Product Description
"Wonderfully written...as in the slavenarratives that inspired it, language ispower."—Nancy Kline, New York Times BookReviewKidnapped as a child from Africa, Aminata Diallois enslaved in South Carolina but escapes during the chaos of the Revolutionary War. In Manhattanshe becomes a scribe for the British, recordingthe names of blacks who have served the King and earned freedom in Nova Scotia. But the hardshipand prejudice there prompt her to follow herheart back to Africa, then on to London, whereshe bears witness to the injustices of slaveryand its toll on her life and a whole people. Itis a story that no listener, and no reader, will ever forget. Reading group guide included. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (97)

Should be listed a Classic
When I first read "Someone Knows My Name", I couldn't believe the way it grabbed me, and wouldn't let go. Not since "The Good Earth" have I been so enthralled! I think everyone should read this, as it will certainly enlighten humanity as to the trials, suffering, endurance,faith and hope displayed in this wonderful book. My friends can't believe how they can't put it down, once they start it.I have read it three times now, and enjoy it more each time. Lawrence Hill has done a fantastic job with this beautiful novel. It certainly should be considered a classic.

Beautiful piece of historical fiction and very well written.
The research on this book is amazing. So much so that I had to remind myself that this is a work of fiction. The book is not bogged down with facts and yet the facts are what make it such an authentic story. This is a book that will make you cringe from the details and laugh at the intelligent humor and the reaction unsuspecting characters. It's a story of survival of all people, but at the cost of so many. Enjoy!

A great read!
When I first bought it, I was curious how the title fit with the story line in the book. As I began to read, it became clear that it was a perfect choice!

The name given to us at birth holds our idenity. Most think nothing of it, until it is held in high esteem or tarnished for some reason. It is as natural to us as breathing, yet... for those who have that name taken from them, it is a treasure to hold on to.

Read this last week and found it to be completely enjoyable. Once you pick it up, it will be hard to put down.

amazing
I could have read this straight through in one sitting if I didn't have a regular life to attend to.

Amazingly Well Written and Gripping Novel
This novel reads like non-fiction.The protagonist is so well developed, her voice so real as it matures from a child to an old woman. I learned things I never knew as well, especially about how New York slaves made passage to Nova Scotia by swearing allegence to the Crown. ... Read more

Product Description
Spanning five generations, sweeping across a century and a half of almost unknown history, this acclaimed and unexpectedly funny novel is the story of a man seeking himself in the mirror of his family's past.

There were Canes in Canada before the United States erupted into civil war. Their roots are deep, their legacy is rich, but Langston Cane V knows little of his heritage. He is thirty-eight, divorced, and childless and has just been fired for sabotaging a government official's speech. The eldest son of a white mother and prominent black father, Langston feels more acutely than ever the burden of his illustrious family name and his racially mixed heritage. To be black in a white society is hard enough; to be half-black, half-white is to have no identity at all. Or so Langston believes. After a run-in with his father, Langston takes off for his feisty aunt's house in Baltimore, where he embarks on a remarkable quest for his family's past.

It's said that those who forget history are condemned to repeat it, but to Langston, history offers not condemnation but reprieve. For when he stumbles across a treasure trove of family documents, he sets off on a journey through time that will lead him back to the famous antislavery raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and the great-great-grandfather who fought beside John Brown. He rediscovers the long line of relatives who have battled for racial justice, decade after decade. He finds passion, dignity, and courage--and, at last, by unearthing and giving voice to those who came before him, he finds himself.

Rich in historical detail and gracefully flowing from the slave trade of nineteenth-century Virginia to the present, Any Known Blood gives life to a story never before told, a story of five generations of a black Canadian family whose tragedies and victories merge with the American experience. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Oustanding Book
I found this book to be outstanding.This book is about 500 pages which I finished in about a week.If you are a fan of historical fiction this is the book for you.Its one of those books you just can not put down.I also recommend "Someone knows my name"(also published under the title "Book Of Negroes" by this same author.

Fantastic Book
This is one of the best books I've read recently.It spans the life of a woman kidnapped from Africa as a child and follows her journey from the ship that brought her into slavery through her old age,as she becomes a much sought after and respected woman of letters.The author has sprinkled the book with historical facts throughout and woven a tapestry of such compelling characters that I got lost in the book and couldn't put down.I recommend this book highly.

All in the family
"Any Known Blood" is the story of Langston Cane V and his journey of discovery through five generations of an African American Canadian family living since the 1850s in either the US and Canada. Lawrence Hill's own background provided the inspiration and depth for this multilayered family saga that he weaves like a rich tapestry of characters, places and events. The language is personal and direct, the protagonist's account of his quest interlaced with excerpts from his forebears' diaries or letters and enriched with lively and witty dialog.

Hill's narrator, Langston, recently divorced and having just lost his job, is unsure who he is. He can no longer pretend that his black-white racial heritage is of little importance to him.He begins hoping that reconnecting with his past might provide some answers his search for identity. The story moves fluidly between Langston's present life that includes some minor dramas and discoveries about the previous four Langstons. His father, who had defied the Cane family tradition by marrying a white Canadian woman, is a major public figure and anti-racist activist, as well as a medical doctor in his hometown, Oakville, Ontario. Oakville was once the end of the Underground Railroadthat enabled many, such as Langston I, to escape slavery in the USA. Langston the Fourth is a great story teller who has been imparting family legends of each generation of Canes, one story at the time.

Seeking out the missing elements in the father's accounts of the past, Langston moves temporarily to Baltimore, where his aunt, Millicent, estranged from her family for many years, has much to contribute to his search - if she is willing to talk to him at all."Mill" is quite a character and wonderfully contradictory.She is torn between her love for family and growing affection for the nephew and her rejection of inter-racial marriages and their offspring. Langston is introduced to much of daily life by his new friend, Yoyo, a refugee from Cameroon.The description of Baltimore locales and its people is vibrant and entertaining, Langston's encounters with Mill are quite hilarious.Recording the findings of his family research, Langston embarks on writing the novel.

Historical events, such as the attempted take-over of Harpers Ferry by John Brown, are integrated with ease into the story, as are historical figures like Brown himself and Frederick Douglass, known for their different approaches to abolition. His description of the actual Ku-Klux-Klan attack in Ontario at the time of Langston's grandfather is hauntingly realistic. Details are as factual as possible with Hill clarifying any fictional adaptations he made for the benefit of his novel.

"Any Known Blood" is a beautifully crafted and engaging novel that brings many voices to life, fictionalized and real, set against the backdrop of factual events that shaped African American as well as Canadian history. [Friederike Knabe]

Any Known Blood
I saw Lawrence Hill on television discussing his latest book, Black Berry, Sweet Juice, and I went online to find it but couldn't.So I ordered this one instead.I was already reading Fay Weldon's latest when it arrived, but the front-cover blurb by Joyce Carol Oates was enticement enough for me to open it right away.Wow! I couldn't put it down.Such a skillful writer, and with such a flare for character development.Enjoyed the book so much I'ver recently ordered two more copies to give away as gifts.

wonderful
I confess that the only reason I first picked up this book was that it was a required text for an English course I was taking. Once I started it, however, I found I couldn't put it down!
Langston Cane V, a man of mixed race, is lost and adrift in both the multicultural centres of Toronto, and Oakville, one of the WASPiest communities in Ontario.His marriage has failed, he's lost his job, and he doesn't really know who he is.Langston decides to study his family history, and through the lives of four other Langston Canes, a variety of perspectives on black history and culture in Canada and the United States come to light.In the meantime, Langston himself learns what it means to be of mixed race, at once neither black or white, and both.An intelligent look at racial and historical issues, this book is also a well-written, wonderfully entertaining set of stories-within-a-story.
I enjoyed this book so much, I headed out to the library to find Hill's first novel, Some Great Thing, another fabulous, yet underpublicized book.If possible, I liked it even better. ... Read more

Product Description
Grow Your Own Fruit and Vegetables is Lawrence D. Hills's ground-breaking book on all aspects of fruit and vegetable growing. It was widely praised on its publication and remains a classic text in the world of organic gardening.'Its great merit is that one feels that every operation described has been personally carried out by the author and selected as the most satisfactory after due consideration of traditional methods. The treatment of each plant is described from start to finish with sense, relish and humour; there are many fascinating analyses of vitamin and mineral contents and nutritional values, of different vegetables and fruits; and there is excellent advice on picking, harvesting, as well as on cooking ... it is the best practical guide to the subject that has appeared for years, and the author is not concerned with argument or philosophy, only with growing produce well.' Country Life'There is no better guide to non-chemical gardening than Lawrence D. Hills ... He is exceptionally well read and a good practical gardener into the bargain, not a very common combination, and no doubt because of his wide-ranging knowledge he is more balanced in his views than some advocates of all-organic gardening ... Where I find Mr Hills most stimulating is in his highly personal approach to fruit and vegetable varieties and his recommendations based on such commercially unfashionable criteria as flavour and food value. There is a wealth of information here which would be difficult to find in any other single book.' A. G. L. Hellyer in the Financial Times ... Read more

Product Description
Disillusioned and apathetic after four years of college, fledgling reporter Mahatma Grafton returns to his hometown to begin work at a local newspaper. When a peaceful demonstration escalates into a full-scale police cover-up, Mahatma discovers the principles that have always eluded him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

some great canadiana
Mahatma Grafton is a university graduate who, having no idea what he wants to do with his life, returns to his hometown of Winnipeg to work for a newspaper.Over the course of his first year on the job, he discovers purpose in his life, with the help of a colourful array of characters, including a welfare crusader, a burned-out fellow reporter, an unlikely french-language-rights activist, and a visiting journalist from Cameroon.
Aside from being incredibly well-written and entertaining, this book is an intelligent reflection of Canadian issues, including race, language, government policy and opinions regarding our American neighbors.
Some Great Thing is loosely connected to Hill's second book, Any Known Blood, which is also a fabulous read.

It was a great book!
I don't read much but I would like to say that this was a very good book.I read it for a school project and it was very interesting.I like the characters and it never makes you bored.Hope you like it just as much asI! ... Read more

Product Description
Since winning a national book award in 1966, this classic , authoritative text has continued to cover both the major research findings of business and societal relations and the thoughts and actions of business practitioners who have struggled both successfully and unsuccessfully with tough human and social problems. The eighth edition covers many important emerging developments that will shape the organizational, social, and public policy environments in which students will soon live and work. Many important topic areas have been substantially revised, including ecological and natural resources issues, global challenges, and the complex relationship between science, technology, and the media in the age of information. Two new coauthors, Anne Lawrence (San Jose State University) and James Weber (Duquesne University), bring valuable experience and perspectives to the author team. Ten cases (five new) bring issues to life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

This book was very well written and comprehesive.
Most textbooks do a very poor job of addressing current issues in a clear, accurate, concise manner.This book, however, is to be commended.I especially found the resource information and discussion cases to be atremendous benefit.The discussion questions and current event topicsencourage the students to explore these issues outside of class, in theirbusinesses and in the community.Business and society is a topic ofextreme importance.Unfortunately, it often goes overlooked in so manyuniversities and colleges.Overall, I rank this book as a worthwhileinvestment and hope the authors continue to explore these important issuesin business and education.

Not ideal for Students, like me
I found this book exremely biased, especially on its treatment of ethics and environmentalism, which were extremely collectivistic and altruistic. I felt like I was also overcharged for the text book, for something sovaguely written. ... Read more

Product Description
A symposium on the empire of Brazil by a dozen Brazilians and Americans. Partial contents: Political Romanticism by L. F. Hill; The Vargas Regime by Harvey Walker; Art by Mario de Andrade; Agriculture by F. W. Ganzert; Industry, Commerce, and Finance by F. W. Ganzert; Europe and the South American Neighbors by Heitor Lyra. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: Boston, A. Mudge ... Read more

Product Description
One of the most prominent American painters of the twentieth century, Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) worked in a highly personal manner, creating Modernist views of everyday life as well as epic narratives of American history and historical figures. His work is direct and forceful, in keeping with his lifelong conviction that art could effect social change. At the same time, it is essentially humanistic, exploring the many challenges of African-American life as a means of addressing the universality of the human experience. Jacob Lawrence: Moving Forward, Paintings 1936-1999 celebrates the artist's long and productive career spanning more than 60 years. Beginning with lively street scenes of 1930s Harlem, when the young painter was establishing his artistic viewpoint, it highlights important examples from every decade of his working life, including a tribute to Jackie Robinson--the first African-American to play in the major leagues--and the powerful Hiroshima series, done for a reissue of John Hersey's well-known book on the horrific event. This survey concludes with some of Lawrence's final narratives of labor and leisure in his Builders and Games series of the 1990s. In addition to 58 images of the artist's work, this volume features an appreciation by David C. Driskell, noted artist, curator and art historian, who was a friend of Lawrence's for many decades, and an insightful overview of Lawrence's life and art by Patricia Hills, the distinguished scholar of American art. ... Read more

Product Description
Breaches in cybersecurity are on the rise. Between 1998 and 2003, reported cybersecurity incidents increased over thirty-fold. Managing Cybersecurity Resources provides managers and executives with a financial management framework for using limited resources to protect information security. Models detail how much can and should be spent on security, strategies for keeping incidents from impacting company valuation, and more ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Authors have no concept of reality
I work as an Info Sec Manager at a Fortune 500 and was looking for ways to communicate with Executive Management in regards to ROI and CBA. I have my MBA, PMP, CISSP, ISSMP, CISA and CSSLP... so I like to think I know what I'm talking about from time to time.

Unfortunately, this book was like a graduate student regurgitating everything they learned achieving their MBA and evidently they took an introduction to Information Security class as well... The authors preach continually that Info Sec Managers should be using ROI, IRR, NPV, ALE, CBA, etc... and continue to pontificate that you REALLY CAN determine the Cost of a Breach or the Benefit from a Cyber tool- but they never tell you HOW. They make numbers up throughout and never answer the hard question- How do you determine what the cost/benefit is. They quote some old surveys that have some basic data, but let's be clear- there is no true answer in this field and everything is essentially a WAG. Don't even get me started on the Probability of Occurrence portion. Without costs, benefits and likelihood of occurrence, you really can't do these calculations.

Long story short, this book is a waste and just reiterated what an experienced Info Sec professional already knows.

Also, I'm not sure who is writing the other reviews... the authors maybe?

An excellent book with only one major flaw
Managing Cybersecurity Resources (MCR) is an excellent book.I devoured it in one sitting on a weather-extended flight from Washington-Dulles to Boston. MCR teaches security professionals how to think properly about making security resource allocation decisions by properly defining terms, concepts, and models.The only problem I have with MCR is the reason I subtracted one star: its recommended strategy, cost-benefit analysis, relies upon estimated probabilities of loss and cost savings that are unavailable to practically every security manager.Without these figures, constructing cost-benefit equations as recommended by MCR is impossible in practice.Nevertheless, I still strongly recommend reading this unique and powerful book.

My favorite aspect of MCR is its explanation of economics and finance terms to the security audience.I felt like applauding when I read on p 47 "[M]any managers... are merely calling the IRR an ROI or ROSI (return on security investment).Given that the concepts of "return on investment" and "internal rate of return" are well established in the accounting, finance, and economics literature, as well as among nearly all senior financial managers (e.g., CFOs), security managers should be careful how they use these terms.Indeed, misusing these terms can only lead to problems for the security manager." (See p 45 for a comparison of ROI, IRR, and NPV.)

In a similar fashion, MCR explains what a "return" is for security on p 21: "The benefits associated with cybersecurity activities are derived from the cost savings (often called cost avoidance) that result from preventing cybersecurity breaches.These benefits are difficult, and often impossible, to predict with any degree of accuracy. Moreover, since the actual benefits are conceptually the cost savings associated with potential security breaches that did not occur, it is not possible to measure these benefits precisely after the security investments are made."

What of "investment"?Pp 28-30 say: "[O]rganizations tend to treat the bulk of their cybersecurity expenditures as operating costs and charge them to the period in which they are incurred," unlike capital investments, which "represent assets of an organization that should appear on the organization's balance sheet."The authors recommend us to "view all costs related to cybersecurity activities... as capital investments with varying time horizons."

So what is a cost?P 5 says "The cost of information security is essentially a negative network externality associated with the Internet... [It] arises when malevolent individuals and organizations [which the authors properly label "threats" on p 12] join the network, thereby imposing costs on all well-intentioned users.These costs take the form of losses caused by actual security breaches plus the cost of actions... designed to prevent such breaches."

P 30 wisely states "[N]o amount of security can guarantee that breaches will not occur... The goal of the organization should be to implement security procedures up to the point where the benefits minus the costs are at a maximum." The footnote on p 31 continues with "An alternative way to view this discussion is to think of the goal as one of trying to minimize the sum of the costs associated with cybersecurity activities and the costs associated with breaches... the optimal level of cybersecurity for an organization would be the same under the cost minimization goal as it would be if the organization were to maximize the net benefits."I think most managers prefer to think in terms of cost minimization, which is a prevalent throughout IT.

Costs are dissected on pp 56-58: "The direct costs of cybersecurity breaches are those costs that can be clearly linked to specific breaches... the indirect costs of cybersecurity breaches cannot be linked... Explicit costs of cybersecurity breaches are those costs of breaches that can be measured in an unambiguous manner... implicit costs are opportunity costs (i.e., costs associated with lost opportunities), which cannot be measured without ambiguity... the benefits derived from spending funds on cybersecurity activities come largely from the cost savings derived by avoiding the implicit costs of breaches."

Page 63 explains why companies have "Chief Privacy Officers" and the like, even though preserving privacy is the confidentiality aspect of the CIA triad and could be a CISO responsibility: "The findings from our study show that, on average, information breaches that compromise confidentiality do have a significant negative impact on the stock market value of corporations experiencing breaches.Indeed, the average decline in the firm's stock market value... was approximately 5 percent."

So far so good, right?The major flaw with MCR arrives in ch 4, on p 68: "The variables affecting potential cost savings include (1) the potential losses associated with information security breaches, (2) the probability that a particular breach will occur, and (3) the productivity associated with specific investments, which translates into a reduction in the probability of potential losses." This is true -- but this is the key problem: devising even rough estimates of 1, 2, and 3 is nearly impossible in practice.The authors' examples (see figure 4-2 for one) assume these factors can be determined (like $10 mil total potential loss without countermeasures, 75% probability of loss with no countermeasures / 50% with $650,000 of countermeasures, and so on).When I saw these contrived examples I wondered "what is the origin of these figures?"The fact of the matter is that they are all guesswork, which means the calculator can say anything the analyst wishes to produce.

In some sense we are back to square one, although much better educated in economics.(Note that Andy Jaquith's book Security Metrics also observes how calculating these figures is nearly impossible in real life.)

Because MCR is so right in all of its other discussions, the book deserves 4 stars.A proper acceptance of the difficulty or impossibility of determining 1, 2, and 3 might have resulted in 5 stars.Perhaps a second edition will address these concerns?

PS: I would be remiss to not quote the authors' exceptional insights into the problems with security auditing.P 132 says "[T]he checklist approach tends to shift attention away from the cost-benefit aspects of such security.That is, the checklist approach usually assumes that conducting a particular procedure is inherently worth doing."P 137 hits the nail on the head: "[F]or some firms, it is quite possible that the costs of cybersecurity auditing will exceed the benefits.If this were to occur, then cybersecurity auditing would in effect decrease the firm's value." Amen.

An excellent economic analysis of cybersecurity investments
This book is very timely and extremely useful as a tool for key decision-makers in organizations - Chief Technology Offiers, Information System Managers, and general managers, including CEOs, as well as academics.How do you allocate scarce resources to increasing cybersecurity, in the context of other competing claims ? Professors Gordon and Loeb provide a solid economic framework to do this.They bring their decades of experience researching and teaching about a cost-benefit approach to managerial decisions to the table, in the context of cybersecurity investments.

What I like about the book is its appeal to practitioners and academics alike.There is a nice section on developing a business case for cybersecurity investments.Empirical evidence to support their arguments are provided throughout the book.Complex ideas like real options and cybersecurity investments are nicely explained with simple and insightful examples.

Overall, whether you are a manager making or evaluating the case for cybersecurity investments, or teaching in this area, this book is a must-read.

Excellent reference
This book provides an excellent discussion of key economic principles needed to make managing cybersecurity resources more effective.I really liked the nice examples provided throughout the book. The examples reinforce the economic concepts and applications. I foresee this book becoming a prime reference for me.

Managing Cybersecurity Resources: A Cost-Benefit Analysis
Managing Cybersecurity Resources: A Cost-Benefit Analysisis excellent! Information security practitioners will appreciate the insightful economic analysis on how to determine the right amount to spend on cybersecurity projects and how to prepare a business case to justify such projects.I especially liked the chapter on risk that included perspectives and analysis not found in any other information securitybooks.The book discusses many topics (for example, economics of cybersecurity and its role in national security) in amanner that novice and expert alike will find appealing. Its clear that the authors, chaired professors from a top business school and pioneers in cybersecurity economics, have a strong understanding of the security environment along with great technical skills.Of more importance, is their intuitive understanding of problems in the cybersecurity trenches.Policy makers, CISOs, CFOs, and managers at all levels, should find enormous value in this book.While at times I wish the authors would not have condensed their discussion, the good news is that they have left some important issues for a follow-up book.I am recommending this book to co-workers and friends. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (35)

Eye Opener
An interesting book-- maybe should be read with a grain of salt b/c it's just one man's account of the war-- but I also think it's something every American should read.

I Cant Believe You People
I laugh at everyone who thought this book was "good" or whatever.Do not believe anything in this book, nothing is factual.You are reading fallacies based upon stupidity.

This book is in the wrong section
You need to move this book to the Fiction section where it belongs, because that is what most of this story is.

lies, fabrications, myths, and fables
Nothing this author claims has an iota of documentation nor does his narrative sound in any way shape or form believable to this Marine veteran. Since when has the Army had "Gunnery" sergeants for starters?

I picked this up at my local library because I am not going to spend my money on what amounts to a slanderous, unsubstantiated case against our military members.

You can read Tom Clancy, Robert Heinlein or JRR Tolkien for stories that have more truth in them.

From the information available to me, my experience living on military bases as a kid, serving as an adult, and the numerous people I know personally who fought in Iraq, the author is, in my opinion, a deserter, traitor, and liar.

BWAHAHAHA
This is the worst book ever written.Seriously.Not even *just* that the stories aren't true, but that he can't even get details about the militry right.There is no "M-16 Grenade Launcer" that is an M203.There was no threat the grenade would go off, it has an arming distance.There are no "Gunnery Sergeants" in the army, they are in the Marine Corps.It literally is like a book written by a guy who spent an entire 9 hours watching crappy hollywood movies and then adopted them.A .50 cal round would not ignite gas like that.I could literally go on and on and on with all the fallacies in this book, but you people who so want the story to be real will say it is, and those of us with actual military experience in teh GWOT recognize it for what it is, sheer crap.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great
I consider this book to be the bible of thework of Jacob Lawrenece. As a collector ofLawrence's work, I must say this book was the first step. I truly believe that this is the one book that captures Jacob Lawrence. ... Read more