Europe Books

Yes, this book is very witty and very easy to read. I am en route to France for a year next year as an American exchange student, and I found this book to be very helpful for every aspect of the process--except I wish she added more information like "Why did she switch host families?" and about school. She barely mentioned anything about homework, the lycée, or anything like that. But I loved everything else about the book. It was intriguing and exciting. And also, it's a very nice quick read. If you are, going to be, or was an exchange student, this book is a must-have. Anther book I recommend is The Exchange Student Survival Kit. Au revoir!

I am planning on studying abroad to France in 2003 and this book has helped me out in many ways. It told me exactly what I need to know before I go, how the French people are, the school system, and it gave me encouragement. Just reading about how she doesn't regret going makes me want to go even more. I just wished she would have added more about how to handle so much school! Anyway, this book is great to read, even if you aren't planning on going to France. It has a lot of interesting facts that I could never imagine possible. Great book.

The author of Postcards from France, Megan Libby, was just 16 when she went to France in 1994 as your typical AFS student. But she wasn't typical: she had her eyes wide open and was able to record, in a series of letters and postcards sent back home, what a humbling experience it is to be a newcomer in another culture. By turns comedic, touching, insightful, and revealing, Postcards from France is always refreshing - and it's highly likely this talented young author will go on to write more books that will be a pleasure to read.

The moment I saw this book in the bookstore, I knew I had to get it because Megan did what I have always wanted to do: be an exchange student in another country. This book is just so charming, delightful, and cute. I finally was able to be an exchange student this summer in a Spanish speaking country, and while I was not gone a whole academic year but only for a couple of weeks, I always had this book by my side because so many things were the same. So if you have ever been an exchange student before/hosted one in America, or are going too I recomend this book right away, and if you are just looking for a good book to read you'll have a ball.

On the cover of this book, the publisher exudes, "A delightfully irresistible, charming account of a young American girl's year abroad." For once, this kind of description is actually an understatement. Yes, the book is in fact "delightfully irresistible" and truly charming. But the writing is also exceptionally limpid and evocative and betrays an exceptional maturity and talent. Megan McNeill Libby gives us beautifully impressionistic portraits of France, the French, and her very personal struggles, disasters, and triumphs. Her depiction of the French is extraordinarily perceptive and from my own experience living in France totally accurate. At times, I laughed until I cried; more frequently, I caught myself involuntarily smiling and nodding in agreement. But the deeper reward of reading this book is simply seeing the way that Ms. Libby writes and thinks. She is one of those rare authors with whom one falls in love after (no, during) a single reading. I am normally sparing with my praise, but I readily admit to being a gourmand for this book. Merci bien, Megan, and please give us more!

Rick Steve's book is a down-to-earth book that gives so much information to which you can relate. It's a wonderful guide.

We went to Ireland last year for the first time and loved it so much, we are going again this year. We purchased this book as well as another guidebook. This one is fabulous -- very well thought out and organized - you can tell he really knows what he is talking about -- this is the one that we will bring with us -- he even tells you when and how to drive the Dingle Peninsula to avoid the tourist buses -- does not give you too much information. He has a very honest and down to earth approach which makes for an informative and interesting read!

Rick Steves' Ireland 2008 is like your brother (your very detailed and analytical exploring brother) writing home with the in's and out's of each city and stop in Ireland. Hitting highlights and lowlights, Rick leaves no Irish pebble unturned for the common traveler. If you have a question about Ireland, it is most likely answered in this book; if not, then Rick has made himself available through his websites if you need further information. It is very helpful to not walk into a new situation unprepared and Rick's Ireland 2008 has proved most helpful!

We are planning a trip to Ireland in April and this book was great. It gave us several great Bed & Breakfasts to stay in and also suggested what to see and what NOT to see.

Thanks.

Ireland offers visitors a diversity of memorable places to visit, memorable people to encounter, and memorable opportunities for recreation. Rick Steves is a seasoned and experienced travel writer and in collaboration with Ireland specialist Pat O'Connor has authored the "Rick Steves' Ireland 2008", a compact, 425-page travel guide that is packed from first page to last with informed and informative information for tourists and business travelers to the villages, towns, and countryside of the Republic of Ireland in the south, as well as the cities and counties of Northern Ireland. Of special note is the introductory chapter dedicated to the best use of this outstanding guide for planning a trip whether of short or extended duration, practicalities when traveling, money, sightseeing, sleeping, eating, 'Traveling as a Temporary Local', and 'Back Door Travel Philosophy'. Another special section is devoted to Irish history, art, literature, language, and an Irish-Yankee Vocabulary. Enhanced with appendices on resources; money matters; telephones, emails, and postal mails; transportation; holidays and festivals; conversions and climate; an essential packing checklist; and a sample hotel reservation form, "Rick Steves' Ireland 2008" is an ideal and enthusiastically recommended guide for anyone anticipating a trip to the Emerald Isle.

Certainly the warmest and friendliest guidebook out there, this one also happens to be the best. Although he may or may not have written the entire book, it sure feels like Rick Steves is there page after page talking to you one on one, telling you all about the places to go in and around London. Leaving little out, covering things you'd never think of on your own, this is a book to buy and pack and take with you. Well worth the price!

Went to London. I wasn't able to see everything, but this helps get you on your way. Going back soon.

Had the opportunity to visit london for a short stay. Book was an imense help on finding a hotel ways to move around.

This book was excellent. I found it very helpful in finding places and in getting background information about the places I wanted to see. I would recommend this book as one that you should purchase when Planning a trip.

I am a big fan of Rick Steve's guidebooks so understand my bias. We used this 2006 version in Dec 2006 to find lodging, a few restaurants and many of the walking tours. All information was still up to date and excellent. However, please note that the 2007 version should come out in Jan 2007 or close to that time and will be even more current. Great tips and easy to read information on days and times that sights are open or open late is essential and very helpful in planning the trip.

Good service, good price, the used book look new.
My uncle was with the 45th and he said the author was historically correct in his description of the men and battles in which the 45th fought. I found the book not only interesting but a keepsake for me and my family. I appreciate this indepth study of this gallant group of men.

Being a former National Guard officer and having visited the concentration camp in Dachau in a trip through Europe, I was interested in this book. The scene when the soldiers get to the Dachau concentration camp was unforgettable. This event makes us all realize how important it was to win this war against fascist and extremely racist dictators.

Whitlock does an excellent job in trying to report the facts without any moral judgements in all parts of the book. Whitlock also brings the reader to see the mistakes as well as the successes and gives his reasons. We see the events of Anzio from the level of generals, and other events from the reactions of lower level officers and enlistedmen. This book is a true testament to the sacrifice of Guard soldiers in World War II. I wish there were more books like this one on Guard units in World War II. This is an excellent book to read for the amateur military historian.

The Rock of Anzio chronicles the WW II experience of the 45th Division, a national guard unit primarily from OK, TX, and NM. This covers prewar status, the callup to federal duty, and its' prodigious battle action in Sicily, Italy including Anzio, France, and Germany. Personal remembrances of former thunderbirds (the divisions' nickname) are widely used as well as the divisional history. Far from being a dry accounting of the divisions' exploits, this book is very easily read, with many small details well covered as well as the overall strategic situation the division was facing at that time. I personally wasn't aware of the critical defense of Anzio by the thunderbirds. Battle actions are well written and exciting to read. I would recommend this book to anyone with a special interest in the Italian campaign and it is a excellent companion book to Edwin Hoyt's Backwater War.

I really enjoyed this book. It moved so well, and kept my interest from cover to cover. I have read many unit histories, and this work is the most complete. It cover the unit from activation, through all of its battles. Anzio and Dachau must get the highest praise. Anzio is written so well, I can hardly see how the US prevailed in that battle. I also never knew of the conflict between the Thunderbirds (45th ID) and the Rainbows (42nd ID), over the liberation of the Dachau Concentration camp (even having visited it). The author does a great job, buy this book!

My late grandfather was a Thunderbird (157th rgmt, M co), and seldom talked of his World War Two days. After reading this book, I now know why. I can only imagine what it must have been like to live for days on end in a wet foxhole, always cold and miserable. Only have the faintest idea of what horrors he saw when Dachau was liberated. The stories of those days were never told by him. As with many men of his generation, he did not want to remember those terrible events of nearly sixty years ago. _The Rock of Anzio_ tells the story that my grandfather was never able to tell, a story that should be told.

For many years the world behind the Iron Curtain was a mystery. There were Sovietologists of all different kinds. One famous Daniel Bell essay gave I believe eight or so different basic ways of interpreting the Soviet Union. Hedrick Smith is a reporter and what he did in this outstanding work was to look into the ordinary life of Soviet society as far as he could. He explained then close to thirty years ago many of the anomalies of the system. And when I read the book then I felt I really was getting inside information into a hidden and highly significant world.

I cannot claim to be a student of Russian history, but I have always foudn the ironies and disconnects of Russian life interesting. I just read this book in 2004, and now understand today's headlines from Russia, and their nostalgia for the order of the brutal regimes that preceded the fall of the Soviet Union. This is, as someone else said, a classic, a must read, a requirement for anyone who needs to understand Russia. Don't worry about it being date; part of Russian culture is that they cling hopelessly to the old while being swept cruelly away by the new. The attitudes and longings portrayed in this book appear to still be the same.

Hendrick Smith is a New York Times correspondent that spent the years 1970-75 living in and among the Soviet people, studying both the people and the culture. As much as a westerner could he immersed himself in many aspects of their lives interviewing workers, peasants, government beaurocrats, physicists, writers, movie producers, dissidents and students. He came away with a picture of a passionate and conflicted people; at times warm and hospitible, fearful and paranoid, petty and tyrannical, cynical and apathetic, and proud and loyal. In a country where the state is in overwhelming control of nearly every aspect of their lives, where a stroke of the pen from a government beaurocrat could destroy a man's life for the slightest misstep, the Russian are hardy souls that have found many ingenious ways to cope and survive.

In a supposedly classless utopia Smith shows us a country deeply divided by class distinctions, much more so than anywhere in the west. With a haughtiness that rivals the most snobbish western aristocrat, the cultural elite enjoy a life that is completely out of reach of the common man. They get to shop at special stores, stocked to the gills with imported goods from all over the world (Soviet made items considered beneath them) while the rest of the country spends on average 22 hours a week per household standing in line for basic necessities. The blatant corruption and hypocrisy is startling, but don't you dare voice it. Smith claims that just a few weeks of this type of living would wither away the will of your average American, and I believe him.

Only a westerner living among the Soviet people could write such a book. He tells of his 11-year-old daughter, enrolled in a Soviet public school, coming home and practising military drills taught as a regular part of the curriculum, or repeating songs and slogans extolling the `Great Leninist State' and condemning America without really comprehending the meaning of anything she's saying. Soviets are taught from an early age to simply parrot the idealogical dogma that is fed to them on an almost daily basis without digging too deeply. The Russians are so used to being lied to by their own government that they assume all nations lie to their people, and the Soviet government uses this political cynicisim as an effective means of control.

Although many of these `facts' about life in the USSR are fairly common knowledge in America (especially if you grew up during the Reagan years), Smith puts a human face on it that transforms this grey, drab, and seemingly monotonous totalitarian state into a vivid and colorful mosaic of a sincere, intelligent and deeply conflicted people with a communal inferiority complex

I have been a student of the Soviet Union for many years, but did not come across this book until very recently, and I must say that I feel this one book does more to provide a picture of Soviet life than perhaps all the other study I had done previously.

While it is true that there is an "American bias" to this book, it isn't overpowering, and it leaves room for the "unbiased" student to draw plenty of their own conclusions. Overall I find this to be the least biased of all the western histories of the Soviet Union.

What I found most fascinating was the distinct parallel between American conservatives (who of course are anti-Marxist) and Russian conservatives of the time (where were very pro-Marxist).

As a student of Marxism, I fully understand this, but this book demonstrated it so well. In mentality, its safe to say that many of America's far right Republicans would have been among the USSR's Marxist orthodoxy.

This book is a must read for anyone interested in the Soviet Union, it will dispell myths on both sides.

Although this book is now rather dated (from the Brezhnev era of the 1970s) it still sticks in my mind as a very vivid portrait of Russia and the Russians...I read it in my late teens circa 1989 or so. I didn't read THE NEW RUSSIANS until a couple of years ago. Both are excellent books but I enjoyed THE RUSSIANS more, I think. Any student of Russia would do well to read this book even today...although it's no longer contemporary/current events it still captures like a snapshot the then-USSR in the late 70s, and even some discussion of the earlier times in people's memories then--Krushchev, Stalin, etc. I found the book insightful and still relevant when I myself I finally visited Russia in 1993. Should be available at most Public Libraries...handle with care, the copies will be old.

Superb! As someone of Scottish ancestry who went to graduate school there back in the 1970s, I was naturally drawn to this book. Taken at face value, writing a book on three tiny, uninhabited islands is quite challenging, given the nearly four hundred pages this book encompasses. Mr. Nicolson writes stirring prose as he disects every aspect of the Shiants--history, geology, plant life, animal life, etc. From this, the reader can acquire knowledge on a wide variety of subjects that extend well-beyond these little isles--for example, I learned that the abundant defecation of geese is brought about their need to constantly reduce body weight or else lose the ability to fly, as these are indeed heavy birds.

As one interested in the history of the Western Isles, what these islands experienced has application for this entire area, in that many of the smaller isles have experienced the same trend towards depopulation that have beset the Shiants, with the last permanent residents leaving the Shiants in the early 1900s. The author contends that all of this a byproduct of modern, urbanized society which results in individuals in remote places feeling isolated, a psychology that didn't exist 500 years ago when what one could find on one island or the nearby mainland didn't differ substantially from the small islands you inhabited.

Humor abounds, especially funny to read about his father's experinces in the 1930s, the story of him walking around in the nude as he was the only one there, only to be surprised by unknown visitors having a pic nic. Also in the 1930s, his father invited two beautiful young ladies who were to serve as bridesmaids for the future Queen Elizabeth II for a visit. The author muses on why Dad ever invited them as the rat-infested house had no electricity and conditions were very primitive. The trip ends horribly for the young women, with a rat disrupting their sleep and their having to leave the isle the next day by wading out to the boat taking them back to the mainland. Conditions today are still just as primitive-no electricity, running water, etc.

Best part--the end--beautiful description of sitting on a high hill--with the Isle of Skye to the east, the Outer Hebrides to the west. What a place! What a book!

I bought this book to indulge my interest in Scotland's islands, and found that, and much more. Essentially, this is a memoor with history, geology, flora and fauna tucked into it. The three small Shiant islands in the Hebrides come alive in Nicolson's hands. He's an excellent writer, drawing the reader in without "effect". You can sense his total awe and regard for this legacy. And, except for the rats, you find yourself wanting to live there, for a few summertime weeks, simply exploring coves and beaches and the semi-desolate interiors of these islands. Along the way, you learn a lot, in pleasurable fashion. Nicolson truly touches on the islands' soul. Recommended!

A compelling book about the realities of life in the Scottish Islands. Adam has done an excellent job of blending historical details with his descriptions of this area. Well worth a read!

Ah, what a fine book this is. Reading it is like spending time with a new friend. Nicholson has a sharp and curious mind and a generous spirit. You may not think you can be much interested in a group of three little islands in the Outer Hebrides - the Shiants - their climate, wildlife, prehistory, geology, archeology, socio-economics, agriculture, shepherding, folk literature, the sea currents around them, and the host of other topics covered in this book, but Nicholson draws you in. Soon you are immersed in whatever there is to be known about what amounts to less than a square mile of rock, cliffs, beach, and meadow.

The book is organized around the turn of the year, beginning with Nicholson's first journey to the islands in his own boat in the spring, and ending with the first gusty wet weather of autumn, as he sits at the window in a two-room cottage writing. Into this annual cycle he interweaves story upon story, often speculative, of how the islands came to be, how they came to be what they are, and the people over thousands of years who have lived here.

As the year passes, Nicholson sketches in the broad sweep of recorded history from St. Columba to the present, noting the several hands through which the islands have passed, including his father's and his own. A team of archeologists identifies the remains of Iron and Bronze Age settlements and spends a summer uncovering a long abandoned farmstead. The discovery of a buried cobblestone with an ancient inscription sends him on one of many attempts to unravel mysteries that he uncovers.

The book is based on considerable research, and Nicholson pieces together a previously unwritten history of the islands with references drawn from many old documents and interviews with historians and other experts. He helpfully illustrates his text with many photographs, drawings, and maps.

This book is for anyone who feels the magical pull of islands. You will not regard them quite the same way again.

Not the other way around. This was the greatest theme I took away from Adam Nicolson's "Sea Room," the story of the three tiny, uninhabited Shiant (say "Shant") Islands in the Hebrides of Scotland, which Nicholson inherited from his father (the famed author Nigel Nicolson, the son of Vita Sackville-West).

Nicolson's approach to describing the islands for his readers resembles John McPhee's: it's an engaging blend of natural history (how were the islands formed?), human history (who lived here and why?), archaeology, and ecology (how do the animals and plants of the Shiants form a whole world?). The difference is that Nicolson's passion for place is quite specific: he loves the Shiants like one loves one's parents, infinitely and irreplaceably. You can't imagine him running off and writing a second book about another place.

Nicolson's prose is lyric and detailed at the same time; despite the length (350 pages and more), the story never flags. At the end of the book, Nicholson defends his continued private ownership of the islands (many feel they should be a public trust); I wasn't convinced, but I respected his strong urge to transmit his love of the place to his son and future generations of his family.

By the way, Nicholson publicly offers the keys to his cottage to anyone desiring to stay there (his e-mail address is in the book); but consider first that rats seem now to be part of the natural ecology of the place. But perhaps that won't phase you (it doesn't phase Nicholson a bit!).

My son's Christian School teacher had this book as the other two books in this series on her reading list, however, it was out of print. We purchased all three and my son was very captivated by the action and story lines. Although written for the Christian, all children will love it.

Wow! This book if full of adventure and suspense! The plot is unique and very interesting! I think anyone of any age would enjoy reading this book. It involves likeable characters (especially Con), and religion. Pick up a copy of SECRET OF THE MEZUZAH now! :o) HAPPY READING!

This book is a great beggining for Con's adventures. You get sucked into the book as soon as you start reading. It makes you not want to stop reading it until you are done, but sad when you finish it.

Secret of the Mezuzah is written for young adults, but was very interesting and enjoyable reading for me, a forty-something adult. I appreciated the history included with the present day setting. The characters are engaging and believable. I would recommend this book to adults and certainly to young adults! Fiction, but not fantasy, events that could have taken place and lessons to apply about the people in our lives and around the world.

This is one of the best adventure stories geared toward young people that I've ever read (and I've read a lot!). The relationships are realistic and handled with sensitivity, especially the depictions of casual, ingrained anti-Semitism that could happen anywhere, not just in Austria. Even people who don't consider themselves Christian will get something out of this story.

As my command of the English language once again fails me in regards to communicating how good the author is let me just say that just as Black Ajax convinced us all that GMF missed his calling as a sports writer and Quartered Safe Out Here convinced us he should have been a lecturer talking about his experiences in Burma this current book also tells us something.

GMF again missed his calling in addition to being an excellent writer of fiction as is evidenced by the Flashman series "The Steel Bonnets" shows that GMF had the makings of a serious historian.

His tragic although not entirely unexpected death robbed us of one of the great authors of the 20th century.

An excellent and exhaustive narrative of what must be one of the most turbulent periods in the history of the British Isles.

Frasier is quite a writer - best in others of his works where he can use his talented imagination. And as a reporter of his own exploits in Burma during the war, his ability is outstanding (one should read "Quartered Safe Out Here").
However, here in "Steel Bonnets" his hands are tied by tiresome reality and a remove of 400 years. Fraser admits this book is not a primer or even a text for college study, but it is a recount of his research and written with nostalgic favor since he comes from the border area himself. Mr. Fraser has great pride in his background and home, and he repeats the stories as faithfully as anyone could. The problem with "Bonnets" is that it hasn't much of a story.
In the first six pages of the book all to be said is done; the remainder is elaboration on who, when and where. Bandits raid other people's farms and towns, burning, stealing, killing, etc.. Generations of upwards to thirty families continue this insanity until Scotland is joined to England in about 1605 or so with James VI and I.
IF you ARE related to "border riding" English/Scots - (especially if named Graham, Johnstone, Maxwell or Armstrong, Kerr, Hume, Elliot or Nixon) then the book is well worth a look.

This book is the definitive history of the riding families -- the Border Reviers. It is a long scholarly look into the nature of these complex and determined families that does not pass judgment or apply modern values in the assessment of their history and deeds. This is not for the casusal reader. It uses a fair amount of old English spellings and can be an effort to decifer at times. However Fraser MacDonald combines this along with his natural story telling ability to make you feel as if you are on a foray across the border and it keeps you coming back for more. If you are a student of Border history or are lucky enough to have one of the riding names, make the effort to read this book. It has no equal in its treatment of the subject.

Until England and Scotland were united under a single king in March 1603, the border between them was, unsurprisingly, a natural place for strife and disorder. The two countries had been at war intermittently for centuries, and many armies had passed back and forth across the border counties. Fraser's history covers the last hundred years of the border, from 1503 to 1603, a period during which the decayed (and astonishingly corrupt) administration could never cope with the local gangs -- known as "reivers" -- who terrorized the district with cattle theft, murder, and arson.

The book is very well-organized. Fraser starts with a few pages on the long historical background, then takes about half the book to cover the reivers by topic: chapters on arms and armour; on reiving technique; on the key families and their alliances; on cross-border relations; on the administrative structure. Fraser gives a lot of details, and plenty of quotes from the original sources (with the original spellings!).

This painstaking coverage sets up the second half of the book perfectly: one hundred and forty pages that cover the history of the border chronologically through the sixteenth century. With the details in hand, the second half is easy to follow and put in context; the writing is also clear and entertaining.

The last section of the book details the uncompromising way in which King James I destroyed the reivers in a few short years after 1603. It is a startlingly bloodthirsty story: Fraser includes quotes from blanket pardons that King James issued to some of his enforcers, which essentially say "whatever murders you did, I'm sure it was in a good cause, and you're absolved".

There are separate chapters on some of the most famous events, notably the raid on Carlisle Castle that freed Kinmont Willie. Fraser is at some pains to dispel the romantic ideas that cling to stories of the borderers -- as he points out, they were essentially a Mafia, with little of Robin Hood about them. It's clear, though, that he finds their adventurousness and style endearing and fascinating; and he writes about them so well that you are likely to feel the same way.

Costain originally published THE THREE EDWARDS in 1958. While he has an easy-to-read style, which as other reviewers have remarked, makes him as fun to read as a good novel, his opinions sometimes come off as pompous - even absurd - by today's standards. For instance, in writing about the love affair between Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer, he says, "When a woman of passionate nature has existed in a loveless marriage and has reached the late twenties before yielding to a clandestine impulse, it may be taken for granted that she will not be guided by anything but the dictates of her love."

Later, about the woman who would become Queen Philippa, he writes, "Queen Philippa [in comparison to Isabella] had seemed rather colorless. She was pretty, sweet, and domestic, a typical Dutch girl."

The short section on Edward II never directly refers to the king's homosexuality. Rather, there are references to his "favorites."

If you can get past these prejudices, you'll learn a lot about 3 reigns - Edward I, II and III - in short order (the 1962 reprint that I read was slightly under 450 pages). Costain does a good job of summarizing the important events as well as the characters of the key men and women. There is also a good summary of the life of Edward III's son, Edward (called the Black Prince for the color of his armor).

I also like the fact that he provides information on his sources - calling rumor, rumor and referring to some contemporary writers as gossipmongers.

On time, as advertised, and packaged well. No problems at all. Would use again.

This is one of a quartet that Costain wrote describing the monarchs and key events in European history from William the Conqueror to the War of the Roses. The history is accurate. It is always clear where Costain is speculating and where he is drawing on traditional sources, such as the various chronicles of the era. However, he weaves them together so smoothly that the reader needs concern her/himself with documentation only when it pleases. Costain is first and foremost a good story teller and an elegant writer.

Costain does a great job with this overview of the first named Edwards to lord it over the English throne. From the fierce but just Edward I ("Hammer of the Scots") to the effete and ineffectual Edward II to the long-reigning and erratic Edward III, the author sustains our interest with anecdotes and thorough reporting of the times. Costain has a delightful habit of suddenly focusing on a historical figure one doesn't generally hear about and then presenting the reader with yet another biography to get excited about. Well done, well written. well read.

All history books should be written as well as Thomas Costain's "The Three Edwards." A comprehensive guide to the lives and labors of the great warrior kings Edward I and Edward III and the screw-up, Edward II, who ruled in between them, this book unfolds more like an easy-to-read and hard-to-put-down novel. Divided into short, easily manageable and well-organized chapters, it covers everything from the marriages of the kings and their children, the political highs and lows of their reigns, the manner of their deaths and the major battles of their wars. Many books about this era are hard to follow if you don't already have a good working knowledge of the time period. Costain avoids this problem by telling you who the people are, what they looked and acted liked, and why they are important to the story, helping you keep track of them by reminding you when he's spoken of them before, and generally describing the people so well that they don't just become a series of names that you can't keep track of. Although he obviously admires Edward I, has disdain for Edward II, and seems to be neutral toward Edward III, to whom about half the book is devoted, he is careful to point out both the good and bad in each of their characters and to place their actions in the context of their times. Plenty of space is given to the kings' ministers, merchants, wives and families, and to those of the Scottish and French rulers with whom the Edwards were at constant war, including Robert the Bruce, William Wallace, John Balliol, Philip the Fair, Jean the Good, and Charles the Bald.

One of the things I love about this book is that Costain shares so many of the great rumors and stories that passed down over the ages (such as Edward I promising the Welsh that he will give them a prince that speaks no English or French and then appointing his newborn son to the post), simply because they are great stories, while taking pains to point out why they can't be true. You can almost feel Costain winking at you as he relates the tales. Another great aspect of the book is that he devotes substantial time to the women of the period, who are generally ignored in most books on the middle ages. Edward II's wife, Isabella of France, is examined in detail, as is Eleanor of Castille, the first and beloved wife of Edward I whose death moved him to erect eleven costly stone crosses to her memory.

This book presents a very comprehensive overview of the lives and works of the three kings and is a great starting place for those who know very little about their lives, or a great review for those who've read much about them. You won't get every tiny bit of detail about Edward III's famous battles of Sluys, Crecy and Poitiers here that is found in, for instance, Jonathon Sumption's books on the Hundred Years War, but they are all well-summarized, and Costain includes many important details such as numbers of foot and mounted soldiers on each side, terrain, battle tactics and formations, and number of casualties as well as political motivations. Given the length of the book, there is a surprising wealth of detail packed into every page, including such wonderful tidbits as the origin of the word "blanket," which came from the name of Thomas Blanket, an early English manufacturer of the item.

In the last few months I have read over two dozen books on the middle ages, and this had been by far the most informative and enjoyable, the one book that really makes the events of the period come alive and the people seem to be actual people of flesh and blood, rather than just an amalgam of their deeds and accomplishments. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

I am at the end of this book and have come away with more knowledge in regards to the Waffen-SS and it's volunteer divisions. It was very interesting to hear about all the different nationalities that have served in the Waffen-SS. Technically they weren't the 'standard' of the Waffen-SS. They weren't racially pure. Very interesting that they had to resort to recruiting even 'sub-human' slavs. That the last units protecting berlin were 300 french 'charlemagne' soldiers and a latvian division. Anyways, a really good read. (Also a good bargain). Well worth it!

A good book to read!

I have read a few books on this subject so I can't remember any specific thing from this which I know belongs to this book but I remember it was a good book

In his book The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War George Stein posits that contrary to the popular belief, the SS was not a homogeneous band of killers that did nothing but persecute the Jews during Hitler's reign and had no real military value. Instead, he suggests that the Waffen SS was a dynamic organization which, in the face of war, evolved into the most highly developed and most efficient militarized army of the Nationalist Socialist movement, playing a role for which it was never intended. According to Stein, it was the SS, not the Nazi party that proved to be the dynamic core of the "movement".
The Waffen SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War is a very well written book in which Stein sheds light on the often times mysterious and notorious Schutzstaffel. Stein takes us back to its inception and progresses forward through history, showing how the organization's structure and mandate gradually evolved during the Third Reich. Stein reveals the factors which set the Waffen SS apart from the Army, detailing its successes and failures in battle, and the role it played in the military exploits of the Third Reich.
Stein's thesis is broken up into three distinct points which are supported in different sections of the book and then tied together in his conclusion. The first contention of his thesis is that the Waffen SS was a dynamic and ever evolving organization. With the outbreak of the Second World War, the SS grew from 25,000 to 150,000 men. According to Stein this six-fold increase marked the beginning of an expansion that would result in the establishment of the SS as the "fourth branch of the Wehrmacht". Furthermore, Stein maintains that the SS cannot be painted as a uniform institution of terror. Stein acknowledges that the SS was responsible for a large number of the war-crimes committed by the Third Reich but argues that "only a minority of men that passed through the ranks of the Waffen SS were involved in any of the known atrocities" (281). Stein also states that contrary to popular belief, the SS was also quite dynamic in its personnel composition. By 1945, of the 38 SS divisions, none were composed solely of native Germans and 19 divisions consisted primarily of foreign nationals.
The second part of Stein's thesis is that the Waffen SS played a role in WWII for which it was not originally intended. Stein states that the SS was originally designed to be Hitler's elite guard and militarized police force, not the elite combat arm of the Wehrmacht that it evolved into. Stein goes on to say that Hitler only wanted the Waffen SS to be an example for the Army, only fighting on the front now and then to retain the respect of the people. Yet the Waffen SS were relied on more and more as the war progressed, becoming an integral and indispensable part of Hitler's offensive operations. "The Third Reich would have collapsed much sooner had it not been for the elite SS divisions" (293). During the last two years of the war, the Waffen SS fought on all four fronts.
The third and final part of Stein's thesis holds that it was the SS, not the Nazi party that proved to be the dynamic core of the movement. Stein maintains that the SS was tied more to Hitler (All SS personnel swore an oath to Hitler himself) and the movement than to the state or the party like the Army. "It would be more accurate to describe the Waffen SS as the dictator's private army or Praetorian Guard rather than as a party army." (26)
In summary, I think there was a general lack of evidence for his postulation that it was the SS, not the Nazi party that proved to be the dynamic core of the movement, but Stein more than makes up for it in his detailed analysis of the Waffen SS and its changing role in WW2 from an elite guard unit to the highly effecting combat arm of the Wehrmacht.

"Waffen SS-Hitler's Elite Guard at War, 1939-1945" by George H. Stein is a fabulous work of historical literature. Many an author, popular and academic, has tackled the topic of the SS and Waffen SS but very few have done so in an objective fashion like Stein. Far too many presentations of the Waffen SS have been from apologist and revisionist authors who fail to recognize and/or admit the complicity of portions of the Waffen SS in the atrocities committed in the name of the NSDAP and Adolf Hitler. At the other end of the spectrum are those authors, again large in number, who simply paint ALL that served in the Waffen SS with broad strokes of guilt. Stein captures a story that falls between the extremes and thus is more realistic and truthful, and thus more historically accurate with clear lack of hysterics.

"Waffen SS" begins with a historical perspective on the establishment of the SS [initially the Allgemeine (General)-SS] and formation of the earliest incarnations of the armed SS - initially from the units such as the Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler" (Hitler's Chancellery Guard) and the SS-Totenkopfverbande (Death's Head Units, early concentration camp guards), to organization of the Waffen SS as war approached. This presentation provides considerable information that allows the reader to connect (or disconnect as appropriate) various components of Himmler's greater SS. This is critical to the process of a reader drawing objective conclusions about guilt of the Waffen SS in non-combatant war crimes.

Stein then spends considerable time discussing the military exploits of the Waffen SS, both early and oft strained integration into the Wehrmacht during the initial phases of the war up to the defeat of France and the AEF, as well as their later fierce and destructive battles fought east across the Soviet Union and their return west in defense. Stein's prose does not fail to convey a picture of a fanatical and determined fighting force. Clearly the Waffen SS (especially the early incarnations that were still volunteer and elite) was an accomplished "army". Stein also discusses how the elite Waffen SS was in later years of the war converted through conscription (mostly) into a hodge-podge of a force that often was worth very little and sometimes more trouble than it was worth.

In the third major section of "Waffen SS" the author presents a clear and concise (without simply rehashing particular atrocities covered in depth elsewhere) description of crimes that can be connected to the Waffen SS, whether directly or indirectly. While crimes can clearly be attributed to battle formations, both combatant- and non-combatant-related, it is also clear from Stein's presentation that a majority of Waffen SS units were not likely involved in such events. This is not to say that Stein presents an apologist view, quite to the contrary - he presents an honest assessment of guilt - the Waffen SS was guilty but it is unfair to claim all units were simply butchers. Yet equally unfair would be a claim that the Waffen SS was simply an army free of guilt. When it comes to connections between the Waffen SS and the holocaust the story is one mostly of semantics. As Stein points out it is beyond doubt that the SS represented the system by which Hitler attempted (and nearly succeeded) to murder all of the European jews and other "Untermensch" (subhumans). It is also clear that many of the units involved were, at least on paper, part of the Waffen SS. Moreover, much of the concentration camp staff turn over was between the camps and the front lines. Yet it is not at all clear that fighting units of the Waffen SS were directly involved in these acts. Thus it becomes an issue of semantics because it depends upon how one defines "Waffen SS". Again this is not to say that Stein presents an apologist view or one of strict and total condemnation. In fact Stein presents a picture in which the facts are presented and the reader is free to define the culprits for themselves.

In the final section Stein gives a very concise and extremely well written summary. This section itself is worth the price of the book. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Stein is liberal in his use of sources and yet it also becomes clear that Gerald Reitlinger's "SS: Alibi of a Nation" is one he favors and must feel captures much of the story of the SS (although not in the concise manner in which Stein sets out to do - as he states right up front). This is a five star effort worth a read!!!

This volume by George Stein was originally published in 1966. Most of the publication facts are based on the SS and Wehrmacht histories written during the war and supplemented by information from both Hitler's and Himmler's personal records and recordings. At some points you may find that the documentation is a little overwhelming, but most of it is in bottom page notes.

The original formation of the SS (Schutzstaffel-Protection Squad) were the black uniformed elite personal body guard for Adolf Hitler set-up by Heinrich Himmler. It was envisioned as an elite corps that would be the 'police' of the Nazi Party, replacing the less than repudable SD (Brown Shirts). After becoming Chancellor in 1933 the The Waffen-SS (Armed-SS) branch was expanded and divided into three subgroups: the Leibstandarte, Hitler's personal bodyguard; the Totenkopfverbande (Death's Head Battalions), which administered the concentration camps; and the Verfugungstruppen (Disposition Troops).

By the end of the war the Waffen SS had grown to 39 divisions (always under the command of the Wehrmacht). But in reality, only six of the formations were ever a true fighting force mostly made up of German residents of the Reich. Another two or three made up of Volksdeutsch and Western Volunteers in World War II were also considered 'first line' troops. The other formations were made up of Eastern European 'Volunteers' many of whom were ex-POWs or conscripted Volksdeutsch. Some of these formations never fought or came any way near Division strength (15,000) and were as small as battallions (200). What the extra 26 divisions did was spread out needed German officers and equipment.

Beginning with the invasions of the Low Countries and France, the Waffen SS participated in all the major battles of WWII including Stalingrad, Kursk, Normandy and the final battle in Berlin. Hitler used them as his 'Fire Brigade' when he needed immediate help in Italy after the fall of Mussolini, in Normandy after D-Day and as the spearhead of the troops in the 'Battle of the Bulge'. These were the troops that became the fearsome SS-Panzer and Panzergrenadiers that fought with 'abandon' and to the death in so many rearguard battles.

But the Waffen-SS was also seen as the 'peacetime' armed state police. They would be a combination of Carabenari, Prison Camp Guards, Secret Service and FBI. Many of the early Concentration Camp guards, later became members of the 4th-SS Polizeidivision of the Waffen-SS and it wasn't unusual for wounded or disabled Waffen-SS to be transfered to the Concentration Camp Guard troops. As to the massacres at Paladis, Oradur and Malmedy; according to the 'apologists', well 'boys will be boys' and sometimes get 'out of hand'.

Though a lot of work has been done since 1966, this is a great reference work from which to begin.