Richards Books

Deryck Cooke gets under the surface but without any any confusing and pretentious psychobabble.

This really is an extraordinary book - it is the most comprehensive, insightful, and consistent study of Wagner's Ring des Niblungen. It offers some musical analysis of the leitmotivs, and is one of the first books to begin a revision of von Wolzogen's grossly erroneous analysis of the leitmotivs; it provides a plethora of highly organized information about the stages of Wagner's sketches and librettos and the original myths/legends/sagas from which he drew; and a scene by scene analysis of Rheingold and Walkure.

This book actually makes sense of Der Ring des Niblungen - no easy task, as anyone familiar with the opera tetralogy is well aware. If you are interested in the tetralogy and want to know more about it, this is THE book. There are, however, two tragedies associated with this book: the first is that the author's untimely death prevented him from finishing the book (though the material printed is itself finished). The whole book should have been about three times the length of the printed material. The second tragedy is that it is OUT OF PRINT - this is absolutely disgraceful...hopefully this title will come in to print again.

Get a hold of a copy of this book if you can.

This book is a model of thoughtful interpretation. Cooke begins by setting out why interpretation of the Ring cycle has been so difficult. This is seen as due partly to the enormous complexity of the work, partly due to the fact that prior major interpretations have been based on somewhat unrealistic preconceptions, for example, Bernard Shaw's social-political interpretation, and partly due to prior major interpretations bypassing close analysis of the music itself. Cooke develops a set of explicit criteria for an accurate interpretation of the Ring and applies them to prior major interpretative efforts. His critique of Robert Dornington's Jungian analysis, for example is moderate in tone but devastating in effect. Cooke defends Wagner against the charge that the plot and characters of the Ring are a shoddily assembled hodge-podge of myth. Cooke performs a careful analysis of Wagner's sources, using the same editions that Wagner drew from. Cooke demonstrates Wagner's careful and artful selection and modification of elements from German and Nordic mythology into a sophisticated and well integrated drama. Cooke's recurring term for Wagner's craft is masterly and he is correct. With this background, Cooke moves to a careful analysis of the plot and characters of the first 2 operas, Rheingold and Valkyrie. An essentially step by step analysis shows how Wagner used plot and character to advance his theme of the conflict of power versus love.
The only defect of this book is that it ends with the conclusion of Valkyrie. Though this book is over 350 pages long (in a small but not miniscule font), this would have been only the beginning of Cooke's projected opus on the Ring. Presumably, there would have been an equivalent amount of enlightening text on Siegfried and Gotterdamerung. Cooke then apparently planned a major work analyzing the development of musical aspects of the drama. Listeners who have heard Cooke's excellent introduction to the leitmotivs of the Ring will have had a taste of what Cooke planned. Its truly unfortunate that Cooke didn't live to complete this project.

i saw the world end is one of the most brilliant studies of wagner's ring. unfortunately, deryck cooke died before he finished his survey. still, i saw the world end remains an important work detailing the ring and die walkure in particular.

This book amply shows what a tragedy it was that Deryck Cooke died whilst still at the height of his powers. He was one of the most approachable and reliable of music critics and musicologists. No-one was better at tracing a path through the minefield of different editions of the Bruckner symphonies. No-one was more perceptive in elucidating Mahler's music and its interpreters. His performing edition of the 10th Symphony still stands as a paradigm for how these things should be done and how they should be presented to the world. 40 odd years later, his book, The Language of Music, remains a fascinating and significant exposition of the building-blocks of music, an exploration of how certain intervals and phrases which are the basic vocabulary of musical expression seem to retain a common 'meaning' across the work of very different composers from the Baroque era to the 60's.

But this monumental study of Wagner's Ring, which he left less than half finished at his death, would probably have been his greatest contribution to musical exegesis. What is left for us is an introduction which cogently dispenses with the narrow-minded interpretations proposed by the socialist, anti-capitalist Shaw in The Perfect Wagnerite and the Jungian psychology of Donington in Wagner's Ring and its Symbols. There then follows a tantalising look at the music itself in which he shows that one particular leitmotif misnamed by Wolzogen in his pioneering study as Flight, a mistake blindly followed by most subsequent commentators, is in fact the fundamental Love motif of the entire cycle. From this he draws the not unreasonable conclusion that this is, musically and philosophically, a crucial half of the essential dramatic conflict of the tetralogy between Power and Love. This particular chapter is especially frustrating in the glimpse it gives us of just how penetrating and perceptive his promised but unfulfilled analysis of the music would have been.

What we do get is a fascinating study of how Wagner bent the myriad of literary sources he used into a taut and coherent dramatic structure. And what parts of the final Ring libretto were entirely the product of his own imagination. It makes for a detective trail along the lines of John Livingstone Lowe's pursuit of all the sources for Coleridge's Kubla Khan in The Road to Xanadu. But even this part of the argument only takes us through the evolution of Das Rheingold and Die Walkure before it is cut off in its prime. However, it is still more than enough to leave us with and important study, written with all Cooke's familiar approachability and common sense.

This may be just the torso of the book Cooke intended to write. But anyone interested in how Wagner's enormous work came to take the form it did should derive enormous pleasure as well as elucidation from it. The title, by the way, is taken from some wonderfully evocative lines that Wagner wrote for Brunnhilde's Immolation Scene, but cut before he set them to music.

The blessed end
Of all things eternal,
Do you know how I reached it?
Deepest suffering
Of Grieving love
Opened my eyes:
I saw the world end.

A must read for anyone interested in Indonesia. Superb historical accounts, on the ground descriptions and skillful storytelling. A classic on my bookshelf! Students love it.

I consider this book as very interesting and easy to read. The author describe the situation in a way that you can feel the situation in a real way. it is a very interesting historic document of the Suharto dictator fall; very interesting for all the people who want to know what happened in this crucial days in the history of Indonesia.

This is a terrific book. The author was in Indonesia at the end of the 1990's, in what was obviously a very tumultuous time for that country. The book is divided into three sections, each of which deals with a different event. The first section deals with two trips that Parry made to the island of Borneo, which witnessed several episodes of ethnic conflict during the 1990s. The author was specifically drawn to the island because of reports that members of a particular ethnic group were not only being killed, but that they were being slaughtered in brutal, ritualistic fashion. Parry not only manages to find people who confirm these stories, but on his second trip to the island he actually sees more direct evidence of these atrocities. The second section of the book deals with the student protests that led to the downfall of Suharto. This was probably my favorite part of the book, because Parry provides such an outstanding analysis of the ideological underpinnings of Suharto's regime. I only wish that he would have discussed in greater detail the financial crash as well as the ensuing involvement of the IMF, as well as the anti-Chinese riots that took place throughout the country. The final section of the book details the author's stay in East Timor, including his meeting with an elusive pro-independence guerilla fighter and his harrowing stay in the UN compound after the independence referendum, when the pro-Indonesian militias were committing reprisal attacks with the blessing of the Indonesian military. Throughout the book Parry manages to infuse the narrative with an impressive sense of drama, such that it often reads like a novel. Parry realizes that he witnessed history in the making, and he does a good job of conveying to his readers the historical import of the events that he relates.

Excellent book, well-written and gripping for the most part. During the climax, I found myself unable to put it down -- something that doesn't usually happen with non-fiction. Spare prose and light touches of very British humor at certain points added to the reading "pleasure," if that's the right word for a work centering on horrific events.

I deduct a star for a bit of exaggeration over the climax. From the way it was built up, I thought Lloyd Parry had been involved in something truly horrific. Ultimately, I found his reaction very male and a bit irritating, rather overdone.

Overall, though, an excellent book. I hope he plans on writing more.

As an Indonesian that lived through the tumultous period covered in the book, I found Richard Parry's work to be very authoritative. He digs deep, more than just facts and statistics. Though not a picture that I want my homeland to be remembered by, I found this to be a must read.

Great ideas for bringing kids to a success mind-set.
I hope to introduce the concepts in a local school.

I found The Inner Wealth- The Nurtured Heart Approach in Education to be a very user friendly book with sensible suggestions and premises. I wish the ideas in this book could be implemented in the very earliest grades. Teachers do not have time for a lot of non-sense and pie-in-the sky. This book is filled with ideas and approaches maintaining dignity and respect for both Teacher and Student. The book is grounded in reality.It teaches a more peaceful way of life which hopefully diminishes power struggles and the same old unworkable outcomes.
I have profound respect for Teachers, and I realize many of the trying and even dangerous situations they find themselves facing. I found this book to be a motivater for so many students and a tool to help prevent exhaustion and burn out in so many Teachers. I found this book worth the money, and I plan to give this book as a gift to some of my special Teacher friends. This is a useful book, in my opinion, for Pre-school teachers.

Our staff has been using "The Nurtured Heart Approach" for several years. The Inner Wealth Initiative provides a stunning and detailed framework for transforming the classroom enviornment. We have purchased a copy of the book for each of our staff members and we meet together weekly to discuss the contents, to share our successes, and to ask each other for support. Thank you, Howie and Tom!!

This book should be in every educators hands! How simple it is shift focus from energizing negative behavior to honoring the greatness of students. Intense and energy-challenged kids have learned through experience that they only get attention from adults when they misbehave. This system of nurturing their gifts, recognizing the success they already demonstrate, and giving no or little attentino to bad choices actually works. It works with the entire class - everyone feeding off the positive comments made. The social curriculum of relationship becomes overt and powerful, and leaves much more time for teaching, learning and empowering minds and spirits. It works on your kids, your spouse, your barista. But a dozen - give one to every teacher you know. Start reminding yourself how great you are, too!

I'd handed the book to a teacher at one of 18 Head Start classrooms a few weeks ago. She has been struggling with some very intense and lively children. This is a 60-plus woman with immense skills and experience and she'd been eating up all the Nurtured Heart stuff I've been feeding her, trying it out with the three little boys who have especially been giving her a run for her money. She told me she thought the book was wonderful, that she'd read it all week-end. I said, "Great! That makes my day, Janet I'm so glad you're finding it helpful!" and she said, "Oh no, you don't understand. You've saved my life. I didn't think I was going to be able to teach little children anymore. They seem to be coming with so many more challenges these days." She is excited for her co-worker to read it next.

And then, a teacher at another site has also been struggling with some creatively intense 3-5 year olds. I've known her for 4 years and have never seen her so discouraged. I did a one-hour training at her site one Friday. When I saw her the next Tuesday she said, "I read that book all week-end. I was sick and I probably wouldn't have read it if I hadn't been sick. I usually don't read those kinds of books, but I've read almost all of it." When I went into her classroom the difference between the last time I was there and this time was like night and day. She'd come alive, nurturing the hearts of those little kids right and left...and I was back today, more of the same. She was having fun.

I purchased this book because I hoped to gain a deep or profound insight about Time from educated, intellectual minds. And while I did in fact achieve this goal, it was not thru the manner that I expected.

I support the entire "Introducing..." series by Totem because their illustrations along with genuine, serious educational content make the books highly appealing, attractive and inspiring. And this one was no exception -- in terms of doing its best to present, primarily chronologically, what informed minds from involved and associated fields had to say, or present as theory, about "Time." But -- and this is meant to have a dramatic impact -- BUT... it was through reading what these thinkers and scholars had to say about time that verified to me that nobody knows what it is. Which is a good thing; a great thing! To me this means that a little boy or girl living out in the middle of nowhere has just as much right -- and is equally "correct" -- in whatever they feel or suppose "time" is. After reading this book, I realized that nobody can 'know' what Time is, but rather they attempt to define it in ways, that when one looks at it clearly, should come to see as solely based on the way 'time' is measured. Again, time is not definable; it is open to interpretaion; one must be wary of definitions that purport to define, but really do nothing more than present notions based upon how 'time' is measured. A person who sees "time" as seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years is no more correct than a person who experiences time as an independent, deeply-personal intuitive experience.

The best part of the book is the brief area where Einstein's theories of relativity are introduced. As for the rest, to this reader, it was truly great minds "mentally masturbating." The question is: Do these great minds know they're "m.m-ing" or do they truly believe they are offering a profound contribution to the study of Time?

But, in all fairness to the book, it was not until I read it that I came to understand what I have attempted to present here. And what I would like to say to any person wondering if they should read this book: Yes, do so; but be confident in whatever you get out of the experience, in terms of your idea of time, do know that you too are equally correct!

Nobody knows or understands time. It is open to interpretation. And that is what makes it a beautiful phenomenon. "Time" has not given its secrets over to any one.

Introducing Time starts off with Aristotle's view on time then goes on to talk about many philosophical and scientific views of time. It includes Newton's absolute time, Einstein's special and general relativity as they relate to time, including Godel Universes, and also Boltzman's statistical mechanics based view of time. All in all a lot of information in such a short book.

Great book. By the time you get to the end, you'll know quite a lot about this topic and the whole theory, but you'll be pretty confused. Why confused? Because it's a hard topic to understand or interpret. And the book explains that as well as it can. But it sure will make you think.

Time is a concept that all humans have a fundamental grasp of. We all know that there is a direction to the events of our lives and that once an event happens, to the best of our knowledge it will always have happened. We break it down into units of years, days, hours, and minutes and in the last minute of some sporting events, tenths of seconds. However, when we really try to get a precise intellectual handle on it, time becomes fuzzy and it is very difficult to be precise. The passage of time is also relative to the situation; a few minutes in a dentist chair can appear to be much longer, yet a few hours with our true love can seem like minutes.
In this book, Callender and Edney describe some of the attempts by scientists and philosophers to precisely define what time is. Some argue that to be logically consistent, time cannot exist. That of course seems absurd, whatever else we may know, at least locally, time does have an existence and a direction. Newton, Einstein, Godel and others have refined the concept, Einstein in particular demonstrated that the passage of time is slowed when the objects are traveling at high rates of speed. Although the authors do an excellent job using cartoons and other visual devices, the true nature of time is a difficult topic. Like the apparent fate of the universe, in the end, time simply comes down to an overall increase in entropy, for that is the way we recognize the passage of time.
This is an excellent book about an apparently simple, yet very complex subject. Time is a subject that we all think we know, until we really start to think about it.

Introducing Time is one of the Introducing series most popular selections. For an Introducing book it is also one of the most detailed, thought provoking, wide-ranging and heady science volumes around. If you want to know anything about time then Introducing Time does just that and then some more, but be prepared for lots of difficult diverse thinking.

In most cases the first 100 pages will be more than enough for most people and the Introducing series could easily have made this book 200 pages long with that material alone but instead has condensed the opening philosophical thought on time into a shorter amount and goes straight into Einstein, relativity, lots on time travel and a great finish on entropy. Most of these topics are actually books in their own right such as Introducing Relativity and Introducing Einstein so Introducing Time really is good value for money.

If you are thinking about starting a collection of science titles from the Introducing series then you would do well to get this book or add it to your collection for two reasons. First of all, Introducing Time includes the best explanation of Boltzmann's statistical mechanics and entropy I have read anywhere. It could be worth it for that alone. You may not expect entropy to have such an impact on the topic of time and that can be a very nice surprise when reading that it does. The second is really just the breath of the coverage that time gets in this book. Even those who have read Stephen Hawking's `A brief history of time' will come away from this one with a whole lot more than thought possible.

Core material:
Clocks
Psychological time
Time scenarios
Relationalism and absolute time
Relative and non-relative
Tenseless and tensed
Dimensions
Motion and change
Time flows
Galilean relativity
Einstein's relativity
Simultaneity
Lightcones
Logic
Time travel
Impossibility
Causal loops
Physics and time travel
Spacetime curvature
Godel
Taub-NUT-Misner spacetime
Cosmic string theory
Wormholes
Mobius twist
Branching time
Space and limits
Geroch's theorem
Big bang
Closed and open time
The direction of time
Thermodynamics
Entropy
Statistical mechanics
Loschmidt paradox
Universe's statistical development
Boundary conditions
Temporal double-standard
Time reversal
Quantum gravity
Wheeler-DeWitt
Inexistence of time

This is far from an easy book but time is a detailed topic and should get the full treatment if it should be treated at all. For this reason Introducing Time is quite simply one of the most important and revealing books on something that people take for granted. It's the kind of book you come away with a mind full of awe. If Introducing Time doesn't change your worldview then nothing will.

This book helps to clarify the dry rules & concepts of Civil Procedure. Much more readable than a boring casebook (although best as a supplement to, not a replacement for, the casebook).

This book was a godsend unfortunately I bought it a little too late, I wish I would have had it for the entire year instead of the last couple of weeks of class. It has everything including the minute details professors like to test on for finals...If you need civil procedure help..look at this book or listen to the Richard Freer CDS..

This book provides an in-depth discussion of the civil procedure in a well written and understandable presentation. It is a lot better than the Glannon's book.

I actually bought this book solely on the weight of the positive Amazon reviews it received. It's by far the best study aid I've purchased, and I highly recommend it to any Civ Pro student. Glannon's E&E is also well-written, but I find myself coming back to Freer's book to clarify topics that are covered in my casebook.

I agree with the other reviewers that this is an excellent guide to Civil Procedure. The book provides the basics of Civil Procedure and, where appropriate, the little details that can easily trap an unwary student on an exam. Most importantly, the book is peppered with examples that will help crystalize the material. Suprisingly, it also is very easy reading. My impression was that the author actually was interested in making sure the reader understands the material rather than providing a perfunctory compilation of rules. Like one of the prior reviewers, I was essentially lost for the majority of my Civil Procedure class until I bought this book.

For anyon who is serious about understanding the foundation or core of Methodism, reading John Wesley's sermons is a must. Outler and Heitzenrater provide brief background information to help the reader put the sermons into the context of Wesley's life.

Product came very nice just as described and it was a smooth transaction all around!

For those interested in catching a glimpse of what John Wesley wanted his Methodists to believe, this is a good place to start. Most of these 50 sermons were included in his Works (an official collection of his writings put together by Wesley himself), and they were intended to help guide those in his movement in understanding the basic theological ideas that he considered important. This anthology adds to the official selections a few selected by Outler from among Wesley's uncompiled sermons. These also give us an interesting look into Wesley's heart and mind.

One of the greatest strengths of this book is that each sermon is preceded by an excellent introduction. This sets the sermon in context and provides a clearer point from which to begin trying to understand what Wesley is saying. This is an excellent collection compiled by superb editors.

While Whitefield and Edwards were leading the Great Awakening the US John Wesley was having a far more profound and lasting effect on spiritual matters in England. Even Whitefield admitted to that. It was the formation of classes (Christian community) that made the difference. Whitfield's following was scattered during his lifetime while Wesley's preaching, printing and organization led to the formation of the British Methodist and the Methodist Episcopal churches.

Reviewing these powerful sermons gives us pause to consider how much has been lost in mainline protestantism over the past 200 or so years. I'm still looking for a church where the preacher will boldly preach the Biblical messages that Wesley delivered. Not merely threats of hell, but God's promise of holiness in heart and in life. Methodists, mainline protestant denominations, and Baptists have largely fulfilled Wesley's fearful concerns that churches may eventually have the form but not the power of godliness.

These sermons are the bulk of his best. There are 53 or so of his 140-odd sermons represented. It's time to take them seriously. Christians are growing too clever by half to follow CHrist instead of their own pride. Let Wesley help to wake you up to your faults and mine so that we may always strive for greater holiness. For those who love sermons and the pattern of Christianity among pious leaders during a period of great revival, this is easily worth a 5 star rating.

The book contains 50 of John Wesley's sermons, all reflecting a door into the mind and theology of John Wesley. The book is edited by one of the late great minds of Wesleyanism, Albert Outler. I found the book to be very rewarding, allowing me to experience and have a deeper appreciation for John Wesley's theology, which to a large degree has been debated because of Wesley's different stands on certain issue's through out his life.
The sermons that Outler & Heitzenrater have selected for this book, allow the reader to know the heart of John Wesley, which Wesley expressed through out his life, and it allows the reader to have a grasp on John Wesley's theology as it grew through out his life time. The way that Outler and Heitzenrater do this, is by compiling the sermons of John Wesley in a chronological order allowing the reader to flow through one sermon to the next, and see John Wesley's theology unfold from a young man to a old man, kind of like unfolding a neatly rapped package with ribbon and bow. Finally near the end, in one of John Wesley's sermons entitled "On the Wedding Garment," we see Wesley restating his beliefs that he has held firm to since a young man, and this sermon is written a year before his death. I gave this book five stars, because of how the book of sermons was compiled and laid out, causing any Wesley reader or fan to desire the next sermon in order to see the evolution of Wesley's theology and his firm beliefs.

Boye actually wrote this book before both "1984" and "Brave New World".

The Worldstate of Kallocain appeared in print eight years before Orwell's famous story of totalitarian hell. Although weaker in some ways, it has more emotional impact in many others. It's about Kall, a chemist and loyal Fellow-Soldier of The State. His work re-opens earlier, failed studies on "truth serum" drugs. His new compounds eliminate the earlier drugs' toxic effects, the effect that destroyed the minds of so many human guinea pigs from the Voluntary Sacrificial Service. This time, the more merciful drug simply leaves its victims as passive, even cooperative partners in their own violation - the perverted wish of physical and mental rapists everywhere.

Idealist Kall sees only its potential to help the life-giving state against its enemies, at first. Of course, he sees his invention turned to the self-serving power struggles of the party oligarchs. He sees how having that drug's power corrupts its possessor, even seeing that corruption arise in himself. By then, the evil genie is out of the bottle and granting the wishes of the oppressive State.

The end of the book seems to wander. Kall sees the full force of The State's anti-terrorist army directed against a nameless little band of dreamers. He takes part in vaguely horrific trials for capital crimes against The State, with executions handed down apparently on whims and personal grudges. He ends his story with ambiguous dreams, still hoping that his pharmacological creation can live on, and still hoping (against evidence) that it can be used for genuine good.

It's worth reading, though. It captures the fears of its early Soviet and pre-Nazi era, and captures the time's faith (and fear) in the power of science. And it reminds technologists that, although scientific results have no inherent morality, the people who create and use those results do - or should.

--wiredweird

There are a few books that I wish everyone would read; this is one of them. A far far more compelling book than 1984, Kallocain probes what it means to be a good citizen. That this book is not more widely know is unfortunately due most likely to the fact that it is Swedish and that it has been issued by a university press. But this is a rip snorting good tale that will keep you riveted and make you think. And there is lots to ponder: surveillence issues, the idea of good citizenship; the question of who or what is "the enemy"; what war is about; the use of mind altering drugs in the management of society; and so on. Read it and pass on word of it to others! It deserves attention!

This is probably the best swedish novel ever. It is written in the same style as Orwell's 1984 but where Orwell is purely political, Boye is much more existential. Kallocain is not only a critical reflexion on the totalitarian state but rather an experiment searching to find out if the force of life existing in every man and woman really can be destroyed (which in many ways is the purpose of the state in Kallocain). Perhaps one can only be controlled to a degree. If you squeeze an egg too hard it will burst, and then there is no way you can stop the content from letting go of your hands. It is hardly no coincident that the substans that has given the novel its name is green; the color of life.

I stongly recomend everyone to buy it and read it (over and over again if posible).

i wouldn't call it "hilarious", for sure, but i definitely agree that Karin Boye has done us a great service in writing this book. Reminiscent of 1984 and also of Yvgeny Zamyatin's WE, KALLOCAIN is actually more frightening than either of those. The mind of the "collaborator," the willing citizen of a totalitarian state, is laid bare; his rationales and fears are thus universalized, and one sees the tyrant in all of us ...

I heard about Kate Cumming at a Celtic festival in Virginia where Irish singer and songwriter Jed Marum (SOUL OF A WANDERER) told her story, talked about her diary and sang two beautiful songs that her life inspired him to write. I knew I had to read the book, and I was NOT disappointed!

Kate's devotion to her adopted homeland and her deep faith are inspiring. Her thoughts and feelings about the war and her battle front experience evolve over the 3 years of the diary - and they are eloquently expressed in its pages. This book is a treasure!

Kate's is a remarkable story, and this journal in her own words unfolds over the difficult days of the US Civil War. Kate Cumming is a fine, educated, intelligent and articulate woman. She is a woman of deep faith and lasting patience. Her journal passes on to us the daily routine, the sufferings of war and the deepest reflections of this noteworthy woman. The text is riveting, moving, thought provoking. The book is history from a very personal perspective - one well worth reading.

Excellant Book covers areas of the war not gone over by others, I do Confederate Cemetery Research and she has in her Journal name of men who did and some unit information, that has help to lead to I.D.ing 5 Soldiers not listed in to N.Ga. cemeteries before

This book is the masterfully written journal of Kate Cumming. Miss Cumming was a confederate
nurse during the Civil War. Like Clara Barton in the north, Kate cares for hundreds of the suffering soldiers. Miss Cumming works at Corinth, Mississippi toward the start of the book. Here at Corinth men are brought in every day from the bloody battlefield of Shiloh. She works in Chattanooga for a few months. Also she did her duty as a nurse in Mobile, Alabama(her hometown) Kate relates in her flowing writing the many thoughts that ran through her mind during those long, hard, years. She tells of how much faith in God these men had. This really touched me. Kate said, while speaking of the men's faith, that she had not met one man in her hospital that did not know the Lord. This is quite a statement! To think of all that these men went through at Shiloh, Stone's River, and so many others! I would highly recommend this book because it reveals the true history from a woman who lived at the time and was a witness to these events in our country's history.

Kate's journal is amazingly well-written, and, as I said in my title, it is obvious from reading it that she is a true Southern lady.

When I consider how I write any old thing, any old way, in my own journals, I am impressed by the way Kate kept all the wartime news- both on the battlefield and in her private life- so nicely organized. Don't let the word "organized" fool you, though, into thinking it is boring. This journal is anything but dull. Kate's writing style is intelligent, personal, detailed, and extremely interesting; the amazing part is that most of it is written whenever she can snatch a moment to herself from her nursing duties.

From reading Kate's journal one quickly sees her devotion to the South and its "cause" for freedom. She was not a nurse before the war, but when the war began she volunteered to become one. As a nurse, she showed great compassion for the soldiers, doing everything in her power to alleviate their suffering and to make their stay in the hospital as pleasant as possible, under the terrible circumstances in which she worked. Sometimes her burden would seem too heavy, and she would almost make up her mind to quit, but her determination to be patriotic and her compassion for her patients would change her mind.

Kate Cumming was a true lady, and this fact also made her journal enjoyable. She is well-mannered; for instance, when she does dislike someone she exercises reserve in writing about them, even though she is writing in her private journal. She does greatly dislike "Yankees", but instead of simply raving bitterly about them, she relates the incidents that cause her to dislike them. Overall, Kate is quiet and observant, and likes to write about the better things that occur in her life (something as simple as meeting a friend on the train, or having something extra nice for dinner) rather than dwell negatively on the hardships that she was experiencing.

I highly recommend this wartime journal for anyone interested in a truly personal account of a nurse during the Civil War. The fact that Kate was a Southerner makes it even more interesting, because on the whole she went through more than her Northern counterparts did. She was a patriotic lady, and her attitude throughout the war makes her journal a pleasure to read.

This book is a labor of love and committment, the author rocks and provides insights into what it takes to assure that today's actions ensure one's goals/ideals, i.e. wolf recovery, survive into the next generation. The illustrations are sweet and the book is very easy to read and enjoyable.

I grew up in Wisconsin and can relate to Richard P Thiel's accurate and colorful descriptions of northern and central Wisconsin landscape. However, his experiences go far beyond those of most others, helped by being able to track wolves by light aircraft and radio telemetry thus getting a bird's eye view of the scene. A good example of the Scientific Method on the hoof, so to speak. The book does not glamorize the profession of wildlife biology; it tells it like it is, including the governmental bureaucracy, physical hardships, bad weather, and long hours, occasionally punctuated with incredible encounters with the wolves that refused to be excluded from Wisconsin. The book teaches people what to expect when wolves share your living space. And what a great ending ... it brings the reader right up to date and sets the stage for proper management decisions in the future. A great humorous book which will entertain you as well as educate. I couldn't put it down.

Good friends presented us this book as a Christmas gift, knowing that we are very interested in all forms of appearance of the nature, inanimate and alive.
It is of great interest for us since just in this years the wolves also return to the forests of our Eastgerman country.
It is wonderful written, understandable also for the laymen and rich in nice figures.
Most important for us is however, that this book is written by a man who obviously feels responsible for the life on our so endangered earth, who understand that human life is tightly connected with all the other appearances of life and that the good evolution of one kind of life is the necessary precondition for the healthy existence of all another creatures.
Men like Richard Thiel give us the hope that life has a chance to survive at our planet.

'Keepers of the wolves' is Richard P Thiel's follow up to his
wonderful 1993 publication 'The Timber Wolf in Wisconsin.'
Once again the author's informative and personal writing style
makes this very fine book an essential work for any Wolf supporter interested in the more complex aspects of the Wolf recovery effort in the United states today.

Keepers Of The Wolves: The Early Years Of Wolf Recovery In Wisconsin by Richard Thiel (coordinator of the Wisconsin Department of natural Resources Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center, Babcock, Wisconsin) is the true and fascinating story of the restoration of wild wolves to Wisconsin Forest, from 1978 when they had been gone for twenty years to the present day with an estimated 200 timber wolves in 54 packs. Black-and-white line drawings illustrate a story of political controversies, environmental struggles, and the enduring strength of the wolf itself. A conservationist success story, Keepers Of The Wolves is especially recommended for Wisconsin environmental issues reading lists and wildlife restoration studies reference collections.

As a product of the baby boom generation, I grew up taking for granted the post-war, "Leave It To Beaver" cozy atmosphere of the '50's and early '60's. Despite the Cold War, I was rather unconcerned about war and its effects on real people. Then Viet Nam came along and many of us developed a distain for any kind of military engagement. The Viet Nam war did not evoke any spirit of patriotism as WWII had done. After reading this book, I realized how much WWII and those who fought in it affected the lives of those they left behind, and the generations to come. These were ordinary men, some recently out of high school or college who rose to the challenge of defending freedom for us and our allies. They willingly left behind comfortable, safe lives to answer the call of duty. The passages in this book describing the plane being hit, the author and his fellow crew members bailing out, facing more enemy gunfire and possible death were gripping. The account of prison camp life was interesing and entertaining. I was impressed with the ingenuity of the prisoners. This book and others like it should be mandatory for high school history classes. We should all be grateful to this "Greatest Generation."

A few years ago I went to visit my uncle Joe in Florida for his 80th birthday. He was shot down by the Germans on Nov. 30, 1944 and spent the rest of the war in a POW camp. For the first time he told me the whole story of his capture, internment and repatriation. By chance I purchased Kriegie a few months later and it was as if my uncle were telling the whole story over word-for-word. It turns out it was the same camp. I sent him the book and he verifies every interesting detail. This is a wonderful book and entirely accurate. A must read!

As a product of the baby boom generation, I grew up taking for granted the post-war, "Leave It To Beaver" cozy atmosphere of the '50's and early '60's. Despite the Cold War, I was rather unconcerned about war and its effects on real people. Then Viet Nam came along and many of us developed a distain for any kind of military engagement. The Viet Nam war did not evoke any spirit of patriotism as WWII had done. After reading this book, I realized how much WWII and those who fought in it affected the lives of those they left behind, and the generations to come. These were ordinary men, some recently out of high school or college who rose to the challenge of defending freedom for us and our allies. They willingly left behind comfortable, safe lives to answer the call of duty. The passages in this book describing the plane being hit, the author and his fellow crew members bailing out, facing more enemy gunfire and possible death were gripping. The account of prison camp life was interesing and entertaining. I was impressed with the ingenuity of the prisoners. This book and others like it should be mandatory for high school history classes. We should all be grateful to this "Greatest Generation."

As a product of the baby boom generation, I grew up taking for granted the post-war, "Leave It To Beaver" cozy atmosphere of the '50's and early '60's. Despite the Cold War, I was rather unconcerned about war and its effects on real people. Then Viet Nam came along and many of us developed a distain for any kind of military engagement. The Viet Nam war did not evoke any spirit of patriotism as WWII had done. After reading this book, I realized how much WWII and those who fought in it affected the lives of those they left behind, and the generations to come. These were ordinary men, some recently out of high school or college who rose to the challenge of defending freedom for us and our allies. They willingly left behind comfortable, safe lives to answer the call of duty. The passages in this book describing the plane being hit, the author and his fellow crew members bailing out, facing more enemy gunfire and possible death were gripping. The account of prison camp life was interesing and entertaining. I was impressed with the ingenuity of the prisoners. This book and others like it should be mandatory for high school history classes. We should all be grateful to this "Greatest Generation."

A wonderful "slice-of-POW-life"story! This is a must-read for everyone, but especially for those of my "baby-boom" generation who have enjoyed the fruits of the "Greatest Generation's" sacrifices. This is a very well-written and concise account of this author's training, his ill-fated bombing mission over France, and his imprisonment by the Germans. While the details of combat and solitary confinement are compelling, the stories of the POW's spirit and ingenuity are heartwarming. The author emphasizes that he was one of the lucky ones -- a very humble remark from someone who endured such hardships. I thank Oscar Richard for his hardships and sacrifices during the war, and I also thank him for telling his great story.