The 30th-anniversary edition of Juan Williams's celebrated account of the tumultuous early years of the civil rights movement From the Montgomery bus boycott to the Little Rock Nine to the Selma–Montgomery march; thousands of ordinary people who participated in the American civil rights movement; their stories are told in Eyes on the Prize. From leaders such as Martin Luther King; Jr.; to lesser-known figures such as Barbara Rose John and Jim Zwerg; each man and woman made the decision that somethinghad to be done to stop discrimination. These moving accounts and pictures of the first decade of the civil rights movement are a tribute to the people; black and white; who took part in the fight for justice and the struggle they endured.
#211605 in Books 2013-07-30 2013-07-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x 1.50 x 5.70l; 1.16 #File Name: 0143123017672 pages
Review
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful. TEN POUNDS OF MATERIAL IN A TWO POUND BAGBy Neil B.I concur with the author's premise that the role of food in war has been largely overlooked by historians. My own research focused on the U.S. Food Administration in World War I and thus I eagerly purchased this study; especially since it received many positive reviews. I offer a contrarian review to those that offer such praise. It is a very tough book to read and I doubt that many made it through each and every page. It contains a lot of interesting and important information; but falls short in several respects: 1) the author it tries to cover too much ground and in doing so is very shallow in many sections; 2) It is literally all over the map - in one section you will travel to a variety of locations impacted by the war and flit back and forth between years and events; including the pre and post-war periods. An overarching summary; including maps and charts; of the pre-war production and flow of food (wheat; sugar; and meat) would have helped immensely; 3) The final section of the book includes advocacy for some sort of world council that supersedes national governments to control the production and distribution of food to overcome what the author perceives as two major problems - 1) climate change (I assume caused by global warming) and 2) over consumption in the United States and some other western societies. I do not now why such advocacy is included in a book about food in World War II; but as stated earlier; this book is all over the map. To support this contemporary recommendation the author refers to World War I (not II) and claims that the world learned then that free markets don't work during wartime in regard to food production and distribution and therefore links that conclusion to our current situation (global warming/climate change). The problem with this assertion is that it is simply not accurate. During World War I; the Wilson administration and the U.S. Food Administration (led by Herbert Hoover) did not supersede the free market because it wasn't working properly. Instead they did so because they and others assumed it would not fulfill wartime demands. That is a difference with an important distinction. Food prices began to rise sharply in the United States as a result of a worldwide crop failure in wheat in 1916 due to poor weather (not caused by global warming). The 1915 wheat crop in the United States entailed a record setting yield by a large margin (exceeding domestic requirements by 66 percent). The prior record was set by the 1914 crop. But Hoover blamed the price spikes in that occurred following the poor crop of 1916 on speculators and and succeeded in replacing the system that existed with one controlled by the U.S. Food Administration; which was formally created in August 1917. But in 1917 the United States wheat crop once again fell well short of expectations as demand for the crop soared. And yet all demands (for the Allies and well as domestically) were met in 1917-19 because of stockpiles from the 1914-15 crop years; when the government did not control the markets. Facts are funny things. Historians can use all of them; some of them; and even pick and choose the ones that support their attempt at advocacy. In my opinion all too often historians cross the line into advocacy. This book includes a mixture of high quality research and advocacy. The result is that it falls short of expectations. A better focused and organized effort; without the advocacy; would have hit the mark. Adam Tooze set the standard in this regard with his masterful study of the Nazi economy - The Wages of Destruction. This book falls well short of that mark.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Interesting and thought provokingBy Don BemontA very readable book that describes the nutritional lives of Americans; Europeans; Asians; and Australians before; after; and particularly during World War II. Food systems as an important cause of the war. Food extraction and distribution reflecting different ideologies; with unexpected impacts on the ability to wage war. And; of course; food distribution (and lack of distribution) as a weapon of war.The book is very successful at taking the scattered facts that are widely known about WWII; and placing them them into an interesting; coherent narrative -- a story in which the food supply was both the basis of and the outcome of power.This is certainly not the book for you; if you seek a full accounting of the important battles. It is also not the book for if you prefer your war stories as simplistic myths about heroism. But read the book; and you will never think of lend lease the same way again... nor the holocaust... nor rationing... nor military rations... nor Hitler's attack on the USSR... nor the Marshall Plan... nor the use of the atomic bombs... nor our contemporary idea of good nutrition.Further; whether you are a liberal or a conservative; you will find yourself nodding knowingly at certain passages; reinforced in your worldview... only to find that same worldview undermined a few pages later. You will also come away with a new understanding of why America and western Europe came out of the war with contrasting sensibilities regarding the proper role of government.All in all; this is the best history book I have read in years.7 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Completely New History of War Through the Prism of the CivilianBy Eros FaustIt is said that armchair generals discuss strategy and tactics while real generals discuss logistics. This book discusses food and logistics as the engines which produce so much suffering in times of war; and which are such driving factors behind military strategy and the decisions to fight wars. I recommend it.If you are like me; you've read countless biographies about the persons behind WWII; and countless more about the battles. If you are ready for a wholly new twist; read about the role that the quest for food played in WWII. This exhaustively researched and well documented history will open your eyes to new motivations for conquest and expansion; and the role which racial identity played in deciding who was to be fed; and who was to be starved.The lessons are surprisingly current as well. While reading it I couldn't help but think about the United States in the second decade of the 21st Century; and how our supply lines and resources are balanced on the head of a pin. I began thinking "what if this happened here?" What would I do to survive. Could Americans survive a disruption of our fuel supply; which would disrupt our food supply; and ultimately our ambivalence about life. Could we survive long without electrical power; fresh water piped into our homes; and air conditioning (and electric heat).Nicely written and chock full of facts.
