Europe Books

This is an excellent book. It is a great place to start. Having said that, there is nothing like having a good Western Martial Arts instructor though.

This is an excellent interpretation of Ringeck's manual. It offers clear concise instruction, guiding the reader and practitioner towards a very good understanding of the German Longsword combat system. Excellent read. The glossary alone is exceptional, explaining common and relatively obscure terms in comprehensible language.

This is David Lindholm in a subject he knows and masters. The book is well written and concise, the illustrations and interpretations sound and easy to grasp. An excellent addition to any WMA library.

Well presented and thought out. We use this manual in our sword class.

I have been studying historical longswordsmanship for more than 7 years now and I can only wish this book had been around the whole while. I began studying Ringeck several years back and have only recently felt as though I have really grasped the elegance of the Liechtenhauer style. This book is perfect for cementing your basic concepts and for clearing up most questions a practitioner might have and hasn't been able to answer through their own experimentation. Beginners should probably find a teacher or at least a competent study group/partner to really get what they can out of this book, however this is the best I've seen for one to start cold with. Also, I have read Tobler's book and though I really appreciate the work he did and is doing (and definitely refer to his book from time to time)... I personally see higher quality of interpretation in this work.

In the book "Someone named Eva" you are in the point of a young girl in Lidice named Milalda. She receives a telescope for her birthday from her father because she loves the stars. One day she and her family are captured by Nazi soldiers and sent to a camp. She looses contact with her mother and father. Then after learning bout German history and learning to speak German, she is sent to a German family.

The genre of this book is Realistic Fiction. She was not a real girl, but many girls were captured and given to German families like her. The setting of this book was mainly in a training facility in Puschkau, Poland. Also, it was also set in Lidice, Czechoslovakia and Berlin, Germany.

The theme of this book is to never forget who you are. When Nazi soldiers captured Milalda, her name was changed to Eva. Even though she was a different person, she would still remember who she is by touching Babichka's pin.

The conflict of this book is that Eva wants to get back to her family. She wants to leave the training facility and go back home to Lidice to live with her parents and her friends. She also wants the Nazi soldiers to leave Czechoslovakia.

I liked the part were Eva receives a telescope from her father for her birthday. Another part I liked was when Eva disobeys the camps rules and goes outside to look at the stars, so she can remember who she is. I disliked the part when Eva and her mother got sent to two different camps and get split apart from each other.

I've read quite a bit of historical fiction set in Nazi Europe, but SOMEONE NAMED EVA by Joan M. Wolf takes a look at a part of World War II that I never knew about. Eva is really Milada - a young Czech girl who has blond hair and blue eyes that allow her to pass as a German. The Nazis raid her village and steal her from her family; they take her name, her language, and her very identity in an attempt to remake her into one of them.

This book is beautifully written, and I simply ached for Milada, renamed Eva, every time I turned a page. Wolf does an incredible job portraying this time period and writes with a sensitivity that allows us to understand how a young Czech girl could feel herself slipping into another identity.

The characters in this historical novel seem painfully real, and the author's extensive research, which took her to Czechoslovakia in search of her roots, is evident throughout the book. The author's note explains how that research is woven into the novel, though it never feels like you're being fed facts while you're reading. No matter how much you've read about the Holocaust, you'll come away with a new perspective. Mostly, though, your heart will break for Eva.

Joan Wolf's debut novel provides a unique perspective on a much-written-about chapter in world history. More than that, though, it provides readers with a heartbreaking and thought provoking journey through the human spirit - at its best and at its worst. SOMEONE LIKE EVA is a poignant book about survival, redemption, holding on, and remembering who you are.

Do you know what happened to girls classified as a perfect aryan child during World War II? After reading the book Someone Named Eva, by Joan M. Wolf, I found out! This book is about a Czechoslivakian girl named Milada and her family. She lives in Lidice, Czechoslovakia with her mother, father, brother, sister and grandmother. One night the Nazis come into her home and take her family and her neighbors to their school gym. Once there, Milada is inspected and is taken away from her family and friends. She is sent to a Lebensborn center in Poland. When she arrives, she finds the other girls have blond hair and blue eyes. In the center, the girls are taught how to be the perfect citizen. They are given new German names. Milada becomes known as Eva. After a few years in the center the girls are each adopted into a German family as they are the hope of Germany's future. Throughout this book Milada must do as her grandmother said; "Always remember who you are, Milada. Remember where you are from. Always". Can she remember? I give this book 5 stars! It had detailed writing and was an awesome book! Read Someone Named Eva to find out what happens to Milada.

Don't blink or you'll miss it. The arrival of a noteworthy work of historical fiction for kids tends to work one of two ways. Either the marketing machine behind the book hits bookstores and libraries full-force, cramming said book down everyone's throats until they yield and make it a bestseller/award winner... or nothing happens at all. The book slips onto shelves without so much as a squeak, never insisting that anyone go out of their way to find it. "Someone Named Eva" belongs firmly in the latter camp. It's small and subtle and extraordinarily good. The kind of WWII children's fiction other authors should look to emulate, given the chance.

Eleven-year-old Milada remembers the night. The night when there was pounding on the door and Nazis in her Czechoslovakian home. The night when her grandmother pressed a garnet pin into her hand and told her to never forget who she was. But since that time Milada had a difficult time keeping that promise. Having been forcibly removed from her family and taken to a bizarre Nazi-run girl's school, Milada quickly learns the reason for her presence in the Lebensborn center; her shiny golden hair and bright blue eyes. Renamed Eva, Milada is part of a system intent upon turning her into a "good" German citizen. The kind of place where she can be taught the evils of the Jews, the glory of Hitler, and the joys of being adopted into a real German family's home. Based on events following the destruction of Lidice, Czechoslovakia, author Joan Wolf tells of the real Lebensborn center in Poland, the crimes it committed against an untold number of girls during WWII, and what it takes to stay true to your heritage.

Did you notice something? Read the summary again. That's right. We're dealing with a WWII children's book that doesn't focus primarily on Jewish children. Not that there's anything wrong with more Holocaust novels, of course. They're often quite stunning. Just the same, there are an awful lot of them out there. So much so, in fact, that when I picked up this book and looked at the cover I decided on the plot immediately. Something along the lines of, "Ah. Here is a book about a blond Jewish child who passes as Christian so that she won't be sent to the concentration camps with her family." I was more than a little shocked when I sat down to read and found that my smug summary was way off base. In fact, my surprise didn't end there. Again and again, Wolf was able to give me facts from the time period that I had never ever encountered before. These included the fact that German women were awarded the "Mother's Cross" when they increased the number of children in their home. Who knew? Also, as someone who was more than a little peeved at how The Boy in the Striped Pajamas chose to ignore the fact that living outside a concentration camp meant dealing with a constant, pervasive, horrible smell, I appreciated that Wolf makes it practically the first thing Milada notices when she moves in with her new "family".

It's very instructive to watch how Wolf uses names in this book. The only other person in Lebensborn that Milada knows is Ruzha, a sullen mean-spirited girl from her home village. After the scene where each girl is given a new name, Ruzha becomes Franziska. Right from the start the girl embraces her Nazi teachers and their philosophy. It is worth noting then that as an author, Wolf often refers to Milada by her old name (at first) but rarely does the same with Ruzha. That particular girl's transformation is quick and complete. You get the feeling that when the war is done she will be happy to remain with the German family she has found, in spite of the continuing existence of her real parents. Of course, much of Ruzha's back story is left unknown. We don't know what kind of life or abuse she may have suffered in her own home. To be transported from a place where she was unhappy to a world where her teachers praise and seemingly love her is mighty significant. Though you may disagree with it, you understand where Ruzha is coming from.

Wolf is also very good at displaying the effectiveness of intense psychological brainwashing. When Milada says that, "it was hard to remember that I wasn't a Nazi, that I didn't want to be the Aryan ideal, that I hated Germany," you understand why she says this. The psychological damage inflicted on these girls must have been intense. Little wonder then that, as Wolf mentions in her Author's Note, "Very little has been written in English about the Lebensborn centers that housed kidnapped children, part of which may be due to the fact that so few children were found after the war." What's more, Wolf knows how to manipulate her reader so that we find ourselves in the same position as Milada. When she realizes with a shock that she can't remember her old name, I challenge you to remember it yourself. It's gone and as she wracks her memory, we wrack our own. Such a clever technique.

For the record, I also can't help but note that I never saw where the novel was going. Once Milada was in the school I wondered if this would turn into a kind of child vs. the establishment type of story. I couldn't imagine that that would be a good way to go, and indeed it could have been catastrophic to the novel. So while the sudden mention on page 100 that all the girls will now be adopted into new families shouldn't be shocking, it truly is. Sometimes the most obvious turns of fate are the least expected.

Distinguishing between "nice" and "good" proves to be difficult for most adults I know. Imagine how much harder it would be for a child who misses her mother and has a loving enemy there to give her whatever she wants. If for no other reason, Wolf allows her book to explore a moral ambiguity here that will undoubtedly lead to interesting conversations on the playground. Eva's new family consists of Nazis so they're evil, right? Except, look at how much they love her and want her to love them back. Look at how they wrestle and play and laugh. Look too at what their jobs are and what they're trying to destroy. Any book that makes a child ask what makes a person good or bad is worth giving them to read. "Someone Named Eva" makes sure to skip all easy answers.

My mind makes me pair books together. That's just how it works. And at some point, mid-way through a read of "Someone Named Eva", I realized that this book should be paired alongside The Night of the Burning: Devorah's Story by Linda Press Wulf. Both take place during WWII, and they deal with very different adoption journeys. You could create an entire reading unit out of these two books alone. It's almost as if they were made for one another, so perfectly to they complement and contrast one another's themes. Before you do that, however, you must read this book first. It's Joan M. Wolf's first book for children, and I want it to get a proper amount of attention. Books like this one don't write themselves. For a good jolt of historical fiction to the brain, "Someone Named Eva" may well be one of the smartest books of the year.

A child in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, Milada received a prized telescope for her eleventh birthday although no gift was expected. Her father instructed his daughter to always look for the North Star to find her way. It was a time of shortages & ration cards and being fearfully hemmed in by soldiers who demanded Nazi salutes, and yanked families apart in the night.

Milada was not a Jew but in a contrary way was DISadvantaged by her blond, Aryan appearance for which she was chosen by the Nazis to be schooled in the German language & customs. Only then was she deemed suitable for adoption into a Nazi family. German mothers 'earned points' and gained prestige in Hitler's regime by increasing their families.

Her new "mutter" and siblings gave her desperately needed affection which caused a literal tug-of-war with emotions because "Milada/Eva" realized the same woman is wife to the commandant of the feared adjacent 'death camp' from which come pervasive crematorium odors. This issue is not dealt with 'head on' but is no more ambiguous than some issues which make adolescence so difficult in contemporary society. Life always means confronting hard choices, doesn't it? And readers in middle grades may find it helpful to read about 'someone named Eva' who hung on to life for Freedom's sake.

Readers can ask whether Milada/Eva was in the end better off, because she survived the war whereas her closest Czech friend, Terezie did not; also, four out of five of her own family members were sent to work camps
and did not survive. We can be grateful to Joan M. Wolf for enlightening us about these hidden aspects of war. If today's students read about a child damaged psychologically by incessant brain-washing who forgets her true birth name for a time, perhaps they will better stand up to the societal pressures which contend that today's conflicts can be solved only by going to war.

From the time Milada was taken from her family in Lidice, she felt protected by her grandmother's garnet star pin which she wore hidden in her clothing at all times. It became a talisman along with her beloved Babichka's words: "Remember who you are. Always." Reviewer McHaiku strongly suggests that families read this book & discuss it together. Each of us needs to learn the importance of retaining identity and purpose.

This book is a first rate historical work chronicling the most magnificent working class struggle in history. A time when anarchism meant something truly inspiring and when it still had substance.

The Spanish anarchists remind us of a time when large numbers of people vehemently opposed the status quo of Capitalism and the State and truly did what was necessary to organize a mass movement to radically change it. Bookchin writes with such a clear yet intelligent prose that virtually everything he writes is worth reading. This book is one of his best and along with his 4 volume (and unfortunately very expensive) book "The Third Revolution" it very much proves how strong a historian he really was during his lifetime.

While this book is both highly informative and exciting in its evocation of a remarkable period of history, I cannot also be saddened by the fact that Bookchin died last year in 2006 and that his fiery intellect is no longer with us. I am also saddened by this work in another way. While Bookchin brings to light a period of history that should never be forgotten or not learned from, looking at the modern anarchist "scene" I cannot help but feel that the glory days of classical anarchism are gone and that contemporary anarchism has completely degenerated into misanthropy, post-modernism, mysticism, nihilism, and an opposition to forming mass movements at all; in effect that today's anarchism has become completely coopted by modern bourgeois society and has been rendered completely inert by that mentality. Let us hope that is not the case, but if this is so then we, those of us who still insist that a genuine social revolution is desperately needed and also a mass movement organized from below to achieve it, must forge ahead and adopt a new term for our form of revolutionary libertarian socialism, something Bookchin tried to do in the last years of his life and from which we can learn a great deal.

Bookchin established himself among the foremost anarchist theorists of the late 20th century with his sparkling collection "Post-Scarcity Anarchism".

With "The Spanish Anarchists" he proves himself to be a historian of the first rank, drawing on primary sources, a wide array of secondary literature, and in-depth interviews with key members of the Spanish Anarchist movement to paint a vivid picture of half a century of organizing that led to the most powerful anarchist upsurge in world history (yet!).

Bookchin handles the history deftly, drawing out lessons for practice while always making clear the specificity of the historical moment. He pulls vivid quotes and his character sketches of key figures in the movement are masterful.

This is history for history buffs, though, and gets into considerable detail on several decades of struggle in several hundred pages. It may be boring for those who do not have a particular interest in the period.

Note well: the book does not discuss the Civil War and Revolution of 1936-1939-- for a detailed treatment of that struggle, Bookchin recommends Bolloten's massive "The Spanish Civil War" and for a shorter take, Broué and Temime's The Revolution and the Civil War in Spain". Orwell's classic "Homage to Catalonia" is also a brilliant read, albeit from a semi-Trotskyist point of view.

The other guy said it better than me, but Bookchin's book is one of the few that really get's down deep into the process by which anti-authoritarian ideas and movements get generated and how they achieve, or can achieve, social change. Wonderful both for theory and history.

The first point to mention: One's understanding of what happened in Spain is almost certainly indicated by the answer to one question. Was this the Spanish Civil War or the Spanish Revolution? The essence of Bookchin's book (and it is not original to him) is that there was a revolution within the Civil War. While there is considerable recognition of the Civil War, there is much less discussion and consideration of the revolution within that civil war.

One immediate problem in understanding the dynamics in Spain is the crazy quilt set of actors. Key groups run the gamut from Fascists (Francisco Franco as a leader) to monarchists to liberals/moderates to Marxists (Trotskyites, represented by the organization POUM, versus Stalinists, organized as the UGT [with members called Ugetistas]) and anarchists (syndicalists, members of the union CNT, whose members were called Cenetistas, and straight out anarchists, members in the organization FAI, with individual members referred to as Faistas). Yikes! One needs a scorecard to keep them straight!

This book does not focus on the Civil War and Revolution so much as on the background to those events. Bookchin goes back to the anarchist Mikhail Bakunin's influence on Spanish radicals. Much of this book is the run up to the Civil War and the revolution embedded within that Civil War--the Republic versus the Fascists represented the Civil War. The anarchists trying to implement libertarian societies was the revolution.

Topically, the book begins with the origins of the idea of anarchism in Spain. Bakunin was a critical figure here, a Russian aristocrat who, oddly enough, adopted the anarchist perspective. An emissary who did not speak Spanish brought Bakunin's ideas to Spain; given the linguistic obstacles, it is surprising indeed to see that he had an impact on the development of a Spanish anarchist movement.

The book then describes the development of that movement in Spain over the past quarter century of the 1800s and the early 1900s as well. In short, anarchism did develop something of a foothold in Spain. Unfortunately, some of the advocated if this view engaged in "propaganda of the deed," terrorism, to try to advance the cause. In the process, much damage was done to that very movement.

Bookchin then described the twin developments--support for anarcho-syndicalism (a perspective that argued that workers' organizations ought to structure the productive process and be the basis for organizing society) and the CNT (a union that supported syndicalism). The essence of the latter can be discerned by this quotation from Bookchin (page 162): "Obedience to the wishes of the membership was a cardinal rule. At the annual congresses, for example, many delegations arrived with mandatory instructions on how to vote on each major issue to be considered. If an action was decided upon, none of the delegations which disagreed with it or felt it was beyond the capacity of its membership was obliged to abide by the decision."

The instability of government in the 1920s and 1930s is then discussed, as a lead up to the outbreak of the Civil War/Revolution. Bookchin concludes by observing that (page 302): "We must leave the details of that revolution--its astonishing achievements and its tragic subversion--to another volume."
Obviously, Bookchin has an ideological perspective on the events in Spain over the period of time that his book covers. And that must be taken into account when reading this work. Nonetheless, overall, his scholarship is solid, and much of what he contends is found in other volumes as well (hence, triangulation occurs to some extent). For those wanting to understand the Spanish Civil War from a perspective not normally presented, this book makes a solid contribution.

"Can anarchy work" or "Is anarchy a mere utopia" are questions asked frequently by people who are not informed about the ideology and philosophy of anarchy but, most importantly, the history of anarchy.
Since you arent going to be taught any of all this in school the burden falls on your shoulders to discover it (amongst most other meaningful things that you will not be told about).
Murray Bookchin, is a great historian, and does an awesome job of documenting the most recent and most convincing attempt at anarchy in pre-war Spain.
Bookchin descibes a movement that found roots in the "lumpen proletariat", that part of the working class with almost zero education that marxists looked upon with contempt considering them incapable of ever starting a revolution.
Yet, exactly that part of the working class was the one that through appaling living and social conditions embraced the concept of anarchy, namely, no masters, equality, work as creation and not braindead toil, education that promotes free thinking and not unquestioned swallowing of dogma and above all liberty.
This is a fascinating story, perhaps overly fascinating compared with modern times where most the people take social conditions as self-understood. A movement, that, through a massive network of action that ranged from strikes against brutally oppressing regimes that inevitably and repeatedly resulted in massive bloodbaths, direct action, informing people about their present future and past while actually opening up to them a whole new world of possibilities that would drive them out of their every day misery and into a new situation where through thriving freedom the society would transform.
Bookchin introduces the readers (as he had to) to some of anarchy leading theoriticians (and practicians) such as Bakoonin and their influence on the Spanish anarchists while he goes into exhaustive detail highlighting internal conflicts concerning differing anarchistic tendencies as well as the ones against socialists (who more than often proved to be disguised conservatives) and of course against the establishment itself and its organs of suppresion.
It's a back n' forth story he tells as well, as the struggle of the spanish anarchists to establish themselves at the front for social change ("not tomorrow, now!" said the pickets at the massive protests and demos) was often sunk in blood, often thrown back by mass executions, often took a step backwards because the need for biological survival took a priority or simply because disapointment would momentarily settle in before a new spark would "detonate" the movement again.

The history of the spanish anarchists is remarkable in more ways than initially obvious. In a very intense sense it proves that the philosophy of anarchy doesnt demand from anyone to be well educated in order to comprehend it. "Absolute" freedom is not a complex concept and everything that derives from it is equally simple. It doesnt recquire reading bulky volumes of economic politics that lead nowhere nor trying to improve a system within which has already failed from the get-go (capitalism). It demands the "impossible" but simoultaneously the natural.
While Bookchin writes in a rather heavy style that wont easily grab you, he's an incredible historian who leaves no stone unturned in his effort-mission to explain thoroughly a historical event. That is my only objection to this book.

Other than that, this is more than recquired reading for anyone interested in anarchism (here, its history )or in examining political philosophies in general.It would help if you started from Emma Goldman's "Essays on anarchy" before this if your knowledge of this philosophy is somewhat superficial.

A friend who was reading this book told me about it and rather than wait for him to finish, I was fortunate enough to find a hard cover edition available on Amazon a week or so ago. Being fascinated with stories such as this and flying in general I decided I wanted a copy for my own. I'm glad I did.

LeRoy Gover is an authentic American hero who, in his early twenties decided he wanted to become a military fighter pilot. It is May of 1941. Gover has been a pilot of his own and other aircraft for nearly seven years and has accumulated 800 hours of flying time. He lacked any college education however, which was a requirement to join the Army or Navy pilot training. The RAF had no such requirement. If you had two hundred hours as pilot in command and could pass a physical, the RAF was interested in training American and Canadian pilots to bolster the RAF which was involved with the Battle of Britain at the time.

Gover and a few friends are accepted, receive basic training in Canada and eventually ship to England in a convoy which may have been as harrowing as many of the experiences he would eventually have as an RAF and US fighter pilot.

His story is told from letters and dairies as well as some interviews as Grover was alive at the time the book was published and from them we get a glimpse of three fascinating years in the history of WW2 and the air war in Europe.

These young men lived constantly with the pressure of combat flying and the dangers of being in wartime England, yet Gover's telling of the experience makes it sound like the old joke about what it is like to be an airline pilot...hours and hours of sheer boredom interrupted by moments of sheer terror. He describes more than the flying. There is also the comradship, being assimilated into the life and culture of wartime England and the carefree way they sought release with parties, alcohol, movies and some very friendly English women.

Almost casually as one reads of the experiences it starts to dawn on the reader than young Grover is an exceptional pilot and exceptionally fortunate, as well. Thirteen men graduated with him in his training class. He and another are the only survivors. After one hundred and fifty three missions, he had acquired the Silver Star, three DFC's and eight air medals. He shot down four Germans for sure, had three probables and damaged seven others.

After finally returning to the US after three years in combat he remained in the Air Force until 1961, retiring with the rank of Colonel. He continued to fly following retirement and it is reported that as of the writing of the book he had twenty eight thousand hours of flying time and probably more time in fighter aircraft than any person alive.

But this books charm is not in the accomplishments of this remarkable individual. It is in the landscape of the time painted by Gover's words.
They span the years and one can hear the sound of the Merlin engines and feel the concussions of the German bombs falling on the English countryside. If this appeals to you...you need to find a copy.

This book gives you a good balance of what life was like. The fighting and living before and after America arrived on mass. It also compares the strength's and weakness of both planes and how they completed similar jobs but were built on completly different theories. Good book reccommend to people who enjoyed first light or spitfire offensive.

This book is a fine example of what WWII was being fought with. Just a normal person doing heroic things for defence of his country. I was unable to put the book down until I had read the whole thing. The author put in some lighter moments at just the right time, because you will find yourself in the war with him while you are reading.
I was impressed, and have added this book to my library of books to keep forever!

It's not often you get to read the very inner thoughts of a fighter pilot but this book allows the reader just that. Leroy Gover, whose combat career of 159 missions is the subject of this book, habitually kept a diary and this, coupled with excerpts from his letters home and candid interviews with the author, really makes this memoir feel as though you're relaxing in the mess while Gover talks to you.

A California kid, Gover learnt to fly before he could drive and was an experienced flyer at the time he decided to volunteer for service in the RAF. This was before the US entered the war and is an early indication of the type of person Gover is. After training, where his enthusiasm for flying new aircraft is evident, he and his classmates embarked on a long, sometimes hazardous journey to Canada and then by convoy (the hazardous bit!) to England. Within days, perhaps hours, of landing in England, Gover is amazed and humbled by the spirit and resilience of the English civilians and this is a theme that continues throughout the book. We follow him through OTU (Operational Training Unit) where he finally gets to fly his dream aircraft - the Spitfire. He is then posted to 66 Sqn and comences flying fighter sweeps, convoy escort etc.

Gover, although aware of his abilities as a flyer, knows he has to be good at what he does to have a greater chance of survival. Through his writings and the author's clarifications and additional information, Gover comes across as a humble, yet ambitious fighter pilot. He knows he isn't invincible and more than once he doubts if he'll ever return home. He never ceases to be amazed at the situations he gets into and his love affair with the Spitfire, and the city of London and girls when on leave, is very evident.

America's entry into the war eventually sees Gover joining the US Army Air Force and eventually converting to P-47s with the newly formed 4th Fighter Group which was destined to become one of the most famous of all American fighter groups. Here, I believe, is where his personality and combat experience come to the fore. He quickly becomes an excellent leader who keeps an eye on the men who fly behind him on formation. He feels their loss greatly, as he does throughout his time in England when friends are killed.

Reading this book is like talking to an old friend who has been away for a few years. It is a candid, sometimes amusing, always eye-opening look at how these men made it through day-by-day. Once a day was over, they were always ready to put it all on the line the next.

Although history and aviation buffs will definitely enjoy this book, there was so much more to it. This book really makes you think about the value of life. Many, many people died in this book, from training accidents, falling off boats in the ocean, getting hit by "friendly fire", as well as getting hit in combat. Yet nobody complained. Lives were expendable for the cause. And for some pilots, just the act of flying was worth dieing for. The act of living seemed to become more important, and people seemed to live life to the fullest in spite of the troubling times.

Don't get me wrong, this wasn't some deep, intense book. It was also very entertaining. I learned a lot about early aviation, and the early part of the war between England and Germany. But at the end of it I got a much better inside view about what it was like to live during World War II, and to enjoy the life we're given.

Ok, I will freely admit that this may not be considered by some to be a scholarly historical assessment. I have been interested in the reign of Louis XIV since childhood when my mother purchased for me a coffee table book of photographs of Versailles. I wondered what could possibly have taken place at such a monstrous and wonderful palace. Since then I have read at least a dozen books on the period which tend to focus on the development and impact of absolutism in 17th century Europe. But this little book is a gem because of its author. Nancy Mitford was the daughter of an English Baron and spent her life as both an academic and a socialite. Her telling of the lives that swirled around Versailles palace is authenticated by the impression one gets that she would have been completely at ease in that setting. This book was written in 1966, just 7 years before her death. Her style sounds more like gossip than history, but is generally regarded as very well-researched. I warn you that if you read this book or one of her other historical biographies, you are in danger of becoming hooked on Mitford and will probably seek out some of her other well-loved books. This was a very enjoyable book and I find myself going back to certain chapters from time to time. One of the most memorable portions is the end where she describes a ghoulish sacrilege; the looting and desecration of the tombs during the revolution. As any good book will, it fascinated me and left me wanting to know more.

Nancy Mitford is best known as an author of witty, elegant novels like The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. In the 1950s and 1960s she also produced a number of historical works, of which The Sun King is one of the best.

The Sun King is a personal biography of Louis XIV. It does not deal in great detail with the political, military, or economic issues of Louis XIV's reign but primarily focuses on his personal life and that of his family. Louis married his double first cousin Marie Therese of Spain (she being his genetic sister for all intents and purposes, the reader is amazed that his family turned out as strong and healthy as they did). He also had three major mistresses and a string of casual acquaintanceships which produced a number of illegitimate children. His numerous relations also produced a quantity of children and had many extramarital relationships.

A major part of the book deals with the construction of Versailles. Indeed the book seems almost to be a biography of the chateau. The profuse illustrations, including many photographs of the chateau and its grounds, add immeasurably to the pleasure of reading this work.

But the most compelling reason for reading The Sun King is to enjoy Mitford's elegant, witty, prose style, which is as much in evidence here as in her novels.

Here's "Lifestyles of the Obscenely Wealthy and Powerful"! I admit I'd never read much about this period of history (I'm fond of joking that my in-depth knowledge of politics and history more or less ends with Elizabeth I's death), but the bit I read at the bookstore made this book irresistible. I passed up an Alison Weir for this, but I don't regret the choice at all. It is both charming and knowledgable, with a witty, personable, almost gossipy tone.

There's a lot of information here, packaged with lots of pictures and glossy pages. It is a lovely book to look at purely on an aesthetic level. But do take the time to actually read it! Though sparse in areas, it is a rich look at the life of Louis, and at the lifestyle of a courtier of his day. The creation of Versailles is gone into in much detail, as are sexual politics and wartime attitudes. Mostly this focuses on Louis' personal life and that of his court and how Versailles came about, so there isn't much here about actual wars or about international politics. But what there is is just stupendous. I'd call this a must-have for a beginner in French history. I'm very glad I got it.

Nancy Mitford came to me by way of this book and, ignorant of the incredible talents that lie with her, her sisters and the aristocratic family into which she was born. Since then, I have devoured Nancy's fiction, her personal history and I have much more to learn. However, it is her talents as a biographer and historian, perhaps best exemplified with this book, that I believe she achieves the realization of her greatest gift; that is to send life into the dead hand of history. In "The Sun King" history comes alive as I have truly never experienced. Here is a book that takes heretofore one dimensional characters and fills their frames with humanity, giving them dimemsionality, life. She uncovers the perspective that sheds light on each characters good and bad side, turning Louis XIV, Monsieur, The King's wives, his children, in fact the whole of the court at Versailles into a vision in one's head that makes it easy to understand why the Ancien Regime in France can still provide relevance to a contemporary world that approximates it so little. Relevance and topic interest, to be sure, is the most amazing feat for a historian to achieve. Nancy Mitford with "The Sun King" stands among rarified company in such an achievement.

This book is an absolutely amazing piece of work. I was introduced to it while looking for audiobooks on ITunes. The audiobook was so enjoyable that I felt compelled to purchase the actual book to read along with it.

Mitford makes each of the historical figures come alive, and makes an opulent and enclosed society accessible to readers of any age. The work is gossipy enough to be interesting, but not to such a degree as to detract from the historical accuracy. I would recommend "The Sun King" to anyone who wishes to learn more about the age of France's greatest king and the people that surrounded him.

The only drawback is that for one to fully appreciate the book, they should have a very basic knowledge of French and European history (at least as far as names and dates are concerned). Having long been interested in history, I did not find this a problem, but I can see how one who was not familiar may find themselves in unfamiliar territory. Otherwise, this book is about as close to perfection as I've seen.

I just married a Romanian while he was on tour in the U.S. for six months. Having only been here for a year he was terribly homesick. After ordering the book I was able to surprise him with a full Romanian meal, and it was so easy! Highly, highly recommended!

This book is an all-around great cookbook. To be honest, I had never heard of Romanian cuisine before and picked up the book on a whim. I'm glad I did because the book introduced me to a delicious culture that I had never sampled before. The recipes in the book are grouped into the following chapters: appetizers, salads, egg dishes, soups, polenta, fish dishes, meat dishes, poultry dishes, vegetable dishes, dumplings, sauces, desserts, wines, preserves, and Jewish dishes. I found good recipes in each chapter, some fancy, and some that can be whipped up in minutes. Interspersed throughout the book are short history lessons about Romania, fairy tales, and poetry, as well as Klepper's comments explaining the cooking culture. The book also includes a bibliography, a place and personal name index, and English recipe index, a Romanian recipe index, a brief pronunciation guide, an English-Romanian-French food dictionary, and even an American-British food dictionary (surprisingly useful!). If you're looking for a Romanian cookbook, this is a great one. And if you're just looking for some interesting and tasty new recipes, you'll find some here.

Somehow, everyone in Romania seems to believe that their heaviest food is also the tastiest. In Romanian restaurants both in Romania and accross the US, in cookbooks -- all I'm finding are the stuffed grape or cabbage leaves, the pork products, the mamaliga. What happened to all those seasonal (in Romania) meals centered around the great vegetables that abound in Spring, stuff that a family would actually eat everyday at home? The light and flavorful zuchinni with yoghurt, the spinach puree, all the many ways to prepare mushrooms, celery roots, even the lowly potatoe? The great sour soups that wake one up with their taste? What about some of the staples, like bors (not to be confused with Russiona borscht), the sour grain vinegar that is so good in those soups? Or all the pickled vegetables that spice up ones winter meal? Also, there are all the holiday preparations, such as a stuffed goose, duck on sourkraut, and, for the kids, the "sweet bites", sort of like a gingerbread cracker, but thicker and with a soft, molasse-like consistency (turta dulce for those of you out there who know :-)...
I'm not a great Romanian cook myself and I bought this book hoping to fill in some of my childhood favorites. It does do a good job of the recipes it presents. I handed the stuffed grape leaves recipe to the chef in charge at my wedding and it ended up being a favorite with my (mostly non-Romanian) guests!
The other complain I have is that some of the ingredients have been "adapted" to suit most American supermarkets. I won't complain about getting some of the fat out (although most of it stayed...) but what about the tarragon, the lovage, dill --they're all available here, with a bit of effort. Why not do what many asian cookbooks do and require the original ingredient, with an easy-to-find alternative where in doubt? And what about those simple salads that "parsley-up" and liven up any Romanian family's dinner?
Maybe it depends on the region -- Transylvania does have its share of heavier food, and with no outlets to the Black Sea, people there don't really enjoy eating fish. But Romanian cuisine has so many other flavors that I constantly see neglected, yet they are the easiest to include in a balanced diet...
And a final word of praise: the romanian wine list at the end is worth the price of the book -- and brings the stars rating to 4. I've been looking for something similar for a while, and I was really glad to find it in this book.

This is a fantastic book. So many of the recipes I remember from my mother's and grandmother's cooking. It's also nice to get a little bit of a history lesson, along with Romanian poems and folktales. I purchased it for my daughter and sons. Since I left Romania at 15 (over 18 years ago), it's nice to remember some of the Romanian cooking I grew up with.
Now, if I could only get my American husband to try some of the recipes, that would be a victory indeed. :o)

I am Romanian and have lived in the US for just a short time. I got this book as a Christmas gift for my mother in law who is American. She loved it and wants to try cooking some of the recipes in there!!! It has great traditional recipes and some history lessons to help a novice understand Romanian culture. I was so happy to find the book on amazon and I recommend it to anyone who wants to explore Romanian culture.

I read a number of books about the Camino de Santiago before I did it in July-August of 2007. They were either practical guidebooks or deeply personal memoirs. I'd begun reading "Travels With My Donkey" about two weeks prior to departing for Spain, but I didn't get past the introduction - too busy with preparations. I figured I'd read enough anyway, and I wanted to save what looked like a good book for post-Camino reflection. I'm glad I waited until after my pilgrimage to read "TWMD," because it was an excellent and uniquely humorous account that brought me right back to the Camino.

Mr. Moore first became aware of the Camino when he met a pilgrim on "a small boat in Norway." As is common with those who've walked the Way, the idea settled in his mind and bloomed after a period of germination. Also like the typical pilgrim, he began doing research and making preparations for the trek. However, unlike most of us he decided to bring along a donkey. After some searching, he finally found one named Shinto and committed to his adventure. He and Shinto were trailered to Valcarlos, Spain, and commenced their trek to Santiago one step at a time.

During the next forty-one days, Mr. Moore and Shinto experienced numerous adventures on the Camino. Shinto became somewhat of a focal point - most of the time for good, but sometimes for ill. The author soon discovered the difficulties involved in herding a somewhat truculent donkey, including health issues, finding enough food for both of them, and securing donkey-friendly accommodation. Even so, he persevered and eventually formed a bond with Shinto based on shared hardship.

"TWMD" reminded me a lot of Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods," another humorous account of a trek along an old trail. Indeed, both books made me laugh out loud in some spots and cringe in others. However, since I was fresh off the Camino, I was actually able to identify with Mr. Moore's experiences. I loved revisiting familiar towns and fondly remembered (or no-so-fondly remembered) refugios. And I empathized with the author's trials and tribulations, such as blisters, prickly pilgrims, harsh climate conditions, and fast automobile traffic.

"Travels With My Donkey" made me miss the Camino, and it also made me glad to be a peregrino. Recommended for those contemplating the Camino, pilgrims who have already walked the Way, and wanderers in general.

This book is hilarious!! I laughed out loud through out the entire book. Tim writes about his Camino de Santiago journey with a donkey starting with donkey basics - like being scarred to death of the donkey - to learning about it's basic care and feeding. From there he sets out on the journey and records the reactions of other pilgrims and of local Spanish towns people to his donkey.

I have since tried to get "into" some of Tim Moore's other books. Yeah, they're funny, but it was this book that sent me over the edge laughing. If you enjoy Tim Moore's books, buy this one!!!

For those of you seeking serious books about the purity of a spiritual journey while making the pilgrimage to Saint Jame's Field of Stars - there's lots of good books out there - but this one, though completely irreverent, tells it like it is/can be. I met a couple in Santiago de Compostella that had just finished the walk and their main impression of the walk was that it was a real Peyton's Place. If you are the serious type, reading this book before you go may just save you some disappointment during your own walk, or at least prepare you for the less spiritual side of the walk.

What possesses a completely urban Londoner to want to walk 500 miles across northern Spain... with a donkey named Shinto? Herein lies a tail, er... tale of self discovery and adventure through torrential rains (no rein puns here!) sweltering heat and encounters with religious and secular pilgrims (peregrinos, en espanol) on the Camino de Santiago. This ancient Christian pilgrimage crosses northern Spain from the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela, resting place of St. James, patron saint of Spain. On opening this wonderful book you find yourself in the company of a person and donkey you enjoy spending time with. Smart, funny and a keen observer of people, Tim Moore's humanity suffuses this book and makes you feel the value of compassion. This is also one of those books that earns you inquisitive stares in public when you laugh loudly at one or another of his unexpected observations. When you are done you can even say you learned somthing about the history of Spain. This is great light reading. - Marcos Dinnerstein, www.parlo.com

Moore's sense of humor and his complaints get him to the Pas de Roman to visit the Spanish Santiago Cathedral over the Pyrenees from the Atlantic Coast of France. Along the way, we are all drawn into his contacts with other, serious and not so serious pilgrims; the landscapes; the hardships of caring for this donkey animal he starts the trip with not knowing or caring much about; the incredible overnight sleeping accommocations he encounters; the meals; the brandy; the elevations; rain and shale; bridges and cobble stones. Having driven alot of the trail myself without knowing much about what it was or what I was doing, I was tied into this wonderful and hilarious story every bit of the way, enjoying his cynicism and suspicion until he reached the pinnacle of Santiago for all his cold dismissal of the energy required to make this pilgrimage. I sensed he made quite a turn by the time he reached the end of the journey but then perhaps he'd started out more committed to personal spiritual reasons for the journey than I'd understood at the beginning. I LOVED the book, his hilarious ability to laugh at himself and his circumstances, his brilliant evaluations of others' situations, his cautious thoughtful spiritual tussles along the path and most of all the subtle way he slipped in so much of the history of that great period when the Crusaders were displacing the Saracens or the Muslims. The weight of the themes sneaks in on the reader as the book develops - there are so many twists and turns that this book would be a fantastic book club or academic assignment as it calls out for interaction among readers. Would it ever become a book tape? Would it ever become a play? I feel it should have wider dissemination. Great book!

Tim Moore has taken me on some extraordinary journeys in the past, from the Tour de France to the Monopoly board via the arctic deserts of Iceland, but I found this one easily the most enjoyable. If you don't fall in love with the infuriating but utterly endearing donkey he takes with him on this Spanish pilgrimage, I'll eat my cat...

This is the historically true account of the execution of the Templars and the political circumstances surrounding it. If you have read books about the Salem Witch Trials then you will like this one too, but be warned Barber is a historian and so you will get the full blow by blow account of what went on.

Basically in the year 1307 King Philip 4th arrested the Knights of the Templars and a pseudo-trial followed in order to smash the Templars. Much like the Salem Witch Trials many where falsely executed while others survived the ordeal to tell the tale. Basically this book is all about the destruction of the Templars.

Again if you like books about "Witch Trials" then this is a must for the bookshelf and certainly Barber gives us the best historical rendition of any "Witch Trial" to date although the Templars where not treated as Witches but as anti-christian (when is fact they where a "White Order").

Good historical depth to this one and highly recommended.

I own many books on the Templars, but very few deal primarily on their downfall on the Friday 13th, and the gruelling, protracted trials afterwards. The Templars have always fascinated me, an order founded on a vow of poverty that rose to become one of the richest and most powerful organisations of their time, a religious order, yet it was politics and money that sealed their fate and brought about their destruction.

Very well written, it is rich in detail, but in a witty narrative that keeps the reader enthralled and forgetting they are reading history, which is usually dry and stale. High Recommended. Anyone interested in the Templars needs to add this one to their collection.

Barber's 'The Trial of the Templars' is the best and perhaps only serious academic study of the political machinations of French King Philip IV, "the Fair," which resulted in the trial and suppression of one of the most noble and powerful of the Medieval crusading orders.

The wealth of source material in the book makes it indispensible.

One would hope that Barber's work would go a long way towards debunking the myths of the Templars as neo-New Age adepts possessing secret occult wisdom, since, as Barber demonstrates, many of the Templars at the time of the suppression were uneducated, illiterate old men from preceptories in Europe, most of whom who had never even set foot in the Holy Land and were thus incapable of the occult practices ascribed to them. Of 115 Templar depositions resulting from the hearings in Paris, sixty-nine brethren stated that they were forty years old or older. The average age of these 115 men was 41.6 years. Most of the accused Templars were serving brothers and seargeants (41); seventeen were priests and only fifteen were actually knights. The average length of service of deposed Templars was 14.2 years. Hardly the stuff of which powerful occult magicians are made.

Definitely add this one to your library.

Malcom Barber looked at the entire organization an came to the following:
1. The orginal purpose of the group was to protect pilgrims however the
intent soon changed - the outside population of the European nations so
saw a chance to gain "power" for themselves.
2. The rulers became jealous of the "carte blanche" given by the Pope -
thus the Templars had to answer to no one and became very wealthy.
3. Soon those same rulers previously mentioned had to come to the Templars, and others as well, inorder to obtain money.
4. As a result the banking system was established. When Phillip V realizd he was in debt to the Templars, he "manufactured" charges inorder to seize their money and their land holdings. Phillip soon became aware of how mch his seizing had accomplished for him - death.

Barber has accomplished a very difficult task. He has compiled scattered accurate information regarding the Templars and laid it down in an easy to read fashion.
Despite the title of the book, this book covers more than just the trials surrounding the Templars. It is a concise timeline of the time period including political powers, church rulers, allies and enemies, detractors and benefactors.
Barber has given a balanced view of the Templars, their rise, fall, trial and destruction. He offers a plethora of footnotes and references and a daunting bibliography which would be the envy of any medieval history, Templar history, catholic history, french history or crusades history lover.
Also offered by Barber is another book covering the Templars ( The New Knighthood : A History of the Order of the Temple )which goes even further in depth regarding the actual successes and failures of the Order, again offering a huge list of historical references.
Barber, it appears, is the foremost historical expert that is publishing works regarding the secretive but ever-popular Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon.

This is an excellent book, well written, clear and concise. It focuses on the Year of the Terror during the French Revolution.

There are several strengths to this book.

First, Palmer does an excellent job of giving short biographies of the major characters that ruled France as a committee during this period. They include Carnot,the military officer who maintained the war office during the terror,including defending the northern border of France. Collot D'Herbois, the ex-actor and fanatic had a very different temprement from the monk-like Robespierre. Saint-Just's attacks against the Dantonists was fascinating. The fall of Herault de Sechelles, the philosopher former aristocrat is very interesting.

Second, the chapters are very well organized. They are aranged around topics, including a hyistory of how the Comitteee for Public Safety evolved in the fifth year of the revolution; three chapters on maintaining control of the other regions of France during the revolution; chapters on foreign conflicts; a chapter on wage and price control and maintaining a central economy, are all well written and interesting.

I read the book after reading Hilary Mantel's novel "A Place of Greater Safety" regarding the relationship and competition between Robespierre and Danton. The two books perfectly compliment each other.


This is a very accessible history of this portion of the revolution and is extremely informative. It was written in 1941 but is fresh, current, and alive with detail.

I decided to read R.R. Palmer's The Twelve Who Ruled after having it recommended to me in class. The Year of the Terror and the Committee of Public Safety are often overlooked or not given enough description in history classes and it wasn't until my senior year in college that I had even heard of the Year of the Terror. Palmer's book is great for the student because he includes enough background information so that one can understand the information without feeling overwhelmed. The text deals almost exclusively the events from the summer of 1793 through the summer of 1794. Because so much happened in this one year period, Palmer presents it on an almost day-to-day status.

Originally written in 1939 and 1940, Palmer mentions in the Bibliographical Essay how difficult it was to gather information from the French archives, but upon reading this book and having some basic knowledge of the events of the period, one finds it difficult to find any deficiency in Palmer's work. The 2005 edition of The Twelve Who Ruled opens with a new foreword by Isser Woloch, Moore Collegiate Professor of History at Columbia University. In this foreword, Woloch gives the reader a little history of Palmer's book, as well as a brief overview of the events detailed in the book.

Palmer begins his book with a one page list, titled "The Twelve", of the members of the CPS and gives a brief one-line description of each. On the next page is a sketched map with the locations and provinces mentioned in his book, as well as a translation of the Republican Calendar. I don't want to go into detail about all of Palmer's 15 chapters, but some need mentioning. The first chapter, "Twelve Terrorists to Be", gives a detailed description about the history of each member of the Committee of Public Safety leading up to the Revolution. The subsequent chapters describe the different political groups of the Revolution and how the CPS came to be as powerful as it did.

Chapters 6-9 deal with the individual missions of the CPS members to different parts of France. Chapter 6, "Republic in Miniature", describes Georges Couthon's mission to his native region of Clermont-Ferrand and his attempt to turn Puy-de-Dôme into a model for the Republic. Chapter 7, "Doom at Lyons", is self-explanatory and deals with Collot d'Herbois and the Committee's shocking actions in Lyons. Chapters 8 and 9 deal with the missions of Committee members to Alsace and Brittany to deal with the army and naval affairs in those regions, respectively.

The beginning of the end becomes apparent in chapter 11, "Finding the Narrow Way". In this chapter Danton makes his return to Paris and Robespierre and other members of the Committee are becoming more and more adamant in their positions. The remaining chapters detail the downfall of the Committee of Public Safety and the numerous executions that take place. The exception to this is chapter 14, "The Rush upon Europe", which describes the military events during the spring and early summer of 1794.

During the epilogue, Palmer sums up the lives of the eight of the original twelve that were remaining after 10 Thermidor and the different ways each one went. It is interesting to see how some of the members played a part during Napoleon's reign. Palmer end's the book with discussing Barère, him being the last surviving member of the Committee (passed away in 1841), and his last days.

Readability was something that I was looking for when I was choosing a book for this assignment. I didn't want a book that would be so in depth that it would be a chore to read, yet I didn't want a book that would have less information than my textbook. The Twelve Who Ruled was perfect in that sense and Palmer kept it interesting by including many quotations from meetings and correspondence of the period in his book. I haven't read any other books on the Year of the Terror, but I would have to recommend this book to anyone interested in the French Revolution, or even political science.

I agree with all of the amazon reviews as to this being a compelling narrative. Most interesting was Palmer's argument that the CPS wasn't merely Robespierre's beard. Palmer is mostly persuasive in his suggestion that power was more or less equitably diffused throughout the committee and that facesaving hindsight by CPS members is the reason why history has affixed sole blame for the terror on Robespierre's shoulders. Less convincing is Palmer's portait of Jacobin ideological purity. Robespierre and St.Just are presented as Spartan warriors with spotless souls even as he details their forgeries and chicanery in railroading their political rivals. Palmer often protests too much, bemoaning the miniscule percentage of victims of the terror and blaming CGS members, representatives on mission, anyone really but Robespierre. One can never escape bias in French revolution histories-so this criticism should certainly be taken with a grain of salt. Palmer's book is unique and refreshing however, meticulously and cogently argued.

In print since 1941, this fine book is a group portrait and analysis of the Committee of Public Safety, the most important organ of government in France from the fall of 1793 to the summer of 1794. Writing at the end of the 1930s, Palmer was particularly interested in the psychology of dictatorship and how much governments emerge.

When the members of the Committee took their seats, France and the French Revolution appeared headed for disaster. There was widespread dissent in the provinces, and in some, outright revolt. The chaotic politics in Paris made government from the center difficult and the armies of almost every other major European state seemed poised to dismember France. The members of the committee were on the face of it, an undistinguished lot of modest prior accomplishments. Almost exclusively middle class, none of them would have been able to rise high under the Ancien Regime. Most were lawyers or had legal training. Several were simultaneously minor provincial intellectuals. Two were army officers whose plebian origins would have prevented them from attaining significant rank in the Royal Army. As a group, and despite significant internal political strains, they proved to be an energetic and capable group of administrators and politicians. Palmer does very well in describing the considerable obstacles to success, the enormous efforts made by most of the Committee, and their considerable success as administrators.

Over the course of a year, the committee met the great challenges in front of them more or less successfully. Revolts in the provinces were crushed, often with great brutality. Though the Parisian political scene remained volatile, it did stabilize and the Committee was able to construct a reasonably effective central government. Assisted by dissent and incompetence among the monarchial opponents of France, the Committee found the resources and military leadership needed to prosecute the war successfully. The Committee arguably saved the Revolution and went a long way towards the construction of a powerful, centralized French state.

But what kind of Revolution did they save? Palmer shows very well that the Committee were not merely reacting to the pressure of events but were all committed Republicans of varying degrees of radicalism. It is impossible to understand their actions without recognizing their ideological commitment to a new kind of Republican society informed strongly by Rousseauist ideals. Detestation of inherited privilege, anti-clericalism (though not atheism), worship of the idea of virtue, a commitment to some form of popular sovereignty, and the pursuit of a strong state were common ideals of the Committee. As is often the case, war produced radicalization and these ideals would also justify the Terror and the ruthless suppression of provincial revolts, and encourage French armies in practices that anticipate the brutal behavior of Napoleon's armies in occupied Europe. In a few cases, the Committee made pragmatic choices that contradicted some of their earlier convictions. Most of the committee disliked the violent de-Christianization carried out by some radicals but did not interfere in some cases to maintain their political support in Paris. All the Committee members would have prefered an economic system based on free trade but the exigencies of war resulted in the first systematic and partially successful effort at a planned economy.

Palmer both describes the actions of the committee well and writes well about the individual members. His objective treatment of Robespierre is particularly good. This book is a model in terms of melding biographical information with the broader context of historical events. As a study of revolutionary psychology and a case example of how dictatorships form, this book is excellent.

This may have been the best book that I have ever read. Palmer does a great job of portraying the characters, the times, and the decisions they made. The last chapter is absolutely riveting. One of if not the best book I've ever read!

Outdated and long out of print, this is still one of the best budget travel books ever written. Keruoac got me off my butt and out onto the great American highways and byways. Ed Buryn got me off my butt and into the wonders of Europe and North Africa. I sometimes forget how much I owe this book. Written at the height of hippie adventurism of the late sixties and early seventies, I read it as a young and rudderless kid of those times and, smitten with wanderlust, found myself just a few years later hiking through the back alleys of Lisbon, Paris, Marrakesh, and Athens. Buryn fired my spirit and imagination and today, as my adventure on the road continues, his book is a continuous inspiration. And by "outdated" I only mean that most of the references mentioned in the book are no longer valid. In spirit, the book is a timeless evocation of the human spirit to discover and rejoice in exotic new worlds. Where are you Ed Buryn? Time to get off your butt and revise your budget travel masterpiece!

The title of this review is the eponymous opening quotation by Ed, who clearly found that combining roots and rootlessness were the central reason for joie de vivre. The sections on Ed meeting his relatives in Poland are priceless. Ed Buryn inspired, cajoled, wheedled and pushed, I would imagine, hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of couch-bound and comfortable middle class youth into the wilds of Western and Eastern Europe. I was one of them -- and did it as an active duty Naval officer. Buryn had been a hero of one of my itinerant college roommates at University of Florida -- you know, the guy who sleeps on the couch and who has no visible means of support...except for the couch -- and, as my roommate (livingroommate, that is) extolled his virtues, I grew more and more enchanted with Buryn, and more and more disenchanted with my roommate, who never actually went anywhere. I bought a copy of Buryn's book, read it, and vicariously lived it for SIX YEARS...until I finally went twice to Europe (once on Uncle Sam's dime to fight the cold war, once on my own), living Buryn-tilt-boogie and still retaining my civility (a Buryn hallmark, by the way, for those parents who find their children reading Ed: they'll be much better kids, later on). Go to Europe. Go with Ed.

I read this (at least some of it) in 1973 before traveling with a friend to Europe, Middle East, Far East. It gave me great comfort then that I (we) could do so cheaply and quickly.

Now Ed's book is more of a history of 60s vagabonding than a practical guide for today's traveller, but fun reading and don't let that stop you from buying it and getting the Vagabonding Bug... Travel On!

A wonderful read if you're going to Europe or New Jersey!

I was a kid living at home, read the book at Los Alamitos library in 1973, and got the vision to do Europe in this way. Went alone in June 74 for 3 1/2 months. The book is a philosophy and attitude that the people of Europe are the key--if you can open yourself up to them. I was adopted, in a way, by different people throughout Europe as I traveled (part of it was probably that they sorry for me--dumb kid who really didn't know what he was doing). But what I remember well 27 years later is those people. I would not have been inspired to do the trip if it wasn't for the book. I passed the book on to someone at work after my trip--and remember the gratitude of the guy I gave it to. The philosophy that is this book IS a gift!

This wonderful book reveals the secret of how to be a good traveler. "Vagabonding" is the right word. And you don't have to be a low-budget traveler to vagabond. It's a way of thinking, a way of looking and hearing, and a way of being.

I read the book in 1972. Ed Buryn put my head in the right place to make my 9 month trip in Europe and North Africa, (of all places), an extremely enjoyable experience. I went alone but constantly met up with others who I traveled with for a day or months.

Today I do a lot of business travel. But even though its nice restaurants and first class hotels there are still the hassles - long days on the road, not sleeping well, changes in schedule. It's times like those that I use the wisdom brought out in this book. It should be required reading for "Life 101".