S Books

Lieutenant Hornblower occurs second in the series by internal chronology, though it was the seventh-written book. Unlike every other book in the series, this one is related from the point of view of Lieutenant William Bush. This alternate point of view allows Hornblower to be presented as a legitimately heroic figure, though it does deprive the reader of the internal thought process of the series' protagonist. The text provides solid background on Hornblower's early career as a lieutenant. Written as a novel, it paces well and has an authentic texture. Indeed, the small-scale combat action is so gripping that in many ways the book eclipses volumes in the series which deal with Hornblower's later career.

Plot Summary (with spoilers):
The novel takes place from May 1800 to March 1803 aboard a cruise of HMS Renown, a 74-gun frigate. The ship's captain, Sawyer, is dangerously paranoid and believes the lieutenants and warrant officers are plotting mutiny against him. To circumvent their putative desire, Sawyer panders to the crew, encouraging them to be lazy and insolent, and issues additional rations of grog. The situation becomes untenable as Renown reaches its cruising grounds near Haiti. Even so, nobody will take the decision action of attempting to remove Sawyer from command.

Fortunately, Sawyer falls down a hatchway and receives a serious injury. There is intrigue surrounding his fall, but no actual witnesses to the accident. Upon Sawyer's physical recovery it is evident his mind is gone--he sobs hysterically and cringes away from everyone. Buckland, the senior lieutenant, takes ostensible command. The unimaginative Buckland botches the ship's primary mission, but disaster is averted when Hornblower proposes an audacious recovery.

From that point forward, it is Hornblower who guides the ship as he influences Buckland subtly but correctly. Indeed, the theme of Hornblower leading his superior officers is a dominant thread in the narrative. The ship carries out other duties with great success until Hornblower is placed aboard a prize--whereupon Renown is almost seized by prisoners. Hornblower once again comes to the rescue and recaptures the ship. The novel ends with Hornblower losing his job because of the Peace of Amiens. He takes up lodging in a public house, makes a meager living by playing whist, develops his friendship with Bush, and meets the young Marie Mason.

This is the sixth Hornblower book I've read, although it's only the second in terms of the chronology of Hornblower's naval career. And I must say, it's one of the better books. CS Forester could be a compelling writer, but some of the Hornblower novels feel a little disjointed. Not this one.

Lieutenant Hornblower is written from the point of view of Lieutenant Bush, whom Hornblower meets in this book. The result is that Hornblower is a more interesting character. It also, unlike some of the other books in the series, primarily covers a single plotline dealing with Hornblower's last mission as a lieutenant, so it hangs together very well. The result is a book that I had trouble putting down until I had read the whole thing. I wholeheartedly recommend this installment of the Hornblower series.

Forester's key book on the times...the made-for-tv series episode parallels this book very closely. And I am very picky when it comes to sea books. Definitely at the same level as the Bolitho series!

This is arguably the best book as "literary work" in the "Hornblower" series (although my personal favorite is the collection of short stories called "Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies.") This story has two aspects that make it unique:

1) it is told from the viewpoint of Hornblower's comrade Bush (who is senior to Hornblower) and provides a completely different view of Forester's diffident hero.

2) It shows how Hornblower functions and succeeds as subordinate while working through some thorny ethical dilemmas that stump Bush and the rest of the characters.

The story line is terrific, as always, with dramatic action "drawn from the files" of the Napoleonic Naval Gazette providing the backdrop to life at sea.

Like Forester's other books, this can be read by adults but it is for young male teens, and suitable for even younger ages. If you like Hornblower, and want a similar story by the same author, read the stand alone novel "The Captain from Connecticutt" which looks at the naval war of 1812 from the American point of view and, as a book, is better than most of the Hornblower series.

C.S. Forester created a superb naval drama that gave me an inside look at the life of a sailor serving in the Royal Navy on the wooden war ship Renown. With Hornblower, and his companion Bush dealing with their befuddled Captain and fighting off the attacks by the Spanish this book kept me reading page after page. I believe this is one of the best books in the Hornblower series and I would encourage anyone with an eye for historical novels to check this series out.

"Traveling Light" is a book deserving of a class all its own. The story tells of a young man who is dying of AIDS, his loving family and the devotion of his life-time partner. Personally, I live with cancer each day; therefore, it is easy for me to relate to how important time and each day is. The simple things in life, a morning sunrise, the touch of a cat's whiskers, the caring touch of someone you love are the solid things in life that make each day worth living. All the small things many take for granted become cherished moments and can be found in the pages of "Traveling Light". This story brings all those simplistic details to light and evokes an overwhelming amount of emotion - love most of all, sorrow, laughter, kindness, caring, compassion, courage, understanding and the fact that no one's life comes with guarantees.

This book will forever remain in my heart because of the lessons it teaches about real life, what is important, and what is trivial and insignificant. Kittle's writing style is fresh, eloquent and deeply thought provoking. A million kudos for Kittle and this gut-wrenching but beautiful story. The book stays with you long after the pages have been read - a million stars would not be enough.

This is perhaps the most haunting novel I have read this year so far. I have heard so much about this book from friends that when I scanned my bookcases, I found this one and knew that it was the right time to read it. And I am so glad that I read it.

The quotes interspersed throughout the novel are inspiring and wonderful. The story of the two lovers and Summer (the main character) is beautiful and so real-to-life. Summer is home in Dayton teaching in the local high school ~~ after a broken ankle ruined her dancing career. Summer is also home for the last year of her brother's life. Todd, her brother, is dying of AIDS and is still the strongest creative force in Summer's life, and Jacob, his husband, influence Summer and her dreams in a positive way. They both show Summer that with love nothing is impossible. Not even death can sever those ties. Summer is then forced to look deep within her and find out the truth to her life.

It is a beautiful and moving story. Though I finished it last night, I am still looking for an opportunity to pick this book up and read it again. It is haunting and lyrical. The love found among those pages is just magical and inspiring. And yet, it's not sappy or sentimental. It just is. Love takes all shapes and forms among people and people without love in their souls are missing out on one of life's greatest gifts.

Pick this book up. You won't regret it.

8-21-06

...growing up together in bits and pieces of this book. I love it and Two Truths just as much as I love the memories I have growing up with Trina. She writes the way she is; pure, honest, passionate, and so very much more. Read this book. No matter what your views are you'll love it.

I first borrowed this book from the library. I read it and had to own it. I do not ever purchase books, I borrow them. The writting is amazing. That is the only word that even comes close to describing the experience of reading this book. The feelings I felt while reading Traveling Light went from one end of the spectrum to the other. Awesome!

This is one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever read. It is told with such sweetness that it makes me want to strive to love this much in my relationships. It also helped me to see how shallow it is to judge people when what I should be doing is loving them where they are. Thank you Ms. Kittle.

This book is awesome wicked crazy and I would recommend it to anyone who was ever interested in anything on the edge of reality.

It shows a side of drugs that people without an addiction are rare to find. It is an honest account from a not so honest guy about an absolutely shameful pastime. I love this book.

Aleister Crowley is best known for his books and essays on magick (it was he who coined that spelling), but he also wrote several works of fiction. Diary of a Drug Fiend may be his best novel, even though it is in many ways more a platform for his ideas and techniques than a conventional novel.

The novel takes place in Europe, mainly England, around the 1920s. This was apparently the time when drugs such as cocaine and heroin were just becoming illegal and socially unacceptable. The story concerns a young couple, Peter and Lou, who fall in love, both with each other and with cocaine and heroin. Crowley, who had considerable experience with drugs himself, is very effective at describing the euphoria of people experiencing drugs for the first time. Their lives are utterly transformed in an almost mystical way. Of course, the body quickly develops an increasing appetite for these powerful substances, and soon more and more is needed. Soon after that comes the inevitable crash, when the addict must take huge quantities just to feel normal and goes through hellish withdrawal when drugs are not available.

In addition to the physical addiction, Diary of a Drug Fiend shows how the addict's overall judgment is clouded. Peter easily falls victim to a con man, and soon the couple are facing a shortage of money. They are only rescued by the intervention of a mysterious man called King Lamus, who is a thinly disguised version of Crowley. What makes this book interesting, and different from other books that deal with addiction, is that the real point is to show the power of the will to overcome any problem. According to this view, which adherents of modern 12 step programs will not take kindly to, there is nothing special about addiction. It's simply one way people can lose sight of their "true will," to put it in Crowley's terminology. "Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be the Whole of the Law" was one of Crowley's favorite sayings, and it is repeated often in this book. The meaning, as is made clear, is not to simply do what you want or to follow your whims. That is how the couple in this novel end up addicted to cocaine and heroin. It means, rather, to follow your Will, which means living up to your highest potential, fulfilling your destiny or becoming one with your Higher Self, to put it in other terms.

Diary of a Drug Fiend is an enjoyable, if not a great novel; in some ways it's rather didactic, especially towards the end. Still, even someone who is not particularly interested in Crowley or magick could find the descriptions of the couple's descent into addiction and madness compelling. Crowley says in the introduction that the events depicted are all true. How true they are we may never know, but it is a fact that Crowley set up a kind of community in the Mediterranean called The Abbey of Thelema. The last few chapters of the novel depict a kind of idyllic life where people discover and live according to King Lamus' magical instructions. What Crowley did here, both in the novel and real life, is to try to set up a kind of laboratory of the spirit where people are led to reach their highest potential. At various times, other spiritual teachers, such as Gurdjieff and Rajneesh (both as controversial as Crowley in their own ways) established communities of their own. Whether Crowley succeeded or not is still hotly debated, but Diary of a Drug Fiend gives a compelling summary of many of his ideas. It is also an entertaining read with a style more accessible than Crowley's nonfiction books.

It's not quite as much fun to write a review when it seems everyone is basically in agreement. Crowley was not as evil as folklore suggests, and he was a lot more intellectually accomplished than his detractors would care to admit.

What struck me about this book were the resounding themes in the final chapters. (I don't think this is a suspense-driven book, so I don't see myself as "spoiling" the ending here.) "Do What Thou Wilt" may seem archaic or sinister, but it ultimately means nothing more than finding your ultimate purpose, your deepest will. Once you find that, your other problems will fall by the wayside. Put in those terms, perhaps the theme sounds too pedestrian. But the way Crowley presents it here in terms of overcoming a heroin and "snow" addiction is marvelous. In many respects this book, particularly toward the end, reminded me of Ayn Rand's writings, where man's ultimate potentials are examined and exalted. Crowley's King Lamus is not far from the John Galt and Howard Roarke idealisms. I walked away from this book refreshed and inspired. Thank you, Mr. Crowley.

Yes, if you have any interest in narcotics addiction this is a MUST-READ. Seriously, if you are a cop, or a lawyer, or a judge, this is a fundamental source of information that will really expand your comprehension of the subject of narcotics addiction. Thank goodness here in California the emphaisis is on REHABILITATION for users and simple possession. And, thank goodness, here in California if you are a dealer that clank you just heard is the prison door, scum bag.

Yes, for those with interests in the arcane, the esoteric, the occult or the erotic, your time will be well rewarded by the book. There is bizarre imagery and mystical references throughout. You'll have a blast with this one. Please note that these Crowley books become astronomical in price when they go out of print, even the paperbacks, so you may want to snag one of these even if you can't read it right now.

One sign of a good book for me is that when I'm done with it, the book is all marked up with pencil marks indicating points which I want to read again some day. Just about every page of this book is marked. Yes, it truly is classic.

Awesome. Great writer. First few pages took a little while to get through due to all the British lingo, but after that, it flew.

I was assigned to read this book for my 10th grade American History summer reading. I loved to read as a teen. I loved history -- I went on to get my degree in it. This book threatened to change all of that.
A ponderous piece of agonizing minutiae, this book brought me to the breaking point. I read it -- the whole thing. As a fifteen year old. I think it actually made me cry, I hated it so much. It's well researched, but seemed almost masturbatory in its envisioning of the motivations of frontiersmen. And excruciatingly long. Some people obviously enjoy this book. To each their own. But for the rest of you, it is okay to hate it. Really. You know you want to.

I first became acquainted with Mr. Eckert's books a few years ago while shopping for a gift for my son-in-law who loves local history and someone recommended one of his books. I took it home and while wrapping it, read a page. I was hooked, I went out and bought one for myself. We live in an area rich in history and his books cover our area extensively. I only wish all the history classes I took in high school and college had been this interesting. Our whole family now enjoys Mr. Eckert's books.

After picking up our pots in Seal Bay we ran over to Port Williams for a few days before continuing on around the northern tip of Afognak Is.We lay overnight at Bluefox Bay where my sister was then living.She lent me her copy of this book,of which,at the time,I thought to be rather a large chunk of reading.However,upon returning to town for more supplies,we were stuck there because our skipper ran over himself with a snowmachine.Now I had much time to read,and read I did! Non-stop.This is history as it should be presented.Real people.Red,white and foreign.Simon Kenton,the man who is the common thread throughout the book,is one man I had never heard of,in history or elsewhere.
The words "WOW!";"AWESOME!":"UNBELIEVABLE!" have lost their power in our current age from over-use,but their original applications do fit this book.
The above trip took place in early 1978 and from that time I have kept my eye out for this book.All inquiries were met with either "Out of Print" or exorbiant pricings of a collectors' item.While I was not looking for it this recent order,by long habit, the title matches for the search criteria were imprinted in my mind and the book is now part of my collection....CliffThe Frontiersmen: A Narrative

This is a book I've read, and re-read many times. That's how good it is.
I bought two this time and gave them as gifts.

Why bother with fiction when the facts, as told by this master historian and masterful storyteller, are so fascinating. After reading this book, you'll never look at those old westerns the same way again. I learned more about the period (the Revolution to the War of 1812), and especially the Native Americans who lived then, from this book than in all my previous life. I'm about to buy the next in the series, Wilderness Empire. If you liked Bernard De Voto's great book Across the Wide Missouri, you will love this as well. Kudos, Mr. Eckert!

This is a good book for my 4th grade son. It is hard to find books on his reading level that hold his interest. The narator of the story is Hank the cowdog (also self proclaimed head of ranch security). The chapters are only 3 or 4 pages and give my son a sense of accomplishment for being able to read a couple of chapters each night.
Hank also has a few pronuciation problems, allowing the young reader to identify correct pronunciation and grammer. The stories are interesting and funny and have really improved my son's interest in reading as well as his grades in reading and language skills. We now own them all as well as many audio books as well. It was fun to hear Hank's voice and read along.

Some background for this review: I originally purchased Hank in book and cassette form for my nieces and nephews in the early 80's. What first caught my eye was actually The Further Adventures of Hank the Cowdog. Further adventures? I plucked the Original Adventures book from the shelf and was hooked after the first two pages. These stories are entertaining and funny, the characters, too; and they aren't just for kids, either. Everyone I have given Hank to over the years has enjoyed hearing and/or reading the stories. I also like that it is the author giving voice to his creations.

I loved hanks first adventures in this book.this book is great.

The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog (Hank the Cowdog 1)

These audio books help children that are having trouble with the written word. I also use them in the car, so each trip we hear more of the story. The kids love them and I think it makes them interested in reading.

This book takes place on a ranch in Texas. The characters are Hank, Drover, Loper, the coyotes, and Bruno. Hank is the boss for guarding the ranch at night. He watches out for the chickens. But Hank got sick of the ranch. He tries to find the kill of the chickens, but eats one of the dead ones instead. Then he went to live with the coyotes and still tries to find the chicken killers. Does Hank go back to the ranch? You will have to read the book for yourself to find out. I really like this book because I got to see the author give a talk and read out of one of his books.

This is a very nice book, thanks to J.Carroll. I liked it too much and I ill refer it to my friends and professors..
I learned more about Mr.Gulen.

This book provides a wide angle for the problems of today and offers solution methods for those. Once again we understand how much we need the dialogue today more than ever, and how Mr. Gulen achieves to maintain the bridge between the East and West.

As a computer guy, I should confess that I do not read a lot, unfortunately.
However, Writer Carroll's writing style has helped me a lot read this book. In order to understand the meaning of the phrase "dialogue among civilizations", we need to understand if human value, moral dignity, freedom, human ideal, education, and responsibility mean similar importance and have similar definitions for different civilizations and for the thinkers who influence formation of those civilizations. Thank you Jill Carrol for putting all these themes and references together in one book and comparing them in an organized and simple way for people, like me, who do not read 14 books in one month but barely read one book .

It is good to know Islam has scholars like Fethullah Gulen. This study is unique in the sense that Jill Carrol compares him with thinkers that have completely different backgrounds. She shows that they have important common points and using these common points a dialogue can be built enriching love and tolerance. I enjoyed a lot reading the book.

Having recently read Dr. B. Jill Carroll's "A Dialogue of Civilizations" ordered through Amazon, I felt compelled to you my appreciation for making available this most interesting and thought provoking work. Dr. Carroll has been able to summerize the essence of thoughts from the works of the contemporary Islamic writer Fethullah Gulen and contextually interact these with ideas posed by philosophers from ancient periods to the Twentieth Century. With each she selects a theme or central issue common to all - "Freedom," "Humanism," "Morality," "Education" and "Responsibility." She is able to find resonance and agreements between all which further supports the concept of promoting dialogue as a means of philosophical resolution.

Especially since "9/11" there has been a growing and pervasive distrust by the American public of anyone and anything Middle Eastern and Islamic. We need to learn more about the beliefs and faith of the majority of peaceful Muslims who live within our country and throughout the world. I believe we will find common dialogue if we make the effort.

I LOVE Jan Brett's books! I buy them anytime I see them whether on sale, old ones on Amazon as remainders, or new.. They make great gifts. I have a backup of many to give to children, particularly my granddaughters. The illustrations in this one are so beautiful it is really a keepsake to save as well as enjoy. Give it as a gift and you will make some child very happy and a parent happy,too.

Beautiful illustrations reprinted from over 40 sources. All illustrations are credited on last page. Book measures 9"X11.5" Only down side was that the price changes by the day. One day it's almost $11 another it's $8.97. But that's just the way Amazon works; something to be aware of. (It's worked in my favor often while shopping at midnight--price suddenly went down!)

it's a classic, so of course you can't go wrong, but as far as the best one being out there... well, I'm sure there are much better illustrated ones out there than this one

I bought this for my grandchildren last Christmas. The wording is traditional, and the illustrations are wonderful! This has become a part of the Christmas Eve tradition at my daughter's house.

These illustrations are the best ever for The Night Before Christmas...Stunning even! A worthy heirloom Christmas Book. The illustrations cover both sides of the page for a large panoramic view seldom seen in other books...

John Lewis' memoir tells of his pivotal role in the civil rights movement as , literally, its most prominent "fall guy." John Lewis was physically at the forefront of the major civil rights events-getting beaten, arrested, and ultimately, prevailing in the struggle to desegregate the south. He was one of the original Freedom Riders as well as the first person across the Pettis Bridge in Selma. He explains all of his actions and ethics through a mirror of highly disciplined non-violence that leaves the reader in awe of his amazing achievements. In sum, this book is a "must-read" for anyone interested in the civil rights movement.

The junior standard-bearer for civil rights during the era of segregation recounts his rise through those times toward his own national recognition. It's an intimate and introspective offering. It's a unique perspective.
After his Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, crashes, he self-imposes exile as an "invisible man" in New York working as a grant officer for a private charity:
(p398) "New York was just too big for me. I didn't feel as if I could get my hands around it. In the South, communities seemed comprehensible, manageable, workable. You could see where things started and ended. You could get a grasp of the place and the people, as well as their problems. And you could respond to those problems with solutions that might work...."
He always has the South on his mind where there remains "a spirit instilled by the civil rights movement that is still felt and remembered today, a spirit that was not and is not felt in the same way in the North. That, I believe, is the huge difference between the legacy of the civil rights movement in the North and the South. All the great battlegrounds of the civil rights movement were in the South. That fact is cherished and remembered by the people there." (p 208).
There is confusion in "Feel Angry with Me". The chapter describes the fall of Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney. Their violent deaths in defense of the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law during Freedom Summer (1964) fixed the nation's eyes on racist brutality in Mississippi. The confusion is in character casting and mixing the ridiculous partying with his friend, actress, Shirley MacLaine and his virginity in the same chapter with the sublime. Here, especially, the book sacrifices continuity to rigid chronology.
In and out of church - and on both sides of the pulpit - his cast of characters is most colorful, including a prominent one (not MacLaine) today facing bizarre criminal charges. So many stories within the author's story could make for a better book than a strict chronology.
The author alludes to his motivation to influence the masses, (p 400) "I felt the spirit, the hand of the Lord, the power of the Bible -- all of those things -- but only when they flowed through the church and out into the streets. As long as God and His teachings were kept inside the wall of a sanctuary, as they were when I was young, the church meant next to nothing to me." Like a good, "whooping" preacher, he is, at times, poetic. It's some of his best stuff.
Congressman Lewis is no great hero, though he has a measure of both -- greatness of association to the movement he led until the times turned violent -- and heroism for holding to his sometimes politically incorrect beliefs, though not sufficiently incorrect for this reviewer. And his book is not great literature. It is his gift to us with an interest in non-violent social change.

John Lewis's powerful and moving retelling of his journey through the
Civil Rights years, much of it in leadership positions, is a walk through
important American history. His clarity of purpose, values, honed by the
beatings and jailings of those years shine through it all. This personal
insight into events we read about in history makes it real, and makes us
admire the courage and persistence of people like John Lewis. In our present
times of struggle over issues of war, environment and economic fairness,
we need both a reminder of this historical struggle and a next generation
to press us to make changes, to make a difference. A must read for anyone
concerned about our present times.

Ever since I came to the U.S. I learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his philosophy of non-violence, I always wanted to learn more about the civil rights movement because of the way African American citizens overcame their obstacles in a non-violent way.


Walking with the wind is a memoir of the author John Lewis, the book begins at his home town where he was raised and learned the meaning of discrimination at an early age. The book describes his whole life how he was discriminated and how became involved with the movement, and how he later on became chair man of the SNCC.
The book also has a part where it only describes the life of John Lewis after the movement, what he does and what happens to all of his close friends, this is at the end of the book, but also talks about how he tries to become something important in U.S. politics.


My favorite part of the whole book is when John Lewis is watching the presidential elections of 1976, when he sees that Jimmy Carter was elected he begins to cry because like he says, he finally sees the hands that picked cotton, picking a president, he cries because he sees that all his hard work pays off, by the government counting the black vote.


The knowledge that John Lewis wants to pass down to readers is the struggle of all African American people to gain freedom and rights, he wants the new generation of people of color to know how much the old generation had to go through to gain all the freedom kids posses these days.


This book is boring, there is almost no action, it is mostly talking about politics, so do not read this book if you are not hooked by memoirs. It takes time to get into the good stuff, like for example, there are parts where the author describes the way police responded in a violent way to a non-violent protest, there are many occasions like this through out the whole book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the Civil Rights Movement. Lewis' broad range of experiences gives the reader a glimpse into nearly every facet of the 1960's part of the movement. However, it is also useful for the specific study of the Nashville student movement and the study of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee).

The great Polish/Lithuanian empire ruled all of central europe at one point - from Berlin to Moscow. I'm betting most of you weren't even aware of that. I wasn't either until I started reading more of european history. In developing a friendship with some people of Polish descent they recommended this author and his nobel prize winning novels to me. I was daunted by its length and by the date of when it was originally written. However, I started reading and have been hooked on these books ever since. I have come to believe that Mr. Sienkiewicz is the father of the modern novel. This is not a stilted 18th century read!
It gives you history (from a polish perspective) with fictionalized characters and a compelling story behind the backdrop of the calamitous decline of a once proud and powerful empire. The characters are heroic, tragic, conflicted and wonderful to follow. You will love this book and the several sequels in this decades spanning story.
One doesn't win a Nobel prize in literature if they can't write and Mr. Sieniewicz earned his.

I have read "With Fire and Sword," "The Deluge," and "Pan Michael" ("Colonel Wolodyjowski") and I recommend all of them highly. The characters are memorable and well-developed, the heroes are likeable, and even the villains are understandable as people with very human motivations.

Ask around a bit and you'll find no shortage of folks, men in particular, who became readers via their encounters in youth with class adventure tales: The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, Ivanhoe, the Lord of the Rings, etc. ask again and you'll find almost no one whose heard of half the Nobel Laureates in Literature, fewer who've read them, and none enjoyed many of them. All the more remarkable then that one of the great adventure authors of all time actually won a Nobel and somewhat tragic that so few have read him in recent decades. But Henryk Sienkiewicz has made something of a comeback and it could not be more welcome.

Sienkiewicz is the great author of Poland--indeed, to some extent his works are said to have created and helped to maintain the strong Polish identity that prevailed through the troubled 20th Century. When his books were first published -- mostly late in the 19th Century -- the English translations were done by Teddy Roosevelt's friend Jeremiah Curtin and, whether they were adequate for their time, they are are terribly dated now and have served to put off potential readers. Add in the fact that neither the Nazis nor the Communists had much interest in fostering Polish patriotism and you've the recipe for lost classics. But then, fittingly as the Iron Curtain was crumbling, Hippocrene Books commissioned a new translation of his greatest works, The Trilogy and Quo Vadis?, by the highly-regarded Polish novelist W. S. Kuniczak, and these eminently readable versions won Sienkiewicz a modern audience. New translations of other works followed, then a terrific film version of In Desert and Wilderness, and a massive Polish television adaptation of the Trilogy. Suddenly we've a surfeit of riches and some catching up to do.

If you're just starting out it might be wise to begin with Quo Vadis?, a stand alone tale of Christians in Rome that really deserves a fresh film treatment. But it's well worth your time to dive into the Trilogy, the first volume of which is the magnificent With Fire and Sword. Set in 1647, amidst a Cossack uprising against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, it tells the story of a young Polish patriot and hero, Yan Skshetuski, and his love for the beautiful Helen, who is also coveted the brutal Bohun, who fights with the rebels. Pan Yan's twin tales give us epic history and grand romance, while his compatriots offer comic relief. There's his wily servant, Zjendjan, whose semi-faithful service somehow keeps lining his own pocket. There's the mopey giant Pan Longinus, who has sworn a vow of chastity until he lives up to the example of his forebears and takes off the heads of three enemy soldiers with one swing of his massive battle sword. There's Pan Michal Wolodyjowski, whose bravery and feistiness belie his diminutive stature. And, best of all, there's the Falstaffian Pan Zagloba, who makes up in drinking capacity, gluttony, and biting wit what he lacks in zeal for battle, as he keeps his one good eye peeled for threats to his corpulent frame.

It'll take you a hundred to a hundred and fifty pages to orient yourself and get used to the odd names and nicknames, but the subsequent thousand pages go by far too fast. It's one of those stories you don't ever want to end.

I've read Kuniczak's translation of the Trilogy and greatly enjoyed it. It was my introduction to Seinkiewicz. However, while reading it, it seemed somehow incoherent, like something was missing. It also seemed impossible that the companions of Zagloba would be so credulous of his boasting.

I went and found a copy of the 1890 translation of the Trilogy by Jeremiah Curtin. What a difference! Though the language is somewhat archaic, the story flows so much better and the character of Zagloba is much more believeable. There is more context to his antics, and his companions are presented as far more skeptical of his boasting, making the story much more realistic.

Kuniczak seems to have omitted and simplified much that appears in the Curtin translation, to the detriment of the story. Many believe the Kuniczak version is superior, and maybe it is more accessible, but I recommend you find the old editon in the basement of the local library and read it first.

This was one of the most sweeping epics I've ever read. It's over 1,000 pages, but it takes little effort to finish the book. I found myself white knuckled and breathless through many of the battle scenes. This was truly a good read for both men and women.

Friends in the Swiss government gave me this important review of American history and the foundational role that prayer has played in shaping and forming us as a people as well as the government of the United States of America.

James P. Moore Jr. has done an incredible job of writing this book and compiling resources from thousands of different sources on the history of prayer in America. Before writing this book, Mr. Moore looked for equivalent writings and the role and significance of prayer on American history and he could find none. So after seven years of writing this manuscript, he unearthed "a marvelous, hidden treasure chest." I agree and I would highly recommend this book as a treasured resource that I will continue to refer to in the coming years.

Mr. Moore puts prayer right at the center as he looks at history, faith, politics, literature, arts, entertainment, culture, music, sports, etc. in America. He says in his prologue on page xi, "Quite frankly, the story of American prayer is so powerful that it does not need to rely on anything but historic fact and reasonable interpretation. "

He recounts 16 periods of time in American history, primary themes and events during those times and within each, the key importance of prayer. He says it best himself in his introduction on page xxiii, " If American history can be likened to a great musical composition, prayer must be seen as an integral and powerful theme throughout the piece. At times it is softer; louder at others. It has its own rhythm, it own pulse. It is always there, fundamentally contributing to whatever melody may be playing." As Mr. Moore recounts in his introduction, G.K Chesterton's words on the vibrant spirituality and prayer life of the country, he wrote, " America is a nation with the soul of a church."

He meanders from before the early inhabitants up through the second term of George W. Bush. If you want to learn more about the past, present and the potential future of America, this book on the life of prayer is a good starting point.

Lovely book, but is the author quite certain of the attribution of the prayer poem that appears on page 312 of the book to one found in the pocket of a dead U.S. soldier in North Africa during WWII? This is actually an English translation of a rather famous Russian poem found in the pocket of a dead Russian infantryman during the Great Patriotic War (as WWII is known in Russia). The original Russian uses very powerful lyrical language that is lost in the English translation, where, for example, for purposes of achieving rhyme a colloquialism such as "calling a spade a spade" is used. Furthermore, one line in the poem is a dead giveaway that it is not American in origin. I doubt very much that an average young man in pre-WWII America had been told that God did not exist or that he had not been exposed in some way to the prayer culture that abounded in America at that time. The Communist Soviet Union, on the other hand, pursued one of the most aggressive religious persecusions known to man in the 1930s at the time when this young soldier author was growing up in an atheistic state. The reason for the poem's power lies in the fact that after years and years of indoctrination and lack of belief, the beauty of the night sky was enough for one individual to realize and recognize the connection with God he had been missing all his life. Framed in this light, the prayer poem achieves extraordinary pogniancy.

I must have been living in a cave all this time. I just stumbled upon this book and found it to be absolutely incredible. I then came to the website to see what others had to say and loved to read how much this single volume has maent to so many. Count me as one of them.



I found the author's writing style to be very inviting. I felt as though he were talking just to me rather than to some big general audience in some impersonal way. The material in this book is stunning. I loved the vignettes that were interspersed with the prayer life of America since the earliest times. Honestly, this book is just stunning.



I am an Asian-American, born and raised in Japan. I came to the United States originally to study and now am a successful businesswoman who finds herself shuttling between both countries. I found in this book the chance to understand Americans in a more intimate way. Thank you to Mr. Moore, the author, for this incredible gift to me and to so many others.


I just wish that my parents, who speak no English, could read this book. Through it they would learn why I have come to have an affection for the American people - a very different impression than the one in the world media these days.

I have been beside myself over the way our government has been behaving in the Middle East. Over dinner last night my friends echoed the same concerns and misgivings.


It was then that I told them about One Nation Under God. This is a book that I finished a few weeks ago and loved from the very start. It gave me a perspective that I really did not have about the incredible spirituality of our country since before its inception. It is masterfully written.

Coincidentally I picked up the July issue of St. Anthony's Messenger and found the same opinion, which I have attached. Thank you to James Moore for this extraordinary contribution to our country for years to come.




IF ASKED to describe the United States, would the first adjective to jump into your head be "prayerful"? After perusal of James P. Moore, Jr.'s book, it would seem that no other description is as accurate.

From the Native American inhabitants to the modern era of immigrants practicing myriad religions, we Americans have been a praying people. Moore is neither a historian nor a clergyman but a professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. He has produced an impressive study of the effects of prayer on virtually all facets of American life.

In 16 chapters, Moore thoroughly documents his text with excerpts from the writings of the individuals chronicled or those of firsthand witnesses, which necessitates 34 pages of Notes and a 15-page Index. Readers will find no legends here.

Early explorers were deeply religious and mandated how their crews would pray daily. Christopher Columbus was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order, as were his sponsors, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. In Jamestown, Virginia, in 1610 a law was passed that all residents should attend morning and evening prayer services, enumerating the punishments to be leveled for absence.

The Founding Fathers, Moore writes, used prayer as "a coalescing tool to bring together widely disparate colonies, communities, and churches." At the First Continental Convention, after the report of a British incursion in Boston, the delegates prayed "for America, for Congress, for the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and especially for the town of Boston." John Adams wrote in his diary that the prayer and emotions expressed were "as permanent, as affectionate, as sublime, as devout, as I have ever heard offered up to Heaven."

Every president has acknowledged the existence of a higher power in his inaugural address; admittedly with varying degrees of belief and, possibly, for ulterior motives. But all presidents, sooner or later, would call upon and acknowledge this power to aid in carrying the heavy burden of office.

John Carroll, the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States, inaugurated prayers for the country's leaders to be recited after Mass on Sundays to allay suspicions that Catholics were loyal only to the pope. Carroll composed a special prayer on the occasion of President Washington's birthday in 1794. Carroll was foresighted enough to request permission of the Holy See to use English for all Mass prayers to help integrate Catholic immigrants.

Publishing in the United States began with The Bay Psalm Book; a hymnal was the first songbook. These overtly religious writings were followed by uniquely American poetry, prose, drama, art, dance and architecture executed by talented people using their expertise to praise the Almighty.

The Jazz Singer, the story of a Jewish cantor, was the first talking movie. The first American opera to be written and staged was George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, which has songs like "Oh Doctor Jesus" and "Oh Lawd, I'm on My Way."

The chapter entitled "The Dreamers: The Legacy of Slavery" alone is worth the price of the book. Dealing largely with Frederick Douglass, a slave who was able to buy his freedom and work for the release of other slaves, the narrative is spellbinding in detailing the role that prayer played individually and communally in the life of a slave.

Many unique spirituals were introduced to the country and the world in 1871 by the touring Jubilee Singers of Fisk University, and the response was overwhelming. Andrew Ward, music biographer, has said the spirituals "not only declared faith but carried news, raised protests, expressed grief, asked questions, made jokes, lubricated a slave's never-ending toil."

Many industrialists felt called upon to aid the religious cause: Andrew Carnegie purchasing 7,000 organs for churches and schools, the J.C. Penney Foundation providing funds for care of retired ministers and Church workers. Military leaders encouraged prayer and often led by personal example.

Most of us will have lived through the events recounted in the last five chapters, culminating in the second inauguration of George W. Bush, but there are still personal and often touching new insights here into the personalities behind the media reports. Yes, Moore exhibits some political favoritism, but seven years of research utilizing and reproducing primary resources on prayer from virtually every religious sect is a blockbuster publishing event. This historical compilation is as readable and accessible as a novel.

I just want to put my two cents in and let readers know what a joy this book was for me to read. Honestly, it is one of a handful of the best histories of America I have read, and I have read hundreds over my lifetime. The author interweaves spirituality and history in a very straightforward way. While endearing, it never becomes sappy or over the top in any way. I intend to see that firends and fmaily get copies as gifts. It's that good and relevant for a wide swath of people. Congratulations to the author and publisher.