Europe Books

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.

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.

Certainly the warmest and friendliest guidebook out there, this one also happens to be the best. Although he may or may not have written the entire book, it sure feels like Rick Steves is there page after page talking to you one on one, telling you all about the places to go in and around London. Leaving little out, covering things you'd never think of on your own, this is a book to buy and pack and take with you. Well worth the price!

Went to London. I wasn't able to see everything, but this helps get you on your way. Going back soon.

Had the opportunity to visit london for a short stay. Book was an imense help on finding a hotel ways to move around.

This book was excellent. I found it very helpful in finding places and in getting background information about the places I wanted to see. I would recommend this book as one that you should purchase when Planning a trip.

I am a big fan of Rick Steve's guidebooks so understand my bias. We used this 2006 version in Dec 2006 to find lodging, a few restaurants and many of the walking tours. All information was still up to date and excellent. However, please note that the 2007 version should come out in Jan 2007 or close to that time and will be even more current. Great tips and easy to read information on days and times that sights are open or open late is essential and very helpful in planning the trip.

Good service, good price, the used book look new.
My uncle was with the 45th and he said the author was historically correct in his description of the men and battles in which the 45th fought. I found the book not only interesting but a keepsake for me and my family. I appreciate this indepth study of this gallant group of men.

Being a former National Guard officer and having visited the concentration camp in Dachau in a trip through Europe, I was interested in this book. The scene when the soldiers get to the Dachau concentration camp was unforgettable. This event makes us all realize how important it was to win this war against fascist and extremely racist dictators.

Whitlock does an excellent job in trying to report the facts without any moral judgements in all parts of the book. Whitlock also brings the reader to see the mistakes as well as the successes and gives his reasons. We see the events of Anzio from the level of generals, and other events from the reactions of lower level officers and enlistedmen. This book is a true testament to the sacrifice of Guard soldiers in World War II. I wish there were more books like this one on Guard units in World War II. This is an excellent book to read for the amateur military historian.

The Rock of Anzio chronicles the WW II experience of the 45th Division, a national guard unit primarily from OK, TX, and NM. This covers prewar status, the callup to federal duty, and its' prodigious battle action in Sicily, Italy including Anzio, France, and Germany. Personal remembrances of former thunderbirds (the divisions' nickname) are widely used as well as the divisional history. Far from being a dry accounting of the divisions' exploits, this book is very easily read, with many small details well covered as well as the overall strategic situation the division was facing at that time. I personally wasn't aware of the critical defense of Anzio by the thunderbirds. Battle actions are well written and exciting to read. I would recommend this book to anyone with a special interest in the Italian campaign and it is a excellent companion book to Edwin Hoyt's Backwater War.

I really enjoyed this book. It moved so well, and kept my interest from cover to cover. I have read many unit histories, and this work is the most complete. It cover the unit from activation, through all of its battles. Anzio and Dachau must get the highest praise. Anzio is written so well, I can hardly see how the US prevailed in that battle. I also never knew of the conflict between the Thunderbirds (45th ID) and the Rainbows (42nd ID), over the liberation of the Dachau Concentration camp (even having visited it). The author does a great job, buy this book!

My late grandfather was a Thunderbird (157th rgmt, M co), and seldom talked of his World War Two days. After reading this book, I now know why. I can only imagine what it must have been like to live for days on end in a wet foxhole, always cold and miserable. Only have the faintest idea of what horrors he saw when Dachau was liberated. The stories of those days were never told by him. As with many men of his generation, he did not want to remember those terrible events of nearly sixty years ago. _The Rock of Anzio_ tells the story that my grandfather was never able to tell, a story that should be told.

For many years the world behind the Iron Curtain was a mystery. There were Sovietologists of all different kinds. One famous Daniel Bell essay gave I believe eight or so different basic ways of interpreting the Soviet Union. Hedrick Smith is a reporter and what he did in this outstanding work was to look into the ordinary life of Soviet society as far as he could. He explained then close to thirty years ago many of the anomalies of the system. And when I read the book then I felt I really was getting inside information into a hidden and highly significant world.

I cannot claim to be a student of Russian history, but I have always foudn the ironies and disconnects of Russian life interesting. I just read this book in 2004, and now understand today's headlines from Russia, and their nostalgia for the order of the brutal regimes that preceded the fall of the Soviet Union. This is, as someone else said, a classic, a must read, a requirement for anyone who needs to understand Russia. Don't worry about it being date; part of Russian culture is that they cling hopelessly to the old while being swept cruelly away by the new. The attitudes and longings portrayed in this book appear to still be the same.

I have been a student of the Soviet Union for many years, but did not come across this book until very recently, and I must say that I feel this one book does more to provide a picture of Soviet life than perhaps all the other study I had done previously.

While it is true that there is an "American bias" to this book, it isn't overpowering, and it leaves room for the "unbiased" student to draw plenty of their own conclusions. Overall I find this to be the least biased of all the western histories of the Soviet Union.

What I found most fascinating was the distinct parallel between American conservatives (who of course are anti-Marxist) and Russian conservatives of the time (where were very pro-Marxist).

As a student of Marxism, I fully understand this, but this book demonstrated it so well. In mentality, its safe to say that many of America's far right Republicans would have been among the USSR's Marxist orthodoxy.

This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Soviet Union, it will dispell myths on both sides.

Hendrick Smith is a New York Times correspondent that spent the years 1970-75 living in and among the Soviet people, studying both the people and the culture. As much as a westerner could he immersed himself in many aspects of their lives interviewing workers, peasants, government beaurocrats, physicists, writers, movie producers, dissidents and students. He came away with a picture of a passionate and conflicted people; at times warm and hospitible, fearful and paranoid, petty and tyrannical, cynical and apathetic, and proud and loyal. In a country where the state is in overwhelming control of nearly every aspect of their lives, where a stroke of the pen from a government beaurocrat could destroy a man's life for the slightest misstep, the Russian are hardy souls that have found many ingenious ways to cope and survive.

In a supposedly classless utopia Smith shows us a country deeply divided by class distinctions, much more so than anywhere in the west. With a haughtiness that rivals the most snobbish western aristocrat, the cultural elite enjoy a life that is completely out of reach of the common man. They get to shop at special stores, stocked to the gills with imported goods from all over the world (Soviet made items considered beneath them) while the rest of the country spends on average 22 hours a week per household standing in line for basic necessities. The blatant corruption and hypocrisy is startling, but don't you dare voice it. Smith claims that just a few weeks of this type of living would wither away the will of your average American, and I believe him.

Only a westerner living among the Soviet people could write such a book. He tells of his 11-year-old daughter, enrolled in a Soviet public school, coming home and practising military drills taught as a regular part of the curriculum, or repeating songs and slogans extolling the `Great Leninist State' and condemning America without really comprehending the meaning of anything she's saying. Soviets are taught from an early age to simply parrot the idealogical dogma that is fed to them on an almost daily basis without digging too deeply. The Russians are so used to being lied to by their own government that they assume all nations lie to their people, and the Soviet government uses this political cynicisim as an effective means of control.

Although many of these `facts' about life in the USSR are fairly common knowledge in America (especially if you grew up during the Reagan years), Smith puts a human face on it that transforms this grey, drab, and seemingly monotonous totalitarian state into a vivid and colorful mosaic of a sincere, intelligent and deeply conflicted people with a communal inferiority complex

Although this book is now rather dated (from the Brezhnev era of the 1970s) it still sticks in my mind as a very vivid portrait of Russia and the Russians...I read it in my late teens circa 1989 or so. I didn't read THE NEW RUSSIANS until a couple of years ago. Both are excellent books but I enjoyed THE RUSSIANS more, I think. Any student of Russia would do well to read this book even today...although it's no longer contemporary/current events it still captures like a snapshot the then-USSR in the late 70s, and even some discussion of the earlier times in people's memories then--Krushchev, Stalin, etc. I found the book insightful and still relevant when I myself I finally visited Russia in 1993. Should be available at most Public Libraries...handle with care, the copies will be old.

Superb! As someone of Scottish ancestry who went to graduate school there back in the 1970s, I was naturally drawn to this book. Taken at face value, writing a book on three tiny, uninhabited islands is quite challenging, given the nearly four hundred pages this book encompasses. Mr. Nicolson writes stirring prose as he disects every aspect of the Shiants--history, geology, plant life, animal life, etc. From this, the reader can acquire knowledge on a wide variety of subjects that extend well-beyond these little isles--for example, I learned that the abundant defecation of geese is brought about their need to constantly reduce body weight or else lose the ability to fly, as these are indeed heavy birds.

As one interested in the history of the Western Isles, what these islands experienced has application for this entire area, in that many of the smaller isles have experienced the same trend towards depopulation that have beset the Shiants, with the last permanent residents leaving the Shiants in the early 1900s. The author contends that all of this a byproduct of modern, urbanized society which results in individuals in remote places feeling isolated, a psychology that didn't exist 500 years ago when what one could find on one island or the nearby mainland didn't differ substantially from the small islands you inhabited.

Humor abounds, especially funny to read about his father's experinces in the 1930s, the story of him walking around in the nude as he was the only one there, only to be surprised by unknown visitors having a pic nic. Also in the 1930s, his father invited two beautiful young ladies who were to serve as bridesmaids for the future Queen Elizabeth II for a visit. The author muses on why Dad ever invited them as the rat-infested house had no electricity and conditions were very primitive. The trip ends horribly for the young women, with a rat disrupting their sleep and their having to leave the isle the next day by wading out to the boat taking them back to the mainland. Conditions today are still just as primitive-no electricity, running water, etc.

Best part--the end--beautiful description of sitting on a high hill--with the Isle of Skye to the east, the Outer Hebrides to the west. What a place! What a book!

I bought this book to indulge my interest in Scotland's islands, and found that, and much more. Essentially, this is a memoor with history, geology, flora and fauna tucked into it. The three small Shiant islands in the Hebrides come alive in Nicolson's hands. He's an excellent writer, drawing the reader in without "effect". You can sense his total awe and regard for this legacy. And, except for the rats, you find yourself wanting to live there, for a few summertime weeks, simply exploring coves and beaches and the semi-desolate interiors of these islands. Along the way, you learn a lot, in pleasurable fashion. Nicolson truly touches on the islands' soul. Recommended!

A compelling book about the realities of life in the Scottish Islands. Adam has done an excellent job of blending historical details with his descriptions of this area. Well worth a read!

Not the other way around. This was the greatest theme I took away from Adam Nicolson's "Sea Room," the story of the three tiny, uninhabited Shiant (say "Shant") Islands in the Hebrides of Scotland, which Nicholson inherited from his father (the famed author Nigel Nicolson, the son of Vita Sackville-West).

Nicolson's approach to describing the islands for his readers resembles John McPhee's: it's an engaging blend of natural history (how were the islands formed?), human history (who lived here and why?), archaeology, and ecology (how do the animals and plants of the Shiants form a whole world?). The difference is that Nicolson's passion for place is quite specific: he loves the Shiants like one loves one's parents, infinitely and irreplaceably. You can't imagine him running off and writing a second book about another place.

Nicolson's prose is lyric and detailed at the same time; despite the length (350 pages and more), the story never flags. At the end of the book, Nicholson defends his continued private ownership of the islands (many feel they should be a public trust); I wasn't convinced, but I respected his strong urge to transmit his love of the place to his son and future generations of his family.

By the way, Nicholson publicly offers the keys to his cottage to anyone desiring to stay there (his e-mail address is in the book); but consider first that rats seem now to be part of the natural ecology of the place. But perhaps that won't phase you (it doesn't phase Nicholson a bit!).

Ah, what a fine book this is. Reading it is like spending time with a new friend. Nicholson has a sharp and curious mind and a generous spirit. You may not think you can be much interested in a group of three little islands in the Outer Hebrides - the Shiants - their climate, wildlife, prehistory, geology, archeology, socio-economics, agriculture, shepherding, folk literature, the sea currents around them, and the host of other topics covered in this book, but Nicholson draws you in. Soon you are immersed in whatever there is to be known about what amounts to less than a square mile of rock, cliffs, beach, and meadow.

The book is organized around the turn of the year, beginning with Nicholson's first journey to the islands in his own boat in the spring, and ending with the first gusty wet weather of autumn, as he sits at the window in a two-room cottage writing. Into this annual cycle he interweaves story upon story, often speculative, of how the islands came to be, how they came to be what they are, and the people over thousands of years who have lived here.

As the year passes, Nicholson sketches in the broad sweep of recorded history from St. Columba to the present, noting the several hands through which the islands have passed, including his father's and his own. A team of archeologists identifies the remains of Iron and Bronze Age settlements and spends a summer uncovering a long abandoned farmstead. The discovery of a buried cobblestone with an ancient inscription sends him on one of many attempts to unravel mysteries that he uncovers.

The book is based on considerable research, and Nicholson pieces together a previously unwritten history of the islands with references drawn from many old documents and interviews with historians and other experts. He helpfully illustrates his text with many photographs, drawings, and maps.

This book is for anyone who feels the magical pull of islands. You will not regard them quite the same way again.

My son's Christian School teacher had this book as the other two books in this series on her reading list, however, it was out of print. We purchased all three and my son was very captivated by the action and story lines. Although written for the Christian, all children will love it.

Wow! This book if full of adventure and suspense! The plot is unique and very interesting! I think anyone of any age would enjoy reading this book. It involves likeable characters (especially Con), and religion. Pick up a copy of SECRET OF THE MEZUZAH now! :o) HAPPY READING!

This book is a great beggining for Con's adventures. You get sucked into the book as soon as you start reading. It makes you not want to stop reading it until you are done, but sad when you finish it.

Secret of the Mezuzah is written for young adults, but was very interesting and enjoyable reading for me, a forty-something adult. I appreciated the history included with the present day setting. The characters are engaging and believable. I would recommend this book to adults and certainly to young adults! Fiction, but not fantasy, events that could have taken place and lessons to apply about the people in our lives and around the world.

This is one of the best adventure stories geared toward young people that I've ever read (and I've read a lot!). The relationships are realistic and handled with sensitivity, especially the depictions of casual, ingrained anti-Semitism that could happen anywhere, not just in Austria. Even people who don't consider themselves Christian will get something out of this story.

A very informative book, however it is easy to see that it was written by professors. The book does make basic business subjects more complex than needed.

With its comprehensive content, the book gives a fantastic overview of the important issues in services marketing today. There are many interesting and practical examples demonstrating the learning points. Well-balanced perspective. Besides giving readers the foundations of concepts and tools to use as services marketing managers, it also gives readers interesting tips on how to get around or leverage on current services strategies used by companies as customers.

Its a very useful book covering all aspects of services marketing. Contents are well organised with real world examples, frameworks that you can apply to practical issues etc. I have read through all the chapters in the book and a few headings very interesting
1) Loyalty
2) Managing services people
3) Understanding service quality
4) Power of service guarantee
I strongly recommend anyone interested in services marketing to buy this book.

As Services industries continue to become a larger and larger share of our global economy, the importance of Services Marketing can only grow. Wirtz and Lovelock have written an excellent book for understanding Services Marketing and backing it up with numerous excellent real world case examples. I have been in the Services industry for 21 years, but still learned a tremendous amount from the book and cases. The book makes it easy to grasp the key concepts and has a logical, smooth flow. If after reading this book and exploring the accompanying cases, you still don't have a thorough knowledge of Services Marketing, it is YOUR fault! I highly recommend this book and think it should be part of every MBA program.

This is such a well-written and well-organized book that you can simply read from cover-to-cover or jump into your interested chapters right away.

Not only does the authors present you with their in-depth coverage of the various services related topics, supplementary materials (papers, cases) from other excellent sources/authors make this an absolute encyclopedia of services marketing and a coherent contemporary literature for both novices and seasoned practitioners.

This is THE book for this very under-written and immensely critical topic of services marketing and an essential reading for the 60-80% of the workforce who are involved in the ever growing services sector.

Costain originally published THE THREE EDWARDS in 1958. While he has an easy-to-read style, which as other reviewers have remarked, makes him as fun to read as a good novel, his opinions sometimes come off as pompous - even absurd - by today's standards. For instance, in writing about the love affair between Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer, he says, "When a woman of passionate nature has existed in a loveless marriage and has reached the late twenties before yielding to a clandestine impulse, it may be taken for granted that she will not be guided by anything but the dictates of her love."

Later, about the woman who would become Queen Philippa, he writes, "Queen Philippa [in comparison to Isabella] had seemed rather colorless. She was pretty, sweet, and domestic, a typical Dutch girl."

The short section on Edward II never directly refers to the king's homosexuality. Rather, there are references to his "favorites."

If you can get past these prejudices, you'll learn a lot about 3 reigns - Edward I, II and III - in short order (the 1962 reprint that I read was slightly under 450 pages). Costain does a good job of summarizing the important events as well as the characters of the key men and women. There is also a good summary of the life of Edward III's son, Edward (called the Black Prince for the color of his armor).

I also like the fact that he provides information on his sources - calling rumor, rumor and referring to some contemporary writers as gossipmongers.

On time, as advertised, and packaged well. No problems at all. Would use again.

This is one of a quartet that Costain wrote describing the monarchs and key events in European history from William the Conqueror to the War of the Roses. The history is accurate. It is always clear where Costain is speculating and where he is drawing on traditional sources, such as the various chronicles of the era. However, he weaves them together so smoothly that the reader needs concern her/himself with documentation only when it pleases. Costain is first and foremost a good story teller and an elegant writer.

Costain does a great job with this overview of the first named Edwards to lord it over the English throne. From the fierce but just Edward I ("Hammer of the Scots") to the effete and ineffectual Edward II to the long-reigning and erratic Edward III, the author sustains our interest with anecdotes and thorough reporting of the times. Costain has a delightful habit of suddenly focusing on a historical figure one doesn't generally hear about and then presenting the reader with yet another biography to get excited about. Well done, well written. well read.

All history books should be written as well as Thomas Costain's "The Three Edwards." A comprehensive guide to the lives and labors of the great warrior kings Edward I and Edward III and the screw-up, Edward II, who ruled in between them, this book unfolds more like an easy-to-read and hard-to-put-down novel. Divided into short, easily manageable and well-organized chapters, it covers everything from the marriages of the kings and their children, the political highs and lows of their reigns, the manner of their deaths and the major battles of their wars. Many books about this era are hard to follow if you don't already have a good working knowledge of the time period. Costain avoids this problem by telling you who the people are, what they looked and acted liked, and why they are important to the story, helping you keep track of them by reminding you when he's spoken of them before, and generally describing the people so well that they don't just become a series of names that you can't keep track of. Although he obviously admires Edward I, has disdain for Edward II, and seems to be neutral toward Edward III, to whom about half the book is devoted, he is careful to point out both the good and bad in each of their characters and to place their actions in the context of their times. Plenty of space is given to the kings' ministers, merchants, wives and families, and to those of the Scottish and French rulers with whom the Edwards were at constant war, including Robert the Bruce, William Wallace, John Balliol, Philip the Fair, Jean the Good, and Charles the Bald.

One of the things I love about this book is that Costain shares so many of the great rumors and stories that passed down over the ages (such as Edward I promising the Welsh that he will give them a prince that speaks no English or French and then appointing his newborn son to the post), simply because they are great stories, while taking pains to point out why they can't be true. You can almost feel Costain winking at you as he relates the tales. Another great aspect of the book is that he devotes substantial time to the women of the period, who are generally ignored in most books on the middle ages. Edward II's wife, Isabella of France, is examined in detail, as is Eleanor of Castille, the first and beloved wife of Edward I whose death moved him to erect eleven costly stone crosses to her memory.

This book presents a very comprehensive overview of the lives and works of the three kings and is a great starting place for those who know very little about their lives, or a great review for those who've read much about them. You won't get every tiny bit of detail about Edward III's famous battles of Sluys, Crecy and Poitiers here that is found in, for instance, Jonathon Sumption's books on the Hundred Years War, but they are all well-summarized, and Costain includes many important details such as numbers of foot and mounted soldiers on each side, terrain, battle tactics and formations, and number of casualties as well as political motivations. Given the length of the book, there is a surprising wealth of detail packed into every page, including such wonderful tidbits as the origin of the word "blanket," which came from the name of Thomas Blanket, an early English manufacturer of the item.

In the last few months I have read over two dozen books on the middle ages, and this had been by far the most informative and enjoyable, the one book that really makes the events of the period come alive and the people seem to be actual people of flesh and blood, rather than just an amalgam of their deeds and accomplishments. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Sandy Mackinnon says it himself - 'I exaggerate, for effect'. I loved the description of the journey from small streams in the north to the tidal rivers of the south and the crossing over to France. It all rings true to my own much more limited experience of rivers and canals in small rowing boats and canoes. But this man is much more capable than you might think from a superficial reading of the book - I know this because I'm on my third reading and have no intention of leaving it there.

The only other book I've loved this much is Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers, in some ways the complete opposite of this book where the main character convincingly describes the skill and expertise of Davies, the owner of the small yacht Dulcibella. A J Mackinnon as a single-hander must write of his own journey himself, so to preserve modesty and to entertain the reader he presents himself as a bumbling amateur with little idea of how to row, sail or maintain his eleven foot boat, but he still gets to the Black Sea by way of rivers and canals that would challenge any experienced sailor. His self-deprecation mightn't fool me but I'm left feeling even more impressed by the journey he describes so well.

I'm not a sailor nor intend to be after reading this wonderful adventure book but, I love adventure stories especially true ones where someone goes off on their own and let's nature do what she will.

This book had me laughing out loud as I think our boy here bit off more then he could chew at the start . seemed like a good idea at the time I suppose : ) altho he did manage to become learned about the nautical jargon thru trial and error . buy it, borrow it ...have a laugh .

A friend shared this book with me, hoping I'd enjoy it as much as he did. And I did. Being familiar with the country and the people - but not the rivers, I loved every mile of Jack De Crow's journey, laughing at almost every page at the impossible conditions that Mackinnon found himself in. As I knew they would, Mackinnon and Jack De Crow rose above it all.

I grew to love that little boat. In turn I shared with friends and family.

If you like sailing small craft and mini-crusiers and camping out, you will love this book. Most entertaining, humorous and well written.....good work Jim McKinnon !

Sandy Mackinnon sets out from Shropshire in a tiny sailboat and sails and rows himself and his small boat across England, across the Channel, and across the canals and rivers of Europe to the Black Sea.

This is a fascinating journey and Mackinnon is a brilliant and charming storyteller. Although his voyage involves many privations and even humiliations, he is always optimistic, happy, and carefree--well, almost always. Mackinnon's joy and love of adventure, people, and the outdoors is highly infectious. No one will come away from reading this book with anything less than a lighter heart and a brighter outlook on life and its tribulations. Jack de Crow is witty, entertaining, and edifying. It is one of the best sailing adventure books that I have ever read and I have read very many. I highly recommend this book to every reader whether or not you are a sailor or boater. You don't need to know anything about boats or sailing to fully enjoy this wonderful book.

I have one important and heavy dissatisfaction with the book that I must air. I almost broke ranks and would have been the first reviewer to give it fewer than five stars. Mackinnon from start to finish depends on the kindness of strangers to get him through tough spots. His journey, and even his life, is saved several times by other boaters or people along the shore who give him shelter, a tow, make repairs for him, etc. etc. He simply would not have gotten more than a few miles on his own. Of course, this is part, and a central part, of the whole story and journey--trusting to your luck and to the unanticipated and unpaid assistance of strangers. Mackinnon is basically a good natured and kind hearted screw-up. He really doesn't know what he is doing or how to do it, but goes on anyway. Well this makes for a good story as Mackinnon recognizes--no screw-ups, no stories.

But I favor a tradition that values self-reliance at least in things nautical. A watery voyage requires proper craft, charts, equipment in good order, and the ability to navigate and conduct the voyage on one's own. The only excuse for seeking or accepting help from others is dire and unavoidable life-threatening emergency. Mackinnon violates these basic principles of boating, often to his peril, sometimes to the peril of others. I cannot respect this. I believe that Mackinnon should not have made this voyage, that he was morally irresponsible, and that despite the wonderful book that resulted, the overall effect may be detrimental.

One other minor problem with the book is that readers should be aware that there are many many references to English children's literature and other works that are obscure and will not be familiar, and there are no notes or explanations. This comes off as a bit pretentious and puzzling and somewhat diminished my enjoyment of Jack de Crow.

Sometimes Mackinnon can be insensitive. He glows over the beauty and wealth of Vienna--Europe's greatest city (his description). Mackinnon describes with excessive enthusiasm Vienna's glorious history, but never mentions the most important event in Vienna's history--the anything but glorious Kristallnacht. I quote from Wikipedia: "Events in Austria were no less horrendous. Of the entire Kristallnacht only the pogrom in Vienna was completely successful. Most of Vienna's 94 synagogues and prayer-houses were partially or totally destroyed. People were subjected to all manner of humiliations, including being forced to scrub the pavements whilst being tormented by their fellow Austrians, some of whom had been their friends and neighbours." I find it hard to share his insensitive enthusiasm for Vienna.

But in the end I suppose that Mackinnon is some sort of genius, a genuine free spirit, and true eccentric and cannot be held to the same standards as the rest of us.