Kansas Books

I am rating this book highly because I think that people should have a responsibility to learn the facts, before they form opinions that judge others. There are some great essays that help the reader understand some of the technical aspects, a great essay by Deborah Lipstadt about people seeing it as symbolic of apathy, a great "against" essay by Richard Levy plus a great "for" essay by Sir Martin Gilbert. However, some of the articles in the debate are actually conterfactual, sensationlist and have only served to misinform some people as evidenced by some of the reviews on very site. For example(quoted from one of the reviews):

"Especially compelling are the aerial reconnaisance photographs and contemporary documents included in the book. One photograph alone--showing Auschwitz from high above, with the crematoria bracketed by bombs dropped to destroy the adjacent IG Farben slave labor factory--is especially haunting, since it shows very vividly that not only could the Allies have bombed the killing facilities at Auschwitz/Birkenau, they did bomb a facility literally only a few miles away. (Former Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu is quoted to the effect that the Allies knew enough and had the capacity to bomb Auschwitz; the problem, he asserts, was that the Jews did not have enough political clout at the time to command attention and military resources.)"

The problem is that no one ever actually developed the negatives into print until 1979. As Yeduha Bauer is fond of saying "There is a difference between knoledge and information". We had the information, ie the film but the proof is that we did not have the knowledge.

Another quote from the same review:

"Among the documents included in the volume is a detailed report from two Slovakian Jews who escaped from Auschwitz, documenting very clearly that early in 1944 detailed information was available to Allied leaders about the massive murders being carried out there. It also included a remarkably accurate map of the area, drawn from memory by the escapees."

This is a reference to the Rudolph Vbra report also know as "The protocols of Auschwitz" which was recieved in summary (Not DETAIL) in July of 1944 not "early 1944". In detail it was recieved in November of 1944, after the camp had stopped the killings. There is a great deal of controvesy of the timing of the report and how is was diseminated. It also exagerrated the death toll by a factor of four.

Should it have been bombed, in my humble opinion it is hard to say.

Would it have saved lives ? In the book Lipstadt remaarks that she is always amazed that when she gives a talk, how many people believe it would have saved "millions" Yet while she does not actually answer the question the point she is making is that "millions" is clearly incorrect.
In his excellent book on Auschwitz, Laurence Reese suggest no. He points out the timing and the fact that had it been bombed, when it could have been bombed, that the Hungarian Jews had already been killed. That two crematoria (Little White and Little Red) were actually not on the Vbra report, were converted farm buildings and not likely to have be targeted and either was singularly capable of handling the killing of the victims that died from July to November. He also makes no bones about feeling the Allies were apathetic, just does not see the bombing as saving lives. This of course is a view which is in sharp contrast to the Stuart Erdheim article in the book.

All in all with it's strentghs and weakness I would highly recommend this book, it will make you think. But it should also be approached with an open mind.

I saw the bombers fly over the camps and we waived to them.

At another camp they flew low over us, bombed the factory (BRABAG at Zeitz) just by our fence and sent no bombs to liberate us inside the fence. Even our guards have fled. I ducked when the shrapnels started flying but oh how welcome the attack was.

Lets face it no one in power REALLY gave a... If we were all British or American troups being exterminated THE CAMPS AND RAILROADS WOULD HAVE BEEN BOMBED TO SMITHERENES./

It is a sad chapter, not even the FDR Museum at Hyde Park has
a good explanation except to refer to this book. It was FDR' decision not to bomb, as evidence now emerges in a recent article in NEWSWEEK magazine by Beshloss.

The point is made which I agree with is that the responsibility for the murders should be with the murders.

I found it this the best and quite a readable account of this issue. Its a series of articles which allow the reader to reach a conclusion. It discusses the US and Britain. It makes it quite clear Stalin did not care and did nothing.

There are basically two issue involved.

The first is could it be done. After reading the discussion in the book but its left to you the reader to decide. I think it could have been. There seems to be no reason, why not? The technical, military and intelligence problems seem quite solvable.

The second is if it could have been done, could it have made any difference. This question is more difficult to answer. If the operation had been done its quite possible that the people would have been killed by other methods eg forced marches or bullets. However this was harder and slower then the gas chambers. It goes on to discuss an air raid on Hungary scared the government there into stopping the transportation of Jews. This was purely an accidental effect of timing. The air raid occurred just when the transportation of Jews started. The Hungarian government thought it was because of the transportation and stopped them. It then discusses the effect of this air raid. Leaving the reader with the impression that maybe political action may have helped to stop some of these murders.

The question that I would like to ask the writers "Is if they had been Americans or English being sent to those gas chambers - would they have been bombed?". I think they would have.

This collection of essays about the feasibility of bombing the crematoria and gas chambers at the Nazi death camp Auschwitz and the railways leading to it in 1944 presents virtually every aspect of the issue--from the available intelligence about the camp to military logistical and operational considerations to the British and American politics behind the decision not to intervene to the likely casualties caused and lives saved by such an intervention if it had taken place. Don't come to this book expecting facile, clear, categorical answers to the issues. While most authors have their own viewpoints to argue, collectively, the essays present a reasonably balanced set of perspectives on the pros and cons of bombing Auschwitz and its environs. The editors largely leave it to the reader to decide what could and should have been done. They are to be commended for their overall objectivity.

Especially compelling are the aerial reconnaisance photographs and contemporary documents included in the book. One photograph alone--showing Auschwitz from high above, with the crematoria bracketed by bombs dropped to destroy the adjacent IG Farben slave labor factory--is especially haunting, since it shows very vividly that not only could the Allies have bombed the killing facilities at Auschwitz/Birkenau, they did bomb a facility literally only a few miles away. (Former Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu is quoted to the effect that the Allies knew enough and had the capacity to bomb Auschwitz; the problem, he asserts, was that the Jews did not have enough political clout at the time to command attention and military resources.)

Among the documents included in the volume is a detailed report from two Slovakian Jews who escaped from Auschwitz, documenting very clearly that early in 1944 detailed information was available to Allied leaders about the massive murders being carried out there. It also included a remarkably accurate map of the area, drawn from memory by the escapees.

Many of the essays caution the reader against the fallacy of "presentism"--reading the history of over half a century ago through the prism of the present along with its political and ethical standards. For example, at the time that it first became militarily feasible to bomb Auschwitz--late spring and early summer of 1944, when American bombers were operating out of southern Italy--the Allies were understandbly preoccupied with launching the D-Day invasion of Normandy, and most available British-American resources in the European theater were being devoted to that goal. Nor was victory over the Nazis a certainty at this time. Thus, the repeated response of U.S. War Department officials that military resources could not be diverted to bomb Auschwitz is a bit more understandable, albeit still morally obtuse in light of the boming of the nearby I.G. Farben works. (None of the essays seems to recognize that the allocation of military resources at the time was not 100-percent efficient--a point underscored repeatedly in Joseph Heller's "Catch-22.") Similarly, there was some political concern that openly proclaiming an Allied goal of halting the slaughter of the Jews might backfire, given the widely prevalent anti-Semitism in both the U.K. and U.S.A. at the time. None of the points like these seems to be presented to excuse Allied inaction so much as to explain it.

As might be expected, the essays vary a great deal in quality. A few seem excessively detailed and verbose, but most are quite thought-provoking, well-written, and informative. None is an easy read, however--this is not a book for the reader who does not feel like investing a good deal of time, concentration, and energy. Nonetheless, it is a book not to be missed by anyone seriously interested in the Holocaust and World War II in Europe. I learned more from this book about both those topics than I have from any single book in a long time. Pay attention to the endnotes, too--they are filled with additional insights.

I love a good debate and this book is probably the closest one could come to a well thought out debate and not actually participate in it. The authors / editors do a great job of selecting the historians to write the chapters, I do not think you could ask for a more well spoken, knowledgeable and balanced group. I thought the book would have a lot of emotion shading the arguments almost to the point of making the debate fall into a day time talk show format of pushing and shouting, but that never happened. The chapters provided very convincing and detail laden essays on each particular facet of the issue with a for and against article to balance the debate.

To be honest I did not have an opion one way or the other on this topic before picking up the book. What then happened was that I kept bouncing from one side to the next with each article until I sat back and viewed the book in its totality. My opinion really only maters to me so I will spare you, but this book will definitely help you in forming one. The editors also did a good job of making sure that the book had a nice flow, sometimes I find that with books of different articles by different people you can get a choppy book. It also provides a ton of interesting details about the air war in Europe something I was not expecting but came as a pleasant surprise. Overall this is a very well thought out, well written book that will provide you with a great deal of information.

This book has very good coverage of the major generals who had the dubious honor of working for Churchill but it has one major failing...NO maps! As vast as the territory that this book covers it is unbelievable to me that the author/publisher did not provide maps to allow the reader to follow along. There's not even a general Mediterrenean map despite the fact that a good portion of the book centers on the Desert War with all the battles and skirmishes tallied. If you are not an expert in WWII history or don't have a military atlas while you read this book you can get lost pretty quickly. A military history/battle book without maps shouldn't be printed.

This is an excellent book that describes many aspects of the alliance in World War II that are unfamiliar to most Americans. Fascinating read.

Raymond Callahan's 2007 "Churchill and His Generals" is a rare combination of superb historical analysis and readability. His subject is the often difficult relationship between Churchill, British Prime Minister 1940-1945, and his senior military leaders, as they struggled to transform the British Army while waging a global conflict with Germany, Italy, and Japan.

The British Army at the beginning of the Second World War was a relatively small Imperial Policing Force belatedly transforming itself into the mass army that would be needed to fight the war. Transformation was the more difficult for being done under fire and with inferior weapons and equipment. Callahan makes the excellent point, repeatedly, that British Army leadership was haunted by the horrific casualties of the First World War and by the awareness that Britian lacked the manpower to field the numbers of divisions of its opponents or its principal ally, the United States. Ironically, by 1943-1944, the British Army had completed its transformation but become a wasting asset due to Britain's inability to replace combat losses.

Much of the focus of the book is on Britain's efforts early in the war, as it strove to hold off the Germans and Italians in the Mediterranean, and the Japanese in the Far East and South Asia. The problem of inexperienced forces and leaders was acute and the result was an almost unbroken strings of defeats. The British were kicked out of Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, and Greece, and only barely held their own in the Middle East and North Africa. Callahan notes the division between Regular Army officers and British officers serving in the Indian Army as a source of professional jeolousy and misunderstandings.

Callahan does an excellent job illuminating the political context of Churchill's relationship with his senior officers. As leader of Britain and of a coalition that would include the United States and Russia, Churchill needed victories to stay in power and to retain leverage in alliance negotiations. The result was immense pressure for results, often well ahead of capability.

In surveying the field of generals who played important roles, Callahan's concise analysis is often critical but seemingly even-handed. Bernard Montgomery comes in for his fair share of accolades and criticism, but Callahan gives due credit to overlooked officers such as Harold Alexander in Italy, Claude Auchinleck in North Africa and India, and Bill Slim in Burma. Callahan expends no little effort to identify Slim as the most capable British general of the war.

Callahan's faults are few. This book is perhaps a little too concise, at just over two hundred pages, for a very rich subject still being explored half a century on. Callahan's advocacy for Slim, while justified, threatens to exceed the impartial approach taken to other generals. Readers are urged to skim the footnotes and read the bibliographic essay for additional fascinating information on Callahan's topic.

This book is very highly recommended to students of the British Army and of the Second World War, for whom it will provide fascinating insights into the challenge of command. American readers will recognize the recurring problems of rebuilding and/or transforming an army under fire.

This is a well written, and concise, perhaps too concise review of the course of the leadership of the British Army in the second world war. The author does a good job of describing the evolution of British generalship in the war, and the difficulties of both finding capable leaders, as well as those who could pass muster with Winston Churchill; not an easy task. Particular emphasis is placed upon the war in North Africa, which perhaps most illustrated how lackluster leaders resulted in defeat; despite having many advantages in men and material over the enemy, the redoubtable Afrika Korps.
I agree with an earlier reviewer, and the author, that Gen. William Slim was perhaps the finest British general since Wellington. Most have heard of Montgomery, and opinions on him are sharply divided, but unfortunately, many have little or no knowledge of Slim and his accomplishments in Burma.
One general that I believe should have been covered in a bit more detail in this book was the CIGS, Gen. Sir Alan Brooke. To my mind, his leadership was indispensable in the professional direction of the army, selection of commanders, and above all, dealing with Churchill, and deflecting some of his more outrageous schemes. They proved to be a great team, but I believe Brooke, despite great respect and admiration for Churchill, harbored a resentment towards him until his death.
When I earlier said that this book was perhaps too concise, I was referring to it's somewhat short length. I believe another 100-200 pages could easily have been writtten. My main complaint is the utter lack of maps; they are essential for a book of this nature.

The British Army of World War II began the war deficient in leadership, doctrine, equipment, and training, leading to a series of military debacles in Europe and the Pacific between 1940 and 1942 that overshadowed the army and its commanders for the remainder of the war. By 1945, however, it had evolved into an effective fighting force, despite manpower shortages that forced British generals to adopt caution in their operations and eventually led to the disbanding of some seven divisions.

In "Churchill and His Generals" author Raymond Callahan focuses on Great Britains key military leaders and formations: the Eighth Army, which fought in North Africa and Italy; the Second Army, which fought in Northwestern Europe from D-Day to the end of the war; and the Fourteenth Army, which fought in Burma.

It was the Fourteenth Army which emerged as the greatest fighting force of the war. It's commander, General William Slim, is described by Callahan as "the finest British general since Wellington" for it was he that built and transformed that army it into the best of Great Britiain's World War II formations. Unfortunately, for Slim and his veterans, the Fourteenth received little recognition from Winston Churchill for their tremendous contributions to the defeat of the Japanese in Burma.

Despite his reputation as one of the greatest British leaders of World War II, Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery emerges as a commander who had not advanced beyond 1918 tactically and the legitimate descendant of the generals of World War I. After the years of defeats, retreats and evacuations, the ascendency of the Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke - Field Marshal Mongomery team, meant a return to tactical and operational caution (reinforced by manpower concerns). Victory through firepower at an acceptable cost in lives became the aim - and the British Army delivered those victories.

Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander, consistently denigrated and undervalued by both Montgomery and Brooke, emerges as a capable soldier as well as the closest thing the British Army had to an Eisenhower-style coalition commander.

The major shortcoming of this work is that it is a synthesis of secondary sources and relies heavily on the postwar memoirs of most of the British commanders of the Second World War. Unfortunately, in those memoirs, Great Britiain's World War II military leaders spend a great deal of energy disparaging each other. The attentive reader is left wondering if Callahan has not presented Great Britian's World War II Army and its commanders too negatively.

What a joy to read an author who *knows* about women. Having found myself on the floor under the dining room table (with cereal in my hair) more than once in my 49+ years I applaud the author. She spins a tale that is real. How refreshing.

I stumbled across this book at the library and checked it out on a whim. I am so glad I did ... This is a book you want all your friends to read so you will have someone to discuss it with -- was Pete a bad guy or a good guy? Was his death justified? All things considered, did these people treat each other the way friends are supposed to, especially 'the girls'? Bottom line: An Excellent Book.

This book provides different points of view on the same man after his death. The reader is able to see that although a womanizer, this man had something to contribute to his relationships with the 4 women featured. A profile by his sister is also included in this tale of lust, friendship, and family ties. Kagan does a remarkable job of showing the same person as 4 different personalities as seen through the eyes of these friends who each mourn his death in his own way. After the reader finally decides that he has a clear picture of who this man was and why he his dead, Ms. Kagan suprises us further

I really tried to get into this book, but infortunately, it never reached the point of "flowing" for me.

I thought the plot was well conceived. In "The Girls," we get to know four women, who have been friends for decades, through the death of one man, Pete Chickery. One of "The Girls" was married to Pete, but all of them had a relationship of one type or another with him. After he is killed, the story of who Pete was, what he meant to each of them, and their relationships with one another come into focus. While this core group intrigued me, the peripheral characters - children, parents, housekeepers, etc., really gummed up the works for me. The story was simple, but the more characters that I was intoduced to, the more my interest waned.

I also didn't particularly care for the structure of the first three "chapters," when each character was speaking directly to another person to whom we had not been introduced. Yet, when we finally meet that person, she is simply a part of the story, and not the omniscient presence that I was prepared to meet. Perhaps the reason that the story failed to "flow" for me, was due to that fact that once I became accustomed to one voice, it changed dramatically into another, then another. It never had the rythym that it needed to keep me turning pages.

What can I say, this book was surely one of the best and most thrilling, I've ever read. During the first few pages I hadn't got a clou what the hell all this was about, but once I had the point, I couldn't stop readin. I wanted to know all about the girls, about the different characters, their lives, fears and their relation with Michael. You should go to the next bookshop and get it. Thrilling, funny and excellently written. If there were mor than 5 stars, I'd give more

One of the best books I've read. The unforgetable protagoinst is a loving father, an ethical, kind, hard-working man who's making the best of his limited options. Meanwhile he struggles with a vast internal conflict between his morals and his need to protect his son. The kind of man I'd love to meet in real life. All the characters are distinct and interesting individuals, their lives cleverly interwoven. Sometimes suspenseful, sometimes funny, sometimes profound.

Best of all, the book is written in the most incredible, startling, beautiful language I've ever read, language that transports you, mesmerizes you, and forces you to stick around while it hands you big nuggets of the hero's simple wisdom.

I really enjoyed reading this book! It was easy to get captured into the storyline, by the end of the book I felt like I was a close friend of the main character and his son.I look forward to reading many more books by Dionna Day!

This book drew me in. The wonderful use of dialog swept me into the story. I only put it down when forced to, for mundane purposes like going to work. Even then, the story continued to influence my thoughts, as I wondered what might happen to the characters next. The ending was perfect and full of hope for the future. An ultimately uplifting book. I am recommending it to family and friends.

I don't come from the Midwest but felt like a got to know some of it's people throught this book. Dionna's use of dialog is captivating. I enjoyed the way the main character has demention as I came to understand him and like him, despite the fact he's planning a murder! As he interacts more with other characters in the story (especially his son) you really get a feel for this guy, where he's come from and where his heart is. This is a good first effort!

The main character is so good hearted, and his life is so hard. I was touched by the wonderful job he did raising his son. I won't give it away, but the ending is perfect!! The writing style is great too. I'm from the Midwest originally, and the accent and all the delightful similes made me grin and miss home.

Dr. Taylor is one of the most scholarly theologians in our day. More important he is a spiritual man with a heart for God and holiness that has inspired hundreds of thousands of students and laity. The comments: By A Customer clearly misses the point that "right thinking" as Dr. Taylor calls it is to have Biblical Thinking. That is what Professor Taylor means and does an excellent job of pointing out how John Calvin's position is not Biblically based, or Biblical Thinking. Dr. Taylor is a firm believer in true and correct exegesis of Scripture, and that God said what He meant and meant what He said. "Thus saith the Lord! True Calvinism (hyper Calvinism) which is to accept all of John Calvin's teaching which is necessary to support his whole premise is not Biblically Thinking. Lastly, neither Dr. Taylor, John Wesley, or any true Arminian would ever discount the truly marvelous, unmerited, undeserved, grace of God. We are saved by Grace, plus or minus nothing! Mercy and love found me, and redeemed this poor lost sinner. The Bible and my life both testify that I had nothing to offer, the best I had was as filthy rags. As the old hymn says so wonderfully, "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and Wonder how He could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean. How marvelous, how wonderful my song shall ever be." Grace is not the only wonder though, nor did He save us to struggle and be defeated. The Biblical message throughout the Old and New Testament is that Christ conqueror sin and death, and we are more than conquerors through Him who gave himself for us. He came not to save people in their sins, but from their sins! That is Biblical! John wrote, "My little children, I write these things so that you do not sin! But if (not when) if we do, we have an Advocate (a Lawyer, a Representative who will plead our case for us." Arminianism is not omitting Grace; on the Contrary, it is Amazing Grace, Precious Grace, Abundant Grace to meet all our needs. Yes, (if) we fail, if we fall! But the plan and the Provision make failure unnecessary! TBS "For the weapons of our warfare are mighty for the tearing down of strongholds, . . ." We put on the armor of God to stand, having down all stand! We are not defeated, old split hoof is. The old hymn, "Would you be FREE from your burden of sin, there is power in the blood, would you o'er evil a victory win, There is power in the blood!" PTL! Wesley, as does Dr. Taylor preaches Victory, Deliverance, Power, Freedom, Abundant Living, in Christ as a result of His saving grace and His sanctifying power. We are to take up our cross and follow Him. In actuality we are to give up our life, He is not only Saviour, He is Lord! We are to surrender to Him, and His will. His way, not ours! It takes a surrender life, Apostle Paul said, am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Simply put, it's me, well, it's not me, it's Him living through me which makes me adequate for my world, where I live down on the street, day in and day out. If your tired of struggling with Sin and Temptation and feeling prey to the evil one I highly recommend this book as a step toward learning about God's wonderful grace, and your true standing in Him. Eternal Security, sure! I believe we can be saved for time and eternity. Not freedom to sin, and a pass, no way! Not cheap grace! But secure because we have victory in him. "Not of good that I have down, simply to the cross I cling!" He is my only hope of salvation, but He is all powerful and He is victorious. Through Him my friend, so can you be. If you're a layperson and would like a smaller simple version, try to get the out of print paperback A Right Conception of Sin. It is a very easy read and will bless your heart! May the Lord bless you richly, and may His Spirit lead you in wisdom and in truth, and in a Right Thinking!

This book is not a systematic theology, but emphasizes a doctrine which is absolutely crucial to having a biblical, coherent system of Christian thought. As Taylor suggests in this book, hamartiology is a core doctrine from which other doctrines stem. It certainly affects the way we live and think. If this essential doctrine of flawed, our whole system will be troublesome. Overall, Taylor is thoroughly biblical, citing numerous passages, in addition to being a careful theologian. I greatly appreciate this well-written work, and find it not only scholarly but easily accessible for all members of the church.

I have never read a book outside of the Bible that has impacted my thinking so much! The issue of sin, and how God reveals that he deals with it, is essential to every believer. To be wrong about our thinking in this area will inevitably affect the whole scheme of our theology. To be wrong here determines whether we will follow God's view of sin, or man's view of sin. It can affect if we will live according to God's will, or passively like dumb sheep, follow man's unscriptural idea of sin to our own potential destruction.
The first few chapters deal with a basic introduction to theology and how it works in a way that a layman can understand it. As I read the book the first time, I did not catch the importance of what he was saying. As I read on, I started to see how essential it was to truth to be consistent with Scripture, and with what I believed in other areas. Don't let the theological emphasis of the first three chapters dissuade you from reading the book! It is solidly Biblical, but exposes how we are all affected by theology. As for understanding theology, it is an eye opener! There are few books that I have read that I would use the terms "profound," "essential," and "must read" to describe it, but this is the one! I feel sorry for anyone that would neglect taking the time to consider this worthwhile book on such an essential subject that most Christians will never be clear or consistent upon.

This book is the definitive resource for understanding and communicating the Arminian viewpoint. Although it is scholarly, it is not beyond the reach of the average Bible student.

I could not recommend it more highly.

This book is essentially an argument against Calvinism. If you like the idea of re-visiting well worn theological arguments, read on. If you desire to better understand and to overcome your sin, you would do better reading John Owen's "Sin and Temptation" (ISBN: 1556618301) Taylor obviously has a high view of right living, or a life that is righteous. And this is commendable. But for a person who is STRUGGLING with sin, the answer is not to work harder at being good; that person needs grace. (The biblical book of Galatians would be helpful, read along with Martin Luther's commentary on Galatians.) In seeking a "right conception" of sin, Taylor would have done better to do some biblical thinking rather than just "right thinking" which (in the case of this book) turns out to be just "wishful thinking." By the way, it is clear that Taylor doesn't really understand Calvinism. I hope that it's not that he wilfully misrepresents it; rather, I think that he seeks to understand it based on his own preconcieved views and describes it based upon human reason (and also largely upon his view of human experience). In some ways you can't help but reach his conclusions when you build the arguments the way he does. The problem is that Christian theology should be biblical, not based upon the faulty observations of human experience and the shifting sand of human logic. Some of what he says might "feel right" but it doesn't stand up to biblical scrutiny at all. As soon as he claims that "right thinking" rather than "biblical thinking" is the way to a right conception of sin, he starts with a wrong premise, and slowly, step by step, veers way into misunderstanding and misconception.

The letters in this book are divided into categories such as war brides, working women on the homefront, newlyweds separated by war, why we fought, the price of war and having a loved one away for so long, and courtship by mail. There's also one chapter that consists entirely of photos and photocopies of postcards, advertisements for things like V-mail and writing to servicemen overseas, posters, drawings, and newsletters. Although many of the concerns and experiences are similar, no two stories are exactly alike. We get a wide range of people, such as newlywed wives who had to cope with pregnancy and raising young children while husbands were away, wives who lost their husbands and often kept writing because they didn't know of their deaths right away, a family in a Japanese-American internment camp, a couple who went from friendly correspondence to a nationally-known breakup and angry feud to finally lovebirds again and a happily and long-married couple, a Quaker couple dealing with the husband being in prison due to his pacifist beliefs and refusal to serve in the military, wartime shortages on the homefront, and the often hard life many farmers faced during these years. The one thing all of these female letter-writers had in common, though, was that they were dealing with the absence of husbands, sons, brothers, fathers, and male friends.

However, this book didn't pique my interest quite as much as it could have due to there being just so many different excerpts; even with the longer sections, there just wasn't as much opportunity to really draw the reader in and make him or her fully connect with these longago letter-writers, the way there could have been had there been more longer excerpts (even with fewer letter-writers represented overall), with some shorter excerpts mixed in along the way. Although this is a problem with all such anthologies; as great as the material is, one can tend to feel that it's still not the full complete picture, particularly when the editors haven't included all of their letters and have even edited the length of some of them. It makes one wish one could read all of these letters written by these interesting people instead of just these relatively short samples. Still, all things considered, this is a relatively minor complaint, certainly nothing that should dissuade one from reading this fascinating book.

I study all kinds of stuff from the WW2 homefront. I really liked this book. It's an easy read, however, you really get to know what it was like for the women who had to stay home during the war. I learned really early in my studies to NOT just listen to what the propoganda tells you. It was not all USO swing dances, troubles finding nylons and writing letters.

The only thing I didn't like about the book is that the letters are edited. I read the book "war letters" before this one and I was spoiled because the letters in that book are unedited and even includes spelling errors, etc but they are exactly how the soldiers wrote their letters. So when I read "since you went away", I was kinda disappointed that the author only gave you what they thought was important in the letter.

This book of letters is so revealing of that period in time. It lays the emotions of the women left behind during war time right out in the open for all to feel and experience. This book has become a part of my life. I work at a college and when we have a program that needs a reading done I am always called on to read from "my" book of WWII letters from home. I feel like these letters are my children and each one is crying out to be heard and I really do hate to have to pick only a couple to read. This book is that good. I feel that this book should be read by everybody especially young people. I get very good response after my readings and some very emotional responses as well. This is a truly wonderful book and I recommend it to everyone.

Compiling 400 letters, Litoff and Smith give readers a very personal look at what World War II was life for American women at home. Reading them is an almost vouyeristic experience, as these women share their thoughts, struggles, personal victories and tragedies.

The book is divided topcially rather than chronologically, giving the reader an opportunity to focus in on one aspect of the war. For example, "I Took a War Job" focuses exclusively on the liberating and empowering experience women felt in working in the defense industry (and making a man's wages.) The most touching and strongest chapter, "The Price of Victory" dealt with the loss of a loved one - husbands, brothers, lovers. The letters are from all social classes, races and parts of the country, providing a representative view, and speaking to the commonality of experiences. It is a remarkable resource, a fantastic read, and a rich collection of primary documents. For the professioal historian, I highly recommend it. For the lay reader, it is as insightful as it is fascinating. Recommended.

I'm very interested in the powerful tapestry of the US homefront during WWII. This book provides a wide variety of first hand accounts of what was happening and more importantly how people felt about these events. The power comes from the fact that the words were written at the time rather than as later rememberances tainted by subsequent experiences. The only selectivity is in the letters people chose to save. But I think the authors have done a good job in trying to mitigate this natural bias by drawing from a wide variety of sources.

I have every book I know that Mr. Coldsmith has written, I think it's hard to pick which one is the best, because everything he writes is great. This book proves he is the best author on this subject ever!! He is also the only author that I look for whenever I'm in a book store ot grocery store. Can't wait for the next one. Vicki from Ks. G

In the fifteen years preceding the Civil War, Jed and Suzannah Sterling try to raise their children while running a booming transportation business. Their home located in the Kansas-Nebraska Territory, sheds blood due to the fervorabout the slavery issue from extremists on both sides of the issue. The decade prior to the Civil War and the Warthreatens their safety, leaving Jed to constantly worry about the safety of his beloved Suzannah (a former slave he bought at a New Orleans auction) and his children when raiding is a way of life. During the war, many families are butchered, while others are forced to flee Kansas due to officially sanctioned raiders from both sides of the slave issue destroying innocent lives. People like the Willets escape to Iowa just ahead of Quantrill and his men.

After the war, many people from all sorts of life settle in Kansas which becomes the heartland of the nation. People like Karl Spitzberg (from Europe), Zeke Yorke (from Texas), Tom (from an eastern orphan train), and Moses Patrick ( a former South Carolina slave) all come to Kansas seeking a new life.

SOUTH WIND is a well-written, very interesting book that is the sequel to the popular best seller, TALLGRASS. This book, though a bit more fragmented, is the historical fiction master's best to date because readers will feel like they are living during three of the most critical and tumultuous decades in American History. Don Coldsmith is the nineties Michener.

Harriet Klausner

In the fifteen years preceding the Civil War, Jed and Suzannah Sterling try to raise their children while running a booming transportation business. Their home located in the Kansas-Nebraska Territory, sheds blood due to the fervorabout the slavery issue from extremists on both sides of the issue. The decade prior to the Civil War and the Warthreatens their safety, leaving Jed to constantly worry about the safety of his beloved Suzannah (a former slave he bought at a New Orleans auction) and his children when raiding is a way of life. During the war, many families are butchered, while others are forced to flee Kansas due to officially sanctioned raiders from both sides of the slave issue destroying innocent lives. People like the Willets escape to Iowa just ahead of Quantrill and his men.

After the war, many people from all sorts of life settle in Kansas which becomes the heartland of the nation. People like Karl Spitzberg (from Europe), Zeke Yorke (from Texas), Tom (from an eastern orphan train), and Moses Patrick ( a former South Carolina slave) all come to Kansas seeking a new life.

SOUTH WIND is a well-written, very interesting book that is the sequel to the popular best seller, TALLGRASS. This book, though a bit more fragmented, is the historical fiction master's best to date because readers will feel like they are living during three of the most critical and tumultuous decades in American History. Don Coldsmith is the nineties Michener.

Harriet Klausner

This is another great novel by Coldsmith, but I too agree that he seems to jump from one family to another, never connecting them in any way. I kept expecting for an earlier character to pop up in a chance meeting with newer characters but that just didn't happen. He took you from the experiences of one group to another which I loved, but never picked back up on a group to let you know if they found their destinations or not. Maybe this is the start of a new "saga" series! Each novel could fill in the blanks on one of the families/groups.

I purchased this book because I am an avid reader of the Spanish Bit Saga series and upon seeing the title SOUTHWIND, assumed that this would be the South Wind character that I had been waiting to reappear in the Saga series. She doesn't even make an appearence here so I am at a loss as to what happened to her in the series or why this book was titled such.

Never the less, this book makes for wonderful reading. Just don't expect it to fall in line with anything Coldsmith has written yet.

Although Don Coldsmith story tellig was as alway great this book left me wanting more. It seemed incomplete, it left me hanging on several of his story line that he was telling. He had too much of caractors for the story that wasn't even connected to each other. It was like he was forced to write this story and to make a deadline. Alot of the story line was great but incompete, Their story just stopped without being finshed

Vengeance in my Heart -- A Novel of the Civil War

At the mention of the Civil War, my friend from Alabama makes this correction: "That's the `War Between the States', hon. There was nothing `civil' about it." After reading this book, I'm inclined to agree. When I studied the American Civil War in my Philadelphia high school, I learned about the Abolitionist movement. I learned about the fate of John Brown and the words to the song "John Brown's Body Lies A-Moulderin' In the Grave".
What I didn't learn about was the extent of the bloody raiding and guerrilla warfare between pro-slavery forces in Missouri and abolitionist "Jayhawkers" forces in Kansas. Not just John Brown, but hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people were murdered. The
most notorious and attrocious was the 1863 raid on Lawrence, Kansas, by a gang of 150 Confederates. The gang included such now-famous outlaws as Cole Younger and Frank and Jesse James, and was led by a rather mercurial character named William Quantrill. "Vengeance In My Heart" documents the Lawrence Raid in a novelized form, utilizing dialogue from eyewitness accounts. Most of the accounts come from letters and diaries of
the women of Lawrence, making this book unusual among Civil War histories by presenting a female perspective. Many of these women's husbands were massacred in the raid; hunted down and shot in cold blood. The Southern code of chivalry no doubt
protected the ladies of Lawrence, who fought valiantly to defend their menfolk. Again and again I was amazed by the accounts of wives who desperately grappled with the guerrillas and horses, or cunningly disguised and hid their loved ones. Southern chivalry did not prevent the raiders from burning down houses even as the women blocked their entrances. Besides the plucky ladies, there were some gallant Indians and freed former slaves who fought to protect Lawrence from the guerrillas. I found the carnage of "Vengeance In My Heart" horrifying. But this is a fascinating and little known history. The book concludes with a most interesting epilogue, in which the raiders' fates are
described. Not surprisingly, many met viloent ends. Others became "honest citizens" after the War, and some even were romanticized in legend.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about VENGEANCE IN MY HEART is that William Clark Quantrill, the leader of the Lawrence raid, lived in Lawrence prior to the war. He was a teacher and an abolitionist who participated in raids of Missouri, helping to free slaves. He was also run out of town, accused of thieving and cheating the Delaware Indians. When he switched sides he claimed that he had been working undercover to avenge the death of a brother at the hands of the Jayhawkers. There was no brother. This tidbit lends an aura of personal revenge as a possible motivation for the raid when we consider that many of the raider captains were opposed to it.
The author describes VENGEANCE IN MY HEART as a "novel of the civil war." Yet David K. Moore used only "reported dialogue" gleaned from diaries, memoirs, interviews, and newspapers. According to an end note, the work is a "true and complete" account of the Lawrence Raid. About the only thing lacking to make this a bonified history is an index and a bibliography. But it's definitely not a novel.
The book details family after family giving its account of its male members being brutally murdered. They were asked if they were from New England or Missouri. If they answered in the affirmative, they were killed since the raiders were after abolitionists and Missouri Unionists.
We also get to meet James Henry Lane, leader of the Jayhawkers. Quantrill's spies had informed him that Lane was not at home, but he was, living in the most ornate mansion in town. He managed to escape by hiding in a cornfield behind his house.
Perhaps the most interesting and disturbing character in the book is raider Larkin Skaggs, a Baptist preacher who believed in an eye for an eye. He has a definite story arc and we watch him kill townsman after townsman, then stay too long and suffer a fate similar to his victims.
Something else I wasn't aware of was that when the raiders finally left Lawrence, the Union cavalry was hot on their trail and that they came close to trapping them several times.
Rather than help the Confederate plight, the Lawrence Raid proved disastrous. In retaliation the army carried out General Order Number 11 forcing people in Jackson, Butler, Bates, and Saline counties to abandon their homes, thus depriving the bushwhackers of sanctuary.
The last illustration in the book seems rather shocking to Northern sensibilities. It shows a 1898 reunion of former Quantrill raiders where such luminaries as Frank James and Cole Younger were held up as romantic heroes.

Vengeance in my heart is a book about Quantrill`s raid into Lawrence, one of the most daring and brutal feats of Quantrill and his raiders. The book gives you an insight in human nature, both good and bad, on both sides of the war. It is written in such a way that you can smell the gunsmoke, and hear the rebel yells.
It does not portray one side as totally good and the other as totally bad, but it gives you the realistic and neutral story of preparations, the raid and the aftermath. As a Cowboy action shooter (cas), member of Single Action Shooting Society (sass), Scandinavian Western Shooters (sws), and one of the founders of the cas club Quantrill Raiders in Norway, I feel this book is a must for everyone with an interest in the civil war, and the Missouri-Kansas border war in particular.

FROM THE COVER: "In 1863, Confederate guerrillas raided Lawrence, Kansas, unleashing in turn a torrent of revenge on western Missouri by Kansas and Federal soldiers. The author tracked down dozens of eyewitness accounts of the raid and aftermath, from diaries, memoirs, interviews, newspapers, and articles. This is the first true and complete account of the Lawrence Raid, using on reported dialogue, written in a novelized form. All characters and events in this book are real. A prologue and epilogue are also provided for historical context."
When Michael Shaara wrote "Killer Angels," concerning the Battle of Gettysburg, he supposedly used only dialogue reported by eyewitnesses. I used this as the basis for "Vengeance In My Heart," a story about the Lawrence Raid. Since the raid is rather obscure compared to Gettysburg, I produced a hybrid, the Prologue and Epilogue providing historical background that might be unknown to the reader. The novelized portion uses only reported dialogue, culled from the written records, as well as period photographs for descriptions.
Obtaining the reports on this raid was a lengthy process. The most complete version of the raid comes from Connelley's "Quantrill and the Border Wars." What I learned studying for my master's in US History was never to trust a footnote. Unfortunately, a number of Connelley's footnotes on sources were wrong. To compound this confusion, all subsequent books on the raid, such as Goodrich's "Bloody Dawn," used the same false footnotes for the same incidents in the raid. It is evident these subsequent authors regurgitated Connelley's version of events. In order to provide the most complete version of events, I tracked down numerous eyewitness reports never before cited. Using the opening attack on the Eldridge House as one example, I spent months assembling all the disparate writings like a jigsaw pussle to produce the most complete chronological description of that event.
Another device I used in writing this book was to eschew using the standard literary device of telling a story through one individual. With the possible exception of Larkin Skaggs (who was killed near the end), no Confederate guerrilla was everywhere, just as no citizen of Lawrence saw every incident and killing. What the reader should come away with while reading the book is a sense of the chaos of the raid. A citizen would be spared by one group of guerrillas only to be shot down by the next group.

This book is amazing. The author evidently went through a lot of research to write this book, and his work really paid off. Unlike Jeff Sharra's books, this one had a lot more conversation, which I think is a lot better.
I just thought this book was just amazing. I mean, I could not believe the accuracy, all the information, everything.
It's about a confederate guerrilla raid on the town of Lawrence, by a bloodthirsty man named William Clark Quantrill who said that every man in the town must be killed, because of their 'Union' sympathys. Some did manage to escape, and the town's women bravely risked their lives to save complete strangers. The whole thing just came alive to me through the author's exciting and well-written narrative.
This is a must-read book for anyone who is interested in the Civil War, and anything that is connected to it.

...exactly the surface anatomy reference ive been searching for. as a 3d artist it is essential that i reproduce human figure in an accurate and believable way for this you need effective reference. this book has it in spades.

This is easily one of the greatest anatomy for artists books I've found. It covers various landmarks and on the opposite page uses a unique way to visualize the underlying muscle structure of the same pose. A must have book for any Artist!

A fair sized book, it's unique in the sense that the male model has the relevant muscles and tendons actually drawn on his body. Nice concept but I don't think it really helps. Because the muscles are tendons and the skin is, well, skin, it stretches as a mass and not as fibers. I think the poses are useful though, good lighting to show muscle definition and tone and decent-sized photographs too.

This book is extremely useful for anyone trying to master the interplay of muscle as it affects surface form

This book is useful for artists such as painters and sculptors trying to accurately represent a muscular male body in different poses (like greek sculptures - Atlas, The Thinker, etc). Every page shows the model in a different position comparing the same pose in the "buff" with and without the painted muscles.

I love the background informaton provided for each woman the quilt bocks were created to represent. I was born the spring after Pearl Harbor and I remember my mother being so excited when she was able to buy a stove --during a time rationing was a big part of our lives (I, of course, wasn't aware of that at the time). My mother worked on the farm, as so many women did at that time. With small girls, working in the factories was not an option. The stories of the women pilots, women in communcations, in factories building airplanes and other industrial needs our country had, not to mention the mothers who spent their time praying for the sons and daughters directly involved, are awe inspiring. The history of our nation is represented in quilts, and this book shares a part of that history.

I'm a quilter but I didn't buy this one for the patterns (though they're interesting). A friend had a copy of this and I was flipping through it and was fascinated about the accounts of women pilots, etc on almost everypage of the book. fascinating history for women! and easy to read.

simply the best. I enjoyed the stories of the women who was called to serve. It takes a special kind of person give thier servie to this country. Thank you being one of them.

I love this book. I orignally made the quilt in a Block-of-the-month program at my local quilt shop. But the colors and the stories of the women held me fast. I have since made 3 more quilts one of which was made entirely of the 1st block in the book. The stars are tricky to make and take some perserverance but they are worth it. I am hooked on Barb Adams and Alma Allen's patterns and books.

The quilt blocks are quite beautiful and encourage the use of a wide variety of colors, textures and prints. However, I found myself rewriting the directions in order to construct each block using modern techniques versus strictly piecing as directed to in the book. Maybe the intent of the book was to reproduce these quilt blocks using the methods available to these women of the WWII era, however, rotary cutting ( as instructed in the book) had not been invented yet. So it appears that the book contradicts itself a bit. The actual star pattern was not accurate and therefore had to be reinvented. Overall, I loved the blocks and the stories but abhorred the directions!