Europe Books

This is an absolutely oustanding book - Richmond managed to recreate a world which ceased to exist at the onset of the Second World War, the world of Jews from the central Polish town of Konin. The book is touching both in descriptions of Richmond's quest for the missing shtetl which can be found only in the fading memories of Jews who somehow survived the Holocaust and in his recreation of the Jewish town that does not exist any more. An absolute must for all those who think that Holocaust was just another tragedy in the past on some distant continent. A perfect gift to people who have roots in Poland - some of my friends found their relatives described in the book. Maybe you or your friends will share this luck?

I found this book absolutely fascinating. My Grandmother came from Konin so for me it was a look into the world my Grandmother left behind.

There is little I can add to the existing reviews save yet another resounding confirmation of this book's brilliance. Konin is a superbly written, award-winning thing translated into Polish, Hebrew, German and Italian.

The book is impeccable stylistically and intellectually, and the thorny issue of Polish-Jewish relations is penetrated with honesty and insight. The people interviewed and depicted in the book are -- well, simply, REAL.

Yes, this is another Holocaust archival work and yes, it is brilliantly researched and written. But Richmond's crowning achievement, I propose, is his ability to create a lengthy work as this, about people many readers could never know, without ever letting it lapse into sentimentality or a wearisome litany of names, faces and facts. And yes, I have tearfully walked the streets of Konin with those Shoah survivors who now live in England, the US, and Israel. Richmond has ensured that the Nazi attempt to relegate Jewish Konin to oblivion has been thwarted. And we are much the better for it. "For the dead and the living we must bear witness." Thank you Mr Richmond. You have witnessed for the murdered of Kazimierz forest and all the other killing fields of Nazi Europe.

My wife Urszula and I had decided to take a day out in London, some sight seeing and shopping. We passed the many book shops on Charing Cross rd, but a book in one shop window caught my eye, 'Konin, a quest'. My wife is Polish, from the town of Konin. But what could this book be about, we wonder? There is nothing in Konin. How wrong we were! The book amazed us. I have read many publications on the holocaust, but nothing moved me quite like this book. The research and the feeling, the hardwork put into this account of a community so thoroughly wiped out that my wife hadn't even been aware that a Jewish community had ever existed and yet she grew up on its streets. In fact, the school she went to, the Gymnasium was built by the jewish people prior to the war. But nothing was or is taught about the jewish people within its walls, no reminders, nothing. Until now. Theo Richmond's work is a priceless reminder of want was lost and what should never be forgotten. We look forward greatly to the day the book is published in polish, when everyone there has a chance to understand just what was lost. We met Theo recently, his powerful charater came across so well in his book, as it is such an honest account, that it felt as though we had known him for years. Buy It! It is the best book you will ever read on the Jewish people.

I have been looking for this book forever and because it was out of print I had to go to the library every time I wanted to read it, which was often. The only copy I could find was $200. This book really tells the truth to what it was like as a person in the Imperial family. This puts an end to a lot of rumors flying around about Rasputin and Anna Anderson. This was told from a trusted person, someone that Olga trusted to put the truth about her family out there. It is beautiful and compassionate and a fabulous historical read.

I normally race through books like a speed demon, but this was so enjoyable I read it s-l-o-w-l-y - and several times.

Olga was a woman raised in the lap of luxury in the Russian court but was able and willing to work at hard physical labor on farms in Denmark and Canada for decades without apparent bitterness at what many might consider her "fall" from high status.

At the very end of her life with no income and relatives around her, she accepted an invitation from Russian emigrees and spent her last months on a second-floor apartment in a working-class neighborhood in Toronto.

I have been going through some drastic changes in my life - rather unwillingly - and have spent a lot of time thinking about Olga and how she accepted things that happened.

Was she perfect? No, but I wonder if I could have lived her life with so much courage and acceptance.

I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Grand Duchess Olga Alexandra was nothing short of a amazing woman and this book is great in showing that. From her childhood days spent in her father's study to the Revolution to her days in Canada, this books gives vivid details of everything. Ian Vorres put this memoir together beautifully. A must have for all Romanov fans!

Honestly, I had trouble putting that book down at night, but we all have to get some sleep ;o) Reading that book is like reliving the splendor of Imperial Russia , and at the same time, going through the lives of those who left Russia during the Revolution in unimaginable conditions... in fact, we could say the worst conditions possible. As I gathered, Olga's life was no piece of cake to say the very least. What is also fascinating about that book is Olga's demystification of Raspoutine and Mrs. Anderson. She sets the record straight about those two, once and for all. I won't tell you about the rest of her life... you have to read the book, and believe me, it it a fascinating one!

I normally race through books like a speed demon, but this was so enjoyable I read it s-l-o-w-l-y - and several times.

Olga was a woman raised in the lap of luxury in the Russian court but was able and willing to work at hard physical labor on farms in Denmark and Canada for decades without apparent bitterness at what many might consider her "fall" from high status.

At the very end of her life with no income and relatives around her, she accepted an invitation from Russian emigrees and spent her last months on a second-floor apartment in a working-class neighborhood in Toronto.

I have been going through some drastic changes in my life - rather unwillingly - and have spent a lot of time thinking about Olga and how she accepted things that happened.

Was she perfect? No, but I wonder if I could have lived her life with so much courage and acceptance.

I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Dr. Dopson took my hand and showed me a time long ago through the eyes of a girl. Thanks to Dr. Dopson's imagination sparked by evidence of what happened so long ago, I saw another world... different yet familiar. Perhaps the old ones still call out their stories to ones willing to listen!

I recommend it!!

This is a wonderful, welll-written story. As a result of her extensive scientific research, astute interpretation of legends and her understanding of the human consciousness in the late Paleolithic Dr. Dopson offers a detailed portrayal of life in Europe as it probably was before the catastrophe of about 10,000 B.C. I highly recommend "The Light at the End of the World" for it will appeal to readers on many levels.
Shirley Andrews is the author of "Atlantis: Insights From a Lost Civilization" and "Lemuria and Atlantis: Studying the Past to Survive the Future."

I found "Light" an extremely interesting book that kept my attention throughout. Writing about a phase in our world's history, of which there are only cave drawings, provides an excellent setting for the book, as it gives us an insight of what life was probably like as our ancestors were not only surviving, but also evolving.

A highly recommended book for anyone who likes "extremely" ancient history and a love to learn more about what it was like to live in a culture and climate that was in constant change.

The minute you sit down and start this book, you can slip into the story. Though the setting is farther back than I've ever even dared to imagine, it grounded me to look around and think more about the possibility of what eternity is. To me it didn't undermine what I believe the story of creation to be; it only has expanded it's possibilities and helped me to realize the unlimited power our awesome Creator has and is. Read it with friends! Talk about it!

What could a woman in the 21st Century learn from another female who lived over 10,000 years ago? Perhaps more than you might suppose. Lorraine Dopson has captured the heart and spirit of modern day woman in a compelling story of adventure of a spirited female who lived in a tribal community before recorded time began. This well-written novel is a must-read for those who yearn to imagine their earliest beginnings.

When one reads "Lizzie" it is difficult to fatham that this delightful story of a young girl is J. Robert Whittle's first novel. His style possesses the genius of Dickens and the sensitivity of a Bronte. He brilliantly captures the essence of this precocious former street waif as she begins to make her mark on eastside London. I can't wait to read the next three books in the series! A true delight!

This is the first book in the Series. Mr. Whittle has a great imagination and does a great job of keeping you guessing what Lizzie and her friends will do next. I recommend this book for readers and non-readers...for the young and young-at-heart. Everyone will love Lizzie!

These wonderful books by J. Robert Whittle may not appear to be available on this site, but believe me they are available -- and you don't want to miss them!! The first book quietly became a Canadian bestseller through sales only near his own town in BC. Now they are working with a distributor at last and these gems will be easier to find in 2004.

All Mr. Whittle's novels (he has 5 now) are read by readers of all ages. I know, because everyone from my grandparents to my kids, and nieces and nephews, have enjoyed them. Why? Because they're like an English Anne of Green Gables ... wholesome and lots of fun. Lizzie is some spunky girl and her best friend is a boy, so great for guys too. I can't wait till Book Four comes out in 2004! Have a look at the author's website for more info. Thanks Mr. Whittle, please keep writing!!

Lizzie reminded me a great deal of Dickens. It is set in the same time and era as many of his classic tales, amidst the same tapestry of sights and sounds... and ever present, foggy, London. I love stories about little girls with a punch, and this is definitely the story of a little girl with a punch. Dickens couldn't have written it... too politcally incorrect.

I'd consider this book a hidden gem, and only "hidden" because Whittle is a new author, and still relatively unknown. I couldn't set it down the whole time I was reading it. I greatly enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone.

This book is just the first of the Lizzie series. It is a wonderful book and is even good for teens. I got the privelege of meeting the author, Robert Whittle while on vacation in his home town of Victoria. He is absolutely endearing and is a wonderful writer. I can't wait to read all of the rest of his books. Lizzie is such a warm and exciting character and this story just makes you feel good! Very vivid....just takes you right there to where it all happened. I highly recommend it to all!

Very amusing, particularly to Brits. Purchased as a gag gift for a British ex-pat returning home to the UK for a trip.

I love this book! I'm a big Britcom fan and can now get a lot more laughs out of my favorite shows.

This little book, which crams an enormous amount of information, both practical and interesting, should be in every Amnerican's pocket before they leave for the UK. I learned more from it than from several larger books put together. It even explains cricket, that baffling sport! I thoroughly enjoyed reading every page, and while I wasn't going to travel to Wales or Scotland to practice those versions of Gaelic, it is contained within should you wish to. A most superior book, and entertainingly written besides. Enjoy!

This book is great. It's tiny, easily hidden, extremely funny, and you can make British people laugh with it. Really! Even Brits find it fun to read... "Oh, so THAT'S what they mean on those American programs on the telly. I was wondering."

I read this little book before setting out to Scotland for a year. What a great thing to do! I was more prepared than many of the people I was traveling with to deal with the idiosyncracies of Brit-speak. I especially love the foreign language section in the back... you don't really need it, since everyone speaks English, but it's fun to whip out something in Gaelic and see how many people understand (answer: not many).

I highly recommend this book, if only for its entertainment value. You won't regret it! I'm even able to watch the BBC now!

Lonely Planet's "British Phrasebook" is a great introduction to the British way of life and speaking for foreigners. Whether you are an American going to visit the British Isles, or a person studying English as a foreign language this can be a good guide and reading supplement. Traditionally to Lonely Planet phrasebooks, this one gives you a short and easy-read introduction to the origin and modern state of English. Then follow the sections dealing with British English and regional languages.

The section on British English is, again traditionally, an introduction to the language through British culture, institutions, traditions and way of life. Some chapters open with humorous sketches by S. Hughes that will make you laugh out loud. You will learn how to greet people, how to talk over the phone, how to find your way in the world of slang and cockney (not being a thorough textbook or dictionary of these), how to brace yourself with the features of British pronunciation (not being a course on phonetics), how to tell a British word or expression from an American (not being a British-American dictionary), how to address the Queen or peers (without making you bored with the detailed description of the aristocratic history). But most of the contents are not even the lists of typically British words and expressions. It is an interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes witty, often highly informative yet brief description of British culture (music, sports, food, drink, housing, etc.) and institutions (political, educational, etc.), as well as of ways of travelling, spending your free time and free money. If you need to know the names of high-street shops or intend to watch a report from some cricket match, think of driving a car or going on a train journey, want to read a paper and know what's meant and what's not - "British Phrasebook" is one way of helping you survive in Britain.

The regional section tells you about regional accents and dialects of English with some examples. It also deals with Scottish Gaelic and Welsh. Here (in the last two chapters) there is a true phrasebook letting you say a lot of useful things in the native tongues of Scotland and Wales. Practical transcription enables you to pronounce sometimes quirky letter-combinations of these Celtic languages.

Written in a simple language and entertaining manner, while being very informative "British Phrasebook" is nearly a must-have on your next trip to the Isles and will certainly be your good companion, which will easily fit in a pocket.

very well written and detailed - I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Third Reich

Dr. Bruno Manz has written an honest, searing story of his experiences growing up in the Third Reich with a father who he loved but who was an enthusiastic Nazi. First person accounts of this quality are rare and valuable, giving those of us who are curious as to how a civilized nation like Germany could turn itself into the soulless, mechanistic killing machine it became under Hitler a look at how ordinary people contributed, by omission or commission, to the coming horror. Dr. Manz has more than atoned for his own omissions by writing this excellent, gripping book, which I recommend to anyone interested in this perplexing episode of history.

This book was interesting, earnest, candid and filled with the author's personal angst for having been duped, first by his Nazi father and then by Hitler. I disagree with some of the other reviews in that I didn't find it penetrating or searing. Bruno Manz stabs but fails at soul-searching.

In some ways it is repetitive. The author explains again and again how he was brainwashed into Nazism from youth to young adulthood. He digresses into various life experiences with teachers, schools, childhood friends, military experiences and lesser details of life. All of which he thinly connects to his primary purpose for the memoir, exorcising his personal demons over blindly serving Hitler. Many of those digressions would be unremarkable without that connection. Bruno uses those vignettes to underscore that he was misguided but they fail to reveal, illuminate or prove how any particular incident, mentor or authority figure contributed to his blind devotion to Hitler. In fact, he frequently recounts how he internally rebelled against school authorities, military authorities, rules and procedures that didn't make common sense or rubbed him the wrong way. If that is so, then he should have self analyzed further to determine how and why he dismissed his conscience when it called about Hitler, the concentration camps and the Jews. He continued to follow the grand lie and served as essentially a political officer in youth organizations and later in the military. He recounts that he was never very enthusiastic and harbored doubts, yet he continuously pressed on. Example on pg 69, he describes a school director quoting Hitler's credo, "He who wants to live, let him fight. And he who does not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle does not deserve to live." Bruno expresses misgivings when the school director says that is more religion than a person would ever find in the Bible. He admits agreeing with the anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism of the director but boycotts his classes from then on. Methinks he doth protest too much.

Don't get me wrong, Bruno Manz clearly, genuinely, honestly apologizes for his personal role in Germany's evil shame. He denounces all that he was and embraces all that he has become since the war and particularly while living in America. But in the end about all that Bruno confirms is that, at least between 1915 and 1946, Germans were weak for rhetoric, easily swayed by romantic and heroic figures, and followed the crowd. He doesn't dig deep enough to reveal how that was possible. Were they greedy, mad, angry, vulnerable, ambitious, fearful, bombastic, maniacal, weak, bloodthirsty, gullible? Personally, he was swayed by Dad while impressionable and later by Hitler via Goebbels propaganda machine. OK, we already know that about every German during WWII. Bruno, why and how were you vulnerable to that when the rest of the world was not? Why do some Germans today continue to deny the Holocaust? Why is there an element that still deifies Hitler and anti-Semitism?

I suspect that Bruno cannot to this day accept his own cowardice. He never dared to disagree or question his father, although he credits his mother and older brother with being able to avoid anti-Semitic hatred and Hitler worship. He wouldn't dare question his Nazism or the Fuhrer because he very likely knew it would mean his death or imprisonment. Hmmm, that may be the self evident truth every German citizen who willingly participated in Nazism has to face. They didn't take any contrary action because it was someone else who was being victimized and they were cowards. So, while he may have achieved some catharsis, I doubt that he completely exorcised the regret and shame he aimed for. Still, the book has some value derived from its basic honesty and first person account.

A Mind in Prison is a powerful and moving personal account of life as a committed Nazi, a soldier on the Eastern Front, and the difficult and painful realization that everything the author once stood for was evil and destructive. The candor of this book is both startling and refreshing because it gives the reader tremendous insight into the corrosive power of Nazi propaganda and ideology. For the author to admit thinking and acting like he did must have been a painful experience, but it gives this account a sharp edge of credibility that might otherwise be lacking. In fact, it is that candor that makes this story so heartrendering. The world would be a much better place if more people would break their silence about the tragedy of Nazi Germany and share their experiences and feelings as openly and sincerely as Dr. Manz has.

This book is basically the author's way of exorcising his personal demons. Manz grew up idolizing a man named Adolf Hitler, whom most Germans believed to be a sort of messiah sent to save them from the devastating poverty and national humiliation following the Treaty of Versailles. The book chronicles how Manz (and many other pro-Nazi Germans then) got to believe in the things he did, and his eventual disillusionment with the Third Reich.

Did the German civilians know about the atrocities of the concentration and extermination camps? Over the recent years, this question has loomed large in works concerning WWII in the European theater. Manz can't answer for every German during that period, but he gives us HIS story as an offering to further understanding in this matter.

This book struck a very personal chord with me. Although I was born decades after WWII, I grew up in a country where the press (in fact, every type of media - books, TV, movies, etc.) was heavily censored by the national government. The government told people what to think, what to say, when to assemble, and throws those who defy their orders in jail under the holy name of "national security". As a result, I totally understand how mind-numbing propoganda can be. A population, after all, is merely a collection of individuals living in a state. An individual's morals and personal biases are largely dependent on what information they have available to them. Hitler understood this very well, and with the help of his propoganda minister, Goebbels, managed to shape the thinking of an amazingly large portion of the German population, including the author's.

Manz is all the more convincing because he doesn't get overly apologetic, but does admit that he's not in any way proud of all that he has done (he was a Hitler Youth, and later a soldier in the German army). He feels very strongly for the victims of the Third Reich (the book is dedicated to them), and although he was never in direct contact with any official programs dealing with the "Jewish problem", regrets that he couldn't have done more.

It is very touching to read books by those who were on the "wrong" side of the war, especially those with a sense of morality (however late it surfaced) like Manz. This book is an important reminder to us of how dangerous bigotry can be, especially when it is led by an eloquent and convincing tyrant.

Rabbi Neuman tells his story starting through the eyes of a young boy and ending through the eyes of an elder Rabbi. The Story is told in a calm and matter of fact manner, leaving the adjectives describing the German brutality to the mind of the reader. Thus, the reader can get a much broader picture of the times without getting hung up with anger at specific transgressions. Most everyone would enjoy this book, but especially anyone who is old enough to remember the time when all this was happening.

Rabbi Nueman tells his story starting through the eyes of a young boy and ending through the eyes of an elder Rabbi. The Story is told in a calm and matter of fact manner, leaving the adjectives describing the German brutality to the mind of the reader. Thus, the reader can get a much broader picture of the times without getting hung up with anger at specific transgressions. Most everyone would enjoy this book, but especially anyone who is old enough to remember the time when all this was happening.

Rabbi Nueman tells his story starting through the eyes of a young boy and ending through the eyes of an elder Rabbi. The Story is told in a calm and matter of fact manner, leaving the adjectives describing the German brutality to the mind of the reader. Thus, the reader can get a much broader picture of the times without getting hung up with anger at specific transgressions. Most everyone would enjoy this book, but especially anyone who is old enough to remember the time when all this was happening.

I am not as eloquent as some others who have provided their perspectives, but I wanted to share my thoughts on this great book and author nonetheless. I live in NYC but grew up in Champaign, IL recognizing that Rabbi Neuman was and is a very bright and strong-willed man who packs great wisdom into relatively few words. But only after reading this book, and the brutality and hardships he faced, obstacles so great they are hard for most of us to even fathom, could I, or most anyone, fully appreciate the depth of his strength and courage. I have read very good books that more fully illustrate the details of the day-to-day murder and brutality (books such as Ordinary Men and Treblinka), but Rabbi Neuman makes it clear that not only were numerous innocent people murdered, but many wonderful communities and ways of life were forever destroyed. And yet, he, like many others, found the strength to move beyond the worst event in human history in order to make a difference and help others. This is among the must read books for anyone who wants to understand what was lost, particularly in Poland, in the genocide and devastation of the holocaust, all the while getting to learn about the courage and strength of survivors like Rabbi Isaac Neuman. Thank you for everything Rabbi Neuman!

In the Narrow Bridge: Beyond the Holocaust, Isaac Neuman set himself the most of difficult of tasks to write the "silent song of my vanished people.

He succeeds so well in invoking the presence of those who are absent that this reader feels as if he had sat at the study table of Reb Mendel as he taught a page of Talmud and told ancient stories that echo again and again the most contemporary of wisdom. The memoir is passionate and deep, religious in its intensity, and yet so very compassionate in its understanding.

Isaac Neuman makes the characters of his past come alive. We gain an insight into the world that ways and is no longer. We learn the streets of his beloved cities and its courtyards, more importantly we are privileged to enter the inner lives of its inhabitants. Unlike most Holocaust memoirs, which are most intense in their portrayal of the evil the survivors experienced, Neuman is most passionate about the past that has vanished and most successful at calling it forth.

Religious Jews will hear the echoes of Jewish legends in the last moments of minyan of martyrs who accepted their decree with dignity and had more faith in the divine that a God present in the Holocaust could ever possibly merit. Secular readers will read of Passover in the camps and glimpse the power of tradition to speak forth even in the most atrocious of circumstances. They will experience the consolation of the invocation of a miraculous, redemptive past in a world without miracles, without hope.

This lyrical work will touch the soul. One laughs, one cries, one mourns and indeed one even celebrates. Restrained prose glisten with insight. The work is deep, passionate, charming -- and ever so welcome.

Michael Berenbaum

I've taken several seminars at UCLA with Saul Friedlander, and to say that he is an objective and very insightful historian is an understatement. This book is terrific and deserves all the critical praise that it has received. Even if you are just curious about the Holocaust, or you are a serious historian of the time period, you should definitely pick this book up.

This book is an excellent book for anyone wanting to learn about the rise of Fascism in Germany. It is factual and yet easy to read. Anyone that wants to understand how Hitler got his power should read this. The author's bias is kept to a minimum.

Nazi Germany and the Jews is part one of the two set history of the Nazi reign of terror from Hitler's ascent to the chancellorship of Germany on January 30, 1933 to the regime's collapse in 1945. Volume I focuses on the years of persecution of the Jews from 1933 to the outbreak of World War II in the autumn of 1939. As the infamous Goering said, "I would not want to be a Jew in Germany".
Friedlander was born as a Jew in Prague, lived in occupied France during World War II and now teaches in Tel Aviv and UCLA. His book is a blunt, basic and brutal evocation of what it was like to be a Jewish individual in the Dantean hell of Hitler's unspeakably cruel Third Reich.
In plain language we see how the Nazis used German law to dispossess the Jews of their professions, homes, possessions and lives. We have explained the Nuremburg Laws of 1935 which gave definition to who is a Jew. It was horrible for this reader to witness the Crystal Night destruction of almost 300 synagogues and nearly 100 murders of Jews on the night of November 9-10, 1938. We see how concentration camps were set up administered by cold killer Himmler and his murderous SS thugs.
Friedlander posits that Adolf Hitler believed Jews to be behind the World Communist movement. It was Judaism and Communism he wanted to eradicate from the face of the earth. While most people turned their faces away from the horrors the Jews disappeared from German life. Goebbels and Nazi propoganda portrayed Jews as vermin which needed destruction if the Aryan German blood and folk were to be preserved.
As volume one ends the war has begun. Volume II covers the war years and the concentration camps where over six million Jews and other captive people would be murdered.
This book is written in a scholarly but understandable style for the general reader. It is one of the essential books you should read to inform yourself of a tragic time.

This is a wonderful book albeit with few personal experiences of the victims but on the whole you will enjoy the book. The writer's grasp of English is exceptional and in fact taking this parameter alone you can enjoy the book and learn something new in word and sentence formations. Though at first glance it may look like one of those boring and dry books, which inhabit the shelves of libraries all over the book without being opened for many years to come. The book is excellent and shows the level of utter nadir reached by Nazis and German people while persecuting their own. Seems to have been a sort of a collective disease in which even a modicum of humanity or decency taken a permanent back seat. The author has presented the facts and names of very difficult and guttural German names with such ease that there is no confusion to the reader.

I wonder why Israelis have to have any kind of relationship with Germany or Poland. . I think Israeli children are not really taught history but some kitsch formulated to draw their minds away from the murderers of their grandfathers to Palestinians. I think Israelis pretend that the Palestinians are the Germans of 1930's and 1940's, hence the highly ambiguous stance and conflicting gestures. Though it must be remembered that Arabs briefly flirted with Nazis like the Great Indian Leader Subhash Chandra Bose who fought against British imperialism - who excelled in demonstrative racial discrimination that was religiously followed by Germans with such ardor. I support the bombarding of German cities and also of the London Blitz. No doubt such "innocent" darlings hugely deserved each other.

This is an outstanding history. It is measured, detailed and backed by meticulous research. It is by far the best of this genre

The shame is that the much anticipated sequel is now not planned for publication.

But half a classic is better than none

Carol Drinkwater provides so much information and knowledge about her Olive Farm. Delightful Memoirs of her life. Excellent.

All of Carol Drinkwater's books are very well written and hard to put down. If you like the subject matter of olives, this is a particular treat. Beyond the work and detail involved in maintaining olive trees, the hard work of the harvest, the anticipation of having them pressed and rewarded with fine oil as a result..Carol's books are to me, a realization of a dream. She and Michel took the risk of buying a poorly maintained property and poured their hearts and soul into it.

The Olive Season, the sequel to Carol Drinkwater's The Olive Farm, transcends the travel memoir genre to create a searing personal narrative.

In The Olive Season, Drinkwater has wed her fiance, Michel, in the South Pacific, and has returned to their farm in southern France to bring in another olive harvest. The harvest season proves difficult, however, and the care of the olive farm becomes a challenging undertaking for the newly pregnant Drinkwater, whose situation is complicated by her husband's absence, her own professional obligations, and intrusions from her past.

The events of The Olive Season force Drinkwater to revisit her past, transcend her present and muster her courage to shape her future. Suffused with the idyllic scents and scenery of southern France, The Olive Season is both a superb piece of travel writing and a wrenching examination of life, its tragedies and its triumphs.

A five-star read that will not disappoint.

THE OLIVE SEASON and THE OLIVE FARM are excellent as is THE OLIVE HARVEST. When I recently saw A CELEBRATION OF OLIVES, I thought C. Drinkwater published a new book and ordered it. I received it today and was disappointed to find it's a double volume of THE OLIVE SEASON and THE OLIVE FARM combined, both of which I have. According to Amazon.com readers who buy A CELEBRATION OF OLIVES also buy her other books. I feel like I was duped and cannot return the book.

In the Olive Season, Carol Drinkwater continuous Michel and her dream-come-true olive farm experience in the south of France. Other reviewers of her first book, as well as this reviewer, hoped for a sequel and Carol did not disappoint them. Although the book can be read and enjoyed without reading The Olive Farm, this reviewer strongly recommends that readers first read the Farm, as it provides the necessary backdrop and introduction to characters that enhances the enjoyment of the Season.

In the Season, Carol shares a lot more on personal level than in the Farm. Although I have enjoyed the first book specifically because it largely revolved around their farming experience and dealt less with them at intimate level, I can accept the change in focus because it is quite understandable when one reads about their tragic loss halfway through the book. The closing paragraph of the book confirms this conclusion. Do yourself a favour and do not read the last page of the book before you "legitimately" can after you have read the rest of it - apparently some people actually do that! It will not necessarily spoil your reading experience, but the story unfolds very well and pulls the reader closer to the author as it develops. Similar to the first book, the Season is well written and/or edited.

I again enjoyed Carol's description of the French rural characters she and Michel meet during their farming adventure. Although I appreciate her sharing of her research into various aspects of farming and nature, I find that those specific paragraphs tend to clash with the writing style of the rest of the book. Although short, they are almost reference book fact-like descriptions. However, they are far and in between and do not really distract from the overall reading experience. Their exploits into the French countryside and visits to interesting little shops and eating places do a lot to make the reader want to get onto a plane and explore those hide-away places!

If you have enjoyed The Olive Farm, you will also enjoy The Olive Season, although it is somewhat more "heavy" because of the dramatic events referred to earlier. Would I buy the next episode if Carol writes it? Yes, probably, even if only to find out whether they have managed to find a beekeeper! She clearly wrote, or at least completed, this one, inter alia for her own personal healing, but her writing style is such that I would support sequels in the Olive-saga much more positively than I would support Hollywood follow-on's!

What possessed me to purchase this book? There I was, in Bonanza Books, my favorite book store in my parent's home town. I looked at the title and thought, "Maybe I am interested in the struggle for mastery in europe (1848-1918).

I'm not at all a fan of european diplomatic history. Though the material has a certain "Wes Anderson" (filmmaker of Rushmore and Royal Tennenbaum) flavor to it. Lots of triple ententes, diplomatic notes and, my favorite phrase in the whole book- "secret diplomacy". You see, through out the time period of this book, few of the European Powers resembled the modern democracy of free press and public opinion. In fact- of the major powers (UK, France, Prussia/Germany, Austria Hungary, Russia and sometimes Italy and Turkey), only England was arguably a "demoracy" for the entire period.

So basically, European Diplomacy during this period resembled a version of Risk- alll the players plotting with first one partner, then the other, with the idea of maintaining a balance, rather then provoking a final reckoning. Taylor- an english historian who is widely acclaimed for being one of the first "tv" personalities from the history profession (though not on you tube), was also one of the very first "revisionist" historians. "Mastery" was originally published in 1954. Talor is revisionist in an American sense because he doesn't adopt a principled/moral perspective on the events of history. Although Taylor is "anti-German" in a broad sense, it's a more sophisticated perspective on world affairs then most americans are used to reading at the college level (though I'd imagine post graduate students of european history are required to read taylor.

In my reading, the nuances of each event (Colorful sub chapters like "The Andrassy Note" or "The Leauge of the Three Emperors" abound) are subsumed by the broad flow of Taylor's broader "anti-great men" of history approach. Taylor takes the position that most deailng in international affairs are dealing with a lack of solid information about their oppoenents and partners. I can think of at least twent occasions where Taylor was "But Minister X was wrong about his assumption."

That there largely was no war amongst the so-called Great Powers between the Crimean war of the 1850s and World War I of 1914 is largely ascribed by Taylor to the brilliance of Bismarck. Bismarck's genius is that he subscribed to a world view where Germany DID NOT dominate all of Europe. After he leave the scene, the German/Prussian leadership is gradually won over to the "German mastery over Europe." "German Nationalism" serves as an eerie prologue to events that this book does not cover, but the time period in Mastery is just as close to Napoleon's French Empire- an era also not covered in this book.

Taylor successfully tackles a sprawling, detailed subject -- seventy years of byzantine European diplomacy that set the stage for the First World War and, not so indirectly, the Second. He doesn't hold the reader's hand, and assumes you are familiar with many of the events and people he discusses. I wasn't, so I referred often to Britannica, Encarta, and Wikipedia as I read. By doing so, I learned a lot from this book.

El Prof. Taylor, de Oxford ,ha escrito una pieza maestra. Por decadas sera leido y recordado con furor. El libro es ameno y de facil comprension. Su estilo brillante y claro ha hecho historia en si mismo. Un libro para releer.

A. J. P. Taylor's The Struggle for Mastery in Europe is the book to start reading about those 70 crucial years in Europe's history.
The book begins with the Revolutions of 1845, that's why it would be a good thing to have some knowledge regarding the Napoleonic Wars and its outcome (Treaty of Metternich). Taylor analyses the out coming system of the Balance of Power that governed European diplomacy until War World I. According to This system, the five great powers (England, Prussia, Austria, Russia and the defeated France) would balance each others force, avoiding the out come of war.
The system worked pretty well until the fall of Bismarck. That is because Bismarck, as his successor once said, knew how to "play with three balls at the same time". He could keep Russia and Austria tied to Germany at the same time. Thus, France was checked. Nevertheless, when Germany didn't renewed its treaty with Russia the obvious move was Russia's alliance with France.
It could be said that by 1885 the outcome of a Great War was a matter just of time. The system of alliances so well designed by Metternich and so well understood and curried out by Bismarck was at the same time the cause of War World I. Without a great politician as Bismarck nobody could make Metternich's system work.
All through his book, Taylor explains what I have just summarized in a really better way. I highly recommend the lecture of this great book.

A. J. P. Taylor's book is the sine qua non for university students of European history. This is the real deal: Taylor was a genuine historian who never went further than his facts--and his facts are incredibly well researched, well documented, and bountiful. This is true historiography: the way history ought to be done! Plus, Taylor writes very well, in a lively and entertaining fashion. He has good language, wit, and trenchant observations.

It must be noted that this is a history of diplomacy--with some political and military of necessity treated. What does this mean? Well, it means that the characters of Taylor's book are mostly forgotten professional diplomats, and therefore most of their names won't be familiar to those unschooled in modern European history--Bismarck and Disraeli excepted. But this esoterica only increases the value of Taylor's work; for it reveals these forgotten characters to us once again: a gem of historical literature.