Franklin Books

This is a very sweet book. I was going through some old books, and found this one. My son is almost 18 and about to go off to college. This is the only childhood book of his I saved. It had special meaning to me as a single Dad. The Dad in the book is patient and loving with his young son. The neighborhood presents a world of wonder, but the boy is secure with his Dad. Not many childrens books focus on the father son relationship. This one is a gem.

My two year old has really enjoyed this book. We blindly checked it out from the library on our last trip. I figured I can't go wrong- a bedtime story about cars, my car obsessed toddler will love it. I was right. He asks for it at nap time and bed time every day. I've added it to our wish list, but I may have to buy it the day its due back to the library! It's true that the poetry isn't perfect in rhyme or meter, but there are plenty of books out that provide this. Night Cars is a great introduction to the rest of what poetry is.

I don't know where this crummy horn reviewer is coming from, but our son loved this book and heard it read to him (willingly! eagerly!) about a zillion times. It is just a sweet little gem of a bedtime book, and the illustrations are wonderful - very evocative of urban/residential streetlife and what you see from your two-flat window. Highly recommended (and muchly missed - our son's doing his own "bedtime reading" now....).

This is a darling versed poem/story with loads of rhythm and great illustrations. My 2-yr old makes me read it nightly and can recite most of it on his own!

This book is a WONDERFUL bedtime book. One of the best around. The reviewer from Horn Books (who said that the book has badly rhymed verse) clearly has no appreciation for any but the most trivial and obvious rhymes (e.g. night and light). It's all in how you read it. In a British/Canadian vernacular (the author is from Canada), "green" and "again" nearly rhyme in "engines roar, light turns green, night cars on their way again". The text of this book is hypnotic and delightful (AND our child loves to hear it again and again).

Also, the illustrations are far from unexceptional. The artist Eric Beddows has a wonderful sense of detail and weaves visual themes throughout the book.

It's as good or better than "Train Song" by Diane Siebert and Mike Wimmer (Illustrator).

The thing about Ant And Bee books, with their bright coloured illustrations and interesting characters, is that they don't seem like educational books but enjoyable stories which happen to involve numbers, letters, or colours. This was the first one I read, and I recommend it to any child between 1 and 10 who wants a good read, and any adult who wants to help his child understand numbers in an enjoyable way.

This book makes counting a delight. The illustrations are colorful and it tells a story of friendship between the ant and the bee. I have owned this book since 1978 and read it to my son. I like the fact that the numbers are displayed plainly so that children can count along with the story.

This book taught me how to read. It was soooo much fun flipping the pages and knowing the words on the next page. I would recamend this book to anyone.

I was originally bought this book by my parents when I was between six and seven years old back in 1972. By sheer fluke I found it, along with 2 others at the bottom of an old toy box. I now read it to my two sons , Michael (age 3) and Oliver (age 2), who are captivated by it.

The thing about Ant And Bee books, with their bright colouredillustrations and interesting characters, is that they don't seem likeeducational books but enjoyable stories which happen to involve numbers, letters, or colours. This was the first one I read, and I recommend it to any child between 1 and 10 who wants a good read, and any adult who wants to help his child understand numbers in an enjoyable way.

This book is truly the prerequisite to The Secret. Clearly all the ideas in this book were the resources for Rhonda Byrne in writing The Secret.A great book for anyone interested in The Secret;the next step is doing it....Living The Secret Everyday: My Secret Workbook is the practical version of this book;reviewing and reinforcing all the important principles and adding the steps to do daily to actually live it.

If you seek more happiness, health, wealth, self-expression, and/or love, there are two books that can show you the way to get all that you desire...

1. The King James Version of the Bible
2. The Prosperity Bible

With regard to "The Prosperity Bible", you cannot realize what a value this book is until you've actually experienced it for yourself.

Now, let me tell you what you get inside this incredible book:

1. "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill (1937)
2. "Acres of Diamonds" by Russell Conwell (1921)
3. "A Message to Garcia" by Elbert Hubbard (1899)
4. "As a Man Thinketh" by James Allen (1902)
5. "The Game of Life and How to Play It" by Florence Shinn (1925)
6. "The Science of Getting Rich" by Wallace Wattles (1911)
7. "Creative Mind and Success" by Ernest Holmes (1919)
8. "Prosperity" by Charles Fillmore (1936)
9. "In Tune with the Infinite" by Ralph Trine (1897)
10. "The Master Key System" by Charles Haanel (1917)
11. "The Secret of Success" by William Atkinson (1907)
12. "The Art of Money Getting" by P.T. Barnum (1880)
13. "The Way to Wealth" by Benjamin Franklin (1758)
14. "The Secret of the Ages" by Robert Collier (1926)
15. "The Conquest of Poverty" by Helen Wilmans (1899)
16. "How to Attract Success" by F.W. Sears (1914)
17. "The Power of Concentration" by Theron Dumont (1915)
18. "How to Grow Success" by Elizabeth Towne (1904)
19. "The Mental Equivalent" by Emmet Fox (1943)

Consider this... If you were to buy all of these books individually (if you could even find all of them), you could easily spend hundreds of dollars. Here, you get all these books for a measly $24.

Consider this... There are thousands and thousands of books that have been written on the subject of success, achievement, prosperity, wealth, health, happiness, loving relationships, etc. Without a tremendous investment in time and effort, how could possibly know which ones were the best? Here, the best of the best have been identified and put together for you in a single volume.

I'll end with this... This is a serious book for people who are serious about having and enjoying the very best in life. And, the person who actually studies and applies the secrets contained in this book will find that they enjoy a life where no good thing is withheld from them.

This book's power lies in the spirtual part of the human phyche, It goes into detail of our physical exhistance from our mental universe,
salburgio@aol.com

I just wanted to say to everyone, the answers that I have been searching for, is all warp up in the Prosperity Bible, things that I could not understand about the KJ Bible is making sence to me now, and if I do what this book is saying to me, then I am on my way to being the Millionaire that I always thought and wanted to be. To me it was the missing piece of the puzzle, and I have found it in my "KEEP SAKE", because this book "The Prosperity Bible" is a keep sake.The Prosperity Bible: The Greatest Writings of All Time On The Secrets To Wealth And Prosperity

It's always a pleasant experience and privilege to be able to hitchhike on someone else's experience. For example: I have all of Robert Collier's books. However, this resource contains the original 1926 version of The Secret of The Ages and is so rich in revelation that you simply lay the book down after reading from it and ponder, chew and muse upon what you've just read.

I could go on and on. Simply do yourself a tremendous favor and acquire this timeless resource.

May God bless the person who took the time and initiative to compile this volume of spiritual wealth.

This delightful story tells the tale of a boy who meets a kindly dragon on the edge of town. The boy and the dragon become friends and start spending a lot of time together. Then the people of the town find out about the dragon and send for St. George. The boy meets with St. George and takes him to meet the dragon. All three soon become friends and find themselves in a quandry. George doesn't want to kill the dragon and the dragon has no desire to kill George. A plan is hatched and at the end of the story everyone lives happily.

It's really great reading this to younger children. It's got a great message about not prejudging others. It also shows how people can sometimes get everything they want, without anyone having to get hurt by it. That doesn't happen often, but it's nice to be reminded now and again that it can.

I love this story but am interested to know the illustrator. If it is Marlene Ekman's illustrations in the hardcover version then it is the best publication. Her pictures add real life to this wonderful child's story.

Author of historical fiction.

This book is a treasure for your library. It brings endless pleasure, and is the kind of story that spans all ages.

It is the tale of a boy and his dragon who lives up on the Downs. In spite of the bad reputation dragons have, the boy and he become quick friends. Saint George shows up to do battle with the reluctant lizard, and the boy arranges a mock battle, unbeknown to the villagers that pleases everyone.

(...) THE BOOK IS ABOUT THIS BOY WHO MEETS THIS DRAGON AND THEY
BEACOME FRIENDS THE DRAGON TELLS THE BOY STORY AND NONE ARE
TRUE. BUT ONE IS TRUE THE DRAGONS FAUTHER DIED WHEN A KNIGHT
FOUND OUT ABOUT HIM WHEN THE DRAGON WAS LITTLE. THE KID
HEARS ABOUT A KNIGHT NAMED ST. GEORGE HE TELLS ST. GEORGE
ABOUT THE DRAGON. THE NEXT DAY THE KID SHOWS ST. GEORGE THE
THE DRAGON THE DRAGON DID NOT WHANT TO FIGHT. THE NEXT DAY
ST. GEORGE TOLD SOME OF THE DRAGONS TALES TO THE VILLAGE.
THE TALES WHERE ABOUT KNIGHTS AND DRAGONS FIGHTING. THAT
AFTER NOON THE DRAGON HID IN THE CAVE AND ST. GEORGE FAKED
TO KILL THE DRAGON AND WAS FAMOUS.

(...)

This is a wonderful story that can be enjoyed by all ages. But because of some of the archaic phrasing I would not recommend it to students under the age of 8.

In my humble opinion, the history delineated in this writing should be taught in classrooms across America and beyond! I learned so much about the evolution of citizenship, religion in the USA, and music of all genres from this book. I was left feeling that I owe such a great debt to so many who suffered and sacrificed so much that I can enjoy life in this country. The privileges and the luxuries we bask in have deep roots enlivened by much blood, sweat and tears. So much was made clear, especially where it pertains to different music artists, their styles of delivery and their associations with other genres of artists.

I grew up loving both Rev. C. L. Franklin and Clara Ward. I was glad to learn that they loved each other, as Aretha Franklin also attests.

"Singing in a Strange Land" is very valuable as a sketch of this highly successful, complex legend. It was a compelling read that prompted me to read biographies of two of the most famous supporting characters, Mahalia Jackson and Clara Ward. For chronicles of these I read, and highly recommend, "Got to Tell It", Jules Schwerin's unsparing bio of Mahalia and "How I Got Over", Willa Ward-Royster's portrait of her gifted sister Clara Ward. Besides the priceless info about Mahalia and Clara, these biographies provide further details about C. L. Indeed, one of the vignettes in "Got to Tell It" (a conversation between Mahalia and Aretha about C. L.'s alleged drug use) paints a portrait of C. L. that leads me to suspect that daughter Erma Franklin's cooperation with "Singing in a Strange Land" was possibly conditioned on Salvatore's silence on some matters. Notwithstanding details of C. L.'s life unavailable elsewhere, and whatever self-exposure a preacher betrays in his sermons, "Singing in a Strange Land"'s shortcoming is the reader is left in the dark about C. L.'s thoughts and feelings. This is not the author's fault as Salvatore repeatedly refers to C. L.'s reticence to speak about personal feelings -- particularly about his early life in the Jim Crow South. Accordingly the reader is forced to draw inferences about the man, many of which may be unflattering due to the minister's impious personal life (e.g., his wife's decision to leave the philanderer though it meant painful separation from four of her young children).

I enjoyed reading the book not only to hear about black history but to read about my daughter's history. Alyssa Ellan Smith who will be turning one on 1/4/05 will always have her history of her family in a book. Her grandmother Carl Ellan Kelley a remarkable woman who overcame many roadblocks in her life looks into Alyssa's eyes. Alyssa is a blessing to us but in an eerie feeling to look at Alyssa is to look at C.L. Franklin. From her eyes to her chin to the smile on her face she is an identical to her great-grandfather. We hold up pictures of the two and put them down in amazement. The book finally told the truth of Carl Ellan Kelley she was only a child who because of shame was raised by her grandparents who raised her to be a wonderful person. Thank you C.L. Franklin for giving us the gift of life our Grandmother and mother a woman who inspires me.

If you live in America, particularly its big cities, you need it. If you lived through any part of the 20th century, you need it. "Singing in a Strange Land..." is a timely witness of the life of Rev. C.L. Franklin as an intersection of many apparently unrelated roads. Most interestingly, it gives insight to a time before Rev. Franklin was thought of as "Aretha's daddy". It chronicles the era when she was "the Rev.'s singing little girl".

Aside from the strictly biographical aspects of this volume, there is much to reward those interested in subjects as diverse as the show business of gospel music, Detroit municipal politics, the civil-rights movement and even the growth of the Black community in Buffalo, NY! But, it it is a true pageturner, because Mr. Salvatore's writing never bores.

Now dear reader, I am no expert on literature or scholastic research, but like the man in the museum looking at a Picasso, " I know what I like". I like this effort by Mr. Salvatore, and I believe you will, too. Don't miss it!

Readers interested in both black church music and black history will relish Singing In A Strange Land: C.L. Franklin, The Black Church, And The Transformation Of America. More than just a biography of C.L. Franklin, Singing In A Strange Land uses Franklin's background to explore both African American religion and musical development in America. Salvatore spent eight years extensively researching, including interviewing Franklin's associates, to develop a winning biography which includes so much more than civil rights history alone.

This book is wonderful. It has so much information that truly helps you take charge of your illness and empower you. I highly recomend this book!

This book shares a lot of good information in lay man's terms and simple explanations. I purchased additional books to give away to relatives.

I gave it as a gift. My bother-in-law just have 5 by-pass surgery. My sister requested this title by name.

While going through cardiac rehab after my heart attack, I picked up this book and began reading it on the treadmill at the hospital. That's how desparate I was! The authors give a thorough review of the current information on cardiac health and how to maintain it. No surprises, just a low-fat, low-salt diet, exercise, reduce stress, and take your meds. They describe all the meds and their purposes.
This is the best book to give to anyone in danger of heart problems. I have given several copies to family members and friends.

After having 5 stents placed in heart veins, Mayo Clinic-Scottsdale, AZ center recommended this book. The author is straight forward about all important details and extremely knowledable. It is fun and easy to read. Most of all it is a real life changing book..This book is not just for people who want to maintain a healthy heart but who desire to live a healthy and long life with or without heart disease.

As a 10 year old girl, I was stricken with Polio. This was in 1944. My home was in Florida. Within two weeks, my hometown doctor had contacted a doctor friend at Georgia Warm Springs Foundation and I was admitted to that wonderful facility. That year I spent 8 months undergoing Physical Therapy. I was one of the fortunate ones who recovered enough to walk without the aid of braces. I had a spinal curve and while it never got better, it never got worse. Three years later I had some surgery on my right foot.

While I was at Warm Springs Foundation in 1944, President Roosevelt was able to come for the annual Founders Day Dinner at Thanksgiving. I was included in a short skit during the prepared program of entertainment. At the end of the dinner, President Roosevelt sat at the doorway in his wheelchair and shook hands and had a few words with each of us as we wheeled past him. That is an unforgettable memory I have. I didn't realize then (now age 11) how amazing it was for the president to even be at Warm Springs. After all, he had just been elected to a 4th term as president and World War II was raging in both Europe and Japan. He was tired and was not really doing well physically.

I was able to return home that December. In April, 1945, President Roosevelt died at his Little White House in Warm Springs. I felt as though I had lost my best friend.

This book included many pictures of things I remember well. I would recommend it to anyone interested in history, polio, President Roosevelt,
or physical therapy. It is really a picture book with a narrative. I treasure it.

Lynn L. Rice

As a polio survior, I have been to the Warm Springs Clinic, so I am interested in anything I can find on this subject. I was very much impressed with the books' detail and overall reading and pictures. I would recommend the book to anyone who would have an interest in this type of book.

I bought one at the Bulloch House in Warm Springs and went to pick up two more for Christmas gifts and they had sold out. Amazon had them luckly and I received before Christmas. The book is really incredible and I agree with the other reviews. Between the hbo movie and their museum, this book is a treasure of photographs. Arcadia has some really good photo books but this is one of their best.

After I watched the movie on HBO about Warm Springs, I was so impressed with the subject that I bought and read everything that I could about Warm Springs and FDR. I have come to the conclusion that one can talk about FDR without mentioning Warm Springs but one cannot talk about Warm Springs without mentioning FDR. The authors have done a magnificent job of researching the subject. Their story flows seamlessly from their introduction and throughout each of the carefully written photographic captions. I loved it. I encourage every American to read this book, it's uplifting and educational at the same time. Well done to the authors for writing this book.

My father was a polio at the Warm Springs Foundation during the 1940s and he was at the Thanksgiving dinner in 1944. FDR was there but I had never seen a picture of him as many do not exist of the Thanksgiving dinners Roosevelt attended. All of the children performed skits and this book covered everyone of the things dad talked about regarding his stay in Warm Springs. Although I have some photos given to me of Warm Springs, this book did more than just add images to my dads memories, I was able to learn why Warm Springs is, and why FDR came there and how America benefitted from FDR going there. If you want to see images of President Roosevelt in a way that has not been portrayed before, this is it. I loved the Little White House chapter. Each chapter begins with a nice quote from Roosevelt stating his thoughts and the chapters are chronological from the times when Indians used the springs to today. I also saw the HBO movie with Kenneth Brannagh as FDR and it too only whetted my appetite for more information. I am giving mine to dad for Christmas as a visit down memory lane that honors the president of his time. Good picture book altogether and a good story read.

There aren't too many books written about African American marriage. It's unfortunate because information is the key that opens many doors. Yet we are left with limitations placed on the information we have about marriage. Our ancestors and parents were so busy avoiding the often painful task of analyzing the past of failed relationships. We were left ignorant to the tools of what works. We need to discuss what doesn't work in order to understand what actually works.

Donna L. Franklin has begun to open the doors to communication in this secretive area for us. Thank you, Donna. We need to move forward. Let's talk about our African American relationships. The youth are learning by the failed examples they witness. Let's leave them with more than that.

[....]

This books hit the nail on the head. Not only do we as black people have to constantly fight for our respect, but we also fight each other. I think this should be a book that is read in every book club. The only way black men and women are going to solve our problems is to discuss them and communicate. The only thing I didn't like about this book is all the numbers. I think the author over did it with the statistics. After a while I started skipping whole paragraphs. Other than that this is a must read.

Donna Franklin's new book, What's Love Got To Do With It, is a passionate,unequivocal indictment of racism and white supremecy in American society. Impeccable scholarship becomes a tool for her laser-like examination of what has gone wrong with black male/female relationships, and no stone is left unturned. No-one is let off the hook. Not white males. Not white females. Not black males or black females.

A crime has been committed. Who is guilty of this crime? Who must pay? Who must be held accountable? For the destruction of black male/female relationships? The destruction of the black family? The destruction and denigration of African culture and consciousness? The insanity of homocide, suicide and fratricide in the black community? Slavery is Donna Franklin's answer. Miss Anne and Uncle Charlie out back, in the cabin, in the bushes, in yo bed room, in de school room, in yo mind.

Insanity passing for sanity. Black man walkin' down the street mumblin' to himself, holdin' himself like he gotta piss. Black woman standing on the street corner with a blond wig on her head charging two dollars. Apein' mr charlie. Apein' miss anne! Playing in the dark, writin' blues for mister charlie, wearing black skin and a white mask, with no name in the street!! Because - Nobody knows my name!!! Not even me! What's yo name Boy??

Franz Fanon said it best: "The Negro is a slave who has been allowed to assume the attitude of [the] master. The white man is a master who has allowed his slaves to eat at his table." "Relationships between black men and women in America are in crisis," says Donna Franklin. "The current divorce rate for blacks is four times the 1960 level and double that of the general population." "Interracial marriages have risen from a reported 51,000 in l960 to 311,000 in l997." "The rates of violence between black men and women are higher than those of other races." ". . .Seventy-two percent of the African American husbands reported using a confrontational style of dealing with marital conflict. . ." "Forty-four percent of married black men admit to having been unfaithful to their wives, almost double the percentage for whites." Sixty percent of young black males between the ages of 18 and 24 are caught up in the criminal justice system.

In the end Donna calls for healing. But healing in this instance must be spiritual as well as social. The cancer has spead too far. The community is too sick for surgery or psychotherapy. To heal the rift between black men and women will take time. But time alone won't do the job, as Donna implies. We must understand the history and place today's black male/female relationships within the context of that history. This book goes a long way toward helping us to understand -- to understand that history and context. Holding up a mirror to American society, Donna Franklin reveals strange fruit hanging from the poplar tree. No matter how painful, America, you must have the courage to read this book!!!!

I doubt that I would even consider another relationship, unless I knew that we were both conscious of the information provided by Donna L. Franklin's book.

It contains well written and informative validation to theories and facts that serve to answer the largely ignored phenomenon of why it has been so difficult for too many black couples to enter into and remain in stable relationships.

Even the therapy sessions I once attended, in an attempt to save my family eluded this dynamic. The therapist was seemingly unaware or otherwise unable to implement this information in addressing the unique circumstances associated with black couples...

As a matter of fact, I realize later, and as a black woman herself, she was probably struggling with many of these dynamics in her own relationships...

The answer begins with awareness!!!

This book should be standard required reading for all African Americans and Americans in general need to be aware of this information also. It's just part of the healing process for the whole country.

There is no more time to ignore the combined effects of racism and genderism.

I apologize to no one for being strong, but I sure am sick of being strong all of the time, especially while being resented and disrespected for it in the home...that I bought....

Thank You Donna!

This book provides a much needed historical analysis of the emergence of the current tensions found between black men and women. I have always been interested in africian-american history and this book is one of the best history books I've ever read. It is supebly written and carefully documented. The author even provides hope by asking the reader a series of questions that can help him/her determine (if answered honestly) whether they are part of the problem or part of the solution. This book is both informative and thought provoking and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the black family or gender relations in the african-american community.

My elementary school had this book and I would take it out several times a year. I finally bought the school's copy but it was lost over the years. A few years ago I got a copy off Ebay. While it has has aged some years, I'd like for the authors to get together and re-release this with some updates.

My mom gave me a copy for Christmas when I was 10 or so, and I completely wore it out. Bedtime Party Box (with the crunchless, slurpless nighttime food and quad turntable) was my favorite "wish I could have it" invention among the hundreds of brilliant scribblings. I know the book inspired me to dream up wacky ideas of my own. My copy resurfaced briefly about 5 years ago, but was tragically mixed in with a big pile of expired junk to be thrown out. Arrrgh! So, if you can get a copy, get it. And now, I leave to continue my search for what must be my favoite book ever...

I too have been searching for this book since I was child. I read that book a dozen times at age 8 and loved it more and more with every reading. It was such an insanely bizzare and fascinating book. The first thing I did when I went to the Library of Congress was search for this book, but I did not have time to request it. The last copy I saw was at the Alief Elementary School's library. Again, a wonderful book.

I read this book hundreds of times as a kid. I actually tried some of the ideas in it and thought that I could order such things as "Chewies Custom Shirts!" I wish that it was back in print so that I could order it for all my friends. Buy this book if you find it...it's worth it!

I have been searching for this title since as long as I can remember. It was the one book I took out from the public library every time I went through the door when I was small. I would consistently renew and renew it just so I could read it again and again. I think I enjoyed it so much because it was so very unlike other childrens' books - irreverent, intelligent, and creative, while encouraging me to build those very qualities. Anyway, I hope I can get a copy to share with my kids before all the children's books become mindless carbon copies.

Very wonderful writing and not that I know anything about the reality but it does seem realistic.

Ashenden was particularly admired by Raymond Chandler, and that is what first interested me in it. It is the story, based on Maugham's own experience, of a British spy in the first world war. The 'story' is more a series of separate episodes, and I can easily imagine why it appealed to Chandler -- as well as the laconic detachment of the writing, there is almost a feel of Hammett here and there, notably the episode of the Hairless Mexican. Much of the action centres round Geneva, a city I personally like, and there is a peculiar fascination in the voyage of the lake-steamer going in and out of the war-zone as it alternates between Switzerland and France. This kind of spy did not have much in common with the heroes of Len Deighton or John Le Carre -- the job reminds me more of how J K Galbraith described the life of an ambassador, ninety percent boredom and ten percent panic, like being an airline pilot. It has its grim side too as you would expect. One of the most memorable pieces is the story of the traitor Grantley Caypor. Some years ago Ashenden was serialised on the BBC, with Caypor superbly played by Alan Bennett. What that production did not even try to reproduce was what happened at the moment of Caypor's execution, unforgettable in Maugham's cold prose.

Worth a read for historical reasons as it is one of (if not the) first modern spy novels. That said, it is very far away from the intricately woven page-turners featuring brainy CIA types bedding winsome females that we tend to think of as being sp novels today. Maugham served in the British intelligence corps in WWI and drew heavily upon his own experiences in writing this book, indeed the epynonymous hero is a well-known writer by profession. Each chapter is almost its own vignette, illustrating some experience or aspect of the intelligent agent's life. The theme is that the agent's life is marked by dullness and inability to know the "big picture." Ashenden is based in Switzerland and undertakes his assignments (none of which involve gunplay or physical prowess) dutifully, yet the reader feels, with a certain ambivalence. There is one especially haunting scene where, for once, Ashenden witnesses firsthand, the repercussions of his actions.

Considered by many afficionados of the Spy Novel genre` as the first of it's kind. Written in 1928, the book is a series of stories loosly connected to reveal the sometimes tedious, sometimes adventureous events in the work of a spy in MI5 during the latter stages of World War I. Maugham is given credit by Graham Greene and Eric Ambler as being their inspiration and Ian Flemming borrowed much from the book, including M who was "R" in Maugham's book. Maugham was given the impossible task to squelch the Bolshivic revolution with 56,000 pounds given to him by the government of Lloyd George and he fictionalizes this in the story "Mr. Harrington's Washington." The story "The Hairless Mexican" inspired Hitchcock to write and direct the movie "The Secret Agent" with John Guilgud and Peter Lorrie. This book to my thinking is one of the hidden classics in literature, written by a writer highly underrated because of his popularity and some of his later works that he did purely for money. A must for lovers of the Edwardian period and those who ever wondered where the Burbury Trench Coat came from.

"Ashenden" by Somerset Maugham is one of the grandfathers of the spy fiction genre. In reality, it's not really a novel, but eight short stories featuring Ashenden, a novelist-secret agent during WWI. Each story is unique, some focusing on the violence and duplicity of the secret world (e.g., "The Hairless Mexican," "Guilia Lazzari," and "The Traitor"). Others are less about espionage than quiet character studies (for example, the final story, "The Sanatorium," has nothing whatever to do with spying, but is set in a tuberculosis sanatorium and--though a it's a bit sentimental--is a brilliant character study of the patients and, in particular, of those who find love in the midst of adversity). I found it deeply touching.

I must admit this the first I've read of Maugham and was impressed with his ability in a single paragraph to get to the very essence of a character (perhaps the best example being his vivid characterization of the funny, but tragic Mr. Harrington in "Mr. Harrington's Washing"). Each of Maugham's characters are distinct and finely drawn.

Maugham at one time analyzed himself as in the first rank of the second rate writers. He may not be Dostoevsky or Cervantes, but he was a fine writer who deserves to be read-I think it's more accurate to say he's in the second row of the first rate writers.

I only found out about "Ashenden" from one of the terrific essays of Michael Dirda (the reviewer for the Washington Post) in which he constantly brings to light lost classics.

"Ashenden" is readable, convincing, and (despite its WWI setting) relevant to the events of today. The secret and desperate world of war and espionage will be with us forever it seems; Maugham's themes are timeless and his writing is a model of clarity.

This is a lost classic that should be read.