The Commanders or The Good Life

The Commanders

Author: Bob Woodward

It is impossible to examine any part of the war on terrorism in the twenty-first century without seeing the hand of Dick Cheney, Colin Powell or one of their loyalists. The Commanders, an account of the use of the military in the first Bush administration, is in many respects their story -- the intimate account of the tensions, disagreements and debates on the road to war.

Library Journal

Wars make great fiction and even better fact. But best of all is the realm in between. So it is with journalistic histories like Woodward's latest book. YOU ARE THERE: in the inner sanctums of the Pentagon and the White House. YOU HEAR ALL: the privileged conversations, the promises to Kuwait, the military plans. From Panama to Riyadh, from Noriega to Saddam, Woodward bombards you with unrelentless, highly placed gossip, the brew of 400-plus unnamed tattletalers WHO WERE THERE, or so we are told. Sans footnotes, this book will torture scholars for centuries. Truth or embellishment, the glimpses of the pinnacle of power fascinate. Other more scholarly histories of this period will come, better written and more exegetical. Hopefully we will know the source of their tales. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/91.-- John Yurechko, Georgetown Univ., Washington, D.C.

New interesting book: Interventions or Vietnam Wars 1945 1990

The Good Life

Author: Van Alen Institut

A ball and a wall used to be all you needed for hours of entertainment. But these days, when good design is an expected component of almost every experience, that's just not enough. The right color and composition can make all the difference. Fortunately, architects and landscape designers have answered the call and produced an amazing array of public spaces for recreation. The Good Life shows the best new designs from around the globe in one colorful collection. From Acconci Studio's Skateboard Park in San Juan, to ShoP's East River Project in New York City, to Ken Smith's Railyard Park in Santa Fe, to muf Art and Architecture's Barking Town Square in London, these spaces are some of the most imaginative work around. Stripped from the structural constraints and serious programs of so many building types, the projects here are designed for fun.
The Good Life was organized by Zoë Ryan, Senior Curator at Van Alen Institute and editor of this volume. A broad team of creative experts, including Paola Antonelli, Janet Abrams, Michael Bierut, and Diana Balmori have contributed their thoughts in a series of roundtable discussions, printed in this publication. The list of contributors reads like a who's who of design: Stan Allen, Martha Schwartz, Diller Sco?dio + Renfro, David Adjaye, and many more. An exhibition of the work will take place on New York's waterfront beginning in September 2006.