Europe Books

Libby Koponen's novel Blow Out the Moon is based on her own experiences growing up. She includes photographs and drawings throughout the book.

At dinner one evening, Libby's father informs her and her siblings that they would be traveling by ship to live in England for six months. Her father would travel ahead and meet them when the ship docked.

Libby would be leaving her home, her school and her best friend Henry, but it was a short-term adventure. That's what she thought. The six months turned into eighteen months and Libby wasn't happy about the extension.

Everything in England was different. She wasn't happy until she left for boarding school. There she meets new and interesting people, learns how to do things the way the English do them and even learns to ride a horse. But she refuses to sing "God Save the Queen."

During Libby's adventure she leaves childhood and becomes a young lady. And just before she leaves England, she decides it wouldn't hurt to sing "God Save the Queen," just one time.

Koponen's book is interesting but it's not particularly exciting. It reminds me of a story one would write for a family member, not the world.

Armchair Interviews says: If you are interested in learning about the way other people live, you might be interested in this story. If you're looking for an exciting novel with a plot, you might not choose this book.

I love this book. It reminds me of being a kid again. I forgot what it was like until I read this book. I can't wait for Ms. Koponen to write another book. I'm going to gobble it up!!!!

"Libby's joyous times at Sibton Park make you laugh out loud."
--A 6th grader writing in Just Books.

"Koponen's tightly written prose is laced with humor." --Seattle Times

Yes, I'm the author -- but this is what OTHER people said. I get emails from kids all the time saying they loved the book; maybe you will too.

This is the story of Libby, a young American girl who lives in England for a year and a half. She is naturally independent and spunky, yet learns that being polite means caring about others' feelings. Overall, this book is wonderful; it's engaging in a way that too few books are. Schoolgirl Libby is a joy to watch as she travels to England and attends boarding school, encountering difficulties and misadventures along the way. Unfortunately, author Libby Koponen's writing is a tad overly simplified, and she fails to fully transform her voice into that of a true child. Koponen instead comes across as an adult trying to write like a child. Still, that's my sole complaint about this great book.

Libby Koponen's 1950s childhood was given an exciting spin when her family moved to England for a year and a half. Eight-year-old Libby, a headstrong child who loved to write, looked forward to the adventure though she knew she'd miss her friends in New York.

"Blow Out the Moon" is Libby's memoir, written for the 9-to-12 age group. She tells of the family's ocean voyage on the Liberte and their new life in a London flat. The gloomy London winter and her isolated, unhappy days at school tarnished the adventure. Fascinated by stories about boarding school, she persuaded her parents to send her away to school in the Kent countryside.

At Sibton Park Libby learned to ride horses and to behave with proper English manners. Today's more sophisticated children have grown up at Hogwarts with Harry Potter, as pointed out by Megan Tingley, editor in chief for young readers at Little, Brown. They may find 1950s England a bit tame; but as long as there are kids interested in looking over the horizon, charming books like this will be well-loved.

The book is illustrated with photos of Koponen and her family, and other related drawings and photos. They are somewhat poorly rendered in the book, but come to life on the author's web site, ifyoulovetoread dot com.

"Blow Out the Moon" was marketed in an unusual way: Koponen put the entire book on the internet and after collecting raves from kids, was accepted for publication by Little, Brown. The web site is a feast of photos, reviews, and extra chapters. Anyone interested in this aspect of the book business should check out the Boston Globe article under the REVIEWS section of Libby's web site.

I recommend the book as a nostalgic memoir of another time and place; there is much for children and adults to enjoy here.

This book is a charming joy. The authors' successful search for a modest summer home in France will take the reader on their own dreamy journey, exploring what it would be like to live in a French country village and to succeed in making friends with the villagers. Great insights into what rural French folks are really like, and how to make them your friends. The book also underscores the importance of finding what is truly important to you in your life.

I bought this book while we were looking for our own house in the Dordogne (most wonderful spot on earth -- go, see it for yourself!), and found it both comforting and helpful (as well as funny, touching and insightful). We found our own house a short time later (in Aubeterre sur Dronne, a village in the Charente just across the border from the Dordogne), and are giving this book to friends and family to help explain the experience and the lure of southwestern France.

very entertaining book about buying a vacation home in France. I love sw france--the food, the villages, the people. This book is about an American couple from Wisconsin--looking for a house in SW France-- buying a house and then living there for the summers. They become friendly with the residents of the small village. They tell of how they were invited to dinner parties ---the food that was served-- the people the conversations etc......Its great! I really enjoyed it.

The title might lead the reader to think that this book is about how to buy real estate in France. It does provide some very helpful tips in that regard, but the book goes well beyond buying real estate. The authors provide insight into how cultures can interreact. The book is an absolute must for anyone interested in the nuances of the French as well as getting eyewitness tour of the Dordogne region. The book is educational, poignant at times, funny at times and always a joy to read.

Like Mayle's YEAR in PROVENCE and Mayes' UNDER the TUSCAN SUN, this title follows a couple through the pleasures and pitfalls of buying a vacation home in a lovely, exotic locale. Draine and Hinden, both professors at UW Madison, purchase a home in southwest France. Much more low-key than the Mayle and Mayes books mentioned, CASTLE in the BACKYARD has considerably fewer pages devoted to construction pitfalls and perils as well as a cast of much less colorful characters. All in all, CASTLE seems like a much more realistic story than other tales of buying a dream home in a dream location, which in my opinion, made this tale a bit less compelling a read.

I bought this book for my mother in law just before her trip to Italy and she loved it. She said she used it as a resource there and it was very interesting. I gave it 4 stars because it wasn't something I would buy for myself but my mother in law adored it to pieces! Great gift for any Italian or someone planning to visit Italy.

I'm glad this guide book exists. I have found it helpful and informative. I am currently living in Germany, and I find pilgrimages to be a far more meaningful way of exploring Western Europe than more traditional tours. With this in mind, I would like to respectfully suggest some revisions for future editions. First, I would really appreciate more and better maps. A simple blank map of each country with dots representing the pilgrimage locations would have been extremely helpful--- as would better directions and ideas of distances between major sites. More pictures would also be helpful. I plan on eventually visiting most of these sites, but the book on its own is not enough.

A very good book full of information. The only thing i didnt like is that they talk about certain images of The Blessed Virgin , but dont show her. Only the builing... I think more pictures of the statues at the shrine and less of the outside of them would be better. But i gave it five stars for the information. It great for that reason only.

I spent two semesters in Europe and this book was immensely helpful in deciding which pilgrimage sights to go to and then finding them! I love the little maps that are shown for the various shrines. At Franciscan University's campus in Austria, this book in particular is very popular, because it tells about the history of the place and how to find it. If you know a Catholic who is going to Europe and wants to visit shrines, then I highly recommend this book.

My brother and I both lived in Europe (in different places) and we both used this book extensively. The book unabled us to visit shrines that otherwise we would not have known existed. The book was easy to use and included the history of each shrine, directions on how to get there, where to stay and how to contact the shrine. There is also a picture of each shrine, with made it easy to choose which shrines we wanted to see. Our stay in Europe was greatly enriched by the use of this book.

No doubt a prophetic genius, one has to wonder ,though, if Guenon was not also a bit of a fanatical lunatic. His assertions about the tremendous flaws in Western civilization are etched in such clear-cut shades of black and white that they leave no room for argument or compromise. In short, these are revelations that brook no opposition. However, I must admit I felt a powerful sympathy with his description of how unsane our modern world has become. But I am very cautious and skeptical about his proposal of a return to a more "traditional" culture run by an intellectual elite. This sounds like a recipe for another totalitarian system of rule. As always, who is to decide which are the "elite" worthy to rule? Bracing and stimulating, this work seems inspired, but one might wonder by whom or what.

In perhaps his most important work, _The Crisis of the Modern World_, traditionalist thinker Rene Guenon outlines his philosophy and shows how the traditional outlook is opposed by modern developments. Guenon begins by noting that the modern world has brought about a crisis, conceived by many in terms of apocalypse and the "end times" (the coming dark age of the Kali Yuga in terms of Hindu cyclical cosmology), which can only be resolved by a return of the West to the traditional outlook. Taking off from what he had written earlier in a book entitled _East and West_, Guenon notes that the worldviews of West and East are profoundly different from each other, the East maintaining its traditions, while the West creeps towards degeneracy in the form of modernism and materialism. Much of this book is spent contrasting East and West, attempting to demonstrate exactly where the West has gone astray (both in its attempts to colonize the East and in its rampant materialism and modernism). In the East, three great traditions remain corresponding to the Near, Middle, and Far East respectively. These are the traditions of Islam, the traditions of India (especially Hinduism), and the traditions of the Chinese civilization. Guenon believes that only one possible source for traditional renewal remains in the West, and that is the Catholic (meaning "universal") Church, which he opposes to Protestant Christianity or modern day "rationalism", for example. Tranditionalism places an emphasis on both "primordialism" and universality, in line with its Vedantist roots. Guenon also notes several contrasting distinctions between the traditional viewpoint and that of the modern day (the Western materialist/"rationalist" outlook). Part of this involves the contrast between sacred and profane science. Modernists emphasize profane science, attempting to desacralize nature, and place their priority in both pragmatism and the material world. Such a view has come even to relegate metaphysical notions of truth to the realm of the purely pragmatic and utilitarian. Guenon also notes how the modern day world is dominated by a mass democratic levelling brought about by what he terms "individualism". It is this form of "individualism" which has led to materialism and an emphasis on pure pragmatics (quantity as opposed to quality), although he contrasts this to the more genuine view of the traditional man which remains opposed to the encroaching influences of force, through the state for example. Guenon sees much to criticize in the democratic development of the West, seeing in democracy a form of mass levelling. Opposing these developments within the modern world, Guenon calls for a new intellectual elite, who will serve to revive tradition where it is to be found. This revival also centers around the schism between East and West. In this sense, those among the "intellectual elite" must either opt to integrate the traditions of the East (which remain viable) into the West or attempt to restore genuine Western tradition (such as that which exists in a form of decline within the Catholic Church). Guenon remains a champion of the East and notes the Western bias and attempt to dominate the traditional East, citing several sources of this problematic, where he means by the West the modern materialist-driven West and not the traditional West. This book serves as an important introduction to the thinking of Rene Guenon, who is the father of the traditionalist school which also includes Ananda Coomaraswamy, Frithjof Schuon, Julius Evola, and Mircea Eliade, among others. It serves to highlight many of the contrasts which exist between the modern world (undergoing crisis) and the traditional outlook. Guenon notes that while there is a tendency for those among the traditional camp to despair, given the bleak outlook presented by the modern world (which may be destroyed in catastrophe given its false foundations), that this tendency should be overcome, particularly by those among his chosen elite. Guenon quotes several important passages from the Gospel accounts to illustrate his point. Truly the modern world represents the traditional Kali Yuga of the Hindu cycle, a dark age of rampant materialism, and a decline from the once golden age of spiritual tradition.

In this short book, the supremely intelligent Rene Guenon manages to crystallize some of the most fundamental ailments of modern society. He is neither afraid to examine from a traditionalist viewpoint all recent intellectual "developments" in science along with the callow, bigoted perceptions of modern philosophy, nor does he shy away from criticizing democracy and the notions of socio-political "progress," or the diluted and comical nature of modern religion. Consistency and holistic understanding are Guenon's hallmarks, and he demonstrates it well with this succinct volume.

This work is genuine treasure for all those capable of fully comprehending reality and naturally find themselves alone and at odds with contemporary civilization. Serves as a good introduction to the general orientations of authentic traditionalist thought. Guenon expands on this work significantly in its companion volume, The Reign of Quantity.

The scholarly world is never too short of what is in vogue as `critiques of modernity' that another addition to this stock would have been redundant. Guénon's The Crisis of the Modern World however, is not simply `another' of this but is distinguished by its profound wisdom, transcending conventional approaches that either diagnosed the symptoms and not the real disease or carried from an exclusively `philosophical' viewpoint, oblivious to the fact that `philosophy' itself is among modernity's offspring. Guénon's theme is sophia perennis, or primordial Wisdom, which seeks to resurrect the sacred metaphysics that lies at the root of the world's major religions.

Guénon begins with the premise that the modern world as we know it corresponds exactly to the period of Kali Yuga (or Dark Age) in Hindu cosmology, similar to the Iron Age in Western traditional doctrine, a time when the forces of matter reign supreme and spirituality has been thoroughly eclipsed. In fact, history itself is a gradual process of declining spirituality and "progressive materialization", so that at the last phase of the human cycle (or the darkest of the Dark Age), mankind shall witness the abundance of material prosperity as has never been witnessed before, while simultaneously impoverished spiritually and utterly divorced from true intellectuality and hence truth itself.

Intellectually, this decline is especially evident in science and philosophy. Philosophy - `love' of wisdom - became wisdom unto itself; `physics' - the science of `nature' in its totality - became a science that deals with only a portion of nature; astrology degraded into astronomy; alchemy degenerated into chemistry; and all that was once meaningful and bound to truth transcending the domain of matter and the world of sensible experience is reduced to bare facts bereft of truth, meaning and purpose. It is no wonder that the modern man today feels alienated from the world, from each other and from himself. The ancient sciences were invariably bound to metaphysical principles found in the world's great religions, made possible by the eminently religious and theocentric character of the earlier people. Truth for them is one, just as God is One. The different orders and aspects of Reality are but reflections of this same, single and universal truth. Whichever angle the truth is approached, contradictions only appear at the surface so that `specialization' would eventually lead to the convergence of the various disciplines, which explains why the ancients were so adept at mastering several different branches of knowledge at the same time, insofar as mastery of certain basic laws underlying all of reality permits their application to many different domains.

Modernity by contrast, is built upon the spirit of opposition to religion (think of the Renaissance, Reformation and the Enlightenment) and therefore hostility to metaphysics and truth. Once the ultimate Truth is denied, the ground is cleared for the manufacture of many different "truths", tending naturally towards relativism and nihilism that are so prevalent in today's world. Indeed, relativism is the logical outcome of rationalism, this in turn being the result of humanism and individualism, which of course, is the "determining cause of the present decline of the West." Descartes' rationalism, instead of raising man to transcend himself towards truth, seeks to drag truth down to the "purely relative and human faculty" of rational thought. The mental outlook that made this possible is materialism, "a conception according to which nothing else exists but matter and its derivatives." Now this is significant even symbolically, for matter is essentially multiplicity and division, hence the source of strife and conflict.

This decadence even manifests itself in the social order - from the separation of religion from the state, the triumph of mediocrity over the wise (democracy), the spread of `mass education' (which compromises the uniqueness of each individual) to the rise of the cult of `originality' in the intellectual domain, for whom it is better to create a new error than repeat an old truth. All this are but manifestations of the same catastrophe - neglect of spirituality, hence the loss of unity.

Materialism is also tied to Western domination. The East has been traditionally religious, but in the face of (material) challenge and encroachment by the modern West, is now compelled to adopt the materialistic worldview to compete in this profane realm and in this regard, its religious past is certainly no guide. Where else would they seek guidance and `light', if not from the very civilization in which materialism organically springed forth? This is in fact how the present age fits neatly into that last phase of Kali Yuga as Guénon understands it, namely that the darkness of materialism will ultimately bring the whole world into its dominion (long before `globalization' and `end of history' became common lingo), marking finally the end of an era, i.e. the end of a human cycle, or Manvantara, where `the wheel stops turning.' This is when chaos, conflict and strife will erupt as never before, a time known in Christianity as the reign of the Antichrist and in Islam as the era of Dajjal.

There is a way out - for the establishment of a spiritual elite to lead the masses out of this darkness. This elite necessarily has to operate covertly, like a secret puppeteer when others could not see the strings, for the masses have become deeply entrenched in their materialism, which continuously creates in them more artificial needs for materiality than it can satisfy. In the West, the only institution capable of bringing about this change is the Catholic Church, which alone is in possession of the sacred traditional doctrine of Christianity. Yet even then, Guenon remains skeptical and calls for the Western world to summon aid from what modicum of true spirituality is left in the East, unadulterated by the `modernized' outlook that is fast making headways throughout the Orient.

This book show us the roots of our modern world. This book is for those that, unsatisfied with the course os the modern world and it?s oppressive materialism, are looking for convincing explanations, out of the common political and economical vision. The author examines the deep factors that conducted our world to it?s present unbalance, demonstrating that, since the Middle Age, the Occident went further and further away, with increasing velocity, from the principles that ruled all the humanity until that momment. Principles that presume an hierarchy of values, from the highest (spiritual) ones to the basic (material) ones; principles that are within the essence of the traditional civilizations, that harmonize man and nature. We find examples of traditional civilizations with the north-american native tribes (as the Hopi and Sioux, among others); the Tibet, before the chinese invasion; the medieval Japan... Ren? Gu?non (1886-1951), with this book that is at once masterly and accessible, don?t give us illusions about the future of our civilization. Instead he provides us with new and wide horizons, with tools that enables us to evaluate and stand up to the great challenges of the modern world crisis. It's the best way to make a first contact with Ren? Gu?non and the traditional view.

Luiz Pontual (irget@reneguenon.net), director of Ren? Gu?non's Institute, April 9, 1999. See our site irget@reneguenon.net and buy our book at Amazon.com

Of the several guidebooks I've bought in three trips to Istanbul, this is the one that stays with me at all times when I'm finding my way around that most fascinating city in the world. The maps of the Old City and Taksim are the best and most accurate I've seen, and the bird's eye view cutaway shots of places such as the covered bazaar are extremely helpful. If you get only one Istanbul guide, let it be this one.

This book made my trip to Istanbul much more enjoyable than it would otherwise have been. Very well organized and jam-packed with helpful information. You'll still need a bigger street map of the city when you get there, but that's true about any destination.

Even my native Turkish friend, who is originally from Istanbul and whom I visited this past spring (with this book in hand), was fascinated by this book! He was really impressed with the layout, all the detailed and pertinent (and sometimes unique/unusual) information, the photos/drawings, the maps, etc. It also has good info about places outside the city.

I accidentally left the book behind after I put it down to pay for some things in a photo shop and didn't realize it was missing until a few hours later (I was with my own personal "tour guide," after all ;-)...my Turkish friend made his way back to the shop just to retrieve it for me (and thankfully the shop owner had kept it safe in hopes of the owner returning for it...and even he had looked through it and commented how good it looked)!

Going to Istanbul? GET THIS BOOK!

I just got back from Istanbul and I can say that this book was one of the things that made this a memorable vacation. The information is complete and (mostly) up to date (visa costs had been increased) but otherwise I found it easy to use and informative. The only other book I would recommend is "Imperial Istanbul" for the true history buff traveler.

This is THE BOOK to get for your travels to Istanbul - or Constantinople to us Greek Orthodox :-) I used this book when I was there five years ago, and let me be frank: it got me around every street, every landmark, every side alleyway, every bus route, every boat ride. The City is covered from head to toe in this book, with tons of useful information about hours of operation of mosques, churches, museums, and restaurants, plus great maps of the City and its surrounding neighborhoods, with detailed bus and tram schedules. In the back, it offers all the up to date information on hotels and hostels, plus important addressess and phone numbers for police, tourist bureaus, airports, and bus stations.

My personal favorite aspect of this book are the detailed pictoral discriptions of some of the great landmarks of the City: Hagia Sophia, St. Saviour in Chora, the Blue Mosque, Suleymanie Camii, Topkapi Palace to some of the more "off the beaten path" locations, such as the Church of Pammakaristos, the Basilica Cisterns, the Church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus (Kuckuk Aya Sofya), and the residence of the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. Rather than other guides such as Fodors simply writing it all down, Eyewitness literally "shows" you the information, so it's not only a great book to help you navigate the City, it's great to help you navigate the locations!

I carried this book with my at all times when I was in Turkey. I cannot recommend this book more than Amazon allows, but I'd give this book 10 stars if I could. It is the absolute best travel guide on the market today! I hope it will also serve you as well as it did for me!

Like most classic novels, "In Praise of Older Women" is a simple and wise book. I consider my life meaningfully enriched by having read it. (And how many books can you say that about?) I can understand why the author (to whom I give my thanks) pursued the dubious expedient of personally promoting it here. It cries to be read! But I fear that its European sanity with regards to the eternal dance between men and women will always be a foreign tongue to American readers, saddled as we are with the sexual neuroses of our Purtian founders. What Vizinczey has learned about women, and which he has graciously shared with us, is not feminist and it is not politically correct. It is simply true. People who value doctrinal conformity over thoughtful perception had better stick to Oprah-approved novels instead. Those seeking to understand our human nature a little better before it is lost to the grave are well-advised to start here.

I read with amusement the comments about how Americans haven't picked up on this book. Hate to bust some Euro-cherries, but I read this in the Fifth Edition (1969) in high school in rural Colorado in about 1970.

In its time, it was a good book. I had my son read it, and discovered my old copy while cleaning out his room (he's off to University). That in turn, sparked my interest to see if it was still in print.

I liked Vizinczey style when I first read it. It would be interesting to pick up on Andras in his later years, just to see how the character evolved. It's one thing to be unattached and picking up what you can, it's quite another to have been in a sustained relationship for more than a few years.

After +30 years I have found his descriptions of women superficial. Most of the 'older' women I know today, post birth control pill, post mass access to University education, post establishment of career, would make quick hash of Andras.

This is a classic book, in the sense that it addresses one of the many topics forever dealt upon by humankind in all form and manner, but in a refreshing light. The style is elegant, the prose superb and the story itself is extremely charming and interesting. I read the book when I was barely 11, and to this day I keep a copy on my book shelf (albeit now in sight of grown ups!).

My comment refers to the second FRENCH edition of this novel, paperback edition. I was curious to read comments of readers oversease and came to this site ...

I am a "post birth control pill, post university education, post career establishment and delusionment woman". Yet, I LOVED this novel and found these women so close to what we still are. Times have changed, life has become much easier for women - and maybe more difficult for men ? - but one thing has not changed : the relationship between men and women. When it comes to sexuality, men know exactly what they want, and from an early age, whereas women have to learn this gradually (if they are given a chance of course and are open to "learning" ...)This is why in 2006 you still find giggling silly teens like in S. Vicinzsey's book, adolescent older women (30 - 40, but also 40 - 50 ... Why should sexuality stop at ANY age ?), frigid younger women, and women of all ages who know what they want ! Nowadays most of the married women in the book Andras Vardas had a relationship with would get a divorce. However, they may first start with a lover and some will even chose to have a lover but not to divorce ... And of course this lover would look like Andras, a man who has learnt "not only to speak to women but also to listen to them." So have times changed? Hardly.

The book takes the form of a series of small adventures, one in each chapter on the background of Stalinistic and opressed but sexualy liberated Hungary in the 1950s and poltically free but puritan Canada. The anecdotes and the historical perspective enhance the interest of the stories.

This is why it is a wonderful little unpretentious book, not a milestone of the world literature (this is why I dump one star), yet a book to recommend for reading to anybody interested in men - women relationships, what erotism is all about.

I have just read In Praise of Older Women for the second time. Many reviewers have drawn attention to the wisdom contained in this little book, which slyly presents itself as a breviary for young men without lovers. I am reluctant to insist on its status as "an erotic classic," for fear that to do so would confine it to a very narrow context. Indeed, the erotic scenes do not constitute the heart and soul of the story, nor do they even take up very much room. Rather, the book brings some very subtle psychological observations to bear on human relationships. Note, for example, the analysis of the "rapport des forces" between the older women and the younger hero. Zsuzsa, a "small, colourless woman," struggles to overcome her pride. Her coyness turns to compliance only when Vajda snaps at her, showing his passion (one recalls a scene in The Red and the Black: playing for somewhat higher stakes that Vajda, Julien tears a sword from the wall, imprudently displaying his passion before Mathilde, who briefly sees that he loves her). Other women aim stinging remarks at the young man only to succumb to his advances; or else they are guarded and surly the morning after, suspicious (and, in many case, rightly so) of the young Don Juan's motives. In another case, it is Vajda who is prideful. In his efforts to keep up with an energetic violinist whose relentless athletic pursuits and strange sleeping habits he takes as a challenge, the poor Casanova wears himself down to the bone. Vajda also writes of the anonymous onanists, versions of Dostoevsky's "underground man," who keep to themselves and satiate their erotic cravings in solitude. These misanthropes belong to the category of men who have not opened themselves up to women, who want to seduce and dominate the opposite sex, unlike Vajda, who looks on women as "accomplices." The book is a very strong and subtle critique of pride. When I think back on its contents, I remember not only the pleasant watercolors of Hungary and Rome, the descriptions of bodies and faces, and the maxims worthy of La Rochefoucauld ("Whatever is sanctioned by society as a principal good also becomes a moral imperative"), but also the wry humor that examines human interaction with sympathy and insight. While desire plays a large role in the recollections of the hero, the extent to which the author soars above his past is quite remarkable. To be invited to partake of his calm gaze is a pleasure worth repeating. One can read this book again without tiring of it.

The book was very well received in France. "Un bain de bonheur" was how one reviewer described it. How to account for its popularity in Europe (the book has been a best-seller in Spain and elsewhere I believe)? It is true that eroticism has been raised to the level of a value in France, which deploys its Catholic moeurs like scud missiles against a monolithic (and not wholly imaginary) American puritanism. Ideology aside, the fact remains that France knows how to appreciate good literature.

I see that the author himself has posted a review translated from the French. Good for him. America should know about the European point of view.

This IS A FANTASTIC BOOK. Not only as a autobiography, BUT AS A RECORD of HISTORY. Ed Ramsey tells the story of his experiences in the 26th Calvary in the Philippines during World War II. He was the man who lead the last Horse Calvary Charge against the Japanese. Ed tells his story in glorious detail. He shares his inner most thoughts and emotions. Teaching us how a young Lt. learned how to become the leader of an army of secret agents, jungle fighters and saboteurs. Something he had never come in contact with before. He made it up as he went. Some of his decisions had to be harsh if he was to survive. This book opens up to us a world which little was known about before, and because of that heros went unacknownledged and villians undespised. But we will not forget them now because of you Col. Ramsey. Thank you for what you did then and thank you for what you have written now. You are an American Hero in the true sense of the word.

Too self aggrandizing -- not objective and contradicts some of what other guerillas have written.

This book describes what barely can be described. The hardships, the fear, the exhaustion, the hunger, the brutality, the uncertainty of ones fate. It's all right here, and all are apt descriptions of the life of Lt. Ramsey from the fall of Bataan until the time in 1945 that Gen MacArthur returned to liberate the Phillipines.

Lt. Ramsey (who was promotoed to Lt. Colonel over the course of his service in the jungle) was a very important leader of the resistance. He personally exchanged a few messages over the radio with MacArthur himself, and it was years before Ramsey even knew that MacArthur was getting his messages, as he went without radio contact for the first two years of the war.

Many of Ramsey's fellow resistance leaders, some of them officers he served with, or under, prior to the war, were captured, tortured, and beheaded. Informants were everywhere, and every move was a risk. Yet Ramsey never sat still, and his years were spent traveling, at great risk, throughout the Phillipines and organizing the resistance. Many close calls with the Kempa-tei, the Japanese secret police, followed. Ramsey eventually became the most wanted man on the island, after many of his fellow leaders were captured. He eventually went on to command a force of 40,000 resistance fighters.

The leader of the Kempa-tei, General Baba, personally conducted many of the raids and had a picture of Ramsey on his desk. Many times Ramsey was only yards from Japanese troops.

Of course, when this all started, Ramsey had no clue how to wage guerrilla war. But he learned, through trial and error, and it is amazing that he even survived the war. If that isn't enough, this is a man who survived having his appendix removed in the jungle by a doctor who had no morphine to numb the pain!

This is the kind of stuff Hollywood needs to make movies about. Instead we are stuck with the same dumbed down, recycled nonsense that apparently someone finds entertaining. And sadly the exploits of this true American hero go largely unknown by the majority of this country. I'm glad I am no longer one of them.

Col. Ramsey, on foot in the junlges of the Philippines, with only the help of the kind Philippine people----puts war in human terms and visions I can relate to. People suffer with death, starvation, torn off body parts, and disease. Horrible. As a teacher I may use this book to tap into my student's 'schema,' or mental map, to help them visulize the realities of war as being the dreadful scarifice it is, rather that some sort of unreal view of war as a "star wars" game.

From 1960-64 I worked with Ramsay almost daily as a member of the US Embassy in Tokyo while he was VP for Hughes Aircraft in Tokyo. Hughes and two other US companies were bidding on a large joint US/Japan air weapons control project that Hughes in 1963 won. During this time he never once mentioned his guerrila activites during WW II except except a for small clue when he got for my wife and me a Visa during a visit by him to the PI Embassy to visit Clark after the PI govt had refused them through regular channels. During the visit to Clark I asked a number of citizens if they had heard of Ed Ramsay and with little exception they said he was a National Hero. After reading a summary of Lt Ramsay's War in the Readeer's Digest I obtained the un-abridged version and agree with the comments of others about his disclipine and dedication to his country he exhibited in setting up and operating a highly effective guerilla force in the Philippines at great risk to himself and those that worked with him. The book has now been republished and is well worth reading.
Bill Millis

Are you ready to go to the Netherlands where bicycal riding, canal site seeing, and tulips are done almost all year long? Do you want to know the real story? Know what's happening with Cicily's family. Join me into a world where the Netherlands are the best place to be!

This is the best book ever! It taught me a lot about Holland, and I learned a LOT of dutch. Now I can speak a little of a different language!

The sequel to The Diary of Melanie Martin is just as charming and rings with the same truthful voice, as Melanie records the ups and downs of a vacation in Holland with her family and best friend. Melanie is reading the Diary of Anne Frank on this trip, and this historic diary lends a thoughtful note to Melanie's own diary, which includes dealing with the threat of the cancer which has infected her best friend's mom. With the heroine's observations as witty as ever, Melanie Martin Goes Dutch will delight young readers as they experience both van Gogh paintings and topless beaches through Melanie's eyes.

Wishing you could take a trip this summer? The title of this book just makes me smile. Melanie's mother has a grant to study Van Gogh in Amsterdam for the summer and the whole family gets to go along. Melanie's diary of their trip is a fun read. Travel disasters such as lost luggage, an annoying little brother, and a fight with her best friend are not what she imagined her vacation would be like. Melanie is reading Anne Frank: the diary of a young girl. As events unfold on their trip Melanie finds herself empathizing with Anne. Her visit to the Secret Annex is very poignant.

I loved "hearing" the Dutch phrases (complete with pronunciation,)smelling the food and seeing the sights through the eyes of a character who is the same age I was when I lived there. This is a very funny book. The presence of Anne in the background of the story gives the story a sweetness beyond the humor.

When you open this book, you will find yourself peeking into the private diary of Melanie Martin, a ten year old girl living in New York with her mom, dad and Matt the Bratt (aka little brother!). Her mom is an art teacher who teaches her kids to appreciate art, and she loves when they do, even if its only because it includes naked people or blood scenes!
The story starts when summer vacation has just got out, and our girl Mel is getting bored. She and her mom do puzzles. It is one utterly boring day when Melanie's mom gets a phone call telling her that she's got the grant (for her teaching) and they're going to Amster Amster Dam Dam Dam!
They barely get this news before it is discovered that Cecily's mom (Cecily is Melanie's best friend) has got breast cancer.
Mel's mom invites Cecily on the trip and Melanie is overjoyed!
They all leave together for Amsterdam. They all expirience lots of adventures including lost luggage, a topless beach, LOTS of museums and a HUGE argument.
Mel thinks Cecily is getting way too much attention so they silently fight.
Will the fight turn this best-friend bliss into a bummer summer?
Read and find out!
Melanie Martin Goes Dutch is a great book that plenty of kids can empathize with - even grown-ups too!
I hope everyone will enjoy this book as much as I have, including Carol Weston's other fantastic books!
3 cheers, two thumbs up, plus five WHOLE stars as well!

This is essential reading for anybody who is seriously interested in the tradeoffs between capitalism and socialism. As Hugo puts the matter in "Les Miserables", socialism is a great system for distributing wealth, but poor for creating wealth. Capitalism is a great system for creating wealth, but poor for distributing it.

Muller documents very well, and very fairly, the fact that this basic conundrum was well understood by most thinkers since the 18th centry. Muller presents the various solutions proposed by thinkers from all sides of the political spectrum to solve the conundrum.

In a way, the book is depressing, because it shows that all possible solutions have already been thought of, and tried.

This book is an amazing book and goes through and discusses exactly what many of the previous economic philosophers believe. Muller writes this wonderfully, and is typically an easy read. I wouldn't mind reading this book for fun actually.

This is a remarkable book. Besides the usual variety that appears in most books on economic thought (Smith, Marx, Keynes, Hayek, Schumpeter) it includes a nice selection of non-economists such as Voltaire, Burke and Marcuse. Muller is a master of situating intellectuals in their respective context and presenting them in lively detail. Having read Voltaire's "Candide", it was remarkable to find out about his personal adventures with financial speculation. When dealing with Smith, Muller takes pains to retain all the nuances, such as Smith's claim that division of labor, no matter how productive, could make human beings "as stupid and ignorant as it possible for a human creature to become". As Muller is a specialist on conservative thought, his treatment of a variety of criticisms of the market by conservatives is very intriguing. Furthermore, although chapters are written in a way to make them independent of each other, Muller links them nicely using common themes and referring back to already discussed, older ideas. One of such themes is the identification of capitalism with Jews. One might find it surprising how old and often recurring this identification was in European thought.

My main qualm regards Muller's treatment of the left. Although all of the selections are understandable (Marx is a must, Lukacs is representative of 20th century communism and easy to juxtapose with Freyer, while Marcuse is representative of the New Left), large strands of interesting left-wing thought are omitted. Karl Polanyi who wrote the classic about the industrial revolution and the nature of the market ("The Great Transformation") and who seems like a perfect addition to such a book is only mentioned in one of the hundreds of footnotes. Anarchists seem non-existent. The reader might walk away with the feeling that the only things the left has to offer are nagging and central-planning. In the meantime, Hayek and Schumpeter - classical liberals with overlapping ideas (e.g. the role of the entrepreneur) are both given separate chapters. On an unrelated note, some might find the treatment of Keynes inadequate as well. In the first page of the Keynes/Marcuse chapter, Muller states that "[Keynes] provided an economic rationale for governments to try to actively combat unemployment by raising the level of government spending" (p. 317). You will hear the same reductionism in an intro to macro college course, but Keynes' insights were way more nuanced (the role of uncertainty - see: Duncan Foley's "Adam's Falalcy"; the need for a fundamentally different monetary policy - see: Allan Meltzer's and Geoff Tily's work) and often cannot be described as "Keynesian" (or rather, what came to be viewed as "Keynesian").

Despite these flaws, this is a very well-written, insightful and stimulating book. If you are interested in the history of economic thought and more broadly - the different attitudes toward the market economy, make sure to check it out.

The world of capitalism is presented to us through the eyes of the greatest European thinkers. Muller examines the relationship between the individual and the state though the prism of the marketplace tapping into the writings from thinkers such as Adam Smith, Marx, Voltaire, Schumpeter and Hayek. The depth and breath of this economic treatise on the marketplace presents perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum while taking the time and care to place that thinker's perspective within its proper historical context.

The thinkers that are tapped into come from a very broad swath of history. Their perspectives trace how western civilization left the feudal period where commerce and finance where frowned upon as immoral or dirty and how Europe eventually developed market-based institutions that we are so familiar with today. This book clearly shows how thinking men viewed the development of markets and how societies dealt with the social and moral benefits and costs of markets. Muller also describes how different societies in different time periods came to different conclusions on how a market should be regulated and managed as a result of the efforts of these great thinkers.

The way we operate today is linked inextricably to the past. Market-based societies are a product of western European history and culture. The answer to why things are like today can be found in the past and Mueller provides the key.

"The Mind and the Market" is certainly a rare bird: a 400-page tract of intellectual history that manages to be lucid and fascinating, informative and persuasive. It is not a historical chronicle per se; instead it is a chronological sampling of biographical profiles of major and minor thinkers and how they viewed, with admiration and mistrust, capitalism and the "free market."

Muller examines the careers and thoughts of thinkers from the eighteenth- and nineteenth-centuries (from Adam Smith to Karl Marx), as well as more recent writers (such as George Lukacs and Friedrich Hayek) and lesser known intellectuals (Hans Freyer and Werner Sombart). An intriguing subplot of sorts that runs through these chapters is the societal and academic view of the role of Jewish populations in the development of the market; such views, even among the best thinkers (with few exceptions), tended to be harsh and simplistic. Muller's book does not in any way pretend to be comprehensive--he admits in the introduction that the authors under discussion "are drawn disproportionately from German-speaking Europe"--but this tighter focus allows for a better, more coherent narrative.

"The Mind and the Market" is at its best when it sticks to intellectual history; when Muller turns to economic history, however, he occasionally falters (or, more accurately, his discussion is nakedly incomplete). In his largely unimpeachable comments on Marx's myopia, for example, he counters that capitalist development in the late nineteenth century lead to better working and living conditions in England, as well as "improved standards of health and safety in one industry after another." Such a description of the standard of living is true, but "capitalist development" is only half the story and even that story applies to only to the island and not the empire. The British Isles also benefited from colonialism: unprecedented wealth entered the country at the same time that significant chunks of its labor supply shipped overseas to jobs in civil service and the military--often never to return (60,000 died in the Crimean War alone).

Similarly, Muller notes correctly that Hayek's economic theories have gained much prominence during the last three decades, but his arguments for their exoneration is a bit one-sided. He notes the deregulation and tax reduction in the United States during the 1980s but fails to admit the un-Hayek escalation in government spending (at both the federal and state levels) and in budget deficits.

Fortunately for the reader, however, such details, which comprise only small portions of the book, are beyond its scope and in no way compromise the integrity of Muller's discussion of these great thinkers. Taken as a whole, "The Mind and Market" amply displays the love-hate relationship between philosophers and capitalism and how that relationship has evolved during the last two centuries.

One of the most detailed accounts of being a successful ace fighter pilot. Mr Goebel's wartime experiences again show us all what sacrifices our veterans make.

We trained together in the FTC but were sent to different Squadrons,
Wonderful memories!

Woodbine 30

In doing research for a book of my own, I have read -- and continue to read -- as many accounts of the air war over Europe as I can, from many perspectives. Mr. Goebel's book, which he was kind enough to personally autograph for me, is not just an amazing, technical account of the details to flying and fighting in what is arguably the most significant fighter plane ever developed, but also tell the story of the American spirit, as an individual, and collectively in the Armed forces, which represented an era that is the foundation of what we enjoy in a free land today. His ability to tell his story, and the story of those around him -- in America's and the world's most pivotal time in history -- is first class reading from a first class author, in addition to his being a first class gentleman and a first class American Ace. Set around the 15th Air Force's 31st. Fighter Group flying out of Italy, 'Mustang Ace' is great reading on every level. It brings both smiles and tears as you get close to real people who won or lost each day by their skill, their courage and crazy luck -- good or bad -- that often made no sense. If you like airplanes, WWII air combat history and personal achievement on a scale few can imagine, then there is nothing better. This is the real deal; an untypical story portrayed with the typical modesty of a real hero, a real Ace, from an elite group of men that have never been fully appreciated for what they did, and how they did it.

Helped by fameds historian Eric Hammell, who helpe shape the original manuscript into a cohesive and envolving story, Robert Goebel, an eleven-kill ace in WWII, wrote a very pleasant book, from training in the United States till ace status in Italy and Europe. If you're into fighter pilot biographies, this one will not disappoint. But I dare to say: the best ever written was "THE BIG SHOW", by Pierre Clostermann.

This book puts you in WWII aviation. It takes you throught flight training and into combat in the Mustang. I am a current flight instructor and believe me this book is realistic as it gets. If you love aviation you will love Bob Goebel's book.