G Books

I don't buy any of it, not for a minute. But, this is a much more enjoyable read than several of the so-called "thrillers" I've read recently. Just suspend your disbelief, dive right in, and be swept away!

Aline, Countess of Romanos has written a spectacular book. I had to keep reminding myself that I was reading an autobiography and not a work of fiction. Aline is an agent for the OSS during World War II. She blends into Spanish high society and manages to complete her mission and introduce the reader to the thrills and chills of being an undercover agent. She also gives us a glimpse of Spanish Aristocracy, bull fighting and the inner workings of a nineteen year olds dilemma of befriending people who may be targets of her investigation. I have read all of her books but like this one the best. It is full of action, drama, and even a touch of romance. I have recommended it to all of my friends.

I have purchased 4 books by Aline Romanos. I absolutely love them. The fact that there is truth behind the story and that she really was an upper-class lady as well as a spy excites me. I find myself wishing I lived an adventurous life. She has a talent when it comes to recreating her life and exploits. I could not put it down!

Written like a fiction novel, this factual, first-person account of a young woman spy during World War II is absolutely enthralling. You'll get a first-hand look into what it's like to be recruited and trained as a spy, then go on your first assignment, mingling with the highest Spanish society while secretly risking your life to uncover essential Axis secrets. The characters in the novel are rich and compelling, and you never know what's going to happen next to the protagonist/ingenue Aline.

I read this book in the '80s and have remembered it ever since. I finally found it again and reread it. It's just as fascinating now as it was then.

The only drawback: If you read at night, you won't get much sleep because this book is nearly impossible to put down.

The most respected historian in the field of espionage, Nigel West, studied all of Aline's spy books marketed as nonfiction and concluded "...all four of Aline's books should be regarded as fiction, and nothing more..." Read "Counterfeit Spies, Chapter 3, by Nigel West, 1998.

An excellent low-math book that covers many everyday concepts in physics, allows anyone to think through everyday problems and gain experience in thinking without doing calculations or sitting through endless ball-rolling-down-ramp labs. It shows ways that physicists and scientifically literate people think about physics problems in general terms. I've seen it on many shelves- grad students, postdocs and professors, teaching or not, since my undergrad days 25 years ago , alongside Art of Electronics, Jackson, Halliday/Resnik , and a book of integrals. Fine for junior- and high school students, and even younger with parental guidance. Many kids have sensible questions about why e.g. a bike stays up or who you really wouldn't want to run into on a football field, and the answers to them, and nice sketches too.

Simple, but non trivial, conceptual problems with clear, insightful, elegant solutions without math. For everyday use to challenge students' minds.

This book by Epstein is one of my better investments for secondary school (or undergraduate/graduate) physics books. Although I do not use it as a text, I have taken advantage of the problems posed within as warm-up questions to engage the students on the topics at hand(in addition to the hands-on demonstrations.) My students can really get fired up by some of the classical problems and the illustrations that accompany every questions within. The answer keys are highly intelligible as well as entertaining.

However, do not underestimate the questions as merely for the beginning students of physics: they are far from that realm. Some of the questions are challenging enough even for the professional physicists, and in fact even for Newton himself.

If you are intrigue, go buy it.

Think you know physics? The simple questions posed in this book will show you if you do. It is approachable enough for a lay person to pick it up and take a crack at it. The solutions give great insight for the seasoned physicists and newbies.

Epstein presents a bunch of physics problems, and solves them all -- almost without any math -- with clear, insightful, elegant solutions. A brilliant book useful from grade 10 to grad school.

I have purchased several books on amazon.com, but I must say that this is one of the best ones I have read so far ! This is exactly the sort of book management in companies worldwide should be reading ! I live and work in Tokyo, and I think the Japanese public companies here could learn so much from this book ! Corporate reporting here is very poor, especially in the banking sector(horrendous !), and investors do not take them seriously anymore. Public companies here should improve their corporate reporting and utilize the capital markets more, and the first thing they need to do is to regain the trust of their
shareholders. In other words, they should read this book cover to cover right away ! The people who worked on this book, like Mr. Matthew Wissell, who leads the Value Reporting practice in PricewaterhouseCoopers' New York office, should be highly commended for such a fine piece of work !

I have purchased several books on amazon.com, but I must say that this is one of the best ones I have read so far ! This is exactly the sort of book management in companies worldwide should be reading ! I live and work in Tokyo, and I think the Japanese public companies here could learn so much from this book ! Corporate reporting here is very poor, especially in the banking sector(horrendous !), and investors do not take them seriously anymore. Public companies here should improve their corporate reporting and utilize the capital markets more, and the first thing they need to do is to regain the trust of their
shareholders. In other words, they should read this book cover to cover right away ! The people who worked on this book, like Mr. Matthew Wissell, who leads the Value Reporting practice in PricewaterhouseCoopers' New York office, should be highly commended for such a fine piece of work !

If you want to learn about accounting scams, you probably need Mulford and Comiskey, The Financial Numbers Game. But for a broader view of the virtues and limits of accounting, Eccles and company have a lot to offer. You can skip or skim the somewhat overhyped stuff about the "ValueRevolution" itself (note that three of the authors come from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where they seem to be having some trouble with their space bar, or spacebar). Keep your best brain cells for chapters three through eight, where you get a look at the earnings obsession -- and just as useful, a suggestion of what investors really need and want. Note that one of the co-authors (Robert H. Herz) is the new head of the Financial Accounting Standards Board).

"ValueReporting" smoothly describes many broken financial reporting processes, including "whispering", a time-consuming process that CFOs play with analysts, where CFOs "whisper" their earnings expectations to the analyst, making the analysts appear intelligent. A great deal for the analyst cause they don't have to do any real analysis. If the CFO does not play this game, they risk the wrath of Wall Street.

The problem with this is that it is in violation of the spirit (if not the law) of the yet to be enforced SEC Fair Disclosure Act which states that Sally Q. Public gets to know material information the same time that John Q. Analyst does.

"ValueReporting" does offer a practical solution through XBRL technology. As a member of XBRL.org I strongly agree with the authors that if business reporting, both financial and non-financial, is standardized, Web technologies are in place to distribute this information uniformly to all investors and in a richer format than at present. With the gentle prodding of regulatory agencies like the SEC and FDIC, this will happen sooner rather than later. Let's hope that SEC Chairman Unger reads this book, and fast.

For me as a consultant and a technologist "who can spell XBRL", The ValueReporting Revolution was a call to arms to apply my knowledge to the inequities of financial reporting. Helping clients sell their wares over the Web is nice, but to level the financial playing field for small companies as well as large, for the small investor as well as the institutional, is ennobling. And forcing Wall Street analysts to actually work for a living, would be, well, just icing on the cake.

First I should explain that I'm not a neutral reviewer: I have known one of the authors of this book (Bob Eccles) ever since he woke some of us up with his HBR article "The Performance Measurement Manifesto" almost ten years ago, and I've also met another of the authors (David Phillips) in the last year. Coupled with that, some of the work of my company (Metapraxis) on Business Driver Diagrams is mentioned in Chapter 1. I mention these points up-front in the interests of transparency, which is a core theme of the book itself.

The book's thesis is that the investors of the future will reward companies for such transparency - in other words, those companies that understand, measure and publish information about leading indicators such as growth of market share as well as lagging indicators such as profit will be better rated than their competitors, other things being equal.

This is pretty controversial stuff. After all, if you're the CEO or CFO of a major global multinational that's just announced on-target quarterly earnings, but your (currently confidential) internal leading edge indicators say that your market share is starting to fall, how exactly are your investors going to react if you decide to be brave enough to tell them all about it?

There is clearly something of a problem here and I refer to it as the Paradox of the World's Bravest Customer. You don't know who that was? I think it was the guy who bought the world's first fax machine. Think about it.

So undoubtedly there'll be some short-term pain for the pioneers, but once the markets start to see that a core group of innovative firms has the courage to disclose this kind of information (whether good or bad) then it's obvious that this disclosure will reduce the risks involved in these investments. And as John Maynard Keynes pointed out in 1910:

"What would be a risky investment for an ignorant speculator may be exceptionally safe for the well-informed expert. The amount of risk to any investor practically depends, in fact, upon the degree of his ignorance respecting the circumstances and prospects of the investment he is considering." *

The book is all about the revolutionary implications that follow through from this 90-year old observation. Whether you agree with the thesis or not, it will change the way you think about corporate information, business management and investor relations. I recommend it highly to CEOs, CFOs, IR heads, financial analysts and auditors, business school students and indeed to anyone embarking on a career in these areas.

Robert Bittlestone: Managing Director, Metapraxis - London & New York

* JM Keynes: Hopes Betrayed 1883-1920 by Robert Skidelsky (Vol 1); Ch. 9 Economic Orthodoxies. Skidelsky is quoting in turn from the "Collected Writings of JMK": xv 46-47....

This was actually the first Daniel Steele book I ever read. It was wonderful the story so well developed and the characters so full of life. In fact I have now read this book at least 3 times maybe even 4, truly a classic. Everyone should have this on their shelf to read when you get tired of just seeing words on a page that take you nowhere.

Audry is SUCH a great character! Her love of adventure and for her man, but her loyalty to her family is what really pulled the story together. Very enjoyable book!

I have read many of Danielle Steel's books. This has to be one of her best. It is about a young woman named Audrey who has been caretaker to her grandfather and younger sister. Then, she has this need to do some traveling, and see the world. She does so, first going to New York City (she lived in San Francisco). She meets two people named James and Violet, and she becomes a travel companion for the two. In England, she meets Charles, whom becomes her one true love, and they travel the world together, and no matter what threatens to break them up, they never give up on each other.

This is not as formulaic as many of Danielle Steel novels, but it is still wonderful and one of her best.

This book is so cool...it takes you so many places, you most likely have never been to. It's so fun to put yourself in this characters shoes & see what it's like. I love to read about countries I haven't been to...classic DS

I have been reading Danielle Steel for over 15 years and own all her books and this is one of my favourites - one I can read over and over again and still enjoy the story.
I was transported back to the 1930's and admired the bravery of Audrey travelling to China when it was probably a dangerous (and not "proper") for a young single woman to do so. This one made me laugh, cry and wish that all would go well for Audrey.
If you are a Danielle Steel fan you will love this one. Her earlier novels (like this one) are so much better than her later books. If you are new to Danielle Steel - this one is highly recommended. Enjoy!

Pomerantz hit the high water mark of urban histories by providing an intimate picture of the emergence of the South's premier inter-racial city, Atlanta, from the standpoint of the two families---one once slave and the other slave owner---who helped to shape its progressive destiny.

As a recent transplant to the city of Atlanta, I didn't know much about Atlanta's history. And as an African American woman with grandparents who left the South in search of bigger opportunities in the North, I was more aware of the racism than I was of how and who ushered in the social and economic change that created more opportunities for my generation. The book is extremely well written and once I started I couldn't put it down. This is great way to learn about history. Anyone interested in Atlanta's history in particular and American history in general should read this book!!!!!!

This book not only is about two families but also about how those two families influenced and built one of the great metropolises of America. Greatly narrated and beautifully told.

I've read several of Gary's books and found this one to be an amazing work of not only scholarship and very detailed research but it was also very readable. Some people may be put off by the sheer size of the book but once I was hooked (it took a few pages), I really couldn't put it down until I was done.

Luckily, I was on a cruise and quite a few sea days to lie back in the sun and savour this wonderful book.

I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone interest in how the South was transformed (both intentionally and unintentionally) by a small number of people with not only immense vision but also immense bravery and a sense of justice.

Bravo Gary!

I am a native Georgian and raised in Metro Atlanta. This book opened my understanding of how, what, when and who made this city and why our state is so political about everything. Unfortunately, the race factor will always play a role in how we view and operate the local and state governments. This book just makes it clearer for anyone who works, lives and does business in Georgia. All Georgia history teachers should read this book. It would make Georgia history so much better for 8th graders and make them think. This is a must for reference material.

How Walter Dean Myers ever dreamed up a picture book of the Vietnam War is beyond me. I immediately wanted to read it and buy it. It turned out to be very good and contains imagery of the scariness of war. It avoids gore but people do die and soldiers do kill. Haunting.

"Patrol" by Walter Myers is a great book. The main charactor doesn't have a name in this book. Anyways, he is in the forsests of Vietnam during the vietnam war. He is slowly walking through the woulds and than he hears gun shots. He dives to the ground and and looks for the opponent. People who would like this book are kids to adults. Adults would like it because they can remember the war that was going on when they were a kid. Kids would enjoy it because a lot of times kids like to play as if they were army men fighting in a war.Thise book is Historical Fiction because the war happend but not this particular scene.

This book has different types of pictures. The pictures are a bunch of picturesf cut out and put on one piece of paper. I think this army book is a great book for kids to understand what it feels like to be in a war.
The writting of this book is also unique because it is a type of poem writting form. This book is easy to read and understand. Kids should read this book if they are interested in war stuff and if they don't like to read long books.

Boom! A granade went off next to my buddy and sent him flying back to his death. Could I be next thought the brave soldier? Patrol is about the Veitnam War and a soldier who is very cautious about his surroundings. This book is very mysterious because you don't know what will happen to the soldier. He is constantly thinking about his family and how his death could come to him.
He is trapped in the middle of the Vietnamise forests and is lost with his buddies. They have a long maze of problems ahead of them including how they get back home. This book is good if you are a follower of this war or if you like stories that always are mysterious and are hard to guess what is going to happen. It is a picture book but that doesn't mean that is isn't good. Patrol is a mix of mystery and heroic. The author, Walter Dean Myers, realy knows how to make a great book for children.
I enjoied reading the book Patrol so I think you will too! Don't get too caught up in the pictures because they are awsome. If you are looking for an awsome picture book to just read then this is for you.

Patrol
Patrol is about a soldier in war looking for the enemy and doing what he is told. War makes the main character relies what he could loose and what he could gain. The captain never let up on the main character and never lets the platoon or him rest. Even when they are fired upon the captain tells them to shoot and keep moving. The main character calls in a bomber and the gun battle is over but that's not the end to the book.

The third book in the series and you know exactly what to expect. Yes, folks, it is every bit as entertaining as the first two, and that's probably all you need to know. But I'll go ahead and mention that he spends some time in the RAF during World War II, which we knew he would as the second book ended. I'll also mention that he and Helen have a baby, which you probably expected. One of the great joys of his writing is discovery, so I'd hate to screw that up with a spoiler, but these two tidbits are on the back cover anyway. Oh, and halfway through it, I predicted an ending in advance, and I only had to read 1000 pages by this guy before that happened. It's still great, great stuff, and you know you'll love it.

I read his books as a teen and loved them. Bought the whole set for my grandsons, [teens]. They laughed until they cried. [so did I].

If you like animals you will enjoy all James Herriot's books. This is one of a series of delightful books. Reading one will make you want to read the next one. I can read them over and over.

I have the complete series of All Creatures Great and Small books now. This was the last one and I loved it as much as I loved the others. He was a fantastic writer and having been born and raised on a farm I can appreciate a lot of what he talks about. I also have his cat and dog stories books and loved them just as much.

The books arrived so quickly that I got to take my time
wrapping the books.

I am a voracious reader and I read this about the time I entered high school. It is one of the very few books that I can remember reading several times. It did engender interest in the books of the bible that were about women, and I really think that it helped me cope in a way with being a foster child from the age of 8 to 17. I still remember it and it's been about 40 years since I read it for the first time.

If one book I have read comes close to being "perfect", it is
"Behold Your Queen"! The biblical characters come alive, as real people, the "tour" of ancient Persia is vivid, and the story -- (straight out of the Bible....yet anything but dry
and stodgy...in fact, it may send you TO the Bible to read
the original!) -- exciting, romantic, scary, and in the end,
triumphant!

Courage and moral values are at the core of this book -- but
they are not taught by rote here. REASONS for these things
are given. Also -- there's a lovely lesson in "dating" --
how to get a guy interested in you. Simply -- be interested
in him! The love story between Ahasures and Esther is that
of two young people who find each other in the midst of lone-
liness, (each is an orphan), and splendour....yet it is the
splendour of their love that shines through.

Esther's love is tested when it is revealed to her that the
Prime Minister, (Haman), plans to have all people belonging
to one race in the Persian Empire killed. These people are
the hereditary enemies of Haman's people -- the Amalakites.
Unknown to Haman, the new Queen Esther is one of those
people -- the Jews -- whom Haman would have destroyed. Haman
does not know this, (initially), because Esther was told by
her Uncle Mordechai, (who brought her up), to keep her
origins a secret. (This is another lesson of this book --
though told as children we must always tell the truth, the
maturing person realizes that some things -- things that
would hurt others, or even one's self -- need not be told
...at least at first) How Esther decides that she must
risk her life so that she -- and all other Jews in the
Persian empire -- can at least defend themselves...is a
lesson in courage for all time. She not only risks her
life...but also his love, which she has found so precious...

True, there are some non-politically correct parts of this
book. Yet they are minor....and could easily be remedied.
For instance, at the beginning of the book, Queen Vashti
is banished because she refuses to appear at a banquet
clad only in her royal crown, at the behest of drunken
guests. (This is why a beauty-contest is later held
throughout the empire to choose a new queen.) The message
here might be, "Obey your husband or else" -- and the
danger of wives, following Vashti's lead, and disobeying their
husbands, is indeed what Ahasures's counsellors warn against.
However....one of them saying, "...And even wherein a wife and
husband act as one, lovingly consulting each other, as did
your royal parents, there will be strife...for the wife will see she need not even consult her husband any longer -- and
one will again become two!" -- could now be added. Also --
(to please traditionalists, (boo!) -- who believe that Ahasures was an older man, and that Esther -- true to her faith -- did not really love him, another minor change could be made. In fact, when I told a relative of mine about this book, mentioning that in it, Ahasures and Esther fell in love in it, he said, "Oh -- that ruins the whole story!" -- oh, if only I had had the book there for him to read!) So, to please these tradtionalists, Ahasures could stay in love with her, remain
young and handsomne, (sigh!), and Esther could remain deeply
in love with him, (double sigh!!) But -- to make tradition-
alists happy, Ahasures could also be shown to take some
interest in Judaism, (which -- before Christianity -- was, (in my own estimation) the most moral, and perhaps the only moral religion in existance. (Later on, it was joined by Christianity and Islam, two other highly moral, modern religions, of course). Ahasures could even be shown to be toying with the idea of conversion,and/or gaining more and more respect for Judaism even if he doesn't convert. This would please the traditionalists no end, and so they would be, (at least a little bit!) in favour of the deep romance that is gives this wonderful book so much of its essence, charm, amd power! Ahasure's growing interest in Judaism could be added after Haman's demise, towards the end
of the story. It would fit beautifully there, as Ahasure's
coming defeat, at the hands of the Greeks, (with their new idea
of "democracy") could also account for this: the shadow of defeat often leads to intellectual curiousity and growth....
In fact, in another telling of this story, "Esther", by Nathanial Weintrab, just this coming defeat at Greek hands is touched upon, and added. These very, very slight changes changes could be added, to make the book more viable
for today's audience, and added to keep traditionalists
happy, too.

Added to what? To a NEW PRINTING OF THIS BOOK! And,
as well, perhaps a MOVIE VERSION???? This book cries out
for both....for courage, tolerance, moral values and love, have no barriers of place, or people. BEHOLD YOUR QUEEN! is a
story for all time -- and, perhaps, especially for our own time,
when courage, tolerance, moral values, and love, often seem
at various times, to be derided as old-fashioned and unnecessary.
The story of Esther is a great story in all respects, and never was it better told than here. Our post-911 world NEEDS a
movie of BEHOLD YOUR QUEEN! -- or at the very least, a reprinting of this book. Who knows -- even Osama Bin Laden could learn a thing or two from it? I hope so ...and why not?
(STEVEN SPEILBERG....PLEASE TAKE NOTE!!!!!! I know I am not
the only person who would love for these things to happen!)

Behold!

Like other reviewers, I read this as a young person at about age 8 or 9. I have re-read it many, many times since.
It was also my first exposure to the Middle East, and ancient culture.
It's the story of Esther, from her young maidenhood to her rise as Queen of Persia.
Beginning with her as an innocent girl brought up with strong morals and respect for others, we follow her as she is selected to be taken to the King of Persia as a prospective wife. Throughout her journey from naive youngster to cosmopolitan sophisticate, she never loses the values she was raised with.
The characters come alive, and the scene descriptions are vivid- you will feel like you're there!
The two best things about this book (IMO), are the enchanting descriptions of Ancient Persia, and the emphasis on being true to yourself above all else.
Esther showed us that loving yourself and being courageous enough to stick to your principles makes you more beautiful and valuable than any superficial, cosmetic facade ever could. This book makes doing the right thing seem much more attractive than having power and fortune.
I was lucky enough to find 2 hardcover copies at a library auction, and they are keepsakes I will pass on to future generations!

Yes, this once "dry" biblical tale is brought to stunning life by Malvern. It sticks closely to the biblical account (keeping the age group in mind) and even shows how hard a decision Esther faced after the saving of her people began. A book that will inspire anyone and will be picked up time and again. Please bring back into print. Many of Malvern's books were my "friends" growing up, I would desperately like to visit them again!

Behold Your Queen! is a wonderful retelling of the Book of Esther. Malvern's writing incorporates credible motivations into the story, and adds a rich wealth of detail that make the story come alive with a vivid vitality. I first read this story when I was 8, and did not stop reading it until the (misguided) library withdrew the book from its shelves. If I could find a copy it would be on my shelf today, and eagerly reread. I would love to share this book with a new generation. As a teacher, I know this book has much to offer to young women facing difficult decisions about family, loyalty, honor, faith, personal safety, and love. Hadassah faces difficult choices in dangerous times, and Malvern's tale gives the reader the opportunity to share in the anguish and fear in Hadassah's choice, as well as in her final triumph and affermation. PLEASE REPRINT THIS BOOK!!!

I was given this book as a gift. Boy was I lucky. While being interested in Japan, and a "war buff", this book just shook me. The detail that is gone into is just amazing. The author really did his homework when he researched this book. The depth of detail, and thread of every idea is fulfilled. Besides the incredible rich detail, the writing is just so good. If you enjoy beautiful creative writing, this book is great, just for that.

Also reall gems of knowledge come about, than just the Kamakize history and people. Like how resentment had built up by many educated Japanese to Western culture. Many had bad experiences when they went overseas to America or Europe. Also many "human" details emerge about Japanese society during the war years. Such detail in the book, brings this out.

The area I find wanting, is how the issue of key Japanese military officials are treated in the book. Many are veterans of obviously brutal tactics they employed in places like China. Maybe some insight on how such bright and strong men, could be so cruel to other human beings. It wonders how they justified this to themselves.

Last, you just earn the respect of the author. M. B. Sheftall did a tremondous amount of work, to write such a wonderfull book. At the bottom of almost every page is small references clariying many issues or giving background. This is not overdone, or lacking. It is just right.

Really an outstanding book from a rather unique point of view. This book would make an excellent addition to a high school reading list - in both the US and in Japan.

There are several things one can gather about Sheftall by reading "Blossoms in the Wind". Foremost is that he can write a good story. In this case, the usual skills must be supplemented by patience and the keen ear of an excellent listener. He is one who can actively elicit long forgotten or painfully repressed memories from the haze of time and the maze of survivor's guilt, crushed expectations of victory, humiliation of defeat, and suspicion of one who is both from the enemy camp, so to speak, and young. It implies Keeganesk respect, genuine and deep, for the profession of arms and the special esteem reserved for those who sacrifice for what they consider a worthy cause. But in the end it requires an ability to write well and this Sheftall can do.

Sheftall has skill in description. An example, minor to the main thesis but which provides setting and tone is his easy use of the vocabulary of architectural historical styles, aesthetics, and ornamental and functional details. Images of the people he writes about are brought to the mind's eye in a few words with perhaps special solicitude on behalf of the female form - the caressing recreation of the semi-salacious angels in "Chinkon no Mitsugi" being a pointed example. His descriptors give character and life to the people and events narrated in the book yet serve also to remind the reader that this text is documentation. He is fastidious about the machines of war, worrying over evolutionary development in aircraft or model changes in watercraft. Yet these delineations do not burden the reader but rather clarify or move the action of the story. These salutes to accuracy are reassuring in an historian and no doubt his recordings and photographs will serve as important primary sources on this topic well into the future.

Like de Tocqueville, whose broader vistas into American culture stemmed from his study of US prisons, Sheftall provides insights behind what is often the inscrutable face of Japanese culture beyond the title's subject. The men and women who live to tell the "kamikaze" tale seem to me a character study of rugged individualism not typically thought of as a Japanese virtue. These survivors, after the war, take risks, establish businesses and in general seem to behave in a manner beyond what might have been indicated by their caste. To the extent that this is true, might the phenomenon be explained as the self-liberation claimed by those who have embraced the inevitability of death only to be given, by grace or chance, an indefinite reprieve? May it represent the need to achieve for those comrades whose crowded hour was their final hour? Perhaps it is a cultural idiosyncrasy credit given to those whose loyalty and commitment to the emperor and collective are proved beyond doubt. Whatever the case, there is a certain irony at work in that the "tokko" program's systematic reduction of individual qualities that could hinder total dedication to the mission would create in the survivors the moral fortitude to find their own way. Contrast them with growing number of "hikikomori", marginalized young men who, like Japan itself often enough, choose voluntary isolation in the confusion of stifling cultural expectations and fear of the new.

Sheftall provides a carefully evolving narrative that sustains a reader's belief in what is nearly unbelievable. His challenge is to explain these young warriors' embrace of death and the lingering reverence for their sacrifice in an age where such fanaticism is mostly associated with terrorism. He does this, sometimes touchingly, sometimes with humor, through incisive observation, careful reconstruction of the mood and perceptions in Japan at the time, and a humane sympathy for the very real people who tell their stories.

M. G. Sheftall has produced a very finely balanced account of the Japanese suicide attack programs of World War II. This is a major feat, as the Tokko ('special attack') program is a field so larded with biased and poorly-researched work that a serious historical approach must require doubting or discounting a great deal of what has already been written.
Sheftall has done what any responsible historian should when dealing with such a recent set of events: he went and talked directly to those involved. Unlike accounts of the same events from the Allied side, however, this was something he could only achieve by first learning to speak Japanese, behaving correctly in the presence of very sensitive people and leaving his own agenda at the interview room door. Sheftall happily has a strong grasp of effective techniques for this work, and the result is a very good read presented in a style that mixes skilfully-wrought historical accounts with gentle first-person reportage somewhat reminiscent of Bill Bryson. Sheftall visits and describes the shrines and societies that today perpetuate the bonds forged among the wartime Tokko personnel - both the successful and the survivors - and manages neither to sneer nor fawn; he meets and travels with men who in their youth accepted self-willed extinction in defence of their homeland without once judging them or sensationalising their accounts, and he leaves at least this reader with such a clear picture of the Tokko program as to make one wonder why so much mystery and myth surrounded it for so long.
As Sheftall points out near the end of the book, twentieth-century history is simply not taught in Japanese schools. Japan nowadays is gradually shedding its MacArthurian post-war sackcloth, however, and in view of the actions and pronouncements of its neighbors it is understandably keen to reassert itself in the region before the balance of power tilts too far towards some very unwholesome regimes. A steady supply of dispassionate, balanced accounts of Japan's recent history will help reassure the world that it is not unaware of its dark past, but the shortage of serious native scholarship in such matters still means that these will have to come in large part from foreigners. With this great book, Sheftall steps up to join John Dower, Herbert Bix and the many others who are quietly helping Japan get its historical house in order.

The concept of the Kamikaze warrior has always been looked upon with horror and fascination in the West. In many ways, it seemed to Americans, these "brain-washed" pilots were a natuaral offshoot of Bushido-inspired Banzai Charges and the National Death Cult that gripped Japan more and more as the tide of the war turned against it.
Author Sheftall has done an outstanding job of breaking through these sterotypes to tell the very human side of Japanese suicide corps. Motivated by desperation and love of family and country, driven by subtle coercion, scores of young men swore to give all they were and ever would be for their country, and the ripples from those decisions still affect lives to this day.
This is an outstanding book and a must-read for any serious student of the Second World War.

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (4/08)

"The Blue Star" follows "Jim the Boy." Jim is now a teenager growing up at the start of World War II. Jim has just broken up with his girlfriend, Norma. She was too boring for him. Both Norma and Jim's moms are not happy about the breakup because Jim had already told Norma that he loved her, so they assumed that there would be a marriage to follow. Jim's heart has already moved on to Chrissie Steppe. She is the daughter of Injun Joe. Chrissie is beautiful. Unfortunately, she has a boyfriend, Bucky Bucklaw. He is in the Navy.

Jim develops a friendship with Chrissie. He admits that he loves her. He discovers the complicated reasons of why she is not able to be with him. Still he does not give up hope. His affection for her is very apparent to everybody else in their school. As Jim gets to know Chrissie better, he learns about his uncle's former relationship with her mother. Jim and Chrissie's family history is extremely intertwined.

"The Blue Star" paints a vivid picture of life during the early years of World War II. In his descriptions of the times, Tony Earley creates a very real picture of how life was at that time. People were dealing with family members going away to war. There was also a great deal of poverty. Jim's relationship with his family is very special. He is very close to three uncles since his father died when he was young.

Jim's relationship with the women in his life was entertaining to read about. He is close to his mother; however, she still wants him to be with his ex-girlfriend. His ex-girlfriend is still in love with him and has to learn to move beyond that. Chrissie seems to be in love with him, but can't do anything about it. Jim's feelings for her are very sweet. He has the normal teenage boy hormonal issues, yet at his heart, he also truly cares for her.

I really enjoyed "The Blue Star." It is a classically, timeless story. People of all ages will enjoy this story.

I started this novel immediatley after finishing JIM THE BOY. While there is a time shift between the two books...about 6 years or so, its not really noticeable nor important. Jim has grown and is about to graduate school. Life is changing and he has fallen in love with a girl. But there are complications to go along with it.
The familiar cast of characters returns, and some of their backstory is told. Some items in the first book are referenced, others are left alone. But through it all, Earley stays true to the characters and the town of Aliceville that he as so wonderfuly spun out of imagination, history and memory.
This book is just as enchanting and charming as the first one, and I sincerely hope that he writes one more. Its tough to leave Aliceville behind when you have finished the last page. Another well crafted small-town tale.

This wonderfully touching story takes place in a small rural town in North Carolina in the months leading up to World War II. The protagonist is Jim Glass a high school senior who lives with his widowed Mother. "THE UNCLES", as his Mother's brothers Zeno, Coran and Al are affectionately referred to, provide the unspoken Fatherly duties that a young boy like Jim would so desperately need with the absence of his Father. "THE UNCLES" have houses right next door. Because Jim and his friends were now seniors "they had earned the "right" to stand on the small landing at the top of the school steps, squarely in front of the red double doors. Every boy or girl had to go around them to get inside." From this lofty perch Jim could see all the school buses that arrived each morning and watch all the students get off. It is here where he saw and fell in love with Christine (Chrissie) Steppe. Chrissie came from the mountains to school and rumor had it that she was half Cherokee Indian, which was not looked upon too kindly in 1941 America. It had also been stated by some that Chrissie was Bucky Bucklaw's girlfriend. Bucky was a former student that Jim had played on the same baseball team with, but was now in the Navy. The heart of this tale revolves around the young unrequited love that Jim must carry around inside of him. He wonders how it would look if he made a move on a serviceman's girl while he was off to war. When Jim tries to share even the remotest interest in Chrissie with a friend or member of his family, there's always a comment about her probably not being "white" or a comment about her absent Father "Injun Joe".

One day Chrissie is sick in school and Jim being one of the few people with a car offers to drive her to her mountain home. The author weaves a beautifully intricate scenario where Jim finds out that the term "Bucky's girlfriend" may be more a matter of survival for Chrissie's family than true romance. The reader feels the sadness and helplessness in Jim's romantic anguish, as he had broke up with his former girlfriend Norma Harris, who wouldn't let him kiss her enough, but who still loves him, and his burgeoning love for Chrissie who will not let him near her heart. Making matters more uncomfortable is the fact that Norma has remained very close to Jim's mother and meets with her every week to work on a quilt, and makes Jim walk her to their house. The author's writing is at times like intelligent poetry as in the case of Jims thoughts: "Jim could not understand how he could have loved Norma so much then and feel so differently now. His head seemed filled with memories belonging to another person, and he wished he could give them back." Another example: "He felt himself smile so broadly, so ridiculously, that he would not have been surprised had sunshine poured out of his mouth."

This story is written so eloquently, yet so simply, that I recommend this book for teenagers and adults. It is a realistic coming of age story that combines the beautiful painful pangs of love all teenagers and adults have felt some time during their lives; and the lucky ones, are the ones that never forgot the combined feeling of emptiness and loneliness, mixed with the sweet delicious euphoria of hope, that the object of your secret infatuation perhaps feels or will feel the way you do!

All of this is presented with the ominous backdrop of the beginning of World War II. As the saying goes: "Always leave them wanting more", and this splendid story accomplishes just that. There is definitely a need for a sequel, and I will be first in line to buy it!

Tony Earley, like his mentor Ernest Hemingway, was first a journalist. Now an Associate Professor of English at Vanderbilt University, and called "the future of American fiction," Earley has battled chronic depression his entire life. Each of his deceptively simple sentences are hard-fought victories. And now, with four books squeezed out from his inconstant instrument, we readers are so damned lucky to have them.

This morning I finished "The Blue Star" and tonight I still ache and yearn to read it again. It's been a very long time since an American novel has touched me like this one. Perhaps Capote's "The Grass Harp" can compare. Tony Earley has captured something here, a delicate piece of American life and adolescent pain that I dare not even attempt to articulate. All the fine descriptions and wonderfully fresh dialog are spot on. Jim Glass, the young man at the heart of this work, is drawn like a moth to the flame called Chrissie Steppe. Nothing can be done about this sadly impossible love, as it is what it is. Yet so much more lies within this simple storyline. Families, poverty, tragedies, and huge uncontrollable world forces move within this book like seismic stresses that shake the earth and shape its destiny. And all the while, from the first page to the last, Tony Earley is forming clear pictures of people, of places, and of a significant time in our history that is gone forever. Here are some examples of his writing: "The orchards rolled away from the farm road in prosperous formation, ridge after terraced ridge, all the way to the top of the mountain. The grass was combed white with frost. The fruit trees glittered like fountains whose water had sprung suddenly from the earth, only to freeze before it touched the ground." And then this: "The sky was low and gray and hard-looking--not the roiled, booming sky of early spring, but the bitter, set face of deep winter. A cutting wind from the west chased trash from the fields across the road and occasionally dashed a thimbleful of sleet against the windshield...."

I cannot tell you how deeply I was moved by this book. It's impossible to tell you. It is not a small book or a small story. Those who have reviewed it this way have missed its depths. It is a masterpiece. No pressure, Tony Earley, but I will be praying that you find your way to the next installment of Jim Glass's life. You have enriched me and all of us with your work, as only the finest artist can.

I haven't read "Jim the Boy" (the forerunner to this book) but now I'm thinking that I'll have to go back and correct that situation. Although it's not absolutely necessary to read the first book before this one, the excellent writing encourages the reader to go seek out more of the same.

The first book was about Jim Glass, a ten year old boy growing up in North Carolina with his mother and uncles, his father having passed away while still a young man. The story continues here with Jim as a teenager, still in NC, still with his mother and uncles, but now it's the start of World War II.

Young love is in bloom for Jim, but unfortunately not with his girlfriend Norma. With hormones in full flow, Jim has fallen for Chrissie, a beautiful girl of mixed parentage who has the longest, most lustrous mane of hair he has ever seen.

Unfortunately for Jim, Chrissie's not available, having promised her wealthy boyfriend Bucky that she'll wait for him until he returns from Pearl Harbor. Bucky was an early enlistee in the Navy, and Chrissie and her family work for Bucky's father, and live on his estate high up in the mountains.

Understandably, patriotism frowns on people who try to play when the cat's away fighting for his country, so Jim is having a pretty miserable time at High School, even though he's on the brink of graduation.

The author successfully recreates the atmosphere of growing up during this era, with all its problems and tensions, and you'll feel like you actually know people who've been through the same experiences.

This is a young adult book that can be enjoyed by adult readers. The prose is deceptively simple, but cleverly nuanced and thoroughly entertaining. This has the makings of a future classic.



Amanda Richards, May 1, 2008