The “stimulating; richly informed†(The Wall Street Journal) story behind the Compromise of 1850; which preserved the Union on the eve of the Civil War—“original in concept; stylish in execution…provides everything history readers want.…The characters seem as vivid; human; and understandable as those who walk the halls of Congress today†(The Washington Post).The Mexican War introduced vast new territories into the United States; including California and the present-day Southwest. When California settlers petitioned for admission to the Union; Congress was presented with a seemingly intractable dilemma: with the Senate precariously balanced at fifteen free states and fifteen slave states; would California be free or slave? So began an unprecedented crisis in American government and the longest debate in Senate history. Fergus Bordewich tells the epic story of the Compromise of 1850 with skill and vigor; bringing to life two generations of senators who dominated the great debate. Luminaries such as John Calhoun; Daniel Webster; and Henry Clay were nearing the end of their long careers; while rising stars such as Jefferson Davis; William Seward; and Stephen Douglas would shape the country’s politics as slavery gradually fractured the nation. The Compromise saved the Union from collapse; but it did so at a great cost. America’s Great Debate takes us back to a time when political compromise was not only possible; but imperative for the survival of the nation.
#4802076 in Books 2007-12-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x .22 x 5.00l; .26 #File Name: 143469477196 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. The funhouse mirror of the otherworldlyBy J from NYC.W. Leadbeater was quite the writer. In this book; which is more like a sacred text than anything else; he illustrates very calmly another order of existence discovered through his practice of Astral projection; Yoga with an edge; one might call it.Anyone who has tried this personally will attest to some strange goings on afterward. It is as if Blake's mind made manacles crack; but something more happens as well. Leadbeater never goes into the techniques (he is the one "going there") and it is evident he spent a lot of time doing these exercises."These evanescent shapes; though generally those of living creatures of some sort; human or otherwise; no more express the existence of separate entities in the essence than do moments on a previously smooth lake by a sudden squall. They seem to mere reflections from the vast storehouse of the astral plane; yet they have usually a certain appropriateness to the character of the thought stream; which calls them into existence; though nearly always with some grotesque distortion; some terrifying or unpleasant aspect about the phenomena."This is as beautiful a book as I have read. Recommended.18 of 18 people found the following review helpful. Interesting; but somewhat wordy ...By Neko-sanAstral Projection is a subject that I always thought fascinating. So after I installed the kindle application into my portable devices; this ebook was a no brainier for me. However; you must be forewarned that the book is dated 1895; and as such very wordy and repetitive at times. Regardless; it delivers.This ebook uses a clear; easy to read font type. Paragraphs wraps around well. The title of each chapter is all caps bold; but remain on the same type case. It has a table of contents that is hyperlinked; and easy to use. It contains no pictures.The hyperlinked table of contents include:IntroductionChapter I A General SurveyChapter II SceneryChapter III Inhabitants. Human. Non-Human. ArtificialChapter IV PhenomenaChapter V ConclusionThe Astral Planes are described with some detail in Chapter II. In Chapter III; the author describes the inhabitants of the astral planes including human such as the living (adepts; psychically-developed people; ordinary people; and black magicians); and the dead (nirmanakaya; adepts; ordinary people; shades; shells; vitalized shells; suicides; vampires and werewolves; man in the grey world; and black magicians); non-human such as elemental essence; animals; nature spirits; and devas; and Artificial such as elementals; and human artificials.Interesting enough; Chapter IV presents the author thoughts about a wide range of phenomena including churchyard ghost; apparitions; haunted localities; family ghosts; bell-ringing; fairies; communicating entities; astral resources; clairvoyance; second-sight; astral forces; etheric currents; etheric pressure; Latent energy; sympathetic vibration; mantras; disintegration; materialization; why darkness is required; spirit photographs; reduplication; precipitation; slate-writing; levitation; spirit lights; handling fire; transmutation; and repercussion.In all; there is a lot of interesting material which is somewhat hindered by its presentation.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Overwhelming!By Suzannah_MThe part of the book concerning the scenery of the astral plane was the most interesting to me. According to C.W. Leadbeater; the astral plane has seven divisions. The lower divisions have for their background the physical world and are made of denser matter than the higher realms; which are less material and more withdrawn from our world and its interests. The lowest of the astral divisions -- what we call hell -- is a world of darkness; horror and evil; devoid of all that is good and beautiful.The complexity of the information on the inhabitants and phenomena of the astral felt somewhat bewildering to me. There exist an infinite variety of astral entities and phenomena and I'd rather have nothing to do with many of those described in this book. Those individuals who attempt to acquire psychic powers; especially those whose hearts are not pure; are playing a very dangerous game. C.W. Leadbeater writes: "Let no one think it an unmixed blessing to have the wider sight of the astral plane; for upon one in whom that vision is opened the sorrow and misery; the evil and the greed of the world press an ever-present burden; until he often feels inclined to echo the passionate adjuration of Schiller: '... Take back this clear-sightedness... Give me back my blindness -- the happy darkness of my senses; take back thy dreadful gift.'"The book reminds us that elevated thoughts and a noble heart attract benevolent spirits while toughts of a low nature attract malevolent entities; here on the earth as well as on the other side.
