Germany Books

Undoubtedly, Robert Forbes has written with "For Europe : ..." the most precise, objective, accurate (to that date) and exciting account about the french serving in the Waffen SS between 1943 and 1945 and notably in the 33rd Grenadier Division of the SS "Charlemagne".

Forbes details the different backgrounds of the frenchmen (from working class to aristocracy!) who opted for a military collaboration with the germans, their motives ('greater europe', anti-communism), their training (tough but too short), their military achievements (as good as it could have been) on the eastern front and finaly their end in the third's reich capital, Berlin...

The author separates the two main formations of the frenchmen serving in the Waffen SS. The french SS "Assault Brigade" and the "Charlemagne" division. If the first was made solely of volunteers for the ss and was well equiped and correctly trained, the second was a mix of different collaborating french formations (from the Heer L.V.F infantry regiment to the Organisation Todt labor units...).

While the "Assault Brigade" performed very well but suffered high losses during the red army great offensive of july 1944, the "Charlemagne", poorly equiped, without tank and aerial support, undertrained and without most of its specialists, had a variable combat record : If all units did their best to halt the red army formations, inflicting to the soviets heavy losses, some managed to maintain some cohesion while other rapidly disintagrated... For the frenchmen, it was a bloodbath...

Virtually distroyed in february-march 1945 in pomerania, the "Charlemagne" and its survivors were reorganised. Whose from the "Assault Brigade" and the LVF choosed to continue the fight. Most of them would be sent to their death by defending fanatically Hitler's Bunker... The others, mainly from the 'milice française' ranks opted to serve in contruction battalions. It has to be said that men from the milice didn't have frontline experience for most of them and consequently, they sustained the highest losses... That is why their morale was very low...

Forbes has done a good job with 'For Europe...'. It is well written and includes numerous veteran sources. It is not a propagandist book about whose who joined the waffen ss. It is just an honest try to EXPLAIN why so many frenchmen joined... Many mistakes from orther authors are corrected. The military accomplishments of the SS frenchmen are accurately described but not exagerated.

Finaly that book is probably the best testimony about these men who believed fighting for their country, "for europe" and against "the communist threat" by joining nazi germany.

This is one of those rare books that gives an insight into the Foreign Volunteers of the Waffen SS, in this case French members of the Charlemange Division.
Formed originally as a Sturmbrigade the unit grew into a formidable fighting force which fought its way through Galicia, Pomerania, Danzig and finally its destruction in the inferno of Berlin.
I was amazed at how Frenchmen for a variety of reasons would join such an organisation as the Waffen SS, but the various reasons why these men joined are varied and complex.
Many of these men were extremely proud to belong to the Waffen SS and had volunteered gladly, others as the fortunes of Germany wavered opted to join to escape the vengance of the French people who many had helped to suppress in such units as the Milice.
Its fighting spirit never wavered and even in the final battle for Berlin its soldiers fought to the bitter end in tank hunting units armed with panzerfaust where they were extremely effective.
The book is very long over 500 pages with a few maps of the battlegrounds and pictures of some of the volunteers. I found it to be a very easy read and appears to be very well researched with lots of footnotes to explain parts of the story.
The book has many many personal accounts of the men who fought in the unit and where possible lists the fate of the survivors, where some fought in Indo China (on both sides !) and others were not so lucky who were executed.
It also deals with a war crime which I did not know about, where 12 French SS Volunteers who had been captured by the free French Army forces were executed.
This is an impressive book well written and researched and I highly recommend this book to others

I picked up this book because I had long wondered about the people who joined the Nazi Army. I couldn't imagine why anyone from outside Germany would do that. This book answered those questions.

They joined for various reasons, but mostly because they were still kids - 17 years old was common. They looked at their life in France and were attracted to the colors. Some were admirers of Germany. Some were going with the winners. Some were anti-communist and wanted to fight them in Russia. In short all of the reasons that people of all types join the military. It becomes easier to understand as you hear the stories of the individuals.

After that, when the units had been formed, this is a story of what the French units did for the remainder of the war. In this area the book is extremely complete. It seems that every action, no matter how small is covered in great detail. Especially fascinating is the chapter on the post war years where it seems that the treatment of the returning soldiers was almost arbitrary in nature with some going to jail, some being set free, some joining the French army to fight in Indo-China.

All in all, a fascinating book, extremely detailed in its research and presentation.

This subject must have been a fixation of the author's for decades. Otherwise he never would have been able to produce this book. Every contact with th enemy is documented as well as keeping track of the division's ever changing order of battle and equipment. Every officer in the division must have been mentioned by the time the book ends. Details of recruitment and training are also included. If a squad knocked out a tank on 24 Feb 1945 then it's in the book. The author also gives alternate views of an action if first hand accounts differ. Of course any book that is this detailed does not flow like a novel, it can be heavy going at times. But the payoff it acquiring detailed knowledge of the French volunteers in the Waffen SS and even other French paramilitaries fighting on the Eastern Front. One minor quibble is the lack of maps. As with most military histories maps are key to understanding the combat narratives. This book as few maps and the ones it does have are poor. But if the topic of the foreigners who were willing to fight for Hitler interests you this book is a must.

Thanks to Thomas Poffenberger's book, From Germany to Antietam, I can now confirm where my mother's gggrandfather Daniel Poffenberger was born. After 20 some years of researching, I now know Daniel was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania, who his parents were and when and where he was baptized.

The history all through the book is an asset to any reader with an interest in the history of Berks county as well as Germany. I am indebted to Thomas Poffenberger for the book and the hours of research he and his wife did.

Dr.Poffenberger has answered all the questions about my father's ancestors that I never would have been able to discover myself. I recommend that anyone who has read this exceptional book goes to Mistelgau,Germany which is in a beautiful rural part of Bavaria.In this little village is the 14th century church preserved with it's original carvings and painted icons where the Poffenberger family worshipped.It just gave me goosebumps to think that my ancestors stood where I was standing.

I enjoyed this book very much. Mr. Poffenberger did alot of reseach and I really enjoyed learning about where they came from in Germany. There was even some pictures! We had been searching,hoping to find a clue linking our family to the Pennsylvannia group and with his help we have done that. The book also gives you history in Germany and in Pennsylvannia. The Poffenbergers were certainly in the middle of all the early wars and managed to survive.

I have been tracing this family for about 5 years now. Thomas Poffenbarger filled in some of the gaps and answered the many questions that come up after you find that next clue. I read it cover to cover in two days. I went to Germany 15 years ago and had a wonderful visit with the friendly locals, this makes me want to go back soon.

Most of the information presented in this book is the same or very similar to that provided in 1950 by Paul Brickhill's classic book on the Great Escape. Among the novel information in this book is a greater emphasis on the biographies of the escapers as well as the postwar trials of the German criminals responsible for murdering 50 of the 73 recaptured escapes.

Vance also discusses the problem of Harry turning out 20-30 feet short of the woods in somewhat greater detail than most if not all other books on the Great Escape. Interestingly, there was an earlier hint of this problem. While still digging the exit shaft, the tunnelers heard the sounds of trucks on the nearby road, and began to suspect that the exit shaft was too close to the road and thereby short of the woods. But a recheck of the computations failed to disclose any error in surveying. One wonders, then, why Harry came up short of the woods. Vance presents simple information that underscores the challenges of land surveying without proper equipment. It turns out that, when an exterior tree (with its necessary wide trunk) was forced to serve as the surveyors' transit, a small error in measured angle added up to a significant error in estimated distance. Perhaps this explains Harry's excessive shortness.

There is a novel map of Sagan and the villages around it. Vance also provides detail about some of the blind spots in the wire (a fact that inspired the baseball-throwing escape attempt by Steve McQueen in the film). It turns out to be a problem of visual perspective: The goon towers were so far apart that the wire would bunch together when viewed from a distance at a steep angle. Ironically, increasing the platform size of the goon towers created new blind spots directly underneath the towers!

This book gives a background to each of the Fifty RAF and Allied officers who was murdered by the Gestapo on re-capture from Operation 200, post-war named The Great Escape. It is well researched and goes into great detail. At times it is rather poignant, especially when a survivor of Stalag Luft 3 visits the parents of one of the Fifty after the war. Jonathan Vance has a very readable style and it is an excellent book for people like me to want to know more about the central characters in a true war story, where they came from and what happened to them after the war, etc. All this is in this book.

A Gallant Company: The Men of the Great Escape must be regarded as a companion book to Paul Brickhill's The Great Escape.

A welcome addition to the escape literature family. The focus is on the events within the Luft Stalag III itself, but there are quick sketches of the men's lives before the war, captures, and early escape attempts (althought this makes it sadder since one knows what's coming). The only weakness is a lack of footnotes, or bibliography.

For those who are fans of the "prison escape" genre, this book is an excellent addition to the growing number of books which cover that most famous of mass escapes, the March 1944 "great escape" from Stalag Luft III.

If, like myself, you have read and loved Paul Brickhill's "The Great Escape", but found yourself wanting more and deeper information, this book is a goldmine.

During the prelude and epilog sections of the Brickhill book, the reader is teased with brief glimpses of people, places and events which are relevent to the main story, but which are (necessarily) not examined in detail. Some examples include the many early escape attempts by some of the Great Escape principals, the other prison camps in the Luftwaffe system, and the stories of most of the actual escapers themselves.

"A Gallant Company" addresses all these issues. The reader gets to know each and every remarkable man who went through that tunnel, what circumstances brought them into the war, what role they played in the escape organization, and their fate following the escape. Individually and collectively, their story is an extraordinary one. Jonathan Vance's telling of it is engrossing and highly readable.

This is not a book for the reader who is unfamiliar with the basic story, however. I would strongly recommend a read through the Brickhill book first -- a rewarding experience in itself. (Note: please, don't assume that the movie version is enough to cover this ground! A *fine* film, but a highly fictionalized adaptation!).

Taken together with "The Great Escape" and Arthur Durand's excellent "Stalag Luft III - The Secret Story", Jonathan Vance's "A Gallant Company" provides as complete a picture as any escape story fan could possibly want.

A minor quibble - I couldn't locate a source or citations section in this book. Where did Vance's wealth of information come from? I assume from personal interviews with camp survivors and family members, and many of the same sources named in the Durand book.

very happy with the contents but would like to have known if prints were actual size?

An excellent introduction to German Expressionist Woodcut artists and easily worth the price.

wonderful collection of woodcuts- like all dover books, it is a great buy!

Some much to see, feel and love in this rare compliation of some of the best art to be created in this century. I'll open it for any kind of creative inspiration i need, and it has never let me down!

I have to say that this isn't a 5-star work because of the writing, the criterion I normally use when dishing out parts of galaxies. It's because I think the book should be read by anyone wanting to gain a glimmer of understanding into what became one of the most powerfully focused minds in the last century. Regardless of the pros and cons of Goebells being allowed to retain even honorary posthumous citizenship of an Earth he seemed bent on destroying, it is enlightening to read the words he set down. Obviously they were never intended to be seen by the likes of you or me, let alone those in power, who later had a chance to peruse them at their leisure. If only the good (sic) doctor had known.

Anyway, following this gentleman of uncertain disposition down the path to what must have been close to madness (he must have had to stave madness off quite madly) and what was, an untimely death (in more ways than one), is an exercise that all students of human nature will finally be glad they chose to do. After all, he was only a man, like you and me, and I think that comes through quite plainly in his own words.

Dr. Joseph Goebbels was one of the most influentual and feared persons in the Third Reich. With strong influence on Hitler he managed to control virtually every important activity in the Reich. His diary undoubtably shows an extremely unscrupulous man, prepared to risk anything to achieve his beliefs (the tributes that are usually linked to Machiavelli could find even more proper place here). But he has done his homework well. He brilliantly understood the meaning of propaganda and its real influence on masses and he devised the methods to use it to all extent. We can read from his point of view how he was sailing in the dangerous seas of internal and international affairs and though his style of writing and thinking are not very nice due to his immense mental brutallity, we must admit that he was very succesful at what he was doing. Pure efficiency. It is very nice to learn something about a man who wrote history not so far ago, although it could be deadly for many among us. The understanding of his thought and point of view allows us to see the WWII in somehow another perspective. It must prepare us for actions to prevent such events from happening in the future.

In 'The Goebbles Diaries, 1942-43,' we are given a glimpse into the mind of Nazi Germany's genius of propaganda and one of Hitler's most trusted lieutenants. These diaries shed light on the Nazis view of Churchill, Stalin and all the other central figures of the era. Goebbels also tells us of the anger he and other leading Nazis felt over the defection of Italy to the allied camp, dealing with the devastating allied air raids, and the fear and anxiety over the revearses on the Eastern front. Unfortunatley, these pages don't give us as clear a view of Hitler as one would hope and passages dealing with the Holocaust are few and far between. In all, Goebbels presents himself as a champion of National Socialist ideals who is loved by Germany and respected by his enemies. What one really sees is the almost ridiculous opptimism that Goebbels held through these years of struggle. It is surprising just how firm was Goebbel's conviction that victory was certain. Those interested in the Third Reich should read Goebbel's diaries as it is a rare look into this troubled time written by one of it's greatest criminals.

In recent years, some (e. g., Yehuda Bauer, Steven T. Katz) have contended that the Jews were the only people in history to be targeted for COMPLETE extermination. Limiting oneself to the contents of this volume, consider this (December 14, 1942): "The Jewish race has prepared this war; it is the spiritual originator of the whole misfortune that has overtaken humanity. Jewry must pay for its crime just as our Fuehrer prophesied in his speech in the Reichstag: namely, by the wiping out of the Jewish race in Europe and possibly in the entire world." (pp. 243-244). The fact that the extermination of Jews would not necessarily have continued beyond Europe itself refutes the uniqueness of the Holocaust.

As late as March 7, 1942, Goebbels had still been entertaining a Final Solution that would send all European Jews to Madagascar (p. 116). In other entries, he was completely candid about the physical extermination of Jews (e. g., p. 86, 92; 243-244). However, Jews were not the only scapegoats; nor were they the only ones blamed for starting WWII. On April 17, 1943, Goebbels wrote: "... [Poles]...were the real instigators of this war...." (p. 332). After Mussolini's fall, Goebbels commented: "The plot hatched against us in Rome was backed by the monarchy, aristocracy, society, higher officers, Free Masons [Freemasons], Jews, industrialists, and clerics." (p. 445). Nor were Jews necessarily the only ones supposed to be overly powerful. On April 30, 1942, Goebbels entertained fantasies of Poles being behind the panic of the Germans of Rostock following the devastating RAF attack (p. 197).

There are veiled references to the planned extermination of Poles and other Slavs. Hitler is quoted as forbidding all sexual activity between German soldiers and Polish women (p. 95). On February 15, 1942, Goebbels commented: "...Slavs, he [Heydrich] emphasized, cannot be educated as one educates a Germanic people. One must either break them or humble them constantly." (p. 88). The first step in genocide is the denial of the humanity of those targeted. The well-known de-humanization of Jews extended to Slavs, as on January 27, 1942:"The incidents that Sepp Dietrich related to me about the Russian people in the occupied areas are simply hair-raising. They are not a people but a conglomeration of animals." (p. 52). Likewise, on March 20, 1942, Goebbels wrote: "But we, too, must realize that we shall have to fill with human beings such wide spaces in the East as we shall conquer. In geography, there can be no spaces without human beings..." (p. 139). The implication is obvious: Slavs are not human beings!

Goebbels repeatedly (p. 388, 396, 399, 456) mentions the growing successes of Polish guerilla actions (e. g., May 27, 1943: "Conditions in the General Government appear to be more than catastrophic. Every day there are attempts at assassination and acts of terror, without our authorities being able to do anything about it. The German population and our administrative officialdom seem to yield, not to say capitulate, to these conditions.")(pp. 399-400). Goebbels even probably alludes to the successful Polish Underground action in the Zamosc area (May 25, 1943): "Suddenly, however, he [Zoerner] received order for resettlement that had a very bad effect on morale. Some 50,000 Poles were to be evacuated to begin with. Our police were able to grab only 25,000; the other 25,000 joined the Partisans. It is not hard to imagine what consequences that had for the whole area. Now he was to evacuate about 190,000 more Poles. This he refused to do, and in my opinion he was right." (p. 396).

Goebbels repeatedly discusses the Katyn massacre (p. 318, 328, 336, 346, 354, 487); triumphantly claiming personal responsibility for the ensuing Soviet-Polish split (p. 346). Didn't Goebbels realize that, had Katyn never come to light, Stalin would've broken with the Polish government-in-exile on some other pretext? However, Goebbels does smell the developing sellout of Poland: (e. g., April 29, 1943: "The Poles are given a brush-off by the English and the Americans as though they were enemies.)" (p. 347). According to Lochner, the translator, Stalin had, already on February 23, 1942, claimed that the Soviets alone were doing all of the fighting (pp. 257-258). This became a mainstay of Communist propaganda and, more durably, an excuse for the west's sellout of Poland. However, the west's inability to restrain Stalin is refuted by the fact that, by this date, the US had already shipped 2,900,000 tons of material to the USSR (p. 258). As for threats of a separate peace, it went both ways. Ironically, Hitler himself had preferred a German-English separate peace over a German-Soviet one (p. 435).

Allied carpet bombing has often been second-guessed on moral and tactical grounds. In fact, the impracticality of selective targeting had been discovered early in the war. Hitler realized this (p. 190), and Goebbels added that the dislocations caused by area bombing reduce wartime productivity much more than the destruction of a munitions plant (p. 462).

The translator Lochner (p. ix), based on some of Goebbels's entries (p. 138, 142, 146, 375), contents that the Nazis intended to destroy Christianity after winning the war. Public crucifixes were removed (p. 141), and Hitler saw the Christian doctrine of redemption as insane (p. 375). Hitler also re-affirmed his support of vegetarianism (p. 188).

Excellent text highlighted by well placed photos throughout the book. Very complete documentation of pre and post Luftwaffe service by these extraordinary aviators. The outstanding aircraft profile artwork is a bonus to modelers. This book is a fine addition to any WWII historian's library.

This is a quality book, from beginning to end. An interesting feature of this book is that the author has taken great pains to identify the foes who Graf and Grislawski flew against, both on the Eastern and Western front. This gives us the opportunity to see what an opponent thought and experienced during an encounter against these aces. The author has also checked the official records of the Luftwaffe and Allied air forces in order to confirm that an opponent claimed shot down was actually shot down. (Not surprisingly for me, it seems that about half the time, claims for kills are exaggerated by 50% for both sides.) Through such research, he is also able to identify that aircraft from the 354th FG and 4th FG were responsible for 2 incidents of 'chute-shooting'. And that Grislawski and Hub Zemke from the 56th FG dueled each other later in the war.

Being a historian, the author has also takes pains to describe the big picture, be it a German offensive, or an 8th AF attempt to cripple German synthetic oil production, in conjunction with the specific activities these aces' air units were engaged in during a given period. Thus, for example, when 7/JG52 transfers to Kerch, we know why, and the excellent map provided with the book lets us pinpoint where.

The book has quality (shiny) paper, which allows photos to be printed on any page (some are even in color). In fact, this book and Hermann Buchner's 'Stormbird' are much alike in terms of features and quality. The only negative I found with this book is the writing, which I rate as mediocre, primarily because the author, whose native tongue is not English (I hope), bungles common expressions here and there. For example, instead of writing 'his predication came true', Bergstrom writes 'his predicament came true'. Regardless, this book rates a 5.

This excellent book follows the lives and careers of two German Luftwaffe aces Graf and Grislawski and is written by the same authors of 'Black Cross Red Star'. The two men were like chalk and cheese, but they complimented each other well and became good friends. Graf, the quiet conscientious type that belied his determination while Grislawski was brash, hot-headed and stood for no nonsense. Grislawski came from a working class background and hardship and his refusal to join the Hitlerjugend vitually railroaded his chances of becoming a pilot from the outset, but was able to join the navy as naval flier to receive flight training.

The book is extremely well written and thought out and we see two inexperienced flyers slowly develop in confidence and develop into hardened vetrans and aces of immense skill. The book seems to interchange from a biographical mode to one that describes events and experiences first hand, providing excellent and enthralling accounts of some aerial combat. The book talks of German fighter pilots (including Graf) driven onward to fly as many missions as possible despite exhaustion and fatigue, to achieve the Knights Cross decoration. (Neck-Itches as referred to in the book). Graf was effectively grounded by the Nazi hierachy after becoming the first man to reach two hundred victories and this is when his obsession for the love of soccer became more apparant. Grislawski's fighter career continued and became the mentor to Erich Hartmann and Hartmann likewise Grislawski's protege. Despite all Grislawski's experience on the Russian front it was ironically his transfer to the Western front for him to realise the meaning of total war, for this is where he saw German pilots machine gunned in their parachutes by American fighter pilots. The unrelentless Allied aerial assualt became a huge mounting cost for the Luftwaffe. The book also covers the captivity of Graf and Grislawski and the authors find no evidence of Graf's alleged cooperation with the Soviets after examining his POW file.

Overall, this is a first class book, easy to read, (exciting to read at times), with many photographs (many probably from Grislawski's private collection). It also includes a section of colour profiles of the machines Graf and Grislawski flew and a full tally of their confirmed kills. I highly recommend this book.

I enjoyed reading this book which surprised me after reading some of the excerpts I saw on line. If your interested in JG52 of the Luftwaffe this is a book to have. I found it to have as much of the excitment as I found in the book " The War Diary of Helmut Lipfert". It gave a balanced view point from both the German side and the Russian side which made it like being a part of the story. It also busted some of the false myths about Herman Graf, also showed both pilots to be very decent men. It was well worth the money. There is a few grammar problems which was a translation problem or editing problem (very minor) but it's the story that is important and enjoyable.

Beautifully photographed with interesting history on the diversity of Texas homes, this book details the unique blend of European sophistication and "homegrown" design that combined to create a truly unique architecture. This book makes a wonderful gift for any favorite Texan.

Great Houses of Texas would be appreciated by anyone with an interest in great architecture as exhibited in this book. Many of the houses included are well known, but some are hardly known at all. O'Neill Ford's house for the Steves family should have been included, in San Antonio. Its omission is my only disappointment in the book. The text is adequate though not extensive and the photographs, alone, are worth the price of the book. I know of only one other book on this subject, and that was written years ago, so such a book is long past due! Lee Govatos

Though some readers may quibble over the title of this book, it is clear that the book is focussed on the greatest houses still occupied in Texas. This is a subtle but important distinction. The houses shown are not dead great houses, of which there are many in Texas and many of which are greatly admired; Germany instead has focussed on private homes occupied by individuals. With that in mind, it is a fascinating read.

There are many things to admire about this book, the images are well presented, the text is informative and overall I liked it, but WHO selected these houses. The book should have been titled, some great and not so great houses in Texas. How could you write a book about Great Houses in Texas and not include the Sealy House in Galveston, the only McKim Mead and White house in the South, or the most famous house in the state, the Bishops Palace in Galveston, or not include Bayou Bend!!! or the McFaddin Mansion in Beaumont, a house that is considered by architecture scholars to be the best example in Colonial Beaux Art in America..it's just incredulous. Many of the houses selected were great, such as the mansion at Kings Ranch which graces the cover and leads you to believe all the houses in the book will be to this standard and they unforunitely are not...the Crespi House in dallas by Maurice Fatio is great as well as is the Bass House in Ft. Worth, as well as the Pease House in Austin, but many just leave you thinking..WHAT!..Im from Texas and am very familar with the grand houses in the state, so I shocked to see some of the most famous houses in the state not present in this book. This is not a bad book, I give it four stars, but it could have been great..too bad whomever selected the houses for this book, was not as thorough as they should have been, nice book, but a disappointment to those of us familiar with the truely great houses of this singular state.

The book is really good as Thomas Geve describes meticulously the struggle ofr survival of an inmate at three different concentration camps and during the death march. In addition, you get a sense of what the inmates talked about amongst themselves, what the Jewish inmates thought about the Ukranians, what the Ukranians thought about the Gypsies etc. The most moving part of the book is the description of the letters he received from his mother and his last meeting with his mother within the confines of Aushwitz.
Also telling was how the inmates experienced the liberation. In any case, a must read to know how hell looks like from the inside.

This book was a very moving holocaust story about a 13 year-old-boy survivng the holocaust. The images were so vivid and so detailed, this book was wonderful. I reccommend it to all.

This book was a very moving holocaust story about a 13 year-old-boy survivng the holocaust. The images were so vivid and so detailed, this book was wonderful. I reccommend it to all.

This book will touch your heart and shock you at the same time! The young man survived to tell his story and an amazing story it is. I could not put this book down and was moved to tears at one point. The atrocites of the Holocaust have been well-documented and it is humbling to realize that most Germans thought of themselves as "modern, respectable" citizens while gassing, torturing, and executing Jews. A beautifully written, astonishing book!

McGinn's work engages the reader in an well-organized, fascinating discussion of mysticism in medieval Germany, placing the works in context of larger Church history and contemporary religious movements. I thought I would read chapters relevant to my research only (Eckhart and Suso) and scan the rest of the book, but it is so interesting and well-written that I plan to read the entire work. McGinn is a master of his craft.

This book is the fourth in a general series by Bernard McGinn on the history of Christian mysticism. In this volume McGinn surveys the mystical movement which flourished in 14th century Germany, starting with the famous speculative mystic Meister Eckhart.

This work explores the historical, theological and philosophical currents which conditioned this flowering of mystical thought and writing, and also closely examines the mysticism of Meister Eckhart, Henry Suso, John Tauler, Nicholas of Cusa and other German mystics of the period.

This work is essential reading for any student of theology or mysticism and is a valuable addition to any personal theological library.

The quality of scholarship that Dr. Bernard McGinn displayed in vols. 1, 2, and 3 of his "Presence of God" series is evident in this fourth volume. May he be blessed with enough years and good health to write the next volumes, bringing us up to the 20th century (and, if we are lucky, he'll have time to write briefly of the 21st too).

This volume is the fourth in the series of Bernard McGinn which aims to give a comprehensive history of Christian mysticism.

This volume focuses on the Rhineland mystical tradition (Eckhart, Suso and Tauler) in medieval Germany, and also examines the controversy over heretical mystics and mainstream mysticism, the historical and intellectual background to medieval German mysticism, and also examines the mysticism of Nicholas of Cusa.

The main dissapointment for this book was the omission of John Ruusbroec, the critical Flemish mystic, and the important medieval English mystics including the author of the Cloud of Unknowing. Perhaps they will be in the next volume.

Overall the very high quality and depth of McGinn's scholarship is retained in this volume and as such it is an essential purchase for any theological library.

In an age when life expectancy was somewhere around forty, Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) lived a life that was remarkably long and incredibly productive. Butcher describes Hildegard as an "Über-multitasking Frau" and authentic "polymath." The description fits. The Benedictine abbess founded two convents, conducted four preaching tours, penned at least 400 letters, wrote music and a morality play, supervised illuminated manuscripts, cared for her fellow sisters, and wrote three major theological tomes based upon her famous visions. All this despite her pronounced feelings of self-doubt, the lack of formal schooling, chronic illnesses that probably included depression and migraine headaches, and the subservient roles assigned to women by a male-dominated church and culture.

Hildegard was born the youngest of ten children to an aristocratic family that lived near Mainz. She started having what she later concluded were divine visions as earlier as age three. When she was eight her parents dedicated her to the religious life, and at age fourteen she entered the St. Disibod Abbey at Disibodenberg. Until her death almost seventy years later, she devoted herself to the life of a Benedictine nun. After keeping her visions to herself for decades, when she was forty-two Hildegard says that God told her to write what she had seen and heard: "So now you must give others an intelligible account of what you see with your inner eye and what you hear with your inner ear. Your testimony will help them. As a result, others will learn how to know their Creator. They'll no loner refuse to adore God."

Butcher describes her anthology as a "Hildegard 101." After describing the life of Hildegard (pp. 1-29), her seven chapters introduce readers to Hildegard's varied works: twenty songs, Scivias or Know the Ways of the Lord (a work of twenty-six visions in three parts), her morality drama called The Play of the Virtues, selections from her 400 letters, excerpts from her writings about nature and medicine, The Book of Life's Merits (six visions about Christian temptations), and then The Book of Divine Works (10 visions in three parts). A short conclusion is followed by an extensive chronology of Hildegard's life, and a bibliography for further reading and also for listening to recordings of Hildegard's music. Butcher's short work is no substitute for the critical editions of Hildegard's works, but it might well provoke curious readers to seek them out after enjoying her fine introduction to one of the most important mothers of the church.

I had the privilege of seeing and reviewing the original manuscript of this book. Dr. Carmen Butcher has translated St. Hildegard's works into modern English that is very readable. Those familiar with St. Hildegard and her works will appreciate this reader and those new to her will have a great introduction to this wonderful saint and follower of the Rule of St. Benedict. Dr. Butcher in the introduction presents a short biography of St. Hildegard. In my original review I suggest that if Pope Benedict is looking for another woman to declare a Doctor of the Church, St. Hildegard would make a wonderful candidate. St. Hildegard was very influential in her time. She had the special permission of the Church to preach to clerics and lay alike. Pope Eugene III read some of her works at a synod he was attending and praised her. St. Bernard of Clairvaux also praised her as did many clerics and lay people of note. Many sought her advice and aid. Again this reader by Dr. Butcher is a great introduction to this holy saint of God, St. Hildegard.

Carmen Butcher has done it again. In her newest book, "Hildegard of Bingen: a spiritual reader," not only has she once more rendered ancient medieval texts readable, enjoyable, and inspiring, but she has also provided a concise and interesting biography of Hildegard of Bingen. She has taken her gift for translation, as evident in "Incandescence: 365 readings with women mystics," and combined it with her penchant for breathing new life into long-gone characters, as in her biography, "Man of Blessing: A Life of St. Benedict." The introductions to each chapter are written in such a way that they are suited for, as Butcher writes, a "first-time Hildegard reader or long-time Hildegard friend" (xii). Each section gives the reader insight into another facet of the twelfth century abbess. As I read, I was continually surprised at the beauty and poetry Butcher maintained throughout her translations, whether it be a song, vision, or letter. This book is made to be read more than once. The first reading will be a delightful rushing from page to page, as you soak up Hildegard and her work. But the second reading will be a slow, meditative one, rendering spiritual nourishment and inspiration that seeps from Hildegard's wisdom and passion. Hildegard writes in one of her letters, "Always try to learn new things, then, because that's as necessary to wisdom as internal organs are to being healthy." Read "Hildegard of Bingen," and you will have learned new things.

Brilliant!! Hildegard comes alive in the pages of this wonderful book. Carmen Butcher truly captures the essence of this remarkable woman! This is a must read!!