Romania Books

Marthe Bibesco was member of the Romanian nobility. Acquainted with the vast network of aristocracy that existed before its demise in World War I, she was celebrated in the pre-war Salons of Paris for her literary talent and her beauty. Marthe partook of Proust's world and knew many of those who influenced characters in his great opus. During the first world war she worked as a red cross volunteer in Bucharest. She became a friend and advisor to British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and supported Romania's support of the Allied forces in both World Wars. In later life, she lost her wealth and her family in the communist take over of Romania. Marthe continued to support herself through her prolific writing and became a confidante to De Gaulle in the last part of her life. Marthe's life is worth a close examination because it spans the decaying world of monarchy and princelings to the Cold War of communism and democracy. Despite the turbulence of her life, her literary fame and awards, and her involvement with European politicians she is virtually unknown today in the West. This book is the first English language biography of her and will, with hope, redress that problem

In November, 1920, my grandfather was born, son of the cousin of Princess Marthe's husband, Prince Gheorghe Bibescu. I found 'Enchantress' an absolutely fascinating book, as Sutherland has managed to open a gateway of knowledge about my family history, much of the personal details peviousely inknown to me. I never truely realised the fame in literary circles that my grandfather's aunt held.
Princess Marthe Bibescu led a fascinating life. She experienced extreme wealth, power and fame, as well as that where she was forced to write to earn a living for her family, under the devastating regime of communism. Brought into a world of glittering jewels and fine titles by her fun loving princely husband, Marthe had to dismiss her natural humbleness, but failed, leading to a stormy marriage. Christine Sutherland's work should be commended. She has entered the minds of Romanian elite, and brings to us a look in af the lives of some of Europe's most influencial people. The details within the book are astounding, everything is described as if the author was standing with the princess, almost as a hand maiden every step of the way. Only she has the ability to provide us a gateway into a life of desperation, a life of privelage, and a life wasted with a quest to find eternal happiness. A truly dramtic life, both blessed and cursed, is uncovered within 300 pages of prose that intrigues the mind. After the first magical page, you would be mad to not see why the book is titled "Enchantress".
I'm not a critic. I'm just a relative of this extraordinary princess, who thuroughly enjoyed a compilation of humourous, dramatic, and tragic tales of a life of one of Europe's most substancial ladies. A book that will open the eyes and the mind.

The life story of this remarkable roumanian writer, Marthe Bibesco - a muse present at the theater of major events in 20th century Europe - unfolds a vivid picture of the aristocracy, the refined belle époque and the exquisitely cosmopolitan intelligentsia to which she belonged and in which she flourished. The reader will certainly relish the impeccable account of events, the love stories, the war stories, the society gossip of celebrities and the descriptions of social and political gatherings where history was shaped and, although he might come to love and admire this intelligent, courageous and successful woman, he will not get to know her as a writer who covered a vast range of subjects (and at times wrote under a different name for a different public) because very few quotes from her work are to be found in this biograpfy and excerpts from her diary and from her letters reveal more facts than feeling. It remains to be seen whether the nostalgia of the old or the curiosity of the young are sufficiently roused through Sutherland's book and whether Bibesco will be read and acclaimed again.

Like Romania, her country of origin, Marthe Bibesco was beautiful, complex, and hard done by. A truly gifted intellectual, adored by aristocrat and adventurer alike, she also inspired loyalty with her courage in wartime. Yet as I read through this pleasant, well written biography I realized that perhaps the lion's share of Marthe's charm was her privilege and access. It isn't that her life isn't interesting, although she herself at this remove of time can only come through as a whisper of her full force. But take away the palaces and noble lovers and this tale loses a deal of its individual flavor. I'd have enjoyed more excerpts from her writings; perhaps it's time for those to be rediscovered, and she can be celebrated as writer not princess. They're both hard lives to lead, in a way, and at least the former role wouldn't smack of fairy-tale.

This is a novel about a group of fundamentalist Christians trying to escape Romania through the forests and across rivers to Yugoslavia during the 1980s. I thought it was a travel book that would be useful in planning my trip to Romania and Bulgaria. I was very wrong. If you like novels from the Jerry Falwell press, you might enjoy this book. Otherwise, save your money. I must admit that I read only about 50 pages before I tossed it.

A non-stop thrill ride from start to stop. It's got everything for the whole family! A complex blend of history, adventure, and faith that everyone can enjoy.

A stunning expository of an unfamiliar topic. Brennan describes the events in the life of a Romainian fugitive with breathtaking descriptions of a crumbling post-communistic society. This true story piques the interest of the reader in a relm of reality that is often overlooked in our comfortable American lives. Details Romainian dictator, Choukesku, overthrow with clear-cut accruacy. Simply amazing. Truly a high caliber biography for the adventure seeking reader.

Excellent book! I have been to Timisoara, Romania and the surrounding area twice on mission trips, and worked with pastors and others who experienced the hardships described in this book. I have recommended it to everyone else who is planning on visiting Romania, especially on a mission trip. The description of life in Romania both before and after the revolution is dead-on based on my experience and discussions with Romanians. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Romania.

This book has been in my heart for many years, I could not forget it. Now I want others to have its beauty, also.

They say it's easy to write half a book and unfortunately Brian did just this, but with two different books which he put together as one. The first half is a pretty good bicycle tour book but somewhat hard to keep up with his progress. However, he seemed to lose his track and drifted off into politics, women and party life in a former communist country which left me less than breathless. I suppose if you want to visit former Soviet enclaves, it's OK but I bought it to read about bicycle touring.

Jim Foreman

Brian Hall's enjoyable account wants to accomplish different goals. One, how one bicycles across Balkans and Carpathians and the plains in between, is surprisingly absent from much of the text. Looking at the map of his route, you realize how little of it he describes in detail. Not a bad thing in itself, for the day-by-day relation of one's travel wherever it is gets annoying--like seeing home movies of another's trip--but it left me wondering why the mechanics of the route gain only attention when the bike breaks down. Almost no sensation of going up and down what must be magnificent vistas appears here; you forget that he's pedalling for months, and the heights are rarely present. Only the stays on the dreary flatlands (with one great exception in Melnik, admittedly).

Now these two points--breakdown and stay in mountain hamlet--are highlights of the book, and Brian's meeting with a know-it-all "fixer" in a horrible industrial city is told remarkably well, but still I was left ignorant of so much that must have happened along the route just in terms of being on the saddle.

Perhaps Hall wants to focus on the human side? Second goal of the book. In his Romanian visit with Georgina and her letter, he again gets to the heart of living under constant and evasive scrutiny. He lets one incident speak presumably for many others.
His economical telling of these events makes them engrossing, but you wonder: why so few events given the length of his route and the folks he must have seen?

His natural descriptions are sparing, less vividly told than, say, his predecessor Patrick Leigh Fermor. But when he chooses to relate his visions they are wonderful: cakes in a bakery, brush fires at twilight, that mountain village near the Greek border, and the Chain Bridge in Budapest all receive glowing but tempered vignettes. His language is tbat of the Harvard grad you'd expect: mercifully not too bookish, savvy and colloquial, but with a hint of deeper insight and erudition sprinkled in when appropriate among the clearly told scenes. He intersperses historical accounts inro the work, not as smoothly as Fermor, more like an another American visitor a decade later, Eva Hoffman (Exit From History). But for the newcomer, these help.

So, why three (and a half) stars? The book does not gel. After two-thirds of the book, the Romanian and Bulgarian parts, the Hungarian section that follows leaves you scratching your head. Third goal unmet. Like Fermor's Angela in the second volume of similar climes, Hall's reticence in elucidating his relationship casts a shadow on the page. For Fermor, it was out of necessary discretion. For Hall, I'm puzzled. At the start of the book, he mentions that he met "someone" in Budapest and would be going back there, but much of the Hungarian bike ride, and the whole countryside that he must have seen, is missing from his urban account.

True, the best scenes in Romania and Bulgaria come near borders for Hall, but his focus on the domestic and the familial in the latter third of the book as he lives with Zsosa and visits her family seems like it should have been a separate memoir.

He could have told a more complete picture of Hungary as lived through the eyes of his girlfriend's family if, you sense, he had lived there longer and taken time to travel about the nation whose language he's learning. Skilled in languages, comfortable among strangers, skilled with surviving by his wits, you wonder why Hall left evidently for Boston to write the story. Did Zsosa come with him? Did they separate? He dedicates the book to her and notes that he was surprised that she, his "love", liked it.

But this only leaves us wondering what the afterward was to his story, and why he never explains how they met, how he supports himself while spending the mornings at her place writing his account, and why he then returned for home. He may have run out of money, but what about her? A worthwhile book but an elusive and intentionally I suppose--given his obvious attention to detail--circumspect story.

for letting this beautiful book fall out of print! The author writes gorgeously about his bicycle trip through Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Anyone interested in this region (or anyone who likes vivid, well-written English) should flood Amazon with requests for the book.

I liked this book very much because of the diversity of countries where the Danube flows. How often I'll use it I'm not sure, but its nice to have the resources of the different cuisines. I hope they are as authentic as they seem to be. :)

This book fell apart as soon as I opened it. The glue wasn't strong enough to keep the pages together, and they fell right out of the book. And that was just a foretaste of the fact that the recipes were not going to be very useful at all. The problem is that it is very poorly organized...there is a heavy concentration on the countries involved instead of the dishes I was interested in trying. The author couldn't decide whether it was a cookbook or a historic and geographic tour guide. She needed to make up her mind, but didn't.

An excellent book that takes you along the Danube, stopping to
eat at every country and sample a little of their cuisine. The recipes are a great collection of comfort food that all are
sure to enjoy.

As a researcher on this topic for a relative of one of the 98th pilots lost on 1 Aug 43. I can only support and endorse the comments from tdolson@byu.edu from Provo UT , July 10, 1998 Stunning history & photography outweigh typographical errors Michael Hill has re-visited one of the most dramatic bombing missions of World War II. It was the longest bombing mission to date in the war, by the only bomber with the range to do it. He leads you through the exact targets and squadron placements, by name of pilot of each B-24 aircraft (178 of them), and simultaneously unfolds the "big picture" of the low-level raid on the oil refineries of Ploesti, Romania. At least one bomb group was told in their final briefing, "coming back today is secondary." What a nice send-off to crews who had been training in the Libyan desert with exercises in formation 50 feet above the sand dunes! This dramatic mission resulted in the loss of over 360 crew. Some planes returned with corn stalks in their cowlings! The extensive list of crews, by airplane, and many photographs of planes and crews make this a must purchase for those whose relatives participated in the raid. The main distraction from the book is the extensive typographical errors, inconsistencies and mis-spellings of crew names, names of planes, and so on. But I am richer and my family history is stronger because I have read this book. Thanks, Michael, and thanks to the publisher for investing in a visually and textually compelling work. (If a second edition or printing is planned, perhaps a re-editing to keep the errors to fewer than can be found in this review could be undertaken.)

Michael Hill has re-visited one of the most dramatic bombing missions of World War II. It was the longest bombing mission to date in the war, by the only bomber with the range to do it. He leads you through the exact targets and squadron placements, by name of pilot of each B-24 aircraft (178 of them), and simultaneously unfolds the "big picture" of the low-level raid on the oil refineries of Ploesti, Romania. At least one bomb group was told in their final briefing, "coming back today is secondary." What a nice send-off to crews who had been training in the Libyan desert with exercises in formation 50 feet above the sand dunes! This dramatic mission resulted in the loss of over 360 crew. Some planes returned with corn stalks in their cowlings! The extensive list of crews, by airplane, and many photographs of planes and crews make this a must purchase for those whose relatives participated in the raid. The main distraction from the book is the extensive typographical errors, inconsistencies and mis-spellings of crew names, names of planes, and so on. But I am richer and my family history is stronger because I have read this book. Thanks, Michael, and thanks to the publisher for investing in a visually and textually compelling work. (If a second edition or printing is planned, perhaps a re-editing to keep the errors to fewer than can be found in this review could be undertaken.)

This book is very well written, and the minute by minute sequence of the Ploesti raid is exciting to follow. Much of the text is written in a first person point of view, and is not the usual boring documentation of historical events. As you read through, you feel as though you are hearing the crewman's stories firsthand. The smell of burning fuel and the heat of the flames is not hard to imagine, if you let your mind wander a bit. The numerous photographs are some of the best reproductions I have ever seen in a WW II volume. They follow the text accordingly, and are not all jammed in one spot as some books tend to do. The only "flaw", in my opinion, is the lack of extensive interviews and photographs from the German and Romanian defenders on the ground at the time of the raid. Other volumes on the Ploesti raid have touched on these interviews and photos, so the information is out there. Perhaps a volume two on this subject will appear in the future.

This is an excellent introduction to a subject unjustly ignored by English-speaking historians; to date, it is still the only comprehensive account of Romania's military involvement in WW2 in English. Very well written and lavishly illustrated with maps and diagrams, it is invaluable for anyone interested in operations on the Eastern Front.

However, it does have a number of shortcomings. On the minor side, a short guide to Romanian pronunciation would have been useful, and there should have been uniformity in the usage of Romanian diacritics; as it is, they seem to have been used haphazardly. An appendix with summary biographical data on the Romanian officers mentioned in the text would also have been a valuable addition.

A more serious flaw is the absence of a detailed bibliography; but the single most important shortcoming is the lack of a critical apparatus. There are no footnotes or endnotes to indicate the sources of various statements, so there's no way to verify their accuracy, consider the context, or follow them further.

The book has been too long out of print. One hopes that a reprint is not too far off; but I suppose that a new edition, including attributions, is a little too much to hope for.

Although Romania's contribution to World War II, both on the Axis and Allied sides, was much greater than Italy's, it has received very little attention in the West. This is mainly because almost all Romanian action was on the Eastern Front, save for air actions against Western Allied planes raiding over Romanian oil-refining plants, and therefore got little attention from West-oriented historians. Axworthy has remedied this situation with this dry, thorough, careful overview of the Romanian experience in World War II. This is a valuable reference tool, but not for pleasure reading...hopefully, the change in circumstances in Eastern Europe will eventually bring out livelier memoirs of Romanian veterans before they all pass away.

This book is not just the only English-language book on its subject, but it stands comparison with the best English-language studies of any individual country's armed forces in WWII.

The book has ten chapters. Chapter 1 is a survey of Romania and its armed forces prior to the war. Chapters 2-6 each cover one annual campaign over 1941-45. Chapter 7 is on Romanian armour, Chapter 8 is on the Romanian aircraft industry, Chapter 9 is on Romanian air force operations and Chapter 10 is on Romanian naval operations.

The book is packed with unique research, maps, line drawings, charts, organigrams and photographs, virtually none of which are available elsewhere. There is also a most comprehensive index.

I hesitate to describe any WWII book as definitive or indispensable on its subject, but "Third Axis, Fourth Ally" comes as close as any. Indeed, I consider it one of the ten most important books on the Eastern Front in WWII, dealing, as it does, with the third most important participant and its armed forces.

For anyone interested in the military history of WWII, I recommend it most strongly.

P. A. S. Jefferson

Great character development; fast reading with suspenseful plot. Highly recommended, especially if you've ever lived or visited Romania and Eastern Europe!

I can really recommend Crossing Borders, and I thank Suzi Curtis for the great entertainment that Caroline Winslow's adventures provided to me, sometimes making me wonder which parts were based on the author's personal experience! It made fascinating reading, perhaps more so as I have spent some time in Rumania and have lived in Central Europe for several years and thus understand some of the issues revealed in the book.

Without wishing to spoil the surprise for others, I became very involved in the book as the plot unfolded. In fact so engrossed that I found I couldn't put it down, reading Crossing Borders cover to cover in one sitting, as it very much brightened up a dull winter's day whilst I was crossing the Bay of Biscay on a ferry.

Following the Romanian Revolution of 1989, everyone wanted to be known as a "revolutionary" ... and Laszlo Tokes is no exception. Much of the first half of the book is an attempt, through self-praise, to present Laszlo as having been a revolutionary force for years instead of just one early spark in a revolution that was larger than any one participant.

And I thought his Hungarian nationalist rhetoric was somehow out of place for the supposed topic of the book. He writes as though all of his troubles (and the troubles of the Hungarian Reformed Church of which he was a pastor) was the result of Romanian communist oppression. But I've read some other texts about the Hungarians under their own communist rule ... and I think Laszlo would have found himself in a similar situation if Transylvania had still been part of Hungary. All Soviet satellite countries under Communism, including Hungary, were atheistic ... and all of them favored the preferred church of the Soviet Union (the Orthodox Church).

Personally, I was astonished to read Laszlo's comment on p.78 that he "was well aware that every honest Christian agreed with me in my analysis of the problem." This implies that those who disagreed with him were either not Christians or were dishonest Christians. And when he compared his struggle to gain his position as pastor of the church in Temesvar (Timisoara) to the struggle by Joseph in the Old Testament (p.94), I had to chuckle. Even when the Romanian authorities were lenient with him, he claimed it was some sort of devious plot to get him to go along with the regime.

However, despite his often boastful approach and his use of what surely appears to be a "manufactured memory" of events, it is still a worthwhile account of the Revoulution from one person's perspective. In reality, Laszlo Tokes was a man at the right place at the right time ... and the congregation that supported him was responsible for lighting the spark that flared into the Romanian revolution.

The value in the book is being made aware of the plight of Hungarians in Romania during the communist years and in understanding the build-up of tensions in Timisoara that led a few brave members of Laszlo's congregation to stand up to the oppression of communism, knowing full well that it might be a life-or-death stance. For it was their defiance more than Lazlo's that lit the fuse.

This book is excellently written. It captivated my attention from page one to the end. It is a first-hand account of the pastor that started the revolution in Romania.

Basics: 1997, hardcover, 535 pages, 64 color plates, 700 species, no range maps

Two things make this a good book to have. One, it has good color plates with decent accompanying text and, two, it is nearly the only book available for this region of Indonesia. Located south of the Philippines and between Borneo and New Guinea, the area of Wallacea is comprised of the island groups of Sulawesi, Moluccas, and Lesser Sundas. This is an exciting birding area with over 250 endemic species.

Not quite a field guide due to its larger size, this book will still need to accompany you on any birding trip to this region. The only other relevant book is authored by Strange, which covers less than half of the Indonesian birds.

The 64 color plates illustrate all 700 species in this area. Each plate has 7-16 species, illustrated with 10-35 different illustrations. Some of these plates are crowded (e.g., ducks, raptors). With so many illustrations, many of them are a little on the small side. As for artwork, these illustrations are good but not great. The selection of poses and plumages is typically limited to just a male and female. Subspecies are infrequently shown. Except for the seabirds, raptors, and swifts, nearly all the birds are shown in only a perched position. These limitations will definitely be noticeable when looking at any of the warblers or dark-eyes, which are usually shown with only one plumage.

A nice addition to the text that accompanies the plates is a set of codes designating the status of the birds. A capital "E" denotes the bird being endemic to Wallacea.

The text is split into two parts. Adjacent to the plates are the descriptions of the birds. This is typically brief (3-11 lines). To help with similar species, the author lists several birds along with the shortest of notes on what to examine to help differentiate them. The remainder of the text, composed of range, status, habits, and voice, takes up the last half of the book. For me, the best part of this text is the voice. Many of the passerines are given lengthy, detailed descriptions, which is necessary for the thicker canopies.

Four appendices in the back of the book offer lists to endemics of the various island groups within Wallacea.

A minor annoyance with the layout of the plates is the numbering system. It is often necessary to flip pages to match up the numbered bird with the like-numbered name and description. Additionally, the birds are not numbered in any order on the plate, forcing the reader to scan around the many illustrations trying to find bird #445.

Despite the limitations of the plates and identification text, this is still a book worth having if there is any thought of going to Indonesia.

I've listed several related books below...
1) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Indonesia by Strange
2) The Birds of Borneo by Smythies
3) A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali by MacKinnon/Phillipps
4) Photographic Guide to the Birds of Borneo by Davison/Fook
5) The Birds of Sulawesi (Images of Asia) by Holmes
6) Birds of New Guinea by Beehler
7) Birds of New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago by Coates

A good bird guide to a fascinating region (my favouirite part of the world) which has among the highest number of unique, endemic species anywhere.
Some of the drawings could be better - and the "cutting off" the birds' tails on many pages is a weird thing!
Also,some information on the birds' behaviour could have made the book more informative.
But it is still an impressive guide, and in any case the only one around.
It is a pity that it's not available here - but it is still sold as a new book on Amazon's UK site!

There were many forms of resistance under communism and we don't know them all yet. Liiceanu's Paltinis Diary constitutes such an example no doubt. Articulated as a reverential homage to Constantin Noica, Liiceanu's master, this book is full of insights into a subculture of intellectual resistance through the "paideic model" to communist ideology and dogmatism generally. The "master" also seems to be proposing a resistance to "modern rationality," or capitalism, into culture, spiritual elevation, and political passivity, as a form of legitimate apolitical disengagement. Today, the west is generally used to identify forms of resistance to communism with the help of a tripping "grand theory" of dissident-intellectuals: active, politically militant, promoting "socialism with humane face" or outright liberalism. Think only of Adam Michnik, Václav Havel, the leaders of the Solidarity movement in Poland, Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia, or the technocratic elite in Hungary. But what could one do in Romania under a tyrant, Ceausescu? Nothing? This book is indicative that subversive resistance existed and that if dissent was impossible to utter in the open air, a duplicitously undermining complicity managed to leave some gray areas for alternative knowledge.

If there are some moral problems in this form of Noica apolitical resistance, then these are exactly the lack of any intention of engaging into political action, in any form, in any way. We are left with some kind of a disconcerting idea of mystico-humanistic deliverance. There is also a sectarian feeling traversing the book--which is also understandable in light of Ceausescu's cruelly autocratic governance--but one keeps wondering if the paideic model is an elitist formula for a "city of gods." What about the average Romanian citizen, student, reader--in either communism or post-communism? How could such a paideic model empower them change their "human condition" and command them as masters over their own destiny as individuals, as "citizens of the polis?" Yet another problem is the total absence of a critical discussion over Noica's fascist past as an intellectual-legionnary in interwar Romania. The distinction between, on the one hand, Noica, Mircea Eliade Emil Cioran, and their master Nae Ionescu, and, on the other hand, the Iron Guard, the legionnaries par excellence, is quite significant, but there is no debate about this issue in the book, at least in a preface or introduction. One wonders if this is not an effort to mystify uncomfortable unspoken truths. It is a great mistake to leave Noica's past open to speculation and re-appropriation by ill-intentioned neo-fascists. On the other hand, a critical engagement into the political positioning of this interwar generation of intellectuals would clarify if and how such a political dedication could alter Noica's philosophy, Eliade's myths, or Heidegger's philosophy, as various pros and cons have been voiced in this regard. Finally, are these things discussed in Romania or are they "politically incorrect" critical approaches? It is interesting that neither the publishing house nor the editorial review mentions such insights, which are normally studied in the history departments of any decent western university.

Nonetheless, the Paltinis Diary remains a valuable proof of "life under communism," of human aspiration for knowledge, of the particular intellectual conditions of Romania, and of challenging intellectual relationships between past, present, and future.

Philosophy is a way to leave your life. This book helps you to understand better the difference between this two questions: "What are you doing for living?" and "What are you doing in life (or better with your life)?".
You have to make the choice between "butter" and "culture". But when Noica talks about culture, he doesn't mean: food, clothing, religion or holyday customs. Noica talks
about having the "Greek Miracle" and the" German Idealism" as the only tools which will help you to do CULTURE (Philosophy).
So let's start to study Ancient Greek for the "Greek Miracle" and German for the "German Idealism" so maybe we can answer the second question: What are you doing in life ?.