Europe Books

I must have read it over a dozen time (in French) since I was 15. Can't comment on the translation, but I just wanted to say the original is truly a masterpiece. I want to live and wait at the fortress, forever.

Young, rich and idle Aldo longs for something indefinable, something to break the long dreary spell of his ennui. Opting for a post as an observer at a long decaying naval base, Aldo finds a n atmosphere suitable to his solitary, poetic nature. Ruminations abound in impressionable Aldos head. Gracq's prose works its spell on you just as the old fortifications and sea and desert landscapes work their spell on Aldo. Gracq's fabled land is reminiscent of Europe before WWI but the locales remain unspecific to make the experience all the richer, all the more evocative . His words keep you in a heady state of langurous suspense, his theme nothing less than a whole civilizations collective will which in its boredom has decided to invite doom upon itself. A book for true lovers of literature, French poetry,& war fiction though it far exceeds the usual bounds of that genre.

Even in translation you can feel the lyrical intensity and beauty of this novel which creates an atmosphere of tension which no reader will forget easily: Aldo, a young nobleman, has had enough of the decadence of his native Vezzano, a fictitious republic modeled on Venice. He has himself posted to a navy base which was once built to defend Vezzano against Farghestan. The two powers are still officially at war, but nothing has actually happened for 300 years. Now, however, there is a growing tension, not just inside Aldo, who dreams of the unknown Farghestan. People in Vezzano seem to be tired of its eternal stability, they long for action...

Most of the novel's plot takes place near the old navy base, which is surrounded by a desert landscape which is described with mesmerizing intensity. Little incidents are building up towards an explosion which is only hinted at in the book. People waiting for something to happen in a more and more uncanny slience - that may remind the reader of the fact that the book was written before and during World War II. The decadence longing for action, danger and change, however, seems to me reminiscent of World War I. This is not a book of easy historical analogy. It is a unique work of art which stands completely on its own.

Julien Gracq is one of my favorite french writers. I am a French former journalist, so I have read this book under its original title "Le Rivage des Syrtes". The very strange and mysterious connection with Buzzati's "Tartares" has never been explained. Both of them, in a very different style, write a story I would describe as a no-story. Men are awaiting an event which doesn't come. The event is not important. What matters is the silence, the wait, the days and nights so empty. This books really grabs you. But it is very hard to translate, so... Let's hope for a good translation. I highly recommend it.

Civilization has grown bored with itself and so in a richly detailed account of a fabled nations collective will, Julien Gracq shows how a people can arrive at a point where destruction is preferable to ongoing decay and stagnation. If you've read Balcony in the Forest you know that Gracq knows something about anticipation and suspense but this is a journey even deeper into the interior of the psyche and is an altogether unique reading experience. Julien Gracq's prose is best read slowly and savoured, he lingers in his descriptions and elaborates each thought with ever richer examples which hone and decorate his meanings. The plot progresses organically and instinctively like a dream unfolding and revealing episode by episode the destructive inclinations of late civilzation consciousness. Dense sensual impressions abound. If French poetry appeals to you as well as the war genre this is your book, though this book far exceeds the normal bounds of war fiction.

"Pack of Thieves" is a riveting account of man's greed coupled with a recounting of the worst crime in modern history - the Holocaust. I commend Richard Chesnoff for an insightful and beautifully written book. A must for every family library!

Chilling, captivating, terrifying express some of the emotional responses one will feel when one reads this book. The author has thoroughly researched his topic. In addition he has presented his findings in a very organized and readable fashion. The writing style makes for easy reading. The author has transformed what could have been a very mundane presentation of facts and figures into a captivating story that is impossible to put down once started. A must read for students of the Holocaust.

Pack of thieves is probably the most detailed book I have ever read about the plundering of the Jews in Europe. Throughout the book the crimes committed against the Jews is explained in horrifying detail. In my opinion, I would not suggest this book to the weak hearted as it has many awful pictures and stories of people being destroyed by the Nazis. Although it is a horrible subject to read about, the holocaust is not talked about enough. I think that people should be educated about world history so that atrocities like the mass murder of the Jews never happen again.

Chilling, captivating, terrifying express some of the emotional responses one will feel when one reads this book. The author has thoroughly researched his topic. In addition he has presented his findings in a very organized and readable fashion. The writing style makes for easy reading. The author has transformed what could have been a very mundane presentation of facts and figures into a captivating story that is impossible to put down once started. A must read for students of the Holocaust.

I literally shuddered from a combination of amazement, disgust, and anger after reading this well-written and quite readable overview of the plundering of the European Jews by Hitler and others starting in the 1930s and continuing to the present day. This book by Richard Chesnoff carefully details the scope and depth of the continuing final financial insult to those who suffered the "Final Solution" at Hitler's hand in the Second World War. Even after fifty years, the lies, dissembling, vile deceptions and equivocations continue, for literally tens of billions of dollars of gold, valuables, and money plundered as a result of the so-called "Final Solution" are still unaccounted for. For anyone old enough to have fifty such years of conscious experience in the world, it's difficult to actually be moved to disgust, to be amazed by anything people do, but the bold, shameless ways in which Europe's thugs, slugs and other lowlife cowards came slithering out of their damp and furtive hiding places to take full and open advantage of the Jews' persecution before, during and even after WWII is enough to wrench the most strong-stomached among us.

Although this line of investigation is by its very nature disturbing stuff, it is well handled by the author, and his even, professional journalistic tone is solid, seldom bitter or vengeful. Instead, his forte is his ability to systematically describe, detail, and document the multifarious ways in which the Jews were ritually stripped of anything of value by their friends, neighbors, and countrymen, and how so many of those of whom so much better should have been expected used their positions of relative advantage to exploit, extort, and even help to exterminate them. From outright expropriation of rugs, art, and valuables by the Nazis to a plethora of scams, false promises, and ultimate betrayals, the bottom line in case after case is personal enrichment at the extraordinary expense of the victims. Were I not also aware of countless stories of so many others who risked and often sacrificed themselves to save Jews, I would be ashamed to be a human being. It is difficult to understand how so many fellows human beings could continue be so cravenly covetous and so heartless as to perpetrate such a campaign of dispossession against those who were so helpless, impotent, and so needing of compassion.

The number of ways in which the Jews were exploited and extorted is numbing; from life insurance scams to funds transfer to numbered Swiss accounts to offers to help individual Jews escape to offers to hide them and spirit them to safety, the various permutations seem endless, and often quite ingenious. Yet one cannot help but be appalled by neighbors calmly expropriating clothing, cars, furniture, apartments, homes, and farms from Jews who were being systematically displaced. There are accounts of individuals coming home from the camps to find neighbors firmly ensconced in the homes, using their home goods, and totally oblivious to the possibility they would have to give it all up to the returning survivors. Many Jews returning to their former homes were threatened, scared away, beaten, or even murdered upon their return.

Of course, the most systematic exploitation was by social institutions; governments, banks, insurance companies, art museums. The degree to which these organized interests have systematically delayed, stonewalled, and denied any access to their records for all these decades is scandalous and disheartening to learn about. While the original impetus was to "Aryanize" the wealth of Germany's Jews to help finance the goals of the Third Reich, the explosion of avarice and greed soon spread throughout the Reich and beyond. What is truly disheartening is the widespread degree to which economic, social and political institutions we would otherwise consider respectable and honorable have participated in the plunder taking. This book is a most provocative reading experience, and one anyone interested in the curiosities and unintended ironies of history can play out their games should read. I highly recommend it, and hope it will be widely read and appreciated.

I was a great lover of the first three Pagan books, and so I was overjoyed when I got my hands on this fourth one. It was all that I hoped for and more. This story takes place twenty years after "Pagan's Vows" and in it Pagan is the Archdeacon. Also, this book is told from the point of view of Isidore, a suspicious and bitter youth who is also deeply religious. As usual, the author manages to incorporate many themes including heresy, war.
The only bad thing about his story is that most of Pagan's wit and funnny, clever remarks are lost. The author attempts to recreate this intelligence in Isidore, but the effect just isn't the same,

This book is a real tearjerker, and I was up half the night after I finished reading just thinking about what I had just read. This story packs so many themes in one novel that the reader needs some time to digest all the information. I also particularly like the epilogue at the end. I'm still not sure that this story is true, but the epilogue certainly suggests it.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Middle Ages, especially the Crusades. It makes much more sense if you have already read the three others. You cacn still read it without this knowledge but it is muchh more confusing, since many characters and themes are resurrected from Book Two. I recommend the series to anyone who likees to read, though there is some strong languages and a few themes that might not be appropriate for younger readers.

Isidore is probably the opposite of Pagan, personality wise. The Pagan we know and love tends to be vulgar, but that's not the case with Isidore. The ending and epilogue are sure to make you shed a tear or two at our favorite character's end.

Catherine Jinks has once again managed to turn out a magnificent piece of work. Although Pagan's Scribe is different from the previous three in its narration, it is still just as witty and intense as the rest of the Pagan Chronicles. In this book we see Pagan adopt a young boy and give him confidence and a positive role model, in the same way that Roland had with him. Although Isadore isn't quite as hilarious as Pagan, he manages to produce a very good story, and I look forward to seeing what Jinks will do in the next installment of the Chronicles.

This is only the last book in an amazing series that everyone should read!

The enemy. When will they come? What will they do? What does an army look like, encamped around a city? I've read so much, but I just can't imagine it.

This final novel in the Pagan series is told by bookish and rather delicate Isadore, who leaves his home village, where books are so hard to come by, to become scribe to Pagan, now Archdeacon of Carcassone. Isadore can hardly believe so irreverent a man could attain such a high position in the Church. But he soon learns Pagan's worth, not to mention how dangerous the world outside his little village is, for this is 1209, the year in which Papal forces from the north begin their bloody crusade against the Cathar heretics, and the battle line quickly moves closer to Carcassone.

From the quote with which I start this review, it can be seen that Catherine Jinks doesn't abandon the spare writing style she used for Pagan's voice in the rest of the series. However, readers are left in no doubt that the narrator's character and personality are nothing like those of Pagan. While Isadore has many endearing qualities, most readers will find him less appealing than Pagan. I personally missed Pagan's sarcastic and humorous comments but still found this book as fast-paced and engrossing as the previous three.

This book takes place in ancient Greece. It is about the life of a young boy named Nic who faces many dilemmas in life. He is sent away from Athens due to the plauge. He meets Gellius, a sailor who dreams to win the pankration someday. Then Nic is captured and sold as a slave. Gellius was not captured. This story tells about his search for a friend, and his struggle.I think that this was a great book. My friend thinks it was too convenient for Nic sometimes and a little unrealitic, but I loved it.
This book was exciting, and made you think about your life too. This book was a wonder to our class(as we read it aloud in class) I give this book five stars. It was a book of great pain, suffering, and happiness. I hope you all read this book.

The book takes place in Ancient Greece where Nic is fleeing from the plague in Athens and encounters danger. The pankration is an olympic event where people fight without weapons. This is one great book, but it was missing a little information about the charecters and about what happened after the pankration.

PANKRATION: THE ULTIMATE GAME reflects the ancient but brutal sport of Pankration combat. It had but one rule & everything else was allowed even fighting to the death and/or maiming one's rival. .... The rules of combat are defined in the book. The book has an intriguiing love story which causes two cadets to fight for the same woman both men desperately crave.

This was the most ammasing book I have ever read. It kept moving along and never got boring. One adventure leads to another. This is the best book I have read and it is pretty hard to beat. This book deserves 6 out of 5 stars!!

excellent! a great book for projects on greek olympics! Five-star book, Blacklock did an absolute thriller adventure ride.

Don't read this book when you are hungry. the food descriptions will make you drool. I used this guide when friends from London came over for the weekend. Mouth-watering restaurant reviews and spot-on opinions and advice about Paris. Useful, good value and sometimes very funny. The book also has full sets of city maps and subway guides, and give very clear directions with every listing. I reckon it would be a great read on the train or the plane as well.

Having spent a busy weekend sightseeing, shopping and eating in Lille thanks to this amusing and shrewd guidebook, I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone else travelling in France and Belgium. The book had all the information we needed for using public transport, getting to know the locals and seeing the sights without ever making us feel like hicks or gawping visitors. We will be in Paris this Easter and have already chosen our hotels and at least two restaurants from the same book. Does this guy write about anywhere else? If he knows other cities like he knows this one, I want to read about it.

Laughter and good food make an excellent combination. This book is full of annecdotes and gossipy tips and snippets, yet it also is as mouthwatering as a recipe book. The author reviews restaurants without resorting to fashionable cosmopolitan cliches. Your mouth waters as he remembers succulent sauces and naughty desserts, you smile as he gossips about the waiters and restaurant owners, you want to linger on the salivating detail of every favourote dish and each evocative evening spent in cellars and dining rooms. Yet, when he talks of history, you are as enchanted by the true human nature of kings and artists that he conveys. I love his casual and very individual approach to sightseeing. He can give equal status to a shop selling haute couture for dogs as an art gallery or monument, and he seems to know where all the good stuff is hidden away from the coach trade. I have queued for hours at the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay in Paris, yet this guy knows of a private house with dozens of Monets on view. And best of all he knows where to find the best meals in town without breaking the bank. This book is hot on the practical side of travelling as well. Following his tips, I found out how to travel first class on Eurostar for less than the price of a second class ticket. My only complaint is that this is not part of a series. I travel all over France and Europe and would love to listen to this author's advice on the rest of the country and the continent.

Just returned from road testing this book in Paris and found it to be absoutely spot on. We found ourself visiting bars and cafes and even museums that we must have passed a dozen times before, and discoverting a genuinely local welcome in the big city. The hotel listings are fabulous, the food reports astute and the insiders' perspective is invaluable. I lent my copy to a fellow passenegr on the TGV train home, who told me that the Lille pages were just as accurate. All I have to do now, is plan my next trip at my leisure. Buy this book. You will save the over price on your first day's eating, shopping or partying.
I must have a dozen guide books to France, but this is, without doubt, the most candid and passionate. I never felt as thougb I was being prushed or processed through the tourist traps.

I laughed out loud
It is a long time since I have enjoyed a travel book so much that I laughed out loud. However, I have found myself smiling and chuckling on the metro each day since I picked up this hugely enjoyable read. The author provides us with plenty of invaluable tips on where to go and how to get there, with hundreds of restaurant and site reviews. But the great thing about this book is that everything has been tried and tested by one man, and he is a man with a top sense of humour and a fund of hilarious annecdotes about his fellow diners and visitors. I have worked in Paris for many years and I recognise so many of my favourite places in his stories and listings. Yet this fellow Englishman seems to know of many absolute treasures that have been hidden under my nose for years. I cannot wait to try more of them. I might even treat myself to a visit to Brussels, on the strength of his suggestions. An enjoyable read and a genuine key to any city.

Author of a number of histories of literary Paris, as well as a study of Europe's "literary cafés," Noël Riley Fitch now does the trend of Americans writing about their favorite Parisian neighborhood one better by giving us a warm and charming portrait of her favorite Parisian café, Montparnasse's Le Sélect. Accompanied by wonderful illustrations (or, as the cover says, just "drawings") by Rick Tulka, this short book is an experience to savor, much like a trip to the café itself would be.

I've read a number of books over the last few months about Paris cafés, as my vicarious substitute for actually being in one. There's a great variety of such books, all trying in their own way to capture some of the ineffable (and perhaps exaggerated?) romantic charm of Parisian café-dom. Some are glossy photo albums, portraying cafés, brasseries, and restaurants in all their visual diversity. Others focus on the history of various cafés and their neighborhoods, while still others give us recipes designed to recreate café flavors and smells in our own homes. But "Paris Café: The Sélect Crowd" is the first such book I've seen that really takes a close, personal look at an author's own chosen café (in this case, one she shares with her illustrator). I found it a remarkably successful effort, and I feel like were I to visit Le Sélect someday, it wouldn't feel entirely foreign to me.

If I could improve anything, I might wish for more discussion of the people depicted in Tulka's evocative portraits, though there may not have been a way to do that while still respecting their privacy -- Le Sélect is, after all, a neighborhood institution. I also didn't particularly care for the odd covers and binding Soft Skull Press chose to clad this thing in: the cover is uniformly a quarter-inch wider than the pages inside, which made this somewhat awkward to hold. Besides that one wish and one complaint, however, this short book was a fine way to spend a few hours. I hope other authors rise to the challenge and produce similar looks at their own chosen café haunts.

When I learned my cousin had illustrated a book written on a Paris Cafe, Le Select, I thought, "How nice. I'll have to get a couple copies to take with me so I can get his autograph!" I really didn't intend, necessarily, to read it...
Well I got the book and started flipping through and then was just lured right in and read the whole thing in a rather brief period and enjoyed every minute! What a pleasant and illuminating book! And the illustrations are out of this world! To be expected from this seasoned MAD caricaturist.
Whether or not you are going to Paris, this is a must read if you, not only love Paris and, but also want to get a true understanding of the significance of the Paris Cafe!

Fitch's etched words and Tulka's loving illustrations provide a no-hassle jet to Paris and one of its treasures. This is an account to be sipped, savored and saved. Le Select's bracing aroma and eye-pleasing sights permeate every page of the francophiles' extended love letter.

Those who've roosted there over a cup of coffee or tingled after a wine will re-experience their warm pleasure; those who've yet to make it to Le Select will find a delicious foretaste of Paris at its best.

A votre sante!

Worth buying for the elegant b/w drawings alone. Tulka's caricatures magnificently capture the essence of every individual depicted... as you look at each page you feel that you are actually sitting with him observing the staff and patrons. A great book for artists, people-watchers and Francophiles.

The moment you open PARIS CAFES, you're transported to one of the most prestigious and traditional cafes in all Paris. Le Select is unchanged and unadulterated, still serving the same food by the same waiters and run by the same owner.
Turning the pages generates that special "je ne sait quoi" ambience that we all think of as Paris.
And Rick Tulka's drawings capture the subtle Parisien look, the Parisien style and humor impossible to experience in any other city in the world. Cafes exist everywhere, but none of them feels quite like sitting in a cafe in Paris. That's the special fun of reading PARIS CAFES.

Beatiful illustrations. Everything you need to know about France. Awesome book to keep for generations. I love it!!!

This book was absolutely excellent, of the highest quality. This is the greatest picture book i've ever seen.

This is more of a reference book than the standard "tour book"; it is a history of Art in Paris, and that is saying a lot! Very LARGE, HEAVY volume for art history buffs that have already visited Paris. Beautiful photography.

BY FAR THE BEST BOOK ON THE HISTORY OF ART OF ONE OF THE GREATEST CITIES IN THE WORD, WHEN IT COMES TO ART. THE HIGHEST QUALITY OF PAPER AND VIBRANT CRISP ILLUSTRATIONS.IF SELECT IT , IS REALLY AN INVESTMENT.

This book IS beautiful, and of top quality. It is about half illustration and half text, covering the history of art and architecture in Paris. There are some exterior and interior shots of different structures and buildings. However, most of the photographs are of architectural details, or are color reproductions of paintings, statues, and artifacts, similar to what you would see in an art book. There are also a lot of simple blueprints, and pen-and-ink type drawings of different structures. This makes sense, given the title of the book. However, based on some of the reviews, I thought it would contain more photographs of the city, and of the beautiful buildings in Paris. When I received it, it wasn't quite what I expected. Overall, I think it's a good value. I wish I could find a book of similar quality, but a little more like a photographic tour of the well-known and obscure corners of one of my favorite cities.

This is an artistic and literary presentation of the Parisian café. The beautiful photographs and matching quotes are an inspiration to the reader who readily senses the author's knowledge of the subject and her devotion to those cafes that were the haven for great painters, photographers, and writers. As one traverses the pages of this elegant, petite volume, one becomes, in one's imagination, a frequenter of those cafes, enjoying their seductive ambiance, while sipping coffee, chatting with artists and friends, admiring the decor without and within, and hoping to find, in this world, a café that can bestow upon him such joy and offer him a home away from home.

Wow! I found this little gem at the bookstore at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. The cover attracted me because it looked like a scene I had seen many times when I lived and wrote in Paris. Any writer who has spent time in Cafe le Dome or Le Select will get multiple nostalgia attacks looking over the pictures and reading the quotes from Shaw, Papa Hemingway, Camus and the other greats. The review title above about everyone having two countries comes from Thomas Jefferson who loved Paris. Too bad he is dead, for he too would have also loved Val Clark's wonderful little book.

A Literary Companion, indeed! As a writer, lover of Paris and cafes--I found this book delightful, and the perfect companion for a cold winter day. For like the cafe it celebrates, it has the ability to lift my spirits the moment I "enter" its sumptuous pages. Val Clark has done a masterful job in matching up the evocative photographs of Doisneau and Brassai, the art of Van Gogh, Manet, Bemelmans and much more--with the words of writers and artists that endure because they resonate with that fullness of being that the cafe nurtures. This little book pays loving homage to that sensibility. Thank you Val Clark!

Val Clark's selection of images and quotations evoking the literary life of Paris cafes is like sitting down to a cafe creme at Les Deux Magots with your favorite writers. Clark has scoured literary sources both familiar and overlooked to compile an ecclectic assemblage of testimonies on the allure of Paris cafes. She pairs these testimonies with images (photographs, oils, watercolors) so naturally that it seems the writers and artists had collaborated: Langston Hughes and Vincent Van Gogh, Irwin Shaw and Andre Kertesz, Henry Miller and LeRoy Neiman, and many, many more. The Introduction gives an insightful and appreciative overview of the essential role of cafes in Paris literary and artistic life. Like a good cafe, this charming books offers a respite from our hectic work-a-day lives. A delight!

This is a great book! Val Clark has assembled a wonderful collection of photos and quotes that transport the reader to the Paris café scene of Hemingway, Anais Nin and Albert Camus. Flipping through the pages of this beautifully laid out book will send any reader into another world entirely. I would say that it is an ideal coffee table book, except that two friends have already asked to borrow it from my coffee table!

One of the nice things about Beh Affleck's awful movie was it got people interested in this subject, and a some good books were written for those people to read. Better entertaining than the bomb that they were inspired by.

This one of the better ones. Nicely written. Very informative. Well illustrated both with original art and period photographs. A good read on this subject.

What I liked best about the book were its real-life pictures with facts in the captions. I enjoyed most of the book. My great-grandfather was at Pearl Harbor. I am glad to know now what happened and what went on day by day. It was easy to read in some parts, too. The writing, however, failed to hold my attention after reading only a few pages. Also, the book was about a couple of battles, not just Pearl Harbor. Still, I would recommend this book, especially to someone who wanted to know about our nation's wartime past.

A Fantastic Read

This book is terrific. I really liked the fact that it put the attack in the context of the Second World War. It gives you a good understanding of the conflicts in Europe and the Pacific and helps you to see why the attack was so pivotal. I've never been all that interested in books about war, but this one proved to be engaging and very moving. Susan Wels has done an outstanding job presenting the people and the politics behind this much-discussed event.

Pearl Harbor is a day that our nation will never forget, and this book helps those who weren't there understand why it is imperative to remember. This book draws up a landscape of history that is relevant to the incident, and discusses both prior and after effects of this notorious day.

The book is excellently done, encompassing informative material that allows people to understand many different aspects of the attack, and life at the base, both before and after.

If you enjoy US History, then this book is a wonderful addition to your collection. I keep going back to it to read about different aspects of not just Pearl Harbor, but World War II.

Since I am only 21 years old, it was difficult to grasp the human aspects of such an attack, but this book puts things into perspective.

I will always keep this book, not only as an informative guide, but also as a reminder of America's Darkest Day.

With the recent interest in Pearl Harbor bringing books out of the woodwork, I spent alot of time searching for a comprehensive summary of that "infamous" day. This coffee table book has it all. Stunning photography and wonderful writing. From the start, the forward by Senator Inouye brought tears to my eyes. I've gone over it cover to cover several times and its a treasure!! If you have interest in this important part of our country's history...buy this book!

I had not done much research on the Elizabethan time period when I read this book, nor did I have any desire to, but it really has opened up my world! I've gotten a lot more interested in Shakespeare and his works for one thing, and, for another, it has given me a window into the world of acting and plays during the late 1500s. Can you believe that, since women weren't allowed to act on stage, young boys actually had to play the female roles? Not many boys I know would go for that at all!

This truly is a wonderful book about an orphan who finds a life on the stage. I won't say any more, so as to spoil the story, but, I must say, it's a good read for the creative mind.

This book is about a 14 year old boy, named Richard Malory, whos mom has died and his dad left the family.Richard travels to Londonand meets some interesting characters along the way.He gets robbed, beaten, and threatened at knifepoint. he joins the Lord Chamberland's men to act on stage. He meets his long lost father and helps him escape from England. He lives his life the way it was set out for him. I gave this story five stars because it is really suspenseful. I recommend this book for anyone. this book is really good because you never want to put it down.It fills you with peril and leaves you hanging until you read it more.

Richard's mother has just died out in the country. The man his sister and he worked for only has room for his sister to stay and work for him, so Richard sets off for the bustling city of London. Awhile before, his family once received money from a lawyer in London who forwarded it from the father Richard hasn't seen since he was a small child. Before her death, Richard's mother instructs him to go and see this man who she thinks might be able to find him a reputable job in the city.

Once in London, though, Richard has a hard time finding the man who is supposed to find him work. He instead meets up with a man who says the lawyer is no one he would want to talk with. This man directs him instead to the docks, where he works for a time for a company that imports wine. Soon, though, Richard comes to realize that there are men following him who may want to harm him.

Around the same time he realizes he may be in danger, Richard is recruited by the local theater to be an actor. He is fourteen, which is a good age to play the women's parts in the plays. Richard plunges into the theater life, making both friends and enemies with the others in the cast. William Shakespeare is the primary playwright for the theater company, and Richard enjoys many of the plays he writes for them. But there is a mystery out there waiting to be solved, and Richard becomes more and more convinced that he has a right to be interested in it.

I liked the history of this story; it was interesting to read what London was like when Shakespeare was writing. It was also fascinating for me to read about life in the theater in these days. It was a little hard, though, for me to follow the parts of the history concerned with the nobility in this story. I couldn't keep track of the monarchs and their allies and enemies.

This book is great for all ages, as the other reviews have said. I, being a 13 year old, loved the mystery plotline, and I enjoy reading books like Shakespeare! I recommend the author's second book, The True Prince, and The Shakespeare Stealer and Shakespeare's Scribe, both by Gary Blackman! All of these books have a young boy who acts in Shakespeare's troupe, so if you enjoy that aspect of The Playmaker, then you'll love the others!!!

The Playmaker is a work which literally transports the reader to Elizabethan England in a very convincing manner. Cheaney has a beautiful use of language which does not talk "down" to her young readers at all, but instead presents them a fast-paced, exciting story which is as enriching as it is entertaining. I really fell for all the major characters, and I am hoping for a sequel...or several of them! Richard, Starling, and Kit are so well developed they seem like real historical characters rather than fiction. The Playmaker is a great example of how fiction can present a historical period to young readers so that the reader develops a feel for the period-encouraging an interest in history, too. That's a very enriching asset for a novel to have. This book is on my Christmas list for my young friends AND friends my age and older! My 27 year old daughter is going to love it!