History Books

i found all three books in this trilogy fascinating. it was a painless way to learn about the french revolution, napolean and josephine's lives, and a multitude of other historical facts. the books moved very quickly and from the time i picked up the first one i was hooked!

I don't need to repeat what eveyone else seems to be stating in their reviews of this book and the entire Josephine trilogy; the story flows from start to finish.

I very highly recommend this book!

A perfect ending to a wonderful trilogy. Gulland has clearly done her research and France comes alive through the eyes of Josephine Bonaparte. Compassionate, kind and well-loved in France, Josephine also gives us a very intimate and sympathetic insight to Napoleon Bonaparte. I enjoyed this whole series and would heartily recommend it to anyone interested in the French Revolution, the French Republic and the rise of Napoleon. It is engrossing, humorous and heart-rending. Highly recommended.

While this book stands out on it's own merits, you would be doing yourself a huge disservice if you didn't read the first two books in the trilogy first ('The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.' and 'Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe'). This is probably my favorite group of books and everyone I have let borrow them feels the same. All are well-written and easy reading (as well as interesting history). I am only sorry that Sandra Gulland hasn't written any other books...yet. I keep hoping.

I can't express how much I loved this wonderful novel. The most accurate adjective I can think of would be 'interesting'. This book was soooo interesting. Gulland's attention to detail is absolutely meticulous. She used over 400 sources in the writing of this trilogy. I learned so much--not only about Napoleon and Josephine, but also of other historical figures of that time. I also found the daily life of the aristocracy not only fascinating but also exhausting.

Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine Beauharnais are some of the most intriguing characters in history. Their story is so compelling and Gulland does a wonderful job of presenting it. Her 'Josephine' trilogy tells the story of Marie-Josephe-Rose Tascher (Beauharnais Bonaparte) who was born on the French Caribbean island of Martinique in 1763. She died, as she was still known, as the Empress Josephine at her beloved Malmaison in Paris in 1814. THE LAST GREAT DANCE ON EARTH begins in March 1800 at the Tuileries Palace in Paris and ends at her death. But, Gulland has a special treat for her readers. She ties up all the loose ends by telling us what happens to all the characters in her novel. I loved that! In fact, I was taking a tour a couple of weeks ago in St. Augustine, Florida and the guide told us that this is where Napoleon Bonaparte's brother came to....I now know that it was Jerome. The author also has a chronology with detailed accounts and dates of events in the last fourteen years of Josephine's life. Gulland also used actual letters of the pair in this book. And again, the pages are peppered with footnotes that add credence to this story.

In book three we're treated to more of the deep and abiding friendship of Josephine and Napoleon. The love they had for each other is legendary. Napoleon was a wonderful father to Hortense and Eugene and they also adored him. But Josephine had to put up with her horrid in-laws, their jealousy and constant designs of destroying her marriage, their lies and the constant undermining--geesh, she was more patient than I could have been. They eventually succeeded. Despite going through horrible and archaic treatments for infertility, Josephine could not conceive. As we all know, Napoleon divorced her in order to gain an heir. Even then, they continued their friendship and love.

I have been mesmerized with Napoleon and Josephine since visiting the Lourve for the first time as a college freshman and falling in love with David's "The Coronation of Napoleon." Then, after visiting the famous, albeit headless statue of the former Empress at her birthplace in Martinique, my curiosity became insatiable. We learned that Josephine's head was cut off because she influenced her husband to reinstate slavery. I was hoping to read an explanation in these novels but it was never mentioned (although Martinico is mentioned quite often). Which comes to another point: Gulland mentions that researching the lives of Napoleon and Josephine is addictive; I've already bought two more books, maybe I'll find the answer to my question!

This is the best most spectacular book on leonardo to date.What can i say that hasnt already been said in the reviews above except that i cant believe that a couple of reviews gave 3 outof5 stars for this book. I think the book deserves 10 out of 10. The book is a masterpiece in itself. Keep up the great work.

I first saw this outstanding book at the Palm Springs Air Museum's Da Vinci exhibit last month. It is a comprehensive and beautiful tribute to Da Vinci's genius that young and old alike can enjoy for decades. Spending an hour glancing through its pages is a visual treat; reading it to more deeply appreciate his multiple talents will take years. Though the price of the book may seem high, it is an unique volume and worth the price.

without studying Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest Italian Renaissance artist and would-be inventor of all time. He left us a legacy of paintings, drawings, diagrams, inventions, and even sculpture for all to see. He's known more than the Mona Lisa painting, he's an inventor of sorts as well as a very fine draughtsman.

This book should be a required course for art students everywhere.

this book is a daily source of admiration, exposed on our table and we change the page practically every day to have a new work of wonder to admire every day. combined with more and deeper information on leonardo da Vinci the true art becomes clear.

The massive size of this book is only dwarfed by the enormous amount of information it contains. Did you know Leonardo Da Vinci conceptualized the helicopter...or the x-ray machine...or even the engine???? He did indeed and it's all in this comprehensive anthem. I highly recommend this book for the Da Vinci neophyte as well as the most avid "Leo scholar" as both will be awed and amazed.

I come to the conclussion that The Man Who Laughs is the most descriptive, saddest, romantic and most beautifully written book that Victor Hugo has written. It is unfortunate that this book doesn't have the standing that Les Miserables or Our Lady of Notre Dame occupies. Also, it is a very hard to find book, specially in Spanish, which is my first language. The traduction is done extremely well (I have verified it with a Russian version I have). It is highly recommended.

This is a difficult and demanding read, but entirely worth it for those who want more from a novel. The story is of a confrontation of moral opposites set in England in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as a deliberately disfigured outcast named Gwynplaine faces a powerful conflict between the simple life of a mountebank, with the love of a pure-hearted blind girl, and the power, glamor, and corruption of nobility, with the love of a depraved, self-loathing noblewoman. Gwynplaine's disfigurement hides his true identity from all, including himself; and out of the eventual revelation of this truth, Hugo constructs a magnificent and heart-wrenching symbolic drama that is as filled with meaning as anything you'll find in literature. Again, this is not light reading, and it is not made for those who prefer to breeze through an action thriller in an afternoon.

Hugo has much to say about the destructive nature of political power, as well as the envy and injustice that conspire to keep the high and low in their respective places. The Mohawk Club of the nobility exemplifies these themes through their vicious and destructive pranks, victimizing the helpless in the name of "fun."

Hugo's contempt for the period's institutions of power is evident throughout the novel; on the wicked Barkilphedro's rise to prominence, he writes: "He had crawled where he wanted. Flat beasts can get in everywhere. Louis XIV had bugs in his bed and Jesuits in his policy. The incompatibility is nil." Clearly this is a novel of ideas, written by one who had a great deal to say and knew how to express it. Even so, I must acknowledge that Hugo's expository passages, although witty, impassioned, and eloquent, occasionally become a distraction from the story.

Hugo's style is astonishingly lofty, in a way that just doesn't happen in the present day. It is an ambitious and demanding discipline, now so far gone that we scarcely even know to miss it. As such, it may strike today's readers as unnatural and overdone; or so it did to me, at first. But by the finish, I was fully seduced into Hugo's stylistic world, and left unable to choose what to read next -- for what is there today that is even conscious of this standard of craftsmanship? I can only imagine how much of the effect of this high language is lost in translation from the original French.

If you are interested in this book, I strongly recommend the Paper Tiger edition, with its afterword by Shoshana Milgram. This afterword was of great use in understanding the book's ending, which to me was difficult; it clarified how the ending was necessitated by the novel's overall theme -- and it made the extent of Hugo's achievement that much more evident.

This is extremely well written and the story is easy to follow. The story had me smile and cry. The method that Victor Hugo collected the sections of this book is similiar to the style Ayn Rand used in writing Atlas Shrugged-my favorite book. The Man Who Laughs is one I think every Victor Hugo fan would want to read and read again--I loved it!

I read this book as a teenager, along with "Toilers of the Sea," Ninety Three" and "Hunchback of Notre Dame."
I have re-read only "Toilers of the Sea" and found it as riveting now as were all of Hugo's book then. I can't imagine a library system not containing these timeless classics or their being out of print.

I have now read four books by Victor Hugo. The Last Day Of A Condemned Man, Les Miserables, Hunchback of Notre Dame, and recently I finished The Man Who Laughs.
I will spare the usual props I throw Hugo's way about him being the greatest author and yada yada yada. Although, as far as classics are concerned, I was dissappointed to go to my local library and in the Hugo novel section there were only two books (and a small gap where Hunchback was). Walking over to the D's for Dickens. There were at least 50 books, multiple copies.
I love Dickens and Hugo, but I don't think Hugo gets near enough attention for the quality he puts out. Dickens can fill just as many pages as the French master, but it seems that the substance is lacking in comparison. What a shame. Does America hate the French that much?
The Man Who Laughs or By Order Of The King was a very fast read. Considering she was 550 pages, I made it through in a couple of weeks, which says a lot for me, I am extremely slow at reading. An excellent plot and a strong mystery involving many characters keeps you interested. If he were alive today, Hugo would no doubt be a writer on Lost. Although, as one reviewer noted with a bright red mark, that you don't find out the lead characters name till almost 200 pages into the book, I found the back story behind the character one of the most fascinating aspects of the book. Homo and Ursus, a mountebank and his aide/wolf introduce the book, and shortly you are introduced to a group of strangers who abandon a boy on a shore. First it follows the boat and its destination then it retraces its steps and tells the story of this boy.
Many lengthy passages are devoted to writing about nobility and lands, and law officers of the day, and there's enough death and deceit and debauchery to keep you entertained (the seduction scene with Gwynplaine and the lady he is to be betrothed to is intense and hilarious). Hugo is still Hugo, and apparently this books was written while he was in exile. So there aren't the usual 30 page essays in the midst of his tales, but it's just a wonderful story.
The ending of Hugo's books are something wonderful, and you can guess and you can guess, but you never can tell. I thought I had the ending figured out, but alas, I was wrong and it took me a good half an hour while the ending sank in.
I think my favorite book of Hugo's so far has been Hunchback, but this story does not dissappoint, and I recommend it over any Dickens or Hardy any day. It's twenty bucks for the paperback, forty for the hardback, but I'd say for anyone who likes a classic, it's worth the price.

I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel! This book is fantastic historical fiction. I thought it was going to be a historical romance but, oh no. It's not. If that's what you're looking for, read this anyway. I've never been more enthralled by battle scenes, politics and, oh, the drama! It's witty, smart and poignant. There's nothing to disappoint, aside from having to wait for the next installment!

This book is the perfect gift for any Shakespeare buff. I can't wait for a sequel.

I wont reiterate all the fine praise that all the other reviewers have input here, all the reviews state exactly how I feel. I just feel the need to say Bravo Mr. Blixt! This debut IS, a literary masterpiece. Clap clap clap, let's all give a standing ovation. Historial fiction does not get any better than this. The reader is immediately pulled in and the author does not let you go until you close that last page almost 600 pages later. A reader picking up this novel will get everything a novel has to offer. Action, adventure, murder, mystery, romance, family feuds, battles, duels, politics, kidnapping, humor and real people who lived at this time of the 1300s Renaissance Italy. Jammed packed with all you could ask for and I doubt that any reader would be disappointed. Sensational!! I am eagerly awaiting a second book.

Lots of reviews praise David Blixt for his historical accuracy, and they involk the 'Shakespeare buff' label...yeah, yeah, yeah - they are right BUT don't let that scare you - if you are not a 'Shakespeare Buff' or history buff - you will also LOVE this book. Mr. Blixt writes about history, but the way he writes is full of adventure, imagry, and intrigue. He's right up there with Clive Cussler, Dan Brown and Tom Clancy - only its better because you feel SMARTER after you read Master of Verona. I can't wait until Orlando Bloom makes the movie.

This book is a masterpiece. To call it a mere historical novel is like calling the Iliad or the Divine Comedy adventure stories. They're that-- and a great deal more. So is this book. It interweaves historical characters with characters from Shakespeare (some of whom were also real people) and still others from the author's own imagination.

The period detail is superb, the dialogue sparkles; the personalities of the main characters are subtle and complex; the action sequences stunning in their vividness and realism.

Even the minor players are intriguing, and the reader comes to care about their fates as well. I found myself rooting for the bluff and decent Bailardino Nogarola (a historical figure), and feeling a grudging respect for the cynical, hardbitten, but at heart ethical warrior, Asdente, a fictional creation who bears the name of a character from Dante's "Inferno."

Towering over all the other characters, though, is the master of Verona himself: Cangrande della Scala. Blixt's portrait of this larger-than-life historical figure is brilliant and unforgettable. He's the linch-pin of the story-- a medieval Julius Caesar at once utterly charming and totally devious, who embodies a fascinating combination of nobility, ruthlessness and steely authority.

The author also touches on an area ignored by historians: who were the mothers of the numerous out-of-wedlock children fathered by Cangrande? We get a glimpse of the anguish of one such woman-- clearly not a peasant or a prostitute, but a woman of some social standing-- as Cangrande (whose marriage was childless) coldly claims the son he fathered with her and takes the child away to be raised as his heir. The author offers an explanation when he mentions later in the book how certain men eagerly pimped their wives and daughters to Cangrande in exchange for a piece of property or an advantageous business deal. You don't find this kind of insight in the average historical novel.

Another excellent feature of this novel is that the author
clearly defines for us what is fact and what is fiction. His list of characters at the beginning indicates which are historical figures, which are from Shakespeare, and which ones are fictional creations. There's also a useful Afterword where the author cites his sources, separates the factual and fictional aspects of his story, and defends (very successfully, I think) his decision to mix the two in his narrative.

In my review title, I suggest that readers bring at least a little knowledge of Shakespeare's Italian plays to their reading of this book. Oh, you don't HAVE to, but it's fun to spot characters and phrases from those plays scattered throughout the text. Of course there's the obvious Romeo and Juliet "back-story," but there are a lot of other Shakespearean bits. It doesn't hurt to know some Dante, as well, although no knowledge of either poet is required in order to enjoy the book.

More than merely interesting, this work is absolutely mesmerizing, and is an even more amazing achievement when you find out it's the author's first novel. Despite its length I finished it in a couple of days and was sorry when it ended. I'll look forward to the sequel, and hope Blixt won't make the mistake of killing off Cangrande. Without him, the sequel will be as disappointing as the second season of HBO's "Rome" without Julius Caesar.

This scholarly and highly readable book is of importance to art historians, historians, and anyone with a serious interest in orientalism as both an art movement and a western cultural phenomenom. The illustrations are superb,and the additional profile articles on key orientalists (such as Richard F. Burton) are an added bonus. This book is certainly worth more than its price and will be of lasting value to future readers.

"coffee table" art books are usually just vehicles to display reproductions of the paintings. Not here - Davie's writing would make compelling reading if it was published in regular book format. He mainly focuses on orientalist painting itself - and shatters the critics - but he also has a fascinating section on four famous 'orientalists' which include Richard Burton and Lady Digby.

The reproductions are are splendid very accurate ( i have the pleasure of having easy access to some of the original paintings) and capture the exquisite craft of "Orientalist" painters. often with close ups of parts of painting that allow the reader to see the elaborate detail.

Worth every penny. I find myself reading it again and again.

An outstanding volume providing high quality images and interesting commentary. Too many art books commit the sin of spreading large images over two pages so the picture gets lost in the spine - not this one. Orientalist paintings are crammed with detail to show the erudition of the artists and their patrons: for once you can see plenty, and you're not sold short by the layout or the print quality. Not a book if you're looking for lush pictures of harem lovelies, one of the aspects of orientalism not given such high prominence here. Over all impression? The many different effects created by light in Middle Eastern landscapes, and the skill of these artists in capturing it

Brilliant book completely covering the subject, solid research, perfect rare illustrations. Lots of forgotten and difficult to find names. Very useful and highly recommended - worth every penny!

Really I'd like to give this 5 stars but for the lack of women it's 4. I feel sort of silly doing so because the art is astonishing and the sheer beauty just magnifies how "art" has changed. I wonder if any artist alive today could come close to duplicating these masterpieces. I doubt it. And Mr Davies writing blends with the terrain and subject matter splendidly.

For me, the most interesting thing about Rachlin's very interesting memoir was the incredible strength she showed in forging a life for herself that was so different from the culture she was born into in Iran and for which she had very little or no family support. It is a very personal tale of courage. Rachlin was given to an aunt to raise shortly after her birth and then wrenchingly, for both Rachlin and her aunt, taken away from her when she was about 8. I suspect it was this horrible experience that later gave Rachlin the courage to leave her family to attend college on a scholarship in the United States and to live an independent, solitary and self-sufficient existence in the United States for awhile before she met her husband.

If I am at all disappointed with this book it is because of the emphasis Rachlin places on arranged marriages as the cause of unhappiness in women in the culture she was born into. Rachlin's sister was in an abusive arranged marriage as were other women in her family. I know some couples who are in very happy arranged marriages and I know a lot of women who are very unhappy in marriages of their own making. The divorce rate in the United States certainly attests to that.

No, I would not have liked my life and/or marriage determined for me. And I value the ability to chart my own course. But Rachlin goes too far I believe when she seemingly equates arranged marriages with unhappiness and abuse.

But overwhelmingly, this is a very interesting, and although somewhat sad, nonetheless a charming book.

Very interesting to learn about the Iranian culture from an author who is unafraid. I felt her writing portrayed her pain as well as her strength. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Particularly in the current political climate, I was hoping that this book would provide a fascinating look into a culture that is, at best, underrepresented in mainstream English language books and, at worst, criticized, discriminated against, and even hated; the fact that the author is a woman made it all the more enticing as I simply can't read enough of how my fellow women live, survive, and thrive in other cultures.

PERSIAN GIRLS delivers on all accounts and has made me want to learn more not only about this intriguing woman--cappuccino is on me if you're ever in southern Italy Ms Rachlin!--but also about Iranian history and culture in general.

From Rachlin's difficult childhood with a mother who didn't seem to want her and a father who wanted only control to her struggle for independence and acceptance in America, PERSIAN GIRLS places the reader in the very heart and mind of the author as she rises to each successive challenge placed before her.

From the time Rachlin was taken from the only mother she knew, I found myself cheering her on-a credit to an outstanding opening scene that transports the reader to 1950s Iran amidst a prayer rug, a Koran, rose water, a paraffin lamp, and hot summer nights spent talking about a golden ladder descending from the sky.

And yet Rachlin's writing style isn't nostalgic or wistful. She presents her life with such an objective tone sometimes that I forgot she was telling her own life story--and this is not a criticism. To the contrary, I felt like what I was reading was a true, fair account of events, and knowing that I'm able to trust the author is so very important.

At times, however, I did feel that there was just a bit held back regarding the working through of her feelings in some of her relationships, particularly the most difficult ones; the fact that some family members are still alive surely had something to do with this, but overall I don't find that this guardedness distracts from the memoir. Rachlin gives plenty of clues into her personality to provide the reader with a sense of what the author might've been feeling, and I don't think there's anything wrong with a little mystery in any book, even a memoir.

On another level, Rachlin's expat status in America really spoke to me, and I'm sure to plenty of other expats as well--the feeling of being caught between two cultures, two languages, two ways of life. On whether she regretted her choice to go to America, in a subsequent interview, Rachlin said:

I have never really regretted my choice to come to America, pursue my own goals. But I am always aware of a loss, a price to pay for the independence I have gained. I don't have easy access and closeness to people I love, because of all the distance between us.

Indeed I wouldn't mind another memoir (or even a how-to!) from Rachlin on her marriage to an American and raising her daughter in a country that is a sometimes enemy of her own. I look forward to reading Rachlin's fiction as well.

I wholeheartedly recommend this memoir to anyone with an interest in women's history, cultural differences, the Middle East, family relationships, love, or, you know, life.

This review originally appeared on my blog here: [...]

The front cover of Persian Girls: A Memoir by Nahib Rachlin has a quote from a Boston Globe reviewer saying that the "memoir reads like a novel", which I felt was very accurate. Nahib has provided us with a peek into her world, spanning over fifty years, and immersing us in the culture of Iran and her family.
Nahib pulls us quickly into her world, showing us her split childhood - life with her adopted mother for her first 9 years, and then life with her birth family. Nahib's birth mother, Mohtaram, was very fertile, she agreed to give a child to her sister, Maryam. It was when Nahib turned 9 that she was considered "of age", able to legally marry, and that is when her father came to get her. When her father took her from her adopted mother, Nahib lost an attentive mother, she gained a sister and confidante.

Nahib's relationship with her older sister Pari is incredibly moving. Both girls loved American movies and the idea of new freedoms for women. I look at my daughters, and hope for them to continue their close relationship - one like what Nahib and Pari had. There were many times as I was reading Persian Girls that I wished I was reading a novel, and that the author could guarantee me a happy ending for everyone involved. The relationship between Nahib and Pari was so intense, and yet fraught with obstacles. Their middle sister, Manijeh, was their mother's favorite, and the obvious favoritism made for a lot of rivalry between them. As time passes, and physical distances between them increase, the bonds between them change and strengthen.

The Iranian Government and its changing laws cast a shadow over the lives of Nahib and her family. Every choice they make has to take the laws and social mores into account. Nahib's brothers go to college in the US, which is seen as a very modern thing to do. However, her two older sisters are married traditionally - in arranged marriages. While all families worry about appearances, in Nahib's father seemed to worry even more than usual. His job as a lawyer seemed tied to how his family is perceived, and he must balance the traditional and the modern.

Parts of Persian Girls feel like a mystery, and one that cannot be solved. Without an omniscient narrator, we only know what Nahib has experienced or discovered. I wish I could see into the heads of many of the characters, but there is an intimate feeling reading one person's memories, one person's truth.

Nahib states at one point in Persian Girls that she feels like she doesn't belong in either culture. I know that feeling is common among many ex-patriots, but I have to wonder if the problems in US-Iranian relationships made her transition more difficult. I found myself identifying so much with Nahid, finding many universal truths within her words, no matter your background.

I highly recommend Persian Girls to anyone who enjoys memoirs and non-fiction, as well as to anyone who enjoys women's fiction or literary fiction - it really is a memoir that reads like a novel. It pulls you in, with vivid imagery of Nahid Rachlin's world. Watch out, though, once you start it you won't be able to put it down easily! I look forward to reading Nahid Rachlin's other books.

Persian Girls is the true story of Nahid Rachlin's experiences growing up in Iran during the years leading up to the Iran hostage crisis.

I was particularly interested to read this when I learned there was an adoption theme to the story -- until she was in elementary school, Nahid was raised by her aunt Maryam. Nahid's biological mother had given Maryam baby Nahid to raise as her own, since she had been widowed without children and Nahid's biological mother already had several children. And interesting sisterly pact.

But at the age of nine, Nahid was yanked from her peaceful existence as the only daughter of religiously observant Maryam to live with her estranged biological family.

The story is a mostly sad one -- there are not very many happy endings in this book, partly because of the iron fist with which her father ruled her family, and because of the fall of the Shah and the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini. But it is an interesting portrait into life in Iran and what it was like to be raised as a girl in a country where daughters were, at least at that time, thought more of as chattel than individuals.

My one reservation about wholeheartedly recommending this book is Rachlin's writing style. I have never read any of her fiction, but this book read more like a series of journal entries than a narrative story. I also kept waiting for there to be some sense of hope, but this seemed to be more a story of resignation than one of triumph -- a tale of the bonds of sisterhood and how the lives of Nahid and her sister Pari came to differ on many levels as Nahid eventually made her escape to America.

While not every story is a happy one, and I certainly enjoy memoirs that aren't 100% happy and joyful, I kept waiting for there to be some relief in this tale about how lives were shattered and how families were torn apart. I found the writing style to be a bit disjointed in places, but not enough to keep me from finishing the book.

For those of us who grew up in a time of new awakening and women's rights in America, this was a fascinating look inside patriarchies of the Middle East, the small roles women had in that society. There are some poignant story arcs that I don't want to spoil, but ultimately, Persian Girls reinforced the stereotype we have about how women are treated in that part of the world and the lack of value placed on women's lives.

This is not your so called war stories. It is about a man and the men he served with without any liberal gibberish (see his references to more modern times)and the fact that wars happen and will happen, just or unjust depending on one's views. But, they won't go away like some Utopian dreamers think just because other "Utopians" weren't up to it. There were so many pages that hit me in the gut because one could so readily identify with things on the page. I never expected such a great book from a journalist / media person which proves that there is good in every crowd. I salute Fraser and I wish I could tell him so in person.

GMF has outdone himself with this book about his part in the Horrific war in Burma during War II. He tells of his time as a junior enlist then junior NCO with the Border Regiment. He spins his tale extremely well about the story of the last great War fought by the Old Anglo-Indian Army of the Raj. So if you want to get a feel for a bygone Army, its various & exotic troops, weapons and some great characters like the Iron Duke and the Impressive FM Slim then this is the place for you.

I read this entire book with a smile on my face, punctuated by frequent outbursts of laughter. George MacDonald Fraser's memories of his WWII service with the British Commonwealth Army in the Burma campaign was the first of his non-Flashman works I've read. Although it's impossible to really compare two completely different literary genres, I'll just say that "Quartered Safe Out Here" was-in its own unique way- as hilarious, if not more so, than the best of the Flashman novels. The difference is that in the Flashman novels, Fraser's obvious respect for the sacrifices and achievements of the British soldier had to be viewed as a backdrop to the foreground humor while the opposite is true in this work, where the humor plays a supporting role to his tribute, which is explicit.

Unlike his Flashman creation, Fraser was an honest-to-goodness war hero- courageous, honorable, and immensely proud of his country, regiment and platoon section. Like old Flashie though, Fraser cuts through the B.S. and shows no tolerance for armchair generals, civilian second guessing, and the nattering classes' politically correct sympathizing for Britain's enemies, so long as they were black, brown or yellow. It was amusing how Fraser's account of his argument with a bleeding-heart over the atomic bombing of Japan exactly echoes Flashman's dustup with a supercilious academic at the beginning of "Flashman and the Redskins". The alert reader will notice other such episodes in this memoir that seem to have found life in that series, but as Fraser noted, sometimes real life in Burma was so bizarre that he would have been laughed out of town if he had tried to slip some of those stories or dialogue into his fictional novels or screenplays. That's why I'm glad he finally got around to writing this book. It would have been a real shame if this story had not been told.

Fraser details his time as a 19 year old soldier in Burma during the last months of the war. His writing is brilliant, as usual, his stories engrossing, his attention to detail is fascinating, and the characters we meet, from the lovably obscene Cumbrians to the unbelievable Captain Grief, are unforgettable, the more so for being real. Apart from the entertainment value, which is considerable, Fraser's insights into the nature of war and the warrior are poignant and valuable as a historical record of, and paean to, a lost Britain. He bemoans the fact that that Britain (not to mention America) has been replaced by a therapeutic society of hypersensitive p.c. twits who have been severed from the warrior tradition and stoic ethos which made their existence possible in the first place. As with most of Fraser's books, it's not for someone who thinks that the world has improved much in the last 50 years. What else is there to say? This is simply a great book. Read it and love it.

This book had been brought to my attention by the author John McKinna ("The Sen-Toku Raid" and others) when it was learned we both had been combat infantry. And a great recommendation it was. The name of the book was taken from a Rudyard Kipling phrase in "Gunga Din", and outlines the infantryman's life during the final days of WWII as the Black Cat Division pushed down the Burma road towards Rangoon.

His book is unique in that it recounts the perspective of the war-fighter on the ground, who's entire knowledge of a world conflict is about 300 yards. At one point, he described every piece of equipment on his person, a bit of historical information I found of great interest.

Interspersed with this narrative however, was Fraser's meticulous research of after action reports of the units involved to weave a mosaic for the reader that helped round out the full picture of the campaign itself.

Overall, a great read.

George MacDonald Fraser, best known for his Flashman novels, and, in my opinion, one of our best writers, gives us here his nearly fifty-year-old memories of his service in Burma in 1945.

There is so much to like about this book that it's difficult to know where to begin. There is Fraser's absolute honesty about his fears, his mistakes, his attitude toward the Japanese, and the virtues and vices of his comrades. There is his ability to place his unit's activities within the context of larger campaigns and yet give a vivid impression of what fighting with his unit must have been like. There is his brief but compelling portrait of General William Slim, for whom he has an unabashed admiration. There are moments of low humor, of heroism, and of tragic loss of life, and there is an unapologetic pride in what he, his comrades, and the rest of the British and Allied forces accomplished.

This is one of the best books that I have ever read, and I recommend that you make it one of yours.

I have always been a museum addict. If the Metropolitan Museum of Art would let me place a cot somewhere, I would probably take up housekeeping. So, it was extremely rewarding to read this story of how so much of the stolen art from WW2 was found, protected, recovered and finally returned to rightful owners. These "Monuments Men" should all have received medals. The world owes much to them for making so many artistic marvels again available.

The illustrations are quite good. Many are available in other sources but so many, at least for me, were viewed here for the first time. The attempts to protect many objects - e.g., St. Marks in Venice - were also interesting. When I visited there a few years ago I was very appreciative.

Mr. Edsel is to be commended.

Excellent book with many historical pictures and historical comments of the war's effect on the art of many countries.

This book shows and tells another side of war. It is the story told in picture of Hitler and his Nazi thugs pillaging Europe and stealing priceless art objects, painting, statures, books, even ancient scrolls then hiding them in caves and bunkers in Germany. What I loved about this book were the photos of US Army units rescuing those stolen art treasures then returned them to the towns, churches and cities. The author has done an exemplary job of finding photos and stories which has made this an important work. Photos I've never seen and story I have never heard about. I think this book needs to be in every high school library in the country. Students need to be shown how our American Army worked to recover all this lost art. His book made me proud to have serviced in the US army.

Thank you for writing this book

I was really surprised by this book. I thought it was going to contain more text but it's really all about the art and the people who rescued it. The result is a very impressive, easily readable 'coffee table' style book that's beautiful and informative. Teachers should grab this up for the classroom and it also would make a great gift for anyone interested in WWII and it's aftermath. I can't say enough about the photos and the story they tell. Bravo!

This is one of the most fascinating books i have ever read. The period images are amazing, just the photo of italian masons bricking up Michaelangelo's iconic David is worth the purchase. After reading this book I was stunned that so few art treasures were destroyed. I had no idea that much of the treasures at the National Gallery of Art in D.C. was stored at Biltmore because of its remote setting. I was also blown away to see the images of workman removing winged victory from the Louvre, I just had no idea all of this went on leading up to the war and during the war. The German pillaging of the great European art treasures is disgusting of course, especially the art they looted from the weathy Jewry like the Rothchilds and others, some of which even to this day are trying to get back art work that is rightly theirs. I highly recommend this great book to anyone interested in art, history, art history, or frankly has an inquisive mind. I want to thank the authors for a job well done.

"A vivid account of how Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey shattered baseball's age old color line. A must read for baseball fans everywhere. A wonderful book so ably pulled together by noted baseball historian and journalist Harvey Frommer."

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"Just a terrific book. It fills in so many of the blanks about the story of Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey. It's like a history lesson. And the intro by Monte Irvin puts it over the top." - - -Billy Sample, MLB Radio
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The Story Of Rickey And Robinson
by Russ Cohen
BASEBALLOLOGY.COM

If you have never heard of Branch Rickey or Jackie Robinson, boy do I have a book for you, it's called Rickey and Robinson: The Men Who Broke Baseball's Color Barrier! Jackie Robinson was one of the greatest multi-sport athletes to ever walk the earth and Branch Rickey was the guy with the guts that gave Robinson his chance to shine, it's a truly amazing story.

Rickey was a lawyer with a rich history that will amaze you in this book. As always author Harvey Frommer goes into tremendous detail to shed even more light on a great story!

Robinson was a true American hero and this book talks to all the right people to give you a feel of how Jackie felt and was feeling during his playing career. The book also points out how he was a civil right's activist as well.

The book talks a lot about the Negro Leagues and mentions even more players that you may not have heard of that unfortunately never made it to the bigs. Anytime you can read about Josh Gibson, Roy Campanella and Satchel Paige you are in for a fun time.

Jackie died a young man at the age of fifty-three-years of age. This great man had to endure more stress, on and off the field, than most people could imagine. His funeral had 2,500 mourners and when you see the names you will see the type of respect that Robinson garnered.

The author does a great job of keeping the final chapter of Robinson's life as upbeat as possible. It was sad but there was so much good to reflect on and the book did that. The afterword was a nice little story and the boxscore of Robinson's first game along with Rickey's player and managerial record are priceless.

Buy this book now

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Professional athletes are probably no more ignorant of history than the rest of us, but there was something especially disturbing about the number of modern players who, in 1997, during the fiftieth anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the baseball color line, revealed that they didn't know who he was. Pollsters probably didn't ask, but it's likely even fewer would have known who Branch Rickey was. That black players in particular, whose careers follow the path that these men blazed, do not comprehend and honor the debt is most troubling of all. Anyone wishing to remedy their own lack of knowledge, and even those who think they already know the whole story, will find Harvey Frommer's Rickey and Robinson an invaluable resource and a truly moving read.

Mr. Frommer had the novel idea of structuring the book as parallel biographies of the two men, their stories overlapping and lives knitting together for that remarkable period of years when they, almost by themselves, integrated major league baseball. Jackie Robinson's is the better known tale, from UCLA to the Army to the Negro Leagues to the Dodgers' minor leagues and then to Brooklyn, with a significant career in business and politics afterwards. And most baseball fans will be familiar with Branch Rickey's reputation as an innovator, his most lasting contributions, besides integration, to the game including the batting helmet and the organized minor league farm system. Met fans too will recall Ralph Kiner's stories about how tight-fisted and patronizing (in both the positive and negative senses) Rickey was with his players. But Mr. Frommer gives us a full picture of the man, of his religious background (which seems to have played no small part in his willingness to be a racial pioneer), his keen mind for the game and for business, and his endless maneuvering to improve his teams. Each man led a life full enough to support a biography of his own. Here we get both and they're fascinating.

But the event that defined their lives was the meeting on August 28, 1945, at Brooklyn Dodgers headquarters, between Rickey and Robinson. It's astonishing to realize that this first time the men ever met, Branch Rickey asked Jackie Robinson to take on the daunting task of being the first black man to play organized white baseball (at least since the color bar had been erected decades earlier). But Rickey had made a true project of the whole idea, had scouted the Negro Leagues and the personal backgrounds of the prospective players thoroughly, and he knew Robinson was uniquely well-suited-- by his ability, his intelligence, his education, his relatively middle-class California upbringing, and his temperament, desire, and will--to bear the burdens. And so "The Meeting" was not just a get acquainted session, but an opportunity for Rickey to probe and to prepare Robinson, even to the point of demonstrating the kind of taunts he should expect to hear, before offering him the bittersweet role of, as he put it: "carrying the reputation of a race on your shoulders."

The whole book is enjoyable but it is this chapter that really sings. The Meeting has been the subject of books, film, stageplay, and more, but it's never been told better than here, with high drama and a sense of history, but also with an immediacy that makes the reader feel like he's a fly on the wall in Rickey's office those sixty years ago. No one can understand what happened in baseball and in American society over those sixty years without knowing the story of Rickey and Robinson and, Mr. Frommer having given us such a rewarding and readable book about the men and their noble achievement, there's no excuse for not knowing it.
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Pinstripe Press
Rickey and Robinson
The Men Who Broke Baseball's Color Barrier
Blending exclusive interviews with Rachel Robinson, Mack Robinson (Jackie's brother), Hall of Famers Monte Irvin, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella, Ralph Kiner and others,
- The Pinstripe Press

Celebrated author Harvey Frommer evokes the lives of Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey and heralded baseball player Jackie Robinson to describe how they worked together to shatter baseball's color line.
"This book clearly illustrates the elegance and class that BOTH men showed on the field and off. Frommer has provided a fresh perspective and a testament to overcoming adversity in the face of ignorance. Rickey and Robinson is a must read for hardcore baseball fans everywhere."

I would love to read this book, my great uncle died aboard the Leopoldville and though the family has been told stories from some of the survivors, it would be nice to have a researched account of it all. At $1,050 a copy, I fear it may take a while before that happens, but all the same, i'm glad someone took the time to find out the truth about this disaster. This month, my great uncle's 3 brothers are all being awarded medals for their service in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. These are the real heroes, these four brothers.

This true story of the souls lost and those who lived on from a World War II disaster is unequalled in military history. There is probably no other single incident in WW2 that compares to or involves so many lives in so many states, stories that continue on to this day. The stories Andrade provides, and his writing ability place you on the Leopoldville on Christams Eve, 1944, the day it was lost.

My father-in-law's brother perished in the sinking of the Leopoldville. I married into the family 20 years ago and never really knew what happened to Uncle Waldo. Now I am filled with a great sense of loss at never having known him--and that loss is compounded as I think of the nearly 800 families who lost sons, husbands, fathers, and uncles.

I am also filled with a great sense of appreciate and reverence for all those on board--for those who gave their lives and for those who survived the terror.

Allan Andrade did a great job of presenting the story and introducing those who involved. They are very real people to me now. I finished the book with tears streaming down my cheeks. This is a must read for anyone who had family involved in the sinking. It is an important piece of history for everyone. It reminds us of the price others paid for our freedom, but it also raises important questions about the mistakes or errors that contributed to the loss and the failure to acknowledge those problems.

Thank you, Mr. Andrade, for writing this important book.

I just put this book down and was astonished both by the tragedy of the disaster and by Andrade's insightful and meticulous reporting. I highly recommend it.

"`Hey, I'm alive!' Drew blacked out. When he came to, he found himself on a beach, naked protected only by a raincoat thrown over him. He heard a faint voice `Throw him in there too.' Drew, realizing that they thought he was dead, yelled." This is just one of many harrowing tales of a life and death struggle resulting from the sinking. "SS Leapoldville Disaster, December 24, 1944" is the story of this troopship loaded with American troops being rushed to the help in the Battle of the Bulge. It was sunk barely five miles from shore taking with it 763 American servicemen. The book consists of many short stories detailing individual accounts of the disaster. Even the Introduction has 38. These were compiled from hundreds of interviews and research. Andrade includes many actual copies of letters. Perhaps the most moving are letters from parents to their sons before they knew they were dead. One story in particular is very moving: "Lt. Gene Barwick died that night. They never recovered his body. Each Christmas Eve reminded Barwick's parents of his death. His young bride eventually remarried and had two children but 20 years after her first love's death, she took her own life on a Christmas Eve." Many who died were only 18 to 21 years old and came from 47 of the (then) 48 states. All are listed by state in the In Memoriam Section at the end of the book as are the survivors.

This disaster was kept secret for many years. It was understandable during the war but not so afterwards. Allan Andrade has done a service to the nation and to the families of those lost with his book. It is well done, and an easy read - well worth your time!...