Gilbert Books

St. Exupéry was an early aviator who writes from his actual experiences flying over (and through) the Andes to open up new airmail routes. I purchased this book as a gift for a friend who is a pilot. I read the book a number of years ago in the original French. The story is a fine human drama in its own right. However, most impressive for me are the beautiful and poetic descriptions of early flight in fragile aircraft over a rugged but beautiful landscape, unequaled by any other author I have read. You will fly beside and with this author through a different world which is at once both detached and linked to all humanity below. Truly a remarkable little book.

There already exist a dozen or more excellent reviews on this early aviation piece. I humbly add my thoughts.

This novel, written 1930ish by the famous author/flyer Antoine De Saint-Exupery, in the pioneering days of aviation, encompasses two stories playing out simultaneously:

1. In the cockpit of a night mail plane, flying out of Patagonia, Chile, over the Andes and towards points north. A primitive aircraft, with primitive radio, only dead-reckoning navigation, and no radar. The plane has become enclosed in an overwhelming storm system and the pilot is flying blind in complete blackness. The situation develops and becomes summarized in the following sentence from the story, " . . . a phantom ship that, as things were, struggled no longer to win a punctuality-bonus, but only to evade a penalty . . . the penalty of death."

2. On the ground in Buenos Aries, the director of the S America air mail effort, Riviere. In his drive to establish and develop the program, he has championed the night mail flights. Now a plane and crew has become in mortal danger. Riviere weighs all factors including especially the worth of what they are doing versus the costs. His thoughts, from the story, " . . . even though human life may be the most precious thing on earth, we always behave as if there were something of higher value than human life . . . But what thing?"

A great novel. Serious introspection, and a fascinating glimpse at the nuts and bolts of early aviation. A nice prelude, by the way, to Saint-Ex's landmark work, "Wind, Sand, and Stars". A comprehensive autobiographical tale, and larger than fiction, along these same lines.

This is an epic narrative of a single evening in the Argentine night mail service. The chief character is the air manager, with peripheral characters being pilots, pilots' wives, and other personnel. Without spoiling the plot, an unexpected crisis occurs in the way of a trans-Andean storm, and the pace quickens to unforgettable climax.
But read the book. It's short, and not so much as a phrase is excess weight. A spine-tingling thriller about men in crisis, and the women who wait alone. You may grimace at the manager's resolve, but you will never forget him or the pilot coming from far southern Argentina. A masterful insight into the days when character was a desirable thing and profit wasn't the only motive for excellence.

Written and published when Saint-Exupery was 31 years old, this short novel holds the seed of what was to become Saint-Ex's posthumous masterpiece, Citadel. The theme is leadership in a life and death command situation.

Night Flight is the story of Mr. Rivière (pronounced ree-vee-AIR) who oversees a number of pilots carrying mail in South America. The postal service is a lucrative but competive business and keeping planes grounded at night loses the company any speed advantage flight has over trains or ships. So they fly at night.

This evening, Rivière must deal with a night flight surprised by a storm. There is no hope. When Rivière sends men into the night, they are in death's embrace. There is no margin for error. Because he loves his men, he must rise above all concerns for their feelings and think only about their welfare. He loves them but cannot, must not, show it. For one act of negligence, Riviere fires an experienced dearly loved and well respected mechanic. Because the company auditor befriended a pilot, he forces the auditor to officially reprimand the pilot. Like Riviere, the auditor must have no heart if he is to save the lives of the men he loves.

Vincent Poirier, Dublin

I have read Exupery's "The Little Prince." I am aware of his tragic 1944 death, just two years after writing this marvelous little book, while flying a solo reconoissance mission in support of the Allies, somewhere over the Mediterranean sea. The world lost a great literary and artistic talent, as well as a hero.

This is important context, because "Night Flight" serves to enhance St. Exupery's reputation, in my opinion, as one of the 20th century's great writers of the human condition. He covers several topics in this short book that are central to understanding the human experience:

- being alone in the dark.
- being alone and lost.
- being "alone" in a villiage, or alone even while surrounded by people, or when trying to talk to your husband or wife.
- the yoke of obligation and duty
- the benefit and sacrifices of the one vs. the many
- disfunctional leadership and command
- living every day with fear and doubts

I cannot judge the impact of the transation out of the French, vs. the peculiarities of St. Exupery's writing style. But whatever it is, it works. The economy of the text reminds me of Hemingway.

He explained it as only a gifted artist could explain it, who had been there many times before. I found myself in the plane with Fabien. I could feel the engine shake, the wind blow by, the dim lights of the instrument panel. I could see the star lights in the sky above, and, as St. Exupery explained it, the star lights in the villiages below. I could feel the onset of awareness and resignation, as the pilot gradually becomes aware that he is hopelessly lost above the vast emptyness of the jungle, mountains and the sea.

This is one of my favorite books by Chesterton. He relates the dangers of Big Business and Big Government. The amazing thing is the way the Big Business argument has withstood the test of time.
Most importantly it is Chesterton, get it, enjoy it, love it.

At least as far as the ones I have read (several).

Chesterton's short essays in this book can be read almost independently with much satisfaction. The world has changed a bit since the early 1900's but it is astonishing how prescient this work truly is. It might be hard for modern readers to realize how different the current issues of poverty are from those of his day and the forces that contribute to it are focused in different areas, but the fundamental analysis is impeccable.

What Chesterton does beyond all comparison is foundational thinking. His wit and paradoxical prose force the reader to consider problems from an entirely different perspective. In this sense Chesterton truly is a revolutionary conservative. When he asks if it is possible to "set back the clock" we suddenly discover that he is dead serious and that it is a very desirable thing to do.

All in all, this is a non-religious book and a good introduction to Chesterton's work. He keeps the sermons to an absolute minimum and makes an awful lot of sense.

I think the collection of essays are generally well written, but there are some issues. Before I start, yes; I know WWWtW was written nearly 100 years ago for a primarily British audience. There are parallels with today's culture, but the book was written for quite a different population facing similar evils.

This may be petty, but the use of the "n" word really bothered me. I know Chesterton was a wordsmith, and was not a racist, but the use of that word really offended me. I know...different age and different culture, but I live in 21st century New York, not 20th century England. Is the use of the word meant to be offensive? I don't believe offense was Chesterton's motive. Chesterton even calls poor East Enders "guttersnipes", but this is his way of wordsmithing and even here the euphemism is not meant to be offensive, but clever. However, in spite of Chesterton's love of euphemisms and cleverness, I find the "n" word to be a huge stumbling block.

Chesterton's idea of the fundamental difference among the sexes is accurate. However, the whole objection to women not voting is rather unsettling. I know...different age and different culture, but it still bothers me. However, the notion of the Industrial and Post Industrial age forcing women into the workplace so that families can survive is an acute assessment.

What's not to like about Hudge and Gudge?

I think Chesterton is the Epitome of an age long since past. He chose not to pursue formal education, but the man was a generalist, and that suited him. There are too many specialists in the world, with large student loan debts, who cannot figure out why pulling on a push door will not open the door. If we had more Chestertons, I think the world would be a better place; there is always the need for generalists in a specialized world.

Chesterton was undoubtably a genius. I am certain that this book has great value and meaning but I found it beyond my ability to dig it out. The language is full of idoms and references from late nineteenth and early twentieth century England which I could not comprehend without tremendous effort. I gave up on it. I suppose this is more of a reflexion of myself than Chesterton.

This is a wonderful edition of What's Wrong With the World. If you have read much of Chesterton's social commentary or essay work, you know that he makes many allusions to people, places, and ideas that were common to him in the early part of the 20th Century. Ignatius Press did a great job footnoting many of these references, which makes this amazing work of Chesterton's much more accessible to the common man, whom he loved so much.

And I really hate calling it that, since this book, a thick paperback, was obviously carefully and comprehensively written by a man who was deeply immersed in and respectful of his subject. But my verdict stands.

The reason I call book useless is that, believe it or not, it's almost as impenetrable as the text it purports to explain! Perhaps this was because the author, Stuart Gilbert, was actually a friend of Joyce's, and Joyce actually helped him write it. Note also that it was written only 8 years after the publication of "Ulysses" -- in 1930.

As such, it was seminal in laying out a lot of the main themes of the novel (Gilbert's famous "schemata" is still referred to these days). Seminal, yeah -- but the tone, level, and direction of Joyce criticism (not to mention the literary preparation of would-be exegetes of "Ulysses") have undergone much change in the last 75 years, to say the least.

Sound flippant? Well, be aware that, in addition to being completely conversant with all of English and continental literature, Gilbert expects you to be able to negotiate classical Greek, Latin, French, Italian, and German, much as "Ulysses" does. Quotations and allusions in these languages are liberally sprinkled throughout the book -- and the footnotes explaning them contain not translations but even more abstruse glosses!

The whole premise is ridiculous. I can't see who would possibly be helped by this book, despite the fact that nearly all of the various editions of "Ulysses" cite it as helpful secondary reading. For accomplished critics, perhaps. But for the average reader out there, the searingly obviously problem is that anybody in possession of the cultural firepower and reading acumen needed to read this book . . . would have no need of its insights! If you can understand Gilbert, you sure as a shot could understand Joyce without much assistance. Was Gilbert writing to himself?

Yes, best steer thee elsewhere. There's something out there called the "New Bloomsday Book" (careful you don't unnecessarily buy the hardback), which most students these days find far more helpful and more in consonance with their needs and sensibilities.

Of the various kinds of "Cliff's Notes" out there, probably the most useful is the original, the black-and-yellow striped "Cliff's Notes," followed closely by the "ClassicNotes." Avoid the Sparknotes and the Barron's.

Four stars, not five, if only because I do agree somewhat that this study can be as complex as the novel itself. I think that the reason for this is that Joyce's work is, indeed, so rich and allusory that a full-length treatment like this is demanded. Ulysses is to the novel what Jorge Borges's short stories are to that literary art form.

By the way, 12 years ago I took a college course on Joyce and spent seven weeks of the twelve-week semester on Ulysses alone. Believe me, that wasn't nearly enough time. Yet, the presense of a knowledgeable mentor was invaluable in understanding this wonderful novel.

Stuart is the next best thing to having such a person nearby, but be forewarned--you will still need all of your analytical skills. Ulysses is a complete education, and as such entails a lifetime journey.

I am reading Ulysses for the first time, and, yes, this book helps tremendously in understanding Ulysses. I'd be lost without it much of the time. BUT it's not a wonderful book. Gilbert quotes extensively from Ulysses -- for those people who don't actually want to read Ulysses, he says in the intro. -- but doesn't bother to translate quotes that are in French or Latin or Greek. The quotes from Ulysses often aren't introduced or explained well -- there just there. In fact, most quotes, from Joyce or from other sources, aren't well explained -- some chapters seem to have none of his own words, just quote after quote -- and because of that, I certainly wouldn't call this book a "good" text. Certainly, it is useful, and I don't regret the time spent reading it, but I am sure that there are more-accessible studies out there.

Gilbert provides insight into Ulysses which it is extremely doubt the reader can get alone. He provides the overall plan of the work, the diagram of each sentence and how it coordinates with all the categories which Joyce combined in constructing his encyclopediac work. Stuart was at one point close to Joyce and has much of his information from the master himself. I do not know if there is a better guide, but this as the first is a very good one. It helped me understand at least the outline of the work and its basic structure.

I am still digesting "Ulysses." I read it while walking around Dublin a few years ago. It was marvelous to trace the steps of Leopold and Molly, and to see what they "saw," but the novel remains a distant pleasure to the reader. I must admit it is not the most accessible book ever written, but it gets four stars for its intent ... and that it is better than "Finnegan's Wake." Be warned: This novel is not for the casual reader. This is one of several excellent accompaniments to "Ulysses" and well worth the price and the time to compare against Joyce.

I read this book when I was an undergraduate, and now I have read it again, along with books on eyewitness accounts by Alfred Wexler and Rudolph Vrba. Martin Gilbert's book makes an ineffable case regarding the intentional lassitude of Great Britain's leaders, excluding Churchill for whom he has written a biography of, in ignoring the facts when it came to saving the Jews of Europe. The Americans were no less dismissive of Jewish requests. The seminal question is if it was allied war prisoners or British subjects that were the target of Hitler's killing machine would the allies have bomber Auschwitz?

Martin Gilbert, who writes "Auschwitz and the Allies" illustrates a very colorful picture of what the mindset of the German leader Adolf Hitler and his military leaders in the period of World War One, all the way to the end of World War Two. Gilbert uses references to many primary sources, (mostly newspaper articles) to show his point. He uses these excerpts to show that his points can be backed with historical data. Gilbert also shows how the Allies played an important role in this process at Auschwitz.The rest of the book seems to show the lack of support from the Allies to the Jews. The book takes a look as to why the allies gave the cold shoulder to a horrific time in our past. Gilbert seems to think that the mass murder of the Jewish people took place before the Allies had enough information to steam ahead on a stop to this. He does, however, carry a very sarcastic tone in this book. He claims that many of the allied leaders looked at these stories of the horrific killing of the Jews as "customary Jewish exaggeration." Gilbert claims that the extermination of the Jews was well known in Europe. He says that the knowledge of where the people where headed was the information that kept people from stopping anything. Gilbert counters the "customary Jewish exaggeration" with "typical Nazi deception". The Nazi's deceived more people than the Jews exaggerated to. Gilbert ends his book with a summary. He says that there were two major victories in the war, and many failures. He throws the blame of ignorance on the allies, and gives the victories to the Nazi's, for their ability to nearly annihilate the Jews, and for deceiving the rest of the world. (please excuse the jumping around, this is a summary of a five page paper)

In this comprehensive work , Martin Gilbert analyses how the Allied governments during World War II reacted to news about the Nazi holocaust of Europe's Jewry , especially after the truth became known about the massive death factory known as Auschwitz.

He poses the questions as to why the Allies never bombed Auschwitz , and analyses Allied lack of reaction , despite ample news of the holocaust - revealing how the allies could have - but did not- act to save millions of Jews.

The prelude to the book deals with Hitler's pledge to completely anihilate the Jews of Europe , on January 20 1942.

By 1941 , the reality of the Nazi massacre of Jews had certainly reached allied governments. On 3 May 1941 the Polish Government-in-Exile sent a formal note to the governments of allied and neutral powers describing how 'tens of thousands' had been interned in concentration camps and it went on to mention four such camps: Oswiecim (Auschwitz) , Oranieburg , , Mauthausen and Dachau as camps whose names will 'mark the most horrible pages of the annals of German bestiality.' The Polish note contained more than 200 accounts of the tortures and murders commited in the camps.

But the persecution of Jews was still not thought of as a specifically important issue. On 25 July 1941 , a Ministry of Information document "had warned British policy makers that to make the Nazi danger 'credible' to the British people it should 'not be too extreme as concentration camp stories 'repel the normal mind'"...while a certain amount of horror was needed "it must deal always with the treatment of indisputably innocent people , Not with violent political opponents and not with Jews".

In 1939 the British issued their infamous White Paper severely restricting the entry of Jews into Palestine , barring their only root of escape from Nazi terror , largely in order to appease Arab opinion .
About 500 000 Jews actually attempted to enter "Palestine" after the Shoah had begun in 1942, but were brutally turned back by the British even after news of the death camps and gas chambers had filtered back to the British. Sir Harold McMichael , British High Commisioner in Palestine telegraphed to the colonial office: " The fate of these people was tragic , but the fact remains that they where national of a country at war with Britain , proceeeding directly from enemy territory. Palestine was under no obligation towards them."
In 1942 Anthony Eden , British Foreign Secretary , refused once again to relax the restriction of Jewish immigration into Palestine claiming that turning back the ships would 'in the end be more merciful.'

British MP Eleanor Rathbone hit the nail on the head when she said: "If it had not been for the restrictions placed on immigration to Palestine in pre-war years , even before the Palestinian White Paper , imposed partly for economic reasons , and partly to please the Arabs , tens of thousands of men , women and children who now lie in bloody graves would have been among their kindred in Palestine..."
Others like Lord Cherwell also urged a Jewish homeland in Palestine as a refuge for Europe's persecuted Jews pointing out that "After the last war Arabia (as big as Western Europe) was conquered by us from the Turks and handed over to the Arabs ; it seems strange that one corner of it , the size of Wales is grudged to the Jews"
This information makes it particularly sickening to see much of the British establishment, including the British media (epitomized by the hate speech of the likes of Robert Fisk, and the BBC), politicians , academics like Tom Paulin and others, leading the international campaign to vilify and harm Israel.
They are showing the same callousness in regard to Jewish men, women and children being murdered today, as they did during the British Mandate.

Aside from the British refusal to let Jews escape to Palestine , the allies rejected taking in Jews into their own countries , claiming that they did not want to be inundated with a 'flood of refugees'.
The book documents the unceasing efforts by Zionist leaders , such as Richard Lichtheim and Chaim Weizmann , to alert the allied governments of the enormity of what was going on and to try to urge them to act to save the Jews , but they constantly fell on deaf ears.

Throughout the war the allied governments where inundated with reports of the atrocities taking place against Jews , throughout Europe but reacted with characteristic calousness such as the remark of a leading British Foreign Office official in September 1944 : "In my opinion a disproportionate amount of time of the Office is wasted on dealing with these wailing Jews..."

Eventually the report of two young Jews who had escaped Auschwitz landed on Churchill's desk and the possibility of bombing the railway lines leading to Auschwitz , and the gas chambers themselves was indeed examined . But why was the plan never carried out?

In the wake of this callous inaction , a section of the world's Jews realized that never again could their safety and survival be left up to the nations of the world alone , and that is the meaning of the State of Israel.
The survival of Israel means the prevention of any such holocaust ever happening again to the Jews.
Will the world stand by as Israel's existence is threatened by Islamic terrorists and Moslem and far-left bigots across the globe?

Looking into history is one of the areas that we can almost always fell we have found an absolute truth. Even if some of the facts remain hidden or just plain unknown, major events have so many other markers and road maps that historians can find the truth, even if it is narrow in scope. The truth presented in this book is that the Allies knew that Hitler's Germany was engaged in mass killings of different ethnic groups with Jews being number one on the hit list. The author spends a good deal of time detailing out his research that shows that this fact was even in the public press. What is not detailed to any great degree was what decisions lead the leaders of the Allies to prosecute the war in the manner they did. Why were these atrocities ignored or not acted on?

The author did not fully investigate this question, and to be fair it would probably be difficult given the decisions made here were by a very few people and not verbalized. The book is interesting and details a good number of facts on the topic. I did seem to pick up on a seemingly anti non Jewish bias in the book. The author examines the Allies ignoring of the mass killings, but does not try to explain what could have actually been done to stop them. Looking at the full picture of the war, there was not an easy fix for this problem if one at all. Even if air power resources would have been diverted to camps, there were many that the overall war effort would have been negatively effected. How much longer would have the overall war gone on and how many more people would have died? Even if the Allies had stopped the camps, there were still killing squads that were activity in the country side that killed almost two million people. Nothing short of a full victory would have stopped this activity.

Overall I found the book interesting but limited. If you are just coming to this discussion, this book gives the reader a nice overview of the "Allies Knew" field of study, but what it does not do is present the story with all the facts about the Allies position in the war. It also seems a bit self severing that the author seems to only care about this one section of the European population that was dieing when countless millions more died at the hands of Hitler and Stalin. This was a horrific period in our collective history and I hope that the end effect of this and other books like it, help to keep in focus our responsibility on stopping these atrocities in the future regardless of if they are Europeans, Africans or Asians that are being killed.

This thoroughly documented and deeply disturbing book is divided into three parts. The Final Solution includes the chapters Hitler's Pledge, Warnings And Forebodings, Britain's Dilemma, Evidence And Omissions, Rescue and Refuge, Eyewitness and This Bestial Policy. Part Two: Hope And Hopelessness includes Warsaw And Bermuda, The Spread Of Nazi Power and The German Occupation Of Hungary. Part Three: Auschwitz revealed, includes inter alia, Escape From Auschwitz, Zionism At Bay, The Deportations From Hungary, The End Of Auschwitz and the Epilogue.

The book is painful to read as it chronicles the history of the Shoah from the earliest warnings of Hitler's intentions through the war, the doomed attempts of many individuals and organisations to rescue the Jews, the indifference and the excuses given by certain officials on the Allied side, and the actions, good and bad, of occupied and neutral countries. Although the book does not focus on personal experiences in the holocaust, there are some examples of unspeakable horror that the sensitive reader had best avoid.

The author ascribes the extent of the tragedy and the failure to do more as failures of imagination, of response, of intelligence, co-ordination and of sympathy. To me the most shocking revelations are those where policymakers used the excuse that they were afraid of flooding Palestine and the UK with Jewish refugees. Or maybe even worse, those who claimed that the reports coming out of Europe were exaggerated. Another incredible show of indifference was the refusal of the Allies to bomb Auschwitz, while their planes were overflying the accursed place to drop supplies on Warsaw for the Polish uprising.

Here and there one finds some glimpses of right action, for example Bulgaria, an Axis ally that nevertheless managed to protect its Jews from the worst. But overall, one is left with a feeling of utter despair at the way the events unfolded and the frustration that Zionist leaders must have endured in trying to help their doomed people. It is chilling to read how countries like Switzerland refused to accommodate refugees and how every obstacle was placed in the way of orphaned children trying to reach Israel. The world looked on and it still does. Since then, we have witnessed Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya and Darfur.

The book contains 16 pages of black and white plates and 20 maps. It concludes with biographical notes and a thorough index. For more information and background on the horror and the indifference, I recommend A History of the Jews by Paul Johnson and The Contract of Mutual Indifference: Political Philosophy After the Holocaust by Norman Geras. For a glimpse of the future, consult Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left by David Horowitz and The Resurgence of Anti-Semitism: Jews, Israel, and Liberal Opinion by Bernard Harrison.

This product arrived promptly and in good shape and the price was very good. Very satisfied!

Gilbert's text is probably the best short treatise on Bowen natural systems theory. I appreciate the clarity and brevity in this book. It gets right to the point and provides enough adequate examples for explaining the theory. It is probably insufficient for individuals more versed in the theory; however, several of my students have commented on its accessibility for them as novices. This is a great resource for introduction and review of the theory from someone who studied with Murray Bowen himself. For a more scientific perspective on Bowen, see "Is Bowen Theory Valid? A Review of Basic Research" in Journal of Marital and Family Therapy (2004) by Miller, Anderson, and Kaulana Keala.

This book came in a timely fashion and looked as if it had never been opened--like new!! Very pleased.
S.V.

I love this book. It's very short but full of great information and clear examples. This was my second book I read on Bowen and I have become totally hooked on Bowen's Family Systems Theory. The author writes very well and I would recommend any book that she writes. After reading this book I searched for other books by Gilbert concerning Bowen and I'd also suggest that you read "Extraordinary Relationships"

I found this book to be one of the clearest and accurate presentation of Murray Bowen's work. Dr. Gilbert uses diagrams and images that enhance the theory and give it precision. I recommend this work for a first time reader of Family and group relationships.

After completing Michael Creighton's book, Next, I scanned his resources: much to my surprise, he listed this book by Chesterton. I cannot enhance Creighton's comments in this review, but can state that G. K. Chesterton, a man with a remarkable gift of memory and humor and insight and wisdom, did us all a service (albeit 90 years ago) by penning this book. This one is not theological (as in The Everlasting Man), poetic (The Ballad of the White Horse), or in the form of a novel or short stories (all of which he wrote during his lifetime, such as the Father Brown mysteries, The Man Who Was Thursday, etc.). This book touches on life in the 21st Century in the United States of America: from topics ranging from political correctness, to genetics and eugenics, to ecology and the environment, to evolution, and even to the topic of whether smoking should be banned.
I've often pondered whether the United States has ever produced its own Chesterton (perhaps Will Rogers; but he did not write at the same depth or level as Chesterton, though his observations were always laced with humor). Notwithstanding, we should not miss Chesterton's messages.
Would that our press corps and educators and political pundits learn from him.
This rambling review will benefit no one; the benefit will only come if those who bother to read comments as mine buy the book and savor its delights.

The heading is a joke, by the way. I will say that when compared with abortion and some of the other big science/big brother things going on in the present, early 20th century Eugenics does seem almost quaint.
As for the work itself, it is bright and clever and witty as noted by many reviewers here, but give me C.S. Lewis any day for a novel. Chesterton also bashes Calvinists a bit, and as a Calvinist I think he is a bit misguided on this point. Maybe we're not a laugh a minute but I don't think we're the sorry example of Christianity he purports us to be.
Much of the book is edited, and I really like the editor's observations. I had a few quibbles though, he says 'woe' one place where he means 'woo', stuff like that. I guess if you're the editor you still need someone to edit you. Again, a quibble, but that combined with the anachronistic quality of the subject gave it a less than polished feel.
Still, I would recommend this book as a glimpse into what inspired C.S. Lewis' space trilogy as well as for a raw view into what goes on when government decides they know what is best for you.

Nothing by G.K. Chesterton is ever disappointing, but this is/was downright prophetic. It's a must read for all who seek a better understanding of the negative utopian forces and their politically correct power at work in society today.

It helps to explain historically how one politically correct slippery slope can and has led to another, (within public accepted opinion and mores), and the real and present danger of dismissing the amoral indifference toward human life of the left and some members of the right. It argues against a religion of science and/or government, of any man being bright, wise, trustworthy, enough to determine who has reproductive "rights," for others.

Since any argument against anything is an argument pro something, or some things, this is an argument pro human dignity, the value of life, the dignity and rights of family, the rights of man to be free from the tyranny of science and government "elitists," who deem themselves to be "supermen" and everyone else to be subjects under their rule.

Eugenics is a GREAT EVIL. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parent Hood, was associated with Adolph Hitler. She wanted birth control for only people of color, the poor and the catholics. When the Holocost came up front, they pulled back. But, the philosophy hasn't changed. They are fighting to export abortion to foreign countrys. I really think that we really need to wake up. We have professors that think we should kill babys born with Down's Syndrom and Spina Bifida. This is after they are born. What more do we need to know? Pax

For a collection of essays written prior to the first World War, Chesterton may have been addressing a modern audience rather than his contemporary one; yet anyone who has read Chesterton could say that regarding any number of his books. True, this book was published after WWI, much of it was written as a response to what Eugenicists were asserting at the time. A note for the editor: have the copy proofread prior to publishing. There are many errors which ought to have been caught before printing. The idea of re-printing the Eugenic articles is a novel idea.

On a final note, much of the eugenic ideal has been absorbed into modern thinking. The hate has been better disguised, but the hateful ideas are well incorporated into the fabric of modern life.

Dans L'HUIS CLOS l'auteur nous raconte l'histoire de 3 personnages condamnés "pour l'éternité" à partager l'intimité d'un sordide chambre d'hôtel. Fusillés dans des mystérieuses circonstances, une femme de monde infanticide, une lesbienne meurtrière et un intellectuel révolutionnaire découvrent qu'ils sont en enfer par le seul pouvoir que chacun d'entre eux jette sur l'autre... (= L'ENFER C'EST LES AUTRES). Faite bien attention lorsque cette pièce en un acte est très dense. De la contingence à la liberté, cette oeuvre témoigne d'une prise de conscience, c'est-à-dire de la DIFFICULTE POUR L'HOMME D'ASSUMER SA LIBERTE lorsqu'il est confronté aux regard des autres. J'ai lu L'Huis Clos six fois: ce livre n'a PAS D'EGAL. Lisez cette oeuvre SI IMPORTANT de Sartre, spécialement pour mieux comprendre le monde d'aujourd'hui!! Je le vous conseille de tout coeur!

LES MOUCHES nous raconte le même récit comme dans ELECTRE de Sophocle, mais d'un point de vue moderne. L'histoire est bien connue: après le meurtre sur Agamemnon, Electre sait sauver la vie d'Oreste. Dans la version sartrienne le royaume d'Argos est devenue une place de pénitence permanente où les gens déplorent leurs péchés. Ceci est encouragé par les dieux, puisque comme ça le peuple vît en pleine foi et crainte des dieux... Enfin, Oreste (dans un moment de la plus HAUTE LUCIDITE), après avoir entendu les conseils de Jupiter et d'Electre - qu'il veut sauver - sent QU'IL FAUT PRENDRE UNE DECISION. Cette pièce (en 3 actes) est en fait une attaque sur l'idée de la religion. Le seul outil possible quant à la "LIBERTE" d'Oreste est ... la responsabilité. Comme ça, Jean-Paul Sartre nous montre d'une MANIERE SPLENDIDE ET REVELANTE ... L'ABSOLU DE LA LIBERTE. A lire, n'importe quand!

L'HUIS CLOS et LES MOUCHES ont beaucoup en commun. Quant au contenu: tout ce que l'on puisse se souhaiter. Le plus important que Sartre nous montre: L'IMPORTANCE ET L'UNIVERSALITE DANS LA VIE QU'EST LA LIBERTE INDIVIDUELLE. Vous trouverez encore d'autres thèmes commun. Ce bouquin est TRES IMPORTANT ET MODERNE. Personne d'autre nous a pu EXPLIQUER ces thèmes d'une façon si CLAIRE ET CORRECTE (une "signature" de Sartre...). On PARLE BEAUCOUP DE LA LIBERTE mais qu'est-ce que c'est EN FAIT? Lisez et vous saurez, j'en suis sûr. RECOMMENDE DE TOUT COEUR!!!

Une oeuvre exeptionnelle.

Résumé :

L'action se déroule dans un univers fictif : l'enfer. Venant de mourir, 3 personnages y arrivent pour y subir leur damnation éternelle.

Aspect 1 : Le style crédible :

Certes, le style de « Huis clos » ne constitue pas, en apparence, un modèle de perfection littéraire, mais toutefois, ce choix volontaire rend l'histoire considérablement plus réelle.

En effet, le sujet amenait forcément à de différents styles de langage.
Par nature fantastique, l'univers des morts vivants apparaît trop irréel, une écriture classique aurait accentué l'irréalisme.

Par ailleurs, chaque personnage a sa propre identité et provient d'un milieu social différent. Il est donc naturel que les personnages aient des niveaux de langage différent, ce qui est révélateur de leur personnalité.

Le lecteur ne s'ennuie pas, car le texte est ponctué de plusieurs gammes de tons : l'ironie ( ines : au mon dieu), humour, accents tragiques et lyriques.

Ainsi donc, l'écriture de « Huis clos » se révèle plus élaborée qu'elle ne le semble de prime abord. Elle est efficace et riche, d'une vigueur en définitive exemplaire.

Aspect 2 : les temps qui rendent l'œuvre exceptionnelle :

De toute évidence, le temps est un sujet compliqué, car l'éternité est une perception compliquée à exprimer.

Sartre a réussi une prouesse en la rendant concevable.

En effet, dès le début de l'histoire, Sartre brise habilement la chronologie, le temps de la terre est décalé face à celui de l'enfer. (Estelle : la vie passe vite sur terre).
L' accélération se fait plus rapide quand les personnages perdent contact avec la terre (...), ce qui ajoute à la perception d'un jour unique et continu.
De plus, le fait que l'éternité est omniprésente, les damnés savent tous deux, ce qui ronge leur conscience, et le lecteur comprend facilement leur torture mentale, les personnages sont à nu devant le regard des autres et donc la célèbre phrase « l'enfer c'est les autres » est facilement comprise, et cela évite de longue description mentales monotones.

Pour conclure, Sartre a merveilleusement donné l'impression d' éternité, ce qui rend l'histoire quasiment réelle.

Aspect 3 : l'univers narratif exceptionnel :

L'univers narratif fantastique de Sartre indique clairement ses valeurs religieuses.
Il se moque de l'enfer perçu par les chrétiens ( ..).

D'ailleurs, l'univers, montre le supplice qu'éprouvent les damnés.
Les allusions aux objets manquant (miroir, brosse à dent), réussissent à un dépaysement total au lecteur, pour marquer la différence d'avec un appartement normal et pour souligner le fait qu'ils sont morts.

En plus, les lecteurs imaginent clairement l'idée de renfermement, car l'univers narratif fait clairement comprendre l'idée sartrienne de l'enfer : c est un lieu qui englobe tout, un labyrinthe sans fin. Par exemple (...)

Voilà donc les raisons pour lesquelles, l'univers narratif rend l'histoire suggestive et concevable.

Mettez un lâche, une femme qui a rendu sa compagne folle, et une pyromane? Tous les trois morts dans un petit salon de l'enfer, donnez leur l'éternité (en théorie) pour faire connaissance et peu de temps après vous le saurez aussi. Comme Sartre l'a découvert; L'ENFER C'EST LES AUTRES!!!! On a peu d'éléments pour se reconnaître dans chacun d'eux (moi non peut-être que vous...?!!!) mais on peut quand même sentir leur enfer nous gagner. Ce succès suivi des Mouches est un très bon moyen pour découvrir Sartre et toute votre vie vous le saurez l'ENFER C'EST...
>>>>> Nelly

A one-act play about three people, Joseph Garcin, Inez Serrano, and Estelle Rigault, who are put into a single room in hell where they are locked up for eternity with no mirrors, but only each other for company and yet from whom they cannot escape. Highly recommend for students of all ages.

I am french, and Huis Clos is one of the most importants books i read when i was a teenager, looking for truth about adult behavior... It's really intellectual, but not artificial, and makes you think a lot about what is going on between people, and what you learned growing up.

I purchased this book after attending a Seminar given by Mr. Gilbert. He made a great many good points, but I wanted to read the book to firm them up in my mind. It is a very good work on the subject of canine conformation and terminology.

This book is right on, with very accurate descriptions of Dog structure. Every person who has Show Dogs, or is involved in the Show Ring should keep this book as a reference.

This was a very good book, no doubt. It would have helped immensely to have more photos or illustrations of features being discussed, especially fronts & rears.
Overall I didn't find it that helpful. I'm sure the seminar another reviewer mentioned would've been really helpful where things are being demonstrated. I'm not sure I'd read this again since I'd already read "THE DOG IN ACTION" by Mcdowell Lyon. I found a few word-for-word matches in this book and "AN EYE FOR A DOG" by Robert W. Cole. I hope this was unintentional by both authors.

An excellent, well-written guide for the dog fancier wishing to understand the terminology and the "why" of various dog breed structures and movement. A resource to be read and reread, consulted often.

This is a great book for people who are not very involved with dogs and are trying to understand structure ang gait in dogs. Easy to read and well explained, this book is also a good reminder to people who already know about dog's structure. Best book yet.

What makes this book a particularly devastating account of events across Germany in November 1938 is the inclusion of numerous eyewitness testimonies to the horrors of the beginnings of the Holocaust. Obviously, many of those who supply their testimony and are quoted here by Professor Gilbert were mere children or adolescents at the time. Their personal accounts of how the events of that night irrevocably changed their world are chilling to read regardless of how familiar the events may be. The extent and suddeness of the Pogrom retains it's power to shock as recalled by those who survived it. One additional aspect of Gilbert's approach is the insertion of numerous examples of individual Germans acting humanely and trying to help in a very dark time.

On November 7 1938, a 17 year old German Jew, Herschel Grynszpan, enraged by the suffering of his parents, who had been expelled from Germany together with 12 000 other Jews, walked into the German embassy in Paris and shot junior German diplomat Ernst vom Rath, who died three days later.
Vom Rath's assassination sparked what the Nazis had been planning for months, a nationwide pogrom and orgy of destruction against the Jews, across the Third Reich (Germany, Austria and Sudetenland).
On on November 8 it had been announced that Jewish children could no longer attend "Aryan" state elementary schools, something that had hitherto been allowed where there were not sufficient Jewish elementary schools. At the same time all Jewish cultural activities were suspended "indefinitely.
On the night of the 9-10 November Kristallnacht took place co-ordinated by the Nazi leadership.
That night 91 Jews were murdered, and 25,000-30,000 were arrested and deported to concentration camps.

In the early hours of November 10, coordinated destruction broke out in cities, towns and villages throughout the Third Reich.
More than 2 000 synagogues were destroyed and tens of thousands of Jewish businesses and homes ransacked.

In this disturbing and heart wrenching work, Gilbert gathers together hundreds of eye witness accounts of the Kristallnacht atrocities.
As one British newspaper reported:"Brownshirts smashed their way into Jewish houses, tore down their curtains, slashed carpets and upholstery with knives and broke up the furniture...Terrified children were turned sobbing out of their beds, which were then smashed to pieces.

Extremely disturbing is the refusal of the nations of the world to take in refugees.

Between January 1933 and March 1938 more than 35 000 German Jews were granted immigration certificates to Palestine. Following the 1936 Arab Revolt, the British restricted Jewish immigration the Holy Land to 3000 a year.
On November 30 1939 the Jewish National Council for Palestine offered to take 10 000 German Jewish children into the Holy Land to be dispersed among the 250 Jewish agricultural and urban centres there.
To appease the Arabs in Palestine and Muslims in India and other parts of the British Empire the offer to take the children was rejected.
The British authorities turned back Jewish ships full of refugees and put pressure on the governments of Yugoslavia, Romania, Turkey and Greece not to allow Jewish refugees passage through their territories to the Holy Land.
Haven't enough Jewish lives been sacrificed to appease Muslim rage?
Proposals were made to settle Jewish in British Guiana, Brazil, Madagascar, Uganda and Tanganyika but all were abandoned.
A proposal to resettle Jews in Newfoundland in Canada was rejected due to public pressure from the local population there. Ireland. US Secretary of State Cordell Hull blocked a proposal by the Legislative Council of the Virgin Islands to take in refugees from the Nazis claiming it was 'incompatible with existing law".

The book is an important testimony and contains hitherto unrevealed accounts.
It is an account of how hatred can lead to destruction on such a massive scale.
Today we are faced with Jew-hatred on a scale as great as that of the Nazis in the form of hatred of Israel.
If this is not stopped who knows where it will lead?

One of the things I really like about Martin Gilbert's works is how he brings history back down to the personal level. Instead of a deluge of numbers and benign facts and dates he uses personal, eyewitness accounts in his works. This reminds us that what we are reading is real and affected actual human beings. This forces the reader to truly face the reality of what happened and understand the true toll of these events. Of course in doing this kind of book the author must walk a fine line between giving the reader enough personal accounts to keep the reader focused on the human aspects of the historical event, and not too many so as to deluge the reader and bog the work down in to relentless tedium. In my opinion the author has done a fine job with this book in walking that line.

Kristallnacht is very detailed work that doesn't limit itself to major cities, but instead goes into detail about what happened with each Jewish community during this event. The book goes into detail about the psychological affects on the Jewish community of this event, and how this event really brought home to the German and Austrian Jews the precariousness of their situation. As the reality of this night set in there was a renewed effort to escape the Nazi regime.

What I really like about this book is how it talks about some of the heroes. Every nationality and government, down to regular citizens had some very brave individuals who followed their conscience to do a service to humanity rather than take the easy way and quietly acquiesce to their superior's demands. These, tragically, few individuals created a bright spot in a world of darkness, and this is the power of these books that focus on the micro instead of the macro.

My only real criticism is that the author focused exclusively on the Jewish perspective of Kristallnacht, and because of this narrow focus I felt the book was somewhat incomplete. I would have been very pleased had the author added a chapter detailing the German perspective. Those who participated on the ground level, those who simply stood by and those who actually stood against the racist tide. This book is peppered here and there with some superficial accounts of German actions, but these are from the Jewish perspective and quite fleeting. Kristallnacht was more than a Jewish experience. It had to have a profound effect on the ordinary German and Austrian citizen as well. Up to that point they may have been able to assuage their moral qualms about the Nazi regime with the fact that it hadn't really shown its true colors. They probably attributed prior abuses to the newness of the government and assumed it would be tempered with time, but after this event they had to have some realization of just how bad things were going to get. I would have loved to have had some personal accounts from German perspective, but this was lacking and as such I found the work lacking as well.

All in all I still found the work to be very readable and very informative. The author has a great talent for writing and a wealth of knowledge and information. I think anyone would get a lot out of this book which is why I still give it four stars even with my disappointment with the possible omission of the German and Austrian perspective. I certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in this event or time period.

Writing history as a snapshot of time is a risky venture. While a close examination of an event provides a sense of precision, broader implications are too often omitted. This is the case with Martin Gilbert's "Kristallnacht". It's an example of fine journalism underpinned by good research and scholarly presentation. Hardly an entertaining evening's read, this book chronicles how guided prejudice led to an orgy of violence and destruction against Germany's Jews. Stores were smashed and looted, synagogues burned and demolished, homes invaded and people terrorised during a two-day expression of hatred. The wreckage littering the streets, particularly the shop windows, gave the episode its name - and this book's title. It is a glimpse into the past we all must see and endure.

Gilbert gathered the remembrances of people or their offspring who survived the onslaught. There are letters, journals and interviews with the author, bringing a disturbing intimacy to this account. That there were survivors to make these records seems surprising after a half-century of condemnation by the victorious Powers. Yet, Kristallnacht itself wasn't an orgy of killing. Less than a hundred died of beatings or unknown causes, although there were many suicides. Jews were seized and incarcerated, even in the notorious concentration camps, but most were later released. Pre-war Germany was more interested in ridding itself of its Jews by exile and emigration was encouraged. "Time to leave" became a byword among Germany's Jews after Kristallnacht, which was part of its purpose, according to Gilbert. Emigration, however, was more than packing up and leaving. There had to be places to go, and not all nations opened their borders to Jews fleeing manifest hatred.

Although the historian notes how the destruction was orchestrated by Nazi officials and that Brownshirts and the Hitler Youth were present, the attackers were either joined or cheered on by a large, although not universal, proportion of the general population. The opportunity to obtain goods, stores, homes and money was seized by many Germans. Firms were closed, to open "under new management" by the stroke of a pen. Homes gained new owners as Jews emigrated, were shoved into ghettos or concentration camps or, later, killed. There were few enough to defend them and Gilbert avoids explaining whether lawyers helped or hindered the processes. Given the absolute powers the Nazi regime granted itself, the only good lawyer was one who acceded to the process. Another void in this book is the lack of accounts from smaller towns. Gilbert provides a series of maps showing how many towns experienced Kristallnacht's violence. Yet, the text focusses on Vienna, Frankfurt-am-Main, Hamburg and other large cities. How big did a town have to be to host a synagogue? How many small-town neighbours assisted in its destruction? We aren't given this information.

If history has "watersheds", Kristallnacht serves as a type specimen. Only the French massacre of St Bartholomew's Night stands as a peer. In the same way that a cabal of French Catholics plotted to rid their country of its Protestant minority, so too, did Nazi thugs await a trigger to launch their onslaught. It came with the murder of a German diplomat in Paris, but the event hardly matches the scope of the response. Clearly, "everyday" Germans participated in the destruction, but Gilbert ties the causes solely to Nazi policy. That hardly seems sustainable, but worse, it denies the possibility of a reprise in different nations under different leaders. If this book could teach us anything, it's that being on guard against those promoting hate is an endless task. Read this book for what happened, but go elsewhere to learn why it did. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Ontario]

Prior to Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939, two events occurred that unequivocally disclosed to the world the evil mindset of the Nazi regime.

The first of these events was the "Knight of the Long Knives", 30 June 1934, in which the Nazis murdered scores of actual or potential threats to their regime and shortly thereafter Hitler and other Nazis brazenly admitted that they had killed over 75 people outright, without a trial or any other semblance of due process, as enemies of the state.

The second such event was "Kristallnacht" (aka the "Night of Broken Glass"), 10 November 1938, when Nazi thugs began a nationwide rampage against Jews, orchestrated in response to a Jewish man's assassination in France of a low-level German diplomat as retaliation for the deportation of his family (along with 12,000 other Polish-born Jews) from Germany to Poland (which then hesitated to accept them). The result of this rampage was the destruction of over a thousand Jewish synagogues; A far greater number of Jewish businesses and homes had windows and property senselessly smashed and broken. In addition, thousands of Jewish men were corraled and herded off to concentration camps, most never to return to their homes or see their loved ones again. Almost a hundred Jews were killed and many more committed suicide during Kristallnacht.

Martin Gilbert's fine book "Kristallnacht: Prelude to Destruction" describes the events surrounding this signal event, including what led to the shooting of the German diplomat, what transpired during the Night of Broken Glass, and the aftermath of that officially sanctioned lawlessness.

In telling the story of what happened during the Night of Broken Glass, the author (himself a refugee from Germany as a result of that event) utilizes numerous recently obtained eyewitness accounts of how people were mistreated and property vandalized in this event. Interspersed within these stories are also acts of courage by people who helped to prevent additional harm and damage despite the very real threat that in so doing they would subject themselves to beatings by the Gestapo or being sent to prison or a concentration camp.

Most treatments of Kristallnacht in general history books superficially treat the event by highlighting the destruction of Jewish businesses and showing a stock photo or two of some broken windows and glass on the street. This book demonstrates that this event was about much more than hooligans smashing store windows: It was about the desecration of houses of worship (many of which had stood unharmed for hundreds of years) and the personal invasion of people's homes to humiliate them and wantonly destroy (and in some cases steal) their property.

The author similarly uses eyewitness accounts to help tell the story of the aftermath of Kristallnacht when the Jews in Germany and Austria (by then already annexed to Germany under the "Anschluss" of March 1938) desperately tried to emigrate and escape further degradation and suffering. In the meantime, however, the Nazis continued to pass oppressive laws against the Jews, taking away more and more personal and property rights one by one.

It would seem that worldwide publicity about Kristallnacht would engender worldwide sympathy for the plight of the Jews in Germany. But such was not the case. Only Britain and the U.S. took in any significant number of Jewish refugees (and even these countries imposed limits) while many other nations (e.g., Mexico and Ireland) shamefully refused to take in any at all under any circumstances. (The total number of Jews living in Germany and Austria at the time of Kristallnacht was but several hundred thousand.)

Nonetheless, there were a few brave souls working for countries outside of Germany and Austria who tried to do what they could to help the Jews emigrate (even though reprimanded or punished by their superiors) and several of their stories are told here, as well as accounts of those politicians in the U.S. and Britain who opposed aid to the Jewish people.

The author wisely includes several maps that pinpoint each city in Germany were synagogues were destroyed. These maps show more than any single description could how widespread the destruction was and that it occurred throughout every corner of Germany, from one end to the other.

A minor drawback to the book is that it should have included a more complete explanation of the Nazi planning and implementation of Kristallnacht as well as the Nazis' decisions affecting the Jews immediately thereafter as this would have made the book more cohesive. Still, this book is an excellent portrayal of Kristallnacht and is essential reading for students of history in general, as well as students of the histories of Europe, Germany, or the Holocaust.

Imagine a 1984 London where society has frozen at turn-of-the-century levels, a King is randomly selected from the populace, and nobody really takes politics seriously.

Of course, it only takes one wise, weird little man to turn all of that on its head. G.K. Chesterton's magnificently absurd comic novel explores a common theme in his books -- a person who entertains himself with an absurdly serious world -- in an increasingly heated situation where the little boroughs of London have become warring kingdoms. Not much in the way of sci-fi, but a delicious little social satire.

Friends of the eccentric Auberon Quin are understandably shocked when he is selected as the new King of England... especially since his main focus is definitely not power ("Oh! I will toil for you, my faithful people! You shall have a banquet of humour!"). After bumping into a young boy with a toy sword, Quin decides to revive the old city-states of medieval times, with city walls, banners, halberdiers, coat of arms, and ruling provosts -- all as a joke.

But ten years later, a young man named Adam Wayne -- who happens to be the little boy who inspired Quin -- refuses to let a road go through Notting Hill. Quin is first delighted and then perplexed by Wayne, a man who treats the King's joke with deadly seriousness. Now a full-out medieval battle is brewing between the boroughs of London, and Auberon Quin finds that his joke may have some very serious consequences...

G.K. Chesterton was no H.G. Wells when it came from trying to imagine the future --- the 1984 London he imagined was pretty much the same, technologically and socially, as the London of 1904. It's the message that important in this tale, as personified first by a deposed president and then by Wayne -- pride and patriotism in one's country and culture, especially a small one, is something to be prized.

And Chesterton handles this concept with a sense of humor worthy of Quin, outright mocking the respectable and boring ("The provost of West Kensington is mad because he thinks he is respectable, as mad as a man who thinks he is a chicken!"). The humor starts off fairly ordinary (Quin standing on his head as he's declared king) and moves into more sophisticated realms with the elaborate medieval games. It would be scary to contemplate, if it weren't so hilarious.

The greatest satire is in this future society itself, and it's occasionally scary to contemplate. With his knowledge of human nature, Chesterton predicts ennui, complacency, disdain of religion, cultural indifference, and a public oblivious to the mad wackiness of their leaders because they just don't care. It hits a little too close to home.

His writing is full of color and striking description ("... a blue and gold glittering thing, running very fast, which looked at first like a very tall beetle"). And while the battle of Notting Hill doesn't really pull you in, the powerful speeches that are given during important scenes -- such as when Quin talks to Wayne about the damage his joke has caused -- are among Chesterton's best dialogue.

Auberon Quin is a pretty fun character, acutely aware of life's absurdity and determined to have as much fun from it as possible -- but he becomes a bit more serious at the prospect of people being killed. Wayne is the complete opposite -- young, passionate, intense, and vehemently patriotic. He's set apart from all those stuffy codgers because his love is not for respectability and normalcy, but for his home of Notting Hill.

Chesterton may have gotten the future of England all wrong, but "The Napoleon of Notting Hill" is still a wildly amusing little satire, with two very different heroes and a very unrecognizable London. A deserving classic.

This, to me, is a good example of a book that is primarily premise. The idea of London being broken up into little city states is amusing, but Chesterton doesn't do enough with the comic possibilities. It was difficult for me to enjoy this book, while constantly being reminded of "Passport to Pimlico," a much more whimsical take on the notion.

This short book, The Napoleon of Notting Hill, written 100 years ago, is a futuristic fantasy, a political satire, a prophetic tale, and a comic novel, all intertwined. Published in 1904, The Napoleon of Notting Hill was G. K. Chesterton's first novel. It has been called the best first novel by any author in the twentieth century.

It has been some years since my first reading of The Napoleon of Notting Hill. Once again I find it to be enjoyable, humorous, highly entertaining, and decidedly thought provoking.

The setting is London in the year 1984, 80 years in the future. Chesterton had tired of endless predictions of futuristic technologies. His future London is identical to Edwardian London - all technological advance halted in 1904. One change is notable: the people have lost faith in political revolutions. Only slow, gradual change, akin to Darwinian evolution, was fashionable. No one was interested in voting, and consequently, democracy had withered away. A ruling monarch, a king, was selected in some capricious, random manner from the governmental class