C Books

This book covers uses for various supplements that are not always covered by other vitamin books.
The information is very helpful, but a few things are a little out of date, mostly because of what was or wasn't available when the book was written.
Overall, a good addition to your nutrition library if you're interested in using supplements or knowing more about what certain nutrients do.

Because of my allergies and asthma, I was on Zyrtec, Advair, and had to carry an albuterol inhaler everywhere I went. I did the diet some years ago and it worked well. After seeing this book somewhere I decided to give it a try.

After reading this book I thought he Dr. Atikin's lost it this time. There are a lot of vitamins he wants you to take. Plus he started selling his own line of vitamins so I thought "ahhh, that's why." I talked to my doctor about it and he said it wouldn't work, you would just be wasting money because your body will piss it all away (literally). I was spending $150 on medications, the vitamins were about $20, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Well, I tried it, and it worked. I felt a lot better, and I didn't need to take the medications anymore.

This book has useful and helpful information about vitamins, minerals, amino acids and their role in the body. I couldn't be happier with the technical part, very well documented. However, a big con of this book is Dr. Atkins' huge ego and conspiracy theories. He almost claims that he started the vitamin hype and the nutrition-based approach to medicine. We know this is not true. Many others deserve so much more credit. Also, he goes down a path of silly and unfounded arguments about how the government is evil and doesn't want to raise the RDA of certain nutrients. This is silly. The RDA should be as low as it can be. Otherwise food manufacturers would be adding tons of unnecessary vitamins to food, more than the bare minimum to just prevent diseases. People would feel compelled to take mega doses of vitamins without proper information about them. It's up to us to raise our intake if we want to. RDA is not supposed to be the optimum amount for everyone, just the minimum to prevent simple deficiencies that could cause diseases. Also, he uses intricate reasoning to arrive at conclusions that vitamins are not more widespread because food manufacturers lobby against them. One could argue the opposite, that vitamins are becoming widespread because their manufacturers are lobbying for people to accept them. There's always a silly conspiracy theory for any subject. Dr. Atkins chose an absurd one and he stuck to it throughout his book. I suggest the reader takes his non-medical opinions (politics, RDA, etc) with a grain of salt. But not too much salt, because sodium is bad for you :-) Otherwise, the book is excellent.

I am a professional who has been reading and studying the field of supplements. This book is the best that I have come across. Not only is it the most complete, but the supplements in it were used in Dr. Atkin's clinical practice. This is were the rubber hits the road, and the concrete real life information that gives this book credibility. If I were to buy only one book on this subject, it would be this one, even over the encycolpedia type books.

This is an excellent reference book on nutritional supplements. Far superior to any I have ever read. Page for page, you get relevant, researched information.

If you like adventure, fantasy, spunky female heroines you will love this book. Despite its length I stayed engrossed the whole time. The characters are fully developed with even the horses having personalities and charm. I gave a set of the Trilogy to my grandchildren, but the books are for both adults and children. Our bookclub will be reading Elfhunter soon. Jane Howard, MD Indiana

As a huge LOTR fan that reads the books yearly, I was skeptical about Elfhunter at first. All other fantasy epics I've read have paled in comparison to Tolkein, but not the Elfhunter series. In many way's it's better! The characters are more fully developed and complex than most of the Middle Earth characters, and the stories move along quickly without the pages of landscape descriptions or chapters of "Oh Sam, it's heavy and I'm tired!"

Highly recommended.

I first looked at this book with some skepticism when my aunt brought it home to my mother and I. However, once I started reading it I could not put Marks' book down. Alterra is a beautiful and incredibly believable world that Marks has created and I could well relate to the male characters she crafted. The narrative style of Marks was clearly influenced by Tolkien and she pulls it style off very well. The storyline is captivating, the villain is terrifying, everything that you need in a classic fantasy epic is here. I can't wait to read the next book!

I won't be redundant here - you know the plot after reading the other reviews. I just feel compelled to add that this author is brilliant. What talent! I will start the second book in this trilogy today and just purchased the third one. Don't miss reading these books, please... they are truly worthy of your time.

This book has outdone Lord of the Rings, by which it is said inspired. The spirit of quest and adventure is alive and well on every page. The characters are what make the book special though. You will become very attatched to even minor characters! The main villian is NOT a cliche and he's truly dreadful. BUT he has a personality and background and we feel for him too...

There are humans, elves, and dwarves as expected, plus some of the author's own creations. Lots of spunky romantic intrigue and friendship. More intellegent horses, maps, and "extended universe" than any abnormally maniacal fantasy fan could ask for! A smooth and humorus read despite the liberal helpings of beautifully "classic" prose. So many parts made me laugh out loud. At the same time, Elfhunter is thought-provoking and philosophical on many levels...

You will want to read the second book of the trilogy immediately! These are really the best books I've ever read and it's hard to imagine a fantasy fan who wouldn't like them. As for regular people lol, well... it's so charming you might overlook the geeky aspects. XD

This is the final volume in the second trilogy of what is becoming Cherryh's magnum opus -- and this is only the halfway point. Having been told by the late Senior Captain Ramirez just before his death that Reunion Station wasn't destroyed after all, only damaged, and that the autocratic, xenophobic Pilot's Guild is probably still in charge there, the starship Phoenix knows it must return, not only to rescue those left behind, but also to destroy anything that might lead "the other aliens" to the atevi world. Not only that, the aiji is sending his grandmother, the formidable Ilisidi, to represent him, as well as his six-year-old heir, and Bren Cameron, the human paidi, will accompany the atevi party on its two-year mission. And there will be a contingent of Mospheiran humans, as well. Lots of ways things could go wrong with that many disparate elements, and many of them do, but they also learn to cooperate. And Bren gets to practice his original trade as translator in dealing with the ship they find parked near the damaged station, and he does a very creditable and ingenious job, making full use of his atevi resources -- including a highly cinematic grenade-delivery via the heir's toy cars. I particularly like the way the Good Guys get around the station's control of communications by printing up full-color illustrated brochures! Line up the next few volumes and just keep going!

Bren and his Atevi bodyguards, (Atevi are a race of super tall dark-skinned aliens) travel to a distant space station to rescue some stranded humans. When they arrive they discover things at the space station aren't what they seem. Can Bren get to the bottom of the strange alien presence or will the delegation be caught inside a battle zone?

As usual, Cherryh writes an excellent sci-fi novel. Her world-building is extremely well done and each character is well articulated. I did get a bit tired of the `humans are to blame for everything' attitude that is an underlying theme in these novels. Only humans seem to make mistakes, and if there is a war or a problem it is doubtless the result of ignorant humans. Sometimes I'd like to see one catastrophe that humans WEREN'T responsible for. Also, at times the dowager is a bit of a mary-sue. I like the character, but not every book. Overall, this was a great book which had me on the edge of my seat. 5 stars.

I consider Cherryh to be the premier science fiction writer I have read and enjoyed, since starting as a sub-teenager, back in the 1950s. The entire Foreigner series, to date, as there appear to be some more on the way, is absolutely outstanding. When I read the last book in the sequence, I went an ordered the entier set to date. And have enjoyed each and every one as well as the first and latest! If you have not read them, start at the beginning and be prepared to buy, read and retain each and every one. I am posting this verbatum on the other two requested Foreigner series books I have been given the opportunity for which to review!

First of all, I started reading the Foreigner series in the library, then when I had finished the first trilogy, I went to the main branch of the library and lo and behold, were two books from a second Foreigner series. Having thoroughly enjoyed the first trilogy, I read them and learned that there was a final book in the trilogy, which I immediately ordered off of Ebay(no offense Amazon.com). It was everything the other books were, and more. An extremely well drawn alien society. With just the right mix of drama, suspense and then action.

The story is that the paidhi-aiji has finally arrived at Reunion station. However, as they thought, rescuing the stationers would not be easy...

umm, C.J. Cherryh is a WOMAN. http://www.cherryh.com/www/menu.htm

as to the book itself, i thought it was better than average but not as good as the Chanur novels or 'Downbelow Station'. an improvement on the previous foreigner books but she still mistakes dithering for decision making, a common failing in many of her novels.

Being a bit of a nostalgia freak, I have more than a few books highlighting 50s and 60s pop culture. This is my second favorite, with only Populuxe rating higher. It's a memory-invoking rush of nostalgic nosh, with plenty for your mind to delightfully delight in. You'll treasure this book. Ton of full color pictures and lively appreciative writing makes you want to read this book again and again. Holy Nostalgia, Batman!

After hearing about this both the book and the CD, both by Hal Lifson, I just had to get these. I could not put this book down. I called my mother about it and thanked her for letting me born in such a cool year! I have always been a fanatic for that type of pop culture in the '60's. My sister once told me that I was born twenty years too late! After reading this book, I couldn't agree with her more! If you know someone who was born in 1966, and looking for a birthday gift for them, look no further than this book. This book rocks, and so does Hal Lifson!

What a groovy book, baby! I was only three years old in 1966 but I remember just about everything in this delightful scrapbook that's a time capsule for everything from that hip decade.

Hal Lifson has collected photos, ads, album covers, toys, etc. that brings back a very cool, swingin' period in American culture. The Beatles, Batman, James Bond, Playboy, Nancy Sinatra--they're all here!

Definitely a book for anyone alive at the time. Or anyone interested in what that was like.

Hal Lifson took me on a journey that was so exciting, I couldn't stand it! From Batman to The Monkees to the Beach Boys song "Wouldn't It Be Nice", I feel like I've relived my childhood all over again. Now if I only had my Batman utility belt again....

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to take that journey, even if you weren't born yet!

"Hal Lifson's 1966" is, indeed, the ultimate time machine. It works on two distinct levels. First, having lived in the San Fernando Valley during that period, I found the book to be the most delightful, teary-eyed journey back to the old stomping grounds...who says you can't go back home?! To see a picture of the old Encino Bowl...the last time I even thought about it was when I was sneaking a smoke in the parking lot on the way back from ELEMENTARY school! Second, and more important (yes, important), "Hal Lifson's 1966" captures the innocence of the period...perhaps the last innocence the country enjoyed before it was forced to grow up during the Watergate hearings. Indeed, the lack of any political references keeps the journey a magical mystery tour. Honey West, Catwoman, NANCY SINATRA...many a 13-year-old boy lost his innocence "appreciating" these classically sexy women. Thanks, Hal.

A MAGNIFICENT BOOK. I LIVED FOR A YEAR WITH THE KURDS OF NORTHERN IRAQ, AND THIS IS THE ONLY BOOK I KNOW OF WHICH DOES JUSTICE TO THEIR BRAVERY AND SUFFERING. TUCKER DID NOT JET IN COUNTRY FOR A FEW DAYS, CONDUCT A FEW INTERVIEWS AND THEN RUSH HOME TO WORK ON HIS MANUSCRIPT AND MEET WITH HIS AGENT. HE HAD THE FORTITUDE AND INTEGRITY TO SPEND MONTHS IN COUNTRY, LIVING WITH THE KURDS, GAINING THEIR TRUST AND LEARNING THEIR HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. AS A RESULT, HE WAS ABLE TO COMPILE A STUNNING COLLECTION OF INTERVIEWS OF ASTONISHING QUALITY. IF YOU WANT TO COMPREHEND THE INHUMANITY OF SADDAM AND THE UNPARALLELED COURAGE AND STRENGTH OF THE KURDISH PEOPLE, READ THIS BOOK.

Mike Tucker.
Hemingway is back.
Hell is Over.
5 stars.
This is a great book. What genius! To
go to Iraqi Kurdistan, in the immediate
aftermath of the liberation of Iraq, and
interview the people who, for the first
time in their lives, can speak freely and
without fear of how they sacrificed,
struggled, and survived years of oppression
and brutality. The Kurds. What Tucker
does in this book is not only brave, as
Bob Kerrey states on the cover, but
it is honorable and noble. This is
the voices of Kurds from all walks of life.
And they are fascinating people. Thanks
to the many reviewers whose insightful
comments on this site led me to purchase
both this book, and Tucker's other great
book from Iraq, AMONG WARRIORS IN IRAQ. 5 stars.

Like AMONG WARRIORS IN IRAQ, HELL IS OVER is a jewel of
a book. Definitely 5 stars. Mike Tucker lets the Kurds
of Iraq tell their stories. His insight into the
intelligence campaign in Iraq, and how the Kurds can
help us defeat insurgents and terrorists in Iraq,
is more timely than ever. I very much enjoyed all of
this great book, especially the last section,
"The Road Ahead," where younger Kurds speak of their hopes
and dreams for the future of Iraqi Kurdistan. 5 stars.

Engrossing, vivid, and magnificent. Tucker journeyed to
Iraqi Kurdistan and returned with the only book that
lets the Kurds tell, in their own voices, their stories,
their tales of suffering and endurance and hope.
Incredibly timely, as Saddam's war crimes trial is now
underway in Baghdad, and Tucker has previously-unreported
Ba athist war crimes perpetrated against the Kurds in
HELL IS OVER: VOICES OF THE KURDS AFTER SADDAM.
This is landmark work, like his other great book from
the Iraq War, AMONG WARRIORS IN IRAQ. Mr. Tucker is now
back in Western Iraq, with Marines and special operations,
and he will no doubt write another great book from
Iraq. But thank God he wrote this one, HELL IS OVER.
I really appreciate what the previous reviewer said,
on the people in this book being "salt of the earth,"
yes. You hear the backbone of Kurdish culture and
all Kurds, here, in this historical gem. Earthy,
warm, rich, raw, gripping and insightful. 5 stars.

Since the end of the United States-led war to liberate Iraq, journalists and authors have descended into Iraqi Kurdistan to try their luck at telling the Kurds' story, taking advantage of the fact that, after decades of war and isolation, the area is once again easily accessible.

Tucker, a war correspondent and former U.S. marine, traveled throughout Iraqi Kurdistan in July 2003, and Hell is Over is a collection of his interviews. The collection divides into three parts. One focuses on stories and recollections of the peshmerga, literally "those who face death," a term used both for Kurdish guerilla fighters and their militias. The second highlights torture by interviewing former political prisoners and family members of those raped, tortured, and killed, as well as the reaction of U.S. servicemen who witnessed the excavation of mass graves. The final part takes up the story of artists, politicians, and women's rights activists.

Hell is Over adds color to the Kurds' history. It does not, however, give context. Aside from a short scene-setter describing little more than the period following the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein, there is no history. While Tucker dedicates his book to the memory of Kurdish nationalist hero Mulla Mustafa Barzani (1903-79), he does not explain who Barzani was or why many Kurds hold him in such esteem. For that matter, Tucker does not explain who Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Jalal Talabani is, a glaring omission given that Talabani controls half the Kurdish zone and is now president of Iraq.

Tucker surrenders balance and accuracy to his own romanticism. He thanks Kurdistan Democratic Party leaders in his acknowledgments and appears to have had no contact with independents or with officials in areas controlled by Talabani. Accordingly, he uncritically accepts canards about Talabani, such as his having sided with Saddam Hussein against Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani. While Talabani may have sought Iranian assistance in the 1994-97 Kurdish civil war, it was Barzani who invited the Republican Guard into the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, where they rounded up and executed Iraqi opposition figures. Tucker does describe Saddam's mass graves, but he makes no mention of the 2,000 Kurds who disappeared during the 1994-97 Iraqi Kurdish civil war. While Tucker describes Masoud Barzani's son Masrour "as one of the young lions of the Kurdish leadership," he neglects to mention Masrour's role as the head of KDP intelligence and as the enforcer for Barzani's business interests.

Tucker concludes Hell is Over with a plea for U.S. policymakers to listen to the Kurds more closely. Unfortunately, his collection is more a testament to the skewed narrative that can result from listening without a critical ear to Kurdish officials. A far better option for historical and political context is Christiane Bird's A Thousand Sighs, A Thousand Revolts: Journeys in Kurdistan.[1]

[1] New York: Ballantine Books, 2004.

Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2005

This book is probably one of the best books i have ever read. Very rarely a book comes along that you just can't put down. This is one of those. There have been thousands of book about this era is spaceflight but only a handfull really stick out. At first i was skeptical as to what this book would be, but as soon as i started reading it i knew that i loved it. Get this book along with In the Shadow of the Moon. You will not be dissapointed.

A MUST READ!!! French and Burgess really know how to sum up the early space program and make it completely relivable. For previous generations who were not around to partake in the early threads of space exploration this book will take them into that silent sea.

This book would make an excellent documentary covering all the brilliant aspects of the beginnings of our space program. A fantastic journey and pleasure to read, I got to relive this pinnacle of time in the history of space exploration. GREAT STUFF!!! Dorice Odell

Samuel Taylor Coleridge provides the quote that lends its name to the first of a planned ten-volume series chronicling the Space Age. I believe that Francis French and Colin Burgess have chosen well, as Into that Silent Sea, Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965, is one of the most evocative titles about flying into space I can recall. A good title certainly tells a lot about a work, and this is especially true in this case.

Into that Silent Sea trades between the two sides of the superpower race to the Moon, giving us a wonderful behind the scenes glimpse from Yuri Gagarin's first foray into the cosmos to the harrowing spacewalk of Alexei Leonov, from the competition to be first at Cape Canaveral to limping through a day in Gordo Cooper's dying Mercury capsule.

Burgess' and French's two writing styles mesh easily, and the book speaks with one authoritative voice. The space travelers and others written about in the book have shared their stories and given us all a peek beyond what we are used to seeing.

It is a unique work in that it presents both sides of the race in a clear and succinct manner while giving us real astronauts and cosmonauts, many never before discussed in Western press. The closest comparison would have to be Two Sides of the Moon, by Dave Scott and Alexei Leonov. However wonderful that book is, it doesn't compare with the French and Burgess work in that we examine many more spacefarers than just the one American and one Russian, and put it all in the context of the flights as they occurred.

If I have to find fault with the work, there are two things that come to mind. First, is the lack of an index to aid in searching for the people and incidents that interest us the most. Second, is the paucity of photographs. The space race was a visual feast, in that it showed people racing above the planet, yet most of the photos are simple head shots of the people talked about in the text. Most people today have probably never even seen one of the grainy shots of Leonov's first-ever spacewalk, so things of that nature would have added immensely to the impact of the book. I hope that in future volumes, more effort will be made to include historic and little-seen photos to illustrate the text.

We've read stories and seen movies, documentary and otherwise, that have supposedly told us the inside scoop. As the first in the Outward Odyssey series, I believe Into that Silent Sea will be viewed in the future as the one that led the way to what could prove to be the definitive story of the people involved in our rise to the challenge of spaceflight.

A must read for anyone with a love of Space, Astronauts, etc. Very well written.

I am an Apollo astronaut who entered the space program in 1966, and I knew and worked with most of the Americans that are profiled in this book. In the intervening years I have met most of the Russians also profiled. I was in the space business for many years, including making a flight to the moon on Apollo 15 in 1971, ten years after Alan Shepard made his historic flight. This book is a wonderful history of the original pioneers in space. I could not put it down once I started. French and Burgess have a great touch when it comes to writing. I found it especially interesting when reading about the Russian program and the men and women selected for their spaceflights. The book clearly and engrossingly explains the differences between the Russian Cosmonauts and the American Astronauts, including fascinating personal details of how they were selected, trained and carried on their flights. I found the book a great source of new information that was both well documented and thoroughly fascinating to read - in fact, I believe it is deserving of winning some awards. Before I flew in space, these men and women in America and Russia paved the way and were my personal heros. If you want to know who they were, then this is the book.

We are accustomed to viewing excellent documentaries on the TV and the big screen. It is nice to find a literary documentary just as enjoyable. The mid 19th century was an incredible time for change. Europe was adjusting to the post Napoleonic ideals of political and religious freedom. The United States was fighting against the secular immorality of slavery. Prussia was building a military machine to dominate Europe. Italy was struggling with a unification which would require shedding the medieval yoke of the Catholic Church. In the midst of these changes a 6 year old Jewish boy , Edgardo Mortara, is kidnapped within the Papal States under orders of the Inquisition. The charge is that the boy has been secretly baptized. The baptism cannot be undone and therefore the boy cannot continue to live with his Jewish parents. Governments from around the world protest the kidnapping and Pope Pius IX responds with traditional dogma. This is a wonderful researched narrative which brings together themes which will be of interest to Christians, Jews and any reader curious about the changing role of the Roman Catholic Church in this period of European history.

The excellent DVD, "Secret Files of the Inquisition", (available from Amazon and Netflix) dramatizes part of this story and includes commentary by the author, David Kertzer.

Simply one of the most insightful books I have ever read. Thank you Mr. Kertzer for illuminating this fascinating event in our history.

Douglas Wood has already summarized and evaluated this book, justly praising its historical worth. I'd like to add a note about its shock value; in a moment of history when anti-semitism seems to be a joke in some people's minds, surely this is a book that might make the pain and folly of bigotry "real" in terms of a single family, and therefore accessible to readers who can't empathize with mass tragedy.
It's also quite a thrilling book to read, by the way, a better detective story by far than Dan Brown could manufacture.

A Jewish family's illiterate Catholic housekeeper sprinkles well-water over an infant child and furtively mumbles the baptismal sacrament. When the Inquisitor learns of the deed, he orders the kidnapping of the then six-year-old Jewish boy. This foul deed is almost certainly sanctioned by the highest levels of the Catholic hierarchy. The police forcibly remove the child from his family's Bologna home and swiftly transport him to the Church's House of Catechumens in Rome for reeducation. Despite all protests from the boy's family and the Jewish community and in the face of a destabilizing international uproar, the Holy Father refuses to yield. By holy grace, the boy has been miraculously saved and the Church keeps him, inculcates him in the Catholic Christian religion, and assiduously converts the boy.

The boy kidnapped in the name of religion? Edgardo Mortara. The Holy Father in question? Pope Pius IX. The year? 1858. That's right 1858, not 1458, not 1658, but smack dab in the middle of 19th century Europe.

Historian David Kertzer tells the complete tale in his excellent work, `The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara.' As Kertzer relates in the epilogue he learned to his surprise that there was no reliable work on this topic. Kertzer sets out to remedy this gap and succeeds by examining the episode in fine detail. Using detailed court and police investigation records, Kertzer explores numerous evidentiary questions such as whether the baptism took place at all, whether the proper conditions for a valid lay baptism existed, who put the girl up to it, and how did the Inquisition find out about it?

The story is told against the background of the movement to unify Italy under secular rule. And here is yet another surprise for the uninitiated reader, including this one: until 1861 the Pope was still the temporal ruler of a wide swath of the Italian peninsula (this rule continued on a lesser scale to 1870). The treatment of young Edgardo was one of the factors that helped build support across Italy and internationally for the Risorgimento or Italian reunification.

The episode also hastened Pius IX's evolution, shall we say, to reactionary beliefs. Pius IX not only made papal infallibility part of Church dogma, but he also issued his infamous Syllabus of Errors in 1864, a broad attack on rationalism, science, and religious freedom - really a frontal assault on the Enlightenment and most other signs of progress in the previous three centuries. If Kertzer's book does nothing more than direct his reader's attention to this astonishing document, he has succeeded in the historian's task.

Kertzer examines the trial of the Inquisitor in detail and the formidable difficulties facing the prosecution. For example, what crime did the Inquisitor commit when his acts were legal at the time he committed them? Would the new government prove willing to violate the fundamental principle that the accused must have had notice of the illegality of his acts?

As for Edgardo, he remained with the Church fathers until he reached his majority and by then his conversion had firmly taken hold. He went on to become a famed proselytizer for Catholicism especially among the Jewish peoples. This role may help explain why this story has remained untold: it embarrassed Jews and Catholics alike.

Some readers may find the detail devoted to the investigations and trials to be excessive, but bear in mind that Kertzer is writing the seminal history of Edgardo's kidnapping. A fascinating tale full of surprises, very highly recommended.

I can't help but think that millions who do not know that they are interested in the history of the Italian Risorgimento would suddenly find themselves incapable of putting this book down. David Kertzer kept my attention while helping to answer my questions regarding how a country that is predominately Roman Catholic can name streets, buildings, and piazzas after the heroes of the Risorgimento who took by force most of the lands ruled by the Pope while Pope Pius IX called upon all the faithful to oppose them. I am now closer to seeing how statues and monuments honoring Garibaldi, Mazzini, Cavour, and King Victor Emmanuel can share the beautiful Italian landscape with cathedrals and the Vatican.
Historical events are impossible to understand without learning of the human issues of the times in which they transpired. Such a study should not be a dry recounting of the facts when it can be, as Kertzer demonstrates, a living, breathing, gut-wrenching encounter with those who created that compelling history.
I know it's almost cliché to say that this reads like a good novel, but it's true.
The trial of Momolo Mortara rivals any of the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and it is all the more riveting in the context of the amazing events that led to it. Sherlock Holmes could not have used his powers of deduction more skillfully than Momolo's attorney used his unbiased mind to separate facts from prejudiced and selective interpretations.
I give this book my highest recommendation. I hope that THE KIDNAPPING OF EDGARDO MORTARA has been or will be translated into Italian. Perhaps a greater awareness of the past can positively influence current challenges in Italy involving the assimilation of other cultures and religious beliefs - brought on by mass immigrations in recent years.

well this is the first book i read on winston churchill . bought it in 1983 . the foreword is unforgettable but historical mistakes in it makes this work not the very best on the luife of sir winston. great prose nevetheless.same can be said of book number two.

Manchester is one of those writers who appears unable to disappoint. This is a book to be read and savored. For years, it sat on my shelf - I saw as a large undertaking that I wanted to do right.

The book has a very interesting structure. First, it begins with a kind of interpretive introduction to the man, vividly characterizing him while also evaluating his strengths as a man of history and his glaring weaknesses. You see him, worts and all, and it is both funny and enlightening. The psychological depth is virtually unprecedented in any other bio I have read. Second, you get a view both into his milieu - as an aristocrat of talent and privilege in Victorian Britain - and a biography of both of his parents. This is crucially important, as we come to see Churchill as an anachronism, but also as a boy neglected by narcissistic parents. (Interestingly, the absence of one or both parents is a common trait in extraordinary achievers.) Third, you get his life story, more from the events he was involved in than as an intimate portrait, though much of his personal life is covered. Indeed, he used action as the most effective tonic against depression.

The man that emerges is flawed and complex, but evidently a political genius. In my view, the key to his character is that he remained a Victorian gentleman, who viewed martial valor as the greatest source of meaning and glory in life. This suited him to titanic struggles, such as the one he faced with Hitler that places him in the ranks of the greatest historical figures. As an egotist, he always wanted to place himself at the center of events and yet did so with courage and tenacity in spite of his physical weaknesses. When out of power, he exercised other gifts, such as writing, with equal talent and energy.

Nonetheless, Manchester proves that Churchill was not a politician deeply in touch with his constituency: he never developed a typical base of power and often his views did not synch with the mainstream. Without Hitler, his hour might never have arrived: this duality is a theme that runs through the entire book.

If there is any flaw here, it is that Manchester includes a plethora of detail, not only about world events but in Churchill's political maneuverings. Normally, I delight in these details, if I know there is a purpose to all of it, which I did not always sense in this book. (Here a comparison with Robert Caro is instructive: you always know where he is going and why.) Others may see it differently, of course. Also, many of the historical details I already knew, so did not need Manchester's wordy introductions, but they were useful in the many cases of which I was ignorant.

All in all, this is one of the most engrossing and fascinating bios I have ever read. Warmly recommended.

Winston Churchill was not a likable or even an admirable man.He was dishonest,childish,ruthless and disloyal.Perhaps worst of all,he was a megalomaniac-he knew that he was a Great Man,and that some day he would fulfill a magnificent destiny. But when war and catastrophe came to England he was perhaps the only politician psycholigically capable of inspiring continued resistence and defiance to Adolph Hitler and the Third Reich.Given that England had already lost the war,that was a breathtaking achievement.

James Boswell's "Life of Samuel Johnson",published in 1791,is generally considered the finest biography produced in the English language.However,Manchester's work is perhaps superior. Boswell was of Johnson's world and therefore conveyed it to his reader only incidently;that is,he naturally assumed that his reader would be familiar with the things and events with which he was familiar.Manchester,writing of the past,appreciated the necessity of re-creating Churchill's world for the reader.He was brilliantly successful.The world which Churchill inhabited would have been amazing even to most of his contemporaries because of his social class.As Manchester points out,in over 90 years of life Churchill never drew his own bath;one of his relatives,visiting friends without his valet,sent down word that he was having trouble getting his toothpaste to "froth properly".He'd never applied toothpaste to a toothbrush himself.It isn't just the story of Churchill's life that is so engrossing.It is the wonderful recreation of Churchill's world,of the people he knew and the conversations he had,the events which occurred and the way that Churchill and his friends and enemies reacted to the events.

As Boswell loved Johnson,Manchester worshipped Churchill.Indeed,Churchill was in some ways a lovable man.He was devoted to his wife and family(happily married for almost 60 years-how many men can say that?) He revered his father (a syphlitic,who depised him,)and he was loyal to his country and the Empire it ruled.Personally,I doubt that I'd have been able to spend more than ten minutes in a room with Churchill.But this book is one of the finest I've ever read.I was honestly sorry to read the last of its almost 900 pages and I'm opening the second volume tonight.In the forward to the second volume Manchester quotes a definition of biographer.The biographer is judged "by his ability to suggest the sweep of chronology and yet to highlight the major patterns of behavior that give a life its shape and meaning."Boswell did that. Manchester,I believe,did it better.

This is William Manchester at his best. This is fascinating reading and fascinating writing. Of course Winston Churchill was quite a character but to be honest I didn't know that fact until I read this book and its companion volume.
After reading this book I put it to my mind that I would read everything that Manchester wrote. I've got a couple more to go. You can't miss with this purchase. A great story, great writing, and good history. What more could you ask for?

I am a little half way through the book, but it already is one of the best books I have ever read. The book deserves all the accolade. Manchester's approach to biography is a little different from many others in that he did not shy away from coloring the narrative with events that were yet to occur. He always hinted the historical significance of events in light of what happened later. I find this extremely helpful. For example: Churchill's fascination with early airplanes, his conception of tanks when dealing with a domestic riot are just two examples. These illuminated Churchill was indeed ahead of his peers in recognizing important trends.

The buildup to WWI is masterful. The book weaves Churchill's struggle with the Irish Home rule question together with the naval arms race with Germany in 1913. Since we know WWI started in 1914, the realization that Churchill and the British government were struggling with a domestic problem (which surely was exploited by the German Kaiser) enhances our understanding of the immediate pre-war times.

I knew the old US of A was not a world player before WWI. This book adds to that impression. Until the outbreak of the war, the US is just not on Churhill's radar: it does not show up much in his writing, travel, and speech. Yes, he did a book tour in the US, but that was before he started his political career.

Can't wait to read the second half of the book.

The book is well written and entertaining. The story was nicely presented around the letters of Mary Pringle. All the similar names of the characters make it a little confusing. A nice reference chart showing the relationship of the characters should be included at the beginning of the book. Did the author hide some things to make the family look better? I wonder. It's hard for a Northerner to muster up a lot of sympathy for this family of slave owners. Perhaps Julius, who likely became a Unionist, was the real hero of the family. It's ironic that the South nearly destroyed our country in the 1860's, but is saving it today.

Mary's World helped me to understand life in the Antebellum South and the culture that thrived on slavery. But it also showed the North's response to winning the Civil War, which was anything but forgiving. It was a thrill to see the Miles Brewton House and the St. Michael's Cemetary on my recent visit to Charleston, and to feel the connection with the Mottes, Alstons, and Pringles.

In Mary's World Richard N. Cote has succeeded admirably where so many others have tried and yet missed the mark. With his succinct style and exceptional organizational skills he has laid bare the thoughts,emotions and lives of Mary Pringle, her family and their slaves, and done so in a way that has given us a book
that is informative as well as enjoyable. By putting their lives
into context with the times Mr Cote has given the reader not only the opportunity to learn what they thought and felt but the ability to understand why they thought and felt the way they
did. This book will appeal to historians and the average reader
alike.
It took me only 2 days to read Mary's World and I found myself
so absorbed that when interrupted I was momentarily confused to find I wasn't in 19th century Charleston.

FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN ANTEBELLUM CULTURE AND THE CIVIL WAR, THIS IS A MUST READ. EVEN FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T A STUDENT OF THE ERA, "MARY'S WORLD" IS STILL A FASCINATING GLIMPSE OF THE LIFE OF AN ELITE SOUTHERN PLANTER FAMILY. TAKEN FROM FAMILY PAPERS, THE STORY OF THE PRINGLES IS A FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF THEIR INNERMOST THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS.

THE READER GETS TO WATCH WILLIAM BULL AND MARY ALSTON PRINGLE'S CHILDREN GROW UP. BY THE END OF THE BOOK YOU FEEL AS IF YOU HAVE KNOWN THEM ALL. I DREADED FINISHING THE BOOK BECAUSE I FELT AS IF I WAS LEAVING OLD FRIENDS.

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND MAKE TIME FOR THIS BOOK. REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU ARE AN "ANTEBELLUM-OPHILE" LIKE ME OR NOT, THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK.

I found this book in Charleston on vacation after touring this home. I loved this book! Now I want to visit again because I am so much more invested. I read this book for pure pleasure, and di it deliver! One doesn't need to visit the south to enjoy, the book takes you there. It gives such insight to the era and history the reader gets pulled right in.

OO design and analysis is so very gray. No book can cover every aspect because the possibilities are endless. Everyone's application and environment is different which causes each and every one of us to approach our design differently and value different affects of our coding practices. By far this is the best book I have read that simply lays out OO rules-of-thumb and then explains why each is beneficial and when they might contradict other rules-of-thumb. The book encourages the reader to be reasonable and practical in your application of OO best practices.

I strongly recommend that every development team read this book and discuss it amongst themselves.

Ok, I had to look up heuristics in the dictionary before buying this. But other than that I found this to be one of only a handful I've read that tells you how to look at OOD work you've done and decide if it is good (and how to improve it). Particularly good was the discussion of cases where design goals conflict and how to resolve the conflict.

I have been studying the object oriented methodology for some time now. I felt that I had a good understanding of what OOP was all about. I have studied OOA/D and design patterns from numerous sources. All of my sense for OOA/D knowledge changed completely when I read this book. This book really showed me that I was stuck somewhere in the middle of the paradigm shift between action oriented programming (aka procedural programming) and object oriented programming. After reading this, I feel like my knowledge in OOA/D has truly advanced to the next level.

Are you the type of person that knows what OOP is? I mean, if you've studied up on OOP then you are probably aware of what an abstract class is. You know what interfaces, inheritance, polymorphism, information hiding (...etc) are. You may have a sense in when you should use inheritance and when you should use containment. You probably follow certain OOP practices like keeping all of your variables private, hiding secrets from other objects (information hiding). This may all make sense to you but are you also the type of person that just never feels comfortable about your designs? Do you look at your classes and just get a sense that something doesn't seem right, yet you just can't figure out what it is even if your software system is running fine? I am willing to wager that you are in the middle of a paradigm shift. You are probably taking the route that a lot of developers take when they shift from thinking in a procedural fashion (action-oriented design) into object oriented design. There is nothing wrong with this, but if you're like a lot of developers you will have a long hard journey utilizing a lot of experience before you really make that shift. This book is an essential tool that will help you make that shift a LOT faster. After reading this book you will see why you felt your designs were't quite right.

One of the first topics that really hit home for me was when the author Arthur Riel talks about God classes in chapter 3. God classes are classes that have too much implementation in them. Most of the complexity of a piece of software resides in these classes. They are the all-knowing classes that delegate messages between the much smaller, less complex classes. Signs of God classes are classes that have words in their name such as "Manager" or "System" in them. This one hit home because there are numerous classes in the software i'm working on now with the name Manager in them. For example one of our classes is called the "BiDirectional_Dataflow_Manager". This is definitely a God class through and through. While I was reading about the disadvantages of these types of classes I couldn't help but agree with everything Arthur was saying. I began to see the light already and I was just on chapter 3. There are 59 other Heuristics, all equally important in this book.

Most books that teach OOA/D seem to really only teach the definition of OOA/D and perhaps clue you in to the whole idea. You learn the terminology well and you see a few examples (I'm sure you've seen an animal hierarchy a time or two), but you don't really gain a solid understanding in how you actually think in objects. This book will bridge that gap. This is the best book i've read by far on OOA/D. This book will apply to you no matter what your skill level is in OOA/D, unless you're a complete beginner then you might find yourself a little bit lost. If you are brand new to OOA/D then you should probably read a short book on OOP, just to gain the basic concepts first. "Object Oriented Thought Process" might be a good start as it's short and sweet, then you should move on to this book. If you are advanced then you may know a lot of this information, but this book will probably help tweak your OOA/D skills; helping you become an even more solid developer. But for you guys and gals out there that know what OOP is and read a few books on it, but still don't feel quite right about your designs, this book is essential. You guys out there are the sweet spot for a book like this. That's how I was. Now I feel so much better, I feel like i've gained more knowledge in OOA/D with this book then all other books on OOA/D and OOP that i've read combined - and then some.

Arthur Riel is a very talented programmer and author. He is able to communicate ideas to you that are sure to hit home, as if he's right there with you and understands your problems in OOA/D. This book is densly packed. Not including the bibliography and index this book is a mere 367 pages. Even more, if you don't include the example code at the end of the book (all C++ code) this book is only 243 pages. The real meat of this book is in the first 9 chapters (where he talks about all of the heuristics), which totals 182 pages. After that he talks about topics such as handling memory leaks and such. Most of the dim lights will shine brightly after a mere 182 pages! This may sound too good to be true, but as I said earlier Arthur is VERY talented in communicating his ideas. You just have to read this book very carefully, don't skim! Because it's so dense, it may take a couple of passes before you really get the idea but once you understand it you will surely belt out a resounding "AH HA!". This book is 10 years old at the time of this review, but the information inside is far from being outdated.

To conclude this lengthy review (sorry about that) I would like to say that I give this book my highest recommendation. In fact, this may be the best book on software development that i've ever read! This book has influenced my software development more then any other book i've read and that's a fact. This is truly a rare gem. The only downside (not this books fault) is that it's become a bit harder to work on the software that i'm currently working with because I now see where all of the pitfalls are. My co-workers think i'm just being anal about design now, but you don't have to be like them. Step up, become the best software developer that you can be. Just read this book and you will take a giant leap forward in your OOA/D understanding, especially if you're stuck in a paradigm shift like I was. Thank you very much Arthur!

I have plenty of books on patterns, but I want to get more information on the basics of OOP and why the patterns are effective instead of "this is pattern X, and this what it does." This is a very complicated subject, which I have no doubt that most programmers on the planet have very little understanding of. We mostly write crummy code that "works", and most of the time that's good enough.

I was uncertain about getting this book because of how old it was, but after reading most of it, I'm happy I got it. Although complex, it is written in an understandable manner with useful diagrams. I wasn't as interested in the "one-liner" heuristics as I was the detailed explanations of the problems caused by particular design mistakes and the other examples and pitfalls presented.

Regrettably, I disagree with the other reviewers here who seem to have liked this book. I didn't. Not that it's terrible: I found myself in agreement with most if not all of the rules of thumb the author talks about; the problem is more that this book is not well done.

First, this is a textbook; as such it is aimed at a student, that is someone who doesn't know the material yet and tries to learn. But for a tutorial this text overwordy and imprecise, with a generous quantity of confusing, misleading metaphors. If you happen to know what the author is trying to say, then you sorta get it -- I mean, you get it 'cause you already know it -- but a newcomer will be confused.

Sometimes the author doesn't seem to know why a particular rule is good, so he goes something like this: rule such-and-such is good because most software engineers would agree that it's good. I doubt the author conducted a statistically valid survey -- but forget that, suppose most software engineers do in fact agree: so what? All the author has now is a nice and juicy ad populum. But he, obviously, isn't even aware that something's wrong -- and that may be one of the problems with this book: the author may not be experienced enough to write books of this sort. He may be a competent practitioner, but this is not the same as teacher.

He tries to compensate via an over-abstract and smart-sounding terminology (one of the reviewers below jokingly complains that he needed to look up the word "heuristics": that is a telling comment, and it is valid. I, too, noticed that the author takes delight in using a dozen hifalutin words where one simple word would do (and result in a clearer text).

Riel also likes to belabour commonplace excessively ("data should be hidden inside objects"; "Objects should not depend on their users", blah-blah, brush teeth daily, apple a day etc.), anything to make the book thicker -- which brings me to its second defect, less important and quite a common one today: the book is blatantly padded. Out of about 400 pages only about 200 have readable text; the rest is mostly a source code printout (this code could have been supplied on an attached disk or put on the net somewhere). There's also a few pages with a concise restatement of the author's rules, which could have been printed on the cover insides (like in the Stevens network books) or supplied as a pullout; otherwise this list is hard to find and serves no purpose.

To summarize: were it better written, Heuristics could be useful for a newbie, but it's not and so it isn't. A more experienced reader, despite being annoyed, will understand it -- but only because he already knows the stuff himself and will be recognizing rather than learning. YMMV, but in my opinion this tome isn't worth reading time for any reader, new or experienced. I'm sending it back.