Germany Books

You'd think that a man who's philosophy on war is more read, quoted, and debated than any other would have had a biography done on him years ago, but that's not the case. Although many biographies on Clausewitz were published in German, especially in the late 19th and early 20th century, it's difficult to find anything in English. Hence Roger Parkinson's book truely does fill a gap in the literature, especially since Clausewitz' experience in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars affected the development of his own writings, such as "On War."

One of the reasons for the limited availability of biographies is the limited availability of sources. In his discussion of sources, Parkinson notes that personal information on Clausewitz is limited to the letters he wrote to his wife, and to a lesser extent to his friends and mentors Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. What this means is the much of the information on Clausewitz is inferred or drawn from secondary sources such as books on the Prussian reforms and/or reformists of the period; a movement in which Clausewitz was involved.

This is why my rating is 4 stars; not through any fault of the author's, but because the lack of primary sources does not allow a full exploration of Clausewitz as a person or his role in the Prussian and Russian armies. Unfortunately this means the book often tells Clausewitz' story via a military history of the battles in which Clausewitz is involved; the author adds as much as he can, when the information is available, as to where Clausewitz was, and his role, in a given battle, but in many cases this means one is reading another straight forward history of a given campaign or battle.

Having said that, this does allow a perspective on Clausewitz and his writings. Just knowing about his involvement in specific battles against the French in the Revolutionary Wars, Jena-Auerstadt, Napoleon's Russian Campaign, and the Waterloo Campaign allow some understanding into his thinking.

The bottom line is that this book must be read by someone who is interested in Clausewitz' writings. It adds substance to Clausewitz the man and not just the philosopher on war.

This is a wonderful and lively biograpgy of a man and the tumultuous times he lived in. To many readers Clauswitz might seem just the author of a somewhat dry and theoretical treastise on warfare. A sort of modern update on Machiavelli's THE PRINCE. This work shows him to be something much more than that. Clausewitz expereinced the full extent of the Napoleonic Wars, both as a field and staff officer. Therefor, he was in a unique position to understand and to later write about the conduct of war.

Clausewitz saw first-hand the castastrophe of his country. Prussia had done relatively little in the earlier wars of the French Revolution. By staying neutral Prussia should have observed and studied the new systems of warfare that were being developed by France and Napolean. Instead a rigid adherence to the older theories of Frederick The Great were maintained, forgetting the fact that the great King himself would have adapted to circumstances. The Prussian army of 1806 has been described by some as a museum piece.

When Napolean finally turned against Prussia that year Clausewitz would see first-hand how ill prepared his nation was. Present at Jena-Auerstadt, he witnessed how incapable the Prussian army was against the new flexible tactics and formations of the French. Resounding defeat brought his spirits low, and even though personally he did well, this biography shows that Clausewitz was of a brooding and withdrawn nature. He became obsessed with revenge against Napolean. Soon he fell in with the influential reformers of the Prussian army. Gneisenau, Schernhorst and Stein all knew Clasewitz well, and he became one of those men behind the scenes working with these great people.

This biography brings all these famous people who interracted with Clausewitz to life, and shows what exciting and difficult times he lived in. As Prussia slowly rebuilt after the crushing defeat of 1806 Clasuewitz became increasingly desperate to see his nation take the field again against Napolean. Prussia's king, the conservetive Friedrich William III had other notions. While desiring to ride his kingdom of French domination, the king did not wish to change his government. Aware that the army desperately needed reforms, he resisted the ideas of Clauswitz and others who wanted a greater citizen invovlement in Prussia's military. To the King such ideas were dangerous to the Hohenzollern monarchy which relied upon the time honored principles of central rule. Clausewitz and the reform group were desperate to implement these changes. Only by mobilizing the general populace could Prussia ever hope to ride itself of Napolean.

As the years passed and opportunities came and went, the vacillating Prussian king grew ever more resistant to change. When Napolean demanded a Prussian contingent for his invasion of Russia in 1812, the king meekly consented. The reformers were outraged. Disqusted, Clausewitz quite the Prussain service, much to the kings annoyance, and sort employment with Russia. Here he was in an excellent position to analyize the 1812 invasion. Clausewitz observations on the strategies, the Tsar, and the feuding Russian generals and staff provide for much fascinating reading. Present at Borodino he participted in some of the horrific fighting of that great battle.

Later he followed the French retreat and would suffer great personal hardships from the Russian winter. His services were instrumental in bringing York's Prussian coprs over to the Russian side in the treaty of Tauroggen, which again almost went against his king's wishes. Reluctantly, the Prussian king would throw his lot in with the Russians against Napolean, but he never quite forgot Clausewitz's impertinance! Clauswitz would partake of the campaigns of 1813-14, and would take a major part in the Waterloo campaign of 1815.

This biography proivides a fascinating look at a very complex individual. It also shows a Prussian/German perspective of the Napoleonic wars not often seen in English. This is a very readable and exciting work. The author really gets into the people and times, and he provides first-rate descriptions of many great battles of the period. We find interesting portraits of all the famous personages in Prussian at the time, including Friedrich William III, Blucher, York, Schonhorst and Gnesenau. The author concludes with a summation of Clausewitz famous work "Vom Kreig" - "On War", used by political theorists to this day. A first-rate and highly readable biography of a fascinating time in German history. Should be in every Napoleonic library.

This book follows the action of the Napoleonic wars, where Clausewitz spent most of his life and his energy. Parkinson motivates Clausewitz's famous, later work, 'On War', by telling us of a man obsessed with fighting for the Fatherland against the French. As the pages turn, the reader empathizes with the Prussian Junker, who has trouble talking to women and even more hardship trying to reform the Prussian army. The final chapter concerns itself with 'On War' and its misinterpretation in the many wars following its publication. Parkison has a fluid writing style which makes the reading fast.

Clausewitz: A Biography by biographer Roger Parkinson relates the life and work of German officer and military theorist Carl Phillip Gottleib von Clausewitz (1780-1831) who is perhaps best known for his historic contribution to military studies titled "On War." Scrutinizing Clausewitz's life and ideas in the keenest detail, Clausewitz: A Biography is a classic and highly scholarly study of military theory, as well as a straightforward and very strongly recommended presentation of a great leader's life.

This book is an excellent description of the life of a prisoner-of-war in Nazi Germany. The ones sent to Colditz were those determined by the Third Reich to be "dangerous." These include those determined to be (held for future use in bargaining with the enemy) political prisoners, repeated attempts to escape, etc. More than just a description of escape attempts, P.R. Reid describes the psychology of a protracted stay in a prison camp in an extremely candid manner.

P.R. Reid was interned in an old Austrian Schloss (castle) in the town of Colditz during World War II. He wrote the first book about his experiences in the camp, and The Latter Days At Colditz describing what happened after he successfully escaped. He effectively describes the colorful and engaging characters he was privileged to meet during what would be a bleak existence to an outside observer. The prisoners of Colditz, deemed dangerous by the Third Reich, were concentrated in this one place deep within Austria. The escape attempts described included tunnels that began in top of the clock tower. A glider (that was never discovered by the Germans) that was built to take off from the rooftops. A tunnel the French built that made so much noise that tunnelling could be heard at all hours of the day and night throughout the castle. These two books are rivetting accounts of life as a prisoner of war.

Many WWII stories are somber, and for many good reasons. That is not the case with TCS; at times, in its humour it sounds more like Hogan's Heroes than real life. Perhaps the guards at Colditz were not nazis but merely Germans caught on something beyond their control. Whatever, they treated British, French and Dutch prisoners quite decently and involuntarily provided them with several opportunities to escape. These are very well told, in a proficient literary style, by Captain Reid, making for a very entertaining reading. The book is also a testament of the prisoners' heroism and their commitment to personal freedom.

This is one of the greatest novels concerning escape in World War 2 ever written. It focuses on a series of escapes attempted at the famous fortress prison at the town of Colditz known as OFlag IVC. The massive castle was dubbed 'escape proof' by the Germans, yet hundreds of escapes were attempted. Few succeded, but they proved that the castle wasn't 'escape proof'. Reid's book tells the story about his own experiences, as well as those of others in Colditz Castle. This is a fascinating book and everyone should read it. Also check out the movie 'The Colditz Story' which is based on this book. Also be sure to check out two other very good escape books: 'The Wooden Horse' by Eric Williams, and 'The Great Escape' by Paul Brickhill.

The book is well written and in many ways even humourous. It is a story of the "Cat & Mouse" games played out by both protagonists under extreme conditions of WW II. The allied Prisoner's of war were obliged to attempt escaping, and conversly, the Germans were determined to thwart any escapes. The Castle of Colditz was formidable and was used to confine the most notorious of the P.O.W.'s who had been somewhat succesful in finding their way out of other P.O.W. camps. The ingenuity of the inmates makes for a facinating story.

I thoroughly enjoyed the read even though I had neither seen the companion documentary nor am a serious student of the subject matter. After reading this book, I do very much want to see the documentary and hope that PBS repeats it in the near future. The book is an engrossing, informative and quick read that paints a vivid portrait of life in this unique prisoner of war camp. It wasn't "Hogan's Heros", but it did have its lighter moments, and apparently the men here were treated reasonably well by their German captors who scrupulously adhered to the rules of the Geneva Convention. It was, however, a prisoner of war camp with all its incumbent privations and limitations, so the planning and executing of escapes was the rule of the day. What I particularly appreciate about the book is that it goes into almost scholarly detail on some of the more elaborate escape attempts without getting so esoteric as to lose the more casual reader's attention. Chancellor proves himself to be a deft writer with a light touch who really did his homework here. What emerges is a detailed account of some truly ingenious methodology developed within very severe limitations. MacGyver had nothing on these guys. It was also gratifying to see that the Germans were also treated even handedly in the book. In many cases, they appeared to show amazing and, if we are to believe the stereotypes, uncharacteristic restraint. In fact, I am so interested in finding out what was going on in their minds, I just ordered, "Colditz: The German Story" by Reinhold Eggers who was head of security there.

"Colditz", by Henry Chancellor, sub-titled "The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes". William Morrow, 2001.

This is a lengthy and well-documented book, telling the story of the "recalcitrant" Allied prisoners who were remanded to Colditz Castle in eastern Germany during World War II. The purpose of using Colditz castle as a prison camp was, as is well known, to provide a camp from which no prisoner could escape. As a last resort, "recalcitrant" prisoners, who had already shown a strong inclination to escape from other camps of the Nazis, were transferred to Colditz, deep in the eastern reaches of the Reich. The theory was that the prisoners could not get out of the high castle and, even if they did, they had great distances between them and freedom. Of course, all these efforts did not work, and Henry Chancellor spins 391 pages of the tales of the many different escape schemes. He devotes an Appendix, of eleven pages, to listing the names of he prisoners who attempted to escape , their methods, and the results. Overall, Mr. Chancellor lists "...316 officers involved in 174 attempts"... with 32 successful escapes, i.e. reaching freedom in neutral or Allied countries. Perhaps the most unbelievable scheme was the actual construction of a glider in the chapel attic, for escape by using the winds caused by the castle's location in the mountains. Chancellor documents this effort with photographs of the actual glider.

The book is an even-handed treatment of all nationalities involved; the author even-goes so far as to interviewing the German guards who served at Colditz. Polish POWs were first imprisoned at Colditz castle, and then, along with the fortunes of war, came French and British officers. Much of the story is about these three groups. Years ago, as a young boy, I had read Paul Brickhill's "The Great Escape", and I was later surprised by the (artistic license)changes made in the picture of the same name. In this book, however, Americans are noted, but Americans played a minor role as they arrived too late in the war for any escape attempts.

Since this book is based upon a television documentary, there are three batches of interesting photos. Overall, the book is well written and interesting.

I thoroughly enjoyed the read even though I had neither seen the companion documentary nor am a serious student of the subject matter. After reading this book, I do very much want to see the documentary and hope that PBS repeats it in the near future. The book is an engrossing, informative and quick read that paints a vivid portrait of life in this unique prisoner of war camp. It wasn't "Hogan's Heros", but it did have its lighter moments, and apparently the men here were treated reasonably well by their German captors who scrupulously adhered to the rules of the Geneva Convention. It was, however, a prisoner of war camp with all its incumbent privations and limitations, so the planning and executing of escapes was the rule of the day. What I particularly appreciate about the book is that it goes into almost scholarly detail on some of the more elaborate escape attempts without getting so esoteric as to lose the more casual reader's attention. Chancellor proves himself to be a deft writer with a light touch who really did his homework here. What emerges is a detailed account of some truly ingenious methodology developed within very severe limitations. MacGyver had nothing on these guys. It was also gratifying to see that the Germans were also treated even handedly in the book. In many cases, they appeared to show amazing and, if we are to believe the stereotypes, uncharacteristic restraint. In fact, I am so interested in finding out what was going on in their minds, I just ordered, "Colditz: The German Story" by Reinhold Eggers who was head of security there.

THE CONQUEST OF NATURE: WATER, LANDSCAPE, AND THE MAKING OF MODERN GERMANY is a recommended pick for any library strong in modern Western history in general and German history and culture in particular. Both college-level and general-interest lending collections will appreciate the fine reproductions of paintings, maps and photos which go into a survey linking culture, politic and environmental issues in German history to modern times. It's a key component of any comprehensive collection on German issues and background.

In this masterful and original account the author takes the reader on a virtual tour de force examination of the way in which nature was changed, conquered, preserved, destroyed and manipulated in Germany between the time of Fredrick the Great and the present. The author notes that to "write about the shaping of the modern German landscape is to write about how modern Germany itself was shaped." It begins with the tale of the draining of the Oderburch, a great swamp on the river Oder from Oderberg to Lebus. This swamp along with others was progressively drained and settled in the 18th century. Colonists were brought in and the wolves were hunted to extinction. This was a frontier like any other and the author compares it to other conquests of nature in the New World and South Africa. It was a "conquest from barbarism". This use of science and technology to tame the wild beast of nature is as old as man itself but found a special expression in Germany.

The next section of the book examines the taming of the Rhine river and the harnessing of it to agriculture and the state. The book takes the reader on a wonderful journey alongside the German engineers and statesmen and visionaries who tried the utmost to control flooding and build ports and canals such as Wilhelmshaven. Land reclamation followed. Once again people had to settle and colonize the new areas. The same was being done across Europe, for instance South of Rome where in the 1920s and 1930s colonists would be set to colonizing the Malarial swamps.

But where once colonizing and reclamation were peaceful pursuits they eventually turned sinister with the advent of Nazism and the decision to reclaim the East for German settlers. The idea was that the `barbaric' Slavic peoples could be harnessed as well or removed from the swamps they were `indigenous' to. Propaganda saw them as growing out of the swamps themselves. The `dead space' of the Pripet marshes. Everywhere German `model villages' were designed to replace the `natural' villages that seethed with disease and closed spaces in the `east'.

A brilliant book that weaves together so many topics and is hard to put down, the subject seems staid, but is fascinating.

Seth J. Frantzman

There are many fine environmental histories of North America but seemingly very few of Europe. Following a brief description of how the end of the Ice Age produced the sodden, water-filled plains of central and northern Germany, this book explores how man created the modern German landscape by straightening the Rhine River and "reclaiming" the southern coast of the North Sea and other watery regions. The maps are useful. Great stuff, I wish there were more books on the transformation of the European environment over the past 12,000 years.

This is quite a book.

There are a number of books on how the he U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has modified rivers like the Mississippi in the United States (with more or less success, witness Katrina). This is the first one I've seen on what was done in Northern Europe. The projects in Germany were monumental in scale, taking some 250 years to accomplish. This is part of what made Germany into a nation.

It is quite interesting as it talks not only about what was done but about other aspects such as the health, econonic, cultural, and political aspects. The Nazi's for instance looked at the work done as proof of the natural superiority of the German people.

With all of the success of the projects, the book at the end turns to the problems the efforts have caused: flooding, fish habitat destroyed. In essence all of the problems we are having with these same areas in the United States.

This book uncovers the complexities of one of the greatest artists who ever lived, and reveals how human he was. The warm and conversational style with which it is written is so befitting to its subject, and it makes the reader feel as if they've spent many hours with a good friend. Thank you, Mr. Allen, for bringing such a legend alive for fans like me!

This book uncovers the complexities of one of the greatest artists who ever lived, and reveals how human he was. The warm and conversational style with which it is written is so befitting to its subject, and it makes the reader feel as if they've spent many hours with a good friend. Thank you, Mr. Allen, for bringing such a legend alive for fans like me!

This is a fantastic book for any fans of the greatest actor who ever lived. It is thick, informative and contains loads of photos. I would recommend it whole-heartedly, but then again, it is the only English biography of the man with the wicked eyes currently in print!

I was very impressed with the book and amazed how accurate the information presented was,A must readfor any of my fathers fans.Thank-you Mr. Allen a marvelous job.

*REVIEW BY NURI KINO, JOURNALIST, SWEDEN:

In Rosie Malek-Yonan's The Crimson Field the author has succeeded in poetically braiding historical facts and personal experiences into a novel--into a book at its best. In one of the chapters the author's grandmother cuts off her braid. The braid is swept in the current of the river. It remains floating in the shifts and slowly becomes undone. The Assyrian nation and the Assyrian youth are much like every strand of that hair looking to where they once came from. The Crimson Field gives them the reason why they became unbraided and why many lost their roots.

To read The Crimson Field is to understand that the Assyrians were not merely guests in Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. The country of Bet-Nahrin in Mesopotamia was the cradle of civilization and the homeland of Assyrians (who also call themselves Chaldeans or Syriacs). Through her characters Malek-Yonan gives us an open window into a past history most would prefer to remain unstirred. She allows the reader to see the scars of her nation that have yet to heal. The only way to understand Assyrians of today is to understand their past.

But most importantly, this book transcends barriers of race and religion. It is a mirror image of the human race at its best and at its worst. There is no physical border between Good and Evil, however, Evil is very real. It is real in the sense that we cannot imagine Evil without its opposite: the care of others, compassion, and love.

This tale of one life takes you on that journey, in the most amazingly literary, beautiful and poetic way possible. Evil can never be forgotten or justified, but it can be forgiven so long as it is acknowledged and recognized!

I'm almost always skeptical when a storyteller or writer leaves little to one's own imagination by making very clear and bold statements. But that is not the case with Malek-Yonan. In The Crimson Field it's important for the reader to be brought along when a soul is extorted from a slaughtered body and let the author tell us to look down at the earthly body, in order to understand the feelings of a mother who is driven from her homeland and forced to leave her only child.

Rosie Malek-Yonan's liquid and lyrical style of writing is a perfect blend of long and short phrases each a poem in itself. The cadences of a concert opera are evident in her writing. A concert you don't want to leave. Colorful, her writing jars all five senses. The reader smells and touches what her characters experience. The reader sees, feels and tastes what the characters do.

The Crimson Field is literature at its best.

*REVIEW BY PROFESSOR DWIGHT SIMPSON, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY:

I have completed reading your wonderful historical novel, The Crimson Field. It is, in my opinion, truly a fine piece of writing, and I congradulate you. You have done a great service to the Assyrian people and to humanity in general by recording the terrible tragedy that befell the Assyrian people in the early 20th century.

*REVIEW BY PROFESSOR S.G. OSIPOV, MOSCOW, RUSSIA:

Upon seizing Jerusalem in 1799, the future French Emperor Napoleon was said to have been struck by the sight of pious Jews shedding tears beside the Wailing Wall. Still further struck when informed that the Temple above the Wall had been ruined over 17 centuries before, he could not but exclaim in amazement: "And they are still weeping!"

So are the Assyrians, who have a Wailing Wall of their own after being expelled from their historical motherland in 1918. This is Urmia, the focus of their 19th century efforts to revive the Assyrian culture and regain nationhood. Losing it caused a similar frustration to the loss of Nineveh 25 centuries earlier. A bleeding wound in the national psyche that ensued is best compared to a lesion in the heart from a severe life-threatening attack. It badly hurts and will continue so in many more generations of the Assyrian people.

The dispersal of the Jews is part of common knowledge. The 20th century flight and subsequent dispersal of the Assyrians are largely to the Assyrians themselves. Being untold and unexplained, this tragedy is all the more hurtful, creating the feeling of desperation and no way forward for them.

This tragic feeling pulsates in The Crimson Field by Ms. Rosie Malek-Yonan. A composer, a pianist, a film and stage actress, a figure skater for the Winter Olympics in 1980 and a gifted writer, so talented a person is the best imaginable mouthpiece for this feeling. She expresses it so intelligently, caringly and tactfully, that an image arises of a suffering nation that gradually overcomes a tragedy in its recent past with wisdom and spiritual fortitude.

The plot is centered on the family history of an Assyrian woman named Maghdleta. This history unfolds as part of the recent history of the entire Assyrian people. All major events with the Assyrians in the 20th century are reconstructed with scientific precision and in places they almost give the novel the feel of a documentary. Overarching everything are marvelous love stories of rare psychological elaboration and artistic quality. They are a golden find in the novel. Mastership of music enables the author to provide precise emotional and psychological guidance for the reader, setting fine tonal guidelines for each passage in her book.

Characters from four generations of women are in the spotlight, Pari, Maghdleta, Maghdleta's daughters and Maghdleta's granddaughters. The main supporting characters (such as Soeur Marie, Zahra Khanoom, Shakar and Madam Gaudin), too, are all women. This feminine prevalence in the book creates overwhelming passion and emotion which keep the reader riveted.

Emotional poignancy in the novel comes to its peak in a small girl named Fibronia. Her tragic story reasserts the old maxim that the treasures of the entire world cannot redeem a single tear of a weeping child.

Last, but by no means least, the author treats her complicated and multifaceted subject in ways and terms that are easily comprehensible and quite simple. My everyday tongue is Russian, but, unexpectedly ­ and I am never tired of thanking God for this ­ I easily read The Crimson Field in its original language, English. Moreover, I read it on a single breath. Ms Rosie Malek-Yonan succeeded in winning what writing is actually for, emotional and intellectual involvement by the reader.

*REVIEW BY BRIAN PATRICK CLARKE, ACTOR, USA:

It is with a mix of both trepidation and humility that I approach this, my attempt to do justice to Rosie Malek-Yonan's exceptional first offering, "The Crimson Field." Since my ambition herein is to prompt the prospective reader, i.e., "book jacket skimmer," to do as I personally did: proceed with all alacrity to actually purchase and immediately immerse myself in a personal exploration, I will focus on what I, an actor by trade and an avid reader by avocation, do know: Story.

Maghdleta's extraordinary saga is, in "genre," another commentary on the remarkable capacity of even the most unassuming and unlikely of our species to endure the inconceivably unendurable -- and to surmount the seemingly most insurmountable of circumstances.

"The Crimson Field" is viscerally horrific and palpably heroic. It is likewise a "must read" for these times, as it is a tale both unique (I, personally, was unaware that there had even been an Assyrian genocide, less than one-hundred years past) and frighteningly familiar. Need one look any further than today's Middle East to foretell the dire prospects attendant to centuries of instability and inhumanity? With an administration in Washington that continues to trumpet its success in "fighting terrorism" and, yet, repeatedly reveals the danger inherent in its ignorance about the region, the people, and, most importantly, the history, "The Crimson Field" is, sadly, a commentary on just how suddenly ­ and grotesquely - things can change. To prevail against one's enemy, one must first understand one's enemy. If, in fact, "knowledge is power", then the benefit in educating oneself through a compelling read of this book is an exponential growth in empowerment. As George Santayana cautioned, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

This is NOT a dry, read-yourself-to-sleep, historic narrative. Since Rosie's "The Crimson Field" is her own ancestral epic saga (i.e., opus magnum), it is with such personal pathos that she has vested her work. The reader not only reads what Magdhleta, her family, and her Assyrian friends and neighbors endured but also feels the pain with intimate immediacy. It is, thus, not a tome for the faint-of-heart. The suffering is real, and the reader who does not connect with shock and revulsion to the magnitude of cruelty brought by man against his fellow man had best reexamine his own desensitized soul. It is simply not possible to ingest this book with the measured passivity of one who has "seen or heard it all." The humanity, and its converse inhumanity, demands a visceral connection from the reader.

It is on this last basis with which I must take exception to one of the prevailing reactions that my friend, Rosie, has enjoyed among her Assyrian readers: "This is our story. This is the story of all the Assyrian people!"

At the risk of offending those who, God knows, have already suffered unimaginably, I believe it would be a gross mistake to make claims of exclusivity on this extraordinary book; specificity, inarguably, but exclusivity by its very definition diminishes the potential for universal impact of this gifted author. True, the Assyrian genocide ­ and its nearly three-quarters of a million victims ­ provides the specific setting for "The Crimson Field." In that sense, it would be absurd to take issue with proprietary reactions from among those whose forebears lived it. However, this book is ultimately so much broader in its application. Change the geographic and temporal settings, change the indigenous peoples, and change the scope of the deeds, and what remains is a too often told tale. The Crusades, The Inquisitions (French and Spanish alike), The Holocaust, and even the give-no-quarter sweep of Alexander the Great share a very familiar thread: pathological pursuit of pleasure by inflicting horror on "others" (that is, anyone whose ideology does not comport with one's own).

*REVIEW BY WILFRED BET-ALKHAS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ZINDA MAGAZINE, WASHINGTON D.C.:

Malek-Yonan is a gifted writer who skillfully captures the naked struggles of a young self-assured Assyrian woman trapped in a war-torn province in northwest Iran, of a Christian nation insensate by ruthless atrocities, and the hopes and fears of an unforgettable cast of characters tormented by numbing events leading to and moving farthest away from the memories of the war, yet each finding themselves years later forever trapped in the hues of the insanity of The Crimson Field.

A stark and compelling treatment of one of the least known horrors of wars of the 20th Century, The Crimson Field is a stirring narrative that masterfully depicts the persecution and murder of some 750,000 Christian Assyrians of Iran, Turkey, and Iraq. Malek-Yonan takes us on a voyage of self-discovery of her grandmother who finds that her search for the meaning of life was more overwhelming than the misery and chaos of the most insane atrocity ever committed on a defenseless people.

*REVIEW BY DR. ROBERT PAULISSIAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, JOURNAL OF ASSYRIAN ACADEMIC STUDIES:

In his book Nationalism in Iran, Dr. Richard W. Cottam stated, "The story of [the Assyrian] flight is one of those epical human tragedies that cries for a great novelist to record." Rosie Malek-Yonan has done just that. The Crimson Field is a significant historical novel by a gifted writer depicting the human miseries of a war-ravaged Assyrian nation. No one has dramatized this epical human tragedy better than Rosie Malek-Yonan through her sensitive and lyrical style writing. The story combines historical facts and suspense in gripping narratives. It is full of excitement, anguish, sorrow, pain and joy. A fearless writer, Malek-Yonan propels the reader through this very visual novel to the events in Urmia, Iran, during World War I. Through the masterful use of her poetic language and style she has excelled in creating this intriguing historically accurate novel.

*REVIEW OF NINOS MARAHA, HUJADA MAGAZINE, SWEDEN:

Rosie Malek-Yonan's novel about the last century's first genocide is based on a true story focusing on her maternal grandmother, Maghdleta, who searches a past filled with beautiful and equally cruel memories. These events created a hole in her soul as significant as the hole left in the soul of the Assyrian nation, a hole punctured by the neighboring Turks and Kurds during the First World War, when over 750,000 Assyrians were slaughtered.

The images of the brutal genocide depicted in The Crimson Field are countered by stories of love and romance written in a very poetic and symbolic style. Nevertheless, those of weak heart may consider not reading this novel, as it may be too shocking, cruel and rough.

I felt very emotional when reading The Crimson Field, a story that every living Assyrian can relate to through the inherited stories told by generations of Assyrians, carried in their hearts. At the same time it is a story about human tragedy and how easily friends can turn into enemies.

*REVIEW OF EDGAR WEINSTOCK, ACTOR & DIRECTOR OF THEATRE & OPERA, NEW YORK:

Ms. Malek-Yonan is an artist who shares her journey most beautifully. The author's narrative articulates aspects, which unite us all as a race. I know our American Martin Luther King, as well as the Spanish Miguel de Unamuno, the French Victor Hugo and the Japanese Chiune Sugihara would consider Rosie Malek-Yonan a woman of stature; a soul of Tragedy. Unforgettable and endearing characters who never gave their adversaries an easy chair to lounge in by allowing themselves to be washed away into the sea. The people she puts before us have, instead, crossed vast oceans in order to survive. And they have.

*REVIEW OF FIRAS JATOU, EDITOR, NINEVEH MAGAZINE, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA:

What a remarkable book! Rosie Malek-Yonan's The Crimson Field takes us on a journey to a time and place that has been largely forgotten in the annals of history. This is a very personal, engagingly written account that moved me like nothing I have ever read on the suffering of a people. It transitions effortlessly from depicting provocative atrocities in a hard hitting no punches pulled style, to vivid portrayal of love, honor, and hope. A beautifully written book that is a must for the Near-East enthusiast and general readers alike.

*REVIEW OF LEE ENOKIAN, THE TIMES, NW INDIANA & THE ILLINOIS LEDER:

Few people within the mainstream American culture even know the Assyrian people still exist. Fewer know anything about the Genocide perpetrated against them. Almost three million Assyrian, Armenian and Greek Christians were murdered by the Islamic Ottoman Turks during World War I because of their ethnicity and faith.

The Crimson Field assigns faces and names to the victims of this dreadful chapter of history. It captures the plight of an Assyrian girl, helplessly caught up in the turmoil of her surroundings.

Malek-Yonan's work shines a terrible light on an overlooked study of Islamic violence during the 20th Century. It is a must read for any person interested in learning about the personal cost of Islamic Jihad.

Few people within the mainstream American culture even know the Assyrian people still exist. Fewer know anything about the Genocide perpetrated against them. Almost three million Assyrian, Armenian and Greek Christians were murdered by the Islamic Ottoman Turks during World War I because of their ethnicity and faith.

The Crimson Field assigns faces and names to the victims of this dreadful chapter of history. It captures the plight of an Assyrian girl, helplessly caught up in the turmoil of her surroundings.

Malek-Yonan's work shines a terrible light on an overlooked study of Islamic violence during the 20th Century. It is a must read for any person interested in learning about the personal cost of Islamic Jihad.

Lee Enokian, The Times (Northwest Indiana) and The Illinois LeaderA Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish ResponsibilityDarfur: The Ambiguous Genocide, Revised and Updated Edition

This is a great book which shows the extents of the crimes done to Assyrians during WWI by Moslems. Even today, Assyrians are being persecuted for their only crime is being Christians. History does repeat itself and I hope books like this would make people aware of the crimes done against humanity. This book is very well written, a great story. I would recommend this book to everyone especially Assyrians so they know more about happened during WWI.

Few people within the mainstream American culture even know the Assyrian people still exist. Fewer know anything about the Genocide perpetrated against them. Almost three million Assyrian, Armenian and Greek Christians were murdered by the Islamic Ottoman Turks during World War I because of their ethnicity and faith. The Crimson Field assigns faces and names to the victims of this dreadful chapter of history. It captures the plight of an Assyrian girl, helplessly caught up in the turmoil of her surroundings. Malek-Yonan's work shines a terrible light on an overlooked study of Islamic violence during the 20th Century. It is a must read for any person interested in learning about the personal cost of Islamic Jihad.

Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and BeyondWe Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from RwandaThe Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness (Newly Expanded Paperback Edition)The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur

This is a fascinating book. It shows with great clarity and detail the seemingly benign and familiar sounding origins of full blown horror: nature and sun worshipping, nationalism, anti-intellectualism, homemade religion (among others) were the ingredients of the deadly brew which was produced in the most civilized country of Europe in the 19th century. Yes, ideas matter! Today's politicians and aspiring politicians would be well inspired to read it (but are they reading? If so, is it not already pre-history for them?). A minor regret pertains to the absence of any serious analysis of the role of Richard Wagner's operas and thought on the development of the volkisch ideology. However, the book makes it quite clear. Wagnerites (among who I count myself) beware: this book will sour their pleasure for some time. I also missed a few hints at what were the counter currents which failed to prevent the disaster.

A vigorous analysis of the cultural, social and psychological pathologies that laid the foundations necessary for the rise of Hitler. Should be read in conjunction with Bernard Lewis's "What Went Wrong" for two reasons:1) to forestall the accusation of orientalist condescension that will inevitably adhere to Lewis's analysis of the pathologies of Islamic civilization and 2) to realize where these pathologies can lead if we forgive them in the name of multi-culturalism. After all the PC Left of the 30's also talked about the justifiable grievances of Germany (until of course Germany invaded the Soviet Union). In my book "The Optimistic Jew" I discuss these pathologies and also warn against the possibility of similar pathologies developing within certain segments of Israeli society.

Mosse has challenged the set thoughts on the origins of the third reich (such as the Luther to Hitler theories and the idea that the people in Germany were merely subjected to propaganda, which ultimately shows the weakness of human beliefs). A must if one is studying Nazi germany or have an interest in twentieth century political theory.

I had to read Mosse's book for a graduate seminar on the Holocaust and found this to be absolutely fascinating. Not only does it show the progression of philosophies withing Germany from its roots in Romanticism to Volkish to what would ultimately become Nazi ideologies, but it presents the material in such a way that it becomes understandable exactly how this transition in thought could happen. Though the book is written as a scholarly history for scholars, it is fairly easy to understand, especially in the format in which it is presented. The first section focuses on the roots of Volkish thought and how they progressed from Romanticism in the late nineteenth century to Volkish in the early twentieth century which in turn lead to the Nazi ideals presented by Hitler to the German masses in the 1930s, a perversion of the Volkish. His second section examines how Volkish spread from small groups of idealists into the University system through literature and art, and through this infiltration of the Universities, as well as the German Youth Movement, expose its philosophies to a wider German audience than it had enjoyed before the first world war. The final section addresses Hitler's rise to power and the ways in which Hitler was able to manipulate Volkish and its intrinsic anti-Semitism to a radical degree to serve his purposes. Highly recommended for those interested in the Holocaust and/or Philosophy.

this book includes some of the dishes that have nearly been lost in time. My mother-in-law uses it all the time. Everything is authentic and wonderful.

I'm sorry to see that this cookbook has gone out of print, because it's a really excellent book... that is, it does an excellent job of fulfilling its promise. I have had this cookbook for upwards of ten years, and when I prepare a German meal, this book rarely stays on the shelf. If you're at all serious about cooking German food, you should own this book.

Unlike a lot of other cookbooks, this isn't just a collection of recipes with a few perky paragraphs introducing each one. It's as much a course in "food history in Germany" as it is a cookbook. You don't just learn how to make dumplings; you get a detailed study of regional versions in a whole chapter on the subject (I lost count after 14 dumpling recipes). The emphasis is on the traditional dishes -- some of which date from the 1700s -- and the author prints the original "mix some this with some that" version as well as a modern detailed recipe. It's wonderful reading, at least assuming that you're a foodie of any merit.

This sometimes means that you get a very long essay on technique. But, gosh-durnit, at the end of reading the essay, you'll know exactly how to make the food come out the right way. Scharfenberg's spaetzle recipe is 2.5 closely written pages of instructions, but you'll feel like he's standing at your elbow, helping you to get the dough to the exact right consistency and to set the water to the right simmer (it shouldn't boil).

After 75 pages about regional foods and food history, the chapters cover soups; salads and appetizers; cheese, eggs, and breakfast cakes; fish; poultry; beef, veal, and pork (50 pages, right there!); game; sauces; dumplings, spaetzle, and other side dishes; pickles, relishes, and preserves; desserts; pastries and other baked goods; drinks.

And, fortunately, it's a *great* cookbook, particularly for those who want to make food the way Grandma did. The first way I check out a German cookbook is to examine its recipe for saurbraten; does it use wine, or just vinegar? What's the ratio of meat to vegetables? For how long do you marinate? This is the saurbraten recipe that sets the standard for us. The marinade has 1.5 cups of red wine and 1/4 cup of vinegar; it also has juniper berries, which make quite a difference; and you soak the roast for 3-5 days in the fridge. It makes even the cheapest cut of meat taste wonderful, and incidentally it goes well with the aforementioned spaetzle.

What this book is *not* is modern. You won't find recipes for light meals, you won't find a lot of vegetables (other than potatoes and cabbage), and you will almost certainly want a good long nap after eating one of these meals. Instead, you'll find recipes that are hard to locate elsewhere, from "handkase mit musik," a cheese appetizer found around Frankfurt, to several stollen recipes, to dandelion salad.

This book deserves a reprint. The author and his translator have done a superb job of capturing both the haute cuisine and the more humble home cooking of Germany. The book is exceptionally well organized and accessible. Originally published in 1980 by Hallwag in German, it appeared in a limited print run in English in the late 1980's. The accuracy, clarity of style and common-sense approach to preparing German food will be of great help to the home preparer. Marked contrast to the more sophisticated and less well organized tomes on German cooking by the current doyen of English language German cookery, Mimi Sheraton. This is a 5-STAR work.

I have twice checked out this book from the library, now I'm buying it! This is not just a book of recipes, the author puts every recipe in the context of regional and historical provenence--very important when you are dealing with German anything. There are recipes from all of the more commonly recognized regions (Bavaria, Prussia, Hesse,etc), as well as the historically less well known regions such as Pomerania, Silesia and Friesland. The recipes are doable and good (if you like Central European food, as I do). Plenty of herring and cabbage, yum! Whole chapters on dumplings and potatoes. This is a great book.

I stumbled onto this book after reading about the Normandy invasion. I think it's an interesting book in that it shows how effective French and English guerrilla operations were, and were not, against a very ruthless armored unit.

I wish more detail had been included about what happened to the Germans after they arrived at the battle of the Falaise Gap, other than to remark that 2/3 of them did not emerge from that battle.

When the crack SS division "Das Reich" was called upon to march from southern France to Normandy in summer 1944, it was asked to hose down resistance on its way. It was traveling through the forests of the Dorgogne area, where the maquis were strongest. Thanks to the bravery of the various resistance units - not to mention the stoicism of the French peasantry - the Germans arrived in Normandy bloodied and depleted. The French "victory" came at a terrible cost, as "Das Reich" razed entire towns and in one case, massacred an entire town's (Oradour-sur-Glane's) population by locking them in a church and burning them alive. I take issue with those who see Hastings as remotely sympathetic to the Axis: the Oradour massacre is laid out in unflinching detail, as are various other atrocities. While this is very much a military history, Hasting's broader purpose in writing is actually to illuminate one instance where France, in 1944 still a weak and divided country, was able to recapture its national honor. Some passages are not for the faint-hearted.

Hastings in no way glorifies the Das Reich's march to Normandy. He does a good job of pointing out the delays that the Resistance imposed upon the division because Das Reich first orders were to combat the maquis, not to march to Normandy. He is very fair to point out that some the "atrocities" accorded the Das Reich were actually within the rule of law. I find his comments about the execution of 29 maquis captured along the road to Gueret and the execution of a maquisard captured in Terrasson especially insightful in regard to today's GWOT.

His comment from John Tonkin of the SAS that 'I have always felt the Geneva Convention is a dangerous piece of stupidity, because it leads people to believe that war can be civilized. It can't' is also worth pondering in 2005.

If you can get your hands on this book, read it. It covers a small period of time, early spring 1944 - D-day, but is packed with info on the resistance in France (FFI, FTP, AS etc.), the British SOE and SIS, as well as the personalities of the Das Reich Division and their interactions ending in the massacre at Oradour. To me Hastings is not quite a David Irving, in terms of revisionism, but is more full of admiration for the Germans than say, John Keegan. This book belongs on any armchair historian's bookshelf.

A friend recommended Dathan Charles to me as an antidote to the many formula style books on the market now. Wasn't that the truth! Warned in advance, I settled down in my most comfortable chair, put a full bottle on the table beside me with a large glass and set out to be entertained. The following morning I finished the book and the bottle. During that night I was transported to another time and place filled with characters, good and evil, so real they were like family.

When you enter the world of Dathan Charles, you encounter a rich tapestry of very human beings playing out their lives against a background of international business, organised crime and world events. It is by turn a thriller, a mystery, a romance as the twists in the multi-layered life of Dathan Charles unfold.

Born into a very old English landed family, falling foul of the Nazi regime in the early thirties, Dathan goes to New York to avoid repercussions. There she attempts to build her business which is popular one with organised crime. Lethally dealing with the opposition, she falls in love and into a business arrangement to launder money with an ex-gangster and his partner.

With her lover in jail for ten years, Dathan dedicates her life to her business to find she now has various government agencies determined to ruin her because of her connections. On the other side of the Atlantic, her problems come from the nefarious activities of her family. To her fury both are drawn together during WW2 when British Intelligence start sharing information with their American counterparts. Eventually, in 1948, she is forced to devise a scheme to bring all her adversaries down at the same time, by exposing them and diverting them into fighting each other.

By introducing real life characters and events, with historical accuracy, the narrative seamlessly draws together all the threads of Dathan's life in such a way, it's hard to believe she herself is a figment of the author's imagination.

I wondered, laughed and cried as the many plots unfolded and finished the book with regret. Soon I'll read it again for the sheer pleasure of walking around the "labyrinthine mind" of Dathan Charles and picking up what I missed the first time.

I hope to there's going to be more books about the de Charles family, this author is brilliant.

Prepare to devote an entire weekend to an extraordinary new novel written by Dione M. Coumbe. Through 600 pages of mystery, intrigue and compelling action, Coumbe chronicles the life and times of Dathan Charles, the charming, beautiful, devious, always ingenious tycoon phenomena of a huge international business empire. Crossing the ocean from England at the age of 21, just before the outbreak of WWII, Dathan Charles begins her odyssey by opening a small bridal gown emporium with her own, made-to-order designs. Coumbe hereby sets the stage for the herione's rise to head Dathan Charles International. But on the way to that goal lies a world of amazing business acumen, thrilling adventures involving the Nazi SS and the flight of the Jews from Germany, maneuvers in high finance, intrigue in gangland NYC and wonderful piano concertos which fairly waft among the pages. Behind all this is yet another facet, the world of art and the artists who mingle in Dathan Charles' life.

Coumbe has brought together an absorbing cast of characters, each wonderfully rounded and complete in themselves, yet interdependent and integral to the heroine. Coumbe, as a historian and genealogist in her own right, follows the history of pre WWII to the mid 90s in this country, England and Europe, allowing the reader to visualize how each character is a product of history and their own family trees. The weaving of this web is so deft that one is amazed at how smoothly it all comes together. A risky flight from the SS, a chilling gangland shoot-out, financial finagling of the highest order, romance which warms the heart, fashion, art and music all surround and intermingle with the international cast.

This is a heart warming, heart rending, heart stopping story, one guaranteed to fascinate, captivate and dominate the reader. Coumbe, already a published author, has come on the fiction stage with a truly distinctive concept and a wonderfully unique and thrilling reading experience.

Where has this author been all my life? A brilliant and intelligent book. human, serious, flippant, romantic, comic, written with a real knowledge of the events and places. In Dathan Charles, the author has created a larger than life character, who leaps from the pages with joi de vivre, deviousness, loyalty and an iron determination not to allow her business, family and friends be destroyed by any organization, good or bad. Her greatest asset is her ability to keep silent. "She's so secretive, she does n't even talk to herself", sums up her prime tactic and her philosophy,"Justice,! Government,! the Mafia, there's them and us!" The author knows her stuff on the period and the psychological aspects ring true. The reactions described after the rape scene are atypical of a victim as are those of someone receovering their memory afer injury, rationalising sexual sadism, or homosexuality. Each are treated with sensitivity and understanding, without crudity. This is not sex and incident for the sake of it, each event is integral to the plot. The panoply of all virtues and vices which everyone has make you want to laugh and cry. Either Dione M. Coumbe is an ace researcher or her insights come from personal experience. A really terrific fast paced read, I could not, and did not, put it down.

A friend recommended Dathan Charles to me as an antidote to the many formula style books on the market now. Wasn't that the truth! Warned in advance, I settled down in my most comfortable chair, put a full bottle on the table beside me with a large glass and set out to be entertained. The following morning I finished the book and the bottle. During that night I was transported to another time and place filled with characters, good and evil, so real they were like family.

When you enter the world of Dathan Charles, you encounter a rich tapestry of very human beings playing out their lives against a background of international business, organised crime and world events. It is by turn a thriller, a mystery, a romance as the twists in the multi-layered life of Dathan Charles unfold.

Born into a very old English landed family, falling foul of the Nazi regime in the early thirties, Dathan goes to New York to avoid repercussions. There she attempts to build her business which is popular one with organised crime. Lethally dealing with the opposition, she falls in love and into a business arrangement to launder money with an ex-gangster and his partner.

With her lover in jail for ten years, Dathan dedicates her life to her business to find she now has various government agencies determined to ruin her because of her connections. On the other side of the Atlantic, her problems come from the nefarious activities of her family. To her fury both are drawn together during WW2 when British Intelligence start sharing information with their American counterparts. Eventually, in 1948, she is forced to devise a scheme to bring all her adversaries down at the same time, by exposing them and diverting them into fighting each other.

By introducing real life characters and events, with historical accuracy, the narrative seamlessly draws together all the threads of Dathan's life in such a way, it's hard to believe she herself is a figment of the author's imagination.

I wondered, laughed and cried as the many plots unfolded and finished the book with regret. Soon I'll read it again for the sheer pleasure of walking around the "labyrinthine mind" of Dathan Charles and picking up what I missed the first time.

I hope to there's going to be more books about the de Charles family, this author is brilliant.