Ireland Books

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.

I like Simon Marsden's work , if anyone likes gothic they will like this type of calendar.

The Haunted Realm 2007 Calendar highlights the mysterious and other-worldly photography of Simon Marsden. His black-and-white photos capture scenes that are mysterious, somber and thought-provoking. Gothic architecture, gravestones, bare trees and gnarled branches, ominous skies, and foliage made un-earthlike by the use of infrared photography are the major elements that comprise his striking images. Additionally, each month provides a short explanation of what makes the photographed site "haunted". The calendar grid, itself, offers a clean layout and is easy to read, making the calendar as practical as it is beautiful. Highly recommended.

I first came across this book in my high school library, about 1990. I fell in love with it.... Anyway, this is a beautiful book that features lots of Simon Marsden's infrared photos of castles, manor houses, spooky natural places, etc., from all over the British Isles and Ireland. A page or two decribing the ghostly phenomena associated with each locale is included as well. I spent nearly three weeks in Scotland seeking out some of the places in this book (and the book that followed, "Phantoms of the Isles"), but sadly, they didn't seem half as creepy in real life as they did in the book. I highly recommend anything by Simon Marsden...Happy hauntings!

this is one of the most beautifully photographed books on the the subjects of haunted places.The British locales shown in black and white,as well as the stories documenting the haunted places make this a great book for your collection as well as a coffeetable book.This is 120+ pages of delight be it in portrayal of haunted England or the beauty of the English countryside and stately manors.

i first picked this book up when i was 10 years old. I'm 16 now and i still can't put it down. This is, without a doubt, the most chilling collection of stories i have ever come across. The contents of this book are psycologically affecting as well imagination provoking. I truly cannot say enough great things about this book. If you havn't read it-PLEASE do yourself a favor, and get ahold of The Haunted Realm.

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 that demonstrates a 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 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 "collective" ideals 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 is real and 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.

I love this book! Austen's sometimes snarky and amusingly judgmental conclusions of which rulers were good and bad. I love her loathing of Queen Elizabeth and her spirited defense of Mary Queen of Scots. The drawings by Cassandra are also excellent. I do wish that she'd written a longer history as Austen's colorful version of English history is a delightful read for all true Austen fans.

As a young girl, Jane, in her own witty style decided to write "The History of England". It's certainly not an accurate history, but a young girl's view of the world in which she lives. The text is printed in her own handwriting and is charming and fun to read.

Jane Austen wrote these short snippets on a number of the rulers of England in chronological order - using, as she says, 'very few dates'. The result is a wonderful collection of highly prejudicial outlines of various Kings and Queens - and after all the purpose of history to be scandalous and slanderous can be undermined by sticking too closely to extraneous detail such as dates and so on. The whole thing would probably take you much less than hour to read. Austen proves her talent for sharp observation and wit from an early age for this little book was written while she was still a teenager in the early 1790's. Its a lovely introduction to her writing for those who haven't had much to do with Austen before but are keen to try her out.

This book may not be used in any history class, but it is one of the most charming works she ever wrote. I had this smile painted on my face the entire 15 minutes it took to read it. Very, very witty.

This hilarious little book is full of wonderfully biased observations on the Kings and Queens of England between henry the 4th and Charles the 1st. Of Henry VI she writes fiercely "I cannot say much for this monarch's sense, nor would I if I could, for he was a Lancastrian" She is a supporter of Richard III's claim to innocence, averring that he may not have murdered his wife for "if Perkin Warbeck were really the Duke of York, why not might Lambert Simnel be the widow of Richard?" She includes a very rique charade on the homosexual habits of king James I. I feel that Sellar and Yeatman, who wrote '1066 and All That'may have derived inspiration from this book, her N.B. at the beginning 'there will be very few Dates in this History' has a very Sellar and yeatman sound. I increasingly find Jane Asuten's Juvenilia more amusing than her later works, and this book is a prime example.

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.

The fact that Trotsky tried to devise a revolutionary strategy to cope with the issues aroused by the existence of a Popular Front government in 1930s France made this collection of short pieces and pamphlets to remain consistently out of fashion for the next 70 years, as Marxists tended more and more to make a fetish out of Liberal Bourgeois political forms. Therefore the relevance of this book, as a discussion of the shortcomings of said Bourgeois Democracy in terms of the overall sclerosis imposed by it on the Body Politic.

Paris, February 1934: tens of thousands of rightists attempted to overthrow the French government in a violent demonstration. The Radical government was soon replaced with a Bonapartist ruler. How could the powerful working class movement respond? The French Communist Party was moving to the "Peoples Front" alliance with the Socialists and the Radicals, in reflection of Stalin's search for alliances with one or other of the imperialist powers moving towards war to redivide the world. Together with the Socialists, the Stalinists politically disoriented the French workers. Six years on from the 1934 demonstrations, Hitler was able to crush France, and the fascist Petain ascended to power. "Leon Trotsky on France", a collection of writings from throughout those six years, brings the light of Marxism and the experience of the Russian Revolution to bear in showing the way for workers seeking a revolutionary way forward. As the 21st century takes us deeper into a situation like the 1930s -- economic depression, political volatility and instability, rapidly sharpening inter-imperialist rivalry, the rise of ultrarightist forces -- the lessons of the 1930s loom large. With each passing year, books like this one are becoming more relevant for workers and fighters for social justice.

More than a history text, this is a compelling day-by-day analysis of the great political developments in France during the 1930s depression-- and incisive arguments for what working class parties needed-- and failed -- to do to fight their way victoriously out of the crisis. The brutal economic depression and the crisis of capitalist political rule, the approaching world war, the fascist uprising in 1934, the rise of Bonapartist-police state regimes, the great workers strike wave of 1936, the stakes in organizing a workers militia, the political basis for alliances in working class struggles-- all are explained clearly and logically, with the aim of helping working people understand and organize to defend their interests.

Trotsky writes with the experience of a leader of the 1917 Russian Revolution and the early years of building an international communist workers movement. He was particularly familiar with the French workers movement from years in exile before 1917, and spent time in France in the 1930s after being expelled from the Soviet Union by Stalin and his henchmen-- this experience helping him give rich political detail to his writings.

Above all, the questions posed here do not belong just to the 1930s. The perspectives of the capitalists, the petty-bourgeoisie, the workers and the peasants, and the question of leadership of the working class, of the forging of a revolutionary party with a correct program and the confidence to act are issues for today and tomorrow. Trotsky's writings here are invaluable in helping understand and organize in today's world.

Best part of the book -- Part Two: A Program for the French Revolution. For anyone who has had to deal with trade union brass who caution that the union membership must be careful not to alienate the friendly wing of management, for anyone who has had to suffer through debates in parties such as Canada's New Democratic Party, this book helps straighten things out clearly. As Europe thrashed its way through the 1930s, socialist revolution or fascist victory was put on the agenda in country after country. Trotsky goes over all the key issues as they arose concretely in France: elections and picket lines, workers armed defense versus reliance on the middle class, the relationship of general strike to the fight for a revolutionary change in government, how to win over the farmers. He hammers away at the fact that while capitalism was degenerating before everyone's eyes, nothing was automatic, nothing would inevitably change for the better without conscious action and organization by the powerful French working class. He pointed out that he was fighting for the lives of French workers who went into the streets in strike waves, who occupied their workplaces, who fought the police and fascist gangs over and over throughout the decade. And went down to defeat. Difficult to read simply as a historical document since so many issues are of burning relevance today.

France in the 1930s was wracked by mass struggles by workers, fascist, monarchist and other right-wing conspiracies two futures: the future of war, Nazi occupation and the Petain regime that aped fascism, and a victory of workers and farmers like the one in Russia in 1917 and Cuba in 1960s. Battles went on that could have prevented World War two, prevented fascism in Spain, and more.
Trotsky's advice here is not just directed to analyzing the big questions, but also discussing how small groups of revolutionists were affected by these big events, how they could deepen their role in the mass struggle.
With war, and what some call a gathering world depression looming in front of working people around the world, the same questions before French workers in the 1930s are coming before workers, youth, farmers and others who want to fight today. We are fortunate to read these writings by Trotsky to fight to avoid a future of war and fascism.