Europe Books

A lot of things began in Renaissance Florence: the way businesses keep their books, the way sovereign states relate to each other, the way people use art to tell stories and create beauty. These things and many more elements of modern society have their origins in this smallish Tuscan city. These impulses were born in the middle of the last millenium - during the century or so when Florence blossomed as the intellectual and artistic supernova of the Italian Renaissance. Today, Florence remains densely packed with the memories of that time. Eve Borsook's "THE COMPANION GUIDE TO FLORENCE" is the key to the city. In addition to all the names, dates, places of history, Borsook skillfully weaves in meaning and context so that you may know who painted what fresco in which church - but why it remains meaningful 500 years down the road. You can go to Florence to shop for many beautiful Italian creations. But with this book, you can gain a clear appreciation about why the names,images and achievements from this amazing city's glorious past still resonate in our lives today.

I lived in Florence as a full time tourist for a year in the early eighties. I could divide my year into before and after finding this book; it's that good. The maps reveal every nook and cranny, helping you to see the hidden wonders right before your eyes in this city that is so immensely rich in wonders. The recommended walking tours make your time more meaningful, as the buildings and artwork become not only isolated splendors, but also pieces of the history of this remarkable city. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the latest edition so that I can plan a return visit for next year. Buy yours early and plan your time, and you will have a visit beyond what even the best tour guide could ever offer. Buon viaggio!

Borsook offers a comprehensive overview of the history and culture of the cradle of the Renaissance, and a guide to the many nooks and crannys of old Florence. This book details all the important venues open to the public, plus many that are not. It gives invaluable insight into the context of the city, and site maps to all the important works of art and science.

I read this book before a recent trip to Florence, using it to plan the visit. I left it home, thinking it too heavy to tote along. I won't make that mistake when we return. Forget the guidebooks; Borsook is all you need to enjoy Florence.

A lot of things began in Florence. The way businesses keep their books, the way sovereign states relate to each other, the way people use art to tell stories and create beauty. These things and many more elements of modern society have their origins in this smallish Tuscan city. These impulses were born in the middle of the last millenium - during a century or so when Florence blossomed as an intellectual and artistic supernova of the Italian Renaissance. Today, Florence remains densely packed with the memories of that time. Eve Borsook's "THE COMPANION GUIDE TO FLORENCE" is the key to the city. In addition to all the names, dates, places of history, Borsook skillfully weaves in meaning and context so that you may not only know who painted what fresco in which church - but why it remains meaningful 500 years down the road. You can go to Florence to shop for many beautiful Italian creations. But with this book, you can gain a clear appreciation about why the names and images from this amazing city's glorious past still resonate in our lives today.

A lot of things began in Renaissance Florence: the way businesses keep their books, the way sovereign states relate to each other, the way people use art to tell stories and create beauty. These things and many more elements of modern society have their origins in this smallish Tuscan city. These impulses were born in the middle of the last millenium - during the century or so when Florence blossomed as the intellectual and artistic supernova of the Italian Renaissance. Today, Florence remains densely packed with the memories of that time. Eve Borsook's "THE COMPANION GUIDE TO FLORENCE" is the key to the city. In addition to all the names, dates, places of history, Borsook skillfully weaves in meaning and context so that you may know who painted what fresco in which church - but why it remains meaningful 500 years down the road. You can go to Florence to shop for many beautiful Italian creations. But with this book, you can gain a clear appreciation about why the names,images and achievements from this amazing city's glorious past still resonate in our lives today.

A very interesting and concise history of Greece from the 18th century to the present. It includes detailed examinations of all the major turning points in Greek history in the last three hundred years; the Greek war of independence, Greece under the Nazis, the Greek Civil War and the dictatorship. All of the important passions that have overcome the Greeks are woven into the story as is the story of the destruction of the Greek peoples of Anatolia (The Pontic Greeks and Smyrna Greeks and others) as well as the ethnic-cleansing of Greeks by the Turks from places such as Adrianople, Constantinople and Rumania and Bulgaria. The conflict over Macedonia is highlighted as is the tragic story of the 100,000 strong Greek community of Egypt that was also cleansed by the Nasser regime.

A fascinating history,

Seth J. Frantzman

This is a great book for both an introduction as well as an on-going reference source on modern Greece.
Highly recommend it to students or anyone interested in learning the history of the modern state, without getting bogged down with boring details.

I enjoyed reading the book but in some parts I had difficulties to understand the context. Somehow, Clogg jumps from one subject to the other. Also, there were very difficult historical words which are especially difficult for readers whose mother tongue is not English. Admittedly, the book has not been written for foreign readers but I think that even an English native speaker has a problem to understand words like "irredentism" and "shibboleth" if he didn't study history. Another problem is the title of some chapters. He calls one chapter "The legacy of the Civil war 1950 - 1974" although the civil war in Greece was between 1944 and 1949 or so. How can he call this capter in the abovementioned way if he writes about military rule and the Cyprus conflict? He admitted in a way that Britain and the USA have contributed to the beginning of the Cyprus conflict but he doesn't write much about it. I read the book but sometimes I did not understand it, in particular the context. I wished he would have written also more about the Ottoman rule in Greece or even the beginning of the history of Greece. The book would have been thicker, indeed, but it would have given more information. Also, he should have given the book a slightly different title, for instance "A Concise History of Greece - 1770 - 1990". This would have been clearer because as a reader you think that he has written about the whole history of Greece. However, all in all it was a good book. I enjoyed it.

Now in an expanded second edition, A Concise History Of Greece by Richard Clogg (Fellow of St. Anthony's College, Oxford University, England) is a straightforward, scholarly chronicle of the modern history of Greece, ranging from the Ottoman rule of the late 1700's, to the pressures of Balkan strife and political modernization of the present day. Deftly written and carefully researched, supplemented with tables, short biographies, as well as a listing of the royal houses of Greece, A Concise History Of Greece is an excellent and scholarly survey of the modern growth of the nation which is a strongly recommended addition to academic World History collections in general, and Hellenic History supplemental reading lists in particular.

Richard Clogg is a renowned international scholar who has been writing about Greek history for decades. This work is a popularization (from footnotes deliver me) that should prove very helpful to the layman with more than a casual interest in Greece. It invites comparison with C.M. Woodhouse's also famous history, but I must declare myself incompetent to decide if one is better than the other.

Clogg's section on the Ottoman period is blessedly brief and his discussion of the Nazi occupation and Communist insurection are to-the-point yet incisive.

Perhaps the most exciting feature of the work is the great bunch of pictures gracing nearly every page and showing the days of glory in Modern Greece as well as some of the saddest. The maps are also helpful.

There are no footnotes but the selective bibliography will be useful to most readers. There is also an appendix giving thumbnail biographies of some luminaries in modern Greek history.

For most, Charles Dickens is the only source we've encountered regarding the awful human misery of the early industrial revolution. However, Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx reported on it, too. Indeed, most of their criticisms were far more applicable to the raw capitalism of contemporary England than their native Germany.

Engels stayed in Manchester, the premier industrial city of the time, during the early 1840's to research his book. And he produced a devastating indictment of the truly miserable and life-threatening living conditions he found. Unlike Marx, Engels had a pronounced flair for writing; he makes it a fascinating, eye-opening journey back through time.

The topics he includes cover: struggling labor movements, the denigrating effects of immigration on domestic workers (due to competing subsistence-cost labor), the ignorance and crippling of child workers, the sexual exploitation of women workers, the displacement of male heads of household by lower-cost and more pliant women/children, the unbelievable filth and subhuman housing conditions workers endured, the dangerous and unhealthy working conditions of miners/factory workers, rampant substance abuse, doping of children by babysitters, the total lack of legal redress for the poor, the displacement of labor by machinery, and the role of unbridled competition in perpetrating economic distress.

While we all know communism has failed, its rise was due to these very real and serious problems, some of which remain with many Western workers today. And most of these conditions do very much persist in emerging economies right now. So, even though the book is well over 150 years old it is still highly valid!

The main fault of course with Marx/Engels' communist philosophy is that ALL humans are greedy and lazy - it's just that the clever ones (whether they originate from 'bourgeous' or 'working' classes) will always exploit the others. And it doesn't matter whether the system is capitalist or communist - those at the top will always exploit those below for personal advantage. Probably the best response has been the progressive social reform in Western nations over the last 100 years. (Revolutions and dictatorships usually only lead to mass murder.)

This chilling book is the real-life Oliver Twist exposed.I think Fredrick Engels wrote this book,in part to clear his conscious.And largely, to shed light on the fetid ,wretched underbelly of the 19th century industrial-age society.The nameless toilers working ten to twelve hour shifts,in a factory operation they had no vote or control over.Marx and Engels had many valid arguments for improving the workers lives.Did their end-results justify their means of social revolution? Engels would be amazed at the former textile towns,like Manchester,absorbing the large influx of Asians,Moslims and Africans today.It is still being debated,whether history has proven Engels & Marx right.This book is still a historical classic,thats presumptive findings give the modern reader,reason to pause. So,look all around you. -A Great Book !

Fabuous book. Engels wrote this when he was only 24- and what a tour de force.

The work is detailed, beautifully observed and elegantly written. Despite the depressing nature of the subject matter, the tone is always possible about a better world beyond the evils of capitalism.

Unfortunately 150 years after this masterpiece was written things dont seen to have gotten better under capitalism. Rather, the old evils of poverty, infectious diseases, starvation have been replaced by the modern evils of capitalism: obesity, alienation, mass materialism, depression, plunging fertility and marriage rates and so on...

Engels was the engine behind Karl Marx, one that gave him all the support he could, so to permit Marx to dedicate himself almost completely to the completion of his works. Judging himself many degrees bellow Marx in terms of intelect, Engels nonetheless is capable of writting a book such as this which describes all the impoverishment of the working class in the beginning of the industrialization in England, being helped by some well porputed factories labor fiscalization agents who allowed Engels to flip trough their reports. Strong terms like "the dark satanic mills" describe fully what were the working conditions of the time in a so rich country as England. An historical document lest no one forget what can happen again if the free hand of capitalism is allowed to run free of any barriers.

Friedrich Engels' classic "The Condition of the Working Class in England" was written when he was only twenty-four, and had but recently abandoned his Calvinist upbringing for a more critical, socialist, point of view. Yet this book reads as if it were written by an experienced political commentator or a radical sociologist, without actually at any point becoming melodramatic or dense.

Engels' main purpose is to confront the bourgeoisie with the reality of their mode of production and to contrast this with the rhetoric of "free choice" and "civil liberties", as well as the capitalist apologia of the political economists of his day, in particular Andrew Ure. With great insight into both the causes and effects of the capitalist system, Engels catalogues the endless want, filth, despair and misery experienced by millions of labourers every day in 19th century England. He pays attention to housing, to factory safety, to unionism, to the physical condition of the workers, to alcoholism, the state of the Irish underclass, to prostitution and disease; in short, all the ills attendant on industrialization.

What gives this book such power is that Engels on the one hand proceeds in an analytical manner, making use above all of sources from the bourgeoisie itself and from Parliamentary reports, in explaining the functioning of the capitalist system and the competition between capitalists and between labourers. On the other hand, he writes in a particularly readable manner and at no point bores the reader with the mere summing-up of statistics. On the contrary, every analytical truth is accompanied by a vivid description, taken from Engels' excursions into working-class neighbourhoods, of the terrible state of humanity that the economic laws of capitalism cause for a great number of people.

For those interested in political economy, it may come as a surprise to see how much of the functioning of capitalism Engels already understood at such an early point in the development of theory. This gives the lie to the many theorists who would later claim that it was Marx only who worked on economics and that Engels was a mere epigone; this book should be a vindication of Engels. His later sketches of the political economy and of the historical development of capitalism would lay the foundation for both the Communist Manifesto and Marx' economic works. But the core insights that would create the modern theory of socialism are for the first time fully expressed here, and in a most appealing and shockingly effective manner.

In other words, an absolute must read for every person of intelligence.

It is 1741; Otis Gardner is the Coram Man, a cruel, sadistic trader who makes his living from the disposal of unwanted infants and by selling older children into slavery. Together with his half-wit son Meshak, he travels from Gloucester to London, collecting children under false promises of delivering them to the famous hospice founded by Thomas Coram.

Alexander Ashbrook, disinherited heir to a large estate, is unaware of the existence of his illegitimate son Aaron, a child given away in infancy and brought up in the Coram hospice to avoid scandal. Aaron, also oblivious to his father's identity, befriends Toby, a young boy saved from an African slave ship, and the childlike Mish who brought him to the orphanage all those years ago.

Set in eighteenth century Britain, "Coram Boy" is an epic tale of good and evil and the relationships between a father and a son. The plot is complicated yet compelling enough to make this novel impossible to put down. Jamila Gavin weaves a powerful story that explores the darker side of life in the 1700s and which combines romance, history, tragedy and hope. Beautifully written and filled with a cast of colourful and memorable characters to bring this eighteenth century world to life, Coram Boy is both a unique and special book. Although difficult to get into, this is ultimately an extremely rewarding read that has a wide appeal, although some readers may find the content of infanticide disturbing. Overall, this is definitely a five star book, and I would highly recommend it to both teens and adults .

~Jenna~

Otis Gardiner is a peddler in London who persuades young women to pay him for bringing their babies to the famous Coram Hospital, a place where unwanted children can receive proper education and have a successful future. However, after Otis got paid, he would kill these babies and later on blackmail the women who entrusted him with their babies for more money. His son, Meshak, saved a baby that he was about to kill and escaped to the Coram Hospital and stayed there for the next eight years. The baby was named Aaron Dangersfield and was very talented in music, like his father, Alexander Ashbrook. Alexander discovered that Aaron is actually his son in a meeting with his wife and sister, but Aaron was already being sent on a ship to America to be sold as a slave. Someone rescued Aaron from the ship shortly after it parted. Finally, Alexander reconciled with his long lost son.
I think this is an unbelievably awesome book. It involved many characters that each has their own small story in this book. For example, Aaron Dangersfield¡¦s foster father is a simpleton, and he often dreamed of living with the kind angles in the chapels away from his cruel father. Aaron¡¦s real father was kicked out of his family for living a life as a musician instead of learning how to take care and prosper from his father¡¦s estates. Furthermore Aaron¡¦s best friend, Toby, is an African, and he was being treated like a rare, dark-skin plaything more than a human. All of these small stories add up to be what Aaron has to experience or discover, which is what makes Coram Boy extra interesting.
My favorite part of this book is the epilogue. In the epilogue, Meshak was finally able to be with his imaginary angels after all the suffering he went through. He is a simpleton and was being treated cruelly by his father ever since he was born. He doesn¡¦t really mind being mistreated by his father, but he does feel mad when he saw with his very own eyes that the girl he admired fell in love with somebody else. Therefore, he saved that girl¡¦s baby boy and loved him like his son. At the end, when even the boy that he cared about so much went away, he asked his imaginary angels, ¡§Can I be dead now?¡¨ With merely five short words, so much is being remembered and expressed.

Otis Gardiner is a peddler in London who persuades young women to pay him for bringing their babies to the famous Coram Hospital, a place where unwanted children can receive proper education and have a successful future. However, after Otis got paid, he would kill these babies and later on blackmail the women who entrusted him with their babies for more money. His son, Meshak, saved a baby that he was about to kill and escaped to the Coram Hospital and stayed there for the next eight years. The baby was named Aaron Dangersfield and was very talented in music, like his father, Alexander Ashbrook. Alexander discovered that Aaron is actually his son in a meeting with his wife and sister, but Aaron was already being sent on a ship to America to be sold as a slave. Someone rescued Aaron from the ship shortly after it parted. Finally, Alexander reconciled with his long lost son.
I think this is an unbelievably awesome book. It involved many characters that each has their own small story in this book. For example, Aaron Dangersfield¡¦s foster father is a simpleton, and he often dreamed of living with the kind angles in the chapels away from his cruel father. Aaron¡¦s real father was kicked out of his family for living a life as a musician instead of learning how to take care and prosper from his father¡¦s estates. Furthermore Aaron¡¦s best friend, Toby, is an African, and he was being treated like a rare, dark-skin plaything more than a human. All of these small stories add up to be what Aaron has to experience or discover, which is what makes Coram Boy extra interesting.
My favorite part of this book is the epilogue. In the epilogue, Meshak was finally able to be with his imaginary angels after all the suffering he went through. He is a simpleton and was being treated cruelly by his father ever since he was born. He doesn¡¦t really mind being mistreated by his father, but he does feel mad when he saw with his very own eyes that the girl he admired fell in love with somebody else. Therefore, he saved that girl¡¦s baby boy and loved him like his son. At the end, when even the boy that he cared about so much went away, he asked his imaginary angels, ¡§Can I be dead now?¡¨ With merely five short words, so much is being remembered and expressed.

Books are like baskets, with sturdy sides and empty spaces in the centers to fill. It's rare to find a novel so well-crafted that its story fills the basket up to the brim, but I have. Coram Boy is one that shines because of its powerful story, life-like characters, and the many emotions portrayed throughout the tale.
Alexander is a rich, talented choirboy who spends his life enveloped in music. Thomas, his best friend, comes from a poorer family, but is also devoted to melodies. There is one difference: Thomas is free to become a musician, but Alex can only look forward to becoming the master of his huge mansion. When Thomas is invited to spend the summer at his friend's house, he discovers that Alex holds a great passion for Melissa, the maid's lovely daughter, while at the same time dislikes his father for not letting him follow his musical talent. However, none of them know that another person trails Melissa too: Meshak, the unloved son of a man who makes money out of selling babies to become slaves. To everybody's shock, Alex runs away from his father's grip to become a musician, and Melissa, barely a child herself, gives birth to his baby. The baby is handed over to the `slave-dealer' secretly, but Meshak snatches it away, and cares for his angel's child as if it were his own.
Eight years later, the child, called Aaron, is taken as the now famous Alexander Ashbrook's apprentice without knowing that they are related. Meshak's father is still on the lookout for young boys and girls to become slaves. He gets his hand on Aaron and plans to ship him across the sea. Will the innocent Aaron become a slave? Will he find out that his mother and father are still alive? Will Alexander discover that he has a son to love?
In a way, the characters in the novel are examples of people in real life. There are conflicts between fathers and sons, between girls and boys, and between best friends. These work out in the end because the characters feel a push to make things right again, even if it's a few years late. You can also learn numerous life lessons from this book. I found out that people with bad intentions never win in the long run; their bad hearts stick out like a piece of coal in gold! I also learned that you should always be optimistic, because you never know if your life will turn a bend that will change your life forever!
Out of the many characters in the book, whether old or young, I must say that my favourite one was Thomas, Alexander's friend. He felt sympathy for Alex when his family problems became bigger and helped him without any questions. He raised the suspicion of Meshak's father when many children started disappearing. He started the question of whether Aaron was his best friend's son. He raised many spirits with his sense of humour. Without him, how could the story have gone on?
Why did I choose this book and not a fat juicy one then? I leafed through the novel and discovered that it was the proud winner of the Whitbread Children's Book Award, and decided to give it a try. Even though the novel isn't as thick as some as the other ones, it's packed with precious lessons for life and stories you'll never forget!
I love this book with all my heart; I love the plot and the way the ending is a complete and breathtaking surprise! I recommend this book to the whole world, because everyone on Earth deserves such a great book!

Set in the eighteenth century, Coram Boy is a story of love, crime, tragedy, heartbreak and miracles. It is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read and one of my all time favourites. I am always reading it aloud, just because the words are so nice. The characters are very clear and made to love or hate. The author shows such depth of knowledge and expresses so much emotion! It is a complex, exciting novel and the end will make you cry! I love it to bits. I'm sure you will to.

It is 1741; Otis Gardner is the Coram Man, a cruel, sadistic trader who makes his living from the disposal of unwanted infants and by selling older children into slavery. Together with his half-wit son Meshak, he travels from Gloucester to London, collecting children under false promises of delivering them to the famous hospice founded by Thomas Coram.

Alexander Ashbrook, disinherited heir to a large estate, is unaware of the existence of his illegitimate son Aaron, a child given away in infancy and brought up in the Coram hospice to avoid scandal. Aaron, also oblivious to his father's identity, befriends Toby, a young boy saved from an African slave ship, and the childlike Mish who brought him to the orphanage all those years ago.

Set in eighteenth century Britain, "Coram Boy" is an epic tale of good and evil and the relationships between a father and a son. The plot is complicated yet compelling enough to make this novel impossible to put down. Jamila Gavin weaves a powerful story that explores the darker side of life in the 1700s and which combines romance, history, tragedy and hope. Beautifully written and filled with a cast of colourful and memorable characters to bring this eighteenth century world to life, Coram Boy is both a unique and special book. Although difficult to get into, this is ultimately an extremely rewarding read that has a wide appeal, although some readers may find the content of infanticide disturbing. Overall, this is definitely a five star book, and I would highly recommend it to both teens and adults .

~Jenna~

Otis Gardiner is a peddler in London who persuades young women to pay him for bringing their babies to the famous Coram Hospital, a place where unwanted children can receive proper education and have a successful future. However, after Otis got paid, he would kill these babies and later on blackmail the women who entrusted him with their babies for more money. His son, Meshak, saved a baby that he was about to kill and escaped to the Coram Hospital and stayed there for the next eight years. The baby was named Aaron Dangersfield and was very talented in music, like his father, Alexander Ashbrook. Alexander discovered that Aaron is actually his son in a meeting with his wife and sister, but Aaron was already being sent on a ship to America to be sold as a slave. Someone rescued Aaron from the ship shortly after it parted. Finally, Alexander reconciled with his long lost son.
I think this is an unbelievably awesome book. It involved many characters that each has their own small story in this book. For example, Aaron Dangersfield¡¦s foster father is a simpleton, and he often dreamed of living with the kind angles in the chapels away from his cruel father. Aaron¡¦s real father was kicked out of his family for living a life as a musician instead of learning how to take care and prosper from his father¡¦s estates. Furthermore Aaron¡¦s best friend, Toby, is an African, and he was being treated like a rare, dark-skin plaything more than a human. All of these small stories add up to be what Aaron has to experience or discover, which is what makes Coram Boy extra interesting.
My favorite part of this book is the epilogue. In the epilogue, Meshak was finally able to be with his imaginary angels after all the suffering he went through. He is a simpleton and was being treated cruelly by his father ever since he was born. He doesn¡¦t really mind being mistreated by his father, but he does feel mad when he saw with his very own eyes that the girl he admired fell in love with somebody else. Therefore, he saved that girl¡¦s baby boy and loved him like his son. At the end, when even the boy that he cared about so much went away, he asked his imaginary angels, ¡§Can I be dead now?¡¨ With merely five short words, so much is being remembered and expressed.

Otis Gardiner is a peddler in London who persuades young women to pay him for bringing their babies to the famous Coram Hospital, a place where unwanted children can receive proper education and have a successful future. However, after Otis got paid, he would kill these babies and later on blackmail the women who entrusted him with their babies for more money. His son, Meshak, saved a baby that he was about to kill and escaped to the Coram Hospital and stayed there for the next eight years. The baby was named Aaron Dangersfield and was very talented in music, like his father, Alexander Ashbrook. Alexander discovered that Aaron is actually his son in a meeting with his wife and sister, but Aaron was already being sent on a ship to America to be sold as a slave. Someone rescued Aaron from the ship shortly after it parted. Finally, Alexander reconciled with his long lost son.
I think this is an unbelievably awesome book. It involved many characters that each has their own small story in this book. For example, Aaron Dangersfield¡¦s foster father is a simpleton, and he often dreamed of living with the kind angles in the chapels away from his cruel father. Aaron¡¦s real father was kicked out of his family for living a life as a musician instead of learning how to take care and prosper from his father¡¦s estates. Furthermore Aaron¡¦s best friend, Toby, is an African, and he was being treated like a rare, dark-skin plaything more than a human. All of these small stories add up to be what Aaron has to experience or discover, which is what makes Coram Boy extra interesting.
My favorite part of this book is the epilogue. In the epilogue, Meshak was finally able to be with his imaginary angels after all the suffering he went through. He is a simpleton and was being treated cruelly by his father ever since he was born. He doesn¡¦t really mind being mistreated by his father, but he does feel mad when he saw with his very own eyes that the girl he admired fell in love with somebody else. Therefore, he saved that girl¡¦s baby boy and loved him like his son. At the end, when even the boy that he cared about so much went away, he asked his imaginary angels, ¡§Can I be dead now?¡¨ With merely five short words, so much is being remembered and expressed.

Books are like baskets, with sturdy sides and empty spaces in the centers to fill. It's rare to find a novel so well-crafted that its story fills the basket up to the brim, but I have. Coram Boy is one that shines because of its powerful story, life-like characters, and the many emotions portrayed throughout the tale.
Alexander is a rich, talented choirboy who spends his life enveloped in music. Thomas, his best friend, comes from a poorer family, but is also devoted to melodies. There is one difference: Thomas is free to become a musician, but Alex can only look forward to becoming the master of his huge mansion. When Thomas is invited to spend the summer at his friend's house, he discovers that Alex holds a great passion for Melissa, the maid's lovely daughter, while at the same time dislikes his father for not letting him follow his musical talent. However, none of them know that another person trails Melissa too: Meshak, the unloved son of a man who makes money out of selling babies to become slaves. To everybody's shock, Alex runs away from his father's grip to become a musician, and Melissa, barely a child herself, gives birth to his baby. The baby is handed over to the `slave-dealer' secretly, but Meshak snatches it away, and cares for his angel's child as if it were his own.
Eight years later, the child, called Aaron, is taken as the now famous Alexander Ashbrook's apprentice without knowing that they are related. Meshak's father is still on the lookout for young boys and girls to become slaves. He gets his hand on Aaron and plans to ship him across the sea. Will the innocent Aaron become a slave? Will he find out that his mother and father are still alive? Will Alexander discover that he has a son to love?
In a way, the characters in the novel are examples of people in real life. There are conflicts between fathers and sons, between girls and boys, and between best friends. These work out in the end because the characters feel a push to make things right again, even if it's a few years late. You can also learn numerous life lessons from this book. I found out that people with bad intentions never win in the long run; their bad hearts stick out like a piece of coal in gold! I also learned that you should always be optimistic, because you never know if your life will turn a bend that will change your life forever!
Out of the many characters in the book, whether old or young, I must say that my favourite one was Thomas, Alexander's friend. He felt sympathy for Alex when his family problems became bigger and helped him without any questions. He raised the suspicion of Meshak's father when many children started disappearing. He started the question of whether Aaron was his best friend's son. He raised many spirits with his sense of humour. Without him, how could the story have gone on?
Why did I choose this book and not a fat juicy one then? I leafed through the novel and discovered that it was the proud winner of the Whitbread Children's Book Award, and decided to give it a try. Even though the novel isn't as thick as some as the other ones, it's packed with precious lessons for life and stories you'll never forget!
I love this book with all my heart; I love the plot and the way the ending is a complete and breathtaking surprise! I recommend this book to the whole world, because everyone on Earth deserves such a great book!

Set in the eighteenth century, Coram Boy is a story of love, crime, tragedy, heartbreak and miracles. It is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read and one of my all time favourites. I am always reading it aloud, just because the words are so nice. The characters are very clear and made to love or hate. The author shows such depth of knowledge and expresses so much emotion! It is a complex, exciting novel and the end will make you cry! I love it to bits. I'm sure you will to.

1970's "The Crofter and the Laird" is John McPhee's graceful account of an extended stay on the Scottish island of Colonsay, ancestral home to his clan and a living fragment of an almost feudal lifestyle in the 20th Century.

Author John McPhee is rightly known for his keen observation, his simple but highly descriptive prose, and his ability to capture a sense of place. These skills are very evident in his clear-eyed yet sympathetic narrative of a vanishing culture in the Hebrides. The residents work small crofts, or rented farms, for a thin but apparently rewarding living in the solitude of a remote and beautiful island. The laird, owner of the island, lives in England but visits every summer. The crofters and the laird are enmeshed in an ancient legal tradition of mutual obligation, an anachronism which neither party was quite yet prepared to give up when McPhee stayed on Colonsay.

Colonsay's culture sits on a couple of millennia of history contributed by Picts, Celts, Scots, Vikings, and others. Some of the best parts of McPhee's narrative are his observations of the ancient remnants, such as ruined chapels, and the myths, stories, and customs forwarded by the islanders. Every physical feature on the island seems to have a name and a story.

The center of McPhee's narrative is his host on the island, one Donald McNeill, who pursues a variety of vocations to feed his family and make a living, and who provides insight into a close-knit society that regards "incomers" with some suspicion. McNeill is entirely comfortable in his life, appreciative of his family's long continuity on the island, yet honest about the hard work required by what is nearly subsistance living.

This book is highly recommended as a fascinating and enjoyable read on a small fragment of a vanishing island culture in a place time seemed almost to have forgotten.

The finely detailed observations and vivid turn-of-words which we have come to know so well from McPhee's books on North America and its geological history, is applied here with great skill in this look at the tiny Scottish island of Colonsay and its inhabitants. The small population of under 150 people can trace ancestry to two castes or clans. Most are crofters or farmers. Some are true islanders with family roots going back hundreds of years; others are "incomers". It's not a derogatory term but simply another social distinction. Then there's THE CROFTER AND THE LAIRD. McPhee offers a distillation of this social concoction. "The usual frictions, gossip, and intense social espionage that characterize life in a small town are so grandly magnified...everyone is many things to everyone else, and is encountered daily in a dozen guises. Enmeshed together, the people of the island become one another. Friend and enemy dwell in the same skin."

McPhee deals with his usual areas of interest such as the environmental past of the island, but its the people that fascinate him. Here it's also a little closer to home as Colonsay is the home of McPhee's ancestors. The book is as much a narrative of the strife torn history of clans as it is one Americans' exploration of the "sentimental myth" that he attaches to his Scottish surname. McPhee quickly sees that, rather than myth, the clan is as real to Scots as it ever was. This is only amplified in a feudal and cloistered social setting such as on Colonsay.

The McPhee's (or Macafee, MacPhee, Macheffie, or MacDuffie, as the various septs are known) are part of the ancient clan MacFie. They're Celtic, and the Gaelic origin of the name means "son of the Dark Fairy or Elf". Such fairy-tale-like legends seem incongruous when set against the treacherous and bloody reality of clan history. The McPhee's are a "broken clan", the last chieftan was murdered by the MacDonald's in the 17th century. The MacDonald's however got their comeuppance in the way of the clans. A group of MacDonald's were butchered in their sleep by the Campbell's of Argyll in the Glencoe Massacre of 1692.

And just to show that clan history dies very hard, many Scots, even until today, when pressed just a little bit can usually find something uncharitable to say about my Campbell clan. Time and geographical distance may make the clans of only historical interest to McPhee, myself, and other North Americans with Scots ancestors. In Scotland it's a lot more real and present, and this wonderful book gives us a slice of that life.

I really enjoyed this book. It was refreshing and light but great in detail. John McPhee explains his move from the U.S. with his wife and 4 daughters back to his Great Grandfather's ancestral home on the island of Colonsay in the Hebrides of Scotland. The population is around 150 and he learns all about the small town life in a feudal environment. McPhee talks about everything from farmers, crofters, and general laborers and their daily lives on the island. He also shifts from what he sees and experiences with first person gossip and comments from the islanders to stories and legends from the island's and his clan's past.

All the islanders talk of the Laird Strathcona who owns everything. Then John meets him and sees he is just a minor peer in the Scottish Court and more of a landlord trying to bring the island of Colonsay a little out of the past. The book is lightly sprinkled with simple sketches of the island which brings everything together.

A really enjoyable read for anyone with Scottish roots or just interested in Scottish life and history. Not everyone is descended from Scottish Kings and famous knights. Most of us are of the poorer stock like those portrayed in this book. I am even more proud of them now.

THE BOOK HELP INSPIRE ME, MY SON, AND BROTHER TO GO TO COLONSAY IN THE SPRING OF 1998. MOST OF THE PEOPLE YOU WROTE ABOUT ARE DEAD. HOWEVER CHARLIE MCKINNON AND HIS WIFE, GIBBIE MCNEIL, KEITH RUTHERFORD, AND A FEW MORE ARE STILL LIVING. I HAVE WRITTEN AN ACCOUNT OF MY VISIT AND WILL MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO THE AUTHOR IS HE WISHES. LAN NA LEF. JERRY D. MCAFEE

My family also originates on Colonsay, and we go back to visit occasionally. We were asked if we were related to John McPhee, because our name is McAfee. We were told that it was a good thing we weren't, because John had given away more secrets than the islanders thought wise. They told us that if he ever returned he would not make it off the ferry onto the dock. This is a great book and should be read and appreciated by all.

I mean it,this is brilliant stuff ! Mr. Reginald has done his homework and proves himself a master of all things medieval with this first tale set in Nova Europa. His grasp of history playing itself out in a dark and bloody alternate Middle Ages and his subtle introduction of fantasy elements to the mix, earmark this as a series to follow closely in the months and years ahead. Im hoping that we are treated to maps in future volumes since the various tales are set in different areas of Nova Europa and at different times in history.Speaking with Ariadne Press,the second novel,The Exiled Prince will be arriving soon in Amazon warehouses and the third novel Questiones is due to be released in September.
May this author live to be a hundred !

It was with a degree of trepidation that I set out to read THE DARK-HAIRED MAN. 600 pages! I'm a strong admirer of Robert Reginald's short stories (see my Amazon review) but not a big fantasy fan. And the first few chapters were indeed not so easy. All those funny half-familiar names, for instance. Granted, there is a useful glossary at the back of the book for quick reference, and in any case that half-familiarity is the whole key to Reginald's Nova Europa. Nova Europa is how the world might have developed if the Roman emperor Julian, known to us as "Julian the Apostate", had not been killed in the year 363 in battle with the Persians (or perhaps at the hand of a Christian enemy? According to one tradition, this was the martyr St. Mercurius, who returned briefly from the dead to finish off the wicked pagan emperor). In this alternative vision of history Julian survived, to become "Julian the Great", and the following centuries worked out rather differently. The trick is not original, but Reginald carries it off most elegantly. Once the reader has grasped what the situation is, the novel zooms along in great style. I actually found it difficult to put down, and I read it through to the end in two late evening reading sessions each of which followed a long working day. THE DARK-HAIRED MAN is one of the most exuberant books that I've ever read. There is a wide-range of distinctively-drawn characters, the writing is atmospheric, the "fantasy elements" (the things I normally like least in fiction) are plausible within their frame of reference, and the main source of evil in the story is immediate, psychologically convincing and chillingly spiteful (which is more than can be said for Tolkien's Sauron, for example). So: Hats off to Mr. Reginald for a really fine piece of work! The second novel in the series, THE EXILED PRINCE, has already appeared, and there are apparently further novels on their way. If they can match the quality of this one, we shall be witnessing the creation of a major literary phenomenon.

P.S. The novel is very funny too.

And, here is a book truly for the readers of ... well... of ... "this kind of book". And, just what "kind" of book is it? Well, it's a book on the massive historical scale that includes pretty much all of the genres: mystery, suspense, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, murder, humor ... It's chockablock with a distorted Medieval Europe, and the myriad characters existing therein, that/who could well be assumed to exist in some other dimension. Kings and Queens and Dukes and Witches and Warlocks and Wizards, and Demons, even the Devil, come into play, in this fictionalized account of somewhere, sometime, Middle-Ages' landscapes whereupon power struggles bring into play, on an enormously large stage, all of the delicious vices and virtues, all of the acts of bravery and vengeance, all of the greediness for power and machinations of powerful people, good and bad who die and are born ... of nations that rise and fall ... of metamorphoses, physical and mental, that occur. Magic rings and torques and mirrors come into play. Magic, black and white, along with many momentous magical moments, arise on each and every page, as the brilliance of author Robert Reginald weaves this literary tapestry that, while it may prove too complex for some readers to fathom, on all its myriad literary (and those not in-on-the-inside-jokes) levels, does reward, one and all, in the end, with a finely-wrought solution to one man's search for his identify in a world suddenly gone mad because of vengeance and witchcraft. [Speaking of tapestries, by the way, a series of them play an important part in the latter pages of the volume]. THE DARK-HAIRED MAN is a must read for anyone "into" this kind of book.

In "The Dark-Haired Man, or A Hieromonk's Tale" Rob Reginald has created an intriguing blend of fantasy, history, romance, and mystery. Fascinating characters, from the tragic to the humorous populate in medieval world of Nova Europa. I especially like the strong female characters who use their brains, feminine wiles, magic, and their political connections to change their world. These women operate within the constraints of their roles as queens, princesses, and noblewomen but exhibit every bit as much power as men, without dueling with swords. Several forms of magic work in Nova Europa, sometimes in opposition to each other. Mysteries, from the overarching questions of Afanasy's parentage and the evil one's identity, to the small questions about magical dolls, increase the suspense. Amusing situations, witty dialogue, and sarcastic comments keep the reader laughing just enough to offset the sorrow over the horrific battle scenes and the death's of major characters. Although quite different from most fantasy worlds, Nova Europa is a delightful place to visit and I look forward to Rob Reginald's future fantasy novels.

A very enjoyable read that informs and entertains. It feels as if our upcoming trip to Tuscany has already begun.

This is a great read. Short, funny and I loved the way he wrote the book. Passed it on to friends and they loved it also.

I dearly loved this book. I vacationed in Vagliagli, the tiny Italian hamlet and recognized the sites and people the author talks about. When he describes the sights and sounds (the rooster, hunting dogs barking) upon waking, I find myself back at our villa down the way from Cignano. Everyone who appreciates the solitude and the true Italy needs to read this book. Thank you for sharing, Dario. I am a fan of your books.

When I finished reading Castagno's book, A Day in Tuscany, I felt like I had visited the Tuscany region. His ability with Robert Rodi, to bring in interesting and humorous history mixed with sorrow gave me a greater portrait of a portion of Italy I was not familiar with. The people he wrote about came to life and I loved their mannerisms and the way they approached life with each being a delightful individual. You do not have to go to Italy to appreciate this glimpse into life in Tuscany.
Bettye Johnson, award-winning author, Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls.

Dario Castagno is a wonderful story teller, and his gift for painting beautiful pictures with his words really comes out in this book. I laughed, I cried, and I enjoyed every page of this book. Whether you've ever been to Italy or not, you will love this book! I also loved his first book - "Too Much Tuscan Sun" - a delightful and funny read.

Heading to Germany for the Football (Soccer) World Cup in June 2006? Take a detour to Berlin and be amazed by the vibrancy and architecture of this new/old city. Reading Ruth Baja Williams' "Detour Berlin" is an excellent introduction to your visit, giving the city a unique flavour from the perspective of a 20-year-long visitor. The former East Berlin is currently being transformed with renovated apartment buildings, stunning new high rises, and everywhere there are trees and parks to soften the built environment. As you wander around Alexanderplatz recall Ruth's experiences there, imagine the life she describes of her friends residing on the `other' side of the Berlin Wall. Visit cosmopolitan department stores, putting yourself in the position of a long suffering 1960 -70s East Berliner attempting to purchase scarce, very basic products. Picture yourself living in West Berlin, separated from family and friends by a forbidding wall. Allow Ruth, through her warm, yet incisive observations, to take you on a journey that will make your own visit so much more meaningful and appreciative of a lifestyle often taken for granted. Ruth's prose is vividly accessible as she generously shares the daily lives of her family and friends in a way that brings a European city into the realm of understanding of a non-European. Do detour!

Ruth Baja Williams memoirs of post-wall pre-unification Berlin are hard to put down. Buy this book and you're guaranteed to be caught up in her vivid storytelling abilities and compelling gifts for observation. In a way, her book also serves as a mini-biography of her husband Charles Williams, one of America's most gifted and creative singers and teachers (he created the role of Sporting Life at the Metropolitan Opera's premier performances of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess in 1985).

What a read! Ruth took me to Berlin, placed me in her family, and brought me a rich, honest encounter with a place I knew little about. Thank you Ruth (and Charles) for letting me share your wonderful detour to Berlin.

Ruth has witnessed a period of our modern history which is too little known and understood by much of the supposedly educated Western world - and written so well and thoughtfully about her experiences. We share her disappointments, admire her achievements with the German language, freeze with her, are inspired by the stoicism and even good humour of individuals who have suffered so much in war, feel the warmth of her German friends, can imagine the hassle and frustration of crossing into East Berlin and appreciate the fascination Ruth and Charles had with the events, culture, history, politics and customs of Berlin.

This 20 year detour by an interracial American couple in Cold War Berlin is an interesting, compulsive read which also permits valuable insights into personal interactions within the culturally diverse international community.

A compelling account of a 20th-century love story set in Cold War Berlin. Ruth Baja, a girl from an upper class Philippine background, marries Charles Williams, a black American singer, against her family's wishes. They find themselves in Berlin--temporarily they think--soon after the Wall divides the city. They stay and raise a family while Charles pursues a European career. This is a voyage of political, cultural and personal discovery, told with wit, poignance and grace. You'll fall in love with Ruth and Charles, and with Berlin too.

i loved this book. i felt as though i was right there with him and his family through every phase of their lives. this book had everything going for it, sadness, chaos, happiness, tragedy. it was so personal and you just felt as though the author let you in to share with him.

This book will be enjoyed by all who read it for it is a story of survival from the ashes of the Holocaust. This book is also an excellent book club selection that will spark much thought and conversation.

Joseph Berger has written a story that needed to be told, but he has included too much extraneous material about his own life. Much of what he tells reveals what it was like growing up as the child of a refugee, but who cares whether or not he dated in high school?

The best parts of this book were those about his mother's life and about how she managed in the United States as a refugee. Berger's writing is more journalism than story telling. He's got all the facts, but none of his descriptions flare above the mundane. His mother's reminisences are far more artistic, and reveal more than the words on the page.

My father's story parallels Joseph Berger's in eerie ways...they were both at the Schlactensee DP Camp and the Landsberg-Am-Lech DP camp...Berger's mother's story of her youth could be my grandmother's, from an unpleasant step-mother to the flight East to Russia. My father was born during my grandparents' refuge in the USSR, and crossed illegally with his family into Poland after the war ended. I have always been close to my grandparents, but this book brought clarity and insight into topics they don't generally discuss...the duality that immigrant survivors (the displaced persons) felt between their new lives in America and the tragedy and loss left in Europe. When I look at my grandparents' happy faces at family occasions---graduations, weddings, bar mitzvahs, birthday parties---I wonder if the events make them remember times similar back in Lithuania. Berger's story, beautifully written and researched, is a must-read.

This book resonates on many levels. It is a compelling and vivid narrative detailing the acculturation of Holocaust survivors in New York City, specifically, during the immediate post-war period. But this is no dry text. You feel the bewilderment of these brave souls as they desperately try to make a home for themselves in their newly adopted country while, at the same time, deal with the perpetual anguish of searing, catastrophic loss of family, country, and hope (or faith, or optimism). This is all presented through the lens of the author's memory in a series of poignant vignettes, capturing just the right detail to press itself into your heart, time and time again. From the particulars of these experiences, it deepened my understanding for what my own mother went through when she immigrated -- she is considered a Holocaust survivor because she experienced Kristallnacht in Vienna, but she was fortunate enough to have come to America pre-war -- and strengthened my compassion, empathy, sense of kinship and profound respect for all survivors of catastrophe due to war, or abuse, or illness, etc., who have nonetheless managed to make reasonable and productive lives for themselves. So...get the book and treasure it!