Europe Books

I originally had trouble reading this book until I went to the table of contents and read what pertained to me at that time. It even refers to other pages to reinforce the point there making.I actually have read this book completely but not in the order the chapters are in. Now I use this as an excellent reference tool and it helps me explain to the player in a more concise manner.Now the player realizes it's not all physical and he can have fun with basketball by thinking on his own.

This takes the mental aspects of basketball and applies fundamental techniques that anyone can use. I read it avidly and it is a source of reference now.

A simple method for a basketball players to know the mental effect of fantastic basketball game.

Jay Mikes has written a book that is a definitive guide to mental training and the analysis of the mental side of basketball fundamentals. He has managed this in a style that is not only captivating but also clear and concise. I found the book a great help in preparing young players for competetive basketball. This book not only helps in solving a crisis (eg: a shooting slump) but also in preventing them. A great read for coaches and players alike.

Basketball Fundamentals is equally valuable to coaches and players of the game. This easy to read book help players and coaches understand WHY certain things happen.

Why can't players afford to complain about reffing? Why can some players shoot well in practice and not in games? How can consistency be developed in players? In easy to read language, Jay Mikes not only offers answers to these question, but also solutions.

This book will be required reading for my Varsity players.

I am the foster sister of Harry Lee Yeatts, who was the child given up for social services. We grew up in the same foster home and have always wondered where we came from and what our roots were like. By Mr. Yeatts writing this book, he is giving my brother an opportunity to discover his roots. It was so exciting to see Harry's name in print and for him to discover a brother out there. Thank you Mr. Raymond for being so honest in your book. Five stars to a real honest writer.

After reading this book I was really moved at thinking of how a person could have lived with all the horrible memories of his experiences there all these years. As a child I always listened to my father's war stories and never really paid much attention to them. But after reading this book, now I truly realize how these accounts actually took over his whole life and that of his children. I will never again take forgranted the advice that my dad gives me still to this day and the way he always tells me how much he loves me and that I'm still his little girl. I am just really sorry that it took me 40 years to realize just how much my dad really means and why he has spoiled me so , all these years.

Yeatt's account of his experiences in WW II kept my attention. For everything he experienced during the war I was surprised by what he experienced when he returned home. If it had been a novel I would not have believed it. Yet this is life and you have to live with the cards you are dealt.

This powerful book reveals what goes on beneath the exploding surface of the battlefield. The author masterfully captures the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feelings of a warscape and tugs at the reader to join the frantic ride. Every sentence incarcerates the helpless reader and stretches his emotional balloon to the bursting point. Thank you, Mr. Yeatts for taking me to the front lines. Although I've never been there, done that, I'll never again be able to shrug my shoulders mundanely at war. Yeatt's book should be required reading for every student seeking a military career. A five-star general couldn't do better.

Mr. yeatts is an ordinary man with extraordinary power and strength, to actually realize that this is a very common story of many of the men who endured this tragedy of war and yet never speak of it. As Tom Jennings said of his book many of the men were reluctant to speak of their experiences of the war, it was like he had to pull it out of them . How fortunate are the children of Mr. yeatts to know first hand and to have him in their lives to hear him elaborate even in more details his experiences of this world event. He is deserving of the highest honors, May god bless you always Mr. Yeatts,

My wife and I have used this wonderful publication throughout France, and highly recommend it. When in a city, we find that it's sometimes helpful to contact the local tourist informtion office, if local B&B's are not shown in the referenced book. In both cases, we've had great experiences using these resources.

Traveling independently has its rewards! I feel compelled to share some of the B&B's that we have stayed in as a result of this book. When we look back on our trips, we remember the warmth of the hosts who shared their home with us and waved goodbye as we left.

# 359 en route to Lourdes. I felt like I was staying in a doll house. Everything was PERFECT! The hosts were lovely people. The evening meal was excellent.

# 334 just south of Toulouse. The owners will enchant you in this lovely farmhouse. They make sure that everyone has GOOD TIME at the evening meal! English is not necessary! The owner's have hosted guests from all over the world!!!

#386 Normandy. This a a perfectly lovely half-timbered farmhouse. The owners will make you feel like family!

We will be using this guide again for the 4th time this September. So far, I have chosen # 567, #672, #336 and #334 (listed above). I will keep you updated! I always choose B&B's where some English is spoken. I always look for comments concerning the hosts hospitality. You can spend as little as $. and take home memories that will last a lifetime!

...If we can help .... Spain or France???

...julie and gordon foster

"The best guide for the finest kind of vacation." Elle Magazine

"This series has long been respected as one of the best of its kind. Each book contains detailed color maps and a listing of accommodations by area. They include color photographs, the address and phone number, a star rating, amenities, price, and a brief paragraph describing the property. Newly revised and updated, these excellent guides to accommodations in Europe are highly recommended for all libraries." Library Journal

"This series has long been respected as one of the best of its kind. Each book contains detailed color maps and a listing of accommodations by area. They include color photographs, the address and phone number, a star rating, amenities, price, and a brief paragraph describing the property. Newly revised and updated, these excellent guides to accommodations in Europe are highly recommended for all libraries." Library Journal

I read this book as a student for my History of Scientific Thought Class. This text was an excellent addition to the course work that included discussions about scientific thinking, discovery and revolutions, Greek philosophy and nature, Medieval cosmology and it's assimilation of Plato and Aristotle. Lindberg also pictured works of art that helped discuss the science and thinking of the times. The other texts that, as a class, were discussed along with Lindberg were Leonard Schlain's Art and Physics and Arthur Koestler's The Sleepwalkers and Thomas Kuhn's THe Structure of Scientific Revolutions.

I had to read this book because I'm currently taking a history of science class taught by the author at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and I just want to say it's excellent. It is clear, concise and (best of all from a student's point of view) not boring. It teaches you so much about looking at things in context. This is a great book from a great professor.

As good of a book as you will ever find on the subject of the history and origin of science.

I read the Beginnings of Western Sceince as a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where I had the extreme priviledge of taking two history of science courses from the author, who is also an absolutely outstanding professor. (And also one of the two or three most knowledgeable people in the world in the history of medieval science) This is by far the most comprehensive text on the history of ancient and medieval science that is out there. You might not believe it, but there aren't even a lot of other texts that cover half of what is discussed here period, let alone any that are this polished and concise. This book not only covers the development of western science from ancient times throught the Middle Ages, but it also considers the religious, and philosophical roots of this development. This book is masterfully written in that it provides a tremendous amount of detail, and yet is accessible to anyone that is an educated and interested reader. I cannot recommend this text highly enough.

Also Recommended: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn

In his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn discusses the importance of history and its relationship to science, the changing views of how historians view past scientific achievements, the role of scientific method in science, and the nature and foundations of scientific revolutions.

I have read many, many histories of science, but this is far and away the best I have read.

Dr. Alvarez made unprecedented use of orignal archival sources to chronicle the exploits of the Spanish Foreign Legion in the Riff.
His detailed analysis will be of particular interest to students of counterinsurgency operations and scholars with an interest in the region.

Part unit history and part campaign account, this is a solid, if uninspiring work. But it's a welcome addition if only because an English-language history of the Spanish Foreign Legion has been long overdue. Spain's campaigns in Morocco are rarely mentioned in the literature on African colonial conflicts. Why? It's not as if Spain was a newcomer to Africa: the city of Ceuta in Morocco had been a Spanish possession since the 16th century.
Francisco Franco, who began his military career in the Legion, emerges as a dour, serious figure dedicated to the task at hand. Those interested in the Spanish Civil War, especially fans of Nationalist Spain, will enjoy his portrait here, and perhaps understand how such a man achieved so much. Franco's alleged involvement in the plot to overthrow the "wet" Primo de Rivera in 1923, described here, foreshadowed the events of 1936.

Incidentally, readers of Christopher Balfour's recent work, The Deadly Embrace, marketed as an expose of Spain's use of poison gas against the Riffian tribesmen, may be interested to note that there are plenty of references to it here. The use of poison gas by Spain may be deplorable, but hardly shocking. Although war can bring out the best in men, it also brings out the worst. Perhaps Spain's decision to resort to gas may seem understandable in light of the atrocities carried out by the Riffian insurgents against Spanish civilians, particularly at towns like Nador (pp.51-52).

The Spanish are a proud, civilized people with remarkable achievements to their name, of which the Reconquista and the Conquest of the New World are just two examples. The West owes Spain a considerable debt of gratitude. Although the military reputation of Spain has suffered much in the last century, the Legion, as one of the world's elite forces, is an apt reminder of the former grandeur. Viva La Legion!

Dr Alverez has written an extremely detailed, comprehensive account of an important unit and era in Spanish military history. This is, by far, the best account of the Spanish Foreign Legion in English, and his worked does much to bring their story to a wider public.

Excellent book about the first years of the Spanish Foreign Legion, also known as El Tercio (for Spanish infantry units which ruled European battlefields in the XVI and XVII centuries). It catches the spirit of the first Banderas (batallions), which were the fer de lance of the Spanish army in the Spanish Maroc Protectorate in the first quarter of the XX century. Afterwards, it took an active part in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), in the Russian front in the Second World War, where it fought together with the Wermacht, as well as in the Spanish Sahara in the late fifties.

Currently, and since Spain does not have colonies any more, the Spanish Foreign Legion is deployed in Spain, divided into four Tercios (regiment-type units) stationed in Ceuta, Melilla (two Spanish cities in northern Africa), Ronda and Almeria. It has seen action in Kosovo, and some companies will be probably sent to Afgahnistan in the near future. Always the crack unit of the Spanish army, the Legion is considered one of the best (if not the best) units within the NATO, comparing favourably with famous units such as the British SAS in field exercises and peace (?) missions in former Yugoslavia.

The little known Spanish Foreign Legion forged a well deserved reputation for valor and professionalism during Spain's early 20th century struggle in North Africa. Unfortunately, very little has been written in English about this extraordinary force. Dr. Alvarez has written a superb account of the formation and early history of the Legion capturing the unique Spanish elan of both its leaders and men. Here was a tough, truly elite military force in the best Spanish tradition. This book fills an important gap in military history which I hope will encourage other historians to explore the role the Legion played later during the Civil war.

What a great book! I actually am a lover of Paris and photography, and of course who can resist a dog, let alone two? I really hope the authors make this into a series, maybe London, Florence, Venice? The book reads like a childrens book, but the target audience does seem to be aimed at adults. Whomever reads this book, it's enjoyable and one of my favorites!

This book is a charmer. The pictures are delightful and some are hilarious. It is a perfect gift for anyone who (1) is a dog lover and (2) has a sense of humor. They did a wonderful and creative job.

Being a good friend of the family, you can see how hard Malyszko and Huges have worked on this terrific book. The photographs are sure to go down as wonderful photos and the short poems are nice and 'crisp'. If you want a fantastic book to look at, read, learn a little French, or just have on a coffee table for guests to marvel over,this is it! It is a splendid and interesting book. I highly recommend it!

This book was a gift from a friend who knows our love for dogs and Paris. My wife had just returned from the city of lights to our four "children" when the book arrived. What a delightful remembrance of the city seen trhough the keen photographic eye of Michael Maylszko. The text is complementary to a fault. A truely seamless product.

This should be enjoyed by anyone who understands the mind of a dog or who has been to Paris. It will be especially pleasing to those who appreicate both

The dogs on their own are adorable, the words on their own are wonderful, the sights of Paris are beautiful - but put them all together in this lovely book and you get the dreamy package that is "Betty & Rita Go to Paris". Excellent work! I look forward to Betty & Rita's next adventure.

The second part in the Black Cross/Red Star series focus on the air war between january - june 1942, perhaps the least know phase of the entire air war on the eastern front.

Knowledge of the air war on the eastern front has always been scarce in the west, and has mostly been influenced by the german point of view. This is a unfortunate result of the cold war, when access to soviet sources was almost nonexistant. But the cold war is over, and the soviet archives are slowly being opened for western scholars.

This book is full of interesting information about the equipment, aircraft, tactics and pilot training of the Luftwaffe and the V-VS (Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily, Soviet Military Airforce. The included glossary is excellent!), not to mention the excellent photos and aircraft profiles.

Among the interesting information in this book are accounts of the V-VS and Luftwaffe activity during the soviet winter offensive, the airlifts at Kholm and Demyansk (with some very interesting observations the german leadership ought to have studied closer), the soviet attempt to resupply the trapped Second Assault Army at Lyuban and the air campain against Sevastopol.

The authors tries to give an impartial account on the events from the views of both sides, and I think they accomplish this task well. Few books on the war on the eastern front are so unbiased, and I have read many.

For the student of the air war in the east this book is necessary, as air, as bread.

I originally ordered this book in August, but delays in shipping prevented it from arriving in my hands until recently. Let me say that the wait is all the more frustrating because this is a wonderful book!

Volume 2 of Black Cross / Red Star retains the written quality of Christer Bergstrom and Andrey Mikhailov, but adds aviation color profiles done by such notables as Claes Sundin and Tom Tullis. Those in the aviation community are familiar with their excellent work.

When I reviewed Volume 1, I made comments about the quality of the maps and photos. The authors and publisher listened to reader feedback and made the necessary corrections. The maps are outstanding! No blurring and all place names are readable. This greatly assists the reader when following the myriad of battles on the Eastern Front.

The strength of Black Cross / Red Star has always been the team of Bergstrom and Mikhailov. They intermix dates, times, persons and events with first-person accounts by all protagonists. Using this formula, the numbers and facts are given a human face. Joy, triumph, sorrow and pain all lie beneath all military statistics. For every victor there is a defeated foe. The reader learns about them in their own words from diaries and interviews.

Every day, surviving veterans pass on. Books like Black Cross / Red Star will soon be the only resource by which they will be remembered.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with even a sprinkling of interest in historical aviation.

Looking at BC/RS as a series, the overwhelming weight of reviewers rate it 5-stars. I heartily agree. The authors are gifted, analyzing the multiple factors relevant to combat and battle outcomes, then expressing their findings in an easily readable way.

The text is authoritative. To see where they got such a boggling mix of information, check the back of the book: their "Sources" fill more than 4 pages. Their approach is even-handed, it relies on facts to give an unvarnished view of true history.

Events are organized by Eastern Front combat zones with the focus on how air battles affected the outcome of major battles. As with Volume 1, the authors continue to illuminate new material and go on to dig into reasons why. A prime example is their thought-provoking chapter on the Demyansk pocket airlift.

Throughout the text, outstanding pilots of both sides get recognition for their exploits and often enough the worthy but lesser knowns also get their due.

In one respect, volume 2 improves on its predecessor -- illustrations. Photos are better. Also, fresh, hi-quality profile art of representative aircraft is abundant. Captions often add interesting detail.

A brief review can not capture all the strengths of this work which breaks new ground and does it so well. I've tried to avoid being redundant with other reviewers and recommend that interested buyers also check into other comments, including those for Volume 1.

LIKE SO MANY OF THE OTHER REVIEWS, THE QUALITY OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS BOOK IS SUPERB; HOWEVER, AFTER REVIEWING 17 COPIES FROM VARIOUS SOURCES, I HAVE CONCLUDED THAT THE PHYSICAL PRODUCTION IS ONE OF THE POOREST I HAVE EVER SEEN. FOLDED AND CREASED PAGES PROIR TO THE PRINTING AND SMEARED PRINTING INK ON NUMEROUS PAGES LOWER THE QUALITY AND VALUE OF THIS BOOK. FOR THOSE WISHING TO COLLECT THIS SERIES: BLACK CROSS/RED STAR, VOLUME II WAS A GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT COMPARED TO VOLUME I.

IF A CLEAN COPY OF VOLUME II DOES EXIST , I WOULD BE MOST INTERESTED IN PURCHASING IT, SO AS TO ADD IT TO MY COLLECTION OF VOLUME I.

THIS SERIES IS AN AMAZING WORK OF LITURATURE, AND HOPEFULLY, PRODUCTION OF THE REMANINING VOLUMES WILL NOT ENCOUNTER SUCH POOR WORKMANSHIP.

HANK PUSICH, hank_pusich2000@yahoo.com

Looking at BC/RS as a series, the overwhelming weight of reviewers rate it 5-stars. I heartily agree. The authors are gifted, analyzing the multiple factors relevant to combat and battle outcomes, then expressing their findings in an easily readable way.

The text is authoritative. To see where they got such a boggling mix of information, check the back of the book: their "Sources" fill more than 4 pages. Their approach is even-handed, it relies on facts to give an unvarnished view of true history.

Events are organized by Eastern Front combat zones with the focus on how air battles affected the outcome of major battles. As with Volume 1, the authors continue to illuminate new material and go on to dig into reasons why. A prime example is their thought-provoking chapter on the Demyansk pocket airlift.

Throughout the text, outstanding pilots of both sides get recognition for their exploits and often enough the worthy but lesser knowns also get their due.

In one respect, volume 2 improves on its predecessor -- illustrations. Photos are better. Also, fresh, hi-quality profile art of representative aircraft is abundant. Captions often add interesting detail.

A brief review can not capture all the strengths of this work which breaks new ground and does it so well. I've tried to avoid being redundant with other reviewers and recommend that interested buyers also check into other comments, including those for Volume 1.

Gorgeous photographs! He catches cats doing fairly ordinary cat things against a breath-takingly beautiful backdrop of Greek scenery.

If you love cats, you got to love the photos in this book.

You don't have to be a feline fancier to enjoy the 28 gorgeous photos by Ron Nelson. The cats are, of course, irresistible - a jet black adventurer leaping from a white wall, a covey of the gentle creatures gathered around a blue fence or a black and white watchman perched high atop a pillar looking out to sea.

While the cats are irresistible so are the settings - Santorini and Antiparos. For me, Santorini is one of the most beautiful islands in the world. The result of an enormous volcanic explosion thousands of years ago Santorini is now blessed with astounding natural beauty. Three huge cliffs define the island as it slopes down to the gorgeous Mediterranean, and in the island's center is a magnificent lagoon. Needless to say the view from Santorini is spectacular.

I've not had the pleasure of visiting Antiparos however, if Ron Nelson's photos are any indication, it would be an estimable destination. It boasts a picture postcard harbor, wide sandy beaches, and clear sparkling water.

Cats of the Greek Islands is a delight for armchair travelers, animal lovers, and those who enjoy beautiful scenes.

- Gail Cooke

Ron Nelson's camera captures the soft details of some amazing cats living in the Greek Isles. Their fur seems to be especially healthy and their bright eyes seem to speak of happy days laying out in the sun, a life lived outdoors in the fresh air and a content spirit.

Each picture is framed on a white page to bring out the contrast of the white stone walls and sapphire waters glistening in the distance. Some kittens are found sleeping on windowsills outside windows with lace curtains while others find their home in a café or wandering along sun-drenched stone walls with foliage set against a background of mountains and cooling blue waters.

The photography in this book goes beyond capturing moments and has additional elements of artistic excellence.

My husband has always wanted a pure black cat and the one in this book really captured his interest in a variety of pictures including the one where the cat jumps off the wall and where it looks like it is meditating or observing the view. The tiny black-and-white cat will make you laugh as it seems to have found itself atop a large white stone pillar and is quite happy to sleep the day away far from the crowd.

All of the cats look especially well groomed, very pampered and happy to be living in Greece. Blue Cats is one of the most beautiful books on cats I've ever seen due to the additional artistic flair of the photography and the beyond gorgeous settings.

~The Rebecca Review

"Blue Cats" is a new offering from renowned photographer Ron Nelson. Nelson specializes in both human and animal imagery, mostly in Europe, and is one of the best photographers working today. Cats are both photogenic but notoriously difficult to photograph due to their individuality and unpredictability, but here Nelson makes it look easy.

Greece has some of the most stunning architecture, landscapes, and waterscapes in the world, and is also known for a large and gregarious cat population. In this book Nelson captures the natural beauty of Greece and the graceful four-footed inhabitants of the coastal areas. The composition of these photographs is delicate and artistic, yet playful and relaxing. I am especially fond of the photographs depicting cats in motion, especially the two photos (numbers 26 and 27) "Jump Across" and "Shadow of a Jump" taken in Oia, Santorini which are exquisitely composed: the study of lighting and shadow is excellent throughout the book, but peaks with "Shadow of a Jump" in my opinion.

This book is excellent for anyone who loves excellent photography, cats, or travel (especially with pristine water backdrops); it is beautifully conceived and printed, and would look great on any coffee table or in any library. I highly recommend this book, and hope to see more from Ron Nelson in the future.

Always the most thoroughly informative of the sources I use for preparation. I could not do without them. This is one of the best.

I was very pleased with this book but I ordered an used book about shopping in Italy at the same time which had pages missing. I returned that book (I believe it was through Warehouse - something) and am still waiting for my refund. I think in the future, I will buy only Amazon products and not order "used" things.

I just returned from a trip to Italy which included 4 days in Umbria and 8 days in Tuscany. I found the Blue Guides for both regions outstanding. Not surprisingly, both are quite worn (the best sign of a useful guidebook).

What makes this guidebook stand out is the incredible breadth of coverage of all tourist sites in Tuscany, making it quite thick, but not particularly heavy. (The only guide that I have seen that even comes close in terms of coverage is the Michelin Green Guide for Tuscany.) Each chapter represents a tour which covers either a town and its vicinity or a driving circuit. Within each tour, every conceivable tourist destination is identified, including small towns, churches, squares, public buildings, museums, archeological sites, etc. For significant museums and churches, the guide directs you through the works in a logical order. For the most part, individual works/objects are listed but not discussed, but notable works are identified with asterisks. Particularly remarkable works, such as Cathedrals and great fresco cycles, are discussed in more detail.

If you are interested in Italian art, architecture, and ancient history, then this book tells you where to find it in Tuscany, and provides brief descriptions. The guidebook does not teach you the history of art and architecture in Tuscany, nor should it. For this, you will need to do some additional reading.

Fine maps and a brief history are provided for each significant town. Parking advise is provided for most towns, and I strongly suggest you follow this advise. (I learned this the hard way.) Also pay close attention to the opening hours, which are quite accurate. The guide's hotel and restaurant recommendations seem quite good; they overlap significantly with the Michelin Red Guide and Frommers. Unfortunately, no descriptions or prices are provided, so most people will want another guidebook for this use. Some of the site closure information was out of date, but I expect this to be updated with the 2000 edition.

The Blue Guide series focuses on art. If you are looking for hotels, shopping, restaurants, or for entertaining reading, rely on something else. If you're looking for a serious guide to history, art, and architecture, both the well-known and the quietly tucked away, a list of hours and days open for musuems, holidays (often to be avoided!), as well as addresses of libraries and research insitutions, the Blue Guides are for you. They cover almost every artwork in the various regions, and do so accurately. The books guide the reader systematically through churches and museums and include accurate floor plans. Towns are grouped into touring areas, as are neighborhoods in the large cities. Town maps, even for little places, are plentiful and precise, even for the winding streets of Siena. City maps, such as Florence, are equally precise and inclusive, but they are split among several pages, which can make them harder to follow --- a minor flaw. I use Blue Guides as a textbook for my college students, and I never go to Italy without at least one!

If you really want to see Tuscany, this it: this book will take you to places you wouldn't find any other way, from charming villages that are way off the beaten track, down colorful streets and staircases to hidden piazzi that you would have walked right past, into courtyards, and out to ancient country churches with masterpieces on the altar. The Blue Guide to Tuscany is 510 pages long, plus two indexes: the author, Alta Macadam, has apparently combed every city, town and hamlet in Tuscany, traveled every road and lane, wangled her way into every locked church and described its treasures, and surveyed every provincial museum. She includes practically everything of any interest at all in the entire province of Tuscany, including the provenance of every work of art and the programs of the frescoes and carvings in every church and abbey, and notes on the contents of every museum. She gives extensive information on the architecture of Tuscany's buildings, including many floor plans, and good notes on local history. It is organized geographically, with town and city tours, and lots of maps. I heard many guides giving their talks on our visit, and very few of them had more to say about anything that Ms. Macadam or were more informative; many of the places she described exhaustively had neither guides nor tourists besides ourselves, which in Tuscany is unusual.

Her directions can be a bit cryptic at times, but if you read carefully, you'll get used to them. As in all of the Blue Guides, she is prone to understatement: when, for example, speaking of the old town in Certaldo, she says that "the upper town has considerable charm", what she means is that it is ravishingly beautiful, will charm your senses and lift your spirit, and your friends and family will envy your photos and your vacation forever.

Caveats: some people will find this guide to be overwhelming. Because it is so dense and exhaustive, use it to plan your trip before you leave or you'll be buried in minutiae and miss things you'll have wanted very much to see.

Roy Bainton is a British journalist. He wrote a short narrative history of the Russian revolution in 1917, an excellent introduction in a very fluid style. He focused on the experience of the people, great and small, who influenced or just lived through those momentous events (mostly in Saint-Petersburg, the capital city). 1917 was a year of great suffering for the Russian people. The " First revolution", in February, that put an end to the Old autocratic Empire, unleashed huge hopes for freedom. The October " coup" of the Bolscheviks, however, crushed these hopes for at least 70 years, and inaugurated unheard of barbarism in the name of ideology "for the good of the people".
Roy Bainton used a variety of "general" sources, but most importantly, because he meant to recreate the ambiance of the times, contemporary eyewitness accounts; he also traveled several times to Saint-Petersburg in 2000 to speak to people who either had been through the events (although at the time they were still very small children)or who told the author about their parents' experiences. That would not have been possible before the 1990's. This is the first book I read about the Russian revolution but I found its approach particularly refreshing.

I found the book informative and paced fairly quickly ... but I knew very little, so each and every tidbit was new to me. Not academic-y, which is a common trap to fall into for books like these. There were a few slow parts, but suprisingly readable overall.

Roy Bainton is an outstanding writer and historian, the best. Excellent.

Superbly researched and written in such a manner that the facts are easily digested and you might find it hard to put down. This is not dry history; Bainton provides the atmosphere to make it an exciting read.

This is the kind of book that might be produced in any free country about almost any incident of interest. It's the memories and personal recollections of a large group of people.

In the Soviet Union such recollections had to match the party line from the time of the revolution (1917) until recently. That makes this a breakthrough book. The number of people old enough to remember what they were doing that year is rapidly shrinking.

Mr. Bainton visited Russia several times seeking people to interview. He was successful in finding a great many people to talk to him. Most were original observers, some were telling stories that had been told to them by parents or earlier relatives.

It's a very enlightening book.