Merriam-Webster's Pocket Guide to Business and Everyday Math (Pocket Reference Library)

Book Description

Quick help with math questions! Take-along format fits easily into a briefcase, schoolbag, or pocket. Helps with common problems, including bookkeeping, investing, ratios, statistics, and household math. Provides easy-to-apply solutions. Includes tables and formulas.

Customer Reviews:

better understanding.......2007-03-09

I purchased this little gem to help me to understand math formulas better. This little book has cleared up some of my "problems".

A handy reference book........1999-08-29

Book outlines everyday math concepts and examples that can be understood and applied by the reader. Excellent little book ever. Worth every penny.

Customer Reviews:

Mutual Funds..great investment.......2000-03-31

This directory was an excellent resource for anyone who enjoys making money. Mutual Funds are great to get involved with and this book rates them. yup! it actually tells you if it's an A, B, or whatever. That's soo cool because it's an opportunity to see an unbias opinion and compare your own investments to the rating in the book. It's like going to the movies watching a movie, then going home and reading what EXPERTS thought about the movie. It's cool and a great resource!

Amazon.com

Confederate cavalry leader John Mosby is among the most romantic characters in the Civil War, and with good reason. From 1863 to the end of the conflict, Mosby's raiders were a constant headache for the North. Although more than 1,000 men served under Mosby, they usually acted in small detachments of several dozen, sacking supply depots, attacking railroads, and harassing federal troops. They seemed to move behind enemy lines almost at will, and in what is perhaps their most celebrated exploit, a handful of them led by Mosby himself rode into Fairfax Station, Virginia, in the dead of the night and kidnapped a Union general. When they were not on missions, Mosby's riders simply melted into the countryside, finding safe haven in the homes of sympathetic civilians. Theirs was a guerilla war. The frustrated North eventually assigned a special contingent of cavalry to combat them, and a price was ultimately put on Mosby's head. Nobody reined him in, however, and his command enjoyed the proud distinction of never having formally surrendered to the bluecoats. Shortly after Appomattox, Mosby simply disbanded his unit. This is another fine book from the prolific Civil War historian Jeffry D. Wert, who hardly could have picked a more intriguing subject. --John J. Miller

Customer Reviews:

Best of Mosby.......2006-12-27

Jeffry Wert's book on John Mosby's adventures reads like a great novel. It carries the action along while fleshing out the main characters, and gives vivid discriptions of the places of "Mosby Confederacy." Just an outstanding effort and Wert is to be praised. I have read all of the books on Mosby and while the others are good, this one was the most entertaining. It is well researched (as are all of Wert's books), and the author does excellent job of describing the events that brought home the Civl War to the people of Loudoun and Fauquier counties in Virginia.

Fair and Balanced.......2006-10-06

Jeffry Wert came to his subject about as objectively as is possible in such matters. He was not afraid to point out Mosby's weaknesses - and he had them - but neither was he afraid to trumpet his strengths which were considerably more numerous and important than his weaknesses.

John Mosby - in Wert's own words - was the 'most lethal man' about whom the author had ever written and yet, Mosby's 'lethality' is not that of other 'notorious guerrillas and bushwhackers' who fought for the Confederacy, men like Quantrill, Anderson and Ferguson. Rather, his was constrained, premeditated and intellectual in nature; Mosby was no bestial monster who killed in the red rage of sectional hatred. As long as Union soldiers were fighting against him, Mosby - and his men - did not hesitate to kill - and they did it very well indeed! However, once a soldier or a command had surrendered, he immediately embraced that behavior considered honorable in wartime - so much so, in fact,that some of his best friends after the war were officers whom he had captured. Only in two instances did Mosby fight 'under the black flag' - that is, with no prisoners being taken. The first involved the understanding by Mosby's command that they were to kill all troops involved in the destruction of civilian property. The second occurred when Mosby was forced (very much against his will) to engage in retaliation for the hanging and shooting of six of his men at Front Royal and the later hanging of another of his men who had been captured. Mosby believed that unless he responded in kind ('measure for measure' as he himself said) his men would be treated as outlaws and not soldiers when captured. Interestingly enough, in the latter instance, Mosby made sure to get permission to retaliate by going up through the chain of command, requesting the 'blessing' of both Lee and Secretary of War Seddon - which he got. He also chose by lot seven men under Custer and Lowell, the commands that had been responsible for the lynching and shooting of his men.

Wert gives us a 'fair and balanced' picture of the man who became the 'patron saint' of today's Special Forces, a man so far ahead of his time strategically that he was often considered a thief and an outlaw by his own side and whose impact on the war was far greater than the size of his command or the limited area in which he fought would indicate. At the same time, however, Wert does not make Mosby into some legendary figure who could have single-handedly rescued the Confederacy if only things had been just slightly different. And yet, it is well to remember that it was Robert E. Lee who, upon hearing of one of Mosby's earliest exploits said, 'Hurrah for Mosby! I wish I had a hundred of him!' Who knows what Lee could have done had he the services of a hundred men with the vision, acumen and intellect of John Singleton Mosby!

Good at the end.......2006-02-17

I have to be honest, I almost put the book down half way through. But I gave the author the benefit of the doubt and kept on reading.

I couldn't figure out why Mosby was so "glorified" as a great leader reading this book. Basically all the author described was taking prisoners and stealing horses.

After I read to the last 1/3 of the book the action picks up. Now I know why Mosby is so highly regarded in the "Confederacy".

It turned out to be a good read, and one has to admire the leadership and courage of Mosby, Chapman, Richards, and all his men.

Colorless........2004-03-09

This is not a biography of John Singleton Mosby but rather an analysis of the men under his command. The writer does a fair job outlining Mosby's operations in Northern Virginia, primarily Loudoun, Fairfax and Fauquier counties, so from that point of view it appears well researched. But Wert's prose is flat and somewhat boring. As a result, this is a very difficult book to get into. Better maps might have helped.

A Great Effort.......2004-01-07

I love books about Mosby especially since I grew up in Prince William County Virginia, this is and was an area that in the civil war was known as Mosby's Confederacy because of the help the commander of the guerrilla unit had from the locals and the fact that one ths one unit almost single-handedly kept this part of Virginia in Confederate hands throughout the war.

Two points

One-More accurately it is a story about the UNIT with an emphasize on Mosby and while there are some elements that could be considered part of a biography on John Mosby that's not the whole purpose of this book. So if you are looking for a biography there are probably better books you could pick.

Two-While I loved the book I can certainly see where some others may have a problem, it suffers from a big problem in some historical accounts of all times, namely it is dry and at times it rambles. That's fine by me I like blow-by-blow accounts of operations and battles but someone who is looking for something different might want to try something else.

Product Description

The accidental discovery of a Civil War secret sends Professor Ambrose Lapain on an all-out pursuit of fame and fortune, dragging others into the deadly whirlwind of events.

Mosby And His Men: A Record Of The Adventures Of That Renowned Partisan Ranger

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Mosby And His Men: A Record Of The Adventures Of That Renowned Partisan Ranger
John S. Mosby , and J. Marshall Crawford
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1432502433

Book Description

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

Mosby and his men: A record of the adventures of that renowned partisan ranger, John S. Mosby,
<Colonel C.S.A.> ; including the exploits of Smith, Chapman, ... Russell, Glasscock, and the men under them

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Mosby and his men: A record of the adventures of that renowned partisan ranger, John S. Mosby, ; including the exploits of Smith, Chapman, ... Russell, Glasscock, and the men under them
J. Marshall Crawford
Manufacturer: Invictus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Mosby And His Rangers -
Susan Provost Beller -
Manufacturer: Betterway Publishing -
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NPHZMI

Mosby and His Rangers: Adventures of the Gray Ghost

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An Informative Book
It was incredible

Mosby and His Rangers: Adventures of the Gray Ghost
Susan Provost Beller
Manufacturer: Backinprint.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Military & Wars | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

War | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0595007880

Book Description

Ride with the Gray Ghost of the Confederacy in Mosby and His Rangers as a small group of guerilla fighters keep thousands of Union troops tied up defending Washington. Presenting the excitement of the raids in the words of the Rangers, the book then carefully puts their controversial tactics within the larger perspective of the resulting Union punishment of civilians.

Customer Reviews:

An Informative Book.......2002-03-21

Though written for young readers, there are few better accounts of John Singleton Mosby and his Confederate partisans than "Mosby and his Rangers." Beller provides a detailed account of Mosby's life, from his birth in Edgemont, Virginia to his death many years later. Not only does she create a prefect picture of Mosby's career, but honors his partisan rangers and shows his effect on them.
The book describes many of Mosby's succesful raids, including one where he snuck into a Union camp and kidanpped Brigadier General Edwin Henry Stoughton without any of his rangers being caught.
This book was very well written for the audience it was intended for. Informative and descriptive, "Mosby and his Rangers" is a perfect biography of one of the most effective military leaders of the Civil War.

It was incredible.......2000-12-06

I particularly like this book because of the use of words! I felt like i was really there with the gray ghost as he went about his mischevious adventures! If I were you, I'd buy it!

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MOSBY'S RANGERS
Jeffry D. Wert
Manufacturer: Simon And Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000V3INAK

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Mosby's Rangers
Jeffry D. West
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MVQHHM

Book Description

A bittersweet memoir of a girlhood in Harlem in the 40s and 50s.

Customer Reviews:

I loved this book.......2002-04-09

This book took me by surprise, drew me in and made me feel like I was IN the authors life, watching her grow up. I could hardly put it down. Growing up in Harlem in the 1940s and 50s, full of the stubborn pride and determination that carried her up and out. Beautifully written.

Chewed Water.......2001-12-13

Chewed Water is a book that stayed with me long after I read it. It's the story of,Virgina, a foster child growing up in Harlem in the 1950's. Though the book is labeled a memoir it has a novelistic quality that sets it apart from other memoirs that I have read. Rahman's language is rich and lyrical and she beautifully evokes a place and time that we do not hear much about, especially from the perspective of a young African-American girl. I found myself immersed in Rahman's world where colorful characters, musical rhythms and the politics of the day, make-up the vivid background of a heart-wrenching coming of age story. But the book rises above the tell-all tale of painful youth and through Virigina's eyes we enter a world that is sometimes cruel, often humorous and always fascinating. Rahman wickedly comments on the world around her as she shares her story of growing up, longing for the mother that she doesn't have and surviving the one that she does have. I laughed out loud reading this book and it also brought tears to my eyes. I highly recommend it.

This book is a must read!.......2001-12-08

Chewed Water is just that and more. It is smooth, it is rough it will make you swallow and leave you thirsting. It will quench that voice of recognition way down deep. It will reverberate -- vibrate as water does - long after the read is through. Aishah Rahman lifts her prophetic voice to tell the haltingly human story depicting the mythical angst of a young girl, growing up in Harlem in the forties and fifties. It is a breathtaking tale of her long and winding journey to herself.

Chewed Water is a telling social commentary told without compromising the artist's aesthetics which are indisputably unshakeable. Aishah Rahman's joy/sorrow-stricken prose liltingly lifts us out of the depths of our unknowing, porting us into the world of the protagonists -- mixing our hues with the blue, black and brown of her characters. This memoir, masterfully woven, is apopros given the turbulent time in our world. The birth of a son to a young, unwed mother echoes the historical forces sweeping the nation. Cycles of violence, dispossession, disinheritance are relived in three generations of lives, in the neighborhoods of Harlem, and in African descended homes from Barbados to North Carolina. We can learn, re-learn, un-learn deep lessons by reflecting on these forces. We must take the time to ruminate as Virginia come Aishah does, the source of her disrepair. And most important, lessons on how she came to embrace the bitter and the sweet in a loving reclamation of herself.

Chewed Water is an evocative Poetics of the Survival of the Human Spirit. The ultimate message: all is not lost. Where there is life, there is the will to live. This is the gift that grandmother passed to mother passed to daughter passed to son. Despite the unknowing, the unseen, the unheard. Despite the condition of a family, a multitude of families, scattered all across the landscape of the American dream - separated by economic constraints, lack of opportunity, the search for a better life - separated. Despite the demise of the Black family, the demise of the Black father who is not able or not present to care for his wife and children, the demise of the Black mother who knows that her child will have a better chance in an institution than in the bosom of her undoing. Despite these inimical forces, the message is one of survival. Where there is one individual, there is an army of Ancestors standing by - seen or unseen, spoken or unspoken -- they are there. They live. They live! We are never alone in this world and never forgotten especially by those who live through us. Thank you Aishah Rahman for writing your memoir, in so doing, you have unlocked a masterful, moving work of art.

Book Description

Simply entitled Celine, this is the long-awaited, authorized biography of Celine Dion, the rags-to-riches story of a woman who has become the leading recording artist in the world. First published in French in Quebec in December 1997, Celine has sold in excess of 120,000 copies in Quebec alone. A French-language edition will be released in France this fall, to coincide with the release of a new French album. Celine Dion is one of the world's best-loved and best-selling recording artists; her singles and albums have topped the international charts for several years. Her awards include numerous Junos, Grammys, and World Music Awards. Her most recent album, Let's Talk About Love, has already sold over 25 million units world-wide since its release in November 1997. The song "My Heart Will Go On" from the box-office record-setting film Titanic is now the most frequently heard single in the history of American radio. Celine is the story of Celine Dion, her family, and her husband; it is the story of a child, with thirteen siblings, from a lower middle-class family, who grew up to achieve the status of pop icon and global diva. Along the way, she garnered the respect of some of the top people in the music industry, such as David Foster, Barbra Streisand, Luciano Pavarotti, and Sir George Martin. The author, Georges-Hebert Germain, travelled with Celine and her entourage for over a year. Germain is the author of a number of popular biographies, children's books, and books on Quebec history, including a biography of the renowned hockey player, Guy Lafleur. The book was translated into English by David Homel, who is an author and award-winning translator. Germain gives the reader the full story of how Rene Angelill became Celine's manager and, eventually, her husband. He also tells how Rene brought Celine to the status of pop icon in Quebec and then worked to help her achieve the same status on a global level. The competitive world of the contemporary music industry is revealed how the deals are put together, how the marketing machinery is motivated, and how songs come to be chosen and produced. Making it to the top demands talent certainly, but also overriding ambition, good luck, and marketing savvy. Celine is also a close-up of American popular culture, and the impact it has around the world. The book shows how a singing sensation becomes the guest of prime ministers, presidents, and sultans.

Customer Reviews:

Biased but interesting.......2006-11-10

This book was written by a good friend of the great singer so it was pretty biased but enjoyable anyway. It had a great insight on what it was like to be on the road with Celine. I recommend this book

Wonderful collaboration between artist and writer!.......2001-11-16

Georges Herbert-Germain does a wonderful job finding the equilibrium between Céline's public stage-life and her emotional private-life. The book's chapter pattern of singer to woman to singer shows that there's more to Céline Dion than being a diva and an international pop icon. Despite being followed by the media since she was 12, Céline appears to have remained grounded in the stories of her past, present, and what she plans to do in the future. There's more behind this diva besides Titanic and pipes of platinum.

Bravo!.......2000-07-28

No word can truly discribe Celine's wonderful voice, dreams and spirit, but I believe this book has managed to do the best it could. Of course, you cannot feel Celine's passion by simply read a book. However, I can ensure you that after reading this book, you must at least start to like this real-life model of human being -- Celine Dion.

A must have book!.......2000-05-10

This book is a must read if you are a true Celine fan. I consider myself one. This book tells what Celine did to realize her dream and made it come true. It really tells you what she is like in her personal life. She is a genuine and loving person and loves people. She really cares about what her fans think. And you can almost feel the love that she and Rene share! A wonderful book!

Celine is a dream ... as usual !.......2000-02-02

Celine Dion has definetly authorized the supreme biography on her life! Georges-Herbert Germain is an outstanding author who has captured the life and times of Celine Dion to date. I personally consider myself to be the or one of the biggest Celine Dion Fans ... or FANATICS in the world. Being a subsriber to many newsletters, listbot groups, and other things on the glorious Celine- I even found things in this book that I did not know. The glorious and at some points sad life of Celine Dion is vividly captured in these 422 pages of fascinating revolations. I dream Celine all of the time ... but you can bet; it is even more dreamy now! In the Power of Celine - Lacey B. Van Reeth LaceLu1023@AOL.com

Book Description

On March 27, 2003, President George W. Bush said, “America has learned a lot about Tony Blair over the last weeks . . . and we're proud to have him as a friend.” Despite the President's assertion, the average American knows little about Tony Blair except that he remained one of America's strongest allies in the war on terror and, ultimately, in the war against Iraq. But why? What is Blair's agenda? Is he just trying to further England's cause or his own? And how has this man, the youngest British prime minister in centuries, kept strong ties with such fundamentally different presidents as Clinton and Bush?

Philip Stephens—editor of the UK edition of the Financial Times and a man who has known Blair since the beginning of his career—answers for the first time these questions for the American public. Stephens follows the emerging world leader from his boyhood to his leadership of the Labor party and, along the way, exposes his beliefs, his personality, his shortcomings and contradictions, and his role in shaping a new international order.

Customer Reviews:

Good Biography - Answers Many Questions.......2006-07-16

My first book about Blair was "Thirty Days" by Peter Stothard. That book was about a short time period before the Iraq invasion but it got me interested. Also I read Gerry Adam's book "A Farther Shore" and he describes his interaction with Blair. So I was ready to read a Blair biography. I would say this book is good and explains the basics of Blair's career and what makes him tick. So it was good to read but I would say it rates 4 stars. It is not a barn burner or an epic story, but it is a solid job. It is only 250 pages long and skips many things but it covers the basics.

The author Philip Stephens is well qualified to write this book having been a long time journalist and associate editor at the Financial Times. He has known Tony Blair since Blair was a junior Treasury spokesman for Labour Party in the early 1980's and the author has followed Blair's upward career for 20 years keeping in close contact.

One might assume as I did that this might be a flattering or even a fawning portrayal of Tony Blair. But I think it is fair to say that the book is neutral. It is clearly not nasty or overly negative and if the author had that attitude he would never have been able to interview Blair dozens of times as he claims to have done over a twenty-year period.

In short, I was a bit surprised by the book. It is better than I had hoped; it is a solid and well-crafted biography of a complicated person. The author had access to Blair over decades, he has interviewed many of Blair's old friends and associates, and clearly this is an excellent and well researched book by an outstanding journalist. It explains his half Scottish and half Irish roots, his education, his days at Oxford, his first legal job where he met Cherie, his first contacts with Labour, his first seat as an MP, etc. The book manages to touch on all his main career segments and explain how he has progressed step by step, adapting, learning, grasping power, holding onto power, trying to transform his ideas into action, etc. I did find one interesting aspect and that was how he developed his philosophy on supporting Bush. I recently read Zbigniew Brzezinski's book "The Choice" and many of those ideas are similar to Blair. As a result of the war in Kosovo (and Sierra Leone) Blair concluded that other than France and Britain, the EU was essentially helpless in any military conflict and the relation with the US and later Russia was the key to achieving world peace. For that reason he strongly supported US involvement in Kosovo and later backed Bush in Iraq, and continues to support close US-EU ties, and then expanding those ties.

In any case, this is an interesting book and is highly recommend reading as are the other three books that I mentioned..

Tony Blair: More of a Thatcherite than Thatcher herself !.......2005-03-26

I have never visited the moon but then I know that the moon exists. Similarly I have never read this book but I know that it will contain so many lies (perhaps 'untruths' is a nicer-sounding word). For many British people the election of Blair initially gave the hope of a new life in British politics after so many years of Tory rule. They had naively expecteded that a politician coming from the Labour party would restore justice and fair play - but their hopes were betrayed. Not only did Blair continue Thatcher's policy of destroying one of the greatest welfare systems in the world ( thereby making the rich even richer and the poor even poorer) but he also continued her war-mongering policies with even more zeal. He has not only attacked old age pensions, social security and the national health service (once even better than in Scandinavia but now similar to America), but he has also exposed British people worldwide to actual terrorist threats (threats which hitherto had never existed).
I would not like to spend money on a book such as this so that a portion of the royalties would end up in Tony Blair's already bulging pockets; and with this money he could no doubt enjoy another holiday prancing about on a tropical island while so many people in Iraq are still being killed every day. Not having read this work, I would like to say that my rating of one star is no slur on the talent of the biographer (nor can I say that his treatment of Mr. Blair is partial or flattering). However, I am sure that the biographer is reporting what his subject WANTS him to say. I wonder whether this book will provide real unprevaricative answers such as the real truth behind the circumstances of Dr. Kelly's death. I also doubt whether Mr. Blair will provide an adequate explanation as to why a British subject was left to die a barbaric death by being beheaded without his prime minister's intervention (even though that poor man and his family had begged Mr. Blair to save his life). I wonder how many other superficial issues there might be in the book - all of which will serve just to divert attention from the real issue - why did Mr. Blair pretend to the British public that he had actual proof that there were nuclear weapons in Iraq?
A related question which I would not expect to see asked (let alone answered) in this biography is whether his actions really showed the work of a friend. A friend of America is not just someone who ingratiates himself with the leaders of the country, but someone who REALLY cares for the wellbeing of the good and decent American people themselves, especially for all the young heroes who willingly went to give their lives believing (as they were told) that they were doing so to help their country (and paid far less than the employees sent to Iraq to reconstruct the oil industry). A friend is not someone who is always a fawning follower and a servile 'yesman'. A real friend is someone who is sincere and points out the truth. Two years ago he had the opportunity to offer his American counterpart the advice of a real friend. If such advice had been taken then thousands of innocent people would still be alive today.

Nice quick insight from the FT's Philip Stephens.......2004-08-18

I read Philip Stephens' column each time it appears in the Financial Times' editorial page. Readers of that space will have realized that Stephens' has good access to Tony Blair, his inner circle and the workings of British government. As such, this book - a quick, worthhwhile read - is a good primer for the U.S.-based reader in gaining insight as to how that system of government works.

In terms of painting the picture of how Blair and team (and mostly Blair, by the way) made its way towards partnership with the US in the actions in Iraq, there's a better source: Peter Stothard's "Thirty Days" is by far the better insider's view of that process. However, Stothard's book is emphatically not a biography. So, if you want insights on the roots and rise of Tony Blair - especially vis-a-vis his complex relationship with PM-in-waiting Gordon Brown - Stephens' book will suit you fine. [Although Stephens' himself goes on to suggest other sources that cover specific topics better than he, most notably James Naughtie's "The Rivals," which covers the Blair/Brown saga in splendorific detail.]

A couple of annoying editing mistakes are worth noting. Inner-circle confidant Alastair Campbell is repeatedly called 'Alistair.' I fault the editors here - this is a main character (he dominates "Thirty Days"). Sure, 'Alastair' is a non-conventional spelling, but the man deserves to have his name spelled correctly. Also, Spainard Javier Solana - head of NATO at the time of that organization's actions in Kosovo - becomes Xavier Solana. Charo was apparently unavailable for comment.

a superb portrait of america's best friend.......2004-06-20

If you want to know why the British prime minister went to war with the US then read this well-written and insightful biography of a great world leader. Stephens produces an elegant account of the personal beliefs, strategic calculations and straightforward loyalty that kept the UK alongside the US in a time of danger. The biography is stylishly-written and full of original material

Intro to British politics for Americans.......2004-05-25

As author Philip Stephens notes, many Americans who saw British prime minister Tony Blair all buddy-buddy with his close friend and philosophical soulmate Bill Clinton were surprised to see Blair in apparently an equally close relationship with George W. Bush just a few months later. Other Americans may simply have wondered who this man was who became Bush's closest ally in the run-up to war in Iraq and his guest during an address to Congress.

Either way, this biography has many of the answers those Americans may be looking for. While it is not the definitive biography of Anthony Charles Lynton Blair -- and it's obviously too early to measure his impact on UK politics, since he's still in office -- this title is nevertheless a good introduction to this major player on the world stage.

Stephens, a writer for the Financial Times newspaper, has had a great deal of access to Blair over the years, including personal interviews specifically for this book. It's not entirely surprising, therefore, that Stephens takes a generally positive tone with his subject. While he does not downplay Blair's weaknesses, including a number of unattractive personality traits, neither is he heavily critical of the man. He also tends to be light in his coverage of others' criticisms of Blair, except insofar as they have shaped the man himself or had a lasting impact on his political outlook or success in office.

No question that this book is more about personality than politics ... but I hasten to add that I think Stephens has done a fine job in showing how Blair's political words and deeds proceed consistently and logically from his personality and his underlying beliefs. Unlike Clinton, Blair does seem to have a solid set of core principles that transcend mere political expedience. Stephens argues that this in part explains Blair's ability to get along with President Bush on matters of global policy. At the same time, Blair is also a consummate and accomplished politician, who recognizes (again, as Stephens argues) that the British prime minister ultimately has little alternative *except* to do all he can to keep the UK's relationship with the US on solid footing, regardless of who is in the White House.

In short, this title may seem a bit too glossy and superficial to Americans who already have some degree of familiarity with British politics and Tony Blair himself. However, for those who don't, or who seek a quick refresher course, Stephens' book has a lot to argue for it. I consider myself relatively conversant with the UK's politics and government, but still learned a lot from reading this. I think other readers may find themselves reaching the same conclusion.

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Tony Blair: The Making of a World Leader
Tony) Stephens, Philip Blair
Manufacturer: Viking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NW3YIA

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