Congress,the Presidency,and U.S. Foreign Policy

Gibson, Martha L. Conflict Amid Consensus in American Trade Policy. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2000. Pp. 213. $55.00 hardbound; $17.95 softbound.

Henehan, Marie T. Foreign Policy and Congress: An International Relations Perspective. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2000. Pp. 248. $49.50 hardbound.

Brands, H.W. The Foreign Policies of Lyndon Johnson: Beyond Vietnam. College Station, TX: Texas A&M Press, 1999. Pp. 194. $29 95 hardbound.

McNamara, Robert S., James G. Blight, and Robert K. Brigham, with Thomas J. Biersteker and Herbert Y. Schandler. Argument Without End: In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Tragedy. New York, NY: Public Affairs, 1999. Pp. 512. $27.50 hardbound; $17.00 softbound.     

Francis Weston,F.S.A.

Abstract

The subject of tile-tombs is one not often discussed in archaeological journals. From time to time amongst the quantities of tiles which are excavated, enigmatic fragments are found which can be interpreted as grave markers, in the manner of a memorial brass. Sometimes referred to as ‘tile-tombs’, the available evidence indicates that such memorials were a part of the floor, not raised above it. This factor, and also the inherent fragility of the tile-tombs themselves, has meant that only a very few such monuments have survived in any reasonable state of preservation. Owing to their scarcity they have often been denied a place within a general monumental history of the medieval period, let alone that of later times. A major exception to this is a study published in this Journal of the collection of tile-tombs once at the abbey of jumièges (Seine-Maritime), France, which have been convincingly attributed by Christopher Norton to the abbacy of Guillaume III de Rauçon (1213–39). Dr Norton places this cohesive series of tombs within the context of technical and stylistic developments of the floor-tile industry of Normandy, drawing parallels in Britain. The concentration of such tile-tombs is overwhelmingly medieval. In this paper the chronology of tile-tombs is enlarged by studying two recently noted early modern examples, also in the département of Seine-Maritime. In addition, the paper supports Dr Norton's study, in that he assesses the jumièges tile-tombs to ‘stand at the start of a tradition which was to continue in Normandy for a period of some five centuries.’     

Fire,Humans and Denudation at Wangrah Creek,Southern Tablelands,N.S.W.

The influence of altered fire regimes on the denudation of a catchment is determined from alluvial deposits of the last 10,000 yrs and by monitoring runoff and erosion before and after a wildfire. An increase in fire frequency beginning at 3,000–4,000 yrs BP, as a result of intensified Aboriginal burning, did not change the mechanisms or rates of denudation nor did it cause widespread alluviation as suggested by others. The results of monitoring show that before and after mild fires there is insufficient runoff on most slopes to entrain sediment. Only after intense fires are runoff and erodibility increased enough to significantly accelerate erosion. Conditions are then identified which are most likely to lead to accelerated erosion from altered fire regimes in other catchments.     

JFK, Democracy, and U.S. Security Policy in the Americas

Book reviewed in this article:
Stephen G. Rabe, The Most Dangerous Area in the World: John F. Kennedy Confronts Communist Revolution in Latin America