Belgium Books

The Professor is one of four novels by Charlotte Bronte. As with her novel Villette, it takes place in Belgium, but here the protagonist is male.

It is based on Bronte's own experiences in Belgium. It is a short novel about half as big as Jane Eyre, and it does not have the emotional highs and lows of her most popular book.

This is a light read that centers on an English teacher who has moved to Belgium, and his relationship with the managers of a girls school. Also, it involves his interest in a female student.

It has a good ending and most will enjoy the read. It is not a great work of literature.

As a point for any potential reader, it is best to not read any reviews that would give away the plot before reading, and similarly skip the analysis until later.

This book is a fun one for penetrating the world of the medieval monk. Hermann is a delightfully loquacious observer of the workd around him with an idiosyncratic view on everything. Nelson has done a great job capturing the flavor of the man and his times. I'm not giving it full marks though because the lack of an index is problematic for those of us who want to find specific passages quickly!

Aphra Behn--poet, playwright, novelist, spy--was no ordinary woman of the Restoration. A commoner who mingled with the royals and shocked society with her bawdy language; at once a feminist, an abolitionist and a Tory; she's a figure of intrigue whose life remains largely unknown but commands our curiosity. Janet Todd's thorough, lively, and scholarly biography does her justice; her book carefully documents Behn's life without diminishing her mystique. If you care anything at all about verbal swordplay, clever storytelling, or listening to what women's voices have to say about our history, you must read Behn--and once you have, you'll be compelled to read Todd, as well.

I had read about edith cavell as a child but never really known what she was remembered for, this short book was both informative and interesting and I highly recommend it .

It is SO imporant for us to remember people of her calibre and teach our children about them...they were trully brave souls in a evil time.

My father fought at Hangard Wood, therefore I have some questions and would like to contact the author. Do you have his E Mail address? Thank you, Robert Read

Another great Leo Kessler story on the Wotan Battlion.
Interesting and entertaining characters battle for a fortress with lots of good sub plots. Some of the scenarios are stretched
for the sake of fiction but the story more than compensates for that.

I was very impressed with the first edition of StyleCity Amsterdam, so I bought the second edition hoping for lots of new places to explore. I was disappointed to see that most of the content is identical to the first edition, the same photos, the same text, etc. Overall, I would say that there is only about 10% of the book that can be considered "new." That said, this is a good series of travel guides if you are interested in design, stylish hotels and restaurants, or shopping. The photography is outstanding and makes for a good coffee table book. While there are some maps and information about Amsterdam, there is little practical information about sightseeing, getting to the airport, getting around, etc. If you are a first-time visitor, you would be better off with Lonely Planet or Rough Guide.

At the darkest hour in France's history, after the defeat by the Germans in 1940, a plan was already fostered by Frenchmen living in England to build a vast espionage network behind enemy lines. This book tells how that plan came to fruition, providing vital information for the Allies as they prepared for the D-Day invasion.
Collier's well-written book is not a history in the usual sense of the word. Great personages occasionally visit the pages, but this tale is about ordinary people - bakers, doctors, mechanics, stenographers - who banded together, often in times of great peril, to obtain information essential for the Allies' success. Key to their efforts was to provide the specifications for "The Wall" - the massive system of fortifications that the Germans built, mainly in Normandy. The story of the theft of the German plan serves as a reminder that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.
Above all, Collier's friendly style shows the people at the center of this history with all their strengths and foibles - from their fear and despair at betrayal in their midst, through their anguish as they see their hometown of Caen destroyed by bombs, to their final joy as the Allies sweep the Germans from Normandy.
Although written in 1957, this book has lost none of its freshness. A story of ordinary people who, despite hardship and setback, triumph over evil. A book that lifts the heart.

This is a good, compact book with decent overviews of the Amsterdam neighborhoods and what do see/do/eat in each area. I was there for about a week and wasn't really interested in following the tourist circuit, so I was glad that the book has other suggestions on things to see and do. I relied more on the internet and word of mouth for restaurant and hotel recommendations, but we did try some of the places listed here and in general they were good.

I would definitely recommend this book for those who are heading to Amsterdam for a repeat visit or are interested in less-touristy stuff.

These guides are excellent, very visual. Nevertheless not good for a budget traveller or backpacker since it shows fine and expensive restaurants and attractions mostly. It would be better a guide for only Brussels.