F Books

This manual should be required reading for any candidate for public office at a national level, as well as all foreign staff personnel. After reading the manual I was better able to understand the motivations and actions of the various factions within Iran today. It also re-enforces the idea that terrorism / insurgency is not just an issue for a single nation, but anymore is a global issue.

This is the best manual that the military has ever published. While it is very thorough and covers every aspect of how to run a successful counterinsurgency, it is broken down into easy to understand concepts. Designed for commanders at all levels, it easily applies to every military member involved in the campaigns of Iraq and Afghanistan. This should be a must read for anyone deploying to the AOR, military or civilian as it will shape the way you think, speak, and act while trying to successfully end the insurgency that grips these countries.

I believe this manual is an excellent overview of counterinsurgency strategy and some tactics. This includes the broad strategy as well as to the drill down for the units/teams/boots on the ground. Its stated audience is for battalion commanders and their staff and higher. I would recommend it to any soldier, sailor or marine regardless of rank and for U.S. citizens generally who have an interest in the topic.

According to the manual, the host nation (HN) and the counterinsurgency force (COIN) will win if they can provide security first, and then other functions of a responsive - responsive to the HN populace - HN government. Otherwise, the populace will seek security and services elsewhere (i.e., in insurgent organizations/militias). This is not necessarily a sequential ordering. While basic security is fundamental - once a baseline is reached - other governmental functions responsive to HN's populace's concerns should also be instituted, supported, and reinforced, while still improving and accelerating the improvement of the security environment for the populace. One example used is how insurgency organizations/militias can destabilize the security environment and create insecurity through terrorist strikes, in order to then be viewed by the populace as the cure to the insecurity by operating militias to defend against such insecurity, and thus try to gain popular support.

Bottom line: creation, maintenance and sustainment (or assisting/building up) of legitimacy in the host nation vs. the insurgent organizations is the contest and crux of the matter. Insurgency and counterinsurgency is a fight for the support of the populace (i.e., the big middle). This conclusion should have been clear by now - insurgency has been with us for a very long time. For some examples, in the West, you can go back to at least to Julius Caesar for lessons; see also Napoleon; in the East, you can go back to at least to Sun-Tzu's The Art of War.

According to the manual, to win an insurgency/counterinsurgency type conflict, requires staying power without intentional or unintentional signaling of wavering support for staying the distance, at least until the HN has achieved the "tipping point" in terms of legitimacy and popular support.

As an aside, there is a good appendix on Social Network Analysis (SNA), which provides a cogent overview of some of the key concepts for those not familiar with SNA or its use in war, conflict, or intelligence.

I've been studying insurgent warfare for a long time before it became a hot topic... again. I still recommend Galula's Counterinsurgency Warfare and Hamilton's The Art of Insurgency which is a great book but is little referenced. There are of course books by Kitson and others. (Nagl's book which I've reviewed is a good dissertation but is limited in it scope and perception. He writes the forward to this edition.) The two volume War in the Shadows is okay background but not worth a two volume read. Which brings us to the Counterinsurgency Field Manual, which if you are serving and only have time to access one source, this is a dependable one.

Although the CFM is oriented more toward the current unpleasantness the principles of counterinsurgency have been carefully gleaned from the best sources and multiple situations as well as updating insurgent response for the 21st century. Keeping food deliveries out of active insurgent areas might have worked for the British in Malaya, but you could imagine the field day CNN would have with it today. Probably the best things the writers do in this manual is freely admit that the devil is in the details and that these will have to be worked out locally and supported nationally.

For those who still aren't buying into "the insurgent stuff" which unfortunately over the last 30+ years has gone under state department approved phrases like "nation building" and executive office of the President terms like "counter terrorism" you don't have to worry that the Army or Marines are going to lose their conventional edge with these approaches. The CFM makes it clear that this is only one form or warfare and that modern war can slip across the entire spectrum. What is not needed is more doctrine...what is needed is a tool box and the CFM attempts to be one of those tools.

The CFM makes many good points and I'm not going to list them all here, but the most important one I felt has to do with the assumption of more risk. Insurgent warfare requires soldiers to go out and get in the streets with people to provide the basic security for everyday activities that will lead to a legitimate government. Legitimacy cannot come from the national level down no matter what form of government people actually settle for (A basic concept found in any undergraduate PolySci 101 class which no one in the State Deptment or Congress must have taken.) The average Joe doesn't care about the grand schemes. He wants to go to work, get married, raise a family and have a shot at some level of comfort without getting killed. The key to winning against insurgents is that the most committed to providing these basic parameters for the average Joe, wins. You show your true colors and level of commitment when you have to go out and get shot at. But the alternative, which never works, and we still seem to be doing is to concentrate forces on large FOB's and separate them from the population. This has got to be one of the toughest of balancing acts to provide force protection, logistics as well as force projection and maintenance that supports an ongoing relationship with the civilian population. Fighting an insurgency is not for the faint hearted, the draftee, or those who needed to be reelected every 2 years. It takes soldiers in neighborhoods who know the people and have the power to affect their lives...albeit indirectly if possible.

I disagree with the CFM on two points. I disagree with using the idea of "counterinsurgency" for philosophical reasons. The term by its very nature places you at a disadvantage to the insurgents. I believe you fight an insurgent war and win it by being better insurgents, not by being better "counterinsurgents." But this is probably more a matter of semantics. My second area of disagreement is really the book itself. This "new" book on insurgent warfare is really a great gazette of all the current knowledge that has been around for years plus the all necessary Army doctrine, without which the lowliest private cannot have a bowel movement. The Army's "can't do it without doctrine" attitude is what made this book come out so far behind the power curve to begin with. All this information is and has been known and available but the Army couldn't "discover" it. The US has a long insurgent history that is little studied or learned from. Our nation was founded by an insurgency. We've fought insurgents throughout our history: Native Americans, especially in the West, the border struggles during the Civil War, Phillipines, Cuba, Nicuagua, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. As organizations that need to be highly adaptable, the Army and the Marines need to stop paying tuition for the same lessons over and over again. I realize that not all of this lack of organizational awareness is theirs. A great deal of the responsibility for lack of responsiveness lies at the feet of elected officials who do not do their part and provide the clarity of purpose upon which coherent military strategies are based. The mist in Congress becomes a dense fog for those who are tasked with the nation's defense.

I actually bought this book some months back but I kept putting off picking it up because I assumed this would be a dense work filled with military jargon and more acronyms than one could shake a stick at. I assumed that it would be a tedious and difficult read so I found reasons to put it off, but when I finally forced myself to begin this book I was quite shocked. The book is very easy to read and very well written. The book has just a few acronyms that I had memorized within a couple of pages after their introduction, and the book is very well laid out with impeccable organization (as should be expected I guess). I dare say I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book on all levels. Of course the information and the knowledge to be gleaned from this work is extremely important.

I think if this book were to become required reading for students then I think we could prevent some costly misadventures in future because this book really details what an occupation requires. Everyone would understand that military action will require a deep level of commitment for the military and on all levels of civil society as well.

I also think it is the least we can do as citizens to educate ourselves on what our military men and women are doing and attempting to implement in situations where they face this type of conflict. One gets a sense of what a soldier goes through and the huge load that is put on the ordinary soldier. It is an extremely difficult task they are asked to perform in these situations, and they are asked to perform this task with honor and discretion in the face of terrible situations.

There are some good reviews here that speak more to the content of the work by people obviously more versed in the topic than myself, so I will just say that this book is very well done and an easy read. If you are like me and are putting off reading or buying this book, then let me just say go ahead. It is worth the money and the effort. I highly recommend this book.

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.

The best way one can prevent themselves from becoming a burden on their families as they age is making sure the money they saved for their retirement stays saved for retirement and is only used for that purpose. "Alive and Kicking: Legal Advice... for Boomers!" grants legal advice so you can keep your money so when you finally do go and kick that bucket, your family has something other than massive debts to remember you by. Tips on Living wills, scams and identity theft, caring for your own parents in your own advanced age, issues involving age discrimination, driving, sex, and more are covered. While treating itself as a law book first, "Alive and Kicking: Legal Advice... for Boomers!" isn't afraid to crack a joke or bust out a poem now and again, giving a different and attractive flavor, making it highly recommended for anyone who is rapidly approaching retirement age and wants to be prepared for it in the modern world. Also recommended to community library law shelves.

What I liked about the book is the vast amount of useful information on all areas of planning for ones over age 50 years. And its a book that my son who is under age forty, found interesting, because it discusses issues that many people may never have thought about. It also is a book that dispells the notion that becoming sixty or older, means getting 'old' and unable to do many of the things we love doing in our forties or fifties. Cannot recommend the book enough.

Who would have thought that serious and important legal and financial matters could not be dished out with generous helpings of humor? This book clearly proves that theory wrong. An easy read, the authors never skip a beat when it comes to thoroughly discussing what readers need to know about boomer legal matters. I've recommended this book on many occasions.

This book is a humorous treatment of the serious business of the legal aspects of aging. Chock full of useful information and every page is entertaining.

Whether your reading preference is poetic, humorous, pragmatic, or just plain down to earth, Hegland and Fleming cover difficult legal issues in a way that makes you want to keep reading! This information is must to have in every home, whether yet boomers or not!

Three generations have loved The Animals' Merry Christmas by Richard Scary. For a while, it seemed to have disappeared from the shops. Now it's back in all its glory, ready for a new generation of young readers to love!

There are lots of great memories here with wonderful illustrations to bring them back to life for you!

My sister and I had this book when we were kids in the '80s. We broke it out every Christmas and read the delightful stories of "The Naughty Teddy Bear" and "The Snow Shoe Rabbits" until the insomnia of Christmas Eve gave in to sleep. The illustrations really make the book for me. I'm so glad this book is back in production. This year I bought a copy for my nieces and nephew and they love it too.

Four stars because this book is so wonderful, but Golden Books has a nasty habit of making some deletions when reprinting their classics. There are also a few pages missing from the reprinted "Santa's Toy Shop," another Christmas favorite.

Four stars anyway because the deleted stories were not particular favorites of mine, but people who remember the original will be disappointed. Better this, however, than no Richard Scarry, and I do not want to discourage anyone from purchasing this marvelous book and reading it to the current generation of children. This is my 60th Christmas, and few of my Christmas memories are more precious than those wrapped up with this book.

My three year old twins are enjoying this new book. So far their favorite stories are "The Naughty Reindeer" and "Terrible Teddy Bear". I can see that this will book will be read during the Christmas season for many years to come!

My husband and I love this book for the old illustrations from when we were kids. The colors and pictures are vibrant and captures the eyes of even our 2 year old. Lots of fun poems and short stories. This is such a cozy book that brings back old fond memories.

Meredith Gould has done a great job of bringing together traditions from all around the world, and offering these as ways to grow in true faith, not just more items on holiday to-do lists. Her suggestions for Lenten prayer are particularly valuable. Written in a clear, concise, and humorous style, this compact book has earned its place as a family reference.

This is a very nice manual of catholic traditions that can be incorporated into everyday life. My husband and I were looking for something like this as we both weren't raised with any Catholic traditions and hope to raise our kids with a very Catholic home. This is a great starting point, and has a lot of interesting ideas that I had never heard of.

I ordered this for my sister as a gift. She suggested the book and I had no trouble finding it on Amazon. Thanks!

I love this book! I grew up in a Catholic family and in Catholic schools. However, that did not prepare me for passing along Catholic traditions to my own children and to my converted husband. The fear of offending anyone(especially my non-Catholic relatives) made me a little hesitant to "let religious identity permeate our home". Gould's book encourages and instructs on how to do so. She has specific ideas, traditions, and even recipes for living a richer life within the Church.

If you are interested in Catholic customs and traditions for your family, this is a wonderful book. Full of interesting facts for different feast days and practical ways to celebrate in the home. A wonderful tool for the family or individual!

We have been planning our trip to Greece and Crete for several months and I thought it would be good to expose our boys 7 and 10 to the stories in Greek Mythology. After reading reviews on Amazon.com, I decided to buy this book. My boys absolutely love the stories in this book. We read about 20 minutes per night (it's nice that each story has an estimated reading time) and they beg for more after each story. Then we review the "A Few Words More" sections - which they also really enjoy and which give great insight such as the source of the phrase "between a rock and a hard place" which traces back to the Odyssey! For anyone planmning to expose their kids to Greek Mythology, I highly recommend this book and D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths. I'd read the latter first for "introduction" and then follow with the Russell book. There may be some repeated stories -but trust me, the kids will love every minute.

This book is amazing!!! My 5yr old found a book at the library about greek myths and loved them so much that I ordered this book. We have now finished it and she is still asking for more.
The nice thing about this book is it is broken up by ages so you can do what your child is ready for, our 5yr old just loved all the stories soooo much we finished the entire thing.

I bought this book when my daughter's class was teaching Greek Mythology. She was happy to see this book and finished it very soon, now she can relate most of them to me. And the best part is it has explanation and spelling hint. It makes our reading aloud very easily. I am going to buy the other two read aloud series. I think this opens the door for my kids to the classic literature.

Purchased as a gift for Christmas. We did not read this book ourselves, so can't review the quality of the composition. However, the book was well made and arrived on time from Amazon.

I purchased this book for two reasons: 1. So I could provide myself with an easy, quick, review of the Classical Myths long forgotten since grade school and 2. to read to my grandchildren so they will have a better foundation of Classical Myths, which will help them to understand and enjoy the arts. I am very pleased with this text, especially the sytax as it does not 'dumb down' the stories for comprehension, but actually increases vocabulary and proper grammatical structure. This was an excellent purchase.

I stumbled upon this book on the bargain rack at Borders ($10, softcover!). Being German, I'm always curious about German cookbooks in the US. What struck me right away as authentic was that the book is organized by the 16 German states. Americans often don't realize how varied German cooking is from region to region. There is no 'German potato salad'!!! Each region has their own, often very different, way of cooking. This book lays out the culinary landscape and explores the regional differences. I will buy this book for each of my children to give to them when they are grown. It will give them simple, authentic German recipes and help them understand the culture better. By the way, I love how the book explains certain recipes with a detailed series of photos. This is very helpful, e.g. in learning how to make Spaetzle by hand. I will also give this book away to any of my friends who are interested in both cooking and traveling. This book is a feast!

This stunning book is a beautiful, comprehensive exploration of German culinary arts. Recipes, how tos, history, and cultural lessons abound. I can't wait to get the others in the series!

This book is a great education about German cuisine and regional foods, drinks, festivals, etc. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves to travel and eat. It is a great exploration of the culture and rhythm of Germany.

Anyone who's read Amazon reviews of German cookbooks has seen my name frequently. I own just about every English-language cookbook about the cuisine that I could lay my hands on, and a few written in German, too. Culinaria: Germany has fast become a favorite book in our household... but it's more likely to be filed on the "foodie" shelf than among the cookbooks.

That's not to say that there are few recipes, or that they're bad ones. There are probably around a hundred regional dishes, from saurbraten to "rat's tails" to liver dumplings to Gugelhupf. They're poorly indexed, and the text is so small that it'd be unreadable during the frenzy of cooking a full meal, but they're there. However, if you're going mainly for instructions for "what shall I make for dinner tonight?" there are several better, more exhaustive collections of recipes. (I'd probably start with The New German Cookbook or Spoonfuls of Germany.)

Where this book excels is as a compendium of German food culture. It is a huge book, chock full of information -- organized primarily by region -- about the history of beer making, the story behind "pipe men pastries" (which I'd never heard of, before), the varieties of apples grown in Lower Saxony. These aren't short passages, either: they are multi-page essays, lavishly photographed.

Gorgeous book. Highly recommended.

My husband and I were given the German edition of this book by a friend from Germany. When I found out there was an English translation, I checked it out, and it absolutely amazed me. Even if you never end up cooking any of the dishes, the sections about the 16 states of Germany and the wonderful photographs are reason enough to buy the book. We now own both the German and the English edition as well as another volume from the Culinaria series and highly recommend all of them.

I had a roommate from Madrid once who was an amazing cook (decided to be a doctor instead of a chef though sadly!), and owning this book is like having him right there on my bookshelf to read anytime I want.

He would cook every Thursday for a small dinner party he started in our neighborhood, and while he was cooking he would tell everyone the history and culture behind the dish. This book does the exact same thing (but with pictures haha).

How do I know that this book is the real thing? They got the story and recipe behind paella right! Even many Spaniards don't know the real story behind this dish!

This book makes you care about the food you make from it.

Love this book! As I have stated in all of my Culinaria series reviews, awesome pictures. I love how these books aren't hokey cookbooks. They're beautifully laid out by region. You get to experience the culture of Spain in this book, not just the food. One thing that deeply satisfied me was that there is a nice section on the Basque region. This region is truly a separate nation in itself. I visited Spain several years ago and their food was wonderful. If you're looking to explore Spanish cuisine, get this book!

"Culinaria Spain" is much more than a simple cookbook. As stated in the introduction, "To savor a nation's culinary customs is to experience the unfolding of an entire culture."

The people who bring you the Culinaria series want you to know that the food of a country reflects not only the geography, topography and climate, but also the history - all the peoples who have conquered, settled or passed through a country leave an impression.

While many people think of Spain and paella, there is much more to it. The people of the northern mountains certainly eat a more hearty fare than the people of the southern Mediterranean coast.

The book is divided by region to illustrate the various cuisine and cultures. For example, the empanada originated in Galicia as a kind of "fast food" for Christian pilgrims.

Culinaria gives you many wonderful recipes, many fun and interesting facts about the food and the regions. There are extensive sections describing wines, cheeses, olive oils, seafood, mineral water and more. The book is beautifully and lavishly illustrated with photographs, not only of prepared foods but of coastlines and mountains, markets, and beautiful Spanish faces.

This is a really nice book if you want to learn more about Spain than just a few recipes!

Highly recommended!!!

The book explains the origin of the different dishes and ingredients including their local names. It makes cooking a marvelous experience. Excellent cook book plus a magnificent coffee table book. We love it.

A perfect book for one either wanting to learn more about Spain or its cooking. The recipes are often simple, always marvelous and take into account the true spirit of the country. If you want to understand Spain and Spanish cooking in all its glory then here it is- there is no better.

I wish I would have read this prior to starting to work for his new company and also I could've used this about 5 years ago to encourage me to change careers. This is an excellent book and I'm using some of the examples in it for my MBA application this fall.

I don't think I need to tell any educated person that a review from a disgruntled ex-employee needs to be taken with a grain of salt, if not a whole handful (9/26/02). Rosenbluth is not a perfect company, and Hal never pretends it is but the lifeblood of his company is his belief that every member of the company is a valuable contributor. His book does a great job of conveying that value proposition and how others can make it work.

Although many companies preach an employee empowerment model few practice it. That's why Rosenbluth's mascot is the Salmon - we swim upstream.

As an Executive Coach and a close observer of many corporate cultures it did my poor old tired heart a world of good to read this book. If what Hal Rosenbluth says about his company is even half true, it puts his organization at the forefront of employee value and relationship management. Beyond all that, it makes perfect common sense. Why we would think in our wildest imagination that an employee who does not feel valued by his employer would not transmit that lack of appreciation to his customers, is a mistery to me. The first 100 pages of this book are not be missed by any company who truly wants to improve their workplace culture, increase the productivity of their workforce and cut their turnover rate down dramatically. Read it and implement any one of the outstanding programs explained within and watch s shift in morale and productivity start right away. This book is a keeper and an excellent reference source. I could not recommend it more highly.

I am an avid reader of business books, and if I gain just one or two usable ideas from a book, I consider it worth my time. This book is a stand-out among management books, because I got not one or two, but at least a dozen solid ideas I can implement right away. I have shared it with all my top level managers, and have wathced it being shared throughout my multi-national organization. It is a gem, to be kept within reach in one's office -- not with the countless other books that sit, read once, on most managers' bookshelves. I highly recommend it for anyone who cares about the success of their business.

As an Executive Coach and a close observer of many corporate cultures it did my poor old tired heart a world of good to read this book. If what Hal Rosenbluth says about his company is even half true, it puts his organization at the forefront of employee value and relationship management. Beyond all that, it makes perfect common sense. Why we would think in our wildest imagination that an employee who does not feel valued by his employer would not transmit that lack of appreciation to his customers, is a mistery to me. The first 100 pages of this book are not be missed by any company who truly wants to improve their workplace culture, increase the productivity of their workforce and cut their turnover rate down dramatically. Read it and implement any one of the outstanding programs explained within and watch s shift in morale and productivity start right away. This book is a keeper and an excellent reference source. I could not recommend it more highly.

I would compare this book to a box of chocolates, dark, light, sensuously innocent but rich enough to enjoy one story at a time. A wonderful "what if" and imaginative take on the female characters of Shakespeare's plays. I would recommend this to any young apprentice to Shakespeare or actor who is interested in finding new viewpoints on major and minor characters within the scripts. Berkman definitely goes beyond the stereotype female and cultivates a beautiful bouquet of realistic, emotional, and flesh bound women. Yes, I loved this book. I would also recommend it to readers from late teens to adults.

I am a fan of historical fiction and I really enjoyed this. It has smatterings of all the women in Shakespeare's lives ~~ starting from his mother to his wife, Anne, and friends, daughters, characters from his plays, and lastly, the Queen Bess.

This is a well-written book of short stories. I normally don't care for short stories but I do enjoy these! There is a chapter devoted to Lady MacBeth and you'd see where her love for her husband shines through as well as her ambition. There is Juliet's mother who is in love with Romeo's father. There are letters between the playwright and his daughters and wife.

The stories focus on different aspects of women and Shakespeare's muse seems to be all the women in his life. There is his wife, a lusty woman who he left behind. There is a friend whom he has fallen in love with but never touched improperly except once. There are his daughters. There is his landlord's daughter who adored him from afar. All these women and Shakespeare borrowed from them to write his famous plays to make each character human.

It is an interesting book ~~ and easily readable! I found this by accident and now I am looking forward to reading more of this author's books.

12-18-03

This is a great theme for a collection of short stories, I,m surprised it hasn,t been attempted before. Both fictitious and real life characters are featured here. We are given interesting new perspectives on well known figures eg a much more pro-active Ophelia than we,re used to seeing and a Lady Macbeth motivated by other than greed and ambition alone. We,re also given much insight into Will himself, a socially ambitious single-minded figure though kindly and well-intentioned; he fails to grasp that his family would rather have him around than live in Stratford,s finest house. All the tales were involving and moving but particularly the wealthy and educated Jennet,s struggle with childlessness and Judith Shakespeare,s love for a man her family dislike, these are timeless dilemmas.

Charming, inventive, and fun. The prose was beautiful. The characters were rich. I did not want it to end.

To read *Her Infinite Variety* is to be dazzled by Pamela Berkman's imaginative capacity. From story to story, she displays a rare ability to intuit the gaps in our knowledge of Shakespeare's women--the ones in his life as well as the ones in his art--and then to fill in those gaps with the delicate filigree of her fiction. Yet while these stories display a delicately rigorous structure, the language holding them together is as vibrant and sexy as the women they depict. If you have never enjoyed Shakespeare, buy this book. Berkman's tart-tongued Titania, her haunted Ophelia, and her utterly down-to-earth Bard (rescued, finally, from both scholars and souvenir-sellers) will make you reconsider.