Canada Books

I purchased this book for my upcoming birthday, it is simply a beautiful book. You can see the great care put into making this book, from the pictures to the little insights. I have always loved Celine, for both her outstanding vocal abilities and her unwavering faith in love. This book is very touching, it brings the Dion Family, Rene, and little Rene Charles to life. This book contains lovely candid photos, one of my favorites is of her wedding, not the photo we usually see with Celine dressed formally to the nines, but one with her in a rather plain frock, and in Rene's arms as he carries her over the threshold, both with happy wide smiles. I would also suggest purchasing "My Story, My Dream", having read both myself it makes for a complete read.

OMG i LOVED this book. I couldn't put it down once i received it. It really brings her life together with all of the photos, scripts, letters etc. It is most definately a must read.

I consider myself a die-hard Celine Dion fan ever since hearing her French-language Incognito (1987) album. I own all of her French-language recordings (including out-of-print LPs and singles from 1981-1988), have watched her early French music videos and numerous French-language biographies and TV specials, and have read her official MY STORY, MY DREAM. biography several times.

When I saw Celine Dion: For Keeps, I bought it to round out my collection, erroneously thinking that when it came to Celine's early years in Quebec, I'd seen / heard it all. Not so.

Background

Similar to The Sinatra Treasures: Intimate Photos, Mementos, and Music from the Sinatra Family Collection, Celine Dion: For Keeps features rare photos and removable reproductions of important documents from Celine's career and personal life, such as an early Quebecois report card, the handwritten sheet music to her audition song Ce n'etait qu'un reve (written by her mother), tour schedules, Grammy nomination letters, and even a copy of Celine's ultrasound (translations are provided for all French documents).

There are recollections that I'd never heard before, such as Celine touring the mall circuit in Quebec during her earliest years as a fledgling artist, and many remembrances from acquaintances, fellow celebrities, and music personalities. This combined the appeal of a text-only biography with multimedia; my only wish would have been for a CD with rare / unreleased performances as was done with the Sinatra Treasures collection.

This book of hers shines really brightly & is a must buy book one of the best of 2006 in the top 5. George

This amazing book offers a detailed overview of Celine's life in the spot lights. It has removable documents and photos from celine's personal archives.

The great thing is that it seems like a very honest book, even discussing her insecurities and the difficult times in her personal and professional life.

The book is quite big and heavy, so not for traveling, but ideal for reading on a lazy sunday afternoon.

Absolutely recomended for everyone who is interested in Celine's music and her life.

This was an amazing story of the early years of the Hudson Bay Company and a year of young mans life at a trading post in the Arctic. I couldn't stop reading. I only wish the author had not stopped his story writing.

Fascinating story. Written in very genuine, matter of fact style. Author was completely open to learning all he could about Inuit culture, and this comes through in the book. A must read if you want to understand the culture and ecology of the arctic. Read this, then go watch "The Naked Runner."

In this beautifully written book, Edward Beauclerk Maurice takes the reader to a distant, cold land to experience heartwarming stories of adventure, love and loss.

Maurice spent five years living with Eskimos (Inuit) on Baffin Island in northern Canada as a representative of the Hudson's Bay Company. He came of age there, starting as naive 16-year-old and growing to become an experienced leader by 21.

Maurice tells his stories in an understated and humble manner. When he falls in the water, he makes a joke. When he nearly plummets to his death off a cliff, he blames his own clumsiness. When Eskimo women express interest in him, you can almost feel him blushing. You really can't help but like him.

There's danger and adventure here, too. Maurice confronts wolves and polar bears. Storms tear the roof off buildings and threaten to swamp boats. Eskimos die tragic deaths.

Particularly well-written is a story near the middle of the book where Maurice and an Eskimo come to the rescue of a village where people are dying from a contagious disease. It's a grim scene, and I could feel myself there through Maurice's writing.

As a I read "The Last Gentleman Adventurer," I was somewhat wistful that neither I, nor anyone else, will ever get a chance to experience this sort of life again. It was an isolated existence, and Maurice and the Eskimos had to completely depend on each other and to live off the land. There was almost no communication with the outside world; a supply boat came just once a year.

The book is divided into two parts -- the first includes highlights of Maurice's first few years on Baffin Island. The second is a more detailed description of his life at a base where he was the only non-Eskimo for one year.

If you're wondering why I give this four stars, not five, it's only because in the second half of the book there are some flat parts where Maurice could have perhaps summarized and moved on. I also wish the book had a map.

Despite those small complaints, I'd love to see someone turn this into a movie. It's not a big blockbuster story that would interest major studios, but I could see the BBC or PBS adapting this for TV.

Readers who enjoy this book would also enjoy "Alaska Wilderness" by Robert Marshall.

I spent 9 years in Canada's Eastern Arctic in the 80"s and 90"s and this book struck a powerful chord with me. The author is perceptive enough and humble enough to gain a thorough understanding of the Inuit people and talented enough to bring his experience to life for us.

I am a big fan of this man. He brings the Inuit to life with great compassion and truth without decending into the hero worship that sometimes inflicts visitors to the far north. These are real people and the good and the bad comes accross.

There are also some fun adventures and honest reporting of how the experience transforms the author. I loved this book. I even wrote the authors family asking if he had other works to publish! That a book like this took decades to find a publisher when trash is printed on a daily basis speaks volumes.

This book rings true with every sentence. Like all great books I was sad when it ended, like on the departure of a true friend.

An amazing account of a young man stepping up to the plate of life in a difficult environment requiring not only daring and tenacity, but incredible personal and political skills not usually inherent in a man of his age. An amazing tale of adventure, friendship, and loyalty.

This book is far more than a memoir -- it is a page-turning narrative of the wonderful and terrible drama of life and war in a region about which we think little and know even less, written by a man of exceptional bravery and humanity. I met Dr. Baiev shortly after his arrival in Washington, DC, where my girlfriend (working for Physicians for Human Rights at the time) coordinated PHR's assistance to Dr. Baiev in Washington. At the time I had little appreciation for just what this man had been through, although it was obvious he had survived a harrowing ordeal. To read now the full story behind the brief weeks in which his life intersected ours has been both fascinating and deeply moving. His account of living as a Caucasus youth in the Soviet Union, his struggle to become a doctor, and his extraordinary dedication to his profession, his people and and his faith through two protracted and brutal wars is by turns fascinating, inspiring and heartwrenching. You will not find a more intimate account of the conflict in Chechnya, nor a better illustration of the way that such conflicts have become simultaneously global and local. If you care about peace, if you care about the prospects for a free and prosperous world, you cannot afford not to care about the gross violations of human rights that accompany conflicts increasingly economic, sectarian and cultural all at once. Dr. Baiev's gripping account puts a profoundly human face on the complexity and the urgency of coming to grips with the destructive conflicts that need not and should not continue into the twenty-first century.

If you plan on investing your time in reading one book this year make it this one. It is a remarkable tale of an honourable man trying to survive in barbaric times under the tyranny of Putin's Russia. Hassan Biev states that one in every five chechens has been killed as a result of the conflict. However after all this carnage the war stills continues and the state still exits in the hearts of men like Dr. Biev. Perhaps the actions of people like him will ultimately lead to peace in that most violent of places.

Let me begin by saying that if everything in this book is true Dr. Baiev has my total respect and admiration. It's inspiring to realize that people of his caliber do exist.

There are, however, one or two disquieting features of this book that I feel compelled to mention. After having read the initial reviews I had expected not only a compelling story of human strength amidst tragedy, but a book of high literary accomplishment. That has not come to pass. Whatever Dr. Baiev's own writing style, it has been submerged in the journalistic style of Nicholas and Ruth Daniloff. Nick Daniloff is he of the famous Soviet espionage sting of the 1980's when he was arrested in Moscow in an apparent KGB set-up. Ronald Reagan himself is reported to have been involved in getting Daniloff released. I just wish Dr. Baiev had been able to choose a more literary writer to assist him in developing this book.

Another point I'm almost embarrassed to make is that Dr. Baiev comes across in this book as almost too good to be true. Not only is he an heroic doctor, brave humanitarian, and loyal son, brother, and friend, he is also described a medical entrepreneur, a doctor who not only moonlights as a cosmetic surgereon, but who is also a national martial arts champion! If this book is made into a film I can only imagine Harrison Ford playing the part of Dr. Baiev. It almost seems as if some of Dr. Baiev's financial and sports successes were included in the book just to appeal to the certain segment of the community that might find those aspects of his life as compelling as the humanitarian work of saving lives and limbs amidst war and destruction.

Nevertheless, the book is full of unique tid-bits. While many people reading it will be aware of Russia's halting attempts to convert its military forces from a large army of draftees to a smaller one of professional soldiers this is the first time I'd seen such a negative depiction of these new contract soldiers. I don't think I'd have gotten this insight anywhere but in this book. Likewise, it was also very interesting to read that in addition to the fight between the Russian military and the Chechen rebels there is a criminal, opportunistic element also actively engaged in exploiting the tragedy of Chechnya and which appears to be much more influential than I would have imagined. I think that this insight is very valuable, not only in the context of the Chechenya, but in understanding the influence of criminal opportunists in other conflicts. For me this insight itself was worth the price of the book.

I certainly recommend The Oath, worts and all.

If you are interested in war, modern politics, news, or human rights, you need to read this book. It shows what warfare is really like, what happens to people after governments make decisions. And it is heartbreaking, but you cannot put it down.

The conflict in Chechnya is mostly forgotten and then often miscontrued topic for most of the world. Dr. Khassan Baiev's memoir sheds a light on the horrors of life in Chechnya since 1994, what this ghastly, genocidal war means for the common people and Russian grunts. Baiev is a surgeon with a big heart, and never turned anyone away. He explains casualties from the rather disturbing anatomical perspective of a surgeon, illustrating how fragile bodies and how much pain people can suffer.

The book starts with his life before the war: of the ancient and beautiful Chechen traditions, of the extreme and often brutal Russian racism. As you read the book, the cultural differences between the ancient highlander Chechens and the rest of the Western world seem dwarfed by how lovely their life was, and how, as you read it, you can see yourself in their world. What stays with you is that once you empathize on this level, the eruption of war and desolation is utterly heartbreaking. Because Baiev lived it we see an intimate world being shattered, not a headline.

Baiev (narrowly) survives years of war until both the Russians and Chechen guerillas are out for his head because his clientele includes everyone (and mostly civilians) so he has to escape to America, and eventually moved to Boston. His observants description of coming to America, seeing how peaceful it is here, how people of many races coexist, and how a town in Vermont took care of his family, gives you a deeper appreciation for what we have in this country and that many take for granted.

I've never read anything that captures so vividly and personally the heartbreakingly human face of war. I think everyone should read it just to be educated on something that is going on at this moment, but that many people do not know about or simply don't understand. It speaks of overwhelming swaths of cruelty and evil, but also transcendent moments of grace and joy, humanity between enemies. Baiev treated anyone who needed help, so we see souls, not sides.

What steals the breath from you, what made me rather emotional, is how war is revealed here as so useless, so tragic, so profoundly evil because we are all people, and war destroys and perverts this sacred life that we all share in.

This book opened my eyes to the tragedy in Chechnya, and now I want to know more. A compelling, first-hand narrative of the situation in Chechnya that everyone should read.

Reading the book while I'm in the right environment (France - lovely wheather - Lac Léman - tasting and buying wine - et cetera) gives me lots of pleasure. It's not only informative but also 'funny' (excusez le mot) and - while I'm half way the book - puts me in a situation where I have to choose: read the rest of the book or drive to the next planned stop in Marin (Savoie) for wine to taste again... Just decided to follow my nose... and read on in the book when I return.
Conclusion when I finished the book: can't wait to read the next one!

I have only skimmed through this book but from what I have seen I believe that it will prove informational. Also, from this book I have subscribed to a newsletter from the author and find this very informative also. I would highly recommend this to a beginner or an old hat in appreciating wine.

Reading this book was like listening to a girlfriend talk about a subject near and dear to both of our hearts. While reading this book, I felt like I was experiencing her journeys and education with her- and with quite a bit of a sense of humor. All to often, it seems wine educators take themselves (and wine) too seriously. This book will teach you more about wine production, selection, and food pairing without being snobby and pretentious. It was fun, easy to read, and informative. I hope Natalie will be writing more books!

This is the first book that I've read that actually makes it fun to
learn about wine. It's relaxed and realistic for the wine novice.
Natalie teaches about wine to those who want to enjoy it, not just look
impressive ordering or drinking it.
I retained more real world knowledge about wine reading this than I have reading the wine magazines and tomes.

Really great read, full of information, well-paced and accessible. She explains how to find wine you appreciate in what can be a very intimidating industry. I wouldn't normally bother to write a review of a book, but this was an impulse buy that I loved and the author really deserves a lot of credit for something so well written...

If you are a writer, or an aspiring one, you NEED this book. 90+% of publishers don't take unagented material. This book will help you to find an agent, and help you to get that manuscript you've worked so hard on published.

I found the information in this guide to be extremely helpful in targeting and securing the right agent. The details that are provided, such as what percent of new authors the agency represents, the types of books the agency represents, and quotes which detail advice from the agents insured I sent my information to those who would be most interested. And it worked!!

You know you need an agent to shop your work, negotiate your contracts and get your manuscript into doors closed to unrepresented authors. Your next step is to add the "2003 Guide to Literary Agents" to your writer's toolbox.

Articles from industry professionals address the most common issues writers face: do you need an agent, how do you find the right agent and how to avoid bad agents. But these articles also walk you through the entire process of getting an agent - from what to do before you begin your search, all the way to knowing your rights before you sign a contract.

The heart of this book lies within the agent listings. Every year contact information, current needs, submission guidelines and contract details are 100 percent updated.

Besides agents who represent fiction and nonfiction work, you'll also find sections on script agents, independent production companies and independent publicists. Most agent listings also specify which writing conferences the agents attend so be sure to look in the writing conferences section to find the details on a variety of writers' conferences in the U.S. and Canada.

Your search for an agent is crippled without this guide in your arsenal. If you're serious about getting an agent to represent your work, the yearly "Guide to Literary Agents" is an absolute must.

I'm telling you, these Writer's Digest people really do it right. If you're looking for a literary agent, this is the place to look.

The book starts with articles about getting and working with an agent and interviews with reputable agents and editors. Do you need a New York agent? Should your agent suggest rewrites? Do editors like agents, or is their relationship combative? How can you tell a good agent from a bad agent? Do you even need an agent?

All of these questions and more are answered. You'll even find examples of successful query letters, synopses, and outlines. You'll learn the components of a nonfiction book proposal. All of the basics are covered.

Then comes the actual agent listings, divided into two sections: nonfee-charging literary agents, and script agents (both nonfee and fee-charging). Listings include contact information (including e-mail addresses), professional memberships (like AAR or WGA), what they did prior to becoming agents, number of clients, percentage of new authors, percentage of novels versus nonfiction books, genres they represent, preferred method of contact, recent sales, conferences they attend, terms of representation, and tips. There is also a key to let you know how open the agency is to new writers.

New in this year's edition is a listing of independent production companies and screenwriting contests. And nonfiction authors and novelists may enjoy the listings of publicists.

More than 600 agencies are listed. I've begun querying, and have already found several agents who responded positively to my e-mail queries.

The agents listed in this book are pre-screened and deemed to be legitimate, reputable agents. No more surfing the Internet and trying to guess who's legit and who's a shyster. If you find an agent through these listings, the book can pay for itself a hundredfold. It's a very worthwhile investment in your career.

If you are a writer, or an aspiring one, you NEED this book. 90+% of publishers don't take unagented material. This book will help you to find an agent, and help you to get that manuscript you've worked so hard on published.

This book could easily have been titled "Everything you ever needed to know about rural land sales but didn't know who to ask, or even that you should ask." The Schers give detailed explanations of very complex real estate issues that you just aren't going to be familiar with if you've only bought urban housing or have never bought property at all. I personally know people who have experienced some of the real estate and legal horrors that Les describes in this book. I'm so glad someone finally put all this information together in one somewhat easy-to-read reference... now I know how to keep myself out of the same jams! Even the things that don't specifically apply to my location are good to understand since, in some way, they might still affect me in the long run. Lots of great pointers to additional references and government/legal agencies that I've been trying to pin down.

Definitely a MUST HAVE for any modern homesteader... enthusiastic two thumbs up!!!

I read the book, it cover a lot of the things that I haven't even think about for owning land. Anyone who is looking to buy land to invest, this book is a must read.

My husband and I are considering buying some undeveloped land. While we own a house, we know nothing about rural land purchases and didn't even know what questions we should be asking. This brook provided a good overview of issues to consider, and the checklist at the back of things to inspect/ask about for each property was especially helpful.

This guide has everything I could imagine and alot I couldn't....which is of course the point.

If comprehensive is what you want, this should make you happy. The problem is that if you follow every bit of advice in this book you will have to quit your job and make finding your place a full time endeavor (or spend years part time). The advice is all good, but it almost makes the task seem more daunting, not less. Still great for learning all the issues and things to look out for, then you decide how much effort to put into footwork before buying your piece in the country

I love fairy tales, and this story is a most excellent example of the genre. It follows two children on their journeys through Fairyland and their interactions with various fantastic people and creatures. I loved the pure innocence of the story and found it very captivating. The narration was also very excellent and energetic, making this story a very good listen.

While The Golden Key may not be my all-time favorite book, it certainly has a strong connection to the book that I treasure most of all (well, second to the Bible). You see, George MacDonald, author of The Golden Key, was in fact the mentor of Lewis Carroll, who wrote my favorite non-Biblical book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. That's a very powerful and indeed shocking connection if you ask me. But you can kind of see it if you look closely. I mean, the kids in the Golden Key grow both old and young. Alice in Wonderland grows big and small. Kinda similar there.

Yet, I did not know about the relationship between the two books until AFTER I had finished The Golden Key and decided to do some research on its origin. I simply read The Golden Key like I would any other book, and developed some commentary on the work as a whole that I would now like to communicate:

First, the book is very short. I finished it in two days. And because its so short, events move incredibly fast to make room for heavy amounts of whimsical feeling and fantastical description.

But again I have to go back to the Alice thing. I noticed how SO many sentences in the story turned the reader upside down and made him say, "huh?" It was as if the Fairy World did everything it could to stay all out of whack. Whether it was to make speech that could be heard without ears, or to make the oldest people in the world look like little kids, the topsy-turvy nature of everything couldn't help but instill an amazing sense of awe. Truly, The Golden Key opens eyes to such incredible abstract possibilities of the imagination, and perhaps even life itself.

The out of whack sense of awe, while wonderful in this book, developed into full maturity in the Alice books. While The Golden Key merely mentions things that make no sense, the Alice books actually attempt to explain the senselessness of senseless things.

I hope I will always have a special place in my heart for MacDonald's prototype of Alice in Wonderland. Oh, if we only knew how much the imagination behind The Golden Key has really changed the world. I think we would all be very surprised.

I purchased this book as a Christmas gift for my 20-year-old daughter. It was one of her favorite books as a child and she frequently checked it out of our local library until it disappeared from the shelf there, never to be seen again. She was very excited when she saw that she had her own copy and she took the book back to college with her after Christmas break. Although I haven't actually read the book myself, I can tell you that my daughter thinks it is great!

This book is like a drink of the freshest, clearest water on the brightest, bluest spring day you can imagine. It was lovely every step of the way, somehow beautifully sad and wonderful at the same time. With the aid of the creatures of fairyland, mistreated Tangle and adventuresome Mossy go on an enchanting journey which takes them straight through to a wisdom and sense of wonderment that is somehow greater than that found in adulthood (or childhood). George MacDonald truly had an eye for the worlds of fairy, and an unsurpassed talent for expressing beauty in all things. The stories are not always meant to be understood, but deep in that inner place in one's heart, they make sense.

An earlier reviewer mentioned the difficulty of understanding the imagery of the story and another suggested (perhaps rightly) that the golden key represents Christ. C.S. Lewis believed it represented "the talent for loving", and having read the book numerous times, especially to nephews and nieces, I agree. Without giving away too much, notice the differences between Mossy's and Tangle's journey after their separation (physical death), especially how they saw the Old Man of the Sea. One might need to have read more of MacDonald's works (especially Unspoken Sermons) to get at his view of how love affects our ability to "see". His "At the Back of the North Wind" contains another wonderful example when North Wind explains to Diamond why she had to appear as a dreadful wolf to an old woman.

Inside Camp-X As a young boy who moved to Canada in the late 60s, I actually snuck into Camp X before it was turned over to the Fire department for controlled burns, what a historical tragedy! I had no idea of the significance of this historical site until reading Inside Camp X! This is a fascinating book about the little know realm of Secret Agents. To think that Ian Fleming trained there which led to one of the most incredible movie series of all time, James Bond, is incredible history for Canada! In fact, I was so enthralled with the character of James Bond; I named my son after the greatest actor to play the roll! And now Sean is serving in Afghanistan with US Army Intelligence - - go figure! There is so much more to Camp X than most people know! Alumni went on to become directors of the FBI, and one of its alumni went on to be one of the founders of the Green Berets! Anyone with an interest in Intelligence, espionage, and elite military operations must read this book, it all started here! All of Lynn's books are wonderful reading and I highly recommend them!

This audiobook is about the training and development of Allies spies during W.W.II. During World War II there was a Secret Camp on the Shores of Lake Ontario built Specifically for Training Allied Spies.
This Non-Fiction Audiobook "Inside Camp X" takes you from recruitment, Training, Specialty Instruction, Field work, Assignments, Missions, Captures and Life after the War.
The sole purpose of Camp X was to develop Secret Agents in every aspect of Silent Killing, Sabotage, Demolition, Weaponry and Morse Code.
Read by Michael Booth. Michael Booth , a prominent Shakespearean actor and producer in Canada.

From the moment I started reading this book I couldn't put it down until it was finished. This has to be one of the most incredible covert operations of WW2. From Sir William Stephenson's start-up operations to the closing at the end of the war, it takes the reader through the intense training, discipline, and secretive world of intelligence. And all this took place right in the Whitby/Oshawa area. Until I read this book I was totally unaware of how intriguing and historical this area was. Thank you for a well written, well researched and highly informative book.

Frances Whelan

INSIDE CAMP X
By Lynn Philip Hodgson
During World War II there was a Secret Camp on the Shores of Lake Ontario built
Specifically for Training Allied Spies. This Non-Fiction Audiobook "Inside Camp X" takes you from recruitment, Training,Specialty Instruction, Field work, Assignments, Missions, Captures and Life after the War. The sole purpose of Camp X was to develop Secret Agents in every aspect of
Silent Killing, Sabotage, Demolition, Weaponry and Morse Code.
Read by Michael Booth. Michael Booth is a prominent Shakespearean actor and
producer in Canada.

CAMP X
The true story of what went on behind the fences of
STS - 103 (Camp - X) This top secret World War II
Secret Agent Training School was strategically placed
in Canada on the shores of Lake Ontario.

As outlined in his biography The Life of Ian Fleming written by John Pearson after
the war, Fleming was required to take the same training as the Camp - X Agents
in order to realize the effect of the process and to have a better appreciation for
what the Agents endured. On one occasion, he was sent inside with orders to
shoot and kill the man he would find hiding in an upstairs bedroom.

Unbeknownst to Fleming, his intended target was in fact the Chief Instructor of
Camp - X, Major William Ewart Fairbairn, a man who, it was fabled, was so good
at his trade that he could dodge bullets! Pearson quotes William Stephenson,
Head of the British Security Co-ordination, as having said, "It was a test of nerve....
a test to decide whether he (the Agent) really was ruthless enough to kill a man
when it came down to it." According to the account, Fleming waited outside the
room for a time, then went away. "You know, I couldn't really kill a man that way."
Stephenson said Fleming apologized later. Fleming drew from this and his other
experiences with Agents from Camp - X to write his famous 'James Bond' novels.

Mr. Hodgsons book on the inner workings of Camp x, which till recently has been shrouded in secrecy, is a must read ...As someone that lives very close to the actual site it has opened my eyes to what Camp X was all about...Untill this book became available, even those of us that live very close to the site had no idea of the importance of Camp X...

Ignatieff is at his best in his painstakingly detailed biography of that intellectual giant, Isaiah Berlin. This is how biographies should be written. Ignatieff has a wonderful ability of marrying the man and his ideas with the politics of the times he lived in. An elegantly written and honest homage to a life lived! I highly recommend this fantastic read!

This is a superb biography, and it also provides a very good survey of Berlin's ideas as they developed over his lifetime. That latter is no mean feat, as Berlin did not produce a highly organized corpus. Berlin's habit was to produce something, then proceed to the next thing, and never look back. He was also not very tidy in his scholarship, with a tendency to present "quotations" that are his remembered version of what the other person wrote. It is due to the extraordinary efforts of Henry Hardy that Berlin's writings having been gathered into various anthologies, with missing footnotes added, quotations cleaned up, etc.

If you have tried to get into Isaiah Berlin's thought and have been discouraged by his sometimes baroque mode of exposition, I would recommend starting with Ignatieff's book. Then read around in Berlin's essays for a while and, following that, pick up "Isaiah Berlin," by John Gray, a succinct critical survey of the central themes and ideas in the man's work. At that point, you will be able to pick up anything Berlin wrote and read it with complete comprehension. Promise.

Twentieth Century philosophers in England fall into two groups. The bigger is the one whose members engage in analyzing the meanings of words and the ways that we use them. While this is undoubtedly an important enterprise, it is often rather arid and does not touch on what is really significant to most people. These philosophers tend to teach us cleverness.

The other, rather smaller group, to which Isaiah Berlin belonged (after having started as a member of the first group), addresses itself chiefly to human concerns, to how we ought to live. I maintain that men like him teach us wisdom.

Isaiah Berlin certainly did not live in an ivory tower; and in Michael Ignatieff's immensely attractive biography we can follow his engagement in the great world. Like many other academics, he worked in government during the Second World War: at the Ministry of Information in New York and then at the British Embassy in Washington and (very briefly just after the war) at the Moscow Embassy. As a committed Zionist, he played a minor but not unimportant role, acting as an intermediary between his friend Chaim Weizmann and American politicians during the period when American attitudes towards the aspiration for an independent Israel were being shaped. Weizmann and Ben Gurion both asked him to move to Israel and play a part in shaping the nascent state; but Berlin declined. One reason for this was that he felt himself temperamentally unfitted for the intrigues, infighting and abrasiveness that such a role would involve.

Ignatieff shows repeatedly how, although Berlin had political commitments - particularly to Zionism and to anti-Communism - he shied away from being put into a confrontational position. He did not like making enemies; he liked to please; he was uncomfortably aware of his dual allegiance when working for a British government which was unsympathetic to Zionist aspirations. There seems to me no doubt that the philosophy which would develop in due course was a sublimation of his psychology. It should go without saying that this is not said in denigration of his philosophy: some of the greatest achievements in creativity have been driven by personal needs of this kind. One must judge the value of a philosophy by the quality of the end product, not by its psychological origins.

One of Berlin's essays is entitled The Hedgehog and the Fox. The fox, so an ancient Greek once said, knows many things; the hedgehog knows one big thing. Ignatieff argues that Berlin indeed knew many things but that he had been in search of the one big thing that would make sense not only of the tensions he felt within himself, but also of those which any open-minded person must feel when seeing that in so many important conflicts, whether in personal life, in the history of ideas, in politics, or in philosophical situations, there is so much to be said for each side. He found this one big thing in the notion of Pluralism.

Pluralism means that every individual and every society must accept that there is never one absolute value to which other values must be subordinated. There are many values in life which all command respect; but the most important of these - freedom, justice, equality, tolerance, compassion, loyalty - often must collide. Take, for example, Liberty and Equality. Both are rightly sought after; but equality can only be achieved by curtailing the liberty of action which, if granted, will result in some people pulling ahead of others. And even a single value, like equality, has tension built into it: do we look for equality of opportunity or equality of outcome? Again, if we want equality of opportunity, the result may be inequality of outcome; if we want to ensure equality of outcome, we cannot also have equality of opportunity. There are occasions when unavoidable collisions of values - of allegiance or of moral duty, for example - are the very stuff of tragedy.

Berlin was a liberal and believed in rational discussion; but he thought that no amount of rational discussion can resolve these conflicts of values; and for him it was certainly not a solution to give to any one value absolute priority over others which have as good a claim to be universal.

Berlin was as fascinated by those ideologies which he regarded as inhuman as he was by those he shared. He once said that he would never describe Nazism as mad. It did indeed rest on totally perverted axioms, but upon these axioms its theorists did erect an intellectual structure: how else could one explain that fascism was espoused not just by thugs, but by many academics at universities and by thinkers in other walks of life? Even more so was this the case with Marxism: he detested it, but he truly understood it from within. Ignatieff comments that "Berlin was the only liberal thinker of real consequence to take the trouble to enter the mental worlds of liberalism's sworn enemies." And although liberalism and nationalism, usually allies in the first half of the 19th century, parted company thereafter, Berlin was also one of those rare modern liberals who had respect for nationalism. The freedom to give expression to national identity was an important freedom, but of course it must not itself become oppressive of other people's national identity.

As the book's title suggests, this is a biography that focusses most strongly on the philosopher's life. An exposition of his ideas is skilfully woven into the narrative; but it is not until we are two-thirds of the way through the book, when Berlin had reached the age of 40, that we come upon the chapter headed "Late Awakening" - awakening, that is, to the ideas for which he became famous. But I cannot praise highly enough the loving and vivid portrait of Isaiah Berlin that Ignatieff has given us and the fascinating account of his private and public life.

This is the life- story of the most important historian of ideas of the twentieth century. The story is told with clarity and sympathy . And something is caught of the tone and spirit of the person considered to be ' the greatest talker the English language had ' since Coleridge. Berlin was a person not only of remarkable learning, but of tremendous intellectual enthusiasm. His understanding of how it may be impossible to reconcile ' ultimate value claims' is at the heart of his championing of liberal democracy. The story is a remarkable one including not simply his climbing to the top of the pole of the English intellectual establishment ( despite his Jewishness) but his able service in the cause of freedom during the Second World War. One of Berlin's great volumes ( edited by his devoted student Henry Hardy)'Personal Impressions' tells of Berlin's warm friendships with many of the greats of the twentienth century. One such friendship was with Chaim Weizmann first President of Israel. Berlin was a 'Yom Kippur Jew' and ardent Zionist who contributed much to Israel . On a recent walk on Keren Ha- Yesod street in Jerusalem I took special pleasure in seeing a quiet little square named after him. This book should be an introduction to reading his own collections of essays which Hardy put together. They are the remarkable record of a most remarkable mind.

How can such a great book have such a low sales number? Or such a cheap price and only available used? I found it new for less than $4 in a book store during Christmas break in Cape May, NJ. Of all the books I was reading this one grabbed my attention and was most frequently the one I chose to read until I finished it. Gems! This book is loaded with them. Getting to know Sir Isaiah Berlin has been wonderful. An example: Teaching in an American University in January 1949 "His students didn't seem to know how to read or write, at least `not as these activities are understood at our best (British) universities'." (p. 190) His course was at Harvard! Now I can't feel a sense of connaissance since I was a student no sooner than a decade later. How do I know I know how to read?

Reading p. 188: "individuals must have secure cultural belonging if they are to be genuinely free." It occurs to me while reading the book that without such a book about Isaiah Berlin a great deal of what he thought would not be obvious in what he published. He often did not say what he thought. Was this because he was not very secure in his sense of cultural belonging? (Yes).


I had not realized how much Sir Isaiah was a philosopher of the sort I would like to be some day. Because of his experiences he was a polyglot. He spent time in the service of his country using his intellectual and social skills. His philosophical views bridged the Western analytic tradition, engaging Wittgenstein in argument for example, but at the same time applying the Continental philosophy of the Hegelian tradition, his excellent introduction to Marx for example. I personally find so much to like. I have found another soul mate.

I also thank those who took the effort to write such good reviews, often including other information to make the experience even more worth while, and leave me with little to do than mention a few quotes as a reminder for myself. This book ought to be read by more people than are apparently reading it.

I simply love this book. My native language is not English, but I could read it and understand very easily. Also, it's full of unforgettable insights which I like the best. So I would recommend this book to people like me - not very fluent in English, but eager to learn how to cook properly.

Not so much a cookbook as a practical guide to French technique, from the basics to the challenging. And it's got lots of color pictures! I've used the instructions to cut up a duck, to make bechamel, and to bake the chocolate-walnut cake. But I've also used the book to refine my technique to improve upon recipes from other cookbooks. A wonderful addition to my library.

There are many books on basic skills to advanced skills in the kitchen. However, I think this book still remains one of the best. I have seen books come and go, but this stands the test of time... Excellent descriptions, excellent pictures and inclusive of all that you should know and want to know as a chef. Foodies at home will appreciate it too. This book is a classic.

Excellent book. It was quite a search to find this book. One of the top food books in the world, along with the Larousse Gastronomique.

Amazing book, great practical info on the ins and outs of cooking and ingredients, realize that this is not a cookbook.