Troy H. Middleton: A Biography

Customer Reviews:

General and Educator.......2007-02-25

This biography provides an well-written account of General Troy Middleton's life from his service in World War I, corps command in Europe during World War II, and his long service at Louisiana State University. Middleton read the entire book and approved its contents, so it's an authorized biography and there is nothing really critical of him in it. But the author had the advantage of years of intimate association with Middleton and access to his papers.

The most interesting theme of the book is how a quiet and decent man could successfully command hundreds of thousands of men, send them into battle, and defeat the Nazis. Another strength of the book is the detailed description of the Battle of the Bulge (Middleton commanded the corps took the initial impact of the German attack). Also interesting is Middleton's long association with LSU from being ROTC cadet commandant to a long term as president. Price also relates many interesting anecdotes from Middleton's years of service in important battles. Finally, the book gives a good sense of army service between the wars.

The most important weakness of the book is the lack of discussion about Middleton's military strategies. Marshall granted his request to return to active duty in early 1942, although he had retired in 1937, and in so doing made an exception to his rule that his senior commanders should be under 50 (Middleton was 52 when he came back from retirement). Why did Middleton have the reputation of such a great commander? He was a cautious man (unlike Patton, whom Marshall also felt essential), and yet he was also a great commander. I feel Price missed a great opportunity to explore this critical topic (although most military biographies seem to have the same weakness).

Another missing topic is Middleton's change of heart regarding segregation in education. He wrote a letter to the LSU board, quoted in the book, strongly advocating segregation in the mid-1950s. Yet by the mid-1960s, Middleton had become an effective chairman of the Louisiana state commission that helped resolve many racial disputes. How did this evolution occur?

Overall, an informative, insightful, and interesting book.

Patton's best corps commander.......2006-03-04

General Patton recommended that if he was a casualty that Generall Middleton succed him. Patton regarded Middleton as a very cautious general, certainly more cautious than Walton Walker(XX corps commander and later commander of 8th Army in Korea) but more intellectually qualified to command an army. Middleton was should be more famous for his command of the VIII corps in the Battle of the Bulge, which bore the brunt of the initial German onslaught.

Rare Biography of a WWII Corps Commander!.......2002-12-13

With the exception of Gen J. Lawton Collins, little attention is placed at the level of corps command during WWII. With new biographies of Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S.Patton surfacing regularly, one wonders if and when the focus will trickle down to the two-star generals who actually fought the battles that made up the various campaigns of the war. It is for this reason that Frank James Price's biography (first published in 1974) of Troy H. Middleton is significant.Middleton, the youngest colonel to command a regiment in WWI, commanded the 45th Infantry Division on Sicily. In March, 1944, Ike gave Middleton command of VIII Corps. It was Middleton's 4th Armored Division (Maj. Gen. John S. Wood) that spearheaded the breakout from Normandy. It was Middleton's VIII Corps that was left behind to fight in Brittany, while the rest of the American Army raced for the German border. And it was Middlton who held the southern flank during the Battle of the Bulge.Price's book is really two works combined. The first half covers Middleton's military career; the second part his career on the admisitrative faculty at Louisiana State University. Written while Middleton was still alive, Price conducted hundreds of hours of interviews with his subject. Thus, Price's work takes on the qualities of a memoir rather than an objective biography. I was also looking for a bridge between Middleton's military and civilian careers. How does a professionally trained Army officer make corporate decisions? Price (also at the time on the faulty at LSU) does not provide that bridge. Asside from these minor flaws, I reccomend Price's biography. Middleton's achievments in WWII alone should have warranted him more exposure. Although not as political as Eisenhower and, certainly not as flamboyant as Patton, Middleton story sheds light on a level of command so often overlooked by military historians.

Amazon.com

Bennahum writes a rich account of what it was like to be among the first to grow up with computers as an important part of daily life, where the critical parts of the most coveted toys are electronic rather than mechanical. What lends Extra Life such poignancy is that it ranges far beyond mere push-buttons and keyboards to incorporate the new electronic world into the larger life of a boy growing up in New York. Bennahum delves into his own psyche to show how the computer revolution dovetailed with other revolutions surrounding his coming of age, such as coping with his parents' divorce, emerging from being an outsider, and youthful (sometimes illegal) strivings for adulthood.

However enthusiastic he gets about his electronic extra life, he doesn't overlook the dark side of experience. When he violates a system-access rule, for example, he discovers a serious system flaw and must now wrestle with the ethical issue of whether to report it and protect the system when doing so would reveal his violation. If Bennahum sometimes seems overly self-congratulatory for being part of his generation, that's easily forgiven as he shares his childlike wonder in the electronic new world that grew up alongside him. --Elizabeth Lewis

Book Description

A fascinating, fast-paced coming-of-age story- set in the bedrooms, computer rooms, and arcades of the 80s, when the first computer kids were pioneering the frontier of digital culture.

In this dazzling personal account, David Bennahum shows how computer games, digital pranks, and jerry-rigged programs came to inspire legions of boys in the early 80s, shaping them, just as TV and rock 'n' roll defined earlier generations. Packed with little-known computer lore and set against the background of the emerging information age, Extra Life is nothing less than a grand digital adventure.

"With low-key but astute introspection, Extra Life strips the surface layers to find the roots of both a generation-one expert at converting alienation into self-sufficiency-and one of its milestones." -New York Times

"In telling the story of the burgeoning computer culture, Bennahum winds up with a beautifully told story in which he comes to understand how his fascination with computers helped shaped the way he thinks, the way he learns, and the way he copes." -Kirkus Reviews

"A Catcher in the Rye for the Atari generation." -Douglas Rushkoff, author of Media Virus and Ecstasy Club

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant!.......2003-05-20

I was staying at a friend's house, and he had a copy of Extra Life. As I grew up with computers, and have an interest in anything having to do with them, I started flipping through the book, thinking it might be interesting. Well! I must say that I was hooked within the first two pages! Bennahum's book is an amazingly insightful telling of a story that I had never really thought about before. Extra Life is about the moment that personal computers came into our lives (I grew up with an Apple II), and the way that they changed both the world and culture, written through the eyes of Bennahum as a kid and teenager.

His writing style is clean and descriptive and can be poetic as well. It really is a page-turner, and it brought back so many memories of learning how to program for the first time, playing video games, and the whole 8-bit "revolution" of the late 70s and early 80s.

So I came on the site to buy a copy for my cousin, who also grew up with computers. I also noticed some of the reviews and while I agree with most of them, I really think the reviewer who complained that Bennahum's book wasn't as interesting as Chuck Yeager's made a silly comparison. Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier-- yeah he's famous-- Bennahum isn't famous, and his story isn't a "famous" story. It's a story like mine, and like many other peope who grew up with computers as kids. And that is exactly what is so great about it! He takes something that we now take for granted, and shows the real meaning behind it. To compare his book to Chuck Yeager's is to compare apples with oranges: it doesn't mean anything.

I loved this book! And I can recommend it as being worth every one of the five stars I gave it.

Just because it happened to you does not make it interesting.......2003-04-17

The above quote is from the movie Search and Destroy (1995), from the character of Dr. Waxling.

When reading a book there are usually three things that affect how well you enjoy the book: How well you like the writing, how well you like the topic, and how well you like the author. Unfortunately I am reading Chuck Yeagers autobiography side by side with this book, and it's no contest. David Bennahum has not really accomplished anything special. He was a spectator to the beginnings of the computer age as so many of us twenty-somethings were. So he went to a school with computers. Every school had them back then. Even small towns in Northern Canada had computers in their classrooms. If I want to read about major events, such as the 1972 world hockey victory of USA over Soviets, the book shouldn't be about the spectators.

By comparison, Chuck Yeager has done a lot in his life, hence he wrote a book. He started as a dirt poor Virginian farm kid. He and his brother accidently shot and killed their sister with a shotgun when they were just little kids. Chuck went off to war and became an ace. He was the first man to fly faster than sound. He crashed a supersonic jet and got himself horribly burned. He started with little and made himself a national hero.

Another example of a "Catcher in the Rye" type of coming of age story is Rocketboys, also about poor Virginians in a coal town who, of all things, make rockets that fly incredible heights. That author, Homer Hickman, went on to work for NASA.

So what did David Bennahum do? Well, he grew up wealthy, his father gave him his computer, his step-father gave him a plush job when he was 15, he went to the best schools, he got into Harvard. Sorry but that does not make for a great story. I know it isn't his fault for being rich, but it is his fault for writing a self indulgent book about himself. Perhaps sensing the content was a little weak, he also over-writes things at times, such as when he does experimental stuff like iterweaving a game of Zork with his narriative ala the Watchmen.

Let's face it, people aren't reading this to learn about the author, they are reading to get nostalgiac. On that level it works sometimes. However, most readers will identify more with early 8-bit computers such as the Atari, Commodore and Tandy line of home computers. Atari is the computer the author owned, but we are treated to scarecely a few pages on this before apparently the author packed it up into storage and concentrated on the PDP-12. People in their 20's and early 30's do not identify with the PDP-12. And there have been far better books dealing with PDP-12 nostalgia (Hackers by Steven Levy, for example).

A good portion of the latter half of the book talks about him completing his school assignments in computer class. Yes, his assignments, in detail, even showing code snippets in PASCAL. I struggled gamely to read through those sections without falling asleep, not one of the easier things I've done in my life. I'd rather read someones exploits about planting carrots in the garden. High school computer class assignments are not the thing to turn into a full length book.

The big crescendo for the story seems to be when he becomes a super user in his school computer room along with a friend. The friend steals some passwords in their classroom and confides in the author. What does he do? He tells the teacher. Nice friend. The one he tattled on might also have been super user, but the author decided it was best to eliminate him so he could become super user. Yes, ruin someones access to the computer room and sour them on computers so you can become... super user. The problem is becoming super user means something to the author, but it just doesn't mean anything to anyone reading it. It's like someone writing a book where they become pitcher in little league in elementary school.

It picks up a bit after the PDP-12 stuff. One interesting scene has him spying on girl across the way, but that is about it. He makes a few good observations, such as how the Mac was a bit of a dissapointment to hardcore 8-bit computer users, and how much of the Mac mystique is pure hype from Apple. Overall, however, a very boring read.

My Generation.......2003-03-04

This book immediately brought me back to the day when my father brought home a Commodore 64 for our family. I was back in our basement hacking BASIC code all over again. Great read.

A walk down 64k memory lane.......2002-02-11

I find it annoying that someone gave this book 2 stars because he couldn't relate to the author. How is that is standard for whether a book is good or not? If that's how we judge books, then Star Wars and Lord of the Rings suck!

Anyways, this book is excellent. I was too young to notice the computer age in the 80s, but reading this book is as close as I'll ever get. It makes me appreciate where we were in technology and kindof wish that things were still as simple and straigtforward. But it also makes me marvel at where we're going as well. Thanks David.

My Diary.......2002-02-11

I thought this book was great.

Although, I grew up in Orange County (Southern Cal)
and not NYC like the author, I thought I was ready
my own diary.

Customer Reviews:

Review of Cory Stories........2007-06-08

This was a great book to help my son understand his ADD and ADHD. We even purchased an extra copy as a gift to his teacher to add to her class room library.

Wonderful book.......2007-04-07

This is a great book to help kids understand and help parents explain ADD.

Average customer rating:
Delicious Gluten-Free Wheat-Free Breads
Bruce Gross
Manufacturer: What No Wheat Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Bread | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Gluten-Free | Special Conditions | Diets & Weight Loss | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread: More Than 200 Wheat-Free Recipes

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The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods: Creating Old Favorites with the New Flours

Accessories:

Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: 0972415416

Book Description

Delicious Gluten-Free Wheat-Free Breads: Easy to make breads everyone will love to eat for the bread machine -- or oven combines a variety of baking methods with easy to make bread techniques using the newest of grains for a gluten-free wheat-free lifestyle. The coordinating website, space for personalizing the recipes and tester and taster comments add life to this well written book.

Average customer rating:

Helpful, especially for your 1st dog

Cutse

we loved this book

Fun and informative

Excellent Book For Any Pet Owner!

101 Questions Your Dog Would Ask: What's Bothering Your Dog and How to Solve Its Problems
Helen Dennis
Manufacturer: Barrons Educational Series Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Dogs | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0764108867

Customer Reviews:

Helpful, especially for your 1st dog.......2005-07-07

Just got a puppy! I found this book helpful, informative, and very fun to read. It is written in a fun way that makes you want to continue to read. I read it in 1/2 an afternoon.

Cutse.......2000-03-16

My mom gave this book to me for Christmas. It's just full of great tips and facts for any dog lover, from the seasoned veteran to the wet-behind-the-long-ears new pet owner. Beautifully illustrated and with such cute color pictures, too!

we loved this book.......1999-07-18

we have three dogs and found this book helpful to us for all three

Fun and informative.......1999-06-20

My daughters and I read this fun little book. We found that this easy to follow book gave lots of useful information. We learned alot about our two dogs and understand their world much more than before.

Excellent Book For Any Pet Owner!.......1999-06-15

This book was excellent. It describes a dogs problems so down to the point that I was able to pinpoint what my puppy wanted. I would recommend this book to any dog owner, big or small!

Book Description

Carl Larsson (1853-1919), and his wife, Karin, a textile designer, revolutionized interior design and established a style that continues to attract a worldwide following. Combining period furniture and objects with modern color and design, their home was meticulously recorded by Carl in a series of beautiful watercolours that celebrated their idyllic family life.

Customer Reviews:

I love this book!.......1999-07-24

Aside from the fact a reader will gain new appreciation for the Larssons and their art, a reason to purchase this book is that it is gorgeous. Good paper, excellent color reproductions, a nice heft. If you admire Larsson and Scandinavian culture, this book is a "must have."

This book makes me happy........1998-07-11

I ordered this book sight-unseen as a gift, and thought "well, I like Carl Larsson's paintings, I'll get one for myself while I'm at it." I'm so glad I did! I realize that, before reading this delicious book, I had never really "seen" a Carl Larsson painting before. I didn't know that all those happy Swedish ninteenth-century domestic watercolor scenes actually documented Larsson's home and family, and I had no idea that his wife Karin was the creator of the fabrics, co-creator of the furniture and equal partner in what is not only a beautiful and original home environment, but one that has influenced interior design to this day, a hundred year later.

The text is written by different experts. I am not really sure that I come away from it with much sense of the Larssons' personalities in a detailed way, but the work speaks for itself and I consider this book to be more than just a valuable addition to my art library, but also as a great read and, even more -- a great "look".

Average customer rating:
Carl and Karin Larsson - Creators of the Swedish Style
Michael and Stavenow-Hidemark, Elisabet - Edit. Snodin
Manufacturer: V & A Publication
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OHHMFU

Average customer rating:
CARL AND KARIN LARSSON: CREATORS OF THE SWEDISH STYLE
Michael and Elisabet Stavenow-Hidemark Snodin
Manufacturer: Bulfinch Press/Little, Brown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KE6QH2

Average customer rating:
Carl and Karin Larsson: Creators of the Swedish Style
Victoria and Albert Museum
Manufacturer: Bulfinch Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000L3VZUA

Average customer rating:

Some inspiring ideas

A few good ideas, lost in a cookie-cutter self-help book

Refreshing approach to health and wellness

great information

The Intrinsic Exerciser: Discovering the Joy of Exercise
Jay C. Kimiecik
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Exercise & Fitness | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
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Accessories:

Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: 061812490X

Book Description

Too many of us exercise to lose weight and stay fit. Jay Kimiecik believes that focusing on those reasons make sticking with a fitness plan almost impossible. With full appreciation of the real problems people have with exercising, he writes that we must instead find personal pleasure in any physical activity we choose. Kimiecik's infectious enthusiasm and easy four-step plan will turn anyone into an intrinsic exerciser for life.

Customer Reviews:

Some inspiring ideas.......2005-02-14

First of all, David Huebel (see his review) is dead-on about this book. Yes, the phony words (inergy, exerimage, and, gaack, feelization) are silly. Yes, it ignores many issues that are most important to those who need help most -- those who don't exercise. Yes, it dresses up some common and important ideas (especially "visualization") in fancy clothes by giving them those new, silly names. Still, there are some nice ideas, the book is a quick, pleasant read, is easily accessible, and offers some nice bits of inspiration.

I think one of the most valuable ideas, that of breaking exercise sessions down into small tasks ("Just come and get dressed. Sign in. Do the smallest thing. Just get yourself used to coming in and getting on the treadmill."), doesn't really get enough credit.

So why have I read the book twice? The first time I read it out of curiosity. The second for research on some writing I'm doing to help women get into fitness.

So, who should read this book and why? It's a good choice if you're looking for inspiration to get into (or back into) exercising. It offers some good suggestions about how to focus on what exercising means to you and how to overcome some of the difficulties and learn to enjoy exercise. That said, it's a poor choice if you're already skeptical about exercise and self-help books, mainly because of the points David Huebel cites in his review.

All in all, three stars, although I'd still put it on a recommended list for beginning exercisers.

A few good ideas, lost in a cookie-cutter self-help book.......2004-08-25

The psychological issues that help and hinder aspiring exercisers deserve more attention. Almost all exercise books offer a few superficial remarks, and some offer a few real insights, but this is the first book I've found that focuses entirely on psychology. I hoped that "The Intrinsic Exerciser" might be something larger and more coherent than the piecemeal wisdom that has been haphazardly accumulated through the years. Instead, when I read the book from cover to cover, I found the whole to be less, not more. The book's insights, while good, are lost in the cynical formulas and cliches that give self-help books a bad name. All the major shortcomings of "The Intrinsic Exerciser" are stereotypical self-help imperatives:

1. It promotes a complete, one-size-fits-all system and vilifies alternatives.

First and most appallingly, the author presents his system as an exclusive and unrivalled solution. He condemns all "extrinsic" motivations for exercise - health, longevity, attractiveness, etc. - as useless and even psychologically harmful. Yet there are many people who exercise regularly and love it, despite thinking hard and often about extrinsics. The author's advice is to "Expunge the extrinsic. Avoid any information or products that are primarily Outside-In or extrinsic-oriented." Given that many people have succeeded at their exercise goals using "Outside-In" methods, the author's unqualified insistence that every individual should abandon those methods and adopt his philosophy goes too far.

2. It revels in unnecessary neologisms.

"Inergy." "Exerimaging." "Feelization."

Quiz: The author uses these words because:

a) The concepts can't be explained concisely in standard English.
b) Having its own word makes a concept seem legitimate and important.
c) Using made-up words makes old ideas sound new.
d) b & c.

If you answered d), congratulations.

3. It cites many authorities and studies, for no good reason.

"The Intrinsic Exerciser" is chock-full of mentions of scientists, studies, and universities. Twenty pages of this slim volume are consumed by notes and a bibliography, even though it's a pop treatment aimed at people who are unlikely to take advantage of them. "The Intrinsic Exerciser" does not pretend to be a serious examination of ideas; it contains no acknowledgment of incompleteness or difficulties, no examination of alternatives. Why dress it up with citations? In fact, since the author's advice is to "expunge the extrinsic," why cite so many studies showing the extrinsic benefits of exercise? The citations are only there to create a sense of authority and scientific validity.

4. It makes difficult changes sound miraculously easy.

Certain facts of life are unavoidable, such as how much one weighs and how other people evaluate one's body. For many would-be exercisers, emotions related to these facts are the biggest obstacles to fitness. The author's prescription is to become unaware or unconcerned about these facts, a mental trick he offers no help in achieving. This dodging of difficult issues is the most disappointing aspect of "The Intrinsic Exerciser," and its breezy, shallow optimism makes the elisions rankle. This is another hallmark of a cookie-cutter self-help book: warn against attempting the difficult, and in its place prescribe the impossible.

I give "The Intrinsic Exerciser" two stars because it's encouraging to see a book dedicated to this topic and because it contains some sound insights. I hope that better books are on the way. Instead of a road map to a generic psyche, a better book would provide tips on learning to navigate one's own psyche. A better book might even offer practical suggestions on how to grapple with social issues such as embarrassment, instead of telling the reader to just think of something else. Above all, I am looking forward to the book that rejects the dystopian ideal of an inner life free of variegation and dissent and talks about how to play politics in the society of mind.

Refreshing approach to health and wellness.......2004-08-16

This is a great book to take and read on the plane. It's a quick, easy read and shares the secret of those of us who've been avid exercisers for years and years...and that's the joy that you experience in the moment, while you're exercising. This book teaches you how to connect with your thoughts, feelings and perceptions as you exercise, which ultimately will lead to your becoming a person who exercises for the fun of it, not because of health, weight or appearance issues, and that's the key to life-long exercising success :-)

This is a book I recommend so highly, I actually have link to it on my website.

great information.......2003-09-18

I have read about 30 book on fitness and nutrition and saw this in an article in Shape magazine. This book is not like the typical book about why you need to lose and all the benefits of exercise.This book talks about a new way of finding more joy and interest on exercise it's not about sweating for 30 minutes and hating it's about using different techniches with your mind how to make fitness more enjoyable.

Customer Reviews:

The W. Lam Bible.......2000-04-01

Text and graphics are well defined. Excellent archive to art scholars who require a complete reference guide to Wifredo Lam's work.

Book Description

Millions of people throughout the world have read Anne Frank's unforgettable diary. But most readers don't know much about Anne's life before she went into hiding. This remarkable biography, written especially for young readers, chronicles Anne's life from her earliest days. The book includes remembrances from Anne's family and friends and features rare photos of Anne from infancy to adolescence. A powerful, moving tribute to an ordinary girl whose life has inspired milions.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent!!.......2003-03-25

In this fantastic book, you learn everything about Anne Frank! There are pages with photographs, even a chart with pictures of her from 1935 to 1942! You could see how much she grew up,too. They show a picture of her as a toddler and an infant.In this book, your emotions change from happy to sad during her life

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