Europe Books

When one reads "Lizzie" it is difficult to fatham that this delightful story of a young girl is J. Robert Whittle's first novel. His style possesses the genius of Dickens and the sensitivity of a Bronte. He brilliantly captures the essence of this precocious former street waif as she begins to make her mark on eastside London. I can't wait to read the next three books in the series! A true delight!

This is the first book in the Series. Mr. Whittle has a great imagination and does a great job of keeping you guessing what Lizzie and her friends will do next. I recommend this book for readers and non-readers...for the young and young-at-heart. Everyone will love Lizzie!

These wonderful books by J. Robert Whittle may not appear to be available on this site, but believe me they are available -- and you don't want to miss them!! The first book quietly became a Canadian bestseller through sales only near his own town in BC. Now they are working with a distributor at last and these gems will be easier to find in 2004.

All Mr. Whittle's novels (he has 5 now) are read by readers of all ages. I know, because everyone from my grandparents to my kids, and nieces and nephews, have enjoyed them. Why? Because they're like an English Anne of Green Gables ... wholesome and lots of fun. Lizzie is some spunky girl and her best friend is a boy, so great for guys too. I can't wait till Book Four comes out in 2004! Have a look at the author's website for more info. Thanks Mr. Whittle, please keep writing!!

Lizzie reminded me a great deal of Dickens. It is set in the same time and era as many of his classic tales, amidst the same tapestry of sights and sounds... and ever present, foggy, London. I love stories about little girls with a punch, and this is definitely the story of a little girl with a punch. Dickens couldn't have written it... too politcally incorrect.

I'd consider this book a hidden gem, and only "hidden" because Whittle is a new author, and still relatively unknown. I couldn't set it down the whole time I was reading it. I greatly enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone.

This book is just the first of the Lizzie series. It is a wonderful book and is even good for teens. I got the privelege of meeting the author, Robert Whittle while on vacation in his home town of Victoria. He is absolutely endearing and is a wonderful writer. I can't wait to read all of the rest of his books. Lizzie is such a warm and exciting character and this story just makes you feel good! Very vivid....just takes you right there to where it all happened. I highly recommend it to all!

Very amusing, particularly to Brits. Purchased as a gag gift for a British ex-pat returning home to the UK for a trip.

I love this book! I'm a big Britcom fan and can now get a lot more laughs out of my favorite shows.

This little book, which crams an enormous amount of information, both practical and interesting, should be in every Amnerican's pocket before they leave for the UK. I learned more from it than from several larger books put together. It even explains cricket, that baffling sport! I thoroughly enjoyed reading every page, and while I wasn't going to travel to Wales or Scotland to practice those versions of Gaelic, it is contained within should you wish to. A most superior book, and entertainingly written besides. Enjoy!

This book is great. It's tiny, easily hidden, extremely funny, and you can make British people laugh with it. Really! Even Brits find it fun to read... "Oh, so THAT'S what they mean on those American programs on the telly. I was wondering."

I read this little book before setting out to Scotland for a year. What a great thing to do! I was more prepared than many of the people I was traveling with to deal with the idiosyncracies of Brit-speak. I especially love the foreign language section in the back... you don't really need it, since everyone speaks English, but it's fun to whip out something in Gaelic and see how many people understand (answer: not many).

I highly recommend this book, if only for its entertainment value. You won't regret it! I'm even able to watch the BBC now!

Lonely Planet's "British Phrasebook" is a great introduction to the British way of life and speaking for foreigners. Whether you are an American going to visit the British Isles, or a person studying English as a foreign language this can be a good guide and reading supplement. Traditionally to Lonely Planet phrasebooks, this one gives you a short and easy-read introduction to the origin and modern state of English. Then follow the sections dealing with British English and regional languages.

The section on British English is, again traditionally, an introduction to the language through British culture, institutions, traditions and way of life. Some chapters open with humorous sketches by S. Hughes that will make you laugh out loud. You will learn how to greet people, how to talk over the phone, how to find your way in the world of slang and cockney (not being a thorough textbook or dictionary of these), how to brace yourself with the features of British pronunciation (not being a course on phonetics), how to tell a British word or expression from an American (not being a British-American dictionary), how to address the Queen or peers (without making you bored with the detailed description of the aristocratic history). But most of the contents are not even the lists of typically British words and expressions. It is an interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes witty, often highly informative yet brief description of British culture (music, sports, food, drink, housing, etc.) and institutions (political, educational, etc.), as well as of ways of travelling, spending your free time and free money. If you need to know the names of high-street shops or intend to watch a report from some cricket match, think of driving a car or going on a train journey, want to read a paper and know what's meant and what's not - "British Phrasebook" is one way of helping you survive in Britain.

The regional section tells you about regional accents and dialects of English with some examples. It also deals with Scottish Gaelic and Welsh. Here (in the last two chapters) there is a true phrasebook letting you say a lot of useful things in the native tongues of Scotland and Wales. Practical transcription enables you to pronounce sometimes quirky letter-combinations of these Celtic languages.

Written in a simple language and entertaining manner, while being very informative "British Phrasebook" is nearly a must-have on your next trip to the Isles and will certainly be your good companion, which will easily fit in a pocket.

very well written and detailed - I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Third Reich

Dr. Bruno Manz has written an honest, searing story of his experiences growing up in the Third Reich with a father who he loved but who was an enthusiastic Nazi. First person accounts of this quality are rare and valuable, giving those of us who are curious as to how a civilized nation like Germany could turn itself into the soulless, mechanistic killing machine it became under Hitler a look at how ordinary people contributed, by omission or commission, to the coming horror. Dr. Manz has more than atoned for his own omissions by writing this excellent, gripping book, which I recommend to anyone interested in this perplexing episode of history.

This book was interesting, earnest, candid and filled with the author's personal angst for having been duped, first by his Nazi father and then by Hitler. I disagree with some of the other reviews in that I didn't find it penetrating or searing. Bruno Manz stabs but fails at soul-searching.

In some ways it is repetitive. The author explains again and again how he was brainwashed into Nazism from youth to young adulthood. He digresses into various life experiences with teachers, schools, childhood friends, military experiences and lesser details of life. All of which he thinly connects to his primary purpose for the memoir, exorcising his personal demons over blindly serving Hitler. Many of those digressions would be unremarkable without that connection. Bruno uses those vignettes to underscore that he was misguided but they fail to reveal, illuminate or prove how any particular incident, mentor or authority figure contributed to his blind devotion to Hitler. In fact, he frequently recounts how he internally rebelled against school authorities, military authorities, rules and procedures that didn't make common sense or rubbed him the wrong way. If that is so, then he should have self analyzed further to determine how and why he dismissed his conscience when it called about Hitler, the concentration camps and the Jews. He continued to follow the grand lie and served as essentially a political officer in youth organizations and later in the military. He recounts that he was never very enthusiastic and harbored doubts, yet he continuously pressed on. Example on pg 69, he describes a school director quoting Hitler's credo, "He who wants to live, let him fight. And he who does not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle does not deserve to live." Bruno expresses misgivings when the school director says that is more religion than a person would ever find in the Bible. He admits agreeing with the anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism of the director but boycotts his classes from then on. Methinks he doth protest too much.

Don't get me wrong, Bruno Manz clearly, genuinely, honestly apologizes for his personal role in Germany's evil shame. He denounces all that he was and embraces all that he has become since the war and particularly while living in America. But in the end about all that Bruno confirms is that, at least between 1915 and 1946, Germans were weak for rhetoric, easily swayed by romantic and heroic figures, and followed the crowd. He doesn't dig deep enough to reveal how that was possible. Were they greedy, mad, angry, vulnerable, ambitious, fearful, bombastic, maniacal, weak, bloodthirsty, gullible? Personally, he was swayed by Dad while impressionable and later by Hitler via Goebbels propaganda machine. OK, we already know that about every German during WWII. Bruno, why and how were you vulnerable to that when the rest of the world was not? Why do some Germans today continue to deny the Holocaust? Why is there an element that still deifies Hitler and anti-Semitism?

I suspect that Bruno cannot to this day accept his own cowardice. He never dared to disagree or question his father, although he credits his mother and older brother with being able to avoid anti-Semitic hatred and Hitler worship. He wouldn't dare question his Nazism or the Fuhrer because he very likely knew it would mean his death or imprisonment. Hmmm, that may be the self evident truth every German citizen who willingly participated in Nazism has to face. They didn't take any contrary action because it was someone else who was being victimized and they were cowards. So, while he may have achieved some catharsis, I doubt that he completely exorcised the regret and shame he aimed for. Still, the book has some value derived from its basic honesty and first person account.

A Mind in Prison is a powerful and moving personal account of life as a committed Nazi, a soldier on the Eastern Front, and the difficult and painful realization that everything the author once stood for was evil and destructive. The candor of this book is both startling and refreshing because it gives the reader tremendous insight into the corrosive power of Nazi propaganda and ideology. For the author to admit thinking and acting like he did must have been a painful experience, but it gives this account a sharp edge of credibility that might otherwise be lacking. In fact, it is that candor that makes this story so heartrendering. The world would be a much better place if more people would break their silence about the tragedy of Nazi Germany and share their experiences and feelings as openly and sincerely as Dr. Manz has.

This book is basically the author's way of exorcising his personal demons. Manz grew up idolizing a man named Adolf Hitler, whom most Germans believed to be a sort of messiah sent to save them from the devastating poverty and national humiliation following the Treaty of Versailles. The book chronicles how Manz (and many other pro-Nazi Germans then) got to believe in the things he did, and his eventual disillusionment with the Third Reich.

Did the German civilians know about the atrocities of the concentration and extermination camps? Over the recent years, this question has loomed large in works concerning WWII in the European theater. Manz can't answer for every German during that period, but he gives us HIS story as an offering to further understanding in this matter.

This book struck a very personal chord with me. Although I was born decades after WWII, I grew up in a country where the press (in fact, every type of media - books, TV, movies, etc.) was heavily censored by the national government. The government told people what to think, what to say, when to assemble, and throws those who defy their orders in jail under the holy name of "national security". As a result, I totally understand how mind-numbing propoganda can be. A population, after all, is merely a collection of individuals living in a state. An individual's morals and personal biases are largely dependent on what information they have available to them. Hitler understood this very well, and with the help of his propoganda minister, Goebbels, managed to shape the thinking of an amazingly large portion of the German population, including the author's.

Manz is all the more convincing because he doesn't get overly apologetic, but does admit that he's not in any way proud of all that he has done (he was a Hitler Youth, and later a soldier in the German army). He feels very strongly for the victims of the Third Reich (the book is dedicated to them), and although he was never in direct contact with any official programs dealing with the "Jewish problem", regrets that he couldn't have done more.

It is very touching to read books by those who were on the "wrong" side of the war, especially those with a sense of morality (however late it surfaced) like Manz. This book is an important reminder to us of how dangerous bigotry can be, especially when it is led by an eloquent and convincing tyrant.

Rabbi Neuman tells his story starting through the eyes of a young boy and ending through the eyes of an elder Rabbi. The Story is told in a calm and matter of fact manner, leaving the adjectives describing the German brutality to the mind of the reader. Thus, the reader can get a much broader picture of the times without getting hung up with anger at specific transgressions. Most everyone would enjoy this book, but especially anyone who is old enough to remember the time when all this was happening.

Rabbi Nueman tells his story starting through the eyes of a young boy and ending through the eyes of an elder Rabbi. The Story is told in a calm and matter of fact manner, leaving the adjectives describing the German brutality to the mind of the reader. Thus, the reader can get a much broader picture of the times without getting hung up with anger at specific transgressions. Most everyone would enjoy this book, but especially anyone who is old enough to remember the time when all this was happening.

Rabbi Nueman tells his story starting through the eyes of a young boy and ending through the eyes of an elder Rabbi. The Story is told in a calm and matter of fact manner, leaving the adjectives describing the German brutality to the mind of the reader. Thus, the reader can get a much broader picture of the times without getting hung up with anger at specific transgressions. Most everyone would enjoy this book, but especially anyone who is old enough to remember the time when all this was happening.

I am not as eloquent as some others who have provided their perspectives, but I wanted to share my thoughts on this great book and author nonetheless. I live in NYC but grew up in Champaign, IL recognizing that Rabbi Neuman was and is a very bright and strong-willed man who packs great wisdom into relatively few words. But only after reading this book, and the brutality and hardships he faced, obstacles so great they are hard for most of us to even fathom, could I, or most anyone, fully appreciate the depth of his strength and courage. I have read very good books that more fully illustrate the details of the day-to-day murder and brutality (books such as Ordinary Men and Treblinka), but Rabbi Neuman makes it clear that not only were numerous innocent people murdered, but many wonderful communities and ways of life were forever destroyed. And yet, he, like many others, found the strength to move beyond the worst event in human history in order to make a difference and help others. This is among the must read books for anyone who wants to understand what was lost, particularly in Poland, in the genocide and devastation of the holocaust, all the while getting to learn about the courage and strength of survivors like Rabbi Isaac Neuman. Thank you for everything Rabbi Neuman!

In the Narrow Bridge: Beyond the Holocaust, Isaac Neuman set himself the most of difficult of tasks to write the "silent song of my vanished people.

He succeeds so well in invoking the presence of those who are absent that this reader feels as if he had sat at the study table of Reb Mendel as he taught a page of Talmud and told ancient stories that echo again and again the most contemporary of wisdom. The memoir is passionate and deep, religious in its intensity, and yet so very compassionate in its understanding.

Isaac Neuman makes the characters of his past come alive. We gain an insight into the world that ways and is no longer. We learn the streets of his beloved cities and its courtyards, more importantly we are privileged to enter the inner lives of its inhabitants. Unlike most Holocaust memoirs, which are most intense in their portrayal of the evil the survivors experienced, Neuman is most passionate about the past that has vanished and most successful at calling it forth.

Religious Jews will hear the echoes of Jewish legends in the last moments of minyan of martyrs who accepted their decree with dignity and had more faith in the divine that a God present in the Holocaust could ever possibly merit. Secular readers will read of Passover in the camps and glimpse the power of tradition to speak forth even in the most atrocious of circumstances. They will experience the consolation of the invocation of a miraculous, redemptive past in a world without miracles, without hope.

This lyrical work will touch the soul. One laughs, one cries, one mourns and indeed one even celebrates. Restrained prose glisten with insight. The work is deep, passionate, charming -- and ever so welcome.

Michael Berenbaum

Nazi Germany and the Jews is part one of the two set history of the Nazi reign of terror from Hitler's ascent to the chancellorship of Germany on January 30, 1933 to the regime's collapse in 1945. Volume I focuses on the years of persecution of the Jews from 1933 to the outbreak of World War II in the autumn of 1939. As the infamous Goering said, "I would not want to be a Jew in Germany".
Friedlander was born as a Jew in Prague, lived in occupied France during World War II and now teaches in Tel Aviv and UCLA. His book is a blunt, basic and brutal evocation of what it was like to be a Jewish individual in the Dantean hell of Hitler's unspeakably cruel Third Reich.
In plain language we see how the Nazis used German law to dispossess the Jews of their professions, homes, possessions and lives. We have explained the Nuremburg Laws of 1935 which gave definition to who is a Jew. It was horrible for this reader to witness the Crystal Night destruction of almost 300 synagogues and nearly 100 murders of Jews on the night of November 9-10, 1938. We see how concentration camps were set up administered by cold killer Himmler and his murderous SS thugs.
Friedlander posits that Adolf Hitler believed Jews to be behind the World Communist movement. It was Judaism and Communism he wanted to eradicate from the face of the earth. While most people turned their faces away from the horrors the Jews disappeared from German life. Goebbels and Nazi propoganda portrayed Jews as vermin which needed destruction if the Aryan German blood and folk were to be preserved.
As volume one ends the war has begun. Volume II covers the war years and the concentration camps where over six million Jews and other captive people would be murdered.
This book is written in a scholarly but understandable style for the general reader. It is one of the essential books you should read to inform yourself of a tragic time.

I've taken several seminars at UCLA with Saul Friedlander, and to say that he is an objective and very insightful historian is an understatement. This book is terrific and deserves all the critical praise that it has received. Even if you are just curious about the Holocaust, or you are a serious historian of the time period, you should definitely pick this book up.

This book is an excellent book for anyone wanting to learn about the rise of Fascism in Germany. It is factual and yet easy to read. Anyone that wants to understand how Hitler got his power should read this. The author's bias is kept to a minimum.

This is a wonderful book albeit with few personal experiences of the victims but on the whole you will enjoy the book. The writer's grasp of English is exceptional and in fact taking this parameter alone you can enjoy the book and learn something new in word and sentence formations. Though at first glance it may look like one of those boring and dry books, which inhabit the shelves of libraries all over the book without being opened for many years to come. The book is excellent and shows the level of utter nadir reached by Nazis and German people while persecuting their own. Seems to have been a sort of a collective disease in which even a modicum of humanity or decency taken a permanent back seat. The author has presented the facts and names of very difficult and guttural German names with such ease that there is no confusion to the reader.

I wonder why Israelis have to have any kind of relationship with Germany or Poland. . I think Israeli children are not really taught history but some kitsch formulated to draw their minds away from the murderers of their grandfathers to Palestinians. I think Israelis pretend that the Palestinians are the Germans of 1930's and 1940's, hence the highly ambiguous stance and conflicting gestures. Though it must be remembered that Arabs briefly flirted with Nazis like the Great Indian Leader Subhash Chandra Bose who fought against British imperialism - who excelled in demonstrative racial discrimination that was religiously followed by Germans with such ardor. I support the bombarding of German cities and also of the London Blitz. No doubt such "innocent" darlings hugely deserved each other.

This is an outstanding history. It is measured, detailed and backed by meticulous research. It is by far the best of this genre

The shame is that the much anticipated sequel is now not planned for publication.

But half a classic is better than none

Mr. Heleta's story is a great book for anyone trying to understand the tangled web of the war in the former Yugoslavia. His story is filled with sadness and despair, yet in those tragic times, Mr. Heleta has found courage to share his story and to make a difference in this world sometimes filled with turmoil. I recommend this book to anyone learning about the former Yugoslavia, war, or looking for inspiration. Thank you to the author for sharing your experiences.

Thank you, Savo, for being brave to share your story with the rest of the world. I was excited knowing the book is coming out, but I was also aware it would face me with my own experiences which I keep locked somewhere deep down in me. But I could not even imagine how intensively your story would bring back the ugly taste of the war once when I had it in my hands.

Your story is simple, direct and honest and is an invitation to anyone who wants to learn how the ordinary people feel in the chaos of terrible immorality and madness of the civil war. It reminded me of the fact that we all find our ways to avoid speaking about our pain. So, I am glad that you decided to speak up.

I am most thankful that you are bringing up details about people who resisted the madness, stayed connected with their humanity, and found ways to help other human beings more unfortunate than themselves in our war-torn country. Our stories should be told to the world because of these people, real heroes, who saved many lives and who did it quietly with no need for being recognized and awarded. There were many such heroes during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina who deserve to be remembered, and you certainly write about them.

I hope this book will be translated in the languages of people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We need to read and speak more about what we went through. Your book is the one that I would encourage everybody to start with because it speaks about ordinary people that all of us can identify with. It mirrors the complicated web of both damaged and precious relationships, and it smoothly proves how we humans are capable to survive unthinkable horrors and still remain connected with joy of hoping and loving.

I recommend this book with all my heart to people who want to learn or be reminded how much they are blessed to live in peace.

Heleta's work here is really something special that will move all its readers. The book is well written, keeping the reader interested with each chapter as it flows on an emotional rollercoaster about his family's story of surivial. Its easy to read yet informative, recalling accurate events during the war. Everyone can learn from this book, and will realize the importance of being a "good neighbor."

I hope to read more from Savo in the future!

I have been honored to say I have witnessed this process from the first draft to it's published work. The story has grown from its infancy on the computer in my basement to an inspiring story that opens one's heart to understanding.

Savo's story is a "so absorbed that I forgot to eat dinner" read. He describes the pleasures of a simple life that we can all empathize with. In this globalized world, we realize our commonality within this human experience. Yet, shows us how quickly humanity can devolve into a torrent of violence.

This story will imprint its mark of hope, generosity, and goodwill beyond the grasps of blind hatred. I am thankful this story will be shared.

I was anxious to read this book, because like Savo, I was also a child trapped in the same town in war-torn Bosnia. His account of the war experience in Gorazde is fair and captures the pain, as well as hope, that were the reality in those days. I recommed this book to anyone who would like to have a better understanding of human experience in times of war.

Albert Schweitzer was an acclaimed organist, a world authority on Bach, a church pastor and principal of a theological seminary, a university professor with a doctorate in philosophy, and above all a humanitarian. This book gives a stunning account of how he grew into his ideals and I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in ethics or philosophy. I was left with an urge to read more about this true human, who believed and practiced the basic principle of goodness, as I finished reading the book. Schweitzer's faith in what he believes in and how he transforms it to the needy is absolutely inspiring. The epilogue of the book is very thought provoking as it gives a clear idea of his vision and the relevance of it in the world we live in.

There is no better short book available on the mind and thoughts of Albert Schweitzer than this book. His theology on Jesus and Paul, his thoughts on Bach and organ building, his philosophy on Reverence for Life are all laid out here.

George Marshall (see my review of Marshall's excellent biography: Schweitzer) once asked Dr. Schweitzer what professors would best provide him an education on Schweitzer's thoughts. He replied that Marshall should not go to professors but "read my books! No one can express the ideas of a man as well as he has expressed them himself.... read my books".

Bob Frost of "Biography Magazine" once wrote, "Albert Schweitzer is not exactly forgotten today, but his name won't crop up in daily conversation. Fifty years ago, though, people talked about Schweitzer all the time. An American magazine selected him, ahead of Albert Einstein, as the "world's greatest living nonpolitical person." He was the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary, won the Nobel Peace Prize, and appeared on the cover of Time magazine. Fueled by idealism and burning spiritual passion, this medical missionary led one of the most intense lives of the 20th century."

Be apprized that "Out of my Life and Thoughts" is not an easy read. Dr. Schweitzer's theology and philosophy, though dense, is not incomprehensible. And due to the translation from French to English, you many find yourself reading a passage multiple times to get the gist his thoughts.

That said, for students of this great mind, this is a must read. Strongly recommended. 4.5 stars.

This book is not an easy read, but it is an interesting and worthwhile read. The chapter on why Dr. Schweitzer chose to be a medical missionary to Africa is especially interesting and meaningful. His thoughts on "Reverence For Life" are interesting and worthwhile reading, most provacative. His wide array of talent, abiltiy and interests are amazing and especially interesting, almost beyond belief and comprehension. His experiences as prisoner of war are revealing and somewhat shocking. At times the book gets tedious, especially in his philosophical thought,but don't let that stop you for slow you down. This book is well worth the read.

Do men like Albert Schweitzer exist anymore? Could or would our culture let them exist?

This is an elegant though brief memoir written by the great man himself. One should not expect too much detail, however, as the text only gives us glimpses into the man's life and the singular events that shaped who he was and what he became and, more importantly, what he accomplished. Schweitzer focuses mainly on the development of his theological and philosophical thought, beginning with his early endeavours leading to his famous work, `The Quest for the Historical Jesus'. From this point, he continues on towards the shaping of his magnum opus, `Philosophy of Civilization'. It is in this section of the text that he discusses two worldviews of life-affirmation and life-denial and pessimism. This work evolves into his philosophical perspective of Reverence for Life.

The biography ends in the year 1931, well before the advent of the Second World War. Schweitzer was only fifty-six years of age when he penned this work, well before receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, living and working for another forty-four years. Curiously, when his publisher requested that he write an autobiography, he was hesitant, as he was more or less still in his prime. However, as he wrote to his publisher fourteen years later on his seventieth birthday, memory fades with age, and he believed that writing about himself at that stage of his life, he could put down those important memories that remained fresh in his mind.

Schweitzer is certainly an inspiration - a man of immense strength, physically, emotionally and spiritually, with an almost endless capacity for work. The man worked in the most difficult of circumstances. Practicing medicine in intense tropical heat, day after day, disease run rampant; constant worry over funds to purchase much needed medical supplies. Moreover, the terrible events of two world wars - the odds he worked against to maintain the Lambarene Hospital, to my mind, is simply unimaginable. But the man persisted, rising every morning to meet disease, suffering, violence, death and loneliness.

This is an inspiring little book, charming and entertaining.

"Since my first years at the university I had grown increasingly to doubt the idea that mankind is steadily moving toward improvement. My impression was that the fire of its ideas was burning out without anyone noticing or worrying about it. ... What was just and equitable seemed to be pursued with only lukewarm zeal. I noticed a number of symptoms of intellectual and spiritual fatigue in this generation that is so proud of its achievements."
Albert Schweitzer was a man of action -- humanitarian, theologian, historian, musician, musical technologist, medical doctor, author, philosopher, missionary, professor, environmentalist, prisoner of war, recipient of the Nobel Prize. He writes an interesting autobiography, which is not surprising when one considers the breadth of his interests and of his achievements in science, the humanities and the arts. In his later years he was perhaps the most widely admired and respected person in the Western world.
Jimmy Carter offers a foreword in this volume; it is economical, a mere six sentences. Schweitzer's philosophical work may be well studied, but does not particularly distinguish itself in this volume (with some notable exceptions). His theological work (i.e., Christology) is generally questionable -- bound to Enlightenment fallacies of a "historical Jesus." I was happy to be concurrently reading the thoughts of a far better theologian, CS Lewis, on the idea of "discovering" a "historical" Jesus. While some of Schweitzer's ideas are [rightly] not highly regarded, his "life and thought" makes for unusually interesting biography. His "reverence for life" precept certainly has great value, but seems to be a less profoundly unique idea than he held it to be. Perhaps my view here is merely ignorant of the world in which Schweitzer lived.
He considered this book to be his best, or at least his preferred, writing, but if you are going to read only one book considering theological and historical exegetics, this is probably the wrong book. On the other hand, Schweitzer makes many observations cleanly and powerfully: "Our world rots in deceit. Our very attempt to manipulate truth itself brings us to ... [a truth] based on a skepticism that has become belief... It is superficial and inflexible." Kant had observed the intellectual paralysis of such "a skepticism that has become belief," but Schweitzer goes further, recognizing it as an even deeper spiritual paralysis.
While Schweitzer's Christology is, at the least, arguable, his firm commitment to Christ's commandment of love is a strong example of the Christian life led in the light of its Teacher's example. The author is [rightly] given to referring to Christianity as "the religion of love." In this aspect, Schweitzer at once offers the non-Christian a true image of Christianity and offers the Christian an important, if gentle, reminder. "[God] announces Himself in us as the will to love. The First Cause of Being, as He manifests Himself in nature, is to us always impersonal. To the First Cause of Being that is revealed to us in the will to love, however, we relate as to an ethical personality." And quoting Paul: "Love never faileth: but where there be knowledge it shall be done away."

What possessed me to purchase this book? There I was, in Bonanza Books, my favorite book store in my parent's home town. I looked at the title and thought, "Maybe I am interested in the struggle for mastery in europe (1848-1918).

I'm not at all a fan of european diplomatic history. Though the material has a certain "Wes Anderson" (filmmaker of Rushmore and Royal Tennenbaum) flavor to it. Lots of triple ententes, diplomatic notes and, my favorite phrase in the whole book- "secret diplomacy". You see, through out the time period of this book, few of the European Powers resembled the modern democracy of free press and public opinion. In fact- of the major powers (UK, France, Prussia/Germany, Austria Hungary, Russia and sometimes Italy and Turkey), only England was arguably a "demoracy" for the entire period.

So basically, European Diplomacy during this period resembled a version of Risk- alll the players plotting with first one partner, then the other, with the idea of maintaining a balance, rather then provoking a final reckoning. Taylor- an english historian who is widely acclaimed for being one of the first "tv" personalities from the history profession (though not on you tube), was also one of the very first "revisionist" historians. "Mastery" was originally published in 1954. Talor is revisionist in an American sense because he doesn't adopt a principled/moral perspective on the events of history. Although Taylor is "anti-German" in a broad sense, it's a more sophisticated perspective on world affairs then most americans are used to reading at the college level (though I'd imagine post graduate students of european history are required to read taylor.

In my reading, the nuances of each event (Colorful sub chapters like "The Andrassy Note" or "The Leauge of the Three Emperors" abound) are subsumed by the broad flow of Taylor's broader "anti-great men" of history approach. Taylor takes the position that most deailng in international affairs are dealing with a lack of solid information about their oppoenents and partners. I can think of at least twent occasions where Taylor was "But Minister X was wrong about his assumption."

That there largely was no war amongst the so-called Great Powers between the Crimean war of the 1850s and World War I of 1914 is largely ascribed by Taylor to the brilliance of Bismarck. Bismarck's genius is that he subscribed to a world view where Germany DID NOT dominate all of Europe. After he leave the scene, the German/Prussian leadership is gradually won over to the "German mastery over Europe." "German Nationalism" serves as an eerie prologue to events that this book does not cover, but the time period in Mastery is just as close to Napoleon's French Empire- an era also not covered in this book.

Taylor successfully tackles a sprawling, detailed subject -- seventy years of byzantine European diplomacy that set the stage for the First World War and, not so indirectly, the Second. He doesn't hold the reader's hand, and assumes you are familiar with many of the events and people he discusses. I wasn't, so I referred often to Britannica, Encarta, and Wikipedia as I read. By doing so, I learned a lot from this book.

El Prof. Taylor, de Oxford ,ha escrito una pieza maestra. Por decadas sera leido y recordado con furor. El libro es ameno y de facil comprension. Su estilo brillante y claro ha hecho historia en si mismo. Un libro para releer.

A. J. P. Taylor's The Struggle for Mastery in Europe is the book to start reading about those 70 crucial years in Europe's history.
The book begins with the Revolutions of 1845, that's why it would be a good thing to have some knowledge regarding the Napoleonic Wars and its outcome (Treaty of Metternich). Taylor analyses the out coming system of the Balance of Power that governed European diplomacy until War World I. According to This system, the five great powers (England, Prussia, Austria, Russia and the defeated France) would balance each others force, avoiding the out come of war.
The system worked pretty well until the fall of Bismarck. That is because Bismarck, as his successor once said, knew how to "play with three balls at the same time". He could keep Russia and Austria tied to Germany at the same time. Thus, France was checked. Nevertheless, when Germany didn't renewed its treaty with Russia the obvious move was Russia's alliance with France.
It could be said that by 1885 the outcome of a Great War was a matter just of time. The system of alliances so well designed by Metternich and so well understood and curried out by Bismarck was at the same time the cause of War World I. Without a great politician as Bismarck nobody could make Metternich's system work.
All through his book, Taylor explains what I have just summarized in a really better way. I highly recommend the lecture of this great book.

A. J. P. Taylor's book is the sine qua non for university students of European history. This is the real deal: Taylor was a genuine historian who never went further than his facts--and his facts are incredibly well researched, well documented, and bountiful. This is true historiography: the way history ought to be done! Plus, Taylor writes very well, in a lively and entertaining fashion. He has good language, wit, and trenchant observations.

It must be noted that this is a history of diplomacy--with some political and military of necessity treated. What does this mean? Well, it means that the characters of Taylor's book are mostly forgotten professional diplomats, and therefore most of their names won't be familiar to those unschooled in modern European history--Bismarck and Disraeli excepted. But this esoterica only increases the value of Taylor's work; for it reveals these forgotten characters to us once again: a gem of historical literature.

When I picked this book up from the library I was not sure it would be one that I would enjoy,but I was surprised how into the story I got and could not put it down! I am not going to tell all the details of the book but I will just say that if you want a book that will not only capture you mind but your heart as well than you will enjoy this book and even be sad when it ends cause you just want to keep reading!

Maurine F. Dahlberg.... wow can you ever write. This is one of my very favorite books of all time and I swear that I have read WAY to many books. Right now I am doing an Independant Novel studu on it and have to do a bibliography on you. I can't seem to find information but kids and/or Adults if you ever need a good book to read, I suggest you pick up a Play to the Angel and dig in!

" Austria 1938. War is coming. But Greta only cares about her music." What if suddenly you were practicing in your piano professor's apartment. When a loud banging comes from the door. You open it to see starched uniforms, shiny boots, pistols, swastikas, and lightning bolts. The Nazis are at the door.
This was just one of the many scenes from Pay to the Angel. Where words of cheerfulness and depression burn a seeping image in your mind. This author really sets the scene. Maurine Dahlberg wrote the magnificent and extraordinary novel.
Greta Radky loves to play the piano. But her mother does not want her to play. She threatens to sell the piano. But luckily, a piano teacher moved into the apartment not far away. Se learns how to play the piano from a Herr Hummel. But while at a party with her friends Mutti (the mother) finds out! But in a last desperate attempt by Herr Hummel and Greta, she decides... to keep the piano. So Greta plays better and better and eventually she is invited, by Herr Hummel, to a Recital at a huge musical academy, in front of a large audience! She had never done this before. And more than anything she wants Mutti to come. But at the end of the recital she is not there. When she leaves the academy, she why Mutti had not come. The Nazis had taken over Austria! But that's all I'm going to tell (I hate Spoilers).
One day, Greta was practicing on Herr Hummel's piano Sunday morning. Herr Hummel was never at his apartment room come Sunday morning. So he had given Greta a spare key to the room. Then a knocking came from the door. Too loud to be Mutti, Herr Hummel, or any of the neighbors. She opened the door, and the hall was filled with Nazis. Then they swarmed the room, tearing it apart, looking for signs of the unidentified Herr Hummel.
The theme to the book is that things aren't what they seem. Like cold- hearted Mutti, turns out to be, happy, loving, caring Mutti. And like Herr Hummel's identity. And how no one seemed to think that the Nazis would invade Austria.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books with mystifying people. And anyone who loves to read about history. This is a very creative story. If you wish to find out about Herr Hummel's secret past, Mutti's true feelings, and the story of Greta Radky, you will have to read Play to the Angel.

When I started to read this book, I was captivated. It is interesting and provides a good insight to musical life to someone who is musically challenged. I thought Herr Hummel, or Karl Von Engelhart, was very well-done and interesting. When I finished this book I suddenly wanted to go to Austria and see what it was like. The only thing I didn't like was it ended on a cliff-hanger, and I really tortured myself thinking about if Greta ever saw Lore or Erika or Karl von Engelhart (Herr Hummel) again.

One thing I disagree with in the review above: they say that Doris Ogel's The Devil in Vienna is better than Play to the Angel. It is not! I read about half of TDIV and I was totally bored and disinterested, although I finished it. It was shallow and the emotions of Inge were very undeveloped. Though I'm getting off the subject. Read Play to the Angel and you won't be disappointed!

Greta was a piano player in Vienna, Austria in 1938. Her brother Kurt died about a year before and her mother is starting to get insane migraines. But those wont stop Greta from dreaming of becoming a famous pianist. She is different from all the girls in school. And now that her best friend Erica has moved to America, she truly feels alone sometimes. Even her neighbor Frau Vogel can't help her that is until she tells Greta about a piano teacher that lives in the apartment next door. She goes to the apartment one day but no one is there. She walks in to find a beautiful grand piano. She takes out some music and begins to play when Herr Hummel startles her. They eat and start to talk. By the time Greta leaves she has agreed to take piano lessons from him for free. She keeps this a secret from her mother for a while but when Herr Hummel brings up that he wants Greta to play at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts. Greta begins to practice music from Scarlatti and Mendelssohn for her recital. Finally the day of her performance comes. Her and her mother had gotten in a fight earlier that day but Greta had hoped that she could still make it. To her surprise her mother didn't arrive. When the recital was over Greta and Herr Hummel were rushed back to Herr Hummel's apartment where they found Frau Vogel and Greta's mother with an injured ankle. Apparently the Nazi's had invaded Austria and while Greta's mother was running out of the shop where she works she sprained her ankle. Soon one of Herr Hummel's old students Rudolf Beck, who Greta and Herr Hummel had seen while they were in the city, has sent the SS for Herr Hummel. Greta is in Herr Hummel's apartment when the SS came in tearing the place up looking for things. That is when she finds out that Herr Hummel is actually famous pianist Karl von Englehart, and that he is wanted for helping Jews escape the Nazi's. When the SS men leave Greta remembers the money and passports in Herr Hummel's desk and takes them across town to the Academy where he is with one of the directors. He tells Greta that he is going to Prague and that he will contact her when he is safe. Later Greta receives a letter from him saying that he is on his way to America. Greta and her mother escape the Nazi's by going to live with family in Switzerland. This book is good for students who like to learn about the affects of WW2 and who study music. This book shows students that no matter what they can always make their dreams come true.

In the beginning of the book Greta has suffered a great lose in her life, her brother Kurt, who also played piano, died and her mother is becoming very irritable. Her mother used to always have fun with them and enjoy listening to Kurt play the piano but now every time Greta touches it she says she has a headache and wants to rest. Also her mother almost sold the piano and Greta began to greatly doubt she could ever become a concert pianist.

Greta also doesn't fit in with many girls in her school. For one of her papers she has to write about the best day of her life and she writes about one where she spends it alone playing the piano but her fear of being made fun of lowers her self esteem and makes her nervous about her upcoming recital.

After her recital Greta realizes that many people believe in her and that she can accomplish anything she wants to. Her mother risked dying to see her play at the Academy and Herr Hummel risked being captured by the Nazi's to help her succeed with her playing. And she even makes a new friend, Lore, who likes her for who she is and what she does. Greta realizes she has nothing to be shy about and that her brother would be proud that she is accomplishing what he couldn't.

This book can truly teach students many things about the world around them and themselves. I recommend this book to students of all ages that would like to learn more about the piano or more about the affects of war on people.


T.Shene

Yes, this book is very witty and very easy to read. I am en route to France for a year next year as an American exchange student, and I found this book to be very helpful for every aspect of the process--except I wish she added more information like "Why did she switch host families?" and about school. She barely mentioned anything about homework, the lycée, or anything like that. But I loved everything else about the book. It was intriguing and exciting. And also, it's a very nice quick read. If you are, going to be, or was an exchange student, this book is a must-have. Anther book I recommend is The Exchange Student Survival Kit. Au revoir!

I am planning on studying abroad to France in 2003 and this book has helped me out in many ways. It told me exactly what I need to know before I go, how the French people are, the school system, and it gave me encouragement. Just reading about how she doesn't regret going makes me want to go even more. I just wished she would have added more about how to handle so much school! Anyway, this book is great to read, even if you aren't planning on going to France. It has a lot of interesting facts that I could never imagine possible. Great book.

The moment I saw this book in the bookstore, I knew I had to get it because Megan did what I have always wanted to do: be an exchange student in another country. This book is just so charming, delightful, and cute. I finally was able to be an exchange student this summer in a Spanish speaking country, and while I was not gone a whole academic year but only for a couple of weeks, I always had this book by my side because so many things were the same. So if you have ever been an exchange student before/hosted one in America, or are going too I recomend this book right away, and if you are just looking for a good book to read you'll have a ball.

On the cover of this book, the publisher exudes, "A delightfully irresistible, charming account of a young American girl's year abroad." For once, this kind of description is actually an understatement. Yes, the book is in fact "delightfully irresistible" and truly charming. But the writing is also exceptionally limpid and evocative and betrays an exceptional maturity and talent. Megan McNeill Libby gives us beautifully impressionistic portraits of France, the French, and her very personal struggles, disasters, and triumphs. Her depiction of the French is extraordinarily perceptive and from my own experience living in France totally accurate. At times, I laughed until I cried; more frequently, I caught myself involuntarily smiling and nodding in agreement. But the deeper reward of reading this book is simply seeing the way that Ms. Libby writes and thinks. She is one of those rare authors with whom one falls in love after (no, during) a single reading. I am normally sparing with my praise, but I readily admit to being a gourmand for this book. Merci bien, Megan, and please give us more!

The author of Postcards from France, Megan Libby, was just 16 when she went to France in 1994 as your typical AFS student. But she wasn't typical: she had her eyes wide open and was able to record, in a series of letters and postcards sent back home, what a humbling experience it is to be a newcomer in another culture. By turns comedic, touching, insightful, and revealing, Postcards from France is always refreshing - and it's highly likely this talented young author will go on to write more books that will be a pleasure to read.