Europe Books

This is one of the better first-person accounts I've ever read. I highly, strongly recommend that you take the time to read it. It's well-written, relevant, and hard to put down.

A great day in an day out story about the war. No hype, no frills. Just the story of what the days were actually like for a foot soldier in WW II.

I had to read this book for a course on WWII. Neil does an excellent job of "putting you there" as the cliche goes. The complexities of battle, to the horrid conditions to the mindstate of men about to die are all covered well in this novel. Neill really does a good job of keeping the reader attached to the book, and helps bring to life something that many people have only read about in history text books. I recommend this novel to anyone interested in War in general, and of course in WWII.

George Neill presents a front line soldier's view of what it was like to be part of the WWII American infantry. While reading the book, I almost felt the cold and fear that were the soldier's constant companions. while the rear echelon soldiers got the winter boots, and the generals got heated quarters, Neill and his fellow soldiers tried to survive the cold, boredom and attacks. I felt like I was there. This book gets my very highet recommendation.

The ASTPer's were the brightest, most intelligent young citizen soldiers of their part of the World War II generation. Originally deferred from military service to be allowed to attend college, they were thrown into the battlefields of Europe when America needed bodies to make to final push to Berlin, just in time for the Battle of the Bulge. Infantry Soldier: Holding the Line at the Battle of the Bulge is an accurate account of the fighting and front-line conditions facing the common infantry rifleman during one of Europe's coldest winters. Neill not only served as one of these men, he has done the research and interviews needed to complete the picture, not just of the men on the ground who knew little beyond the events of their immediate foxhole, but events on the German side and U.S. Army rear echelon and high command decisions. Included is an excellent description of the destructive power of a German artillery barrage, and the problems encountered when supply lines are stretched and items desperately needed by the front-line soldier for survival are being diverted to rear-echelon personnel. Neill also takes an intelligent look at war in general, and the conclusion is that we should never forget the horrors and untold human suffering caused by war.

This is a real jem. Well written, fast paced, and a must read for visitors to Paris.
Prepeare to be rivited!

Bob McCallan

This is a very moving story of courage and heroism in the face of overwhelming odds. It is evident that the authors did alot of research on the story. It helps that they are both journalists by profession. One thing I would like to see is how the major players lives turned out since. Perhaps in the next edition. I bought the movie on DVD at the same time as this book. Reading the book adds so much to the movie watching experience as well.

The liberation of Paris was a coup de grace for the Allies. Paris did not suffer the fate of Berlin or Stalingrad, to name a few cities, in becoming a contested battleground. Nor, as the book pointed out, did the German commander follow Hitler's orders to destroy the city's major monuments, bridges, and other sites. It is interesting to note his actions in view of other German officers' claims that they were "only following orders".

However, this book is written by two journalists rather than historians, so it does not have the academic research nor analytical insight that a serious work might have. Cornelius Ryan comes closer to the style of writing that might have made this a heavier book. This is understandably difficult, in some ways, given the relative sparcity of combat and drama; or so this book would suggest. Again, a better writer and researcher would find more material to include.

Some material that might be considered, for example, are Allied intelligence estimates, Axis intelligence estimates, operational orders, etc. It is not clear to me, for example, how the German commander could fail to execute Hitler's orders in August 1944 when the Gestapo and SS were omni-present, especially after the failed July plot on Hitler's life.

Moreover, good research might show to what extent the Allies knew of Hitler's intentions. The Allies had significant intelligence capabilities, not the least through Ultra. And if they knew of the plans to destroy large parts of Paris, why didn't they send in commandos and special forces to disarm any explosives? Indeed, the French themselves seemed to put a higher priority on erecting road blocks rather than disarming explosives.

This is an easy, enjoyable read; and one of the few on the subject in English. However, it's about time someone else updated and added value to this book.

I just finished reading Is Paris Burning? by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. The book is the fascinating tale of how Paris evaded the fate Hitler envisioned for it at the end of the Second World War. It's a complex tale, , with characters including Hitler and his staff in his bunker, the last German military governor in Paris and his staff, the French freedom fighters in Paris (both the Gaullists and the Communists), de Gaulle himself, Eisenhower and Bradley and the various other members of the Allied command structure, the Swedish ambassador in Paris, and common people, in the armed forces and in the streets of Paris. The title is drawn from a question Hitler asked, when he found out that Allied troops were approaching Paris.

The tale starts with the uprising in Paris, and ends just after its liberation is celebrated in the streets. Hitler had hand-picked the last military governor of Paris, based upon his reputation from attacks against Rotterdam and Sevastapol, and he had the task of holding back the Allies at Paris, or, failing that, reducing Paris to ruins, much like Warsaw had recently suffered. The Allies had every intention of bypassing Paris and moving onwards, but the freedom fighters in Paris knew the Allies were nearby, and hoped to push things to their advantage. All of these things should have spelt disaster for the City of Lights, but opportunity and stubborn resistance and collusion and soldier's honour led to a different outcome.

The authors tell a spellbinding tale, based upon much research. My copy is a used copy, and dates back to the mid-1960s (bought it on amazon, used). There are a great deal of photos, documenting scenes from throughout the story. The authors, in my opinion, did a commendable job, and I would recommend this book to those interested in Paris, or in the Second World War.

This book accomplishes what many "popular" history treatments do not, in that it leaves the reader much more enlightened on its topic (at least capable of actively contributing to any cocktail party conversation on the topic) without requiring the reader to have had a lot of background on the subject first. This is not a comprehensive, academic-style study of the German occupation and surrender of Paris; rather, it reads like a collection of anecdotes and vignettes (mixed with generally known facts about the events) that weave together to present a reasonably clear picture of what sounds like a fascinating time. You don't have to know a lot about the war, Paris, or military strategy to enjoy and benefit from this book. Another comment: This made the liberation of Paris sound like the world's greatest celebration, and leaves one feeling sorry to have missed it.

You don't have to be a sailor or chef to enjoy this book. David Shalleck firmly placed me in the galley and on the deck of this sailing yacht. I could taste the salt air and the wonderful meals he prepared. A wonderful summer read!

I loved this book! Perfect summer read. Plan to cook a lot after reading! The recipes are easy, but amazing. Will not disappoint! Ten years ago my husband and I sailed the west coast of Corsica. This was such a nice reminder of the trip of a lifetime. We did all our own cooking on that trip, but it was nice to see exactly what was going on on all those huge yachts that passed us by!

I have been to most of the places David mentions in the book. Last year in Portofino I watched a yacht like the Serenity dock and noticed the activity that took place in order for the owners and guests to come ashore for their lunch. They were seated next to me at the restaurant and, eavesdropping, I wondered what life on that yacht would be like.

I ran across this book on another Amazon book search and it looked so interesting that I bought it without knowing anything about the author. David brings the international food scene and the yachting scene to life in a down to earth and warm way. I traveled in my mind right along with him.

It is one of those books that I read slowly towards the end in order to savor the last pages before I finish reading. I highly recommond this book.

I felt like I was right there on the yacht, in the Med and tasting all of the wonderful meals. Once I picked up the book, I couldn't put it down. I have made a couple of the recipes in the back of the book and they were wonderful. A must read, especially if you like traveling, the beach, boating and cooking. Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful. I just can't say it enough.

Excellently written. There's the excitement of how David finds his provisions in each port. There's also the fear of whether of not a particular meal will "work" with the extremely demanding owners of the yacht. And the suspense of how a meal will be prepared (for sometimes over 100 guests!) within the confines of a yacht's galley. Then there's the thrill of some moments of real sailing ! All this along with the purely human adventure in following David's search for mastering his profession.

I particularly enjoyed the map of the journey included on the inside cover, along with the detailed maps preceding each chapter. This added the additional benefit of the adventure being a descriptive travel guide as well ! And top this all off with the included bonus 50 pages of recipes at the end. (And each of these recipes include very specific & detailed instructions for preparation.) Bravo. Bravissimo Davide.

i orignially purchased this book as a resource for a paper i was doing on tuscany, but when i received it and began to browse through it, i sat down and read the entire thing from cover to cover. the photography was magnificent; the information was just the right amount without going on and on; the entire product was stunning. i wanted to run to the internet and book the next flight to tuscany!

This is the best for someone wanting to visit interesting places in Italy. It is not only well arranged and written, but it helped so much in trip planning. I highly recommend this to anyone traveling on their own to Italy.

Since I love Italy as a place to visit, this book is great to own.

Yes, the photos are nice, but how many coffee table books with pretty Tuscan villages, cypress trees, and silvery olive leaves shimmering in the wind do we need?

Someone who reviewed this book suggested bringing it along on a Tuscan trip; if you put this large and heavy book in your luggage, you will have to leave the toothpaste, underwear, and a number of other things at home, particularly now that some airlines are apparently toying with the notion of lowering weight allowances and charging for the excess.

The text in most instances is not particularly helpful. There are quite a few books on Tuscany that do a much better job. And I was truly surprised to see the town of San Quirico d'Orcia included in the list of "most beautiful villages". I happen to know San Quirico and because it is off the usual beaten tourist path, it retains an "Italianness" that has been lost by, for example, Greve in Chianti, where one would be hard-pressed to find an Italian in that town's lovely main square on a Saturday afternoon. But San Quirico could never be called "beautiful", by any stretch of the imagination.

Despite my reservations about this book, it would probably be a welcome present for a friend who has recently returned from the grand tour of Tuscany and it will, at least for a while, have a prominent place on this friend's coffee table.

Great service and beautiful pictures of Tuscany but somewhat dissapointed at the lack of an organized route map for efficient traveling to the various villages.

This is no rehash of other books. Yes, there are new sources and insights in this book. And what some of the other reviewers do not note is that Bungay draws upon the research of what might be called the "buff" community, those interesting and obsessed individuals who have devoted years to amassing information and understanding the men, decisions, organizations and technologies that all interacted to play out the Battle of Britain. It takes skill, patience and organization to write a book like this. I wish I could create a history book this beautifully written -- too bad more books are not up to the standards of this one.

For inquiring minds who wish to know more: Derek Robinson's "Invasion, 1940" perfectly complements this book; John Terraine's "The Right of the Line: The Royal Air Force in the European War, 1939-1945" provides a thorough and detailed "official" history with many more delightful details.

A truely great history of the Battle of Britain. The best I've ever read

Having read most everything about the Battle of Britain while I was growning up, I came across this book by Stephen Bungay a couple of months ago and decided to read it. It is an outstanding book, well researched and well written. It doesn't so much dispell myths as to accurately explain how they came into being. His treatise on war, on fighter pilots, on battle conditions, tactics and planning simply expands one's awareness of what it takes to emerge victorious in battle. The myths are not myths after all. They were earned the hard way. This is a compelling read and I recommend it without hesitation.

This book details the organization of Fighter Command prior to the Battle of Britain and then documents how it functioned in action during the battle. The real heroes here are Dowding who created Fighter Command and Keith Park who commanded 11 Group which was responsible for the crucial airspace over southern England where the bulk of the battle was fought. There are plenty of personal stories of pilots and a good amount of the book is devoted to the aircraft of both sides. The Luftwaffe command structure is also detailed and the strategies of the German commanders analyzed. I found the book riveting and could not put it down even though before reading it I already knew (or thought I knew) a lot about the Battle of Britain. After the critical period was over Dowding was removed as chief of Fighter Command and Park was transferred out of 11 Group - poor rewards for their efforts. This book attempts to set the record straight and give appropriate credit to them.

Having read David Fisher's "Summer Bright and Terrible" and its even better predecessor "A Race on the Edge of Time," both of which deal with the singular importance of radar in saving Britain and, thus, Western Civilization from the wretched Nazis, I was hoping to recapture the excitement of those times in this work. Unfortunately, while "The Most Dangerous Enemy" had all of Fisher's facts--and lots more--it never managed to convey either Fisher's sense of immediacy or the fullness of the players in that civilization-defining epoch. If you're writing a paper on the era, Dangerous Enemy is your better source book. But if you want a story that excites your mind and engages your emotions, be sure to get one of Fisher's books, preferably "A Race..."

This is a recommended book to read for people who would like to read about statistics and maths. People with few knowledge about these sciences will find it a bit difficult to read.

This is the best book I have found for a general study of the of neural networks. I found this particularly useful when looking at how to write my own NN frameworks. The depth of the mathematics allowed me to easily answer questions like: 'what if I replaced function abc with xyz'. I have found other texts failed to show key mathematical derivations, or to explore the subtleties of what the maths imply.

The book covers a plethora of topics from simple gradient descent through second order techniques and conjugate gradient, through to the use of 'bayesian techniques' (basically confidence intervals on network outputs), monte carlo techniques etc. Similarly error functions, non-linearities (sigmoids, softmax etc.) and data preparation are all treated.

The extensive bibliography also provides excellent references for further study, (a whos who of the field, as well as actual titles). My copy is now dog earred from frequent reading.

The theories of NN and PR are quite difficult to understand. But this book makes them much easier. The author can explain the concepts without using too much formula. If other authors could follow his step then the life is much easier!

If you want a very good, intermediate introduction to pattern classification this book must be on your bookshelf. It even does a very nice job explaining the EM algorithm in a few pages! Basic calculus is all you need to understand the book. A must read.

Mr Bishop's book is very well written and contains a lot of useful information on neural networks. It is outlined well and progresses in a logical form. If, however, you are looking for a book that gives discussions with concrete examples of neural networks applications or set ups, you will be sorely disappointed. The mathematical treatment is universally generalized with very few specific concrete examples shown. Even the exercises will not serve you well. The term 'graded' is used; however, that simply referes to the description of difficulty. There are no answers to these exercises, so unless you have a teacher or are already firmly familiar with the material, you will not know if you have completed them correctly or not. Even worse, the exercises are in general not written to reinforce concepts in the chapter, but in most cases extend the chapter material into new regions.

In summary, this book should only be purchased by someone already familiar with neural networks and their mathematical basis. Anyone else will be wasting their money.

Woodward had done a masterful job, with his writing assistant, of describing the issues of command, the concern about sending others into combat where they may lose their life, the need to keep in mind what is central about a mission, and so many other thoughts about what leadership means. This book is a study of BOTH (1) management of a large task (be it war, be it a large company or nonprofit, be it of government) when dealing with an adversary compelled to fight you (be it the other side in a war, be it a company fighting you for market share, be it a Democrat or Republican that believes as you do not), and (2) of management of a military war where weapons are wielded by you and weapons are wielded or threatened against you. The real-life drama of uncertainty of events, of certainty of purpose, and of just what went on in this saga is of interest to very many readers. I have British friends, I have Argentian friends, and no matter which side you believe is right (both have their points) this is a good book about a mission one is given and how one needs to carry it out, and the thoughts and second-thoughts that must go through any leader's mind.

Read this as a book about leadership, and you will do fine. Read this as a book about war, and you will also do fine. Read this as a book about both, and you'll get even more out of it.

The book was received in excellent condition. The story is well written and very interesting. Would recommend it highly.

As Wellington famously said of the Hundred Days Campaign culminating in the Battle of Waterloo, the Falklands Campaign was a also damn near run thing, according to the Battle Group Commander, Adm Sandy Woodward, in this excellent book. Writing in what can best be called a distinctly British style, Woodward takes the reader into the bridge of the Hermes, his command ship for the Falklands expedition. What we get is a brutally honest, technically detailed, and gripping narrative not only into how the British pulled off a decisive victory, but also the self-doubts and mentally taxing minutia of a Commander sending troops and sailors into harm's way. This book is especially valuable for its detailed description of how navies fight. This is no small task. For example, the reader learns how:

1. submarines track ships and the risks they run to track them and shoot them. The example of the sinking of the General Belgrano is first rate
2. how a routine matter such as cross-decking troops between ships bedevils commanders and can end in tragedy
3. ship's tactics for defending themselves against aircraft (this is particularly helpful. In the US military, we have become so accustomed to air and sea superiority that those who operate on the ground take it for granted. It's not! It must be gained and earned - if need be, the hard way.)
4. The inevitable tension that will arise between sea, air, and land commanders during the prosecution of an amphibious campaign. We get Woodward's side here, but he is brutally honest on when he was right and when he was wrong.
5. The role of destroyers, frigates, aircraft carriers, amphibs, and supply ships, and the risks they ran -- and still do -- to do their jobs.

This is one of the only books I know of that actually explains how modern navies fight, and it is thus indispensable to navy officers and to those who seek to learn more on control of the seas.

Into the finest traditions of The Royal Navy ( and any other righteous, but self-anylizing, self-depricating, hero-by-fire war-tested veteran), we are allowed an inside view into a theater-of-war that we, who have never paid the price, secretley covet. Gallentry, selflessness, pride of country, pride of duty, discipline, all seem to be the lost arts of the past, but Woodward and others in this telling instruct us that, to this day,our young men and women rise to the occasion, as in the days of old. What is that extraordinary part of us that is able to trandsend all our own limitations and push beyond to victory, over our enemy and over ourselves? This book may help you to answer that question!

This is an absolutely first-rate memoir by the man who led the British fleet to victory in the Falkland Islands War. Only 50 years-old when he was chosen to lead the battle group to recapture the islands in 1982 (hard to believe this gentleman is now 73!), Admiral Sir John F. "Sandy" Woodward was courageous and competent commander. That being the case, he is also refreshingly honest and humble as he tells his remarkable story.

As the Admiral mentions in the epilogue, many will always regard the Falklands as having been "a pushover war - the mighty Brits crushing the ridiculous Args" (349). But as this book makes clear, it was anything but a cakewalk. The Argentinian sailors and pilots were brave and worthy oponents. The British fleet took heavy casualties: 6 ships sunk (2 destroyers, 2 frigates, 1 amphibious warfare vessel and the transport vessel Atlantic Conveyor with its precious cargo of 10 Wessex and 4 Chinook helicopters). Another 10 ships were badly damaged. Many of these were not sunk only because the Argentinian bombs reguarly failed to detonate. The British, of course, won decisively though, thanks to the professionalism and courage of the British forces. But it was an intense and bloody six weeks.

The campaign was also a turning point in the history of naval warfare. Although anti-ship missiles were first used to sink Syrian missile boats by the Israelis back in 1973, the destruction of HMS Sheffield by the French Exocet missiles fired from Super-Etendard fighter-bombers grabbed the attention of the world's militaries. Newsweek's subsequent cover-story on the incident read "Falklands Fallout: Are Big Ships Doomed?" Many wondered if large warships had been rendered obsolete by the effectiveness of anti-ship missiles. Indeed, the two British aircraft carriers in the South Atlantic were very vulnerable. If even one of them had been put out of commission by an Exocet, it is unlikely the Falklands could have been recaptured. It is very interesting to read about how the British struggled with some of their new high-tech weaponry such as the Sea Dart. It took some failed attempts in battle before the bugs got worked out and they got comfortable with the new system.

Admiral Woodward is an excellent writer. His descriptions of the battles are riveting, especially the moments of calamity such as when HMS Sheffield was crippled by Exocets. You really get a sense of the fear, anxiety and adrenaline. It's as exciting as any Tom Clancy novel without a doubt.

I gave this to my friend for her birthday. She flew to Prague yesterday and is there right now for a week. She went with someone who grew up there and showed him the book. He loved it and read it before she did. He found it very interesting & having lived there thought it was well written. They are using the book this week and I am sure it will come in handy.

I have to agree with the other reviewers...this book is a gem! One of the best guide books I've ever read. Useful, funny, and engaging style. Leaving for Prague in October, and this is the only guide book I'll need. Highly recommend!

The changes in Prague since 1990, when we were last there, are utterly amazing and somewhat overwhelming, although not surprising -- Prague was fantastic to visit in 1990, even though it was not yet quite geared up to receiving visitors. We were fortunate on the second day of our second (2007) trip to find Karen Feldman's little guidebook. It is absolutely terrific! As a native of North America but a longtime resident of the city, she has an excellent sense of the kinds of things that "anti-tourist" tourists will find interesting. Her summaries and descriptions are well written, and the book is well laid out and easy to use. As a guidebook author myself, I think I know a good guide when I see one! I only wish we'd known about it before we got there. Buy it and enjoy -- it's the next best thing to an actual visit and indispensable for a real visit.

We've visited Prague four times in four years, and are constantly buying more guide books. This one is clearly the best of the dozen or so Prague guides that we own.

If you plan to buy only one guide, this should be the one, even though the author says this book should be used as a supplement to more conventional guides. The Artel Guide will point you to more of "inside" Prague than any other guide.

If you plan to buy more than one, then there are a couple of ideas that may prove helpful. First, Prague is constantly changing. New guides are obviously going to cover those changes better than old ones. Keep publication dates in mind. Second, the book does not really try to cover the history of Prague. Consider one of the more 'traditional' guides from Lonely Planet, Frommer, or the like to plug this gap. Third, while Prague is eminently walkable, it is also an easy and wonderful place to get lost. The best map guide we've found, out of about four we've tried, is from Knopf. A new version came out in 2007.

Beyond that, we agree with all the others who've made this Amazon's top rated guide to Prague. Buy it.

This is the book for people who want to learn what the natives know: where to find the real character of the place, like the one-ring circus, the art house cinemas, model trains, the puppet museum, the best toys and antiques... I could go on! The author has found every single cool, offbeat thing to do in Prague and if she didn't have the personal expertise, she found an someone who did. There are concise, informative sections the local music scene, hipster bars and night clubs, Czech wines, etc. Of course, it also has all the major tourist attractions, including castles and museums, and a ton of tips on getting around and getting along. The gorgeous design and amazing vintage pictures are worth the price alone! This is the most fun I've ever had reading a travel guide.

Very much enjoyed this book. Loaded with fascinating pictures and images. Stays out of political opinions or posturing. Highly recommended.

This book broadly covers the organization and History of Hitler's elite enforces providing the reader with great amounts of information on this subject. It hides nothing especially the attrocities.

A must read for those interested in this subject.

This book is an awesome collection of written material along with rare, powerful photos and diagrams. A standout feature, and my personal favorites, were the illustrations of particular uniforms, medlas,ceremonial decorations, propaganda posters, and weaponry that you don't find in alot of WWII references. Overall, this a great book and a must for WWII enthusiasts.

Comprehensive, profusely illustrated, reader-friendly, concise, nice size edition and clear in its exposition. In about 250 pages Mr. Williamson covers the whole history of these special troops, in all their aspects. Reviewing all its divisions, commanders, foreign nationalities that were incorporated into them, the weapons, the battles, their most talented fighters, etc and without losing the thread of his story: a most remarkable thing. Of course this is no eulogy of the SS, it tells of the barbarities committed as well as the acts of true heroism in battle by some of their soldiers. This is a great history. One can follow their main divisions from their inception long before the war, and how they grew in size and experience parallel to the national circumstances of Germany herself.

The role played by Himmler's crackpot ethnic theories were debunked by sheer necessity of man force: many of its finest soldiers were indeed non-Germans. One feels compelled to read more about this ignominiuos personage, Himmler, as he really was a weird (and evil) guy. On the positive side are outstanding acts of sheer valor and heroism of some soldiers who really deserve to remain in any military history of this war. Some passages of course overlap with the Wehrmacht, since they fought side by side many times, but both the detailed analysis and the wider scope of the SS role are present in this book. Nothing relevant is missing here. A great history book and an engrossing read.

Many good things can be said about this book. I sought out this book after reading the `Complete Idiot's Guide to Nazi Germany' and found that it had very little information on the SS. I was surprised at the number of photos and pictures in this book. That was the aspect I liked the most. The overall layout of the book was nice with detailed information on the formation of the SS, day to day tasks, subdivisions of the organization, equipment, atrocities on both the Eastern and Western Fronts, and the foreign legions. However, I feel the book could have used more information on the Gestapo, the SD, and the Einsatzgruppen. The Waffen-SS was given plenty of coverage in regards to its individual divisions and campaigns on the two fronts. I would have to say too much information considering that this was supposed to be a book about the entire SS. The sections on the Waffen SS were excellent, without a doubt. The book should have been given a different title which stresses this fact. Overall, the book was easy to read and flowed well with plenty of fascinating information. The author seemed a bit quick to defend the Waffen SS and some of the atrocities it is accused of, constantly stressing the fact that on the whole they were soldiers like those in the Wehrmacht. Though this may or may not have been true, opinions like this should have been kept to a minimum. The book would have been better if the information was just presented and then proceeded to let the reader decide for him or herself.

I bought this book at the American Book Center in The Hague, Netherlands, a few years ago. As I knew many of the places mentioned in the book, it took on an even deeper meaning for me. I love this book, and I list Diet Eman and Hein Sietsma as heroes. Definitely 5+ stars!

Excellent book. The book is fast paced, exciting and touching.

The risks and sacrifices that the author and her fiance went through for their beliefs and for unkwown people amazed and inspired me. Highly recommended.

The account of the author and her experiences fighting the German occupation of Holland during WWII is harrowing. It is hard to imagine that any human being can display so mush courage at such a young age.

The true story of true Christians, and Dutch patriots, Diet Eman and Hein Sietsma, and their courageous risk of everything to resist Nazi tyranny and hide thousands of Dutch Jews.
True Christians always love the Jewish people and Israel, and true nationalists are opposed to both Communism and Nazism, both the antithesis of national self-determination.
Diet recounts her own life, and experiences and what she saw and heard, as well as her deep faith in G-D, that guided her in all she did and thought.
Diet recounts her experiences in Scheveningen prison, where she describes how Jewish families, who were caught in hiding, were hauled into the prison, mothers, fathers and children: 'On the nights the guards brought Jews in, we always heard the children crying all through that place. It was bad enough for us to have to suffer through a place, like Scheveningen, but it was terrible to hear those poor innocent children crying.'
It is up to true Christians and righteous gentiles to stand by the State of Israel today, in the struggle for her survival and that of her children, against the monstrous Islamic-extreme leftist hate machine.

I have read more than 75 books of this genre depicting this period of history. "What would I have done under the same circumstances?" That is the question I am always asking of myself whilst reading these stories. This is the story of a group of people with the courage of their convictions...Diet's story is inspiring and touching. It illustrates perfectly that the power of prayer is undeniable and when 'all one can do is pray' one has done everything.