New York Books

This is a serious biography for all history buffs. The author has expertly woven world history, specifically British history, and the Golden Age of Piracy's pirates (Blackbeard, Bartholomew Roberts, Anne Bonny, etc.)into the background of William Kidd's life. William Kidd began his illustrious career as an honest trader and ended with the financing of his ship by unscrupulous English businessmen. He began his final journey to the Indian Ocean with one mishap after another and ended it by being arrested for piracy. Did he deliberately comit acts of piracy? Or was he a scapeboat for a business deal gone bad? This is an excellent well-researched and well-written book. I have read many nonfiction historical books, and this is one of the best. It has detailed footnotes and index. I recommend any book about pirates by David Cordingsly and Frank Sherry. My son also read a children's novel that is well-researched, has pirate photos, and nonfiction information. The author is K.J. McWilliams, and the book is The Diary of a Slave Girl, Ruby Jo.

This book makes you hostage from start to finish Was the captain out on the seas in quest for something other than treasure You Decide Great read

This book makes you hostage from start to finish Was the captain out on the seas in quest for something other than treasure You Decide Great read

Ritchie does an extremely able job of refocusing the story of Captain Kidd away from being a personal drama. Instead, he builds an image of the world where Kidd was one of many trying their luck at this (then) semi-legal trade. Piracy was the only place left for a sailor who loved the sea but not the navy.

As a reader, it was interesting to see Kidd transformed from the pirate figure of legend into a semi-competent adventurer who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in British history. Ritchie also provides a fascinating look at the 17th-18th century justice systems.

Ritchie is less of a writer than a historian, unfortunately. There were a number of places at the beginning of the book where I felt lost as to where he was trying to go. However, as another reader notes, this improves later on in the book.

Recommended for readers with a particular interest in pirates.

A scholarly treatment of the William Kidd case and times. The author switches back and forth between presenting biographical information about Captain Kidd and an evolution of the declining use of privateers and pirates as tools of foreign policy. The writing is smooth and well thought out, providing an entertaining read.

I found the information on the attitudes toward pirates during the late 17th and early 18th centuries interesting and chock full of little know tidbits. The biography of William Kidd was eventful and conforms with what I have read in other sources. The author takes the story from early accounts to Kidd's first appearance in the Caribbean to the arrival in New York and on through the fateful trip that sealed his fate. Ritchie uses the general information on the attitude toward pirates to reinforce the conclusion that Kidd was doomed from the moment he surrendered in New York, and to provide some insight into why Kidd did surrender.

My one complaint revolves around the author's conclusion that Kidd was actually guilty of piracy and should have been convicted. It is not that the author reaches that conclusion, after all the evidence can point to that conclusion, however, I had the feeling from the first page that the author's intent was to prove Kidd guilty. Casting off the guise of impartial historian that early in the book has to raise the question - has the author's attitude spilled over into the data presented? That said, it is important to read multiple views to get a better understanding of the history, and I did find this book to be both entertaining and informative.

For an alternate view of the William Kidd story try The Pirate Hunter by Richard Zacks. P-)

There was a time when a person could come to Manhattan with just a few dollars and find a place to live, a career and friends. This novel captures that time beautifully. Mailer's clear voice and sharp eye make the city come alive, with guest-star appearances from Andy Warhol, Halston and Debbie Harry.

I admit the first time I picked up this book, I kind of smirked-I expected this book to be an easy and entertaining read, but lacking in depth. I was correct about the first two assumptions. This book had to be one of the most entertaining reads. The author does a great job of interweaving realistic situations with humor. Many times throughout the novel, I found myself laughing or being surprised in a pleasant way. The main character of this novel is a likable character-she is an innocent girl from Arkansas who enters the modeling world in NYC in the seventies. I loved the descriptions of the seventies fashions and the hair! I loved the innocence of the main character, how honest she was and how she had a conscience. Eventually, that conscience would collide many times with the standards of her new world. I would definitely recommend this book, if you want an easy, enteraining and humorous read. Not only that, but this book will have you wondering what will happen to the main character and will have you thinking about her long after you've finished reading it.

Norris Church Mailer is from Arkansas. So am I. She has a degree in art. So do I. She's a former secondary teacher. So am I. That's where the similarities end. She's a wonderful writer who, in her second book, CHEAP DIAMONDS, brings back memories of small town Southern life that made me smile, frown and think.

Mailer's story is a delight to read. In it, she tells of the impossible rise of Cherry Marshall, a gal from Sweet Valley, Arkansas, in the New York fashion world of the 1970's. Interwoven with the story of Cherry's growing success is the story of her friend Cassie who is left behind by her boyfriend, Lale, when he can't take the pressure of settling down. Both Lale and Cherry wind up in New York and become high-powered models while Cassie stays behind in Sweet Valley to fights a personal tragedy. Cherry also keeps up a correspondence with her friend, Baby, who is always getting into messes.

The story is told from Cherry's perspective, often by means of letters she has either sent home or has received. Cherry is honest, thought-provoking and sincere. She suffers over her choices, wondering if they will send her to hell, as her minister back home would tell her. She tries to hold onto the roots of her hometown goodness while struggling with the murky morals of her wide open New York world.

Mailer has done a wonderful job showing the difference between Southern culture and the New York high life of the 70s, along with Cherry's attempt at balance. This is a wonderful read.

As one of a million small-town girls who came to Manhattan to follow her big dreams, it was exhilarating to read about this character's arrival in NYC in the Seventies--a romantic bygone era of Avedon, Studio 54 and a much hipper, grittier Soho. Loved the fashiony touches--patent leather gillies and burnt-orange trimmed suede hot pants (those were the days!). But this is no cookie-cutter chicklit tale. Underneath the beautiful characters and the glossy fashion world, this is also a very touching story about love and loss and I found myself in tears at some parts of Cherry Marshall's journey through her new, often confusing world. I read this author's first novel and didn't want to say goodbye to this charming, gutsy character. I'm so glad I didn't have to! I hope Ms. Mailer will be giving us a third installment of Cherry's adventures next year? S'il vous plait?

Norris Church Mailer has a clear and honest voice, and her novel has an intriguing- and attractive- plot (especially for fashionistas)! What a colorful read!

I have yet to find anything as well designed or pleasing to the eye as a cognoscenti map. The intellect, nay, sheer genius that was put forth in order to create a more perfect travel guide does nothing but boggle the mind of this lay-man. From the informative blurbs to the visually pleasing color combinations to the reassuring texture of the page, this map has it all. I can only wait, with baited breath, for the Middletown guide to come out, in order to see what I've been missing in my own backyard. Cognoscenti, you had me at "hello."

I normally don't write reviews of things I buy on line but in this case I felt I needed to make an exception. The Cognoscenti New York map/guide I bought was instramental in making my trip to New York rich and exciting. I recommend it to anyone planning to go to new York.

I always found using a map in one hane and a guide book in the other to be too cumbersome! I've finally found a neat clear fusion of the two in the COgnoscenti guides. I toured London with their London guide and had the time of my life! SO when it came time to see New york Cognoscenti was the only "guide" I bought. Clearly marked icons let me read info on the guide's flip side without losing my place on the map, the way I always did every time I'd refer to a book-type guide while trying to read a map at the same time. I highly recommend these guides.

After causing several car accidents due to large fold-out maps covering my windhsield as I attempted to roar down interstates I was a tad skeptical when my friend Joey told me Cognoscenti Map Guides were the best guides he'd seen. I was used to large guide books which would weigh me down and take up space in my pack I could have used for skotch. But this guide has it all. Tons of info AND a slim and sleak design. Thank you COgnscenti!

Finally a map worthy of a trip to NYC!

By Self Effort one can enter into The Highest Superconscious State,stop the breath and attain Liberation:

Glittered with stories, this book invokes a deep understanding of our universe. Can be read multiple times in different light. Profound exposition of many ideas floating about in the Samkhya philosophy and Vedic literature.

Among the great scriptures of Indian spiritual thought, Yoga Vasistha is the the most beloved of mine. It is not a dry, wise and scholarly representation of Upanishadic thinking. It is a witty, surrealistic, out-of-mind story-telling to break the grip of one's logic-dominated mind. How to grasp with human mind what essentially is beyond it? Read it and either you will jump with joy or you will not understand anything beyond the stories. Are you ready? Or are you asleep with your eyes wide open?
Shantu Dand

The Vedic texts are so full of wisdom and profundity that they take a real time commitment to appreciate them. The full text of the Yoga Vasista is no different. That is why I appreciate this condensed version so much. The meaning and nuances are all there, yet it is written in an accessible style. Make no mistake, this condensed form will take time to read also (perhaps one verse per night before sleep), but it is so sublime and so easy to use.

This is the epitome and crux of Hindu philosphy. A must read for a person looking for ultimate truth and liberation. After knowing the truth presented in this book, there remains nothing to be read further. The author has done a super job of putting this great ancient work together.

The Copacabana flooded me with memories of one of my first dates with my then future husband. It was a big deal because we didn't go into New York very much, so it was a special occasion. Kristin Baggelaar's book evokes these special times in our lives. These are wonderful memories of a bygone era filled with elegance, romance, and high-living. It is an easy book to pick up, browse through, and look back on the different times in our lives.

Other books have been written about the famous Copacabana nightclub, but none have captured the feeling of that era the way Kristin Baggelaar has - every page is a joy.

Edna Ryan, former Copa Girl

The Copacabana personified the nightclub era of 1944 to 1953 in the country. Kristin Baggelaar's nostalgic book captures those days of mega stars and their acts in 126 pages of page-turning comments and photographs.
- Former Copa Girl Wendy Bartlett

book is great, it shows and tells of all the happenings at the wonderful
nightclub on 60th st. in manhattan for so many years. It brought back
wonderful memories. I wish it was still there.

The Copacabana captures the essence of entertainment, particularly the1950's, during which time my parents and relatives in the Midwest savored the music and comedy of these young emerging stars. Though they never attended the performances at the Club, they were well aware of the biggest names in show biz through radio and newly emerging television.

Performers like Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Jimmy Durante, Eddie Fischer, Frank Sinatra, Julius La Rosa, Red Buttons, Tony Benett, Sammy Davis Jr. Johnny Raye, Milton Berle, Mel Torme, Sid Caesar, Xavier Cugat, and Joe E. Lewis among many others entertained our families and captured our attention while we were gathered around the television at my grandmother's house. My parents and grandparents owned most of their albums.

Kristin Baggelaar makes all of these stars come to life in her book, which celebrates this famous Manhattan Night Club. Her interviews create an intimacy with the characters as if she knew them all personally. In a few words she cites their place in history and highlights their accomplishments and personality. Billy Eckstine was a "robust" baritone, "big hearted" Jimmy Durante was a "perennially crowd pleaser," and Tony Bennett "grew as a performer" at the Copacabana.

Her writing is lively, historic, fast moving and makes all of us who have read this book wish we were indeed a part of the glamour and sophistication of this era of American history.

Jean E. Baldikoski

More good fun from Chester Himes. On the plus side, he finally includes some entertaining sex. On the other hand, one of the main bad guys here (the "Colonel") is particularly flat and unbelievable. Also, as usual, the end is much less satisfying than the ride to get there.

The dialogue, the action, the characters, it's Harlem world and it's all here! What else do you want?

Chester B. Himes wrote a series of "Hard Boiled" detective novels set in Harlem during the the 1950's and 60's. His two main protagonists were "Coffin Ed" Johnson and "Grave Digger" Jones, a couple of black police detectives operating in the seedy underworld of Harlem and New York City. Himes himself had served time for armed robbery in Ohio. While in prison he first read the works of Dashiell Hammet("The Maltese Falcon","The Thin Man",etc.)and decided that he could write similar fiction set in Harlem's vibrant African-American culture. He moved to France after his prison release and then began to write (in French!) his own brand of mysteries set in the New York City section that had become world famous for it's culture, nightlife and intellectual renaissance. The first of these mysteries was "A Rage in Harlem"(first published in French as "For Love of Imabelle" in 1959). Coffin Ed and Grave Digger were only minor characters in this first novel, but by the time of the 5th novel "Cotton Comes to Harlem" they were the stars of the series.

In "Cotton..." a ex con named Deke O'Hara scams $87,000 from a group of families who want to go to Africa to start a new life free from segregation and prejudice. Before O'Hara can abscond with the money a group of white gunmen steal it in the middle of the "Back to Africa" rally O'Hara is hosting and then escape. All this takes place in the first few pages, and the action only steps up the pace from that point on. Cotton Ed and Grave Digger are assigned to the case, and their brand of brutal, violent police work may not be always legal, but they have their own code of honor, which demands that they do all in their power to see to it that the families get their money back, as in most of the cases it amounts to their life savings. Through a maze of deceit and treachery filled with white supremacists, voluptuous women, scam artists, underworld informants, and real to life street people the two cops thread their way with both violence and guile. I won't spoil the ending, but suffice it to say that Himes delivers.

The book was made into a movie in 1970 which played up the humorous aspects of the book. While there is much mordant and cynical humor in Himes' writing, the book is much more than that, and deserves a place in the "Hard Boiled Detective" Hall of Fame. If you like this one I would recommend Himes' other works, especially "The Real Cool Killers".

A definite 5 stars.

This novel has some of the same characters as Himes' Rage in Harlem. This is not a sequel and it is not imperitve that you read "Rage" first, but I think that you will like this book more if you have read about Coffin Ed and Gravedigger Jones in the early novel.

... The book doesn't concern Bible Flowers. It's about the efforts of two black detectives, "Grave Digger" Jones and "Coffin Ed" Johnson, to recover $87,000 in money stolen from a con-man/storefront preacher in 1960s Harlem. Along the way, Grave Digger and Coffin Ed encounter a few murders, a southern colonel, and a 50-pound bale of cotton.

Raymond Chandler wrote that detectives must walk the mean streets, but they must not themselves be mean. Well, Grave Digger and Coffin Ed walk the mean streets just fine, but the "not being mean" part gives them trouble; they doubt the feasibility of solving a case without, say, slapping around a few witnesses or firing a few shots into a crowd. Despite the detectives' unhesitating brutality, this novel compares well to the best of Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker. This is due not only to the spot-on dialogue and the stark, vivid character depictions, but also the detectives' uncompromising determination to bring justice to Harlem. The plot is better, i.e., less predictable, than any of Parker's, and Himes's depiction of 1960s Harlem is so bizarre, yet compelling, that it invites comparison to Carl Hiassen's Florida rather than Chandler's LA. Add to this Himes's unique, excruciatingly honest depiction of race relations in the 1960s, and you have one of the best detective novels I have read in years.

...

This was given to me by my mother when I was a teen. I still have this book today and I read it over and over. This book is really good.

Daddy Was A Number Runner provides a horrific historical and sociological picture of Harlem during the 1930's post-Renaissance era. The reader travels throughout the daily trials and tribulations of Francie Coffin, an adolescent girl living with her brothers, mother and father, who is a number runner.

Statistically we know of the crime, deviance, poverty, fatherless homes and emerging welfare system but what we do not read about is the human elements; the feelings involved. Through Francie's own words and her dreams we are able to feel and capture Francie's plight. While Francie appears to be somewhat naïve she is also able to navigate the streets and people within Harlem. Francie serves as an errand girl for her father, gets into scuffles with her friend and is a victim of molestation. On the positive side she is an obedient daughter and sister, attends school and she loves to read. For Francie, reading and attending movies at the theater is her salvation from the madness.

The book goes one step further to examine Black and Jewish relationships. These relationships are presented in the form of tenant/landlord, student/teacher, customer/business owner and domestic/employer and in each, the black characters appear to be the victims. While not harboring resentment towards Jews as a group, the characters demonstrate a dislike towards the individual because in each example the Black character is shown to be subservient towards the Jewish character for survival.

The characters portrayed are captivating and one of the books largest strengths is the ability of Meriwether to show some positive aspects of the inhabitants. Through all of this despair we find love, kindness and support of family and neighbors, male pride, the importance of education, and compassion. The word community resonates throughout this story and the women are the backbone of this community.

There is no happily ever after and everything is not neatly fixed at the conclusion for there is no conclusion. What we have is Francie's acceptance of her life and her community but also her ability to still dream of a different life. Meriwether has provided the reader with an assessment in the life of a small community but does not place blame on one entity. We, the reader, are able to empathize because Daddy Was A Number Runner offers a lesson in history that is relevant today. This is a story of family and the survival of it.

Reading Daddy Was A Number Runner for the second time as an adult was like visiting an old friend. I first read the novel when I was in junior high and the only thing I remembered from it was this freaky movie theater scene. That and the fact that it was good. Now that I am grown, I took a lot more away from it this time.

Francie is twelve and growing up in 1930's Harlem. She has two older brothers who have totally different aspirations in life. One wants to be a hoodlum and the other wants to quit school to become an undertaker. Her father, a number runner of course, is too proud to go onto public assistance and that causes a lot of turmoil between her parents. She has a best friend that likes to beat her up most of the time. Old white men try to feel her up whenever they get a chance. Francie really endures a lot for a person her age. If you are into period novels, this is a must read because it gives insight in a generation we know nothing about.

I have a 1970 copy of this book, and I love it, absolutely love it. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get lost in a book for hours. You feel like you're walking beside Francie, and Sukie on the streets of Harlem. This book is a thumbs up.

From beginning to end, the book was enjoyable. Brutally honest and very mature, but an excellent read. Many times hit close to home, others were a learning experience (like the use of rags, the electric hair on juveniles, etc.) It was a quick read that I didn't want to finish!

Some books teach you something new. Some books have you look at things in a different light. This book does both. Before reading this expansive historical work, I viewed the 1863 New York riots as a reaction to the draft. This book shows that it was that and a lot more. Schecter's book analyzes the social-political situation in the United States at the time of the riots and shows how much racial relations and fears, and those who preyed on both, played a role.

This book teaches on so many levels. It serves as a 1) an complete account of the civil disturbance in New York City in 1863, 2) an overview of race relations in the United States during the Civil War and Reconstruction, and 3) a history of New York city in this pivotal time frame. It even includes a travel guide for New York, which includes all the sites related to the narrative. Well written and superbly researched, this book is a great precursor to Eric Foner's works on Reconstruction.

This is the best historical work I have read in the last few years.

Thank heavens for independent scholars!

Barnet Schecter is rapidly becoming one of the best chroniclers of New York's history. His previous book, "The Battle for New York: The City at the Heart of the American Revolution", was an eye-opening revelation at how this city was the true "heart" of our separation from England, and how we (and Boston, as well) were that country's main target for conquest in 1776. Utilizing the same narrative style of writing, Barnet Schecter tackles the week-long convulsion in New York City four score and seven years later.

"The Devil's Own Work: The Civil War Draft Riots and the Fight to Reconstruct America" fills a void in most histories of the Civil War: the fighting that took place OFF the battlefields of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, etc. These were the wars that were waged in newspapers, city halls, and, ultimately, the streets of major cities across America. Mr. Schecter is careful to explain that the New York City draft riots were not the only anti-war, anti-emancipation riots during the Civil War. But it was the largest. It was the worst. (While most New York historians claim that around 100 people were killed during the riots, Mr. Schecter rightfully, I believe, puts the number at 500, at the very least.)

The actual riots occupy only the middle one hundred or so pages of the book. Mr. Schecter devotes an appropriate amount of time to examining the roots of the riots: the racism, the class animosities, the mistrust between Nativists and immigrants, and so on. In the weeks and months immediately before the cataclysm, we see battle lines being drawn: Greeley vs. Marble, Democrats vs. Republicans, poor whites vs. poor blacks; in fact, it seems like it was almost everyone vs. the beseiged African-American population. When the five days of rioting are discussed, the sense of prevailing confusion and chaos--the near anarchy--are as expertly conveyed as the awful scenes of violence. The final third of the book is, in many ways, more tragic than the uprising. It is here where Mr. Schecter discusses the aftermath of the riots over the next two decades. Basically, the reconstruction of America fails. The North and the South do not fully unify. The working class does not get the respect it deserves. (Instead, it is treated with more brutality and unfairness.) Worst of all, African-Americans are not truly emancipated. The enmity and violence visited upon them, because they are never addressed, just worsens. And why were they never addressed? Mr. Barnet just comes out and says it: because most people never really wanted to. Therefore, it would takes decades before America would heal or truly reconstruct.

"The Devil's Own Work: The Civil War Draft Riots and the Fight to Reconstruct America" is a sobering book, true, but it holds our fascination. The details about the quirky politicians, newspapermen, observers and participants breathe life into people who have been dead for almost 150 years. The maps and generous sprinkling of illustrations help us see the people and places more clearly. This is a monumental book for which Barnet Schecter deserves our appreciation.

Also recommended: Iver Bernstein's "The New York Civil War Draft Riots". Although not written in a narrative style, it contains valuable information about the causes of the riots. For a fictional treatment, Peter Quinn's novel, "Banished Children of Eve" is the best I have ever read.

Schecter's book is a great read that clearly explains the New York City draft riots and the political and ethnic issues that simmered to the point where in July 1863 Irish immigrants protested and rebelled against what they saw as an unfair draft system that had been put in place allowing $300 commutation fees and a recent Emancipation Proclamation which caused them to fear the loss of their jobs to newly freed slaves coming from the south.
It's an excellent book about a rarely discussed topic in our nation's history.

This is a good book that seeks to help desanitize and demythologize American history. Racism is and always has been an American problem, and not relegated to one region, or for that matter, one race. I think a good book to read with this one is Tom DiLorenzo's brave THE REAL LINCOLN, now available in paperback. It does something to show Lincoln's virulent racism and should act as a supplement to THE DEVIL'S OWN WORK.

Barnet Schecter's magisterial study of the five day insurrection that erupted in New York City, "The Devil's Own Work: The Civil War Draft Riots and the Fight to Reconstruct America", is one of those historical accounts that illuminate more than just the times the work is set in. By providing a multilayered analysis to the issues that marked this breakdown of social order, and through a deft, perfect-pitch, use of basic sources, Mr. Schecter lets the contemporary voices of those living through these events and, at times, driving them, speak for themselves. The result is a tableau of compelling immediacy that is rarely seen in a historical study. Some of the expected characters are here: Lincoln, Seward and Lee, etc. but it is the less well-known characters of that era that permit the real force of the book to be felt. By knitting together and contrasting the recorded dialogue of the restive ferment of the slums of New York and Boston with the tense interchanges originating in the mahoganied board-rooms of these same cities Mr. Schecter recreates the social tensions of these turbulent times. With what seems to be an unerring sense of how the character of a subject will define for him the peculiar social reality that he may act in, we meet figures who by virtue of the author's skill and sympathy are never rendered as simple, one-dimensional heroes or villains. Landmark works in any field of study require that a sense of scope, sensitivity and balance be observed throughout the effort. But such traits alone cannot mark it as memorable. For this the electricity of personal exchanges in statehouses, boardrooms and back alleys must be captured in their raw force and then be woven in into a narrative that flows with seeming effortlessness, from it its own momentum. This is what Mr. Schecter has accomplished.

Etienne Gerrard is a delight, cocky, self important, vain as a peacock, he is also brave to a fault, resourceful, energetic and the best swordsman in all of Napoleon's cavalry. He is also a bit thick in the head. He struts through the most hair raising adventures, and almost always comes out in one piece. You will be convinced in each story that he could not possible carry out his mission successfully, but he almost always does. At a time in Great Britain when the human costs of the Napoleanic Wars were still felt and France and England had only recently mended fences, Conan Doyles "typical" Frenchman was a delight to the British reader. This is not Sherlock's cold intellect. It is the passion of a very decent, courageous man who is devoted to his sovreign, and who will take on any task from wooing a beautiful woman to a Russian Regiment of cavalry. If you enjoy the Flashman books you will love this one just as much.

These gems of action storytelling will make you laugh out loud-- they have the best of Doyle's plotting and some very witty characterization. Etienne Gerard is first-cousin to GM Fraser's Flashman: he finds himself in the thick of every battle, often playing a pivotal role that only now can be told...

Of course, Flashy is cowardly where Gerard is brave, but they both think themselves irresistable to women and are master horsemen. Bright, fast, and funny, these short stories belong on the shelf next to all the Flashman novels. Fraser himself calls Doyle a "genius" in the introduction, and they belong in the same league of inspired storytelling. Too bad Gerard and Flashy never met-- Flash would have called him a bloody crapaud and Gerard would have said Flashy was a British beef....

I knew Arthur Conan Doyle from his Sherlock Holmes series although I have not read any title from that. The "Exploits and Adventures of Birgadier Gerard" is surely one of the finest novels about the Napoleonic era and I highly recommend it to any fan of the Grand Armee and its battle hardened soldiers. The story begins with the long retired Brigadier starting to recall his war memories for the shake of his audience, over a glass of wine. And what a fascinating carreer did he have! He was a romantic lover, a proud Frenchman, an honest man, a terrific swordsman, a dashing cavalryman, and a soldier absolutely faithful to his duty: the real epitome of the French hussar who according to Colonel Lassale "should not live beyond the age of 30"! The old Brigadier explains with graphic detail and an amusing dose of egotism and pride how he lost his ear for the love of a girl in Venice, how he helped French troops to storm the spanish fortress of Saragossa, how he saved a whole army in the Peninsula, how he extricated himself from a grevious tactical mistake in Russia, how he beat the Englishmen in their national sport of fox-hunting and how Destiny prevented him from taking part in the climactic battle of Waterloo, a fact that Gerard honestly believes that doomed Napoleon! To build his story Doyle took many interesting facts and legends from real biographies of the period, like that of Baron de Marbot, but he made his story so enjoyable and colourful that is incomperable in terms of advenures and amusement.

Brigadier Gerard is everything that a Briton of Conan Doyle's time thought was an exemplar of the Napoleonic officer - and to a certain extent a caricature of the French themselves. Hopelessly and ridiculously brave, completely lacking in appreciation of the fine British virtues of sportsmanship, a devotion to L'Empereur, rather dim, obsessed with his honor and the honor of La France, and yet rather admirable too in his prickly way.

In this fine book the Brigadier regales us with stories of his youth, when most of Europe was part of the French Empire and opportunities abounded for young men who looked good in cavalry uniform. Gerard tells the story with no irony, but the reader laughs a good deal at the absurdities of the hero. When attempting to shoot the ash off a cigar he destroys the whole cigar instead, to the dismay of its smoker who is smoking it at the time. Clearly, Gerard maintains, the pistol is at fault. On a few occasions he succeeds when all expect him to fail and as a result his success is actually a failure. The stories encompass many of the great events of the Napoleonic wars: the horrors of partisan fighting in Spain, the invasion of Russia, war in the German states and Prussia, even capture by the British. Always the stories are superbly told with a very fine eye for realistic detail and they are often quite gripping. Again this is one of those books I am amazed has never been made into a film or a TV series.

George MacDonald Fraser has taken a good deal of the Gerard style for his Flashman series, although of course the two characters are poles apart in morality.

I recommend this book to all lovers of history novels and also to anyone who just likes to read superb stories in the grand old manner, where manly men are engaged in "honest" combat, and where evil enemies, treacherous peasants, and duplicitous politicos usually meet their doom under Gerard's cavalry saber.

The success of the Sherlock Holmes stories has overshadowed the fact that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote many other stories of entirely different character. The New York Review of Books Classics has brought the `Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard' back to life. The Gerard character is said to be Conan Doyle's second best fictional invention.

The eight `Exploits' stories were published between 1894 and 1895 while the ten `Adventures' were published after a five year hiatus between 1900 and 1903. Like the Holmes tales, these pieces were published as serials in The Strand Magazine. Once again we owe a debt of happy gratitude to the NYRB for reviving this quirky, funny, heroic series of adventure tales.

The eponymous Gerard is one Etienne Gerard, a Hussar (a light cavalryman) in the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars. In other words, a character about as far removed from the dyspeptic intellectual detective of Baker Street as one can imagine. In the excellent introduction (one of the hallmarks of the NYRB Classics series), George Macdonald Fraser remarks on the courage Conan Doyle showed in showcasing a French hero fighting against the British less than 80 years after Napoleon was finally defeated (As Fraser notes "even today [the French ] are not notably popular north of the Channel"). Quite a feat of imagination.

Like Harry Flashman (Flashman: A Novel (Flashman)) and the lesser known Otto Prohaska (A Sailor of Austria: In Which, Without Really Intending to, Otto Prohaska Becomes Official War Hero No. 27 of the Habsburg Empire (The Otto Prohaska Novels)), Gerard is in his old age when he spins his stories to the reader. Gerard boasts that he is the greatest swordsman, horseman, and lover as well as the most loyal servant of Napoleon in the entire French army. And Conan Doyle permits Gerard to excel in all these measures and yet his excessive pride makes him obtuse. As Fraser put it Gerard is "vain, touchy, obstinate, reckless, boastful, and none too bright." He is entirely ingenuous, which repeatedly leads him to trouble and then he must slash his sword and dash away on his horse to escape. Gerard is charmingly unaware that he is a strutting French peacock; he assumes that others should and do recognize his exceptional qualities. Coming from a more self-aware man such cocksureness would be intolerable conceit.

I titled this review "What Would Harry Flashman Make of Etienne Gerard?" That's a fun question to speculate about. It would take a new Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Sir George MacDonald Fraser to do it justice. My guess is Harry would laugh up his sleeve at Gerard until he saw Etienne's sword swinging dangerously toward his head. For his part, I expect Gerard would be blissfully unaware of Flashman's disdain, but might he also detect Harry's certain 'shyness'?

The `Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard' are wonderful entertainments. Like the Sherlock Holmes stories, the pity is there are so few of them. Highest recommendation.

A sensitive and beautifully written novel of an elderly person's memoirs. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended.

Irene, age 90, lies essentially bedridden in the parlor where she can still feel part of the farm. Her bedroom upstairs lies vacant now, along with the rooms of her dead parents and brother. Insistant on maintaining imput on the goings-on, she tries to keep the upper hand in everything. Lying quietly, she has embarked on documenting her life on the farm she was born on. Her mind is as sharp as the pencil she scribes her memories. Her notebooks serve as her testimony to the past and the very present.

Among her reminisces are her present day quips targeted at those that seem to be circling her, poised to take advantage of this old woman's lurking day of death. She fears losing the farm in her death, the land cut up into suburbs, the old machinery auctioned and the house left to those who will never understand the sacrifices and joy that have walked in and out the kitchen door. As she gazes out the window, she can see the graves of her parents, her uncle and the many faithful collie that guarded over the flock of sheep. It is a fearful thought that in the modern day, she would not be allowed to be buried alongside her family.

While she fights to maintain the bare bones of the farm in her later years, she recalls the years she spent keeping the farm going after her father's death at an early age. Passive in grief, her mother steps aside and lets this young woman manage the intricacies of a sheep farm, a large garden and the general upkeep of the land in the mid 1900's. Praised in national magazines for the quality of her sheep's wool she gains the respect in the community for her work.

It is this woman's memories that are golden as she recalls ninety years on the farm. Particularly insightful are Irene's recollection of seeing the first automobiles driving along the road at night. Unfamiliar with headlights, Irene and her mother stand nearly terrified as they ponder what those lights coming across the valley floor are. It is her impression, once the car has passed by the dirt road in front of their farmhouse, that things will never again be the same.

Living over 90 years is a sure bet that things will never be the same at one time or another. It is the wonderous theme of this lovely novel that allows Irene to move on but look fondly back.

This was a really good book to read - I definitely recommend it.

Irene, age 90, lies essentially bedridden in the parlor where she can still feel part of the farm. Her bedroom upstairs lies vacant now, along with the rooms of her dead parents and brother. Insistant on maintaining imput on the goings-on, she tries to keep the upper hand in everything. Lying quietly, she has embarked on documenting her life on the farm she was born on. Her mind is as sharp as the pencil she scribes her memories. Her notebooks serve as her testimony to the past and the very present.

Among her reminisces are her present day quips targeted at those that seem to be circling her, poised to take advantage of this old woman's lurking day of death. She fears losing the farm in her death, the land cut up into suburbs, the old machinery auctioned and the house left to those who will never understand the sacrifices and joy that have walked in and out the kitchen door. As she gazes out the window, she can see the graves of her parents, her uncle and the many faithful collie that guarded over the flock of sheep. It is a fearful thought that in the modern day, she would not be allowed to be buried alongside her family.

While she fights to maintain the bare bones of the farm in her later years, she recalls the years she spent keeping the farm going after her father's death at an early age. Passive in grief, her mother steps aside and lets this young woman manage the intricacies of a sheep farm, a large garden and the general upkeep of the land in the mid 1900's. Praised in national magazines for the quality of her sheep's wool she gains the respect in the community for her work.

It is this woman's memories that are golden as she recalls ninety years on the farm. Particularly insightful are Irene's recollection of seeing the first automobiles driving along the road at night. Unfamiliar with headlights, Irene and her mother stand nearly terrified as they ponder what those lights coming across the valley floor are. It is her impression, once the car has passed by the dirt road in front of their farmhouse, that things will never again be the same.

Living over 90 years is a sure bet that things will never be the same at one time or another. It is the wonderous theme of this lovely novel that allows Irene to move on but look fondly back.

I cannot express have wonderful I found this novel to be! I could not read it in public, because I was so filled with emotion at so many places throughout the story. The story of Irene's life itself was rather straightforward but the rich punctuations of reflections on nature, life on a farm, the essence of what a farm life means,and insight into the process of aging and dying ,raised the novel to great heights. For any reader who does not understand the attraction of life connected with nature, this book will provide refreshing insights. For those of us who were bitten by the bug to farm (certainly it was not in my NYC bred genes for generations!) it helps us to explain why we feel the way we do about the farm life, surrounded by animals. It actually awakens an awareness so that I found myself exclaiming why had I never thought that out loud but already knew in some deep place of the soul! For the farmer, it provides a possibility for keeping the working farm long after hehas moved on. For the person simply living a life, this book offers a perspective into the process of dying and into the exhilaration of the soul that dying a meaningful death can hold.