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The Kalevala is the result of Elias Lönnrot collecting and commiting to paper the oral traditions of the Finnish people to produce an epic tale.
This translation has captured the poetic delivery of the original Finnish as perfectly as these two opposing languages could.
The poetry weaves the tales of Väinämöinen, an old seer and the younger Joukahainen who wishes to challenge him. This angers Väinämöinen who chants him deep into a swamp, a meadow and a heath!! To get himself out of trouble Joukahainen offers the old seer his sister Aino as a bride. Väinämöinen thinking he has been offered a house keeper accepts. Aino is quite taken with being his bride but Väinämöinen has other ideas and heads North to woo the maiden of the North. He can marry her if he forges a Sampo, which is a magical machine that churns out salt, flour and money! He can't do that but he knows a man who can, his good friend Ilmarinen the blacksmith. He has to trick Ilmarinen into going North but he makes the Sampo. Then the marriage requires another task and so the maiden remains unmarried.

Meanwhile, another character Lemminkäinen decides to go North and try his luck winning the maiden. He is given tasks in order to win her hand, capturing the elk of Hiisi and the swan from the river of Tuonela. The latter task nearly kills him and he gives up.

Väinämöinen is now making himself a boat to head back up North but he runs out of spells so he has to go and find Vipunen, a giant who knows all the spells. He gets his spells, finishes his boat and heads North but he is seen by the sister of the blacksmith and the blacksmith rides like the wind on his horse and catches up with him. The two men make a pact that they will let the maiden choose between them. The maiden choose Ilmarinen because he forged the Sampo but her mother still wants more tasks done and she orders Ilmarinen to plough the field of vipers. Ilmarinen finds this easy with his armoured boots and cape and so the crone of the North sets him the task of capturing the giant pike of the chill north sea without line or net!!Ilmarinen forges himself a giant eagle and captures the pike. Now the old crone is satisfied and the wedding takes place. Väinämöinen makes a kantele from the jaw of the pike which produces sweet voiced music such that tames the beasts and even causes the sea king Ahti to rise from the depths. He and Ilmarinen use the sweet music to soothe the beasts of the North whilst they take the Sampo for themselves and set sail for home. Louhi, mistress of the North casts a fog spell to stop them, which Väinämöinen conjures away so Louhi unleashes a terrible storm which sweeps the kantele from the boat whereupon Ahti the sea king thinks it is a present to him and he calms the sea. The crone turns herself into an eagle and attacks Väinämöinen's boat and in the struggle the Sampo is broken into pieces. Some of the pieces are washed up on the shore and from the fragments Ilmarinen makes amulets and rings thinking that perhaps there is still some magic left in the pieces. Each resident of Kalevala wears a magic piece on special occasions, wishing for a peaceful life.

Now I've just condensed an epic piece into a few short paragraphs...for which I apologise but it's a great tale and maybe this will encourage folk to read it themselves.

The Kalevala has a flow to it that makes the plot/ idea easy to follow. If English is your second language you will struggle with some of its vocabulary. The stories and the essence of this epic poem are captivating. I didn't want to put the book down at night. This is a good way to get to know Finnish culture.

This review is in two parts:

THE TRANSLATION: When it comes to reading ancient literature there are often numerous versions and translations. Unless a story is REALLY good, I only want to read it once. So it only makes sense that one should want to read the best version/translation available.
Thankfully, the Keith Bosley translation of The Kalevala is the most reader-friendly, very much like Seamus Heaney's translation of "Beowulf".
The Kalevala does not rhyme, although there are a few instances of alliteration scattered throughout. Each line is usually a handful of words comprising an even larger sentence, but it's done in a tasteful way so that you won't feel like you're reading a James Joyce run-on sentence like in "Ulysses".

THE EPIC:
The Kalevala bounces around telling tales of several major characters, which is fortunate, considering the length of the work. Without giving anything away, the characters do things like get married, steal precious relics, sing magical songs, go to war and build many more precious relics.

There are lots of good "Chapters" in The Kalevala and I was surprised that a few of my favorites had little or no action in them (according to a guy's definition of action, at least). One of which was the marriage sequence of Chapters 21-24. If you've ever heard the advice, "Don't get married", this is probably one of the sources where such advice comes from.

It is also noteworthy how much influence The Kalevala has had on Fantasy and Metal. If I remember correctly, Tolkien's "Silmarillion" starts off with beings singing things into existence, much like the characters in The Kalevala do.
The Finnish metal band "Ensiferum" has songs that are inspired straight from The Kalevala, such as "Old Man" which refers to Vainamoinen.
There are many other bands in the folk metal genre, that, although they don't specifically cite The Kalevala as an inspiration they clearly have songs that are similar to The Kalevala's oral tradition. Some examples (in my opinion) would be Korpiklaani (Finnish), Metsatoell and Raud Ants (Estonian).

Overall, I liked The Kalevala much more than I thought I would, given its length and I have to admit: I found it more interesting than Beowulf.

There is an elegant, powerful simplicity to this epic tale, no matter what language you read it in. The symbols transcend both language and time. There is nothing contrived here. Such a tale could not be counterfeited by a modern mind.At the center of the entire epic is Vainamoinen, the singer at the world's dawn. Here is the archetype for the wizard- the first and greatest among shamans. Before Merlin, before Taliesin, before Math, before Manannan, there was Vainamoinen, Eternal Seer.Something real and vital carries over even in translation. Reading this book on a cold winter's night you can taste the sea and smell the forest. You can identify with the characters even though they have godlike powers, because they also have trades that they live by (Vainamoinen is a boatbuilder, Ilmarinen a smith, Joukahainen builds his own crossbows, etc.) These Godlike beings lived simple lives close to the earth. And simple wisdom is powerful wisdom. Yet, there is also so much more of the old, deep legends and symbols buried in these lines. You can tell that they were preserved long after the long lines of singers had ceased to know their original meanings.The ancient Finns believed in the power of words, and the greater power of songs. There is still power here. Or as the epic says:

Words shall not be hid

nor spells be buried;

might shall not sink underground

though the mighty go.

I enjoyed this epic story of Finnish mythology. It was a musical, delightful collection of heroic stories that didn't overwhelm me. I could keep track of the characters and what they respresented quite easily.

I was delighted by this book! I hope all Finnish children are exposed to the exciting yet fun depiction of their mythological heritage.

I know that scholars want to read everything and disect the stories for deeper meanings -- which is just fine -- but I can really see this as a set of stories being told to small children while the whole family sat around the fireplace.

This should be in the homes of every Baptist family, as it already is in most Amish families. As the book itself explains, it is a history of fifteen centuries of the suffering of the Baptist people and their martyrdom at the hands of the catholic church. A list of popes up to the time it was written is included in the back. It proves that Baptists existed long before Martin Luther, and were martyred for such sins as reading the Bible and Baptizing adults after they were saved. It is impossible to deny these facts because this book documented these horrors and was written hundreds of years ago, before political correctness came into being, using the records of governments most of which have since been destroyed. The names of hundreds of individual Baptist people are recorded along with descriptions of the accusations against them, their tortures and death. It is detailed, and too graphic for children.

The story of the Anabaptists is one of incredible pain and spiritual triumph. This impressive work was written in the seventeenth century and recounts the stories of many men and women who suffered and often faced terrible death for what they thought was right. Apart from individuals stories, the book contains many emotionally touching letters written by martyrs to their families and friends. The book also describes the sufferings of some of the early Christians and the later Waldensians.
The legacy of the Anabaptists lives on in the Amish and Mennonites. In fact, an article about Amish forgiveness in the aftermath of the recent tragic school shooting was one of the things that brought this book to my attention. Personally, I feel Christians of any denomination could take something useful from this book.
Overall, "Martyr's Mirror" is an extremely powerful and moving book.

A part of my family research - but brings the sadness, the strength and the Christian conviction to a very harsh reality. Something all of us from those roots need to read.

This is an excellent work and a great accompaniment to Foxes' Book of Martyrs. It is an enormous volume with much information I have not seen before.
I highly recommend it as an addition to every Christian's library, and to anyone studying the subject of martyrdom.

This is a must own book for those interested in Christian heritage. This puts Foxe's Book of Martyrs to shame. It is well worth the money you will spend on it.

This relatively short book is something of a classic. Written very clearly, The Pursuit... is a combined description and analysis of Medieval millenial movements. Cohn begins with concise section describing the historic roots of millenial movements in relevant texts from the Jewish tradition and the early Church fathers. He then moves on to a chronologically based description and analysis of major millenial movements in Northern and Central Europe from the 12th century to the early Reformation. This includes both some fairly obscure movements and well known episodes like the Anabaptist commune in Reformation Munster. Cohn establishes the Millenarian traditional as rooted deeply in the traditions of the early church. Important aspects include the Church's emphasis on a life of self-denial and poverty as important to salvation, particular eschatological interpretations of some scriptures, and a constant tension between popular enthusiasms and the institutional church. The heartlands of millenial movements in Northern and Central Europe are shown to be areas stressed by rapid social changes, particularly the Rhine Valley and the Low Countries during periods of proto-industrialization and urbanization with the attendent dissolution of feudal bonds and impoverishment of many peasants. The millenial traditons lent themselves particularly well to combined religous-political movements emphasizing egalitarianism and often violent attacks on Jews, the established clergy and the upper classes. These movements were often provoked by particular social stresses such as famines or plague outbreaks. The initial arrival of the Black Death, for example, evoked millenial movements notable for their savage anti-Semitism and slaughters of Jews in many parts of Europe. Another common predisposing factor was relatively weak central government, which Cohn sees as an important factor in late Medieval and Early Reformation Germany. Cohn shows nicely how these basec features recurred across centuries, sustained probably by submerged popular traditions.
Over the course of the Middle Ages, additional features emerge. These include a mystical tradition in which adepts can acquire antinomian freedom from conventional morality and an emphasis on recovery on a lost Golden Age or prelapsarian egalitarian state of nature. These features, coupled with the prior traditions of milleniarianism and egalitarianism, made for violent outbreaks during periods of social stress. The Anabaptist seizure of Munster and the Taborite uprisings in Bohemia being good examples.
Cohn compares these phenomena explicitly with modern secular mass movements, notably the Leninist version of Marxism. The analogies are drawn well and as others have shown nicely, its fair to see Marxism as a secularized descendent of the millenarian tradition.

A scholarly work giving an insight into (Non mainstream) Christian people's attempts to predict both the timing and the intent of a millennium.It has left the Holy Roman church virtually intact despite the attacks made against it; that is it does not pass judgement on the attitudes, teaching and actions of the church during the period presented.

I believed a history book such as this one would not get revised and ordered an old print of 1972 for an alluring bargain. Now I know better, but I was lucky. There was at least one revision, in 1969 of this 1957 book. Among other changes an entire chapter got included.

This by the time of this review half a century old book is on millennianism. Which has nothing to do with the last or the "current" turn of the calendar, but with the expectation of a paradisical kingdom to get introduced by the (returning) messiah, no matter when. Which would last for a millennium. The time frame is half a millennium, from the 11th to the 16th century. The book largely concentrates on north-western Europe, specifically France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bohemia and England. Only occasionally referencing other territories.

Talk is about the crusades, especially from below. Poor masses embarrassing the official knights for their anarchic conduct, such as cannibalism and genociding Jews and Muslims, but also the rich Christian clergy. This book is primarily about the medievil class struggle. Ultra exploitation and general greed causing desperate mass movements with religious hope and frenzy. Norman Cohn elaborates on the social conditions and transformations from peasantry to urbanization, thus putting historical data into context. While most other authors highlight official history, i.e. the history of kings and popes etc., Norman Cohn focuses on the poor revolting. I have never before heard about a shepherds' crusade, yet there were two of them. Some of those crusades were directed against the Christian clergy and the establishment in general. That's why even today, official history lessons aren't that eager to teach about them. Some insurrections described include the flagellants (who were also genociding Jews), Beguines and Beghards (who inspired the term beggars), Thomas Müntzer, Anabaptists and all sorts of self-declared saviors. Their followers largely jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. Often literally, as the establishment punished with the stake quite liberally. But also for the mostly quick turnovers of the high aspirations of the brave new worlds into lethal absolutism. As such, the ancient Greek-Roman derived ideas of communism turned sour before the 20th century, namely in the European medievil Imes.

Many of the previous reviews put attention to the above. I have three thoughts about that. First, this book has been written and published during the heyday of McCarthyism. Obviously till today it is possible to read the book as anti-communist exclusively. Yet - second -, the author didn't critizise communism alone. In fact, the central focus is rather on the capitalist condition, which caused those mass movements in the first place. He isn't only warning about the dangers of system changes, but also of NOT changing at all. The Bible warns against greed at many places and unequality in general. The opposite has been and still is the condition of the world we live in. No system change is an easy quick fix. Because our meme pool functions within the very same parameters of greed, power and constructs of separation. Even in communism, no matter wether religious or anti-religious, some people quickly become more equal than others. This book is a warning against absolutism. Forcing one's views into other peoples' throats. It is a warning against ever more radical conditions and views until everybody (else) is fed up with those conditions, pushes them from the pedestal ENTIRELY and when in lack of a solution relying on the previous model. Which hadn't been reformed in the first place for nothing. That way, society is circling within the very same dysfunctionality, but under the illusion of system changes. The question therefore is: Were the Dark Ages' wannabe reformers too radical or not radical enough?

Both. As the third thing is that this book doesn't only critisize the radicals, but also the persecuting establishment (which executed atheists just the same). Both persecuting the mystics as sick. Who get described in this book as gnostics, stoics, Free Spirits, Ranters, Spanish Brotherhood of Muslims, Amaurians and by other terms. Unsurprisingly many reviewers blind these mystics as the same ill-advised fanatics. But the book isn't saying that. Though not really pointing out the opposite directly either. The reason for the misoverstanding is that mystics sound crazy to the masses of today no less than the absolutist loonies. Yet, they hold the key to enter the road for a real change. The basic message being: Everything in existence is God/Allah/Jah/the universe, etc, all separations are constructs of the illusory human mind. Overstanding that, equal treatment establishes itself on a different plain than a nice should-be command. The book does provide some mystical texts, including on the divinity of every human, every living thing, in fact everything and a hint of the illusion of the separation of genders (p. 325). The latter of which I find most interesting, as I wasn't aware that medievil Europe harbored a subculture knowing this. Eurocentered, the author puts all of these mystics in the derivation line of Neo-Platonism. Whereas in reality, all of this is derived from ancient Black Egypt.

Unfortunately the book isn't going into what sprang into my mind as a theory immediately and continuously while reading this book. The major religious concern of the masses is against greed and exploitation, still hinting at the Sodom story rather in this context. Whereas today, greed and exploitation isn't such a religious concern anymore. In fact, communism has become severely anti-religious. But the Sodom story is still featuring majorly in religious preachings. But in a completely different context. Most certainly the Noah-Ham story has been misinterpreted in order to justify the exploitation of slavery shortly thereafter. The book doesn't go into it, but mentions that the populace fought adamantly for the abolishment of serfdom anywhere - based on the Bible. It seems obvious that the Sodom story has been misinterpreted to divert attention away from "Thou shall not be greedy!" in the first place, away from the detesting of the rich, who included the Church. In that way the medievil subject of the book hasn't lost its topicality at all indeed.

If you want to find out more about general modern mysticism, read for example The Mystical Journey from Jesus to Christ and based on science From Science to God: A Physicist's Journey into the Mystery of Consciousness. On the schemes of exploitation no matter the superficial system, read Putting It All Together: World Conquest, Global Genocide & African Liberation.

This is an excellent book. According to the above it could be so much more - not only describing history, but changing the present. At the Imes of having been written, those issues couldn't get written about. As I-and-I (we) haven't left the Dark Ages yet, not really. "We" only think we have...

Cohn's "Pursuit of the Millennium" has aged well and nearing 50 years of age it is deservedly a classic. Its subjet might be considered by some to be esoteric: it deals with prophets from middle age Europe who led others to believe that the end of times was at hand, and that they had been chosen by God to purify the world in preparation for the Kingdom of the Last Days, and with pantheistic mystical anarchists who believed that they could do no evil because they had connected with their divine essences. In most cases these figures are virtual unknowns even for people who like history. The few that still turn up are Thomas Müntzer, the leader of the rebellious peasants who were exterminated in the Battle of Frankenhausen (a character in the historical fiction pastiche "Q" by Luther Blisset) and John of Leyden, the tailor who created a totalitarian kingdom of saints in Münster. For the revolutionary millennarians the tale is a bit repetitive, and it usually went like this: a former priest or a hermit with a violent disposition concludes, after meditating for a long time, that he is living at the end of times and that he is God/ he is a god/ he has been chosen by God or a god to lead the just and the good in a final, apocalyptic, war against Antichrist and his followers, to usher in the millennium of the saints announced by John the Divine, prior to the end of the world and the final reckoning. The hermit or defrocked priest finds some followers and eventually is able to take hold of a town or a castle, which he converts into a stronghold with the help of the rootless rabble. Then he proceeds to plunder from the rich (nobles and clergy) and to purge the unredeemed. Eventually the powers-that-be get their act together and dispatch an army of knights who, after a bloody fight are able to capture the prophet and his main followers, who usually are burnt or beheaded after enduring torture. It is peculiar that even thought they are always defeated and crushed, the sort of people who are drawn to this type of leader will rise up to follow them again and again.

Cohn's book tells the story in just the right detail. He shows that certain regions were particularly sensitive to the millennarian prophets. Many such arose in the Northwestern corner of Europe (Northeastern France, the Benelux countries, the Rhineland in Germany). He also shows that generally poor people have had rational aims: to use pressure in order to improve their lot by acquisition of certain rights. Only a minority has felt the attraction of millennarian revolutions, and these usually have been uprooted people without a settled role. Also, these revolutionary initiatives were able to succeed (even if for a short while) only in times of chaos or unrest (i.e., the Crusades, visitations of the plague or black death, economic crises, etc.). Usually the self-appointed prophets used the social disruption in order to further their cause and take advantage from the momentary weakness of defenders of the status quo.

Cohn is a sober commentator who shows that recent historians have sometimes ignored the evidence to further a political agenda. Thus, leftist historians sometimes refused to acknowledge some activities of the prophets whom they regarded as protorevolutionaries (such as their inclination to institutionalized promiscuity or their remarkably violent language), probably in order to maintain their status as predecessors of current "progressives".

An interesting conclusion from the reading of the book is that, contrary to what many think, ideas are not a neutral good to be chosen by informed customers in an efficient marketplace. Some ideas appeal to dark places in people's minds: these are dangerous ideas, and parents and teachers would do well to instruct their children, so that they do not succumb. One such idea is that "God" is in everything, and that when a person becomes aware of this he or she becomes entirely free and can follow his or her desires without any negative ethical implication. Another way of putting this is that nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so, as Hamlet said. This type of belief might lead a person to the most brutal behaviors without any perception that they had done ill. This is a very common opinion nowadays, and in fact both the millennarists and the mystical anarchists have their successors nowadays. Today, the center of millennarian agitation is surely the USA, were many people believe that the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse) is a play-by-play description of the end of the world and that they will live to see it happen. And many new age sects (including Scientology) appear to hold the belief that we can become gods and be free of conventional morality and ethics.

In his conclusion Cohn suggests that many radical movements of the XX century are in fact new versions of the old millennarian revolutionary heresies. There can be no doubt that this is the case: human motivations change little over time. What changes is the language in which they are articulated. In a religious era, the language and imagery were religious. in a godless age the language attempts to be scientific and logical. But underneath there beats the same old hope: the hope to see evil punished and evildoers destroyed, to be part of a chosen elite with a new understanding of the nature of reality, and an exhilarating vision of a better future through hardship and strife. We can all empathise with these feelings. Action movies, comic books, tragedies, country music and soap operas resonate for many of us because they take their inspiration from some of these elements. I only regret that Cohn did not expand the point, although other authors have done so, most notably Michel Burleigh, who in his recent two volume history on the clashes between politics and religion from the French Revolution to our days has shown that much of what passes for politics is in reality religion by another name, and how the most revolutionary creeds of the XX century were really millennarian sects.

And Cohn's perspective is so pertinent that it even explains the rise of Islamic fundamentalism tinged with visions of a holy war that will redeem the world and turn into the Umma, the community of the believers. The followers of fundamentalism have been the large masses of uprooted peasants without a clear role in a modernizing world, and their leaders have been intellectuals or semi-intellectuals who can understand how the world works but want no part of it, other than to redeem it in an apocalytic struggle. Their counterparts in other religions are very similar to them: people who want to find a meaning for lives that provide none, people who are sensitive to unfairness and who instinctively resonate with violence and retribution, people who yearn for zoroastrian visions of entirely distinct good and bad. As ever, for these people, the new millennium of peace and joy is just around the corner, although sadly it can only come about on mountains of corpses and through rivers of blood.

I have read this book several times: And each time I do; I am still amazed at the brilliant historical research of Christian millennial movements that Norman Cohn gave to the world. This book is timeless, and serves as a great warning to everyone. The apocalyptic movements from the earliest times of Christianity, to the Reformation was not only dangerous in its extremism, but what amazes me, is that it still among us: civilized though we may think we are. Everything is served up in this great book: flagellants, false messiahs, heretical saints, crazed visionaries, and insane prophets of doom. The belief that the apostles lived a life of poverty, and that all men had to share led to a struggle of class warfare, which in turn led to many wars and spilt blood. All in the name of God.

The pages of history are filled with the names of men whose desire for power, be it political or religious, lead many others into the abyss: Those whose own despair with the world around them are led to believe in the false messages and sense of security of divine righteousness. And as such, much blood has been spilled by these deceitful and crazed false teachings. These corrupters of truth have not gone away, they are still among us: No matter what their religion. And that is why this book is as important now, as when it was first published.

In the book, Norman Cohn's research gives light into the revolutionary millennial cults that spread into dangerous movements. Part of this was the mistrust of the established Church in Europe during the middle ages, and resentment of the aristocracy, whose ties and deep connections to the Church was seen as one of depriving the people of a truer and better life. And although these were legitimate complaints by the people, the fact that through there own despair, they were led by others to seek out equality in its most extreme form, is truly frightening. The millennial movements gained most of their members from the poor, and unskilled urban dwellers who were uprooted due to famine in many cases. Seeking the Kingdom of Heaven and God, however, led by demagogues and fanatics, the book goes into much detail of how, where and why these cults thrived. Highly highly recommended. [Stars: 5+]

Well-written cautionary tale of eight amateurish Nazi saboteurs sent to the US by submarine in 1942. One of the two groups landed on Long Island, and were immediately spotted by a Coast Guard watchman. Not to worry, both the would-be spies and the Coast Guard botched events so royally that the spies got away, but then the spy leader called the FBI to turn the group in the next day!

The second group of four faired somewhat better, landing in Florida and making their way to Chicago and New York before being captured based on the rambling 250-page confession the Long Island leader gave to the FBI. Within two weeks all eight were in custody.

Dobbs writes a tight, concise, fast-moving narrative, that frames the bizarre and unusual aspects of the planning, capture, and trial, while dealing with the contemporary and current legal and political issues of how to deal with plain-clothes spies trying to cause pain and suffering in the United States.

Truth is certainly stranger and more entertaining than fiction in this case. This fast paced account of the 8 man team of Nazis sent to sabotage the US railyway system during WWII is so colorfully told, it's like a movie. The fact that it's a true story makes it all the more fascinating.

Famous figures like FDR and J Edgar Hoover and not so famous ones like Atty General Biddle and the German conspirators, all come to live and the stories (in this age of the Patriot Act, public paranoia and prisoner abuse scandals) are especially relevent in today's political climate.

Thoroughly enjoyable and informative read for buffds of both history and spy stories.

One of the first actually enjoyable nonfiction books I have ever read. A moving, suspenseful, accurate tale by Michael Dobbs - totally worth reading no matter what!
After reading it, I changed the subject of my paper to Operation Pastorius because of the wealth of knowledge I had about it from reading this enjoyable book!

I'm still not quite sure why I liked this book so much. Let me just say Dobbs does a terrific job (aided by some very detailed sources) of outlining a story that is bizarre, funny, and strangely compelling. It's one of those books where you keep coming across events so strange you have to tell someone about them. Also, it's quite timely, as some of the legislation that came out of the Operation Pastorius trials is currently being used to the hilt by the Bush administration, even though the key Supreme Court justice in those decisions later said he regretted them.

If you like it, I would also recommend "In Harm's Way" by Douglas Stanton, about the Indianapolis disaster. That's more of a horror story than a comedy, but it also is filled with historical ironies and well-delineated characters.

In June of 1942, two 4-man teams of Nazi saboteurs exited U-boats onto American beaches in Florida and Long Island, NY. All of the eight had previously spent time in America. Indeed, one had spent twenty years in the U.S., and another, a naturalized American citizen, had spent seventeen since the age of five. Returning to the Third Reich for various reasons, they volunteered to return to the U.S. and sabotage that country's war effort by striking at its aluminum production plants. Each team hit the beach with a supply of explosives and $90,000 cash for expenses. Two weeks later, they were all in FBI custody. All were tried by a military tribunal and found guilty. Six of the eight were quickly executed by electrocution; two were imprisoned for the war's duration and eventually returned to Germany.

A friend of one of the saboteurs, who'd also been offered the chance to join the mission but declined, said:

"In Germany ... everything was rationed. Nobody in his right mind was going to go from a country like that to a country with everything, like America, and start blowing things up. You'd have to be nuts."

That statement just about says it in a nutshell because even though Hoover and his FBI trumpeted their foiling of the plot as the greatest victory for America since Yorktown and the former just about wet his pants in an effort to grab all the credit for (chiefly) himself and his G-men, the eight conspirators resembled more an expanded clone of the Three Stooges, and their fourteen days on the loose were a farce. Glad to be free of Germany's wartime belt tightening, they started spending their cash on food, clothes, drink, women, and, in one case, a new car. A couple of them looked up family members, wives, and former girlfriends. There didn't seem to be any great urgency to get down to the business of "blowing things up". In the meantime, the leader of the Long Island four, George Dasch, was off spilling his guts to the Feds. Though SABOTEURS: THE NAZI RAID ON AMERICA is well written and documented, one wonders why author Michael Dobbs bothered. Perhaps a clue lies in Michael's assertion that:

"One of the lessons of the saboteur affair is that it is very difficult to fight a war and respect legal niceties at the same time."

In the seventy-six pages of the book dealing with the invaders' trial and punishment, Dobbs goes to commendable lengths to describe how the accused were denied the right of habeas corpus, an abridgement not seen since Abraham Lincoln suspended such during the Civil War. Oh, and by the way, the handling of the saboteurs' case by the U.S. government is apparently the legal basis for its trying of al-Qaeda terrorists before military tribunals post-9/11.

SABOTEURS seems less about the abortive "raid" on America than an essay on its legal system when severely stressed - or perceived to be stressed - by outside forces. Perhaps the lesson to be learned is reflected in the statement by Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist in a 1999 speech, and which is quoted towards the end of this volume:

"While we would not want to subscribe to the full sweep of the Latin maxim INTER ARMA SILENT LEGIS (In a time of war, the laws are silent), perhaps we can accept the proposition that, though the laws are not silent in wartime, they speak with a muted voice."

This book is so much packed with information and data!
Well presented and well written, you will find more in this book about Napoleonic warfare than any other books focusing on a single topic:

-weapons and equipments
-beautiful uniform plates
-Infantry and cavalry tactics with diagram
-full bios of many of the generals
-full order of battles
-accounts and explanation about particular engagements on the battlefield with diagrams and actual battlefield pictures
-historical interpretation: you will learn for instance through a rational explanation why it was almost impossible to break an infantry square by cavalry
and much more

My only complaint would be that at times I had the feeling that the book was a bit all over the place, however, each time, there was something so interesting to pick.

This book is a real treat, addictive, informative, going well beyond the battle of Waterloo to encompass the essence of Napoleonic warfare at dirt level. At this price, with so many pages of pure pleasure, it is a true bargain.

This is an excellent book for who begins to study the battle of Waterloo. Complete, clear and very entertaining.
A very good purchase.

This is an excellent read, full with illustrations, photo's of the actual battlefield and information in general of napoleonic warfare.

Wow, What a book! If you would choose one book to give you all the background information on this famous battle; This would be the one. Outstanding graphics, maps and photos! Well done!!!

This is one of the better books on waterloo. Good graphics and detailed maps. Fair and balanced view.

Whoever appreciates Peter Drucker als author of 39 books focusing predominantly on the various subjects of management should also read his "Adventures of a Bystander". This book is a very important key to Peter Drucker's development and personality. Add his two novels "The Temptation to Do Good" AND "The Last of all Possible Worlds" and you
will discover Peter Drucker's qualities as excellent novelist. There you will find very important additions to his management thinking and practice in terms of profiles of psychological dynamics of people in action.

Drucker clearly explains how rampant inflation in post WW I Germany influenced the rise of the Nazi party and Hitler. This discussion should be required reading for every 14 year old child! I particularly liked his stories of Willem Paarboom, a sort of Dutch hedge-fund/investment manager who appeared to be a cross between a man and a raven. In his day, Herr Drucker was exposed to some truly elegant and unorthodox thinkers. He adds his own illuminating interpretations and is not afraid to engage in contrary thinking. (Especially when to do so is out of vogue) Read about Dr. Mordecai Johnson and his views on the "American Negro Problem" and you will never contemplate African slavery the same way again. I consider Drucker to be one of the brightest minds of the 20th century, and his genius is on full display here. Certainly, this is one of the most provocative and influential books that I have ever read!

(Drucker particularly liked the "sqwoosh, sqwoosh" sound when jumping in puddles.)

Not really an autobiography, not quite a memoir, part biography, of the people he has known in his life, some famous, some not. And Drucker is still alive, now 95 years old. It was a dense, fact-filled book, but always fascinating. He is an amazingly prolific, gifted, engaging writer. And what he has to say about America and The American Dream in the last pages of the book is no less true today than it was in the late 70's when it was written. He writes of Sigmund Freud (things you haven't read before), Henry Luce, Alfred Sloan, John L. Lewis, and Buckminster Fuller among a host of other characters. A very rewarding, thought-provoking read. Highly recommended. Especially for those of us who want to read history by the people who lived it.

Drucker's most captivating book, Adventures of a Bystander, is a dynamic memoir of the singular Americans and Europeans of Drucker's life. They include Fritz Kraemer, the historian who "invented" Henry Kissinger; Reinhold Hensch, a newspaper editor so mediocre his only career path was to become the "monster" of the Third Reich; John L. Lewis, Marshall McLuhan, and the visionary early chiefs of General Motors. (Yes, General Motors.) Most importantly, you meet Peter Drucker, whose offhand insights into the world surrounding his characters make every page of this book reward rereading. ....

Instead of the usual self-focused auto-biography, Drucker introduces us to the people that have shaped him. Some are famous (Bucky Fuller, Marshal Mcluhan) some are not (his elementary school teacher). Some are good, some evil, but they are are worth meeting, especially through Drucker's eyes. A good read.

When I was told in an e-mail that I might have the same appreciation for this as "The Great Divorce," my eyebrows immediately were raised. And yes, they were raised in suspicion. I wasn't too sure if I wanted to see what "The Ancient Path" was all about. Seriously, what does Joshua Jost really have to offer, right? Hey, what can I say? It isn't that bad. OK, it isn't bad! This book boldly declares that it represents a ten year journey from Genesis to Jesus. So, how do you start down a particular path? You take your first steps, of course!

With a Lewis-like heir, the author begins the journey. He begins with creation. He brings along Adam and Eve. He exposes the selfish indulgence they choose to pursue! He exposes you, and he exposes me! That stinks. Are you calling me selfish? Ok, look at some of the other lives in scripture. Abraham, Isaiah, David, what will we learn through these lives and more? Eventually you'll find that we were commanded, and still are commanded, to stop pursuing self, and start pursuing God. As small as it may sound, we need to take seriously His standard of love. We also need to take our journey more seriously.

A small book that packs a huge punch! Quite frankly, I thought more could've been said. That's my only gripe. Joshua Jost did some homework, and he made me think. I wasn't afraid to crack open the first page. If you venture down this path, don't expect it all to be easy. It isn't. But it is ancient! And it is something to be desired to live an abundant life. That's what makes the Christian life beyond special. Do you have the guts to take it on?

This is a beautifully written book. The author wanders at leisure through the Old Testatement from Genesis to Revelations painting simple and clear pictures in words to show the amazing nature of God's creation and the love of God for his children. - Well worh reading!

Let me start from the end. When I finished reading the final paragraph of The Ancient Path, I sat and clapped my hands. I kept saying over and over, "very clever, very, very clever". Jost masterfully weaves you through time, stopping only to let you change your clothes according to the time period. Starting in heaven, watching the Creator create. Then, through the Garden of Eden, to the pivotal chapter of Abraham making covenant with God. Next we find ourselves in the desert with Moses, and if you close your eyes, you might just feel the searing sun, and sand in your shoes, so vivid the picture Jost casts in our mind.

Chapter five finds you running down dusty streets, fearing for your life, with Rahab the prostitute. Many times as a child you hear the story of Joshua, marching around Jericho. But Jost starts out by looking at the story through Rahab's eyes. I wept as I read this chapter, and looking over it now, I fight back tears. The power lies in this authors ability to bring the emotion of a four thousand year old story, right up to present day. Rahab saw the grace of God, the same grace that saves us today.

In the next two chapters you get to meet great men of God, like David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. I felt like I was watching them, walking along side them, as they struggled as we do, to obey God with all their hearts, yet willing to make the sacrifices to do so. But not until the last chapter, do you see what tapestry Jost has been weaving in your mind all along.

The book finishes with Jesus. He is on His way to be crucified. And as Jesus makes His way to the cross, Jost flashbacks through all the previous chapters and you start to see what it has all been about. Why did the father not just bring Jesus, straight after the fall? Why wait four thousand years? The last chapter shows us the master plan of the Father, one that cannot be shaken. It is about covenant, and grace. I have been greatly challenged by this book, and inspired. This is not a book about me, or how I can become great. It is a book focused, as we should be, on the Word of God, and the mighty and powerful God we serve. Well done Joshua Jost, I applaud your bravery, in this world of self, for giving God the glory, and honour that He deserves. I eagerly wait for the next instalment, and highly recommend this book. Five gleaming stars.

. . . which defies easy explanation.

Joshua Jost is on to something here. His book "The Ancient Path" describes in a very unique, deeply personal manner, the love of the Father for His creation -- in good times and in bad, through sin, disobedience, and rebellion on through to the gift of the Son. His storytelling methodology is unconventional, but "works" in this particular format. The particular Old Testament examples Jost uses are solid -- and going through the book, my mind was drawn to other Old Testament stories he could have used to good effect as well.

The format of the book might not appeal to everyone, and I thought that the author's "apology" for lack of specific Scriptural references was unnecessary. Jost makes his points without the need to quote Scripture "word for word" -- indeed, in the mind of this reviewer, such would have detracted, not added to the writing. Coming as I do from a different theological perspective as Jost, I was uncomfortable with what I perceived as a "penal substitution" view of the Atonement -- but this doesn't really detract from the value of the book.

In short, I think that Jost is onto something here . . . a concept I would very much like to see him expand greatly. The journey would certainly be worth the effort!

Four very solid stars.

"The Ancient Path" is exquisitely written, with insights into biblical truths that go deep into your heart. The poetic flow of this work, and the sheer beauty of it, makes the passages moving as well as memorable. Joshua Jost's description of creation and of how God brought life into being is masterful, as is every chapter from "In the Beginning" to "The Son." There is a wise, discerning mind, a life devoted to the Lord, and a child's wonder coming together on each page. I found Chapter 2, "Forbidden Fruit," very illuminating, with reasons why Eve added "touch" to God's commandment of not eating from the tree of good and evil, as "the serpent laid before them the ultimate temptation of sin: the pursuit of knowledge for power" (page 35), and Chapter 3, "The Father," is enthralling, as Abraham waits...and waits...for the destiny God said was his to come. "If hope were our destination, and faith the feet that carry us there, covenant is our path, laid straight before us" (page 52).

Only in his early 30's, but with the wisdom of the ancients, truth shines brightly in the cottage Jost shares with his family in northeast Scotland. "...only those who listen with ears of faith will see with their eyes the promises they hope for" (page 135). There is an intimacy with the Lord, and a passion for His Word in the pages of this slim but mighty book, that can only be written by someone who knows Him well. With the overwhelming love that comes from this knowing, and by yielding one's life to Him, we see the good fruit that ensues. This book is the good fruit Jost shares with us; we are enlightened and lifted up, and very much rewarded in the reading of it.

This is quite a book. Since it is over 900 pages you must put it down but I read it straight through. There are some very keen insights into the armament industry and its power over nations and governments - even over Adolf Hitler. If you think Hitler answered to no one, you might want to read this book. My tendency is to tell you many of the shocking facts contained in this work. But Mr. Manchester spent a lot of time building his shocking facts into a reasonable and established context. This is a very important book and I am very, very surprised that I am the first to review it. This is another one of those books that should be a college text. Buy it! This book is a bargain, believe me. No price could repay Mr. Manchester for this type of research.

This is an excellent book about a family's, noted for their involvement with the steel industry and especially the manufacturer of arms, struggle with Germany's economy and power covering about 400 years. It looks lengthy however it is over just as you are getting started. A side benefit is the technical information added helps you imagine what is like to design and sell the arms. In some cases they were almost given away for a causes. This story parallels other books on history and makes the world seem that it is made up of people not just historical facts. Speaking of historical facts, one of the things I like to do is to read books that become movies and movies that are novelized. This would have to be a mini-series. Notice that in the book

William Manchester mentions that the movie "Major Barbara", the play was actually written by George Bernard Shaw and was modeled on the Krupp family.

"The Arms Of Krupp" is the incredible biography of a powerful and incredibly rich and powerful family that was central in the advent and progress of European history for the more than four hundred years they presided as an almost imperial force within the boundaries of what is present-ay Germany. Certainly no other non-royal dynasty engenders such controversy and hotly expressed differences in opinion than does the multiple generations of this critically based family so critical to the development and technological capabilities of the German war machine. Of course, no one could do a better job at providing a definitive historical biography of the Krupp family than William Manchester. This is truly a magnificent book, a spellbinding story splendidly told by a master of English prose, rendered in a flawless, comprehensive, and objective treatment of this fascinating, often outrageous, and sometime imperious string of Krupp family member who ignited the wars raging in Europe in terms of their ability to provide the motherland with such complex, ingenious, and technically superior weapons of war.

This is, in fact, considered a masterwork of history, an eminently readable and elegantly stylish work by Manchester, a master of the trade. Manchester, a retired history professor at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, is widely regarded as one of this country's preeminent biographers and historian. The Krupp dynasty was extinguished in 1967, when the last surviving family member passed away. With his death the legacy of a four hundred year span of contribution to the European armaments industry came to an end, and so brought to a conclusion a tradition spanning wars and quite profoundly influencing outcomes of European history for centuries. The Krupp Arms conglomerate was technologically innovative, devising new weapons such as a superior cannon to an anti-air vehicle weapon designed to counter the reconnaissance capabilities of aerial observation balloons to exotic and much more capable submarines, which they then built for over four decades.

In so doing, they became fabulously rich, and rose to become extremely influential and exceedingly conservative voices within the realm of German political circles. No German leader could hope to marshal the resources or the weapons of war necessary to mount a military campaign without first gaining the trust, confidence and support of the Krupp family, which then cleverly and cynically manipulated this influence to vastly enrich themselves. During World War One, their cannons helped to flatten the French city of Verdun, and at one point succeeded in lobbing projectiles into Paris from as distant a location as some eighty miles away, an unheard-of innovation at the time. Aiding the Third Reich in its secret rearmament effort after the end of the First Word War, they provided a much advanced tank design that eventuated in the Panzer tank, used subsequently so successfully in Hitler's blitzkrieg through France in the summer of 1940.

They were quite influential within the German society as well, having armed the forces of Kaiser Wilhelm for battle before World War One, and then surreptitiously backed Hitler financially in the so-called terror-campaign" of 1933. Incredibly, the Krupps participated in the war crimes of the Third Reich, even controlling and operating more than 130 concentration camps during the war. Afterwards, they help to rebuild Europe in the eventual development of the European Common Market. This is a truly fascinating book written with all of the usual style and substance one come s to expect of William Manchester, and it is certainly a book I can highly recommend to anyone with an interest in European history. Enjoy!

This is an excellent description of a family, noted for their involvement with the steel industry and especially the manufacturer of arms. They struggle with Germany's economy and influence Germaine's foreign policy covering about 400 years.

It looks like a lengthy volume however it is over just as you are getting started. A side benefit is the technical information added helps you imagine what is like to design and sell the arms.

In some cases arms were almost given away for a cause. At other times they mercenarily sold arms to may conflicting countries on both sides. This story parallels other books on history and makes the world seem that it is made up of people not just historical facts. Speaking of historical facts, one of the things I like to do is to read books that become movies and movies that are novelized. This would have to be a mini-series.

Notice that in the book; interestingly enough William Manchester mentions that George Bernard Shaw actually based a play on the Krupp family, "Major Barbara" which consequently was made into a movie with windy Hiller in 1941.

Seeing what this book was about, I thought it had no chance of holding my interest. However, once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Manchester really makes this history read like a first class novel.

This is the first book I read my six year old about the holocaust and World War II. It gave a sense of the times, the difficulty, the hatred of the Jews by the Germans, without being too explicit about the type of horrors the "boots" inflicted on those they "took away." It motivated a great deal of discussion and acting out of the story. I could not imagine a better introduction.

"Rechtes... verlassen des links..., Recht, link" said the German commander as he and his men walked down the streets of France. The book The Butterfly a great book about a French girl named Monique who finds out about a secret her mother was harboring for many months. One night she wakes up. She doesn't know why she did. She sees a ghostly girl who is petting her cat when Monique said something. The girl gets up and runs. Monique doesn't know what to do. So, she tells her mom her mother gets very angry but not at her daughter. I think this book is unbelievable. I like how the author does a good job showing how they reacted to all the problems.

My wife selected this book, for our 5 year old daughter, in the primary school library, before the Christmas break. Last night, when I picked it up to read to my daughter, I had no idea what it was about. It is a gentle introduction to World War 2 and the German Nazi's. It does not mention concentration camps or gas chambers. It is about a wonderful family in France that sheltered Jews hiding from the Nazi's, during the German occupation. This morning, my daughter asked me to read the book to her again.

The book The Butterfly By patricia polacco is a story about a little girl during the 1940's, but her mom was hiding people in the basement.When all the people have to leave, even her best friend.But they will always have a gift from eachother to remember them.
I would recommend this book to whoever picks up this book.It has a little bit of everything a memior,a little bit of went on in history,it also has a lot of friendship.
In this book you will have a lot of vizualization,question,and a lot of craft. These will help you understand.

I found "The Butterfly" a very interesting book because it not only shows how Jews, but how non-Jews lived in fear in World War II. It tells how the little girl, Monique, is afraid of the "tall black boots" in her small French village. The "tall black boots" refer to the Nazi officers. It is not until Monique's friend, Monsieur Marc, is beaten and taken away by the officers when Monique finds out why the Nazis are in her village. One night Monique encounters a little "ghost girl" in her room that teaches Monique that she is not the only one afraid of the War. The little "ghost girl" turns out to be a Jewish girl named Severine hiding with her parents in Monique's unknown basement. It turns out that Monique's mother was hiding this secret from her. One night when Monique and Severine are playing in Monique's room when a neighbor sees them. The girls tell Monique's mother that someone had saw Severine and that Monique and her mother will be in trouble if they continue to harbor Severine and her family. That night, Monique and her mother take Severine and her parents to safety and Monique ends up in trouble. Will she ever be safe?

This book beautifully illustrates the thought-control practiced by the Communists in the Stalin era. Although everyone who has studied Soviet history as come across references to people being "cut out" of photos or history being rewritten this book actually SHOWS the reader the process and, more important, the stories behind many of these edits.

Soviet books I had access to in the 1980s always seem to have grainy photographs... whether by design or by accident these types of photos were easier to doctor. People who were no longer in favor or whose presence in a photo put a lie to the politically-correct version of history then in vogue were taken out, sometimes in a way that made the change undetectable and in other cases quite crudely. Another shocking aspect of thought-control was that in many cases it was done by citizens themselves, inking out printed images of those known to be out of favor with the Party or cutting pictures from books because they contained "unpeople." This practice is what gave Orwell some of the ideas he used in 1984.

I shudder to think what Photoshop would have done for the Communist Party. It might have forestalled the Fall of the Wall for ten years!

A terrific historical document. Graphically captures the paranoia and retroactive history making that was Stalinism.

I saw this book just today, in History class. Like another reviewer, i had previously read 1984, and thought it was great, but a little far fetched. would they *really* go to all those lengths to distort history? Well, "The Commissar Vanishes" answered my question. I don't think i've ever seen something so... wow.

Splendid blending of text and photographs. I gave this book to my teenage son as he was reading "1984" for a school assignment. He was impressed with the book on its own merits. The pictures draw you in, and I think this is especially true for teens. I could also see that it helped my son understand that Orwell's fiction was everyday life for the people of the Soviet Union.

A true gem of a book, dealing with a subject that is much overlooked. As the inspiration for Orwell's 1984 revising history, it is a chilling look at early Soviet attempts to rewrite history by erasing people from photos. Watching a photo of 5 men dwindle down to a picture of one as the others are disgraced, imprisoned, killed and then erased is just mindblowing!

Whether you are a fan of Soviet history (i'm not) or not, the cold war touched us all and this book documents it in the entirety