Classics Books

While this is not one of my favorite Heyers, it is an enjoyable comedy of manners. I place it in my second tier of Heyer books. In addition to unexpected matches, there is an element of mystery, as our hero faces repeated attacks upon his life.

Georgette Heyer novels should be printed with a warning. I have to be careful when reading her novels in public. This is because they inevitably cause a goofy smile to be pasted on my face, and I'll start giggling loudly at random times for no apparent reason to the poor, unsuspecting public around me. The Quiet Gentleman is no exception to this rule. Absolutely nothing beats a Heyer Regency romance for the sheer enjoyment factor and witty, intelligent humor. She truly is the closest thing to reading Jane Austen - and is generally more hilarious. The Quiet Gentleman is the perfect combination of mystery and romance. The whodunit aspect of the novel is so carefully plotted that the revelation of the guilty party is an eyebrow-raising surprise. And with the romance, Heyer once again succeeds in bringing together two seemingly irreconcilable individuals who turn out to be, of course, perfect for each other. To all you fellow Austen lovers out there - if you've never read a Heyer, and my enthusiasm still hasn't convinced you to pick one up, read The Quiet Gentleman for the pure novelty factor that the hero can be named Gervase Frant and still be incredibly hot. Unbelievable, but trust me, it's true.

The only other Georgette Heyer work that I have read before is Cotillion when I was a teenager. I loved it, but somehow, missed out on reading more of her work as I grew up. I found the Arrow reprints on a book shelf in a shop in Cardiff, Wales. and brought them home to read.
It is warm, filled with laughter and brightness. Innocence is wonderfully cherished in this book and the characters are sparkling with humour and wit like diamonds. It is a remarkable book, light read for anyone who likes romance and it also something that picks you up from pits of depression if you are likely to encounter those in your life.

I am rereading this novel for the ump-teenth time (I have a much yellowed 1951 paperback edition of this novel, imprinted by ACE Books). I have always enjoyed this novel because there is something so very endearing about Gervase Frant, the 7th Earl of St.Erth.

Upon this rereading I have noticed that the social comedy and satire in this novel is the *wickedest* of all of Georgette Heyer's novels. This is a novel rich in all aspects of novel writing, not merely a good regency romance, but a good novel. It captures the feel of Jane Austen's novels more than any other of Heyer's novels. The description of the Stanyon Castle and of each member of the Frant family are deliciously frank and snide. The conversations between members of the Frant family are so comedic that I stop and reread passages in order to savor them (like a really wonderful flavor of ice cream - yummy!).

Gervase was hated by his father, the 6th Earl, because he looks like his beautiful mother, the Earl's first wife. Gervase's mother ran away with a lover when Gervase was young and the 6th Earl never forgave her or Gervase.

Upon the death of his first wife, the 6th Earl remarried and his second wife gave him two children, a son Martin and a daughter Louisa. Gervase's half-brother and sister look like the 6th Earl, unmistakeably Frant-ish, as well as Gervase's cousin Theo Frant (son of the 6th Earl's younger brother).

The 6th Earl, his second wife, and their children have always expected that Martin, the second son, would become the 7th Earl. Martin has been raised and indulged as the heir apparent all his life. Since Gervase entered the army during the Napoleanic Wars, it was expected by all the Frants (except of course Gervase), that he would be conveniently killed in the War. They consider it quite shocking and inconsiderate of Gervase not to have been killed in the Spanish campaigns or during Waterloo (some delightful conversations occur about Gervase's lack of foresight in not getting himself killed or even wounded followed by "politically correct" recanting). Upon his death the 6th Earl left all of his unentailed property to Martin, beggaring the Earldom in order to leave as much away from Gervase as possible.

A year after the 6th Earl's death, Gervase finally arrives at Stanyon. He has deliberately stayed away for the whole year to avoid going into official mourning for a father who treated him shabbily (Gervase dislikes his father as much as his father disliked Gervase). The members of the Stanyon household upon the arrival of Gervase are: Lady St.Erth (Gervase's step-mother), Martin Frant (his half-brother), Reverend Felix Clowne (my lord's Chaplain, most appropriately named), Theodore Frant (Gervase's cousin and my lord's estate agent), and Miss Drusilla Morville (a guest). Later they are joined by the Viscount, Lord Ulverston (Lucius "Lucy" Austell, heir to the Earl of Wrexham, and Gervase's very good friend). Marianne Bolderwood is the local reigning beauty in the Stanyon neighborhood and heiress to 100,000 pounds. While not as funny as the other characters, she is an important plot element. Minor characters who contribute to the comedic elements in the novel and are well-drawn are: Louisa (Gervase's step-sister), Turvey (Gervase's valet), Chard (Gervase's groom), Mr. Leek (a bow street runner), and Drusilla's parents.

At first Gervase thinks that Drusilla is a paid companion to Lady St.Erth until Drusilla makes it clear that she IS the daughter Hervey Morville AND Cordelia Consett, prominent members of the society surrounding Mr. Coleridge and Mr. Southey. She is visiting Stanyon while her parents are visiting their friends. The most flattering description of Miss Morville is that her countenance is pleasing (faint praise indeed). Drusilla is of an extremely practical nature and always has wise advice to handle the everyday problems of life at Stanyon (such as what to do about the ugly epergne in the Small Dining-room that will satisfy both Gervase and his step-mother; also how to handle the inconvenience of Marianne's parents coming down with influenza that might prevent her from attending a ball at Stanyon).

Attempts are being made on Gervase's life and all indications point to Martin as the culprit due to his obvious resentment of his older brother. Opinions as to who is responsible for the murder attempts on Gervase's life are expressed by Theo and Lucy. Lady St.Erth seems oblivious, a very conceited, self-centered, and stupid woman (a running gag is Lady St.Erth's opinions and commentary on card playing and other topics, all based on precepts handed down to her by her father). Miss Morville, who figures out who is trying to murder Gervase and why before anyone else, keeps her own counsel until the end of the novel. Over time, Gervase consults Miss Morville increasingly as it becomes clear to him that she is the only one with exceedingly good sense (delivered with witty repartee).

If you love Jane Austen novels, be sure to order this novel by Georgette Heyer. I guarentee you will want to own it -- not just borrow someone else's copy!

The Quiet Gentleman is the third Heyer book I have read and the most enjoyable. It is about an Earl who returns from war only to find he is not welcome by his Stepbrother or Stepmother both of whom who wished he had died in the war. Once home he is beset by "accidents" and that is where the mystery comes in. The Sense comes in with Miss Morville who seems to know the common sense approach to any problem. I really liked her because she wasn't some silly female who swoons she actually is helpful in the midst of a mystery. I also liked her because is not a size 2 and gorgeous. She is plumb and ok looking. And yet she is the one of the love interests in the story not just a side charecter. This is a good book give it a try.

I read this as part of a spiritual path, but just the story -- in and of itself -- carries every bit of 'flavor' that any great story always does. In a lot of ways, it's a pure adventure, albeit with monkey gods and man in all his worst behavioral situations. People are hit, cut, betrayed, loved, and supported by those around them in ways that are surprising, saddening, frightening, and just plain good reading.

It's the story of Vishnu -- one of the three forms of God -- coming back to earth to kick the butt of a really nasty demon. When I say nasty, I mean nasty -- not bedside reading for the 8 year old at home. The reason Vishnu has to show up as a man is because only a human man can bring an end to the destruction (one of those 'curses of the gods' things). So Vishnu shows up as the "Tiger of a man" named Rama. And rama kicks butt as he was supposed to.

It's impossible not to draw comparisons between the story of Rama and the story of Christ, although the former comes (in the most conservative guesstimates) 2,500 years prior to the time the Bible was written. Three forms of God, incarnation as a human who is in direct contact with the father/divinity and carrying a message of hope and forgiveness. And there's plenty of table turning in both books.

Having read a couple of translations of this ancient classic, with their stilted and archaic English, it was refreshing to read this version. Dharma has certainly adhered closely to the original text, but has presented it in a very enjoyable style that in my view nicely brings out the mood of the epic. His words carry quite a poetic flourish that really does justice to this work, which, after all, was originally written as a poem. His descriptions are graphic and his characters are lucidly portrayed, helping the reader enter deeply into the action. He also manages to skilfully weave in the spiritual messages of the work. This in fact was the main aim of the author of this epic, the sage Valmiki. His desire was to show the majestic opulence and divinity of Rama, whom he accepted as a divine incarnation of the Supreme Lord. Thus the text carries a profound spiritual import that Dharma has obviously been at pains to preserve. For my money he has a done a good job. I found myself in tears many times as I read this book, feeling moved at a very deep level. I also felt frequently uplifted and edified by the wisdom it contained.

Apart from all of this the Ramayana is a great story, as its enduring appeal proves. Followers of the Vedic tradition claim it is hundreds of thousands of years old, and many versions of it appear in nearly all the Asian cultures. But no matter how old it may be, its message remains entirely relevant, and its story is as fresh and engaging as anything churned out by the fiction writers of today. Perhaps there are some typos, as one reviewer here has remarked, but I can't say I noticed them. I was enthralled by this book and will certainly be reading it many more times.

The Ramayana is an ancient epic, one of the oldest in the world. It tells the extremely engrossing tale of a man named Rama, who is an incarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu. The events that occur early in the story (even if they seem irrelevant) all come together at the end, culminating in a massive battle with the forces loyal to Rama on one side and Ravana, a rakshasa (demon) king, and his warriors on the other. The story in itself certainly deserves five stars, however the edition had some flaws to it. It was written to be watered down so it would be more accessible to a larger audience, and in this the author certainly succeeded. My only complaint on this point is that it seemed to fall slightly short of what it could have achieved. The real problem I have with this edition is the amount of typos and spelling errors. Once or twice the error was so severe that I was not sure of the intent of the sentence. The book is definately worth buying if one just wants to know the story, however if one wants a better understanding of the epic and the culture invloved, I would suggest a looking for a different edition.

Ramayana must rank as one of the most loved and revered books of all time. A part of India's ancient Vedas, it is a beautiful story of romance and adventure. It recounts the history of Rama, said be an incarnation of the Godhead, and his divine consort Sita. Filled with magic and mysticism, it entrances the reader and stirs deeply moving emotions. At the same time its profound spiritual messages leave one feeling uplifted and enriched. This is a novelisation of the classic. It contains all the essential narrative of the original Sanskrit poem, but written in a contemporary style. Whilst adhering closely to the original, I have tried to make it as readable as possible, using the techniques of character development and dramatisation to draw the reader into the action. By weaving in other spiritual commentaries on this sacred text, I have also tried to offer the reader the benefit of the wisdom of India's seers and sages. As I am sure you will discover when your read the book, that wisdom is as relevant in today's stressful world as it was thousands of years ago, when it was first written.

It was my love for this wonderful book which prompted me to write my adaptation, and I hope I have been able to share that love with others. Whether you enjoy it simply as a great adventure story, or you enter deeply into its spiritual meaning, you will surely find it an engaging read. All in all, I would say that this is as authentic and complete a version as you are likely to find outside of scholarly translations, but it is a lot easier to read. If you enjoy this, then you might like to try my novelisation of the Mahabharata, the other great Indian epic, which is also published by Torchlight.

Krishna Dharma

I understand why the Ramayana is such a popular and beloved story even today, but overall I really found that I liked Vishnu's avatar as Krishna better than his earlier one as Rama. Rama's being Vishnu incarnate wasn't really a big part of this version, and because he was depicted as such a great human being and hero, acting in very specific roles as an overly obedient son, devoted husband and brother, and finally heroic warrior, it was easy to lose sight of the fact of his true identity. With Krishna, I find it easier to not lose sight of the fact that he's Vishnu in a human body, and in the Krishna story, he's depicted in so many different roles (e.g., baby, lover, best friend, sneaky little boy, enlightened teacher) that one can easier relate to him as more than just some exemplary human being and a deity made mortal, which Vishnu does only when the balance of evil in the world overrides that of good. He had to take on a human avatar to kill Ravana, since he was so evil that no one could kill him, and he also had a boon from Brahma which entitled him to protection against being killed by one of the gods, many of whom had a long list of grievances with him. The gods know that it will be almost impossible for an ordinary human to kill Ravana, so Vishnu takes on his seventh avatar to rid the world of his evil.

I know that in comparison to other versions of this famous ancient tale, this one doesn't tell the entire story and is more like a brief retelling of each important event that happens along the way, like the abduction of Sita, Hanuman leaping to Lanka to scope things out, Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita going into exile, and the important battles in the war Rama, Lakshmana, Ravana's little brother Vibhishana and four of his friends, and their huge army of bears and monkeys wage against Ravana and his evil Rakshasas. No matter how condensed it might be in comparison to the actual full-length epic tale, it still conveys the same sense of romance, mystery, love, adventure, and human emotions that a much longer version does. It's also different from other versions because of the depiction of Sita's ordeal; some versions have her immolating herself and dying, but this version has a twist on it. (How far we've come; Rama's accusations of infidelity, in spite of the curse prohibiting Ravana from raping a mortal woman and in spite of how he only accused Sita of infidelity to test her, are not only highly un-PC now but just insulting! The woman was kidnapped and held by an extremely evil man and his cohorts for nearly a year; it's not like she ran off with him of her own free will!) This version is also missing what I find to be the most moving part of the Ramayana, when Hanuman, the noblest of the monkeys, literally tears up his chest to show that his devotion to and love for Rama and Sita are so deep and strong that their names and images are literally written on his heart.

As illustrated by Sita's ordeal towards the end, and along with some other things in the story, there is a strong sense of a time, culture, and place which is very far from how people live today. But in spite of how Rama is overly obedient to his father and his later treatment of Sita, or how Lakshmana won't even look his brother's wife in the eyes, the overall story is timeless. I don't usually like books with battle scenes, but the battles fought here are so well-written and captivating that they're nothing like the usual fare of endlessly describing battles. I can't wait to read some other versions of the Ramayana to compare with what's written here.

"During my whole life, I have not found a happier hunting ground than that in the course of the Somme River." That famous sentence begins the chapter on the Battle of the Somme in Manfred Von Richtofen's autobiography, The Red Baron, first published in 1917 and available in a reprint by Pen & Sword with additional new material. In this edition, Norman Franks summarizes Richtofen's air battles and gives us a fine summary of the life of Richtofen. N. H. Hauprich presents a list of the aircraft flown by Richtofen.

That this work is of historical value cannot be denied. It is, after all, the autobiography of one of the truly great flying aces of World War I. That it is a fascinating portrayal of a gentleman officer in a world long gone cannot be denied. That it is a very entertaining read cannot be denied.

And yet, to the modern reader there is something uncomfortable in Richtofen's describing combat in such a way as to read like the adventure books for boys so popular in his time: "I advised him to fly around the smoke cloud. Holck did not intend to do this. On the contrary. The greater the danger, the more the thing attracted him. Therefore straight through! I enjoyed it too to be together with such a daring fellow."

Richtofen died young, of course, and he died in a fight in the Valley of the Somme, his happy hunting ground. We are not likely to see his type again, and that may not be a bad thing.

--David Lang at Advance Book Reviews

I saw a biography about the Red Baron on tv and thought that he had an exciting life so I wanted to read his book that way I could read about it straight from the person that lived these events. The book is fairly short and you could easily read through it very fast without any trouble. He writes about his childhood,entering the cavalry and the war, then how he became a piolet and the rest of the book talks about his many victories as the best fighter piolet. There are a bunch of black and white pictures of the Baron, other German aces and a few planes. There is also a list of all his victims including the plane type, date, times and piolets and there is also a list of the planes he flew and which victims he shot down in which plane.

I liked the book because it's an easy read, it has some funny parts and exciting moments and in a way you get a feel for the man himself. However there are some things I didn't like such as he doesn't go into much detail through the book it's like he just breezes through some of his fights in a few sentences or so which kind of makes it anti climatic. One example is how his brother just shows up out of nowhere and is fighting along side him and not much is said about him. I'm also sure that there was some propaganda thrown in since this book was released during the war. I bet he would have wrote a far better book after the war had he lived but as we all know he was shot down.

This isn't the book to read if you want to know everything about the Red Baron but if you want to read what he experienced first hand then get this autobiography because it's a good read and it's coming straight from the horses mouth that.

I wonder if some of the fatherland stuff was added by one of the Kaiser's goons. This guy is a wild boar hunting nutcase. A great book if you wonder why Germany keeps starting wars.

This is a fantastic autobiography, because Von Richthofen was an amazing person. Very real (he devotes as much attention to his cousin and him climbing the spire of the local church, as he does to some of his aerial battles), full of good-natured humor and a zest for life. I particularly loved how the early fighter pilots were known as "Knights of the Sky", and kept to the chivalric code, including following downed pilots to ensure that they were all right.

Great book! Great photos and an amazing life told by The Red Baron himself (translated into English, of course!).

A truly challenging work. A consumate traveller, truth-seeker, inetellectual, Kazantzakis creates a remarkable memior. The fact that Christ, Buddha and Lenin were the author's three primary heros and inspirations should be enough to pique anyone's interest. I would especially recommend this book to anyone feeling disillusioned with modern life. See how the world was just 100 years ago, and how it still might be for those adventurous enough to think they can redesign it...

I have read the book in both the original Greek and the translated version. The translated version is exceptional which is a rarity in literature. The book is a quasi-autobiography of Nikos Kazantzakis but the main theme is not his life. It's the spiritual struggle of man to find his place on earth and to understand the concept of a God. A deeply spiritual person, Kazantzakis, struggled throughout his life trying to draw the right path for him. He traveled throughout the world in order to witness how other cultures dealt with the same notions. He returns home at the end because the call of his birth land is too strong. The book is written supposedly as an account to his grandfather, an arab pirate, but a view also exists that it is a report to El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos), a famous Greek artist (1541-1614). Kazantzakis was a great admirer of El Greco and a visit to his homeland is described in the book. Kazantzakis is a literary giant, Albert Camus was one of his friends and admirers, and the book is not for the casual reader.
To me this is the book I would choose to have if I was only allowed to own one book.

Autobiography of the Greek novelist, poet and philosopher. In his own words, the author of Zorba the Greek, Saint Francis, and The Last Temptation of Christ tells the story of his life and art. Translated from the Greek by P. A. Bien.

Report to Greco is comparable in importance to The Education of Henry Adams. It is not a formal autobiography, but rather the summing up, by a great artist, of a lifetime's ideas, work, experiences and friendships. In it, Kazantzakis searches for the roots of his own genius, describes his early interest in Nietzsche, his apprenticeship with Henri Bergson, his travels through Russia in the early days of the revolution, his tempestuous and deeply moving friendships and loves and -- above all -- the agonizing and never-ending process of artistic development that culminated in a whole series of inspired masterpieces.

It is a book of epic themes, dominated by Kazantzakis' agonized search for a means to combine his love of life and art with his ceaseless quest for spiritual truth -- a quest that led him from Bergson to Freud, from Freud to Lenin, from Lenin to Buddha, compelled by a deep desire to bring about, not only in art, but in life, a spiritual revolution, a 1917 of the soul.

Kazantzakis has been acclaimed as one of the truly great writers of our century by both Albert Schweitzer and the late Thomas Mann. Report to Greco is his credo, his summing up, his report to posterity on the efforts and the journeys of a lifetime. Together with The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel and The Saviors of God: Spiritual Exercises, it forms the cornerstone of his work.

The spiritual travels to find himself and his inner soul are fascinating and the geography covered is extensive and with Kazantzakis' descriptions of the scenery, one feels that they are walking right along side him from Europe to Greece, the Mid East and beyond.

At one point, Kazantzakis is traveling with his friend Buddhaki to Mt. Athos to visit the many monasteries there and they come upon a Father Makarios. They muse on the ego, separation from God, etc., and when it is time to go, the good Father says, ["Good luck. God be with you." And a moment later, mockingly: "Regards to the world." "Regards to heaven," I retorted. "And tell God it's not our fault but his-because He made the world so beautiful."] (p 225)

On a trip to Jerusalem they meet a young man who ["...was passionately condemning the dishonesty and injustice of present-day economic and social life. The masses went hungry while the great and powerful piled up fortunes. Women sold themselves, priest did not believe, both heaven and the infernal pit were here on earth. The afterlife did not exist; here was where we had to find justice and happiness.... Cries rang out: "Yes, yes, you're right!" "Fire and axe!" Only one person attempted to object." ..."It was frightening. The purpose of trip was to worship the sweet, familiar face of God-so gentle, so tortured, so filled with hopes for life everlasting." ..."...we were carrying as a terrifying gift the seed of a new, dangerous, and as yet unformed cosmogony."] (p 245)

Later and on the road to the Dead Sea, "I had found it necessary to purge my bowels and expel the demons inside me-wolves, monkeys, women; minor virtues, minor joys, successes-so that I could remain simply an upright flame directed toward heaven. Now that I was a man, what was I doing but enacting what I had so ardently desired as a child in the courtyard of our family home! A person is only born once; I would never have another chance!" (p 252)

*Kazantzakis begins to summarize his spiritual journey with, "Our journey to the fatal intellectual Golgotha thus becomes more loaded with responsibility because now, looking at the Cretans, we know that if we fail to become human, the fault is ours, ours alone. For this lofty species-man-exists, he made his appearance on earth, and there is no longer any justification whatever for our deterioration and cowardice." (p 441)*

At the end is, "Just then-as fate was in a mood to play games-I made the acquaintance of an elderly mineworker named Alexis Zorba." (Zorba the Greek). This leads Kazantzakis to an introductory chapter on Zorba wherein he states, "My life's greatest benefactors have been journeys and dreams. Very few people, living or dead, have aided my struggle. If, however, I wished to designate which people left their traces imbedded most deeply in my soul, I would perhaps designate Homer, Buddha, Nietzsche, Bergson, and Zorba."
(p 445)

Kazantzakis was a prolific writer with incredible insight and wisdom and some of his best known works are: "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Zorba the Greek". Start in on any book, though, and one will most likely feel compelled to read them all!

This superb tome is meant to be read as part metaphor, part autobiography, and part myth. A truly glorious and inspirational work. Here, fellow readers, is the essence of the book: "Rise up, brothers! Join the struggle of life! Have no fear! Yes, all is vanity, but by boldly confronting the Abyss and experiencing each day anew, we can overcome the pettiness and sheepishness of the Age! Stand and fight! Though life is but a finite struggle, do not despair! Live life to its fullest! By doing so, each one of us may existentially triumph over our own mortality." Remember what is written on Kazantzakis' tombstone in Crete: "I want nothing, I fear nothing. I am free!"

Having read a lot of WWI books and books on sniping this one takes the cake. It's written in the autobiographical tradition of Teddy Roosevelt and will impress the old and young alike with its vivid imagery and colorful prose. Great read.

Mr. McBride has written a book that nearly perfectly talks about what can be expected from a modern infantry man. He talks about sniping, putting in a properly sighted machine gun, raids, and patrols. Honestly, this book is so good that most Army ROTC and Marine Infantry instruction may want to have their future officers and NCO candidates read this book.

I will give you a story that really stuck me as being ahead of its time. Now, this book was written in the mid-1930s. However, Mr. McBride knows the problems of lugging ammunition. A soldier with .303 British (about equal to modern NATO 7.62 ammo) could only carry about 200 to 300 rounds. So, Mr. McBride thinks the armies should carry ammunition of about .27 caliber. That is almost exactly 6.8 mm. This is exactly the same solution the US Army discovered after 5 years in Iraq.

I liked this book. Mr. McBride thinks both the British and Canadian Armies did much better with their training time than the US military. Indeed, he thinks the US Army and military is overly tied up with paperwork. And that observation was made in 1918.

This is a five star book by a soldier who knows his field craft. Pay attention to his anti-sniper traps. They are still useful today. Also, the book is great for telling about how the Germans would leave abandoned grenades after an attack. Some were rigged to go off if picked up.

As written before, this book is five star. Mr. McBride writes a book about the birth of the modern infantry man. Indeed, their is little difference between a Tommy of WWI with a Lewis gun and a Grunt in Vietnam carrying an M-60 machinegun. In 50 years little had changed.

The modern professional soldier can learn a lot from this book. Some university military history departments may want this book for an individual study of a hard infantry man.

A thoughroughly enjoyable, mesmerizing, collection of a soldier's WWI remembrances. Somehow manages to be more than the sum of its plainly told, shy, politically incorrect, wars is hell but you get used to it parts. It ends up assembling and describing bit by bit the remarkable character of the author.

Also notable to me for how it reaches across 70 years to contrast how we've changed as a people. For example, I don't think this book would be published as written today. The editor would have probably added more polish, removed some of the namecalling and stereotyping and would have thus diminished the book.

As a rifle shooter with a historical interest i bought this book. If your looking for an overly dramatic or gruesome account of life in the first world war trenches dont by this book. From what i can tell it is a written collection of memories by the author. These memories are written in a matter of fact, straight talking way which does not hide the authors zealous approach to his task of being a soldier.

Although at times slightly rambling i found this an interesting read and at times amuzing. A good reference if you are interested in rifle shooting or battle history.

It might not be written in perfect English, and it's not always politically correct, but it's definitely always enjoyable.

You get the whole WWI experience from the author's point of view, including enough "war stories" to satisfy any reader.

McBride includes technical details, anecdotes, and just good old story telling, in this tale of a machine gunner / rifleman in the Great War.

This is the third in the series of books on Western geology, following 'Basin and Range' and 'In Suspect Terrain'. John McPhee has the ability to write very readable and knowledgable essays about almost any subject that he chooses to examine, and these three books are very much a case in point.

Whether you are seriously or just mildly interested in geology, this book is entertaining and infromative. There is enough family history (of his geologist companion), geological history etc. to keep you fascinated and to make for a good reading experience.

This book was very informative and it comes from a person who grew up in Wyoming under some hard circumstances so who else could give such a good and informative edition. I found it both interesting and was addicted to the reading. I've lived in Wyoming and have often wonder how certain rock formations became as they are and what was in our past as well what is in our future.
Thanks for a Great Book.

I'm not a slow reader, but I rarely read a book in the same 24 hours. This one was an exception. I was immediately drawn in (and by a subject that is not of more than general interest to me), and I more or less did not put the book down until I'd read to the last page.

As a teacher, I'm first of all impressed by how McPhee makes an academic and scientific subject (geology) not just interesting but gripping. For the most part, he personalizes it, introducing an eminent field geologist, David Love, who takes him and us on a tour around Love's home-state, Wyoming, describing over 2 billion years of the geological past as revealed in the cuts along Interstate 80 and in a side trip to Jackson Hole, outside Yellowstone Park. Love is very much a product of his upbringing on an isolated ranch in central Wyoming, his mother educated at Wellesley, his father an immigrant from Scotland who quotes William Cowper and Sir Walter Scott.

Love is independent, old school, hands-on, tireless, scrupulous, an innovative thinker who has made a significant impact over a lifetime in his field, choosing to work for the US Geological Survey after a short period of unhappy employment for an oil company. McPhee captures his very individual point of view, his dedication to science, and his Western perspective in character sketches and fragments of conversation between them. He has a dry sense of humor, colorful turns of phrase, and a toughness that goes along with long periods of field work and sleeping rough under the stars. He's also a grand-nephew of John Muir.

The book actually begins with his mother's wintery journey by horse-drawn coach from Rawlins to central Wyoming, where she has accepted a teaching job at a one-room school. It segues between the story of his parents' courtship in the first decade of the 20th century and his travels with McPhee over 70 years later, finally devoting a long section to Love's own boyhood, growing up on his parents' ranch, with an older brother, among cowboys raising both sheep and cattle. The accounts of surviving blizzards and floods that nearly wipe them out, the visitors passing through who may or may not be hunted killers, even an appearance (possibly two) by Butch Cassidy make this compelling reading for anyone with an interest in the early days of ranching in the West.

There's a brilliant section late in the book as McPhee describes Love's fascination with Jackson Hole while he's still a graduate student at Yale, and after many years of walking the ridges and summits around it, developing a scenario of how it was formed over the eons. McPhee's rendering of this scenario in words is vivid, and in the mind's eye, you can see mountain ranges and seas rise and fall in all manner of climates from tropical to ice age, until the topography assumes its present configuration, which is still changing.

I highly recommend this book. As companion volumes, I also recommend Loren Eiseley's memoir "All the Strange Hours," Geoffrey O'Gara's book about water rights in the Wind River basin, "What You See in Clear Water," and James Galvin's novel, "Fencing the Sky," in which a modern-day cowboy fugitive travels much of this same terrain on horseback.

Rising from the Plains in another of John McPhee's remarkable books on North American geology and quite possibly his best. McPhee has taken the geology of Wyoming, the history of the state and that of a local frontier family, and entwined them to make this lesson in earth science addictively readable.

McPhee travels the state with a host geologist from the USGS whose life's work is the study of Wyoming topography. What results is an extremely comprehensive (yet entirely pleasurable) explanation of the forces in play which created the Wyoming wonderland. Spanning from Yellowstone to the Tetons, from Medicine Bow to Flaming River Gorge, McPhee has authored a true gem and one that I enjoyed immensely. Rising from the Plains easily merits five big, bright, bountiful stars. Well done, Mr. McPhee.

John McPhee joins geologist David Love for a tour of the Wyoming countryside. Well at least, McPhee uses their drive along Interstate 80 as a jumping off point to spin a tale or two. Painting on a broad canvas, he pieces together a detailed picture of Wyoming from its rich geological history, to the hearty characters that settled there. And the focal point for all this is David Love. And why not? Love's history with the area is indeed the stuff that can fill a book.

The descriptions of Love's parents (especially his dad) and how they cut their teeth in the ranching business on the unforgiving landscape proved the most entertaining for me. The time spent looking for lost sheep, and moving herds put David Love on a path to his ultimate passion.... The geology of Wyoming. For Love, the Wyoming landscape appeared more interesting and mysterious than anything else. To his credit, Love is the only person to build a complete geological survey of an entire state. Not to mention probably one of the most complex.

McPhee wraps up the book by looking at the challenges that face a place rich in resources such as coal, shale, and uranium. As a geologist, Love reflects on the interesting role his life work plays in this regard. For me, the story reveals two competing forces. One being how a land like Wyoming can influence and shape a man's entire life, and conversely how that same man's life work can change our view and understanding of a complex landscape such as Wyoming.

I can't count how many times I have read this book. I have three versions and the e-book. I have one copy in the washroom I read a little of it everyday. A must have Epic.

I think that all Westerners should be exposed to this classic of the East. Without a doubt, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is one of the very best works of literary art that the human mind had ever produced.
A short synopsis is in order. The novel centers around a rather short, turbulent time in ancient China, following the collapse of the Han Dynasty and predating the rise of the Jin dynasty, the period known as the "Three Kingdoms". In order to rise up against the now-corrupt Han dynasty, the mystic Zhang Jiao began what is known as the "Yellow Turban rebellion". In response to this menace, heroes of China gathered in order to put down this threat. Among these heroes are the virtuous Liu Bei, the loyal and familial Sun Jian, and the cruel and wily (but talented) Cao Cao. After the Yellow Turban rebellion is put down, it is realized that the Han dynasty has grown horribly weak and corrupt, and the heroes leave for home with their own ambitions of ruling China. Liu Bei wishes for the old days (he is a distant relative of the Han line), Cao Cao wishes for personal glory and honor, and Sun Jian wishes to rule China in order to leave it to his sons. Many other players enter the drama (hundreds in fact!), but the story really revolves around these three and their spheres of influence.
The author, Luo Guan Zhong, wrote a book that is at once of strategy, history, psychology, warfare. Although battles are always present, even those readers not interested in warfare can find a great deal in this book. Inevitably, the reader will find himself siding with one of the great Kingdoms of Wei, Wu or Shu, and yet will still feel compelled to feel compassion, elation and sorrow for the others, as their fortunes rise and fall with the changing fates. Each time I read the book (six and counting!), I pull for Liu Bei, who brings himself from commoner status to the highest positions in the land despite his tragic flaw of being TOO virtuous! And yet, I cannot deny enjoying reading about Cao Cao, as he gains support and popularity until the battle of Chi Bi, at which point he falls and must rise again. Also, the ending is fabulous, and unexpected.
However, I must warn the first time reader of the complete deluge of names with which he will be accosted. To further complicate matters, different publishers of the book spell the names in different ways (e.g. Cao Cao=T'sao T'sao, Chuko Lee-ong=Zhuge Liang). I was aided in this struggle by the fact that I had played a game with these characters, so that I was familiar with some of them. The author revels in his knowledge of history, and expects the same of his readers, but the reader may feel completely overwhelmed. Just keep in mind the three main characters, and try to remember who follows whom, and you should do fine (however, it is frustrating when the character Xun Yu introduces the character Xun You, etc.).
"Empires wax and wane, states cleave asunder and coalesce". The first statement in the book is as true today as it was 2000 years ago. If you are a reader who prides himself on his knowledge of the classics, I can honestly say that your mental library is incomplete until you read this book. So, what are you waiting for?

humanity is everything in this book and only thing we have.

I can't finish all my compliment for this book in this short review. You are not gonna believe it is such a splendid book until you read it yourself. This book is a saga with so much wisdom and humanity. It is as good as ancient Greek epic (with all repect to Greek) if not better. The wisdom in it is uncommonly plentiful. Trojan horse looks children's game after you finished the book. Romance of three kingdoms is a part of Chinese lives and now becoming popular in the world. Many Japanese companies make this book as a must-read for management staff. Read this book and I garantee that your time will be delightfully spent.

Romance of Three Kingdoms is not just the novelized version of the history record "Three Kingdoms". It overtook the heart of both Chinese and Japanese. In Japan even younger generation who rarely read literature enjoy the story in the form of either comic books or in popular PC games. In China many of the Chinese Opera comes from the part of this story.

The story is based on the history of ancient China around late 2nd century to late 3rd century when the Chinese continent was divided by three strong kingdoms,Shu(Gui in Japanese),Wu(GO in Japanese) and Wei(SHOKU in Japanese).

I am familiar with the version of Eiji Yoshikawa, the author of Musashi, focusing more on the story of Liu Pei(Wei emperor),Kuan Yu, Chang Fei, and Chuko Kunming. Liu Pei, an heir of Han Dynasty ruling clan, is a humane leader supported by Kuan Yu, deft both in brain and might maybe eastern version of Knight, Chang Fei,short tempered but really strong warrior, and Chuko Kunming the master of strategy.

Rivaling Lie Pei is another giant Tsao Tsao outstanding ruler who nearly took hold of the whole Chinese continent but blocked by the allied forces of Wu and Wei in 208. Tsao Tsao is a bit demonized in this story but he is in fact one of the greatest rulers China ever had comparable to Napoleon. While Lie Pei who has little power gradually gains by charming a lot of talented people by his couteousness yet with propaganda tactics to demonize Tsao Tsao, Tsao Tsao took advantage of courting the Emperor and with the finest staff collected from the whole continent. Tsao Tsao's Shu finally unites the whole China after his death in 265, with the surrender of Wei but Lie Pei, Kuan Yu and Kunming are still loved and idealized by Chinese public. Wu survives by taking either rivaling sides and with excellent domestic and foreign affairs strategy.

On first reading you will be enjoying the way the characters outsmart the other camps. On second reading you will be struck by the humanity upon which the story is based. It is much more than a legend. It will surely get you closer to the mind of either Chinese and Japanese. But be careful. The way character name is pronounced differ between Chinese and Japanese. Such as Tsao Tsao is pronounced in Japanese as SOSO.

Italy's Emilio Salgari might not have been a great writer, his prose was often clunky, but his books were fast and entertaining, and he was an antiimperialist at a time when the west was imperialist. Who else in the west in the 1880s sympathized with the natives of what would be later be known as the third world?. This was a period when the European powers were scrambling to acquire colonies by force throughout the world, regardless of what its native peoples thought about it. His most celebrated character is Sandokan, a malaysian "pirate" (today, he would have been called a terrorist) fighting against the British Empire in his homeland. His books never achieved any fame in the english speaking world, and given the indictment of the British Empire in many of his books, this is not difficult to explain. He was tremendously popular instead in Latin America throughout much of the 20th century. No wonder that Salgari was among Che Guevara's favourite authors.

I've pecked at the first three chapters using my dictionary. So far, I've read "Charlotte's Web" and the like in Spanish (with a dictionary), and this is a good level for me to learn more of the language.

The story is enjoyable so far. I've shared what I've read with my students, and several seemed interested in the book. It's not short on adventure, to be sure!

I had the pleasure to read Salgari's books since I was a 9 years old kid in spanish. I still remember the characters in the different series of books (I am now 40 !). I will never forget Sandokan and Yanez, The black corsair with her beloved Honorata or the series of the Damascus Lion and Captain Storm.

All Salgari books are recomended for kids from 5 to 95, if you have the chance to get them, there are more than 80 amazing adventures available (most of them very dificult to find).

Enjoy Salgari books, you won't have any regrete !

With Salgari the reader gets a mix of Verne and Dumas together. It is a shame that his titles are so difficult to find in English. Maybe because the "bad" guys are the British! Common get over it! These are just adventures of the best kind.

Storms, battles and twisted plots in mysterious Malasian islands that open kids eyes to the world. All before Internet and Satellite TV. With Salgari you travel around the world with a book, find the Taymir submarine adventures, superb!

Some day I will get the books from the Sandokan series I have not read.

As all the reviewers, it is a real shame that the readers that not speak spanish can't get all this series. I read all Sandokan series when I was a child and I had 8 years old, and I liked it so much at the grade that I re-read all the series again. The Sandokan books that I know was written by Emilio Salgari are:

Sandokan
The pirate's woman
The malasian pirates
The stranglers
The two rivals
The malasian tigers
The king of the sea
The Mompracem's reconquer
The fake bracman
The fall of an empire
In the indian jungles
The vengeance of Yañez

It is important to mention that between The King of the Sea and the Mompracem's reconquer there are other two books that talk about the reconquer of the former Sandokan's kingdom. These tales are named Sandokan and The Vegeance of Sandokan.

That is the reason of when we read the Reconquer of Mompracem we read that Sandokan is now a king of a Bornean kingdom.

I recommend highly this series and it will be one of my favorites all time.

See a Grown Man Cry: The prose is jagged, visceral, potent, vigorous and muscular. Every syllable aches and screams. This is adrenal overload. This is the assassination of mendacity, of mediocrity. The gelatinous underbelly of culture is exposed, cleaved and forcefully displayed. Then Henry eviscerates from the inside. The raw energy of this work is as naked, observant and perceptive as anything Bukowski ever committed to print.

i have never read anything by henry rollins before i purchased this book. and i fell in love w/ his writing. i have now bought almost every book by him and in the process of reading them. his books touch me in a way, and help too. its hard for me to find a book, let alone an author that i like as much as henry rollins and his books

this is the most honest, heartbreaking work I've read. It puts your personal misery into perspective, reminding you what it means to live life. Even after you lose those that make you whole.

7 years ago, a friend of mine read me a poem from "Now Watch Him Die" (They were seperate books back then). It's the one on page 164 of this volume, the one that starts with "I love you and you'll never know." Since then, I have not gone anywhere without a copy of these books close at hand. They are an all-encompassing chronicle of one man's solipsism, isolation, desperation and depression. This may not sound fascinating, but that man happens to be Henry Rollins, who has a talent for intensity and a command of words rivaled by no one of this era. Not since Bukowski has someone used so little to say so much. If you are ready for a descent into a maelstrom of anger, violence and pure, blinding pain, then this is the book for you. If you're looking for something sappy, sweet and redemptive, then try Oprah's Book Club instead.

There is so much farcity in the world today that it's so good to come across a writer like Henry who's willing to show everyone what he thinks, how he feels, what his life is like and how he perceives the world around him.

This book is very brutal and honest, which I think always makes for good writing. He has a very clear perception of the people around him and how they think, which lets him view the world from all sides including his own. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to open their eyes to someone else's reality.

As well as being a page turner filled with interesting characters and intrigue, this is a great story for teens who need to see that there are always consequences to the decisions they make. A friend used to say to his kids and mine, "You can make any decision you want, but you have no choice over the consequences." THE SHADOW OF THE BEAR reinforces that adage with a wonderful mix of mystery, danger, and romance. In my conversations with the author about this books' moral premise (see my book "The Moral Premise: Harnessing Virtue & Vice for Box Office Success") we came to an early determination that in "BEAR" sisters Blanche and Rose can be considered one character because they are nearly of one consciousness and goal, and that together their decisions (along with the decisions of the others in the book) center around this ONE THING, this moral premise, which describes naturally occurring causes and their consequences: "Foolishness and timidity lead to what is dark and dangerous, but courage and wisdom lead to what is light and life." For a book aimed at teen girls, this 61-year old male was absorbed in the storytelling of a great writer. Bravo!

With a snowstorm raging outside and her mother long overdue from work, Blanche anxiously awaits her mother's return. After all, this is New York City. Her sister Rose, on the other hand, is contentedly reciting poetry instead of studying her trigonometry.

Suddenly, a car door slams and a woman cries out. Blanche leaps to the window to see two dark shapes struggling in the swirling darkness. Is their mother okay? Out of the swirling darkness, enters Bear, changing their lives and home forever.

Who is this mysterious young man? Why does he have such an unusual name? Why is he out alone in the middle of a blizzard at night?

In this story of mystery, intrigue, and romance, Rose and Blanche, two teenage girls, strive to live their faith in modern day New York City. Faced with the typical problems of teenage life of wanting to be popular, follow the "in" crowd, and be accepted, the girls are faced with some tough choices.

How they deal with these situations is what sets them apart. In one particularly dramatic moment, Rose confronts Rob, a cocky, popular student, who all the girls pine after, and tells him in no uncertain terms what a "real" man is. In a world where immoral choices are considered the norm, this book is a refreshing treasure.

Unique and distinctively different, Rose and Blanche are real personalities. Blanche, who is shy and sensitive, wishes she was more like her younger sister Rose, who is more flamboyant and bold. However, it is Rose's curiosity, trusting nature, and desire to be popular that gets her into some rather serious tight spots. Fortunately, her spunk, creativity, and moral fiber, not to mention, God's Providence, get her out of them.

Hard to put down, my daughters read this story over and over again. This contemporary rendition of the Grimm's Fairy tale, includes true-to-life characters, who are real heroines, and a multi-level plot that is thick with mystery, intrigue, and healthy romance.

I think "The Shadow of the Bear" is a nice story. I didn't know the story of Snow White & Rose Red as sisters, so I didn't know what was going to happen.

I am a mid-20's Catholic youth minister and I enjoyed it. I would recommend it to my students as a quick read. It shows teenage girls living a life of faith modestly, and the two main characters have opposite personalities, so girls should relate to at least one of them.

I look forward to reading the sequel.

If you are looking for a wholesome and entertaining adventure book to give a girl who is starting to be interested in boys (I'm thinking ages 12 to 16) you don't want to miss this one. By a Catholic mother of (at last count) six children, The Shadow of the Bear is the first in what recently became a trilogy that continues with Black as Night and Waking Rose.

My 15 year old daughter tore through the first one in about a day, finished the second the next day, and asked how soon we could get the third, which we recently obtained. She has lent the first one to a friend, who also loved it and is asking for the others. Her twelve year old sister is now reading them, too.

I have finished the first two and, while they may never be studied in great literature classes, they were competently written and engaging. They were a little too heavy on descriptions of clothing, feelings, and relationships for this middle aged man, but I suspect that is part of their appeal to my daughters. The heros and heroines are virtuous, reverent, and chaste, and respect each other for it. They also all seem to be fans of G.K. Chesterton.

The books are based on Grimm's fairy tales, and I enjoyed seeing how the characters are translated to a modern setting. For example, the seven dwarves in the forest become seven friars in the south Bronx (who bear a suspicious resemblance to the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal founded by Father Benedict Groeschel). The fairy tale origin has a few minor drawbacks. For one thing, since the characters in those old fairy tales always seem to be getting betwitched and falling into a deep sleep, the people in the books fall into and emerge from perhaps one too many comas. I doubt that this will bother many young teens, though.

I wish there were more books like this. If you know of any, for girls or boys, please tell me about them.

Some books just fall into your hands, and instantly become treasures you want to share with all you know. This is one of those books. It is a modern retelling of the story from the Brothers Grimm, of Snow White and Rose Red. It is the story of two brothers and two sisters, all of whom have lost much in life and are not fully what they at first appear. The sisters have lost their father and had to move back into New York City. The brothers have lost their mother and have both been convicted of drug charges. Then one fateful night their fates become somehow intertwined.

The sisters are Blanch and Rose, two girls who grew up in the countryside, and who now reside in the city. They live with their mother and attend secondary school. The first of the brothers we meet is named Bear; he has dreadlocks, is big and tough, yet upon spending an evening with the Brier sisters and their mother he reveals different parts of his past. He has a passion for life, loves poetry and takes the girls on outings. But there is always a dark side to a Bear and this one is no different. He has secrets and his story and journey are still unfolding. The mystery revolves around a murdered priest, an abandoned church and the school the sisters are attending.

This story is wonderfully told. The author draws you in and keeps you captivated from first page to last. Each chapter begins with a quote from the original fairy tale, and foreshadows what is coming, yet in New York the mysteries and magic of a fairy tale are very different from the German countryside. Regina Doman is a true storyteller, not just an author. His skill with the pen makes you see the action as it is taking place, and you feel so drawn into the story that you feel like a character sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what will happen next.

This is the first book in a trilogy and I cannot wait to lay my hands on books two and three. This story was so captivating that it left me wanting more immediately. If you are looking for some great summer reading this term, give this book a try.