Nicholson Books

A definite "recommendation" for ALL mothers and perhaps fathers too who have a heartfelt desire to just have an Unbreakable Bond with their daughters!!!! I wish I had known about this book years ago. What a wonderful way to share your life experiences with a loved one - who would have ever thought a Diary could be used to share such depth!

The Shining is a great book, if you have enough time to read it. I have only gotten about half-way through it, and had to stop to finish up another book. I do believe that anyone can read this book, and it is a privilage to do so. When I am caught up with my reading, I will finish this interesting book. :D

Very good read ... Great story of supernatural terror and suspense. Enjoyable characters, too! This is classic King! Highly recommended.

Great Stephen King novel. It is different from the (excellent) Kubrick film-- more character development, alcoholism, and abuse. My only complaint is it is a little bit long.

I'm glad I read it. From page one, I was hooked on this novel. It's just the kind of book that you cannot put down. I liked Danny and Wendy and I wanted them to be ok. Having seen the film so many times, I know what happens but the book was excellent. It scared me. The thought alone of being stranded in a large hotel for months in the dead of winter scares me. And poor Wendy and Danny, they are supposed to be able to trust Jack to take care of them.

The way King describes the hotel, it's corridors and sordid past, the hotel becomes a living thing, a main character in the story. Then Jacks anger issues and Danny's premonitions, the way Wendy slowly comes to realize her husband has gone insane...all of that makes for an amazing and terrifying story. This book is on my top five favs read this year, and one of my favorite books now.

I just happen to finish this book today, which I just found out is Mr. King's birthday (Sept. 21st). After reading King's The Tommyknockers and Lisey's Story, which were exasperatingly wordy, I found The Shining a real treat to read. The novel has a richness that Kubrick's film lacked completely. King has a superb talent for creating characters that seem unbelievably real. You really get to know the characters inside and out - especially Jack. He's a good, highly intelligent educated father that loves his family and tries really hard to do good for them (like giving up alcohol) but he just has a real bad temper (he bites his tongue and restrains his fists throughout most of the story). Unable to find work, his friend hires him to take care of The Overlook Hotel during the winter season. From the very beginning, Jack and his family have to contend with the dark supernatural forces that live within the hotel. Not only does Jack have to battle against his constant craving for a drink, the hotel's evil forces play on his temperament and drudges up his past; namely, his relationship with his abusive father when Jack was a young boy himself. He starts to feel that his struggles to provide for his family go unappreciated, and he ultimately ends up personifying his father and the Overlook itself, sending him off into a murderous rage.

Blessed (or cursed) with the shining, Jack's son, Danny, seems to suffer the most. Not only does he have to endure terrifying encounters with ghouls and ghosts, his sixth sense does not spare him the terror of what's to come.

And poor Wendy.......

There are many scenes in the novel that the movie did not have, and many scenes in the movie that the novel did not have. The climax and ending were completely different. So just because you saw the movie, doesn't mean you won't enjoy this riveting story all over again in book form. If you get your hands on this book, just make sure you have plenty of free time planned ahead because once you pick it up you're not going to want to put it down.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mr. King! :) You truly are a genius in every sense of the word.

This was one of the earlier first hand accounts of soldiers life on the Eastern Front that I have read. It is also one of my favorites to this day.The Author spent time in various units in the German Army. Then how he went to the SS because he got leave to do it. It was a soldiers story. That I could relate to, being a soldier myself. I also found it interesting that his Father was French. the bond he shared with his fellow soldiers. How they all shared the piece of cake they had. Even though they hadn't eaten for days. I was impressed and everything made sense in a way I could relate to. I have read this book a couple of times and I find it, just as interesting every time.

The wind sucks the breath out of my mouth, even though covered. Ice crystals form on the outer layer of my sock-mask. If I did not knock the crystal off I fear that I would no longer be able to fear. As I wander endless white do I dream or hallucinate of summer at the lake. I have never been so cold and oh so alone..............
Though I read this book 20 odd years ago I still shiver when I encounter this book on some lost shelf in some back alley bookstore. Sajer glares at me from the cover with his scruffly sunken cheeks. The fear in his eyes tell me he is at an end and I should leave him as fast as I can. Alas I cannot. We had fought together and now we must survive. I am haunted.
This book is touted as a work of fiction, which clearly bases it plot in the reality of the Eastern Front in WW II. Yet the writing style could almost best be described as an autobiogrphical account of one man's suffering. Few authors have the knack of drawing in their readers so intensly, i.e. Remarque,Manchester,Shiver,Rand even Silverman. If the story is true then I feel more sympathetic for Sajer. Be it fiction then I have been duped, but quite happily had I gone along toward my embarrassment.
I had heard that this book had been produced as a movie, but as of yet have been unable to confirm that claim. The conseus being that a movie would not prove worthy of the book (unlike say "The Sand Pebbles")
any student of WW II, owes it to him/herself to read this story and to seek out similar such books. For they reflect war on a deeply personal level of suffering other than the ultimate suffering of non-existence. We read the history, the oral historys, the "big picture" analysis books and we say oh, wasn't that terrible. Seldom do we think that those are people suffering and dying in those sentences. With "The Forgotten Soldier" we can see and if you concentrate, hear and feel what a true, tired warrior felt. You can walk away from this book and if you are lucky you may be able to forget this book. But the book is a ghost, eventually you won't be able to escape - and then Winter sets in.

What an amazing book. The author's luck in surviving nearly 3 years of combat as a conscripted 17 year old is eye opening. He describes in detail how his training and first missions went as a supply soldier attempting to rescue Stalingrad. The difficulties in logistics in providing food, shelter, and sanitation in the vast open Russian steppe is clearly made.

The author also describes how he and others in his unit were recruited as "volunteers" for the Gross Deutschland Division as infantry soldiers and the training they received as replacements. The difficulties of survival, the mental and emotional toll that war has on people is also described.

Also noteworthy is the personal impact war has on families where he meets the parents of his best friend, who was killed by a fighter plane strafing run. The impact of years of Allied bombing on the German civilians, their ability to provide food to themselves and their army, is also described from the ground level perspective.

This book is a first person account and avoids "armchair analysis" of senior leader decisions. The author describes how those on the ground, in the mud, endured the extreme cold to fight against the Soviets reclaiming their country in executing senior leader decisions.

For "armchair analysis", after reading this book, one wonders how the US Army would have fared fighting in Russia if Patton was allowed to battle the Communists in 1946? Would the American supply system been able to function in the road-less and open steppe?

A humbling book, we are so very fortunate to live in peace, not having to endure the suffering of total war.

This is a good read. Most people don't know this, but this book is required reading at the US War college at West Point.

Yes, he may get some of his facts mixed up a little, but hey.... it's WAR! Many people have trouble remembering the small stuff through the haze of war.

I've quite a few excellent WWII histories but this one is one of the most visceral and savage accounts I've ever seen. Your feelings about the universality of the foot soldier will never be the same.

I am a therapist and was seeking books to offer to clients dealing with marital issues and bought this work to review myself. I found it easy to read with sound research based advice. I will recommend this book to future clients.

What a great marriage refresher. I enjoy going to dinner with my husband and taking the quizzes. Gottman's seven principles are a true wake-up call to stop taking your marriage for granted. This is a great book for couples who are dating and considering marriage.

Kimberley Clayton Blaine, MA, MFT
Founder,[...]
Author, Mommy Confidence

It's an excellent book that helps relationships to leanr more about each other, manage their differences and accept each other, have fun together and have the tools to manage challenges when married! It's great even better before marriage!

"Seven Principles" really helped me and my husband Joe get through a very rough time in our marraige last year. Joe and I had gone through our ups and downs before, but we hit a really rough spot. We went to our friends, and they all told us different things. None of them gave the same ideas (principles, haha) as this book did. I had heard of Nan Silver before, having read her book "Rules for Parents." It was definitely THE best parenting book I have ever read. Anyway, back to the point, Joe and I weren't able to quite grasp our friends' advice to help us get through our rough patch, but Nan Silver's excellent writing skills really helped us through this more than any of what this book actually said.
P.S. No, seriously, buy this book i wanna go to college.

This is an excellent book full of interesting information and useful exercises. If you or your counseling clients want to make marriage work, this could really help. I bought the Kindle version, though, and now I have no access to the exercises.

I borrowed the book from the library and made some copies of the exercises. There are so many good ones, this turned out to be a lot of time and money spent that I wouldn't have if only I had bought the book in the first place.

So, my message here is buy this BOOK! Work the exercises with your partner. Pass it along to someone else, too. Buy something else to read on Kindle.

Book as I expected, although I remember the story being a little longer. But, new condition.

This is a very wonderful version of the classic story by Margery Williams. The illustrations by David Jorgensen make the book especially inviting and personal. It is the only version we would ever buy for gifts.
Thank you,
Nancy Martin

I read this book years ago at the home of a child for whom I was babysitting. Recently I remembered it and read it to my 9 year old granddaughter and my 7 year old grandson, and we all enjoyed it very much. Its message spans the generations.

This is my favorite childhood book EVER! I have it stashed in my bookcase and when ever I feel nastalgic or sentimental I open up its worn pages and let the happiness seep through me. The truth and pureness in this children's novel will bring tears to your eyes. Read this book to your children and you will get constant: "Oh, what happens next?" and/or "Don't stop reading NOW, I have to know the next part!" I love this book, it will warm your heart and the illustrations are sweet, too. Thank you mom for reading this book to me, it was a real experience. :)

"The Velveteen Rabbit" is a parable, a story about that refining fire: redemptive love. The Velveteen Rabbit gave himself in love to the little boy. In return, the little boy loved the rabbit completely. This love caused the rabbit to begin to look around and question what was real. In questioning what was real, the rabbit ultimately believes himself real and wishes himself real. Once real, he achieves a new life and he revisits the little boy in his new form. Despite this new form, a quiet act of recognition passes between the little boy and the rabbit. By the conclusion of the story, the reader is led to believe that the rabbit will continue to watch over the little boy protectively and love him as the little boy continues to grow.

First published in 1922, this was Margery Williams (Bianco)'s first children's book. Spanning a career of nearly 40 years, "The Velveteen Rabbit" was the most successful of her approximately 25 works. The dedication, "To Francesco Bianco from The Velveteen Rabbit" is addressed to Margery's husband. Margery collaborated with artist and illustrator, William Nicholson (Sir William Nicholson (1872-1949)), who was better known as a portrait painter in his later career, but was also known for the woodcuts and poster work he produced in partnership with his brother-in-law, James Pryde.

The illustrations were executed in pen and ink with watercolor wash and, for the most part, appear as full page illustrations, or in some cases, a two page spread. The illustrations of the rabbit, standing very tall and inert, with his paws stuck out straight in front of him, are very touching evoking feelings of sympathy for the rabbit just on sight. The use of strong light and contrasting shadow is also very convincing in conveying a feeling of melancholy and, in some spots, unreality. My favorite part of the book is when the rabbit sheds a real tear and at the instant the tear touches the ground, a mysterious flower begins to grow. That, too, is conveyed so well by way of illustration. This is a very lovely story well illustrated.

This struck me as a chilly little fable about a young brother and sister in a totalitarian city who must escape on a quest across the outside wilderness to find a magical talisman that will restore their people's individuality or tolerance or something.

The best part involved the city scenes, especially the "heads of family" having to sit for a huge comprehensive knowledge type exam that would determine their family's ranking in society and hence their social standing and housing options: it vividly brought back all the awful test anxiety that I remember from having taken the PSAT, the SAT, the ACT, and the GRE.

Other parts like the lovable mud people or the family's group hugs got awfully sappy. Elegantly written, but too underwritten somehow: the characters and situations seemed barely fleshed in like basic archetypes.

This book will always be cherished to me as somthing that I read when I was in 7th grade. But it is far from being just a children's book. Adults will be pleased just as much as kids and will be wanting more. The second book seems more of a higher grade level than this one and, to me anyway, I find the second one, Slaves of the Mastery, much better. But The Wind Singer is still among some of my favorite trilogies! A great fantasy for all ages!

Next to Nix's Abhorsen trilogy, The Wind on Fire is the best YA set of three I've read in years. The characters come to life in the context of their surroundings and just sparkle. Mumpo and Ira both bloom so well over the span of the novel. It's hard to put into words how much I enjoyed this book and the two that follow it.

I read this book quite a while ago and although it is undoubtedly entertaining it has a tendancy to be a bit cliche with the usual story of the world being in danger and the only one who can save it is a child. Snore snore. Also the ending had a feeling that it was being rushed as though the author was bored of the book and just trying to get it finished quickly.

Wow this book is a really great book. If you like a lot of adventure then this book is for you. Well this book is about the Hath family. The hath family lives in a city called Aramath. Aramath is a very complex city. There are levels to which the familys are rated and their homes are placed. The Hath family lives in the orange district which is the third level from from the end. Its not a very good district. Anyway, Kestrel and her twin brother Bowman share the power to communicate with each other using their minds. Their father Hanno Hath is a librarian and he knows everything about the history of aramath and the myths. Ira Hath is a stay at home mom taking care of the baby child Pinto. Now in the middle of Aramath there is a giant statue of the wind singer. The old story of the wind singer goes: "About a hundred years ago, or so, the wind singer used to sing a wonderful song that made everyone forget all of their problems and always be happy. Until the city of Aramath heard that the awfull army of the Zars was coming to attack the city in order to steal the wind singers voice. When the city heard of this great fate the surenderd the voice to the zars and everything cahnged after that." Now the city runs of levels and examination. But that wasnt't the case for Kestrel. She figured that if she could get out of the city then she could find the wind singer's voice and return happiness and peace the the city of Aramath. So she decided to leave the city acomponied by her brother and a tagolong classmate named Mumpo. Once they were on the otherside of the city gates the journy began.

As Kestrel, Bowman and Mumpo crossed the great valley they came across some great dificulties. Especially the Old Children. As they got closer and closer to the location of the voice they met a couple friends along the way. Wolves and eagles. Since Bowman could communicate with animals they found out that they were trying to help the three friends. Once they got inside the mountain were the voice was they met the army of zars. Now the army of Zars are young children that used to be Old Children. The Zars will now stop for anything until they get what they want. As the three children were running on their way back to the city of Aramath they had to do everything in their power to make sure the Zars were eather stopped or at least stalled until they got close to the city. well this is where i leave you. I cant tell you the end of course. But i will tell you that while Kestrel, Bowman and Mumpo were on there adventure there were a lot of things that happened at home. Well read the book already. Its really good. Trust me.

This book is the product of many documents written by Albert Speer during his incarceration in Spandau Prison which he served from July 18, 1947 through September 30, 1966.
I read this book in 1973, and was taken back by the way Mr. Speer described his vaunted rise as a young man in the Nazi movement. His eloquence as a writer describing his actions and responsibilities in promoting the Third Reich through his architecture and his planning of the Nuremberg Nazi Party rally in 1933 actually read as a fiction novel.
As time rolled on, Speer describes his relationship with Hitler. In fact Hitler considered Speer a kindred spirit for whom Hitler always maintained the warmest human feelings.
The ambitious Speer was thus named the First Architect of the Third Reich. Speer's duties included Hitler's revision of Berlin with Speer drawing up the plans for the new Capital of the Thousand Year Third Reich.
Once the War started Speer used his assets in helping the Wehrmacht. Later, he was appointed the Minister of Armaments. It was in this capacity that Speer was most useful to Hitler. His use of foreign labor and his gift for planning sustained the Nazi effort for more so than can be reasonably estimated in a lost war effort.
Speer admitted his guilt and involvement in the Nazi Party during the Nuremberg Trials. His 20 year sentence was carried out to the last minute at Spandau Prison in Berlin. He describes in his book how he survived the tedium of everyday prison life by reading, writing and walking. His stay at Spandau was described in great detail. Speer told of how each of the Four occupying powers ran the prison during their respective shifts.
Speer's book is an insightful study of Nazi Power as seen by a penitent Nazi leader.
I respect his honesty and his insight of the Nazi government as seen by one of them. In retrospect this version of what Speer had experienced is the complete oxymoron of the Diaries of Victor Klemperer.
It wasn't until now that I can compare and contrast two German individuals on opposite sides of the German spectrum and see the utter madness of it all.
Maybe this is why I write these reviews. I've found a new thesis of this terrifying World event. I know of no one else who has expostulated this theory.
This is a must read if you really want to know about the ultimate World tragedy. In fact make sure to also read Victor Klemperer's complete diaries. After that, you'll see the light!!

Albert Speer had a front seat to the machinations of the Third Reich. He was an architect by training, seemingly intelligent and rational - which puts him at odds with the evil eccentrics like Himmler, von Ribbentrop, Goering, etc., While Speer delves into his early life, the book primarily deals with the years between 1933 and 1945 when the Third Reich rose to power. Speer was at first an architect and designer but quickly rose in the ranks due to his organizational skills. Ultimately he became Minister of Arms and Munitions. Supposedly, despite intense Allied bombing of their factories, Speers efforts increased arms production, prolonging the war. Speer wrote this book while in prison for 20 years after the Nuremberg Trials.

Contrary to my preconcieved ideas this memoir offered little insight into a world war II stricken germany. Speer instead focuses mostly on his work as an architect and later his duties as Armaments minister. However, Speer does elaborate throughout the book on his ever changing relationship with the fuhrer. As a first hand account this book offers incredible insights into many of the top nazi officials and i also found his architectural projects intriguing. His portrait of Hitler is worth the read in itself as he turns the image of omnipotent dictator on its head. In the end your likely to find Speer's tragedy a sympathetic and fascinating one.

The purpose of all memoirs is to lie. Or, more gently put: the purpose is to portray the past in a light favorable to the author. Even accepting that basic truth, memoirs can be very useful. ItTR is history as portrayed by Albert Speer, who was much more than just "Hitler's Architect." The book is an effort by Speer to portray himself as, alternately, a hapless victim of circumstance or a noble dissident, trying to undermine the Hitler regime from within. I imagine there may be some measure of truth to both of these claims but, as I said, the purpose of a memoir is to lie. Especially unimpressive is his great moral conviction to stand up at Nuremberg and take responsibility for everything. It's easy to do the right thing when you have no other real choice...

That aside, ItTR is still worth reading. The most interesting aspect of the book is its insights into Hitler's personality. For much of the pre-war regime, up until maybe 1942 or so, Speer was probably once of the few people who might arguably be called Hitler's "friend." At times, one is almost tempted to feel sorry for Hitler, given his obvious personality disorder(s).

It's also interesting for what Speer leaves out. There is surprisingly little mention of the Holocaust. The fact that this topic is so consistently avoided undermines the notion that Speer was the moral icon he tries to pretend to be. There is absolutely no way he, in his position, could not have known about the camps and what was happening. After all, he was partially responsible for importing slave-labor to German factories during the war. This omission is very telling, IMO.

In all, ItTR is a valuable book, assuming you can read it with the several grains of salt necessary. Speer the historian is acceptable; Speer the "Good Nazi" is absurd.

Recommended.

Reich Marshall Albert Speer was in charge of Germany's armament production, and this is the main subject of my review (based on the original 1970 English-language edition).

A major advance in military production had been achieved by the Germans long before WWII: "The real creator of the concept of industrial self-responsibility was Walther Rathenau, the great Jewish organizer of the German economy during the First World War." (p. 249)

Allied WWII strategic bombing failed to knock out crucial German military manufacture, notably ball-bearing production, because the Allies couldn't know if and when the dispersal of this manufacture had been achieved (p. 341). Moreover, aerial photos were often misinterpreted (by both sides), leading to an exaggerated sense of success regarding the destruction of industrial targets. For example, "ruined" factories turned out to have surviving sections which enabled the revival of full production in as little time as two weeks (p. 341). Bombed railroad tracks could often be repaired in a matter of hours (p. 337). (This clarifies complaints about the Allies not bombing the tracks to Auschwitz, and of the Polish Underground not dynamiting other tracks; apart from the fact that the Polish Underground wasn't significantly organized until the latter half of 1943, by which time the Germans had already murdered most of Poland's 3.3 million Jews).

Owing to these and other difficulties, the outcome of Allied precision bombing was not surprising: "But the enemy had always demonstrated a lack of consistency; he switched from target to target or attacked in the wrong places." (p. 412)

Now consider Allied area bombing. It has fallaciously been attacked as ineffective. In actuality, the disruption of urban-industrial function caused by area bombing caused more lost productivity than the actual destruction itself. Following the Hamburg firestorm, Speer reported to Hitler that armaments production was collapsing, and that six more such raids would bring German war production to a total halt (p. 338). So area bombing didn't bring Germany to her knees not because area bombing didn't work, but because it wasn't pursued with sufficient focus: "Fortunately for us, a series of Hamburg-type raids was not repeated on such a scale against other cities." (p. 339)

Allied bombing succeeding in forcing the Germans to divert crucial frontline resources: "Had it not been for this new front, the air front over Germany, our defensive strength against tanks would have been about doubled, as far as equipment was concerned. Moreover, the antiaircraft force tied down hundreds of thousands of young soldiers. A third of the optical industry was busy producing gunsights for flak batteries. About half of the electronics industry was engaged in producing radar and communications networks for defense against bombing. Simply because of this, in spite of the high level of the German electronics and optical industries, the supply of our frontline troops with modern equipment remained far behind that of the Western armies." (p. 332)

Finally, Allied bombing practically insured that Germany would not develop an atom bomb. Speer commented: "For it was not only superior productive capability that allowed the United States to undertake this gigantic project. The increasing air raids had long since created an armaments emergency in Germany which ruled out any such ambitious enterprise." (p. 273)

The book arrived quickly and in excellent condition -- no damage in shipping. I Am delighted to add this to my personal reference library,and to recommend it as good resource material for the classes I teach.

A History of the Jews is an excellent book to read and study. As a Christian it helps me to understand reading and studying the bible more clearly. I have always enjoyed history and I personally recommend this book.

Paul Johnson's `History of the Jews' is a well written, entertaining, and informative 4000-year history of the Jewish people. Coming in at just under 600 pages, it is exhaustive, and thus an exhausting read. Johnson makes no secret of his deep admiration for the Jews-he is a Christian who feels religiously in debt to them-and thus the entire book is written from a highly philo-Semitic perspective. The book is arranged chronologically into the following seven sections:

Part One: Israelites
Part Two: Judaism
Part Three: Cathedocracy
Part Four: Ghetto
Part Five: Emancipation
Part Six: Holocaust
Part Seven: Zion

In the Prologue, Johnson writes; "At a very early stage in their collective existence they believed they had detected a divine scheme for the human race, of which their own society was to be a pilot. They worked out their role in immense detail. They clung to it with heroic persistence in the face of savage suffering. Many of them believe it still. Others transmuted it into Promethean endeavors to raise our condition by purely human means."

Now this seems to be an accurate appraisal of the essence of Judaism, and a worldview with which Johnson agrees. He clearly believes that the Jews are God's gift to mankind and they, the enlightened ones, are here to lead the gentiles along the path to righteousness. He believes the Jews hold a "special genius" that the rest of us apparently don't. He cites their numerous contributions throughout the ages, starting with the concept of ethical monotheism, and continuing on with an "endless continuum of patient study, fruitful industry" and an untiring commitment to bettering the human condition. Of course there is some truth to the Jew's consistent intellectual proficiency, but it should be obvious that this grandiose, self-appointed scheme is inherently antagonistic and thus anti-Semitism is an inevitable result.

Although Johnson tends to downplay it at times, the book documents how Jewish actions and attitudes have played a major part in anti-Semitism since ancient times. He describes how even the ancient Greeks and Egyptians had their share of anti-Semitism due to the aloofness and subversion of this peculiar people. Of course there are and always has been irrational extremists who take anti-Semitism to a different level, but as they say, there is (at least) a grain of truth in all stereotypes, and anti-Semitism is no different. I found Johnson's handling of the anti-Semitism topic to be somewhat puzzling though. On several occasions, he comes out and describes exactly how Jewish actions led to anti-Semitism, and then turns around and writes the anti-Semites off as irrational bigots. That being said, he does document some of the more irrational incarnations of anti-Semitism, most notably the superstitious variety of Christian medieval Europe. It seems to me that throughout the ages, anti-Semitism has been a turbulent mishmash of the rational and irrational, part natural reaction to Jewish behaviors, and part memetic superstition that is passed on from one generation to the next.

As he goes through the different time periods, Johnson creates mini biographies of some of the most prominent Jews throughout history. Abraham, Moses, Maimonides, Spinoza, Disraeli, Marx, and Rothschild-among others-are all covered. I found his take on Marx to be especially interesting. Johnson claims that Marx's anti-Semitism was the foundation of communism. Indeed, Marx was virulently anti-Semitic-a self-hating Jew if you will-and Johnson argues that it was Marx's association of Jews with bourgeois capitalism that led him to his desire to crush capitalistic society. Then in his typical paradoxical style, he admits that Marx was a typical Jew in the sense that he was rabbinical, messianic, and apocalyptic. Indeed, he admits that there is something inherent in the Jewish character that lends itself toward radical movements such as communism.

The remaining sections were generally very good, although he does engage in a fair amount of speculation, and at times comes across as very anti-Gentile. Especially when it comes to the Germans and the Holocaust, where his analysis seems to be along the line of Goldhagen, i.e. "The German people knew about and acquiesced in the genocide." Though when it comes to his people, the Brits, Johnson can't seem to refrain from telling the reader what a good friend to the Jews they have always been. I actually found this more amusing than anything, but I digress.

My criticisms aside, I did find this to be a very scholarly and enjoyable work. Although I took off a star for Johnson's tendentiousness, I can't deny that he is a great scholar and talented writer. This is a thorough and engrossing history of the Jewish people from ancient times until the present, and I would whole-heartedly recommend it to Jew or Gentile alike.

This is a superbly written resource. No doubt about that. But that is really all it is. I'm not sure why Johnson bothered to write it. There is nothing new here. No insights that offer a clearer perspective on Jewish history. Its approach derives entirely from the mindset of the intellectual High Church establishment, so Paul Johnson is careful not to judge, not to offend, but also not to stick his neck out. As to the meaning behind the amazing Judaic phenomena - who knows what that is? This great historian apparently isn't concerned. But then again he is a professed "Christian" so maybe he feels the answers are self-evident.

I managed to read less than a half and all the way I had very strong sensation the author is not really familiar with the subject, he is making mistakes very characteristic for non-professional, amateur attitude. As if he doesn't really care about adhering to the reliable sources because he's got some really interesting and important tale to tell.

If you are looking for a true Rumi experience then you shouldn't read this collection of his poems, well actully it's not even his poems any longer since Coleman Barks translation has taken away what's truly essential about reading Rumi.

Real men drink beer from bottles, stand by their buddies in bar fights, and read Rumi (though would not brag about it).
This is probably the best of the collection and when my hormones are raging, reading Rumi instantly calms and brings me back to my senses. Not a big art lover, but if books are art, this is a Mona Lisa.

My first book of Rumi, made me love him and now I have lots of his poetry so I highly recommend this book.

There are certain books everybody should own and keep in their personal library and this is one of them. This book speaks to you in different times of your life. Sometimes you get one poem and not another and then later the other poem will come alive for you. I love Rumi's work and have loved it before it became fashionable.

don't get hung up on the hang ups of scholars and other strait-jacket types. this stuff is rumi translated, not literally, but soulfully. and that method usually fails.

not here.

I must say that I was more than excited to read this book. I had been eyeing the book for many years. One, because it was Clive Barker...duh, and two, because it had a creepy, yet extremely cool, cover. I began to get serious about my relationship with this book when I read a review about it on Amazon.com. The review talked about how scary the book was and gave the first story "Midnight Meat Train" a stellar appraisal. I mentioned on my myspace page that I was beginning the book and received numerous exaltations from friends claiming it was a fantastic and terrorizing read.

I began my journey into the Books of Blood in early October, thinking that October was the perfect month for such a frightful endeavor. I read the introduction and was thrilled to learn that Clive Barker is gay. I also learned that this was his initial foray into published writing. Barker was quite young when he wrote these short stories and the book was a risky undertaking for the publishing company.

The three volume set of short stories opens with a somewhat cheesy line about people being books of blood because we are red when we are opened. The first story "Book of Blood" was a clever introduction to the book. This is the story that explains the title and the concept of the books of blood. Okay...I was intrigued and very eager to move on...

"Midnight Meat Train" was next on the agenda. Unfortunately, to my disappointment, I thought the story was...cute. Maybe it is my numbness to horror stories and the fact that everything is so overexposed now. I had to remember that these stories were old. These stories predate pretty much all horror stories out there today. So, I moved on...

It was when I reached the third story "The Yattering and Jack" that I began to lose heart. This story was also...cute. Though it was a little more fun than "Midnight Meat Train" what with the attack turkey and all, it still left me craving scariness and fright. "Pig Blood Blues" was kind of dorky...I mean, a flesh eating pig? Come on...that's as bad as attack sheep. "Sex, Death, and Starshine" deserves a good nod though. This story was actually fairly interesting and maybe slightly eerie. The last book of volume one "In the Hills, the Cities" was difficult for me to grasp. This story was pretty much strictly blood and gore. Maybe I just have trouble figuring out the mechanics of, and imagining, hundreds of people tying themselves together to create one moving giant. Maybe it's just me...

The second volume did improve. Maybe Barker began to find his voice and talent with this set of stories. Of course, it did help that the volume started out with "Dread" my absolutely favorite story in the entire book. Though, not a horror story per se, it was definitely psychologically chilling. The entire book is worth owning for this story alone.

We move on to "Hell's Event" where the characters are literally running for their lives...in a race no less. "Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament" was basically about a woman scorned. However, having the ability to make a man fold in on himself would be a nifty talent to have. "The Skins of the Fathers" makes a person think twice about child abuse. And "New Murders in the Rue Morgue" deserves a read for naught but the remembrance of our beloved Mr. Poe.

Volume three was definitely full of more goodies than the first two. "Son of Celluloid" was a treat to read. Film lovers would enjoy this tale of a haunted movie theater that begins killing its employees. "Rawhead Rex" was delightfully gruesome, neither priest nor child was safe from being ripped to shreds in this account of a nine-foot monster released from its imprisonment by an idiotic farmer. "Confessions of a (Pornographer's) Shroud" is another story that is a little far fetched for my taste. Can you really take a killer sheet seriously? I sure couldn't. "Scape-Goats" is certainly worth perusing. Who can pass up a story about fools on a haunted island that leaves you feeling giddy because there is really no hope for any of them? The final story, "Human Remains" brings the book full circle. The first story in these books of blood was about human sacrifice and we end in a similar fashion.

All in all I thought the book was...cute. No other word really describes my take on these stories. But again, maybe I am just numbed to the culture and society in which I have been raised. Not much can scare me any more. Though, when reading these stories (my first venture into short story collections) I tried to remember that these were written before the true horror genre exploded. Clive Barker was one of the innovator's of the field of terror and these stories were written prior to the publication "Hellbound Heart" and the production of "Hellraiser." Therefore, I believe that this book is a must read for any lovers of the art of fright if only to pay homage to one of its masterminds.

I purchased this book after reading Barker's "The Hellbound Heart" which was the book that Clive's directorial debut "Hellraiser" was based on. It was a short and sweet novel the showed Clive's ability not just to describe but to intimately visualize horror in great detail. Upon completing that I had high hopes for his greatly praised "Books of Blood." I was not disappointed.
First off I do want to say that there are a couple of dud short stories in this collection which is why I gave it four stars instead of five. I agree with one of the previous reviewers in that I feel "New Murders in Rue Morgue" is without a doubt the worst story in this collection. For some reason it felt as if an ambitious ten year old decided to write a sequel to his favorite horror story with the end result being a absurd retread of the original story. "Pig Blood Blues" and "Skins of the Father" are other stories for whatever reason either lacked Barkers' usual writing flair or ended to quickly for my liking.
With that said I really loved the following stories:

The Yattering and Jack:

A darkly funny story about a demon summoned from hell to break a man on earth who's soul has been promised to them. The battle of wits that ensues between these two is great fun and is the definition of dark comedy.

Dread:

A disturbing story of a young man at a college campus who begins a very bizarre friendship (if you can call it that) with another student who is obsessed with death and human dread. An obsession that will deeply change or take both of their lives.

Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament:

A few other reviewers have said that this is one of the weaker stories but in my opinion I will have to disagree. This is a beautifully written story about one womans newly acquired ability to manipulate her environment and those within her environment. What she does with this new power and where it takes her is very entertaining. Barker writes female characters very well and this is a very sexual story but as stated above beautifully written.

Cofessions of a (Pornographers) Shroud:

I really liked this tale of a conservative accountant who gets involved professionally and personally with shady customers that ends up costing him his life. He ends up possessing a shroud at the morgue and we are off on a bloody good revenge tale.

Human Remains:

I think this one has to be my favorite. A male gigalow comes in contact with an ancient sculpture that has the ability to mimic and impersonate with perfection any person it desires. Unfortunately the desired person ends up losing something in the process.

These are just a few that stand out in my memory but I think anyone who fancies horror and scary stories will get a good kick out of the majority of the stories written here. I will definately read volumes four through six.

Clive Baker, some call him the master of horror even Stephen King Called Barker "The Future of Horror," And someone to call him a master or the future wouldent be too far off. Clive Barkers "Books of Blood:Volume 1-3" were my first attempt at Barker, and I couldent have loved them more. Volumes 1-3 are in here there are five stories in each voulme.

Volume 1

Volume one had to be my favorite out of all three.

The Book of Blood: The book starts out with, well I guess you would call it the cover story or the frame story it's a short one only about 15 pages, but it is a good 15, it tells the story of Mary Florescu who has employed a medium who's a fake, she's hired him to investagate a hunted house. McNeal (The Medium) Fakes the visions at first but then they become all to real and Simon McNeal becomes a living Book of Blood

The Midnight Meet Train: When a man named Leon Kaufman falls asleep on a New York subway he dosent know that his life will never be the same. He wakes up to a living nightmare.

The Yattering and Jack: Jack is an avrage man but theres something in his house something called the Yattering, The Yattering is a demon and this demon will stop at nothing to make jack notice him, He will make jack's life a living hell doing whatever he can just to fullfill a promise made by his father.

Pig Blood Blues: Pig Blood Blues is one of my favorite stories out of the collection. Redman is a retired policemen who comes to work at a school, one of the first thing that happens is a fight or sort of a slaughter, Redmen finds out that a few boys are beating up another boy whos named Lacey, Lacy later tells Redmen the story of Henessey, a boy who's gone missing at the school.

Sex, Death and Starshine: This is a pretty good story by Barker it tells the story of a theter predution and it's actors that are going to preform there last play but when a man named Mr. Lichfield arrives and says his wife will be prefoming the lead things change fast.

In the Hills, the Cities: In The Hills, The Cites is one of the best stories in the collection because of how strage it is. When Mick And Judd go on a vaction they find that the rual area they go to in Yugoslavia has something very strage, something that will cause quite a lot of people to die.

Volume Two

Dread: which is probably my favorite story out of Volume two. Tells the story of Steve, Steve soon meets another student named Quaid, Quaid who is a smart student knows (As Steve will soon find out) what people Dread

Hell's Event: Hell's Event tells the story of a man named Joel, Joel will soon be running a race, but this race counts for a Hell of a lot more then Joel knows.

Jacqueline Ess: Her Will And Testament: When Jacqueline trys to commit suicide, she finds a strage power inside her, a power thats actully quite deadly.

The Skins of the Fathers: When Davidson's car breaks down in the Arizona desseret, he dosent know that he will soon stumble on to something very strage something or somthings that will stop at nothing to get a very special boy.

New Murders in the Rue Morgue: when Lewis (a Descended of the great dectective C. Auguste Dupin) comes to Paris to see a friend thats been convicted of Murder he will soon see that Dupin wasent the only one in the family to find a strange murder. . . a Pretty good take off "The Murders in The Rue Mourge" a Short storry by Edgar Allan Poe, It might be a good idea to Read (If you havent already) Murders in the Rue Mourge before you start on this stoy.

Volume Three

Son of Celluloid: One of my favorites out of Volume Three tells the story of a convict who dies behind a movie screen and later the strage things that happen soon after.

Rawhead Rex: Rawhead Rex was a Monster that was sort of put to death but when a farmer unearths the stone that he's been under, he's unearthing hell.

Confessions of a (Pornographer's) Shroud: Ronnie dosent know excalty what he's gotten into, he thought he had a good job but what he dosent know is that what he's doing is very wrong and now he has to die.

Scape Goats: When four people get shipwrecked on an island they soon find out that there lives wont ever be the same. And some of them will have to die.

Human Remains: a young male prostitute is hired by an archeologist, but what he dosent know is that somehing very strange will go on in the Archeologist's house.

Overall "Books of Blood" is a very good shot story collection it will keep you reading though the night and maybe give you a few nightmares in the process. 5/5

Being older now and still remembering every horrifying adn artistic word of Clive Barker's book of blood, I have to show respect for a great writer and artist. His stories are the best in horror and the most orininal ever. Barker tells with a uncanny and vivid eye. He tells stories that wether you like it or not, will last.
Enough said to the KING of horror and Imajjica.

This was my first venture into the world of Barker's short stories, and although I was very excited to read the book, I found that it was as many short story books are, hit and miss.

The book opens with a story titled "The Book of Blood" which I suppose would be an intro, though it is almost a short story in itself. It is a good intro, drawing the reader in lots of ghosties, a haunted house, paranormal phenomenon and lots of blood. Excellent intro to amp up the reader and get them ready to dive right through the book. I'd give this short 4 of 5 stars.

The first story is "Midnight Meat Train." I wasn't overly impressed with the title but what the heck, it was a good story. A serial killed of the most disgusting kind, an unwitting accountant who finds his way into that serial killers world, and then bam, strangeness abounds as the supernatural makes its appearance. Excellent story again, 4 of 5 stars.

The second is "The Yattering and Jack." I would in no way call this a horror story... it's closer to something you would find in a Christopher Moore book, in fact I think he based the entire book "Practical Demonkeeping" off of reading this short. This story was a humorous tale of a lesser Demon sent to torment a man to insanity... the problem is that the man just doesn't seem to care about anything the Demon does... including exploding a few household pets. I found myself giggling through this story. I don't felt that it fit all that well with the rest of the book, but it was highly entertaining. 4 of 5 stars.

Third you have "Pig Blood Blues" if I recall the title correctly. This one was strange, but predictable. An ex-cop goes to work at a school for delinquent boys and finds himself mixed up in a strange sacrificial mess. The story seemed familiar, sort of like the Wickerman meets "Children of the Corn." I can't say that it was my favorite, but every short story book has at least one mediocre story in it. 3 of 5 stars.

Fourth is "Sex, Death, and Starshine" and interesting story about the life and death of Theater. Sex, murder and ghosts abound in this story. I think Dionysus would be pleased. Though this may have been the longest story in the book, I enjoyed it. I like ghosts and the theater, and I was very happy that it didn't turn out to be another "Phantom of the Opera" which is what I was concerned with in the beginning. Though at times the story drug a bit, I think this was probably my favorite. 4 of 5 stars

The final story "In the Hills, The Cities" was completely bizarre. I can't even begin to explain it because I couldn't for the life of me comprehend it. I didn't find it frightening, or even disgusting... just perplexing. Two gay guys go out into the middle of nowhere and find... um... two cities? I tried with all of my might to picture what was being described in my mind... but it just wouldn't go together. I felt this story was by far the weakest in the book and a sadly pitiful note to end on. 2 of 5 stars.

All in all, I would say this is a 4 star book, the majority of which is very entertaining to read. I think the only scary stories in it were "The Book of Blood" and "Midnight Meat Train" but the others were good for what they were, except for the finale which was very disappointing.