Austria Books

A 'must have' book for Schiele fans! good illustrations and rich text content... maybe the best book about this artist!

Jammed with photos of Schiele, the different subjects and styles from his short career, and background information. This book also serves as a biography in many ways. Schiele's style is full of life's decay and resurrection. His work is only seen as being decadent because we have alienated ourselves so completely from nature and human nature. The natural decay of life is only ugly when one thinks one is above it all or removed from the process. His young nude girls have a silken decadence that glimpses into our natural beauty and being. Instead of turning from the mirror when one sees something less than what one wants to see, Schiele turns the spotlight on until the image is engraved into our psyche. The power of his colors and strokes and images are second to none. He's controversial. But so is Darwin. He tells us things we don't want to hear or see.

If you're like me, a neophite in the world of great austrian art, you'll enjoy this book. It has many reproductions of Schiele's work, all in color, and texts that give you a hint on his purposes and his time.

...and very frame-worthy prints! Also, a very good range and variety of his works.

Not a "complete collection" of his work, although it does claim to reproduce all of his 'major' oils. It would seem that, given he died before the age of 30, his entire known work or paintings could have been reproduced in one book. Nevertheless, this book does represent a more complete collection that I have seen in any other Schiele books to date. I have been hanging out to get a good book of his work, and finally purchased when I saw this one in a bookshop. In other publications, the colour balance of some works has been a little different (for example I have seen more vibrant/colourful versions of the family squatting).

"The Emperor's Coloured Coat" is really two separate stories. For the first half of the novel, our hero Otto Prohaska is drawn into Imperial court politics and Balkan intrigues before the First World War. This has all the strengths of the other Prohaska novels. Biggins writes marvelously, and describes life in late Austria-Hungary so richly that you never think of Prohaska's adventures and encounters as implausible.

Problem is that in the second half of the novel, Prohaska is stranded in the far east, and has to make his way back. Not only do we lose the richly detailed central European setting, but the narrative becomes too hard to credit. Prohaska's adventures always have some improbably coincidences and nick-of-time escapes, but in the second half of "Coloured Coat" there are so many they become almost tedious.

Thus, when he stumbles across a Czech-speaking tribe in Borneo, just when he would need their help... Well, it's a cute moment and he does find a (barely) plausible explanation for why they are there... but COME ON.

Still: even the weakest of the Otto Prohaska is still marvelously fun reading just like the others, with the same marvelous mix of wit, old-world history and adventure.

It has all the elements of a typical war novel, but with a few twists. There is a peculiar, dry sense of humour in this writing as well as elements of history somewhat obscure. Some parts take a little longer to wade through than others, but overall it is an enjoyable read.

Line Ship Lieutenant Ottokar Prohaska is no Flashman, and he shouldn't be. Flashman and Prohaska are both military officers who muddle through great moments in history. Flashman's high noon British Empire is a larger stage than Prohaska's end-of-the-age Austria-Hungary. Readers who enjoy the time and place of Europe in its Golden Age before and during World War One, and who enjoy historical details that give authenticity to characters and settings will enjoy these books. Prohaska's character is a fun vantage point to see Old Austria, looking like an overwrought but rickety, baroque piece of gilded furniture, bloated with bureaucracy, tradition and social ritual. His background as a scion of 'decayed Czech nobility' and Naval officer (yes, landlocked Austria had a navy on the Danube and the high seas), gives him just enough standing for a career that brings him into contact with the Kaiser, the ill-fated Heir Apparent and his morganatic consort, and character examples of Austrian naval life,and the plotting, feuding tribes of the Balkan states at the fringes of Austria's empire. Prohaska is urbane, cynical about his betters and Austria's situation, and modestly brave, contrasting with the humorously but honestly craven Flashman. The story is told as a reminiscence of the very old expatriate, residing in a British nursing home. While the stories and the writing style are less energetic and colorfully drawn than the similar Flashman stories, it's in keeping with the more reserved personality of the lead character. The thumbnail sketches of Austrian punctillious inefficiency and snobbery and the mercurial temperment of the Balkan peoples are entertaining. Don't expect the sly winking selfishness of Flashman but enjoy the shrewd observations of a gentleman officer who knows his place but manages adventures well above his station. It's a champaigne cocktail instead of strong gin and tonic.

John Biggins' second Otto Prohaska book is essentially more of the same as the first, 'A Sailor of Austria.' There is a good dose of World War I history especially covering the decaying Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy, and it is told with some dark gallows-humor while retaining a good deal of empathy for many (certainly not all) of the characters involved.

In this book, really a prequel to the first, Prohaska is bumped around first Austria as a sailor assigned to an older battle cruiser, then the fledgling air force, then the staff of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, then a river monitor on the Serb border - and suddenly he is involved in the conspiracy to murder the Archduke, the attempted prevention of which then leads him headlong across the world to the China station. Prohaska's long and dangerous journey back home sees him and his small crew encountering a variety of threats to life and limb from storms at sea to headhunters to corrupt officials to a ship of religious fools to you name it; the trip is worthy of Odysseus himself.

Besides the narration of the story, in which he writes better, funnier, and more smoothly than in his first Prohaska book, Biggins gives us details on weaponry, alliance politics, on-board procedure, and technical stuff, and here the book excels. It is a pleasure to learn some of the more arcane bits and pieces in the way they are here related, where otherwise it would make for exceedingly dry reading.

Finally, a part of Biggins' point in writing these books seems to be that, as much as was wrong with Europe and Austria-Hungary in particular in the time running up to WWI, the destruction of the world order in which Austria still figured as a major part did nothing to advance the welfare of mankind. The romance and charm of a somewhat decrepit and dysfunctional 'empire' run by bureaucrats and superannuated fools may have been short of ideal, but considering that Europe replaced these by the criminals running fascist, nazi, and communist dictatorships, responsible for the murder of tens of millions, the death camps, and untold human misery, it looks pretty good by comparison. There is an element of sadness and tragic romance behind Biggins' writing here.

John Biggins continues the adventures of Otto Prohaska, first introduced as a captain of an Austro-Hungarian submarine during the Great War in 'Sailor of Austria'. This tale is also told from Prohaska's perspective as a 100-year old resident of a nursing home in rural Wales. Biggins' style, while reminiscent of George MacDonald Fraser in the 'Flashman' series, is darker, less flippant, more serious.

If you enjoyed 'Sailor of Austria' you will enjoy 'The Emperor's Coloured Coat'. The events in this second book actually preceed those in the Sailor of Austria as our man Otto finds himself tumbling across Central Europe and the follies of the soon-to-be-no-more Austro-Hungarian Empire. He finds himself in one troublesome spot after another - like being shot out of the air by a blast from the hunting rifle of the...well, read it and find out! Good news is usually a sign of bad news just ahead.

It's exciting to see the renewed interest in John Biggins' works, which were hardly big sellers when first published in 1991 but are now being brought back by McBooks Press. Discovering Biggins has been one of those great unexpected experiences that come along only rare even to devoted readers.

The writing is really first-rate and so is the story. Highest recommendation.

"Nazi Hunter: The Wiesenthal File" by Alan Levy looks at the life of Holocaust survivor, author, and Nazi Hunter, Simon Wiesenthal. The book describes fascinating accounts that go from the extremely sad, to the morbidly funny. There is a tension within, and for those who read Holocaust accounts, this book offers something that few others can: justice. One of the more amazing moments came when, in the case of Adolf Eichmann, Wiesenthal, used a studly friend nicknamed 'Manos' (Spanish word for hands) to seek out Eichmann via. seducing the war criminal's former lovers in order to get informmation. This vignette fits in well with Wiesenthal's life, because we find out that Wiesenthal was not only a Nazi hunter, but also a political humorist.

Levy also demythicizes Wiesenthal, who seems to have occasionally manufactured facts in his quest for Nazis. These manufactured facts, however, are a pieces of a bigger picture painted by Levy. The author is to be commended for his research into Wiesenthal, especially because he seems neither committed to defending, nor debunking his subject.This reviewer does think, however, that Levy more often than not gives Wiesenthal the last word when criticism of his subjects arises.

The structure is by sections, each focussing on the life of one person: Wiesenthal, Mengele, Eichmann, and others. With each story, we find a personal history and a psychological profile of the characters, followed by an account of what happened to them after the war. We also find some very interesting speculations, and, in many cases, evidence to either support, or argue against the speculations, most of which were made by Wiesenthal. One of the strongest sections is on Raoul Wallenberg, a man who saved tens of thousands of Jews and who disappeared into Soviet prison camps. Although the evidence presented about his imprisonment is scant, it brings to life an historical figure who should occupy the same household name status as others, including Oscar Schindler. Some critics point to lack of hard evidence by Levy in his descriptions of such characters as Wallenberg or even Mengele. This critic disagrees. Levy provides enough information for the reader to reach a conclusion on his own (please forgive masculine pronoun) without being pounded over the head with an argument.

One of the stronger aspects of the book, to me, is the use of photographs. Although few in number, the pictures tell us a lot about the characters. Eichmann, the handsome and proud young Nazi, and a later photo of him in court looking more like an unemployed accountant. The younger Mengele, witht he gap between his teeth and the deranged elder Mengele, whose mustache comes into the narrative later in the story. Nazi, Franz Stangl, who is shown holding his daughter, and the mighty Raoul Wallenberg, whose face defiantly faces to the left, where other pictures of Nazis reside.

The last one-third of the book loses its steam when it goes away from Wiesenthal's hunt for Nazis and into some of his high-profile rivalries. But any adept reader can skim those pages and still come away satisfied.

Nazi Hunter is portable in its function. It can be taken to the beach, read in bed. It's narratives are well-written and engaging, yet they do not gloss over the profound moral obligations that are placed upon the reader. Who was responsible? How do behind-the-scenes tensions affect the lives of good people and the fate of evil-doers? How should the world move forward in the wake of a tragic period in history? Although about 500 pages in length, it is a page turner, yet, it is insightful in its explanation of different character types who emerged out of World War II, and, in the humble opinion of this reader, a great read for anyone interested in Nazi Germany and what happened to the perpetrators after its demise.

This is an unusually well written book. The sections on Weisenthal's early years are fascinating, but ultimately, this is not a biography, as it is the story of Weisenthal's " clients " which is the most haunting. Don't agree with other reviewers that the book is non critical of Weisenthal - within a supportive framework, the author makes it quite clear just how hopelessly wrong Weisenthal got it on Mengele, and there are plenty of quotes from his detractors, including leading Jews.

One of the best books on the Holocaust and its aftermath I have read.

This book is well intentioned and should certainly be read, but it is not a work of scholarship. It is poorly written too. It is frustrating.

The book does not live up to its title. The author reveals little of Wiesenthal's files. For that, it is recommended you turn to Wiesenthal's books.

The book is poorly structured, bounding together several biographical entries, largely unconnected with one another. Some entries span a few pages, others span over one hundred. The main entries concern Eichmann, Wallenberg, Mengele, Stangl. Raoul Wallenberg the hero finds himself squeezed between mass murderers Eichmann and Mengele.

This is the sort of book that makes you want to read more, to look up details, to check facts, to find out more. It creates needs more than it satisfies them. It is a frustrating book.

The book is well intentioned, but poorly written. It consists of a string of assertions that are not backed up by references. It suffers from the weaknesses of an eyewitness account, except that the writer, Alan Levy, has not witnessed anything himself. And he does not tell us where his facts come from.

In several places, Alan Levy corrects Simon Wiesenthal. Wiesenthal's writings are full of mistakes, we are told. Alan Levy compares the two versions of Wiesenthal's memoirs to show how his views have changed over time. He corrects this or that assertion, but because he never tells us where his facts come from, this is a useless exercise bordering on the profane.

Simon Wiesenthal was not a scholar and he has often been wrong. But this is mostly because he relied on eyewitnesses' accounts and anonymous denunciations. It is also because, driven as he was by a desire to bring to justice nazi mass murderers, his strategy was to keep the hunt alive by publicizing believeable nazi spottings as well as not-so-believeable spottings. What reasons does Alan Levy have for writing such a sloppy book?

This is a frustrating book because it is full of facts we would like to check, but cannot because there are no references to the sources.

Turn instead to: Raoul Wallenberg, by Sharon Linnea. Into That Darkness: From Mercy Killing to Mass Murder, by Gitta Sereny (this is a biography of Stangl). Mengele: The Complete Story, by Gerald L. Posner. Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, by Hannah Arendt. The Sunflower, by Simon Wiesenthal.

I was quite disappointed by this book (I hesitated between 2 and 3 stars, and finally opted for 2, to balance the enthusiastic reviews that this book gets)
When I started reading it, i had great expectations. Here was a book that would tell me the story of Simon wiesenthal, a survivor of the Holocaust that swore to hunt Nazi around the world, and bring them in front of justice.
The description of wartime and the horror of concentration camps is quite good (although anything written by Primo Levi is much better). The wartime life of wiesenthal himself is well described, although it sounds a little romanticized. It could have set the ground to understand what drove this man in his postwar hunt. But that's where the disappointment comes : it doesn't. The book goes back and forth between a mere collection of facts and a blindly admirative account of Wiesenthal's life. Whatever Wiesenthal says is right, whatever Wiesenthal does is great. What this book lacks is independant investigation. The author seems to be satisfied with Wiesenthal accounts on pretty much everything in the book. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say Wisenthal lied on anything. But a biograph should not rely solely on the testimonies of his subject. And when he does quote somebody else, the quote is not properly referenced (there is a certain flakiness in Levy's journalistic methods).
Rather than giving fuzzy criticism, let's look at one particular example:
Page 136 is symptomatic of the lazy writing in this book : the first part of the page is a long citation of Annah Arendt, explaining how Eichman got out of Europe after the war (Levy doesn't give the reference of the quote). Then he goes on to quote an ecclesiast who helped Eichman getting out, testifying how he didn't realized that the person he was helping was a Nazi (Levy also ironizes about the fake innocence of the priest). Here, once again, we don't know where the quote is coming from. Did Levy directly asked the ecclesiast ? I doubt. More probably Levy got this quote from Wiesenthal himself (probably from one of his books). This is symptomatic from this book : it comes so close from a direct testimony of Wiesenthal that he even forgets to remind us when he actually is quoting him. So then, why not just reading one of Wiesenthal's books instead?
This is just an example taken randomly. Other -more serious- points on which Levy doesn't take much distance from Wiesenthal include :
-when Wiesenthal proposed that Eichman be dressed a a Nazi during his trial (page 156, Levy qualifies this idea as "emotionally right", I personally find it grotesque)
-On the controversy between Wiesenthal and Israel's secret services as to who took the most important part in Eichman's capture (once again, all we have his Wiesenthal point of view, taken for granted).

The function of a biography (and this book is advertised as a biography) is to give a balanced, honest account on one man's personality, not trying to hide its complexity. On that regard, Alan Levy partially fails.
As I read again my comments, I realize that I have been a little bit harsh. The book is not bad, it is just that it is written more like a thriller than a book on history.

First of all, I'd like to state the book (most of it) was quite riveting. Levy begins with a look at Wiesenthal's experience as a young Jew in pre-war Europe. He later chronicles Simon's life during the war in the camps and his search for his family after the war. The stories make for fascinating reading. Then, Levy writes how Simon got into the business of Nazi hunting.

The chapters describing the hunts for Adolf Eichmann (and the rivals between Mossad and Wiesenthal), Josef Mengele, and Franz Stangl were absoluting quality reading. After the chapters on these three Nazis, and the brief chapter on the concentration camp guards, the book takes a different path and describes the ordeal of Raoul Wallenberg. Although Wallenberg was not a Nazi, but a humanist dedicating to saving the lives of Jews, I had to ask myself what this chapter was doing in the book. Nevertheless, it was quite fascinating to read about the ordeal Wallenberg faced and to read what actually happened to him during the war, and especially, after the war.

At this point, you can quit reading the book. The next chapters dealt with Bruno Kriesky and Kurt Waldheim. I didn't have a clue who Bruno was. (I believe he became chancellor of Austria during the '70s). Why was he in this book? As far as I can tell, it was due to Simon and Bruno not liking each other. Bruno was a Jew who claimed that he was not a Jew and tried to distance himself from Jews during the war. He didn't kill any Jews, so why have his story in this book? It's wasted space.

As far as Waldheim is concerned, the jury appears to be out as far as his guilt is concerned. There never seems to be direct evidence pointing to Waldheim as to whether he was responsible for killing partisans (or at least KNEW some killings took place)
in Yugoslavia. Waldheim's superiors (during the war) say that he did not have the authority to kill or order killings; a sargaent who reported to Waldheim said that he did. Some say he was present at the time the killings took place; others said he was not. Some say that as part of intelligence, and as a lowly lieutenant, Waldheim would not have known about partisan killings. Others said how did he not know? If no one knows the truth, why read it about in this book? Even the Yugoslavian government has refused to prosecute. So, I may ask, why fill 150 pages of this book if there is no conclusive evidence that Waldheim is guilty? The later part of these chapters were very boring. The book was about hunting murderous NAZIS, not about people who were ashamed of being Jewish or about German Army officers.

The book should have included the hunt for Nazi Klaus Barbie and other Nazis who eluded capture for many years. Then, I would have rated this book 4 stars. But, to include chapters on Bruno Kriesky and Kurt Waldheim? A real time waster.

If you haven't read any books by Jerry E. Smith you are in for a treat. To make things even better he has teamed up with the author of "Liquid Conspiracy", George Piccard. It's very easy to see that they did the research for this book and the details do matter when telling of the Lance's history.

The Lance that pierced Christ's side is known by many names such as "The Holy Lance", "The Spear of Destiney", "The Spear of Christ", and the "Spear of Longinus". Jerry & George do a great job walking you through it's history from its creation in Tubal-Cain, its role in the Crucifixion, to the hands of Constantine, and even Hitler's obession with it. You will also follow the Lance through the hands and history of lesser known kings, queens and emperors and the blood trail they left while the Spear was in their possession.

They not only trace it's history but give you the details of what was going on around the Spear which gives a full understanding to the power it is believed to hold. And what about the other "Spears"? They are covered too. The replicas, fakes and ones that are believed to have part of the orginal attached to it.

I can't really say enough about how much information this books has and how well it was put together. It provides a complete, unbiased account of a holy relic that may have influenced many events in world history. There are the occasional typos and misspellings but it doesn't take away from the book at all.

So if you intersted in Christian/Holy relics, Nazi occultism, history, folklore and legend, this is the a must read.

Review by Jeremiah Greer of www.shadowsinthedarkradio.com

Easily one of the most poorly edited books ever published. A college freshman in a 100-level comp. class could have done wonders to improve this book.

A complete waste of money.

Expertly researched and knowledgeably co-authored by Jerry E. Smith and George Piccard, Secrets Of The Holy Lance: The Spear Of Destiny In History And Legend is an explorative study of the historical pursuit, ownership from Constantine to Adolph Hitler, and influence of the spear attributed Christian folklore as the one used by a Roman legionnaire, Cascus Longinus on the body of Jesus Christ when He was crucified just outside of Jerusalem and thought to be endowed with supernatural powers as a result. Revealing the spear's metaphysical truths and cult history, Secrets Of The Holy Lance informs its readers by providing them with a progressively unfolding understanding of this empowering object's mythic truths and background, leading readers to questions with respect to its current whereabouts and future destiny. Secrets Of The Holy Lance is very highly recommended reading, especially to anyone interested in the timeless stories surrounding of the Spear of Longinus.

Jerry E. Smith and George Piccard provide a great overview of the legends surrounding the Spear of Destiny, aka the Holy Lance. Students of the subject know that the first book on the Spear (Ravenscroft's) was a wee bit on the crazy side. It spent more time talking about who the Nazis were in their past lives than the Lance. The second main Spear book, (Buechner and Bernhart's) was great, but is now unavalible. Smith combines all these books into one, handling the legends as well as all known facts about the Lance. I would call this the most imformative and well-written book on the subject. Smith and Piccard's volume is like Alec Maclellan's "The Secret of the Spear"... but on steriods. Anyone interested in Christian relics, Nazi occultism, or just looking for a good read should pick up "Secrets of the Holy Lance" as soon as possbile.

Hey I've read all the usual books on the Spear. This one is the most complete. The full history of the Spear (I mean all the 'Spears") is not included in any of the others. LOTS of info here.
It's rare for a book to get better towards the end (Come on, most info authors run out of steam before they finish. They just add junk at the end cause nobody reads that far!) If you get bogged down in the middle, skip to the end for the excitement. In fact the writting style also gets even better at the end.

As to the poor proof reading comment. The guy's right. If typos bother you.... However that's a publisher's problem. The truth is these kinds of books don't sell enough to pay for high quality proof reading. Still in truth I wasn't bothered by them (and I usually am) because the material is so well organized and written that I focused on what I was reading. Also as I understand this book is ready to go into a second printing. AUP (the publisher) usually corrects typos then. Seriously typos are a big issue for me and I gotta say there really were not that many in this book.
They didn't bother me and I've stopped reading other books because of typos.

Buy the book. Jerry's neutrality on the good vs. evil issue of the Spear is refreshing. He's not a Nazi. He's a fair reporter on a very controversial topic.

"Alma Rose: Vienna to Auschwitz" by Richard Newman with Karen Kirtley is the kind of biography I enjoy most. The author provides the reader with not only a fascinating story of the Rose family but also brings to life the time in which these people lived. We see Alma' s life as a privileged young girl and woman. The many twists and turns of fate, poor judgement and unfortunate circumstances brings her to Auschwitz toward the end of WW11. Her time in the concentration camp reveals a remarkable individual existing under the most inhuman conditions. Her talent and strength of character resulted in her saving the lives of many woman who were members in the women's orchestra, of which she was the leader. An excellent, informative and ultimately powerful read.

My review is best expressed in a letter to the authors. While the letter speaks little of the content of the story, it does the reflections of the reader:

I have just finished your book, Alma Rosé, Vienna to Auschwitz and felt compelled to write a word of thanks for such an excellent book. I have lived in Vienna for 23 years and in our early years I walked by the Rosé house in the Pyrkergasse each day, taking our oldest to the Volkschule. Of course, at that time, I had no idea the importance of number 23. Through your book and others of Viennese history I have gained a profound sense of history that a midwest American, growing up in the suburbs, rarely has a chance to learn.

We have since moved from the 19th district, but each time I am in the city the enormity of life that has gone on before me deeply tugs at my soul. The stones I walk on have carried the lives of so many, each woven into a history of joy and often of utter loss and evil.

I believe your book was one of those that has allowed me to enter into a life past. Through it I have gained new perspective that the joy and beauty I now enjoy is not without the marring of tragedy and sorrow of many who were innocent. I was also able with my family to visit Auschwitz this summer. The visit has left a lasting impact on our minds and it certainly allowed me to have even deeper sense of personal presence as I read your book. The immensity of the tragedy leaves one lost for thoughts and words. The life of Alma Rosé puts a reality to that part of history that seems unbelievable, yet was played out in the very places I have lived and walked.

I visited the Rosé grave in Grinzing last week and noted that Alma's name is inscribed on the headstone (unfortunately, the date is 4/4/44 and not 5/4/44). In honor of her courage and for the lives she most certainly helped spare, I left a memorial candle on her grave. I did not seem fitting to leave the grave without some acknowledgement and sign of respect of her family's life.

Again, thank you for the fine research and excellent presentation of her life. The book must also be considered a memorial not just to one life, but to many who's stories will never be told.

Alma Rose was an incredible human being. After spending the last few evenings immersed in her biography "Alma Rose: Vienna to Auschwitz", I was touched by her ability to use her violin to transcend the evil around her.
Alma was born into the musical elite of turn-of-the-last-century Vienna, the capital of arts and music in Europe. Her uncle was Gustav Mahler and her father, Arnold Rose, the famous concertmaster and conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic. She had a fabled childhood surrounded by musicians and artists.

Alma studied violin from her father at an early age and later with Sevcik. She toured Europe as concertmistress of an all women's orchestra she organized, and was briefly married to violin virtuoso Vasa Prihoda.

All of the fame and glamour ended however when she was captured and interned in the dreaded Auschwitz. Fearing that she was about to be eliminated she asked for her last wish to be able to play the violin. Word quickly spread that she was the Alma Rose of the Rose Quartet and before she knew it, the camp supervisor, assigned her to lead a women's orchestra. For many of the players, the orchestra was the only chance of survival. Alma took pity on people who auditioned and tried to fit them in, whether it was as accordion player, or guitarist, or if they had no playing talent, as copyist and scribe. She took her job seriously, practicing 10-12 hours a day in addition to giving "concerts". All this was under the constant stress and threat of elimination if they did not prove their worthiness to the SS in charge.

Alma maintained a musicality, and in those moments while playing music, they were transported out of their nightmare and back to the preWar Vienna, playing in a cafe. The music also affected both SS and prisoners alike, and on the Sunday concerts, prisoners strained to hear and grasp a small slice of beauty while SS overlords sat in the front row weeping with emotion. How they could love music so much and then turn around and kill mercilessly was beyond the comprehension of the survivors.

Alma saved the lives of many women, and even though she perished, her bravery and dedication lives on in the stories of the survivors she helped.

The author Richard Newman based the book on firsthand knowledge, primary sources such as letters and interviews with survivors, relatives, friends and contemporaries. He maintained a historical accuracy and honest portrayal of Alma's life. You will be touched while unable to grasp the enormity of the horrors that faced the people who were interned in the death camps.

I read this book alongside with "Night" by Elie Wiesel who arrived at Auschwitz shortly before Alma's death. Both books are highly recommended although extremely sad, they show the resilience of the human spirit in absolutely horrible conditions.

Alma Rose was born to musical royalty in Vienna (the daughter of famed violinist Arnold Rose and niece of Gustav Mahler). She studied with distinction at the Vienna Conservatory and the Vienna State Academy, and consequently enjoyed a very respectable and successful musical career. In 1932 Alma formed a women's orchestra (Vienna Waltzing Girls) and toured throughout Europe. But like so many others of her class and background, she was totally caught off guard by the Nazi onslaught. Courageously assisting her family's flight from the Nazi's antisemitic pogroms, she was nonetheless caught and sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. There she took a group of terrified and untrained women and transformed them into an orchestra whose music saved them from being summarily gassed by their Nazi captors. Forty women were to survive that horrific place because of their participation in Alma's prisoner orchestra. But Alma herself was to die of illness in the camps before they were able to be liberated by the Allies. A welcome contribution to Holocaust studies, as well as a brilliantly presented biography of a gifted musician, Alma Rose: Vienna To Auschwitz is a memorial to a gifted musician and a testament to Alma's personal struggle to help as many women survive as she could. It is also a damning indictment of the Nazi horror and an effective counter to the pernicious attempts of historical revisionists to suppress both the atrocities and the courage of those dark times.

Richard Newman has spent many years working on this book and it paid off, there can't be a biography on hardly anyone that is better researched. And he has written it in a way that doesn't judge the person, he relates the facts but doesn't try any psychological insight. He leaves this up to the reader. A beautiful, compelling book on a woman that used a difficult position to save as many lives as possible. If ever anyone deserved a monument, it is Alma Rosé. Richard Newman`s book lays the foundation. I will publish the German version in Fall 2002.

Borne in Blood is Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's 20th entry in her Saint Germain series. I've been reading the counts adventures from the beginning. At this point it feel like I'm catching up with an old friend. Her meticulous attention to detail really helps to visualize the time period of the book. Borne in Blood takes place right after the end of the Napoleonic wars. Saint-Germain has taken as a companion a woman, Hero, widowed by the war. Hero is in a struggle with her father-in-law to have access to her children. Yabro highlights just how few rights women have in this time period. It also shows how women are so used to such treatment that they just accept it without questions. In a sense this is more a story about Hero, than it is the count. As such the threat this time is directed toward Hero, and it is up to the count to rescue her.

The ending was predictable, but that didn't bother me. As I said in the beginning, the count seems like an old friend, and I don't always want to see him battered at the end of the book.

Borne in Blood: Count Saint Germain #20

The life of Count Saint Germain is extraordinary. This time, Yarbro sets our sights on the Swiss countryside of 1817. Culturally speaking, the Swiss population is recovering from the Napoleonic wars and very severe weather. By this time period, the printing industry had advanced, and guided by 3800 years of `living' behind him, his wisdom has now firmly been established and now he is able to help spread his knowledge through publishing. His lover, Hero Corvosaggio, was widowed by Napoleon and their 2 sons are being raised by their grandfather. Hero, is a tragic figure, haunted by the loss of her prestige and sons, and yet buoyed by her love for the Count. While this personal relationship blooms, Saint Germain becomes intrigued with Graf Von Ravensbergs' research into blood. Clearly fascinated with the results, Saint Germain keeps abreast amidst the romantic interest of Hyacinthe in him. Love triangles can be dangerous, especially when a vampire is involved and mental instability characterizes Hyacinthe.

Like any Saint Germain book, Yarbro has included details that create a `been there' atmosphere. Her research into what actually occurred in a household of that time is extensive and help create an intimacy with the locale. Even the correspondence has the feel of just having been delivered by courier. The Saint-Germain chronicles are more romance than vampire fiction, and it is perhaps that element that is their genius. Why would an `immortal' just exist to drink blood and spread a curse? Over the course of an average life, knowledge and wisdom are copious, how more so over millennia?

To say this is `just' another novel would be not enough. Come, enter into the world of 1817, and the existence of Saint Germain, one more time.

Tim Lasiuta

[...]

As always, I really enjoyed this entry into the St Germain series, but I dont think it was CQY's best effort. The character development seemed a bit choppy, sometimes even missing, and I kept expecting something more about the Graf's studies of blood. It seemed as though maybe part had been edited out. I still enjoyed the book & would reccomend it- just not as a first read of the St Germain books. (I'd make that Hotel Transylvania, Tempting Fate or Blood Games.) Still, if you have read ANY of Yarbro's books, you'll enjoy this one. Hero is written as a more realistic character than some of the females in other Yarbor books, and the Count is more, well, human, too. All in all, a good read- worthy of adding to the bookshelf.

Yes, I have read all of the St. Germain books and conclude that this gem belongs at or near the top of the list. Rich in historic detail, the time and place are firmly set and there were heroic figures and contrasting evil doers. In this story the characters are truely odd with complex interactions and flaws; I didn't even figure out who was aiding St. Germain's enemies. Superb action in the climax, too. St. Germain always "lives" to love another day. Just a great read.

You've Read This Book Before

Sure you have. Except for its setting it is exactly like all previous Saint-Germain novels. Same oppressed damsel in distress, same altruistically rescuing yet personally imperiled alchemist-vampire count, same resolution, even several lines more or less lifted from past exploits in this decades-long series. As I've said before, Ms. Yarbro definitely needs to vary her plots. (Her stories need new blood, ha-ha.)

The reason I keep reading her books is for the fact that few other fiction writers active today can match her ability to truly give the past so much multi-dimensional clarity. When you read her works you come away knowing almost everything about a time period. You know what challenges people of the age had to overcome in order to survive, you know what they were thinking, what frightened them, what they hoped to achieve, what they ate, drank, wore, believed, what was happening in the world in terms of climate. When you read a Saint-Germain book you even come away understanding what a particular time and place smelled like. All that is brilliant. It is so brilliant, in fact, that it pardons much that is less impressive about Quinn's novels, and has kept me reading for many years now when I've sometimes wondered if I shouldn't abandon the series.

I have asked before, though, why does this author have so much difficulty in varying her plots? They are all as formulaic as A+B=C. Every time! I'm not joking. In every novel it's: unjustly tormented women meets heroic vampire figure who delivers her from evil. End of story. And this book was no exception. Surely someone with Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's creativity and intellect knows this about her books, so why can't she make things a little different?

I did enjoy Borne In Blood's setting, its exploration of emerging modern science, the lengths to which Napoleon Bonaparte was deservedly vilified for the ongoing disastrous impact his megalomaniacal ambitions had on Europe long after he himself was dead, and it was also nice to check in on old friends and see, well, what the heck the Count was up to in the 1810's.

I'm not emptily picking on this author. Ms. Yarbro can write. She also utilizes her exhaustive research well in weaving her stories. If only I could find some variety in her plotlines, I'd hail her as a genius, instead of a fine historian masquerading only moderately successfully as a novelist.

About 3 ½ stars, mostly because she does history so well.

I thought this would be the adventure of a Jew in hiding during WWII. Actually it focuses on the lives of a small village in Austria during that time - the family that hid him, their neighbors, the school teacher, and most of the others in the town in one way or another. It had less to do with the Jew being discovered or the war, and much more about the adolescent years of the protagonist Niki and his/her blind best friend Sigi. (I challenge you to prove which sex Niki is; everytime I thought I knew for sure I was turned around again.) The story seemed to me to be about tolerance and acceptance of oneself and others in the 1940's, with many of the conversations taking place between the Jew hidden behind a false wall in the barn, and Niki and Sigi.

I liked this novel very much and thought the characters were believable and memorable. I think Moran captured the moral reality of everyday heroism--as well as the fact that many people who do good just do it and aren't sure why, just as those who do evil just do it. But I am very puzzled by Moran's handling of Niki and am still not sure of the sex of the protagonist although, unlike my co-reviewers,............... Perhaps Niki's vague sexual identity is meant to represent the thin line between good and eveil, Christian and Jew, who knows? I found it all a bit distracting. But I loved the book and will buy Moran's other works.

The strength of The Man in the Box is the clarity of the depiction of complex characters - even bit characters. The narrator's grandfather, for example, is referred to only in one short passage explaining the half-orphanhood of the narrator's best friend. Yet in the short passage a real three dimensional portrait of a hard, drinking man unmissed except, perhaps, by his wife.

No one is wholely evil or wholely saint ... in fact the motivation for hiding the Jew in the box is less than morally pure. And the Jew, isolated in his box with adolescents as his primary audience, has a wide range of responses to his current situation and to his excessive time to review his past.

This is not yet a great book but it is very good and its strength indicate that Thomas Moran is a writer well worth watching for.

Thomas Moran has made a wonderful debut as a fiction author with this compelling, chilling, moving tale of Niki Lukasser growing up in Nazi Austria with a Jew, Dr. Weiss, walled up for his own protection, in the barn. This is an unusual story but it is created and built up in ways that make it believable. No good deed or bad will go unpunished and betrayal is an always quietly lurking shadow among the people. The relationships are complicated, particulary the child and the man in the box, and the author makes ambiguous all the various choices of the characters. There is no black or white, good or evil, just people making good and bad decisions, often for very personal and odd reasons.

Because he is on the verge (in my opinion) of greatness. If he challenges himself more as a writer and a wordsmith and deepens his thinking, he will be under serious consideration for the Nobel. He is a humanist. And his writing is great humanist writing, but his ability (again, my humble opinion) has not yet matured. *ALL* of his books so far are worth reading.

A superb book all around. I wish he had more than 2, with a 3rd on the way. Loved the characters, the plot, and the writing style. Easy to read and a pleasure to behold.

From all aspects this is a truly wonderful find. With characters well formed and intriguing, and a setting that does not disappoint, this read accelerates quickly from page turner to page burner! I will not go into plot details, (you can read that on your own!) but I found the plot to be provocative and the flow of the story to be quite affable. I will surely continue with Mr. Tallis throughout the remainder of this series.

"A Death in Vienna" is as much a tour around the Ringstrasse of Vienna circa 1900 as it is a mystery. The story---told by author Frank Tallis in short episodes--has its characters and plot revolve around the city's landmarks like the Prater, Graben and Cafe Central while discussing the social and cultural events of the moment. The book's protagonist is a young pyschiatrist/psychoalnalyst, Max Liebermann, who is called upon by a police inspector friend to help solve the "locked room" murder of a beautiful clairvoyant, which seems to involve the occult.The plot is intricate with not a few red herrings strewn in the protagonist's (and the reader's) path.
This a particularly enjoyable book for anyone with an interest in the cultural life Vienna of the early 20th Century, psychiatry, the cultural/social dynamic between Austrian Jews and Gentiles, the Secessionist Movement, pastries, or just a well-told mystery.

I picked up this book after reading a short review in the Economist and enjoyed every second of it. The mystery is well done. It has the mark of the English mysteries where the suspects are a small group of people, each of whom is interesting. The crime was ingenious and the detective work is fascinating.

The real strength of the book, however, is the setting in Vienna in 1902. We see the City and the culture. Max Lieberman the main character is fascinating. We see the development of psychology in its early stages. There is also a good deal by the occult. If one reads Larson's book about Marconi that we set at the same time one can understand that the developments in science were so amazing that people would not really know what was truth.

I have recommended this to friends. It was a treat and was pleased to see there is a sequel that I will read next

In general, I greatly enjoyed this book, both as a character study and as a portrait of a fascinating time and place. The author knows turn-of-the-(20th)-century Vienna well, both the social and political issues that people were dealing with and the nitty-gritty details of daily life, but he uses his knowledge to create a believable setting for the story rather than becoming pedantic. His understanding of the cross-currents in the nascent psychoanalytic movement gives the story depth. Dr. Max Liebermann is an intriguing character because he embodies many of the contradictions of that time and place: he's a rebel in his profession, and his artistic tastes run to the avant-garde; but he's also a member of a prosperous Jewish family and community to whom he's strongly loyal. The detective Rheinhardt is less complicated, but his friendship with Dr. Liebermann is based on a shared love of music as well as their fascination with the human mind, so it rang true to me. I felt that the mystery itself wasn't all that strong: any reader who's familiar with the genre could figure out the disappearing bullet and the locked room rather easily, although the author did a good job of dropping hints and red herrings to keep you guessing who done it. I quibbled with some of the psychoanalytic material, e.g., multiple personalities usually develop from a long history of abuse, not ... well, the way it happens here. And I concur with other readers that the author's use of short chapters became confusing -- I disagree that there are "too many characters," but the choppy narrative made it hard to remember what X was doing the last time we met him. All in all, however, it's a good story, well written, and I'm hooked enough now to read the next novel in the series.

- so Hungary's fate in '56 should come as no real surprise. Gati has done a good job in reassessing the course of a pivotal cold war event, and fleshed out the narrative through incorporating new documentation and memoirs. In this regard, however, there is really little that is new to add over an uprising scholars have steadily picked to the bone for half a century.

Gati's real contribution here is his Rashomon-like critique of the revolution and of its five main protagonists: Americans, Soviets, Hungarian Communists, insurgents - and Imre Nagy, caught between the latter three. The US illusion was its belief that, since it could not start World War Three over a Soviet satellite, inciting rhetoric was its only sufficient recourse rather than pragmatic realpolitik. The Soviet illusion, and that of its Hungarian allies, lay in Moscow's belief that the uncorked, anti-Stalinist genie could be stuffed back in the vodka bottle. Nagy's illusion - and that of the reformist intellectuals around him - was that he and Moscow spoke a common political language that could open serious dialogue. And the insurgents' illusion lay in their faith that, not only could they overturn the "Communist regime," but that Moscow would morally capitulate as the Free World rushed to aid Hungary's struggle.

Gati takes apart all these, but then concludes that the revolution's failure was not inevitable after all. One must ask why not, after he has spent so much time marshaling evidence of this rampant political blindness. As an American reader, the most interesting part to me was his analysis of American actions and motives. The tantalizing remark of Richard Nixon's, that it would be very convenient for the '56 presidential race if the Soviets pulled some brutality in Eastern Europe, coupled with RFE's inflammatory broadcasts soon after, suggest a cynical collusion that - given what we know about CIA black operations of the period - isn't as farfetched as some might wish to believe. The US, for its part, behaved as it did because - like the USSR - it was led by unimaginative men stuffed just as full of illusions of their own. (Witness their equally confused, floundering handling of the Cuban Revolution a mere two years later.)

The final illusion to fail, if one reads Gati correctly, is his: namely, his young man's belief that a democratic socialism with a human face could ever have arisen out of the Stalinist muck in which it was planted. Of course, this did eventually arise after 1985 - too late to save the system after three decades more of accumulating rot. Perhaps the chief criticism to be made of Gati's account is his expectation that those caught up in the passions of '56 could display the maturity and insight he's gained fifty years after the event. That is surely the chief failed illusion of all armchair historical analysis.

Gati's treatment of the Hungarian Revolution and its actors gives the impression that he wrote a book with preconceived conclusions supported by selected documentation and by omission of those not fitting in his concept. Exploitation of the 50th anniversary of the seminal historic event is evident in the timing of publication. He treats Imre Nagy, the Freedom Fighters and America unfairly. He unrealistically expects the revolutionaries to be practitioners of real politic. His assumption of Soviet willingness to compromise, to meaningfully revise its relationship with its satellites seemed so hopefully evidential only in the flashlight of the revolution. It is surprising that Gati is still dazzled.

There is very little new in Gati's "new history" of the Hungarian Revolution that is significant. Robert Murphy in his autobiography: Diplomat among warriors explained the American inaction regarding the Hungarian Revolution in a few pages more concisely, with more insight than Gati does in his book. There is no surprise that Gati neglects to mention him and his views.

Murphy concludes his assessment of why the Hungarian Revolution was defeated, or in better words, why it was left to be defeated, with this remarkably humble statement:

"For sheer perfidy and relentless suppression of a courageous people longing for their liberty, Hungary will always remain a classic symbol. Perhaps history will demonstrate that the free world could have intervened to give the Hungarians the liberty they sought, but none of us in the State Department had the skill or the imagination to devise a way."

This evaluation remains the most authoritative, most honest, factually correct and durable judgment of American - or for that matter the free World's - inability to
act at a time when action was warranted.

When I read Charles Gati's prize winning "Hungary and the Soviet Bloc," I then thought that he had written the last and best word on our understanding of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 during the Cold War. Then, unexpectedly, several years later the Berlin Wall came down, Hungary and the USSR's East European satellites regained independence, and heretofore closed Cold War archives began to open. From archives in Budapest and Moscow as well as from dozens of interviews with participants of '56 both East and West, Professor Gati has written a classic of Cold War history and analysis which arguably will become the definitive account of the multi-sided, tragic events of 1956 in Hungary. No stone has been left unturned -- the author has read the minutes of the Politburo meetings in the Soviet Union and Hungary, as well as the interrogation and trial transcripts from the last days before his execution of Imre Nagy, former Prime Minister of Hungary. This fluently written, masterfully organized, and exeptionally well integrated small volume deserves to sit on the Cold War history shelf along with Allison's "Essence of Decision," the study of another major event of the era, the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In his overarching Introduction, Gati includes a brief but fascinating autobiographical recounting of his own experiences in Budapest as a young reporter during the tumultuous years after his high school graduation in 1953 to his flight with tens of thousands of Hungarians across the Austrian border after Soviet troops crushed the revolution in late 1956.

The author's thesis is the existence of the possibility of an alternative "limitationist" approach to demands, expectations, methods, and outcomes by all parties to the challenges of Hungary '56. Instead, however, as is vividly recounted in the book, the Hungarian leadership, the Budapest insurgents, Moscow, and Washington displayed variably, vacillating responses, revolutionary romanticism, imperial intransigence, and absolutist anti-communism, all of which produced disaster and great bloodshed for Budapest and its population 50 years ago this early November. As the author makes clear, it need not necessarily have ended in a zero-sum tragedy, but with some restraint on all sides might well have become a non-zero-sum outcome.

All parties to the failed revolution come in for well deserved criticism -- Nagy for his ineffectiveness as a leader (his portrait from the 1930s to his death in 1958 is the most complete and nuanced account of a foreign leader I have ever read), the young Hungarian insurgents for their unbridled demands and intemperate actions, Washington for the hypocrisy of its East European policies of "liberation" and "rollback," and most of all the Soviet Union for the extraordinary brutality and violence it rained down upon the people of Budapest.

In his splendid Epilogue, Charles Gati's well told story of the "failed illusions" of a half century ago, as well as his own life as a former Hungarian citizen, came full circle when he witnessed Nagy's cermonial reburial in Budapest's Heroes Square late spring 1989, with the demise of the Communist system in Hungary and East Europe in sight just months away. This is a remarkable and exceptional book.

This is the first book I've read on the Hungarian Revolt, but I found it well doicumented, insightful and disturbing. I've read alot of books on history and this was truly riveting. I, like so many Americans, am very ignorant of Eastern European History and felt truly enlightened by this analysis. I also felt it particularly relevant to what is happening today. Our country's inaction then and and our actions today show little understanding of the peoples or culture or politics of other societies. We in this country have a great heritage and enlighted leaders,such as Lincoln, who set up a government we can be proud of. However, today we are acting in a way that shows blindness and misguidedness.. We have shown again that we have not learned anything from events such as the Hungarian Revolt. Our leaders want to spread democracy but are doing it in a way that is both ignorant and arrogant. We did it then and are doing it now.
I'm glad a man such as Mr. Gati was able to immigrate to this country and contribute to it. I look forward to readin more books by him.

Gati's book is written with the perspective of the forces at work in Budapest, Moscow and Washington before and during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. He briefly recounts his own experience as a young Hungarian journalist during the 12 days of the Revolution, and then proceeds to profile in detail the events and personalities of that time. He manages to capture the spontaneity of the event, and how leaders in the three capitals misinterpreted and finally acted (or failed to act), often with limited understanding. The book is well-researched (almost every page has footnotes), and despite criticism by an earlier commenter, is quite in line with more recent interpretations of the 1956 events, using recently released Soviet, American and Hungarian archives, which were not available to earlier authors. As it has been mentioned by another reviewer, it is a human story, not an encyclopedic one, and I found it engrossing.

I actually bought 4 different guide books to plan my trip Down Under. I ditched 3 of them almost immediately because Frommer's format was easier to read and locating appropriate information quicker. The advice on suggested tours was especially accurate; the boxed information warrants a second (or third) look - Frommer's never steered us in the wrong direction. Take the price information with a grain of salt as seasoned travelers know that pricing can and will fluctuate.

Don't buy any other guides - relax and enjoy your trip. Aussies are the most laid-back, patient crowd on the planet. It's an amazing country!

My life partner and I found Frommer's Australia powerful...entralling...a ferociously well-paced entertainment! We found ourselves knee deep in quicksand and this book, I kid you not, saved our skins. I mean literally! But all in all we found it a smart, craftsman-like, viscerally compelling guide, eh.

I actually bought 4 different guide books to plan my trip Down Under. I ditched 3 of them almost immediately because Frommer's format was easier to read and locating appropriate information quicker. The advice on suggested tours was especially accurate; the boxed information warrants a second (or third) look - Frommer's never steered us in the wrong direction. Take the price information with a grain of salt as seasoned travelers know that pricing can and will fluctuate.

Don't buy any other guides - relax and enjoy your trip. Aussies are the most laid-back, patient crowd on the planet. It's an amazing country!

Our group of six friends just returned from a two week trip to Australia. We did much planning ahead of time using this guide. It was so helpful that even our travel agent was impressed with the information we could give her about our plans to travel by plane, car, and train. Information about each of the cities we visited was right on the money. We stayed in some of the hotels recommended and ate at some of the restaurants. With the information we had ahead of time, our trip went very smoothly. Practically everytime anyone had a question regarding just about anything in the area we were visiting, I just grabbed the book and had the answer.

I went to Australia this summer (or their winter), and I took this book along with me. I read the book on the plane, and it seeemed helpful, but once I got there, I realized the book was lacking. First off - a lot of the places that were discussed in the book (specifically hotel rooms) were grossly misquoted on price. Secondly, the section on Melbourne (where I spent most of my time) I felt was inaccurate and the listing for hotels was extremely small. And the places listed were not very good places either in that they were either too small (and required MONTHS of advanced booking) or were too expensive for the average traveller. I found the Lonely Planet Guide to be much better and more helpful, giving the reader a more objective view of available hotels and eateries. I found a dozen or so inexpensive places to stay and eat that should have made the book. Even the Sydney section (where I also spent some time) was not very good, and the book was too Sydney-centric to be of much use to someone moving about the country. It's obvious that the writers of the book couldn't see beyond Sydney and New South Wales. Hopefully future additions will be more balanced.