English Books

This is an excellent book of poetry for children. Many, many years ago when I was about nine years old, my great aunt (a school teacher) sent this book to me as a gift. Even though I am now in my 60's, I still have some of the poems memorized. I found such enjoyment in this book that I recently purchased it for my nine-year-old granddaughter.

I received this book from a friend at Christmas when I was a child. I always loved it. I sent a copy to my great granddaughters 8th birthday last year with a couple of other story books and she said she loved all of them.

A Child's Garden of VersesI had this book of poems as a child and loved it dearly. I recently purchased this newer (artwork) version of my favorite book, and WOW was I surprised. The artwork was beautiful and added greatly to the beautiful verses. I am sure that not only the baby that I gifted this to, but his parents will love the book (and artwork) as much as I still love mine. Thank You.

This book brought back memories of my childhood which I can now pass down to my grandchildren.

To wander through your childhood, as I recently did, I highly recommend Robert Louis Stevenson's, "A Child's Garden of Verses". The illustrations combined with the poetry reminded me of my first introduction to poetry. That early experience instilled a life long love of poetry in myself which I passed along to my children. My son has become "the family poet" so I purchased this volume for him for Christmas. Poetry conveys in a few eloquent words the emotions that no other form of writing can. We would be much poorer humans without this medium.

Okay, Oscar Wilde was an exception. But looking at Saki I thought he'd be the fop of fops. Not at all so. His short stories, typically only several pages long are all unique to every other story of his and versus the field. His novels, surprisingly quick and bright, almost right for our age of 30-second mentalities. His short stories, perfect.

He give great openings; I just flipped to an opening page. Yes, it was good: "In an age when it was become increasingly difficult to accomplish anything new or original, Bavton Bidderdale interested his generation by dying of a new disease." Quick, bright and paid off in the following few pages with never a boring, unoriginal platitude or easy, expected sentence.

Today H.H. Monroe (aka Saki) would make a good copywriter or do okay writing for SNL. For me, he's a nice writer to read in a nightly after-bed before-sleep ritual. A safe promise to make: You'll be delighted and may even happily dance to his word plays. And you will never be not surprised. Enjoy.

The writing in this book may well be described as a cross between PG Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh. If you enjoy those authors you will enjoy Saki.

Hector Hugh Munro, who used the pen name Saki, is, along with Guy de Maupassant, O. Henry and Anton Chekhov, one of the most best writers of short stories in literature. This collection is well worth reading. I rate it at four stars because compared to the other aforementioned writers it has too narrow a focus. Saki's stories are almost unfailingly humorous and concerned with the foibles of upper middle class British society in the period from about 1890 until 1915. In this sense they lack the variety of O. Henry, the poignancy of Maupassant and the scope and harsh reality of Chekhov. The humor is also very, very British. This evaluation may be a bit unfair especially since all the other reviewers have given it 5 stars.

Having said all that, the stories are still very enjoyable and a delight to read. Many of the stories are about cynical young men, children behaving badly and often involve animals. Some are quite clever and funny in any culture. Most of them are quite short--three or four pages--and thus can be read in a brief period. One can read them while eating a meal, when riding on a bus or train, or in any situation where you have a few minutes to spare.

The book is divided into six parts, but this division is largely artificial and without real meaning. The first part (Reginald) deals with the affairs of a young man of that name. Reginald is a young man given to making sharp repartees to disrupt dinner parties. For example in the first story, which bears his name, he asks guests to their utter confusion, "What did the Caspian see?" In Reginald On Besetting Sins we find, "the cook was a good cook as cooks go; and as cooks go she went."

Part three, The Chronicles of Clovis, deals for the most part with another young man, the irrepressible Clovis, a seventeen-year-old scamp. Here we find perhaps Saki's most famous story, The Unrest Cure. Clovis is riding on a train when he overhears a man saying how boring his life is. Noting the man's address Clovis vows to make it less so. Upon arriving home the man receives a telegram saying that the bishop is coming to his house and his secretary will arrive shortly to make the arrangements. The secretary, Clovis of course, soon arrives and begins disrupting the life of the household. He informs the man that the bishop has arrived and is in the library and that the real purpose of the bishop's visit is to kill all the Jews in the town! The man is horrified and proposes to leave to get the police but Clovis tells him that the house is surrounded by people (including boy scouts!) with orders to kill anyone attempting to leave. Shortly thereafter local Jews began to show up in response to telegrams sent to them by Clovis. Chaos abounds and the man's boredom is definitely cured.

Saki's descriptions of people get right to the point: "He has delightful hair and a weak mouth. I shall take him with me to Homborg (sic) or Cairo." He describes a corpulent musician getting up from a nap thusly: "the musician's flabby redundant figure sat up in bewildered semi-consciousness like an ice cream that had been taught to beg." Then there is this description of the Salvation Army: " It was quite interesting to be at close quarters with them, they're so absolutely different to what they used to be when I first remembered them in the eighties. They used to go about unkempt and disheveled, in a sort of smiling rage with the world, and now they're spruce and jaunty and flamboyantly decorative, like a geranium bed with religious convictions."

Some of the better stories include The Lull about a politician who takes a respite from campaigning with the help of a precocious little girl; Dusk, a story about the dangers of believing people who ask you for money; The Story Teller, in which a man on a train tells a story to some children that they will never forget; Forewarned, in which a young woman who has been living isolated in a rural area all her life suddenly goes to visit in the city and finds the politics too much for her sensibilities; and Hyacinth, in which a small boy by that name disrupts an election.

The best story in my opinion is the one that isn't funny. The Image of the Lost Soul tells of a church statue (the Lost Soul) and a small bird who become friends. But there friendship proves fleeting and the church bell rings out the moral--"after joy comes sorrow." The last few stories are about war (Saki served in WW I and was killed by a sniper in 1916) and tend to be more reflective.

All in all these stories should not be missed.

For a perfect summer read try picking up an old favorite... this collection of the work of Saki (real name: Hector Hugh Munro) includes over 130 short stories, three novels and three plays and sports an introduction by Noel Coward. Though written 100 years ago, this vast body of work is amazingly fresh and contemporary. Many of the stories are under four pages long, but they manage to paint amusing pictures of the privileged class as seen through the eyes of an obviously gay, brilliant and somewhat bored young man who uses a sharp knife to pry up the upper crust and expose what's beneath. Sample the stories - his work is available on line - [.........]

Saki is the consummate stylist and chronicler of a stuffy Victorian England nearing the end of its reign and world dominance. He savors the comedy of manners with all its many class-based restrictions and inbred peculiarities and finds ways to highlight--through ironic twists of fate--the inherent and underlying pathos of a people so stuck on themselves they frequently are tripped up on their own vanities.Therein lies the "beauty" of a Saki short story: he fleshes out the quirks and peccadillos of human nature--its pomp and its farcical facets--and we come away the better (and ennobled) for it. If it's a Saki story--there's subtle mirth and magical missteps awaiting the reader.One wonders what great additions to his rather slim body of work there would've been had he not perished--fighting in the war that was supposed to end all war: World War I.... A man of "privilege" who purposely sought no special dispensation during the vicissitudes of warfare when mustard gas hung ominously in the air and men were often taken by disease sooner than they were by enemy fire. A short life it was for the "old boy," H.H. Munro...one that lives on in his brilliant body of work....Well-told tales that will live on as long as questing readers come calling at the "House of Saki."

This is the best style manual for advertising copywriters on the market. There may be a new edition that supercedes this one by the time you read this. if so, I would buy it without reservation. I find myself reaching for this time and again when I write. Highly recommended.

bought this copy for my daughter. she wishes she'd had it years earlier. loves it.

I retired a few years ago and wish that I had taken my Gregg Reference Manual with me as a "parting gift." I used to take calls from people regarding grammar questions. Little did they know I would grab this book and easily page to the correct answer. I impressed many people over the years; and then, of course, the answers became second nature to me. I have recommended this book many times and finally am going to purchase my own copy for home. It is a good book just to read. Absolutely EVERYTHING is in there.

I am an independent corporate trainer who teaches people to write better at work. When my students ask me for my advice about good books to guide them as they write at work, this is the reference book I recommend.

I also tell them several other things about the book. First, this is not just some handbook that secretaries can use to look up how to format a letter. It is an authoritative reference for all aspects of writing English. It should be next to the dictionary and thesaurus on the shelf of everyone who needs to write at work, from clerks to executives. Second, if your boss or anyone else argues with you about any rule of writing, you only have to point to the relevant entry in this book. All arguments stop there. Third, the size of the book is deceptive. It uses small font and thin paper. With normal font and paper, it would be the size of two or three large dictionaries. That's how much useful stuff is packed in this book.

It takes a while to get used to how the information in the book is formatted, but it is well worth the effort. All entries in the index include page numbers as well as topic numbers, which they call "rules." The book is logically structured around these rules, and it makes related topics easy to find.

I rated this book 5 stars because I think it is superior in all categories for a reference book: comprehensive content, abundant examples, thorough index, authoritative author, and reasonable price.

As a business education teacher, I highly recommend this reference manual to anyone entering the secretarial field. It provides a complete source for answering questions concerning grammar, punctuation, English usage, etc. The well-done index allows easy access to the needed information. It is an absolute MUST for office employees. Eva Lewis, El Cajon, CA

well written by someone who knows how quickly a puppy grows into an adult and how quickly life ends for them. Pets never live long enough but perhaps that is why they are so precious and important in our lives. Thank you, Hans Wilhelm, for sharing your story.

A book I saw when working at the library and thought, someday, I'll need this book. 11 years later I did. Now, it's on a table in my family room, in honor of my father, Nick and yellow lab, Sammy, who both passed early this year, a few months apart and who were best buds.

This is such a sweet (and sad) book. I have it in my school library and it is a wonderful book for children to read. I love how the little boy loves his dog and the depth of his feelings. My son and I have reread it everytime we have had to say goodby to one of our beloved pets. I gave this book to our family vet recently and this is the one he liked best for his young son. I highly recommend it.

Read it cried as usual. Great for my daughter. Did not do much for me on the healing process.

Of the three books I purchased for my two young friends (boys, aged 6 and 10) who was experiencing the loss of their life-time friend, Charlie-the beagle... this was the BEST BOOK of the three.
The pictures are wonderful, the text simple but meaningful, and most of all.. it tells us all that we should love and express that love while our 'friends' are with us. "I'll Always Love You" brought tears to even the adults reading it with the children; also a good lesson that it ok to cry and grief for our four-legged friends even if we are a grownup.
I'd recommend this book for any age child.

I sought out this book on the advice of a priest and was not expecting the book to as useful as it was! I was immediately drawn into the book as it explained how a devotional life can be integrated into any state of life. I especially was thankful of the effort de Sales puts into explaining what is proper for one to do according to their vocation in life. Though I am Catholic, a Pentecostal friend once asked if Christians can meditate and immediately lent her this book and she has come back to me with many questions on the meaning of certain words, but has otherwise been very glad to read the book!

This book can be easily recommended to anyone seeking a deeper prayer life; young or old, priest or layman, Catholic or Pentecostal.

Although written so long ago, it really is wonderful for our day and age today! Very practical advise and food for thought in an easy to read style. There is so much to gain from reading this book, written for everyone.

This is an astoundingly helpful book. St. Francis de Sales manages to give all the benefit that you can reap from a spiritual guidance book. In one of the first chapters, he recommends finding an actual spiritual director- best advice. In conjunction with doing so, this is one of the most wonderful little treasures I have come across. It pertains to all people, of all states, too. I have other books- Divine Intimacy, Words of Love, Divine Mercy in My Soul, School of Jesus Crucified... each is priceless. But this little book is especially good- St. Francis speaks so simply, clearly and beautifully, and it is set up that one can easily pick it up and turn to the subject/chapter that he wants particular counsel on right away. This can help you advance quickly in the spiritual life, with confidence and love!

This classic is a wealth of insight and advice for nurturing a devout life. It predates and foreshadows the call for all to be saints at Vatican II and by faithful like Pope John Paul II and Saint Josemaria Escriva to sanctify the ordinary. This is a powerful and profitable book for our times from the great evangelist who won many back to the Catholic faith from the Protestant reformation. For the historical value as a classic it is well worth reading but as a practical devotional toward a truly devout life even today, it is a priceless treasure of the faith.

I was skeptical about starting this book, because most of the saints' writings I have read have been very theological or spiritual in nature, basically above my head. This one is practical and easy to follow. It makes sense for an everyday person who is just trying to grow closer to God. It applies to each individual no matter what your vocation or job and is specifically directed at those who are NOT priests or religious (although they probably would benefit, as well). This is a classic! A winner that will be read and re-read for years to come!

I just read this book over the weekend. What fun!

In a nutshell - Saskia is rudely dumped by Felix - wanting to get back at him she gets Phoebe to scheme with her to make Felix fall in love with Phoebe, so that she can then give Felix a public, humiliating dumping - of course Phoebe and Felix fall in love. Phoebe is a great heroine - funny, strong, but a little insecure. Felix was a good match - arrogant, good looking, and also a little insecure. Saskia was a selfish mess and even in the end I found it very hard to like her or care what happened to her. Very good secondary characters, vapid models, actors, artists, and other fabulous people. And of course, there are all of those Fiona Walker laugh-out-loud moments that are in all of her books - her books are like the best romantic comedy you've ever watched times 10.

Keep writing Fiona, you make my summer reading so fun!!

Fiona Walker lets herself down with this book, it can be boring and the story line is silly. Having said that, I read the book and while its not the most enjoyable book that I have ever read, it is midly enjoyable

I've read four of Fiona Walker's novels and truly liked three (French Relations, Well Groomed, and Snap Happy). To be honest, I had a very hard time slogging through Kiss Chase. The basic premise is just too, too far fetched and I really doubt that anyone would actually act this way. I will admit that Walker redeems herself in the last 50 pages - too bad she couldn't have taken that care with the rest of the book.

Pick up a paperback copy of "Kiss Chase", and you're likely to be surprised by the weightiness of it. The book is 808 pages long, printed in fairly small type - definitely not chick-lit in its usual form.

It took me a while to get into "Kiss Chase". The book starts off with so many characters and interlocking stories that it's hard to keep track of them all. Characters are constantly moving back and forth from London to the English countryside to Paris to America, and the narrative skips around between people and places without offering any buffer zone. However, after about the first 100 pages everything starts to click into place, and the plot gets much easier to follow. This is the point at which everything falls into place, and the main plot takes off.

Saskia Seaton, a once beautiful actress, is in shambles. Her fiancé, Felix Sylvian, dumped her in a terribly cruel way, and she's been a wreck ever since - going so far as to try to kill herself. Saskia's discovered that he's done the same thing to other women, and she vows to get revenge. She begs her friend Phoebe to help her give Felix a dose of his own medicine - make Felix fall in love with her, and then dump him in the cruel way that he dumped Saskia. After some coercion, Phoebe agrees, but of course things don't work out exactly as planned.

The book isn't perfect - Felix has done some horrible things to women that made it hard for me to like him at first, and Phoebe was having an affair with a married man, which made me dislike her (there is a lot of adultery in the book, so be warned if that is something that bothers you). But ultimately Phoebe and Felix are so wonderful together that you can't help falling in love with them and hoping that they will be able to get past everything that's in their way. The cast of supporting characters is mostly very likeable, and the unlikable characters are that way for a reason.

If you're willing to slog through some of the more difficult parts of this book, you'll find yourself with a very enjoyable read.

This book is way up there with French Relations and Well Groomed being Fiona Walker at her best.

Its a big thick read (as usual). Not long winded and very readable. Sort of chaotic romatic commedy. I liked most of the characters and I like the writing style.

Will Phoebe end up with Felix?(who has a history of breaking hearts) or will she break his heart (on behalf of an old friend as part of a revenge plot), sounds mad but its great fun.

My two sons (5-year old and 4-year old) have enjoyed this book for a couple years now. They imagine themselves as "little bears" and enjoy adding their own imagination to the book's different stories.

I really liked the "Birthday Soup" chapter best and have used it to teach my sons that no matter how little you have, you always have enough to share.

The book is a classic and you can add it to your storybook collection with Amazon's 4-for-3 special offer. I suggest you pick up "Little Bear's Friend" (see my review), too.

This is a warm, nurturing view of childhood. My children and many others have loved it for years.

I purchased the Little Bear (An I Can Read Book) for a first grader that I mentor and she had asked for this book. I have given her other books and can't wait to give her this one

Little Bear, first published in 1957, is a true classic in children's literature. The book is about a bear cub who is a good friend to Owl, Cat, Hen, Duck and Emily, the little girl who visits in the summer. Elsa Holmelund Minarik and Maurice Sendak teamed up to create these stories. The stories are filled with quiet humor, affection and imagination as Little Bear and his friends celebrate birthdays, play games, meet new friends and explore their neighborhood.

The first of five classic Little Bear books, written for beginning readers, Little Bear contains several stories. In one story, "Birthday Soup," Little Bear can't find his mother and thinks she's forgotten his birthday so he sets out to make birthday soup for his friends only to find out his mother hasn't forgotten his birthday. In "Little Bear Goes to the Moon," Little Bear decides that he'll fly to the moon and Mother Bear lets him as long as he's back by lunch.

This book and the others will delight young readers, and encourage them to keep reading.

My kids and I came to know Little Bear through the cartoons on TV first. Perhaps part of the appeal of the books for my kids is that they know these stories well from the cartoon, but the books are much more engaging!

Best of all, unlike the cartoons, you have the amazing illustrations of Maurice Sendak. They give the books a timeless appeal.

Perfect to read to little ones, and an excellent reader for K-2.

Other titles in the Level 1 - Beginning Reading series are:

- "Father Bear Comes Home"

- "A Kiss For Little Bear"

- "Little Bear's Friend"

- "Little Bear's Visit"

I love the artwork in this book! I bought this as a gift for my little sister and had great fun searching the beautiful artwork for hidden animals. Once you find them all there is a final word puzzle in the back of the book. Very fun.

I bought the book for my grandchildren after having purchased "The Chicken That Could Swim" and loving it. The puzzles and illustrations in Puzzle Island are absolutely amazing! The whole family (mom, dad, grandparents, grandchildren (ages 4-9), aunt and uncle was involved in figuring out the names of the animals as well as looking for the animals in the pictures. After about 2 months, working on it at least once a week, we finished the book, solved all the puzzles and found all the animals. What is so amazing is that as you read the story you don't even realize all that is hidden on the pages. We loved it and can't wait to get another Paul Adshead book.

After going through several boxes in my garage, I finally found this book. I've had it for over 10 years and still am amazed how great this book is. It still grabs my attention and it doesn't matter that I remember the answer, I love looking at the pictures and solving the puzzles all over again. I can't wait for my son to enjoy this as well! I recommend this book to everyone out there!

abslutely wonderfol book. Me(8) my sister(11) and my brother(12) have almost finished it. We have been doing it since yesterday and are very very excited about finishing it. It has kept us puzzled scince! If I could I would rate it 20 stars!!!!!!

Everyone seems to have a problem finding the fourth animal in Lily's Pond. But I have found it! Unscrambling AGILNRST gives the bird STARLING. It is very difficult to find but once you see it, it is very clear. It is at the top right hand side of the page directly below the letter S and the missing P of the frame. It is one of the leaves of the tree. The head is directly below the missing P and the tail is below the S and below another leaf. You have to flip the page upside down to see it. Hopefully this helps you all sleep better tonight!

Otto Prohaska was a Czech serving in the Austrian navy at the outbreak of World War I. He is given command of a U-boat in the Adriatic at the beginning of the war, and we follow his ups and downs, some harrowing escapes, romantic interludes, and humorous incidents through four years of hard fighting. The story starts as an aged Prohaska, living in a retirement home in Wales, recounts the story of his life as an Austro-Hungarian naval officer. Prohaska briefly recounts his early life in a small Czech village and some of the silliness as to whether it should have a German, Czech, or Polish name. From there he briefly discusses his early training then his first U-boat command at the outbreak of WWI. Most of the novel examines Prohaska's voyages up and down the Adriatic in the small submarines, with a few excursions into the Mediterranean. He attacks (and is hunted by) Italian and French warships in the Adriatic, gets saddle with a camel from a Bedouin tribesman in Libya that is a gift for the Emperor, and is stranded in Haifa frantically trying to repair his U-boat before the approaching British take the city from the Turks.

There is a lot to like about this novel. As in the best of historical fiction, this is a history lesson of first order. As you read through this book you'll learn a great deal about life in the Austro-Hungarian empire before its end. The conglomeration of languages and cultures, the complex political dynamics between the Austrian and Hungarian leaderships, and Prohaska's view as somewhat of an outsider (he's a Czech) make for an interesting backdrop. You'll also learn a great deal about naval operations in general, and U-boat operations in particular, in the Adriatic during the Great War. Every student of the Great War knows about Jutland and the Battle of the Dogger Bank, but there was certainly no lack of action to the south. You'll also learn a bit about the technical details of the early submarines. It took a brave man to get into one of those cans. Biggins' main character has a strong sense of duty that is applicable to military service today as it was in the Great War. One may think that a given war is stupid, but that doesn't change one's duty. The ending is particularly well done as it is clear that the Austro-Hungarian empire is doomed and Prohaska's world and the monarchy that he was sworn to defend are collapsing.

The reason that I give this novel only four stars is simply that in my opinion it isn't as interesting or as well developed as the best in this genre, the Flashman series, by George MacDonald Fraser. Prohaska isn't all that well developed as a character and is somewhat of a cliche of a naval officer. Additionally, Biggins attempts at humor pale in comparison to some of the ridiculous antics of Harry Paget. Finally, there is a level of historical detail in Fraser's books that is absent in this novel. Even though this falls short of the best of the genre, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this story to anyone with an interest in historical fiction, particularly with a military bent.

I wish to say "Thank You!" to reviewer Douglas Woods who brought this book to my attention. This is an absolutely delightful story about Austro-Hungarian Naval Officer Ottokar Prohaska who captained submarines for the Hapsburg Empire during the first World War. I really enjoyed this book and found it fascinating in many ways. I've always been interested in the Austro-Hungarian Empire but there is remarkably little fiction on the empire and I must say I learned a lot reading this book. Yes, the empire had a submarine service and our protagonist captains several submarines, but like most things in the Empire the service was a shambles and our friend Prohaska has many challenges ahead of him.

The novel was not as light-hearted as the title might give you reason to think, and it certainly had its sad parts too, but it was a delightful story told with heart, whimsy, and an engaging sense of self-deprecation at times. Told as a series of recollections by the 100 year old Prohaska while in a nursing home in Wales, the book is a wonderful story of how a rural, landlocked Czech boy rises to become a submariner in the first World War and about the trials the service, his ship, and his crew faced during that conflict.

The book also did a wonderful job of showing how the Empire worked, why it worked, and why it ultimately fell apart. The Empire had eleven different nationalities, all speaking different languages, and ethnicities that are still slaughtering each other today. The story of the Empire and how it bound those groups together cohesively for as long as it did was simply fascinating. I whole-heartedly recommend this book, and am eagerly waiting for the second book to arrive in the mail. The good news is that there are four books in this series, but that bad news is that it doesn't look like Mr. Biggins wrote anything else. He certainly deserves recognition for this series and a wider readership.

Biggins has done a fantastic job capturing the complexities of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during its twilights years. Years ago, I read a memoir of a WWI Austrian officer who fought in the trenches and his memoir presented many challenges that strikingly paralleled the same challenges of leadership that Prohaska faces in this work. In addition, Biggins depiction of the Hungarian nobility in Transylvania was brilliant--though I found it to be a striking odds with the description of what Patrick Leigh Fermor encountered when passing through the region a decade later. Which makes me wonder if Fermor's memories are romanticized or Biggins was trying too hard to bring out their differences (Romanian and Hungarian)? But that aside, this book was fantastic. For any student of Eastern European history, I recommend this gem.

Both John Biggins and Ottokar Prohaska are to be treasured!! Biggins style is to educate the reader and keep him laughing at the same time - only George MacDonald Fraser and Flashman are rivals in this genre'. Biggins has made history memorable and taught me things that I did not think even existed. Good job, John....Good job!!

I've always been confused by the Sound of Music. Why would a land-locked country like Austria need a naval captain? This, and many other little-known aspects of the first world war are explored in this extraordinary novel.

Set primarily in the Adriatic sea during world war I, the story follows the career of naval officer Otto Prohaska. The Balkan coast at that time was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Prohaska, a native of Czechoslovakia, also a part of the empire at that time, experiences a series of adventures which are in turn, poignantly tragic and laugh out loud hilarious. Biggins weaves a story full of pastiches and events which are fascinating if only because the setting is relatively unknown here in the west.

However, what makes this novel succeed is not simply a well-researched, skillfully written story about an interesting subject. That would simply be a Tom Clancy-style book. What elevates this to the Patrick O'Brian level is the depth of the protagonist's character. Dismayed by the decay of the Hapsburg dynasty, he clings to the structure provided by the military life. That contributes greatly to the richness that makes this book such a rewarding read.

In Someone Knows My Name, Lawrence Hill pens a breathtakingly beautiful work. While simple to read, its pages evince vitality and imagery known to only the best authors. Aminata, a free African girl, kidnapped by slave traders on the dawn of her "womanhood," records her journey from her homeland to foreign soil across the waters. It is the story of her struggle to not only preserve her identity and heritage, but a daily fight for her life, her family, and ultimately, her freedom. Although her tale is a fictional representation of the African diaspora, Hill's documentation of the movement, slave-trading, Revolutionary War, British loyalists and abolitionists remains quite intact.

Simply put, This is a novel that reads you. Lawrence Hill's Someone Knows My Name is the first book that I purchased on my Kindle- a Father's Day gift. I couldn't put this book down! The Kindle with its built in dictionary allows you to surf the net while you are reading and learn more about the historical characters and places deepening your understanding (few people other than historians and scholars are aware of the Black Loyalists for example) .

Every person of African descent should place this on their must read list (Science says that includes you- regardless of your race or nationality). From the moment you flip the first pages, or push the toggle bar, this historical novel challenges you to consider anew ones understanding of humanity, identity, and faith as you follow-or more accurately "journey with"- Aminata Diallo, an African girl sold into slavery.

From the home of her loving parents and her small village to the waiting slave ships and the middle passage to a different world, "we" journey with her coming to know the horrors of the slave trade in a profound way. Yet, Someone Knows My Name is also a story of liberation, of abiding faith, and of courage and survival. The themes of Exodus and migration are present throughout reminding us that life and faith are a journey. In the words of one of the novel's characters, Daddy Moses, "It doesn't matter what we call your soul....What matters is where it travels and who it lifts up". Someone Knows My Name will continue to travel with you long after you read its final lines and it will indeed lift your soul.

You may want to purchase this book as a hard copy so that you can pass it on to others that you care about.

Historical novels, such as "Someone Knows My Name" and "Ama: the Story of the Transatlantic Slave Trade" by Manu Herbstein, are perhaps the least appreciated genre in literature. Once you pause to read Someone Knows My Name you will find yourself searching for more.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. From the first page I was captivated by the lives of the characters. This book challenged my thinking beyond belief and pushed me to wonder what I would have done in many given situations. It shows the amazingness of human resiliency and the disgustingness of those who have lost all humanity along with those in between. In researching the details of the book it very historically accurate which adds to the allure of this book. For anyone who wants to challenge their mind and soul...this is a must read.

Usually when I read historical fiction I find that the history is interesting, but the writing is poor; or the reverse. In this case, I found both the writing and history to be superb. It's the first time in years I've read a story so well told that is based on so much research. I can't wait for the paperback to come out so that I can buy it for friends.

This is the first review I have ever written. But I feel this book warrants a short comment. I can't add to the descriptions already posted above. But I can say that this was one of the best books I have ever read. It grabbed me from the first page and held me until the end. What an amazing heroine Lawrence Hill created. This is a book that should not be missed.