Ireland Books

Vincent P. O'Hara's "The German Fleet at War" is an impressively researched and highly informative look at a subject little known to American and British World War II buffs. Even serious students of the war believe that after the sinkings of the "Graf Spee" and "Bismarck," Germany's naval war switched almost exclusively to it U-boats. O'Hara demonstrates that not only is this untrue, but that German surface forces continued to battle the Allies until only weeks before the 1945 Nazi surrender. CounterclockwiseEvery Shape, Every Shadow: A Novel of Guadalcanalder.

Roger L. Conlee
Author of "Every Shape, Every Shadow" and "Counterclockwise"

If you are interested in reading a well-researched, single-volume study of the German Navy in the Second World War, this is definitely the book for you. In addition to being a highly readable work, it is a fine piece of scholarship. My compliments to the author.

As a fan of the little recorded small unit naval actions, it has been a frustrating experience watching book after book come out on Kriegsmarine captial ships (which spent most of the war at anchor) or endless, repetitive coverage on U-boats. The Destroyers, torpedo boats, minesweepers and escorts that actually fought regular surface actions have been little covered, and the reports written by the Allied sources often give a one-sided and often inaccurate account of many actions.

In this account Mr. O'Hara has produced a balanced, well researched record of specific surface actions from the battles involving the Bismarck to the sharp actions of German minesweepers off the Channel Islands and the encounters between US destroyers and German corvettes and destroyers in the Mediterranean. As an example of his research, Mr. O'Hara checked primary sources (both USN and German) to determine that the USS Gleaves and three destroyers of the 10th Torpedoboote Flottille actually traded shots one night late in 1944. The Gleaves' history describes an action with German merchant ships while the history of the German flotilla describes encountering a "large French destroyer." Neither side recorded the actual opponent correctly and recent publications still show these as two separate battles! His piecing together the puzzle here helps better define one of the rare encounters between German and US warships and is a tribute to his effort.

This book is well worth the price and is unlike any book I have read before of the Kriegsmarine.

Finally! Mr. O'Hara is to be lauded for the magnificent effort of showing that Kriegsmarine was not only the U-boats, the Bismarck, Tirpitz, and the Graf Spee, but a lot more, and that German sailors, just like their Allied counterparts, fought the numbing war of small skirmishes, ill defined night actions, endless watches, and fought with determination and courage. This is a well researched book, based on both Allied and OKM sources, filled with a plethora of convincingly presented facts which, for many readers, will provide astonishing insights. Those with more professional interest, will find the book simply a very good read, worth an evening or two, and also quite illuminating.

O'Hara has written a valuable reference for World War II enthusiasts. I've long had an interest in the Kriegsmarine and was pleased to add "The German Fleet at War" to my library. I look forward to future books from this author.

Well written and wonderfully informed, this well designed book presents a comprehensive review of the appearance and use of the great cathedrals and abbey churches built across the middle ages in France and England. It also includes a wonderfully precise presentation of the social, economic, and political order of the time, and it discusses how the great buildings were built and what is known of their builders. Overall, it is the best general introduction I know of, easily accessible to non experts and a wonderful review for the better informed.

This book is both a wondrous introduction to Gothic Cathedrals for those who are newly curious about them and a concise but thorough resource for those who have long admired and read about the Gothic Cathedral. The author often takes a personal approach in his narrative, which seems quite appropriate given the personal impression these buildings were designed to make (and have made on most who will read this book). The book is both well-researched and easy to read, a difficult achievement. Its description of the elements of Gothic architecture, for example, is one of the most complete and clear treatments I have read.

The broad perspective taken (historical, intellectual, religious, architectural, sociological) helps bring together into one coherent whole the many different faces of the cathedral. Even those who may know the historical and intellectual origins of the cathedral will learn much about its other aspects here. For example, some of the details on construction techniques and parts of the discussion of "sacred spaces" within the cathedral were new even to someone who has read many books on the subject.

Medieval intellectual history and its relationship to the cathedrals is explored, and the coexistence of the potentially conflicting reason and faith in a single building is explained. Some discussion of how the cathedrals and their attached schools gave rise to the medieval (and hence the modern) university would have been helpful.

Overall, though, the book provides an excellent introduction to the topic and a comprehensive explanation of the "why" and "how" of Gothic Cathedrals (in addition to the more mundane, but still important, "who", "when", and "where").

Before this book, one would have to read many volumes to get such a complete picture of the Gothic Cathedral. This book is appropriate for anyone with an interest in the subject. It is the book that I'm sure many Gothic Cathedral enthusiasts wish they had written.

I would highly recommend Robert A. Scott's new book, The Gothic Enterprise. Although many books have been published on the topic of Gothic Cathedrals, Scott has approached his subject with a new perspective. He asks the reader to think as much about the "why" of cathedral building as the "how." The reader will still find lots of information about the practical aspects of cathedral building, most helpfully enhanced by a discussion of the social, political, economic, and even climatological factors that complicated such long and challenging construction projects. But above and beyond this, Scott is interested in the people who conceived, designed, and built these great churches. What motivated them? How did hundreds of people with varying and often conflicting interests work collectively over long periods of time? What did an individual or a community expect in return for their contribution to such a bold undertaking?

Scott answers these questions and more. In turn he challenges the reader to see the cathedral in a new light, not only as an example of great architecture, but as tangible evidence of the commitment, creativity, hope, and faith of the people who, against great odds, undertook such a bold and difficult enterprise.

Having visited dozens of cathedrals, I think Scott is right on target. A cathedral is more than an amalgamation of stone, timber, and glass. If we look closely, we can still see traces of the contributors: in a mason's mark, the carved face of an 800 year-old effigy, a bishop's ring, or an irreverent carving high in the rooftops. It is the collective presence of these long-dead individuals, as much as the grandeur of the architecture that makes a cathedral so memorable, so tangibly the result of a collective human enterprise.

Scott's book is beautifully packaged with many photos and charming illustrations. It would be a handy guide for a traveler visiting cathedrals or a great read for an armchair traveler. I suspect the reader of The Gothic Enterprise will never see a cathedral in quite the same way again.

Author Robert Scott had much the same the experience at Salisbury Cathedral as I had - a sense of awe and wonder, and a desire to learn more about it, not just as a place, or as an architectural wonder, or as a place of worship, or as a cultural icon. Scott wanted to get at the heart of the idea of the Gothic enterprise as a whole - a trained sociologist, Scott knew that the bigger picture is sometimes lost by too narrow a focus on particular details to the exclusion of others. The sociology background also gave Scott a sense of wanting to understand the hearts and minds of the people involved.

While the principal focus of Scott's travels started with Salisbury Cathedral (in full, the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Salisbury), Scott draws examples from the breadth of the Gothic cathedrals, churches and other buildings. There are literally thousands of such dotted across the European and European-influenced landscapes. Each building has its own unique characteristics, but they share a common spirit.

Church building in particular was 'big business' in Christendom for a long time. Scott quotes estimates of that there are nearly 19,000 ecclesiastical buildings in England and Wales, nearly half of which date to the medieval period. The first Gothic church was the Abbey Church of St. Denis, just north of Paris, built under the direction of the 'founding father' of Gothic style, Abbot Suger.

Scott's first major section looks at how cathedrals were built, in terms of materials, architectural design, settings, and workforce. With regard to the workforce, the numbers were large and the division of labour highly specialised. In the records of the construction of Westminster Abbey, there were fifteen different categories of workers listed in 1253. Workers were often local, but supplemented by those who traveled, particularly if special skills were needed. Construction was often suspended in winter months, not just because of the cold, but because the number of daylight hours greatly diminished (in England, there can be fewer than 8 hours of daylight in the winter months).

Scott's second major section explores the history involved. The Gothic enterprise grew up out of the feudal system as it was trying to define itself in a sea of shifting political structures. It is no mistake that the Gothic ideal was born in an Abbey rather than a Cathedral; bishops had become increasingly involved in secular and political matters, while the monasteries remained closer to the common people and closer to the spiritual ideals of the church. 'Monasticism was a continuous effort to surmount sense perception and intellectual understanding to achieve knowledge of God, to experience communion with God, and by so doing to reveal the divine mystery and achieve special favour in the eyes of God.' Still, the particular abbey of Gothic's foundation, the Abbey of St. Denis, had a particular attachment to the French monarchs, and for a time the Abbey enjoyed a supreme reputation, 'from 1124 onward the Abbey Church of St. Denis became the religious and, in an important sense, the political capital of France.' From this place, the influence of Gothic style spread through the Paris region, then outward into France and beyond.

In the third section, Scott highlights some of the classic details of what the Gothic look entails. There is a geometric symmetry involved, which, 'when followed consistently, gives Gothic cathedrals their characteristic organic unity.' There is a logic and harmony built into the design. High vaulted ceilings, flying buttresses, pointed arches are other features. However, the key element in Gothic design is light, and it is in aid of this aspect that the other elements are enlisted. Gothic cathedrals in comparison with the dimly lit Romanesque predecessors are flooded with light. Be it clear or stained glass, the incorporation of windows and lighting techniques hitherto not done makes the Gothic space a brighter surrounding. Heaven would be a place of light, and the Gothic cathedral is intended as a foretaste of the heavenly banquet.

The fourth section explores the religious experience in Gothic structures, and how liturgies and worship are carried out, how they serve as temples of the imagination in addition to being the centre of worship, and how they become a repository of history. Part of this history was the incorporation of the memory and power of the dead into the fabric of the cathedrals - many became pilgrimage sites or burial sites; royal and other notable society figures also became part of the structures of cathedrals and churches. According to Scott, the cathedrals provided the saints with a focal point of veneration, and the saints in return provided a steady income (from the pilgrims) for the buildings to be completed.

The final section looks at the community that surrounded the Gothic enterprise, be they parish churches, abbey churches or cathedrals. Scott explores the living standards of the time, the stratification and specialisation of people in the different roles in society, and the questions not only of how the communities built the churches, but how the churches and cathedrals in turn built the communities. 'We might ...imagine that the long time required to build Gothic cathedrals added to the depth of the collective identity they engendered.' Indeed, in some regards, the building of a cathedral was never supposed to be completed. Spanning generations (sometimes, as in the case of Canterbury Cathedral, nearly 400 years) such enterprises defined the community in ways that no building project in modern times could approach.

Scott ends with a small essay regarding Stonehenge, not too far from Salisbury Cathedral, showing some similarities and differences in the way people built and found identity then.

Scott quotes Samuel Johnson as declaring Salisbury Cathedral 'the last perfection in architecture'; however, it is clear that there is much perfection to go around when it comes to all things Gothic. Scott's passion for the material and love of discovery is apparent on every page. A good writer, he serves as teacher, tour guide, and co-discoverer of ideas with the reader. This is a wonderful book.

The people who reviewed this book before me did a great job of describing this wonderful book, so I'm not going to repeat their observations. However, one aspect of the work I personally appreciated was the way Scott examined the cathedrals as architectural responses to the cultural context. His analysis is clear and straightforward. Excellent book!

Hilarious--Boylan has scored another comic triumph. The Great Pint-Pulling Olympiad keeps the reader reeling with dazzling displays of erudition, caustic commentary, and a constant barrage of laugh-out-loud episodes. But this is a farce with a heart; even at their most ridiculous, Boylan's characters are deftly drawn and fully human. If you think you'll finish this book without caring about the people within it, then the joke's on you.

More captivating than Boylan's Killoyle. The Olympiad has characters that are rich in their actions, preoccupations and obssessions. Boylan is witty and erudite, and his book is a treasure-trove of deliciously clever details and footnotes. There are some hysterically funny scenes you shouldn't miss. A book unlike any other. Buy it!

Very highly recommended reading, The Great Pint-Pulling Olympiad: A Mostly Irish Farce is a rollicking roller coaster of a novel by Roger Boylan and set in the days leading up to the Pint-Pulling Olympiad in the town of Killoyle, Ireland. A cross-dressing church sexton, a drunk who loses his job as a car tester and sues for wrongful termination, unemployment seminar hosts who sell missiles to the IRA on the side, and other memorable characters populate the pages of this engaging and topsy turvy tale with surprises hiding around every corner.

I am not quite finished this book - it's taking a while because I keep putting it down to laugh. The footnotes are a great addition and an entertaining read in and of themselves. Boylan's language is as fast and intriguingly unpredictable as Mick McCree's test drive. Don't know what that means? RYou'll have to read the first several pages to find out.
If you have despaired of reading a book that is both hilarious and literary, despair no more. I also recommend that you drink a pint or two while reading.

I teach comic fiction, and this is one of the funniest novels I know. It has been years since I was so sorry to see a book end. It is, however, far more than a collection of laughs. Like the work of other Irish masters from Swift and Sterne to Beckett, Flann O'Brien, Patrick McCabe, and Martin McDonagh, Boylan's novel continually blends the comic with the dark, revealing profound connections. He provides, for example, access into the minds of terrorists, from Irish ultranationalists to Basque separatists, yielding insights you will find nowhere else. His characterizations are masterful, and, like Sterne, Joyce, and Beckett, he is also a great formal innovator. I will never again consider teaching my Irish Comic Writers course without this marvelously rich novel.

This was a fascinating read that gives a perspective on WWII that you seldom, if ever, hear. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in WWII history. I have come away from reading it with a broader understanding of topics that tend to be taught from only one point of view. This is a valuable asset, and I'm glad I had the oppotunity to read it.

Mr. Knapp has presented a unique look into the mind of a dictator and how such a person was able to affect an entire population. Mr. Knapp is able to convey that not all citizens were negativly influenced by the Nazi propagnada machine. The reader is struck by the fact that the young Mr. Knapp is able to maintain both his humanity and dignity throughout a most difficult period in his life. This book is quite relavant in that similar regimes exist today, often without national boundries. A factinating read.

The book gives a new insight into every day life under Hitler through the eyes of child. It is truely absorbing and I could not put it down until I completed reading. I thank the author for this excellent book.

The book gives a new insight into every day life under Hitler through the eyes of child. It is truely absorbing and I could not put it down until I completed reading. I thank the author for this excellent book.

The book gives a new insight into every day life under Hitler through the eyes of child. It is truely absorbing and I could not put it down until I completed reading. I thank the author for this excellent book.

An excellent addition to the literature on Yugoslav and Serbian history. A must for anyone who would like to learn more about the region. Concise and easy to read. The entries on events and important individulas and institutions have not been burdened by the subjective interpretations and judgements. Highly recommended reading for general public and Yugoslav scholars.

Prof. Suster's book is a well documented and highly sophisticated work on history combining first-hand information, clear presentation and reliable analysis on many until now partially or wrongly interpreted historical phenomenons from troublesome Balkan history. Comprehensive in its analysis, the book is based on new historical literture and balanced in its historical judgments. Both biographies and historical analysis are based on scholarly literature from West and from local historiography. The emphesis is, as expected on contemporary history, covering all important facts of the last decade, but the most important historical phenomenons are, some for the first time in English,presented without any prejudice. In all respects this book will be an essential guide for everyone, from university professors and students to general public, tending to learn more on history and politics in Serbia, Montenegro and their neighbors.

Finally, a comprehensive and coherent volume on Yugoslavia from a Balkan expert and an IPE scholar. The post-Cold War literature on international relations of Yugoslavia's demise, in its substance and method, for the most part, has not discriminated between truth and opinion -- between what is true objectively and rationally, supported by evidence and illuminated by reason, and what is only a subjective judgment, separated from the facts, unrealistic, and informed by prejudice.

Regrettably, information and knowledge about Serbia, Yugoslavia, and the Balkans have often been created and distributed by media generated and / or by media forwarded pictures, reports, and commentaries. This type of evidence has largely been based on leaks from known and unknown sources. Therefore serious readers, scholars, and policy makers engaged in the Balkan affairs and U.S. foreign policy should pose several questions.

(1) Has the so-called "advocacy journalism" based on the reports from conflict stakeholders -- past, current, or prospective clients and proxies -- provided information or disinformation?

(2) Has the advocacy journalism cultivated (a) ignorance and cognitive closure about causal links and their effects; (b) stirred input-output discrepancies that led to cognitive dissonance and suppression of reasoned judgment; or (c) has it enhanced our understanding of causes and consequences of internal conflicts and interstate wars?

(3) Have we improved our learning skills, and advanced our knowledge with briefings, statements, and judgments provided by bureaucrats, staff members, and policy makers in a ministry or agency?

Answers to these questions and the outcome of such a research and management of international affairs have been adverse for history, theory, and policy. We have discovered ex ante and the ex postfacto fallacies and errors in the intelligence process, and planning. We have had to contend with policy advocacy and implementation that stem from these fallacies and errors. Serious and much needed research to discourage the use of fallacies and to avoid costly conceptual and policy errors, so far has been insufficient and inadequate.

Suster's Historical Dictionary of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the English-speaking world has long been overdue. Since the end of the Cold War, the public was satiated with the literature on ethnic and regional conflict. This literature, with few exceptions, lacked the precision and depth required for serious social research. Academic and policy discourse has been in need of a discriminate and balanced evidence and inference. We make history and theory synthesis possible through this intellectual production of discriminate and balanced evidence and inference.

Zeljan Suster's book fills the large factual and analytical gap that exists in the contemporary literature on Yugoslavia. Besides the comprehensive lexicon of the names, events, and processes, the book's introductory chapter provides a concise but inclusive analytical background for the main period covered in the book. This analysis is refreshing and stimulating. It makes prospects for serious research on this and similar topics important and feasible. The Historical Dictionary of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia should be a standard reference for scholars, students, and policy makers.

Boban S. M. Pesic, University of Pittsburgh

Finally, we have a comprehensive and coherent masterwork on Yugoslavia from a Balkan expert and an IPE scholar. The post-Cold War literature on international relations of Yugoslavia's demise, in its substance and method, for the most part, has not discriminated between truth and opinion. It has not discriminated between what is true objectively and rationally, supported by evidence and illuminated by reason, and what is only a subjective judgment, separated from the facts, unrealistic, and informed by prejudice.

Information and knowledge about the Balkans, Yugoslavia, and Serbia,have often been created and disseminated through uncorroborated reports and teleological research prone to errors: accepting a (policy) claim when it was false, rejecting it when it was true, or solving the wrong problem instead of the right one. Serious readers, scholars, and policy makers engaged in the Balkan affairs and U.S. foreign policy, therefore, should pose several questions:

(1) has the so-called "advocacy journalism" based on the reports from conflict stakeholders -- past, current, or prospective clients and proxies provided information or disinformation?

(2) has the "advocacy journalism" cultivated (a) ignorance and cognitive closure about causal links and their effects; (b) stirred input/output discrepancies that led to cognitive dissonance and suppression of reasoned judgment; or has it enhanced our understanding of causes and consequences of internal conflicts and interstate wars?

(3) have we improved our learning skills, and advanced our knowledge with briefings, statements, and judgments provided by bureaucrats, staff members, and policy makers in a ministry or agency?

Answers to these questions suggest that research and management of international affairs, so far, have been adverse for the study of history and policy. We have discovered fallacies and errors in the intelligence process and planning ex postfacto. We have had to contend with policy advocacy and policy application that stem from these fallacies and errors. Serious and much needed research to discourage the use of fallacies and to avoid costly conceptual and policy errors,so far, has been insufficient and inadequate.

Suster's "Historical Dictionary of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" in the English-speaking world has long been overdue. Since the end of the Cold War, the public was satiated with the literature on ethnic and regional conflict. This literature, with few exceptions, lacked the precision and depth required for serious social research. Academic and policy discourse has been in need of a discriminate and balanced evidence and inference. We make history and theory synthesis possible through this intellectual production of discriminate and balanced evidence and inference.

Zeljan Suster's book fills the large factual and analytical gap that exists in the contemporary literature on Yugoslavia. Besides the comprehensive lexicon of the names, events, and processes, the book's introductory chapter provides a concise but inclusive analytical background for the main period covered in the book. This analysis is refreshing and stimulating. It makes prospects for serious research on this and similar topics important and feasible. The "Historical Dictionary of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" is a standard reference for scholars, students, and policy makers.

S. B. M. Pesic, University of Pittsburgh

This book, which is both detailed and accessible, is a valuable contribution to the recent body of literature on the former Yugoslavia. As a who's who and a what's what on the region's historical and contemporary figures and events it is an excellent starting point for the student, researcher and even the casual reader who will certainly have been exposed to a lot of media coverage of the region, but who may have found that the media explained only a little.

The alphabetic listing format is easy to use, and the extensive bibliography and chronology provide reference points for the reader to find out more on the many interesting aspects of the history and culture of the Balkans.

This affordable paperback edition of Volume V of Charles Oman's definitive study of the Peninsular War covers the turning point of the conflict. In early 1812, Napoleon withdrew some of his Imperial troops from occupied Spain for his ill-fated invasion of Russia. The dispersal of the remaining French troops to hold down Spanish insurgents coincided with a buildup of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, enabling Wellington to go over to the offensive with an experienced and well-trained force. The bold seizure of the Spanish frontier fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz opened the way for Wellington's magnificent victory of maneuver over Marshal Marmont's French Army at Salamanca. Although Wellington overreached himself at the siege of Burgos and was forced to retrench on the Portuguese frontier over the winter of 1812-1813, the French had lost the initiative in the Peninsular War for good.

Oman brings out how Napoleon's attempts to run the Peninsular War from Paris and Wellington's superior ability to gather intelligence contributed to French defeats. Oman includes a brief but fascinating account, perhaps particularly relevant for modern readers, of the challenges faced by the British Tory government in supporting a long and expensive campaign to dislodge the French from Spain and Portugal. The Whig Party, in opposition, decried every expense and every casualty in favor of an immediate peace treaty with Napoleon. Such a treaty prior to Napoleon's defeat in Russia would have ceded control of Continental Europe to the French Emperor. The Tory government withstood Whig opposition and internal dissension to perservere against Napoleon, trusting Wellington to fulfill the mission of his command.

Oman's command of his subject in volume V is masterful. His narrative is mature and confident. While the focus is on the operational level of war, Oman provides descriptive and ocassionally thrilling vignettes of the critical battles. The footnotes provide much additional context.

This volume and series are highly recommended to serious students of the Napoleonic Wars. The casual reader without background of the conflict may find this volume a very challenging read.

Volume V of Charles Oman's definitive study of the Peninsular War covers the turning point of the conflict in the Iberian Peninsula. In early 1812, Napoleon withdrew some of his Imperial troops from Spain for his ill-fated invasion of Russia. The dispersal of the remaining French troops to hold down Spanish insurgents coincided with a buildup of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, enabling Wellington to go over to the offensive with an experienced and well-trained force. The bold seizure of the Spanish frontier fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz opened the way for Wellington's magnificent victory of maneuver over Marshal Marmont's French army at Salamanca. Although Wellington overreached himself at the siege of Burgos and was forced to retrench on the Portuguese frontier over the winter of 1812-1813, the French had lost the initiative in the Peninsular War for good. Oman brings out how Napoleon's attempts to run the Peninsular War from Paris and Wellington's superior ability to gather intelligence contributed to French defeats. Oman includes a brief but fascinating account, perhaps particularly relevant for modern readers, of the challenges faced by the British Tory government in supporting a long and expensive campaign to dislodge the French from the Iberian Peninsula. The Whig Party, in opposition, decried every expense and every casualty in favor of an immediate peace treaty with Napoleon. Such a treaty prior to Napoleon's defeat in Russia would have ceded control of Continental Europe to the French Emperor. The Tory government withstood Whig opposition and internal dissension to persevere against Napoleon, trusting Wellington to fulfill the mission of his command. Oman's command of his subject is masterful; his narrative is mature and confident. While the focus is on the operational level of war, Oman provides descriptive and ocassionally thrilling vignettes of the critical battles. The footnotes provide much additional context. This volume and series are highly recommended to serious students of the Napoleonic Wars. The casual reader without background of the conflict may find this volume a very challenging read.

Sir Charles Oman's comprehensive seven volume history of the Peninsular War is the yardstick by which any other history of this theatre must be measured. It is exhaustive in detail and in breadth of coverage. If it happened, it is in one of these volumes. Napoleon may have considered Spain a side show, but as results turned out it was a bleeding ulcer. French losses here, combined with the 1812 campaign, placed a strain on the Empire which could not be overcome by even the best generalship. Any true student of the Napoleonic Wars should find these books and read them. They are essential to a complete understanding of the conflict.

Sir Charles Oman's comprehensive seven volume history of the Peninsular War is the yardstick by which any other history of this theatre must be measured. It is exhaustive in detail and in breadth of coverage. If it happened, it is in one of these volumes. Napoleon may have considered Spain a side show, but as results turned out it was a bleeding ulcer. French losses here, combined with the 1812 campaign, placed a strain on the Empire which could not be overcome by even the best generalship. Any true student of the Napoleonic Wars should find these books and read them. They are essential to a complete understanding of the conflict.

This wonderfully affordable paperback edition makes available Volume V of Charles Oman's definitive history of the Peninsular War, which covers the turning point of the war. In early 1812, Napoleon withdrew some of his Imperial troops from Spain for the ill-fated invasion of Russia. The dispersal of the remaining French forces to hold down Spanish insurgents coincided with a buildup of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, enabling Wellington to go over to the offensive with his experienced and well-trained force.

The bold seizure of the Spanish frontier fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz opended the way for Wellington's magnificent victory of maneuver over Marshal Marmont's French Army at Salamanca. Wellington would later overreach himself at the siege of Burgos and be forced to retrench on the Portuguese frontier over the winter of 1812-1813. However, the French had lost the initiative in the Peninsular War for good.

Oman includes a brief but fascinating account, perhaps particularly relevant for modern readers, of the challenges faced by the British Tory government in waging an expensive six year campaign to dislodge the French from the Iberian Peninsula. The British Whig Party, in opposition, decried every expense and casualty in favor of an immediate peace treaty with Napoleon. The effect of such a treaty prior to Napoleon's defeat in Russia would have been to concede control of Continental Europe to the French Emperor. The British Ministry withstood both Whig opposition and internal Tory dissension to persevere against Napoleon and to trust Wellington to fulfill the mission of his command in Spain.

Oman's command of his subject is masterful; his narrative is mature and confident. While the focus is on the operational level of war, Oman provides descriptive and occasionally thrilling vignettes of the critical battles. The footnotes provide much additional context which will be of interest to the serious student of the Napoleonic Wars. The casual reader without background of the conflict may find this volume a challenging read.

This was a happy find: a well-written, thought-provoking book that I had never heard of. The quiet tone and subtly shaded characters are reminiscent of Alice McDermott's best, and not only because they share an Irish heritage. The story moves forward and backward in time, building details introduced in passing into unforgettable characters. I especially admired the silk-dyeing lore -- I didn't know that Paterson, NJ had such a romantic history. A book to treasure.

I am a lover of all things Irish. So when I picked up this book and saw it had to do with an Irish Immigrant I started reading. Houseguest deals mainly with the interactions of people on a personal level and how those interactions impact on one or both of the people. I was especially interested in Edward's reflection on caring for his wife & young daughter. How guilty he felt for wanting to scream/run away. I wouldn't want people to think all Immigrants wind up living with the upper class, rent free for months. Not likely. Very good novel. The references to Edna O'brien are correct.

A friend promised I'd love this, and love it I do--incredibly intimate, and deceptively simple story-telling. Reminds me of Laurie Moore and, a little, of Edna O'Brien--very different writers, obviously, but this writer shares common ground with each.

This is simply a wonderful book, an elegant, straightforward masterpiece. It is a tearjerker without being maudlin, a love story without being overblown, a family drama that is poignant but never cliched. The story of a family pulled apart by death and circumstance‹and reunited in an unpredictable but thoroughly satisfying way, The Houseguest is a book you won't be able to put down‹and won't want to.

I read this wonderful book straight through, lost in the world of an Irish-American family during the Depression. Rossi is an amazing writer: her characters are so honestly and deeply observed that they are haunting, and the things she evokes--Sunday afternoons, a beach house in winter, the tension just before a love affair begins--are rich with clear-eyed but compassionate detail. This is one of the most moving novels I have read in years. It is romantic without being melodramatic, and the ending is so satisfying and lovely that I closed the book crying. The Houseguest will stay with me a long time.

This novel was chosen by Barnes & Noble for the "Discover Great New Writers" program....It received a starred review in Publishers Weekly, indicating a novel of unusual merit and interest...Books Ireland said "This is a work of such might and muscle....Buy it."...The Irish Times said "Phelan has taken a...theme, the slaughter of innocence, and by dint of sheer lyrical power has turned it into something you won't forget for a very long time."...Library Journal said "This first novel, an unforgettable exploration of the shattering effects of violence, belongs in most fiction collections.... The French translation, "A La Saison des Marguerites," is published by Editions Balland.

Barnes & Noble selected IN THE SEASON OF THE DAISIES for its "Discover Great New Writers" program. Publisher's Weekly (1996) called IN THE SEASON... a "powerful novel" and awarded it a starred review. Library Journal (1993) said "This first novel, an unforgettable exploration of the shattering effects of violence, belongs in most fiction collections." The Irish Times (1993) said "Phelan has taken a...theme, the slaughter of innocence, and turned it into something you won't forget for a very long time." Books Ireland said "This is a work of such might and muscle....Buy it."

A wonderful and provocative book although some may find the subject matter a bit too rough for light reading. The book combines a graceful lyricism with a whole variety of interesting symbolism which implies the author's depth of human understanding.

One curious example would be the character of Ms. Bevan who connotes pure compassion and understanding; a true Madonna figure. She is modern, monied, dignified and thought to be Protestant by everyone in town, which she is not. This subtle reflection of Irish self-loathing and the fact that Mr. Sheehan, a kind of suffering moral hero, is the only one capable of even speaking to her makes an interesting commentary.

Also of note is the book's ambiguous treatment of Irish Republicanism. IRA members are all damaged characters suffering from their involvement and regretful, neurotic or base and ruthless in the extreme. It is fundamentally a romantic novel whereby the enviable qualities are of a personal nature and the "collective" goals are misguided and taken-up by unfortunate rabble and impetuous youth.

Who is responsible for Willie's death? The English, the IRA, all who where present, only those in favour of the killing, the village that reared the killers? The verdict seems to be that all are guilty, the pain real and perhaps the living suffer most.

I think this book started out a little hard to understand and take in, but once you got down and started reading it, it grabbed you and sucked you in. It was well written and it gave you an idea of grief and love. I think anyone who hasn't read the book should.

Being somewhat of an "Americanized" European expatriate, I've always had trouble understanding the passion and connections inherent to that mysteriously unique Irish sensibility. Perhaps it has something to do with the vast ocean separating the U.S. and Europe.

Mr. Phelan's book is so touching, so powerful, I was moved to tears at one point. It's a deeply emotional account of one boy's personal tragedy... and coming out of it feels like coming off a long and painful relationship gone wrong. I'm grateful for having read it, and even more grateful to Mr. Phelan for writing it, but I hope I never suffer as much in my lifetime as little Seanie Doolin.

A great read, and suprising page-turner .. an absolutely unforgettable narrative. At times it reminded me (vaguely) of William Faulkner.

I bought this book for a class and was surprised at how engaging it is. This book is very well written and informative, and gave me a great general knowledge of Russia leading up to the Great War. The bibliography is extensive and very useful for anyone researching Russia in this era. Highly recommended.

The book I ordered, In War's Dark Shadow, was exactly as the seller described it - in perfect condition. Since the book is not longer in print, I feel lucky to find one that looks as if it has never been used. The book was shipped promptly, and the seller was a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend this seller!

thanks!

I chose this title, because it was true, at least for me. As Americans, we (some of us, not all) "think" Russians are not "very intelligent", "backward" and even, "less than human."
After reading this book, I tend to "get on my soapbox" to help people understand what few choices, the Russian people ever had in the outcomes of their lives! I never knew this before purchasing and reading Mr. Lincoln's book!
If you cannot be convinced by the poverty imposed on the Russians through Mr. Lincoln's words, you will be convinced by the heart-wrenching photographs; the children who appear as hopeless, hovels designed as homes with animals living within, death from starvation was not uncommon. And all the time, Russia refused (those in power prior to the Revolution)to feed her people, wheat was being shipped to other European countries.
And the Russians never questioned the motives of the Tsar; after the Revolution, they still starved and were murdered by Stalin and Hitler.
We need to change our attitudes and this book did it for me.

In the forward, W. Bruce Lincoln states the book is "...an effort to explore the lives, thoughts, hopes, and dreams of the men and women who lived in the world's largest empire and to convey some sense of the tensions that tore at the fabric of their existence on the eve of the Great War and the Revolution of 1917." In this effort he succeeds brilliantly.

We see portraits of Tsar Alexander III, Nicholas II, Pobedonostsev, Lenin, Rasputin, and a host of other generals, officials and ordinary people who shaped that era.

We get an insider's look at what life was like in a peasant community, inside the peasant's izba or house, and their attitudes towards schooling, medicine and religion. We go inside the growing factories and the slums the workers inhabited in the cities with rapidly developing industry. We see the new nobility of the industrial barons, the revolutionaries fighting the tsarist autocracy, the defenders of the Old Order...all come to life in these pages.

Graphic descriptions are given of the vicious pogroms against Jews. The impact of the Trans-Siberian Railroad in both economic and a political aspects is covered. The 1904 war with Japan is there with its criminally incompetent generals and and admirals and the war's impact on the development of the Revolution of 1905 as well as the mood of the populace as the nations slides toward the Great War.

This well written, illuminating, detailed and well documented book is a classic work on the Russian society of those years and fleshes out the soul of Russia as few other books do. 16 pages of photos. Highly recommended.

I am Russian so I knew quite a lot about Russian history before opening this book. The book is the best guide to Russian history of the period. Here's why:

-It is written in a wonderful language - very easy to read, yet directed towards scholars.
-History is divided into chapters that concentrate on specific subjects.
-It is full of detail that other history books often lack. I was suprised to see Bruce Lincoln use original Russian words instead of finding an English equivalent for it (such as "izba," "domovoj," "dvorovoj," "lapti," etc.).
-Finally, I've not yet read a book that concentrates so much, and gives such an in-depth study, on the subjects that are usually avoided being talked about "pre-revolutionary" times (simply because they are deemed not important in the light of a warfare).

With this book you will get a clear idea of what the Russian society looked like on the dawn of WWI. Bruce Lincold actually spent several years in the Russian archives doing research (but not just for this book), so he has a first-hand knowledge on the subject.

The chapters discuss the following subjects:

Chapter 1 - 1891: The Fateful Year:
Basic overview of the situation in Russia by the yar or 1891: camine, construction of trans-Siberian railway, some politics.

Chapter 2 - In the Wake of Famine:
Famine, peasants and life in the country.

Chapter 3 - Russia's New Lords:
Emancipation, new layer of society "Kuptsi" and arts and trade associated with it.

Chapter 4 - Life in the Lower Depths:
Proletariat and life in cities and towns.

Chapter 5 - The Few Who Dared:
Revolutionaries - formation of the political parties, radicals, impact on literature.

Chapter 6 - Defenders of the Old Order:
Royal Defenders - key figures that supported the old "tzar" order; their lives and activities.

Chapter 7 - "A Small Victorious War":
The Japanese War - why, when, and how. Gives the background, as well.

Chapter 8 - 1905: The Year of Turmoil:
Revolution of 1905.

Chapter 9 - "What We Want is a Great Russia!":
Government - parties, duma, people behind the law, the lawmaking process.

Chapter 10 - "The Childre of Russia's Dreadful Years":
Art revolution.

Chapter 11 - The Last Days of Peace:
Political situation on the dawn of the WWI - foreign relations and repressions.

Chapter 12 - The Drums of War:
WWI and how it affected Russia and its people.

This is a well-written and fresh look at John Winthrop, first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Bremer derives his view of Winthrop from the "Model of Christian Charity" sermon, which Winthrop delivered sometime around his emigration to North America. Rather than the stern, unbending, and judgemental character that is the common perception, Bremer shows Winthrop as a pragmatic leader who often worked behind the scenes to reconcile diverging points of view. As portrayed in this book, Winthrop was a man of humility who strove to include anyone with a "spark of godliness" into the community.

At 385 pages of text, the book moved along quickly. I was sorry to get to the end.

Thanks to an absent minded John Winthrop falling into a foul smelling peat bog and surviving (which he took as a sign that he should emigrate to the colonies) the settlers of the Massachusets Bay Company were blessed with a practical and efficient administrator. Elected Governor many times over, John Winthrop is portrayed as an honest and god fearing a man as any patriotic American would want.
Although a good third of the book describes Winthrop's life in England, it is justified and necessary to see the religious and social preparations for his career in America. Once he came to America, his life was devoted to the preservation of his religion, his family and his colony.
Those readers familiar with Boston and surroundings will enjoy the detail in this biography; the streets he lived on, the configuarion of the city, its growth during Winthrop's lifetime.
And how easy it is to forget how little in the way of goods and services was available to the settlers in the 17th century. John Winthrop was not in the first wave of New Englanders in Plymouth, but even 10 years later he had to bring with him wheat, barley, oats, beans and peas for cultivation, potatoes, hop roots, hemp seed, tame turkeys and rabbits, linen and woolen cloth, bottles, ladles, spoons and kettles, among a long list of other essentials.
In spite of harsh conditions and personal tragedies, Winthrop prevails and the reader will learn much about this "forgotten" Founding Father in this compelling and interesting biography.

This is a wonderful book. The author demonstrates a rich, nuanced command of the period and the players. I especially appreciate how he works to portray the characters from their own perspective instead of juding people who lived four centuries ago by todays ideas. I appreciate that he goes to great length to provide historical context. Indeed, he provides so much context, beginning with the subject's grandfather, that the book starts out a little slowly. But once the book reaches the point of Winthrop's departure for America, it remains compelling up to the end. A wonderful book for a more complete picture of the settlement of our country and a valuable addition to a balanced view of the puritans.

John Winthrop: America's Forgotten Founding Father

by Francis J. Bremer

Oxford University Press, published 2003

Millerstown University Professor Francis Bremmer's John Winthrop: America's Forgotten Founding Father is the first major work on the Massachusetts's governor in over fifty years. It is an engaging and comprehensive volume serving as the author's attempt to provide a more balanced view of Winthrop than has been seen in other works. Bremer writes, "The Winthrop of modern histories has been constructed to suit particular agendas. It is time for biography that is interested primarily in John Winthrop himself." (pg. xvi) Bremer is well qualified to take on this task, as he is the editor of John Winthrop's papers for the Massachusetts' Historical Society.

The narrative traces all of Winthrop's known ancestors in England. Almost a century before John was born, his grandfather, Adam, was a successful London cloth merchant. Adam profited handsomely from Henry VIII's reformation of the church. He purchased monastery lands from the government and established the family's seat in Suffolk. It was to this estate that Adam retired during the Catholic restoration of Mary I. The Winthrops were staunch Protestants and the move was designed to prevent retribution from the Marian government. The estate was to be the family's headquarters until John's departure for the new world in 1630.

The family estate was located in the Stour Valley, which was a hotbed of reformed Protestantism. Bremer deliberately avoids using the term Puritan because he feels that it carries to strong a connotation to the modern reader. "Godly" was the description used most often by the Winthrop family and their circle. Like many others in Suffolk, the Winthrop's were non-conformists to the Anglican model and hoped for continued reforms of the church.

John Winthrop was born in 1588. He attended college at Cambridge for two years and left without taking a degree. While he considered entering the ministry, his early marriage and family obligation precluded that career path. In 1605, he married for the first time. From 1605 through 1630, John Winthrop lived the life of the minor gentry. He was involved in running his estate, raising his family and practicing law. In 1615, his first wife died in childbirth and Winthrop soon remarried. His new wife died a year later in childbirth; John married again in 1617 to his third wife, Margaret Tyndal.

Winthrop became involved with the civil government when he was appointed to the Court of Wards and Liveries. It was at this time he grew increasingly displeased with the corrupt state of the civil government. After considering emigration to Ireland, he and Margaret decided instead to join with members of the Massachusetts Bay Company and move to the new world. The venture was seen as a way to serve God and to make a profit. The founders of the company decided on John Winthrop as Governor for the colony. This is a reflection of the modest nature of the project in the eyes of the founders because, "if Massachusetts had been a larger, more important venture, he would not have been entrusted with the responsibility." (pg. 170)

As Governor, Winthrop was responsible for seeing the colonists through the bitter early years and for establishing order among the colonists. It was at the start of the emigrating that his famous "Christian Charity" sermon was given. He compared the colonists endeavors to a "city on a hill" that all could see. This biblical reference is Winthrop's most enduring literary legacy and is often quoted by politicians to this day.

Winthrop strove to live a good Christian life and to ensure the others the opportunity to so as well. He sought unity amongst the settlers but was willing to compromise and attempt to reach consensus. He was unwavering, however, in his principles and showed no reluctance to expel Roger Williams or Anne Hutchinson from the colony when their unorthodox theologies threatened the stability of the society.

Winthrop served as governor for 12 of the 19 years he lived in Massachusetts. He was untiring in his efforts to promote the growth of the colony. In the winter of 1649, he became ill and died. Bremer sums up the man and his accomplishments, "Zealous but not a zealot ... he helped to prevent his colony from being blown off course by the winds of extremism and from being wrecked on the rocks of fanaticism." (pg. 385)

Accessible to all levels of interested readers, John Winthrop: America's Forgotten Founding Father is a valuable portrait of an important figure in American History. Sources are extensive and meticulously documented. They primarily come from the records of the Courts of Assistants in Massachusetts Bay, Official Records of the Governor and Winthrop's own papers and journals. In addition, a host of sources from both sides of the Atlantic is employed in the work. The in-depth coverage of the Winthrop family background can be tedious to readers only interested in American events, but they provide needed insights into the English Reformation and the events that lead to colonization of New England. Bremer's work takes its place as the definitive biography of John Winthrop for the next fifty years.

Bremer has brought us a sensitive and balanced portrayal of Winthrop, one that is at the same time truly gripping. One of the significant contributions of the book is Bremer's attention to Winthrop's forty or so years in England prior to coming to New England, which helps create the sense of organic development and shows points of continuity between English Puritanism and that of the New England colonies. The relationship between Bremer's presentation and other scholarly opinions is covered in many of the endnotes, which makes it useful to the scholar but not burdensome for the average reader. Scholars, history buffs, and even those just interested in the human experience of life, will find this book rewarding. Highly recommended.