Reds Books

From the introduction by editor Amy Goldwasser, Red: The Next Generation of American Writers provides countless insights about today's adolescent women, through the eyes of 58 essayists from around the U.S.
Goldwasser, a long-time editor and free-lance writer, culled the collection from more than 800 entries she received after sending out an e-mail to a group of friends, asking them to put her in touch with teen-age girls who might be interested in contributing to a collection of essays. She edited very little and found the essays fell into eight, natural categories: body image (the vast majority of essays fell into this category), family, school, friendships, crushes and sex, extracurricular, media and pop culture and a chapter she subtitled "Battle Cries."
"As opposed to a collection held together by adult writers on a single theme," Goldwasser writes, "the essays in Red have, really, only one thing in common. It's their heart."
Indeed, these girls open their hearts wide, pouring out love and anger and frustration and attitude in a riotous, ever-widening stream of consciousness. Some voices seem polished and thoughtful, others carve words from raw emotion. They discuss subjects as intimate as a sexual relationship, as excruciating as suicide attempts and eating disorders, as touching as a tribute to a lost friend and as hysterically funny as the kind of incomprehensible behavior that comes with having a crush.
Three of the essays come from Michigan girls, including twins Hannah and Sarah Morris, who confront not only their similarities, but their differences. Though biologically identical, they seem quite different in outlook and voice; according to Sarah, they look different as well. She worries about her sister's weight and the toll she believes it will take in the future. Hannah focuses more attention on their family relationships and what it means to be a twin. What they share in sisterhood, however, far outshines any differences.
These glimpses into the hearts of young women show us not only how today's generation differs in its dependence on technology and its powerful impact on relationships and education, but also how much these young women share with previous generations. We all fell in love with boy-out-of-reach, we all came to terms with our first bras, we all loved/hated our mothers.
And in Red, we now have a platform upon which to share these memories, these bits and pieces of the female collective.

I pre-ordered Red and cracked it open the day it arrived. Keep in mind, I don't have kids but have plenty of friends and family that do. The book is poignant and telling. It's a great way to 'dial in' to what teen girls have on their minds. That's why I bought several copies for my girlfriends and sisters-in-law with soon-to-be teen girls. One of my friends reported she might share the book with both her daughter AND son. And not just because of how teens are thinking - but for the writing styles; to encourage them to write more and express themselves.

Buy it, share it. You'll love it.

...especially 14-year-old Kelly Otterness. As a college-level writing teacher I was very impressed at the fresh, unsentimental way this writer expressed her feelings of loss over her dead horse. There was no cuteness at all, no cliches, no girliness, only a mature mind trying to accept her own grief. A heartbreaker. Well done!

I bought the Red book by Amy Goldwasser for my Daughter who is 27 and she liked it allot. I read some of it before giving it to her and liked it too. I also liked the idea of it, to promote teenage girls writing.
It is a great present from parents to daughters.
Tamar A. Weaver

Refreshing and scary, the essays take me into the minds of teen-age girls. I plan to send "Red" to a 52 year old friend raising a pre-teen daughter, with the recommendation they read it together. They need all the help they can get to navigate the coming years.

This is often the first book I read to my upper elementary student children. Many have not been read to or for some other reason do not know the JOY and FUN of a good book.

We act this one out. From getting their muscles "kneaded" and arms "stretched" like dough. I get their permission first. Sigh... that is the decade we are living in.

We "shake" flour (really a salt shaker.) And sprinkle oil (in a firmly sealed vial.)

We whirl and twirl a stuffed animal in the air. Next the checkers (pepperoni)

Then the children "cook" in the oven. (actually under a desk.)

This is one book the children ask for and moan when I tell them it is at my other school.

It makes believers of them that books are exciting.

What a fun book! Our 3 year old loves being made into a pizza with all sorts of toppings made from paper or play food. Great activity that ends with a nice hug!

This is a wonderful and exciting book for all family members of every age. It's sturdy, nicely illustrated,easy to hold and to read. Talk about love in the family, this book illustrates to parents the importance of communicating, touching, and just having a good time with our children. Pete's a Pizza brings out the child in adults and keeps the child in children.

Cheer your kids up by turning them into pizzas. A cute book for any collection.

Petes's in a bad mood because he can't go oult to play with his friends on this rainy day. To cheer him up and pass the time, his dad invents a fun and unique game. He is going to make a pizza out of Pete! The book is very amusing as the dad rolls the dough (Pete) and sprinkles cheese (paper) and tomatoes (checkers) on the pizza. This could be a wonderful game to play with your own children. Loads of fun to be had.

Julie was about an Eskimo girl who got lost in the Alaskan tundra. Julie, the girl learned to live by wolf ways. She followed the wolves and they accepted her. Amaroq was the pack leader and Silver was his mate. Nails was Amaroq's best friend and Jello was the lowly puppy-sitter. Kapu, Sister, Zat, Zing, and Zan were the puppies. Amaroq got shot by a helicopter flier and died. Kapu was also shot but was nursed back to health by Julie. Julie then found her father, Kapugen (Kapu was named after Julie's father.) near by. Kapugen had stopped following the Eskimo traditions and married a gussak (white) woman. Julie was not at all thrilled about this. Then she saw flying goggles hanging in the house. Julie then realized that Kapugen had shot Amaroq. Julie learned how Kapugen had changed. Then, she found out how Kapugen had started an industry in musk oxen. The caribou which is sort of like a moose or deer is one of the most eaten animals on the tundra. The wolves also eat caribou. The caribou was not going through Kangilik, where Julie was now living or where Kapu and his pack were. The wolves were very hungry and needed food to live off of. What will Julie do to save the wolves?

This one, in my opinion, is a bit better than the first one. Since this one has more social interaction, it makes time seem to fly by much quicker. It also contains the same friendly wolves, which also makes it exciting for anyone who read Julie of the Wolves.

This book is very amazing, it is just as good as it's original, 'Julie of the wolves'. I really loved reading this book, and I'm sure you'll love it too, if you love animals. Don't waste your time on another 'tundra imitation' book, get Julie of the wolves, Julie, and Julie's wolf pack now!

This book is about a young girl living in Alaska, in the village of Kangik trying to get used to her new home. She hears that her father will kill her wolf pack if they kill another oxen. She then goes back out on the Tundra to find her pack and lead them to Caribou. This book is wonderful and teaches us about Eskimos and their traditions. It is a fantastic novel telling how one girl is so in touch with all other living things. If you love learning about other cultures or love Julie of the Wolves and want to see what happens next, then you have to read this amazing book!

Julie was a fabulous book. It begins when Julie pointed her boots toward Kaugen. In this book Julie now lives in Kangik. She also learns the true meaning of love. I think you will love reading this book. If you like adventure books, then here is one you will enjoy again and again.

Red Moon Rising is the story of Peter Greig's work in Christian ministry in England and how that work led to founding and growth of the 24-7 Prayer movement. The book begins with the story of Greig's vision of a rising army while camping on the coast of Portugal and works through the first 24-7 prayer room in England, the strong and deep connection of the movement with the 1727 Moravian prayer community, the expansion of the movement into Germany and throughout Europe, onto the party Island of Iziba and finally to the founding of an intentional prayer community known as a Boiler Room.

This book isn't really a "how-to" book but rather a narrative that describes the work of the Holy Spirit and the journey of a group of friends that follow the Spirit's lead to create opportunities of young Christians throughout Europe (and older Christians as well) to reconnect to Christianity's ancient tradition of prayer expressed in ways that are both true to the tradition and relevant to the culture. Title of the book comes from Greig's continued drawing of inspiration from the prophetic passage of the second chapter of Joel that is repeated by Peter on the morning of Pentecost in the book of Acts. It is clear throughout the book that Greig sees this movement as a continued fulfillment of that prophecy and the stories he shares with his readers bear that out.

For me, the power of this book was found in it's ability to encourage me consider a life of radical prayer both personally and within my community. The stories of God's working through the people of this movement are truly stunning and humility of the leaders of the movement in their willingness to be faithful to the calling of the Spirit and to not usurp It's power for their own benefit is refreshing in a day when it seems that too many church leaders have lost sight that they act in God's providence rather than the other way around. Those looking for a "how-to" guide will need to get ahold of the 24-7 Manual as this text is light on details. However, this book provides the inspiration and the encouragement to do so. As I read each chapter, I found myself called to stop thinking about how to serve God and to start praying and calling others together in prayer.

I highly recommend this book to all Christians wondering if the Spirit still moves in our world and, if It does, how they can connect with It.

An excellent book that changes your whole perspective on prayer, evangelism, and "doing business as usual". Our young people have hope and a future and they are embracing it world wide.

THIS book is life-changing and one of the most impacting books I've ever read. After reading that book, I was so fired up about prayer and especially 24/7 prayer that I got a lot of different visions for prayer rooms. We are right now in the process of planning a prayer room and for having an awesome time with the Lord!!!! Everybody should read it who needs to get fired up about prayer!
It shows you how God still changes the World in an freakin awesome way!!!

If you have a heart for the lost, this book is a must read. This book, if implemented could change the heart of any nation. All pastors and certainly interecessors should read it for sure. It gets top rateing from me and was recommended by Bill Johnson's school in Redding.

This is an excellent book, I would encourage everybody to read it. It's uplifting and challenging, specially for young adults wanting to change the world for Christ.
I highly recommend this book.

I bought this dragon for my daughter who loves dragons. I had bought her the Gargantuan Black dragon and we were both impressed with that one. Well, the Red Dragon is just plain awesome!! It is a fantastic piece of work that blew my daughter away when she opened it. The only negative comment I have about it is the flame (breath weapon). It was difficult to get it attached correctly, but I don't consider that enough of a problem to rate the dragon below a 5 star rating. I actually thought the dragon looked better without the flames, while my daughter liked it with the flames. It has become the centerpiece to my daughter's collection!

Ok, it's not Godzilla ;) but when you drop THIS huge brute on yer gaming table, you can just see players wilt, muhaha!
-As a "miniature" (lol, bit of misnomer there, it really is colossal), it's good. the paint job is better than on most minis, as you'd expect for the size/price.
-Alas you won't use it much, I mean, how often do your players HAVE to fight a great wyrm dragon, hm? So it's mostly there for show and fun if you use the minaitures for Roleplaying, as I do, instead of playing the "miniatures game" itself.
-Only concern is the size, as the box is about 1'x2'x2', so, I hope you've got a loving spouse or plenty of room. It's quite light though.
-The material all the WOTC minis are made form is very tough and flexible, so, unlikely to get bits broken or paint chipped.

So, all in all, great "mini", but more for the "fun" than "use" factor :)

this product is every dragon lovers dream. this minuture sature is very well madeand has good detail. i like it's size too, not too small and not to big. i don't play D&D that much, but it is a woundeful addation to my collection of dragon satures.

The first thing I can speak of this mini is its huge size. When I got it out of the box, I at first thought it was in a larger box, but no; it was in a big box because this thing lives up to its name colossal. Superb details, coloration form, this mini will not only get used in my games, but will be displayed proudly on my shelf with the others.

It comes with battle maps and stat cards, although I hardly noticed them. This item can be a bit pricey, but it is very worth it.

I was always wanting to buy this colossal red, but was always reluctant to do so, I mean really, how often is someone going to use a colossal red of all things in a campaign, whether classic role playing, or with skirmishes? But I decided I wanted to have all three of the Icons! series, so I bought it. Not only is it a great display piece, to awe your gaming group and visitors, but it is quite fun to use in skirmish games. The detail is very intricate, even the different scales have their own detail, which I daresay for a mass produced item is simply amazing. I have yet to use mine in an epic skirmish, but after this review I may go ahead and make my own war band to fight against it. I would Recommend this item to any DnD player, DM, or dragon collector

This wonderful adventure with a Japanese poet was added to our collection just in time. An article ran about him in National Geographic, and my eldest son would not have had a clue who he was if he had not read this book. I think it is delightful how Mary Pope Osborne uses these texts to expose children to places, ideas and situations that might not otherwise be accessible to them. Definitely pick up this title, and if you haven't already done so, buy the rest as well!

If you are a Mary Pope Osborne fan, this is the place to get her books. Watch the price and jump on it when it is under $10. You can pre-order for even less. This is a wonderful series of books to read together.

I LIKED THIS BOOK BECAUSE It's like I'm in another world.THIS BOOK WAS ABOUT an adventure of Jack and Aaney trying to find the missing dragon.

Magic tree house #37,I LIKED THIS BOOK BECAUSE:THEY GO ON MESHINS.
THIS BOOK WAS ABOUT:TWO KID'S GOING ON MESHINS.
I GIVE THIS BOOK:5 STARS.

I like it the book because it's cool.they went to the tree house they went tothe past.I give it 5 star.

Every book has to end, I know that, but I felt cheated when I closed "Red Square". How dare Cruz Smith actually finish this thriller? How could he not have added a few more pages of his delicious and irresistible writing? Arkady Renko, the incorruptible and love-lorn Soviet detective, is on the trail of the people who killed one of his informants. He is also pining for the love of his life, who is now broadcasting pro-western propaganda to the fast-collapsing Communist empire from Munich (the action takes place in August 1991). As luck would have it, Renko ends up in Munich as he tracks the killers. The plotting in this novel isn't great -- there are too many coincidences and Renko does remarkably well in Germany, given it's his first time in the West and he speaks little German. The writing is addictive as ever and reaches new heights when Ranko is reunited with the object of his desires, who has a new man in her life. If you want to while away an absorbing few hours, I highly recommend this book.

I read this book twice. Still was confused, but as in his other novels, the author grabs you and puts you inside the protagonist's (Arkady Renko) head.
I think I will read this a third time. Even if I still don't understand it, I will greatly enjoy the ride.

Red Square blew my mind. What a great book. I find there is a lot of junk out there for the two genres I prefer: fantasy and crime drama. I was floored by Red Square - and had actually read it first. Kind of shows how great it is that I loved every moment and I had not even read Gorky Park or Polar Star yet (both darn good, too). Havana Bay followed and was good, but not as full and gripping as Red Square. wow. Truly a gift.

First published in 1992, _Red Square_ illustrates the complexities which have emerged as the Russians allow some private enterprise but have not yet become a democracy. Hardliners want to perpetuate their own way of life, while young people and the hungry proletariat want reform and their own piece of the pie. Arkady Renko, who has appeared in two previous Cruz Smith novels (Gorky Park and Polar Star), has returned to Moscow from exile and has resumed his job as a detective, this time investigating corruption and criminal fraud in the city as private enterprise takes illegal turns.

Rudy Rosen, who engages in money-changing, gambling, and other felonies, some of them involving citizens of foreign countries, is cooperating with Renko by allowing him to record conversations. Immediately after Renko leaves Rudy in his car, however, Rudy's car explodes, incinerating Rudy and a suitcase full of cash. As Renko investigates who might have killed Rudy, the complexity of this mystery parallels the complexities of a Russian society in which it's every man for himself in terms of financial transactions.

All the characters are at loose ends, wondering who they are and how they are perceived. Renko is just back from exile, the love of his life having defected to Germany years ago, and she believes that he has abandoned her. Rudy Rosen wants to have it both ways--to cooperate with Renko and to continue his shady dealings. The Chechens who appear in the story are blamed for everything that is violent or illegal, but they remember the horrors of mass relocation and the killings through which the Russians annihilated their villages and left them homeless. As the investigation of Rudy's death leads Renko from Moscow to Munich and Berlin (and to a meeting with Irina, his long lost love), Renko meets with other Russians who live abroad but still regard themselves as Russian.

Renko is a sad case--morose, love-starved, and without any reason for living--and as he tries to do what is right, his essential goodness comes through. As the case becomes an investigation of stolen paintings, many of them owned by Jews at the outbreak of World War II (and earlier), Renko's own superiors and the Russian Mafia abroad threaten his life. The body count rises and who-did-what-to-whom becomes confusing, but many readers will be focused on the character of Renko. As he tries to navigate the minefield of his own life, he resembles a modern version of some of the great Russian tragic heroes. This is not the most unified of the Renko mysteries, but it is fascinating, nevertheless. n Mary Whipple

Martin Cruz Smith is a former journalist and magazine editor. "Red Square" is his third novel - after " Gorky Park " and "Polar Star" - to feature Arkady Renko and was first published in 1992.

Renko, the hero, works as an Investigator with Moscow's militia - more or less the standard police force - and has something of a chequered career. Never a truly 'practising' member of the Party, Renko hasn't always been thought highly of by those in authority. He has always wanted to catch the people responsible for the crimes he's investigating, regardless of the 'political' consequences - as a result of this, he was once dismissed from the Party for a lack of 'political reliability' and sentenced to a life in Siberia. He also appears to be something of a disappointment to his father, a very famous ex-General. (Arkady's opinion of his father - who is very ill as the book opens - isn't too high, either). However, after the events outlined in "Polar Star", he was reinstated to his former position - but is now working in a new Moscow that he barely recognises. "Red Square" is largely set in Moscow, Munich and Berlin in 1991 and is set in turbulent times : Germany has been re-unified and the breakup of the USSR is closing in.

The book opens in August 1991, with Renko and his partner - an Estonian called Jaak Kuusnets - on their way to a meeting with Rudy Rosen. Although Rosen operates as a banker for the various factions of the Russian Mafia, he has agreed to Renko planting a transmitter in his car for the duration of a Mafia-sponsored illegal market. (This is largely due to the fact that the militia have enough to put Rosen away for a very long time). Despite turning informer, Rosen appears to feel relatively safe. The Chechen faction, headed up by Makhmud, constitutes his only real enemy, but - since all the factions require his services - he doesn't think he's under any real threat. His sense of security is reinforced by Mikhail Kim, his fearsome-looking Korean bodyguard, and his business partnership with Borya Gubenko - the head of the Long Pond Mafia. Unfortunately, shortly after a quiet conversation with Arkady at the market, Rudy is killed when his car goes up in flames - changing Renko's case from surveillance to a murder inquiry. One of the witnesses points the finger at Kim - and it seems clear the Korean was responsible for at least one of the two explosions.

Although Arkady works most closely with Jaak, there are a couple of other members on the team he has assembled. Polina deals with the forensic work and is nearly as dedicated to her job as Arkady Renko is to his. Minin, on the other hand, is practically the anti-Renko : he remains devoted to the Party and is, in fact, the only Party member on the team. Renko's boss is a man called Rodionov - the City Prosecutor and an elected member of the People's Congress. When Renko meets with Rodionov to inform him of the investigation's progress, he's also introduced to General Penyagin - the recently appointed head of CID. Unlike his predecessor, Penyagin is a bureaucrat - not a detective risen from the ranks. Renko is stunned to discover that the third person attending the meeting, Max Albov, is a journalist. As the investigation unfolds, developments take Renko far and wide - even to the recently reunited Germany. However, Albov proves to be someone Renko just can't avoid.

This is a hugely enjoyable book - in fact, the Renko series is just getting better and better as it goes along. The book is set in the USSR's dying days, a difficult time for all those used to playing the political game. As such, it's probably even more dangerous that it had been - especially for someone like Renko who only cared about catching the villain, rather than doing what was politically 'correct'. Highly recommended.

This is a very interesting book that proves life is more interesting than fiction. The improbablity of searching for those notebooks....
I like the calm approach that Mr. Hansen took to the most unpredictable of circumstances he was in.
If you need a prod to get up and go on that trip you have been dreaming about for years, let this book fuel the fire.

I have read many books that fall within the "travel literature" genre; Motoring With Mohammed is hands down my favorite. I rarely read books twice, but I read this book once every few years and never tire of the way Eric Hansen describes his experiences in Yemen during his quest to recover his lost journals. His eclectic combination of anecdotes are simple but beautifully written. Upon reading this book, you are left with the essence of Yemen, her people, and Mr. Hansen himself. A warning: If you lend this book to a friend, you will never get it back. I am on my seventh or eighth replacement copy!

This is a fascinating (and educational!) travelogue about the geography, environs, people, culture and customs from a part of the world that too few people are familiar with. In an odd coincidence - while I was reading this book - a veritable storm-in-a-teacup whipped up, as US DEA cracked down on qaat (khat) chewing across the country.

"Khat ... also known as qat, gat, chat, and miraa ... is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula... Khat contains the alkaloid cathinone, an amphetamine-like stimulant which causes excitement and euphoria... Traditionally, khat has been used as a socializing drug, and this is still very much the case in Yemen where khat-chewing is predominantly, although not exclusively, a male habit... Khat consumption induces mild euphoria and excitement. Individuals become very talkative under the influence of the drug and may appear to be unrealistic and emotionally unstable. Khat can induce manic behaviors and hyperactivity... A recent British study found khat to be much less dangerous than tobacco or alcohol." - from Wikipedia

Peripatetic scribblers wander to such obvious destinations as Italy, France, Greece, China, India, Australia, the Amazon, or Alaska, then write a book to tell the rest of us vegetables all about it. Here in MOTORING WITH MOHAMMED, accomplished travel writer Eric Hansen immerses the reader in North Yemen. (Where, you say?) North Yemen squatted next to the Red Sea just to the south of southwest Saudi Arabia, and joined with South Yemen in 1990 to become the Republic of Yemen.

Hansen's narrative is served up in two parts. Well, three, actually. The first takes place in 1978 when, after a 7-year period of wandering in other backwaters, the author is shipwrecked in the yacht "Clea", on which he was part of a five-person crew, on the uninhabited North Yemen island of Uqban. The first four chapters describe this experience, during which, for safekeeping, he buried on the island the wrapped journals of his previous adventures. The trouble is, he forgot to take them along when he and his companions were eventually rescued after fourteen days.

The book's second part - thirteen chapters - takes place during a ten-week period a decade later when Hansen returns to North Yemen to retrieve his cached journals. Unbeknownst to him, however, is that Uqban Island lay in a security zone virtually inaccessible to foreigners. This fact becomes frustratingly clear as he unsuccessfully conspires with local help to cross the twenty miles of water separating the mainland from the island. Meanwhile, he cools his heels exploring, and falling in love with, much of the rest of the country. It's this developing love affair with North Yemen that's the basis for most of MOTORING WITH MOHAMMED.

Whether he's tiptoeing across a precarious slope in the interior mountains, or witnessing the execution of a murderer, or participating in a communal qat chew, or sweating in a bathhouse, or feasting on stewed sheep's heads, Eric has a talent for observing the details that enrich the subsequent tale:

"There is a trick to cracking open the skulls. You place the thumb of one hand in an eye socket (with the eyeball still intact), and span the skull and grip the roof of the mouth with the fingers. The other hand grasps the lower jaw. A sharp twisting motion is accompanied by a sickening snap and a popping sound. When done properly, the slippery skull and jawbone come away in two pieces. Then you prise open the cranium." (Happily, this passage refers to the feast, not the execution.)

As the eighteenth and last chapter reveals, the author made the fortuitous acquaintance of the Yemeni ambassador to the United States at a Washington, D.C. photo exhibit of his nation's architecture eight months after the former returned to America sans journals. In the Middle East especially, it's all about whom you know. Thus, five months after that, Eric, shovel in hand, is sloshing through the Yemeni surf to a "fishing boat that smelled of rancid shark oil and pureed dates", which, Allah willing, can convey him and an agent of the National Security Police across the sea to Uqban. Truly, as the title of this chapter implies, "It was written."

I shall most certainly never make it to Yemen. Yes, researching "San'a", the capital of Yemen, on the Web does almost compel me to visit on a whim. But, being married, my own happy-go-lucky journeying days are over. Besides, Yemen seems at times to be, um, a bit too raw. But, through Hansen's eyes and wonderfully evocative prose, I'm taken there in fine style, and that's what a five-star travel essay is all about.

It is truly a gifted writer who sets you down in a strange and foreign land such that the boundry between the narrative and your personal grasp of the story is effectively blurred. Eric Hansen is such a writer.

Hansen is pursuing the grail of his buried notebooks in a off-limits military zone on the Red Sea coast of Yemen. His story, and it is a great one, is about the cultural adventures he experiences in his hope to retrieve a lost part of himself, the journals he had buried 10 years previously.

"So intent was I on uncovering the traces of my past that no object or thought seemed too insignificant. Even the litter spoke to me that first morning. I wandered aimlessly, searching for deeper meanings."

His depictions of Yemeni culture are riveting & compelling, a culture that is still holding on to its ancient orientations. Hansen becomes captivated by the Yemeni people & their customs. His search for the buried notebooks moves to the background as his visa is extended and he settles into the daily round of an ancient way of life.

"That morning, for the first time, I was willing to admit that the search was not going well, and that maybe it wasn't important anymore. Accepting this fact, I caught a glimpse of my own fate. Regardless of what the notebooks contained, it was clearly my need to wander to remote places and lose myself in strange situations that had drawn me back to Yemen . . ."

Narrative entertainment doesn't get any better than this - most highly recommended.

Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts

I'm very glad I've read this book, because it is truly one of the greatest, if not the greatest eye-witness account of the war on the eastern front. The chapter about the liberation of Dachau and the writer's thoughts about the Holocaust made me shiver, I've read dozens of books on the Holocaust but nobody ever put it to paper like Vassily did. If you haven't read this book, please do. You will never forget it.

Most casual students of World War II in Europe are familiar with the major battles in the West, and are probably conversant with the Eastern struggles at Leningrad and Stalingrad, but that's about it as far as the "Russian Front" goes. This gripping book tells us the Russian soldier's story "from the grunt's eye-view", and we learn a lot about how the typical Russian soldier felt about the war. In an Ernie Pyle-style of writing, the author delves into the smallest aspect of the soldiers' lives, and their reaction to the fighting. As a conclusion, the reader learns that these soldiers fought, not for Communism or Stalin, but for the liberation of their Motherland, and for their friends who fought beside them. It's a powerful work, and one that really deserves wide distribution.

Grossman was born in 1905, and though he was exempt from fighting in World War II when Hitler invaded Russia (he tried to enlist), he did get a job covering the war for the Red Army newspaper, Red Star, Krasnaya Zvezda.

Beevor (author of Stalingrad and The Fall of Berlin, 1945) and Vinogradova have taken Grossman's extensive notes from his war reporting years and some of his published dispatches and combined them into a fascinating and horror-filled account of heroism, shocking brutality from both Germans and Russians, criticism of some officers, and praise for others. Grossman's experiences were coalesced into the novel Life and Fate, which Grossman tied to get published in the Soviet Union. It was suppressed in the 1960s and finally published in the 1980s to great acclaim.

Writer at War is full of beautiful brief anecdotes of ordinary people, both army and civilians, and their defense of the Soviet Union. There are short descriptions of bodies, ruins, the frenzied flight of whole towns in front of the invading German forces, the mud, the cold, the food, and the orphaned and abandoned children. These are images we may not want to confront; but we should. Brutal wars and genocide are still going on-and we need to recall what it was like and what it is still like.

I have not experienced anything so powerful since I saw Elim Klimov's film about the invasion, Come and See.

NOTE: Grossman's report on Treblinka was used in the Nuremberg Military Tribunal, and published in Znamya. Grossman was disillusioned by Stalin's refusal to acknowledge the slaughter of Jews in the Ukraine (among those killed was Grossman's mother). Grossman's articles on this subject were often censored or not used at all.

Armchair Interviews says: Powerful stories.

Parragraphs of intense live experiences on the Eastern Front are interspersed with the introduction and analyses of historian Mr. Beevor. If it had been in a linear sort of narrative, so we could feel the progression of the drama, and we could get used to the comings and goings of our narrator, it would have been a great book. But we have only scattered pieces, fading images of a soul soaked in the pain of war, glimpses of horrors witnessed and stories that remain untold.

It's what it hints at that gives it its precious value: the authenticity and honesty of the man, Grossman. But it lacks a linear storytelling; it leaves a chaotic impression of imprecise locations and hard-to-pronounce names. I'm the first to be sorry about this impression, nevertheless it is what it is. I would have packed the best passages into a short book, made it more concise and more precise.

Vasili Semenovich Grossman was a decorated Soviet military journalist best known in the West for his epic novel, Life and Fate (New York Review Books Classics). In 'A Writer at War' editors and translators Anthony Beevor (Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943), an esteemed historian and author in his own right, and Luba Vinogradova, follow Grossman's progression through the war by piecing together stories from his notebooks and writings. At times one would have liked a bit more context to be provided by Beevor, but that is a minor quibble.

Grossman, while still a loyal Communist at this point, managed to maintain a relatively objective viewpoint. He often pushed his editors to allow him to write stories they did not want written, in particular regarding the fate of the Jews in the Ukraine under German occupation and the role of the Ukrainians.

While at time the stories have to be stitched together from bits and pieces, `A Writer at War' is a gold mine and provides a rare view into the inner workings of the Soviet military and Soviet military journalism in particular. Grossman experienced the initial German onslaught and the Russian flight from it, Stalingrad, the tank battle at Kursk, and the death camps. The book includes an extensive article on the workings of the German death camp Treblinka. Earns the highest recommendation.

Most people on earth just want to live a good life and take care of their families, and live in a world where goodwill and tolerance reign supreme despite differences. With six billion people on the planet you would think that our reality would reflect this, but it doesn't. Ever wondered why, or more to the point HOW? The answer is that a SECRET SCIENCE has been used on the masses by an elite 4% of the population for literally millenia! This unique scientific work will make you aware of the workings of this invisible science and how agents of lies, obfuscation and perversion, infiltrate every civil organization on the planet to weild their dark magic to effect change, which manifests ultimately on the macro-social level. It's a science of how to change minds and hearts toward their selfish political agendas. By simply reading this scientific work in my opinion, would empower every one of us with sufficient knowledge to reclaim our world from the genocidal, psychopathic, warmongering agents of death and suffering who became our overlords by virtue of our ignorance.

As I understand, the odds of this extensively researched book being published were slim to none. It attacks the system -- whatever name or ideology it may go by, be it "communism" or "democracy = free market reign [yeah, right]" -- at its very core.

The book exposes the true perpetrators of evil and deviance on the planet -- psychopaths -- and the psychological mechanisms via which the control over the population is instituted and maintained. AFAIK, it is the only book out there that puts all the available information into a coherent whole which has far-reaching implications. No wonder such knowledge would be considered dangerous and would be suppressed by all means available.

The author, Andrzej M. Lobaczewski, had been through hell and beyond, and I applaud his determination and wisdom. The publisher, RPP press, is no less deserving of praise: editing this book, supplementing it with comments on recent research and bringing it to us readers is truly an act of service to humanity.

The book is written in an academic style, appropriate for the complex ideas that it conveys. It is not a light read; prepare to dedicate time to it and come back to the important passages. It will surely be a time well spent.

As written on the book , this is the most important book , is a must read to whoever feels the drive for understanding the reality today , the ponerization of the world as described by lobaczewsky is something that , in his words, shouldn't try to cure if not understood and that book is an amazing step towards understanding , and truth and again as the author points out "truth is a healer", really the most important book to read today

Political Ponerology is not one of the easiest books to read, yet it contains concepts that are absolutely essential for any person struggling to understand exactly what is happening today to the governments, corporations and societies of this planet.

Andrew Lobaczewski spares few words in outlining the core problems facing the contemporary study of psychology and the humanistic "natural world view" that tends to gloss over the facts when confronted with the conscienceless manipulation that is the hallmark of the psychopath. Rationalisation and pseudo-moralising are two of the biggest tools that the psychological predator has in its toolkit, and Lobaczewski explains in somewhat technical terms how they proceed to carve a trail of emotional and psychic destruction in the lives of those they come into contact with.

Less of the book is devoted to the nature and behaviour of the psychopath and "characteropath" (a psychopath by nurture rather than nature), than the process of what Lobaczewski describes as "ponerogenesis", or the creation of complex social networks inside otherwise normal organizations which then attain complete control in order to use the organization to exclusively fulfil the self-serving goals of the psychopaths. Lobaczewski uses observations of the Nazi German and Communist Soviet regimes to demonstrate how whole governments can become infected by these networks to the point that nations begin to display pathological behaviour (aggression, expansionist agendas, social policy decay, suppression of civil liberties and terrorising the population, and eventually large-scale murder and genocide). Advanced cases of ponerization result in what Lobaczewski calls a "Pathocracy" - government by the pathological.

He also describes the way that normal citizens in a developing pathocracy begin to display increasingly hysterical behaviour and this in turn abets the rise and formation of an advanced pathocracy as the masses lose their "common sense". His references to the phenomenon as being similar to a virulent disease that can kill an otherwise healthy organism are disturbingly apt when one considers the collapse of Germany after WWII, and Russia after the fall of Communism.

The proposed solution for immunizing oneself from the effect of both individual predators and pathological systems is to learn the psychological knowledge required, and put it into practice by becoming a keen observer of human behaviour. Not an easy task, but one that may eventually become essential to one's survival in these troubled times.

I would class this book as mandatory reading for anybody who wants to learn how to protect themselves from abuse by psychological predators and how bureaucracy, corporate, and government systems can become propagators of similar abusive values.

We are living in a society that is ill ... we (society in general) have been overtaken by psychopaths at the highest level. Those individuals who govern and rule our lives have worked at creating a world where inhumanity has become the norm.

Reading about ponerology, you will come to understand what "it" is and why it is so important that we recognize the immoral behaviors of some, that have set in motion wars, upon wars, upon wars ... never to end.

But hope is not lost. Read this book and find out why.