Europe Books

un libro altamente recomendable.
lleno de fotografías y lo más interesante ,secuencias enteras de una acción.
Fotografías de alta calidad.

muy bueno.

Really a first class effort, as the other reviewers have stated. The vast majority of photos have not, I believe, been published previously, and the reproduction is crisp and clear. The very detailed captions are a real plus.
For anyone with even a modest interest in the Heer of WWII, this is a must. My only,minor, complaint,is that it ends in 1944, but I surmise that good photos after that were few and far between. Highly recommended.

God, Honor, Fatherland is an excellent pictoral study of one of the Whermacht's truly elite divisions. The author covers "GD" from 1942 to 1944. Although I have a fairly extensive collection of books covering the German Army on the Eastern front, most photos in this book were new to me. The author made contact with numerous "GD" veterans and got many previously unpublished photos, many of which the people in them are listed by name and sub-unit. The author also gives 1 to 2 page narratives of the various major battles GD participated in during this time frame. As well as descriptions of the various sub-units that made up GD, including rarely covered support/maitenance units.

My favorite part of the book were the biographical sketches of various GD personalities. These include not only senior and company grade officers, but several NCO's as well. I recomend this book to anyone interested in German units or the Eastern front of WW2, particularly armor buffs and modelers.

Having purchased many Grossdeutschland photo histories over the years, I was pleasantly surprised to find this outstanding RZM product at a used bookstore. Yep...that doesn't happen every day. Naturally I snapped this gem up and am still amazed at the quality of pictures and narrative.

This volume follows the GD from 1942-1944, which are the years focused on the Soviet front. The pictures cover all aspects of the division from the maintenance and logistics elements to the Infantry, Panzer, and Reconnaissance units. As earlier reviews indicated, the captions are very well done and specific attention is paid to naming the individuals pictured. Another great plus is the large format size of many pictures. For modellers these are a window into details often missed in smaller format photos.

So if you already think you already have enough volumes of GD related history...think again. This volume is one that you don't want to be without.

Another first rate job by RZM.

Not just another mundane collection of photos, this book is perhaps one of the best volumes in English regarding German soldiers, and especially the GD Division. The captions cast light on many arcance areas of study - uniforms, organization, history, tactics - and all the details are consistently correct and well researched. The only minor nit I was able to find is the mis-captioning of an NCO equivalent beamten as a "Hauptmann" - (p. 114)

Overall, a thoroughly excellent photographic record, with emphasis on naming photo subjects (a very nice touch). Of course, as with any collection of WW II photos, most of the pictures in this book are obviously posed, and there is nothing in the way of "real action" shots. This is not a drawback, and few "real action" shots were taken during the war by any of the combatants.

There are also some excellent biographical sketches of Knight' Cross winners and unit commanders.

really intersting read with lots of interesting facts, not for the faint hearted, makes you think and relise alot of different things

Extremely fascinating text! It is no surprise Oxford University Press chose to publish this work. Whether the reader is a scholar specializing in the folklore of the British Isles, a student enrolled in a Viking seminar, or an individual with an interest in the topic, this work is informative and captivating. The text not only aids the reader in his or her study of British Isle folklore, but allows the reader to draw connections between Scandinavian culture on the mainland and other isles. I have read a fair amount of works concerning this topic, but none have kept me as interested as "Gods, Heroes, & Kings." A definite buy!

Gods, Heroes, and Kings: The Battle for Mythic Britain

Gods, Heroes, and Kings, written by Christopher R. Fee and David A. Leeming and published in 2001 by Oxford University Press is a fine overall introduction to the mythologies of the pre-Christian inhabitants of the British Isles, who can be divided into two groups, each of which, in turn, has two subdivisions. First came the Celts, both Goidelic (Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man) and Brythonic (Wales, Cornwall and the French region of Brittany).
Most of the mythology of the Celts was written down long after the coming of Christianity to Ireland and Wales. Many Deities appear in both literatures, but the precise relationship between the religions of the two main branches of the Celts is not completely clear.
Long afterward came the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons, a loose assemblage of Germanic tribes who became the English and transformed most of the island of Great Britain into England (Angle-Land). These newcomers wrote down little of their mythology, but a fair amount of it can be reconstructed by comparing off-hand references in works such as Beowulf with the much more extant mythology of Scandinavia, many of whose inhabitants raided and later settled in the British Isles during the Viking Era.
While closely related, certainly more so than the religions of the Goidelic and Brythonic Celts, the precise relationship between the Troth of the Heathen Anglo-Saxons and that of the Viking-Age Scandinavians, as well as the relationship between both of them and the pre-Christian beliefs of the Continental Germanic peoples (German, Dutch, and Frisian speakers) will probably always remain a bone of scholarly contention.
Despite being a work of more recent scholarship, Gods, Heroes, and Kings reflects in many ways the scholarship of the 1970's and 1980's, with considerable influence from the work of the late Joseph Campbell, author of the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces and the Masks of God series. The prominent influence of this scholar rather surprised me, as his ideas seem to be at the present time somewhat out of favor. However, just as in mythology and in clothing fashions, the popularity of ideas and theories in Academia can also have a cyclical element.
The writing style is very readable, and the combination of a section retelling a myth with a section commenting on it is both effective and enjoyable to read. The main idea of this book is that the battle for mythic Britain was not "a struggle between factions of ancient gods and heroes, but rather a war of attrition, a continual reformulation and assertion of age-old archetypes in the garb most appropriate for the audience who heard their stories" (p. 192). Many of the mythic themes survived Christianization amazingly intact, and contributed to the uniqueness of the Christianity of the British Isles.
Much attention is given to heroic themes, and the authors hold that the mythic Hero is actually Everyman (and Everywoman), and the Gods, including by implication Yahweh, are "competing masks of the same ancient beings," and that the masks are just the surface of what they represent (p. 220). Obviously, this is not a theological idea which most Heathens, nor for that matter most Christians would embrace wholeheartedly, but nevertheless it does open the door for fertile theorizing on such topics as the nature and essence of Divinity and the relationship between the Pantheons and Deities of different religions.
The persistence of these mythical themes, both mythological and heroic, is due to the fact that "certain universal concerns remain constant: proper planting, fertile soil, a timely and sufficient harvest (p. 220) and so "the battle for mythic Britain represents the ongoing attempt by humans everywhere to make sense of their present reality by drawing on those aspects of past traditions that fit the most appropriate mask" (p. 221).
The chapter headings of this work provide a good idea of what it contains: The Pantheons, already alluded to in this review, Deity Types, Sacred Objects and Places, Heroes and Heroines, Creation and Apocalypse, and The Sagas (in the broader sense of the term, not just the Icelandic ones). The conclusion of the book is "Five Reflections on the Face of the Hero in the Medieval English Romance - Trials, Tribulations, and Transformative Quests."
As I read Gods, Heroes, and Kings, I found that my overall impression of the book kept going up and down. The lack of footnotes is at least mildly disturbing in a scholarly work. However, the inclusion of fine a "further reading" section together with an impressive bibliography partly makes up for this serious flaw. I am left with the impression that it is trying to be both a scholarly and popular work, with mixed success.
For the Heathen reader, this book is a fine introduction to some of the major extant Celtic myths, and a good overview of our own lore. It is also a good beginning to the important and fascinating Heathen scholarly task of comparing and contrasting Germanic lore with that of the Celts, whose languages are related to the our own tongues, and in terms of geography, history and culture are even more closely our kin. This is a question which most serious Heathen scholars will sooner or later find themselves looking at. The book also provides much material for unraveling how ancient mythological themes continue to influence the core ideas of our culture, and shows one way in which our Gods and Goddesses managed to remain active among us during the centuries in which their worship, where it continued at all, was the furtive undertaking of a very few people.
All in all, I do recommend that you read Gods, Heroes, and Kings. It can be read and enjoyed on a number of different levels, and the fact that Oxford University Press chose to publish it says much. In addition, it is nice for a change to review a book that is in print and readily available at a reasonable price!
Patrick "Jordsvin" Buck
http://home.earthlink.net/~jordsvin

This book is a great read. It's obviously well-researched, and filled with intriguing facts. Furthermore, Fee has a writing style that draws the reader in and keeps him/her interested throughout. Highly recommended!

Drs. Christopher Fee and David Leeming have crafted an extraordinary work examining the marriage of Celtic, Germanic, and Norse cultures and religious beliefs in Britain (particularly as they are seen via the literary traditions that chronicled them) in an effort to understand how the impact of pre-Christian peoples influenced the unique Christianity of Medieval Britain. While Dr. Leeming has provided extensive retellings of pagan myths, Dr. Fee has written insightful analyses of these myths and their import to the creation of a British religious ideology. Beginning with a scrutiny of the various pagan pantheons, the work then moves through detailed examinations of, among other things, types of deities, heroes and heroines, and the different sagas of the individual cultures. As an apocalypticist, I found the retellings and subsequent commentaries on Ragnarok and the Anglo-Saxon Fire of Judgment immensely informative and useful.
This is an extraordinarily accessible book. It is intended for the non-specialist and, as such, would be perfect for an undergraduate survey course, for an upper-level topical course on British mythology/religion, or for any scholar seeking an understanding of Britain's pre-Christian culture. I would also recommend it highly as a handbook for any medievalist who needs quick and informed accounts of any and all of these topics. Not only have Drs. Fee and Leeming eloquently opened up the field of pagan Britain to further inquiry and discussion, but they have done so in a work that is, above all, easy and enjoyable to read.

This book is a major contribution to its field. It contains important details that are missing from many of the previous works on the subject of the famine. The scholarship is sound and is often based on primary sources that have never been examined in this context before. The data are consistently compelling, fresh, and well documented. . . Any college with an Irish studies program will find the book indispensable. (Mary Ellen Cohane, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts)

As a contributor to this volume on the Great Famine in Ireland, I think that this book makes an important contribution to the historiography of the Famine insofar as it may be the only volume to trace the linkage between the U.S. and Ireland during that tragic era. Neil Hogan, author of THE CRY OF THE FAMISHING, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society.

This book is a major contribution to its field. It contains important details that are missing from many of the previous works on the subject of the famine. The scholarship is sound and is often based on primary sources that have never been examined in this context before. The data are consistently compelling, fresh, and well documented. . . Any college with an Irish studies program will find the book indispensable. (Mary Ellen Cohane, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts)

As a contributor to this volume on the Great Famine in Ireland, I think that this book makes an important contribution to the historiography of the Famine insofar as it may be the only volume to trace the linkage between the U.S. and Ireland during that tragic era. Neil Hogan, author of THE CRY OF THE FAMISHING, Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society.

A fascinating collection of essays that reveals, often in unexpected ways, the effects of the Irish famine on both sides of the Atlantic. Ranging from the loss of life to the loss of music among the Irish peasantry, from the pages of the Dublin University Magazine to the pages of American newspapers, from Chef Alex Soyer's famine soup to the famine graves at Grosse Ile, from Irish memory to Irish American rage, this scholarly but readable book provides us with the broadest understanding of this far-reaching event. (William H. A. Williams, author of 'Twas Only an Irishman's Dream)

McCabe presents a Greece living now only in the hearts and minds of Yia Yias and Papous but never quite forgotten as this book proves masterfully through the fantastic photography. The reader walks through post-WWII Greece and experiences the simple wonders of the Greek people and land. This book is a journey not to be missed.

The photos in this book are in turn beautiful, warm, moving and joyful. In all of them, McCabe's love of Greece and all things Greek shines through. This book is awesome and wonderful. The reproductions are superb and the images evocative of a time in Greece when life was simpler than today. Find a comfortable chair, open the book, and enjoy the journey!

I have not seen such photography since Cartier Bresson's photos on everyday French life. It brings the people and land to life and presents a marvelous "record" what was and is about to partially disappear. It is a rare work of art. Peter Sichel

This is a spectacular book. Robert McCabe's intimate knowledge of Greece and its people informs the beautiful photographs that are presented in this record of a truly idyllic land. When I first received the book, I did something highly unusual for me: I sat down and went through the entire book, page by page. What a treat that experience was. I recommend this collection of photographs to anyone interested in Greece and to anyone who loves great photography.

Many of these collected black and white photographs, taken with a Rolleiflex in the 8 1/2 inch square format by the photographer during some of his many trips to Greece in the mid 1950's and 1960's, take one's breath away - arresting lansdcapes, portraits, and scenes of life as it was lived then, a vanished era, to quote the author. The pictures were made by someone who undoubtedly knows and loves the people and the country with a passion that shines through. McCabe is not a professional photographer, but rather the best kind of amateur, in the sense of comparing Olympic sports to professional sports. His work has a freshness and vitality that is more amazing considering that the pictures were taken over 40 years ago. The book recalls for me a trip I once made to the Greek Islands. During a night passage, our boat anchored off the coast of Delos, an uninhabited island (then) that is known as a sanctuary and the birthplace of some important Greek Gods and Goddesses. My memory of proximity to the aura of this sanctuary, the way it made me think about history, the ancient Greeks, was summoned back by McCabe's photographs in a way that made clear his understanding of the interconnectedness of people. His pictures make one think about how human intellectual history, our knowledge, began there, in Greece. Whether it is a picture from great height of an amphitheatre where Sophocles' plays were originally performed, or a glimpse of two young girls giggling over a shared secret, the effect of this book is to draw out a fascinating combination of history, landscape and human emotion.

This is a beautiful black & white collection of photographs of Greece, mostly taken in the mid to late 1960's. These are 'true life' photographs; some deeply emotional, some merely depicting day-to-day activities, but all are wonderful. The whole collection gives the reader a flavor of the 'real' Greece. The photographer is a true artist and I would happily purchase any other collections of his work, sight unseen, if this collection is representative of his artistic vision (and I feel confident it is).

The black and white images show what every day life was like in Greece when Manos made these pictures. The pictures speak to the heart and show the darkness and light in life, which is what black and film does best. Manos obviously had to have been in Greece long enough to understand the people and their lives and his pictures show it. This is a book to treasure.

If it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, then Manos' "A Greek Portfolio" speaks volumes! Mr. Manos has captured (thankfully!) a Greece that is now more or less gone. Luckily for us, he was photographing at a time before McDonalds became an everyday sight, before "Rooms to Let" signs dotted the landscape, before everyone owned a cellular phone. Even in remote and rural parts of Greece today, it is rare to find images, activities, and people similar to those seen in this book. As an anthropologist, I think this is a great ethnographic work; as a Greek-American I think this is wonderful "window" to the homeland of yore!

will love this book. It captures a time in our existence as human beings and particularly for those who trace their heritage to Greece that is unparalleled in art. These photographs, in your quiet moments of reflection, will warm your heart and soul, and for Greeks and those who love Greece, will remind you of the importance of history and the story told through art.

Consta is one of the best photographer/printers of the day. His willingness to not only capture the moment to convey feeling, but to take great strides in the darkroom to further his view is a rarity nowadays. This additional emphasis is evident in all of this Magnum photographer's work, but most so in "A Greek Portfolio". He uses a minimum of equipment, yet achieves a height of awareness in this monograph not present elsewhere. If one has the chance to see the original prints on display, do so!

I've got it and you don't! Too bad. It's outta print. I called the publisher and they are not reissuing. Go find it used. It is worth every penny ($85 I paid) if you need or desire to ID gulls.

This book is a must have for every birdwatcher! If you have problems with indentifying gulls, this is the book to have! It anwers all my questions I have about gull distribution and indentification. Now I know how to Indentify those Ring-billed Gulls that I see in the parking lot. Also I have a better outlook on where they came from as Well!

The size and massive detail in this new book on identifying the gulls of the Northern Hemisphere is likely to deter most readers from more than a cursory leafing through its lovely paintings and photographs. But if you're curious to learn more about these common but highly varied, many-shades-of-gray birds around us, and you happen to live in a coastal area as I do, with more than a few gulls that are hard to identify during the winter, this might be a book to look into more thoroughly.

A caution though: gulls can be notoriously difficult to identify accurately, since they have so much finely detailed, age-related plumage variation. But an effort to simply knuckle-down and learn more about all this, such as this book amply provides, can pay off greatly in much greater detective-fun trying to figure out all these heretofore anonymously gray gulls sailing and prowling around us here each year. It's already helped me develop better skills in figuring out nearly all the varied groups of gulls around us here more quickly than I would have heretofore thought possible. And to more quickly decide which birds you can or cannot more accurately identify...and why.

The detailed accounts and maps of the distribution and relative abundance of various gull species have also helped me better understand where the gulls that migrate through or winter in our area are likely to have come from. And, finally, as you delve more deeply into what's known about all these gull species, and their European and Asian counterparts, it becomes obvious that the series of beautiful, comparative paintings and color photographs provided in such detail for each species in its various age-plumages, subspecies, and hybrid-forms is worth the price of the book alone.

Well....maybe not easy....but, not through any fault of this book! The book starts with a lesson on the various body parts, as you will need to know many of these in order to ascertain what gull you have sitting in front of you. A comparison of the wings comes next. Then, it goes through each gull species and all of its plumages, including the months you might expect to see them in that plumage. It ends by discussing the various hybrids. If you ever hope to get beyond referring to gulls as "gull sp.," this book will do it. When you hear other birders refer to "the gull bible," this is it!!! However, don't think that this is a field guide you might want to carry in a fanny pack...it's a heavyweight!

growing up with the knowledge that there are just a few "kinds" of gulls and realising after a while that all the gulls you knew are now called somthing compleatly different (the whole herring,yellow legged,caspian,armenian,lesser black backed,sibirian etc. complex). this is the book we were all looking for, easy to use and extremly proffesional.
another good birding book to have around.

This is an excellent chronicle of the Italo-Ethiopian conflict and then of the battles in Africa during WWII between Italy and Britain. It is narrated very well and I rarely felt lost or confused. This is a great book and would be a welcome edition to any library.

This is probably the only generally available book on both of the wars involving Ethiopia during the 30s and 40s. Haile Selassie was the Emporer or Ethiopia from 1930 until the 60s, and this book recounts first the conquest of the country by Italy in 1936, then the colonialization of the country during its occupation, and finally the liberation of the nation in 1941 by the British. Besides the Emporer himself, the book involves many interesting characters, from Archibald Wavell, Winston Churchill, Orde Wingate, and William Slim, around to Rodolfo Graziani, the Duke of Aosta, and Benito Mussolini. The setting is Ethiopia itself, a vast, mostly trackless country, full of warring tribes, warlords vying for power, and foreigners trying to stay out of danger.

Mockler's interest, for the most part, is recounting the basics of the conflict. He pays special attention to the effect of the changing face of Ethiopian politics on the various personalities in the nation, and of course those outside it but involved in the narrative. Mockler starts the account by telling the story of the Battle of Adowa in the 1890s, where the Italians tried to conquer the country in order to turn it into a colony. Ethiopia was one of two countries who were still not colonies at that time, and Italy coveted it as a colony. The Ethiopians were stronger than other tribes that resisted colonialization, and of course the Italians weren't as well organized as the British or as ruthless as the Belgians. The defeat at Adowa left the Italians jealous and angry, thinking that the Ethiopians had rejected colony status, and of course all Europeans at the time imagined that subject people wanted, or at least should want, to be subjects of a European nation.

One difficulty that I had with the book is pretty much outside the parameters of what the writer can control. The country of Ethiopia and the people have very strange, foreign-sounding names. Of course they don't sound foreign to them, but to an American, they're hard to take in. One city discussed repeatedly in the text is called Debra Markos (sounds like a waitress at a diner in New Jersey to me) and one of the warlords is named Endalketchew. I always wanted to say Gesundheit when I saw his name.

Outside of that, I enjoyed the book a great deal. The author deals with the issues presented by the events intelligently, and the result is a very good book.

Haile Selassie's War is a historical account that should satisfy the professional and amateur historian alike. On the whole the author handles a set of material that is highly complex and potentially confusing (such as the intrigues of the Ethiopian nobles) and does a great job in keeping up with them without losing the reader along the way.

Due to the vast subject matter, we get to know everyone and everything a little, but largely superficially. Even in regard to the Emperor himself, we follow his rise to power and intrigues with his often-rebellious nobles and rivals, but we get to know little of this man apart from his political actions. What were the influences of his boyhood and early manhood? What was the impact of his diminutive size in terms of his prestige among other, more warlike nobles. Perhaps these things can no longer be determined. But others might have been answerable, such as who was the Empress and what was her influence? What of his sons, his daughters? We get little back-story and meet most of them whilst he is already an exile in England.

On the whole, though, I can have nothing but admiration for Mockler's treatment of the subject. I found the book immensely readable, despite the odd grammatical "gremlin". Although I am a historian by profession I often find large historical monographs of this ilk very hit and miss; I usually find myself skimming through pages and chapters to pick up the story at a more interesting place. With this one, however, I didn't skip a single paragraph and found it all completely fascinating. I also enjoyed the small doses of dry humour injected by Mockler in places, especially where he allows the personalities of some of the characters involved to shine through a little, like the Italian pilot "Gina's brother", "Lawrence of Ethiopia" Ord Wingate, and of course the indefatigable Wilf Thesiger.

And finally, while there are no blushes spared from either Italian (for its harsh regime), British (for their distinct lack of enthusiasm for the Emperor's cause) or Ethiopian (for their serial treachery and indeed the Emperor's own brand of harsh justice) perspectives, insufficient attention, I believe, is focused on the war crimes of the fascists, in particular the use of mustard gas and large-scale execution of civilians (these are examined only cursorily).

The maps, family trees, chronologies and biographical index were all very useful tools - but what about a few photographs? Certainly a picture or two can assist the reader with fixing images in their minds of the personalities and the landscapes being discussed in the text. It would have enhanced my reading of this book quite a bit. My only other irk with this book was the large number of quotations in French and Italian that the author had not bothered to translate for us. I can get by on my high-school French but it is perhaps a little unreasonable of the author to expect readers to be fluent in several languages, when a simple translation in the footnotes would suffice.

Nonetheless I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the history of Ethiopia, East Africa, World War II, Fascist Italy or Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) himself.

Ras Tafari, last Emperor of Ethiopia, otherwise known as Haile Selassie, lived the last of his days during the 1970s as a weird diplomatic footnote, but in his prime, he was equal to his title "Lion of Judah." Upon ascending to the Ethiopian throne in the mid 1930s - an ancient and fascinating institution, due to the unique Christian heritage of Ethiopia - he was forced to defend his homeland against the Italian invader. Though his troops fought bravely, Selassie was forced temporarily to seek exile in Bath (England), where he languished for about four years. Then, in 1940, the British Army was able to deliver vengeance to the Italians, as they extinguished the entire Italian presence in East Africa, rolling up Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia and returning Selassie to Addis Abbaba. Mockler's account of Haile Selassie's two wars is meticulous and well-written, and includes interesting stories about a number of highly significant players such as Orde Wingate (the T.E. Lawrence of WW2), the Duke of Aosta (and Italian prince who got tangled up in the Abyssinian adventure) and Mussolini.

This is probably one of the best war histories ever written. Mockler's superb book outlines the causes, actions and consequences of the Italo-Ethiopian conflict from Italy's first (foiled) attempt at conquest in 1896 at Adowa to Haile Selassie's final overthrow in the early 1970s by a military junta.
Mockler was exceedingly fortunate to have interviewed some of the people who appear in his book. Many were old men and several were later reported murdered by the Marxist Dengue that set up shop after throwing Selassie out.
Most of the story focuses on the 1936 war between the two countries when Fascist Italy conquered feudal Ethiopia, the last independent nation in Africa at the time. So often portrayed as barefoot and spear-carrying warriors, Mockler shows us that parts of the Ethiopian Army were fairly well-armed and trained. But it was still underdeveloped and relied heavily on massed attacks that guaranteed being massacred by the mechanized, well-equipped Italians. The book continues through the Italian occupation, the Ethiopian resistance, the declaration of war between Italy and Britain in World War Two, the Emperor's return and Ethiopia's eventual independence. It is rife with intrigue, plots and treachery, as Ethiopian nobles plotted with and against each other to see who would eventually wear the crown. It is an exquisitely crafted piece of work and it is a great great shame that it is no longer in print.

I had never heard of Hannah Senesh until I planned to go to Israel and was looking at possible places to visit. After I heard about her I wanted to know more. This book tells the story, in her own words of how a young Jewish woman came to be an Israeli hero. It makes me wonder if I too would have the courtage of conviction to stand up for something even to death. A very remarkable story indeed.

Hannah Senesh is known as the Joan of Arc of Israel, and is a national heroine in that little country of heroes and heroines.
Her poems are learned by heart in Israel, and her acts of courage, self-sacrifice and love for her people, has led to forests, parks, streets and settlements throughout the country being named after her.

Her diary, which begins when she was 13, shows her remarkable spirit, intelligence and love for the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.
At the age of 23 she returned to Hungary as part of an Allied to mission to save Jews from the Nazi death machine. She was captured by the Nazis and tortured to reveal more about the mission and her comrades, but never broke under these circumstances. Her heroic and cruel death at the hands of the Nazis is recounted.

The book is divided into several sections:
Memories of Hannah's Childhood by Catherine Senesh, the Diary, the Letters, and the acounts by friends and comrades of her courageous mission into Hungary, and her cruel death at the hands of the Nazis.
The final section consists of a reproduction of some of Hannah's finest poems.

Hannah Senesh was born in 1921 to an assimilated Jewish family. Her father, a sucesful journalist and playwright died when Hannah was 6 years old. She was enrolled in a Protestant school. The deteriorating situation of the Jews in Hungary led Hannah to embrace Judaism and Zionism-the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, which she was passionate about and dedicated to.
She became involved in Maccabea, a Hungarian Zionist students organization.
But she also loved beautiful clothes and ice-skating and was enthusiastic about life and living. She was interested in astrology, spiritualism and development of the soul.
The sensitivity of her gem of a soul and her intelligence is shown in this excerpt from her diary. It could serve as a testament to Hannah Senesh herself:
"There are stars whose radiance is visible on earth though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for mankind",-
Indeed in these dark days of the resurgance of anti-Semnitism and the Satanic international campaign to destroy Israel, it is comforting and inspiring to read her words.
Also interesting are Hannah's words about Jewish nationhood and Zionism:
'If we had to define Zionism briefly perhaps we could best do so in the words of Nahum Sokolow: "Zionism is the movement of the Jewish people for it's revival.'
In these days when Jews around the world are being pressured by evil forces to renounce Zionism we would do well to remember Hannah's words.
"We canot renounce a single on of our rights, not even if the ridiculous acusation were true- that Zionism breeds anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is not the result of Zionism but of Dispersion. But even if were no so, woe to the individual who attempts to ingratiate himself with the enemy instead of following his own route. We can't renounce Zionism even if it does strengthen anti-Semitism...For only Zionism and the establishment of a Jewish State could ever bring about the possibility of the Jews in the Diaspora being able to make manifest their love for their Homeland. Because then they could choose to be part of the Homeland- not be necesity but by free will and free choice".
In these days it is so important to remember her words and her story.

Hannah Senesh is the story every Jew should know, a heroic woman who fought the Nazis, parachutting into Europe in the worlds darkest hour, but beyond that her wonderful diaries tell the story of a young Jeiwsh girl finding herself, and her Jewishness amid the tumult of Europe and the Kibbutzes of Aretz Israel. This is a wonderful new volume on a true Jeiwsh Heroin, a message to all generations that evil must be confronted, ironically sometimes it is the most unlikely people that rise to the occasion. A heartrending book.

Seth J. Frantzman

For such a small stature as Hannah was, she is one of WWII's, strongest women. It is a must read for any philosophical or history buff. In addition, would make a great movie if someone would be wllling to do so.

Once you pick up this book you will devour it. Her life and who she was will remain forever in your memory. I envy her.

For 20 years Hannah's diary still remains so dear to my heart.

The story of Hannah Senesh is the story of a heroine of the Jewish people. This volume contains her diary including a record of her early years in Hungry and her time in Eretz Yisrael, two chapters about her by her mother, and chapters by fellow soldiers in the British Army from the Yishuv who served with her when they were dropped behind enemy lines during the War. Hannah Senesh was the daughter of a well- known Hungarian playwright who died when she was six. She and her older brother were raised by a very caring and devoted mother . In her school where she was outstanding she suffered from Anti- Semitism. And as Nazi power grew in Europe she moved toward a deeper connection to her own Jewishness, at one point announcing that she had become a Zionist. Her diary records her decision to go to Eretz Yisrael, and her years of education there at Nahalal. It is the diary of a spirited, intelligent and idealistic person. She volunteered to serve in the British Army Unit which was to be dropped behind enemy lines in the hope of helping rescue Jews. She and her fellow soldiers from the Yishuv were connected with the Partisans' struggle against the Nazis in Yugoslavia. The day before she was about to enter her native Hungry where she most hoped to help the Nazis entered and took control of Hungry. Upon hearing this news she cried. A friend asked her if this was because she was thinker of her mother. She said ' That the entrance of the Germans to Hungry doomed one - million Hungarian Jews to death. She was not wrong. The greatest share of Hungarian Jews were eventually murdered by the Nazis. She entered Hungry was captured, and was placed in prison. The Nazis brought her mother to the prison , and told Senesh that if she did not give them the information that they wanted the secret radio codes she had they would torture her mother before her eyes. She begged her mother's forgiveness, and she herself was tortured. But she did not give away the information. Eventually she was taken out and shot to death . All those associated with her admired her tremendous courage and integrity .
Her ambition was to be like her father a writer, but not a playwright but a novelist. Her love and dedication to the Jewish people in the land of Israel that she came to love so much are strongly apparent in the work.
Perhaps the best tribute to her is her own words,
"There are stars whose radiance is visible on earth though they have long been extinct.There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for Mankind.'

Bodian is a scholar, that has weighed the options of the sellability of books vs. insight into history, in this well chronicled book. The difference between the two is that, history can tend to be on the dry side when sticking to facts and reality. Vs. the other which, capitalizes on hype, therefore, diminishing the overall thoroughness of the scholarship.
Bodian's insight into the phenomena of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish conditions is right on. The Spanish and Portuguese Jews ( S&P Jews) are a particular substrata of Sephardim that suffered a unrelenting persecution from the Catholic Church, otherwise known as: El Santo Oficio de la Inqusicion, The Spanish Inquisition.
Many have tried to put this phenomena, The Jewishness of Crypto-Jews into perspective. Not only is it difficult, on a scholarly level,i.e., to provide a understanding to this aberration of Judaic history. But, the very phenomena of this tragedy, is stained with frustration. On behalf of the mainstream Jewish populace, when addressing the religious status of these isolated people.( I believe that their are political power issues at hand) And the Returness themselves, who want to be accounted as fully Jewish, and rightly so!
Yes, their are provisions made in Judaism for Anusim (forced ones). However, doubt always lingers when people come out from nowhere ( so it seems), and declares...I am Jewish. When, in all sincerity, they all but diapered from the radar of Rabbinical Judaism (in the eyes of some of the Rabbis). But in fact, they have in their hearts been living under religiously oppressive realities, trying to keep the flame of their Jewish souls intact, by whatever means possible. The S&P Jews, have always had to suffer with this stigma. This stigma, lends itself to have to prove one's worthiness( being Jewish) and personhood(dignity) within Jewish circles. This happened then and it happens now. This religious radar, is not the barometer, that constitutes, who is a Jew and who is not a Jew. The barometer is the halacha which lends itself useful to all Anusim irregardless of circumstances or time.
If you follow the literature of today, in regards to this very issue, there are many examples that might sway one to believe that the S&P phenomena is a tragedy of the past. This is not to so, but, in fact the contrary is true. The provisions that are given in the halacha regarding Anusim, are there not only to prove present events, but to guarantee the future ones too, irregardless of their geographical location or time.
Although, Bodian never tampers with this volatile halachic subject, she does present the Ba'alim teshuvah (returnees to G-D's commandments) as suffering internal as well as external pressures given all the difficulties presented in separation from mainstream or rabbinic Judaism. These difficulties are expressed here in Bodain's book very well. It is presented in as, a matter of fact, manner as possible. Which lends itself ultimately, as more credible, rather than the normal patronising, that most scholars tend to gravitate too.
In all, this book is without a doubt a scholarly look at a very fragmented, but integral part of Judaism that needs to be understood rather than dismissed. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

In the last decade of the 16th and first decades of the 17th centuries, Spanish and Portuguese Conversos leave their homelands and come to Amsterdam seeking what author Miriam Bodian calls rejudaization, or what we, today, call conversion as a requirement for full participation in community life and benefits derived by being part of rabbinic Judaism. Affluent, educated, and willing to learn rabbinic Judaism, these Conversos are seeking to learn and to establish Jewish rituals and worship. For example, ex-Conversos seek religious aid from Uri Halevi, an Ashkenazi rabbi from Emden who establishs what is probably the first synagogue in Amsterdam in 1595. When Halevi starts circumcising Conversos, the Dutch authorities arrest him and charge him with circumcising adults who are presumably Conversos. However, Halevi is released and allowed to continue working with the Iberian ex-Conversos and with his help they are able to establish their own rituals by 1603. One of the early Conversos who arrives in Holland is Isaac Pinto. He is overjoyed at having been given the opportunity to practice Judaism, the religion of his Iberian ancestors. Pinto not only learns Judaism, he studies Hebrew and established a synagogue, which he finances in its entirety during his lifetime. Although few of the ex-Conversos have the financial means that Pinto had, they actively participate in the Jewish community life of Amsterdam. However, as the 17th century starts passing, a new type of Converso who views Judaism as a practical necessity begin arriving in Amsterdam. Often times, this group of Conversos wanted to participate in the life of the synagogue and receive the benefits derived from being part of the Jewish community, but had no desire to undergo circumcision. There are examples of uncircumcised Conversos who died in Amsterdam and their families wanted to bury them in the Jewish cemetery of Ouderkerk. The Mahamad (see definition) ruled that the dead Conversos had to be circumcised before they could be buried in Ouderkerk. "Denial of the right of burial [in the Jewish cemetery] was used by the Mahamad in Amsterdam, if not to encourage circumcision, to pressure a few of the émigrés to undergo formal conversion to Judaism. These were persons who unquestionably belonged to the `Nation' but, because of known female old Christian ancestors on their mother's side, were not Jewish according to rabbinical law, which held that Jewishness was transmitted through the mother". The Amsterdam Jewish community was very careful not to upset Spain or Portugal by actively promoting Judaism or openly protecting crypto-Jews on Spanish or Portuguese soil. This was because Amsterdam's ex-Conversos were heavily engaged in commerce as ship owners, diamond and spice traders, and many other activities related to commerce with the Spanish and Portuguese empires. Although the Amsterdam Jewish community probably did not openly help Crypto-Jews in Iberia, there is evidence that some of the many prayer books that were printed in Spanish and Portuguese in Amsterdam were sent to Spain and Portugal or their overseas possessions (Bodian page 199). The Amsterdam ex-Conversos strongly encouraged their friends and relatives in the Iberian Peninsula to leave before the Inquisition find them. The following exerts from letters written by the ex-Converso Abraham Idaña (Gaspar Mendez del Arroyo) to Conversos in Iberia illustrate the feelings of Amsterdam Jews in 1686: "The notion of serving God in one's heart, it is not enough. The law of Moses was given in order to be observed. It is a particularly grave sin to remain uncircumcised. One must flee to lands of freedom and be circumcised without delay. Nor should one delude oneself that good deeds can compensate for failure to observe the Law". The ex-Converso community in Amsterdam was always ready to help newly arrived Conversos who needed help to return to Judaism. If the community could not help the newly arrived Conversos in Amsterdam, the community would aid the new comers to find passage to the Ottoman empire, Italy, or even to the New World where more freedom could be found than in the Iberian Peninsula. Once the ex-Converso community established rabbinic Judaism they began observing Jewish precepts and prohibitions, developed over many centuries, which regulated and restricted relations between Jews and Gentiles. Regardless of this, there is evidence that some ex-Conversos men took lower-class gentile women, often maidservants, as mistresses. From 1600-1623, notarial records reveal instances of sexual relations between Portuguese Jews and gentile women (most of them were Dutch or Scandinavian). Even though it was illegal to have sexual relations between Jews and gentiles under Jewish and Dutch law, few of the ex-Conversos or their mistresses were prosecuted. Bodian tells us that to a degree the fathers of the illegitimate children provided for their support and that a group of fifteen Amsterdam Jewish merchants established a society called Dotar for the purpose of providing a dowry to orphans and poor girls descendants of the Portuguese Nation or Castilian Conversos. It is conceivable that many of the illegitimate daughters of ex-Conversos were eligible and obtained dowry to marry Jews. Eligibility to obtain a dowry was not only for Amsterdam's girls, but it was extended to girls who lived in the Iberian Peninsula, or other parts of Europe, the Ottoman empire, and the New World. Candidates had to prove eligibility by demonstrating that they were descendants of Conversos through either their paternal or maternal line. In order to find suitable candidates for dowries, the Amsterdam ex-Converso community established an elaborated network in many countries. It is possible that the dowry network extended its activity beyond determining eligibility for dowry. The Amsterdam ex-Converso community gained knowledge of rabbinic Judaism rapidly and by the 1630s they had produced their own rabbis and scholars, such as Menasseh ben Israel and Isaac Aboab da Fonseca. The community not only produced brilliant Jewish scholars but as a whole was very active in religious activity and its knowledge of Jewish traditions was adequate, if not brilliant (Bodian page 110). The ex-Converso community learned because of its perseverance to acieve rejudaization.

A Missing Link Discovered

Certainly, any true history such as that written by Miriam Bodian is worthy of much more than five stars. . Professor Bodian chooses not the former when she describes and clearly illustrates the fact that the Ashkenazim (German “Jewry”) were not accepted by The Nation…the “Hebrew Nation”…Iberian Jewry. .... This book is highly recommended for all those of the Hebrew Nation, and for the Ashkenazim, or for anyone interested in Jewry. I also highly recommend it for Christians who would like to establish a sound base insofar as understanding what REALLY went on just before and during the periods when “Jews” started coming to the Americas. Few understand that the first synagogue in New Amsterdam (NYC) was of the Iberian peoples’, the Ashkenazim not arriving till wayyyy late in the game. Professor Bodian’s book, within my Hebrew National Community is about the best thing since apple pie…or shall I say, “empanadas de manzana.” It’s highly recommended for ALL.

Sincerely,

Daniel Enriquez David

This book received the National Jewish Book Award (ceremony was in March 1999) from the Jewish Book Council for best achievement in Jewish History, as well as the Koret Foundation's $10,000 Koret Jewish Book Award for achievement in History (awarded April 1999)

This is a highly academic work of Miriam Bodian, Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies at Pennsylvania State University. With in-depth research, the author analyses a unique chapter in the history of Judaism: the return of Iberian "conversos" to rabbinical religion and the establishment of the Jewish community in Amsterdam. A remarkable account of the strength and perseverance of a "nation" which clings to its roots despite all adversities. This is cultural "Darwinism..."

I am the author of Eating & Drinking in Italy and Eating & Drinking in Spanish (the What Kind of Food Am I? series). I own, and have used, all of Margo Classe's guides, including Hello France! These guides are thorough and the author adds a personal touch when she describes in detail each hotel she has visited. Hello France! is a must for the independent, budget traveler.

"European hotels do not have facecloths. I always pack mine. Showers: I haven't figured out why some showers don't have shower curtains on them." ~Margo

On my last trip to France, this book would have come in handy. One of the hotels I stayed at in Paris did not even have shower curtains and when I sat on the bed, the bed literally collapsed. This was in a very nice hotel and I was shocked. While the tour guide seemed oblivious to the predicament, I never forgot the experience. The breakfast the next morning and tour was of course worth the effort of having to put the bed back together.

A guide by Margo would have helped me select my own hotel accommodations that weekend. I also found I wanted to spend more time in various locations and a tour to Paris seemed rushed on a weekend. I wanted to spend an entire week, no a month just wandering around France. When we traveled to Provence, I had no idea where to stay and while we found nice hotels, it was purely by chance and we had no idea what to expect. When at the Louvre I wandered around not realizing I could get a portable headset to explain some of the paintings.

Throughout this guide to Budget Hotels in France, Margo selects the best hotels and explains why a double bed is cheaper than twin beds and why you might be able to ask for a "zip and lock" king-size bed (they might put two beds together), but why king-size beds are not something you will find in Budget hotels.

If you love to cook, you might want to look for the Culinary School listing. There are detailed descriptions of all the hotels, including unique creative touches like she mentions the way the rooms are decorated. Will you have to climb stairs, do you want a garden/patio, does the room have a view of the Eiffel Tower?

Margo spent ten weeks traveling around France and went to 30 of the most popular cities to explore the hotels she has written about. She spent her own money and time to produce this book and no hotel or restaurant has paid to be in this book. If where you stay is as important as the sites you will visit, then this is the book for you. A list of French Phrases for checking in is included. If you want to spend more money eating out and touring the cities, then this guide will also help you save money.

~The Rebecca Review

You don't need a roommate to share the cost of travel when you can stay in a delightful Paris hotel for just $50 per night, with a private bath. Margo Classe does our homework for us, finding the little gems that even travel agents don't know about. These are small, Mom & Pop places that are not even listed on the Internet. This book lists the charming, affordable hotels in cities throughout France. Each listing perfectly describes the place in great detail, giving contact info. Her other books do the same for Spain, Italy and Britain & Ireland. If only her books covered the world!

I am the author of Eating & Drinking in France and I have used all of Margo Classe's guides, including Hello France! This guide is thorough and the author adds a personal touch when she describes in detail each hotel she has visited. Hello France! is a must for the independent, budget traveler.

This is the best book I've ever used for finding hotels in Paris and Mont-St. Michel. The rooms were great, clean, well located, and the detailed descriptions of each hotel and best rooms were greatly appreciated and right on the money.