a consumer economy afterward. He became interested in working with refugees after the war. He had humanitarian interest, to be sure, but he also thought of the refugees as political weapons against totalitarianism. If the regime was so perfect, he would point out, why were refugees fleeing? Cherne chaired the International Rescue Committee for forty years, seeing the organization through many financial problems and often personally taking part in relief efforts for refugees from Hungary, Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Cuba. Cherne was able to unite diverse talents to support the aims of his International Rescue Committee, and through the book wander helpful volunteers like Rock Hudson, Liv Ullmann, and Joan Baez. Cherne got to speak up on behalf of Hungarian refugees on the Ed Sullivan Show, not a likely forum for humanitarian efforts. He was also a songwriter, and achieved fame as a sculptor. His busts of Kennedy, Lincoln, Churchill and other famous people are known all over the world.
_Rescuing the World_ is a record of remarkable public service. Cherne never had a fortune, and he never held office, but he had passion for freedom and an insistence on liberty for others. He was able to inspire others to good efforts for the world's refugees. Read this book and if you ever hear people bemoaning the world's woes and asking, "What difference can just one person make?" you can ask if they have heard of Leo Cherne.
Customer Reviews:
In My Rear View Mirror is EXTRAORDINARY! .......2007-08-23
An extraordinary memoir by WPIX sports anchor Sal Marchiano. This a rare sports book that is literate, poignant and hilarious. Marchiano is without peer, he can write, from the old school, first working at the foot of a mean spirited Howard Cosell, graduating to become the pre-eminent sports broadcaster and journalist in the New York area. The chapters on Mickey Mantle are worth the price of the book alone.
"In My Rear View Mirror" is one of those books you will recommend to all your sports friends.
Book Description
An autobiography, covering times growing up, six years in the wartime British Royal Navy, rising through the ranks to manage one of the largest automobile retail businesses in the United Kingdom. Then on to building up my own small chain of automobile retail outlets. Having disposed of them in the mid-1970's, I struggled due to the Middle East War and the oil crisis. Emigrated to Florida in 1980, endured mixed business fortunes, and moved to California in 1991, remarried for the fourth time. Retained homes and interest in the automobile businesses in England. Now writing magazine articles and books. A varied and volatile story full of humour, misfortune and danger.
Average customer rating:
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The Independent Film Experience : Interviews With Directors and Producers
Kevin J. Lindenmuth
Manufacturer: McFarland & Company
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0786410752 |
Book Description
You see them on the video shelves, with titles such as Shadow Tracker, Psycho Girls, and The Blair Witch Project. Skeptically, perhaps, you rent one and slip it into the VCR. Hey, you think, this isn't so bad-sometimes actually quite good. Suddenly, you discover that there is a whole range of movies from filmmakers operating outside the studio system that have their own attractions that the big budget fare can't match. You have, of course, discovered the world of independent filmmaking. A fascinating group of independent film directors and producers, in interviews with the author, discuss their work and the state of the independent film industry at the end of the 20th century. Joe Bagnardi, Dennis Devine, Andrew Harrison, Jeff Leroy, Andrew Parkinson, Brett Piper, and 23 others cover such topics as the increased interest in independent films and how they are changing thanks to high-tech advances. These filmmakers vary widely in age, experience, formats and budgets-and choice of subject matter-but they all have a great passion for their work.
Book Description
Hideous Absinthe boldly combines the art, literature, science, and social history of the nineteenth century to produce the story of a drink that came to symbolize both the high points of art and the depths of degeneration.
Jad Adams looks at the myths of absinthe and examines its influence on the artistic movements of the nineteenth century. He considers the work of Degas, Manet, and Picasso, who painted what are now considered masterpieces depicting absinthe drinkers. He examines the mystery of van Gogh’s absinthe addiction and asks whether absinthe truly did contribute to the poetic vision of Verlaine, Rimbaud, and other writers.
Adams looks back at absinthe’s contribution to the hedonistic culture of the French Second Empire and to Toulouse-Lautrec’s Paris of the 1890s and details the outraged English reaction to absinthe in the context of resistance to French art. Absinthe was seen as a foreign poison undermining the national resolve just as the decadence of Oscar Wilde and his circle was seen to undermine national culture.
The story continues through thrill-seeking American and English absinthe drinkers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Copublished with I.B. Tauris.
The Wisconsin edition is for sale only in North America.
Customer Reviews:
Overrated and Pretentious.......2006-09-14
Adams covers the same info that Conrad and Baker discuss but with a tone of condescension and puritanism that blankets the text like a fine scum of oil over water. Halfway though the book I wanted to curse him; after listening to his boorish and uninspired NPR interview I wanted to punch his lights out. If you like feeling superior, this book is for you. Otherwise stick with Conrad.
Interesting but glossy.......2006-01-10
After hearing the author on npr I was eager to purchase and read this book. The book is well researched and it is overflowing with gossip about those artists with whom absinthe has been so intertwined--Proust, Gaugin, et al. The author contends that the drink had little or no real impact on the creative abilities of the writers and painters of the 19th century who claimed that the Green Fairy was their great muse. The argument falls flat, however. Whether the drink spurred the creativity or not is not as clear as the belief of the artists that it did have a very powerful and empowering influence. It is all very "chicken or the egg" speculation but in the end, this book is a fun read if you want a little dish on the life and times of these absinthe influenced artists.
The Green Fairy Exposed.......2004-03-26
Different alcoholic drinks have reputations for appealing to different descriptions of people. The crowd of beer drinkers is different from those who favor cognac, as are those who like sherry different from those who drink single malts. There is no drink with so strong a reputation for a particular set of drinkers than absinthe. A cult drink in nineteenth century France, it has strong associations with poets and painters; the claims made for it have been extravagantly laudatory and condemnatory. It figures largely in literature and paintings of that time and place, which has only increased its reputation, good and bad. And it is still under prohibition in many countries, including the United States, which makes it forbidden fruit. Thus there is a good story, lots of good stories, to tell in _Hideous Absinthe: A History of the Devil in a Bottle_ (University of Wisconsin Press) by Jad Adams. It isn't too surprising that a main lesson of the book is that extravagant claims, positive and negative, for "the green fairy" are simply exaggerations.
Absinthe is a high-proof alcohol drink to which has been added essential oils of wormwood, plus aniseed or fennel, which taste like liquorice and gave the famous clear green color. It became particularly a drink for French Bohemian writers and artists. Adams shows, however, that the poets and painters who concentrated on absinthe as a subject were minor artists busy cultivating a bohemian atmosphere around themselves; the greater artists might have included it as part of their world, but had no particular fascination for it. Wormwood has a chemical called thujone within it, which might be a mild hallucinogen, but there is question that it would have had any significant effect at the dose provided in absinthe. What certainly would have had effect is the high amount of alcohol in the drink. Absinthe's widespread adoption scared the French government, which listened to the experts blaming it for everything from anarchy to population decline to the rise of Jews. A national ban was eventually enforced in 1915. In England, absinthe never had much of a hold, as it was seen as representing everything corrupt about France. In the US, those who provided alcohol during prohibition had little interest in this particular aperitif, and when prohibition was lifted, absinthe remained on the list of banned drugs. It was still available to American expatriates in different countries in Europe, and when the Cold War ended, tourism to such places as Prague brought a new boom in absinthe-drinking.
Except that there was little to match the extravagant reports of a century before. Absinthe became trendy with some rock stars (one ad campaign said, "Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1899"), and it isn't surprising that their experiences of it did not meet those of the introverted Parisian artists that had gone before. Part of the problem is that they are not drinking the same thing. Absinthe from eastern Europe did not smell of aniseed, did not have oils so that it did not turn cloudy during the preparation ceremony, and did not have nearly enough wormwood to cause mental effects above those from the alcohol. Any chemical artistic inspiration just wasn't there. In a fascinating work of history with short biographies of famous drinkers of the time, Adams shows that the problem wasn't chemical. Absinthe met the expectations of a particular crowd of artists who gave it a particular reputation at a particular time. Even if the absintheur rock band Sugar Cubes (lead by the famous Björk) had the absinthe that Van Gogh drank, it would be a bit much to expect equivalent masterpieces.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from English Literature in Transition 1880-1920, published by ELT Press on March 22, 2005. The length of the article is 1188 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The devil made liquid.(Book Review)
Author: Karl Beckson
Publication:
English Literature in Transition 1880-1920 (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2005
Publisher: ELT Press
Volume: 48
Issue: 2
Page: 124(3)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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The search for real absinthe: like Tinkerbell, the Green Fairy lives only if we believe in her.(Hideous Absinthe: A History of the Devil in a Bottle )(Book Review) : An article from: Reason
Jacob Sullum
Manufacturer: Reason Foundation
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ASIN: B000E8TX9M
Release Date: 2006-01-25 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Reason, published by Reason Foundation on August 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1101 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The search for real absinthe: like Tinkerbell, the Green Fairy lives only if we believe in her.(Hideous Absinthe: A History of the Devil in a Bottle )(Book Review)
Author: Jacob Sullum
Publication:
Reason (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 1, 2005
Publisher: Reason Foundation
Volume: 37
Issue: 4
Page: 72(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful supplement to the slightly cockeyed world of Steampunk.......2006-12-07
This is William H. Stoddard's expansion on his outstanding GURPS Steampunk. It contains an amazing number of real and mythical pieces of equipment that can be used in a Steampunk campaign. These items range from the ingenious and realistic to the might-have-been to outright Victorian fantasy.
Not only does the book contain full descriptions of these strange and wonderous gizmos but it frequently includes humorous comments about their effectiveness, sometimes in the form of advertising intended to sell the item. My favorite was:
The villain aimed for the hero's head
And surely would have shot him dead
And sent him to his eternal rest,
If not for his Magnetic Anti-Bullet Vest!
The whole book is like this, another winner from the redoubtable Mr. Stoddard!
Book Description
B> Appropriate for courses in Organization Development, this new edition explores the improvement of organizations through planned, systematic, long-range efforts focused on the organization's culture and its human and social processes. The authors present a concise and comprehensive exposition of the theory, practice, and research related to organization development. The Sixth Edition reflects the most recent developments, advances and expansions, and research in the area of OD.
KEY TOPICS: Adds and updates new material to provide the most current information available. Strengthens coverage by adding new interventions and new material. Offers a more lively tone and writing style. Emphasizes the everchanging paradigms in OD theory and describes several new and important interventions in considerable detail. Sets discussions in the rapidly-evolving contexts of globalization, intensified competition and collaboration, Total Quality Management (TQM) and large-scale organizational change. Provides excellent coverage of the organization and its dynamics for managers and professionals.
Customer Reviews:
Review of Organization Development 6th edition.......2007-09-02
This book is a great resource that provides the history of Organization Development and an extensive overview of the field. There are tools and tips for interventions that will be very helpful in many change/improvement initiatives.
Fine.......2007-04-07
I got it in time, and hopefully it helped me get a decent grade in my course. The description of this book was similar to the condition.
Not clear that product was "low cost edition".......2005-09-11
I received the book I ordered; however, I received the "low cost" edition which basically means the paper is thinner making it more difficult to read because the print from the other side shows through. This was not clear in the description.
It's a Classic.......2004-11-02
I'm a little disappointed at those who were horrified at its age--the French and Bell book is a classic and it was updated in 1999. Anyone who is interested in learning OD should read the book and you will get a great foundation. Go from there to learn more about individual OD interventions or theories. Yes, Kotter's book is great, too, but Kotter speaks about leading change (only one topic in OD) or about leadership (another goodie but only one topic). If you don't know anything about OD, read this book. Because it was originally written in the 70s doesn't invalidate it; in fact, it shows how good it is.
how about some double loop learning ?.......2004-06-30
This is a flawed edition of a classic book.
Yes, it is historical in its overview. Yes it is dense with ideas and concepts. It makes readers think that OD/change management is hard work. But this is a good thing. Change aint easy, and intervening in people's working lives is serious business. Lets learn from the past. It also has lots of case explanations, and it does explain the theory clearly. I wouldn't let anyone who couldn't understand it near my consultancy work.
The criticism that it is dated is a bit more on the mark; not because the more recent stuff on change isn't there, it is, but it is tacked on to the material from earlier editions with no thought to the coherence of the book's structure. A shame; it needs a good, new third author who loves the original text to bring it up to date.
Despite the flaws, I give it 5 stars to bring the average up. Those who award it only one star do it an injustice. And, a lesson for the would be change agent, things in life, whether books or bits of our client organization are rarely wholly good or wholly bad..... (ok,ok).
Another good thing, compared to its competitors its small !
Customer Reviews:
Review of Organization Development 6th edition.......2007-09-02
This book is a great resource that provides the history of Organization Development and an extensive overview of the field. There are tools and tips for interventions that will be very helpful in many change/improvement initiatives.
Fine.......2007-04-07
I got it in time, and hopefully it helped me get a decent grade in my course. The description of this book was similar to the condition.
Not clear that product was "low cost edition".......2005-09-11
I received the book I ordered; however, I received the "low cost" edition which basically means the paper is thinner making it more difficult to read because the print from the other side shows through. This was not clear in the description.
It's a Classic.......2004-11-02
I'm a little disappointed at those who were horrified at its age--the French and Bell book is a classic and it was updated in 1999. Anyone who is interested in learning OD should read the book and you will get a great foundation. Go from there to learn more about individual OD interventions or theories. Yes, Kotter's book is great, too, but Kotter speaks about leading change (only one topic in OD) or about leadership (another goodie but only one topic). If you don't know anything about OD, read this book. Because it was originally written in the 70s doesn't invalidate it; in fact, it shows how good it is.
how about some double loop learning ?.......2004-06-30
This is a flawed edition of a classic book.
Yes, it is historical in its overview. Yes it is dense with ideas and concepts. It makes readers think that OD/change management is hard work. But this is a good thing. Change aint easy, and intervening in people's working lives is serious business. Lets learn from the past. It also has lots of case explanations, and it does explain the theory clearly. I wouldn't let anyone who couldn't understand it near my consultancy work.
The criticism that it is dated is a bit more on the mark; not because the more recent stuff on change isn't there, it is, but it is tacked on to the material from earlier editions with no thought to the coherence of the book's structure. A shame; it needs a good, new third author who loves the original text to bring it up to date.
Despite the flaws, I give it 5 stars to bring the average up. Those who award it only one star do it an injustice. And, a lesson for the would be change agent, things in life, whether books or bits of our client organization are rarely wholly good or wholly bad..... (ok,ok).
Another good thing, compared to its competitors its small !
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- Sissi, Elisabeth, Empress of Austria (Albums)
- Snapshots from Hell: The Making of an MBA
- Space Station Odyssey: The Making of an Astronaut
- The Accidental Zillionaire: Demystifying Paul Allen
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