Helmuth von Moltke and the Origins of the First Wo...

Helmuth von Moltke and the Origins of the First World War
By Annika Mombauer
Reviewed by Daniel Hindes

Explanations for the start of the First World War fall primarily into three categories. Fault is assigned either to the Germans, the English, or to everybody. The heart of the case against the Germans is that they clearly wanted a war and conducted their diplomacy accordingly. The case against England is built around evidence that the British Empire intentionally provoked Germany. And the case for blaming all sides incorporates the above facts and more. Frequently the view you find correct depends on national background, with the Allies blaming Germany exclusively, which is easy enough to do. Germans frequently point out the central role England played, especially in not de-escalating. And sober heads everywhere can see how it is possible that both views contain elements of the truth.

Star in the East: Krishnamurti, the Invention of a...

Star in the East: Krishnamurti, the Invention of a Messiah By Roland Vernon Reviewed by Daniel Hindes I got this book off half.com for a dollar (plus shipping). I got it because I am generally interested in Krishnamurti and the early history of the Theosophical Society through my interest in Rudolf Steiner. Steiner got his start as the General Secretary of the German branch of the Theosophical Society, before he and his...

Freakonomics

Freakonomics By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner Reviewed by Daniel Hindes This is first and foremost and interesting book. The premise is to take the tools of economics – rigorous statistical analysis of voluminous data – and apply it to topics beyond the range normally addressed by economists. The result are, of course, interesting. Interesting enough to put the book and to the best-seller list and make it a topic of...

Der Andere Rudolf Steiner

Der Andere Rudolf Steiner: Augenzeugenberichte, Inteviews, Karikaturen.
[The Other Rudolf Steiner: Eyewitness Reports, Interviews, Caricatures]
By Various Authors, Edited by Wolfgang G. Vögele
Reviewed by Daniel Hindes

Published April, 2005, and available in German only.

Wolfgang G. Vögele of the Rudolf Steiner Archives in Dornach has assembled a book of 67 eyewitness accounts, 8 interviews and 12 other contemporary references to Rudolf Steiner. They have been edited and arranged in approximate chronological order. The longest is 8 pages, the average about 3. Together they create a mosaic impression, vivid and rather incomplete. Vögele has added

Surprise, Security, and the American Experience

Surprise, Security, and the American Experience By John Lewis Gaddis Reviewed by Daniel Hindes This short and excellent book provides a 200 year overview of the history of national security policy in the United States, in context of the events of September 11, 2001. Gaddis examines how the United States has reacted to security threats in the past, and whether the current reaction is different from past reactions. The first...

Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib

Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib By Seymour M. Hersh Review by Daniel Hindes This is a very interesting book. Hersh writes to catch your attention, and to raise your sense of indignation. And quite often he succeeds. Using an amazing array of mostly unnamed an anonymous government sources from all levels, he brings to light all the criticisms of the US Government that you don’t usually read in the...

A World to Gain: The Battle for Global Domination ...

A World to Gain: The Battle for Global Domination and Why America Entered WWII By Thomas Toughill Review by Daniel Hindes I’m not sure exactly why this book caught my attention. I’ve read a lot of books on World War Two. Most go into great detail in some area or other. They touch on the bigger questions, but few have done what this one does, and that is to focus relentlessly on only the big – the really big – questions. How...

Emil Molt and the beginnings of the Waldorf School...

Emil Molt and the beginnings of the Waldorf School Movement: Sketches from an Autobiography By Emil Molt, edited by Christine Murphy Book Review by Daniel Hindes This engaging and direct autobiography by Emil Molt gives you a real sense for his personality. Modest, competent, and a little stiff, he remained a warm and well-intentioned human being. Born in southern Germany, he was orphaned at 13. After finishing high school...

WJ Stein: A Biography

WJ Stein: A Biography By Johannes Tautz, translated by John M. Wood Reviewed by Daniel Hindes Walter Johannes Stein was a major figure in the early anthroposophical movement. A close pupil of Rudolf Steiner’s, he also wrote an important book of original historical research titled The Ninth Century. Stein was born and grew up in Vienna, and his mother was an anthroposophist. At age 21 he found Steiner’s book...

Clairvoyance – C.W. Leadbeater

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House 1903 13th Reprinting, 1978 Reviewed by Daniel Hindes This is a rather interesting book. It was published in 1903 (though written in 1899), a year before Rudolf Steiner’s Theosophy and two before How to Know Higher Worlds. In reading it, it seems evident – between the lines as it were – that Leadbeater speaks of clairvoyance as one who has...

Ada: A Life and a Legacy

Ada: A Life and a Legacy By Dorothy Stein Reviewed by Daniel Hindes Ada Augusta Lovelace was an unusual woman. This much everyone can agree on. How unusual is an interesting question. One person, a professor of math at a local college, upon hearing that I was researching Charles Babbage for a course on the History of Technology, said something to the effect of, “You have to look up Ada Lovelace! You know, she really...

The Fate Of The German-Speaking People…

The Fate Of The German-Speaking People And Their Plight – Is There A Way Out? (Das Shicksal des deutschen Volkes und seine Not – Gibt es einen Ausweg?) Karl Heyer, Dr. jur. Et phil. Reviewed by Daniel Hindes This interesting book, a pamphlet really, was published in 1932. The title page indicates that this is the second printing. Dr. Karl Heyer, as the cover informs us, held a PhD in law and another in Philosophy. He was a...