Freeman Books

Note: This is a review of the particular "Cambridge School Shakespeare" edition [Edited by Rex Gibson, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000] of As You Like it and not a review of the play itself.

This edition (a) contains the unabridged play and (b) tries to explain and elucidate Shakespeare's play to teenagers of the age of maybe 15-17. It clarifies difficult language, highlights the main conflicts, puts the play into a historical context and the context of the literary tradition that it belongs to. It encourages the reader to think of different possible ways to play the characters and different ways to understand the play.

I am not a teenager and I am not 16 years old any more, in fact, I am 53 years old with a PhD in Economics and a Masters in Psychology. I read Shakespeare for fun, to challenge my brain, and to grow personally. I found this edition of the play very helpful and enjoyable. The commentary neither spoiled my fun by overanalyzing or showing off its learnedness nor did it offend my intelligence by oversimplifying. In addition, the layout of the book is quite reader-friendly.

If you are a Shakespeare scholar or a scholar of English Lit, this edition will probably be too simple for you. For people of my caliber, however, I can really recommend this edition. Enjoy!

The Caedmon recording of As You Like It is well worth the purchase just to hear two Redgraves soar in their performances.

As with all of Shakespeare, the concept of love at first sight is given far too much credit, but other than that, this is a delightful romp filled with much amusement. The language is as beautiful as one expects in Shakespeare, but is somewhat less difficult for the modern reader to follow than in some of his plays; I found myself being more distracted than helped by most of the footnotes. As with most Shakespearean comedies, it was easy to see that this play was intended for the amusement of the common people; the similarities in style between the plot here and in much modern pop culture were striking (the sexual innuendo to be had when a woman passes for a man and finds another woman falling in love with her, for instance). If it had a flaw, it was that the ending was just a little TOO pat and contrived, even for a comedy, but that's just a minor quibble.

As far as Shakesepare's comedies go, "The Comedy of Errors" will always be my favorite. And while this "As You Like It" never quite obtained the popularity of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" or "The Taming of the Shrew," one probably could argue that "As You Like It" is the best of Shakespeare's comedies. This play contains several plots that Shakespeare cleverly intertwines and it offers a happy ending with love triumphant. But more important than the triumph of love, the theme of reconciliation carries through to virtually everyone in the story. The story begins with the sibling rivalry of Orlando and his older brother Oliver who has hoarded the family inheritence. After a brief fight, Oliver hopes that Orlando may accidentally die in a wrestling match against Charles. This is where a 2nd plot comes in. The Duke Frederick (who has a daughter Celia) has banished his older brother (the true Duke who has a daughter Rosalind). But for now, Rosalind is allowed to stay and she has made good friends with Celia. Orlando meets these 2 girls and falls into favor with Rosalind. After the wrestling match, things start to go bad. Orlando learns that his brother Oliver is planning to kill him, and Rosalind is banished. But all is not lost. Orlando takes his loyal servant Adam and flees while Rosalind (in the male disguise of Ganymede), along with Celia, and the comical Touchstone will flee to look for Rosalind's father. And here is where the play becomes mostly comical. (Good comedies can often have a sad start. "The Comedy of Errors" shows this well.) Moving on, we meet Rosalind's father and his crew who have made exile into a paradise. From Duke Sr's party, we meet the melancholy Jaques. But he is arguably the most interesting character in the story. (In fact, the most famous passage from this play belongs to Jaques. The 7 stages of man which end in nothing. Perhaps Macbeth took lessons from Jaques: 'Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.') Duke Sr welcomes Orlando and Adam, and it isn't long before Orlando and Rosalind run into each other. Shakespeare maintains the comedy when Rosalinde keeps her male disguise on and tells Orlando he must practice wooing on him/her. Touchstone has some comical romantic moments with Audrey. And there is an interesting triangle where the shepherd Silvius loves Phebe, but Phebe loves Rosalinde (seeing only Ganymede)! We may recall this from "the 12th Night" when Olivia loved Viola in her male disguise. But after this comical moment, all begins to resolve. Oliver comes on the scene and he and Celia fall in love. (So much so that Oliver is willing to reconcile with Orlando and grant him all.) The play ends with not only the reunion of Rosalind and her father, but the joyous weddings of Rosalind / Orlando, Celia /Oliver, Audrey /Touchstone, and Phebe / Silvius, but more good news comes. Celia's father mends his ways and returns all to Rosalind's father. Jaques offers the crowning touch. Despite his cynical nature, he is NOT a villain. Ironically, this hermit type man converses with more characters than anyone in the story, and while he can not take part in the play's final happiness, he DOES wish everyone well. As I said, my favorite comedy will always be "The Comedy of Errors." But don't make the mistake of overlooking this comedy.

This has to be one of Shakespeare's gayest plays (no pun intended). Whatever tragedy may have occurred in the beginning - at the court - is totally forgotten when the action moves to the forest, where Robin-hood like; a banished duke, a melancholy philosopher and a cast of love sick characters act out their lives on the stage.

Much of the play is centered on Rosalind - the female lead in 'drag' - who falls in love with the third son of a nobleman, Orlando, who has been cheated out of his inheritance by his eldest brother. Her father, the duke, has also been cheated by a brother and is now living in the forest with his `merry men'. Her short stay at court is disrupted when her uncle changes his mind about her and `graciously' gives her a few days to get out of the kingdom. This event leads to her escape into the forests with her cousin, the daughter of the duke at Court. As the play progresses more and more characters end up in the forest which becomes the stage where all these actors play out their parts - to paraphrase Jacques.

As a reader you sometimes have to suspend rationality in order to swallow some of the larger than life events that occur in this story (The snake - Lion - Lion killer scene for example). It's not meant to be taken too seriously I'd imagine, just a play about love and romance and the lengths one will go to because of love. The only rational person in this play seems to be the Malvolio-like Jacques, whose deer hugging antiques (forerunner of modern day Environmentalism?) and refusal to take part in the revelry make him the butt of the other's jokes. Even the clown seems to have been pierced by Cupid's arrows as he too weds a country `wench', something unheard of in the other plays where the clowns all seem to be eunuchs.

If you're reeling from any of Shakespeare's tragedies, or want to escape the ordered, (courtly?) existence that is your life and take a dive into an almost fantasy-like world where all is love and laughter, this play may be your ticket.

It is called 'dark comedy' or 'light tragedy'. I am inclined to go with the later. I simply saw no humor in it, but it had a balanced and mostly just resolution, so it was not what I would normally call tragedy.

Angelo, the Duke's deputy is self-righteous hypocrite in command during the Duke's apparent absence. One of his strap-hangers is Lucio, a vile, deceitful, and utterly plausible political climber who grasps at all above him and attempts to step on all below him. Angelo and Lucio live today as a multitude within the D.C. beltway. Isabella, Claudio, Juliet, and Mariana are victims of these base and contemptable political hacks. Vincentio is a brave man caught in the middle, who helps out Isabella at the risk of his own future. The Duke leaves his deputy in charge as he pretends to go off, allegedly on a diplomatic mission. He remains in disguise to see the true nature of his deputy, and hurries out of disguise faster than he would have liked.

The story is grim, but the characters ring true. Good people at odds with vile men in power, and the vile men have deceived a good leader. Deputy's abusing their bosses' power. A man who accepts that doing the right thing is probably a career killer, while a two-faced, lick-spittle, sycophant appears to have a bright future. But with all this, the ending is as bright as can be hoped for.

A great play, but more satisfying than pleasurable.

E.M. Van Court

In order to truly appreciate Shakespeare's genius, I find it beneficial to see the plays performed. It makes the reading of the play later so much more enjoyable. This play is a wonderful tragic comedy. It is probably the darkest of all his comedies. Each of the characters faces his own epiphany and they are forced to come to terms with their own morality, as well as their own mortality. The play is gloomy and pessimistic. The play is set in Vienna. It forces the watcher of the play to reexamine all these issues in his or her own life. Very worthwhile.

Measure for Measure can best be described as Romeo and Juliet but with a happy ending. Or perhaps the sequel to Romeo and Juliet if the two hadn't taken such drastic measures (ha-ha!) at the end. In fact, the woman whose lover is short for this world is named Juliet and the play is once more set in Italy (though this time in Venice).

The play pokes fun at sex in and out of marriage and the "oldest profession" but beyond all the bawdy jokes, is a cautionary tale against morality based government. Juliet's lover, Claudio, is soon to be hanged for getting Juliet pregnant. It's an old law on the books, not enforced for ages until the Duke hands over the city to his would-be successor.
While the play may have been written at the turn of the seventeenth century, it is still relevant and on topic.

Great book! One of the classic Shakespeare dramas. Full of witty humor.

This is a darker comedy of Shakespeare's that was never so popular (except briefly in the 1700s). If you're willing to see past the fact that the hero (the Duke) is essentially playing God, it is an interesting play. Duke Vincentio is supposedly leaving for awhile, and he leaves Angelo in charge. Well, in comes the case of Claudio. Claudio has gotten his fiance Juliet pregnant before the wedding. (They still love each other, but they are not married yet. Some of you may know, the master Shakespeare himself was in this situation. He got his to be wife pregnant, and he had to marry her. It would seem that Shakespeare himself had something of a shotgun wedding.) Well, back to the play. Angelo is merciless and feels that only death is a suitable punishment. Claudio's sister Isabella (who is in the process of becoming a nun) pleads for mercy, and Angelo says he will consider it if Isabella agrees to sleep with him. Naturally, Isabella refuses. One character flaw is that when Isabella tells this to her doomed brother, he humanly asks her to at least consider it, and Isabella rebukes him in a fierce manner. Asimov put it best when he said: "She might not give into Claudio, but she might at least sympathize with his fear of death and forgive him his human weakness. She does not...Isabella shrieks out at her brother." Disguised as a friar, the duke calms Isabella down and tells her Claudio may still be saved. He tells her to agree to Angelo's demands, but Mariana (a girl Angelo desserted sometime ago) will go in her place. At the end of 3.2, the duke gives an interesting passage on the hypocrisy of people: "Shame to him whose cruel striking / kills for faults of his own liking" (3.2.270-271). Later there is an element of dark comedy when the Duke plans to have an older prisoner Barnadine killed in Claudio's place, but Barnadine is so drunk and he comically refuses the directions that will lead to his execution. (So much for that plan.) One thing I found somewhat repulsive in the duke is that he knows he is going to save Claudio, but he decides to play God and tell Isabella that Claudio is dead but she will be satisfied. By the end of the 4th act, we learn that Angelo has slept with Mariana (thinking she was Isabella) and he starts to show some elements of a conscience. (Though not quite as convincingly as Macbeth or Claudius do so.) By the 5th act, the duke is still playing god by allowing Isabella to think Claudio is dead, and pretending to go along with Angelo's accusations of Isabella. But eventually, all is revealed. Claudio is still alive and even Barnadine will be pardoned. Angelo must also marry Mariana. Many people feel that Angelo got off too easy, but remember, this is suppose to be a comedy, and Isaac Asimov put it best when he said: "...many critics (as savage as Angelo) condemn the play because they want to see the man hanged. Yet is it only for those we sympathize that mercy is to be sought?...It is precisely to those whom we hate that we must show mercy if the word is to have any meaning at all."

I would recommend this book for any ABB fan if for no other reason than there have been woefully few comprehensive histories of the band to date.I cannot speak to the claim of some on this site as to the alledged factual inconsistancies but I stand by my comment above.If you are a ABB/Duane Allman fan I would highly recommend SKYDOG.Enjoy.

Sad that this book ended up being kind of polarizing, because it's a great book. Well-written and amazingly well-researched, Midnight Riders provides a detailed history of the band from it's founding in 1969, up through the early 90's.

This is a MUST have for any Allman Brothers Band fan. And highly recommended for anybody who likes their music books. This band has a very interesting history and you will enjoy reading about it!

The book is well written and has the facts correct. One may wish for more detail of the early years and less discussion of all of the drug problems, but that was the truth. Still a good read.

This was a thorough study in the history of one of the greatest Rock-N-Roll bands ever to grace this planet. If you are an ABB enthusiast, or even a casual listener to the classic rock radio station, this is a biography that will make it all clear.

I'll admit that I begin reading popular music nonfiction (especially ones pertaining to rock) with much lower expectations than I would almost any other genre. But Scott Freeman's account is noteworthy as being a book that would stand out as an admirable accomplishment compared with ANY nonfiction endeavor.

As for Freeman's subjects, what separates the Allman Brothers Band from its peers isn't just its unique combination of blues, jazz, and Southern rock. The sheer size of the group (with rotating members) means that there is a rogues' gallery of personalities to enjoy.

The tale's only downfall is that the middle third is vastly less interesting than the band's beginnings. That is, the Allman Brothers story follows the familiar pattern of a VH1 "Behind the Music" episode:

1.) Band forms and struggles
2.) Band achieves fame and fortune.
3.) Band wallows in excesses of drug use, fleshpots, stupidity. Internecine warfare breaks out over petty nonsense. (I had no idea Greg was such a horse's arse or that Dicky Betts was slightly nuts).
4.) Band disintegrates.
5.) (Optional) Band re-forms with a new sense of purpose.

Given this book's density of details, its masterful organization, and its many primary sources, it's incredible that it was apparently written without the cooperation of the ABB. Freeman really outdid himself; I'd love to see him release an updated edition covering recent releases and Betts's firing from ABB in the 21st century.

This review refers to the fourth edition of this book.
I bought this book at the Stanford University Bookstore as a reference text for quantitative analytical chemistry. Overall, I'd say it's an excellent book which covers all the fundamentals of the subject. It also contains a great deal of useful data. The editing is excellent (I didn't notice any typos) and so are the graphics (tables, charts, pictures).
Mind you, this subject is so big that only a small fraction can be covered even in a large tome like this. But the author has used the space available to him well.

I note that the reviewers who do not like this book seem to be students while those who love it are teachers or experienced engineers (like myself). I suppose that means that the author is assuming a certian level of knowledge on the part of his readers and is not spending a large amount of time explaining basic concepts.

Item was delivered quickly and in very good condition. No problems were experienced. Good job and thanks.

So, you're considering either buying or adopting this text for intro analytical chemistry? Good choice!

This is the easiest, most straightforward, book on the market for students. It's been that way through many editions. It was a breath of fresh air (in comparison to Skoog) when it was first published.

Your other choices are "Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry" by Skoog et al.(ISBN 0534417965) and "Analytical Chemistry" by Gary D. Christian (ISBN 0471214728).

Skoog is good it's just that he can't match Harris for clarity.

Christian doesn't change much. The end-of-chapter problems are usually just re-numbered. It's OK, though.

Fortunately, whichever you choose, none can be considered deficient.

One thing I don't like about these books: Why do they include all this instrumental analysis material? The advanced/Instrumental texts do a much better job with these subjects. The extra chapters make the intro analytical texts needlessly heavy.

These intro books should stick to the basics like acid/base/complexometric/redox titrations, gravimetric analysis, sample prep., extractions, etc.

Harris (along with Bertolucci) has also written a true classic in the field of molecular spectroscopy: "Symmetry and Spectroscopy: An Introduction to Vibrational and Electronic Spectroscopy". Get that, too.

Check out my other reviews for other chem books

I just took a class that required this textbook, and I used the 6th edition instead of the 7th, and there was only one difference.... in the 6th edition, 2 topics were seperated into 2 different chapters, and in the 7th the two topics were combined into one chapter... If your a student and need this book for class, save yourself some money and buy the 6th edition. The word and homework problems are identical.

The explanations and reasoning behind doing certain procedures and calculations in this book is outstandingly good (most of the time). Each chapter provides detailed workthroughs of problems with easy to understand explanations and in a wide enough variety of ways for one to be able to do most of the problems in the back of the chapter without TOO much trouble. The life saver though is the separate optional solutions manual which provides ALL of the answers (even stepwise) to the chapter problems (GET THIS BOOK!). The chapters involving instrumental analysis could use some improvement in clarity, but the other chapters are very well written.

I'm from England and I'm studying this play for A level (as a mature student - normally taken when aged 17) but although the UK is the home of 'The Bard' this item is not available in the UK! I'm very impressed with Amazon.com who delivered it quickly and cheaply!

The CD itself is great. It really helps to hear the play, as the intonation is correct, which is sometimes difficult to do when reading it yourself.

The actors' voices are clear and suit their parts perfectly. I'd definitely recommend it - and I will look out for more titles in this series when I've finished studying this one!

Although this play is not one of Shakespeare's better known plays, it is one of his very best. It is a tragicomedy suffused by gentle melancholy. Unreasonable and cruel jealousy are also portrayed. We also have two endearing young lovers to liven up the story. These characters are very well-drawn, and the story is quite beautiful.

I have always favoured the Oxford Shakespeare series over others (Folger, etc), and the Winter's Tale is no exception. It's translation notes and lexigraphical assistance makes reading a joy and brings out the true heart and soul of one of Shakespeare's commonly overlooked tragi-comedies.

As usual in Shakespearean plays, the language here is very prettily written. As usual in Shakespearean comedies, there are plot holes that one could easily drive a tank squadron through. But since this is not just a comedy, but a tragicomedy, in which the first part is a tragedy and the second a comedy, not everything comes out well in the end: some worthy characters die. Also, as is usual for Shakespeare, we have a morality play on the evils of jealousy and closed-mindedness. Really, though, other than the pretty Shakespearean turns of phrase, there isn't much to recommend this book.

Early compilers of Shakespeare's plays classified this a comedy, but there is much tragedy in it. Later it was called a romance. Through irrational jealousy a king is apparently responsible for the deaths of his entire family -- wife, son and daughter -- by mid-play. Time is a character in the play and at his one appearance summarizes the passage of sixteen years. If you have an overy high regard for realism, you may not much enjoy this play, but that will be true of more of Shakespeare than just this one tale. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I look forward to seeing it. I've ordered the BBC DVD and it's being performed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2006. These Cambridge School editions have the play's text on right-hand pages; they have summary, commentary and exercises, and vocabulary on the facing left-hand pages. As I read through the play, I'd read the summary, read the play text paying attention to vocabulary, and then read the commentary and exercises. Some additional, unusual vocabulary was only explained in the commentary. I felt I got a deeper understanding of the play than if I had just read the play proper.mmary, commentary and exercises, and vocabulary on the facing left-hand pages. As I read through the play, I'd read the summary, read the play text paying attention to vocabulary, and then read the commentary and exercises. Some additional, unusual vocabulary was only explained in the commentary. I felt I got a deeper understanding of the play than if I had just read the play proper.

This is a very moving story, even for someone (like me) who doesn't usually read military or political history. It is told from the personal perspective of the soldiers who risked life and limb to aid the Allied effort in WWII, and the Yugoslavian peasants who risked their lives to save the soldiers who were shot down in their country. It is a true story of courage, determination, heroism, tragedy, overcoming challenges, and being changed by the whole experience. It is a story that was suppressed for many years and is now coming to light through the survivors who want their experiences to be known by future generations. It's a marvelous story, and a quick read. Once you read it, you'll probably want to tell your friends and family about it, and get them to read it too! My 95-yr-old grandmother tells everyone how much she loves this book! Just try it... I bet you'll like it too!

I enjoy WWII history and this untold story was no exception. Gregory A. Freeman makes a valiant effort to set the record straight on Draza Mihailovich's contribution to our war effort by telling the story of this miraculous rescue operation. It is amazing to me to this day, that some in our government still dispute that it was the Soviet propaganda machine supporting Tito that perpetrated the "Big Lie" about Mihailovich being a collaborator. It is clear that none of these aviators felt that way.

Don Kosovac, Colonel, USAF (Retired)

Gregory Freeman details this daring World War II rescue in the hills of German-ruled Yugoslavia. The rescuers were U.S. C-47 pilots and their fighter escorts, the rescued were downed U.S. airman hiding in the hills. Perhaps the real heroes were the Serbians, who risked their lives to help the airman, opening their homes and barns, and giving them what little food they had in the months leading up to the rescue. Also, imagine trying to clear a field for a makeshift airstrip under the noses of the Nazi occupiers. I enjoyed reading about the interactions between the Americans and their Serbian hosts, their attempts to communicate, and their joint efforts to enact rescue.

This book also details the struggle between the anti-communist Chetnik guerrillas led by Draza Mihailovich, and the communist partisans led by Josef Broz (Tito). The author doesn't hide his pro-Mihailovich sympathies, and outlines how Tito's Communists hoodwinked Allied intelligence. At least Mihailovich's daughter later saw her father's name more or less resurrected long after his 1946 show trial and execution by Tito's Communists.

This story should be of particular interest to adventure fans, persons with interest in the politics of southeast Europe, and people like me whose father flew in a B-24 during World War II. This isn't a masterpiece, but it's a readable, gripping, interesting story.

Just finished a great book called "The Forgotten 500" by Gregory Freeman.

It recounts a risky rescue mission launched during WWII to save over 500 American and Allied flyers who had bailed out over Yugoslavia. The airmen were saved by the local Serbia people. The Serbs saved them from the Nazis at great personal risk. And fed from their meager rations. Many Serbs died for harboring US airmen. The leader of the Serbs was an anti Nazi guerilla; Draza Mihailovich.

With the help of Mihailovich's fighters a high mountain plateau is turned into a small landing field. The OSS in spite of British opposition mounts a rescue mission that involves landing C-47s on the short runway. The runway was prepared by the local peasants and downed airmen using rudimentary farm tools. The airstrip was only 12 miles from Nazi encampments. It is an exciting and tense drama.

The book also recounts how the US and it's allies turned their back on Mihailovich. Primarily because of the disinformation provided by communists and their sympathizers in both US and British ranks. He points out "Far more numerous than the Communists, and infinitely more numerous that the committed agents, were the muddleheaded liberals who shares a nebulous feeling that they too were serving the cause of progress.

This book is a must read for anyone interested in WWII missions or how the US lost the Eastern block to Stalin.

I can strongly recommend this book as a good read since it brings to life a little known and exciting episode during WW2. The reader should be aware that this book is not an historical record but more of an historical drama. Without detracting too much from the story, there are some surprising inaccuracies, many of which have been highlighted by other reviewers (such as Ustache being present in Belgrade, door hatches on B-24s, etc). Perhaps the most difficult to understand of these inaccuracies is that it lists most of the 37 US and 2 British (many apologies if either of these was Commonwealth) airmen evacuated at the end of May 1944 in the "partial" list of airmen airlifted during Operation Halyard (August to December 1944) at the back of the book. The evacuation at the end of May 1944 warrants only a single sentence ("In May 1944 a plane was sent to pick up Musulin and the downed fliers, and it successfully completed Musulin's extraction and a noteworthy rescue of airmen"). What is surely missing from this sentence is the fact that this was an Allied effort to extract, in addition to George Musulin (OSS) and the 39 airmen, the following:

54 British Liaison Officers (BLOs) and other ranks (SOE/ISLD/ex-POW)
37 Poles (some soldiers, some civilians, all escaped from German Todt Organization labour gangs)
7 Pro-Allied Italians from a German POW camp,
1 Pro-Allied German

Total: 139 personnel (excluding the handful of Slavs that also came out with British agreement)

The pro-Allied German was a very brave man who had been at Mihailovich's HQ (he had been living in Serbia when the Germans invaded and the Serbs did not know he was German) - after the war one of his daughters became one of the first women to reach the upper echelon of the British Civil Service.

The surprising aspect of this evacuation was that it was executed from an airfield at Pranjane by several C-47's (not "a plane") flying at night over the last three nights of May 1944. The airfield construction was organized by British Major Archie Jack (a sapper) with the able assistance and advice of some of the US pilots who were familiar with landing and take-off requirements for C-47s -and of course the hard work of the local Serbs. Since this was primarily a British operation, the British ensured that the first planes out carried all the US airmen. The first plane took off with about 20 passengers but it brushed the trees at the end of the runway (and carried branches back in its landing gear to the airfield at Mola di Bari in Italy) so further flights were quickly cut back to ten or so passengers per plane. Probably due to the success of the initial flights, the 15th Air Force joined in and supplied further C-47s with US pilots to help evacuate the remainder of the evacuation party. The courage of the Allied pilots flying the C-47s is stunning when considering the risks of repeatedly landing on a makeshift runway, on a mountain top, at night, in enemy territory. Strange then that this airfield was built, according to the author, in August 1944. Granted it was probably widened and extended at that time - but it certainly wasn't constructed from scratch.

Here's a (hopefully) complete list of the 39 airmen evacuated at the end of May 1944:

Downed 24 January 1944 Zlatibor, B-17F (42-5340) 347BS/99BG:
Gus Brown, Jr. SAE
(Remainder of his crew walked to coast for boat, Gus being ill)

Downed 24 January 1944 in Toplica: The "Joker", B-17F (42-30490) 352BS/301BG:
Al Romans, Jr. LP
Peter Reinhardt LCP
Leo Camara LN
Dean Henton LB
Stephen Sika SRO
Stephen Ciotti SG
Leon Carver SG
Rector Greene SEG
Herbert Hock SG

Downed 4 April 1944 near Bor: A partial crew? Possibly B-24G "Stardust" (42-64495) 737BS/454BG:
Robert Howard CP
Ervin Frekco LCP
Edward Ford SE
Menly Kent SRO
Robert Hupert SG
Robert Paksmur SG

Downed 6 April 1944 nr Lazarevac: P-38F (43-2180) 48FS/14FG
John Lindstrom LP

Downed 8 April 1944: British Wellington Mine-layer shot down over Danube, (LP139) 70 Squadron RAF
S.A. Gibson CP (RAF Capt)
W. Elvin L (RAF, Lt)

Downed 15 April 1944 on Kopaonik: P-51B Mustang (43-6459) 309FS/31FG:
Howard Baetjer II LP

Downed 15 April 1944 near Parachin: "Lucky Strike"(less the pilot), B-24 761BS/460BG:
Thornton Carlough LCP
Samuel Ferris LN
Robert English LB
Thomas McElroy SE
Ennis Burns SRO
John Lane SG
Donald De Luca SG
Anthony Russo SG
William Keyes SG

Downed 24 April 1944 near Brus: Partial B-24H, 727BS/451BG ("Big Boober Girl"?)
Forrest N. Jones 2LP
Charles C. Beall OB
Rogers I. Thomas OCP

Downed May 1944 near Pozega: B-17G "Lonesome Polecat" (42-32022) 96BS/2BG:
Robert Weiss P
G. Thomas B
J. Foster RO
Willard Curtis AP
Wilbur Earl G
Leslie Wolfe G
Julian Entreken G

C indicates Captain
P indicates Pilot
CP indicates Co-pilot
L indicates Lieutenant
O indicates Flying Officer
N indicates Navigator
B indicates Bombardier
S indicates Sergeant
G indicates Gunner
RO indicates Radio Operator (Radioman)
E indicates Engineer
AE indicates Assistant Engineer
AP indicates Air Photographer

The author's account of the reasons why Mihailovich was dropped by the British is arguably off course. While the Comintern agent, James Klugman (incorrectly spelled "Klugmann" in the book), definitely sabotaged Mihailovich and gave the British the excuse to drop him, support for Tito and his Partisans was probably going to happen anyway after the summer of 1943.

To understand why British policy towards Mihailovich changed, it should be understood that the British SOE missions to Mihailovich were sent in mostly from late 1942 to the spring and summer of 1943 when Churchill's intent was to invade Europe through the Eastern Mediterranean, most probably coming ashore around Salonika in the Balkans and moving up the Vardar valley. SOE with Mihailovich was then to harass the German lines of communication down through Serbia and encourage the "Ustanak" by Mihailovich and the Serbs, in a sort of replay of the World War One effort. This was the mechanism for how the SOE missions were to be relieved - the front would roll past them - and this was the basis of Mihailovich's agreement to let SOE come to his area (training, support and then the Ustanak). Unfortunately for Mihailovich, the US was fast becoming the senior partner in the Allied ranks, and Roosevelt and Marshall were determined to move through Sicily and then Italy, not wishing to get entangled in the Eastern Med or upset Stalin. In the same way but in reverse, the British (especially Churchill) rightly saw Italy as appalling terrain to fight over (although they saw the advantage of having Sicily as a large unsinkable aircraft carrier for bombing into Europe) and wanted to avoid the entanglement of fighting up the mountainous spine of Italy. As a result of the decision to go for Italy, the whole rationale for supporting Mihailovich changed since Mihailovich and Serbia were no longer in a crucial position behind the potential German front lines but were fast becoming a backwater whose only value was to hold down Germans and impede them reinforcing northern Italy from Greece. The natural British inclination would have been to support both Tito and Mihailovich equally in their separate areas but Klugman, by bamboozling Deakin and Maclean, managed to portray Mihailovich as a collaborator (and Deakin got this message directly to Churchill for whom he had worked on a book before the war). This cleverly played into the British military's wish not to pour gasoline on the internal civil war in Yugoslavia that could only draw fire away from the Germans. Thus was born the break with Mihailovich. Klugman contributed to the break with Mihailovich but support for Tito was probably going to happen anyway, regardless of Klugman's efforts, because Tito's main area of operations was over towards the Adriatic and that was geographically more important to the Italian campaign.

The vast majority of the BLOs attached to Mihailovich's forces were very sympathetic to his cause and to the vast majority of the Serbs who supported him, even though the lack of a Balkan landing made it frustratingly difficult to persuade the Serbs to do much in the way of sabotage - which would bring down reprisals on the local population, most of whom were Mihailovich supporters. Musulin was not the only Allied officer to react angrily on his return to Bari - by the time the BLOs returned, Mihailovich's name was mud, "Titomania" prevailed everywhere, and the BLOs were the "bad boys" who had been with Mihailovich, the arch collaborator. The outright fury of some of the returning BLOs has become famous. Strangely, no one seems to have given much credit to Mihailovich who took great care of the British missions (and the airmen) after the break and none were handed over to the Germans or mistreated. Very odd behavior for a collaborator.

One amazing aspect of British policy towards Mihailovich and Yugoslavia was that it was mostly influenced by Churchill and the British military in the Med - the Foreign Office under Anthony Eden had very little control or input on policy towards Yugoslavia. Eden seems to have largely abdicated his department's responsibilities for Yugoslavia to Churchill himself, on the presumed assumption that this would keep Churchill occupied and allow the Foreign Office to do its work in other areas (like Greece) with less Churchillian interference and micro-management. Churchill saw the Yugoslav issue as black and white whereas Eden felt the Balkan color was grey - and unhappily let it go at that. The British military gave little consideration to the long-term political effects of their short-term strategies. To make matters worse, the British military considered that Mihailovich owed his allegiance to themselves and Churchill (thus the demands and commands emanating from Whitehall, Cairo and Bari) whereas Mihailovich felt rightly that he owed his allegiance to his own king and country, and that it was no crime to fight a communist insurgency. For decades after the war and probably even today, the British Government would respond to questions about why Mihailovich was dropped with the answer that it was done for "military reasons". The answer tells us more from what it doesn't say than from what it does say.

If you ever really wondered whats behind all of the numbers this is the book that you want. Very easy to read and explains everything you wanted to know about Math.

For trying to be a popular exposition on mathematics Devlin's book is too difficult for the lay reader. Unless you have university level mathematics in your luggage you won't understand much. The explanations of basic conepts are missing, the proofs are not there and the history is condensed into a few pages. Thus if your mathematical imagination cannot fill in these gaps you will not extract much pleasure from this book. You will rather be frustrated. I myself have read mathematics at the university and still couldn't follow him everywhere. The problem is that the labeling of the book is misleading. This is not a book of popularized mathematics. This is leizure time reading for mathematics professors and math-freaks. If you want to read something that is easy to understand but still interesting try some of the American Mathematical Society's wonderful publications (you can find them all on amazon).

The author reviews mathematical history but mentions no India nor China. He presented a biased view of mathematical history.
The books is misleading in that regard.

Enormous subject matter explained and illustrated beautifully.Good read for overall view of the field.

When I studied physics in a grad school, I used math with fear and incompetence. This book brought back love for math that I felt before it got too hard for me to enjoy it.

I agree that although this story is set in the Vermont backwoods, it has the spirit of an American Western. It is an entrancing tale of two unlikely heroes who go with a young woman into the woods to face down a local villain. It's true that there is not a wasted word; it is a perfect composition, as easy to take in as it is thoughtful. Castle Freeman Jr has composed a rarefied story that seems like the best of Charles Portis' True Grit with the dark humor of Richard Russo's Nobody's Fool. You're in for a treat.

"Chivalry isn't dead; it has just retreated to the backwoods of Vermont. Far beyond the range of leaf-peepers, quaint B&Bs and wealthy liberals lie millions of acres of dark forest, the kind of rich soil that chivalric romance has grown in for centuries. James Fenimore Cooper first saw the possibilities of moving the knights errant of medieval Europe to New England's woods, and now Castle Freeman Jr. performs an equally radical transplant with Go With Me, his oddly witty tale of a damsel in distress." Ron Charles

Remember Daryl, Daryl and their brother, Daryl of the old television series with Bob Newhart? Quadruple their force and you have the setting for a small group of townsmen who gather every day at the old chair mill. They discuss, they foretell and they are the old Greek wise men. Throughout this novel, they speak and reminisce and give each other advice. Whizzer is the leader of the group. He was a logger until one of the trees got him, and now as a paraplegic, his job is to keep this group together, with and without beer, on a daily basis.

Lillian, a young woman with long brown hair to her ass, as we are constantly reminded, comes to this group one day. She has been harassed by Blackway, the area's mafia bad guy. He sent her boyfriend scurrying out of town, broke her car window and then killed her beloved cat. She went to the local Sheriff Wingate who told her he there wasn't anything he could do to help her. He advised she leave town, she said no. A 'pistol' he thought, she was. He sent her on to Whizzer for help.

Whizzer looked for volunteers and Nate the Great, "a tall, long-boned, heavy-wristed kid: not a scholar, not a talker. Smarter than a horse, not smarter than a tractor." The other is Lester, an old man with a heavy limp. "Was he seventy?" Lillian wonders. "Was he eighty?" These three started out to find Blackway and to do what, exactly?

A small suspenseful novel, filled with humor, a smile on almost every page, but yet, a novel that has grace and charm and so well written. A profound novel filled with the wit of the Vermont old timer. No flatlanders allowed here.

Highly, Highly Recommended. prisrob 07-06-08

Go With Me: A Novel

Judgment Hill: A Novel (Hardscrabble Books)

This hillbilly fable, set in the backwoods of Vermont, draws you in with a classic woman-in-distress opener. The lovely Lillian is being stalked by Blackway, a local criminal who drove Lillian's boyfriend out of town, supposedly killed her cat, and has a legendary reputation for badness in these parts. Sheriff Wingate, recognizing that Blackway has broken no laws he can cite to arrest him, refers Lillian to a local sawmill owner named Whizzer for help. Whizzer puts his best men on the job, an over-the-hill guy named Wes, who's respected for his mastery of dirty tricks, and a young simpleton named Nate, who can curl more pounds than his IQ.

Suspense builds as the trio hunt down Blackway in a desolate swath of woods that makes the setting for the Blair Witch Project seem like a boyscout campsite. As they close in on Blackway, the reader is entertained by scenes featuring the banter of Whizzer and his loyal posse, who pass the days draining cases of beer, recalling poker games card-by-card from years ago, and opining on whether Wes and Nate have a shot at taking Blackway down.

This is minimalist writing at its finest, with a spare style that relies on realistic and slyly-humorous dialogue rather than heavy-handed narrative. My only regret is that the ending wasn't better developed, as the climax and resolution couldn't quite live up to this tall tale's setup.

It is not unusual for a short book to pack a solid wallop. Sometimes, though, it is because there is just not that much to it. GO WITH ME falls into the latter category. The story of a woman who is not about to back down from the town bully, and enlists the help of good but rough fellows to help her out, simply tries a little to hard to be deep and meaningful and generally more than what it really is. That is not to say the book is bad, but, well, there's not much more to it than what I have just written.

The writing is sparse and does the job of keeping the momentum flowing. The woman and two men seek out the villain while the men's compatriots hold court back at the old, abandoned chair factory. I guess the conversation of the compatriots is supposed to be deep and meaningful, but it is not. It is just some somewhat interesting back and forth between some down and outers that provides some filler.

The book comes to a head when we finally meet our bad guy, near the end of the book. Like everything leading up to this final confrontation, there is nothing bad to say about it, but nothing particularly noteworthy, either. GO WITH ME might fill up a few hours of your free time, but it is not going to stick to your ribs after you are through.

GO WITH ME is a novel written very much in the spirit of Cormac McCarthy. Freeman is frugal with the details, and relies on sparse realism to guide his very simple tale to its very simple conclusion.

Novels this short and this quiet can be quite deceptive. It's called hiding in plain sight. Just as a glance across a crowded courtroom can be both straightforward and frought with complexities, so can the right kind of unadorned writing bristle with the sort of import and passion and depth that most English Lit professors never dare dream of.

Freeman's story is about a woman named Lillian who has caught the attention of a local disease, a dangerous villain named Blackway (let's not analyze the name). Seeking a cure against his destructive attentions, Lillian finds aid in an elderly fellow named Lester and a beefy young lad named Nate.

Saying any more would give away what little punch this novella has to offer (c'mon, folks; this is NOT a novel). I'm not saying it's not entertaining. A fellow named Whizzer and his round-table of good-old-boys spend the entire novel drinking beers and chewing the fat, and their authentic back-and-forth is what really gives the book the intrigue and humor and pathos that it wants so much to have elsewhere.

However, the core of the plot (ESPECIALLY Nate and Lester's motivations) is not only as fine and as delicate as a spider web, it holds about as much weight, too. I've heard words like "suspenseful" and "thrilling" and "shocking" and "stunning" used to describe the climax and some of the moments that preceded it, but I found the entire novel -- climax, conflict, resolution and all -- to be as whisper-thin as the minimalist writing used to depict it. There are small, delightful moments where the story finds something to really be about, but beyond those brief passages, this is really just a milquetoast snack trying to pass itself off as a hero sandwich.

This book is a bit dry in places, BUT the content more than makes up for it.
I recommend this to any consultant. It will improve your level of thinking about what you do a whole higher level. Yes, it does have many effective "tips".

I was disappointed in the contents of the book. Although some of the information was helpful, each chapter ended with how difficult it was to be an independent IT Consultant. Also, the book is written from a UK perspective and does not focus on many aspects that are specific to the US, including new legislation (SOX) or sub-contracting.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book from cover to cover. It's a sure must for anyone wanting to understand and learn about being an IT consultant. I wish I had this book around when I was a consultant. It describes exactly what an IT consultant is, the roles & responsibilities and attributes needed for this exciting career. Face it, most jobs today are very much IT focused, and we're all into IT in one way or the other. This gets my thumbs-up!

This is a good book - but by no means a classic. It is perfect for its target market - geeks who don't know about business and business value and just want to read a summary of information available from more authoritive sources.

Better books include "Managing the Professional Service Firm" or "Secrets of Consulting" by Weinberg.

Author Rick Freedman spent many years as a consultant and his textbook and accompanying CD offer a lot of orderly advice aimed at both the novice consultant and the veteran consultant who wants to improve. Freedman covers such topics as the business of advice, the IT (information technology) consulting framework and developing superior consulting skills. Freedman's main argument is that consultants should train so that they can be of more help to their clients. Successful consultants, he maintains, rely more on their people skills than on their technical gifts. Freedman also gives aspiring consultants advice on how to remain competitive in securing and keeping clients. He instructs consultants to read a steady stream of periodicals and books to keep up with the vast daily changes in technology. We [...] suggest that you can use his book and CD set to find out everything you ever wanted to know about consulting - including how hard it is - but never knew who to ask.

I have not read this abridgement. I gave it two stars because it is still Douglas Southall Freeman, more or less. I have read the three volume set twice now and no doubt will go through it again in the future. In three volumes this is a classic of the genre, books that set the standards for all the others, just like Shelby Foote's three volume compendium. An abridgement of this type is for the novice set. My opinion is that everyone who is interested should get the three original volumes. I believe they can still be found or at least ordered.

.....your time, and money, will be well used. Stephen Sears has done a one volume abridgment of one of the greatest works in the English language, and done it quite well. When this book came out in 1998, it filled a gap; Richard Harwell had written one volume versions of Dr. Freeman's other two masterworks back in the 1960's.

For the uninitiated, "Lee's Lieutenants" is the history of The Army of Northern Virginia told from the viewpoint of those who served under the command of General Robert E. Lee. Douglas Southall Freeman's magnum opus "R.E. Lee" had been published in the late 1930's; Dr. Freeman was afraid that the "other generals" would be forgotten [and some would have been], so he published the three volumes of "Lee's Lieutenant's" during WWII. It quickly became a standard work for historians, and for students at every military academy on Earth. It was required reading at West Point for years, and may still be.

The first two thirds of the volume focus on Stonewall Jackson, and the last one third on James Longstreet; that is proper. The others are not forgotten, which was the idea in the first place; John Bell Hood, A.P. Hill, D.H. Hill, JEB Stuart, Jubal Early, Dick Ewell, Billy Mahone, "Maryland" Steuart, Wade Hampton, Fitzhugh Lee, John Brown Gordon, etc., etc., etc. Dr. Freeman made the point that not every Confederate General was a hero, and that many mistakes were poured out of a bottle. Alas, he was right, BUT, there were far more good than there were bad and indifferent....

Following Mr. Harwell's model, Sears had cut out all the footnotes and appendices, most of the bibliography, and much of the dialog. For 99+% of readers, this book is all you will need, or want. It will give you an excellent overview in a well written manner. I own three copies. Still...But... The full three volumes are absolutely definitive. They are not difficult to find at a decent price ["R.E. Lee" is difficult, and "George Washington" impossible]; I own two sets. While I heartily recommend the full version, I have to recognize that most people don't need to go that far. Read this; it may make you want more, and the full story will make more sense if you've read this first.

If this abridgement serves one purpose it will inspire a future historian to seek more knowledge on the subject. The three volume edition was and is read by all who have become the great Civil War writers of today. Here is the story (without the footnotes) of the famous Army of Northern Virginia and it's commander General Robert E. Lee. The story begins a year before Lee would take command and name the army that would take on so much of his character. Each page is filled with the story of a famous campaign, and the battles that resulted. Filtered throughout is each stage of the war in the east and the Confederate commanders that served under "Marse Robert." Jackson, Longstreet, Ewell, Hill (both), Early Alexander, Gordon. They are all here and so many more. You get to read how each leader developes and succeeds or fails and is usured off the stage. In and of it's self this book could be studied as a work on management and leadership. Every aspect of Lee's brillance and his flaws are covered. It is a bitter sweet story. So many of these men die as the story unfolds, and so does the Confederacy in the end. An added plus is you get to read the words written by one of the great authors and historinas in American literary history. Reading Freeman is a must if one is to have an understanding of the eastern theater, and the Army of Northern Virginia. Read the one-volume edition if you must, but a word of warning, you may get hooked and then there is no letting go

The abridged volume of Lee's Lieutenants is an excellent title for anyone interested in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. I have looked at the original 3-volume series and the only difference as one earlier reviewer points out is that the footnotes have been taken out. Given that Douglas Freeman was the editor of a Richmond, Virginia newspaper, one would expect several pages of footnotes. However, the book's essence is still retained.

Freeman covers the army's life from the Seven Days' Campaign in early 1862 to the bitter end at Appamattox in April 1865. He mentions just enough detail of the battles for the reader to comprehend the importance and result of each engagement. The deeper focus is on the main officers in Lee's army and their relationship with Lee and each other.

The narrative is free flowing and is easy to read without being simplistic. Indeed, while the book is just over 800 pages, I found myself reading several pages on many occasions.

If you are looking for a book about the Confederate side of the Civil War's Eastern Theater, then this is your read! The only gripe I had was the few maps - there could have been more and could have been more detailed. However, there are plenty of books out there on specific engagements that can make up for the difference.

Read and enjoy. Highly recommended!

Abridgements of great works in and of themselves are not a bad thing. As I read through this volume I could not but help noticing how poorly it reflected upon Freeman's original three volume work.

Douglas Southall Freeman's Magnum Opus is distorted quite significantly in this abridgement. If you have not read his original work I suppose this volume will suffice. But why settle? I frequently come across the original volumes at used bookstores for around $50-$60.

Mr. Freeman's writing is good literature apart from being great history. Though the original work is dated it still is a magnificient example of historical writing. Mr. Freeman's work is what got me interested in Civil War history.