Quills Books

I can agree with the criticism of "Maiden"....the prose was a little grating, the writing style a little annoying, the era a little dated. But in the end, despite all its irritating qualities (and there were many), there was something about "Maiden" that I liked......somewhere underneath its gimmicky and disjointed style, it had a beating heart, and told a story of lonely spinsterhood (set against the back drop of the swinging seventies) with humor and sensitivity. As far as recomendations go, this book is definately not for everybody, but if you're up for something different and have the patience for less-than-linear storytelling, then its definatly worth a look.

F.DUNDY IN BUCHANAN'S "MAIDEN" IS LIKE VISITING WITH AN EX-SPOUSE--IT IS AN EMOTIONAL ROLLER- COASTER THAT WILL HAVE YOU RUNNING THE FULL GAMMET BETWEEN ANGER AND PITY. I WANTED TO SIT DUNDY ON THE COUCH AND HAVE A LOVING TALK AT ONE MOMENT AND WANTED TO SHAKE SOME SENSE INTO HER THE NEXT. BRILLIANT READING, TWISTS AND TURNS. GIVE THIS BOOK TO YOUR LATE TEEN'S AGE DAUGHTER AND TEACH HER ONE OF LIFE'S TOUGHEST LESSONS WHILE SHE LAUGHS HERSELF TO HYSTERICS.

The swinging singles scene of LA in 1970 is not the place one would expect a virgin to search for Mr. Right, but that's exactly where Cynthia Buchanan's heroine takes us. Through her amusing self-dialogues, we get to know F. Dundy and understand her strangely twisted rationales. This character exhibits so many neuroses and such bizarre behaviour, I can't help but imagine what a funny Woody Allen type movie this would make. At times, I wanted to both laugh and cry for F. Dundy because behind her self-induced misadventures lies a heart of gold waiting to shine. All the characters in this book are richly drawn and timeless.

I wanted to like "Maiden," I really did, I just couldn't get into it. It's written in the first-person in a semi-stream-of-consciousness style and was, for me, almost impossible to enjoy, or follow. The moral dilemma and dichotomy of being a cynical virgin in today's society just wasn't enough to string together this rather random story, which lacked plot and pacing. It just wasn't enjoying to try and read--more like work, than fun. I focused so much on HOW the book was written (and it was poorly written, as far as I am concerned), I was never ever able to enjoy the story, such as it was.

First time author Cynthia Buchanan really hit a home-run with "Maiden". I loved this book.... I found it terriably funny, smart and full of amazing characters. The charm of the story is a real breath of fresh air... I haven't read a book like this before. It was a really great change of pace. I think that my fellow readers from Amazon's "Girl Club" will really like this new treat. It's more mature and has a bit of a broader reach.. I think you'll like it. Great Read!

A Horror Fiction Story

Dupin deduces something orange.


4 out of 5

It was a breathe taking story which shows that even the most common person is capeable of discovering the truth behind a mysterious case.The story was the best I've read in years and should be one of the most populare stories Poe has ever writen.Not only does he leave the person reading the book amaized but, he leaves them terrified about the horrible things that life has to offer us.It just comes to show you never under estimate the power of the beast you don't of what might come.And by reading my reveiw you'll know that Poe has left another person amaised by what can happen to one when they least expect it .

"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is the short story I read, but it was not from this edition. I have the Barnes & Noble Penguin 60s Classics edition, which contains only this story. While short, this story clearly has a climax, resolution, and all other fundamentals that would be expected within a novel. The two main characters are clearly fashioned like Sherlock Holmes and his deductive investigating methods (Dupin) and his at times duped companion Watson (the unnamed narrator at times). While I found the first 6 pages humdrum, since it only explained the analytical method of thinking (Dupin's way of thinking), and then Dupin's tedious soliloquies about how the murder may have been committed rather drably, the actual explanation of the crime is what caught my attention. I did expect more morbid images, since this is, in fact, Poe. An entertaining short story. I recommend.

"The murders in the Rue Morgue" is the first of three Poe's stories featuring his famous detective, C. Auguste Dupin. The setting is Paris, and the story goes on mainly at night and in Dupin's apartments. This leaves the reader with a sense of darkness and a little claustrophobia, adding to Poe's great style.

Dupin is able to solve the murders of two women by just visiting the crime scene once and thinking a lot. After reading lots of books by Conan Doyle, Maurice Leblanc, Agatha Christie and P.D. James the fact of the murders itself and the kind of solution given to them may seem a little simple, but we have to remember that this may be considered one of the first "detective stories" of all times. Conan Doyle was obviously inspired in some parts of Dupin's character and reasoning to create Sherlock Holmes.

And the noir atmosphere is, as always, great. This is, appearently, not a story to be seen as "horror", but proves that Poe is one of the great authors of all time.

Grade 8.6/10

Poe is rightly acknowledged as the granddaddy of detective fiction and collected here is the proof. In these stories he gave us the basic devices of an entire genre: the genius detective and his sidekick, the locked room mystery, cyphers, royal spies, and the rigorous logic of arm-chair detection. However, the problem with pioneering a genre is that, forever after, your pioneering work is going to look rather amateurish. And this, unfortunately, is the case with Poe: his Auguste Dupin stories may well have given birth to modern detective fiction, but alongside the works they inspired they are little more than historically interesting artifacts - and ultimately rather dull ('The Murders in the Rue Morgue' excepted). It is simply not possible for us to experience these stories today with anything like the freshness they would have had for their original readers. So if you're looking for really great stories, look elsewhere. But if, on the other hand, you're seeking the historical origins of detective fiction, then your mystery has just been solved.

In all seriousness, it is interesting how the world and history has forgotten so many disasters (both natural and man-made) that have occured throughout history... Spurs the mind to look up more about some of the events that are touched on in the book...

The book was easy reading because it gave short, concise, interesting synopses of world history. The book included both man-made and natural disasters from the big bamg to 3-mile island. A must for all history teachers and anyone who likes to read about history. The book is easy reading and you can get through it in a day.

REALLY, if they come knocking and telling you how the world is going to end this second (or maybe next week) and their proof is how bad times are and how many things are going wrong... well you can whip this little book out and show them just how horrible life has been all along! A little perspective! But wait... you started a dialogue with them .. and they'll be back.. again, and again, and again... oh no!

The book was well written and somewhat humorous. The short write-ups of each disaster makes it an easy book to pick-up and put-down on a frequent basis. The events are in chronological order which makes it easy to find your favorite clamity.

I enjoyed reading this book a lot, but when I finished it, I realized there were some things I would have liked it to discuss. This book focuses mostly on the disasters of the modern centuries. That's fine, for some people, I guess, but I tend to be more interested in stuff that took place before the middle ages. This book also made a good attempt to be eurocentric, and it did cover some interesting events from other parts of the world, but I got bored hearing about every time Mount Vesuvius erupted.

How does the old saying go? "I know God, and God doesn't make junk."

I don't know what that other reviewer read, but let me say - "I know LTDBooks, and LTDBooks doesn't publish junk!"

If you love romance, you'll love QUEST FOR GILLIAN'S HEART.

The Quest for Gillian�s Heart is a fast-paced, compelling story filled with lusty, passionate characters. The exciting Viking hero and his fiesty Irish captive are great to watch as they, much against their own wills, fall in love.

The obstacles of coming from very different cultures and the fierce competition from those who want the hero and heroine for themselves are difficult to overcome. The opposing forces don�t even stop at murder.

The characters and the settings are real and believable. And Catherine Snodgrass� masterful writing has the reader pulling for Andor and Gillian until the satisfying ending.
This novel is entertaining and well worth reading. It�s a keeper.

I can understand now why this book garnered so much award recognition. This is a wonderful story of clash of cultures, religions, and love. I highly recommend it to everyone who loves a good romance.

This is the most improbable Viking tale I've had the misfortune to start reading, and stop at 6 chapters or so...

Andor the Viking sets sail for Iceland with his wife and a band of other people looking to settle. En route a storm washes his wife, some ten others, and half their belongings off the ship. So they raid Ireland to recoup losses - the location/name of the village is not mentioned. How they capture Gillian and some slaves is not mentioned, and the only person killed is, of course, Gillian's husband. The Viking who kills him feels so bad about it, he offers his protection to Gillian and begs her forgiveness. To avoid a claim by the 'villain', Andor marries Gillian several hours after she lost a husband and a week after he lost his wife and unborn child (which he supposedly cared for). Jillian is 8 months with child herself and Andor is ecstatic when, of course, a girl is born. Meantime, Gillian the Irish peasant and Andor the Viking talk the same language - which one is not mentioned.

He showers her with gifts, milks cows for her, and tells her to take her time about sleeping with him. So sticky sweet, nurturing, and open minded that it makes the 'conflict' between protagonists even more unrealistic. It's not previous spouses or bad treatment, which would have made some sense. Instead, Andor and Gillian want each other, but he is too proud to force her and she runs away from him because it's "sinful" (quote) for him to go for second base - she who had a husband for years and a baby girl.

Littered with holes and leaps, lacking in action and logic - Snodgrass's writing is simple, tasteless, improbable, bland, disjointed, contrived... In short - yuck.

The Viking Andor and a group of people from his village are sailing to Iceland to claim new land and establish a trading route. The voyage is going well until tragedy strikes and several immigrants fall overboard and drown. Andor's pregnant wife is among the dead. Sick at heart by the group's loss, Andor agrees to his cousin Leif's request to go a'Viking in Ireland. Andor doesn't know it, but with this one simple request, his life will be forever changed.

Gillian is eight month's pregnant and tired. Her husband Evan is an abusive, lazy drunk who, more often than not, passes out and leaves the chores for Gillian to do. It is during one of these times that marauding Vikings arrive at her village. Gillian hides in the barn and sees her drunken husband attack a huge Norseman where he is swiftly cut down and killed. Secretly elated at Evan's demise, Gillian decides not to fight back when she is captured by Evan's killer and taken to their ship. Everyone on board the ship except for a man named Leif treats Gillian with respect. Leif does not hide the fact that he wants Gillian for himself, no matter that he already has a wife. Gillian doesn't know what to do but Andor, the group's unofficial leader, solves her dilemma. Andor claims Gillian as his wife and the voyage continues.

Andor and Gillian are attracted to each other and they slowly become friends. Gillian falls in love with Andor when he unashamedly claims her newborn child as his own. Their idyllic time is cut short, however, by an act of violence so appalling that the two lovers may never recover. If that wasn't enough, an unknown illness threatens Gillian's very life and she may not live.

THE QUEST FOR GILLIAN'S HEART by Catherine Snodgrass quickly caught my attention and I became enthralled with Andor and Gillian's tale. A fan of historical romance, THE QUEST FOR GILLIAN'S HEART soothed my romantic soul. It is a tale of two unlikely people who come together via adversity, make a life for themselves, and overcome obstacles that would challenge the emotions of even the strongest of persons. As a reader, I ached for Gillian as she faced tragedy but quickly realized how, as a female, she was emotionally stronger than most men and much more admirable. As for Andor, he was a typical male of the book's time period and while he loved Gillian, he never spoke the words aloud; he assumed she knew. Anxious because of this, I was satisfied that all would eventually be well with them.

THE QUEST FOR GILLIAN'S HEART by Catherine Snodgrass is poignant and oftentimes tragic, but it made me feel the characters emotions. Totally immersed in the story, I was unable to put this book down. I look forward to searching for and reading more novels from Catherine Snodgrass.
***Natasha Smith for Romance Junkies***

The Marquis de Sade, locked away in Charenton lunatic asylum because of his licentious habits and scandalous literary works, continues to write. Madame de Sade, distressed by the way her husband's reputation is sending her own into free-fall, begs the asylum's director, Dr Royer-Collard, for help. Together with the pious Abbe Coulmier, Royer-Collard deprives the Marquis of his ink, pens and paper. The Marquis must resort to ever more desperate stratagems in order to continue writing, with dreadful and peculiar consequences for both himself and his zealous censors. Where the original Marquis pulled out all the Gothic stops in his massive... well, organ... Wright flings them across the room and, cackling fiendishly, hooks up a loudspeaker or two as well. The dialogue is witty and ironic, and is used to perfection in contrasting the put-upon but sardonic Marquis with his rational, moral, enlightened and increasingly desperate jailers. Constantly writing, taunting his tormentors with their own self-righteousness, calling them things like "my little kumquat" and never, ever giving up, the Marquis is a true writer's writer, and Quills is a hilarious, captivating Grand Guignol, entirely worthy of its depraved, indefatigable and (perhaps just a teensy weensy bit) romantic hero. You might also be interested in Maurice Lever's fine hefty biography of the original Marquis - perhaps Quills isn't so far from the truth after all.

The PLay is well written and pretty good. It is not like the movie though, so if you are looking for something like that you'll be disappointed. There is no romance between the abbe and Madeiline at all. It is mostly about the Marquis and what happens when the Doctor tries to stop his writing.

I got this short story/play becuz i am interested in all of Kate Winslet's future movies, as the books tend to be wonderful. This story was quite different then what i expected it to be! It is a very graphic detailing of what can happen when you try to censor a artist, and what means this artist can take to get his point across. I would recommend this book..but only to those who are not easily offended by blashemy of God and other religious sects...and who also are not offended by pornographic references! It will be quite entertaining to see how this movie is made!

I bought this one because I'm a Kate Winslet freak, and it's of course being made into a film in which she will star. :) (Along with Geoffrey Rush, Joaquin Phoenix, and Michael Caine.) I'm very curious now to see how it will translate to film, because it's incredibly violent and sexual and well, shocking, disturbing, gross, dark, gory, etc. However, it is at times amusing and wry, with a sort of underlying satire and social commentary, which I think ultimately redeems it despite all the seemingly gratuitous violence and gore. And obviously certain things work better on stage than on film, so I'm sure it'll go through some major changes en route to the screen. I'm hopeful for the film - hey, if Kate's in it, it can't be that bad. ;) But, it's definitely not for everyone, and certainly not one for kids or the squeamish (myself included, actually), and it's by far the oddest and most disturbing and far out thing Kate has done yet or prolly will ever do. But, it has definite possibilities and potential, and with a top-notch cast and Philip Kaufman ("Henry & June," "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," etc.) directing, it could be quite brilliant. Anyway, check this one out if you're a Kate fan, or even just into somewhat cutting-edge (no pun intended) horror theatre. Or a fan of the Marquis de Sade, I suppose. Just don't expect a happy ending, to say the least!

Doug Wright, one of the leading voices of his generation, has written a seminal, timely evocative and haunting play. It deals with many enormous issues including art, freedom of expression, the vagaries of relationships, and the place of individual responsiblity. Rather than be mouthpieces of normous themes, the characters are richly drawn, compelling and all to human. He deals with these issues however in a mordant, witty and dramatic manner, and delivers a vastly entertaining work. Bravo

This is my favorite of the three books I've read by Mr Brown. Shelton Lafleur comes to life on the pages of this book and you will never forget him. I have read the book three times and get something new each time. This is a must read for everyone.

This was one of those books I picked up in the library because it just happened to be there and it had an unusual title. It took me a while to get into it. At first I thought I wouldn't finish it, but the next thing I knew, I couldn't put it down. Shelton LaFleur's young life is tragic. He is a black child being reared by a white mother, who is ill. The circumstances of his birth and how he became part of this woman's family is heart-rending and misguided (let alone illegal). At age eight, he wanders away from home one night, gets lost, climbs a tree for a better view, and falls. He ends up being taken to a home for orphaned boys, where he not only has to deal with his permanent injuries, but physical and psychological abuse, as well. His life becomes a torment. Eventually a family takes him in, but what a family it turns out to be.

In spite of the painful circumstances of his childhood, and maybe because of them, LaFleur grows up to be a successful painter. Though some of his work is enigmatic and dark, he finds an audience as he matures. The story is written from the vantage point of the old man he's become.

It's been eight months since I read this book, and I still think about it. That's a book worth reading!

Carolyn Rowe Hill

I finished reading this for about the fourth time a few months ago. For Christmas, I bought a box of these -- 50 -- to give to friends. I am very, very popular this year. The editorial reviews on this book just scratch the surface. It is an absolutely compelling story, the characters actually live alongside you, the writing is music and the message is profound. It's as "worthwhile" as Thomas Wolfe, and as engaging as a great beach read. The only down side to this book is that it makes a lot of other stuff seem disappointing by comparison.

I completely disagree with the previous reviewer and with Kirkus. Maybe some of the plot is implausible, but that isn't really important. This author has touched deeply into things about human nature. And I loved the irony of the ending.

Certainly "artsy," certainly original, and certainly tiring is John Brown's second and most recent novel, The Wrecked, Blessed Body of Shelton Gerard Lafleur. At points in the story, it seems that Brown achieves something great. At other points, I wished I never picked the book up. The novel's complex plot circles around a handful of eye-catchingly interesting issues including racism, life as a seriously handicapped child, mentorship, and others. Suspiciously reminiscent of the Forrest Gump screenplay, Shelton Lafleur (abr.) also contains a nice dose of casual, meaningful, and insightful philosophy in the form of Shelton's occasional reflections on life. The story is told from the retrospect of Shelton Gerard Lafleur, who is narrating the story as a moribund and decrepit old man. He tells the story of his most unusual childhood in New Orleans during the Depression -- the story of his mysterious adoption by an affluent and aged white woman, his life-crippling fall from a backyard oak, and his experiences with the eccentric and impoverished black mentor who adopted him for a second time. Despite the poignant issues involved, Brown fails to create anything close to a moving novel. The Wrecked, Blessed Body of Shelton Gerard Lafleur is instead victim to long spells of rambling and trifling.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is an extremely useful tool for the study of of British history. Its time-line format is an effective organization technique which simplifies keeping events in their true order and, in its own way, adds an element of suspense to the unfolding narrative.

This particular translation is not only one of most highly regarded, in this edition it is also a bargain, being considerably less expensive than most others. Other editions have their merits, but Ingram's translation from the Old English and Latin sources is clear, direct and very readable.

This book is a must-have for those who interested in real history. Reading this compilation from the original source materials is far surperior to suffering through an edited, re-telling of the events by an author with a personal agenda.

The Anglo Saxon Chronicle is perhaps the most important historical document of ancient Britain. It details the events of England from about the time of Christ up to the Middle Ages - which would be only a murky era of legend and myth if The Chronicle did not exist.

As an early compilation of ancient documents, it contains some minor discrepancies which reflect the errors in the earlier manuscripts, but it is the most reliable source for the time-line of events and the important events. To call The Anglo Saxon Chronicle an essential sourcebook of British history is an understatement. Any library without a copy is woefully incomplete.

To augment the facts and figures of The Anglo Saxon Chronicle, a good copy of Beowulf will breathe the excitement and adventure, which was shared by the Anglo Saxons as oral tradition, into your view of the ancient world. It is a marvelous saga - another enduring classic of the period.

Also, Anglo Saxon Britain provides an intelligent and insightful view of the Anglo Saxons. It expands on the facts and figures and puts a understandable face on the life and times of the Anglo Saxons.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is all that the other reviewers say that it is, but this translation is extremely poor. Ingram -- who was writing in the 1810s & 1820s -- dreamed up meanings when he could not parse the Anglo-Saxon, which occurs in many places.

Mind you, it's not his fault: We learned a great deal about the Old English language(s) between 1850 and 1950. But for this reason alone, you must buy a more modern edition.

Lastly, Ingram's method of collating all nine manuscripts together lands him in the soup, with a large number of contradictions, single events happening twice, and so forth.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a gift from the past. It is amazing that this book even exists. The quiet recounting of the major events, year by year, over the formative centuries of British antiquity is a resource of inestimable value.

This is the sourcebook for information on important historical events - the who, what, where, why and when - that has been the underpinning for every major work on British history of any substance. Just a quick check of the facts recounted here will verify or dispel most accounts of supposed historical accuracy.

Whether you have an affection for the British or not, this is the reference you should have about the jagged flow of their history. Given the English roots of North American culture, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is more than just a history of the Britons, it is our history too. No history library is complete without it.

I enjoyed reading this book about the author. Good humor. Notes to myself: brush up on vocabulary.

He blends his personal typical teenage experiences with his search for wisdom. The book is broken in small titles going back and forth from what he's learned from books and the personal experiences he encounters. It's easy to pick up and put down as time permits because of this. The ending was a bit of a disappointment. But then again, the book was just what his title said it was....field notes, not a thorough autobiography. His conclusion was weak.

I tried to like this book, but he seems to be contradicting himself. Writing yet another life-path novel. His insights are shallow, memoir less than exciting and overall conclusion a disappointment.

The basic desire to have an answer is one shared by all.Tompkins isn't satisfied with "hand me down" answers and sets out to find one of his own.Like many of us his need for an answer leads him to those who have professed to have one....and like many of us he becomes disenchanted with the results of his search.Somehow many of these searches for wisdom have one similarity, it is " a process" . Management of this process,by lack of acceptance,compulsion,denial or self-absorption.....doesn't work.

Mostly a rather silly romp through a handful of life philosophies on the premise that there is an esoteric path to enlightenment, and the job is to keep trying one after the other until you find the one that works for you. After taking some time (most of the book)setting up this straw man, Tompkins knocks it over convincingly. Until I got to the last chapter I was fully prepared to be very disappointed. That chapter takes a very good shot at answering the question, "what's it all about?" If you are looking for insights, wrap the Huxley quote, the Hun Tun story, and the highway/service road analogy up together and give yourself a treat. Its a lesson on Buddah's "middle way", and skillfully the author avoids the label. Its an important book for anyone like myself who has been attracted to the lonely detour of wisdom.

The story is interesting (almost the same as the movie). However, some of the language was difficult for me to read--when the old sailors were talking. This read was contenting, but nothing spectacular.

Basically, this book is about two shipwrecked kids who grow up together on a deserted island and fall in love without any interference from the outside world. Sounds idyllic, doesn't it?
This is one of a very few books where the reader almost wishes they could trade places with the characters. The book is much better than the movie.

I thought it was fabulous. I am often intreged by "based on the book by..." anywhere in a movie and often make it a personal quest to find the afformentioned book.
I like the movie Blue Lagoon well enough, and went in search of "In the Garden of God" - original title and searched for years. I found it on an on-line library of sorts and read it. I found it facinating. Stacpoole goes into lush detail describing the island and the character of Paddy becomes more endering and his death is truly tragic. But the miracle of the children's survival as well as Dick's father's survival and their seperate quests is truly worth reading.
The book itself is very plain. Softcover, white, title, author and that is about it.
I am in search of an original, and perhaps someday I'll find it.

This edition contains quite a few typos throughout the book. It also feels like eternity has passed before anything really happens (of course I'm not a big fan of any survivor/travel-type books aka Robinson Crusoe or Gulliver's Travels). The story feels sluggish as everyone (a pair of cousins and the superstitious sailor tossed out to sea after a terrible shipwreck) is carefree and no one worries about the obvious dangers. Ideallic...until death finally strikes. Whoot for death! It's the catalyst to start everything in motion. Once the children finally grow up, the story finally begins to become interesting...although it takes 3/4 of the book to get there. Yet, it might be all worth it for that last fourth and the ending. Love the ending...although I'm still unsure of exactly what happened. Ultimately, the book makes you consider love and death and what we know instinctively about both.
All in all worth reading in a week of rainy days with nothing better to do.

This is another of the biography collections covering World War II generals that was done in the early 90s by a British publisher. In this book we get an introductory essay by editor John Keegan that puts the rest of the book in context, describing how Churchill dealt with generals, what he thought of them, and how he related to them, briefly. After that, we have a series of short (each about 20-30 pages) biographies of various commanders from the British Army in World War II. The editor chose to restrict himself to officers from Britain itself, so no Guy Simonds or Bernard Freyburg. He chose commanders who had some influence on the outcome of the war, or who were somehow outstanding or memorable, so no Miles Dempsey. Instead, the editor chose those soldiers who stood out in some way, or were somehow instrumental in the victory in a fashion that can't be ignored.

Within this, as is usually the case in such a volume, the individual biographies are somewhat uneven. Some are written as if you know everything already about World War II, and others are written in a very elementary style, as if you know nothing. Some are also more editorial or review of the individual's character and actions (the essay on Montgomery is the most obvious one in this category) while other seek merely to inform you about the person involved. There are two combination biographies, one covering the "Desert Generals" (Cunningham, Ritchie, and Leese) and another covering two generals who were more involved in diplomacy during the war, Adrian Carton de Wiart and Edward Spears. These tend to do little more than recount the facts of these men's careers: there's no space for anything else.

I think the general researcher who's looking for a reference work covering this topic will find this book useful, if only in a limited fashion. Since the coverage is rather limited, you're going to be disappointed if a particular soldier isn't covered here and he's the one you're trying to research. On the other hand, if you are looking for information on someone who *is* here, then you're going to get more data here than you would from the Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography, for instance. So it depends on whom you're researching.

Churchill's Generals proves to be just that, basic introduction to the British generals who fought under Winston Churchill during the Second World War. Its an interesting collection of soldiers, some which every students of military history knows while others were folks no one never heard off until they read this book. These biographical essays proves to be a mixed bunch. Some are better then others. Some essays proves to be quite insightful and able to give an personal understanding of their subject. Others seem to be written by a clerk copying off some dossier file.

The book is a companion to its sister volumes, Hitler's Generals and Stalin's Generals. I would put this book above Stalin's Generals but its definitely inferior to Hitler's Generals. I haven't seen titles for Roosevelt's Generals or Hirohito's Generals so I guess we are stuck with these three books.

Overall, a pretty basic introduction essays. It should be enough to arouse your curiousity and hopefully you will read more on the subject. Some of the British generals like Slim really do need greater attention.

This book is an interesting and exceptionally well-done introduction to the British perspective of World War II. Each of the seventeen chapter is a biography of a key British general during this conflict. Some are well-known (Montgomery), while others have largely been forgotten (Sir Henry Wilson). Five generals end up having to share two chapters. Each and every one, though, gets a good biography. There are differences in focus, emphasis, and interpretation, which is to be expected, but none of these entries is weak. This fact in and of itself makes this book unique among in its genre.

The authors come from a number of backgrounds: academia, journalism, and the military, including a general and a field marshal. One of the contributors is Australian, another is American and the rest are British. The reader is getting a good cross sampling of the British perspective.

The main theme that emerges from these essays is the importance of interpersonal relationships with both Churchill but also other generals. The chapters also do a good job of introducing the reader to issues in the literature without getting bogged down in the details. Each chapter concludes with a chronology of the general's life and career.

A reader unfamiliar with British military culture will stumble on some issues: the acronyms are completely different: GOC and KCB to give only two examples. (General Officer Commanding and Knight Commander of the Bath---a knighthood that gives the individual the title of "Sir.") The practice of keeping generals on half-pay is another practice that is often referenced but never explained. (A general without an assignment received only half his pay. If he did not receive an assignment after two years, he was retired.)

Nonetheless, this book is easy to read and is recommended without reservation.

This collection of essays, edited by Keegan, provides a good introduction to most of the generals who made it to the top of the British Army in WW2. The essays are of varying standard and some require a knowledge of the subject and their place in the world. Each article has a bibliography and a career time line. Keegan provides an introduction as to each generals place in the scheme of things and his relationship with Curchill. Generally a good book with some outstanding essays.