Belgium Books

Eddy de Bruyne is considered as to be the best specialist about Leon Degrelle and the Walloon collaboration during world war II.

For Rex and For Belgium is a complete study about political and military collaboration from Rex and other political formations. It is a fair and honest analysis about that subject.

Eddy de Bruyne doesn't hide the military exploits of the walloon soldiers. Leon Degrelle wasn't, technically speaking, a military genius but he displayed a real physical courage when facing the ennemy, except for the last days of the war... (many of his companions never forgave him his flee/departure in spain while they were still facing the red army). The military achievements of the rexists members serving in the "legion wallonie" (heer) and in the "28 SS division" (Waffen SS) are listed too but are not overexagerated. The controversial methods of recruitment are also discussed (some walloon were forced to serve in the end of the war).

Many myths are broken : it was not Degrelle who originated the idea of the belgian military collaboration with nazi germany. Moreover, by joining the eastern front, he was interested in gaining some prestige in order to become a credible belgian leader in a german dominated europe... Finally, we have, with that book, the most accurate telling about a highly controversial and fascinating man...

Walloon Belgian Leon Degrelle, was
born near France in 1906 and died
in Spain in spring 1994. The best
info about Degrelle in the English
language is on the Institute for
Historical Review's website ihr.org.
Beware World War II researcher for
phony Degrelle manuscripts floating
around out there that are nothing but
pure Pro-'Hitler' gibberish, promoted
by senile idiot Willis A. Carto and
written by phony "Gregory Douglas",
who also goes by Jim Birch and Peter
Staahl. Also watch for phony Douglas
"Gestapo Chief" novels, four editions,
pure fiction also. First exposed by
British World War II historian David
Irving, and later in the Mar.-Apr.
2000 Jouranl of Historical Review
by IHR Director Mark Weber. - R.A.S

This is a detailed guidebook, almost too detailed for someone trying to get a country overview for initial trip planning. Providing good coverage of even smaller towns and issues such as pregnancy or education, it is most helpful for those living in or spending an extended time in the Netherlands. Try another book to get your bearings, then use this one for helpful and detailed information about places, museums, and interesting cultural facts.

This is a "must have" book for visitors to Holland I only wish I had owned this book from day one, or even before I came to Holland. Its format is very clear and easy to follow and I can imagine I shall be dipping in and out of it for a long time to come. Part I, the main section, is dedicated to sightseeing, museums and amusement centres. Each of the twelve provinces is given a separate chapter. At the beginning of each there is a small useful map showing main towns, major roads and the borders of the provinces. These do help the geographically challenged (like me) to become more familiar with the layout of this relatively small country.

An introduction to the history and folklore of each province makes interesting reading. Every chapter, with its extensive coverage of museums, galleries, historic sites, cities, towns, villages and picturesque countryside, definitely gets the message across that there is more to Holland than Amsterdam.

Part II, entitled "Living in Holland" provides a wealth of information, advice and contact addresses. It covers the culture, gives an insight into "the system", education, sports and entertainment. It also includes a useful calendar of yearly special events. This section provides the newcomer not only with a vast array of specific information, but also presents it in a very practical manner, clearly written by someone with a close understanding of Dutch life. It is without a doubt an excellent aid to the newcomer, to help them settle quickly into this unique little country.

Lord and Lady DeLancey married shortly before the Battle of Waterloo. While others were dancing at the Duchess of Richmond's ball on the eve of the battle, the DeLanceys remained in their hotel, hopefully in each other's arms. Once the trumpets are sounded, calling for all officers to return to their regiments, Lord DeLancey leaves his bride believing that she will make for the port of Ostend to return to England while he moves toward the front to face the reconstituted armies of Napoleon. But her gut tells her to turn back, which was a good thing, because she shortly received word that her husband was grievously wounded and was in a cottage near the battlefield. Lady DeLancey immediately went to her husband and stayed with him until he died three days later. This is a remarkable story, but even more so when you learn that the bride was only about 20 years old. Her ability to stay calm under such circumstances when armed men were walking outside her door and no one knew who had won the battle is a profile in courage. Most of the book is Lady DeLancey's own writings on what happened near Waterloo.

This is one of the best stories avaialable about Waterloo and its aftermath and it is from the wife of one of the officers in the battle. It is the true story of Madalene DeLancey's Week at Waterloo and I am forever indebted to David Miller who found this incredibly hard to find book and added footnotes and narrative detail to what was a very thin story.

Madalene was encouraged to write this story much later - and so it is done from memory rather than diaries and letters, but the detail is extraodinary. It was shown to Charles Dickens who wept over it. Her writing is very moving. It lacks deliberate pathos and yet it is so moving. She had married only a few months prior to battle of Waterloo and her husband had been called to serve at the last minute, they arrived in Belgium just days before the battle began and her husband was immediately swept into the organisation.

The army was called up on the 15th and marched to Ligny and Quatrebras where the first battles took place. Back in the town no one knew what was happening, the dithering, the panic, the rumours, the deserters galloping through town are all revealed in her narrative.

The most gut-wrenching part is when she finds out her husband has been injured - she hears numerous stories rumours and half-confirmed details until she finally tracks him down, injured near the battlefield. She then must nurse him.

I find myself crying even as I write this review. The story had such an enormous impact. Miller has done a fantastic job of providing detail to throw light on it, without detracting from its power.

One of the best books I have read 5 stars +

A Woodley

Graeme Cornwallis almost immediately makes a misstep with his best and worst lists. The Top 10 is fine, but the Bottom 10? You can tell he was put up to this by the publisher. Arvika is shabby? I didn't find it that way at all! A lovely town with beautiful locations and a great arts and crafts store. Forests extremely tedious? Sorry. Ticket machines? I guess if you like ganging up on an overworked clerk, it's more fun not to have a ticket, but otherwise, it's very civilized. If these are the worst that he can find about Sweden, it must be a wonderful place! And that's how I found it. To be fair, Cornwallis is trying to fit a lot of information in a small book. He did miss an item or two (how could he not discuss allmansrãtt, which basically says you can hike or camp anywhere that you're not being obnoxious?) but he certainly covers a lot of what is available. It would take more than one vacation to cover all the attractions he outlines just for Gothenburg. And his directions to eating places in Gothenburg are right on the mark.

This comprehensive guide assures the best plans for your visit to Sweden. It is jampacked with essential information to get you there and away to wonderful destinations and events for every interest and attraction.

Like an encyclopedia, it leaves nothing to chance for planning each leg of your trip. It has two outstanding sections that sets this travel guide apart from others.

First, is it's Facts For The Visitor. It highlights the Best And Worst of what to hit or miss on your visit, which includes incidentals like free car-ferries, but expensive beer, bread, and parking fees. This section also includes the essentials for planning prior to your visit. It is a must for acquainting yourself with the cultural differences and practicals of visiting abroad.

Second best, but not least, section is the Getting There And Away. This is the best guide I have seen that gives all the transportation alternatives available to get you where you want to be, with schedules and pricing. Though this section does not boast of winning any photo contest, it has more cities per area to give the best overall opportunity to visit the real country, not just the tourist traps. Also included are internet connections to give even greater details, which brings the reference material to life.

Overall, I believe this guide is the bible for experiencing Sweden in the first year of the new millennium.

When my four-year-old son began to learn that the U.S. was involved in a war, he had a very difficult time understanding both war and its potential--specifically, he feared that the war would reach his hometown and engulf the people he loves. A wise aunt gave us this book as a present. When my son and I read it together, it helped us discuss war. More importantly, it gave him a sense of control over war. Certainly he does not believe that a boy, peeing on a war, can end that war. But the sense of control--however chimerical--was necessary and calming for him at that age. The illustrations are simple and convey the relevant emotions. The fact that the book ends with the statue--concrete history (fictionalized or not)--helps the aura of control. This book, like nothing else, helped our family to talk about what war is and what war isn't, and it allowed our son to sleep at night again. I cannot recommend it strongly enough.

When the book first arrived on the shelves of the library that employs me, most of my coworkers agreed they would never read the book to children. In fact, there were bets being placed as to how long it would last before some parent complained about the content. But, I'm here to say that Manneken Pis: A Simple Story of a Boy Who Peed on a War does more than just rely on the laughs the images of a peeing boy conjures. While I cannot vouch for the validity of the history lesson the book provides (not my best subject), I can vouch that the story engrossed the fourth grade classes I read it to. The story starts off as any other folk tale might, with a beautiful family in a beautiful town where everyone is happy. Soon the war strikes, and the book focuses most on the viciousness of war, showing the soldiers as pseudo-human gremlin types, and the ill effects it has on the town. The child, torn from his parents wanders the streets and in a moment of dire emergency, relieves himself from the top of the town wall causing the soldiers to break into a laughter so fierce that they fall asleep from exhaustion. When they wake up, no one can remember why the war started, and the little boy who peed on a war becomes a town hero, complete with a bronze statue named after him. The book's illustrations are simple and colorful and work great in this situation. Anything too realistic could have caused far more controversy than the book needs. Highly recommended to show children that war is bad, laughing and pausing to think is good, and sometimes, if a person REALLY has to go, they REALLY have to go.

I just received my copy, but I have not yet used it while traveling.

It looks like this 2007 edition is up to the standards of the classic green guides, dense with cultural information, printed on fine quality paper, and in a wonderful format easy for toting along and reading on a train.

However, it's not vinyl bound as Amazon's listing states...it appears to be a paperback (which is what Michelin's own site admits to). It's just fine for traveling, but while other companies are moving to plasticized bindings that are water proof and wear well after being shoved into backpacks and backpockets, Michelin seems to have taken a small step back. Don't misundertand, the quality of binding is excellent, it would just be a little bit more excellent if the cover were really vinyl. Also, no map is included (as they did with green guides in the old days), but that's not a big loss given the many small but fine maps inside.

This book is a pleasure to hold and read.

We have numerous guides for Belgium (because we live here) and there's nothing like the Michelin guide. It's the only one that really delves into the details of the architecture and history of the many fantastic buildings here, and it provides thoughtful and well-planned circuits for tourism. It's for the visitor who really wants to know the when-who-whys of what they see. (But you can't plan your light-hearted shopping visits with this book. You'll need a second guidebook for that.)
Too bad they switched to these new 'updated' book covers. The old ones had more class!

This is a good "What If" book. What have like it to follow some of the line troops but it was a good book.

I found this book to be well-written and believeable. One of the better alternate history stories that I have read.

I reccommend this book to anyone interested in the period.

Anyone contemplating a trip to the Waterloo battlefield could do a lot worse than to read this book before you go. And then take it with you.

The writers present a detailed tour of the battlefield from three main perspectives, Wellington, Napoleon and Blucher and then Brussels and the aftermath.
Readers are invited to walk through the roads and fields ("You can reach the farm of La Haie Sainte by walking 250 metres point down the busy Brussels road to the eastern side of the farm...") to point out details of the action, the physical remains of the landscape and buildings and the memorials.
Throughout the book are many maps and diagrams showing in traditional military symbols (a key is provided) where each unit was and its direction of movement. There are also photographs of paintings and drawings as well as places as they are today.
However the highlight of the book for me was the numerous quotes from original sources, these brought each action and location to life relating as they do many different personal perspectives of the battle.

It is indexed and fully referenced with appendices of the orders of battle.

There is some incongruity in the title as the last words of the book are
"..In battle, there is no glory;in war there are no victors."

I commend this book to all.

This was a very pleasing and easy to read account of the Waterloo Campaign, a bit different in style in that it takes you on a tourist type walk around the battlefield. The authors have produced a very well researched account of the battle and what you may find there now if you visited the site of the fighting. I was unsure if I would like this style of writing but I found it very enjoyable, with decent maps to follow the action and to find things present on the battlefield today. The photos and drawings were excellent and well chosen to assist in the narrative of the book. If you are planning to visit this great battlefield this book would be of great assistance. A delight to read!

This book , outrageous fortune tells the true story of a man who did his best to prevent his people from having to go through the agony of another war. Although written by an Englishman, Roger Keyes, the son of Admiral Roger Keyes. The book reports the true facts based on the Admirals eye witness accounts of the dramatic events of May 10 - May 28 1940. carefully documented and passed on to his son of the same name , Keyes refutes the status quo historical bias , as written by numerous English speaking historians. Anyone interested in the truth will soon see that Leopold III became a scape goat for the disasterous defeat of the French army and the withdrawal of the British at Dunkirk. If you look up any article on Leopold III, it almost always points to his surrender of the Belgian Army and his separate peace with the Germans. Leading ultimately to his exile and ongoing dispute with the war time Belgian government. Leopold III as commander in chief of the Belgian army courageuosly shared the fate of his troops and people. The title of Belgian Kings is " The King of the Belgians " A King at that time of Belgium's two distinct races. The flemings and the walloons.These two races played a significant role in the fate of Leopold desire to remain on the Belgian throne. Its time that historians revisit those terrible times and look at the true facts . So that perhaps the historical article on Leopold III would read.

KING LEOPOLD III , Surrendered the Belgian army to the Germans on May 28 1940. After 18 days of bitter fighting and retreating in compliance with allied commands. King Leopld III surrendered his army and was taken as a prisoner of war by the Germans. Fullfiling his duty to the Belgian people and championing the policy of armed neutrality. Leopold III attempted shield Belgium from the conflict which was about to engulf western europe with another war.

What many western historians failed to understand was that the policy of armed neutrality was backed by over 85 % of the Belgian population.A Foolish policy ? Not to the average Belgian who was faced once more with the prospects of her bully neighbours resolving their deferences on Belgian soil. This aspect of the events of 1939 - 1940 very rarely ever gets mentioned with any relevance towards the making of a historical oppinion of Leopold's loyalty to his own country and people.

Thank you Mr. Keyes for publishing your fathers memoirs and true facts on this subject.

Keye's "Outrageous Fortune" casts a strong light into the part of World War II that most would rather forget. It is also a systemic antidote to the hagiographic musings of Stephen Ambrose.

The further I get into the book the more impressed I am by Leopold III. Given the thankless task of spending 24% of the budget on rearming, feebly buttressed by hypnotically apathetic French and woefully incompetent British, and having a howling Nazi war machine on the border would snap lesser men in half.

The thrust of the book thus far is that 1] Leopold had clear intelligence from within Germany 2] His vigilance postponed the Nazi invasion from Nov '39 thru to June '40, 3] that the Belgian defense was far superior to anyone else's [including artillery, which was a big surprise to the Wehrmacht].

What else: Leopold managed to sideline homegrown Belgian Fascist Leon Degrelle by dint of personal authority and leadership. Only after capitulation did Degrelle get any play. There is a sympathetic treatment of Leopold's youth and early years, including his service with father Albert on his summers off from Eton, on the remaining 20 sq miles of Belgium free of German occupation.

The book also highlights Leopold's difficulties with fractious Belgian politics and double-dealing by Churchill. His accomplishments in national unity were nothing short of astonishing. None of the political parties (Belgian, French or British) come out looking very good.

I would recomend this as an essential part of any serious scholar or laymen's understanding the antecedents to the Second World War.

This stand alone volume is a wonderful beggining of an index of Jewish sites in Poland and is a worthy addition to any traveller going to that country to examine its Jewish past or his or her Jewish roots there. Although it claims to begin in the 9th century AD the sites do not date back so far. Nevertheless the index provided is extensive and interestaint as it is diverse and gives the reader a true taste of the great wealth of the heritage of the Jews of Poland.

A must have for anyone interested in the Jewish history of Poland.

Seth J. Frantzman

What can you say about Jewish Poland in 264 pages or less?
This is a subject for volumes, not for a thin paperback.
I suppose that if I had to describe Polish Jewry "on one foot" (as they say) this book would be it. This is the book in your backpack when you travel to Poland. It opens with the Kaddish. You'll need that often, as you travel through the country.

It then goes on to list some of the Jewish landmark events in a "Chronology of Jewish Presence in Poland before and after WWII" which starts at 860 AD. That's just to give you a taste of how rich the Jewish heritage was in Poland.

There are several short chapters on the history of the Jews in Poland, and an introduction to Polish Jewish culture. But the most interesting and useful information in this book is the reference material. The book contains maps of various sorts, showing not just geography but also demographic information. There are lists and photos, diagrams, and names, names and more names.

So many contributed to the rich Jewish life in Poland that they are too great to mention. The section on famous figures and their contributions is simply a list of names
and their contributions. This hardly does justice so giants like Shalom Aleichem and Isaac Bashevis Singer, each one line entries under Yiddish and Hebrew Writers. Imagine that.

Almost a third of this book is a glossary of Polish Jewry. Here you will find an alphabetical listing of some of the most significant locations and a paragraph on each.
Though some of the entries are very thorough, I was disappointed in the number of items missing from this 100-page section, particulary the religious references.

The chapter on major Jewish centers in Poland, focuses on Cracow, Lodz, Lublin, and Warsaw. The book has an interesting chapter on tracing ones roots in Poland. It discusses the types of documents that are helpful for tracing family members and the repositories in Poland where they can be found. There is a list of modern day congregations and synagogues, striking in that it is two sides of a single page. There is another section on current Jewish organizations, recommended reading and an index.

I suppose if such a rich topic as Poland's Jewish Landmarks had to be summed up in a portable paperback, this book does the job. But readers of this book should take the recommended reading section seriously, and use this book as just the start of a fascinating study.