Iowa Books

This textbook is required for an online class I am taking, but it is so well put together and interesting that I would recommend it to anyone interested in a business law crash course!

The product arrived next day as I had paid for it to do so. The condition was good. I would buy from them again.

This book was one of the best Business Law books I have ever read. The authors write the book that makes Business Law easy to understand. It is very well written and once you start reading it, it is hard to stop. I highly recommend this for any Business Law Course or if you want to skim the surface of the subject, then this book is the proper gradient.

This was an interesting textbook. I almost decided to keep it for future reference. Some of the material did not go into the depth I would have preferred, but it was still a really good read for a textbook.

This text was actually enjoyable to read most of the time. There is a lot of good information, and the presentation makes it easy to digest. It is still a text, and there is a lot of information. Still, when compared to most textbooks, this is among the best for both coverage of the material and ease of reading.

What struck me as a foreign language teacher were the references to the communication problem between doctor and patient as one analogous to the speakers of two different languages, each attempting (or not) to speak intelligibly to the other. The metaphor was not limited to foreign languages per se, although that came up too, but also to different artistic languages: the one med professor had his students go to an art museum to observe paintings "so they could observe patients". The idea is that the doctor is to bring the same heightened engagement with this "foreign language" of painting to his patient, the same sensation of non-understanding that requires all the compensatory observational zeal one can muster -- so that one will be alert to and comprehend the language of his patient's body, the "different kinds of red". (46) Similarly jazz musician Sikou Sundiata only began to comprehend his doctor when he learned that he, too, was a drummer, a percussive artist who could read the tones of his chest the way the artist could feel the rhythms of his drums. But then there were the direct mentions of foreign language: again Sundiata: "Using medical language with doctors was kind of like using my high school French when I went to Paris." And while some of the doctors encouraged him, helped him with the words he didn't know, others wanted to "leave that kind of talk" to them. (99) Finally, my favorite of these references is Richard McCann's "My Body, My Story", where he actually defines the TWO languages being spoken, one the language of medicine by the doctors, and the other the language of his body, "because what you're hearing is me. It's me." (89) And he compares himself to the doctor's Spanish cleaning lady, to whom the doctor explains how to run the dryer in English, and then, in a gesture of grace, says "Gracias" to her. That line is what strikes me as so important for ALL the listening professions: that one learn to bend out of one's familiarity, acknowledge the "other" as valid, and move, however clumsily, toward communication in a language other than one's own. It is a kind of alertness and engagement, borne of the conviction of the limits of the doctor's own knowledge vis-a-vis his patient's "language" -- i.e. his unique "body narrative" -- that this book wishes to awaken. I find it very touching, I think, because the need for that urgency is so much larger than the needs of good medical practice. It is, in a way, simply the need for grace, for "bending a little my way", for loving one's neighbor, for learning foreign languages in the most extended sense of the metaphor, in order that "grace may abound".

There's more to listening to a patient then just comprehending the words coming out of their mouths. "Patient Listening: A Doctor's Guide" is a guide for doctors to understanding and interpreting patients' complaints. Better listening, claims author Loreen Herwaldt, creates a better bond between doctor and patient, and improves the quality of treatment all around. "Patient Listening" is a recommended read for all physicians and community library health collections.

What a novel and remarkable way to write the patient's voice. Dr. Herwaldt has captured the essence of the many aspects of the clinical encounter by distilling interview transcripts of well regarded published authors into what she calls "found poems". She has created a very useful tool for all of us to teach the patient's voice. Eminently readable, this book should be a must read by all medical students and clinicians. It is truly one of the best texts for informing the clinical encounter that I have read. Its simplicity is its beauty and brilliance.

There are an increasing number of physician authors who are sharing their stories, etc. in books and articles in the lay press. To this mix, is Physican Listening, an unique and remarkable book. Dr. Herwaldt has taken patient, some of whom are physicians, stories and transformed the prose into poetry. Hence the listing as editor. The poems are moving as they tell stories of patient experiences with physicians, some good and some not so good. While the book is targeted at medical professionals I truly believe they have just as much relevance to the public at large. Further, the perceived magical physician-patient interaction is somewhat illusory. As some of the poems highlight, physicians are patients too and, like my own personal experience, that does not necessarily give one an advantage. In fact it ought not be. Ideally, and recognzizing that we are all individuals, every patient experience ought to be excellent. It is the hope of the editor that in sharing such stories that we physicians and other health care professionals develop better insight into and empathy for the patient. By this measure this book is a great success.

In closing, and to address any perceived conflict of interest, let me note that Dr. Herwaldt and I work at the same institution but have rarely had any professional interaction, including the focus of this book.

Although this was written as a guide for physicians and educators, there is much to recommend it to a wider readership. These are the actual narratives of illness, transmuted by a deft lyrical touch into "found poems", attributed to the teller as author. Each author has a unique voice, yet the poems reveal as much about the listener as they do about the author. In a poignant dedication page, Dr Herwaldt dedicated this book to those who shared their narratives with her, and then named several who died before the book was published. I have been privileged to hear medical students at the University of Iowa stage these as performance pieces. Those students, and any who attended the readings, have surely been changed by the experience. I know that I was. I would recommend this book to anyone who is intrigued by the interaction between patient and physician.

On one level this is a carefully researched study of how Shakespeare's plays were translated, adapted, staged and critiqued on American Yiddish stages. For this alone Berkowitz's study is worthwhile, but his passion for his subject, and the wit and flair with which he expresses himself, turn his research into compelling reading. Berkowitz paints the picture of a world in which theater fed the souls not only of intellectuals, but of the working-class spectators who dominated Yiddish audiences. He writes about these audiences with sensitivity and respect, and vividly brings their world to life. I will not give away his conclusions here, but suffice it to say that they are thought-provoking. I highly recommend this beautifully written, passionately argued work of cultural history.

Although this study focuses on Yiddish productions of Shakespeare, it reaches beyond that specific topic to tell several stories at once. One is the story of the development of the professional Yiddish theater. Berkowitz gives a concise explanation of how this arose, both in Europe and in the United States, and vividly describes the Yiddish theater scene on the Lower East Side around the turn of the 20th century. A second story within that story is what he teaches us about Yiddish audiences; the book is filled with fascinating documentation of their responses to these productions. More broadly, he tells the story of the East European Jewish immigrants who came to America in huge numbers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, for their experiences were reflected in the plays they attended, and Yiddish playwrights used Shakespeare to address issues like generational conflict, assimilation, etc. This book should become an instant classic for anyone interested in any facet of Yiddish culture!

When a friend gave me this book, my first reaction was, "Great subject, handsome book--but too scholarly for my blood." Once I started leafing through it, though, I couldn't put it down. Berkowitz writes with flair, and manages to entertain and instruct at the same time. He starts by bringing the reader into the world of late 19th century Yiddish theater in New York City. He vividly describes the theater buildings, the audiences, the actors and the playwrights who made the Lower East Side such a hotbed of activity. Then he takes us on a fascinating ride, organized around the Shakespeare plays that were most successful in Yiddish. This book should be a must on everybody's reading list this summer!

At last, a work of substantial scholarship that can not only enlighten, but actually entertain, the lay reader! For those of you intimidated by the Bard, don't despair; Berkowitz wears his considerable learning lightly, and demonstrates with style and wit how Yiddish playwrights turned to Shakespeare in an effort to "legitimize" the American Yiddish stage. "Shakespeare on the American Stage" benefits from the author's extensive work with contemporary scripts, newspapers, memoirs, and other sources. More importantly, it tells a compelling story of American Jewish immigrants through the prism of the theater--a real treat!

Mr. Berkowitz takes the reader back to the Lower East Side starting roughly 125 years ago to introduce us to the bustling, experimental world where Jewish immigrants controversially sought to achieve credibility for their beloved theater by adapting the works of the most renowned playwright. Audiences packed houses to see the thespianic greats outdo each other in Shakespeare's finest roles. Mr. Berkowitz invokes the aid of play advertisements and theater critics' first-hand accounts in a story about Shakespeare nearly as entertaining as a Shakespearean story.

The Tri-State tornado is the deadliest tornado to affect the United States since weather records have been kept. Since this event took place in 1925, survivors with a clear memory are becoming few and far between. Fortunately, the author has clearly documented not only the stories of survivors, but the atmospheric conditions that existed during the event and the struggles of attempting forensic meteorology. Considering how sparse the data is for an event so far in the past, I'm pleased that the author was able to accomplish this much. Events like this will happen again and, much to my disappointment, there is no way to determine if the Tri-State tornado was one single tornado track (which it appears to be) or a family of large, violent long-track tornadoes.

I first read this book while taking a class in severe & unusual weather at the University of Illinois a few years ago. If you're into jaw-dropping weather phenomena, you really need to get this book. There are great interviews with survivors, a few astounding pictures, and some good basic science to back it all up.

There are quite a few stories, books, etc. about this event, but this book is different in a way, with newspaper accounts, and direct information from the survivors and their kin themselves.It's an easy read and one most weather buffs will enjoy.

Tornadoes are the most powerful storms on Earth. They may not be the biggest in size, but the destruction they can cause is insurmountable.

The Tri-State Tornado gives the readers the perfect example of how devestating these storms can be. Even in this day in age with our advanced technology, meteorologists have a difficult time understanding the true nature of these storms.

This was evident back in 1925 when that fateful day came when one single tornado had struck three states, killed 689 people, and traveled 219 miles at a rapid pace anywhere between 60-73 miles per hour. No one saw it touch ground or disappear.

The author does a great job of interweaving interviews from the actual survivors. Who better to explain that day than the people who saw this mile plus wide tornado barreling down in front of them.

The Tri-State Tornado remains one of the most bizarre and deadliest tornado to have ever hit the United States.

At around 1:00 p.m., March 18, 1925, a tornado touched down in Reynolds Country, Missouri. But, this was no ordinary tornado. This was an F5 multivortex tornado that proceeded east-northeast across 219 miles, 13 counties and three states (Missouri, Illinois and Indiana). By the time the tornado dissipated, it had destroyed a number of small towns, erased a number of farms, and killed some 689 people. This was one of the worst tornadoes in U.S. history, and this book tells its story.

This is quite a fascinating book. The author does an excellent job of telling the story of the Tri-State Tornado with factual reporting, but yet brining alive the horror of what happened. The book is an interesting mixture of Mr. Felknor's narration and accounts from some fourteen survivors of the tornado.

Overall, I found this to be a fascinating and highly informative book about a little known subject. If you are interested in tornadoes, then you simply must get this book about the granddaddy of them all! I highly recommend this book.

This book is a love feast. Story after story of Bill and the "frens" who were fortunate enough to be a part of Bill's circle, including the regulars on the bus who were cheerfully greeted upon boarding, the day care children who had a happy transition from parents dropping them off for day care, the nice lady prostitutes who enjoyed his happy harmonica tunes when he was in Washington, DC to be honored for his achievements. Not only does the book make you glad to know about Bill's magnificent gift of loving, it gives hints about how to nurture that in life. The book is for everyone who celebrates the great diversity of gifts that make life wonderful

This uplifting story will appeal to anyone who is interested in how the human spirit overcomes great adversity. It is also of local interest to residents of Iowa City, as it recaps events that happened in this town and on this campus. A thoroughly enjoyable read that I would highly recommend.

Dr. Walz tells the life story of Bill Sackter's triumph over disability. The book is written from Bill's perspective and tells of his journey in a Minnesota mental institution to being named Iowa's Handicapped Person of the year. There is a wonderful Christmas story which makes this book particularly timely. I would recommend this book to readers of all ages.

The Unlikely Celebrity is a heart-warming and uplifting story. Bill Sackter was an amazing person who had nothing but love in his heart, despite many difficult years in the Faribault State Hospital. In this day and age of almost nothing but bad news and scandal, The Unlikely Celebrity is a refreshing change, and I recommend it to everybody.

The story of the life and times of William ("Bill for short") Sackter is as remarkable and inspiring as any in American history. Bill's story is re-told by his good friend Professor Thomas Walz (now retired from the social work department of the University of Iowa) in such sharp, believable detail as even to go so far as to write the majority of the book from Bill's point of view, using the sort of speech, broken perhaps but very gripping, as Bill had used; this aspect brings a great deal of accuracy to the book. The Bible says in I Thessalonians 5 to rejoice always and to give thanks in all circumstances. Bill Sackter took these principles to the extreme, and as a result, made everyone who knew him take a much closer look at themselves and the world around them. His life still has that effect on people today.

I'm not going to say here what all happened in Bill's life; the book will do a much better job of that than I. However, I will simply say that this book will open your eyes to an incredible sense of optimism little known in the world we live in today. I can't imagine someone reading this book and being disappointed.

One thing more: for those of you who have seen and loved the movies "Bill" and "Bill On His Own" (which have been out of print for who-knows-how-many-years), they are available from the very good people at Wild Bill's Coffee Shop at the University of Iowa.

Blind Switch is worth the read! A lively book with full blown interesting, and some despicable characters, this book kept me going. McEvoy makes the world of horse breeding and racing a seductive one and one I would like to visit again. He blends the good guys with the bad guys as the story weaves from Chicago to Kentucky and en route we watch the main character grow and ultimately flourish.
A fast and refreshing story!

Blind Switch is a great ride - lots of unusual and goofy characters - some are people you'd like to know, including Jack Doyle, the main character. He starts out in a "blind switch", essentially boxed in by life, though in part by his own doing. He evolves and revolves through the world of thoroughbred horse racing. You will too. Great suspense, life lessons, and peripheral romance. You'll hate the bad guys and enjoy the good guys, with lots of laughs. The Chicago references are fun for us Chicagoans. Ever wonder why horse racing is actually a clean sport? Because the FBI, the mob, and the industry itself need and want it to be. It's a great read! I didn't want it to end. I'm waiting for McEvoy's next move.

When Jack Doyle is downsized from his corporate Chicago job, a friend tells him he can make an easy $25,000 on a horse race. He accepts the job and the fix is totally successful but the FBI has an idea what he did even though they have no evidence to convict. The agents "convince" him to gather evidence that rich and powerful Harvey Rexroth is having his horses killed for the insurance money. One of Rexroth's employees, manager Aldous Bolger reports his suspicions to the FBI

Bolger agrees to help Jack get hired by Rexroth and Doyle but finds he likes and respects the man who loves the horses as if they were his own. The FBI believes the leader of the horse killing ring is former jockey Ronald Montvedt, a stone cold killer who will do anything for money. When Bolger catches him trying to kill a stallion, the ex-jockey maims Bolger. Doyle is now determined to take Montvedt and Rexroth down, no matter what methods he has to use.

Fans of books of the late Dick Francis will thoroughly enjoy BLIND SWITCH, a novel about horses and people who care for them. The protagonist undergoes a metamorphosis as he stays in contact with the beautiful animals and goes from being a shady character to a person who wants to see justice done. John McEvoy has a unique voice that will win him a place with many fans and BLIND SWITCH deserves to win an award for best new talent.

Harriet Klausner

I love books that deal with horses. I especially look forward to those which deal with horse racing. Add to that setting a hero with some serious defects in his character, an interesting scenario which puts him on the side of the angels, several villians whom you will love to hate, some people you will genuinely care about and a generous sprinkling of serious nut cases and you have a very readable, thoroughly enjoyable first novel by John McEvoy. I have read most of the writings of the late, great Dick Francis and in my judgment, references to his writings in comparison to this story is comparing apples to oranges. Both authors have an interesting way of telling their story, but there is little comparison to how they go about it. This is a story that will hold your interest, tickle your funny bone and satisfy your sense of justice. That's a trifecta worth betting on!!

You need not be from Iowa, be a farmer, railroad person, or have grown up during the depression to be truly entertained by this book. A story of a ordinary family that tells the truth, that no family is truly ordinary. We all share joy, grief, hardship, and love and live extrodinary aspects of our ordinary lives. Patrick tells his family's story with a manner true to his family's style. Plain but elegent, reserved but openly humerous, and with a depth that is easily felt but not described. I enjoyed it very much and hope you will as well.

Thanks

Once Americans were connected by kin and neighborliness into communities linked by the railroad. Patrick Irelan's parents set up housekeeping in this America during the depths of the Great Depression, farming one depleted acreage after another. His father was a whiz telegrapher and soon both parents were working as station agents for the Burlington Railroad, happiest, his mother recalled, while living in a Nebraska depot.

Irelan captures the ritual and spectacle of railroading. In Allerton, Iowa, we wait for the train: preparation, anticipation, arrival--in seconds only the tracks and town remain. In Chicago, however, the train waits for us.

Central Standard is the story (twenty five, in fact) of a family typical, yet so unique as to be unknowable without a guide. Fortunately, the family has provided one.

Inspired by the intricate and diligent work of a railroad man and farmer, Pete Irelan and his family, Central Standard tops the list of the best. The harshest era of our Midwest is set with joy, sadness, and the hard work of a determined and loving family. Throughout the book, Irelan emerges the reader into a world of good humor, grieving, and hope. And in the end, we reenter the 21st century with a sense of nostalgia and an understanding of what the meaning of "family" truly is. There are no gross horrors in this book, nor stories of dysfunctional people in order to keep the reader's interest. With Irelan's sense of story telling and his poetic way with words, telling a story is all we need to relive his time and place.

This is a book about growing up in depression-era and post-depression small town Iowa - stories about working for the
railroad, trying to eke out a living by farming, and the reality
of hard work and family life. Irelan evokes a time when family was important and makes everyday characters come to life in this
collection of essays about his parents and relatives as he grows up in southern Iowa.

Don Waters is a brilliant talent and gift to all who read his work. I recommend this collection to anyone who wishes to read clever thoughtful words that shine on the dark side.

I don't have time to write a long review so I'll just say this: it's brilliant work. Each story makes you wish there was a full length novel to accompany it.

Winner of the 2007 Iowa Short Fiction Award, "Desert Gothic" by Don Waters is a collection of superbly written short stories set against the desert backgrounds of Nevada and Arizona. The characters are memorable, the plots imaginatively original, the language beautifully rendered, and the cumulative effect clearly documenting Waters as a master storyteller. The individual stories comprising this outstanding and very highly recommended anthology include: What to Do with the Dead; Sheets; Mr. Epstein and the Dealer; Dan Buck; Mineral and Steel; Blood Management; Holiday at the Shamrock; The Bulls at San Luis; Little Sins; and Mormon in Heat. "Desert Gothic" is a welcome and impressive addition to personal, academic, and community library Contemporary American Literature collections and supplemental reading lists.

I'm like Sam Stone of Indiana, another Amazon reviewer, who doesn't havce time to write a long review, but unlike Sam Stone, I'm just as glad there wasn't a novel to go with every one of these brilliant stories. I like some things short and concentrated.

Don Waters brings a refreshing moist breeze to the parched desert lands on which his characters crawl, like wounded scorpions, to a death predestined, nearly animating their paltry lives through clever plotting and some racy, colloquial dialogue. His sense of "scene" is just about perfect, and whenever you fear that he's allowing the tail of his shaggy dogs to wag the story, he brings it back to line with a sharp tug on the leash, often by pulling one more unexpected twist out of the character's copious prior lives--for it seems everyone comes to the desert to hide out, or die, whatever comes first and hurts the most.

Dan Buck is a obsessed, world famous athlete on the model of Lance Armstrong (except a runner), a man who pushes himself through his own version of Extreme Vanity. His first person narration eschews any trace of humility in his escalating war with his body and in the forbidden love he feels for another, perhaps less neurotic, Slavic runner, Vitus the Czech. It's sort of a Brokeback Mountain means Lawrence of Arabia approach, and it works with this material, since Dan Buck doesn't spare us any of the details of his celebrated life and Waters gets down every physical detail of his collapse, after what I imagine was some prodigious research effortlessly sifted into the character, like silk into water.

It's hard to find a decent human being among them, but Waters harbors a battered affection for them all, one he works hard to share with readers. One poor slob gets suckered into being a mule for seniors, smuggling their expensive medicines in from Mexico, bringing in more and more each time, a modernday Raoul Wallenberg with a streak of heroism in him that proves there's an exception to every rule. (In a parodic mirror of this story, another of Waters' protagonists, Geoff, makes money "scooting kids to proms." A cop pulls him over, notes that his DL has expired. "Yeah," Geoff replies, glumly. "By six years," the cop continues.) Good and bad shepherds, all stumble towards a distant star--perhaps only a neon simulacrum hung atop a casino.

The bleached out sinners of DESERT GOTHIC are a breed of their own, and while readers might do well to apply ten coats of moral sunscreen on all exposed areas of their skin, they will be glad they went down in Don Waters' fiery furnace. You'll be able to tell us desert rats, we've got the wild eyes and the weary, chafed wobble of the survivor.

Excellent pocket reference. I'm a 3rd year FP resident and have found it helpful in the office and in the hospital. Just wish there was a new version -last one was in 1997.

Mark Graber and staff have done it again. The 3rd edition of the Family Practice handbook is the most complete day to day reference I use. A practical and common sense approach to medicine that includes almost all family medicine topics that can be encountered each day. I even bring this book home each day for review and to assist me on my call nights. I feel this book is especially designed for the busy practioner who needs quick access of the latest medical info. I feel it is reliable and authoritative and I encourage anyone who practices family medicine and is looking for reliable information to assist them in their daily practice to try this book.

This is an evidence-based pocket wonder. Mark Graber, M.D., et. al. do an amazing job of packing the relevant practical facts needed in a daily practice or ER in a small space. The emergency care chapters particularly provide the kind of memory jogging details of care that one needs while on the job.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one family practice book, this should be it. (But wouldn't you take a good novel instead?) It covers the waterfront with details of diagnosis and treatment of all of the common and most of the uncommon disorders without the clutter of the rare. Good for students and residents in my estimation.

I read this book about 1982. I used to work the night shift at a hospital and on Sunday mornings, I recall listening to a Sunday Morning NPR talk show. One morning, Howard Cosel interviewed the author of Righteous Gentile. I was completely fascinated by this story that I had never heard. Howard was masterful in his interview and I was so taken that I immediately purchased the book and read it. It is riveting and I could not put it down until I had consumed it all. I am always in amazed wonderment at ordinary people who perform extraordinary acts under dire conditions. Wallenberg was such a man. The story is, of course, a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, as Wallenberg disappears into the Russian Gulag. I irony of his imprisonment in the Gulag after having saved so many Jews from their fate in the Holocost. It is one of those books that is uplifting because it reminds us of both the good and evil that humans are capable of.

John Bierman's terrifically tragic Wallenberg biography,'Righteous Gentile' is divided into two parts;the first 119 pages lead up to his kidnapping by the Russians on
January 17,1945.The last 97 pages deal with the world's apathy in securing his release from the Gulag.Thousands of Jews and some non-Jews owe their lives to Wallenberg's intervention on
"behalf of the Swedish government"-which dealt with the Wallenberg kidnapping issue as buroucracies tend to do.Bierman's Wallenberg book was published in 1981-and there were credible reports that Wallenberg was still vegetating in the Soviet prison system.The sin of allowing this to happen-is beyond unforgivable.

Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish aristocrat who managed to save thousands of Hungarian Jews from the gas chambers in the closing months of 1944. His relief agency in Budapest issued bogus Swedish passports to as many Jews as possible. By dint of his commanding personality, his ingenuity, and his talent for pulling the wool over the eyes of dimwitted Nazi functionaries, he contrived to convince the German and Hungarian authorities to respect these entirely extralegal documents. In mid-January 1945, he was summoned to the Soviet embassy in newly-"liberated" Budapest, and he was never seen again.

This is a great and inspiring story, and "Righteous Gentile" does justice to it. Bierman doesn't really succeed in explaining the origins of the idealism that led Wallenberg to volunteer for this job in the first place, but probably nobody could. What he does show is the skill and energy with which Wallenberg executed the task assigned to him. Actually "skill and energy" are ludicrously inadequate terms. Wallenberg not only distributed his passports, he tirelessly roamed around pulling Jews out of death marches and off trains bound for Auschwitz, he bossed Nazi thugs around in impeccable Hochdeutsch (and they listened), and he confronted Adolf Eichmann himself, all the while taking the most extraordinary risks. I can't say that Wallenberg was the greatest hero in recorded history, since I'm not familiar with all of it; suffice to say that he is by a very large margin the greatest hero I've ever read of, in fiction or history, and it is an inspiring and hopeful fact that someone like him ever existed. I am grateful to John Bierman for bringing this figure to such luminous and memorable life.

The only problem I have with the book is that half of it consists of speculations and rumor-cataloguing to the effect that Wallenberg was alive in the Gulag until about 1980. I believe that most authorities now think he was murdered by the Soviets long before this, perhaps after they failed to recruit him for espionage. This part of the book is therefore something of an anachronism. However, it doesn't detract from the general value of the book, which should be required reading for everybody, period.

A five star book about a five star hero.

The second world war threw-up some gigantic figures but ironically Raoul Wallenberg from neutral Sweden towers over all the rest.

Like the Good Samaritan he didn't pass on by but instead left his safe homeland to assist others by putting himself in danger day after day in the inferno that was Hungary during the dreadful days of 1944-45.

The man who saved a 100,000 jews from the clutches of Adolf Eichmann, the SS, and the Hungarian facists, the Arrow Cross ultimately fell foul of the Russian 'liberators.' He was never seen again as a free man after being taken into 'protective custody' by the Reds on 17 January 1945.

I read John Bierman's excellent book some 20 years ago and he charts the extraordinary crusade of his subject with a deft touch.

This is a book that will both inspire you, with Wallenberg's humanity and courage, and anger you that such a man could lose his liberty after fighting so hard for the freedom and safety of others.

In the pantheon of heroes Raoul Wallenberg-the righteous gentile-would have to be at the very top