Irons Books

The characters of the story, Out of Poland, were supposed to be fictional, but I found them to be fascinating and believable. They could have been from East Germany, Hungary or any other East European country. As the plot unfolded, the action picked up pace and kept my attention. Out of Poland is not about a Polish James Bond, but about people forced to put trust in their courage by extraordinary circumstances. Some pages bordered on advanced science, but full marks must be given for the simple and compelling description of the events from the period of the Cold War.

Neil Ferguson's first book is a provocative, erudite treatise that challenges much of the more recent writing on Germany's great inflation. Following Carl-Ludwig Holtferich's pathbreaking work, a consensus had begun to emerge that sees the mark's fall as part of a successful strategy that maintained employment and helped in the recovery of the German economy from WWI, thus giving a crucial boost to the stabilization of the young republic. The rewards of moderate inflation during the immediate post-war period were, according to this view, not confined to the Reich alone - German demand for American manufactures, for example, provided a significant countercyclical stimulus to the U.S. economy during the downturn of the early 1920s. Ferguson's strongest point is that this sideeffect of Germany's inflation undermined one of the main policy aims after 1919 - the revision of the Versailles treaty. According to the architects of 'fulfillment', the inflation would lead to an export boom as the mark's value on the foreign exchanges collapsed faster than in Germany itself. Hence, the Allies would realize that they would ultimately have to pay for German reparations through unemployment at home. Instead, because loose monetary policy caused a boom in the Reich at the very time when other industrialized countries went into recession, the trade balance degenerated as imports surged and exports languished in depressed foreign markets. Ferguson thus exposes an important inconsistency in the inflationary strategy - but it is one that only the benefit of hindsight reveals. The historical accident of the postwar boom in the UK and America turning to bust at exactly the time when the Germans attempted to 'export the cost of reparations' undermined a strategy that was based on accurate economic analysis. And even if the export surge never materialized, the monetary chaos within the Reich arguably did help in reducing inflated demands for reparations - from the 28 billion gold marks demanded by Cunliffe in 1919 to the approximately 4 billion of the London Ultimatum. Ferguson also presents a fresh argument that the 1920/21 easing of inflationary pressures could have been used for a more permanent stabilization - at perhaps 50-60 marks/ $. Three factors contributed to this change in fortunes: the fall in import prices due to postwar depression, foreign speculators expecting a recovery of the mark, and the recovery of output. Yet here, as in other parts of the book, Ferguson pays little attention to the considerable time-lag that operated between individual economic variables. The rise in output during 1920/21 was partly caused by the policies of easy money in the years before. The strength of the mark on the foreign exchanges, underpinned by 'hot money', could only last if Germany embarked on a deflation on the Anglo-Saxon model - something that not even Ferguson thinks was politically or economically possible. The argument is also not helped by simple arithmetic errors that lead Ferguson to overstate the size of the Reich's deficit in 1920 and 1922 (p. 278, p. 477) - revenue of 3.2 billion gold marks in 1920 minus expenditure of 7.1 billion simply does not yield a deficit of 6.1 billion. This book's main contribution therefore lies in the wider questions it raises, and not in the ones it answers. That is no mean achievement in a work that combines a monograph on the inflation in Hamburg with more wide-ranging chapters on the Reich's economic fortunes. For this is a study so rich in its observations about the inflation's effects on Hamburg's shipbuilding, banking, and overseas trade, and about the role of Hanseatic politicians in the policymaking in Berlin, that it could easily be mistaken for a regional study. Nothing could be further from the truth: Paper and Iron will at least partly define the research agenda for future scholars of Germany's great inflation.

POURING IRON, written for "young people", presents a superbly illustrated and detailed description of the casting process at the Knights Foundry in Sutters Creek, California using equipment characteristic of about 1900. The approximately 26 pages are unnumbered (the inflated claim of 40 pages must include the covers and blank filler pages). Unfortunately the little book is written the first person which is awkward and annoying-especially in this particular case. An unnecessary and distracting device is that the young visitor is led through the foundry by ghosts. Since the foundry still operates, ghosts are unnecessary-real workers and their stories would be more interesting.

If you are a hardcore Maiden fan like me,Get The Books,you fans won't regret it.The best of Steve,Dave,Adrian,Bruce,and ofcourse Nico.Trust me this toy is not one you would get tired of.

This is an excellent, but unfortunately difficult to find, reference on the early iron technology of the world. It discusses all aspects of pre-industrial iron manufacture from the ore to the finished product. Well illustrated and while reasonably comprehensive, both comprehendible and succinct. Also a good jumping off point for additional research. And as it deals with historic iron technology not "dated".

and just sat down to read it in recent weeks. It is clear that Jill Tweedie was an extremely gifted writer; her use of language is like reading poetry. I was disappointed, however, to find that her world view and relationship choices were so entirely predictable...and self-destructive. For someone so insightful about so many things, it was sad to recognize the same old story played out in yet another woman's life. I also found it strangely ironic that the one thing Jill's father passed down to her after all was said and done was the same illness that killed him. Which is even more heartbreaking.

I sincerely hope the second half of her life was as good as her most recent husband claims it was. We readers won't know because she never finished the book. I also hope she found the inner peace and forgiveness that so obviously eluded her during her younger years. If not, then this would, IMHO, represent the greatest tragedy of all.

This was my introduction to Paul Theroux, first with the cassette read by Paul Pritchard, then I ordered to book so that I could review it for the Magazine Club. He has a way with communicating with people and gives good character analysis.

Reading Paul Theroux's factual account of his trip through China in RIDING THE IRON ROOSTER several years ago, I was impressed that he was brave enough to go where others dared not. His account of the car ride over the Himalayas resulting in an accident and the aid the erratic driver and he received to toll the vehicle to a safe location, the forbidden photos of the Dahlai Lama he distributed along the way while being persued by the Chinese officials made for many daring adventures and close calls before he reached his destination.

I am thinking he no doubt had read H. Harrer's SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET (on which a movie was based) which was originally published in 1953. Harrer was only in his twenties when he spent this time during and after WWII in the 1940s. He observed that the Tibetans are a laughter-loving folk. Since he and his fellow traveler had let their hair and beards grow during the strenuous trek to the holy city, he noticed that, like all Mongols, the
Tibetan men have almost no hair on their faces or bodies. Some of the peasants wear a pony tail, but most shave their heads. He went on to write RETURN TO TIBET.

Paul made many trips, another on a different train, another in China on a boat, and many in his mind. He influenced my thinking more than any other human being as I read his nonfiction and O-ZONE. His other fiction was not easy to decipher. I thought MY SECRET HISTORY was truth, but he admitted later it was all myths, the things he wished he had experienced. This writer was an intrepid traveler and explorer in his youth, from Peace Corps in Africa to places far and wide.

The book, like a long train trip, gets tiring after a while, but Theroux loves traveling this way. His observations of the people, land and culture are well worth reading.

Quite a thin little book this one is, but it is packed with information about the valley of Imladris...A lot of exellent maps, and some nice drawings. If you like things Tolkien and you're not a purist, get you hands on this one. That is, if you're lucky enough to find one...

The Rolemaster companion is a great book to add a bit more spice to the allready great rolemaster system. It adds several new classes with the paladin amongst them. it also adds several new rules and has a bit on arcane as well as tons of new spells. The companion gives two new background tables one for mages one for fighters which are in my opinion much better than the ones in the original albeit more risky. Like all the rolemaster books the game master should read the book carefully and decide what rules to implement. This is realy a great product and any rolemaster fan should buy it.