Camps Books

"A beacon of light which the passing of two centuries has scarcely dimmed". This is Hague's concluding assessment of Wilberforce. This fine biography should keep that light blazing. I think it will probably be the definitive biography of the great abolitionist for quite some time to come. Hague writes well and keeps one's attention throughout a long book. He is masterful at setting the historical scene. No doubt his previous biography of Wilberforce's friend Pitt was a great help in researching the period. One is given a real feel for a very different world where only men of means could afford to enter politics for getting elected, except to a rotten borough, could mean huge expense. It was a time when party allegiance was not so well developed and Wilberforce maintained his independence as a member of parliament for Yorkshire. He was a friend of Pitt but opposed him over the war with France as he opposed a later government over Queen Caroline. Hague does not fall into the trap of judging an historic figure by more modern criteria. Contemporary critics of Wilberforce disliked his social conservatism. His radicalism was aimed at stopping an evil trade not promoting cause of the poor close to home.Hague explains it. Wilberforce would give no support to those who would be socially disruptive and those applauding the French Revolution. His detestation of what had happened in France, Hague rightly identifies as Wilberforce's opposition to all things against religion.



One expects Hague to be good on the politics of Wilberforce's life but I was pleasantly surprised by his understanding of his subject's Evangelical faith. Christian faith we know transformed Wilberforce from a pleasure seeking young man into an ardent reformer. It was the motivation in all his subsequent life. As well as abolition it also moved him to seek the opening of India to Christian missions. Hague seems to have a sympathetic understanding of Wilberforce's Christianity as well as a great appreciation of his political achievements. here was an MP who was most diligent in his duties though he never held an office of state. There is also admiration for the personal character of his subject. He was a man who made friends, was hugely charitable and a loving husband and father. Here was a notable orator and a man of wit, welcome at the tables of the great and the good. His character was indeed that of a joyful Christian as Piper writes in his short biography. He died impoverished by his own personal charity and the foolishness of his eldest son. He declined ennoblement and wanted a quiet burial place but was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey for his contemporaries judged him to be great as well as good.

this is a great book. the girls in it are just like me and my friends, with real problems.

its a really fun book to read, and great if you need a break from the rich girl glamour of the A-LIST, Gossip Girl, Private or It-Girl books.

SUPER GOOD BOOK!!!!!!! 2 thumbs up!!!!!!!

Samuel Byers was born in 1838 and served in an Iowa regiment during the Civil War. He saw very heavy fighting and served 16 months in a Confederate prison from which he is lucky to have survived. It took him 2 years to recover his health afterwards. While a prisoner he wrote the Civil War poem, "Sherman's March to the Sea", which was very popular in the North and sold over a million copies. Mr. Byers was an enthusiastic supporter of the North and has written extensively on the subject including the book, "Iowa in Wartime".

"With Fire and Sword" is his personal first hand account of the war and his time in a Confederate prison. It speaks of hardship, life & death, valor, patriotism, horror, and the emotions of living in the most bitter and divisive time in American history. Byers is at his best when describing scenes that he saw with his own eyes. This book is a full and wide ranging memoir, rich in details of camp, battlefield, and prison, with the added bonus of Byers's close hand observations of General Sherman during the Carolina campaign. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in this period of our nation's history.

Ralph Gaither's account of his 7+ years in a Vietnamese POW camp is a very powerful book. It is amazing that he emerged from this horrifying experience free from emotional or psychological problems. I have met Ralph, and he is an extraordinary individual. After meeting and getting to know him, I read this book and was in awe. What an incredible experience. This book shows how Ralph's Faith and Hope never wavered during that horrific nightmare as a prisoner of war. Very eye-opening.

This book is the incredible story of a Jesuit Priest who was Ordained in Rome in the Russian Rite, was assigned to a parish in Poland in 1938, and the following year after the Nazis invaded Poland, he and two Jesuit colleagues applied to get into Russia after getting permission from their Jesuit Superior and from the Archbishop.In 1940 they entered Russia under assumed names and altered backgrounds to disguise the fact that they were Priests. Fr Ciszek became Walter Lypinski, a widower from Poland, but he was subsequently discovered, arrested and sentenced to 15 years at hard labor for being a 'Vatican spy". His life in the prison camps was one of great suffering and of heavy manual labor. Early on he was imprisoned under the worst of conditions, thrown in with criminals and thugs before he was sent to Siberia to work in a labor camp. He arrived in Siberia in July and it was snowing and all he and the other prisoners had to wear were thin summer clothing which soon turned to tattered rags under the harsh conditions. He worked in coal mines, in an infirmary, then to the factory, then worked on various construction crews building the city of Norilsk above the Artic Circle on the Tundra. Then it was back to the coal mines and more exhausting work. During most of his time in the labor camps he still carried out his priestly duties: saying Mass, hearing confessions, baptizing, conducting funeral services, giving last rites, and even performing Marriage ceremonies. He said Masses in both the Latin and Oriental Rites. Through it all he never lost his Faith in God and he placed all his trust in the Lord's hands. Yet, rarely did he complain, indeed he felt he was where God wanted him to be- tending to his flock. This is the mark of a true Jesuit missionary. Even after he had finished his 15 year sentence the KGB still continued to hound him but he continued to tend to the needs of his flock. Eventually after nearly 8 years of behind the scenes diplomacy in America and Russia, his sisters and the American State Department managed to get him released in a tense prisoner exchange with the Russians. In October 1963 he left Russia, blessing the country even as he was flying out of it. He was truly a man of God, full of courage and Faith, living out a living martyrdom. He made many converts to the Faith in Russia and helped to keep the spirit of religion alive in Russia. Recommended for all ages.

The researchers who conducted the interviews for this project have done very critical work that may be better appreciated in the decades to come. Most of the men who survived the Japanese POW camps have since died, and the opportunity to obtain first-hand accounts diminishes greatly as time goes by.

All aspects of POW life are presented in a carefully edited compilation of interviews with over 100 former prisoners. It is a tough, but necessary, read that overwhelms one with the senselessness of Japanese brutality. I don't think that a better account could possibly exist and I wish that this was required reading for any history curriculum covering the war.

Since the 1980's it has become far more popular among some in America to criticize the internment of Japanese-Americans during the war rather than the true barbarity of the Japanese. A book such as this, relying on first-hand accounts as it does, may curb the revisionists for at least a few more years.

I love this book because of its unique writing style. The author has compiled interviews of women that have actually gone through rough times in their lives when their husbands where overseas fighting a war. I had never thought of the sacrifice these women were making. Thanks for such a great book!

We have used this campground directory for over 20 years. Its the most accurate and complete book of its type. Each year the magazine section of the directory offers new and informative articles arranged around a theme and with the camping traveler in mind. Their web site is also very well organized and user friendly

The only CG book. If a park is not listed, chances are it did not meet Woodall's minimun requirements (in other words, stay away from the unlisted parks).

I found this to be one of those "just can't put it down" kind of books. Fascinating to read through the eyes of an infantry foot soldier. Laid to rest the idea that the POW camps were a "nice" place for soldiers to go to wait out the end of the war. Frank takes you from his training in the Army to action on the front, through his capture, transfer to his final POW camp and the terrible months of surviving there. Then his liberation by the Brits and his rehabilitation and return home. It is truly a amazing story that all should hear. Would be a great movie.