Contemporary Visual Merchandising and Environmental Design, Third Edition
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Contemporary Visual Merchandising and Environmental Design, Third Edition
    Jay Diamond , and Ellen Diamond
    Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    GeneralGeneral | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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    1. Silent Selling: Best Practices And Effective Strategies In Visual Merchandising Silent Selling: Best Practices And Effective Strategies In Visual Merchandising
    2. Retail Desire: Design Display and Visual Merchandising Retail Desire: Design Display and Visual Merchandising
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    ASIN: 0130988847

    Book Description

    This comprehensive and practical book provides an introduction to visual merchandising. The most complete book of its type on the market, it is clearly written and contains a wealth of photographs and drawings from most major retailers. A companion CD-ROM provides a wealth of resource materials. This book about retail displays and merchandising focuses on every aspect of visual merchandising (not just fashion apparel), covering facilities design, display forms, materials and props, lighting, color, and visual themes. It describes how the small retailer can energize their displays without spending alot of capital, and presents examples of successful retail merchandising. For visual merchandisers, other display personnel, and owners/managers of retail outlets.

    Chuck Close: Art Ed Books and Kits (Art Ed Kits)
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      Chuck Close: Art Ed Books and Kits (Art Ed Kits)
      Janet Boris
      Manufacturer: Harry N Abrams
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover

      TeensTeens | Subjects | Books | Authors, A-Z | Biographies & Memoirs | Health, Mind & Body | History & Historical Fiction | Horror | Literature & Fiction | Manga | Mysteries | Reference | Religion & Spirituality | School & Sports | Science & Technology | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Series | Social Issues
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      ASIN: 0810967820

      Book Description

      Abrams' Art Ed Books and Kits provide everything children need to create art using the approaches of world-renowned painters and sculptors!

      Inspiration for budding young artists Art Ed Books and Kits come with whatever types of materials the artist actually uses or used, such as paper, nontoxic paint, air-drying clay, oil pastels, colored pencils, cameras, pencils, brushes, art wire, palettes, and/or glue. In each kit is a biography of the artist illustrated with full-color art reproductions as well as photographs of the artist at work, and an eight-page activity book providing easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions to help children create their own masterpieces.

      Each kit has been approved by the original artist or his/her estate. A portion of the proceeds from Art Ed Books and Kits benefits Studio in A School.

      Chuck Close (American, b. 1940) is known for his large-scale photorealistic portraits of himself, his artist friends, and his family. In recent years, Close has created a new method of painting using grids, full of color painted with expressionistic brushstrokes.
      Art supplies: Disposable camera with film, multi-colored stamp pad, and 10 sheets of gridded art paper.

      San Francisco : Creation of a City
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        San Francisco : Creation of a City
        Tom ; DeNevi, Don Moulin
        Manufacturer: Celestial Arts
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback
        ASIN: B000ND79GM
        San Francisco, Creation Of A City
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          San Francisco, Creation Of A City
          Tom and Don DeNevi Moulin
          Manufacturer: Celestial Arts
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback
          ASIN: B000GQSA28
          San Francisco, creation of a city
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            San Francisco, creation of a city

            Manufacturer: Celestial Arts
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Unknown Binding

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            ASIN: 0890871884
            San Francisco, creation of a city
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              San Francisco, creation of a city

              Manufacturer: Celestial Arts
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              Binding: Unknown Binding

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              ASIN: 0890872252

              Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents
              Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
              • Could Not Put This Book Down
              • Its a great gift
              • This book is boring!!!
              • Marred By A Mean Spirited Tone And Lack Of Serious Scholarship
              • Get the dirt on our past leaders.
              Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents
              Cormac O'Brien
              Manufacturer: Quirk Books
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

              GeneralGeneral | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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              Accessories:
              1. Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents: Trivia Card Game Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents: Trivia Card Game
              2. Secret Lives of the First Ladies: What Your Teachers Never Told You About the Women of the White House Secret Lives of the First Ladies: What Your Teachers Never Told You About the Women of the White House

              ASIN: 1931686572

              Book Description

              Your high school history teachers never gave you a book like this one! Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents features outrageous and uncensored profiles of the men in the White House - complete with hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downright wacko facts. You'll discover that:
              - George Washington spent a whopping 7% of his salary on booze
              - John Quincy Adams loved to skinny-dip in the Potomac River
              - Warren G. Harding gambled with White House china when he ran low on cash
              - Jimmy Carter reported a UFO sighting in Georgia
              - And Richard Nixon . . . sheesh, don't get us started on Nixon!
              With chapters on everyone from George Washington to G. W. Bush, Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents tackles all the tough questions that other history books are afraid to answer: Are there really secret tunnels underneath the White House? How many presidential daughters have bared their all for Playboy? And what was Nancy Reagan thinking when she appeared on Diff'rent Strokes? American history was never this much fun in school!

              Customer Reviews:

              5 out of 5 stars Could Not Put This Book Down.......2007-09-26

              This is the most interesting book that I have ever read. Perhaps that is because I like politics and our presidents. But, every American should learn about their leaders, past and present.

              Every now and then, the author exposes his liberal bias. What else would we expect from a presidential historian? If this offends you, read the book anyway. The author really criticizes, and praises, presidents of all parties.

              I believe this author on most points as I have read some of his revelations elswwhere. And I have lived to witness our last 12 presidents, from Franklin D. Roosevelt until now.

              You may learn as I did, that we have had just a few really good presidents. And a bunch of misfits. I believe the author correctly revealed that.

              I recommend that anyone who cares about their country read this book.

              5 out of 5 stars Its a great gift.......2007-08-23

              i bought this as a gift for someone who enjoys presidential history, it presents all of our country's presidents in a playful light and has lots and lots of facts that are interesting, as well as nice little sketches of each of them. Its also a great bathroom reader type of book. Thumbs up

              2 out of 5 stars This book is boring!!!.......2007-05-28

              I was anticipating some juicy tales to be revealed by this book only to find out the secret tale of John Quincy Adams was he liked to skiny-dip in the Potomac River? Isn't that located in the middle of Washington D.C and how secret could that be??? It was a waste of my time.....

              2 out of 5 stars Marred By A Mean Spirited Tone And Lack Of Serious Scholarship.......2006-12-13

              This book devotes from 4 to 9 pages to every American president. Each individual section includes a brief summary of the president's successes and failures while in office. The "secrets lives" aspect includes a description of his temperament, character and personal habits. For example, John Adams is said to have been vain and irritable, while Frankin Pierce is depicted as an alcoholic. Also much oddball trivia is mentioned, such as that George Washington had dentures made of hippo bone rather than wood.

              The biographical information is at least somewhat educational, especially on the lesser known presidents such as Millard Fillmore and Zachary Taylor. But most people who study history will already known much of what is written here. The truth is that O'Brien is not an actual presidential historian with scholarly credentials. But rather a freelance writer who apparently just read a few books, such as "The Reader's Companion to the American Presidency," and then gathered together the bits he thought would be the most scandalous and entertaining. Also O'Brien provides no original research and some of what he reports as being factual is still subject to debate among scholars.

              However, what I found most disturbing about this book is O'Brien's tone and attitude. His so-called "humorous style" is basically a series of lame wisecracks and insults directed against the various presidents, especially those he dislikes. For example, he jokingly suggests that Andrew Jackson had "some unknown frontal lobe damage". I have no problem challenging the policy decisions of a particular president. In fact, I disagree with much of Jackson's presidential agenda, especially his bigoted policies directed against American Indians. However, I also think it is possible to have political disagreements without resorting to the sort of cheapshots that O' Brien uses. Overall, I found the book to be juvenile, mean-spirited and overly negative. There are many better researched and well written books on presidential history out there. So don't waste your time on this one.

              4 out of 5 stars Get the dirt on our past leaders........2006-07-26

              Wanna know the dirty little secrets of our presidents? This is the book. With 5 or 6 pages on each guy, every president has some tidbits of bad press on them. You know about Bill Clinton, Nixon and JFK. Now you can snark at Taft, FDR and even Lincoln.

              This book is a light but fun read. It's style is light hearted and irreverant. Hey, Presidents are human, too, you know.
              Secret Lives of the First Ladies: What Your Teachers Never Told You About the Women of the White House
              Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
              • First ladies - First rate
              • oregonmommy
              • Worth reading!
              • interesting trivia - too bad the typeset is so tiny and feint
              • Much better ... for what it is
              Secret Lives of the First Ladies: What Your Teachers Never Told You About the Women of the White House
              Cormac O'Brien
              Manufacturer: Quirk Books
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

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              1. Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents
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              3. All the Presidents' Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of America's First Families All the Presidents' Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of America's First Families
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              ASIN: 1594740143

              Book Description

              From the author of our popular Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents comes another rambunctious look at White House history and this time, women are in the spotlight. Secrets Lives of the First Ladies features outrageous and uncensored profiles of all the presidents' wives.

              You'll discover that Dolley Madison loved to chew tobacco. Mary Todd Lincoln was committed to an asylum, and Mamie Eisenhower never missed an episode of As the World Turns. You'll also learn why Hillary Clinton went to work for Wal-Mart (long before she started campaigning for a higher minimum wage).

              Complete with biographies of every first lady, Secret Lives of the First Ladies tackles rough questions that other history books are afraid to ask: How many of these women owned slaves? Which ones were cheating on their husbands? And why did Eleanor Roosevelt serve hot dogs to the Kings and Queens of England? American history was never this much fun!

              Customer Reviews:

              5 out of 5 stars First ladies - First rate.......2007-02-24

              Recently a foreign journalist interviewing George W. Bush asked the President of the United States to turn out his pockets. What an interesting, humanizing thing to ask of the most powerful man on Earth. And exactly the kind of thing that never occurs in the burlesque of today's 24 hour electronic news cycle. The contents of our pockets, those little handy nooks that serve as contingency storage for our day-to-day indispensables, speak wonderful, accessible volumes about us as people. Show me what you have in your pockets and, whether or not I know WHO you are, I get a glimpse what KIND of person you are. In Secret Lives of the First Ladies, Cormac O'Brien has politely turned out the pockets of the spouses of each of our presidents, and it's a neat-o treasure trove he uncovers. His style is neither lewd nor exploitative, though, to be sure, there's plenty of juicy stuff here. His project is a sort of cameo portraiture of some forty seven intriguing and often remarkable women. The only flattery in these portraits is a consistent, entertaining, and often astounding disclosure of each woman's individual humanity. It is tempting to read the book in little chunks (as I did at first) owing to its concise chaptering. However, it's a real pleasure go back and review long stretches, watching how the public appearance of the First Lady has evolved over time while her private role has remained remarkably consistent: she is the president's wife. Which is to say, sometimes she is a loving yet diminutive spousal anchor and sometimes she is a headstrong engine of scandal and outrage. Sometimes she is a fully enfranchised partner in even the weightiest decision-making at the executive mansion, including public policy. That there were first ladies fitting all these descriptions in every era since the founding of the republic, to me, was quite amazing. If you know any married couples, you will find the First Ladies, good and bad, tragic and heroic, satisfyingly and entertainingly familiar. Predictably, a frustrating aspect of The Secret Lives of the First Ladies is the rigid brevity of its entries, particularly in chapters describing women whom one would like to examine more closely. The challenge is to keep track of those First Ladies whose full biographies you now want to find and read. Alas, one has the nagging fear that those biographies won't be as frank and entertaining as these admittedly brief introductions. But, such is the nature of this omnibus beast. O'Brien's prose is a yummy balance of richness and skim-ability with very few false notes. The design and illustration are a constant reassurance that this is a social visit and not a college text. You're here to make friends and there is no requirement to pass a final exam. A pleasure to read cover-to-cover or simply to table hop as you meet these one-of-a-kind ladies. Of its genre, this is an A+.

              4 out of 5 stars oregonmommy.......2006-06-17

              If you like trivia, you'll enjoy this book. If you have only enough time to read short chapters or a few pages at a time, again, you'll like this book. Each chapter, which is about one first lady, is only a few pages in length -- perfect for bedtime reading for tired moms like me. There was enough information about each first lady to pique my interest, and make me want to find more in-depth biographies about many of the women.

              5 out of 5 stars Worth reading!.......2006-02-27

              A very good read! Interesting facts about all the first ladies. It is sure to make you laugh. You will find out things you did not know. Entertaining.

              3 out of 5 stars interesting trivia - too bad the typeset is so tiny and feint.......2006-01-17

              Warning: Do not buy this book for an elderly person, people with bifocals or people who wear glasses to read - unless you can get it in LARGE print.

              I bought this book for my mother. However, the typeset is soooooo small and light weight that the words literally just looked like lines on the page to her.

              3 out of 5 stars Much better ... for what it is.......2005-09-17

              I didn't think Cormac O'Brien's previous book, "The Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents," was worth a lot. Though some reviewers raved about how he brought forgotten presidents "to life" for them, I still fail to see the point in bringing William Henry Harrison "to life" if all you know about him are a couple of People Magazine irrelevancies. Combine that with conventional political sneers breezily delivered and you've got perfect modern history-writing.

              "Oh lighten up. It's all in fun." Okay: If you liked the author's last dive into hip, ironic, personality-driven history, you'll probably like this one. In fact, I found it less objectionable because the relative historical anonymity -- even insignificance -- of most American first ladies fits better with the author's interest in trivia in the first place. (I recall one newspaper editor gushing about Jacqueline Kennedy not long ago, saying something to the effect that she was "the first first lady to go to college, the first one to have lived overseas, the first one to speak a foreign language!" None of which is even remotely true.)

              While O'Brien largely glossed over most of what was important in the presidents' terms in office, his thumbnail biographies of the first ladies tend to be balanced and fairly comprehensive. And although he still gets his digs in at Nixon, Reagan, and George Dubya, his chapters on Mrs. Nixon, Mrs. Reagan, and Mrs. Bush (both of them, actually) are fair and even sympathetic.

              I'm not sure precisely who the target market is for this book. But if people in that demographic are seeking lightweight reading that tells them a little bit, maybe, about American history and politics, then I suppose this will suit them well enough.
              Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents: Trivia Card Game
              Average customer rating: Not rated
                Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents: Trivia Card Game
                Cormac O'Brien
                Manufacturer: Quirk Books
                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Cards

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                3. The Complete Book of Presidential Trivia The Complete Book of Presidential Trivia
                4. Presidential Trivia Presidential Trivia

                ASIN: 1931686599

                Book Description

                We've got a big election coming up, and everyone is buzzing with talk of presidents past and future. But if you still can't tell your Tafts from your Tylers, then it s time to play Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents: Trivia Card Game!
                Complete with rules for one, two, or an entire roomful of players, this trivia card game features more than 150 witty, irreverent, and fiendishly challenging trivia questions: Which president walked his pet raccoon on a leash? Which president slept for (literally) half of the day? Who worked as a cover model for Cosmopolitan magazine? Which one blamed air pollution on trees?
                Complete with hilarious two-color illustrations of every president, this trivia card game is perfect for Democrats, Republicans, and Independents of all ages. The difficulty level ranges from simple true/false answers to ultra-hard "for history geeks only" challenges. Deal out the cards -- and let the games begin!
                The Best Year of Their Lives: Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon in 1948: Learning the Secrets of Power
                Average customer rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
                • BORING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                • What a Disappointment
                • Mr. Morrow Needs Prozac or was he on some bad acid trip
                • Three titles in search of a story
                • Digging Deep And Turning Up Gold
                The Best Year of Their Lives: Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon in 1948: Learning the Secrets of Power
                Lance Morrow
                Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Hardcover

                Kennedy, John F.Kennedy, John F. | ( K ) | People, A-Z | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
                Nixon, RichardNixon, Richard | ( N ) | People, A-Z | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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                ASIN: B0009WUIF6

                Amazon.com

                The Best Year of Their Lives is not a typical presidential biography in that it forgoes the comprehensive approach to history. Instead, Lance Morrow shows why 1948 was a watershed year not just for John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon personally, but for the nation as well. That is the year that Johnson, in his bid for the Senate, used huge sums of corporate money to bombard the media with lies about his opponent, finally stealing the election by 87 votes by having a ballot box stuffed (thus earning the nickname "Landslide Lyndon"). Had he lost, he would have arguably been out of politics forever and the course of history would have been changed. At the same time, Nixon, as a freshman congressman, launched his political career by using his seat on the House Un-American Activities Committee to relentlessly pursue Alger Hiss, making himself a prominent national figure in the process. (Four years later he became Eisenhower's running mate.) Meanwhile, Kennedy was working hard to suppress the fact that he had Addison's disease. He continued to lie about his health for the rest of his life just as he later hid his reckless personal behavior. Through anecdotes and analysis (including personal contact; all three were presences in Morrow's childhood), Morrow shows how secrets and lies were to shape the behavior of all of them. This "convergence of personal ambition with secrecy, amorality, and a ruthless manipulation of the truth" would have tremendous implications for the country. The events of 1948 also foreshadow the tragedies and scandals that would end all three of their administrations.

                Externally, the three presidents were radically different. Internally, argues Morrow, they were identical in many ways in that they "shared a tendency toward elaborately deliberated amorality; all three behaved as if rules were for others, not for them." Along with a rapidly changing American society, the start of the Cold War, and looming atomic destruction, 1948 ushered in modern politics and these men were the embodiment of it. Absorbing and unconventional, The Best Year of Their Lives adds to the considerable bodies of work already available on all three presidents. --Shawn Carkonen

                Book Description

                Three future presidents-JFK, Nixon, and LBJ-in the crucial year of 1948, when all were young congressmen facing major turning points, while America itself was poised as a new global superpower.

                In 1948, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon were all ambitious young congressmen at pivotal points in their lives. LBJ was in a desperate Senate race, running against a more popular candidate. Campaigning frantically by helicopter across Texas, LBJ won only with the help of corrupt political bosses, whose illegal ballot-stuffing put "Landslide Lyndon" into the Senate by 87 votes. At the same time, Nixon was having his first meetings with Whittaker Chambers, the witness in the Alger Hiss trial that would make Nixon a national figure and lead to his selection as Eisenhower's running mate four years later. And Kennedy was still recovering from the near-fatal attack of Addison's disease he had suffered the previous year. From that point on, he would conceal the truth about his health, just as he concealed his reckless personal life. In all three politicians, Morrow finds a streak of amorality and ruthlessness-each believed that the rules didn't apply to him. Lies of one kind or another-lies they told or exposed-would propel each of them to power; lies would also undo LBJ and Nixon's presidencies and, ultimately, tarnish JFK's reputation.

                Morrow also tells the story of America in 1948, when it, too, was learning the secrets of power, and coming to grips with the vast changes of the postwar world. For readers of Robert Caro and Robert Dallek, The Best Year of Their Lives offers a fresh look at a crucial turning point in the lives of three presidents, by one of America's most observant and thoughtful journalists.

                Customer Reviews:

                3 out of 5 stars BORING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2006-06-12

                Almost 300 pages of nothing - including several pages wasted on the camparison of Nixon to Lana Turner (I still cannot make the connection). Morrow rambles on endlessly about minor details of the 3 main characters lives - and most of it is BS. This book was horrible - no wonder why it was in the discount section of the bookstore. What a waste !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                1 out of 5 stars What a Disappointment.......2005-12-20

                This book starts with a great premise -- three future Presidents at a common turning point in their lives, 1948. I bought this book thinking it was history. But I soon discovered that the occasional random historical nugget was buried among piles and piles of pretentious psychobabble, strained metaphors, obscure pop culture references, and delusions of literary grandeur. I'm not sure what's more bizarre -- the discussion of Nixon's sex life, or the pages and pages exploring the similarities between Nixon and Lana Turner.

                A history of these three presidents in 1948 would make a great book. Maybe someday someone will actually write it.

                1 out of 5 stars Mr. Morrow Needs Prozac or was he on some bad acid trip.......2005-09-24

                I thought Mr. Morrow was a Senior Editor of Time, not the National Enquirer. This is an abysmal attempt to summarize and extrapolate on Caro's Years of Lyndon Johnson, Richard Morriss' Years of Richard Nixon, and most especially Garry Wills' Nixon Agonistes. Wills especially should sue Morrow for impersonation.

                2 out of 5 stars Three titles in search of a story.......2005-09-10

                I should have known better. The last book I read that had a title, subtitle, and sub-subtitle confused me and that seems to have happened again. Morrow offers three titles, labels, or come ons: "The best years of their lives," "Learning the secrets of power," and "Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon in 1948." I'm still not sure which one is the `real' title. The three concepts each had promise. These are three American icons, both loved and despised. The year - 1948 - happened to be a pivotal year, not just for these three, but also for the rest of America. The hot war was cold, and the cold was getting hot, and the Baby Boom was booming. Opportunity and optimism seemed unlimited, especially to young, power hungry politicians like Nixon, Johnson and Kennedy.

                The disappointment I felt was that none of the promises implied in the three labels for the book earned much attention from the author. Morrow tells us more about Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss than Richard Nixon, about George Smathers and Joe Kennedy than Jack Kennedy, and Coke Stevenson and Lady Bird rather than Lyndon Johnson. If these three presidents of the future learned any secrets of power in 1948, the secrets remain undiscovered by me. Maybe I'm not reading well enough into the analysis. Morrow waxes poetic about eerie parallels in lives, like Lana Turner and Richard Nixon, notes the impact of all the dead, diseased and disturbed relatives and their effects on the three main characters, and offers an encyclopedia of armchair psychoanalysis and cultural sidebars, mixing religion, crucifixion complexes, politics, Hollywood, and Albert Kinsey. Theories, not secrets.

                It is not even clear how -if at all - that 1948 was the best year of each man's life. The attempt to link these three lives to the Hollywood film reminded me that 1948 was the best year of "our" lives, so I guess all Americans had a pretty good year in 1948, especially war veterans. But Johnson was not much of a veteran (Johnson's Silver Star makes John Kerry's Purple Hearts look like Medals of Honor) and Kennedy, well Morrow acknowledges that the PT-109 story was more of a court martial offense than the makings of a heroic legend. Even Nixon was more of a Mr. Roberts than any battle-scarred veteran. These men had more to be embarrassed about than proud when it comes to war service, but politics makes legends out of molehills and Morrow provides us with three moles. Morrow's tangential summary description of the role, character and accomplishments of George Marshall makes these three men look like the three blind mice.

                Reading on, looking for integration or even a consistent narrative, the pages slipped away, leaving me scratching my head. When a 300-page book has only four chapters, maybe that should have been a sign. The stories jump all around, often into Jack Kennedy's sex life and his coarse way of rationalizing his need for sex, and Morrow seems to obsess about dark secrets, homosexuality, suicide, drunkenness and bankruptcy. These may be secrets a lot of people would like to keep a secret, but they don't tell me anything about "the secrets of power."

                Stephen Ambrose (Nixon), Thomas Reeves (Kennedy) and Robert Caro (Johnson) are much better chroniclers of the more complete, factual, historic versions of the lives of thee important figures, including 1948.

                5 out of 5 stars Digging Deep And Turning Up Gold.......2005-08-03

                The Party did its best to paint Richard Nixon as some sort of war hero, but it didn't have too much to work with. Apparently Nixon spent most of the war amassing a small fortune in winning crap games and poker, gambling and the dog races, making a specialty of fleecing other members of his platoon on payday. He came away from WWII with a substantial little campaign fund, more power to him, but not easy to bulk up into hero status. LBJ too tried to re-cast his war years as his personal voyage into the danger zone but of course that was just so much hogwash. Lance Morrow shows us JFK's war as being the only one really that had the oomph of legend, as witness his book PT-109, which had something Americans identified with, perhaps a willingness to push through even when things look darkest.

                And things seemed bleak in 1948, the year Morrow focuses on in his new, exciting psychobiography. Unexpectedly bleak, for Americans had been longing for years for the war to end, when, it was said, they would find the answers and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Instead what did they discover? Only more uncertainty, and a nation once again divided among itself. It was actually a great time to be a politician; as Morrow points out, pols thrive on misery and do their best work while energizing a demoralized public into action one way or another. For Kennedy, the year involved accepting first the wild love life of his sister "Kick," whose involvement with the Cavendish family would have assuredly led to a Profumo like scandal later in life, and then her tragic death, with its reverberations of his brother's earlier death in the War. The shades of night were creeping in fast for Jack, who learned around the same time something of the dimension of his own Addison's disease, a psychic wound as well as a physical threat. If he hadn't hitherto looked to sex for an escape, he certainly began to do so now.

                Nixon wasn't threatened by illness, but the way he jumped onto the Pumpkin Papers revealed a man with a certain mania on his brain. Was it the urge, like all politicians, just to see his picture in the paper no matter what the context? Or did he believe he was saving the country from those who had plunged us into war--a war which, he imagined, was really a liberal jihad unrelated to Americans' ordinary concerns? People liked Nixon because he was one of us, from the lower middle class, he wasn't pretentious like FDR or JFK or, heaven forbid, Alger Hiss; and Nixon's dogged pursuit of Hiss--like a terrier with his teeth firmly in Alger Hiss' patrician ass--carried with it the fanatical strains of Madame Defarge from the TALE OF TWO CITIES. He was the little man pulling down the big man, and the crowd roared in approval.

                Johnson's attack on Coke Stevenson is the weak link in Morrow's otherwise brilliant account. Caro did this part so much better and at greater length in Vol 2 of his biography, that rehashing it here produces no new insights, little new info.

                I found myself wishing that Morrow had introduced a fourth character, perhaps Truman himself, to give yet more shadows to his picture of a fateful year. Could have been like a new Mount Rushmore! (Or the 4 Marx Brothers, depending on how jaundiced your view of politics.)
                Secret Lives of the U S Presidents
                Average customer rating: Not rated
                  Secret Lives of the U S Presidents
                  Cormac Obrien
                  Manufacturer: QUIRK BOOKS
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Paperback
                  ASIN: B000QBS9E2
                  Secret Lives of U. S. Presidents
                  Average customer rating: Not rated
                    Secret Lives of U. S. Presidents
                    Cormac O'Brien
                    Manufacturer: Quirk Books
                    ProductGroup: Book
                    Binding: Paperback
                    ASIN: B000NJYYNM

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                    3. Dangerously In Love
                    4. Design and Analysis: A Researcher's Handbook (4th Edition)
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                    8. Entertaining is Fun!: How to Be A Popular Hostess
                    9. Eyewitness: Reports from an Art World in Crisis
                    10. Femme Fatale: Famous Beauties Then and Now

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