Europe Books

This book is really exciting to read. I have been trying to find a book on Soviet weapons for a while and came across this book. I must say I was amazed of the amount of content and detail included in this book. The book lists different strategic missiles from the very first ICBM to the latest model that was produced in the Soviet Union. The authors even lists different missile bases and production sites i.e. (closed cities) and warhead depositories, and the nuclear fuel cycle . Even though the Cold War is over I'm wondering if some of the material should still be classified.

This book goes through the early history of the production of missiles, naval fleets, information of strategic aviation sites and production facilites and locations. This book has a section on nuclear tests which lists nuclear explosions. It also describes the decision making process of the strategic nuclear forces in the event of a nuclear war. The chapter that was interesting was the "Strategic Defense" chapter which includes missile and space defense forces, antisatellite and space surveillance the Soviet version of the United States SDI program was interesting. Toward the end of this book includes the present state of Russian strategic forces.

I would recommend this book to anyone that's interested in soviet military thinking and the history of Soviet/Russian weapons systems. A great reference.

Pavel Podvig's Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces was initially available only in Russian, however when it was finally updated and released in English we received the absolute most authoritative and detailed report on the subject available in the civilian sector.

Podvig's effort is to be highly commended, as he has compiled an impressive amount of research, much of it relating to the technical side, though good write-ups and historical overviews are included. From R&D to production and finally deployment, every Soviet/Russian ICBM, SLBM and Strategic Bomber system is discussed in extensive technical detail, including such well researched and hard to find details such as Circular Error Probability of all Russian strategic systems.

The book is a heavy volume containing nearly 700 pages, none of it filler, so you can imagine the sheer amount of information in this volume for anyone interested in attaining a deeper understanding of the subject. Given the price, it really is a no-brainer. Furthermore Pavel Podvig maintains a frequently updated and detailed web site which continually adds newer information, essentially making this a "living research" project on the subject. You can locate his site here:

Seems Amazon edits out any links in reviews, so to try again Podvig's site can be found at russianforces.org

Once again, for the incredibly low price this book is offered at, you have nothing to lose, and a wealth of knowledge to gain.

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Mr. Podvig, aside from being someone who has been won over by his dedication and research to the subject at hand.

This book is interesting in some ways but heavily focused on facilities and process rather than the history of development of some of the critical technologies. A good reference but a bit disappointing.

For most readers interested in Soviet missile development I would recommend Zaloga's The Kremlin's Nuclear Sword: The Rise and Fall of Russia's Strategic Nuclear Forces. Covers some of the early debates on missile development and strategy, with special emphasis on competition between the design bureaus.

Note that both of these books only focuses on Strategic missiles, as their titles certainly acknowledge, so there is little detail on short and intermediate range missiles except for the earliest missiles such as the SS-3 and SS-4. If you are looking for Scud information you won't find it here unless you are looking for the submarine launched version.

Mr. Podvig's book, "Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces," is an excellent unclassified look into the world of Russian/Soviet nuclear weapons. The book covers weapon systems, facilities and nuclear tests since the dawn of their nuclear age. The diagrams and tables are clear and concise.

This book was very helpful in allowing an individual to quickly memorize (or 'compare and contrast') different missile ranges and warhead yields. Very useful if briefing American missile combat crews on potential nuclear threats, or if writing 'peace-nik' papers on the evils of nuclear weapons. Honestly, I don't care what your bent is - if you want to know about nukes, this book needs to be added to your library.

Nuclear forces, like other branches of the military, are divided into two categories: Tactical and strategic. Strategic division of the nuclear forces covers the armaments that have a wider scope of effect. These are the forces that have kept the MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) balance between the superpowers so far. Strategic nuclear forces have air, land and submarine launch capability of nuclear warheads targeted for intercontinental targets.
This book covers every aspect of the Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces from the very beginnings up to post-Soviet restructuring. It covers detailed development phases of strategic bombers, land-based launch platforms and the submarine leg of the nuclear triad. There are detailed data on the organization of the nuclear command, early warning systems and launch protocols. There are also detailed data on the Soviet/Russian nuclear complex and their products. At the end of the book, there is a long list of the nuclear tests undertaken by Russia.
All in all, this book should be read and kept as a reference by all those who want to have a well-balanced look at the Russian Nuclear Strategic Command's capabilities and importance. Readers of this book will appreciate why the latest efforts by the United States for a missile defense system will be highly counter-productive.

This is a very important book in my opinion, because it analyzes certain utopian ideas that produced chaos during the 20th Century, but remain popular today despite their horrible track record. Basically, this outstanding work of historical scholarship is about a group of Russian intellectuals who believed if they rid Russia of the monarchy, capitalism, and Russian Orthodox Church, life would be wonderful. So the Tsar and his family were killed, capitalism was wiped out, and the Russian Orthodox Church was suppressed. As we all know, paradise didn't ensue. Instead Russia ended up with the Gulag Archipeligo. How could so many brilliant intellectuals be wrong? Well, perhaps brilliant intellectuals aren't as brilliant as they imagine. If you want to understand the modern world, and the pitfalls of seemingly wonderful utopian ideas, this is the book to read. The author is a highly-respected historian, not a journalist slanting the facts in an effort to convince you to vote for his or her favorite candidate.

All essays in this collection are remarkable but 'The Hedgehog and the Fox' is one of those essays that will take you on a trip to the relativity of truth and have you question both the physical and metaphysical through Berlin's eyes. There are many philosophical angles from which one can interpret Berlin's analysis of the Russian intelligentsia, the one that stands out the most is the question that defined nineteenth Russia, as well as Europe:'What is to be done?'

There are two strains of thought in the Russian intellectual circles of this time, the Slavophil movement and the Western-oriented intellectuals. Berlin notes that these were not organized political camps engaged in constant debates of any sort (as there was no political movement to speak of at this time in Russia) but rather unsystematic frames of thinking with which Russian intellectuals of the time identified.

The advocates of the Slavophil idea maintained that the salvation of Russia was to be found within Russia; that Russian lifestyle, Russian simplicity and modesty was superior to Western complex theories for the advancement of society. Berlin penetrates Tolstoy's consciousness and deciphers the characters and plots of War and Peace for what they represent i.e. the clash between Western scientific thought and the fundamentally Russian way of life. He argues that Tolstoy would have us believe that, in the end, it is the wise Russian General Kutuzov who wins, not because power or strategy had any significant consequence in the battle itself, but because he has not been infiltrated with Western military tactics and in part because he used his, to use Berlin's words "...Russian, untutored instinct..." and it is this Russian untutored instincts that Tolstoy wants to triumph over scientific rationality.

Western oriented intellectuals on the other hand, most of whom were in exile throughout Europe at this time, believed that the solution to Russia's problems could only come through the kind of reform being introduced in Western Europe, not necessarily the revolutionary kind, for Chadaaev the most ardent Western oriented mind in Russia at the time was by and far an ardent conservative who believed in aristocratic virtues, but a representational government like that of Britain.

Berlin engages Tolstoy in the center of nineteenth century European philosophical discourse on account of his views on simplicity (the hedgehog) and complexity (the fox) of both his work and personality (if we come to understand the simplicity to represent the adeptly Russian and the complexity to represent the ineptly Western European.) Tolstoy had managed or rather convinced himself that scientific theories are all assumptions and that if one is not exposed to these theories he/she has a better chance of knowing the truth, in Berlin's words "He [Tolstoy] believed that only by patient empirical observation could any knowledge be obtained; that this knowledge is always inadequate, that simple people often know the truth better than learned man, because their observations of men and nature are less clouded by empty theories, and not because they are inspired vehicles of the divine afflatus."

Berlin was a mastermind in interpreting and deciphering the Russian intellect, because his knowledge of Russia was unparalleled for his time, which is why this collection of essays is one of the best anthologies on the evolution of the Russian thought. Reading Berlin can sometimes be a frustrating experience because one feels that the interpretation of literature can only stretch to a certain limit and you wonder if indeed the author was trying to get to where Berlin is taking you or if is what Berlin wants to find in the subliminal nature of the author (in this case Tolstoy) and perhaps that's what attracts one to Berlin's brilliant mind.

Berlin is an interesting and I agree knowing commentator, but one gets the feeling that he understands there is something awry in Communism, but he's not quite sure what. His ideas of freedom are on the mark, but in the post-Communist world they don't quite get to the point. I highly reccomend papal biographer and political pholosopher George Weigel's recent commentaties, (available online). Liberalism was not and is not a sufficient answer to utopian ideology, which Berlin nevertheless correctly asserts will inevitably degenerate into totalitatianism. Even more, in the post-cold war world, relativism has usurped "true" freedom, which presents perhaps an even more dangerous problem than the Soviet one.

This book provides an excellent introduction to the history of Russian thought. I supplemented it with the pertinent chapters of Billington's "The Icon and the Axe" to piece together a general outline of the evolution of Russian political philosophy. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention to Berlin's own philosophizing, but then that wasn't my objective. I found one of his general observations about Russian thought to be particularly useful, i.e. the tendency to follow an idea through to its fullest consequences, no matter how extreme or objectionable. The book nicely sets the stage for how Marxism was able to take hold, showing that it was in some ways an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, intellectual development. The problem is, now that the book has allowed me to cobble together a general framework of Russian thought, the only possible next step is to start directly reading Hegel and Marx! And who wouldn't try to put off a daunting task like that?

This study of Russian thinkers is profound and moving. Isaiah Berlin was capable of writing about 'ideas' and their ' development' in a constantly fascinating way. His most well- known essay ' The Hedgehog and the Fox' is in this volume and it seems that Berlin himself was one of those who knew many things and wanted to know many things. His political ideas also took the shape of recognizing conflicting value systems as having validity even when those came from within a single person. Here he writes about the great Russian social and political thinkers Tolstoy, Herzen,Belinsky , Bakunin , Turgenev with characteristic insight, irony and sympathy.
This is a volume anyone interested in the history of ideas should not miss.

This is an excellent account of the long and troubled road for Scotland under the rule of Great Britain. Beginning with the Union of 1707, which Scotland pretty much got railroaded into, Devine charts the meandering path toward Home Rule in 1999. Along the way he touches on the cornerstone events which shaped modern day Scotland such as the Crofters' War, the Highland Clearances, the Scottish Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution. It is amazing to read just how vital the Scots were in the expansion of the British empire, yet Scotland remained subordinate to England throughout this period.

Devine focuses primarily on the social and economic history of Scotland, noting how the failure of the Scots to construct a link between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean at the isthmus of Darien led to a financial crisis which England was able to exploit, thereby forcing Scotland to submit to its will in 1707. However, England still had a difficult time suppressing the Jacobeans in Scotland, which continued to mount resistance movements throughout the 18th century.

Probably the most notorious period was in the 19th century, when English landowners with the help of Scottish landowners forced the Highlanders off their grazing lands and made them to settle along the coastline. What began as a method of suppressing the remaining Gaelic culture, became a major relocation project that destroyed what remained of clanship in Scotland. It lived on in name only.

Devine notes how Queen Victoria, a Jacobean at heart, revived Highland pride during her reign by establishing an estate at Balmoral. This along with the historical novels by Sir Walter Scott helped rekindle an interest in ancient Scotland and led to a cultural renaissance.

With the industrial revolution, Glasgow usurped Edinburgh as the leading city in Scotland, irrovocably altering the way of life for most Scots. Devine charts the rise of the political movements in Scotland, which began to push for greater home rule, feeling that Scotland was still be overlooking by the Parliament. The rise of the Labour Party was instrumental in the drive for Home Rule. Devine also notes the troubled relationship between Scots and Irishmen, particularly in Northern Ireland. A once similar culture now found itself at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Devine takes in a big sweep of Scottish history, referencing early aspects of history, but focuses on the 300 years of Union with Great Britain. It is rich in reference notes, pointing the way to further reading on the subject. This is the culmination of his work on Scottish history, which he began with his book, Clanship to the Crofters War.

Well, this review might be crap compared to the others, but I do have a few useful things to say about this book.

I picked it up knowing next to nothing about Scottish history during the years of topic. If you said Jacobite I might have known what you were talking about, but I certainly couldn't have explained the risings of the eighteenth century to you.
Now, I can.

I found this book not only easy to read, but comprehensive, and best of all.....INTERESTING. That's quite a big compliment considering that the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are not desirable at all to me, even as a student of history.
Yes, very easy to read, but not simplistic. And best of all, it is free of the sarcasm and haughtiness I've found in works like the Penguin classics book on Scottish history, and in essays by well known and respectable historians!!

T.M. Devine's account of Scotland from 1700-2000 is the most up-to-date review of Scottish history over the past three centuries. Mr. Devine covers every aspect of the development of Scotland and Scottish life over that time period. On many topics such as religion, immigration/emigration, government, cultural traditions, economics, and much more, Mr. Devine presents a thorough analysis. I was hoping for more details on Adam Smith, David Hume and other figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, but Mr. Devine chooses to stick with the story of Scotland as a whole for this work. This is a slow read at times, but for those genuinely interested in knowing more about the modern history of Scotland, this book has to be as good as one will find.

although i have to admit that i'm a bit biased towards any book that paints scotland in a flattering light, this is a great read. i found it especially helpful when i was writing a thesis about the ebbs and flows of scottish power within the united kingdom. since this book covers everything from the act of union to the recent establishment of the scottish parliament, it was extremely helpful. it's one of the few books of its kind. if you are curious to know how exactly the UK works (ie how can england, wales, northern ireland, and scotland be seperate countries and the same country) this is a good place to start, and it's a compelling read!

In 1999, Scotland experienced a momentous event, when after several centuries, a Scottish Parliament was convened in Edinburgh. Scotland is thus in a unique position at the beginning of the twenty-first century to enter a new era of self-determination and national pride such as has not been seen since 1707 (the year of the last Scottish Parliament) or since the times of the Stuart reign.

T.M. Devine, professor of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen, has put together the first comprehensive and authoritative history of the Scottish nation during this 'non-parliamentary' (and, thus perhaps one might consider, non-sovereign) period in a generation. Scotland, as Devine explains in 'The Scottish Nation: A History 1700-2000', has almost always been misunderstood by the outside world. Thought of Scotland today (by those outside) conjure up visions of green sweeping Highland views, quaint tartan-patterned objects, kilts, bagpipes, Scotch whisky, and a wild rusticity that is quite at odds with the modern, urbanised character that is more typical of Scottish life today. As any good Scotsman will tell you, Scotland had seven universities when England had only two; even in the nineteenth century as London reigned supreme on the world stage politically and, in many ways, economically, Scotland was an industrial pioneer, providing much of the backbone for British success.

'For historians of Scotland the last three decades have been an exciting time. Research has boomed, established views are vigourously challenged and entirely new fields of investigation opened up which were uncharted in the older historiography.'

Devine commends the modern trend toward further investigation and research in Scottish and other non-England nations of the British Isles, but worries that most of this research is being shared and read only with professional peers rather than the general public. His book, The Scottish Nation is intended to be (and, in my opinion, succeeds at being) an accessible resource for the casual reader while being authoritative and thorough enough for the scholar to find it valuable.

Devine breaks the history of Scotland into four broad ranges: 1700-1760; 1760-1830; 1830-1939; 1939-2000. These periods roughly correspond to the eras of consolidation of political domination by England, the growing urbanisation of Scotland and attendant decline of Clanship, the period of immigration and Highland clearances , and finally the resurgence of Scottish nationalism in the wake of Irish independence and the aftermath of the second world war.

Devine examines the breakdown of traditional Scottish government in the aftermath of the ouster of a hereditary Stuart king in favour of William and Mary; Devine examines both English efforts to consolidate political and economic hegemony over Scotland (which included a movement in 1705 to declare all Scots aliens, thus subject to import duties and taxes that would be ruinous to the Scottish economy) as well as the Scottish problems of maintaining their own institutions in the face of English power. This is a different perspective than most will be used to, as history (traditionally written by the victors) has usually been stated 'authoritatively' from Oxford or Cambridge, not from Aberdeen or Edinburgh.

Following issues that are economic, military, social and political, Devine traces the various strands of Scottish history through to the present Parliament, detailing the London Parliament's intriguing struggle to deal with the issue of devolution and maintenance of the union through the post-war period. Devine devotes attention to aspects of family life, the role of women at various points in Scottish history, the development of educational systems, church/state relationships, and the status of the royals in Scotland -- again, any good Scotsman will tell you, it is inappropriate to say the present reigning monarch is Elizabeth II in Scotland, because Elizabeth I was never queen there.

This is a rather hefty book for light reading, but is quite enlightening for those of us with Scottish background (my family background includes many strands).

I use this book frequently, especially when studying art books of Christian art as well as during a recent Bible study of the Book of Exodus. This was an invaluable guide to the symbolism used in art and the various meanings. For example, when studying the symbolic meaning of the priests robes of the Old Testament, the meaning of the pomegranate for the OT and NT is significant. In the OT, the pomegranate stood for the 613 Mosaic laws (the pomegranate was thought to contain 613 seeds). In the NT, the pomegranate is the symbol for the resurrection of Christ. The Hebrews believed following the law led them to God. For the Christian, belief in Jesus' death and resurrection leads to God! Enjoy this read.

When I bought this book, I needed a quick and dirty reference to religious symbolism in western art--I was pleased and surprised to find out that it's small, lightweight, and therefore portable when I visit museums. (Why don't more publishers consider weight and size when they print books for travelers? Lonely Planet and DK, I'm looking at you.)

Its easy size belies the incredible amount of useful information it contains; there are fourteen sections covering everything from the significance of certain animals to religious garments to a brief hagiography for commonly portrayed saints. About one-third of the book is a set of reproductions (sadly b&w in this edition) of famous renaissance religious paintings. There's no discussion or explanation accompanying the paintings--which is the only thing I don't like about the book.

And if you read one of the earlier reviews and are wondering about the chocolate mouse in Rosemary's Baby, it's a reference to mice as a symbol of evil because of their destructiveness.

Although not encyclopaedic, this book, first published in 1954, is indispensable to the art history, religious art, iconographic, and religious lives student. The essays are of significant depth without excessive volume, and the illustrations, although of a limited period (Medieval through Renaissance), are pungent enough from which to learn. Two limitation I will remark:
There are no representations from Eastern- or Byzantine- iconography.
The illustrations are all black and white.

I study Art history, and christian art. This book primarily focuses in on Renaissance paintings and thier symbols. I found it to be useful and detail orientated. A very good reference book.

If you are an art history student, this book is an absolute must. While there are many books that contradict one another when it comes to symbolism, this book is one that commonly agrees with others I have read or consulted.
For as inexpensive as this book is, you cannot afford NOT to get this book!

This is one of the most fun books of history you will ever be lucky enough to read. It covers some aspects of 17th Century French history, with the greatest proportion of the book centered on Louis XIV and his court, although there are chapters on the peasantry and the brutality of the galleys.

I personally enjoyed the essays on court etiquette because it was so ludicrous. Louis convinced the nobility of France to give up their private armies to live in tiny attic bedrooms at Versailles and fight over who got to sit in an armchair and who had to sit on a stool. Human nature never changes--in the 21st century people fight to achieve status by buying the correct Manolo Blahnik shoes and the right Hermes carry all.

The chapter on female education alone is worth the price of admission. Louis and Mme. de Maintenon established a school for the daughters of impoverished aristocrats, and as a result reformed education for upper class females throughout France.

As other reviewers have said, this is history in the grand manner and most enjoyable.

The wealth of detail in W.H. Lewis' book The Splendid Century is incredible, but even more incredible is Lewis' ability to see the forest and the trees, to intelligently distinguish between what is useful and what is irrelevant and to leave the reader with a definite impression of Louis XIV's France.

Like his brother, C.S., Warren Lewis has that stereotyped but still very real and precious commodity of English commonsense. His good-humored rationality flavors the book but not to the detriment of the subject. Lewis was, afterall, writing about Louis XIV's France, not 20th century England. As with all the best historians, Lewis has the ability to see the world from outside the ideologies and pressures of the present. More than once, he cautions the reader against applying current century thinking to a 17th century problem or event.

But tone is where Lewis excels. Personable without being chatty, humorous without being sarcastic, A Splendid Century is amazingly relaxing to read, especially allowing for the subject matter and Lewis' fact-filled prose.

Recommendation: Buy it.

So much of what you read about the France of Louis 14th is based on the memoirs of Courtiers, to whom Versailles was the centre of the universe. In many ways that was true. Louis built Versilles to be the new heart of France. One where *he* ruled absoultley to the glorie of France.

However, this book covers much more than Versilles. You get to see what the majority of France was like during the period outside the court. Why the country was loathed by all courtiers, the real definition of a stinking Paris. How to get caught out at dinner for wrong ettiqute. Why you *didn't* want to end up on the Galleys and what your chances of education would have been like.

The author makes it clear that it is hard to make generalisations about this period in France, but he does his best to give us examples of the confusion and differences people experienced during the period.

If you think our taxes are bad today. Read this book and thank your lucky stars you aren't living in 17th cent France.

All in all this is a very enlightening read and highly recommended to anybody who wants a real glimpse of what the *real* France was like under Louis 14th.

W.H. Lewis wrote this famous book (dedicated to his brother C.S.) in 1953, but it has stood the test of time very well and provides an excellent introduction to the history of France during the reign of Louis XIV. "The Splendid Century" is history in the grand manner, written in the style of Trevelyan, Runciman and Roy Porter. The erudition is everywhere apparent, but it is worn lightly and the story is told in fluent prose enlivened by the odd flash of sly humour.

As the author points out in the introduction, the book might have been better titled "Some Aspects of Life in the Reign of Louis XIV;" rather than present a sequential narrative, Lewis chose to structure the book as a series of essays on particular aspects. There are chapters on the king and his court, the religious situation, the organisation of the army and the state of the peasantry. Among the unexpected pleasures of the book are the chapters on sea voyages, the world of the galleys and the education of women. A surprising omission, however, is a discussion of Colbert and his attempts at administrative reform. Nevertheless, this is a fine work of history that can be strongly recommended.

Mr.W.H.Lewis, brother of Mr.C.S., projects his fondness for the 17th century with bravado in The Splendid Century. The word splendid, derived from the latin for "illuminated", allows the reader to understand his thesis of the Grand Siecle without turning a page, by simply judging the book by its cover. Here is a profoundly pious Christian man composing some of the most glorious prose about a controvertial subject and succeeding where so many others have failed.

By not limiting himself to Versailles Mr.Lewis creates honesty. But he does not stop there, he remains true to the popular understanding. The Sun King's world brought to life.

After reading "Don't Ever Tell"-Kathy's Story by Kathy O'Beirne and "The God Squad" by Paddy Doyle, I felt the need to inform myself further on the subject of absolute corruption and power in the Industrial Schools in Ireland. "Suffer the Little Children" gave me all the information, and more, on the shocking, shameful, collective sadism practiced in Industrial Schools, orphanages, convents and reformatory schools where different religious orders carried out dehumanising brutality and savagery on innocent little children who were placed in the institutions either through the Courts or the parents themselves to be looked after by the religious and to receive an education.
This book gives us the history of such institutions in the UK and Eire but concentrates on the Irish scene where they continued to exist up to the 1970's. It is well written and a most revealing exposé of a very dark, sick side of Irish history. It also includes personal testimonies which make the book even more gripping as they exemplify and confirm vividly the revelations of such an appaling system.
It also discloses the indifference and conspiracy of silence on an official level which brings to mind Molière's words "It's not what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable". And for bad history not to repeat itself, we must keep informed. This book is a must read.

Ever since the movie .."The Magdalene Sisters" and Frank McCourt's book..."Angela's Ashes", Plus the fact that I am a quarter Irish and love Ireland and her people, I find I want to know more and more about her people and the TRUTH of how they have suffered yet have remained strong and vital and are proud and have given much to our world today!(England should be ashamed of what they have done for far too long, too!)
This book tells an awful story about the horrors of little children treated so badly for years and years. I know sadly that these wrongs can never really be righted for these victims or the words, "I am sorry" will erase the pain in their hearts, but I do hope eyes are open now and this cannot happen ever again to anyone....especially to children...no matter what country they come from and no matter what their color or race. Bless the children and keep them safe!! God bless Ireland...
Linda Steffey

This book presents a portrait of 20th century Ireland that will debunk any nostalgic or sentimental view of the so called 'Emerald Isle'. No shamrocks and leprecauns in this book, but a history of cruelty, abuse and power. It tells the story of how Irish children were incarcerated in huge numbers throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in reformatory and industrial schools which were managed by the Catholic Church. Based on detailed historical research and interspersed with gut-wrenching first hand accounts of survivors of these institutions, it shows how an alliance between a power hungry Catholic Church and an indifferent Irish State resulted in the incarceration of the children of the poor. Rather than helping poor families, Church and State removed these children to bleak institutions where large numbers were sexually and physically abused and tortured by their Christian carers. I don't think that I will ever think about the Catholic Church and Ireland in the same way ever again. Anger, saddness, frustration, disbelief, but above all anger - why did this happen? I experienced all these emotions when reading this book. If you want to really understand Irish society, this book is essential and harrowing reading.

This book is one of true meaning an excellent written book, which show's the through Ireland. This books explains the mentality of the religious and states minds. Truly deeply sad book but very much worth the read. This book is excellent in the sense of giving true awareness to the Irish state.
Highly recommended.

This book is comprehensive and deeply moving. I could not put it down. I was disgusted and angry by the end of it. I am ashamed to be Irish and ashamed to be Catholic. How this could have gone on for so long with no help for these children is beyond words. If there is a hell, then open arms to all those sick and sadistic Brothers and Nuns, all of whom were operating in the name of God....! How dare they call themselves charitable and merciful. They are some of the most vile human beings in existence. Between that and the sex scandal in America, the Catholic Church owes many people an apology and some sort of restitution. For shame the Church still chooses to cover up it's misuse of power. If the Nuns and Priests and Brothers were not so sexually frustrated, maybe they wouldn't be so evil. Sorry to vent so strongly. After reading this book, you will feel the same way. Also read Do Penance or Perish, but not as good as this book. Thank you.

Loved the book!! it is easy to use especially for first time visitors who are not familiar with all of the different rail systems in the SBO. I stayed in Wengen for 4 days and used the book often to decide which trip to conduct and also how to easily find and navigate the cable cars, gondolas and hiking paths. The book was especially helpful since the weather was a bit overcast in the higher altitudes and we chose to go down into Interlakin for a day trip, which the book covers as well. Bravo to the authors and thank you for making my Swiss Bernese Oberland visit one of the best vacations I have had in a long time.

This book is not what I expected, but that could be my fault.
It is quite thin, and has trip suggestions in trains, boats etc.

I didn't want to rate it, because I didn't read all of it, only took a glance to verify that I will have no use in it, since I was hiking in swiss.
So the 3 stars are from walker point of view.

I've been to Switzerland on 4 trips for a total of about 6
weeks, mainly in the Bernese Oberland. I have not yet found
a better book for the first time visitor to this area. Even
though I've been there several times I still find it
worthwhile. There are no specifics on hotels or restaurants,
just on sights. They choose 10 trips and 4 excursions, and I
can think of other choices but not better choices; most are my favorites. The trips are from a half day to one day, depending
on what variations you choose; the excursions require a full
day. There are also some other suggestions and information on
Swiss tourist offices and websites, which I would also recommend
that you email and/or visit when you are in the area. Basic information includes food & drink, transportation, etc.

Very detailed information with lots of pictures, but in a compact form. If you are spending any time in the Bernese Oberland area of Switzerland, this book will greatly simplify your experience and help you decide what to do when you get there. Written by authors who have been visiting the area for 30 years! Highly recommended.

We were in Switzerland this summer and I highly recommend this guide for anyone who will be in the Bernese Oberland area in Switzerland. It is very well written and the maps are very helpful. Wengen, a small swiss village 45 minutes from Interlaken is very beautiful and we could have easily missed that had it not been for this book.

At first, it didn't look that good, but after I started to read it, it got really, really good. I think my Mom would like this book too. (By Katrina, age 8.)

Rose and Lila are mad at their parents for making them stay with Far Nana. But Far Nana has a doll hospital...and a secret! She can hear doll's thoughts and stories!

Anya got Tatiana for her birthday. But when she and the Lolov family have to leave, she makes friends with Katia, a girl who's steerage. Anya is warned never to go down to the steerage place...or she could have her eye turned inside out with a buttonhook! Will Anya ever get to Uncle Elias's house now?

This book is exciting because it tells what really happened when the Jews were persecuted in Russia. I especially liked the part where the children snuck up to their grandmother's attic when they weren't allowed to.

My daughter and I loved these books. I thought it was right up there with American Doll books. Great story and great historical/educational infomation.

When Rose and Lila's parents go to Africa for a year, for their work as doctors, Rose(age 10) and Lila(age 8) must stay with their maternal grandmother, whom they hardly know. As they snoop through her house (Book 1), they soon discover that "Far Nana" has a few secrets worth knowing. "Far Nana" runs a doll hospital from her home and has the intuitive skill of listening to the stories of the dolls she repairs. She tells these stories to the girls in the first person, from the point of view of the doll. In these books, the reader is reading the ongoing story of Rose and Lila adjustments to living with their grandmother and the historical story of a doll, in a story-within-a-story format.

In "Tatiana Comes to America" the girls listen to a story about a doll who escaped Russia in 1907 during a time of violence against the Jewish people. Her family came to America to escape the persecution. Tatiana boards a ship for America with her girl, Anya. I enjoyed Tatiana's story because it was lively and and had some unexpected surprises by the end.

Overall, this book is an excellent introduction to the series and I would recommend reading it first if you are interested in this series. We see Rose and Lila say good-bye to their parents and watch them discover their grandmother's secret. The girls begin to find that there will be some good things about staying with "Far Nana", including the wonderful stories of the dolls!

The reading level on this book is for grade 3. I would not recommend it for readers under 6 years of age because the intertwining stories may be confusing. A paper doll is included with each book, which may be of interest to some readers.

This is a collection of stories that make the days leading to the Normandy invasion come back to life. It is a good companion volume for the movies "Yanks" and "The Longest Day."

General Eisenhower relieved stress by hitting an imaginary golf ball in his office; General Montgomery named his two dogs Rommel and Hitler; Churchill's wife Clementine often sent him notes signed "Love from Clemmie" with a small drawing of a cat.

Several days before the troops sailed for France, security was intense. A British soldier who knew about the invasion sneaked out of his camp and hitchhiked to see his parents and girlfriend. Along the way he bought drinks and told several American soldiers details of the coming invasion.

When he was discovered missing, a quiet but intense manhunt covered the area. He was finally found and interrogated. The American base where he had stopped was cordoned off, and the people who gave him rides were found and volunteered to stay inside their homes for several days. Later the British soldier was sentenced to ten years in prison.

A British newspaper published daily crossword puzzles, and one contained the words "Utah," "mulberry," and "Omaha," all key words describing D-Day operations. Frantic British intelligence agents interrogated the author of the puzzle, a school teacher. Years after the war it was found that his students gave him suggestions for his crossword puzzles. Utah, mulberry, and Omaha were terms that they had heard by spending time with soldiers.

In spite of extraordinary security measures, there were other leaks. Three days before the invasion, a Teletype operator practiced typing the invasion news. By mistake the news went out worldwide and was read on hundreds of radio stations.

The British people knew when the invasion was at hand. They had become accustomed to seeing lines of jeeps, trucks, and trailers laden with backpacks and equipment along the roads. The olive drab uniforms and vehicles became as ubiquitous as the green of the spring countryside. Then overnight, the crowds of GIs that had milled through the towns disappeared. After months of hearing vehicles roaring through streets and voices of soldiers that filled the shops, the towns were strangely quiet.

On the night before the invasion, General Eisenhower and his driver, Kay Summersby, watched rows of C-47 transport planes roar into the sky from an airfield outside Newbury. The planes were heading for Normandy carrying airborne troops. As Eisenhower and Summersby walked back to the car to leave, she noticed tears in his eyes.

General Rommel was celebrating his wife's birthday in Germany when he heard news that the Allies had landed at Normandy. During the drive back to France, Rommel sat impatiently in the back of his speeding car punching a gloved fist into the open palm of the other gloved hand.

this is one fascinating book which I recommend to anyone interested in WWII. Its uniqueness resides in the way the author approaches D-Day, allowing the reader to get to know how those pre D Day days were lived by civilians, soldiers, secret agents and leaders of the great assault. Now I know what Churchill did , what was on Eisenhower's mind when he decided what he decided, what de Gaulle thought and how he acted, how the germans were fooled time and time again by allied intelligence, how important secret agents work was for the success of the invasion and it also accounts for the work of many unknown heroes. A great book, a great approach of D Day.

No doubt one of my favorite books of all time.
I got this book as a birthday present a year or two again, and kept on putting it off. I don't know why, I'm interested in the war, I just didn't start it for a while. But when I got into it I knew that I'd love it. It was researched down to... well, let's just say that if it's a minute detail that happened back then, it's in the book. And you can prove it by looking at the bibliography! But the book is so emotional and intense that once you get into it there's no putting it down. I loved this book and would recommend to anyone.

David Stafford is an unusual historian. He writes analytical books that study the Second World War, mostly from the perspective of the intelligence war and the partisans. He writes clearly and intelligently, and spends most of his time analyzing the various parts of the war, and their meaning. This book, by contrast, is something that is for Stafford completely different: instead of the intelligence war, and instead of analysis, Stafford instead focuses on showing us the world or a large part of it during the ten days leading up to the D-Day invasion.

The book focuses on various people in various walks of life who did various things during the war. The book is divided into chapters, one for each of the 10 days, the last being D-Day itself. Each of those chapters is divided into sections, each of which highlights the daily life and experiences of someone involved, directly or indirectly, in the war. They range from a Canadian infantry lieutenant and an American paratrooper to a British female code clerk, an SOE operative in France, all the way around to a Jew hiding in someone's house in France and a Norwegian resister in prison for assisting in the publication of an underground newspaper. Each of these individuals is followed through their daily lives, the soldiers preparing for the invasion, the rest wondering when it would happen.

One really unusual and interesting wrinkle that Stafford manages to incorporate is that the characters he chose to follow weren't all survivors of the events covered in the book. This involves a little harmless invention of presumed emotions and thoughts, but frankly that's overshadowed by the uniqueness of what he writes. For instance, one of the pictures in the picture section shows Sherman tanks lined up in an English village, with housewives hanging washing out to dry right next to them.

It's rather surprising that at this late date someone could write something unique on D-Day and the campaign in France. The fact remains, however, that this is a very unique book, and a very interesting one.

Most books published about D-Day give scant mention to the background of the invasion, and concentrate on the invasion itself, and its aftermath. This extremely well-written book covers the 10 days that preceeded the invasion, through the lives not only of the important political and military folks involved, but also the common people. We share the lives of paratroopers, ground troops, signal interceptors, spies, prisoners, and others, and learn about their contributions, however small, to the ultimate success of the invasion. It is writing of personal history at its best, and we do get to be informed as to what happened to these people we grew to care about after the invasion. Several of them are still alive, and they, and the multitude of others who have gone to their rest deserve our eternal gratitude for what they all did for us that glorious 6th of June, 1944.

This review pertains to the 2004 hardcover "Phoenix Edition" reprint. I must also confess that at this moment I have only made my way through half of volume 1. I feel it necessary to give potential buyers a "heads up" about this set: it is, as described, a massive work of mid-1800s scholarship. It was assumed at that time that anyone who would be reading such a work would be able to read Latin as well as Old High German, Old Norse, Anglo-Saxon, and a smattering of other medeival languages.
The author spends most of his time NOT telling mythical stories as the curious dabbler might expect, but instead chasing down obscure linguistic clues imbedded in medeival texts, place names, and quaint figures of speech in an attempt to reconstruct some sort of Germanic mythology (for which documentation is lacking) from its hypothetical parallels in Norse mythology (for which documentation is abundant) and the mythologies / religious beliefs / superstitions of surrounding races such as the Saxons, the Gauls, even the Greeks and Romans. This process is dull, dry, tedious, and to someone not fluent in Classical and Germanic languages, incomprehensible. If you love philology you will love these books, but if you want to be thrilled by tales of the Old Gods, stay away!! Herr Grimm does not tell many stories; all the cool stuff is quoted from his sources, and whatever of that isn't in Old High German is in Latin. _Untranslated_ Latin. BEWARE!!
Don't get me wrong; I do not regret owning this set, and I have every intention of finishing it - I'm just saying it's going to be unexpectedly difficult for me, and I can only recommend it for those with a Serious Interest in the subject. The information Grimm presents here is dense and staggeringly thorough - and it is, in a way, a very enjoyable read: the book has its own soporific charm which provides an almost physical pleasure from reading it. An entire mysterious world of unknown language and dimly-comprehended episodes from Latin chroniclers yawns before me. Should be a fun trip.
Nevertheless, my review must bear a mere 3 stars as a warning to those who only want to be thrilled by the mighty adventures of Thor: look elsewhere. This is not the right book for you to start.

This is thoroughful and extremely good edition of the phenomenal book. Naturally, several scolars later made some corrections on some subjects. Nevertheless Jacob Grimm's work inspired H.Heine, R.Wagner and many other men of genius. One cannot overestimate the 'Teutonic Mythology' even now. In a way it's a monument of human imagination, of both oral and written creations made during the centuries by the individuals as well as by the folks. And it still be and will be an inexhaustible source for our both knowledge and imagination as well.
Only one thing I would dare to suggest. Many fragments J.Grimm quotes in Latin, Greek etc... For the future editions I would translate all of them even it could take much space - up to an additional small volume. So, this unique book would be understood by much wider circle of the readers.

Yes, a few years ago I plunked down the over a $100 cost for this recently put back in print four volume set. I don't regret spending the money. Criticisms I have you have to wade through a lot of linguistics/philology stuff and for whatever reason, even though this is supposed to be the English translation, there is still a fair amount of material in German and Latin. But there is all kinds of great stuff in this. Not for the beginner or someone with just a casual interest in the subject matter but this is a must have for any serious student of northern European culture, folklore or Odinsim. What is it about so many books written in the 1800's being superior to 99% of whats been published in the past 50 years?

This is required reading for the true student! Can be a difficult read at times, but the knowledge and world view contained therein make it a treasure!

So Dover Publications has now (2004) reprinted "Teutonic Mythology" under the "Phoenix" imprint, apparently in two formats (bindings). I look at my copies of the previous (1966) Dover paperback edition of James Stallybrass's 1883-1888 translation of Jakob Grimm's "Deutsche Mythologie," with the four volumes bound in different colors, and I feel terribly old.

They were purchased at less than a tenth of the publisher's current asking price (well, one volume was a gift, but I'm looking at the cover prices), and I feel grateful that I bought (three of) them in the early 1970s. At the time, that still seemed a lot of money for paperbacks, even trade paperbacks, but I have had decades of use out of the set, which is still holding up well. (Dover then still used signature-stitched bindings and high-quality paper; their claim that their paperback books would last as well as hardcover editions was well founded. If Dover does reissue them in paperback, they will probably be less durable and, inevitably, more expensive.)

Read with care, and with frequent reference to modern text editions, translations, and studies, the "Teutonic Mythology" is still a mine of information on the religious ideas, customs, and common metaphors and figures of speech (supposed to be fossilized beliefs) of the ancient and early medieval Germanic peoples (the continental Germans, the Dutch and Flemings, the Scandinavians, and the Anglo-Saxons), and much else in medieval literature. Everyone knows the Grimms from the fairy-tale collection, but individually and together they wrote and edited much more. (For some reason, Jakob Grimm [1785-1863] almost always appears in English as Jacob, but his brother Wilhelm [1786-1859] never seems to become William.)

The "Mythology" in particular is constantly cited in the older secondary literature, so it is nice to be able to find such references. On many occasion it has clarified for me an obscure argument carried out by long-dead scholars with page-references to Grimm's then-definitive treatment of the issue (although sometimes I have had to work out the relation of the pagination of an unseen German edition to the English text -- not fun).

More important, for my purposes, it was a handy reference for what would have been readily available knowledge in the latter part of the nineteenth century, and the early twentieth. They are very useful indeed, if you are interested in Richard Wagner's versions of Germanic myth and legend, or those of William Morris. Or, particularly since this is a translation, if you want to see what was available to the young E.R. Eddison, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, among many others.

(For that specific purpose, the only thing really comparable in scope they might have read was Benjamin Thorpe's three-volume "Northern Mythology" of 1851, which was briefly available in a one-volume omnibus paperback from Wordsworth a few years ago. In terms of information available to its learned author, Thorpe's book, which I have reviewed, was largely a less systematic English Grimm, with more extensive summaries of Norse sources, and some excellent additional evidence from folktales. It is not quite so dated, but mainly because it was not so ambitious; whole topics aren't even mentioned, so Thorpe couldn't have made any mistakes about them. For the intellectual and cultural background, Andew Wawn's recent (2000) "The Vikings and the Victorians: Inventing the Old North in 19th-Century Britain" may become the standard reference.)

Thomas Shippey in particular has pointed out several places where Tolkien invented Middle-earth "solutions" to passages where Grimm expressed confusion over contradictory data. Tolkien would eventually have gone directly to the German text; Lewis mentions reading Grimm in German, but seems to mean the Fairy Tales ("Kinder- und Hausmaerchen").

In addition, Grimm's appendices (in the fourth volume of the translation) assemble an extraordinary number of important non-literary medieval (and later) texts in one place; genealogies, spells, penitential guides, lists of superstitions, dialect terms. Although as editions they are antiquated, having them in one place proved convenient on a great many occasions. (For example, Valerie Flint's 1991 "The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe" cites later editions of several of them, none readily accessible to me.)

Given the present price, although I'm delighted that Dover has brought the whole set back into print simultaneously for the first time in years, I'm not urging everyone interested in Germanic myth and folklore to rush to buy it. (Even with the current -- November 2004 -- Amazon discount.)

And not just because of the price. This is a monument of scholarship from the first half of the nineteenth century (1835; second edition 1844); almost everything in it has to be viewed with at least a little suspicion. Grimm already recognized that there were problems. A good part of volume four consists of additions and corrections to the text, which he had hoped to incorporate in a third, and fully revised, edition. (His publisher instead reprinted the three-volume second edition text in 1854, and called it the "Third Edition." A posthumous editor arranged the notes in order, to be printed as a supplement in a "Fourth Ediiton," and Stallybrass followed this practice, instead of tampering with the original.)

Throw in the expense, and there is reason for suggesting other places to start. I mention this age factor because the amount of antique misinformation I have seen gleaned from it, and presented as current, sometimes explicitly dated 1966, is a little frightening. And I expect to see more examples, with the 2004 date of the Dover Phoenix edition in the citation.

Stallybrass called his translation "Teutonic Mythology" to reflect that Grimm was using "Deutsche" in the widest possible sense, instead of a nationalistic one; the more recent term would be "Germanic." But for almost a century, beginning not long after after Jacob Grimm completed his work treating *all* the Germanic-speaking peoples as a continuum, the best surveys and handbooks, and almost all serious scholarship, carefully distinguished Northern (Scandinavian) from Southern (continental German) evidence. Surveys in particular were generally restricted to one or the other; usually "Norse Mythology," with a few citations from the continent. While some of Grimm's comparisons -- or the conclusions drawn from them -- were of dubious legitimacy, denying the validity of such comparisons *in advance* pre-determined the nature of the argument. Apparent exceptions generally quickly reveal themselves as second-hand Grimm. Those scholars who did survey the whole field were often concerned to prove that the medieval Scandinavian texts were late and unreliable compared to nineteenth-century German folklore. (If it looks "primitive" [crude], it must *be* primitive [early].)

The closest thing to a scholarly modern successor, the two-volume "Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte" by Jan de Vries, was severely criticized when it appeared in the mid-twentieth-century for returning to Grimm's comprehensive approach. (The author was under the influence of Dumezil's then-recent work on the original unity of Indo-European mythic and religious concepts, and the controversy has moderated with time and familiarity.) Unhappily, de Vries's "History of Old-Germanic Religion" is still not available in English. But there are substitutes in English which, taken together, are almost as comprehensive, as well as much more reliable than Grimm alone.

For the serious-minded beginner, John Lindow's "Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs" or Andy Orchard's "Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth & Legend" (and variant titles) are far better and more reliable guides to the Scandinavian evidence, with Rudolf Simek's "Dictionary of Northern Mythology" filling in some of the continental material, along with copious linguistic information reflecting an additional century and a half of research. I would strongly urge anyone new to the field to have at least one or two of these at hand whenever Grimm is being consulted; definitely Simek on matters linguistic, if possible (the book is currently out of print, although a reprinting of the paperback is scheduled for Spring 2006). All three (which I have reviewed separately; I call attention to some of Simek's shortcomings, but his book is mostly first-rate) have extensive bibliographies. Some of Lindow's extended articles come closest to Grimm's chapter-length treatises.

However, when all is said and done, there is something to be said for these four antiquated volumes. Like Aristotle, Jakob Grimm produced a "premature synthesis" of knowledge, and, as with Aristotle, even the errors of a first-class mind are worth pondering. And a lot of it *is* dead on right.

At some point "Teutonic Mythology" should be consulted by anyone interested in Germanic studies, or medieval literature, or folklore studies, or comparative mythology -- if only as an act of piety. Having hardcover and library-bound editions available may make this effort more likely than it has been in recent years. And maybe it will, sooner or later, be back in paperback form.